The sun was already slipping behind the crooked rooftops of the city when Adrian began his tour of the city.
Long shadows stretched across the cobbled streets, swallowing stalls and wagons as merchants packed away their various merchandise. They were done for the day.
The air reeked of stale beer, woodsmoke, and manure, carried by the evening breeze that sent chills down Adrian's body with each step he took.
Dooong!
Somewhere, a bell tolled, calling the faithful to prayer but Adrian couldn't care less. He had no idea about it either.
Adrian pulled his hood lower and walked fast, hands buried in his pockets. Every corner, every crumbling wall, every passerby was another reminder that he wasn't in his cramped apartment anymore.
He didn't know where "here" was, but the more he saw, the less it resembled anything modern.
Ding.
The panel in his vision flickered.
«Viewers: 22»
Chat scrolled with disbelief.
[PixelPunk88: ok nah this is insane, this is like deepfake promax level]
[xxNoScopeArcherxx: bro stop trolling where u at fr]
[HotMomsBakePie: i can HEAR horses in the background. wtf]
[SwordKid77: ARG marketing, calling it now]
[AnimeTearsLOL: idk man this looks REAL real]
Adrian gritted his teeth. "Yeah, well, if this is an ARG, they forgot to hand me a script." His voice rumbled with the unnatural reverb of the filter, turning sarcasm into something that sounded like thunder rolling over mountains.
Across the continent, the orbs only continued to glowed brighter.
In a cathedral, some of the pressed their foreheads to the marble floor, trembling as Adrian's filtered words echoed through the chamber.
"They forgot to hand me a script" became, in their ears "The gods proclaim: destiny is unwritten."
In anither location, a noble's hall, courtiers whispered amongst themselves, clutching their pearls of clairvoyance. "The Oracle speaks of destiny… of an unwritten path."
And in a gutter tavern, a drunken mercenary slammed his mug down. "The voice of the heavens is real! It walks among us!"
Adrian kicked a loose stone as he walked down the narrow street. "Great. So Earth thinks I'm cosplaying and for some reason, those medieval people back at the city square think I'm some messenger of the gods. Perfect."
Adrian had seen what was been displayed on the orb back at the city square which was another major reason he'd fled to hide earlier.
The chat snickered.
[HotMomsBakePie: MOSES 2.0 LETS GO]
[PixelPunk88: yo this IS just a VRMMO right?? pls]
[xxNoScopeArcherxx: nah man he's gone full isekai apparently]
Adrian ignored them and focused on his surroundings. The city was winding down for the night.
A lot of shop shutters were now closed shut. Lanterns flared to life, glowing weakly from the oil-fed light they held. Beggars huddled at corners, hands outstretched to anyone who was brave enough to pass by.
The cobblestones were uneven, worn by centuries of cart wheels and horse hooves. The walls leaned like drunks in a row, patched with timber and plaster, some places cracked and others missing a brick or two.
He passed a group of children chasing each other with sticks, their laughter echoing off stone. "Wait for me!" One of them cried out to the others who ran off.
He breathed it all in. The grime. The dust. The weight of history. His viewers had gone from twenty-two to twenty-seven. The highest he'd ever recorded.
He was passively breaking his own record.
"This is…" His words faltered. "This is… insane."
To Earth chat, it sounded like awe. To those in this world who kept on watching him through the strange orbs, it became scripture. The gods walks the streets of men and finds their world… wanting.
He turned a corner and stopped short.
Two men sat hunched over a barrel, dice clattering between them. Their sleeves were rolled up, faces gaunt and eyes sharp. Coins glittered on the wood, small stacks of copper and a few silver ones.
"C'mon," one hissed, sweat beading on his temple. "Double six, that's mine. Fair's fair."
The other slammed his palm down, scattering dice. "Cheat! You're palming the die again, I saw it!"
"Liar!"
The first man lunged across the barrel, shoving the second. Coins spilled into the dirt. A crowd began to gather—drunks, idlers, beggars drawn by the scent of a fight and the hope of picking a few coins.
Adrian flattened himself into the shadows of a doorway. His chest tightened. Oh no. This is about to get messy.
However, the chat went wild.
[PixelPunk88: OHHH STREET FIGHT LETS GO]
[xxNoScopeArcherxx: pog pog pog content]
[SwordKid77: this is staged right??? pls tell me it's staged]
[HotMomsBakePie: worldstarrrrrrr streamer!]
The second gambler shoved back, his lips curling into a sneer. "Fine. If fists won't settle it—" He raised his hand. A spark of light crackled between his fingers.
Adrian's jaw dropped. "Wait. Wait, is that…?"
The spark swelled into a glowing sphere of flame, hovering above the man's palm.
Ding.
«System Alert: Spell Detected – Lesser Fire Orb.»
Adrian's throat went dry. "That's… real magic. Holy sh—"
His voice thundered through the orbs. To Earth, it was a curse. To his new viewers in this world, it was another divine confirmation. The god names fire real.
The crowd gasped as the first gambler countered, drawing a jagged shard of ice from the air. Frost smoked around his fingers.
The square erupted into chaos. Some screamed and backed away. Others cheered, eager for blood.
Adrian's viewers skyrocketed.
Viewers: 41
[xxNoScopeArcherxx: HOLY SHIII HE GOT POWERS]
[HotMomsBakePie: BRO MAGIC IS REAL WTF]
[AnimeTearsLOL: nah nah nah this is too high budget to fake]
[PixelPunk88: scuffed harry potter duel incoming]
The two gamblers circled each other, fire and frost casting wild light on the cobbles.
Adrian whispered, "This is insane…"
The orbs trembled across his new world. Nobles, priests, mages—all leaned closer, believing one of the gods himself had descended to witness mortal sin.
The fire-wielder hurled his orb. It streaked across the square—
The ice-wielder thrust his hand forward.
Pssshhhh~
Frost erupted, meeting flame in a hiss of steam. The barrel split in two, coins scattering like rain.
The crowd roared.
Adrian ducked lower in his doorway, heart pounding. His vision jittered as chat spammed nonstop. His audience was doubling by the minute.
Then—iron boots struck the stones.
"Enough!"
A knight strode into the circle, mail gleaming under a tabard of blue and gold. His sword rang free of its scabbard with a sound that silenced the mob.
The gamblers froze, fire and ice flickering uncertainly in their hands.
The knight's voice cut through the night. "Spellcraft outside sanctioned duels is forbidden. Drop your magic. Now."
Both men hesitated, teeth bared.
The knight took a single step closer, blade raised. The fire and ice guttered out instantly, leaving nothing but smoke.
The crowd dispersed with mutters and curses, some casting fearful glances at the knight.
Adrian's overlay dinged again.
«New Feature Detected: Event Capture.»
"What?" he breathed.
Another tooltip appeared:
«Significant encounters are automatically logged for highlight reels. Share them to increase audience growth.»
Adrian almost laughed, a shaky, disbelieving sound. "So I'm… a Twitch streamer for street fights now?"
Chat went wild.
[PixelPunk88: CLIP ITTTTTTTT]
[xxNoScopeArcherxx: highlight reel pog]
[HotMomsBakePie: knight just modded the server]
[AnimeTearsLOL: THAT ARMOR LOOKS SO REAL BRO WHAT]
His viewer counter surged past 60.
In cathedrals and courts, the orbs pulsed with light. Priests whispered that the god had revealed mortal corruption and divine justice. Nobles argued over what it meant that the "Oracle's Voice" had condemned a duel.
Adrian just hugged his hood tighter and slipped away down another side street, sweat prickling his spine.
He didn't know how he had ended up here. He didn't know how the stream worked.
But for the first time in his miserable streaming career…
People were watching.
And he couldn't look away from the glowing counter climbing higher and higher.