Rewind With A Superstar System

<🎧 Song Recommendation: IDGAF by BoyWithUke, blackbear>

...

With the concept for the music video fully visualized in his mind, Von knew the next step was to ensure his own performance was flawless.

A great concept was entirely useless if the execution fell flat, and right now, the system was demanding absolute perfection.

He pulled up his interface and focused his attention on [Emote (B)]. It was a skill that had served him incredibly well so far, allowing him to project emotions outward and make his audience feel what he wanted them to feel.

But for a Video Score of 95, projecting wasn’t enough. He’d looked at the upgrade path in the past, but he could afford what it offered only now.

Von tapped the upgrade button.

[Upgrade Options Available]

[Skill Evolved: Immersion (A+)]

● Cost: 2,000 EXP

● Requirement: Willpower C

● Description: Most actors and performers try to become a character, but the best ones become the character. You temporarily overwrite your own psyche, shedding your identity to step entirely into the skin of any persona. Even you will genuinely believe you are the character until you snap out of it. Your subconscious automatically handles every reaction to perfectly match their reality. The skill’s effectiveness and realism increase dramatically if the persona’s habits or physical appearance closely imitate your own.

● Cost: 20 EXP per minute.

Von stared at the glowing blue text. He found the skill completely broken. It was borderline dangerous to mess with his own mind like that, but he couldn’t refuse it.

He had honestly considered his former B-ranked version of Emote to be enough for most things in his career, but he really wanted to pour his absolute all into this video.

Without any further hesitation, Von confirmed the purchase.

[-2000 EXP]

[Skill Evolved: Immersion (A+) Acquired!]

A cold shiver ran down his spine as the new knowledge permanently embedded itself into his brain. He took a deep breath, checking his remaining balance.

[Current EXP: 4,080]

"Okay, the acting is locked," Von mumbled to himself, pacing the length of his master bedroom. "But since I can’t hire a professional director, and I definitely can’t pay a team of Hollywood editors without failing the zero-dollar budget objective, I have to figure out how to cut this thing together."

Max was a really good and experienced videographer and editor. But Von had purposely left Max as a last resort for the editing process of this specific project.

Max was great for hype videos and Ticktocks, but he could never make a music video reach an industry level all on his own.

Von would be damned if he let his brilliant idea fail just because the final edit didn’t match his vision.

A familiar, confident smirk slowly crept onto Von’s face. "Thankfully, I have more than enough to go voucher gambling."

He looked at the bottom of his interface.

● Star Shop: 104 Vouchers

It brought back memories. He remembered the last time he did this back in the Star Mansion.

Now, he was going to rely on his luck to find a way once again. Von wanted an editing skill, and he had over a hundred tries to find it.

"Open the Shop," Von commanded internally.

The air in front of him shimmered as the purple holographic case unfolded, using the first voucher.

[Consumable: Vocal Lubricant]

[Item: High-Fidelity Microphone]

"Nah." Von didn’t even think twice. He used another voucher.

[Skill: Basic Scriptwriting (D)]

[Consumable: Stamina Recovery Pill]

"No..."

He kept going. Five vouchers. Ten vouchers. Twenty vouchers.

The holographic cases opened and closed rapidly, flashing dozens of useless items, minor cosmetics, and low-tier instrumental skills that he had absolutely no use for.

His frustration began to mount slightly as he crossed the fifty-voucher mark. The System was being incredibly stubborn today.

"Come on," Von muttered, his finger tapping the air to use his eightieth voucher. "Give me something visual."

[Item: Acoustic Guitar Strings]

[Consumable: Sleep Deprivation Cure]

"Skip, skip, skip!"

By the time he used his ninety-ninth voucher, Von was actually starting to worry. He only had five left. If he didn’t pull an editing skill, he was going to have to rely entirely on Max’s talent and hope it was enough for a 95 Score.

He used his 100th voucher. Nothing.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and used the 101st voucher.

The holographic box opened with a slightly brighter flash of light than usual.

[Consumable: Health Recovery Pill]

[Skill: Director’s Eye (A)]

[Zone State Pills (saved)]

Von’s eyes snapped open, instantly locking onto the second option.

[Skill: Director’s Eye (A)]

● Cost: 2,000 EXP

● Description: Grants the user top-tier Hollywood instincts and elite experience for visual storytelling. You instantly understand what builds the most tension, which scenes carry the heaviest emotional weight, and what exactly needs to be cut out or left in to perfect the pacing. You can instinctively read and adjust lighting, framing, and color grading to convey complex ideas. Furthermore, you can instantly identify what makes a script or concept compelling, granting you absolute director qualities to easily convey your exact visual ideas to your crew.

● Activation Cost: 10 EXP per use. (For 10 seconds, you see the absolute best possible visual outcome and edit for any given scenario).

Von stared at the glowing text, his mind racing as he contemplated the skill.

It wasn’t a direct editing skill. It wouldn’t magically teach his hands how to use Adiby Premier or Initial Cut Pro on a computer.

Because of that, he hesitated. But then, a realization struck him. He didn’t need to touch the keyboard.

With this skill, he could sit right next to Max in the studio, activate the Director’s Eye, and use his newfound director qualities to tell Max exactly when to cut and stuff.

The skill also had long-term potential. But 2,000 EXP was still no small amount. It would cut his remaining balance right down the middle.

"Should I save it and keep looking?" Von debated with himself. "I still have three vouchers left. I might pull a real editing skill that doesn’t cost EXP to activate."

He decided to risk it. He used his second save slot to lock Director’s Eye in place so it wouldn’t disappear, and then he rapidly burned through his final three vouchers.

[Item: Electric Keyboard]

[Consumable: Mimicry]

[Item: Cosmetic Hair Dye]

"Alright, message received," Von sighed, accepting his fate. After exhausting all 104 of his vouchers, it was clear the System wasn’t going to give him anything better.

He opened his saved items tab, pulled up the Director’s Eye, and finally purchased.

[-2000 EXP]

[Skill: Director’s Eye (A) Acquired!]

A sudden clarity washed over his vision after he activated it for a try.

For a brief second, just looking around his bedroom, he instinctively noticed how the lighting from the window cast too harsh of a shadow on his desk, and how moving his chair two inches to the left would create a much better framing composition.

"Fuck, yes," Von smirked before dismissing the interface.

With his skills locked and loaded, he picked up his phone. It was time to put the pieces together. He dialed Aura’s number.

She picked up on the third ring. "Hey, did you figure out the music video idea already? That was fast."

"I have the entire concept mapped out from start to finish," Von said with a confident smirk while pacing the room. "But you might think I’m crazy."

"Try me," Aura challenged playfully over the line.

"Welp, we’ll be doing it without spending a single dime. So no crew or budget."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

"Von... are you serious?" Aura finally asked with some shock and confusion. "The song is number one in the country right now. My label is literally begging to throw a million dollars at a music video for us. Why in the world would we shoot it for free?"

Von couldn’t tell her that he got a challenging Quest, so he said the next best truth.

"Just trust me, Aura. I was looking for a challenge, and this was something fun to try... If it doesn’t work out, we can use some funding next time. No pressure."

Aura rethinked Von’s words, and knowing him as someone who didn’t throw empty words, it made her concede.

"Okay, if you say so... What’s the plan? I’m in."

Von smiled at the approval, and proceeded to walk her through the entire vision. He explained how she would just film herself on her phone, acting as the comforting anchor, while he would use his empty mansion to film a visceral descent into lockdown madness.

"It’s going to be intimate. It’s going to feel like a real diary," Von concluded, pacing back and forth. "And when it drops, the fact that we made a masterpiece with zero dollars might just break the internet more than anything."

He could hear Aura let out an impressed breath over the phone.

"Okay. Wow," Aura admitted, the doubt completely leaving her voice. "You actually thought of all that in a few hours? You’re kind of a genius, you know that? I love it. Tell me exactly what angles you need me to film from my room, let’s do this"

The praises made Von’s smile grow wider, knowing that the idea was truly as good as he envisioned.

"I’ll send you a complete shot list by tonight."

"You got it, Director," Aura teased before hanging up.

Von lowered his phone, looking out across the massive, empty expanse of his living room. The easy part was over. He had the vision, he had the skills, and he had his co-star fully on board.

Now came the hard part.

Since he was adhering to the System’s zero-dollar budget rule, he couldn’t hire set designers, prop masters, or moving crews.

If he wanted the mansion to look like a dark prison, he was going to have to do everything entirely by himself and his family down here.

Von rolled up his sleeves and looked around his bedroom.

"This is going to be a hell lot of work..."