From Zero To Stardom: My Superstar System

Chapter Six: Enhanced Realism

"Marcus Thornwood?"

A rush of anxiety and exhilaration rushed through Marcus's blood as soon as he heard his name again.

He released his grip on Jack's shoulder and responded to the staff member, "Here!"

Marcus approached the staff member, leaving Jack, who was stunned and clenching his script.

"H-How did he know?" he trembled and couldn't stop fearing the end of his career.

Jack looks at Marcus's back.

" I must avoid him at all costs. I won't go near him again. Maybe I should call the agency and say I'm not interested in this role anymore." he muttered under his breath, his fingers shaking as he hurriedly dialed his agency's number.

***

The middle-aged woman stood close to the audition room's entrance, clutching a clipboard.

She had a professional but slightly bored attitude as she was looking at Marcus.

The woman gave him a brisk nod as he approached.

"Marcus Thornwood, right?" she confirmed, glancing down at her clipboard.

She gave him a quick once-over, her disinterest clear.

Marcus simply nodded. He was used to such reactions from people who recognized his surname already.

There are two kinds of people.

People who think highly of him after knowing that he is the son of two of the top actors in Polleywood and the other one are those people who think that he got the chance to audition because of his parents, which is far from the truth.

"Fine. Go in," she murmured, dismissively motioning towards the audition room.

"Good luck or whatever."

Marcus nodded while trying to hide his annoyance.

He stepped past her and entered the audition room.

The space was well-lit, and the cameras discreetly nestled in the corners, their lenses focused on the designated performance area.

There's a long table in the center of the room with water bottles, juice cartons, and neatly organized papers.

Behind the table sat the panelists.

"Stand here," the middle-aged woman instructed with a bad attitude, pointing to a marked spot on the floor.

Marcus was about to comply when a knock was heard on the door.

The middle-aged woman furrowed her brows and looked at the four panelists before opening the door.

Marcus looked at the door in confusion.

On his last timeline, no one knocked on the door.

The middle-aged woman opened the door, and Marcus's eyes narrowed as soon as he saw who had come in.

"Rachel."

It was the people whom he despised the most—Rachel, and along with her, was his cousins, Julia and Eric.

Marcus glanced at Eric's hands that were holding Rachel's waist.

Marcus wasn't hurt by this, but he felt anger raging inside of him.

These people were so shameless that he couldn't believe it.

They locked eyes. Rachel glared at him before rolling her eyes.

Marcus was confused as his eyes followed Eric together with Julia and Rachel, who were walking towards the four panelists.

But then he realized that he had done something different this time.

He didn't accept Rachel's script this time!

And, it means that their plan to humiliate Marcusus had failed, and they had come up with a different approach.

Director Jack, who was among the panelists, frowned slightly and rose from his seat.

"Eric? What brings you here? Didn't you audition and get the role already?"

"I'm so sorry for coming in suddenly. You know, Marcus, here is my cousin. As a fellow actor, I thought I'd lend him some support. It's his first audition, after all. It can be nerve-wracking. I want to be there for him in case he doesn't quite nail the script," Eric said kindly, but Marcus knew that it was all a facade.

The director's expression remained thoughtful, though he eventually relented.

"Well, as long as you're not disruptive, feel free to watch."

"Thank you, Director," Eric replied, his gaze shifting towards Marcus with an unsettling intent.

"Can I give him the best of luck before you start?" Eric asks, still smiling.

The Director nodded, gesturing for him to proceed.

"Go on, but make it quick."

The three approached Marcus as sinister smiles played across their lips.

Marcus felt his heartbeat rising.

His face stiffened, his hand twitched, and his jaw clenched as he struggled to contain the surge of anger that threatened to consume him, but at the same time, he felt joy.

He finally saw his face again after ten years of just seeing him on screen. He can only kill them in his dream back then but life was not as cruel and unfair as he thought after all.

Eric's grip settled on Marcus's shoulder, his voice a low whisper that sent a chill down Marcus's spine.

"Good luck, cousin. But even if you do everything, you will never get the role. I paid the casting director and the producer a good amount that came from your parent's pocket. You dream big just like your parents, and if you keep behaving like your parents you will meet your pitiful end, Marcus. "

Marcus glared at Eric, his hand twitched before gradually balling into a fist.

'How dare he badmouth my parents with that mouth of his?!'

"We will see about that."

Marcus retorted, yanking Eric's hand away from his shoulder.

The trio furrowed and couldn't help but step back in surprise.

They had never expected Marcus, whom they had known as a loser, to stand up against them.

"How dare—"

Rachel was about to attack Marcus when Eric stopped him with a shush.

"Quite, Rachel. The Director is watching. We will do it later. Later, we will put my cousin here where he belongs."

Eric was still smiling as he looked at Marcus, but his anger was obvious by the veins on his forehead.

'How dare this guy talk back to me?!'

He thought angrily.

If the Directors were not around, he would have already beaten Marcus.

Satisfied, the trio settled finally in a chair beside the panelist that was put for them.

Marcus stood on the marked spot on the floor, posture upright.

He collected himself as he stood in front of them, his palms still feeling a little sweaty despite his best attempts.

It was the same as last time. He was holding his script while the panelists' eyes studied him as he embarrassed himself.

Only this time, his enemies were in front of them, but this didn't make Marcus lose his confidence it only made him more determined to get the role.

Marcus felt like he was going to pass out.

He took a calming breath, reminding himself that this was his only chance and that he could not fail the task that the system had given to him.

Failure means death!

"Name?" the casting director asked.

"Marcus Thornwood," he replied, his voice steady.

The casting director's eyes narrowed before she glanced up from her notes and fixed her gaze on Marcus.

"A Thornwood?"

She rolled her eyes and said, "I don't know. I'm not expecting anyone anymore. How many more actors do we have left? I'm tired of watching their terrible acting."

She shook her head before continuing, "I'm betting that he's a terrible actor too! I mean, look at that terrible appearance! He can't even get decent clothes for himself!" she commented, not even minding Marcus's presence.

Next to her, the casting producer leaned over, nodding in agreement.

"You're right! We should've gone for experienced actors. Dealing with these newbies is a headache! I'm gonna have nightmares!" he grumbled.

Irritation lined his features as he gave Marcus an annoyed once-over and clicked his tongue.

Beside them, the writer Frank Orwell leaned forward slightly, his eyes assessing Marcus and didn't comment anything.

And beside Frank, the Director sat exuding an air of quiet confidence, his arms crossed as he studied Marcus quitely.

The casting director fell into a daze and tried to find anger and fear in Marcus's expression, but she found none, and it irked her.

The producer, too, harbored an irritability toward Marcus.

Other than him being a Thornwood, he doesn't like his face.

They both looked at Eric and smiled.

They were very satisfied with the amount of money that Eric gave, and it was an easy task to humiliate this idiot actor in front of them.

Although the writer Frank and the director Jack stayed silent, they were amazed by Marcus.

The auditionees earlier lost their confidence after being insulted, and it affected their acting, but Marcus didn't show any expression.

As for Marcus, he has already experienced this situation, so he wasn't hurt at all.

After living in the streets for years, he is already used to the insults thrown at him.

"You'll be reading for the role of Victor Petrov," the casting director said with attitude.

"Begin! Hurry up! There's a line of auditionees waiting! We can't waste any time! Show us what you've got – pronto!"

Despite not having seen Marcus act yet, the producer and casting director gave him a score right away, and they were all really low.

They then move on to the next auditionee's résumé before looking at Marcus again with bored expressions as they wait for Marcus to fail.

The trio sneered and could not contain their excitement as they waited for Marcus to fail and be humiliated.

'How dare he act tough? Ha! Even if I hadn't pulled strings with the casting director and producer, there's no chance in hell you will land the role, Marcus,' Eric mused with a self-satisfied grin.

'Director Jack won't be swayed by some novice and idiot like you.'

Marcus nodded, his heart pounding in his chest. He took a moment to center himself to channel the character he aimed to portray—Victor Petrov.

Marcus has practised his skills for years even when he was in the streets, so he was confident with his skills.

It's now or never.

With a deep breath, he began.

"Fire!—"

[ System Functionality Activited: Enhanced Realism! ]

"Eh? What?!"

Marcus's eyes widened as he looked at the translucent screen in front of him.

"Take cover!"

"Move, move, move!"

"Hold the line!"

"Fall back!"

"What is happening?!"

Startled and bewildered, Marcus's eyes darted around and looked in the panelist's direction, but he didn't see them!

All he saw was huge explosions of fuel, fire, metal, and flesh.

The acrid smell of smoke stung his nostrils, and his ears rang with the clamor of gunfire and distant shouts.

The ground beneath his feet felt uneven.

He could not be more certain. He is in the middle of a war!

He saw a grenade flying towards him, and as if his body was not his, he ran so fast.

He looked at his back, and the grenade detonated, blasting the people who stood near it.

His eyes widened.

Is this some kind of CGI for auditionees? B-But this felt so real to be all CGI! It was too familiar!

Is this perhaps the Brother of Valor film? I am inside? That's the only explanation! This is too realistic to stay sane!

Whenever Marcus looks around him, he sees people being shot at or being blown to pieces.

However, he didn't feel disgusted or anything. He felt like it was normal.

He felt like he had experienced this scene before in his whole life.

He didn't feel like Marcus Thornwood at all.

Marcus darted behind a crumbling section of a brick wall to hide from all the bullets.

He saw a boy hiding behind the crumbling wall, trembling while hugging his gun.

He has a big scar on his face that makes him look scary... Marcus furrowed.

He suddenly remembered the description of the Brothers of Valor's main character.

'Alexei Ivanov, the young soldier who was forced by his abusive father to be a soldier. His father threw a bottle on his face when he was ten years old, which resulted in a huge scar on his face...'

Marcus' eyes widened even more as the boy before him raised his head to look at Marcus

There was no doubt! It was Alexei Ivanov!

The main character of the Brothers of Valor!