Joshua was so angry at Nine's words that he actually burst out laughing: "If I had been perfect from the start, what use would you even be?"
Nine: [...]
"Right now, shouldn't we be talking about your overconfidence first?" Joshua added.
Nine snorted coldly: [You can start practicing right now. Just keep singing and rapping nonstop, you'll earn points.]
But looking at Joshua's pile of F after F, it was hard even to know which hole to patch first!
What's more, his Visual stat had three question marks—did that mean Joshua was so ugly he couldn't even be ranked? Nine wondered if it was still in time to unbind itself from him...
Joshua noticed Nine had fallen silent again. He ignored him and started singing.
"My love, you are..."
[Wait, wait, stop—what on earth are you bellowing?!]
Joshua: "If you want silence, then stay silent. Haven't you ever seen an F-ranked Singer sing before?"
[That's two more minus points.]
Joshua: "..."
In the end, Nine still kept quiet, afraid that if it kept commenting on Joshua's abysmal singing—bad enough to scare plants into wilting—Joshua might lose all confidence and be unable to continue.
But in reality, it was the opposite: most people who sang terribly had no idea just how terrible they really were.
Joshua bellowed his way through an entire morning. Luckily, there were no houses near his dorm; otherwise, he probably would've been dealt with long ago.
"So, how many points did I earn?"
"Nine?"
He called twice, but Nine still didn't answer. Joshua couldn't help feeling suspicious. No way... no matter how bad he sang, it couldn't be bad enough to make the system foam at the mouth and die, right?
[Ah—cough—I'm here. I just had to block my own ears for a bit, sorry.]
Joshua: "...Open my Personal Panel."
A pale blue pop-up floated in the air:
[Personal Panel
Name: Joshua Adonis
Age: 17
Height: 173
Sing: F (5/10)
Dance: A
Rap: F
Visual: ???]
Nine explained: [When the total points reach ten, you'll be promoted by one grade.]
Joshua: "Sounds pretty tough..."
[That's right. It's especially tough for someone as ridiculously low-ranked as you.]
Nine's mouth really needed discipline.
Joshua quietly clenched his fists—this grudge, he would remember!
[Ding! Announcing today's side mission!]
[Side Mission: Run 20 km
Time limit: 5 hours
Reward: Slimming Pill x1
Penalty: None]
The system was lengthening the path while shortening the time.
Joshua gulped water and glanced at himself. He was still rather chubby, probably around 90kg. Without a scale, he couldn't be sure.
Joshua ran while practicing singing and rapping. Many people gave him strange looks—it was the first time he truly realized how awful his singing was.
But it didn't matter. Nothing could stop him.
At the very least, today he was already completely different from yesterday. No one would have guessed that this chubby, tone-deaf boy was the same bloated mess from the day before.
By evening, Joshua was stopped by security. Someone had reported him for disturbing public order, and he trudged home dejectedly with his tail between his legs.
[I told you the mission was complete already! Why did you keep running? How embarrassing! Once you become an idol, you can't do humiliating things like that anymore!] Nine was furious—it always lost its temper over matters of face.
Joshua: "...I know, I just wanted to push myself harder." Truthfully, he just wanted to breathe fresh air, hehe. He wanted to run everywhere—this new world was paradise for him!
Nine had no idea what Joshua was really thinking. Hearing his words, it fell silent. Even if his stats were lousy, at least Joshua was trying.
And so, Jo-tries-hard-shua spent two days filled with effort, finally managing to improve his personal stats a little.
[Personal Panel
Name: Joshua Adonis
Age: 17
Height: 173
Sing: D (6/40)
Dance: A
Rap: E (10/20)
Visual: ???]
Each time he rose a grade, the points needed to reach the next would double. What's more, earning points got harder too—it wasn't just about singing anymore.
Nine said that things would get better once he earned Fame Points. The exchange rate for Fame Points to Skill Points was 1:1000—every 1000 Fame Points could be converted into 1 Skill Point.
That meant once he had 1000 Fame Points, he'd get 1 Skill Points!
Hmmmm... sounded tough.
But no matter what doubts he had, the day had finally arrived!
The filming of "Shining Path" was about to begin!
The young man in the mirror still had water droplets on his face. His skin was pale and smooth, his body still a little chubby, but not ugly—in fact, he looked rather cute.
The side missions had only been issued three times, and each time the effect of the pill had weakened. Now Joshua's body had settled at this state, and from here on, only his training would help.
Even in the photos Nine had edited, no matter how much they were touched up, it was impossible to make him look slim enough to match the standard weight. This appearance actually matched the information on his application form better.
Joshua looked at himself in the mirror—ocean-blue eyes slightly misty, black wavy hair dripping with water, a delicate high-bridged nose, plum-colored lips, and slightly puffed cheeks.
He lowered his eyes, hiding the emotions in their depths.
At first, he had been shocked. He could guarantee that his body would look the same as his old self in the previous world once he lost weight!
So what was going on? Was this just a coincidence? Or had his entire body crossed over to this world?
But that didn't quite make sense. If his whole body had crossed over, then he shouldn't have been fat in the first place...
[Tsk, tsk, tsk! Who would've thought that you don't look half bad, even chubby like this! As expected, my judgment is flawless—I never pick the wrong person. Alright, let's go!]
Joshua pulled himself together, clenched his fists tightly, pursed his lips, and his gaze filled with determination: "I'll definitely make it!"
Like a talisman of spirit, spoken for himself alone.
Joshua, pull yourself together. You're free now.
—
At the CM Broadcasting headquarters, on the second floor, is the filming location of "Shining Path."
"Hello, dear National Producers! Another season of Shining Path has begun! Have you seen the list of trainees for this season yet? If not, check it out quickly and find your pick!"
"Shining Path" was edited for broadcast and interspersed with live-streamed segments.
Right now, the MC, followed by a cameraman, was walking into the second floor of CM Broadcasting.
The studio was already filled with people. Everyone had prepared meticulously for today—some were calm, some nervous, some simply resting with their eyes closed.
But above all, the air was full of lively chatter as trainees made friends.
Every trainee knew the procedure of "Shining Path." Of course, they wanted to leave viewers the best first impression possible.
After all, the viewers were the "National Producers." Their support would completely decide whether a trainee could debut or not!
[Wow, this season's trainees look pretty sharp!]
[So much collagen! Just one glance and the wrinkles at the corners of my eyes vanished, hahaha!]
[Over there, over there—red hair! Oh my god, is that who I think it is?!]
[Ahhhhh, does the camera even know how to work? We can't see anything clearly—are you guys afraid we'll get too good a look at the trainees' faces?!]
[They're just baiting us. If we see everything now, what ratings will the actual broadcast get, hahaha!]
[I just checked the list, and what a joke. These days, anyone dares to become a trainee, huh?]
[Show the photo, the photo!]
[Wow, that face is twice the size of the others, hahaha! The production team did that on purpose, didn't they?]
[I bet he'll cry and run home today itself.]
The photo in question, of course, was the one Nine had submitted with Joshua's application.
Once inside the headquarters, trainees couldn't keep their phones, so Joshua had no idea the firestorm raging online was centered on him.
Until suddenly, a microphone was pushed to his lips, followed by the cheerful voice of the female MC:
"Hello, Joshua. We're currently live-streaming before the official recording. Could I interview you for a moment?"
The female MC glanced at Joshua's nametag, then back at him. Her eyes narrowed with a smile as she asked her question.