Rayen passed his 2nd day in a daze inside his room alone, still somewhat glum from realizing that he was dead.
"Aren't you going out?" Adrian asked but received no response.
Seeing that Rayen was in no mood, he left him alone and returned only after Rayen had eaten dinner he bought from the shop.
Just like what Adrian said, the Honey Croissant somewhat eased his gloom.
During the morning of their 3rd day, Adrian once again went out alone. When Rayen went out to the living room, he was nowhere to be found.
Well, who cares?
For all he knew, that guy would just rob him of his money again.
But after being holed up in this mysterious place for over 24 hours, Rayen finally couldn't withstand the boredom. Back then, he could just game all the hours away, but alas, his phone was nothing but a shell right now.
The only remaining app on his phone was Idol:Revive.
'Right. I think I received a prize for passing the audition. I should check it out.'
However, when the application launched, the 1st thing that greeted him was Mini Plotter who was sleeping against the corner of his phone screen.
The corners of Rayen's mouth twitched.
Somehow, Mini Plotter seemed to be treating his home as its phone...
As though sensing someone watching, Mini Plotter opened its eyes.
"Good morning" it said, yawning.
".... You're here again," Rayen said.
"Duh, I'm the system. Why wouldn't I be here?"
"....."
Mini Plotter continued, "Since you're here, do you want to take the tutorial now?"
At the same time, a prompt appeared on Rayen's screen.
"Tutorial?"
Without waiting for Rayen's answer, Mini Plotter tapped the yes button on his behalf.
'Hey, that was—!'
Before Rayen's thoughts could even finish, Mini Plotter's clothes had changed. Its jumper with the large "Propagator 1.0" sign had disappeared, replaced by a plain white shirt and black pants. With a stick in its hand, Mini Plotter looked just like a professional teacher.
"Let's discuss your trashy status window first!" Mini Plotter smiled as though mocking him.
'Do you have to rub it on me?'
Holding a stick in one hand, Mini Plotter pointed at Rayen's status window.
[Name: Rayen
Stage Name: N/A
Vocals: S
Dancing: D
Rapping: B-
Team: D
Visual: B-
Life Book Points: 0
Buffs: Fertile Ground (Active), Choreographer's Epiphany (Deactivated)]
"Your status window lists out the level of your skills and attributes. You have three skills in total: Vocals, Dance, and Rap, which we evaluated during your assessment from the first day."
'So, that's what it was for...'
"Meanwhile, we also listed out your two attributes: Team and Visual."
"What's the difference between Skills and Attributes?"
"Skills and Attributes can be levelled up. They are divided into Ranks: D, C, B, A, S, and finally, the highest, L. Each rank is then subdivided into 3 levels: lower, base, and upper levels. Every time you practice and perform, you will gain experience points corresponding to the skills and attributes you used."
Mini Plotter also explained how leveling up worked.
Each practice or performance session will give a base number of experience points. However, only a percentage of it will be absorbed by him according to his skill and attribute levels.
"This is the rule of efficiency. If you suck at dancing, it's only natural that you're absorbing less experience," Mini Plotter said.
Once again, the corners of Rayen's mouth twitched at Mini Plotter's jabs.
"Also, in every level, the exp requirement to level up will increase."
"....." Rayen was rendered even more speechless.
In short, his dancing skill right now was almost at the very bottom of the ranks. And because it's at the bottom, the harder it is to learn. And the harder it is to learn, the more time he has to spend practicing and levelling up.
'Who the hell came up with such a system rule?'
Rayen felt hopeless as he imagined the long road ahead. No, there might not even be a long road at all if gets eliminated because of his shitty dancing.
However, Mini Plotter still wasn't done with his explanation.
"There's only one difference between the two. Attributes' levels decay over time."
"... By decay, you mean, it will level down?"
Mini Plotter nodded.
'Really… Who the hell came up with such a damn ranking?!'
Rayen_dragon_breath.gif
"But you can prevent this if you finish your weekly attribute missions, so good luck~" Mini Plotter struck a fighting gesture at Rayen before proceeding to the next topic. "Let's move on—"
"Stop! I don't want to hear more!"
'Ugh. My head is spinning.'
Mini Plotter tilted its 2D head in confusion. "Do you want to stop the tutorial?"
"Heck, yeah!"
Rayen massaged his head.
"Gotcha."
As soon as Mini Plotter said that, its clothes changed back to the old ones.
"Then, do you want to roll your prize instead?" Mini Plotter asked.
"Yeah."
That's what he came here for in the first place. Besides he could gain something that would help him climb the seemingly endless ladder of leveling up his dancing skills.
'I guess it's time to leave this room and start practicing.'
A roulette appeared on Rayen's screen. Rayen tapped on the spin button and watched as it rolled on the screen. Gradually, the roulette slowed.
Then, it stopped.
[Permanent Red Hair Dye: The Overseer of Scribes saw a K-Pop idol on TV and thought, "Oh, I would also like to see my idol with red hair."
Effect: •Red Hair - dyes hair completely red.
•Minimal Charm - +10 charm
Duration: Indefinite
Type: Consumable (Cosmetic)
Price: 1000MC]
Rayen examined the page. The QR code on its back was green. The pages he bought for Adrian were also green. Does this mean something?
But oh well. It's kinda meh.
If not for the Minimal Charm effect, he would have thrown away this reward.
Utterly disappointed, Rayen dismissed the page. It magically disappeared from his hands.
'Whoa. I'm more interested in this phenomenon than that prize.'
Amazed, Rayen checked his inventory and found the page there.
'Can I store something else in this inventory?
He looked around and only found the couch, the table, and the TV. He pointed toward the couch.
"Dismiss."
Nothing happened. Rayen blinked.
'Was it because it was big?'
Then, his eyes turned to the remote control on the table and pointed towards it.
"Dismiss."
Nothing happened again.
Suddenly, a voice came from the entrance of the room. "What are you doing?"
"Beep! Beep!" Rayen jumped in surprise then sent a glare toward Adrian.
Adrian chuckled at his reaction. "You're truly..."
"What?"
"Interesting." Adrian smirked.
His words only made Rayen scowl.
Adrian proceeded on walking toward the couch, pushing Rayen as he sat brazenly.
"Hey! You don't own the entire couch!"
Ignoring his complaints, Adrian's eyes settled on the remote that was lying atop the table.
"What were you doing this whole time?" he asked.
"What's it to you?"
"You didn't try to open this thing?" Adrian said, pressing the power button on the remote...
Instantly, the TV flickered on.
"Why should I?" Rayen said, crossing his arms and avoiding looking at the screen.
"Hmm... Well, it'll be interesting."
"Huh?"
Without clarifying what he meant. Adrian just wistfully stared at the screen. In truth, Rayen had already turned that thing on yesterday. Just that Adrian was busy somewhere out of this dorm, so Rayen knew what kind of program was airing.
It was the ongoing audition.
That was why Rayen didn't even want to look at it.
'What the hell is so interesting with that?'
However, when Adrian saw the show, his lips scrunched in disappointment.
"Aww, it's over."
"Over?"
Rayen peeked at the TV from the corner of his eyes, but the audition was still clearly playing right in front of them. Right now, a girl has climbed onto the stage.
'What does he mean by over?'
After losing interest, Adrian lazily leaned back on the couch, no longer smiling, but he didn't turn the TV off.
The auditionee on stage had chosen her song. Rayen looked away when the music started, but Adrian watched on.
'Who's sick enough to watch this kind of show?'
As one of the former auditionees, he knew exactly how it felt to stand on that stage. It wasn't pleasant at all. He was just like a pig waiting to be butchered. And right now, the pig on the platform was but a single child. Rayen couldn't stomach watching such a scene without feeling nauseous.
However, a second later, when the girl opened her mouth, Rayen's head swiftly turned back to the screen, his eyes wide in surprise.
Her presence was overwhelming, filling the whole room. The way she stood felt like her short height was but an illusion. Suddenly, the girl onstage had become a giant.
Rayen's hair rose on its end.
The camera zoomed in on the girl's face as she struck an iconic pose that everyone in the world was familiar with.
Standing sideways with her arms raised to her forehead like she was tipping an imaginary hat, one foot lifted slightly off the floor and knees bent, she exuded an extraordinary aura.
It was like she was saying, 'Look at me! Don't take your eyes off me.'
Then, the upbeat drumbeats began.
She lowered her arms elegantly, as though swiping an invisible tailcoat. Her hips swayed in perfect rhythm with the beat.
It was Mikail Jackson's Lily Dean.
The way the kid moved felt like the legendary singer-dancer was revived on stage.
'Shit... She's really good!'
Already feeling a bit ashamed with his audition, the girl's performance seemed to bury Rayen in shame.
The kid's feet swivelled through the floor as if she were walking on the moon. The spotlight that was shining on her enhanced the illusion even more.
The kid also sang as she danced, her adolescent voice was a little high-pitched, but it was stable as if the moves didn't affect her singing at all.
When the song ended, the camera once again zoomed in on her face. Her breathless smile was dazzling, her round black eyes were shimmering with joy and pride.
Suddenly, Adrian's chuckle broke the silence in the room.
"This girl ain't bad."
Clap, clap.
"Unlike our Mr. Vocalist here."
Rayen glared at him.
The girl passed in flying colors with 23 sponsorships. After this, Rayen stood up, unwilling to continue watching. He didn't want to endure Adrian's constant gut punch.
Finally, the 3rd day was over.
Right as the next morning came. Just as Rayen bought his breakfast for today, a notification popped up on his and Adrian's phones.
[To the broadcast studio, 5th floor at 2PM]