The lights inside the hall slowly brightened again after the presentation ended.
People were still talking loudly.
The announcent of White Entertainnt had clearly shocked many of them.
So people were excited.
So were confused.
So were already typing fast on their phones, likely posting news online.
On the stage, Park Jinhyuk stood calmly while the noise slowly settled.
After a few monts, he raised his hand.
The room gradually beca quiet again.
"Thank you for your attention."
He paused.
"But of course, an announcent alone is not enough."
A new screen appeared behind him.
"White Ent needs its first generation."
The words slowly ford across the display.
"FOUNDING STREARS."
The audience murmured imdiately.
Park Jinhyuk smiled slightly.
"To begin this new era... we will select the first official White Entertainnt strears."
He walked slowly across the stage.
"Today’s event will not end with speeches."
"Instead..."
He turned toward the screen.
"We will hold a competition."
The room beca louder again.
So people even stood up in excitent.
Park Jinhyuk continued speaking calmly.
"This competition will determine who becos part of the first group of White Ent creators."
A new title appeared.
"WHITE ENT. STARTER TRIAL."
Rules appeared below it.
• Participants must be awakened individuals
• Participants must complete assigned tower scenarios
• Performance will be judged on skill, creativity, and audience appeal
Park Jinhyuk spoke clearly.
"This is not a pure combat tournant."
The next slide appeared.
"Evaluation Factors."
• Combat ability
• Creativity
• Reaction under pressure
• Comntary and personality
• Viewer engagent potential
"In short..."
He looked at the audience.
"We are looking for entertainers."
The crowd laughed softly.
Another slide appeared.
"Competition Format."
Stage 1 — Introduction Trial
Stage 2 — Tower Scenario
Stage 3 — Live Broadcast Challenge
Park Jinhyuk continued explaining.
"Stage one will evaluate personality and presence."
"Stage two will test performance inside controlled tower environnts."
"Stage three will simulate a real broadcast."
He paused again.
"The winners..."
The screen zood in.
"...will receive exclusive contracts with White Entertainnt."
The audience exploded with excitent.
Park Jinhyuk stepped back.
"Let us begin."
The lights shifted again.
Music started playing.
Large chanical doors behind the stage slowly opened.
Inside was another massive room.
Rows of caras surrounded the space.
Huge screens displayed live feeds.
"This area has been prepared to simulate tower conditions."
Dozens of participants began walking out from the waiting area.
Each one wore a number on their chest.
So looked confident.
So looked nervous.
So were clearly trying to look cool for the caras.
Stage One began.
A host walked onto the stage.
She held a microphone and smiled brightly.
"Welco everyone to the first round!"
The crowd cheered again.
"Each participant will have one minute."
"One minute to introduce themselves to the world."
Large spotlights moved across the contestants.
One by one, they stepped forward.
"Participant number 03!"
A tall man walked forward confidently.
"My na is Han Jisoo! Rank C awakened!"
He raised his fist.
"My dream is to beco the best raid strear in Korea!"
The crowd clapped.
Another participant stepped forward.
"Participant number 07!"
A young woman waved at the caras.
"Hello everyone! I love exploring hidden places inside the tower!"
She smiled brightly.
"If there is a secret room, I’ll find it!"
More applause followed.
So contestants tried jokes.
So spoke seriously.
So tried to look mysterious.
Caras captured every mont.
The judges sat at a long table watching everything.
They wrote notes quietly.
As ti passed, contestants slowly left the stage after finishing their introductions.
Eventually, the last participant finished.
The host returned to the center.
"That concludes Stage One!"
The judges discussed quietly for a few minutes.
Then the results appeared on the screen.
"Selected Participants for Stage Two."
Several numbers appeared.
The audience cheered again.
The chosen participants moved forward while the others stepped aside.
Stage Two began soon after.
The room behind the stage transford.
Screens showed a simulated tower floor.
Stone walls.
Dark corridors.
Monster sounds echoed through speakers.
"This trial will test performance inside tower conditions."
Each participant would enter the simulated environnt.
Inside were controlled monsters.
Not dangerous enough to kill soone.
But still difficult.
Participants needed to clear objectives while caras followed them.
The first contestant stepped inside.
Two small goblin-type monsters appeared.
The participant attacked imdiately.
He killed them quickly.
But the judges didn’t react much.
Speed alone wasn’t everything.
The next contestant entered.
She explored slowly.
She talked to the drone cara.
"Looks like we found our first monsters."
Her comntary was calm and clear.
Then she defeated them while explaining her skills.
The judges nodded.
That was better.
More contestants entered.
So were strong fighters.
But they ignored the cara.
Others tried talking constantly.
But they fought poorly.
One participant attempted sothing strange.
Instead of rushing monsters, he used traps and bait.
The crowd laughed as monsters chased him around.
Eventually he defeated them using a simple trick.
The judges looked interested.
Creativity mattered.
The trials continued for over an hour.
Different scenarios appeared.
Puzzle rooms.
Small boss monsters.
Hidden items.
Participants had to react quickly.
The audience watched everything on the giant screens.
Finally, Stage Two ended.
Again the judges discussed quietly.
New numbers appeared on the screen.
"Finalists."
Only a small group remained.
Stage Three began.
This ti the rules were different.
Each finalist would perform a short live broadcast.
They had to act as if millions of viewers were watching.
T1 drones floated around them.
Professional caras tracked their movents.
The host explained.
"You must entertain the audience while completing the mission."
The mission was simple.
Defeat a mid-level monster inside the simulation zone.
But the important part was the broadcast.
Contestant after contestant stepped forward.
One man tried shouting loudly like a sports announcer.
Another woman spoke calmly like a docuntary host.
One participant kept making jokes while fighting.
The audience laughed often.
The judges continued writing notes.
Eventually the final contestant stepped forward.
He looked younger than most others.
His number was 27.
He had short black hair and a simple expression.
When the host asked his na, he spoke quietly.
"Sung Su-been."
"Age eighteen."
The crowd murmured softly.
He looked very young.
The host smiled.
"Are you ready?"
Su-been nodded.
A T1 drone floated beside him.
The cara light turned on.
The screen displayed his face.
The host counted down.
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
"Broadcast live."
Su-been looked at the cara.
He hesitated for a mont.
Then he spoke simply.
"Hello."
"My na is Sung Su-been."
His voice was calm.
"Today I’ll try my best."
The simulation gate opened.
He walked inside.
The environnt showed a ruined hallway.
Broken walls.
Dim lighting.
The drone floated behind him.
Su-been looked around carefully.
"I’m not very good at talking yet."
He said honestly.
"But I will try."
The audience laughed lightly.
A monster appeared from the shadows.
A wolf-like creature.
Su-been reacted instantly.
His body moved fast.
Much faster than most people expected.
He drew a short blade from his belt.
The fight started imdiately.
The wolf jumped forward.
Su-been stepped aside smoothly.
His blade moved quickly.
Two fast cuts.
The monster stumbled.
Su-been didn’t rush.
He kept moving carefully.
Watching the monster.
Then he finished it with one clean strike.
The crowd clapped.
Su-been looked slightly surprised by the reaction.
"Thank you."
He said quietly.
Then he looked at the drone again.
"I’m still learning."
"But if people watch... I’ll work harder."
The judges watched him closely.
There was sothing honest about him.
Not flashy.
Not loud.
But steady.
His trial ended soon after.
The host returned to the stage.
"That concludes the final round!"
The judges stood up.
They moved to a private area for discussion.
The crowd waited.
People talked loudly again.
So contestants looked nervous.
So stared at the floor.
After several minutes, the judges returned.
Park Jinhyuk stepped forward again.
"The results are ready."
The hall beca silent.
"The first generation of White Entertainnt strears..."
Nas slowly appeared on the massive screen.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Ten winners.
The crowd applauded loudly.
Park Jinhyuk read the nas clearly.
One of them was:
"Sung Su-been."
The young man stood quietly among the winners.
He looked shocked.
But also relieved.
Caras flashed everywhere.
The first generation of White Ent strears had been born.
Far away in the audience seats, Kang Min sat silently beside Park Woonhee.
They had watched the entire event from the crowd.
Woonhee clapped happily.
"Wait...that’s..."
Kang Min didn’t respond imdiately.
His eyes were focused on the stage.
On one person.
Sung Su-been.
The mont he heard the na...
Sothing in his mory clicked.
A dark tunnel.
Blood on the ground.
A group of loan sharks.
Greedy eyes.
The raid that went wrong.
They had found rare resources inside a hidden area.
But the loan sharks wanted it all.
They planned to kill everyone there.
One of them had ssy hair.
A mullet.
He grabbed a young boy and held a knife to his throat.
"Kill that porter."
The boy had been shaking.
His hands trembling.
He looked terrified.
"I..."
"I can’t die..."
His voice had been full of fear.
"My mother..."
"She’s sick..."
"If I die..."
"There’s no one left."
Kang Min rembered it clearly.
That boy had been forced to try and kill him.
Not because he wanted to.
But because he was desperate.
In the end, Kang Min killed the loan sharks himself.
The raid ended in chaos.
Everyone went their separate ways afterward.
He never saw that boy again.
Until now.
Kang Min looked at the stage quietly.
Sung Su-been stood among the winners.
’It’s really good for him...his life is taking that lucky turn I can tell he desperately waited for...’
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