This villain is too popular.

Chapter 1 Because I am the strongest
Star Origin Era 95, New Federation.

On an unnamed island.

At dawn, on a mountain peak on an unnamed island, fourteen-year-old Caroline struggled to climb halfway up the mountain and anxiously shouted to a white-haired boy who was still watching the sunrise at the top.

"Heavenly Dao, the final assessment arranged by the organization is about to begin, come down quickly!"

Hearing Caroline's words from below, the Heavenly Dao Master on the mountaintop did not rush down.

He gazed at the sun that was about to rise from the distant sea, his special pupils, like stars, shimmering with an inexplicable light, as if he were anticipating something.

A moment later, as a faint but bright ray of morning light appeared on the sea, the Heavenly Fate Master smiled happily.

No one knew why he was laughing, just as no one knew his identity as a time traveler.

Two years have passed since the Heavenly Dao Fate Master transmigrated to this world.

On the very first day of his transmigration, the Heavenly Dao Fate Master activated the 'Popularity System' and learned about the situation in this world.

This is a world that operates around the 'Star Source'.

The so-called 'star source' is actually a special energy source.

It is the core of all extraordinary matter and the source of all extraordinary power.

Initially, the development of this world was roughly equivalent to the early 20th century in the previous life of the Heavenly Dao Master of Fate.

But a special meteor shower 95 years ago completely changed everything.

Countless 'Star Source Fragments' fell from the sky, landing in every corner of this world.

The appearance of the 'Star Source Fragment' brought about tremendous changes to the entire world.

Many people gained extraordinary abilities they had never imagined before because of the Star Source Fragments, and were revered as 'Star Envoys'.

Due to the fragments of the star source, a large number of plants and animals underwent various bizarre mutations, which were called 'star beasts', 'star plants', etc.

Experts studying the Star Origin also regard this day as the beginning of a new century, calling it the Star Origin Era.

The time that the Heavenly Dao Master of Fate traveled through was the 93rd year of the Star Origin Era.

That is, two years before the start of the story of Stellaris: Ember.

That's right, the Heavenly Dao Fate Master transmigrated not only to a completely new world, but also to an 'other-dimensional anime series'.

If Tiandao Siming wants to survive in this 'other-dimensional anime', he must gain enough 'popularity'.

Life is like a play. You accidentally stumbled into a group of stars and became a member of this stage. However, under the spotlight of the stars, the main characters have already been chosen. Therefore, if you, who are only a supporting actor, want to stay on the stage for a long time, you must gain enough 'popularity'.

[When settling the bill for a single season:]

If a character's cumulative popularity ranking falls below the top ten, a plot-driven death will be arranged, and the character 'Heavenly Fate Master' will be removed from the game.

Ranked 4th to 10th in cumulative popularity, confirmed to participate in the next season's story.

It ranks 3rd in cumulative popularity, and its footage is guaranteed to account for at least 10% of the total views in the next season.

Ranked 2nd in cumulative popularity, the next season's screen time is guaranteed to account for at least 20% of the total views, and the character will receive a promotion worth 10 popularity points.

The character has accumulated the highest popularity ranking, is guaranteed a minimum of 35% screen time in the next season, and will receive a character promotion worth 1 million popularity points, as well as the exclusive right to modify the character's backstory.

The popularity system is a special system that brings both joy and sorrow to the Heavenly Dao Master of Fate.

The good news is that the Heavenly Fate Master can continuously improve himself and obtain various magical things by consuming 'popularity points', such as 'knowing the story content of the first season in advance', which is similar to precognition.

The worry is that if Tiandao Siming fails to achieve a top-ten ranking in popularity by the end of this otherworldly anime season.

Then he will be forced offline, which is called a 'plot kill'.

To this end, Tiandao Siming not only meticulously planned for two years, but also borrowed all of the 'popularity value' from the system.

This burdened him with a huge 'popularity debt' even before the story began.

But the God of Destiny felt it was all worth it.

Because he sees himself as a natural-born powerhouse, similar to Gojo Satoru from Jujutsu Kaisen.

To achieve this, he must widen the gap in strength between himself and the other characters.

Therefore, using the light system to apply for a loan of '100 million popularity points' is something he must do in the early stages.

After all, risk and reward always go hand in hand.

Going all in is a valuable form of wisdom.

[Name: Tiandao Siming (Ember Organization Reserve)]

[Age: 12 years old]

[Star Source: None]

[Star Core: Star Eclipse Sky Eye (100% Compatibility)]

[Attributes: Strength S, Agility S, Spirit S, Constitution S]

[Skills: Star Energy Control (Master Level), Instant Step (Master Level), Star Beast Knowledge Encyclopedia (Expert Level)...]

[Current popularity value: 0]

[Popularity value of loans reached: 100 million (maximum limit reached)]

It has all S-level base attributes and multiple master-level skills.

This is the magnificent panel that the Heavenly Dao Master of Fate obtained after spending two years and borrowing 100 million popularity points.

It's worth mentioning that the four basic attributes of all S-rank in the Heavenly Fate panel are not absolute values, but relative values.

This refers to the fact that his four basic attributes have been developed to the current physical limit.

Therefore, if the rate at which his four basic attributes improve cannot keep up with the rate at which his physical potential grows.

Then his four basic attributes will soon drop to 'A grade' or even 'B grade'.

However, the Heavenly Dao Master of Fate has the confidence to maintain his four basic attributes at 'S-level' forever.

Maintain absolute dominance over other characters of the same period.

After all, he now possesses all the elements needed for a highly popular character!
He's determined to be number one in popularity this season.

"The stage is set up, and now... it's time for the actors to take the stage one by one." Tiandao Siming stood up and lazily stretched.

The golden morning sunlight sliced ​​across the rippling sea, like a natural spotlight shining on his thin frame.

A moment later, the Heavenly Fate Master took out a small pair of sunglasses from his pocket and put them on his face. Then, with his hands in his pockets, he leaped off the mountaintop.

His slender body was as light as a feather as he paced back and forth on the protrusions between the mountain walls.

In just a few breaths, Tiandao Siming, who was watching the sunrise at the top of the mountain, landed next to Caroline halfway up the mountain.

"Hey, Caroline, good morning."

Looking at the Heavenly Dao, it still appears extremely leisurely and lazy at this point in time.

Caroline couldn't help but say, "Hey, Tiandao, do you even know what day it is today?"

"At this hour, you still have the mood to watch the sunrise? Aren't you afraid of failing the test?"

Caroline's tone was harsh, and her voice unconsciously rose.

It's like a responsible mother trying her best to take care of her immature and unfilial son.

However, her increased volume forced Tiandao, who had exceptional hearing, to temporarily cover his ears.

He looked at me like, "Keep your voice down, I'm going deaf."

However, his antics did not calm Caroline down; instead, they intensified her already discontent.

However, out of concern for the Heavenly Dao, Caroline ultimately suppressed her anger and said in a serious tone, "Heavenly Dao, I'm not joking with you right now. You have to be serious today, understand?"

"Because if we fail the assessment..."

Looking at Caroline, whose voice was trembling with tension due to fear of failure.

Tiandao Siming couldn't help but touch her cat ears, which had been mutated due to the Star Core surgery, and comforted her, "Relax, Caroline, with me here, we won't fail."

"why?"

Faced with Caroline's question, Tiandao thought for a moment and gave an answer that was very much in line with his persona as a 'born strongman'.

"Well, if I had to say why, it's because I'm the strongest."

Caroline was stunned, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond.

Because if someone else said that, she would just think they were joking.

But when these words came from the mouth of the Heavenly Dao, she felt that they were so natural and reasonable.

Even so, she still felt that Tiandao, who always talked about being the 'strongest,' was being a bit too high-profile.

Thinking of this, the meticulous and steady Caroline immediately decided to make Tiandao restrain his temper and take today's final assessment seriously.

But before Caroline could speak, Tiandao's expression suddenly changed drastically, as if he had thought of something.

Seeing this, Caroline immediately asked anxiously, "What's wrong, Heavenly Dao? What happened?"

"Something terrible has happened, Caroline, this is really terrible!"

"No, Heavenly Dao, don't just talk about big things, tell me specifically what they are."

Caroline's heart leaped into her throat, and her pair of green cat ears stood up straight.

But what Tiandao said next made her heart plummet from the peak to the bottom.

Tiandao looked at her and said in a serious tone, "Caroline, the cafeteria had my favorite strawberry cake today, but I was busy watching the sunrise and forgot to ask Aunt Lenna to save some for me."

"Caroline, do you think it's too late for me to go to the cafeteria now?"

"..."

Caroline was utterly speechless as she watched the Heavenly Dao spout nonsense with such a straight face.

It's just that she can't beat this somewhat childish guy in front of her; otherwise, she would definitely let the Heavenly Dao know what a fist the size of a casserole dish looks like.

She thought something serious had happened, but it turned out that Heaven was still thinking about his so-called strawberry cake.

No, Heavenly Dao Master of Fate, do you think the organization's final assessment is less important than a few strawberry cakes?

Caroline's face darkened; she was determined to teach Tiandao a lesson about priorities.

Before she could even speak, the perceptive Heavenly Dao seemed to have guessed her thoughts and didn't want to be nagged by her.

He immediately slipped away, turning into a blur as he rushed down the mountain towards the canteen.

All of this happened so suddenly that Caroline had no time to react.

Caroline only realized what was happening after the shadow of the Heavenly Dao had completely disappeared into the mountains.

Looking in the direction where Tiandao had left, she couldn't help but say, "Number one in star core compatibility, full marks in all subjects of the mid-term assessment."

"Heavenly Dao, why is it that when you utter the word 'strongest,' it sounds so natural, even though you are so unreliable?"

"Although I hate to admit it, compared to you, we really are from different worlds."

As Caroline was saying this with emotion, her stomach suddenly growled out of nowhere.

Feeling the cramping pain in her abdomen, she realized that she had been so busy looking for Tiandao that she had forgotten to eat breakfast.

Thinking of this, she immediately shouted down the mountain, "Tiandao, when you get to the cafeteria, please save me a breakfast, do you hear me, Tiandao!"

Meanwhile, a boy who was almost at the foot of the mountain rubbed his ears in confusion.

"That's strange. Did I just hear Caroline say something?"

"No, with Caroline's personality, how could she possibly be shouting? It's an auditory hallucination, it must be an auditory hallucination. Never mind, let's go grab some food first."

If someone isn't proactive in their work, there's something wrong with their brain.

At this moment, there was no trace of worry about the final assessment in Tiandao's eyes, only a longing for food.

After all, the so-called final assessment is no different from children playing house for him now.

Therefore, he never considered whether he could pass the organization's final assessment.

Instead, they are considering whether they can surpass the protagonist in this final assessment and become the most popular character of the season!
P.S.: I'm new here, please support me.

(End of this chapter)