Lukas had watched the life documentary of Lukas, fragmented and cut short from several places but enough to give him a brief understanding about his whereabouts and circumstances.
And he had to say, they were quite fucked.
Or in gen z terms, he was cooked.
Coincidentally the previous soul's name was Lukas as well, though their surnames differed.
He had a loving mother and a strict father, an elder sister and a younger sister in this world– known as Deame.
Deame's nearly double the size of Earth, but in reality, it was infinitely larger…
All due to the existence of a simple thing.
The dreamscape.
A virtual reality, as what a young weeb would define, but in this world's terms, it was an alternate reality that could only be accessed by a specialized pair of lenses as well as a head gear.
That headgear was the connection between the mortal world and the dreamscape, the realm that can only be accessed in the soul form.
Or so the original, previous Lukas used to believe, at least.
Lukas was definitely surprised by the existence of the dreamscape, a virtual world, since that was a dream of most young men on Earth in the new generation.
However after he watched the whole documentary, the excitement had curbed significantly, replaced by a growing feeling of dread.
"What the fuck is wrong with this guy!? A DEATH GAME?!"
He screamed, both at the system panel in front of his eyes and at himself.
[ The host's advised to calm down. The previous soul used to believe he had what it took to win one. ]
"Believe that he had what it took to win one? Bro died on his own vomit and you're telling me he had what it took to win a literal death game?!"
[ Correction, host. System said that the previous soul believed he had what it took to win one. Whether the claim is true or not is strictly debatable and will not be answered by the system. ]
'...Is my subconscious mind so douchey that this system is trying to piss me off?'
Lukas deadpanned, but after a brief thought about it, he hesitatingly accepted the fact that maybe his subconscious was indeed filled with trash talks and arguments that may sound smart but were nothing more than attempts to piss others off.
But he knew that he was currently focusing on the completely wrong thing.
What he should be worried about was the elephants in the room… the mysterious system and the fucking death game.
Since it was a pick your poison kind of choice, Lukas chose to start with the easier and light hearted topic.
"What really is the system about? How would you help me?"
[ The system is the host's chosen progression method and the system will help the host acclimate himself with the new world and also begin his work. ]
"Progression method for what? Power? Wealth? Fame? And begin my work? What sort of work?" He shot his questions in a quick succession.
But luckily the system wasn't a pouting tsundere who would worry about the number of questions.
[ All of the above, host. However the main focus would be on the power, grade and the existence. Other things would come with the journey.
To get a detailed summary of your work, please activate the system's functions. ]
'So it was deactivated before? How to do it though…?'
Just as he was going to ask that question verbally, the answer popped up, reminding him that the system also had access to his thoughts.
[ To activate the system, kindly say 'Activate Stellar Streaming System.' ]
"Activate Stellar Streaming System." He read it out.
He was slightly caught off guard when he noticed the name of the system, but he couldn't dive deep into his thoughts before the answer to his questions popped up.
[ ~~ Stellar Streaming System ~~ ]
[ System grade: B (Upgradable) ]
[ System Stats: Click to expand… ]
[ System Features: Click to expand… ]
[ System Host: Lukas Specter. ]
[ ~Host~ ]
'So it really is a streaming system…' Lukas hummed, looking at the streaming system with a tinge of nostalgia.
He had started his career as a streamer before going pro at gaming, and slowly he began to earn enough that he had no need for grinding streams and begging for subs.
But who knew that the system would be so personalized for him?
With curiosity eating him alive, Lukas clicked on the system features first.
[ System Features ]
[ System will be the host's streaming platform, allowing the host to connect directly to his viewers without any need for equipment or set up. ]
[ Due to the system's limited grade, the stream topic has been restricted to those that are rated 'Interesting' or above. ]
[ Host's stream will not be connected to regular mortals but used as an entertainment platform for the bored celestials and upper realm viewers.
Any sort of disrespect towards the viewers or their person will not be tolerated, resulting in the possible death of the host. ]
[ Host gains streamer coins, SC for his viewer count, chat engagement as well as the received gifts. ]
[ Some viewers can create missions for a reward of special gifts, SC and other valuables. The missions can be rejected.
However, rejecting a mission may disappoint some viewers, causing a drop in engagement of the stream. ]
[ Host can buy power ups, skills, stats and other progressions using the SC. ]
While the large screen full of text didn't completely satisfy his curiosity, it allowed Lukas to understand the type of system he had binded to.
Streaming was something he was slightly comfortable with, which allowed him to shift his focus onto the second dreaded topic on his mind.
The death games…
From what he gained from the documentary memories was that the death games were the reason why the dreamscape had turned into a field of systematic slaughter, rather than being a free space that one could go to for relaxing.
In a virtual world where the strong had the right to create and imagine the most crazy things, they managed to create something truly fascinating.
So fascinating that countless people were willingly signing away their lives daily, lured by the bait of money, fame, power and the greatest of them all… the soul strength.
And unfortunately, the previous Lukas used to be one of those countless people.
The man who had gone bankrupt from repeated betrayals and drowning in depression, what other choice he had left rather than to sign his life to the devil?
Only in this case, the devil were the organizers of the death games.
The games that were designed with only slaughter and excitement in mind.
Lukas closed his eyes, taking a deep, very deep breath to stabilize his mind as a harrowing thought was stinging into his brain like a brutal reminder.
His death game was scheduled tomorrow.
To-fucking-morrow.