And while the whole internet was exploding with news, tweets, articles, praise, arguments, excitement and noise… the person at the center of it all was sitting quietly on his bed, looking at his phone screen with a calm smile on his face.

Dayo exhaled deeply.

Then—

DING!

A familiar blue light flashed across his vision.

---

[System Notification]

You have been inactive for 1,600 days.

A Global Superstar cannot remain silent.

Engagement Level: Critically Low.

If the user doesn't make waves soon, the System will automatically terminate.

[Status: Complete]

[Evaluation: Legendary]

Reward Generating…

• Upgrade a Random Skill

• Status Viewer Upgraded → Talent Vision

---

[Talent Vision]

You can now analyze any individual across any field. Their talent, potential, limitations, hidden advantages, weaknesses, and growth ceiling are now visible.

---

The moment Dayo saw it, he froze.

Then—

"…this is too OP," he whispered, blinking twice.

For a few seconds he just stared at the floating window.

The old Status Viewer only analyzed an artist — singing talent, writing skill, stage presence, potential in entertainment. Simple. Straightforward.

But this?

This was a universal detector.

A monster of a skill.

If someone had talent in swimming or any sport, he would know.

If someone had potential in coding, he would know.

If someone had a natural gift in acting, business, sports, art, engineering…

He would know instantly.

It didn't matter the field.

One glance — and the truth of a person was in front of him.

He wouldn't have to guess.

He wouldn't have to risk bad hires.

He wouldn't have to fear betrayals.

He could read his rivals, his competition, his staff… anyone.

It was perfect.

Too perfect.

Dayo's eyes widened and his smile stretched so wide his cheeks hurt.

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

He punched the air like a child who just got ice cream.

This wasn't just a skill.

And it came right when he needed it the most.

---

DING!

Status returned to: Regional Artist (Level 6)

Dayo immediately jumped off the bed and started spinning around the room, attempting breakdance moves he hadn't done in years. He almost slipped, caught himself, then burst into laughter.

He sat back down, breathing heavily.

"Alright, alright… let me check my status properly."

He tapped the window.

---

[STATS UPDATED]

Name: Jason Dayo

Age: 22

Status: Regional Artist (Level 6)

Singing: A+

Writing: S−

Acting: A+

Visual: A+

Instruments:

• Guitar – SS+

• Flute – A+

• Piano – S−

• Violin – A−

Movie Production: A+

Scriptwriting: A+

Swimming: A+

Cooking: SS+

Computer: SS−

Music Production: SSS+

Video Editing: A−

Potential: SSS+

Skills:

• Prodigy's Instinct

• Status Viewer — Talent Vision

• Perfect Match

• Market Resonance

• Archive Vault

• Skill Integration Protocol

• Emotional Transduction

• Hypersonic Synthesis

System Level: 3

Active Effects (Mission 3):

Special Endorsement Buff — active

(+5% reputation gain; +5% brand interest)

---

Dayo scanned through everything, humming happily.

Nothing major had changed except the Talent Vision upgrade — but that alone was enough to make him feel like he had a superpower.

His eyes then landed on one small thing:

Special Endorsement Buff.

He nodded slowly.

He had earned it way back during the Global Competition quarter-finals but never used it. At the time he didn't feel ready.

But now?

He smirked.

He would use it after he qualified officially for the Olympics. That would be the perfect moment to maximize its effect.

Just as he was about to check the system shop, his phone rang.

Valarey.

Dayo smiled and picked it up.

"Hello, Valarey."

Her voice exploded through the speaker like she had been waiting all day to scream.

"DAYO! THANK GOD YOU PICKED! We saw everything! Oh my God! We wanted to come but the label is crazy right now — album sales, press calls, meetings — everything just scattered today! But when you touched that wall, everybody in JD Entertainment was screaming!"

Dayo laughed softly.

"It's alright. I know you're busy. No pressure."

"Wait," she said. "Let me switch to video."

The screen flickered.

Suddenly Dayo saw a group of familiar faces squeezed together in front of the camera — Alice, Rick, Wayne, Rex, and Leah. The five artists he signed into his label.

All of them waving like children greeting their uncle.

"JD!!!"

"CONGRATULATIONS!"

"BRO YOU KILLED IT!"

"We're so proud!"

"Silver medalist whatttttttt?!!"

"Dayo you're insane!"

He couldn't help it — he burst into laughter.

"Thanks, guys. Love you all."

He was smiling so much that his cheeks hurt, but not only because of their cheers — the system upgrade still had his heart racing. But seeing his people supporting him made the moment sweeter.

Wayne leaned close to the camera.

"Bro you looked calm o. Were you calm at all?"

Rick scoffed. "Calm ke? I could hear his heartbeat from here and we weren't even in the same state."

Everyone laughed.

Valarey adjusted the camera.

"Listen, we're handling everything here. You focus on the Olympic Trials. Don't worry about anything else."

Dayo nodded. "Got it. Thank you."

They joked, argued, teased each other, and laughed for a few more minutes before finally ending the call.

The moment the screen went dark, Dayo dropped the phone gently on the bed and took a deep breath.

He was happy.

Genuinely happy.

***

MEANWHILE… SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE SAME BUILDING

Alex Carter, the National Champion — the man who took first place — was not smiling.

Not even a little.

His private room looked like a scene from a crime show. Towels on the floor. Water bottles smashed. A chair flipped over. His swim cap torn in half.

Alex was pacing back and forth like a man losing his mind.

"FUCK! FUCK THIS SHIT!"

He slammed his fist against the locker door so hard the metal rattled.

"I WON! I FINISHED FIRST! I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT! SO WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT ME?! WHY IS IT ALL JD THIS AND JD THAT?!"

His chest was rising and falling fast.

His eyes were bloodshot.

His jaw clenched so tight it looked painful.

He couldn't wrap his head around it.

He beat Dayo.

He touched the wall first.

He won clean. Well not clean ...

Yet Dayo — the guy who finished behind him — was the headline everywhere.

Everywhere.

The frustration boiled over again and he kicked a stool so hard it flew across the room.

The door suddenly opened.

His coach, Martin, walked in.

"Alex… what the hell happened here?"

Alex turned sharply, breathing hard.

"Coach, can you imagine? I WON! I beat him! But nobody cares! All the media is talking about is JD! JD this, JD that, JD the miracle swimmer! What about ME?!"

Martin closed the door quietly, sighed, and leaned against the table.

"Alex… calm down."

"CALM?!" Alex yelled. "Why should I calm down?!"

"Because you know exactly why the attention is not on you," Martin said, voice steady. "The gap between you and JD was tiny. Barely split seconds. And JD… he's a phenomenon. A superstar. A story people love. His presence overshadows everyone."

Alex's expression twisted into anger and disbelief.

"That's not fair," he muttered. "I worked for years. YEARS. And he comes from music and takes everything?! No. No, I refuse. Coach, I'm ready. I'm ready to do anything. Anything it takes to make the media talk about me."

Martin raised an eyebrow slowly.

"Anything?"

"Yes," Alex said immediately.

"I don't care about the risk anymore. I just want the spotlight. Tell me what to do."

Martin's lips curled into a small, knowing smirk.

"Alright then," he said quietly. "If you're truly willing… there is something."

Alex stepped closer, eyes desperate.

"I said I'm willing. ANYTHING."

Martin nodded slowly, almost too calmly.

"Good. Then listen carefully…"

He walked closer and closed the door behind them.

What came next…

Would either make Alex a superstar—

Or destroy him completely.

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