Chapter 627: Idol Agency.

Experience for development Jobs has reached breaking points.

[Maestro of Red and Blue]: Lv. 56 -> Lv. 90 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 5 Lv. 78

[Crimson Idol]: Lv. 56 -> Lv. 90 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 5 Lv. 78

[Crimson Inferno Tyrant]: Lv. 1 -> Lv. 85 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 13 Lv. 3

 

Prestige requirement achieved! Job max level has increased. Experience accumulation and reward quality increased.

[Crimson Inferno Tyrant] -> 90

 

You may spend your prestige points when you are ready

Evolution Points: 32/40

[Ice Dragonewt, Kaishta Nimeheon] and 3 more have received the title [Hestia’s Retainer]

[Battle Frenzy (Major)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

<I apologize, Hestia. Spell songs made using [Idol]’s specialized System and effects cannot be shared with others unless they possess a blessing, Job, or skill that applies the [Music Resonation] effect. The [Idol] System relies on this effect. As such, you may not teach others your spell songs. They may copy your lyrics and dance moves, but it also won’t result in a similar bard-type spell song.>

Aurena’s confirmation was a letdown. The potential of idol wasn’t restricted to a solo act, as I had proven multiple times by having duets and background dancers join me on the stage. Bringing smiles to others and brightening their days was my ambition as a musician, but if we talked business, then idol was just another content creator. We were entertainers meant to make money, or dominate the musical field so much that we became a cultural icon.

Mozart, for example, was an “idol” when it came to being acknowledged as a musical genius, especially in the Austrian courts. Admirers swarmed him due to his talents, with even the emperor—whose name I completely ignored during my lessons—commissioning him as a court musician. Even if the term “idol” was never used to describe him during his lifetime, it was obvious he was an example of a musical idol. Not the idol from the Asian music industry.

Yet, that idol still faced plenty of financial issues back then, especially during his freelance time when he was properly kicked out of the Austrian court. After all, just like all artists back then, they required sponsors. Wealthy merchants and influential nobles were the drivers of culture both on Earth and Peolynca, and Mozart was just like anyother musician. Underpaid and heavily reliant on their sponsor. On modern Earth, those sponsors were replaced by agencies, musical labels, and the internet.

On Peolynca? Well, the first idol agency would have to endure the pompous demands of the nobility as well, as I would be the one to lead it. And as the most pretentious, success-oriented, blue-blooded scum around, I had no intention of—okay, trying to diss myself there was going a bit too far even for the joke, but the point was that if a few girls wanted to become idols under me, they would have to go through the training I already gave them times two.

[Music Resonation (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

“One, two, three! Keep to the rhythm, ladies! Fix your breathing techniques! You need that extra power for your steps and to keep your voice from cracking mid-performance!”

Breathing, posture, and, most importantly, maintaining a smile even in moments of panic and distress. Those were the foundational values I wanted to impart to those who trained with me, seriously. Not like I did with Tasianna, Ellaine, and Neill, when I was more lax about my standards.

Kaishta, Aneilska, Epinik, and Rrathra were a few of my hired backup dancers who approached me after I left the digital media guild after my talk with Virrflax. However, those four were the only ones who wanted to go under me as idol trainees. Their reason, though, wasn’t so innocent as I would have liked, as they wanted to learn my spell songs to defend Frozen Nest in the upcoming war with Quasdrakeen.

In other words, they wanted to help the war effort by becoming buffers, or synergists, as the official term goes.

“… My songs are meant to bring happiness to others, not lead people into a war like a battle hymn,” I told them after the four explained their reasoning four days ago, but on the spot, it quickly dawned on me that I didn’t think my answer through. It was a reflex.

It was hypocritical not to call my spell songs another tool in my arsenal of battle. Nong and my various “boss” battles show how much my songs have helped me to even the odds against staggeringly strong opponents. I had songs solely reserved for performances, which was why songs like “Promise” or “Burn all the Hatred Away” remained ordinary songs. They sparked certain emotions in me that I didn’t want to “tarnish” as spell songs.

Again, hypocritical, seeing how “The Heir of Hope” only existed after I witnessed Eshe’s death, giving me the emotional and creative charge needed to write an entire song out of thin air. Honestly, the more I thought about the subject, the more immature my outburst felt to me.

As the first “Idol of Aurena,” this was the path I had to take. Music was how I helped people and protected them from the threats, and that was how I defined an “Idol” in relation to a blessed’s role in serving their god.

Therefore, how could I reject Kaishta, Aneilska, Epinik, and Rrathra? Especially after Nong’s whole “Can the weak survive in a war?” speech. These four were over thirty, too, so they understood what it meant to join such a war. Patronizing them would only make me look like Nong.

Which was why “Snowlight Agency” was formed. Once again, not the best name I could have concocted, but it fit me well, and that was all that mattered for the first idol agency on Peolynca. I was the owner, president, and talent at the same time, although I probably should give the president role to somebody else once things calmed down. I knew how to handle the ledgers now, but I still preferred not to sit at a desk all day, as I did working at the city hall.

“You’ll be debuting any time soon, so let’s get the fundamentals down, all right?” I shouted inside my subspace’s training room, cheering on my four new trainees. They had no issues dancing since they were professionals, but their singing, in my opinion, was still amateurish. “Your lungs are large, so you can keep your breath for longer, which helps you transition from one note to the next. Your vocal cords are larger than a human’s, and that allows you to roar, but it also means that your vocal range will be deeper. You can go up, but that takes training. A lot of it is mastering falsetto.”

“Yes, President!” the four shouted as they performed the choreography of [One Scale Amongst Hundreds], the same song they and Hikari performed at the Coral Beard concert. “Oh no, oh no, there are so many-many ♫

Too many are here to seek my poor tail-tail-tail-tail ♫

Oh no, oh no, there are so many-many ♫

Oh no! ♫

So better take a step back, before I break your face! Love! ♫”

Fast, energetic, and bright; three adjectives I believed fit what I wanted idol songs to sound like, even if that wasn’t what I wanted their debut songs to sound like. Being an idol on Peolynca would be different than how it worked on Earth, and that was a mission statement I told myself when I started gaining traction as a celebrity.

Being stuck in one mold would get old quickly, especially with markets oversaturated with a certain concept, like cute girls singing cute songs. Knowing how to sing more mature, more experiential songs, or even breaking tradition by making rock or metal screeches, was all part of the creative process. Being comfortable with what you wanted to create was, in my opinion, far more important than merely following trends blindly. Not to say that watching what your demographic liked was a bad idea, though, as that was how records get sold.

How exactly I would manage an idol agency was a question for the future me. For now, though, I had to help them master the basics of being a singer before we could start exploring this new relationship.

“Keep your tail up, ladies! Eyes to your sides as well! Watch the stage, keep up with each other’s rhythm, and make sure you keep your distance from each other!” Kaishta, as the dance group’s leader, coordinated her fellow trainees. This was her role. “Aneilska, keep up the energy, but don’t let it overflow to the others. Just like when we performed for Princess Hikari. We’re not dancing alone, we’re dancing together!”

“Got it, Kaishta!” Aneilska cheered, beating everybody when it came to the passion she brought to the stage. Her singing voice, though, could use some work as she was too excited.

“Epinik, keep your wings furled up. Your wing gust is knocking off my balance,” Rrathra complained from the side, though she didn’t show any issues with how gracefully she was moving. I could understand why she had so many admirers with how sexy and elegant her movements were. “You can’t just focus on singing. Look at your limbs.”

A quick source note: NovelPhoenix supplied this chapter, which was copied without permission. The published version supports the creator.

“S-sorry. Woo… how are you supposed to remember all of this when you’re five songs into a performance? Lyrics, dance, and also position with the group; far too much to keep up without making one mistake.” Epinik scowled, looking dispirited despite being their best singer.

“That’s where the practice comes in! It’s hard work, of course, but you saw me execute everything, right? Solo and duets, and also while keeping up all the magic! Multi-tasking is part of the job! Even bards have to multi-task with singing, playing an instrument, and, maybe, some stepping as a dance,” I replied, trying to keep the mood up. “I know it’s hard, but if you want to be an ‘idol,’ this is necessary. Otherwise, I don’t know what to do with your [Trainee] Job.”

Now, while the “idol system” was currently exclusive to me, that didn’t mean people couldn’t use spell songs. Bards producing spell songs using their instruments was a standard Job, with the demonkin Prince of Pride even counting as one. He was a wind mage who could debuff me with his play and attack me using his catalyst lute. The four girls could definitely follow down this path, since I couldn’t share [Idol] with them.

When I told them what Aurena told me, of course, the project seemed like it would fall apart before it even began, and that was when Aneilska found something interesting: the [Trainee] Job.

A completely new Job that she had never seen before, found as she was trying to update her Main Job after max leveling it. The requirements? [Bard], [Singer], [Dancer], [Mage], and [Hestia’s Retainer].

<I never mentioned that something wouldn’t appear, right? The main members of Aurora benefited beyond just [Hestia’s Retainer]’s experience and skill acquisition increase, gaining unique skills based on their bond with you. Furthermore, as I have told you since our meeting in Griffonpeak, your titles were made to lead people with music. A blessed of the god of knights would, naturally, be a knight themselves. A blessed of music woooould…>

Have followers who create and produce music. And that was where [Trainee] came into play, which the unique Job System would probably elevate in two years.

 

Job: Trainee

Requirements: [Mage], [Bard], [Singer], [Dancer], [Hestia’s Retainer]

Acquirement Benefits: Mana increase, Intelligence increase, Wisdom increase, [Sing] proficiency, [Dance] proficiency, [Stage Fever]

Main Job Benefits: [Bardic Cadenza]

Bardic Cadenza: A skill focusing on the bard’s musical abilities. Activates once a spell song is used, increasing the effects of the song’s effect as long as the bard only uses songs as a means of attack, defense, or supportStage Fever: A skill reserved for those who seek attention. Increases all static stats and regeneration of Health, Mana, and Stamina, depending on how long the owner can maintain the attention of people, increasing in effectiveness with more people around. Increases mental fortification of the user, defending them from the effects of detrimental ‘Aura’ and ‘Mental’ skills or spells. Low effectiveness with Minor. Moderate = Level of Skill / 10 increase to stats. Major = 0.5 + (Level of Skill / 10) increase to stats

[Stage Fever] was my skill, even if it wasn’t a unique one. I acquired it when [Alluring Aura] and [Admiration] were unlocked for me, after my first attempt at being a mannered young lady. Killed in the role.

And now the skill was being shared with my “trainees,” with the Job skill [Bardic Cadenza], which was practically mine as well, since I got it through the [Idol] Job tree. I still had it today through my unique Job.

The fact that it required [Hestia’s Retainer] and that it gave two skills I had were already proof of Aurena’s statement. Once again, things she planned for me were becoming reality, and I only found out about them three years after I became her Champion. Oh, but there was also a third reason.

<Third unlock requirement unlocked. [Heavenly Performance Act 2] will transition into [Heavenly Performance Act 3] once a [Hestia’s Retainer] unlocks and acquires the Job [Idol Trainee]. Spread music through your followers, and allow them to shine on the stage of the world with their own songs!>

[Heavenly Performance Act 2] required twenty prestige points to unlock, which was why I hadn’t acquired it since I unlocked the act two, but there was now another method. Naturally, wasting twenty points was stupid, so I wanted to acquire it through this method; only that to unlock [Idol Trainee], Kaishta or one of the other three had to compose their own spell song.

 

Job: Idol Trainee

Requirements: [Trainee], [Hestia’s Retainer], 1 spell song

Acquisition Benefits: Mana increase, Intelligence increase, Wisdom increase, [Sing] proficiency, [Dance] proficiency

Main Job Benefits: [Bardic Cadenza]

They couldn’t learn my spell songs, nor could they create songs similar to my [Idol] ones, so how was I supposed to help them with this? Well, that was why we were experimenting here. Aurena went silent, once again, leaving me to explore my own power, again. Then again, the fact that I learned about this this late was ‘cause I was preoccupied with my other power-up methods since I didn’t know this even existed. How was I supposed to know that I had to form an idol agency to continue developing [Idol]?

Gaining followers was already hard, though it had gotten easier with my streams, and making new songs demanded a creative impulse, which I haven’t been able to get since Hikari and I have only been training our draconic abilities. Well, if I only considered myself as the recipient of my songs buff. Teammates-wise, I had two good ideas, reserved solely for Vifi’s and Tasianna’s usage.

After all, why shouldn’t my friends get boss music? I already made [The Trial of Kings and Queens] for Vifi, specifically, but that orchestral piece required a song to accompany it. And, since it worked on anybody I deemed the “protagonist,” it could also be used for Tasianna, Grimnir, Shay, Beth, or even Rego and one of my new dragon retainers.

Haven’t heard much from Rhekk and the others, but no notification about dead retainers or followers is good enough of an update for me. Speaking of retainers, I should also make a song specifically for Neill. The problem is, how the heck do I get it to them?

Recordings of my singing couldn’t grant others my buffs, and it made sense why it wouldn’t, since I had to perform for [Music Resonation] to activate. People needed to hear me, or be connected to me through [Musical Crescendo]’s mana link. As such, the only method for me to share my spell songs with others at a long distance was to either sing louder, use my stream, or use the subspace.

Singing louder was basic, and it was easy to do on a battlefield, but considering somebody from my team had to go down and retrieve that demonic item on the ocean floor, that was out of the question. Vifi, Tasianna, and Neill would probably go down there with Taim, so even [Musical Crescendo] wouldn’t work.

The current streaming technology worked using a city’s mana barrier, while having information towers act like telephone poles to connect one city’s streaming scene with another’s. Unless we brought information into the depths, this wouldn’t work. Technically, I didn’t believe it was impossible, since the connection was done using the shadow world. Taim, I believe, wouldn’t have an issue if we could protect the tech for it.

The last method was my subspace, and that was already a tried-and-true method for me to share my spell songs with others. The only issue was that somebody had to protect the subspace runes, and I had to be careful about people throwing random items, spells, and weapons through the portal. Akast’s death was caused by this one mistake, after all…

None of these three was reliable, but they all worked. The question was, how would I play music for my friends if all of them were fighting at the same time?

“Okay, ladies! Great job today! I’ll see you tomorrow. We’re streaming the entire thing for everybody to see, so make sure you get the song down! It’s not a debut, but a teaser for ‘Snowlight Agency,’ understood?” I said, noticing it was almost dinner time.

“Yes, President! Thank you very much!”

After saying goodbye to the girls, to their chagrin, as they wanted to go out and have dinner with me, I moved to the farming room where Gravy was kneading the soil despite having an army of puppeteer slimes controlling human-sized golems around to do all the chores. Tasianna’s farm field was larger than ever, producing so much produce, herbs, and other items that our resident alchemist couldn’t get through all of them. Thankfully, we were selling the abundant leftovers to Frozen Nest.

Technically, we still had a contract with the Sarlenzia guild to deliver goods to them, but neither Duke Greenveil nor Amelia had visited the subspace since I fell into my coma. No idea why, but I couldn’t visit them even if I wanted to, with Kargryx’s laws. To be honest, a lot of my Artorians acquaintances hadn’t visited me…

Yeah, all right, why am I thinking about this? Busy lives. That’s all. Not like it’s Saori’s fault that she hasn’t visited the subspace in a long time, right?

It felt weird how much the subspace could bridge the worlds together, making visiting faraway places seem so close to me, yet outside of myself, Tasianna, and Vifi, Aurora wasn’t visiting it as often as I wanted. Even Grimnir was spending more time at the digital media guild nowadays due to the airship project. I guess I was starting to understand why he didn’t visit the subspace when he traveled with Saori and Ellaine, even though he had it on hand.

Were people starting to not see the subspace as their home? More like my home.

And soon this subspace would also be turned into a battlefield, as Gravy would be the conductor of multiple Obsidian Orchestras. Its help was fundamental for [The Trial of Kings and Queens], as the song required Hikari or me to be the conductor of a twenty-man band. I needed the many slime golems Gravy created, which was why the subspace was a necessity.

Since [The Trial of Kings and Queens] only needed me as the conductor, and not as the lead vocalist and instrumental player, I didn’t need to use any of my spell slots to play it; however, I still needed at least two for [Aerokinesis] to play any other song. If I wanted to play my anti-dragon [Starstruck Winterscape], though, I would also need Hikari for the duet.

As such, since I needed Gravy to succeed with my “Specialized Buff” project, the person I had to ask for this was her.

<Gravy: Master Hestia, if I may ask, the songs may not override each other, correct?>

I nodded. “I can play two songs; Hikari can as well. Only while we remain a dragonewt, though. [The Trial of Kings and Queens] has to be active all the time, and Hikari and I have to considered the conductors of our individual bands, so we have to use a spell song slot each. That means you need to train forty slimes, split into two groups of twenty. That leaves two spell slots, which I can use to buff up two ‘protagonist.’ Which is a bit of an issue since Tasianna, Vifi, and Neill are our strongest fighters right now. Shay and Beth are also good, but they work better together. Choosing who gets the buffs will be important.”

<Gravy: However, the songs must fit each other, correct?>

“Only for trials.”

<Gravy: So Master must separate two songs from each other, while keeping [The Trial of Kings and Queens] active for both. Gravy… can make more slimes, if you need.>

… Hmm, yeah, right. Forgot. The monster room Gravy commands is… technically, this farmland.

<Gravy: Gravy could make other monsters. Argument: If we speak about purely utility and mana cost for results, more [Puppeteering Slime]s would benefit Master regardless of whether they are destroyed or not, as multiple slimes could be stationed in reserve. Furthermore, the slimes provide flexibility in their duties, for example, being able to man contraptions, use potions if needed, or—>

“Potentially fight. I know. I even have [Heaven’s Army] now, so I can arm some of them with magical armor that scales with my intelligence. They’ll lack skills and stats, but their armor would be quite potent. Hmm, though… I can see what you mean. The slimes do play their instruments well, and then can even handle this farm for us. They are quite dextrous.” I looked over at the peaceful farmers, smiling as I found it relaxing to watch them work… only for me to suddenly think I had to conscript them. “… Hold on, why didn’t I think about it like that?”

I had to be in my humanized form anyway to play four songs at once, which meant I had [Musical Crescendo] active as well. My music could travel through mana, but why exactly do I have to have it active on all four of the songs? That was the question, but also: how would I make that work?

How would I separate three songs from each other, while ensuring that one reached all three? The answer was obvious.

“Grimnir!”

I had to talk to our resident runesmith… and check out Beth’s evolution again. Her rank A form was amazing when I saw it four days ago!