[ "Enough exploration, mister! You should start looking for the protagonist now. You won't get these donations for long." ]
[You have obtained a viewer response.]
[The Mother of White Elephants is giggling. 100 Gems have been obtained as a gift.]
"Meee?"
[ "Just forget this one. There are always ones like this. They are going to like you just because they love you, the streamer. But their presence does not change anything for your stream. For your growth, you will need a protagonist." ]
It was good that the Dokkaebi was taking his time with the protagonist.
It's not that he was just hanging around in the city. He was looking for something that would catch the attention of his senses.
He had used his special skill unknowingly the last time, but he knew that if he used it on a specific target, then there might be some other effects this time.
That is why he was looking for something or someone who would catch his attention.
He knew he had a special 'instinct'. The dokkaebi felt a strange tingle in his head every time he came across something special.
While exploring the city, whenever he came across something that caught his attention, he would ask the Voice if he could get it.
But the voice did not want the young storyteller to steal from the humans so it guided him on how to purchase these items with the gems that he was accumulating.
============
[Gems: Current balance.]
White: 1.
Purple: 0
Indigo: 0
Blue: 0
[Black: 0]
Green: 0
Yellow: 0
Orange: 0
Red: 0
Transparent: 1200.
============
The white gem was the one that he got from the system for his first instinctive action. It was a big achievement considering his unique birth, and the system always rewarded everything according to its set parameters.
The transparent ones were the crystals of the lowest rank. And the divinities had been using these lowest rank ones to send their messages until now.
They could have used any of the higher ranked crystals if they wanted, but the storyteller had not done anything to deserve something like that.
That was also a reason the voice wanted the streamer to find a protagonist and actually show them something that they would like.
Without any story, it was also not possible for the viewers to reward the streamer aside from using the lowest grade transparent crystals.
The system did not allow for that, and the voice understood that the best.
That is why… the furball needed a protagonist.
Only after getting a centerpoint can he start a story and give his blank stream a proper title.
[ "Once you have a stream title, you will have more stremtag that align with the title. You can set the title in the later streams and the tags will be attached accordingly, so just find someone please." ]
Unlike what the voice had expected, the dokkaebi did not jump to the first thing he found and make it his story center.
He was young and most of the young streamers made the mistake of choosing a random focal point.
They did not understand that they could not change their protagonists until their story ends even with countless warnings from the system, and that is why the first few streams of the streamers are spent in selecting a target that wouldn't die too easily in a world that is ending.
For the gods, the timeframe of the stream isn't the problem. They could watch the same person for decades and centuries if they want, but keeping their attention is a task few storytellers in this world could maintain.
That is why there are streamer rankings.
And that is also the reason the voice was surprised by the extreme pickiness of the dokkaebi.
[ "How about you go and look at the mercenary guild? The ones who truly risk their lives nowadays are associated with the guilds but the ones with the best stories are found away from the guild restraints." ]
That was the suggestion of the voice, however, the curious furball was still not done surveying the city.
"Meeee~."
The Dokkaebi had tasted the fun dishes of the city so now it was going to finish taking a look at the rest of the city.
-Swiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish…
It was already nighttime and the city was starting to fall asleep.
The lights that were bright and the streets that were loud just a few minutes ago were starting to fade into a distant blur.
The dokkaebi had wandered around the city and there had certainly been many people that stood out from the rest.
Some of them were mages who possessed high concentration of Mana throughout their bodies. Some were warriors that had a concentrated core of Mana in their lower abdomen.
There were many priests who possessed holy power, many who possessed the power of nature, and many who possessed unique powers.
Even without knowing their status window, the dokkaebi, now well versed in the knowledge of elemental powers, was aware of the general powers and energies of this world.
However, perhaps it was because of this unique knowledge or perhaps it was something else but the creature was extremely picky with his decision.
Even after the day had passed, he had not selected anyone to start off his stream.
And, the voice, now having accepted their defeat against this picky child, was only looking after them.
"Hrmm…"
The Dokkaebi was admiring the night sky full of stars that would have not been visible a decade ago when pollution was at its peak.
The sky was pretty… and the child was sleepy.
"Meeee…"
It was dozing off, forcing himself to not sleep in case something interesting pops up in the nighttime.
As a creature of nature, he knew how the world was a completely different place during daytime and the nights.
The dichotomy between the two was in fact interesting to this young creature.
The creature was tired after looking around the city so, some sleep was certainly needed.
-Swish.
-Swish.
-Swish.
However, it was only when the child was almost on the verge of passing out when something interesting caught his attention.
"Meeee… me!"
Almost asleep, the child somehow pulled himself out of the fluffy blanket of a certain store that had long been closed for the day.
-Swish.
In the streets outside that opened into the back alley of the city, some movements were happening within the shadows.
[ "Hmm? What is it?" ]
The voice almost thought the child would fall asleep now but he woke up.
And as soon as he woke up, he ran outside. Thankfully, he was on a terrace floor so he directly flew up.
"Miiii…!"
Then, upon careful observation, certain figures dawning black hooded capes caught his eyes.
[ "Oho? Would you look at that." ]
The dokkaebi's senses instantly caught the strange energy that each of these hooded figures possessed.
It was dark and murky, completely different from Mana that the dokkaebi had seen since dawn.
"Meee?"
[ "That energy? Well, child, you can call it the power of the demons." ]
Maya. That's what they called it in this world.
[ "You sure are lucky, little one. The conflict between those who follow the demons and those who oppose them has always been one of the top trends in this world." ]
The voice found hope once again.
Every time there's demons involved, the reach that comes with it is always extraordinary.
Streamers roam the world in search of a conflict involving the demons, but one had just walked right in front of this newbie.
[ "Go after them. Maybe… the super special protagonist you've been looking for will finally make his appearance." ]
"Meeeeee!"
He finally rejoiced when the voice said that.
The Dokkaebi could feel it as well.
His spidy-senses were tingling.
These people that had appeared out of the shadows were certainly not ordinary like the rest of the people he had seen since the morning.
They had a purpose. They revealed themselves in the dead of the night for a certain reason.
And the Dokkaebi was going to investigate what that reason was starting now.