Before Ari could get far, the lights suddenly flickered and came back on.
As he turned around, ready to swing his fist.
All he saw was the priest messing with an electric control panel.
[Tricked you.]
[hehehehe]
"You're not funny," Ari muttered beneath his breath.
[I think I'm hilarious.]
"Ah, did I scare you? Sorry about that. The lights flicker because of the heat sometimes." Steven Choi stared at him with an apologetic expression.
"Ah, it's no problem. Sorry for running away."
"No, no quick reflexes will save your life in case there's danger. You can never be too careful, even at a church, haha."
"Ahaha-"
After an awkward moment of staring at each other, Ari followed Steven Choi back down the hallway until they reached a set of doors at the end.
The priest fumbled with some keys before he opened the door and gestured inside.
"This is the room where you can stay if you want. It's a bit small, but it's where our old janitor used to stay before he…passed on a couple of months ago."
Ari: "..."
….a dead person's rooms?
Steven Choi, seeing his expression, laughed awkwardly while patting his back.
"Ah, don't worry, he didn't die here, and we properly laid his body to rest ahaha. And we changed the mattress too."
"Ahahaha…"
After laughing awkwardly, Ari looked at the decently sized room.
It had a twin bed, a small desk with an old monitor on it, a small dresser, and a standing mirror.
Aachooo-
Everything was covered in dust, and as he stepped inside, a cloud of it flew up, causing Ari to sneeze.
"Whoops, it's a bit dirty, so you'll have to clean it yourself, but if you want, the room is yours. There's a cleaning closet right next door, with laundry, linens, and more. There are security cameras outside, in all of the offices, hallways, and chapel, in case you plan on robbing the church ahahaha."
"Ahahaha….."
Steven Choi glanced at him before continuing, "Ahem. I'm heading out for the day, but when I come in tomorrow, we can discuss a workable schedule and pay. Basically, you'll be the janitor for the church. Will that be okay?"
"Oh, yes, that would be great!"
"Good. Here's a key to the side door and gate. This is the Wi-Fi password, and the computer is unlocked. All the doors lock automatically, so always have the key with you if you leave. Have a good night, and see you tomorrow at 10 a.m. sharp."
With a quick wave, the priest turned and left.
He planned on going to question his mother about who this beaten-up child was and if any actions needed to be taken on his part.
Once Steven Choi disappeared, Ari immediately opened the designated cleaning closet, found cleaning equipment, and began scrubbing the room clean.
And after two hours of scrubbing, dusting, and wiping-
⊹ ࣪ ˖⋆.˚⟡ ࣪ ˖S H I N I N G ˖ ࣪ ⟡˚.⋆˖ ࣪ ⊹
The room was shining and completely clean.
Every surface had been dusted and wiped, the bedding had been thrown in the washer and dryer, and the floor had been vacuumed and mopped.
With an excited leap, Ari collapsed on a real bed for the first time in years.
"Haaaaaah~"
As he took a breath of relief, he tucked himself under the covers in complete shock.
Within a day, his life had changed from sleeping on the street to sleeping on a warm bed inside a church.
And he was even allowed to stay as long as he wanted, as long as he worked as a janitor for the church and picked up shifts at the bathhouse.
Although he didn't want to impose, he would gratefully accept what was offered and do his best to repay them, starting tomorrow when the work was detailed.
But for now…
"Hey! I'd like to set this place as my designated sleeping location. Is that possible?"
[Are you sure? Do you think you can trust these people?]
Ari thought about the fierce but kind grandmother who had fed him lots of beef for free, covered up his injured face, and even found him housing at her sons' place of business just because he was a child with a sad story.
Although he hadn't known her for long, he felt she was a good person, even if her words were sometimes harsh.
And for some reason, when he thought about how often Grandma Kim had told him to come here and her insistence today, he felt as if Grandma Kim and Grandma Choi knew each other and had set him up.
And not just because they were both old Korean ladies with gruff tones and secretly soft hearts.
He felt that way about the system as well, after all, it had brought him back to life, even if it constantly taunted and talked trash about him.
"I trust them about as much as I trust you, I guess."
[Very well]
[Setting XXX location as your home base.]
[Ding!]
[ Planning On Sleeping On These Dirty Streets? Pathetic! - Complete!]
[Current Rewards: 3 Stat Points & 1 Charm Stat Point]
[Mission Board #1 Complete]
[Mission Board #1 Reward: 1 Gacha Gift Token Received]
[Mission Board #1 Reward: Repeat Missions Unlocked]
[Mission Board #1 Reward: Skill Selection Ticket Unlocked]
[Mission Board #1 Reward: Skill Slots Machine Unlocked]
[Mission Board #1 Reward: Mission Board #2 Unlocked]
[What would you like to do?]
A whole slew of notifications filled Ari's vision, and after glancing at the rewards, he decided to continue hoarding the stat points for now.
Depending on the missions he had to do, he could adjust accordingly.
"Let me view mission board 2."
[Ding!]
[Mission Board #2]
1. [Don't Be A Dummy! Use Your Brain A Little! - Sing through a song that is longer than 3 minutes without missing a lyric or getting out of pitch! Reward - 1 Stat Point]
2. [Don't Be A Slab Of Wood! Move Your Body A Little! - Dance the choreography of 1 song longer than 2 minutes without missing a step! Reward - 1 Stat Point]
3. [Rejection Is Part Of The Process - Is What Losers Say! - Successfully audition to any idol survival show that plans to debut a group or solo act within a year, and begin your journey to super stardom.]
[(Must make it past 1 round of auditions to gain the reward.)]
[(24-hour time limit starting now.) Reward - 1 Stat Point]
As Ari read through the missions on his mission board, his expression continued getting darker and darker.
He was already used to the insulting messages the system sent, so that wasn't the point.
The problem was the last mission.
"NOVA."
[Yes.]
"This last mission. It's counting down. 23 hours 58 minutes remaining."
[It's good to see your eyes working clearly.]
"I'd like some clarification, please."
[Feel free to ask your questions.]
"There's a 24-hour time limit?"
[Technically, it is 23 hours, and some changes, but yes.]
Breathe-
Ari took a deep breath before continuing.
"Is this time limit just to apply to these programs?"
[No, you must apply and be accepted into an idol survival program. Within 23 hours, 54 minutes, and 12 seconds.]
"Are you fricking kidding me?!?!?!?!"
[I am perfectly serious. By repeatedly asking the same question, you're wasting your own time.]
[Time remaining: 23 hours, 53 minutes, and 32 seconds.]
"You've got to be kidding me. I don't know anything about being an idol, much less applying to an idol survival show? What even is that?"
[Have you lived under a rock all of your life?]
"No, I was just poor and focused on surviving. I didn't really have time to relax and watch entertainment shows."
[It's simple. You sing. You dance. You rap. They show you on TV. People vote. You survive and debut as a solo or individual act. The end.]
"I doubt it's as simple as you make it sound. What's the penalty if I can't succeed? The time is not enough."
[The loss of 10 stat points.]
"That doesn't even make any sense! I only gain one point, but will lose 10 if I fail? That's unfair."
[Life is unfair. And scientifically, it's easier to regress than to progress.]
Sigh
Ari stared at the cold words before sighing and laying flat on the bed as he stared at the ceiling.
This was a cold, cold world.
"Go ahead and take it. Every stat is already as low as it can go. There's nothing else to lose."
[Incorrect. The lowest stat point is F-]
[Warning!]
[If your stats drop below F-, you will perish involuntarily.]
[Your current stat count is 9 (including the unused stat points).]
[It's recommended that you try to achieve the mission or strive to gain more stat points to offset the deficit for failing to complete the mission if you choose to do so.]
[However, your path to global superstardom will become infinitely more difficult.]
Although he could just complete the two other missions, the thought of his stats dropping below F-rank rubbed Ari the wrong way.
"How am I supposed to complete that mission? Ask yourself if you're not being just a tad bit unreasonable and unhelpful right now. Seriously. Ask yourself! You want me to find, apply, and get into one of these without any knowledge or preparation. More than half the time will be spent researching!"
[.....]
[Indeed. It is quite unreasonable.]
[Would you like my help?]
"Obviously!"
[There is currently one guaranteed idol survival show that can allow you to complete this mission.]
[If you agree, I'll give you the information to apply right away.]
"So it was a setup from the get-go? You wanted me to try to get on this survival show."
[Obviously.]
At the straightforward reply, Ari glared angrily at the system, but it continued in an unbothered manner.
[For further context, the person who killed you is participating in this idol survival show.]
[If you don't want to complete the assigned mission, that's your choice.]
[But…Are you sure you want to fail the mission and let the opportunity to get close to your enemy and find out more about him slip you by?]
[You had a big speech about revenge.]
[Do you plan on giving up like this? When you have the opportunity to see the face of your enemy up close and use your skills to crush him and find out his motives?]
As he read the words, Ari felt himself getting angry again.
It was true that he wanted to punch the blonde prick, but he wanted to punch this system at least once, too.
He felt like he was being dragged around, and everybody but him knew what was happening.
The system had already told him he wasn't qualified to know the information when asked.
So the only other culprit was the one who killed him.
And now that he had a lead to that bastard's location…
"…..I'll do it. What did you say the program was called?"
[Pop Star Academy: Project 777]
"Say less."
With burning eyes, Ari quickly pulled up the appropriate page and scanned through the details on the computer.
Blondie! Wait for me! A flying kick is coming straight for your throat!
NOVA! You wait as well! A flying punch will be coming through this screen!