Ryan never expected his night shift would end with a gun shoved in his face.
He leaned back in the creaky chair of the CCTV control room, half-asleep, half-watching the flickering black-and-white screens. Rows of feeds showed empty classrooms, quiet hallways, and the occasional stray cat prowling the university grounds.
His uniform shirt was wrinkled, his cheap instant coffee had gone cold, and his phone buzzed every five minutes with dumb memes from the group chat.
Ryan scratched his head and muttered, "God, I should've just gone for that Grit driver gig. At least then I'd be outside, not staring at screens like some NPC."
He swiveled his chair, stretching, when the main monitor flickered. A shadow moved on one of the hallway feeds. Then another. Then five.
He frowned. "The hell?"
The figures weren't students. They moved fast, carrying bags and… wait—were those rifles?
Ryan sat up straight, his heart hammering. He jabbed the radio button on the desk. "Uh, security post? Control room here. We've got… uh… armed dudes in corridor C. Like, real guns. Not the airsoft kind."
The radio went static. No reply.
He pressed harder. "Hello? Post one? Post two? Anyone?"
Nothing. No one replied.
His gut went cold. He turned back to the screens just in time to see the group smash through the admin office door. One of them pointed a gun at a guard on duty, and the feed cut out with a flash of light.
"Shit," Ryan whispered. His brain screamed at him—call the cops. Run. Hide. Anything.
He reached for the desk phone, but the control room door slammed open.
A man in a ski mask stood there, holding a leveled shotgun.
Ryan froze. "Oh fuck."
The man didn't say a word. He just pulled the trigger. Ryan's last thought was… 'Seriously? I die in a freaking CCTV room?'
Then everything went black.
*******
When his all senses returned, he didn't feel pain. It was… wind. Cool, open air brushed his skin.
Ryan opened his eyes. He wasn't in university anymore. He was lying in grass, actual grass, under the sky way too bright to be Earth's. The clouds glowed with a weird purple tint, like someone had slapped an Integer filter on reality.
He sat up slowly, clutching his chest. There was no blood, no hole, and no pain. His uniform was gone too. In its place, he wore some kind of rough tunic, a cheap belt, and boots that looked stolen from a medieval drama set.
"What…the…actual hell," Ryan muttered.
A chime echoed in his head.
[Welcome, Contestant #112277.]
[You are now connected to the Multiverse Streaming System.]
Ryan blinked. "The what system?"
A blue translucent screen popped into existence in front of him, like RPG HUD. Text scrolled in glowing letters.
[You have been selected to participate in the Cross-Dimensional Battle League. Compete against contestants from thousands of worlds. The objective is simple:
→Gain Subscribers.
→Entertain the Multiversal Audience.
→Rise in the rankings.
→Survive]
Ryan rubbed his eyes. "This is some isekai bullsh—"
The screen didn't vanish. Instead, more text appeared.
[Initial Skill Package granted:
→Charisma Boost(Passive): Minor increase in appeal during live interactions.
→Stream Overlay(Active): Create visible interface for viewers.
→Clickbait Aura(Passive): Attracts attention, increases chance of random audience engagement.
Combat Skills unlocked: None.]
Ryan just stared. "...What the hell am I supposed to do with clickbait?"
Another chime came in.
[Warning: Contest begins in 10 minutes.]
[Your personal stream will go live shortly. Prepare yourself.]
Ryan jumped to his feet, panic setting in. "Whoa, whoa, hold up. Contest? Battle League? Bro, I'm a CCTV guy, not Guts from Berserk. I don't fight. I don't even gym."
He looked around. The grassy field stretched endlessly, with a jagged forest on one side and mountains in the distance. Birds, or literally things with too many wings, soared overhead. He didn't see another person.
"This is a nightmare," Ryan muttered. "I got shot in the face, woke up in Skyrim, and now I'm in some twisted Pitch Hunger Games?"
He tugged at his tunic, as if Wi-Fi bars might magically appear, it didn't. The System dinged again.
[Your Stream is now Live.]
[Viewers: 1,203]
Ryan froze. "Wait, WHAT?"
A tiny chat window popped up in the corner of his vision. Messages scrolled by, usernames flashing in strange symbols and alien scripts. But somehow...he understood them.
[SpacePunk42]: lol this newbie looks lost already
[QueenOfTentacles]: cute outfit, 2/10 survival tho
[Bloodaxe77]: bet he dies in first five mins
[UwU_Beast]: omg he looks like my cousin lol
Ryan's stomach dropped. "They're...watching me. Right now."
He waved awkwardly at the empty air. "Uh...hi? Can you guys...hear me?"
The chat exploded.
[Alien_Emote]: HE SAID HI LMAO
[QueenOfTentacles]: omg he's self aware, bless
[SpacePunk42]: bro don't waste time talking, RUN
A loud roar shook the ground. Ryan whipped his head toward the forest. Something massive crashed through the treess, something with too many teeth and way too much muscle.
The System chimed.
[First Encounter Initiated.]
[Viewer Bet Multiplier active.]
[Survive for Bonus Subscribers.]
Ryan felt his knees turned to jelly. "You've gotta be kidding me."
The beast emerged, drool dripping from its jaws, its eyes glowing red. It looked like a lion, if lion were ten feet tall and injected with nightmare fuel.
Ryan stumbled back. "Nope. Nope nope nope. Fuck this. Where's the exit button?"
The chat spammed emojis and bets.
[Bloodaxe77]: 50 creds on lions wins
[UwU_Beast]: nooo protect cinnamon roll security boy
[SpacePunk42]: bruh run for ur life
Ryan's breath hitched. His brain screamed at him—Move or die.
But where? He had no weapon. No skills. Just...stream powers?
The System whispered.
[Tip: Engaging audience can generate temporary boosts.]
Ryan groaned. "Are you serious? You want me to...stream my way out of being eaten?"
The beast roared again, charging at him with tremendous speed. He yelped and bolted toward the open field. His boots slapped dirt, his lungs burned, and...the chat went wild.
[QueenOfTentacles]: he runs like a baby dear lol
[UwU_Beast]: go lil streamer goooo
[SpacePunk42]: ngl this is better than half the pros rn
Ryan's mind scrambled. 'Okay okay, think. What gets viewers? What keeps them hooked?'
He forced a grin, which was fake as hell, and yelled into the empty air above him, "Yo, what's up, multiverse! Your boy Ryan here, running for his freaking life! Don't forget to hit that sub button if you don't wanna see me turned into lion poop!"
The chat exploded in laughter. Not long, the System chimed in his head.
[+200 Subscribers gained.]
[Temporary Buff unlocked: Speed +10% for 60 seconds.]
Ryan's legs surged with energy. He almost tripped from the sudden boost. "Holy crap, that actually worked!"
He dashed faster, barely dodging as the beast's claws smashed into the ground behind him. The shockwave threw dirt everywhere.
Ryan screamed, "Okay okay okay, Plan B! Uh...what do you guys wanna see? A stunt? A fight? A—"
[Bloodaxe77]: fight him like a man u coward
[UwU_Beast]: nooooo just keep running baby
[QueenOfTentacles]: parkour or unsub
Ryan groaned. "Parkour? Fine!"
He spotted a boulder ahead, his heart hammering wildly. He sprinted, planted a foot, and vaulted over it—barely clearing the top. His hand slipped, he faceplanted on the other side, and rolled in the dirt.
The chat went wild.
[+500 Subscribers gained.]
[Buff unlocked: Pain Resistance +20% for 5 minutes.]
Ryan spat dirt out of his mouth. "Ow! But okay, I'll take it."
The beast leapt over the boulder, snarling. Ryan scrambled back, he had no escape left.
The System dinged again.
[Viewer Milestone reached: 2,000 Subscribers.]
[New Skill Unlocked:
→Ad Revenue Shield (Active): Converts viewers donations into temporary barrier.]
A bar appeared above his head, it showed empty. Then, suddenly, chat started spamming icons and weird currency amounts. The bar filled up until it was full.
A shimmering bubble of light snapped into place around Ryan just as the beast's claw slammed down. The impact echoed like a gong, cracks spiderwebbing across the shield, but it held.
Ryan gaped. "Did I just...tank that because people threw money at me?"
The chat flooded.
[SpacePunk42]: HELL YEAH PAY2WIN
[QueenOfTentacles]: streamer privilege at its finest
[UwU_Beast]: LET'S GOOOOOOOO
Ryan staggered to his feet inside the glowing barrier, his heart still pounding. For the first time since waking up, a tiny spark of hope flickered inside him.
Maybe...he wasn't completely screwed.
The System chimed one final time.
[Congratulations, Contestant.]
[You have survived your first Stream Encounter.]
[Viewership retained: 2,187.]
[Subscribers: 2,034.]
[Keep entertaining or perish.]
The lion-beast snarled and backed away, melting into the shadows of the forest.
Ryan collapsed to his knees, gasping for air. His body shook from fear, exhaustion, and adrenaline.
"Holy...shit," he whispered. "This isn't a dream. This is real."
He looked up at the empty sky, his voice cracking. "And my life depends on streaming?"
The chat answered with more spam and laughing emotes.
Ryan buried his face in his hands. "God help me."