Chapter 39: Another one
Another week passed by in a blur, and a lot had happened—probably more than I had time to process in full. We were currently on set, wrapping up the final night scenes. Tomorrow would officially mark the last day of filming for Teen Wolf Season One. The energy on set was electric. Everyone, from the crew to the cast, was riding high on the wave of accomplishment. Dylan was practically bouncing off the walls, cracking jokes, making everyone laugh between takes, and keeping the morale sky-high. I couldn't blame him. It felt surreal knowing the season was nearly complete.
As for me? I was just as pumped. Not only because we were ending strong, but because my personal projects—especially my YouTube channel—had absolutely taken off this past week.
Somehow, word-of-mouth had exploded. Maybe it was the exposure from MTV, or maybe the vlogs and behind-the-scenes content just started hitting the right audience, but the numbers didn't lie. I'd just crossed 50,000 subscribers. That number alone would've had me celebrating, but what really blew my mind was the view count.
In the past seven days, I'd pulled in over one million views.
One. Million.
Granted, I'd been uploading every day, so there was a consistent stream of content, but still—seeing that kind of growth this early was wild. Each video had its own flavor: some were lighthearted vlogs, some were day-in-the-life recordings, a few were Teen Wolf behind-the-scenes snippets. People were clearly enjoying the peek into my world, and the feedback I was getting only encouraged me to keep doubling down on what worked.
The system clearly approved too. For the million views, I was rewarded with 500,000 Entertainment Points. That was the kind of payoff I'd hoped for. It gave me even more momentum to keep moving forward—toward more spins, more skills, and eventually more influence.
Now, as far as money was concerned, I wasn't exactly raking in gold bars just yet. I had recently joined YouTube's Partner Program, and for those million views, I received a payment of about $700 USD.
Was it disappointing? A bit.
Especially considering what I knew about the platform's future. I mean, in a few years, a million views on TikTok would net someone a similar payout—and that was short-form, rapid-consumption content. YouTube, back in 2010, just wasn't at its monetization peak yet. But I wasn't relying on the money. Not yet. It was more about establishing presence and reach. The income would scale as the platform matured. I knew that much.
That said, I was in early talks for a brand deal. I was being cautious about it. I didn't want to jump into the first opportunity just because it offered cash. Branding was long-term, and I had to be strategic if I wanted to build something sustainable.
Meanwhile, our main content house channel was also catching serious traction. We'd already crossed 10,000 subscribers, and the engagement was strong. People loved the chemistry. We weren't polished or overly produced—we were just a group of friends doing dumb but entertaining things together. And honestly, that made it feel real.
Our upload schedule was insane. Some days, we pushed out three videos. That was mostly thanks to the sheer volume of footage we were capturing. Every moment in the house was filmed—games, pranks, challenges, downtime. Not all of it made the cut, of course. Plenty got scrapped in editing, but we made sure to have at least two structured activities every day. If I wasn't there, someone else picked up the slack.
One of the running series involved the gang eating some of the most disgusting breakfasts they could find on the internet—canned spiders, century eggs, fermented fish, you name it. It was gross, chaotic, and apparently... wildly popular. Another series focused on group board games during dinner, which brought out everyone's personalities—competitive, petty, hilarious. We weren't trying to be anyone but ourselves, and people resonated with that.
Individually, everyone's channels had started to grow. Most of them had anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 subscribers already. The current frontrunner was Kevin—mainly because he was sticking closely to the strategy I'd outlined for him. He posted regularly, stayed on topic, and leaned into his niche.
Soon, once filming wrapped and my schedule cleared up a bit, I planned to start collaborating more with Sam and Dylan. We were gearing up to launch some FIFA content—my favorite side project. Casual gameplay, ridiculous commentary, and hopefully, some high-energy in-game moments that would be fun to watch even if you weren't into football.
And that was only the YouTube side of things.
Over on the writing front, Lord of the Mysteries had just crossed a major milestone. Today, I officially mass-released the remainder of Volume One—every chapter lined up, formatted, and dropped like a precision strike. After months of teasing arcs, revealing bits of the world, and slowly drawing readers deeper into the lore, I'd finally delivered the full payload. The response was overwhelming, even in the first hour. Comments poured in, theories exploded across forums, and readers were already clamoring for more.
But I had a plan. I also announced a one-week break before starting Volume Two.
Did I need a break? Not at all
But building anticipation was a subtle art. You give readers a rush, then step back just long enough for their excitement to peak again. Too much deprivation, and you lose them. Just enough space, and you fuel obsession. And Lord of the Mysteries was about to hit the kind of pacing that would pull thousands of new readers in.
Meanwhile, on a completely different front, I'd also wrapped up my cameo filming for Justin Bieber's upcoming music video. It was brief—three clips, scattered through the runtime—but each appearance was ridiculous in its own way. Every scene had me in a completely exaggerated outfit. One of them involved neon green sunglasses with a purple suit. Another had me sipping tea in a director's chair, and the third had me walking a turtle on a leash which wasn't easy to get approved.
Nobody—not even the production crew—seemed to understand what I was doing. And that was the point.
It was all just something I thought would be funny to do, and I knew the chaos it would create once people started recognizing me. Wait—isn't that the guy who wrote that novel? And wasn't he in Teen Wolf? Why is he dressed like a circus manager? It was going to be great.
The video was scheduled to drop tonight. I fully expected another surge in entertainment points once it did, not just from the views but from the public reaction. Even if only 1% of viewers decided to look me up afterward, it would ripple through my online presence.
Also, Ethan came through again.
The man had successfully finished negotiations with the Harry Potter team, and things were looking more official by the day. They agreed to schedule my in-person audition exactly one week after the Teen Wolf shoot wrapped up—giving me enough breathing room to recover and prepare.
But more importantly, they agreed to cover both my accommodations and the flight to the UK. That was a major win. A week ago, they made it clear that those costs were mine to bear. But now? They were paying, which meant they were seriously considering me for the role of Cormac McLaggen.
It was hard to explain, but I could feel the shift.
At first, I was just a name. A file on their desk. But now, with everything happening around me, I was a contender.
I also managed to roll the system's bronze lottery twice more this week.
Two new beginner-level skills: Makeup Artistry and Football.
Makeup was an unexpected one and something I didn't know what I was going to do with whatsoever..
Football, on the other hand, was something that's nice…if it wasn't Beginner level. I am sure I myself was already at Intermediate standards.
Maybe the system was nudging me in a direction again. Or maybe it was just random.
Either way, I was stacking skills, stacking wins, and staying one move ahead.
[ENTERTAINER SYSTEM – STATUS PAGE]
Host: Jace Harper
Age: 18
Entertainment Points (EP): 422, 500 EP
[SKILL INVENTORY]
(Sorted by Tier)
— Beginner:
Live Streaming
Board Game mastery
3 D Animation
Makeup Artistry
Football
— Intermediate:
None
— Advanced:
Writing- Lord of the Mysteries ( EP- 30,000)
— Industry Professional:
None
— Perfect:
★Acting ★
Supernatural Action – When used, the performer assumes the full qualities of the role. Presence and behavior adapt to match the intended character, enabling an authentic enactment beyond conscious control.
Teen Wolf (No EP gained yet)
Note:
(Extra category which comes from non-system skills but gained EP)
Youtube- 702, 500 EP
[LOTTERY SYSTEM]
Current Tier: Silver
Next Roll Cost: 1,000,000 EP
Rolls at Tier: 0/ 5
Note: After 5 total rolls, cost increases x10
I currently needed nearly half a million more EP to unlock a Silver roll…or so I thought.
[Congratulations to the Host for making it to the Silver Lottery Spin. As a reward, you gain a Gold Lottery Spin!]
Well, I hadn't expected that.
Unlocking a Gold Lottery Spin just for reaching the Silver tier had come as a surprise. It wasn't something the system had ever mentioned beforehand—just one of those things it decided to reveal when the moment came. Maybe this was a pattern; maybe, every time I ranked up, I'd get a spin from the tier above. Or maybe this was a one-time thing. I didn't know, and I wasn't going to waste time trying to unravel the system's logic. That kind of speculation never led anywhere useful.
What I did know was that I had a free Gold spin—and I wasn't about to ignore it.
I tapped the confirmation, and the Gold Lottery Wheel appeared right in front of me, filling nearly the entire trailer with its presence. It wasn't flashy in the sense of loud effects or wild animations. It just felt... substantial. Like something important was about to happen. The wheel spun fast, its surface filled with names and skills that blurred together so quickly I couldn't read a single one.
After a while, the wheel began to slow. My focus sharpened slightly as the pointer clicked past one slot, then another, then another—until it came to a gentle stop.
[Congratulations. You have gained Industry Professional Skill: Chess Mastery.]
I stared at the message for a few seconds, letting it settle.
Chess.
That was... unexpected.
Don't get me wrong—I had no problem with the skill itself. Chess was a game I'd always appreciated, even if I'd never devoted serious time to it. I already had Board Game Mastery at the beginner level, so part of me assumed that if I was going to improve anything in that category, it would be a general upgrade—maybe Intermediate Board Game Mastery, or something broader. Not this.
Not an Industry Professional tier skill dedicated entirely to chess.
For a moment, I wasn't even sure how to feel. It felt oddly specific, and yet, undeniably high-level. If this was the system's way of telling me that I now ranked among the most elite chess players in the world—possibly at or just under the level of Grandmasters—then that was saying something.
And still, it didn't feel like anything had changed. No sudden flood of knowledge. No sharp mental shift. But I had a quiet, unspoken certainty that if I sat down in front of a board, I'd just... know what to do. Not by memory or training. Just an instinctive understanding of the game. Not flashy, but powerful in its own way.
I didn't dwell on it too long. The system worked in ways I didn't always understand. For now, the only thing that mattered was that I'd gained a new skill—an important one, even if it wasn't as obviously entertaining as singing or dancing or something you could easily put in front of a camera.
Still, there were ways to use it. Chess wasn't just a board game—it was a performance in its own right, a quiet competition that carried its own kind of tension. If I ever decided to lean into that image—the quiet strategist, the unexpected expert—I had the credibility now. Or at the very least, the ability to back it up.
I leaned back slightly and closed the interface.
Another skill down. Another step closer to building something bigger.
Not everything had to shine to be valuable.
…
[ENTERTAINER SYSTEM – STATUS PAGE]
Host: Jace Harper
Age: 18
Entertainment Points (EP): 422, 500 EP
[SKILL INVENTORY]
(Sorted by Tier)
— Beginner:
Live Streaming
Board Game mastery
3 D Animation
Makeup Artistry
Football
— Intermediate:
None
— Advanced:
Writing- Lord of the Mysteries ( EP- 30,000)
— Industry Professional:
Chess Mastery
— Perfect:
★Acting ★
Supernatural Action – When used, the performer assumes the full qualities of the role. Presence and behavior adapt to match the intended character, enabling an authentic enactment beyond conscious control.
Teen Wolf (No EP gained yet)
Note:
(Extra category which comes from non-system skills but gained EP)
Youtube- 702, 500 EP
[LOTTERY SYSTEM]
Current Tier: Silver
Next Roll Cost: 1,000,000 EP
Rolls at Tier: 0/ 5
Note: After 5 total rolls, cost increases x10
…
Authors note:
You can read some chapters ahead if you want to on my p#treon.com/Fat_Cultivator