Chapter 382
Chapter 382
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 383
Chapter Title: The Successful(?) End of the "Four Schools" Play
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The play "Four Schools," which had gone through numerous ups and downs, came to a successful(?) conclusion.
Thanks to Lee Seo-jun's performance as Tae-hwi, the Witch of Death, Yoo Ah-ra, and the porter, Kim Sun-woo, met their ends.
Tae-hwi, who protected world peace, established the four schools of magic and made a great contribution to the advancement of human magic. That's how it wrapped up.
"...I wasn't expecting much, but it was pretty fun. But how is Kim Sun-woo so good at acting? He could seriously quit being a wizard and become an actor."
"He did stand out on his own. When Yoo Ah-ra forgot her lines, he saved it with ad-libs."
"Oh, the part where the porter came out from behind the bush—that was Kim Sun-woo's ad-lib? Wow... it was so natural, I had no idea."
The audience members stood up from their seats, each sharing their evaluations.
The general consensus was something like this:
'The play that was about to flop was saved single-handedly by Kim Sun-woo.'
As the audience and broadcast cameras filed out—
Shin Young-jun and Yoon Ha-young, who had stayed until the end, along with Choi Seo-yoon, finally rose from their seats.
"...I thought it was doomed, but somehow it pulled through."
"Yeah. Sun-woo saved it all."
Yoon Ha-young recalled the stage she had just watched.
After Kim Sun-woo's blunder, over 70% of the play's content proceeded via ad-libs.
It was probably to guide Yoo Ah-ra, who had forgotten her lines, through the performance on the fly.
As a result, the content deviated a bit from the original script, but the most important ending and its embedded message remained unchanged, so there were no major issues.
Judging by the atmosphere, the audience and broadcast crew seemed quite satisfied.
"I wanted to say hi to the kids, but I've got the next event."
Yoon Ha-young checked the time on her smart student planner and muttered regretfully.
After the Four Schools play, the next event was the Materialization Arts Contest she was participating in.
She had to prepare immediately and move to the other venue.
"Go on ahead. We'll just say hi and then come cheer you on."
Choi Seo-yoon said with a smile. Yoon Ha-young nodded.
"Got it. Tell Sun-woo good job for me."
"Yep!"
After the play ended. Sitting in the backstage waiting area, he was checking the results he had just obtained.
['Mastery of Latent Traits' achievement unlocked.]
[3,000 points acquired as reward.]
['Emperor of Ad-libs' achievement unlocked.]
[5,000 points acquired as reward.]
[Many people are amazed by your acting.]
[5,000 points acquired as reward.]
[Your body adapts to over-immersion, and your latent trait evolves.]
['Mask Play (S)' acquired.]
[Mask Play (S)]
Description: Designate and save a desired real person to impersonate.
When used, you can temporarily use all abilities of the target, excluding SS-grade or higher traits.
However, the target's abilities can be used from a minimum of 5% to a maximum of 40% depending on usage time, and the longer the usage, the greater the risk of losing your sense of self.
"Hmm..."
One play netted 13,000 points and a new trait.
Considering the time and effort invested, it was a quite satisfying outcome...
But this new Mask Play trait seemed extraordinary.
Temporarily using someone else's abilities by designating them.
It looked highly versatile, but he couldn't quite figure out how to make the most of it.
"Good work."
As he was lost in thought staring at the messages, a familiar voice came from somewhere.
He looked up to see Yoo Ah-ra, who had changed from her black dress into her uniform, standing in front of him with her arms crossed.
"You too."
At his words, Yoo Ah-ra gave a light smile and plopped down beside him.
But her movements lacked their usual energy.
"...I'm gonna get so much teasing today, huh?"
She still seemed embarrassed about her own performance on stage today.
He chuckled and tried to comfort her.
"Don't sweat it. Your acting was pretty fun too."
"...Fun? Are you teasing me right now?"
"I'm saying think positive."
At his words, Yoo Ah-ra seemed to ponder for a moment, then nodded.
"Yeah, I should think positive. Thanks."
"No need to thank me."
"No, not that. I mean when I forgot my lines and you jumped in to save it. Thanks for that."
"Oh."
For him, it was just doing what needed to be done.
If the play flopped, they might miss out on the Culture and Arts Contest prize.
Just then, a familiar presence approached from somewhere. And soon, a voice followed.
"You two are here."
The owner of the voice was Lee Seo-jun.
Beside him was Lee Hyun-joo, who had worked on the magic effects team backstage.
Yoo Ah-ra stared at them quietly and asked.
"But what's with all that in your arms?"
On Lee Seo-jun's hands were countless bouquets and gift boxes.
There were so many he couldn't carry them alone; Lee Hyun-joo's hands were also full of presents.
Lee Seo-jun smiled faintly and lifted what he held slightly.
"I just stepped out for a bit, and people gave them to me, saying they were fans."
"Oh."
Yoo Ah-ra nodded as if she understood. Lee Seo-jun smiled at her.
"There seemed to be a lot of your fans outside too."
"...Really?"
Yoo Ah-ra also had a thick fanbase that didn't pale in comparison to Lee Seo-jun's, thanks to her outstanding talent and looks.
She probably didn't love the hassle, though.
Then Lee Seo-jun's gaze turned to him. He gave a meaningful smile.
"What? Why the grin?"
"Nah, there are your fans outside too. I peeked, and whoa... they were kinda scary."
He blinked.
My fans?
He'd heard his fanbase had grown recently...
But that last bit caught his attention.
Scary?
He'd heard rumors on various communities that his fans were vicious. Was that it?
Lee Seo-jun patted his shoulder lightly with a laugh, said 'I've got cleanup to do, so I'll head out first. See you later,' and disappeared somewhere with Lee Hyun-joo.
"...Hmm. Guess I should check it out."
Fans or not, he couldn't keep them waiting outside.
Some fan service was necessary for the points(?).
He stood up and said to Yoo Ah-ra.
"I'll go check outside real quick."
"Mm. See you."
As he headed for the door, an indescribable aura emanated from beyond it.
He felt an inexplicable tension and slowly opened the door.
"Kim Sun-woo! Kim Sun-woo! Kim Sun-woo!"
The moment he opened it, a vigorous chorus calling his name rang out.
Wondering what was up, he looked and saw a crowd holding up picket signs with his name.
...It evoked the image of some fanatical cult.
"Oh? It's Kim Sun-woo!"
Then a massive, muscular man shouted loudly.
He immediately shut the door.
...After that slightly aggressive encounter with the fans, he finally managed to slip away a free man.
It was now 12:30 p.m.
From today's experience, he somewhat understood why his fans were called vicious.
As expected of the battle-hardened tribe(?) that fought with other wizards' fans on various communities, their tempers were fiery.
He'd imagined a fan meet where he'd sign autographs for kids dreaming of being wizards.
[2nd place goes to 3rd Year Class A, Yoon Ha-young! Congratulations!]
—Waaaaah!
Using the remaining time, he was now wandering the Tae-hwi Festival grounds with Lee Seo-jun.
He'd planned to head back to the dorm right after the play to rest, but Choi Seo-yoon insisted on going to watch Yoon Ha-young's performance, so here he was.
[Now, please come up here, Yoon Ha-young, our 2nd place winner.]
At the host's words, Yoon Ha-young ascended the stage. She had earned an excellent 2nd place in the Materialization Arts Contest.
It was a result she herself seemed pleased with, but Lee Seo-jun sounded a bit disappointed.
"Hmm. Kinda disappointing. In my eyes, Yoon Ha-young did better than 1st place."
"Eh, whatever. 2nd is still great."
"Still disappointing."
[Now, Yoon Ha-young, please give your acceptance speech.]
[Um... First, I'd like to thank everyone who cheered me on. And... to my precious friend Sun-woo, who helped a lot with the contest prep, and Ah-ra...]
Yoon Ha-young's lengthy speech continued, sounding just like a celebrity at an awards show, which drew an involuntary chuckle.
"Next up is the singing contest?"
"Yeah."
Choi Seo-yoon and Shin Young-jun's turn.
Choi Seo-yoon had nagged him relentlessly to come watch, so he planned to go.
He could understand Shin Young-jun since he'd seen it in the original story, but he had no clue how Choi Seo-yoon would perform, making him tense for no reason.
It was all Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra's fault for setting the bar so high with their terrible acting.
"Sun-woo!"
Just then, Yoon Ha-young, fresh off her award, approached him with a delighted face.
"Good job. Congrats on 2nd."
"Hehe. Thanks. Oh right, you heard my speech? The part where I mentioned you. Huh? Huh?"
Yoon Ha-young poked his side gently with her elbow.
She seemed to want him to feel honored.
"Yeah, sure. Honored—"
Then the announcement blared.
—Singing contest starts in 5 minutes at the park stage. Those interested, please join us!
As soon as the broadcast ended, Yoon Ha-young hooked her arm in his with an excited face.
"Let's go watch Seo-yoon and Young-jun!"
And so they arrived at the park stage where the singing contest was held.
The place was packed with quite a crowd.
"...Whoa. So many people."
Yoon Ha-young muttered in surprise at the scene before her.
He was a bit surprised too.
In his previous life, the singing performances hadn't drawn crowds like this.
"Probably here for Choi Seo-yoon."
There were a lot of guys in the audience. Picket signs saying 'Choi Seo-yoon' were common too.
% Hey, that's Kim Sun-woo.
...Yeah, for real?
Then voices directed at him came from somewhere.
He glanced over to see a few guys in the crowd eyeing him warily.
He ignored them appropriately and turned his gaze to the stage.
First up was Shin Young-jun making his entrance.
Light steps. As always, his face brimmed with confidence.
—Right from the start, we have a very famous student. Please introduce yourself.
At the host's words, Shin Young-jun smirked and gave a light bow.
—Hello. I'm Shin Young-jun, who was 3rd overall in 3rd year.
—Was? Has your ranking changed?
—Yes, regrettably I got pushed to 4th this year, but I plan to take it back.
As he said that, he glanced at him—the very person who had bumped him to 4th.
Following Shin Young-jun's lead, a few other students also looked his way.
There was no usual playfulness in the gaze directed at him.
He was pretending to be cheerful, but inwardly, getting pushed in ranking must have irked him a lot.
And then Shin Young-jun's song began.
A powerful electric guitar blared loudly, and he started belting out a song—no, a screech.
"Aaagh!"
The sudden sonic assault had the audience clutching their ears.
Shin Young-jun continued singing undeterred.
After about three agonizing minutes, the horrific song finally ended.
—Thank you.
Shin Young-jun left the stage with a satisfied expression after that one line.
Then a message appeared before his eyes.
['Sonic Damage' achievement unlocked.]
[3,000 points acquired as reward.]
[Your ears adapt to sound-based attacks.]
[Adaptive trait 'Sonic Resistance (C)' acquired.]
[1 mana acquired.]
"Ooh. What is this? Jackpot."