The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 92

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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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The Gate Burst Open on My Debut Day (92)
“Dark Hero…?”
The trainees, unsure what to say, exchanged glances with one another.
“The first verse goes with a normal hero concept, and from the second verse onward, we shift to dark hero.”
Seo Ijae continued his explanation calmly.
“The problem with tracks 2 and 17 is that while the top line and beat themselves are usable, they become tiresome after listening once or twice.”
“That’s right.”
“So instead of focusing on the song itself, I want to concentrate on the concept and storytelling. The shift in atmosphere from the first verse to the second verse could work well as a ‘twist element’ on a live broadcast stage.”
Listening to him, it didn’t sound like a bad idea.
Especially the ‘twist element’ that leverages the ‘final live broadcast’ stage concept—if executed well, it could maximize the impact on stage.
Perhaps even this hastily produced demo track could put up a good fight against the Villain Team’s polished song.
Just as the trainees began accepting Seo Ijae’s opinion.
Seo Ijae dropped a bombshell.
“So I’m thinking of having two centers.”
“What? Two… two centers?”
Seo Ijae ignored the startled trainees and began explaining again.
“Yeah. I’m thinking of having different centers for the first and second verses.”
“Who would be the centers?”
“I’d like Okada for the first verse and Han Theo for the second. Okada came in second in the center voting anyway.”
Seo Ijae paused for a moment, then looked at Han Theo and Okada and asked.
“What do you two think?”
“W-wait a moment.”
One trainee who had been listening blankly to Seo Ijae’s explanation stepped forward.
“Please, could you give us some time to think? The song is one thing, but the center position….”
Seo Ijae opened his mouth as if to say something, then quickly closed it.
The trainees who had gathered courage began voicing the opinions they’d been holding back.
“We don’t have time, right? But changing the entire concept now seems really difficult….”
“Y-you’re right. And adding another center… wouldn’t that be unfair to Han Theo? After all, the center was decided through voting. Even if it takes a bit longer, wouldn’t it be better to vote again to decide the center….”
Seo Ijae could roughly guess what the trainees were thinking.
When only one center was being selected, they’d given up all hope because of Han Theo, but if two were being selected, they thought they might have a chance at becoming center themselves.
“I don’t mind.”
At that moment, Han Theo, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
“It’s fine if Okada takes the center position for the first verse. We don’t have time anyway.”
With Han Theo, the person directly involved, saying this, the other trainees had nothing more to say.
“W-well, Okada, what about you? Won’t it be too much pressure? You’ve never been center before. It’s a live broadcast, and if you make a mistake, that’s it….”
Having given up on Han Theo, the trainees’ next target was Okada.
They subtly encouraged Okada to refuse the center position.
“I… want to do it.”
But Okada was just as resolute as Han Theo.
“If it’s alright, I want to do it.”
Okada clenched both fists as she spoke.
Her large eyes sparkled brilliantly.
Seo Ijae, who had been worried about what would happen if she refused, let out a sigh of relief.
‘I need to push forward decisively.’
Recalling Kim Chowol’s advice, I pushed as hard as I could, but given Seo Ijae’s nature, it was never going to be easy.
Still, I was grateful that things worked out somehow.
“Alright. So our concept is dark hero, with Okada as the center for verse one and Han Theo as the center for verse two, right?”
“Who’s going to write the lyrics….”
“I will. Just have one or two people help me out.”
“I’ll do it.”
At Seo Ijae’s words, Kang Hae-soo raised his hand and spoke.
“Good. I’ll finish the arrangement first….”
“I’ll handle the arrangement.”
Jiyu, who had been looking at Seo Ijae with a pleased smile, interjected.
“Just tell me the direction for the arrangement and I’ll take care of it. You focus on writing the lyrics first.”
“Thank you, Jiyu. So you’ll handle the arrangement, Hae-soo and I will write the lyrics… and the rest of you, keep refining the choreography details and adjusting the formations.”
With a clear direction, the tasks became well-defined.
“We don’t have much time. Let’s get started.”
“Yes!”
As Seo Ijae clapped lightly to urge them on, the trainees scattered in perfect unison.
My heart was still pounding, but my mind was working faster than ever before.
‘You can do this.’
Kim Chowol’s warm encouragement and support echoed through my mind.
Yes, I can do this.
Let me try.
* * *
The chill from the floor crept upward.
As the cold air conditioning swept across my entire body, I shivered involuntarily.
“Mmm….”
My head felt foggy, as if I were floating in empty space.
“Ah, this is exhausting!”
Just then, I heard murmuring voices from outside the Practice Room.
“Still, it’s not bad for something done in such a rush, right?”
“Jiyu and Lee Jae did most of it, anyway.”
“Really. Lee Jae, you worked so hard. Without you, we would’ve completely failed.”
It seems the Hero Team’s practice has finished.
I rolled my eyes to check the current time.
“Three in the morning….”
Even with such a major task, finishing at three in the morning wasn’t too bad.
At least I could get four hours of sleep.
‘Hearing his voice, it seems his training is progressing well too.’
The footsteps and voices of the Hero Team trainees who had drawn near quickly faded into the distance.
Familiar silence descended once more.
‘I should be practicing….’
For some reason, my body refused to obey.
Had my stamina completely drained?
No, that wasn’t it.
This was different from simple exhaustion.
My body felt paralyzed, as though I’d been pinned down by sleep paralysis.
‘S-status window.’
On a desperate whim, I called up the status window in my mind.
Fortunately, a translucent window materialized before my eyes.
Unfortunately, my body still wouldn’t move.
[Basic Stats
Vocal: B+
Dance: B+
Appearance: A-
Charm: A+]
My Vocal and Dance stats, which had been climbing steadily, seemed to have hit a wall—stubbornly refusing to rise beyond B+.
I knew my true potential.
Before the reset, my Vocal stat had been S-rank, and my Dance stat had been A+.
Yet no matter how much I trained, something felt blocked, and my stats simply wouldn’t improve.
‘Am I in a slump….’
Of all times, why now—right before the most crucial final stage?
I forced strength back into my body.
I couldn’t just lie here.
I had to practice, had to keep training.
“Ugh…!”
But in that moment, the world spun violently around me.
My head throbbed as though struck, and every muscle in my body convulsed uncontrollably.
“I can’t… fall asleep….”
Yet despite my desperate struggle, my vision grew darker and darker.
Soon, absolute darkness consumed me entirely.
* * *
―Crash! Boom! Thud! Bang, bang bang!
Sounds of destruction and explosions echoed loudly.
I slowly opened my eyes.
“Where… am I….”
The first thing I saw was a ceiling made of stone.
Stone… a stone ceiling?
‘I was definitely in the Practice Room just moments ago, wasn’t I?’
With eyes wide open, I scrutinized the ceiling piece by piece.
Half of it had collapsed.
And through the collapsed half, a gray sky was visible.
“Sky… the sky…?”
Startled, I bolted upright and surveyed my surroundings.
A rectangular space stretched before me, with pillars lining both sides.
Most of the pillars were snapped in half, struggling to support the walls.
“What in the world…?”
I rose to my feet.
Fortunately, my body moved without restriction.
―Crunch!
As I took a step forward, something shattered beneath me.
Glass shards were scattered across the floor.
Looking up, I saw a lone window frame hanging in place.
I could roughly imagine what the window had looked like before its destruction.
It must have been stained glass.
‘Is this… a Church?’
I’d closed my eyes in the Practice Room, yet here I was in a Church?
I quickly pieced together the situation.
This was a dream.
―Crash! Bang!
Barely had I found comfort in that thought when an ear-splitting roar erupted.
I flinched, covering my ears with my hands.
“What kind of dream is this vivid?”
I grumbled, moving cautiously forward.
It was somewhat frightening, but it was just a dream anyway.
“…Who…!”
As I slowly explored the nearly ruined Church, a voice called out from Outside Building.
“…Is anyone…? …Help…!”
The voice was drawing closer.
I froze like an elementary school student caught doing something wrong.
―Bang!
The tattered Church door swung open violently.
A person with bleached blonde hair stumbled in, breathing heavily as they looked around.
‘A… a Foreign Warrior…?’
I’d thought it was dyed hair, but their eyes were emerald green.
Their features were more Western than Eastern.
Our eyes met as the unfamiliar Foreign Warrior surveyed the space.
Their expression brightened as if they’d discovered an oasis in the desert.
“Hero!”
“Y-you, Hero…?”
The Foreign Warrior strode toward me with purposeful steps.
“Thank goodness! You’re alive! Everyone said you were dead, so I thought… I thought you were too…”
“Wait, I think you’ve got me confused with someone else?”
“What?”
The Foreign Warrior spoke Korean remarkably well.
Well enough that I wanted to ask how he’d studied it.
“But you’re the Hero, aren’t you? The great Hero from Korea, Kim!”
Ah… that kind of setting?
It seemed my unconscious mind had conjured this dream scenario all on its own.
“Well, I suppose so.”
“That’s not important right now, Hero! Something terrible has happened! Please, you have to help us!”
“What’s the matter?”
Up until that moment, I’d been taking the situation rather lightly.
It was just a dream anyway—why worry?
I was merely fascinated by how vivid this dream felt.
“An S-rank Gate has burst open in the Village Square!”
If only the Foreign Warrior hadn’t mentioned “Gates” at all.
“A Gate…?”
My heart began to pound violently.
“Yes. It’s only been a few days since you handled that A-rank Gate, and I’m truly sorry to ask again so soon… but we had no choice. The other Heroes have already…”
The Foreign Warrior’s expression grew grim as his words trailed off.
―BOOM, CRASH!
Before I could even respond, a tremendous explosion shook the ground beneath us.
“Ugh…!”
A black circle materialized behind the Foreign Warrior.
A massive, obsidian circle—like a black hole.
“That’s…”
I knew exactly what that black circle was.
My stomach churned.
Monsters began pouring forth from within the circle.
A scene so sickeningly familiar it made my skin crawl.
A monster that burst from the circle spotted the Foreign Warrior nearby and lunged.
“Hero! P-please, save me, save me!”
The Foreign Warrior, seized by the monster, stretched his hand toward me.
He screamed for help.
But I… I couldn’t…
“KYAAAAAAAH!”
Monsters descending upon people, the Set Stage crumbling, and breath slowly fading away…
I could do nothing.

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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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