Chapter 1: The Era without Vtubers

It was an ordinary day.

Like any other day, I woke up from a tiring sleep and saw something strange floating in front of me.

[Analyzing user’s wish.]

I stared blankly at the blue window. I thought I was hallucinating, but it didn’t disappear even after I blinked. But it couldn’t be real. After all, this…

“Status window?”

Something I’d only seen in subcultures couldn’t be happening in real life, especially to me. It must be a dream. What a vivid dream.

I waited a while, but the dream showed no signs of ending, so I replayed yesterday’s events.

Woke up in the morning and went straight to work.
I was scolded by my boss while doing hard work. It was absurd even thinking about it again. Manager Kim, that bastard, I only did as I was told….

Then I got off work.
It was fortunate that I didn’t have to work overtime, but even that was enough to hurt my fragile soul.

I needed sustenance to soothe my weary soul. And my recent hobby boiled down to one thing.

“As expected, healing comes from Vtubers.”

Vtubers.
Another paradigm of internet broadcasting that had emerged in earnest a few years ago.

It’s embarrassing to say proudly, but my hobby was watching Vtubers. I couldn’t watch many live streams due to lack of time, but nowadays, Kirinuki and Vtuber channels are so well-made that it wasn’t a problem.

My memories after work were plastered with all kinds of Vtubers.
I nodded, recalling the many girls.

“Nothing special happened.”

It had become a daily routine a long time ago. At first, I felt self-conscious, but now I proudly embrace the identity of a Vtuber fan.

I was the so-called ‘worrisome’ example. Nowadays, the image of Vtubers wasn’t so bad compared to the past.
They even made it to public broadcasting, so that says it all.
Anyway.

“When will I wake up?”

Even after reminiscing about the cute appearances of the Vtubers I usually watched, the status window remained. At this point, worry began to creep in.
It would be a disaster if I overslept.
I was already at risk often because staying up late was a routine.

If I was late, how much would Manager Kim nag me again…? Honestly, I’ve thought about quitting the company countless times, but my circumstances didn’t allow it.

At that moment, when I grabbed my smartphone in a hurry.

“Huh?”

Is this… mine?
No. The smartphone model was different.
It seemed much older than the one I used.
Besides, the wallpaper was also different.

Where did the famous Vtuber idol go, and who was this real person? She was breathtakingly beautiful.

Even though she was a real human, she was beautiful enough to outshine a Vtuber. I stared blankly at her for a moment before turning my head away.

“Ah, no!”

Phew.
I almost fell for a real person.
Such a terrible thing shouldn’t happen.
I frowned, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Could it be that my phone got switched?”

Strange.
I came home just like usual.
I didn’t remember seeing this woman.
No, it must be a dream after all.
I’m sure it’s a dream by now.

There’s no connection to reality at all, is there? It was the moment I shook my head. I froze as my eyes met the woman in the mirror.

“…Huh?”

There was a person who looked exactly like the woman on the wallpaper. She stared at me.

No, to be precise…
Swipe.
When I raised one hand, she raised her hand as well. The same happened with the other hand.

“…….”

Speechless, I looked down at myself.
A slender physique, where did my original build go?
But my chest was also bigger.
Looking at myself, who wasn’t me, I quietly raised a hand.

The hand was white and slender.
Of course, it was 180 degrees different from my hands, which were hardened with scars and calluses.

As a result, it wasn’t a dream.
After a period of confusion and verification that wasn’t short, I finally accepted that fact.

Subcultures were a big help in not being too shocked. There was definitely a cliché where a status window appears and the gender changes.

I never thought it would be me, though.

“This is crazy.”

I hadn’t noticed it earlier, but it wasn’t just my appearance that changed. My voice had changed too.

A beautiful voice as pretty as the appearance.

“Ah, ah.”

It was a voice that naturally drew attention.
I wanted to hear more, but I was in no position to do so.
I stared intently at the resident registration card I had found.

“Yoo Se-rin, 24 years old.”

Her, no, now my name.
A name as beautiful as the appearance.
I was a bit surprised.

“Honestly, I thought I was a foreigner.”

Yoo Se-rin, an oriental beauty, had unique features.

Long silver hair and red eyes.
An unrealistic appearance that would only appear in anime.
At first, I thought it was styled, but it wasn’t.
There were no traces of dyeing, and the eyes weren’t lenses either.

In other words, this was her usual appearance.

This unfamiliar appearance is the default? What should I say, right.

“It’s like a Vtuber.”

With that beauty, it felt like a Vtuber avatar had popped out into reality.

It might be a bit of an otaku analogy, but anyway. I don’t know how this happened, but I had become Yoo Se-rin.

I don’t know who she is.
Even if I tried to find information, there were no contacts on the phone. As if I had suddenly dropped here.

“Usually, in situations like this, the memories of the possessed body are supposed to come flooding back.”

Is reality different from novels after all?
That wasn’t the only change.
I looked around the changed room.

“It’s definitely my house, but…”

Instead of men’s clothes, there were women’s clothes in the closet, everything was blingy, and even aside from that, there were subtle differences.

The brands written on the furniture were also different from what I knew. I harbored doubts and gathered information for a while. And I realized.
This place wasn’t the Earth I knew.

“It’s Earth, but… should I say it’s a parallel world?”

It seemed similar at first glance, but the more I learned, the more subtle differences emerged. Like a different history, or the existence of corporations that didn’t exist before.

It seemed it would take some time to adjust. Among those, the biggest change was the time period.

“How many years ago is this?”

Me, living in the 2020s, regressed to the 2010s. Unfortunately, I can’t do Bitcoin.

It’s a good thing I don’t have to go to work, but… the company isn’t the problem right now.

“Sigh.”

I didn’t want to sigh with such a pretty voice, but I couldn’t help it with my confused mind. I need healing at times like this.

Thinking of my favorite Vtubers made me smile involuntarily. Then, I realized a shocking fact and opened my mouth.

“Wait. If the world has changed, then could it be…!”

No way. That can’t be.
I desperately denied it and turned on the PC. After that, I searched MyTube and the live streaming platform CastOn and more.

And I despaired.
They weren’t there.
None of the girls I enjoyed watching.

“Ha… Hahaha…”

Obvious facts flashed through my half-crazed mind.

Even in my original world, the emergence of Vtubers was relatively recent.
That is to say…

Now, it’s not just that Vtubers are rare.
This is a time when Vtubers don’t exist at all.

I couldn’t stay frustrated forever.

After some time, I accepted the miserable reality. No, I tried to.

“Give it back… Give it back… Give it back…”

It wasn’t easy.
For me, who lost my parents at a young age and lived a difficult life, Vtubers were my vitality and driving force.

I knew it wasn’t reality.
Vtubers only existed in fantasy and were different from reality. But it didn’t matter.

What mattered was that they were comforting.
It started with short clips on Kirinuki channels. Back then, I thought, “What the heck is this?” but gradually, I got hooked without realizing it.

Eventually, I came to love the Vtuber culture itself. I invested all my free time in Vtubers.

All of that vanished in an instant. Like a bubble.

“Ugh…”

I made zombie-like groans as I rummaged through CastOn.

There were many live streaming channels, but there were no Vtubers anywhere. It was all people, people… Except for occasional no-cams, it was all cam streams.

“Is this hell?”

It definitely must be.
There were no broadcasts to watch.
I calculated when Vtubers would emerge.

It wouldn’t be the same as the original world, but even by the original world’s standards, it was over a year away.

One year.
Such a long time.
Moreover, even if things proceeded similarly to the original world, there was a problem.

The Vtuber scene wouldn’t be properly formed until much later. The Vtubers before that would be vastly different from what I knew.

Avatar quality, content, direction… everything. It wasn’t for nothing that so many Vtubers disappeared without anyone knowing.

“Then how long do I have to wait?”

It was more than 5 years by simple calculation.
The thought of not being able to enjoy my hobby, which consumed my daily life, for that long made me suffocate.

Becoming a woman didn’t matter.
What is this because of some unknown possession?

The only good thing is the Vtuber-like voice, but I, a man, can’t be a Vtuber… Huh?

“I’m a woman.”

And what’s more, a woman with perfect conditions, as if such a woman existed in this world.

A born Vtuber.
To be honest, I had fantasized about being a Vtuber.

I was envious of being loved by viewers and earning a lot of money. Of course, I knew there was darkness behind it.

It always remained a fantasy, but this…
Isn’t this something I can do?

“Should I really try it?”

Once the floodgates opened, I became more and more tempted.
The end of fandom is becoming it itself, so if there are no Vtubers, shouldn’t I just become one?

There were even additional benefits.

I had future knowledge that didn’t exist in this world. Things that would normally require trial and error to gradually accumulate.

What if I brought them in first?

“I could become a reference point.”

Like the bible of the Vtuber world.
Then more Vtubers would be born, and as a result…

I could accelerate the formation of Vtuber culture.
At this point, it would be foolish not to do it.

It was the moment I sparkled my eyes at the brilliant idea.

[User’s wish confirmed!]

The status window, which had been quiet all along, suddenly started to glow.

“Wha, what?!”

Ignoring me, whose eyes widened like saucers, the blue window displayed messages in succession.

[Wish – To become the best Vtuber]
[Status window changing according to the wish.]
[Mission registered!]