Launch

In the real world, 8 p.m., Station 13's new anime recommendations page.

As the largest anime streaming site in the real world,

Station 13 introduced quite a few brand-new anime every season.

Although the real world's anime scene was far removed from the anime of Tiandao's previous life, with none of the three era-defining shonen giants—"Death, Fire, and Sea"—

this world had still produced plenty of excellent anime.

And through them, it had gathered a massive fandom.

So today, on the day Station 13's new anime premiered, these viewers followed their usual routine and opened the new anime page, eager to see what interesting shows Station 13 had brought in this season.

The moment they opened the site, "Stellaris Prequel: Embers" filled a huge portion of the homepage.

A show that occupied such prominent space on Station 13's homepage naturally caught the attention of many Station 13 users, who curiously clicked on this anime they had never heard of before.

The anime opened with a scene centered on its protagonist, Chen Kong.

Onscreen, Chen Kong was curled up in his cramped dorm room, silently counting the few Star Coins he had left.

Then, when he went to the cafeteria and finally managed to buy the cheapest nutrient meal after waiting in line, a blond trainee snatched it away.

Yet faced with such bullying, Chen Kong did not fight back. Instead, he lowered his head and apologized.

"S-Sorry."

The moment viewers saw this, the comments exploded.

"Huh? What the hell is this protagonist?"

"No way, in this day and age they're still doing this useless-protagonist opening? Verdict's in: another trash anime from another dimension."

"Going by the description, this seems like a classic action anime, but why is the opening so frustrating? I have zero desire to put myself in this protagonist's shoes."

"Boring. I'm out."

"What a waste of such great production quality. And this is the crap they serve up? It's already 2025. Who still watches protagonists like this?"

"Other than the polished production, this new anime is a complete mess, from the plot to the character writing. How could a protagonist like this possibly make people want to keep watching?"

"Does the production team have some kind of misunderstanding about what a 'growth-type protagonist' is?"

The screen filled with comments mocking Chen Kong's cowardice and weakness.

In fact, protagonists getting bullied in the first episode was nothing unusual in many real-world anime.

But the problem was that this first episode included a great deal of Chen Kong's inner monologue.

And in those monologues, he more or less calmly accepted the contempt and bullying of others.

That was undeniably infuriating.

After all, most anime viewers were young people.

And what was young people's defining trait? Hot-blooded passion!

As the protagonist of an action anime, viewers could accept that you were weak, but they absolutely could not accept you admitting in your heart that you were weak.

Still, where there were critics, there were supporters.

"If you don't want to watch, just close it. Don't ruin it for everyone else."

"Exactly, exactly. It's only the first episode. What can you tell from that? Maybe the protagonist will get stronger later and start steamrolling everything?"

"CPDD!"

As the first episode of "Stellaris Prequel: Embers" passed the halfway point, viewers finally gained a rough understanding of the anime's setting.

"This is kind of interesting. So it's a world with something like superpowers? Then even though the protagonist hasn't awakened his own Star Core yet, his Star Core must be extraordinary. I smell a conspiracy."

"The setting is good, and the production is top-tier, but is there seriously nothing wrong with this protagonist's personality? This is the first time I've seen a protagonist get his breakfast stolen and not even dare to say one harsh word. He's so pathetic it's speechless."

"The guy before me, the other person is a superpowered being while you're just an ordinary person. Would you really dare talk tough to them? Are you afraid you won't die fast enough? I think the protagonist's reaction is pretty reasonable."

"Reasonable my ass! I watch anime to relax, not to be tortured. What I want isn't realism—I want something satisfying!"

"Average looks, weak personality. What's even worth watching about a protagonist like that?"

The viewers' heated arguments continued until Chen Kong left the cafeteria and arrived at the training grounds for the Final Assessment preparations.

Because of his position as The Weakest, Chen Kong consciously found an empty corner to sit in as soon as he entered the training grounds.

And his arrival did not draw even the slightest reaction from the Starborn in the area.

To those Starborn, Chen Kong seemed like nothing more than an insignificant passerby, someone not worth their attention at all.

Chen Kong had long since grown used to this and did not take it too much to heart.

After all, as The Weakest, being ignored was better than being bullied, wasn't it?

After Chen Kong had been sitting in the training grounds for a while, he suddenly looked up toward the entrance, then rose and walked over.

"B-Brother Tian Dao, Sister Caroline."

"Yo, Kong~"

The silver-haired boy walked in, adjusting his sunglasses. The cold gleam reflected off the lenses could not hide the charm of his azure eyes.

Behind him followed a cat-eared girl, a stream of data flickering through her emerald eyes.

And when Tiandao and Caroline appeared onscreen for the first time, the tone of the comments abruptly changed.

"Holy crap! Do people this gorgeous actually exist?"

"White hair + sunglasses + blue eyes = my new husband."

"I'm totally into the catgirl!"

"Wow, this character named Tiandao is pretty good-looking. He's almost as handsome as me."

"Something's off. One hundred percent off. Why does this guy's art style feel miles above the protagonist's?"

"A cool green-haired catgirl and a white-haired guy with sunglasses... Suddenly, this anime seems kind of interesting if you remove the protagonist."

Unlike Chen Kong, the plain-looking and timid protagonist,

Tiandao's introduction had every possible buff cranked to the max.

His unconventional personality and outfit, combined with his outstanding looks and confidence that practically overflowed from the screen,

instantly drew the audience's attention.

And all of that appeared clearly before Tiandao's eyes in the Stellaris World in the form of Popularity Points.

Your Popularity Points +1

Your Popularity Points +1

Your Popularity Points +1

Watching the Popularity Point notifications continuously scroll and refresh before his eyes,

Tiandao's grin was harder to suppress than an AK's recoil.

Sure enough, looks came first in every world.

This wave of "face fans" alone was already enough to make up for part of the Popularity Points he had borrowed to improve his appearance.

But the preparations Tiandao had made over the past two years were not merely for harvesting face fans.

To make the best possible first impression on the audience,

every line, every movement, even every microexpression had been carefully designed!

Otherwise, he would not have timed his arrival at the training grounds so precisely.

Just as Tiandao was feeling pleased with his meticulous planning, a comment suddenly floated past.

"Lord Tiandao, I'm your dog!!!"

"Pfft!" Tiandao, who had been drinking water, nearly choked on his own saliva when he saw the comment.

A moment later, he wiped the water from the corner of his mouth and said somewhat awkwardly, "We don't really need fans like that, do we?"

Then, as the anime showed him expressing concern for and taking care of Chen Kong,

some viewers were completely won over by Tiandao's "radiance of humanity."

Compared to the Starborn who had bullied Chen Kong earlier,

Tiandao's very first words being a question about whether Chen Kong had eaten breakfast made him seem like an absolute saint.

A character with great looks, outstanding presence, and a kind personality perfectly fulfilled every ideal viewers had for a popular character.

"What kind of angelic behavior is this?!"

"Compared to those bullies earlier, Tiandao is literally light!"

"Director, I'm warning you to be sensible. Replace the protagonist with Tiandao right now!"

Seeing the overwhelmingly one-sided praise for himself in the comments,

Tiandao knew that his debut had been a huge success!

PS: As usual, please keep reading and send monthly votes!