Chapter 410
I've been on so many stages while working as Seleste.
I've been to famous arenas both domestically and internationally, but if I had to rate it by just one factor, I think this Cold Cup Gocheok Dome was the hottest.
All the audience members were completely immersed in the stage and cheered us on whenever we wanted.
Seeing the finalists and the championship trophy right in front of us, it seemed like our excitement was also heightened as we performed on stage.
"Ah, it's over!"
"Isn't it a bit disappointing? When we were preparing, we had a hard time planning everything from the concept to the storytelling, but now that it's over, it's disappointing."
"All stages are like that."
As they came backstage, the members let out a sigh of relief while exhaling.
I don't know when I'll be able to experience a stage of this scale again.
Even for our solo concert stage right now, we can't use many of the special CGs that were shown today.
It's not possible to show a song of the same genre as
'That's why it was more fun.'
I took out my earphones and wiped the sweat off my forehead.
Is it because I really immersed myself in the stage with all my might?
I felt like my body was emitting more heat than usual.
Song Hyung-bin smiled at me as he took off his earphones and microphone pack.
"The last one looked three times cooler than during rehearsal? I thought the stage was really going to split when you swung the sword."
"Whew......…. I put a little more force into it than during rehearsal."
"Still, I'm glad you found that groove. If it were me, I would have been scared that I would make a mistake because the stage was so dark."
Song Hyung-bin's words are somewhat true.
I was in charge of the last scene of
Since it was a real sword stabbing, not a CG one, I had to figure out the exact spot on the stage to avoid accidents.
However, when directing the last scene, the atmosphere was very majestic and dark, so the lighting was dark and it was quite difficult to aim the sword.
Fortunately, my sharp eyesight and the sense that I had developed through several practices did not betray me.
Above all, I was even more relieved when the members told me that the result was very cool.
"But it definitely reminded me of the old days when I saw you sticking the sword in. I hope the fans noticed this too."
Yoo Min-ha laughed and stretched.
That's right. The last scene of
The KAMA stage was designed with the intention of leaving a strong impact.
We thoroughly prepared by learning martial arts and acrobatics, and even meticulously hid the flag performance as a secret weapon.
The moment I lowered the flag toward the stage, a shocking performance with a huge crack forming on the stage.
During the brainstorming process, there was an opinion that this scene, which is often cited as one of the most impressive performances among Seleves, should be used on the Cold Cup stage as well.
But of course, it's not like you can just copy the exact same performance.
Everyone was wondering how to change it to make it fit the theme of Cold Cup, and this sword came out.
A weapon that symbolizes 'Ezer', a very popular champion in
And 'Ezer' is a champion representing Korean players who became the storytelling motif of
This is a famous scene that actively reflects Yoo Min-ha's opinion that if you put this on the stage at the end of the stage, all the narrative will end perfectly.
"I'm so glad that no one got hurt."
"I still get dizzy when I think about the lift malfunction during rehearsal earlier."
"...I'm really grateful that you didn't get hurt."
The Cold Cup stage was quite hectic in some ways.
The members, the trophy, and the players.
The lift had to work on stage twice as much as usual.
No matter how thoroughly the lift is managed, it sometimes malfunctions.
There was a dizzying situation during rehearsal this morning.
When the players on both sides went up and the rest of the members except me went down the stage, the central lift carrying the members suddenly braked in the middle.
As a result, Heo Yu-bin's costume, which was at the very end of the large stage, got caught in the machine and almost fell down.
Fortunately, the lift returned to normal operation immediately, so no emergency occurred, and there were no equipment malfunctions at all during the main stage of the Cold Cup.
I brought up the system window while moving to the waiting room with the members.
'I'm so glad everything ended well.'
There was another reason why I was able to fully immerse myself in
It was a linked quest that was suddenly created this morning.
[Linked quest, 'Satisfy 10,000 Cold Cup spectators' has been completed.]
[Rewards will be paid.]
I had to provide the best experience to the 10,000+ spectators gathered at Gocheok Dome.
As someone who is very active in monitoring public opinion, I naturally knew what was being said among Knights of Light players.
It must have been very strange to suddenly hear a male idol take on the theme song.
However, we proved it with our quality, and we proved it again with today's stage.
This quest completion text floating in my system showed Seleste's endless possibilities once again.
"Oh my, it's hard."
"Then can we rest and watch the game? I definitely want to watch the finals!"
"Please, I hope V1 wins......…."
While the members were removing their makeup and changing their outfits, I looked at the system window with a close heart.
I've always been relatively indifferent to any reward I received.
But today is special.
Because this linked quest reward was very big.
[Reward, 'System Recovery 7%' is applied.]
The system recovery rate displayed in red at the bottom of my system gradually went up.
The number written next to the gauge bar passed 80 and finally entered the 90s.
I finally reached 93% through this quest.
I felt like a heavy burden was lifted from inside me.
After
It took me 10 years just to clear the first Grand Quest, and now I had to clear another Grand Quest.
It was also a difficult mission to restore a damaged system.
When I first started the Grand Quest, I had no idea when I would fill this gate. The early missions only gave me 2-4% of the system restoration rate as a reward.
Still, as time passed and Seleste's years increased, I succeeded in clearing several missions.
Gradually, the restoration rate and percentage became more generous, and I finally came very close to the 100% I had longed for.
'There's really not much left now.'
I looked at the remaining 7% and thought of Demon King Seir.
A stubborn fate that tried to sabotage me by leaving a trick until the very end.
And according to Owen and I's guess, that stubborn lifeline extends to the real world.
The candidates have been narrowed down considerably.
Now, if there were even one more piece of solid evidence here, I would be convinced...….
[※Warning※ The Demon King awakens. The Demon King awakens. ※Warning※]
'What?'
I instantly stood up, my whole body trembling.
Chae Eun-gyu and Kang Si-yoon tilted their heads and asked after seeing my sudden behavior.
"What's wrong, Karis? Are you okay?"
"Hey, why did your face suddenly turn pale? Are you sick?"
".....Ah."
I swallowed hard and tried to find an excuse.
"Okay, I got up because my leg cramped up for a moment. I think it's because I relaxed."
"I was surprised when your face suddenly turned pale. Should I grab your leg? Did you pull hard?"
"I think I'll feel better after some stretching. Thanks for worrying about me. Siyoon."
I took this opportunity to say that I'd take a break in the hallway and went outside.
As soon as the waiting room door closed, I leaned against the wall and stared at the system window.
It was the same even after looking at it again.
A warning message appeared out of nowhere.
The Demon King is awakening? When and where?
'Awakening means that he was asleep all this time. I still haven't figured out who the most likely candidate is!'
This timing was truly incredible.
After reaching 93% system recovery, and thinking about the Demon King, that came up right away.
No, was this the cause of the problem from the beginning?
'It could be that the Demon King awakened because I almost completely restored the damaged system. Who knows what tricks Seir might have played while destroying the god's system.'
I exhaled and stared at the system recovery gauge.
If I had filled the system recovery rate close to 100%, I could have created something in the system to notify the Demon King who was hiding in the real world.
Otherwise, there would be no message saying that the Demon King had awakened.
Owen and I had talked about the Demon King so much during that time.
'Yeah. Owen? Didn't Owen feel something too?'
When we were returning to Seoul after filming
He said that when I was doing a big activity, he felt unpleasant without realizing it.
And this feeling wasn't felt by me, the person involved, but only by Owen who was staying at the dorm.
If Owen could really sense things related to the Demon King's condition, I thought he must have instinctively noticed this warning message that just popped up.
'Once the situation at Gocheok Dome is over, I have to contact Owen right away.'
As Yoo Min-ha wished, we were able to watch the Cold Cup final match in person.
Watching the players' extraordinary plays in person gave me a different feeling, but unfortunately, my mind couldn't fully enjoy this moment.
I love games more than anyone else, but right now, my mind is in a very complicated state because of the Demon King.
I just can't focus on the flow of the game.
All I wanted to do was quickly return to the dorm and contact Owen.
The Cold Cup finals ended at midnight.
"I think Clutch was really crazy! No, how did he think of breaking through that all by himself?"
"That's right. I got goosebumps watching it."
"I was just waiting for the Korean team to win in Korea, but I'm watching this in person......"
The members talked about their feelings about the game in the car on the way back to the dorm.
If it were normal, I would have joined in and talked about it, but right now, I didn't have the time to do that.
Even though I tried to act as naturally as possible, my eyes kept going to the warning message floating in the system window.
'Finally.'
As soon as I got to the dorm, I headed straight to my room.
Fortunately, Yoo Minha went to wash up right away, so I was able to call Owen without being interrupted by anyone.
- Hyung-nim. I was just waiting for you to call.
"... Did you feel that too?"
- Yes. I felt that ominous feeling I mentioned before exploding all of a sudden. So I tried to contact you right after my schedule was over today, but you called first.
"Yeah. It seems like it's a bit urgent."
- Hyung-nim, you felt the same uneasy feeling that I had...
I could hear Owen's worried voice on the other end of the phone.
- Hyung-nim, I think it would be better to meet in person tomorrow and talk. I'm at the dorm right now, so I can't talk for long.
"That sounds good. Since I don't want to be interrupted by anyone else, how about meeting at my studio tomorrow evening?"
-I'm fine. I think there won't be anything around 7pm.
"Then I'll send you the address in advance."
I hung up the phone with Owen and let out a short sigh.
Then I looked back at the warning message floating in the system window.
'Sair, where the hell are you and what are you planning?'
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