16 : The Difference in Levels 17: Part No.
16 : The Difference in Levels Part No.
16
The Difference in Levels
“Hello, Milky Way galaxy residents!” Felix didn’t wait for the system to be ready before he greeted his viewers with burning enthusiasm.
He was absolutely thrilled.
In truth, he wanted to announce it to the entire galaxy right then and there, but for something, he needed to restrain himself a bit.
Revealing everything at once would spoil the mystery.
With that thought, he held back.
[You’re weird today.
Streaming at noon.]
[What the heck, I’m at work.
Sneaking in to watch from the bathroom.]
[What’s with today?
The streamer came so early.
I haven’t got ready for adding money to the system yet.]
[Can’t you stream at the appropriate time?]
[Darn it!
I have to hide from my boss to watch the stream.
You’re so inconsiderate.]
Fans flooded the chat with complaints when their favorite streamer suddenly decided to go live earlier than usual.
Some were at work and had to sneak a peek from the bathroom.
Despite the fans’ complaints filling up the chat box, Felix didn’t care.
“I will tell you good news.
I finally mastered Nocturne No.
20!”
The famous streamer didn’t even glance at his fans’ messages.
His excitement from finally being able to play the piece he had worked on for years made him focus solely on playing it for the people to watch.
As soon as he saw that the channel was streaming, he lifted his violin, ready to play.
His face, beautiful like a sculpture, was full of happiness and excitement.
At this moment, he was playing the piece he had spent the longest time practicing for the entire galaxy to hear!
[Heh-heh, this is the piece no one could ever play.
You finally did it.]
[I thought nobody would ever manage this piece.
You’re amazing, Fiddle—no wonder you’re a genius.]
[Your technique looks a bit different from G Clef, but it doesn’t mean that it’s bad.
This looks awesome.]
[I used to think this was the hardest piece until recently that I found the new song G Clef uploaded after their stream.
That piece is insanely difficult.]
[Yeah, I was gaping at it when I watched him play.
It’s way harder than this one, with techniques I’ve never seen before, and the rhythm is different from other songs he played.]
[I saw that clip.
It’s incredible!
Fiddle, you should check it out.]
[Fiddle, go watch the new piece on G Clef’s channel.]
[Wait a sec, listen to the one he’s playing first.
Can’t you see how excited Fiddle is?
He rushed to show us.]
[If you hear that new piece, you’ll be so shocked that you forget about this one.
I swear on it.]
The viewers in the stream chattered away as he performed, and it felt to Felix like his grand performance was being ignored.
He frowned in irritation, but he kept playing, finishing the piece at last.
Were these people really his fans?
Why did they always interrupt him?
Felix was frustrated.
“Why are you all just chatting?
Can’t you see I’m playing music here?
If you’re not going to listen, just leave the stream!”
The beautiful face of the famous streamer was in a scowl, radiating clear displeasure.
“I played this piece better than G Clef, didn’t I?
You can see how much more fun my version is… Ah!
What?
Who mentioned a new piece?”
Felix was still Felix, the pampered son of the household, continuing to boast about his talents without even thought to be humble.
Yet, his eyes couldn’t help but catch on the messages that everyone sent in non-stop.
“A new piece?
You all know his pieces are always the same… What?!
It’s not the same?
If you’re saying it’s more difficult than the piece I just finished, and if I check and it’s not, I’ll kick every single one of you who said it.” Felix threatened without any fear for any powerful individual.
But seeing so many messages all saying the same thing, Felix started to hesitate, and he began to feel more interested in it.
However, he still threw a few threats to his fans.
It could be said that the unique selling point of Fiddle channel was his personality, speaking without thinking, self-centered, and spoiled.
He was like this because Felix’s initial intention was to do the streaming to alleviate his boredom, so the number of viewers and gifts he received didn’t affect him at all.
Even if nobody sent him any gifts, that wouldn’t be a problem for him—he was born into wealth, after all.
However, it turned out that his unbothered personality became his charm, attracting a certain group of people.
Therefore, every stream of his usually ended with a surge in gift donations.
Felix commanded his AI to open G Clef’s channel directly during the stream, ignoring whatever messages the people were sending.
When he entered the channel, he saw there really were new uploads—three of them!
Upon seeing that, the young man’s eyes lit up with excitement.
He was unable to hide it.
The fans who saw that sighed on their screens in a slight annoyance.
This guy always boasted about being better than G Clef, but whenever G Clef uploaded new clip, Felix’s ears would perk up, his tail would wag, and his eyes would sparkle so obviously.
Why not just admit you’re a fan of G Clef?
Wasn’t it obvious to everyone already?
“Alright, I’ll listen to the first one.
What’s this?
Canon in D?
That name’s weirder than the previous pieces…” Felix mumbled, he then clicked on it without a second thought.
The sound from G Clef channel on the holographic screen played alongside the streaming, allowing the viewers of Felix’s channel to see the same thing the streamer did.
[Whoa, whoa, what’s with that happy face?]
[I’ve never seen this guy make that expression before.
You must like him.
Heh-heh.]
[Why are you blushing?
You’re way prettier than G Clef, who’s a bear.
Ahhhh.
This is hilarious!!]
[Rare to see this guy loses his cool.
Serves him right—he’s always trash-talking about him!]
[Haha!
I’m laughing so hard that I choke.]
[He’s totally shy.
Why are you being shy?
Before this, you’ve been boasting behind his back]
Felix ignored the sound of the flood of messages from the viewers.
His focus remained locked on the screen showing someone he didn’t want to admit that he had been regarding the other as his idol all along.
The sight of G Clef seated at a piano was an unfamiliar scene that Felix couldn’t help but furrow his brow in curiosity.
He never knew G Clef could also play the piano… but those beautiful hands seemed well-suited for it.
No!
The violin was the best fit for them.
The blue eyes sparkled with curiosity as he observed the distinctive posture of the person on the screen.
Yet, his curiosity soon turned to astonishment as those fingers began to move and play a song.
The beautiful and sweet melody swept away all thoughts in Felix’s head, leaving only the soft, beautiful sound of the piano resounding in his heart.
[Hahaha, can I laugh at that expression?]
[When I heard this song for the first time, I made the same face as this guy.
Can’t believe such a beautiful piece exists.]
[I feel like I’ve wandered in heaven.]
[Someone, please be my husband!
How romantic would it be if this song was played at a wedding?]
Messages continued to flood in along with the notification sound, but Felix did not even care to look at it.
His entire focus was on the performance before him.
He didn’t even realize that his astonished face had already gone viral within the community.
The only thing the young man was interested in was the melody, which he couldn’t help but imagine how beautiful this piece would sound if played on a violin.
“He shared the sheet music for both piano and violin versions?”
Thanks to his sharp eyesight—especially when it came to G Clef’s channel—Felix quickly spotted the sheet music information that the channel owner attached to the clip.
He held back until the song finished before immediately clicking in to see the details inside.
Seeing the information inside, he sighed in relief.
It seemed like the notes of this piece weren’t as difficult as he’d thought; it just required frequent finger vibrato to emphasize emotion.
With that thought, Felix moved on to the next video.
Unfortunately, the second video, Canon Rock, didn’t include a sheet music for violin version, but Felix didn’t mind.
He preferred Canon in D anyway.
Therefore, the famous streamer quickly brushed off the second video.
As soon as he opened the final video, the chat on Fiddle channel erupted once again.
[Whoaaa, this song is something else!]
[Wow, I’ve never seen a violin piece played like this before.]
[Danggg.
Who the heck could even play this?
It’s insanely difficult.]
[I had to rub my eyes and replay it.
Can a violin really do that?
The technique is so new and unbelievable.]
[Truly deserving of being called the “New Challenge” piece.
It’s truly brutal.]
[Too terrifying!]
[I’m completely speechless.]
[Fiddle’s face says exactly what I’m feeling.]
[How long do I have to practice to play this, when I can’t even play Nocturne No.20 yet?]
[Umm, using the bow so rapidly yet still sounding this beautiful—what kind of level is this?]
[I think Fiddle’s throne is shaking.]
[Don’t make things up.
When did that guy ever have a throne?]
The viewers of Fiddle channel were left collectively stunned without advance agreement, their eyes glued to the powerful performance of the mysterious young man, who was not widely known.
If they knew him at all, it was only as the original source of the pieces Fiddle played.
Previously, they had looked down on G Clef because Fiddle’s performance was more fun and intense.
But what they witnessed now felt like a slap in the face from G Clef’s performance.
“What was that bowing technique?”
Felix murmured, raising his own violin.
He tried to imitate the rapid bow strokes he saw in the clip, but the result was completely different from what he’d expected.
“Oh!
Maybe he’s using a lighter hand pressure?”
Following his words, the owner of the streaming channer, who stopped paying attention to the viewers, experimented with the piece he had just watched.
But the more he did that, the more frustrated he became because no matter how many methods he tried, he didn’t succeed it.
[Fiddle’s getting mad…]
[Bet he’s gonna quit the stream soon.]
[If even Fiddle’s frustrated, this song must be really hard to play.]
[That channel played it so good.
Where do they even find such incredible songs?
I never knew such great songs existed!]
[I checked; people in that channel’s streaming said it’s a piece from old Earth.]
[Ah!
No wonder it’s so good—it’s from the galaxy’s most advanced musical civilization.]
[I think I need to check that channel out.]
[Are you cheating on Fiddle?]
[Not at all.
Just doing some investigation.]
[I’ll join you.
Tee-hee.]
“What are you all talking about?”
Felix narrowed his eyes, asking in an angry tone.
At first, he thought the fans were discussing him, but when he turned his attention back to the chat after spending some time trying to grasp the new piece, he found them plotting to “cheat” on him!
[Oops, busted.]
[Nothing, kiddo, we’re just teasing you.]
[Fiddle, my beautiful darling, you’ll always be number one for us.
You won’t be mad over a little thing like this, right?]
[Uh-oh, it feels like getting caught cheating on my partner.]
[Not true.
You must’ve been seeing things just now.]
“First of all, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me ‘beautiful’?!
I’m handsome.
Can you spell handsome?!…
And secondly, you just said you’re going to check out that other channel?
Well, go ahead, then!
And don’t come back!”
His beautiful and handsome face showed anger because of dissatisfaction as he scrolled through the chat to see the conversations above.
Even though the viewers tried to flood the chat with new messages to cover up their wrongdoings, they couldn’t hide the truth from the genius Felix with this little act.
“Just wait!
I’ll learn this piece faster than Nocturne No.
20 for sure.
It looks hard, but it doesn’t use that many complex techniques.
It won’t take me long.
Just you watch!”
[You said the same thing about the last piece, and it took you a year to master it.]
[Don’t worry, sweetie.
I’ll spy on that channel for you.]
[The chat above has a hidden intention.]
[You’re already great.
I can’t wait to hear you play this piece.]
“I heard this piece was inspired by Earth’s seasons.
I believe there might be three more pieces.
I wonder how they sound.]
“Earth’s seasons?
No wonder…
I got chills when I first listened to it.
I used to read the book, it mentions that Earth’s winter was really beautiful and used to be a key festive season in the past.” Felix, who scanned and noticed the message, quickly spoke.
[G Clef said this song was composed in a time when technology wasn’t very advanced.
People relied mainly on nature, and winters with heavy snowfalls were brutal for ordinary people who worked to earn a living day by day.
If they didn’t have shelter, they’d certainly freeze to death by the streets.]
[Ah!
I get it now!
It’s about inequality, isn’t it?
For the wealthy or those with means, winter was beautiful.
But for the poor, it was harsh and brutal.]
[Sigh, isn’t that the same today?
People on remote planets can barely access basic resources like ID Watch.]
[Are there still places like that?
I thought the government had policies to increase accessibility.]
[They do, but the number of such groups keeps growing.]
[Wow, that’s new knowledge.]
[I never realized that a simple song could have such deep background.
It’s going to change how I listen to it next time.]
“Oh… so that’s what it means.
If it’s like you all said, I get why the song came out like that.
It’s a creation of a music to mimic the state of harsh yet beautiful nature, right?” Finally, Felix’s question was answered.
“Or perhaps I should visit Earth for once…” Felix mumbled to himself, but it turned out that his voice was loud enough for his fans to wiggle their ears.
[Are you really planning to visit there?]
[Only the mega-rich can go there.
Do you have that much money?
Or are you in fact a little master of the incredibly wealthy family?]
[If you go, do a live stream on Earth for us.]
[I heard Earth is on the edge of the galaxy.
You’d have to make at least one or two stopovers in other planets because it’s so far away.]
[Is there a tour we can crowdfund for?
I want to go too.
Sob.]
“Don’t worry about money; with all the gifts you all send me, I’m chill.”
Felix smiled while raising an eyebrow in a swift move.
He spoke in an annoying demeanor, causing the fans to flood him with curse words once again.
“Don’t curse me too much!
Otherwise, I’ll kick you all out of the stream.
I might be going soon, but not tomorrow.
I need to sort things out with my family first.
Don’t worry, I’ll stream for you and show you what Earth looks like.
I’ll give you a heads-up on the date later.”
[Is your family really that loaded?]
[Sooo confident.
If you end up going somewhere other than Earth, I’ll turn into your anti-fan right away.]
[I heard there’s no one living on Earth nowadays.
Is that true?]
[Mostly government officials, using it as a base.
They’re trying to preserve and restore it after the damage caused by earlier generations.]
[Such a shame.]
[If this guy can really go, I’ll admit his family is really rich.]
[Money alone won’t cut it; you need government connections too.]
[And what about that other streamer from the XXX channel who went there?]
[Well, their family is connected to high-ranking space soldiers.]
[Ohhhh, then you’ve got no chance, Fiddle!]
[Hold on, let’s wait and see.
Maybe this guy has some corn-nec-tion.]
After Felix declared that he would visit Earth, the criticism erupted.
Some believed him, while some did not believe that this boastful channel owner would be able to go there.
However, the insulting messages toward the channel owner were obviously in a higher number.
That caused the one being mentioned to twitch his brow in anger once he saw how much they underestimated him.
“Damn it!
I don’t want to talk to you all anymore.
Stream’s over!”