CHAPTER 4: Clark's Bar
"Hey, you alright?" In front of Rey stood another boy same of his age, somewhere around ten. "The wild dogs are gone, you are safe."
"Y-yeah, but, but your chest!" Through his white shirt, Rey could clearly see blood seeping through the ripped flesh of his chest.
"That's nothing!"
He smiled, but his eyebrow curled up in pain as beads of sweat dripped down. "I am Ryuki! What is your name?" He introduced himself as he stretch his hand out for him.
"I, I am Rey." Rey stammered, still couldn't take his eyes off the wound on his chest. "Alright Rey, Let's head back to the village!" Ryuki grabbed onto Rey's hand as he pulled him back on his feet.
He was ten, that summer.
When he first meet him.
Rey sat on one of the two-seaters in the bar as he continuously fumble around the glass cup in his hand.
The ice within it collides with each other and the glass wall, sending sharp sounds that resembles the good old fashioned iron triangle.
He looked at his watch, almost half past ten and yet no sign of her, did she just pull a rug on him?
He let another sigh before continuing to wait for her, the customer is the boss after all. If she refuse to show up for another half an hour, the deal is sealed off, then.
Rey take a meaningless sip out of the whiskey in his cup before munching on another piece of cold fries. He look around, the music is blasting as people hit the dance floor. Twerking, shaking, jerking like clowns in Rey's eyes.
He just sat afar as he stare, away from the rest, like he used to.
The funny part is aside from excessive drinking and dancing, a part of them choose to spend their time at the Isekai World. Rey couldn't help but scoff, what is the goddamn reason of going here in the first place, then?
"Creak-"
While he was zoning out staring at those "idiots" for a second, the chair in front of him is pulled out as a girl take the seat.
"Huff, huff, huff, sorry, I-I am a bit late!" The girl in front apologized as she stretch her hand out for a handshake. "I am Yuki, the streamer that had asked your help."
"I am Rey." Rey stretch his hand out and gave her a warm firm grip. His eyes couldn't help but to examine her.
She is petite, short, and a little "flat out". Wearing a black hat paired with yet another flabby jacket that reach her knees. Except this time, it is grey and with a different pattern imprinted on the fabric.
The rest of her legs wore two black over the thigh stockings with colourful star shaped pattern on it.
She seems to notice Rey looking at her in a weird pattern, as she pull her hand back and look around, fumbling with her fingers nervously as she twitched on her seat. Her eyes hovering aside, looking at other directions ASIDE from him.
"So, you are that ButterNChocolate, right?" Rey take out his notebook and began his "interview". In which the whole process looks a lot more like an interrogation. "Y-yes." She nodded slightly.
"How long had you been into this?"
"A-about a year and a half"
"How many fans had you gather overtime?"
"Around a hundred thousand, only..."
"Did you have any sponsors for the current time being?"
"Yeah, a-a few, just some small cooperation that are willing to fund me."
"Monthly income?"
"I-it depends."
"Average?"
"Somewhere around 6k, if lucky may get ten... "
"Total streaming time in hours?"
"Somewhere around two thousand? I didn't do the math. I-I am bad at math. I just stream everyday for three hours; I don't know how to pull the calculations up correctly..."
"So"
After some basic background check, Rey place close his notebook up with a snap, which causes the nervous Yuki to jolt a bit. "What is your target."
"M-my target?" She lifted her head up and stare at Rey with those big, chocolaty eyes. The moment it came in contact with his cold black eyes, she immediately look aside, lowering her head once more as she replied. "I-I don't have a target."
"Well, you need to have a target to hire me, right?" Rey spoke.
"If-if I had a target..." She bit her lips. "I-I think I only hope that someone will finally notices me."
"Huh" Not having "millions of fans" or "billions of price worth?", that's rare. "So, what do you want to do, for people to finally notice you?"
"I-I wanted to be one of the guests to join the "Isekai Project Ceremony."
She answered.
"A-and I wanted to be one of the chosen in the Hall of Fame."
"Oh my god dear lord."
Rey splashed a handful of water on his face as he stood in the basin. He stare at the reflection of himself in the mirror, clearly someone who lacks rest, nutrition and some proper sleep.
Freddy Krueger will never haunt him, since he basically never fucking sleeps.
"Is it worth it?" He close the tap of running water as he question himself. His hair is still dripping wet, damping the collar of his black shirt. She had a big appetite, trying to be invited into the Isekai Project Ceremony is already a tough one.
And trying to enter the Hall of Fame. It is challenging, even for him.
The Isekai Project Ceremony is a huge global event held annually each year. The main reason of this ceremony, except from increasing the knowing of the community towards Isekai World and get a profitable amount of income from the project's augmented reality stream alone.
Is to congratulate and motivate the young ones of the industry as well as to honour those legends who had been fighting in it for decades.
The main highlight of this enormous fiesta though, is the Hall of Fame. Each year, the company will choose the most dedicated and influencing streamer of the year and will be awarded as the Streamer of The Year. It is hard, but not impossible.
Rey had heard of a monster who get this award ten year a row as a streak, and is the first to get the Streamer of The Decade award.
Even now when you enter the Isekai World and choose to be transmitted into the Hall of Fame dimension, her name will always be the first amongst the rest, her portrait will always be the largest and the most well known of all.
She is like the statue of liberty for the Isekai World users, a fuel of motivation for the generations ahead and a never dying legend.
"Aoki Yuri", that is her name.