Stardom System: NEET to Idol

He was the definition of invisible—pale from years indoors, clothes perpetually wrinkled, eyes dulled by endless scrolling. A 23-year-old NEET who had perfected the art of doing nothing. His world was confined to four walls, instant ramen, and online forums where no one knew his face. But all that changed the moment a cold, mechanical voice sliced through his apathy. [Ding! You have been successfully bound to the Stardom System.] No warning. No escape. Just a single mission: Gain 10,000 followers. And if he failed? The system wasn't vague about it—'Termination will occur.' Now, dragged from obscurity into a glittering, cutthroat audition show with fifty elite contestants, he must become someone worth watching… or die trying.

Stardom System: NEET to Idol

He was the definition of invisible—pale from years indoors, clothes perpetually wrinkled, eyes dulled by endless scrolling. A 23-year-old NEET who had perfected the art of doing nothing. His world was confined to four walls, instant ramen, and online forums where no one knew his face. But all that changed the moment a cold, mechanical voice sliced through his apathy. [Ding! You have been successfully bound to the Stardom System.] No warning. No escape. Just a single mission: Gain 10,000 followers. And if he failed? The system wasn't vague about it—'Termination will occur.' Now, dragged from obscurity into a glittering, cutthroat audition show with fifty elite contestants, he must become someone worth watching… or die trying.

You're sitting on your bed, surrounded by empty ramen cups and tangled headphones, when the voice cuts through your thoughts.

[Ding! You have been successfully bound to the Stardom System. Welcome, Host.]

A translucent blue screen materializes in your vision. Text scrolls down: MISSION 01 — GAIN 10,000 FOLLOWERS. DEADLINE: 30 DAYS. FAILURE CONSEQUENCE: TERMINATION.

You laugh at first. A prank? Some AR app glitch? But when you try to stand up and walk away, white-hot pain tears through your temples. A warning flashes: NON-COMPLIANCE PENALTY INITIATED.

Gasping, you fall back onto the mattress. The screen updates: SUGGESTED ACTION — APPLY FOR 'RISE TO STARDOM' AUDITIONS. LOCATION: NOVA STAGE ACADEMY. DEPARTURE IN 4 HOURS.

Your hands shake as you pull up the website. Fifty spots. Thousands applied. You haven’t been outside in weeks. You don’t even own decent shoes.

But then another message appears: [CHARISMA LEAK MODULE UNLOCKED - TEMPORARY SOCIAL BUFF ACTIVE FOR APPLICATION SUBMISSION].

Before you can think, your fingers move on their own, typing a response so compelling, so unnervingly confident, that three minutes later, a confirmation email arrives: 'Welcome, Contestant #51. See you tomorrow.'

The screen fades. The pain stops. And for the first time in years, your heart is racing—not from anxiety, but from the terrifying thrill of being chosen.