There’s pressure to do the quest, but no penalty for skipping it, and the reward coins are double those of the main quest.
They even threw in a friendly tip.
It feels like there’s a hidden motive behind this “reward,” but I’ll ignore that for now.
“Something’s fishy.”
It’s either a trick to control participants or bait to lure us in.
Or maybe both.
The quest seems generous, but the locked second task is definitely unsettling.
“Plus, the surprise gift is… Nameless… it’s referring to that guy.”
The tip mentioned him, but I wondered if contacting him was a secret condition for completing the quest.
I expected him to be sarcastic, but he agreed to my call right away.
Knowing he’s probably sitting outside the bathroom right now doesn’t feel great.
I don’t like him much, but it’s just… wrong to be told so blatantly to use someone.
“What’s this god thinking?”
Staring at the quest window won’t change anything.
I waved my hand to close it and checked my appearance one last time.
In the mirror was a man with short hair, decent-looking but with a harsh vibe.
The short hair made my already fierce impression even sharper, which I didn’t like, but there was nothing I could do.
What can I do with this hair? I wondered, then just tidied it to look neat.
I’d only gained fleeting popularity before, and without a proper stylist, I’d learned to style my hair myself to some extent.
After putting away the curling iron, I slipped on a thin gray knit and black slacks.
It’d been a while.
Preparing everything from scratch with my own hands.
“But…”
My current agency, Blue Night Entertainment, popped into my mind—they hadn’t contacted me yet.
Isn’t this neglect?
Damn them.
“Anyway, this should be good enough to be filmed.”
My face isn’t the worst.
And I practiced… as much as I could.
I quickly picked a work, role, and scene for the self-PR video and spent days practicing.
Immersion was key, so I started with the basics.
I thought and acted as the character, writing a diary based on the script’s events.
This method helped me a lot with The Bachelor Club.
“Good.”
Time to film.
I left the bathroom.
My heart beat faintly, thump, thump, with each step.
In one corner of my studio apartment, I set up a makeshift studio with partitions.
Calling it a studio is a stretch…
It’s just a small, white space.
Seeing the Nameless man crumpled in a chair there made me sigh.
“Why are you in there?”
He raised an eyebrow at my words.
“Aren’t you going to film here?”
That’s true, but…
“Aren’t you uncomfortable? You only need to be here during filming. Just stay somewhere comfortable.”
I don’t like Nameless, but I don’t want him to be uneasy in front of me.
“Not really, I’m not uncomfortable.”
Okay, fine.
What a stubborn guy.
I handed him the rented camera.
“You know how to film, right?”
“Yeah.”
I could’ve done it myself with a tripod.
What’s with this special mission?
After checking the camera angle to capture me well, I sent Nameless out for now.
Then I called Loki.
A round, black camera appeared in the air.
“It’s still amazing.”
While learning to use Loki, I realized the Transcendental Realm felt like an afterlife with magic or superpowers, like in fantasy novels.
But to me, born in a world without magic, its powers seemed like advanced science.
There’s a saying: highly advanced science is like magic.
“Loki is… like an AI camera with transparency and voice recognition.”
“Loki, start filming.”
[Starting filming.]
A familiar mechanical voice sounded, and a red light glowed above the lens.
I’d thought a lot about how to film content for the weekly IdeaTV videos.
Should I set aside recording time?
In the end, my journey to succeed as an actor would be the content, so I decided to keep Loki on while working as an actor.
Nameless, who calls himself the channel manager and editor, agreed.
“I don’t care,” he said when I warned him the original footage would be a lot to edit.
For today’s first shoot, I planned a simple self-introduction.
I stepped back and bowed to Loki.
“Hello. I’m Kim Jae-ha, a participant in the Resurrection Project.”
It’s strange.
I’m scared of people’s eyes, but not cameras.
-Jae-ha, you say you’re not scared of cameras.
-But you’re scared of people’s eyes?
-That doesn’t make sense.
-That’s just an excuse.
-How long do we have to cover your face-to-face schedule like this?
I know.
I wish I had a camera phobia to make excuses.
Shaking off those thoughts, I spoke again.
“I’m an actor. I play roles in dramas, movies, or on stage. My goal is to become a top actor. Please support me.”
I called up the status window.
It appeared even if I summoned it mentally.
Name: Kim Jae-ha
Level: 1
Status: Debuff (???)
Appearance: A
Diction: B
Action: C (B)
Reaction: C (B)
Expression: C (B)
Appeal: D (A)
Stats reduced due to debuff.
Skill: Over-immersion (Passive)
Virtual Experience (Active)
Remaining stat points: 0
Seeing my abilities listed so bluntly reminded me of my first reaction to the status window.
“No wonder I couldn’t make it.”
I expected it, but seeing it as numbers… there’s no hope except for diction and appearance.
The stats are lowered by the debuff, but I don’t know what that means.
The skills were given as special perks.
A fanfare had blared, and a message popped up, nearly making me scream at night.
Normally, you’d buy skills from a special store, which had a skill category.
“These skills must’ve been sent because they granted one of my two wishes in the Transcendental Realm.”
“Ah, I’m… looking at my skills now.”
That should be okay to mention, right?
I glanced for Nameless’s reaction, then remembered he was outside the studio.
I’d ask him later.
I focused on the skill descriptions.
[Over-immersion (Passive) LV 1.]
[Skill proficiency: 0/1]
[You become deeply immersed in the current situation.]
[Activated with a 1% probability during acting/Required mental strength: None]
[Level increases as skill proficiency increases.]
Does that mean my immersion is less than 1% now?
I swallowed a dry laugh and checked the next skill.
[Virtual Experience (Active) LV 1.]
[Skill proficiency: 0/1]
[Users can create and experience desired situations in a virtual world.]
[Implementation only for books with registered ISBNs or scenarios/scripts performed or filmed at least once.]
[Users can only play the ‘protagonist’. / Required mental strength: Very high]
[Level increases as skill proficiency increases.]
“Oh…”
It’s better than I expected.
I memorized the skill details, hiding my surprise.
I’ll use them when needed.
I spoke again.
“I’m preparing for an actor audition soon. I’m filming a self-PR video for it.”
I was about to call the Nameless men, but then…
[Special Mission Second Task Unlocked!]
[Choose a work to perform by random draw 0/1]
[The list includes only works the user has seen to the end. The first task must be completed by performing with the selected work.]
[Random Draw >>> Go!]
“…?”
This is insane.
“Right now… a locked quest task unlocked, telling me to choose a work by random draw. Ah… haha.”
I said to Loki, my eyes tensing.
Damn god, doing this after I practiced all night?
[God, ‘Butterfly’s Wingbeat’ sincerely supports you!]
You’re mocking me, huh?
Yeah, you’re mocking me.
I gritted my teeth and started the random draw.
A square window appeared, titles of works flashing by.
Beep, beep, beep-
The scrolling slowed, and one title appeared.
Tin Robot Bakery
I’m screwed.
[We provide the script and live performance video of “Tin Robot Bakery.”]
[Live performance video link: www.ideatv.com/watch?=aeelkf]
Tin Robot Bakery is a musical about a tin robot who dreams of becoming a baker.
“This… means I have to sing a musical number.”
Numbers.
Unlike drama or movie OSTs, musical songs, which change per performance and scene, are called numbers.
Since one of the three main or supporting roles was an unpopular indie band vocalist, I’d considered musical numbers.
But singing a number for a drama actor audition isn’t smart.
Especially for someone like me, a former idol.
Even now, there’s resistance to idols landing big roles using popularity.
Investment companies push idols for buzz, so viewers and producers who value acting skill often judge idols harshly.
“Plus, our roles overlap.”
Seo Eun-jae.
The visual center of the popular idol group Dreamer is on Casting With My Own Hand , aiming to become an actor.
If I, a general participant, sing a musical number?
“It’s perfect for the production team to dislike me.”
I could get filtered out during selection if I mess up.
I checked the quest window for another way, but found no solution.
The god, surely watching, sent no further messages.
“I have no one on my side.”
I told Nameless it’d take longer and to get comfortable, then clicked the live performance video link.
IdeaTV appeared, followed by a real performance video.
Not the full show, but split by number.
“Parkersman”
Checking the channel info, I saw a familiar yet unfamiliar nickname.
Parker comes from Bacchus, the Roman god.
His true identity is likely Dionysus, the Greek and Roman god of wine.
“If the god in the Transcendental Realm is a mythological god.”
He can’t impersonate another god, so it’s probably Dionysus, but that’s still a problem.
All the channel’s videos featured musical actor Ryu Seung-Han.
“Dionysus must be a huge Ryu Seung-Han fan…”
Well, thanks to that, I’m getting help, so I’ll be grateful and move on.