"…Huh?"
Noa blinked in surprise.
The surrounding darkness was now gone. Instead, a small screen hovered right before his eyes.
[System Notice: First broadcast in another world activated.]
"…No way," Noa muttered.
The idea that his voice and consciousness still existed was bizarre. Yet, he had long since realized he had died, but, strangely, it didn't feel painful.
It didn't even make him sad, nor did it hurt.
His mind was just empty. Almost.
"Am I still…streaming?" he questioned, trying to gather his thoughts.
Just then—
The empty chat box near the system panel flickered repeatedly, then lines of text written in English poured one after another.
In an instant, Noa's entire vision was flooded.
Viewer_1: First! And yes, I am watching.
Viewer_2: WTF is this? Why was it suddenly so dark? And where is my real username?
Viewer_3: Is it some kind of VR game? The graphics look too real.
Viewer_4: I don't know about that. Bro looked like he died on cam like a second ago.
Noa stood in silence.
He was just reading through the comments—surprise, confusion, and… a tiny bit of happiness were swirling together in his mind.
'Chat? Viewers?' he said inwardly.
It was his first time receiving this many viewers, and truth be told, he didn't know how to react. The situation itself was weird—so weird, in fact, he didn't know what to do for a full minute.
Viewer_1: Why is he standing like that? Is he high or something?
Viewer_3: Brother, snap out of it and do something. Come on, entertain us, and I might even donate something.
Viewer_1: Maybe there is a lag. The graphics are so realistic they might take a while to process.
Noa, meanwhile, was glancing around.
The old walls of his apartment were no more, and the darkness started to dim. Slowly, the colors began to come back, and suddenly, Noa found himself standing on a grassy field under a blue, cloudless sky.
In the distance, a medieval-looking tiny village could be seen.
Smoke rose from the chimneys, and people in old-fashioned clothes roamed the street. "What the hell?" Noa exclaimed.
This time, his voice was loud.
As for his body, it was back in a flash.
To answer his question, another system panel popped up, explaining what was happening.
[You have been selected as a Dimensional Streamer.]
[This whole world is now your stage. Here, all actions will be broadcast to your viewers in real-time.]
"My stage?" Noa repeated, ignoring the constant messages flooding his view. "Then what about your features? What can you do, and how can I go back home?"
The system answered immediately, not wasting his time.
[Your life and future will be dictated by:]
[Viewer Counts = Streamer Points (SP)]
[Donations = Money you can use in both worlds]
[Subscriptions = XP for feature unlocks]
[Quests = Tasks you have to complete for additional benefits]
[Would you like me to provide you with some examples?]
Noa massaged his temples. He was pondering his current situation, and though everything seemed too unreal, he couldn't just let this opportunity slip by.
So he nodded quickly, afraid that he would wake up in his bed to realize it was all a dream.
The system didn't seem to care about his feelings, however.
It just did its job. Silently.
And in an instant, new panels materialized in front of him, completely obscuring his vision beyond the screen. Still, Noa didn't mind it. He just read through them eagerly.
[1 Viewer = + 1 - 6 (based on probability) SP per minute]
[You can exchange SP for loot, better streaming gear, money, power, and everything your current level will allow you to find.]
[For example: 100 SP = 1 Common Loot Chest]
[It's like a gacha system, but you have to be careful with it]
[To explain what Feature unlocks are, you need to see your current features first. But you have yet to unlock your status window. You can do it after completing the tutorial]
Reading through the messages, Noa was reminded of games he had loved to play his entire life.
Now it was his turn to have some fun. With the system, his life was gamified, and he was ecstatic to experience it to the fullest.
However, the system had more to say.
[Subscriptions, quests, and the reward you would receive from them are self-explanatory.]
[Let's just get on with the tutorial]
"Sure," Noa didn't argue. "But you have yet to tell me how I can return to my home? Hana is all alone, and I need to be with her."
Yes, he had fulfilled his dream. At least he was walking on the right path. But even then, Hana was the most important star in his life, and none of the benefits mattered if he couldn't share them with her.
Thankfully, the system didn't seem to mind his words.
[Complete the tutorial]
[Tutorial objective: Go live for 10 minutes]
[Requirement: Maintain at least 10 viewers by the end of it]
[Reward to motivate you: $10,000 directly into your bank account]
Noa was shocked after reading the last line. He had already found the situation strange, but seeing the numbers on the screen, he hoped it was true.
A bright smile appeared on his face as sharp resolve filled his eyes.
'Let's do this,' he exclaimed to himself, and shooed the system screens out of his view.
Now he was left with chat and nothing more.
Still, it was zoomed too close for his liking, taking more space than it needed to. So he nudged at its corner and made it smaller, just enough for him to still read it.
Viewer_3: Do something funny or badass. It's getting boring already.
Viewer_2: True… But really, what game is that? It's giving me RuneScape vibes. There is no way this is SGI.
Viewer_5: I think he moved. I bet he is going to visit that village.
"Alright, alright! Don't rush me," Noa exclaimed upon reading through the live messages. "I just woke up, and I don't even know where."
Viewer_5: LMAO he talks. Nah, for real though, you have to do something. The only reason we are still here is because of the graphics.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Noa's eyes darted around the grassy field.
"Okay. The stream starts now! Let's see what we can find in that village."