The apartment was quiet.
Too quiet.
Lina sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed, staring at her phone.
She'd received an email.
Subject: Audition Invitation – "Pulse Talent Management" Discovery Program
At first, she thought it was spam. But the domain was verified. Legitimate. And at the bottom of the message:
Applicant referred anonymously through internal priority channel.
"…Kael?" she whispered.
[System: Not him.]
[System: Trust the momentum.]
[System Task Generated: Attend the audition. Perform. Leave an impression.]
[Reward: 25,000 credits + 1 bonus attribute point]
[Punishment: Decreased system favorability (minor), confidence regression.]
She swallowed hard.
This wasn't survival anymore.
This was spotlight.
The audition was held in a high-rise glass building in the center of the city—Pulse HQ. A sleek, modern fortress built for beauty, talent, and precision. Dozens of hopefuls lined the entrance. Girls with agents. Boys with egos. Models in heels taller than Lina's courage.
She wore black.
Always black.
Because it made her feel invisible until she was ready to be seen.
Inside, the walls pulsed with screens playing past Pulse stars—music idols, drama leads, brand ambassadors.
All of them shining.
All of them curated.
The sign-in assistant eyed her name.
"Lina Vale… Oh, right. The private slot."
Lina blinked.
"Private?"
"You're not in the group rotation. You've been flagged for individual evaluation. Follow me."
The audition room was smaller than she imagined.
Only three people inside.
One of them stood out.
A woman with short platinum hair, red lipstick, and a gaze like a lie detector. Known in the entertainment circuit as Karis Valeon, Pulse's creative director—a woman known for making or breaking futures with a single nod.
"Sit."
Lina sat.
Karis folded her arms.
"You're not trained. You're not from any agency. You've never performed."
"…No."
"But someone pushed you into our radar with enough force that our founder himself told me to look at you."
Lina stayed quiet.
"You're either a waste of my time—or something we've never seen before."
Karis tossed a script onto the table.
"Give me sixty seconds of heartbreak. Convince me you've lived it."
Lina picked up the page. Read the first line.
Then stopped.
She looked up.
"I don't need the script," she said quietly.
Karis raised an eyebrow.
"Go ahead."
She stood in the center of the room.
Hands trembling slightly.
But her eyes…
Her eyes had lived lifetimes of sorrow.
And when she spoke, it wasn't an act.
It was a confession dressed as performance.
"You ever get so tired of being alone,
that silence starts to feel like safety?
I loved people.
I trusted them.
And they taught me how to burn quietly."
When she finished, no one clapped.
But no one spoke either.
Until Karis leaned back in her chair and smiled.
"You're raw. Untrained. Wild."
A pause.
"And you'll be on screen within six months—if you listen."
[System Alert: Task Complete — Individual Audition Success Achieved.]
[Reward: 25,000 credits transferred]
[Bonus Attribute Point Assigned: Charisma +1]
[New Tag Unlocked: "Talent in Progress"]
Your presence in entertainment circles is now being monitored by industry professionals. Expect future opportunities and challenges.
[Confidence Level: 58% ↑]
[Stage Presence: Lv. 2]
[Hidden Notification: "Kael Montrevé approved confidential elevation flag."]
That evening, as the city lights flickered outside her window, Lina stared at the Pulse contract in her inbox.
She hadn't signed it yet.
But she would.
Because something in her had stopped shrinking.
Kael called at midnight.
"I saw your name trending on a producer's shortlist."
"You spying on me now?"
"I call it… strategic observation."
She laughed softly.
"You proud?"
He didn't answer right away.
But when he did, his voice dropped lower.
"I'm invested."
System Log: Lina Vale
Industry Introduction: Pulse Talent Management
Reputation Status: Budding
Affection Score — Kael: 4.4 / 5 ↑
Confidence Level: 58% ↑
Charisma: +1
Enemy Alert: Suppressed
Hidden Ally: Karis Valeon (Undecided)
End of Chapter 15