[You have been chosen by the Superstar System to rewrite reality.]
[This is a one-in-a-trillion anomaly. A temporal event has granted you a second chance.]
[You have been taken back six years in time. Your goal is simple: Rewrite your history and put your name in the stars.]
The screen pulsed, and a new prompt appeared, demanding an answer.
[Von... Are you ready to become a Superstar?]
[Yes] [No]
"Yes!"
Von spoke out loud, not even considering rejection for a second. This was a goddamn opportunity, and just thinking about it made his heart tingle with excitement.
After confirming his affirmation, the text in his view changed immediately.
_________________________________________
SUPERSTAR SYSTEM — STATUS PANEL
_________________________________________
[ BIO ]
● Name: Von Varley
● Age: 18
● Class: Student
● Title: None
● System Level: 0
[ STATS ]
● Vocals: F- (0/10)
● Composition: F (0/10)
● Charm: F+ (0/10)
● Willpower: F- >> E+ (0/30)
[ PROGRESSION ]
● Skills: None
● EXP: 0
● Current Fans: 0
● Quests: (1) Available
● Star Shop: Unavailable
_________________________________________
"Damn, what are those stats..." Von muttered in horror.
If those grades represented what he expected, then he was truly fucked up.
But as a big die-hard fan of system novels and shows in his past life, he knew for sure that there was a way to improve them. That was what the System was for, after all.
As if answering him, the System expanded the information.
[Attributes are graded on a scale from F to S.]
[Sub-grades (-) and (+) indicate progress within a tier.]
[EXP REQUIRED FOR UPGRADE]
● F Tier: 10 EXP
● E Tier: 30 EXP
● D Tier: 100 EXP
● C Tier: 300 EXP
● B Tier: 1,000 EXP
● A Tier: 3,000 EXP
● S Tier: 10,000 EXP
"I knew it," Von said with a mischievous smile. "So now all I have to do is grind for EXP, and I'll be set."
"How do I gain EXP?"
[Experience Points (EXP) can be obtained by unlocking Achievements and completing Quests.]
[EXP is used to upgrade Stats and serves as currency in the Star Shop.]
"Currency?" Von raised an eyebrow. Using experience points as money was new to him. But it made him wonder why the Star Shop was currently marked 'Unavailable'.
[Shop Vouchers are required to unlock the Star Shop for limited use.]
[Vouchers can be obtained by completing Quests or purchased from the Star Shop.]
The description only made Von more interested in what the Star Shop was capable of, but he wouldn't know for now. It was locked tight.
With a mental click, he selected the only available option to see his first mission.
The screen flickered, revealing the task.
_________________________________________
[Quest: Daily Task]
[Description: A Superstar must be in perfect shape. To rule the stage, you must first fix yourself.]
[Objective:
○ Run 5km (0/5)
○ Do 50 sit-ups (0/50)
○ Give your junk foods to the needy (0/100%)]
[Rewards:
● +5 EXP
● Unlock Chain Questline
● Stamina Recovery Pill (gotten after completing physical quest(s)]
[Failure Penalty:
● Your body will reject food for 30 hours.]
_________________________________________
Von's hopeful expression broke immediately.
He quickly grabbed his phone and typed a quick search: "how many miles is 5km"
Result: 3.1 miles.
His heart began to race.
"How am I supposed to run that distance? It's impossible. I don't even think pro athletes run that much."
He looked down at his stomach. Just walking to class winded him. Running 5km felt like a death sentence.
But then he saw the punishment.
"Rejection of food... for thirty hours?"
Von couldn't help but sigh in pain. He loved food. He didn't know how his body would reject the food, but the idea of it happening... and for that long period. He wasn't even sure if his body could handle that shock.
"This system is looking more like a mistake now," he muttered with a wry smile, wiping sweat from his forehead.
But on the positive side, the reward seemed good. There was no Shop Voucher, but the 5 EXP was enticing. Two days of Quests, and he's leveled up a stat!
Plus, the possibility of unlocking a Chain Questline meant better rewards might be waiting behind this one.
The last reward also interested him.
[Stamina Recovery Pill: Instantly alleviates fatigue and restores user's stamina.]
[Note: Overconsumption may result in forced unconsciousness. More than one cannot be stored.]
Von was impressed with such a cheat, but it also made his decision tougher. He sighed as he collapsed back onto the bed, deep in thought.
It would be a big deal to complete all these objectives, and he wasn't exactly keen on testing if the punishment would really work...
That left him in a dilemma. He pushed the Quest to the back of his head for a moment and decided to focus on uncovering the rest of the System first.
After a three-minute Q&A session with the floating screen, Von had discovered pretty much everything he wanted to learn.
Vocals controlled the clarity and quality of his voice.
Composition determined his ability to create original works; from writing lyrics, to generating beats and drafting scripts or books.
While Willpower had to do with his mindset and mental defense; it had supposedly gone up to E+ because of his death and return.
The rest of the stats were pretty much what they were named.
Class was tied to his Profession (currently Student), while Titles were special names gotten from achievements, though the System didn't say what they actually did.
As for Skills, he learned he could either obtain them the natural way by practicing, or he could receive them from the Star Shop or as Quest Rewards.
Current Fans simply counted the people who supported him.
Von also discovered that the System answers were basically programmed into it.
It kept giving him default answers for most questions, and when he tried to learn deeper, it repeated the same lines.
That limited how much it could help him, but Von didn't mind.
Now he was done with the tutorial, there was the Quest waiting for him.
The idea of exercising gave him shivers. But then, a distracting thought came up.
'I should give Nana a call!'
He hadn't heard her voice yet. In the timeline he just left, his last memory was her crying... and he needed to start making amend.
He picked up his phone and was about to call his sister when the System flashed a message right in front of his eyes.
[Time Left To Quest Failure: 16:10:48]