Chapter 74: The Worst First Stream [1].
Noah spent most of the afternoon reviewing his recent expenses.
He sat at the desk in his room with his phone, a notebook, and several receipts spread out in front of him.
He had written down every purchase from the last few weeks, meals out, train tickets, movie tickets, ice cream, drinks, and, mixed in with those, the small expenses from his outings with Yume and Luna.
They weren’t huge amounts on their own, but the problem appeared when he added them up.
Noah punched several numbers into the calculator on his phone and waited for the result, then did it again because he didn’t want to believe it.
"This can’t be right."
He checked the receipts one by one and the result was correct.
’I’m spending way too much.’
Before reincarnating, Noah hadn’t had a very active social life, so he didn’t need to think much about going out, dates, or gifts.
Now he was dating Yume, keeping a secret relationship with Luna, training magical girls, and sometimes had to buy food because he couldn’t make it home in time.
His expenses had risen without him noticing.
Noah opened a computer sales page where he had saved several models Iris had recommended.
The cheapest option was still way too expensive, and it didn’t even include a microphone, camera, or headphones, just the computer itself.
Noah checked another used model. The price was lower, but it was still far beyond what he could afford.
’At this rate I won’t be buying anything for several months.’
He closed the page, opened it again, and closed it once more.
He wanted a computer so he could play with Iris without his phone freezing every minute, and he also needed one if he was really going to try streaming.
Iris had been straightforward and told him his current phone couldn’t run a game and stream at the same time stably.
Noah knew that, but part of him still thought maybe he could start with what he had.
’I don’t need a perfect stream.’
He could just try it once, and if he didn’t get any viewers, he’d drop the idea for now. But if it worked, maybe he could slowly save up money.
Noah opened one of the most popular streaming platforms, where he had created an account that morning.
The username he had chosen was NOVICE_NOAH, the same one he used inside Crystal Kingdom.
His profile picture was a basic image showing the letter N on a blue background.
He hadn’t posted anything, had zero followers, and had no previous experience.
The app allowed streaming directly from the phone, so Noah read the instructions, which seemed simple enough.
He had to choose a title, turn on the microphone, decide whether to use the camera, and start.
Before anything else, he glanced at the door to his room. It was closed.
His mother Emma was in the kitchen, Sarah still wasn’t back from work, and Ava was in her own room.
Noah figured he would have at least an hour of peace.
’I can do a short test.’
He selected Crystal Kingdom, but then thought better of it. His phone could barely run the game by itself, so streaming it at the same time seemed like a terrible idea.
Instead he chose a card game Iris had recommended. It was less demanding and didn’t require fast movements.
Noah had finished the tutorial that morning and still didn’t know all the rules, but he could play some basic matches.
He wrote a title.
[FIRST TIME PLAYING. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M DOING.]
He read it and thought it was appropriate, so he turned on the microphone. The app asked if he wanted to use the front camera.
Noah hesitated.
Iris had said showing his face could help because viewers enjoyed seeing the player’s reactions.
Still, Noah wasn’t sure he wanted to show his face. But being a male streamer would only matter if viewers could confirm he actually was one, so he finally turned the camera on.
His face appeared in a small window. The room lighting was bad because the lamp was behind him, leaving part of his face in shadow.
Noah moved the phone and the image shook.
He tried propping it against several books, but the device ended up tilted, showing almost the entire ceiling and only a sliver of his head.
Noah rearranged the books and then placed an empty cup behind it for support.
The image looked a little better.
"This’ll do."
He pressed the button to start and the app showed a countdown.
Three, two, one.
[LIVE.]
Noah looked at the screen. There were no viewers.
"H-Hey."
His own voice came back with a slight delay, and the sound was low with constant noise.
Noah brought the phone closer.
"Can you hear me?"
There was no response since he still had no viewers, so Noah opened the card game and the stream continued through a floating window.
For the first thirty seconds nothing happened, but then a notification appeared.
[1 VIEWER.]
Noah felt a bit nervous.
"Hey."
A message appeared in the chat.
[WAIT, ARE YOU ACTUALLY A GUY?]
Noah read the question.
"Yeah."
Another viewer joined, then another.
[3 VIEWERS.]
The chat started moving.
[IS THAT YOUR REAL VOICE?]
[Show your face better.]
[How old are you?]
[DO YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?]
Noah blinked.
"I came here to play."
Five more viewers joined.
[8 VIEWERS.]
One wrote.
[Never seen a guy streaming here.]
Another replied:
[Me neither.]
A third asked.
[WHERE DO YOU LIVE?]
Noah ignored that question and started a match.
The game dealt him several cards and Noah tried to remember the tutorial explanations.
"I think I have to play a unit first."
He played a card and the chat reacted.
[THAT CARD IS BAD.]
[DON’T USE THAT RIGHT NOW.]
[He’s so cute when he’s confused.]
Noah frowned.
"I’m not confused."
He played another card and a message appeared.
[You just spent all your resources.]
Noah looked closely at the game and it was true.
"It’s fine, I’m learning."
The number of viewers climbed to 15 and then to 23.
Noah didn’t understand how they were arriving so fast and figured the platform probably recommended new streams, especially since the title said he was a beginner.
However, the chat made the real reason very clear.
[A male streamer?]
[SHARE THIS.]
[Are you single?]
[TELL US YOUR DISTRICT.]
Noah started feeling uncomfortable.
"Please don’t ask where I live."
One viewer wrote.
[I just want to know if we’re close.]
Another replied.
[I can teach you how to play.]
A third added.
[I can cook for you too.]
Noah tried to focus on the match, but his opponent played several cards and he didn’t understand one of the abilities.
"Why did my unit lose health?"
The chat filled with contradictory explanations.
[Because of the poison effect.]
[IT WASN’T THE POISON.]
[It was the support card.]
[Is Noah your real name?]
[DON’T LISTEN TO THE OTHERS.]
Several users started arguing.
Noah read the messages too quickly and missed his turn.
His opponent attacked and the match ended.
[DEFEAT.]
Noah sighed.
"That was fast."
The sound started cutting out and his voice came through broken.
One viewer wrote.
[Can’t hear you.]
Another.
[The audio is terrible.]
Another.
[DOESN’T MATTER, JUST SHOW YOUR FACE.]
Noah checked the microphone icon and it seemed to be working.
"Now?"
His voice came out with louder noise, so he moved the phone. The cup holding it fell, and the camera showed the desk, the receipts, and finally the floor.
Noah grabbed the device quickly.
"Sorry."
The number of viewers rose to 41.
Noah set the phone back up and one user wrote:
[I saw a store name on the receipt.]
Another replied.
[WHAT AREA IS IT?]
Noah looked at the papers spread across the desk and immediately gathered them.
"Don’t try to figure out where I live!"
The chat reacted with messages that sounded like jokes.
[I wouldn’t.]
[I would.]
[I just want to send you a gift.]
[Do you accept packages?]
[Give us your address.]
Noah closed his eyes for a second.
’This was a bad idea.’
The connection started failing and the image lost quality.
The chat kept moving, but some words took time to appear and the platform showed a warning.
[UNSTABLE CONNECTION.]
Noah tried to start another match, but the game took forever to load and the camera froze on a weird expression.
The viewers noticed.
[He’s stuck with his mouth open.]
[SCREENSHOT.]
[Don’t post that.]
[I already saved it.]
Noah turned off the camera.
"Don’t take screenshots!"
The chat protested.
[NOOO.]
[COME BACK.]
[WE WANT TO SEE YOU.]
[TURN THE CAMERA ON OR I’M LEAVING.]
The number of viewers didn’t drop. Instead, it rose to 57.
Noah was surprised.
The stream was bad, the audio kept failing, the image froze, he didn’t even know how to play, and still, people kept joining.
’There really is interest.’
That confirmed his idea.
A male streamer could gain viewers quickly, but the problem was everything else.