06: New Skill?

Jared sat at his desk, staring at his freshly completed One Piece edit. He had spent hours perfecting the timing, finding the best fight scenes to the beat of "Warriors". Now came the real test: releasing it into the world.

After exporting the video, the system chimed in with a notification.

[Video Boost Activated.]

[Recommended Actions for Maximum Reach Provided.]

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Optimal Upload Time: 4:30 PM

Hashtags: #onepiece #animeedits #foryou #fyp

Caption: "For my One Peak fans!"

---

Jared grinned. The system had nailed the timing on his last post, helping him rack up views fast. Now, with his new One Piece edit and a precise posting time, he felt even more confident.

Jared leaned back in his chair, satisfied. The system had never let him down, and now it was just a waiting game until 4:30 PM.

He opened TikTok, double-checking his video, making sure everything was perfect—captions, hashtags, and the final touches on the edit.

As he waited, his eyes drifted to the time on the computer. 4:28 PM. He hovered his finger over the Upload button, feeling his heartbeat quicken.

4:30 PM.

Jared hit Post.

His video was live.

"Alright, let's see what happens," he muttered, leaning back and exhaling. With the Video Boost working its magic, he knew he had a good chance of blowing up again.

Just as he was about to close the system interface, a new notification flashed across the screen.

[New Feature Unlocked: Status Window]

[Would you like to view your current status?]

Jared frowned in confusion. Status Window? He hadn't seen anything about that before. His curiosity got the better of him, and he clicked the notification. The screen changed, displaying a window that reminded him of the stat sheets he used to see in RPG games.

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[Status Window]

Name: Jared Harper

Age: 17

Current Followers: 1,294

Total Views: 102,487

Likes: 8,429

System Skills:

Video Boost: Level 2

Video Enhancement Feature: Level 1

Content Creation Insight: Locked

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Achievements:

First Successful Post 50K View Milestone

1K Followers Milestone

---

Jared's jaw dropped as he stared at the numbers.

"102,487 total views? Over a thousand followers?" He hadn't even realized how quickly his account had grown in the past couple of hours.

Just a few days ago, he was struggling to get even a handful of views, and now, here he was, with more views and followers than he could have imagined.

"How did this happen so fast?" Jared muttered, scrolling through the Status Window. It was like his growth had been supercharged since the system had entered his life.

Not only could he track his progress, but his Video Boost skill had leveled up, and now there was another locked skill—Content Creation Insight. He leaned closer to the screen, his curiosity piqued.

"Content Creation Insight... what's that?"

Before he could click on the locked skill, a new notification popped up.

[Complete the next system task to unlock Content Creation Insight.]

[New Task: Gain 5,000 views on your next post.]

Jared grinned. 5,000 views? After what happened with his last post, this seemed like a challenge he could tackle easily.

But this new feature—the idea of having insight into content creation—piqued his curiosity even more. What kind of insights was the system offering?

He stared at the locked skill for a moment longer before closing the window. The new edit was already uploaded, and the Video Boost would handle the rest. All Jared had to do was wait.

'But waiting's boring,' he thought, pushing away from his desk.

As he wandered into the living room, Jared heard footsteps coming from Connor's room, which was right next to his. Connor emerged, still glued to his phone, looking half-bored, half-intrigued.

"Yo, Jared," Connor called out as he joined him in the living room. "Your TikTok's blowing up again, huh?"

Jared raised an eyebrow. "You've been keeping track?"

Connor shrugged, still staring at his phone. "Nah, but I keep seeing you freaking out, so I figured something's up."

"Yeah, I posted a new video. It's starting to pick up," Jared replied, trying to keep his excitement in check.

Connor plopped down on the couch. "So, when do I get to cash in on being your brother? Think I could make some money off this?"

Jared laughed. "Sure, if you want to be known as the guy who gets famous for being annoying."

Connor snorted. "You mean the guy who's been watching you waste time on 'crap edits' for years and finally see it pay off?"

Jared smirked. "Yeah, maybe."

Just then, Jared's phone buzzed with a new system notification.

[Task Progress: 2,139 views.]

Jared grinned and quickly showed his phone to Connor. "Look at that! It's already getting views!"

Connor stared at him blankly. "Dude... what am I supposed to be seeing?"

Jared blinked. "The progress, obviously. It just hit 2,000 views."

Connor frowned. "You're just showing me your lock screen. Are you alright? What progress?"

Jared froze for a moment, realizing that only he could see the system notifications. Connor wasn't seeing anything, and from his perspective, Jared looked like he was talking nonsense.

"Uh... never mind," Jared muttered, quickly pulling his phone back. "You wouldn't get it."

Connor shook his head, looking at Jared like he'd completely lost it. "Yeah, okay, whatever, crackhead."

Jared couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not crazy, I swear."

"Sure," Connor said, rolling his eyes. "But seriously, if you start talking to invisible people next, I'm telling Mom."

Before Jared could respond, Connor got up and headed back toward his room, muttering something about how his brother might've finally snapped.

Jared shook his head, grinning to himself.

---

The afternoon passed quickly. Jared found himself checking his phone every few minutes, for a new system notification. It wasn't long before another message from the system popped up.

[Task Progress: 4,671 views.]

Jared couldn't believe how fast it was growing. Just a few seconds, and he was already hitting the 5,000-view goal. His phone buzzed again.

[Task Complete: 5,012 views achieved.]

[Congratulations! You've unlocked the Content Creation Insight skill.]

Jared's pulse quickened as he opened the system interface. The Content Creation Insight icon was no longer locked. With a quick tap, the feature activated.

[Content Creation Insight: Activated.]

[This skill allows you to understand audience behavior, analyze trending content, and optimize future posts for viral potential.]

Jared stared at the message in awe. This was the kind of tool that could change everything. The system wasn't just helping him get views—it was giving him the ability to predict what people wanted to see.

A slow grin spread across his face. 'This is only the beginning.'

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A/N: And just like that, another chapter! I hope you're enjoying Jared's little adventure. Also, I like writing the interactions with Connor, should I add more? Leave a comment. and a review telling me how bad this is. xD