Chapter 12: Singing Above the Abyss

Hunter idols became one of the most sought-after careers after monsters and hunters appeared in the world.

Idol groups that didn’t awaken as hunters gradually lost public interest to groups with awakened members.

There were even once-second-tier idol groups whose members all awakened as A-rank or higher hunters and rose to fame with just the mention of their name.

As the title ‘Hunter Idol’ suggests, people cared more about a member’s abilities as a hunter than their skills as an idol.

But just having exceptional hunter abilities didn’t guarantee success.

‘Even if you’re a hunter idol, if your singing and dancing suck, you’re not getting popular.’

Especially in survival programs, how someone came across on screen was critical.

The popularity contestants gained from the broadcast directly influenced the results.

Roy was pretty self-aware.

He might have had striking looks, but he wasn’t an unparalleled beauty.

There were people more handsome than him, and far more people with greater talent.

[✨Ppyororong-!✨]

Roy fell silent at the dazzling effects bursting in front of him.

‘Is Earth finally acting up again?’

A blinding explosion of rainbow-colored lights burst like fireworks in his vision.

[Hero! You missed Earth, didn’t you?]

“Roy hyung!”

Kim Chan was waving with all his strength at Roy, whose pace had slowed.

[Hero~ Are you sulking because Earth arrived late?]

A vein throbbed blue on Roy’s temple.

“Hyung, this is the auditorium. I think the evaluations start right after everyone gathers here.”

Kim Chan grabbed Roy’s unfocused arm and led him toward the auditorium.

“Doha hyung! Watch your step!”

“Thanks.”

Normally, Kim Chan only had to take care of one person, but today, even Roy was clearly out of sorts.

“Contestants~ Please come this way and collect your name tags!”

“I’ll go get them!”

Kim Chan ran toward the staff, leaving Roy and Lee Doha standing side by side.

[I brought something special just in case Hero was feeling anxious—a roulette wheel!]

‘A roulette?’

[Yes! Right now, your abilities are too low, so there’s an 88% chance you’ll be eliminated at the first ranking announcement.]

‘That basically means I’m guaranteed to be cut.’

88% was way over half.

That wasn’t a small number.

“Hyung, lift your arm for a second.”

Kim Chan returned with Roy’s name tag and pinned it to his shirt.

While Roy was talking to Earth, he moved his body just as Kim Chan instructed.

[Introducing… Earth’s Spin-Spin Roulette!]

‘I’ll spin it later.’

[You don’t have to do anything, Hero. Just say ‘Stop!’]

Roy swallowed dryly.

A spinning wheel, as big as his torso, was rotating before him.

It was so bright and flashy in gold that it hurt his eyes—clearly Earth’s style.

Black letters shimmered on the wheel’s surface, appearing and disappearing just enough to tease Roy.

“Stop.”

[Dugudugudugu! What will the Hero land on?]

The tip of the arrow slowly came to a stop, pointing to one slot.

[Acquired Trait: Honey-Coated Vocal C]

[Your vocal projection improves.]

[Your tone sounds more dimensional, and your high notes become smoother.]

–Trait Effect: Cannot stack with other singing effects of the same type.

[Currently, Hero’s singing stat is D+! But with this trait, you could be considered a full rank higher! That’s a solid C!]

‘Status window.’

[Hwang Roy (22)]

[Singing: D+ (C-)]

[Dance: D]

[Acting: F]

[Lyric Writing: F]

[Composition: F]

[Trait: Honey-Coated Vocal (C)]

A new category called “Trait” had appeared below the status window.

“Ah, ahh.”

“Hyung, does your throat hurt?”

Roy touched his throat and made a sound.

Had someone actually spread honey on his vocal cords?

His voice came out noticeably smoother.

“No… I think they’re calling us over there.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. It’s probably to get our mics fitted. From now on, we should be careful about what we say.”

“The entire conversation is being recorded.”

Staff members, each wearing staff badges, were attaching microphones to the participants.

There were a total of 100 participants.

Just putting on name tags and setting up microphones took over two hours.

“Everyone, please gather over here~”

A staff member wearing a red cap called the participants to one side.

“Today, we’ll be filming the evaluation stage. You all received the notice, right? The number next to your name is your evaluation order, so please remember it.”

He pointed to a large whiteboard beside him.

Next to each participant’s name was a number from 1 to 100.

‘I’m number 48.’

It was right in the middle—neither good nor bad.

Around the middle of the evaluations, the judges would probably start feeling tired.

And by that point, they likely had a general idea of the average skill level of the participants.

‘No way I’m slipping through on luck.’

There was nothing particularly buzzworthy about Roy.

He knew that if he didn’t stand out, he’d be edited out completely.

“Hyung, I’m number 8. Doha hyung is 13.”

Kim Chan clutched Roy’s arm, looking close to tears.

‘Are they putting the more skilled ones up front?’

Roy glanced around at the others who had also gotten early numbers.

He couldn’t say for sure, not having seen their performances yet, but since both Kim Chan and Lee Doha had low numbers, the thought crossed his mind.

“Just do what you practiced. You’ll do great.”

“Really? You really think I can do well?”

“Yeah.”

Roy gave a blunt but sincere reply.

Since he began seriously preparing for trainee life, Roy had watched countless idol performance videos.

In terms of singing ability, Kim Chan was even better than many current main vocalists in active idol groups.

Even if he lacked real-stage experience, his singing alone could rival anyone.

“You’re great at dancing, so you’ll probably get a high grade too.”

Roy lightly patted Doha’s shoulder.

If Kim Chan had the voice, Doha had the moves.

Even dance trainer Jung Hojun once admitted that Doha’s dancing was on par with his own.

‘The problem is me.’

As staff began calling out participant numbers, Roy clenched his fist.

“Has everyone confirmed their number? We’ll call you in order, so please enter through this hallway when your number is called.”

There was a hallway leading to the stage from one corner of the large waiting area.

The participants could only see the back end of the stage from where they stood.

“Numbers 1 to 10, please enter. Numbers 11 to 20, please wait right here.”

***

“Hyung, what do I do…?”

With so many participants, the staff seemed eager to move things along quickly.

Kim Chan’s chin trembled as he looked between Roy and Doha.

Without a word, Roy placed a firm hand on Kim Chan’s back and gently nudged him toward the line.

“Go knock ’em dead.”

Kim Chan’s anxious eyes wavered, but as he got closer to the others, his expression turned resolute.

Especially when he saw Lee Chulhun, who was glaring at him while smiling with his lips—Kim Chan returned a similar expression, eyes cold but mouth smiling.

“Fighting.”

Doha, now left alone with Roy, pumped both fists in encouragement before heading to the waiting area.

‘Just do what I practiced. Stick to the plan.’

Roy and his agency had carefully selected a song that would show just enough of his skill—not too much.

He trained over ten hours a day, every day, to raise his experience.

He had rehearsed endlessly so he wouldn’t forget the lyrics or mess up the choreography even under pressure.

“Participants number 41 to 50, please come this way!”

Roy was mentally running through his chosen song again, simulating the performance in his head.

His turn was finally approaching.

“When your number is called by the MC, please go up the stairs onto the stage.”

Participants were being evaluated on stage even now.

But strangely, no sound could be heard from the stage, even as Roy got closer.

“Participant number 48, please enter the stage!”

Roy climbed the steep stairs and stepped onto the stage.

Blinding lights poured down from above.

He raised a hand to shade his eyes and immediately bowed deeply at nearly a 90-degree angle.

It was the etiquette he had learned on Earth.

“This one’s got some flair, even just from the greeting.”

“You’re right. Participant number 48—Hwang Roy, was it? Please introduce yourself.”

In front of the stage sat the panel of judges.

In the center was a woman with silver bobbed hair.

On either side of her were two men, each holding microphones.

“Hello, I’m Hwang Roy.”

“That’s it? Wow, that’s probably the shortest introduction we’ve had.”

Lee Jian, the center of the top-ranking hunter idol girl group “BluCyan” since five years ago, widened her eyes and laughed.

“Alright then, shall we hear your song first? Or would you prefer to dance?”

The man seated to her right offered Roy the choice.

He was Yukay, a famous choreographer known for creating hit dances for multiple hunter idol groups.

“He must be confident if his intro’s that short.”

The last to speak was Kim Hanbom, guild master of Roa Guild—the second-highest ranked hunter guild in Korea.

“I’ll start with the song.”

Roy clenched his trembling hand into a fist.

It was a subtle tremor in response to Kim Hanbom’s calm, yet overwhelming presence.

He wasn’t mentally shaken.

His body was just reacting instinctively.

Whether Hanbom treated the other participants the same way, Roy had no way of knowing.

“Alright, then let’s begin with the song. We’ll get the stage ready first.”

Even before Lee Jian finished her sentence, she pressed a red button embedded in the table.

Kiiiiiing—

‘The stage is moving?’

The floor beneath Roy’s feet was shifting.

Under the transparent platform, ocean water rippled below.

Because the platform was see-through, it almost felt like he was standing directly on the sea.

Boom! Boom!

“Don’t worry—it’s safe.”

So that’s why they blocked the sound earlier.

Lee Jian gave a bright smile as she spoke, and Roy tightened his grip on the microphone.

A monster, shaped like a crocodile, slammed its gaping jaws toward his feet.

For a normal person, fainting would’ve been completely understandable.

As if on cue, the intro began to play.

Roy opened his tightly shut lips and began to sing.