A bit confused, Ari took his seat on the uncomfortable foldable metal chair and tried to view the status of the boy sitting to his right.
[Damian Martinez]
[Age: 21]
[Vocals: C]
[Dance: C]
[Visual: C]
[Rap: C]
[Charm: C]
It worked perfectly fine.
Had he made a mistake and said the wrong word?
Ari faced forward in confusion, trying to keep a friendly expression as a cameraman panned a camera over them.
When the cameraman moved away, he tried to whisper to NOVA, but stopped when the boy sitting next to him looked at him weirdly.
Fine. He would just sit still and watch the performances.
As more and more contestants continued performing, Ari's place continued to slip downwards.
He went from 90 to 94 as a four-person group was successful.
Then went from 94 to 96 as a group of 7 had 2 of their members get passed.
As the final performances began, first a five-man group followed by a 3-man group, Ari basically stopped breathing as he stared ahead.
His position shifted once more from 97 to 98.
With his head bowed, he clasped his gloved fingers nervously while hoping for a miracle.
Please!
Let a maximum of one person pass!
The foot of Damian, the boy located next to him, was tapping the floor in anxiety.
After all, if two people were added, he would be gone.
Since he couldn't really do anything to stop it, Ari just watched the performance while breathing deeply.
.....
"Thank you!"
The final three performers bowed to the judges and began the process of receiving their feedback.
Almost absentmindedly, Ari whispered status while looking at the three of them, noting that one had B stats, the other had mainly C stats, and the last one had D stats for everything.
Based on the stats of those around him, Ari guessed that he would end up ranked either 99th or 100th.
As his eyes met Larry Jackson, who glared at him once more, Ari immediately sighed in relief when he saw that only two people were coming.
The B stat person took his seat, causing him to move down, while the C stat person took the 100 spot, leaving Ari at 99.
"And that's the showcase! Everyone, please take a good look at our top 100 contestants! Their profiles will be released on our website, and all the performances will be posted on the WeTube channel. If you register for an account with SHOWMAX, you'll receive extra votes that can be used beginning next week…"
As the MC, Ryan Leary began his closing remarks, Ari finally got the notification he had been waiting for.
[Ding!]
[Surprise Mission: Liar, Liar Pants On Fire! - Complete]
[Reward: +5 Stat Points & 3 Charm Stat Points & 1 Gacha Gift Token]
As all the contestants who made it into the top 100 began clapping and cheering, Ari subtly whispered, "Add all charm points to charm and show me the stats."
[Ariel Matisse]
[Vocals: A]
[Dance: F]
[Visual: F]
[Rap: F]
[Charm: A]
[Skills: Picky Listener (B), Pen Pal (C)]
[Current Rewards: 5 Stat Points & 1.15 Visual Stat Point & 2 Gacha Gift Tokens]
Compared to his miserable beginning when every single stat of his had been an F, Ari truly wanted to cry at the fact that he now possessed 2 A stats.
The last two weeks had been the grind from hell, but maybe now he could finally take a slight breather.
As the contestants began chatting with each other while the audience dispersed, a heavy arm dropped onto Ari's shoulders, and he almost keeled over as the weight of a familiar person leaned on him.
"We did it! We proved my dad wrong!" Jamie's cheerful voice sounded out as he smiled wildly, and Ari tapped his back comfortingly before shoving the other boy off.
"You did well out there. Now get off you're heavy."
"You just need to hit the weight room more with me," Jamie casually replied, glancing around.
"You are literally 5 inches taller than me. It's more than just the weight room. Move."
A few people looked like they wanted to speak with Jamie, so Ari patted his back and tried to distance himself while looking for a particular blonde head.
Ducking and weaving through the loud crowd of 100 boys, Ari finally spotted William Forbes talking to Larry Jackson off to the side.
Larry's face looked focused as he had his hands on William's shoulder, but Ari ignored him, whispering status as he stared at the back of William's blonde head….
And nothing happened again.
No matter how many times he repeated 'Status', nothing popped up for William.
A bit irritated, he glanced at Larry Jackson and whispered status.
It took a couple of seconds, but then….
[Larry Elliot Jackson]
[Age 39]
[Vocals: B+]
[Dance: C]
[Visual: B]
[Rap: F]
[Charm: B+]
[Composing: B+]
It was a perfectly normal status sheet with decent stats for a musician who was a little past his prime.
But as Ari watched the status screen, glancing back and forth between Larry Jackson and William, it changed.
[Larry Elliot Jackson]
[Age 39]
[Vocals: B]
[Dance: C]
[Visual: B]
[Rap: F]
[Charm: B+]
[Composing: B]
Larry Jackson's Vocal stat went from B+ -> B, and his Composing Stat went from B+ -> B.
Sensing that he had seen something he had not supposed to see, Ari immediately turned around and found a staff member.
"Pardon me, could you please tell me where the bathroom is?"
"Sure, down the hallway and at the first left. But hurry back, we have things to announce."
"Sure."
Ari quickly sped down the hall, his stomach churning.
Once he was out of sight, he covered his mouth and whispered.
"NOVA, what was that?!?! Do stats just reduce like that? And why can't I see William's stats??"
The system was quiet for a moment before responding.
[You don't have the authority yet to know that information.]
[However, if you don't want your stats devoured, I recommend staying away from that boy.]
Reading the chilling words, Ari gulped and entered a bathroom stall before whispering harshly.
"Now is not the time for authority or no authority. You need to tell me what is going on? What is the relationship between you and him? Does he have a system? Can he just steal my stats out of nowhere? Speak up."
[…..]
[He is not able to just 'Steal' your stats as he pleases.]
[For now, focus on staying away from him without drawing his attention.]
[And whatever you do, avoid touching him for long periods of time.]
[When your third skill reaches A-rank, you will unlock the authorization to know more about the situation.]
"NOVA!"
"HEY NOVA!"
No matter how many times Ari called the system's name, it completely ignored him.
Slightly frustrated at the incomplete information, Ari kicked the door of the bathroom stall hard, and it slammed open.
As he stalked out, somebody entered the bathroom.
A quick turn of his head showed that it was the person Ari wanted to see the least.
William Forbes.
With his blond hair gleaming in the harsh bathroom light, and his princely face looking extra handsome as well, it was a face that enraged Ari and made him want to punch it.
It was this bastard who had killed him!
"Oh, I didn't expect to see anybody here." William lightly commented in a light Boston accent.
Ari completely ignored him while washing his trembling hands.
He felt like if he didn't focus, his fists would ball up and he would start punching William in his princely face.
He hoped by ignoring him, the other boy would get the message, but unfortunately, William either couldn't read social cues or just didn't care.
"It's nice to meet you. Your name was Ariel, like the fish princess right? Mine is William, like the Prince of England. If we end up in a group together, they might call us the royals, right? Although mine is a bit better than yours. Ahaha."
Ari just stared at him blankly before trying to get around him as he clenched the paper towels in his hands.
He really couldn't trust what would come out of his mouth if he opened it here.
"Ah, are you shy? There's no need for that since we'll be living together for a while if you're lucky. Why don't we shake hands and get to know each other?"
As William Forbes blocked his way out and held out his hands for a handshake, Ari froze.