Chapter 27
Translator 8uhl
Chapter 27
Chapter Title Overwhelming Response
Phew.
I finished my morning exercise routine and wiped the sweat from my brow as I stood up.
The Idol Training Simulation had entered a lull now that wed secured footage through the first round.
It was the waiting period until the first ranking announcementwatching the main broadcast and seeing the global votes tally up.
The trainees, whod been running nonstop from level testing to team battles, could finally catch a bit of rest.
Staying in the dorms, I couldnt afford to slack on selfcare.
Among the stats, Stamina has to be high first if I want to keep practicing for long stretches. If it drops too fast, building proficiency in Dance or Vocals becomes impossible.
Thats why Id set up a routine of waking up earlier than everyone else to exercise first thing.
Shedding sweat in the morning cleared my head, and I could visibly see my proficiency rising. Not bad at all.
I took a sip of water and pulled up my Status Window.
Name Karis von Walden Han Jihyuk
Age 20 28
Vocal B 1830
Dance B 830
Stamina A 160
Looks SSS nonadjustable
Charisma B 830
Traits Prince of the Kingdom, Surpasser of the Demon King
Status Ailment Otherworldly Being Possessor
Going from B to A bumped the proficiency requirement up to 60.
Spending skill points wisely had paid off big time.
Raising proficiency through repeated practice to boost stats was a fantastic feature.
But once you hit a higher rank like this, the requirement doubled.
Pure proficiency alone wouldnt cut it for satisfactory stats.
Ill use points after seeing the second and third mission situations.
I dismissed the Status Window and perched on the edge of my bed.
Zzz.
Snore.
Kang Siyoon and Heo Yubin were still deep in dreamland.
No surprise thereit was only 8 a.m., prime time for a solid sleepin.
A bit nervewracking, huh.
I seized the quiet moment to pull out my phone.
I opened YouTube, typed Idol Training Simulation into the search bar, and headed to the official account.
Some time had passed since the PR videos dropped, so there should be some meaningful reactions by now.
Karis von Waldens PR video sat around the middle of the playlist.
Its view count was several times higher than the trainees above and below itfirst good sign.
The liketocomment ratio was impressive too.
Especially the commentstheyd already surpassed a thousand
Hold on. What?
I shook my head and blinked a few times.
No mistake. It was real.
Even straightcam videos struggled to hit a thousand comments, but Karis von Waldens selfPR had 1.1 thousand piled up.
Unbelievable, even seeing it with my own eyes.
Im crying in tears THIS IS THE PERFECT CENTER WEVE BEEN WAITING FOR 833
Karisnim. Please debut, I beg you 1K
How is he saying lines like that without flinching? Was he really a crown prince? 459
Say no more just keep on voting for Karis we need him to debut 600
LMAOOOO if it were me I couldnt do this cringey concept even if they paid me Why does he pull off crown prince so perfectly tho face is insanely handsome 332
Fr legendary visual center 2.1K
I can see it debuting, then on a reality show or variety, they air this as his dark history and everyone roasts him 723
The concept is so original lololol the scariest part is it feels genuine. Fighting, debut! 218
Done with my vote for today!! Everyone plz do your part and make this little prince happy 122
Fortunately, scrolling through the top comments by popularity showed no hate.
Id simply presented Karis von Walden as he was.
But some might dismiss the romancefantasy crown prince intro as an overthetop gimmick.
I figured at least one top comment would nitpick that.
Even slowly scrolling down, I couldnt spot any accounts bashing Karis von Walden.
I recalled the Looks SSS stat stemming from the crown princes body.
No wonder they say looks create plausibility.
What would cringe coming from anyone else just seemed sincere from someone with standout looks.
I hadnt truly felt that before, but now I was living it every moment.
I scrolled through the YouTube comments to gauge the overall trend.
Even as a foreigner, the Korean comment ratio is solid.
Overseas trainees usually drew overwhelmingly foreign fans.
Id expected a fair share of English or other languages, but the number of Korean fans surprised me.
Which meant
I switched from YouTube to other SNS.
Then, digging into my memory, I searched for the community search term that had popped up most alongside my name.
Looks like it got a ton of mentions here too.
The timeline posts echoed the buzz from episode 1.
No need to say more, his face is busted
First time seeing someone not get humiliated by those closeup cameras that expose every flaw wtf is he even the same species as me???
Lolololol crazy who else but a total otaku would intro himself like this
Otaku charmer
Karis has been consistently himself from the start, total charmer
Bet hell do the sma bow even on stage, hype levels rising
Normally this absurd concept should make me wanna puke but why am I grinning like an idiot
Same, got convinced. 2D chars turning liveaction are usually nightmare fuel but sma is spot on ..
Sma topview count rn insane
Fr??? Not Hyeongkong?
Winner straightcam is Hyeongkong 1, selfPR is sma 1
Momentum is wild love u sma thx
Sjanim must debut
Watch the PR vid and you can tell Sjas brain is sharp. No trainee in any survival has ever done romancefantasy crown prince concept? Nails originality while doubleemphasizing his gorgeous face
Lmao who thinks up romancefantasy in a doordie situation
Sjanim certifying real deal as always today too
Face like a heavenly flower boy but actually hopeless otaku needs research
But why Sja all of a sudden??
Sma prince Sja
Ridiculous but it fits so well
YouTubes picking up foreign fans too? Could rank high in first reveal if it keeps going
Feel like hell do sma bow for real at ranking
Sma bow to flex otaku vibes, show off visuals, drop English mentspeople will go feral
Overall, the consensus was that the concept meshed perfectly with Karis von Waldens visuals.
The fresh romancefantasy crown prince setup, paired with his face, carried total conviction.
His unflinching immersion in the role at 100 added extra points.
And new reactions emerged too.
Been a Karis sincerity stan from the start, this PR vid proves it for real Sjanim Ill cling to your finger til the end
He studied Korean to that perfect level from the jump, anyone calling it insincere are just emptyheaded trolls
Hows a kid with toptier looks AND killer drive in this dump
Surprised tbh didnt expect him to commit this hard
His sincerity toward Idol Training Simulation.
That hadnt been hard to convey either.
Hed stumbled at the debut threshold when he first joined this survival.
Hed lived years forgetting the idol dream, but now with another shot
His resolve burned hotter than ever.
As I was about to check opinions on other platforms, a rustle came from the side.
Mmngh. What time is it?
828. Youre up early, Siyoon.
Kang Siyoon, sporting bedhead and puffy eyes, peered at me.
Hmph. Weird hearing that from you, already showered and all.
My circadian rhythms just wired this way.
Lucky bastard.
While Kang Siyoon stretched and yawned, I handed him a bottle of water.
He thanked me and chugged it down in seconds.
By the way, what were you up to?
Bit of exercise.
On the bed?
Showered, then checked some public opinion.
Oh?
His eyes lit up at public opinion.
You know how to use Bluebird or other SNS? Tough to find usually
I casually showed him my Bluebird search history, and he shut up on his own.
His gaze sharpened intriguingly.
Be honest.
About what?
Youre not Estonian. Mixed heritage or secretly born in Korea and changed citizenship, something like that.
Wwhat kinda nonsense is this all of a sudden.
Hows an Estonian otaku who binged nothing but webtoons and webnovels nailing Bluebird searches like this? Sketchy.
I blocked Kang Siyoon as he lunged to grab my cheeks.
Not binged nonstop, its day and night. Want my passport if you dont believe me?
You can fake those easy.
Watched your PR vid toototal pro moves, as expected from my dance master.
Switching topics at the right moment, he thumped his chest proudly.
Of course, of course. Who do you think I am?
Expressing emotion through dance felt really unique.
See, youve got an eyewait, no. Dont change the subject.
Only after fending him off again could I sit in peace.
You did great too, right? Views 1 now, yeah?
Yeah, but Kinda feel like I shouldve appealed more with skills.
Nah, thatll all come out raw in ep 2, dont sweat it. We practiced til our throats bledbroadcastll show it straight.
I nodded at Kang Siyoons words.
Idol Training Simulation episode 2, airing this Friday.
This installment, covering up to the final ranking evaluation, would be a crucial turning point for Karis von Walden.
Please let it play out as I hope.