Chapter 43: Miners
Noa’s mood improved drastically.
Just seeing messages from chat was enough to put a smile on his face.
BeerLover: And he is back!
ShitMaster: The legend returns!
Viewer_16: I knew he was going to start with gacha. He is an addict freak, after all.
Cracking his neck, Noa grinned. "You guys know me too well. Let’s see what the gacha gods have for us today."
The audience spammed new emotes.
Everything felt and seemed brand new, as if the stream had changed.
It was prettier to look at, but that wasn’t all. The functions that every other streamer had were also added to Noa’s stream, making it seem more legit.
Some viewers never shied away and explicitly voiced their opinions.
According to them, the stream was strange.
Not only did no one know what game he was playing and where it came from, but they also had no idea why his stream had limited functions to begin with.
Every new viewer was numbered.
Only after subscribing would their usernames be revealed.
That’s not how the streaming services worked.
It was as if Noa was hiding something, and some viewers didn’t exactly like being in the dark.
But it was only a minority.
Most of them simply didn’t give a shit about this strangeness. They even embraced it and liked how unique everything about Noa’s streams was.
He was also aware of what was going on behind the laughs he was used to seeing.
Yet, Noa didn’t allow these people to distract him from his current goal.
Soon, a familiar colorless capsule appeared before him. It started swirling with streams of colorful lights, and its digital sound filled the world itself.
Even Megatron could see what was happening.
The little dragon didn’t know what the scene before him entailed, but he watched it nonetheless.
Each light was brighter than the last one, and it spun until one of them exploded outwards in a blinding flame.
’Purple?’ Noa exclaimed in his head. ’I hope it’s not another creature.’
The color meant an epic-ranked drop.
Of course, it wasn’t as good as the legendary color, but there was no doubt that he got lucky.
Again.
[Congratulations! You have obtained a stream feature: WorldLink Broadcast]
For a moment, both Noa and the chat blinked at the message.
’WorldLink?’ he thought and saw the notification expand right before his eyes, covering his entire vision.
[WorldLink Broadcast: Allows viewers from this world to access and view your live streams through Magical Shards. Your adventures will now be seen by both worlds.]
Noa almost choked after reading this.
This could transform the way his streaming worked forever.
It was weird as well.
How could people who didn’t know what the internet was appreciate his content? What was the point of them watching some random guy explore the very world they lived in?
It was a strange feature indeed.
There was so much to consider and think about that Noa’s head ached.
But it wasn’t like it was bad news either. ’I guess it’s better than getting a second dragon.’
The chat, meanwhile, went wild.
Viewer_99: HOLY SHIT. Bro is going global?
Redpeper69: You mean... people in his world can watch him too?
gothlover: How does that even work?
Noa had to act as if he knew what was going on and everything was under his control. So he tilted his head and smirked. "Ah, I am finally bridging gaps between the dimensions. But I really hope Galio won’t watch them. That would be awkward."
As the comments exploded with laughter, Noa noticed another problem.
He didn’t have the so-called Magical Shards.
Hell, he didn’t even know how to obtain them, how much they’d cost, or how on earth he’d distribute them across this world.
Then, as if to answer his concern, a new system panel popped up.
[To activate WorldLink Broadcast, you need to acquire Magical Stones, rare minerals that can be refined into Magical Shards, which then serve as broadcasting conduct.]
Noa stared at the screen for a moment.
"You mean glowing rocks? I have to buy them in bulk? Are you kidding me?"
[Refinement into Shards is a simple process. Acquisition, however, is not.]
Not knowing how to react, Noa stood still.
The system was kind enough not to end the explanation there and offered even more crucial information.
[Mining operations for Magical Stones ceased after the war ended. Because the unseen is no longer coveted, people lost interest in it. That’s why only a few of them remain, and the market for it is unavailable.]
"...That means," Noa said, his grin widening, "I have to mine them and then distribute them all by myself? That’s crazy!"
[I can automatically disperse Magical Shards across the world, implanting them in public spaces, devices, or objects to enable a free and simple viewing experience. Good luck!]
Noa leaned closer to the text.
He read it over and over, not seeing a reason for him to try this hard.
If he had money, he could pay the miners to collect the stones in his stead. And even if people started watching him, Noa couldn’t see how it would actually benefit him.
It wasn’t like they could subscribe or donate.
As always, the system read his thoughts and gave him the push he needed.
[Instead of receiving SP from the viewers, you will get money per viewer. The more locals watch you, the more real money you can make.]
That changed everything.
It was more than enough to motivate Noa to work hard.
Just imagining money flowing in with a simple stream was enough to give him the push he needed.
Mining some stupid stones?
He would gladly do that.
Now he was willing to invest his money to hire people to work for him as well.
But first, he had to find a human settlement.
[New Quest Available]
[Obtain at least one Magical Stone in a single day]
Seeing this, Noa cracked his knuckles and stretched. "Minecraft in real life doesn’t sound too bad."
With that, he looked deep into the forest and followed the instructions Viewer_1 gave him.
The path ahead was narrow, but it could be walked.
Few humans seemed to venture down this forest—the trails were nearly invisible to Noa.
He exhaled softly. "I wish I had fast travel."
F00l: Magic is already scarce in this world. There is no way teleportation would exist.
TomatoSlayer: That’s what we get for watching a realistic game.
Noa walked for hours.
Grass bent beneath his feet to make way for him.
But no matter how much he walked, the promised settlement was nowhere to be found.
He did his absolute best to entertain the crowd. Some viewers left with a promise that they would return when he starts doing something interesting.
Most of them stayed.
[Current viewers: 140]
The chat was kind enough to explain the situation to the new viewers, too.
As a result, everyone knew his objective.
At least a small portion of it.
Seeing that Noa was spending hours on end walking mindlessly, someone seized this opportunity to express their feelings.
gothlover: I don’t want to be that guy...
gothlover: But I warned you. I knew that asshole shouldn’t be trusted.
He was talking about Viewer_1.
The enmity between them still lasted to this day, and gothlover had no intention of backing down.
This time, more viewers took his side.
No rivers or any signs of human life were in sight.
It didn’t come as a surprise that people doubted the so-called navigator’s words now.
But there was no going back. Noa watched the curious scene in his chat with a chuckle and continued walking to the west.
Megatron didn’t seem to mind the long walk, however.
That didn’t put Noa at ease.
He knew that sooner rather than later, the tiny creature would grow hungry, and he had nothing to give it.
"You won’t eat me, right?" he questioned the dragon.
Megatron looked up at him, his gem-like eyes showing only adorable innocence.
Viewer_22: I promise I will sub if he eats you.
Spidey: That would be quite a show. I doubt other streamers could provide the same content.
Noa ignored the chat and quickened his pace.
Suddenly, his eyes caught a faint flicker in the far distance—a torch or a lantern, perhaps.
Then there was a sound—a clear sound of flowing water guiding him toward civilization. It turned out that a wide river waited ahead.
Viewer_1: Never doubt me.
The cold message of Viewer_1 was accompanied by the rising smoke and red roofs.
"There we go," Noa murmured, grinning. "A village."
gothlover had nothing to add. He went quiet in frustration and watched as everyone made fun of him.
Still, Noa didn’t react.
He just walked, and the longer he did, the more details became visible.
Tall gates surrounded the village, obstructing his vision. Soon, a group of guards in leather armor appeared, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Chat, we are here to hire miners. Wish me luck," he whispered under his breath and approached the men.
