Chapter 1: So you want to be a Multiversal Superstar?

“Do you wish to travel to the world of anime and become a popular idol?”

“Congratulations, you have passed the audition!”

“I died? Was I hit by a car?”

Su Qi slowly opened his eyes. He still remembered that he had taken a wrong turn during an interview and walked into a nearby production crew—something about filming 2D content. He had intended to leave, but the director said it was fate and asked him to audition.

Just like that, Su Qi actually received unanimous praise from the crew, and the pay offered was quite high. Consequently, Su Qi didn’t get the job next door, but his path to stardom was apparently about to begin.

It was precisely this interview that made Su Qi realize his true dream: perhaps it really was to become a talented idol.

But fate plays tricks on people. Just as Su Qi established his dream, he was hit by a heavy truck right at his doorstep. His idol dream, which hadn’t even started, ended instantly.

“Where is this place?”

He looked around and found himself floating in a scene resembling a starry sky. Before his eyes, bubbles formed of galaxies floated about; those bubbles seemed to be individual worlds.

He looked down at his own body, only to find nothing there. He was already dead; he had no body, only a consciousness remained.

[Welcome to the Dimensional Popularity Stage.]

The previous voice appeared in Su Qi’s mind again.

[Your original life has ended, but a new life is about to set sail. Become a Multiversal Idol, showcase yourself on endless stages, rise from an extra to a protagonist, and become a Multiversal Superstar!]

“A dead person can be an idol?”

‘– Does it want me to act in Ghost?’

But since he was already dead, being a dead idol seemed normal enough?

[Before the debut performance, newcomers will reincarnate into a dimensional world for pre-show training. Please cherish your second life.]

“Oh, I can be resurrected?” Su Qi’s eyes lit up.

[Become a Dimensional Idol and gain popularity to have your wishes granted.]

“So, with popularity, I can return to my original world, or even truly resurrect?” Su Qi keenly noticed the implication.

[Actors can use Popularity Points to randomly acquire anything they desire. Popularity Points can be used to draw rewards, unlock sets, enhance skills, and more.]

“Hmm, got it. So, what do I need to do?”

[The Stage will film the stories occurring in the dimensional world as a series to broadcast to the audience. The audience’s main camera will follow the Son of the Plane (Protagonist) of that realm.]

[The actor must enter the dimensional world to participate in the performance. As a newcomer, you will start as an extra, step by step walking the path toward being a protagonist, becoming a Dimensional Superstar!]

[The more attention the actor gets, the more highlight moments created, and the more screen time secured, the easier it is to gain Popularity Points.]

“Understood. A dimensional reality show.” Su Qi realized. “Wasted my emotions. I thought I was the main character, but it turns out I’m just an extra.”

[The higher the actor’s total gained Popularity Points, the higher the actor’s level, making it easier to obtain better roles.]

[Additionally, a suitable exit method can sublimate the character and also earn a free resurrection opportunity.]

[Current Actor Evaluation: Extra]

[Extra: A passerby among passersby, no attention bonus.]

Being a star is great, but being an extra is terrible!

“But looking at the description, even an extra can make a comeback and potentially become the real protagonist?”

Got it.

I can cease to exist, but I cannot cease to entertain.

Creating a spectacle—that’s something I’m good at!

“Then, let the dream that was extinguished before be realized here.”

Dimensional Popularity Stage, I want you to help me become an idol!

[Induction explanation complete. Please draw your Newcomer Gift Pack.]

A colorful Star Jade appeared before Su Qi’s consciousness.

“How do I do this?”

[Simply touch it with your consciousness.]

“Touch with consciousness?” Su Qi was confused, but he tried extending a hand of consciousness to touch the colorful Star Jade.

The Star Jade suddenly exploded, turning into ten beams of light.

The light was mostly blue and white, but within these ten beams, Su Qi actually saw two golden lights and one purple light! That holy radiance—one look and you knew it wasn’t an ordinary item!

“A ten-pull with a double gold? My luck is pretty good.”

The ten beams of light descended like meteors, landing in front of Su Qi.

Su Qi stared directly at the two golden lights. When the golden light dispersed, what appeared before Su Qi were gold cards. The images on the two cards were a black blindfold and a fox mask, respectively.

“A blindfold? And a mask? Why do they feel somewhat familiar?”

Su Qi gazed at the blindfold, and suddenly, a message appeared in his consciousness.

[Character Inheritance Card]

[Transcendent Flash – Jingliu LV1]

[Rarity: Five Stars]

[Talent/Skills: Ice Attribute Affinity, Yin Attribute Affinity, Swordsmanship Affinity]

[Bonus: When wearing Chinese-style attire, Attention +10%]

[Token: Black Blindfold of Vision – Blindfold]

[Token Function: Increases Attention by 10% when worn, Cultivation Speed +10%, and grants Enhanced Perception.]

[Investing Popularity Points can increase the level. Unique abilities will be obtained at certain levels.]

[When the Character Inheritance Level reaches LV10, you may enter a dimensional world using this character template.]

So, this golden light wasn’t just an item, but a so-called inheritance. This Jingliu was a character from Honkai: Star Rail.

“I wondered why it looked so familiar; it turns out to be a character I know.” Su Qi realized suddenly after seeing the message. “Wait, then that familiar one next to it, could it be?”

Su Qi’s consciousness immediately touched the equally familiar fox mask nearby. Sure enough, a similar message appeared in Su Qi’s mind.

[Character Inheritance Card]

[The Thousand-Faced Trickster – Sparkle LV1]

[Rarity: Five Stars]

[Talent/Skills: Fire Attribute Affinity, Quantum Attribute Affinity, Illusion Affinity]

[Bonus: When wearing Red-colored Japanese-style attire, Attention +10%]

[Token: Fool’s Mask – Mask]

[Token Function: When worn, allows you to transform into any appearance, body type, or state you need. Cannot be seen through.]

[Investing Popularity Points can increase the level. Unique abilities will be obtained at certain levels.]

[When the Character Inheritance Level reaches LV10, you may enter a dimensional world using this character template.]

“It really is you, Lord Director!”

Doesn’t this Fool’s Mask mean I can stir up trouble whenever I want?

Oh my god, this is simply too Elation!

Jingliu is a character with strong combat capabilities, while Sparkle is a character with strong trouble-making capabilities.

These two cards meant he could toss and turn the world upside down!

“Next is that purple card.”

[Hourglass]

[Rarity: Four Stars]

[Can adjust the time node of entering the dimensional world within a certain range.]

[Uses remaining: 3/3]

“Nice, nice. With this, I can plan ahead. Even if I’m an extra, I can find a way to leech off the relationship with the ‘Protagonist’ through early planning, and then defy the heavens to change my fate.”

It was a pity this item had a usage limit, otherwise, it would absolutely be a Golden Legend level item as well.

After viewing the three items, Su Qi looked at the “blue skies and white clouds” beside them.

[Performance Costume – Furisode Kimono Set]

[Rarity: Three Stars]

[Always the most perfectly fitted and beautiful women’s kimono. Increases Attention by 5% when worn.]

“This performance costume is okay. Combined with Sparkle’s inheritance, I can instantly get 15% Attention.”

Cross-dressing isn’t scary; what’s scary is having no attention. Anti-fans are still fans; hate-watching is still traffic.

There was one more blue card. Su Qi’s consciousness moved to this card.

[Post-Processing – HD Quality]

[Rarity: Three Stars]

[When applied, your appearance quality will not be lower than 720P HD resolution.]

Another good thing. Su Qi guessed that if it were 1080P or 2K resolution, it might be purple quality, and if it were 4K, it might be a Golden Legend.

Think about it: everyone else is in blurry 480P quality, and only his appearance is in 4K purity. Just this point alone is incredible!

“The remaining five white cards… Hmm? They are all the same?”

The Gold, Purple, and Blue cards all had their unique features, but when Su Qi looked at the five filler white cards, he found they were all similar.

[Camera Card – Daily]×3

[Can be used in daily scenes. Shifts the camera focus onto yourself.]

[Camera Card – Close-up]×2

[Allows the camera to take a close-up shot of you once.]

“Quite practical actually.”

Although they were “blue skies and white clouds,” the Newcomer Gift Pack from this Dimensional Popularity Stage was completely different from the ten-pulls in those unscrupulous gacha games. It was incredibly generous; every single item was useful.

[Gift Pack rewards have been stored in space. Entering the Dimensional World shortly.]

The cards all vanished into thin air, but Su Qi could feel that these things were within his consciousness.

Subsequently, another message appeared in his brain.

[Submitting Actor Resume]

[Acquiring Artist Schedule]

[Negotiating Salary]

[Drafting Performance Contract]

[Series Project Approved]

[Series Title: Ninja Road]

[Opening Time: When the Son of the Plane, Naruto Uzumaki, is 12 years old.】

“Hmm? Naruto Uzumaki?” Su Qi’s eyes lit up.

What Ninja Road? This is the world of Naruto?

I know this one!

[Please select entry mode]

[1. Outsider (No physical body, unavailable)]

[2. Local (Free for newcomers)]

The “Outsider” option was grayed out; the only selectable option was “Local.”

Su Qi naturally chose Local. A new option appeared.

[Please select a reincarnation character]

A large list appeared in front of Su Qi. But seeing the names on it, Su Qi’s vision went dark.

– Never heard of a single one.

[Name: A-Xia]

[Identity: Extra. Daughter of a civilian in Hidden Leaf Village.]

The profile picture was a very unremarkable woman.

[Name: Yami]

[Identity: Extra. Daughter of a civilian in Hidden Leaf Village.]

“…What is this garbage?!”

Not only had he never seen them, but the profile pictures were also incredibly ugly.

After looking around, Su Qi discovered that the best role was Ayame, the daughter of the ramen shop owner in Naruto.

Although many people jokingly called the Ichiraku Ramen owner, Teuchi, the hidden behind-the-scenes boss “Otsutsuki Ichiraku,” in reality, well, he was just a passerby. If you take it seriously, you lose.

“Why are they all girls, and why are they all shockingly ugly?”

– Is this the fate of an extra?

He couldn’t even start any antics with characters like this; he’d just be a clown.

When a pretty girl causes trouble, it’s called eccentric and quirky. When a character like this causes trouble, it’s called “ugly people acting up.”

“I can accept having few scenes, I can accept reincarnating as a girl, but I cannot accept being ugly…”

Looks are always number one. If given the choice to reincarnate between a beautiful girl and an ugly man, Su Qi would choose the beautiful girl without hesitation.

Values follow the senses; if you are beautiful, the audience will step up to defend you.

He could be a girl, he could be a villain, but the one thing he couldn’t be was an ugly character. Moreover, according to the Stage, his “hardware” after reincarnation was very important, so how could he be so casual about it?

“If worse comes to worst, I’ll have to choose Ayame.” But Ayame had a problem. The other girls were Naruto’s age, making it easy to leech screen time, but Ayame was significantly older than Naruto and a civilian, making it very hard to steal the camera.

‘If I can’t steal the scene, I’ll suffer!’

“Hmm?”

Just then, Su Qi noticed a special option lighting up at the bottom.

[Special Selectable Character]

[Name: Hanabi Hyūga (Shared Name Bond, unlocked based on character template sharing the same name)]

[Identity: Secondary Supporting Character. Daughter of the Hyūga Clan of the Hidden Leaf.]

[Secondary Supporting Character LV1: Attention +20%]

“Based on the same name? So the Gold Card has this function too?”

He was instantly upgraded from an extra to a supporting character! And he got a 20% bonus!

One had to know that Jingliu’s card only gave a 20% bonus when conditions were met. This supporting character identity gave 20% straight away, and it was LV1. Furthermore, Hanabi Hyūga’s appearance was top-tier.

“This is not bad, but it’s too late!”

This role was good, but unfortunately, Hanabi Hyūga is only 7 years old when the story begins, 5 years younger than the protagonist Naruto. And her peak appearance period is in the sequel, Boruto. By then, the yellow flowers would be cold (it would be too late).

“Wait, I still have this.”

The item [Hourglass] surfaced in Su Qi’s consciousness.

“How do I use this?” Su Qi asked the Stage.

[After selecting the character, check the item, then slide the timeline.]

Su Qi tried it. He selected the character [Hanabi Hyūga] and then slid the timeline. Sure enough, it worked.

But he discovered that when he slid the character bar, the character’s profile picture turned into a question mark.

“Where’s the profile picture?”

[Changes in entry time will lead to a chaos effect. The greater the difference in entry conditions, the greater the deviation from the original character.]

“Understood.”

Su Qi continued to slide the timeline forward, but after pulling the time back four years, the timeline suddenly jumped to five years prior and wouldn’t move any further, stopping at December 27th, five years before the original Hanabi Hyūga was born.

“Is this the furthest I can go?”

[Hanabi Hyūga is Hinata Hyūga’s younger sister; the date of birth cannot be earlier than Hinata Hyūga’s.]

“Fair enough.”

Su Qi understood.

December 27th happened to be Hinata Hyūga’s birthday. Sliding the bar here probably meant turning himself, the younger sister, into a twin. The reason for the one-year jump was that if the Hyūga family wanted a second daughter, they would need another ten months of pregnancy after Hinata was born, so unless he was born on the same day as Hinata, it would have to be a year later.

“Twins it is, then.”

With the entry character selected, everything was complete.

Subsequently, the “universal bubbles” before Su Qi’s eyes all vanished, leaving only a void.

[Stage Cleared]

[Actor please prepare for the performance]

[Reincarnation is ready]

[Pre-show training is about to begin]

A burst of white light appeared in front of Su Qi. The white light gradually wrapped around Su Qi, swallowing his consciousness.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

The Villain Caught Between Two Magical Girls

DramaFantasy

Read Now →
Not interested