Part No. 8

    A Towering Wall

    The soft, gentle sunlight of a bright morning streamed through the wide-open small window, causing the room to be filled with the fresh fragrance of blooming flowers along with the breeze that carried the fragrance in. This helped with the ventilation in the room, making it fresh. Among that, there was a sound of the violin created by a young man who had now entered his teenage years. This was a natural beauty that could leave any observer in awe.

    The high-pitched notes of the violin were played so smoothly and softly that they seemed to make one feel the dreaminess. When combined with the peace of the nature before him, it only amplified the charm of the melody, making it even more captivating.

    The face of the performer, once adorable, had now started to show more handsome features as he grew older. His big, round-shaped eyes were closed as he lost in the music. His long, slender fingers moved fluidly across the violin strings like sea waves, while the bow glided tenderly in a long move as if it were the wind. Together, these elements intertwined seamlessly, they produced a flawless, beautiful melody.

    Gabriel Salazar was now sixteen years old. Because of his grown body and the way he diligently practiced every day, he could now play the violin and the piano more fluidly, almost comparable to his past self, where he was revered as the King of Musicians.

    No… perhaps even greater than before.

    This was one of the wonders he noticed from his regular practice sessions. Gabriel observed that his body had a very quick response. Every time he attempted to learn a difficult violin technique like Left-Hand Pizzicato, this body could control the hand pressure much better, and he could master the technique within just a short period, unlike when he was the King of Musicians, which he had taken nearly twice as long to accomplish it.

    “Master! It’s time for breakfast!” 

    A flat, monotone voice belonging to an intelligent AI, Alan, interrupted, causing the flowing melody to come to an abrupt halt.

    “Alan... I told you not to disturb me while I’m playing the violin.” Gabriel lowered the violin and turned to complain at his personal AI.

    'Problematic Alan' was the name he secretly gave him in order to frequently make a jab at him. The reason for it was the fact that this AI often interrupted him when he was playing music. 

    “Master, you are now one hour past breakfast time… If you delay further, your chances of developing gastritis will increase by 40 percent.”

    Alan’s flat, monotone voice was still annoying to Gabriel as always. Even though he knew it wasn’t a human, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was secretly trying to irritate him.

    “Fine!” Even though he didn’t like the way the other always went against his will, he couldn’t argue with it, since it was his own fault for not taking care of himself.

    Gabriel often practiced and lost track of time, especially during breakfast and lunch. When he was twelve, he ended up developing gastritis as a result. Luckily, it was the first time, so it wasn’t chronic, and with a short period of treatment, he recovered. The doctors had firmly instructed him to always eat on time. However, he had neglected it and thought it was no big deal. He spent more time practicing and his condition worsened. Ultimately, Gloria took drastic measures and forced Gabriel to set the AI's strictness in alerting for mealtimes to the highest level.

    “Heh-heh, down here for breakfast because of Alan again, huh?” As soon as he came downstairs, he found his younger sister sat on the sofa while moving her feet as a greeting.

    Gabriel’s eyebrow twitched at his younger sister’s unladylike demeanor, but he let it go since it was her choice, and he couldn’t meddle in these matters. Thus, the young man sighed, resigning to it.

    “Were you waiting to eat with me?”

    Gabriel asked. No matter how much time passed, his younger sister still stuck to him like glue. The only difference now was that, as she grew older, the girl became more cautious about physical contact.

    “Of course not. I finished eating ages ago,” Gloria turned away in a quick, sharp movement once she saw the knowing gaze.

    “I was waiting for you to come and hear the song I play.”

    “You already learned it?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had only had Alan send Gloria the new piece a few days ago, and he hadn’t expected her to master it so quickly.

    This was one of the reasons he continued to use Alan, despite many annoyances it caused him. Alan had an ability to convert sounds into texts, which was the musical note in the planets era’s version. Of course, Gabriel had no clue about the notation systems people in this era used, since he had good enough ears to recognize the notes in every song he heard. He could play it accurately. 

    Thus, when he intended to create sheet music, Gabriel would be the one to play the piece, and Alan would record the sound and convert it into a notational score. Alan would then forward the information to Alice, Gloria’s AI, without Gabriel needing to get a headache from finding lined papers or get a hand pain due to notes writing.

    “Go eat your breakfast, Big Brother. If you get sick, Mom and Dad will blame me for not taking care of you,” Gloria frowned, waving him away.

    “That’s fine. I’m the one who must take care of you, don’t I?”

    Upon seeing that, Gabriel quickly argued. He was now uncertain about who was the older one and who was the younger one.

    “Oh please! You, take care of me? Ever since you got that violin, you’ve been locked away playing all by yourself, leaving me lonely with this piano.”

    Gloria rolled her eyes as she made a complaint, and that made Gabriel think that as the little princess of the family grew older, her ability to get on one’s nerves seemed to be growing too.

    “Then how about I come down to teach you piano lessons?”

    Upon seeing that his younger sister was starting to get angry, he tried to find a solution. However, it seemed that the idea made Gloria become even more angry.

    “Just go eat already!”

    Gloria yelled. She really wanted to pry open her big brother’s little head to see if there was anything inside besides music. He thought of music in every breath he took. Sometimes, she just wanted to have some relaxing time with her older brother. She didn’t want him to think of teaching her piano all the time!

    “Alright… I’ll come check on your playing later.”

    Upon seeing that, Gabriel raised his hands in defeat, since he started to feel hungry.

    After finishing his conversation with his younger sister, He walked to the dining table where the meal was already prepared. Gabriel sat down, eating while checking the information about the streamer board on his ID watch.

    It seemed that over the years, the popularity of musicians had noticeably declined. This could be observed from people’s discussions on the board and the top one hundred streamers, where most of the top rankings were about cooking, singing, dancing, gaming, or casual chatting. There were only three streamers who made it into the top rankings by playing music, and they were placed towards the lower end of the top one hundred.

    Does this mean people aren’t interested in musical instruments anymore?

    No, that was not quite the case... since the demand for musical instruments continued to rise, contrasted with its popularity among streamers. Sometimes, it might indicate that people were more inclined to learn to play music by themselves rather than studying it from others. He found this quite intriguing. Learning in this way meant there were no constraints or boundaries; people could play however they wanted, which it would lead to innovative new playing techniques. However, the downside was that this knowledge could become scattered, without much exchange between players.

    “Alan, are there any interesting updates about the streaming world?”

    Gabriel asked while eating. He liked to listen to news during this time as it helped him relax, second only to playing music.

    “Yes, Master… Currently, the streaming system has tightened its requirements for becoming a streamer due to a significant increase in demand for the role, making it impossible to monitor the content being published... The company has introduced a new requirement: users must upload videos that accumulate a total of five hundred million views and have at least ten million followers before they can apply to become a streamer on the platform.”

    “Five hundred million!?”

     Gabriel was so shocked that he almost spat out his food. He was so shocked with this new requirement. As time passed, the wall between ordinary people and streamers seemed to grow increasingly higher, to a terrifying extent. With things went this way, would he be able to become a streamer with his younger sister?

    “The required view count is calculated to be merely 5 percent of the total number of ID Watch users.”

    “Oh…”

    That meant there were ten billion of ID Watch users across the galaxy! This was… far more than he had expected.

    “With these new rules, most music streamers are struggling. Their videos aren’t able to attract viewers like other categories do. Based on the comment data that Alan has gathered, all people said that they are boring, unlike the streaming which provides interaction, leading to a drop in popularity for the category by manyfold.”

    “So, what do you think I should do?”

    He decided to ask Alan without much thought, since he didn’t understand much about the rules of this era.

    “You mean, to become a streamer?”

    “Yes,” Gabriel nodded.

    “From Alan’s data collection, 99 percent of famous streamers are affiliated with ‘guilds,’ and 98 percent of those are part of well-known guilds.”

    “Guild?”

    Was it similar to the guild in the game he used to play? Even though he primarily focused on playing music in his previous life, it didn’t mean he’d never played games before.

    “The companies that support and promote streamers will refer to themselves as guilds. The first guild ever established is called ‘Legend,’ founded by an anonymous individual. It’s currently the top guild with the most streamers, covering all categories…”

    Ah… So it’s similar to a record label or a company managing artists.

    “Are you suggesting I should join a guild, Alan?” Gabriel asked.

    “A key condition for being in a guild is that streamers must work under the guild’s planning and create presentation styles with them. If Master can accept this condition, Alan recommends joining a guild.”

    “I don’t really like that condition…” For Gabriel, the idea of being under complete control by a guild was extremely not okay.

    “If Master isn’t interested, you can also be an independent streamer. According to Alan’s database, there is… one independent streamer in the top one hundred.”

    “Cough… cough… Only one?” This time, he was so shocked that he really choked.

    “Yes. She is a famous streamer in the drawing category.”

    “Uh… is that category very popular right now?”

    Gabriel exclaimed out of jealousy that started to form in his heart. Why was music, which was the same form of civilization with art, declining? Unlike how it was in the past, when they both grew hand-in-hand. Gabriel wanted to cry once he thought about it. This day, he started to feel a sense of injustice he faced!

    “It’s because she was the first streamer to bring massive popularity to this category. Her drawing techniques combined with her unique personality led to a rapid rise in popularity, and she reached Quartz-level (IV) within just two years.”

    “Wait… I don’t understand these levels at all. Streamers have levels too?”

    Gabriel quickly raised his hand to ask. He had heard his younger sister mention streamer levels before, but he wasn’t interested in it at that moment, so he didn’t pay attention to it. But, now, he couldn’t overlook it like how he used to.

    “Streamer levels are based on the number of followers. The order of those levels is determined by the hardness of gemstones on Earth. Master can simply think of them as an order from one to ten, where a lower number indicates a higher level. Streamers start at Talc-level (X), requiring ten million followers, and each level doubles the required number of followers.”

    “Double… So for Diamond-level, which is Level 1, that would mean….”

    Gabriel’s eyes rolled as he tried to do the math with his tiny brain.

    “Approximately five billion followers, which accounts for 50 percent of all users in the system.”

    “That’s half of the total number of users. That means it’s not a level anyone can just reach…” Gabriel couldn’t help sighing upon hearing this.

    “Correct. Currently, no streamer has reached Diamond-level because, even though there are ten billion ID Watch users, only four billion actively use streaming services. Therefore, the highest level the streamers achieved is Topaz (III).”

    “Topaz? What a nice-sounding name.” However, for him, these names were too hard to remember.

    “Streamers at the Topaz-level or Level 3 gain access to special features.”

    "Huh?" Gabriel paused with his spoon mid-air, raising an eyebrow out of interest.

    “That’s the concert system. The streamers can hold virtual concerts where people can actually attend and buy tickets. This system generates substantial revenue for streamers.”

    “Don’t tell me most of the streamers at that level are singers?” Gabriel guessed.

    “Correct! Only streamers in the singing category reach such high levels, which is why this category popular both among viewers and streamers alike.”

    “The more I hear about it, the more envious I get. The drawing category is doing well, and so are the singers, but why are musicians going down to the bottom?”

    “According to collected data, it’s likely because many musical instruments have been lost over time, leading to fewer people knowing how to play them. However, their styles, which give a sense of elegance and grandeur, are probably the reason why it is popular… As I mentioned, music is also one of the things that people are interested in.”

    “So… Alan, do you think I could become a high-level streamer and hold my own concerts?”

    He didn’t want an income, he just wanted to perform for a large audience, just like in the past.

    “If Master joins a guild… there’s an 85 percent chance of success.”

    “And if I were an independent streamer…” Gabriel changed his question.

    “Then the success rate drops to 0.01 percent.” However, Gabriel couldn’t accept Alan’s answer.

    “What!? How can it be? That art streamer managed to do it.” If the percentage was that small, Alan might as well say he had no chance at all!

    “Alan analyzed according to the information available in the database. That streamer succeeded because she is the eldest daughter of the Fine family, which has connections with high-ranking soldiers. Many members of that family have held the position of Marshal. Therefore, her family has enough resources to support her streaming career without relying on a guild.”

    “Oh! But I only need the musical instruments to do the streaming.”

    Gabriel argued stubbornly. He well understood that the cost of art supplies was high, especially in this era where paper and paint were rare. However, he didn’t understand Alan’s words. Playing music didn’t have a high cost, one only needed an instrument and time for practicing.

    “Alan analyzed according to the information available in the database,” Alan replied in an even tone.

    Hearing this, he felt like Alan had gave him a deadly punch, leaving him with no word to argue. He could only raise his hands in reluctant surrender.

    “Fine, fine… you win.”