Chapter 8 - Growing Fame

"...that was a mistake."

I groan into my pillow as I attempt to nurse the terrible headache I feel. I knew drinking all that sake was a mistake, but I just couldn't help myself. I mean, just 100 Yen for some sake from the nearby convenience store? How do the manufacturers even make a profit?

…That's a lie. I'm no alcoholic. But composing my song had taken far too much from me. Diving into Aiko's memories has never been pleasant, but the nauseating discomfort I feel seems to grow with every instance. Hearing that song brings up Aiko's memories, whether I want to or not.

And every time, I just-, I can't help but admire Aiko more and more. Because despite what her extended family did, she still tried to be kind. She still gave them a chance. A chance they exploited.

I'm not so kind. I've made sure Aiko's extended family can never touch me anymore, even if I did have to spend an egregious amount of Stream Points.

I wonder what Aiko would think if she saw what I did to them all. Would she understand? Would she despise me?

Worthless questions, those are. Because I'm the one who remains, trying my hardest not to bash my head against the wall to stall the pain.

But time waits for no one, and eventually I manage to drag myself to my computer. The screen is a bright translucent blue, and there are words I can't quite read through my blurred vision. I sit down behind the desk and squint as my vision slowly settles.

And my jaw falls open.

[UTube Submission "For Dreamers Must Wake" Rating: A!]

[Tallying Music Points:

+5/day (Stream Rating: A)

+34/day (Current View Count: 1.7 Million Views)

+5/day (Achievement: Over 1 Million Views!)

+15/day (Achievement: Reached Top 100 Trending on UTube (Japan)!)

Total Daily Music Points: 59/day]

Like, what? Nearly 2 million views? Top 100 on Japan's UTube? Music Points!?

I quickly open UTube on my phone and bring up my own channel, and another terrified laugh escapes me.

@Suzuki_Aiko Ch. | 382,391 Subscribers

Nearly 100,000 Subscribers overnight. 

I worked for almost six months to get my channel to 300,000 Subscribers. And then my channel gained nearly 100,000 Subscribers overnight.

"Ha." I lean back into my chair. "Haha." I let my phone slip from my fingers, tumbling onto my thigh. "Haha. What the hell." 

Before my brain can combust any further, I decide to see what Music Points can actually do. There doesn't seem to be any Music Shop I can use the points for, nor any extension to the Stream Shop I've been using for months now.

It takes me some finagling, but I come across it eventually.

[Suzuki Aiko | Female Human | Age: 20]

Occupation*: [Virtual Streamer]

Str: E+ | Agi: E+

End: D+ (E+) | For: E+

Mag*: - | Int: E

Cha: E | Voi: E+

Com: E+ (F+) |

Streamer Points: 512

Music Points: 59

Talents*: [Survivor (Expert)], [Natural Streamer], [Endurance Streamer], [Golden Voice], [Composer (Veteran)], [Natural Composer]

My Occupation, Mag, and Talents are glowing. I'm guessing I can use my Music Points to upgrade them, or unlock them, or something along those lines.

I decide to give my Mag a click, and another pop-up appears over my Status screen.

[Attribute: Magic]

[Status: Current locked. Spend 1,000 Music Points to Unlock?]

"Mm." I hum. Seems like I'm right. And only 1,000 points? I can get that in 3 weeks!

A smile lights my cheeks, and I give my Occupation a click next.

[Occupation(s)]

[Virtual Streamer: Increases growth of Cha and Voi by 100% when Streaming]

*[Composer: Increases growth of Com by 100%. Increases Music Point Generation by 10%. Currently locked. Spend 1,000 Music Points to Unlock?]

"Huh." No wonder my Cha and Voi grew so quickly compared to my other stats. Virtual Streamer had been bolstering them all along! That aside, that Composer looks really tempting, but unlocking Magic is winning over it at the moment.

I hum as I click my Talents.

[Talents]

*[Blessed Body: Raises Cha by 2 Ranks. Spend 500 Music Points to Unlock?]

*[Mathematician: Increases fluency in mathematics by 200%. Raises Int by 1 Rank. Spend 1,000 Music Points to Unlock?]

*[Unflinching Laborer: Decreases received pain by 20%. Raises Str and End by 1 Rank. Spend 1,000 Music Points to Unlock?]

There are even more Talents I can unlock, each costing a pretty large amount of Stream Points. I spend a good five minutes scrolling down, and even then I still haven't reached the last Talent on the list.

But what stands out are the Talents themselves. They…sound like they've been pulled from my life. Not Aiko's, but mine. Mathematician? Laborer? They correspond to jobs I've done in the past. Blessed Body? It sounds a little pretentious, but I had many men come up to ask me for a date back then.

Which is interesting, and I can't help but wonder just who or what it was that made this System in the first place.

But before I can consider the question any longer, my phone begins to ring. I pick it up to see that it's Kson giving me a call. The call connects, and I can't help but smile as Kson's cheery voice comes streaming through. "Aiko-chan! You're finally awake!"

"Morning." I say, smiling wryly as I spy the emptied cups of sake next to the keyboard. "Sorry, got knocked out after drinking last night." I laugh. "Was a little afraid of how my song would go."

"Well, you did awesome, Aiko-chan! Everyone's talking about it!"

"I'm glad people like it."

Kson laughs. "Hey, wanna meet up? Celebrate with some food?"

I snicker. "It's always food, isn't it?" I take a look at the time. It's still nine in the morning. "But I'm down. Where do you want to meet?"

"Donuts?"

I grin. "Donuts it is."

…

Weeks pass in idle calm.

The views for the UTube video of "For Dreamers Must Wake" continues to climb as time goes on. It goes past two million in two days. Breaches past three million in a week. Four million in two weeks.

It's sitting at roughly four and a half million at the moment. The views are still climbing, though not at the incredible pace it had weeks before.

Despite everything, not much changes. I still stream late into the night, stopping at around midnight. I play games, chat with my viewers, participate in some collabs with Kson—my routine is basically unchanged. Some asked for longer streams, but I'm honestly not ready for that yet.

…but, if there is one thing that's changed though-

"...? This is-" I squint, leaning forward as I read the email once more. The words don't change, and I can't help but whistle in awe. "Damn. So it really happened, huh."

Invitation for Collaboration, the email's title reads. A fairly normal seeming email—she gets one from Kson before every collab—but Kson isn't the sender this time around.

It's from Hololive.

I might not be the most up-to-date person on this planet, but I'd be a genuine fool if I don't recognize that name. A powerhouse in the Streaming industry, boasting dozens of Streamers, each with giant fanbases. Hell, the last time they did a con, they had to book two stadiums to fit every attendee!

It's for a song, actually. Not surprising, considering my recent achievements. They want me in both as a second vocalist. 

My partner will be one Shirakami Fubuki, a…cat? Fox-girl?

Hmm, strange. I felt an odd chill then.

It hasn't escaped me that this world isn't as normal as I first thought it was. Kson's inhuman strength had clued me in, and after some digging around the internet, I figured out that the supernatural is-, well, more natural.

Youkais, Ninjas, Knights, Undeads, Robots—this world is a collage of every fantastical genre, mixed into a world where they've all taken up streaming.

And somehow this whole world hasn't blown up to smithereens yet. Which is honestly amazing.

…where was I again?

Oh, right. Shirakami Fubuki. A very popular streamer from Hololive, boasting nearly 2.5 million Subscribers on her UTube channel. She mainly does games on her channel, though she does dabble in other fields from time to time.

She's planning on making a cover on the song "虎狼来", by the artist Eve. He'd sung it alone, but since the MV includes two characters, Fubuki plans to have a second vocalist sing along with her. And this time, she's chosen me.

The choice is obvious.

I chart a reply to the email. "To Hololive Management," I type down. "It would be an honor to work together with you and Shirakami-san. When will we…"

The reply takes me a few minutes to write down, and I send it out with a smile.

Of course, I can't help but be somewhat worried. Fubuki is much larger than I am, and Hololive has many talents who are as talented as I am in singing. And yet she still chose me.

Well, that means I'll have to return the courtesy. 

If Fubuki wants me to sing with her, then I'll be damned if I bring anything less than my best.

[Talent: Synchronicity]

[Your soul forms connections with no hesitation. Allows the Streamer to synchronize their actions with another. Synchronicity is more easily achieved when Performing. When Synchronized, increases all Attributes by 2 Ranks, but increases energy consumption by 20%.]

[Cost: 1000 Streamer Points]

It's one of the most expensive Talents I've ever bought, but it's worth it.

It does mean that the surplus of Streamer Points I'd been saving up for something else is gone. Again.

Well. That's just how things are, I suppose.

…

A day later, a reply from Hololive arrives.

I've been formally invited to Hololive's Recording Studio in two weeks. Shirakami Fubuki will be there, along with a few staff members.

Oh, and Tanigo Motoaki—the CEO of Hololive himself will be there.

So, yeah. No pressure.