Chapter 69: We invited him to Noah’s phone funeral.
Noah warned Iris about the problem.
"My phone is really hot."
"How hot?"
"Very."
"Leave it on the bench."
"I’m in the middle of a fight."
"Doesn’t matter, you’re going to die anyway."
Iris used another barrier and managed to save him.
Noah left the phone on the bench for a few seconds and his character stayed completely still.
An enemy approached, but Iris pushed it back with a skill.
"Go back to base."
Noah picked up the phone.
"I’m already there."
"No, you’re walking toward the enemy forest."
"The arrow points up."
"Your base is down."
Noah changed direction.
"This map should rotate."
"That would confuse everyone."
"It would help me."
"..."
The phone froze again and this time the sound kept going.
Noah heard attacks, skills, and alerts without being able to see what was happening.
When the image returned, his character had almost no health left and Iris was standing in front of him, blocking two enemies.
"Run."
She said. Noah moved the controls and his character took two steps, but the app closed.
The phone’s home screen appeared.
Noah blinked.
"It kicked me out."
Iris looked at him.
"Log back in."
Noah opened the game, but the loading took too long and the match continued without him.
"How long until it loads?"
"I don’t know."
"Your character is at base."
"That’s good."
"The system is about to punish you for inactivity."
The screen showed the main menu and Noah tried to reconnect, but the battery was at nineteen percent.
"Wow, it started at seventy."
"The phone is using too many resources."
"That explains the heat."
"You also have other apps open."
Iris took the device and closed everything running in the background, but when Noah returned to the match, his team was losing.
One of the players wrote in chat.
[NOVICE_NOAH, ARE YOU PLAYING ON A CALCULATOR?]
Noah read the message.
"That was offensive."
"I’d ask the same thing."
Iris said as another message appeared.
[REPORT THE SWORDSMAN.]
Noah frowned.
"It wasn’t even my fault!"
"I’d say it was partly your fault."
"The phone doesn’t help."
"You also skipped the tutorial."
Noah returned to lane and Iris decided to stay close to him.
"Now you’re going to do exactly what I tell you."
"Okay."
"Don’t use your first skill until I mark the enemy."
"Got it."
"Don’t push alone."
"Got it."
"And don’t attack the structure."
"I got it."
Iris placed a mark on one of the opponents.
"Now."
Noah pressed the skill and the image froze for half a second, but the attack still landed.
Iris raised a barrier behind the enemy to block its retreat, and Noah used a second skill to finish it off.
The screen showed the notification.
[ELIMINATION.]
Noah lifted the phone.
"I did it!"
"I left it with low health."
"But I eliminated it."
"You pressed two buttons."
"And it worked."
Noah smiled and Iris tried to keep a straight face.
Then another enemy appeared from the forest and Noah tried to retreat, but he pressed the advance skill again.
His character ran straight toward the opponent and Iris’s eyes widened.
"Not again!"
"It wasn’t on purpose."
The enemy eliminated him almost instantly.
Noah stared at the screen.
"The button moved."
"Buttons don’t move by themselves."
"Maybe I changed it in the settings."
"How?"
"I don’t know."
Iris facepalmed and Noah started laughing.
"It’s not funny."
She said.
"Your reaction is a little funny."
The phone made a sound.
[BATTERY LOW: 10%.]
Noah looked at the screen.
"I don’t think I’ll finish the match."
"Turn on power saving."
"That’ll make it run worse."
"Can it run any worse?"
Noah looked at her and Iris kept a serious expression for a second, but then her lips started to twitch.
She tried to hold it in, but couldn’t and let out a small laugh.
It was brief, but completely clear.
Noah stared at her and Iris stopped laughing immediately.
"W-What?"
"You laughed."
"No I didn’t."
"Yes you did."
"I-It was an involuntary reaction!"
"That still counts as laughing."
Iris looked away as her cheeks began to turn red.
"Focus on the match."
Noah smiled. It was the first time he had seen her laugh.
The classroom Iris always seemed distant and controlled, but when she played she could get annoyed, celebrate, argue, and laugh.
Noah preferred this version.
The battery dropped to five percent.
Iris continued guiding him, telling him when to retreat, which skills to use, and where to position himself.
Noah made several more mistakes, but he also managed to help in two fights.
When the match reached its decisive moment, both teams gathered near the central objective.
Iris started giving instructions.
"Stay behind me."
"You always say that."
"Because you always push too far."
"This time I won’t."
Iris raised a barrier and the enemy team split. Noah spotted an opponent with low health.
"Now."
Iris said.
Noah pressed the skill, but the screen went black.
The phone turned off and Noah stayed frozen.
"No."
Iris looked at the device.
"It died."
"We were about to win!"
"Maybe."
"What happened to my character?"
"It stayed still."
"Did they win?"
Iris kept playing without answering, so Noah watched her screen.
She coordinated her team, blocked the enemy retreat, and destroyed the last structure.
The word VICTORY appeared on Iris’s phone.
"We won."
"Then I won too."
"Unfortunately, you disconnected."
"But I participated."
"You died six times."
"I also got one elimination."
"Just one."
"It’s a start."
Iris put her phone away and Noah tried to turn his on, but it didn’t respond.
"You need a different device."
She said.
"I noticed."
"You can’t play with that phone."
"I could play."
"You were disconnected for almost four minutes."
"That was the connection’s fault."
"It also froze eight times."
"I only counted six."
"I counted eight."
Noah put the dead device away.
"What phone do you recommend?"
Iris started mentioning several models along with processors, RAM, cooling systems, and battery life.
Noah barely understood some of the terms.
"That sounds expensive."
He said.
"Depends on the model."
"How much does a decent one cost?"
Iris mentioned an amount that made Noah’s eyes widen.
"I don’t have that kind of money."
"Then save up."
"Good solution."
"You can also buy a used one."
"Isn’t that risky?"
"You have to check the battery, screen, and processor condition."
Iris continued explaining how to check each detail and then recommended several less demanding games that could run on his current phone.
"This one is turn-based strategy."
She said.
"It doesn’t need a constant connection."
"Sounds safer."
"There’s also a card game."
"Is it competitive?"
"Yes."
"Do you play it?"
"Sometimes."
"Then we can play together."
Iris fell silent.
’He wants to play with me again.’
She looked away.
"First learn the rules."
"Will you teach me?"
"That’s what the tutorial is for."
"You know I’m not good with tutorials."
"Then you should get better."
Noah let out a laugh.
Both of them stayed seated while they finished their lunch.
The conversation flowed more naturally and Noah told her he liked watching game streams.
"I followed several players."
He said.
"Some were really good and others were entertaining even when they made mistakes."
"Professional players?"
"Some of them."
"What game?"
Noah had to think before answering because he couldn’t talk about titles from his previous life.
"They were games similar to Crystal Kingdom."
"You keep talking about that game you don’t remember."
"My memory is bad."
"It doesn’t seem bad when you explain strategies."
Noah avoided looking at her.
"I remember the mechanics, not the name."
Iris didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t press.
"You only watched streams?"
"I also followed tournaments, analysis, and player videos."
"You never streamed?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I didn’t have a team."
The answer was still true for both of his lives.
Noah looked at his dead phone.
In this world there were many streaming platforms.
He had seen ads about female content creators, pro gamers, and commentators, most of them women.
That was normal because of the population difference, so a male streamer would be very uncommon.
Noah started thinking.
’I could get attention quickly.’
He didn’t need to be the best player from the start. The simple novelty could attract viewers, and he could stream his attempts at learning competitive games. Even his mistakes in Crystal Kingdom could be entertaining for some people.
Besides, if he streamed games, he would have a natural reason to talk with Iris. She could recommend titles, explain strategies, and help him improve.
Noah remembered how many followers CrystalZero had, so Iris already had recognition in the community.
’I could ask her for advice.’
The idea kept developing, but he needed money.
He depended too much on his family and every outing with Yume or Luna increased his expenses. He also wanted more independence, and streaming seemed like a possible option.
"What do you need to stream games?"
Noah asked, and Iris looked at him.
"A computer."
"Can’t it be done from a phone?"
"Yes, but not with yours."
Noah looked at the dead device again.
"I figured that."
"You also need a microphone, a stable connection, and a device capable of running the game and the stream at the same time."
"Is it really expensive?"
"Depends on the quality."
Iris started explaining the options. A basic computer could work for simple games. A better one would let him stream Crystal Kingdom through an emulator or by capturing the screen of another device. He would also need headphones and, if possible, a camera.
"Is the camera mandatory?"
Noah asked.
"No."
"Good."
"But it would probably help you a lot."
"Why?"
Iris froze because she didn’t want to give the direct answer.
’Because you’re an attractive guy.’
She looked away.
"Viewers prefer to see the player’s reactions."
Noah nodded.
"Makes sense."
Iris continued.
"You also need to be able to talk while playing."
"I don’t think that’s hard."
"During the match you could barely control your character."
"With a better phone it would be different."
"That’s not proven."
Noah smiled.
"Then you could help me."
Iris looked at him.
"With what?"
"Learning."
"You want me to coach you?"
"Just until I stop running under structures."
"That could take a while."
"Then we’ll have to play a lot of matches."
Iris felt her face warm up.
’A lot of matches.’
She looked down at her phone.
"I’ll think about it."
Noah took that answer as a positive.
The streaming idea still seemed good. He could make money, learn more about games, and get closer to Iris without forcing her into awkward conversations. But there was just one problem.
Noah took out his phone and pressed the power button.
Nothing happened, the battery was completely dead.
He didn’t have a computer, a microphone, a camera, or even a phone capable of finishing one match without shutting off.
Noah sighed.
"First I need gear."
Iris nodded.
"A lot of gear."
"Thanks for the encouragement."
"I’m just being honest."
Noah put the phone away.
He needed to find a way to make money, and with the device he had right now, he couldn’t even play for half an hour.