Chapter 5: The First Spark
Morning came the same way it always did—soft gray light filtering through the curtain, a distant azan echoing across rooftops, and the creak of metal shutters as shops opened one by one.
Ash stretched on his thin mattress. His back cracked slightly. The power had cut off during the night again—he could tell because the fan had stopped mid-spin.
He sat up, grabbed his phone from beside the pillow, and turned it on.
It wasn't the first thing on his mind.
Honestly, he'd forgotten all about the video.
He opened YouTube casually—mostly out of habit. No alerts. No pings. No flood of likes.
He went to his channel dashboard.
Creepy Crap
Subscribers: 1
Views: 17
Ash stared at the number.
It wasn't impressive. But it wasn't zero.
One subscriber.
Seventeen people had watched. Maybe they clicked by accident. Maybe they watched five seconds and left. But it still meant seventeen strangers had looked at something he made.
That… was something.
He placed the phone face-down again and got up to brush his teeth.
The morning passed quietly. He washed his own clothes, hung them on the line. Made tea. Ate leftover rice fried with egg and green chili. It was a Friday—weekend in Dhaka—and the air was just a little lazier than usual.
Around 2 p.m., his phone buzzed again.
He wiped his hands on his lungi and picked it up.
[Notification: New comment on your video.]
He blinked.
Another one.
Then two more.
Then—
[Your video was mentioned in another video: "REACTING TO THE STRANGEST GAMING VIDEO THIS WEEK"]
Ash's stomach dropped.
He opened the link. The thumbnail was instantly familiar: a laughing face, red arrows, bold white text saying:
"WHAT DID I JUST WATCH?!"
The channel name: GameJolts BD
Subscribers: 76,000+
Ash had watched them before. They did weekly reactions—gaming videos, funny edits, underground creators. Mostly local stuff, sometimes Indian or international. Their tone was casual, friendly, with a mix of Bengali and English.
He clicked play.
The host—a guy with a wild hairstyle and oversized headphones—looked straight at the camera.
"Okay guys, this came into our inbox like five times. It's a new channel, called Creepy Crap—and I swear, the name alone deserves a like."
He laughed, leaned closer.
"Apparently, this guy paid a thousand dollars for a banana boss fight? I don't even know. Let's watch."
Ash froze.
He watched the reaction video in silence, half-nervous, half-numb. They played his video almost in full—cutting between segments, laughing at the banana scene, praising the second game's design, and at one point, the host even paused and said:
"Wait, wait, this guy's commentary is actually solid. It's like... sarcastic but not try-hard. And yo, this editing? The zoom-ins, subtitles, even the music choices—someone put in effort here."
That part hit Ash harder than he expected.
He'd always been the kind of person who worked quietly, then doubted it mattered.
But now someone noticed. Not just anyone—a channel with thousands of subscribers.
The video ended with the host saying:
"Y'all better subscribe to this dude. I want Creepy Crap to hit 500 subs by next week. Let's boost it."
Ash refreshed his dashboard.
Subscribers: 58
Views: 213
He stared. Then refreshed again.
Subscribers: 81
Views: 327
His heart started beating faster.
Not because the numbers were huge—they weren't—but because they were real. People were coming. Watching. Commenting. Laughing.
He opened the comments section.
"Bro this was hilarious. Subbed."
"The banana boss made me choke on my tea."
"No facecam, no screaming—just good editing. Respect."
"Who is this guy? The voice is so chill but sarcastic af."
"I NEED MORE."
Ash leaned back in his chair, the corners of his lips pulling into a small smile.
The system pinged quietly in his eye.
[Engagement Spike Detected]
[+210 Views in 10 Minutes]
[+62 Subscribers]
[+Video Earnings: ৳2,340 (Locked – Can be used for production only)]
[Body Enhancement Unlocked: +0.2% Overall Stamina Boost]
He blinked.
That last line caught him off guard.
[Note: As the channel grows and engagement increases, earnings may be exchanged for minor physical enhancements. These do not grant superhuman abilities, but improve general well-being, stamina, and focus.]
So that's what it meant by exchange for money and body improvement.
Still grounded. Still human. Just... healthier. Sharper.
Ash stood up and stretched his arms.
Outside, the sound of children playing football filled the afternoon air. Someone lit incense downstairs, and the smell floated through the cracked window.
It was still the same day. The same flat. The same world.
But something had shifted.
He wasn't a viral star. Not yet. Not even close.
But he wasn't invisible anymore.
People were watching.
And tomorrow... he would plan the next video.
End of Chapter 5