Rayen reappeared in the broadcast room after the meeting with the sponsors concluded, and his figure was directly delivered to one of the benches.
When Rayen returned from the meeting room to the broadcast room, he ran his hands through his hair.
'My bad omen had turned out to be true.'
As he recalled what had just happened, he couldn't help but gnash his teeth inwardly.
Thirty minutes earlier...
Out of nowhere, Plotter arrived in Rayen and his sponsors' meeting room, demanding something.
"You should dye your hair!"
That reminded Rayen of the description of the reward he received for passing the audition.
[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]
The Overseer of Scribes...
'I'm sure it's that guy.'
Once again, the scene in the meeting room flashed in Rayen's mind.
"He looks good with red!" Plotter stuck out his tongue.
Then, he ran off.
That was how Rayen ended up in this state.
'I really should have said something! Now, I'm sure this guy is a stalker of mine.'
As Rayen cursed Plotter inwardly, the other participants also slowly reappeared inside the broadcast room one by one. Each appeared in their designated seats according to their rank. The higher-ranked participants were located closest to the stage below.
A few moments later, Adrian also appeared beside Rayen, whose grimace turned worse at his roommate's sight.
'Oh, right. He received six sponsors. Only one less than me.'
What an unfortunate event.
Rayen truly didn't want to be seated beside this guy at all.
As soon as Adrian regained his senses from being suddenly teleported, he glanced toward Rayen. His eyes squinted, failing to recognize who was sitting beside him because of the sudden change in Rayen's hair color.
"... Oh, it's just Mr. Vocalist," he exclaimed. "What happened to your hair?"
'Can't you just pretend I don't exist right now?'
"Okay, okay, I get it," Adrian said as though he could read what was on Rayen's mind.
Well, Rayen didn't hide his displeasure at all on his face. More so when he noticed that this guy seemed to have received a baptism.
His dark circles are long gone, no longer looking like someone who hadn't slept at all for about a month.
'Grr...'
How enviable. Meanwhile, his hair was experimented on.
"Don't worry, you look better in your hair," Adrian said.
The corners of Rayen's mouth twitched.
At last, after a few more moments, every seat inside the broadcast room was filled. A total of 35 participants had passed the auditions.
Rayen scanned the entire studio. A large circular stage was situated below the seats. Behind it, a wide backdrop screen was flashing the logo of the show.
[Idol: Revive]
Rayen's seat was located in the second row.
'The first row must belong to the top ten participants.'
He observed the ten people situated at the top ten seats below him. Just then, he spotted a somewhat familiar back, but before he could scrutinize the figure thoroughly, the annoying host came out from backstage, facing the participants.
Plotter's short stature was gigantified by the backdrop screen behind him as he greeted them.
"Everyone here has gotten past the first hurdle in getting their second lives," Plotter started. "And as a reward, I will reveal to you whatever this show is about."
His words caught everyone's attention now.
"Do you want to hear it?" Plotter smiled widely. "I bet you want to. So, let me explain to you."
'Can you just stop with the teasing and explain already?'
Rayen was already getting annoyed seeing Plotter's face. He still hadn't forgotten what had just happened in the meeting room earlier.
Finally, Plotter continued speaking, "The goal of the show is to create a new existence. An unprecedented feat."
'A new existence? Are we different from the Entities?'
"Those who will survive every round will become that very existence. Minstrels, that's what you will be. An existence that defies life and death. An existence that will live forever, as long as you keep performing. Your existence will be tied to this world."
Murmurs descended on the venue as Plotter rattled on about the show. However, Rayen wasn't truly sure if he got what Plotter had just said. What he understood, though, were the facts that he had to pay attention to.
All in all, there would be a total of four rounds. Each round will have a different theme, where multiple teams have to compete.
But winning the rounds doesn't mean they would win the show.
"To win the show, one must reach a total of one million Life Book Points."
So that's what the Life Book Points were about in their status window...
Plotter continued the explanation as the participants listened intently, nodding from time to time.
They had to take note of everything. After all, it's their life and death that were at stake.
"Life Book Points can be acquired from the viewers' daily votes, so make sure to make a good impression throughout the show. Those who can't... Well, don't blame me if you receive less screen time." Plotter smirked. "Blame yourself for being uninteresting~"
"....."
Everyone was silent as they tried to hold themselves back despite the insult.
'If he weren't someone with power, I doubt he would even last one day.'
Even Rayen was struggling to hold back from trying to kick this host's ass.
As though he didn't notice the malice from the participants, Plotter continued rattling along.
"Another way to get points is to win the performances. Each round, a Life Book Points threshold would be announced. If the total points of a participant fall below the threshold, they will be subjected to a one-week deliberation period, where the sponsors will choose whether to lower the amount of their sponsorship or completely withdraw it. If a participant's sponsorship reaches below 3, they will be eliminated."
'Elimination...'
Rayen shuddered as he remembered the scene during the audition.
He didn't want to end up like that. No one among them wanted that too, of course.
"That's all I wanted you to know~ Let's move on to the first round assignment!"
No one had the energy to even respond to him.
Rayen leaned against his seat to take in the information he just received too. He swept his gaze around. Just then, his eyes caught sight of the familiar figure once again.
Rayen scowled.
As though the figure sensed the gaze directed toward him, he looked back.
His eyes met Rayen's gaze.
Immediately, Rayen stiffened.
The familiar person also froze in his seat, his pupils constricting.
"Liam..." Rayen murmured.
Adrian told Rayen before that one of his bandmates had gone missing with him. He also theorized that it might be that very bandmate who caused his death.
Apparently, it was Liam.
After regaining his senses, Liam averted his gaze, acting as though he hadn't seen anything.
Rayen also gradually calmed down, but he still kept his gaze toward Liam, boring holes in the back of his head.
'He looked like he saw a ghost, huh?'
Well, right now, Rayen is a ghost.
Adrian, who sensed Rayen's weird behavior beside him, followed the direction of his gaze and let out a chuckle.
"This is truly interesting," he said.