Chapter 24: Original Songs
「The next day」
Before it was even time for Sophie Wexler’s stream to start, people on StarNet were already gathering and waiting in her channel.
Ever since Sophie Wexler’s last stream—where she was banned, only to return as a signed streamer and prove all her haters wrong—the hype surrounding her channel had never died down.
Those who had heard her sing wished they could live in her stream channel twenty-four hours a day.
Those who hadn’t were curious about what kind of new streamer she really was.
Another group of people came specifically because they had heard she was a Healer-class streamer.
The general public held a natural reverence for the Healer-class; otherwise, the handful of other Healer-class channels on the site wouldn’t be so popular.
Whatever the reason, Sophie Wexler, a newcomer, was already starting to make a name for herself in the Arts & Entertainment section after just two short streams.
[I just got off work and opened the stream. Why hasn’t Teacher Sue started yet?]
[The songs from the other day were so good. I rewatch the stream recording over and over again every day.]
[Me too, but the audio quality isn’t great. Nothing beats watching it live in the channel.]
[Streamer, please start! I’ve been waiting forever!]
Before the stream even started, an admin was casually browsing in the backend. Seeing the comments, he couldn’t help but sigh. "This is the first time our Arts & Entertainment section has felt this alive. Usually, no one even posts. I was starting to wonder if this section was just gathering dust."
"I know, right? It was so dead I was afraid the platform would just get rid of the whole Arts & Entertainment category. Now there’s finally a spark of life. It all depends on whether Sophie Wexler’s future songs are good enough to sustain this wave of traffic."
Amid everyone’s eager anticipation, Sophie Wexler’s stream finally went live.
Sophie Wexler saw the comments scrolling across the screen and greeted everyone with a smile. "Good evening, everyone. Welcome to Sue Shiver’s stream."
[She’s here, she’s here! I’m first!]
[Finally! I’ve been waiting for you. My ears are ready.]
[Sue, are you singing the same songs as before, or do you have new ones?]
[I got hooked after hearing your songs last time. I tried looking them up on StarNet, but I couldn’t find a single one.]
[Yeah, I looked too. Couldn’t find any sources. Aren’t all songs nowadays composed by AI? Logically, they should all be logged on StarNet. Why couldn’t we find them?]
Sophie Wexler watched the comments, her hand pausing as she adjusted the camera. Then, she spoke. "You won’t find my songs in StarNet’s AI composition system."
[???]
A stream of question marks floated across the screen.
"Those songs are all original compositions," Sophie Wexler explained calmly.
[!!!]
[What did you say?! Original?!]
[Oh my god, that’s insane, streamer! Everyone knows how much effort original songs take. It’s a waste of time and money, which is why everyone uses AI composition.]
[So they’re original! No wonder I couldn’t find them on StarNet’s AI composition platform.]
[Streamer, you should record these songs and upload them to the platform! That way, everyone can listen, and you’ll get more famous.]
Sophie Wexler thought for a moment. ’That’s a good idea.’ "I’ll record a version later and upload it to my personal page."
[The streamer is the best!]
"Alright, enough chitchat. Let’s start singing."
As soon as she said this, the chat erupted with excitement again.
[Yay, yay! We finally get to hear more music!]
[Will there be new songs this time? Originals must be hard to write. It’s only been a short time since the last stream. Did you really write a new song already?]
[With so little time, can you really guarantee the quality? What if it’s not as good as the last ones?]
Sophie Wexler looked at the chat. "It’s a song I haven’t sung before."
It wasn’t a new song; it was one she had composed back on Aethel. She just hadn’t sung it here yet.
"The name of this song is ’Hometown.’ I hope you all like it."
After speaking, Sophie Wexler picked up the guitar next to her. Since she didn’t have any other instruments or backing music for now, the guitar would have to do.
’Looks like I’ll have to find time to make the backing tracks later.’
Once everything was ready, Sophie Wexler rested her fingertips on the guitar strings. With a gentle pluck, a soft melody began to flow.
The style was similar to the other songs Sophie Wexler had sung—soothing and gentle.
As Sophie Wexler began to sing, the flow of comments slowed down, and everyone started to listen intently.
Sophie Wexler closed her eyes and sang her song. Hometown. Her hometown was Valeria, on Aethel. But now, she was out here in the Galaxy. As the melody rose and fell, she poured all of her emotions into the song.
Endless longing for a place she could never return to.
[This song actually made me cry. I migrated from another planet. My home world was destroyed during a bug swarm, and now I can never go home again.]
[Me too. I travel throughout the Galaxy, but I can never go back to my own home.]
The audience was immersed in Sophie Wexler’s song, captivated and moved by the melody and her voice.
Time passed as Sophie Wexler sang. The song ended, and the chat exploded once more. This time, it wasn’t just comments, but wave after wave of gifts. A dense barrage of special effects from the gifts filled the entire screen.
Suddenly, a massive Starship appeared on the screen, its special effect eclipsing all the other gifts, making it impossible to miss.
Sophie Wexler froze for a second. She remembered him. He was the one who had sent a Starship during her very first stream.
Along with the gift’s special effect, a comment scrolled across the very top of the screen.
Because he had spent so much money, he was already number one on Sophie Wexler’s leaderboard. As a result, his comments were styled differently from everyone else’s, making them stand out dramatically.
[Streamer, can I request a song?]
Sophie Wexler stared at the comment, stunned for a few seconds. After snapping out of it, she replied, "Of course, you can."
She hadn’t sung for him last time because the stream was ending, but there was still plenty of time tonight. She could sing one for him.
"But I might not know how to sing what you request." She hadn’t been in the Galaxy for long and had only heard a few of its popular songs. She didn’t necessarily know them.
[Don’t worry. You’ll definitely know this one.] The same user’s comment floated by again.
[Sing "Recovery."]
Sophie Wexler paused, then said, "Okay."
This was the song she had sung on her very first day of streaming. Back then, she didn’t have any instruments or a backing track, so she had sung it a cappella.
[Wow, it’s "Recovery"! Awesome! I get to hear my favorite one again.]
[Not many people were in the stream when she sang "Recovery" that time. No one even recorded it. We finally get to hear a full version!]
[I know I probably shouldn’t say this, but I have to whisper it... I really think the turbulence in my Spiritual Sea calmed down that time.]
Sophie Wexler began to play the guitar. As she started to sing, she pulled everyone back to the moment they first heard this song on her stream.
The person who had sent the comment listened to the song and let out a sigh of relief. He turned to someone beside him and said, "Check the flux values for the turbulence in my Spiritual Sea now."