Year 95 of the Star Source Era, New Federation.
On an unnamed island.
In the early morning, atop a peak on this unnamed island, fourteen-year-old Caroline struggled to climb halfway up the mountainside. Panting, she shouted anxiously toward a white-haired boy at the summit, who was still gazing at the sunrise.
"Cseper, the organization's final assessment is about to start! Hurry down!"
Hearing Caroline's voice from below, Cseper William, at the mountaintop, didn't rush to descend.
He stared intently at the sun about to rise above the distant horizon. His unique pupils, shimmering like stars, glowed with an inexplicable faint light, as if anticipating something.
Moments later, as a subtle yet radiant sliver of morning light appeared on the horizon, Cseper William smiled happily.
No one knew why he smiled, just as no one knew of his identity as a transmigrator.
Two years. It had been exactly two years since Cseper William transmigrated into this world.
On the very first day of his transmigration, Cseper William activated the "Popularity System" and gained an understanding of this world's circumstances.
This was a world that revolved around the core concept of "Star Source."
The so-called "Star Source" was, in essence, a special type of energy.
It was the heart of all extraordinary matter, the origin of all supernatural powers.
Initially, this world's development was roughly equivalent to the early 20th century of Cseper William's domain of origin.
But ninety-five years ago, a peculiar meteor shower changed everything.
Countless "Star Source fragments" fell from the sky, scattering across every corner of the world.
The emergence of these Star Source fragments brought tremendous changes to the world.
Many people gained extraordinary abilities previously unimaginable due to the fragments, earning them the title of "Starborne."
Numerous animals and creatures, influenced by the fragments, underwent bizarre transformations, becoming known as "Star Beasts," "Starborne," and so forth.
Experts who studied Star Source designated this day as the start of a new era, naming it Year 1 of the Star Source Era.
Cseper William transmigrated in Year 93 of the Star Source Era,
Two years before the events of Starfall Prelude: Embers,
Indeed, Cseper William had not only transmigrated into a brand-new world but also into a "dimensional drama."
To survive in this "dimensional drama," Cseper William had to amass enough "popularity."
[Life is like a play. You, having stumbled into the Starfall Cluster, have unexpectedly become a member of this stage.
However, under the spotlight of the Starfall, the starring role has already been chosen. As a mere supporting character, if you wish to stay on this stage for long, you must gain sufficient "popularity."]
[At the end of each season's broadcast:
- If your cumulative popularity ranks below the top ten, you'll be forcibly written into a plot-killing death, and the character "Cseper William" will be retired from the story.
- Cumulative popularity rank 4th to 10th: You'll be confirmed to appear in the next season's story.
- Cumulative popularity rank 3rd: You'll be guaranteed at least 10% of the screen time in the next season.
- Cumulative popularity rank 2nd: You'll be guaranteed at least 20% of the screen time in the next season, plus a character promotion worth 200,000 popularity points.
- Cumulative popularity rank 1st: You'll be guaranteed at least 35% of the screen time in the next season, plus a character promotion worth 1,000,000 popularity points, as well as a one-time privilege to modify your character's backstory.]
The Popularity System was a double-edged sword for Cseper William.
The upside was that he could spend "popularity points" to enhance himself or acquire incredible things, such as "foreknowledge of the first season's storyline," akin to prophetic insight.
The downside was that if he failed to rank in the top ten for popularity by the end of a season's broadcast,
he would be forcibly retired, subjected to a so-called "plot-killing death."
To avoid this fate, Cseper William had meticulously planned for two years.
Moreover, he had taken out a loan for his entire available "popularity point quota" from the system.
Although this left him saddled with a massive "popularity debt" before the story even began,
Cseper William felt it was all worthwhile.
Because he had positioned his character as a natural-born powerhouse, akin to Gojo Satoru from Jujutsu Kaisen.
To achieve this, he had to create a significant power gap between himself and other characters.
Thus, exhausting the system's "1 million popularity point" loan limit was a necessary step in the early stages.
After all, risk and reward always went hand-in-hand.
Going all-in was a rare and precious form of wisdom.
[Name: Cseper William (Embers Organization, Reserve Candidate)]
[Age: 12]
StarSource:[ Star Source: None]
[StarCore: StarEclipse (Celestial Eye) (Compatibility: 100%)]
[Attributes: Strength S, Agility S, Mental S, Constitution S]
[Skills: Stellar Energy Control (Master Level), Flash Step (Master Level), Star Beast Encyclopedia (Expert Level), …]
[Current Popularity Points: 200]
[Borrowed Popularity Points: 3,000,000 (1,000,000 (Maximum Limit Reached)]
All S-rank attributes and multiple master-level skills.
This was the dazzling character panel Cseper William had built over two years, funded by a loan of 2 million popularity points.
It's worth mentioning that the S-rank ratings for Cseper William's four core attributes—Strength, Agility, Mental, and Constitution—weren't absolute values but relative ones.
They indicated that his four core attributes had been developed to the absolute limit of his current body's potential.
If the growth rate of his four core attributes couldn't keep up with his body's increasing potential,
his attributes would soon drop to "A-rank," or even "B-rank."
However, Cseper William had absolute confidence.
in maintaining his four core attributes forever at "S-rank,"
ensuring total dominance over his peers.
After all, he now possessed all the qualities needed to be a high-popularity character!
The top spot in the season's popularity rankings was his for the taking.
"The stage is set. Now… it's time for all the actors to take their places."
Cseper William stood up, stretching lazily.
The golden morning sunlight cut through the shimmering waves of the sea, like a natural stage spotlight, illuminating his slender frame.
Moments later, he pulled a small pair of sunglasses from his pocket, put them on, and slipped his hands back into his pockets. Then, with a single leap from the mountaintop, he jumped.
His slight frame moved like a feather, his steps light as he danced across the protruding rocks on the mountainside.
In just a few breaths, Cseper William, who had been observing the sunrise at the summit, landed beside Caroline on the mountainside.
"Yo, Caroline, morning!"
Seeing Cseper so carefree even now, with his lazy, laid-back attitude,
Caroline couldn't hold back. "Hey, Cseper, do you even realize what day it is today?"
"It's already this late, and you're still in the mood to watch the sunrise? Aren't you afraid of failing the assessment?"
Caroline's tone was heavy, her voice rising unconsciously.
She sounded like a responsible mother trying to wrangle her immature, wayward child.
But her loud voice forced Cseper, with his keen hearing, to cover his ears briefly,
a playful look of "Whoa, quiet down, you're gonna make me deaf!"
His clowning around, of course, didn't calm Caroline down. Instead, it only fueled her frustration.
Still, out of concern for him, she suppressed her anger and said seriously, "Cseper, I'm not joking right now. You need to take this seriously today, got it?"
"Because if you fail the assessment…"
Seeing Caroline trembling with fear at the thought of failure, her voice quivering with nerves,
Cseper William couldn't help but reach out and pat her cat-like ears—altered by her Star Core procedure—comforting her. "Relax, Caroline. With me here, we won't fail."
"Why?"
Faced with her question, Cseper thought for a moment before giving an answer perfectly in line with his "natural-born powerhouse" persona.
"Well, if I have to give a reason, it's obviously because I'm the strongest."
Caroline blinked, momentarily at a loss for words.
If anyone else had said that, she'd have thought they were joking.
But when those words came from Cseper's mouth, they felt so… natural.
Even so, she still thought Cseper's habit of constantly proclaiming himself "the strongest" was a bit too flashy.
As a cautious and steady person, Caroline decided to rein him in and make him take today's final assessment seriously.
But before she could speak, Cseper seemed to think of something. His expression changed dramatically.
Seeing this, Caroline immediately asked nervously, "What's wrong, Cseper? Did something happen?"
"It's bad, Caroline. This is really bad!"
"Come on, Cseper, don't just say it's bad—tell me what's going on!"
Caroline's heart was in her throat, her green cat-like ears standing straight up.
But Cseper's next words sent her heart plummeting from the mountain peak to the valley floor.
Looking at her with utmost seriousness, he said, "Caroline, today the cafeteria has my favorite strawberry shortcake, but I was so busy watching the sunrise that I forgot to ask Aunt Lena to save me a slice."
"Caroline, do you think I can still make it to the cafeteria in time?"
"…"
Staring at Cseper spouting nonsense with a straight face, Caroline was utterly dumbfounded.
She was lucky she couldn't couldn't beat this childish guy, or she'd have shown him what a fist the size of a casserole could do.
Here she thought something serious had happened, and he was still obsessing over his precious strawberry shortcake!
Seriously, Cseper William, in your eyes, was the organization's final assessment less important than some strawberry shortcake?!
With a dark expression, Caroline resolved to teach Cseper a lesson about priorities.
But before she could say anything, Cseper, ever quick-witted to read the room, seemed to guess her intentions. Not wanting to get scolded, he slicked away, turning into a blur as he bolted down the cafeteria toward the mountain.
It all happened so fast that Caroline didn't even have time to react.
Only after Cseper's figure vanished among the mountains did she realize what had happened.
Looking toward where he'd gone, she murmured, "Starholder with the highest compatibility, perfect scores in every midterm assessment…"
"Cseper, why is it that, despite being so carefree, when you say 'the strongest,' it feels so utterly convincing?"
"Though I hate to admit it, compared to you, we really don't seem like we're from the same world."
As she said sighed this, her stomach suddenly growled.
Feeling a pang in her abdomen, she realized that in her rush to find Cseper, she'd forgotten to eat breakfast.
With that, she called out toward the mountain's base, "Cseper, when you get to the cafeteria, save me a portion of breakfast, you hear me?!"
Meanwhile, a certain young man nearing the mountain's base rubbed his ears in confusion.
"That's weird. Did I just hear Caroline say something?"
"No way. With her personality, she'd never shout like that. Must be my imagination. Whatever, time to grab some food!"
If you're not your top priority, there's something wrong with you.
At this moment, Cseper's eyes showed no trace of worry about the final assessment—only a burning desire for food.
After all, for the current him, this so-called final assessment was no different from child's playtime.
What he was really thinking about wasn't whether he'd pass the organization's assessment.
It was whether he could outshine the protagonist in this final assessment and claim the top spot as the season's most popular character!