NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Vtuber (Illusion Magic) Debut
༺ Vtuber (Illusion Magic) Debut ༻
I was reincarnated as a commoner in a fantasy world.
I shouted for a status screen, but nothing popped up.
Not being particularly strong or of high status, I thought I would end up spending my life farming potatoes like my parents. Surprisingly, however, I was gifted the talent of a great Wizard.
No wonder I was good at mental arithmetic.
I was dragged to a place called Magic Towers and received countless offers from the Tower Masters.
Here were some parts of those offers:
“If you become a disciple of the Red Magic Tower, we’ll give you the knowledge that can set half the world on fire!”
“If you join the Blue Magic Tower, we guarantee you a place as the successor. With your talent… defeating the Blue Dragon of the Abyss and reclaiming the lost ancient underwater city of Atlantis is not a dream!”
“In the Gold Magic Tower, we’ll give you a lot of money as soon as you move in!”“Well, the Purple Magic Tower doesn’t have much to offer, but if you’re interested in Illusion Magic…”
Among the competitive love calls, there was one clear loser.
The Purple Magic Tower was a School of Illusion Magic, and because it was useless, it had neither popularity nor a budget. In the ruthless fantasy world, destructive power was the primary goal for a Wizard.
Confuse the opponent’s mind with illusions?
It was more efficient DPS1DPS- Damage Per Second, basically how much damage one can cause over time-wise to just cast a fireball in that time.
Show illusions to distract?
The brightness of a massive modified fireball reached around 1 million candelas2The candela is the unit of luminous intensity in the International System of Units. It measures luminous power per unit solid angle emitted by a light source in a particular direction.. It allowed you to distract and attack at the same time.
So while other Tower Masters confidently offered recruitment bundles, the Purple Magic Tower Master had no choice but to promote her magic in a such pitiful way.
For wealth and honor, you should avoid even looking at the Purple Magic Tower. Just choose any one of the other three. That alone would have guaranteed a stable second life for me.
But at that critical moment, the devil from my previous life interfered. Like the demon tempting Buddha, it shook my mind with sweet words.
‘Illusion Magic? It would be fun to create a virtual reality and play TRPG.’
‘In a medieval fantasy world where there are no cultural industries and the only hobbies are gourmet food and watching duels, are you really going to give up on real TRPG? Are you really going to give up your life’s hobby? Are you going to play boring Othello3https://board-games.fandom.com/wiki/Othello for 100,000 years?’
‘Instead of describing “An ogre strikes you down with a thick club!”, you can actually show it with llusion Magic. Are you really going to resist that? Are you really calling yourself a TRPG player?’
‘Can’t you debut as a Vtuber with Illusion Magic?’
“Huh.”
I succumbed to the devil’s whisper.
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Since then, it has been days of whittling away at magic in a shabby laboratory due to a lack of budget. Refining the modeling with illusion magic, doing the rigging work… It was tough but rewarding.
Occasionally, a nuisance would come in.
“E, excuse me… if we push for this grant, you’ll really make something useful, right?”
“Yes.”
“T, the disciples are angry… They’re saying, how long are we going to offer grants to that insignificant newcomer, that guy is hoarding money to escape to the Red Magic Tower …”
“Just wait and see.”
“Huh, huh…”
“It’s done. I’ve completed it.”
“Really…? The magic that has been funded for 2 years, is it really complete? What kind of magic is it…? Can we use it in war? Can it make our tower soar…?”
“Virtual Idol Heart. It’s completed.”
“?”
A dress highlighted in two-tones of red and black. An avatar that visualized a heart from a deck of cards. The 3D modeling implemented with Illusion Magic was a sophisticated hologram that could not be distinguished from a real person, far superior to the 3D inside a 2D screen.
I made her perform the Can Can Dance4surprisingly, you probably know the music but not the name of it- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvccyANdjnk.
The skirt and hair fluttered properly. The morphing that made the viewer happy was also perfect. I even carefully checked under the skirt to see if there were any shortcomings in the implementation.
I was satisfied.
There was a slight bug where the knee popped out, but it was a minor issue. I fixed it right on the spot.
“Um… what is this…”
The Tower Master seemed to be speechless, perhaps moved by my work. Then, as if suddenly regaining consciousness, she began to ask about the details of the magic.
“What, what kind of effect does this magic have…?”
“It can move, dance, and sing.”
“Does it have a large-scale killing function…?”
“No. But I prepared ten sets of underwear modeling.”
“Gulp.”
The Tower Master fell backward, swinging her twintails . It seemed like she was overwhelmed by the achievement of her disciple.
A while later, the Tower Master, having regained his senses, caused havoc, crying out that the ‘next quarter’s grant was all ruined’. Like the Master of Illusion Magic that she was, her teardrops became butterflies and ostriches, flying around everywhere.
Although I had been sucking the marrow out of the tower’s spine, it’s not as if I didn’t care about the financial situation of the Purple Magic Tower. The Tower Master was crying and wailing, not noticing the terrifying potential inherent in Virtual Idol Heart. However, me? I saw a bright future.
The Middle Ages.
There was absolutely nothing to enjoy.
In an era where the ultimate content for the common people was watching the execution of criminals, there was no doubt that a Vtuber would be a great force. Of course, I knew the charm of the person embedded in a Vtuber was far more important than the modeling.
Also, I needed to figure out how to make money using a Vtuber in this world without the internet.
Let’s solve these issues step by step. I needed a person to be embedded. First of all, the one who would get to go on board with Heart… was me.
“Ah. Ah ah. Hmm hmm.”
The mystery of Illusion Magic even reached the realm of sound. I implemented TTS5Text-To-Speech by combining the voices of 10 women I had collected in advance. Then, voila. Virtual Idol Heart spat out the exact lines I thought of.
“Kya ha ha☆”
Perfect.
The GM6Game Master, basically the one in charge of the TRPG session of a TRPG was obliged to create a realistic world. Sometimes, they had to act as a passing merchant or an attacking goblin to enhance the players’ immersion.
This included playing the heroine.
Whether it was playing a tough female knight, an elegant hidden mastermind girl, or a 30-year-old unemployed high school graduate NEET woman, it was me…!
In my previous life, of course, I didn’t actually voice these characters. Nobody would want to hear a gruff male voice saying, ‘I think I’ve always liked you…’ or other pure lines. That was done via text.
But in a corner of my heart, I had a dream.
If I had a lot of money, I would want to hire a professional voice actor to try… or I wanted to apply a voice with a monster-like TTS when it was released.
Now that dream had come true.
“Huhuhu… ahahaha!”
Controlling Heart to let out a wicked laugh, I smiled contentedly. I was going to stand at the pinnacle of this otherworld’s Vtuber as her…
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Empire Defense Bureau’s Report on Individuals of Interest
Name: Heart, the Lady of Illusion
Rank: Class 2 (Demoted by one rank due to Inactivity)
Active Period: Year 445 ~ 448 of the Lion Era (3 years)
Compiled by: C
She appeared suddenly like a firefly, then disappeared like a storm, leaving unforgettable wounds on many men and some women.
She drew attention with her unique marketing. She first revealed herself at the famous window ‘Rosaria’, selling her time under the condition of ‘conversation only’.
Many scoffed at her, saying, “Do you want to make money but don’t have the courage to sell your body?” However, after a few brave gentlemen experienced a ‘conversation’ with her… much changed.
Many men—even titled nobles—lined up to find her.
Many analysts put the possibility that she was an elite agent raised by anti-imperialists first, but I thought there was some fallacy in this view. She just played with love, wanting nothing more.
Compared to the share she could have had, what she received was ‘just a tip’. According to witnesses, she always asked ‘how wealthy are you, what percentage of your total wealth is the gift you prepared’, and declined any amount exceeding 1%.
There was a famous anecdote.
A young heir of a poor baron offered all his wealth to her. ‘I know this wealth is not enough to have you. I just want to buy even a moment of your time.’ Then she returned the wealth and said, ‘Invest this amount in yourself. Become a better man.’
From this anectode, the trend of ‘returning gifts from interested men’ began among some nobles.
She did not wield the power gained from love, nor did she act arrogantly. She always took a dignified attitude, but it was never arrogance. She never looked down on anyone or disdained them.
At the time, she had the closest relationship with the current Grand Duke of the North, Julius— known to the public as Heart’s boyfriend – when he said ‘I think it’ll be difficult for us to continue meeting now that I have a fiancée,’ she responded with words of encouragement rather than jealousy, saying ‘Remember the time we spent together like an orange – only when it’s not mealtime7A metaphor that Oranges are tasty as a snack, but would taste bad if you ate them during meals.!’
It was said that there was no body odor from her, nor the smell of perfume, nor the natural smell of human skin. Men who met her rather remembered the ‘invisible fragrance’- the perfume that erased all smells was a trend at one time, imitating her.
Even after she disappeared and a long time has passed, many men still yearned for her or chased after her non-existent footprints. I believed in her free attitude and humility that she consistently showed during her active period.
She was not a threat to the Empire at that time.
However, those who danced with burning passion must always be prepared for burns.
If her disappearance was truly ‘in search of true love’, the day she returned would be the day when true love was broken. Everyone should know how ferocious a woman suffering from the pain of a broken heart could become.
If she ever came back after breaking the silence and said she would wield the hearts of the gentlemen she once held.
At that time, I would suggest assassinating the ‘Lady of Illusion’ by deploying unlimited manpower.
Of course, all dispatched personnel should never have purchased even a minute of her time.
TLN:
Hi guys, this novel has been topping novelpia charts for the past month in every metric, already reaching 7th in lifepicks. Make sure to at least reach chapter 10+ before judging!
This is just a teaser for now.
- 1
DPS- Damage Per Second, basically how much damage one can cause over time
- 2
The candela is the unit of luminous intensity in the International System of Units. It measures luminous power per unit solid angle emitted by a light source in a particular direction.
- 3
https://board-games.fandom.com/wiki/Othello
- 4
surprisingly, you probably know the music but not the name of it- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvccyANdjnk
- 5
Text-To-Speech
- 6
Game Master, basically the one in charge of the TRPG session
- 7
A metaphor that Oranges are tasty as a snack, but would taste bad if you ate them during meals.
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https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken