"Hey man! Stop doing drugs! That way, you won't get beaten up like this and left for dead in a dumpster! You're lucky I had no furniture in this haul, if it had dropped on you, you'd be dead!"
The garbage truck driver who had unwillingly fished Ari out of the garbage truck clicked his tongue and left after lecturing him.
Ari paid him no mind as he stared at the strange floating screen in front of his eyes, which had been slowly updating with unknown text that he couldn't understand, no matter how many times he rubbed his eyes and read it.
His mind was completely confused as to what was going on.
He had seen an old man getting mugged, running away, getting beaten…killed, and then what?
'Thrown in the trash?'
'Resurrected?'
'Was he a zombie now?'
'Was this the afterlife?'
Ari glanced down at the few patches of skin that weren't covered in garbage and strange juices.
Pale skin with the slightest hint of golden color indicating that he would tan instead of burn in the sun.
It was definitely not zombie gray.
He could feel all the aches and pains in his body, and he could clearly feel his pulse.
He didn't feel like a zombie, and he certainly didn't want to eat the garbage truck driver's brains, so what was happening?
As he was trying to reason out possible situations or come to the conclusion that he had been drugged, the text on the blue screen floating in front of his eyes suddenly changed.
[System Integration Complete!]
[Congratulations, Ariel Matisse, on being selected as the Host of this Great System!]
Blinking slowly, Ari stared at the screen before turning to a couple pulling money out of their pockets and placing it in front of him.
He pointed to the air while making eye contact and spoke.
"Hey, can you see this screen in front of me? It's floating while congratulating me and telling me strange things."
[I am not telling you strange things. I am speaking the truth!]
"What?" the woman, putting down the cash, was confused.
"Oh, now it says it's speaking the truth. Can you see it? It's right here." Ari waved his hand hard, but it kept passing through the floating blue screen.
[Stop that!]
"Stop what?"
[That!]
"What?"
As Ari asked in a louder voice, the woman backed behind the man with a frightened expression, and the man spread his hands defensively.
"I told you we shouldn't stop and give him money. All these damn homeless people do is lay on the ground and do drugs. He's clearly on drugs right now and completely covered in filth! Ugh, let's go, Karen."
As the man grabbed the woman's hand and dashed off, the woman gave him an apologetic look before turning away.
Sighing to himself, Ari sat back down and stared ahead.
The screen was still there, blinking as if waiting for him to speak.
Sighing again, he whispered.
"I think I've lost it. Stress has finally gotten to me."
[I don't believe you had any sense to lose in the first place.]
[Pay attention. Right now.]
At the sharp words on the transparent blue screen, Ari rolled his eyes before regaining his calm.
If he was crazy, so be it.
He would just see what this thing had to say.
"Who or what are you? Why can I see you? What's going on?"
[I thought that you would never ask, pathetic human. You may call me Jarvi-]
"No."
Ari quickly interrupted, "Pick a different name."
[You may call me Quorr-]
"Rejected."
[You may call me Tar-]
"Absolutely Not."
[.....]
[These are names of entities similar to myself. I am trying to make a familiar connection so you, as the host, can understand.]
"I said no, choose a different name," Ari emphasized with a shake of his head that sent strange-smelling juices flying out of his hair. "We can't afford a copyright strike."
[YOU WILL CALL ME the Superstar Idol System. I am the system that integrated with you and brought you back to life after your miserable end.
[Be thankful.]
"...So you want to be called SIS? Then shall I tell you to call me BRO? Together we make the siblings?" At Ari's sarcastic question, the blue screen in front of his eyes flickered.
[.....]
Ari: "…..if you insist, SIS. Thanks for saving my life, SIS. I'm very grateful, SIS."
[Enough.]
[.....Call me SUPERNOVA]
"Okay, NOVA. What happened?" Ari casually shortened the name, as he had no plans to say SuperNova constantly.
As a two-syllable name, it was his given duty to shorten everybody's name to two syllables or less.
[I did not give you permission to call me by a shortened name, Ariel Matisse.]
"It's okay. You can call me Ari, and we're even." Ari replied casually, as he got comfortable on the sidewalk he was sitting on.
[...]
"Let's not debate the small stuff. I died and was thrown in a dumpster?"
[Obviously.]
"By who?"
[You don't need to know that yet.]
Somehow, he felt that this thing was becoming sassier.
"Tsk. How unhelpful. Then why or how did you bring me back to life? Instead of the old guy. What happened to him, by the way?"
[That man is dead. And no longer your concern.]
"Suspicious. You clearly know about the circumstances of my death, and he was the only strange thing I encountered apart from that bastard blond prick. You must be the "thing" he was looking for, right? Are you the "thing" they were trying to collect?"
[You may not have access to that information at this time. You were chosen as my host, so I had to bring you back to life. That is all.]
"Sounds like I'm right. You're the thing that Blondie thought he got right? So why? Why are you here with me?"
[That's just how it is.]
"I don't like that answer. Please clarify."
[That's just how it is.]
Seeing the same response, Ari clicked his tongue. "Then, what do you want from me? Why did you bring me back?"
[You have been chosen as the next host of the Premier Idol Superstar System.]
"PISS? You really need to work on the naming. That's absolutely terrible."
[...]
[The goal of you, the host, is to complete the missions and tasks given to you and strive to become the Biggest Global Idol Superstar in the world. ]
"…that sounds prohibitively difficult and like a scam. Can I refuse? I plan on going to business school and earning money that way."
[No.]
"…now this sounds like modern slavery to me. That's illegal. I really want to say no."
The transparent screen was blank except for a [...] as if it were buffering before the text loaded all at once.
[Ari Matisse]
[You have two choices.]
[You may choose to refuse my contract and perish immediately after doing so.]
[OR]
[You may accomplish the missions this system has set, gain wealth, power, and even more. Once the missions are complete, you may be free of this system if you so choose.]
"… Will I really die if I refuse, or are you just bluffing? What if I just don't agree and live my own life? It's not like you can actually stop me, can you?"
Ari decided to see if this thing was really bluffing. If it was, he would just ignore it from now on. And if it wasnt….well, he would have to see first.
[Then…]
[Shall we test it out?]
"What are we testing?"
Completely unbothered and a little curious, Ari looked at the screen.
[How close you can get to death.]
As Ari read the ominous words, the blue screen in front of him flashed and then dimmed, and all of a sudden, Ari felt his heart stop.
Just stop with a harsh jolt.
He couldn't blink, he couldn't breathe, he felt like he was suffocating, and his vision began darkening as his body weaved from side to side before tipping over.
As he lay on the cold, hard sidewalk, through his dim vision, he could see footsteps passing him by with no hesitation.
As if not a single person cared about his existence.
….it was a little sad.
Before it could go fully black, the screen in front of his eyes flashed once more, and all of a sudden, Ari found himself gasping for air as he struggled to sit up.
His lungs expanded furiously, and he could feel the blood pumping through his body once more.
Somehow, Ari instinctively knew…
…he had really almost died just now.
As he was trying to process what had just happened, the screen in front of him displayed words.
[The repeated questioning is tiresome.]
[Shall we continue? Or should we try again? It's my first time encountering a host who refused, so it was quite an interesting experience that I would like to repeat.]
[We could push it further this time to test the limits]
At the chilling words of the system, Ari took a deep, shuddering breath before answering.
"...No. No, I'm good."
[That's unfortunate.]
[Although you are not my first, second, or hundredth choice of preferred host, we're here now.]
[While I could shift to a different host, it is a process I am reluctant to do unless I need to.]
[Since I believe our relationship will be mutually beneficial, let's sign a contract with each other.]
"Contract? What are the terms?"
[Ari Matisse]
[If you choose to make a contract with the system, you can achieve an unimaginable level of wealth, power, and fame by completing the missions I give you.]
[You can turn your pathetic life around and make something of yourself, or you can die while clinging to a shallow pride and fade away like a grain of sand on the ground, indistinguishable from any other speck.]
At the words, Ari leaned back with a sigh, while looking at the clear sky.
'This was clearly a situation where common sense and what he thought was normal were being disrupted.'
'A talking hologram screen that brought him back to life and could send him to death at any time?'
'Scary!'
'But…'
'He didn't want to die, and the outlandish claims made by this system sounded nice if it were somehow true.'
'Since he had already suspended his sense of belief, he might as well continue doing so.'
'But he had to check something first.'
'Life had already taught him that nobody ever helped out for free. There was always an ulterior motive.'
'It was a stance brought on by constantly being hurt by the world since a young age. Everything was about give and take, so he needed to know what the opposite party wanted.'
"Wealth and power, huh. While that sounds nice for me, what's in it for you? I don't believe in random acts of kindness. What are you getting out of this?"
[You're unqualified to know that; however, it will bring you no harm.]
"Hmmm"
[Believe it or not. The Choice is yours.]
Ari closed his eyes and thought about it.
An Idol Superstar.
Although he liked to think he was musically inclined, the most he had done was occasionally sing as a paid caroler during the holiday period and play instruments for bands and churches when they needed extra band players.
He knew nothing about the world of idols or superstars.
They were just people he occasionally saw on TV, billboards, or the news as he went about his life.
Still, he was willing to give it his best effort and see where it led.
Especially if the consequences of not playing along meant dying.
The money and power were a bonus.
But doing what this system wanted was one thing, and getting back at that blonde prick who killed him and made him end up with the system was another.
After thinking for a moment, Ari asked the question that was on his mind.
."…fine. Let's say I agree. Will you help me get revenge on that blonde prick?"
In his short life, he had suffered and had come to dislike a lot of people, but this was the first time he hated somebody with all of his being.
What kind of insane person kills somebody on the first meeting?
Without even looking at them.
He wanted to meet that boy once and slug him right in the mouth.
[If you accomplish the missions, you will naturally have the strength and power to do whatever you want, and I will not interfere. Whether it's finding somebody or beating them up, the rewards and things you earn with this system are yours even if we part.]
[Do you accept the terms or not?]
"Sure. Let's do it."
[Good]
[Contract established between parties:]
[A: Premier Idol Super System "SUPERNOVA"]
[B: Ariel Bada Matisse]
[Displaying your current stats.]
[Ariel Matisse]
[Age: 17]
[Vocals: F]
[Dance: F]
[Visual: F]
[Rap: F]
[Charm: F]
Ari looked at the pitiful stats displayed before him, closed his eyes, opened them again, and just stared silently.
He felt like he had been roped into some sort of scam.
He was supposed to become a global idol superstar, right?
What did the idols do? Perform.
And how did they perform? By singing, dancing, and rapping on stage, all the while looking flawless.
Shall we take a look at these stats?
Vocals: F
Dancing: F
Rapping: F
Even his looks were currently a-
BIG.
FAT.
F.
What was he supposed to do with these useless stats?
Even a newborn baby would have better stats than this.
As someone who had occasionally been hired to sing during the holidays, he couldn't say he was a spectacular singer, but his voice was objectively above an F grade.
"You've completely lost your mind. Or you're lying. Those aren't my stats."
[I am perfectly serious.]
[And they absolutely are.]
[Now that you can see your pathetic stats and you've signed the contract, which you cannot back out of, let's start planning how you can become a global idol superstar.]
Thoroughly angered, Ari began punching at the floating screen while yelling.
"You damn scammer! I'm supposed to become a superstar with these useless scraps? Is that why you kept pushing the contract on me? Huh? What's next, you'll give me a chicken wing and tell me to learn how to fly? You give me a nail and tell me to build a spaceship to the moon? Let's be flipping for real!"
[Blaming an external party for your own inadequacies is the sign of a weak man.]
[I see that you're a weak man.]
[Pathetic]
"Materialize for me. Just 10 seconds will do, and I'll show you who's pathetic."
As Ari completely lost his temper, he forgot for a moment that he was on a busy street, covered in filth with lumps and bruises all over his skin, with people around watching him talk to himself for several minutes before clutching his head in pain and then jumping into the air and shadow boxing an invisible presence while screaming.
Naturally, they thought that he was raving mad and on drugs.
Some people pulled out their phones to film, while others ignored him and sneered at seeing a crazy person in real life.
It was another day in Hollywood.
After several minutes…
[Cease your disgraceful activities at once!]
"You cease telling me to make a five-course meal with dirty water as my only ingredient!"
As he continued arguing with the blue transparent screen that only he could see, Ari spotted a police officer heading his way.
"Hey! Get out of here! Crazy person!"
Not wanting to get in trouble immediately, he sprinted as far away as he could back to his tent in Skid Row, all the while arguing with this damn system.