Debut or Die - Chapter 200

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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A Fatal Illness if I Don’t Debut – Episode 200
A semi-transparent hologram materialized beside Cha Yu-jin.
[Name: Cha Yu-jin]
Vocals: B- (B+)
(Rap: B+)
Dance: S- (S+)
Visuals: A (S)
Charisma: S (EX)
Trait: Black Hole (S)
I nearly cursed aloud.
‘What the hell—is this even human?’
His dance had improved again; now he had two S-tier ratings. His vocals had climbed too, with recent vocal parts expanding his range until he finally broke into B-tier.
And the crowning jewel was… his trait.
[Black Hole (S): A gravitational pull that draws in everything, an irresistible compulsion]
-Stage Immersion +180%
When his A-tier evolved to S, the bonus jumped from 150% to 180%. His trait had evolved too.
‘Is that why his charisma went up?’
Cold sweat drenched me.
‘Whatever I do against him, it’s going to be a disaster.’
For the first time in ages, that old sensation from the Ajusa survival show came rushing back—my survival instinct.
‘Did I push this too hard just because the fans wanted it?’
No, stay calm.
Just because I do one unit stage with him and my image takes a hit doesn’t mean I have to leave the group. It’ll just be a bit embarrassing, that’s all.
‘I wasn’t even trying to suppress Cha Yu-jin the way Big Sae-jin would.’
I can already picture the fans pushing the narrative of “they both did great,” and Cha Yu-jin’s personal fanbase mocking me with comments like “look at that bear trying to act tough lol.” But that’s manageable.
What I can’t accept is the damage it’ll do to Park Moon-dae’s image as a skilled performer.
‘I won’t tolerate that.’
This won’t do. I need to double-check everything to prevent any such disaster.
“Eugene.”
“Yes!!”
“Tell me everything you wanted to use for the unit stage.”
Cha Yu-jin, who’d been staring at his phone, suddenly sprang to his feet. His eyes were gleaming.
[Water! Fireworks! Lighting and backup dancers! And a massive moving structure!]
He wanted to use absolutely everything.
“You know we can’t use all of that due to budget constraints, right?”
“I know! But we can use a lot! It’s great!”
“Right.”
It’s true.
The choreography and stage design are already finalized. And quite a few of the elements Cha Yu-jin mentioned will actually be used on stage.
Behind the scenes, it’ll look like I’m generously accommodating his ideas, but in reality, these are the exact elements I’d been aiming for all along.
I wanted the elaborate Stage setup to spread focus across the entire Stage.
But checking Cha Yu-jin’s stats, I understand now. It was a rather shallow strategy.
‘It won’t work.’
People will definitely focus on Cha Yu-jin. The Stage design would only help that happen instead.
I need a more forceful way to steal that attention.
The easiest method is… adjusting my own stats.
‘Status window.’
Let me check my status window this time.
[Name: Park Moon-dae (Ryu Gun-woo)]
Level: 18
Title: None
Vocal: S-
Dance: B+
Appearance: A-
Charisma: A-
Traits: Infinite Potential, That Makes Sense Now That I Think About It (A), Bacchus 500 (B), Ear for Detail (A)
!Abnormal Status: Death if Not an Audience Member
Remaining Points: 2
I thought my stats were quite respectable now, but after seeing Cha Yu-jin’s, they seem a bit dimmer when I check again.
‘There’s nothing particularly noteworthy.’
What’s worth examining is… my level went up by one. And my Dance stat increased naturally.
Probably from continuously learning and executing impromptu choreography during the tour schedule, it naturally climbed one tier.
Then following my usual pattern, my course of action is obvious.
‘Raise Dance from B+ to A-.’
It’s an efficient way to change grades, and easy to think of as a method to keep pace with Cha Yu-jin’s specialty in dance.
But… it’s ambiguous.
‘Even if I raise it that way, we’re in different tiers.’
Cha Yu-jin’s Dance is S-. For a unit Stage, even matching with A- might just result in barely keeping pace.
Even if I invest all 2 points to match at A, it would be the same. I’m already falling behind in Charisma and Traits anyway.
And this applies no matter where I invest.
‘…What if I make my Vocal S+?’
A method to make eyes watch Cha Yu-jin while ears focus on Park Moon-dae. It’s rather desperate.
Let me set that aside for now and examine the remaining variables.
‘Hmm.’
I summoned the popups accumulated from the Concert and reality show recognition so far.
[Successful Performance!]
You impressed the vast majority!
There were several popups like this, including fame update notifications.
Most gave out decent trait draws, so I’ve accumulated a total of 5 draws.
And it’s proven every time that something usable comes out within the near future, making it almost embarrassing to doubt.
I’m almost certain now.
‘Let’s blow through everything.’
Come on, spit out something useful.
I’ll start with the lower grades first.
I’ve already rolled through all the gacha with ‘Treasure’ and ‘Hero’ tags. These are the ones that typically drop C to B-grade items as standard.
The lever spins and the slot machine glimmers.
Pop!
[Obtained ‘Soft and Squishy Cutie (B)’!]
[Obtained ‘Angel’s Mark (C)’!]
[Obtained ‘Crocodile Tears (A)’!]
[Obtained ‘Unshakable Mind (B)’!]
Useless, done, doesn’t fit the situation.
‘Not a single Stage-related trait came up.’
Only traits related to external activities poured out.
‘Am I supposed to handle the Stage on my own?’
Is this a hint that even if I mess up this unit’s Stage, there won’t be much damage?
I scanned the popup window with a cold, calculating mind. Then, suddenly, a rather unsettling suspicion crossed my thoughts.
‘Or maybe… because the time is coming soon.’
It goes without saying, but this abnormal condition will end soon.
[‘Audience or Death’]
: If you fail to meet 200,000 or more audience members within the set period, death occurs
Current count: 199,997 / 200,000
Only three people left.
Once the encore Concert ends—or even if some act of God prevents it, it doesn’t matter. Just one more Stage with three audience members and this abnormal condition is done.
‘And… I have a feeling that damn truth verification is going to pop up again.’
Looking at past cases, it wouldn’t be strange if someone died on screen this time too.
…Which means it can shake me up.
So to defend against attitude controversies, traits related to external activities appear… or so the theory goes.
‘A deduction that’s convincing enough to make me feel worse.’
It’s not like giving poison and then the antidote—just stop showing me this useless crap.
I clicked my tongue, but decided to act rationally for now.
In other words, I swapped out a trait.
[Trait ‘Now That You Mention It, That Makes Sense (A)’ has been deleted!]
Instead, I equipped the somewhat usable ‘Unshakable Mind’ trait. The grade dropped, but it’s a trait with versatile applications.
…For reference, the ‘Crocodile Tears’ I was momentarily tempted by because it was A-grade can evoke sympathy through pitiful crying… it’s basically an upgraded version of that faucet trait.
Garbage, in other words.
‘That’s it.’
I cracked my neck.
Now, let’s empty my mind.
What’s left is one thing.
It was a draw with an unusual name attached.
[Legendary Trait Draw ☜ Click!]
The final draw I received after finishing the tour.
Whether it’s a mass-produced trash game or a masterpiece, having “Legendary” attached is always good—that’s just common sense.
Then this ambiguous game system should be the same.
‘I’m expecting at least A-rank.’
Please, just give me a Stage Enhancement trait!
The hologram slot machine’s lever was pulled, and the platinum-filled reels began spinning rapidly.
Whirrrrrr—
Countless plausible trait names flashed past.
Click.
The slot slowly… stopped.
A reel I’d never seen before, shimmering with five-colored light.
Papapapapang!!
[Trait Acquired: ‘Hour of Indulgence (S)’!]
‘What the hell.’
An S-rank dropped!
I punched the Bed without thinking. Fortunately, Cha Yu-jin, who had fallen back into his smartphone, didn’t notice.
‘Am I insane?’
No matter how much I claim not to care about this lottery, getting such a high-tier trait sent electricity down my spine.
Wait, let me calm down anyway.
First, I need to check what the trait actually does.
‘But from the name alone, it sounds like a Stage trait.’
I pulled up the trait’s detailed description.
[Trait: Hour of Indulgence (S)]
-I feel myself alive on this Stage.
: Stage Immersion (Self) +180%
‘This is insane.’
It’s basically a black hole with a different name.
“Phew.”
I exhaled slowly and sat on the edge of the Bed.
‘Stage Immersion plus 180%….’
With this, if I just allocate my points efficiently and adjust my practice properly, I could actually compete with Cha Yu-jin….
Wait, hold on.
Looking again, there’s something attached at the end.
Stage Immersion (Self)
‘Self’?
So it’s not the audience’s overall immersion… it means I become more immersed in my own Stage performance.
“….”
This damn system, seriously.
‘Am I supposed to lose myself in self-admiration on my Stage?’
If this status window were actually a game, I would’ve demanded a refund and left a one-star review by now.
‘Where the hell did I sell my common sense?’
I stared at the status window and clenched my teeth, but soon cooled my head.
‘…Compare it to Equanimity.’
Let me calmly weigh the pros and cons.
First, the effect of this S-rank trait should be reliable.
It really will help me immerse myself in the Stage.
So what about my usual self?
Am I lacking in immersion?
‘The Stage is… actually fun.’
It’s rewarding, and I think I manage to match whatever concept comes up without showing embarrassment.
In other words, I’m doing fine.
So what’s the benefit of immersing myself even deeper than now?
‘It’ll look more natural.’
When the performer themselves is deeply immersed, it creates an effect that makes the audience more immersed too—to some degree, at least.
And if unexpected disruptions occur, I can maintain the flow and carry the performance more smoothly without breaking rhythm.
‘And… it might even be more fun.’
…But that’s not a consideration, so let’s skip it.
“Hmm.”
Anyway, after organizing my thoughts, it doesn’t seem like a scam on the level of ‘Black Hole,’ but it does look quite helpful.
Especially given this group’s strong concept-oriented nature, being able to perform with less sense of dissonance is an advantage. It should affect my concept execution ability.
‘Comments like “I’m embarrassed just watching” should come up less too.’
‘It’s different from performing well, but it means I can pull it off with complete shamelessness.’
That’s when the thought struck me.
“…!”
Suddenly, an extreme idea occurred to me.
‘But… if I use it right, it could work.’
It’s all or nothing anyway.
I’ve already exhausted all my variables, and there aren’t any other options.
‘Let me just try it.’
I immediately manipulated the popup.
[Trait: Equanimity (B) has been deleted!]
In the space left by Equanimity that flickered past, I installed the newly acquired trait, ‘Indulgence’s Hour.’
And I poured all remaining points into Charm.
Charm : A+
Good. I’ll go with this.
“Cha Yu-jin.”
“Yes??”
“Want to make the unit Stage even more fun?”
Cha Yu-jin answered without hesitation.
“Yes!”
Right. I knew he would.
With less than two weeks remaining before the encore Concert, Cha Yu-jin and I made some adjustments to our unit Stage composition.
And we were both satisfied with the revised direction.
“Will this work?”
“I really love it!!”
“If you two are happy with it….”
Ryu Chung-woo asked a few more times, but Cha Yu-jin simply gave a thumbs up.
And for good reason.
We were each going to do what we did best.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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