Chapter 1: Where the Dream Begins
Juwon was fully aware of the system's existence from the very start.
As a transmigrator, the moment he opened his eyes, the system attached to him whispered in his ear, while the entire forest murmured his name.
Since graduating from university, he had been comfortably living as a shut-in at home, never imagining he would face such a situation.
He had transmigrated!
The pitch-black floor beneath his feet and the surrounding environment left no doubt—he was imprisoned in an escape room.
Fortunately, this wasn't a horror-themed escape room game, or he would have likely been scared to death on the spot.
Juwon sorted through his thoughts as he paced the room, occasionally searching for an escape button as often seen in web dramas.
However, instead of finding an escape button, he bumped into the computer desk and chair stationed at the room's center.
"Could this be my chance to survive?"
Driven by curiosity, Juwon reached out and shook the mouse.
Little did he know—curiosity could kill.
The moment the computer booted up, the room's lights flickered erratically between cyan and red.
Juwon was dumbfounded.
Now he was in deep trouble.
Watching the computer screen flash with a ticking timer sound effect, he wished he could just faint on the spot.
If the countdown really reached zero, he'd be done for.
Would the coroner's report then conclude it as 'suicide by his own hand'?
Juwon's face twitched violently, torn between regret and panic, as his vision began to blur.
A tidal wave of information flooded his mind.
[Ding! The Escape Room Compilation has been activated. Please select your compilation type!]
[Note: This escape room has a time limit of 10 days. Within this period, if the system host produces high-quality compilation videos that gain public acceptance, substantial rewards will be granted.]
[Failure will result in confinement in the escape room for 1 year, with no communication to the outside world—only forced to make videos in solitude.]
This statement left Juwon speechless.
Shouldn't the system help him escape this predicament?
Why was it tormenting him instead?
But wait... substantial rewards?
Compilation videos...
As a long-time veteran of the internet world, Juwon knew exactly what compilation meant.
It involved stitching together interesting clips into one video, pairing it with a catchy title, and publishing it.
The more controversial the topic, the more it piqued viewers' interest.
Especially videos about power rankings—adding a disclaimer like [No particular order of strength] at the end only fueled more heated debates.
So... compilation?
[Correct, host... Rewards can be brought back to reality.]
As for what those rewards would be...
The system didn't explicitly state everything, likely to maintain a certain level of mystery.
Now the pressure fell on Juwon.
The system had laid out both carrots and sticks before him—how to choose was entirely up to him.
Staying here for a year would free him from the system, but completing the task would give him a chance to grow stronger through its rewards.
The answer was self-evident.
"Can I choose the target audience and force them to watch my compilation?"
Juwon's request was quite shrewd; otherwise, he feared his videos would be drowned out by the homogenized content of the big data era.
Unexpectedly, the system had already anticipated this step.
It said, [Don't worry, host... I already knew. As long as you make a video, even if it's more vulgar than a toad's piss, I'll force all anime characters to watch it. If you want, I can even drag in other worlds—that's the value of a gold-tier system!]
Crash!?
"Exaggeration isn't the same as nonsense." This damn system really knew its stuff.
Forcing anime characters to watch?
So if he made anime-related videos, he could essentially force them into a public shaming scenario!?
This was too thrilling—time to get to work!
Juwon glanced at the number "10" displayed on his computer, his resolve hardening silently...
If he was going to do it, he'd go for the most mainstream approach.
He would eliminate all romance anime or those without substantial highlights. He intended to compile only the cream of the crop among anime characters—the protagonists!
Since he was focusing on protagonists,
Many attention-seeking individuals would surely take notice.
Might as well go all the way.
"Everyone wants to be the protagonist of their own world."
"But there is only one Child of Destiny."
"Yet even among Children of Destiny, there are winners and losers. I'll approach it from this angle..."
Thinking this—
His fingers tapped the keyboard, and he swiftly typed a line in regular script:
[Top 10: Ranking the Ten Greatest Protagonists Across Different Worlds!!!]
As he pondered, his mind suddenly expanded.
His fingertips flew across the keyboard, and with the editing assistance provided by the system, he quickly summoned countless anime protagonists.
After horizontal comparisons and filtering—
It took him seven days to deliver a decent draft to the system.
Because he submitted it early, the countdown on his computer screen temporarily paused at three days.
Incidentally,
Mission accomplished...
"Let's test this controversial ranking."
Fully aware that he had deliberately added flair for hype, Juwon couldn't care less if others criticized the later entries—at least the first few had to be spectacular!
Just as the Christianity cannot exist without Jerusalem, iconic battle shonen series like Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, and Dragon Ball were unavoidable staples for such videos.
Since it was a mental broadcast, every viewer would experience it firsthand, feeling the raw impact.
Well then... let's begin—
He tagged multiple dimensions.
Simultaneously, he wrote a message↓
[Fighting for the world, born for belief]
[They are the absolute elite, the chosen ones]
[No matter how dark the world, a beam of light will shatter all despair]
[Ranking the Ten Greatest Anime Protagonists... At this moment, he is a god!]
...
Instantly, consciousness spread across all realms.
Regardless of who they were—no matter how powerful or weak—everyone suddenly had something extra in their minds.
In the Naruto world, the Land of Waves.
Uzumaki Naruto was recalling the moment when he had been paralyzed by the murderous aura of the rogue mist ninjas. Remembering how his comrades had stepped forward while he could only wait helplessly for death, feelings of shame and unwillingness to admit defeat surged in his heart. In a fit of rage, he drew a kunai and pierced his palm, making a solemn vow.
He wouldn't run away anymore! This was the last time—no matter how terrifying the enemy he encountered, he would never retreat again!
This fierce oath and his self-mutilating ferocious expression left Sasuke and Sakura stunned and uncertain.
However, Kakashi-sensei kindly reminded him that excessive blood loss could be fatal.
This reminder made things worse. Upon hearing this, Naruto genuinely felt like he was about to enter heaven!
[Please watch the Top 10 Anime Protagonists compilation... Automatically entering]
Naruto stared at Kakashi with a pale, dumbfounded expression, his lips trembling with fear. "Kakashi-sensei... I... I can hear the voice of hell!"
The voice of hell?
"..."
Under normal circumstances, Kakashi might have patiently guided Naruto through his emotional turmoil, but now he too furrowed his brow.
Because he could also hear the voice.
It didn't feel fake—it was as if someone was transmitting a message directly into their minds.
As Konoha's top technician, he wouldn't misjudge this situation. If it were genjutsu, he would have seen through it immediately. Moreover, it wasn't just them—even Sasuke and Sakura nearby were startled by the voice.
Though compared to the others, Sasuke recovered more quickly.
"Wait... Top Ten Protagonists!?"
"Hey hey, has this old man had too much to drink?"
"Enough nonsense! Surely I, Uzumaki Naruto, will be the main character!" Naruto confidently thumped his chest.
This drew a sarcastic remark from Sasuke: "You? The dead-last who freezes at the sight of a Chunin?"
Struck to the core, Naruto immediately challenged Sasuke to a duel, only to be punched into the ground by Sakura.
But as Sakura happily turned to seek praise from Sasuke, he had already coldly walked away.
"Top Ten Main Characters?" Leaning against a tree, the confident Uchiha genius pondered thoughtfully.
After a long pause, he smirked and murmured softly:
"Then, there should be a place for me too."
As Konoha's top prodigy and the last descendant of the Uchiha Clan, he undoubtedly deserved a rightful place as a main character...
And it wasn't just him.
Everyone present somewhat believed in Sasuke's potential.
Beyond their group, numerous influential figures across the Shinobi World had received the news.
...
At an Akatsuki gathering, the recently assembled members were chattering about this matter.
Led particularly by the troublemakers Hidan and Deidara, arguments and insults flew nonstop.
"Hahaha! With the Evil God's blessing, I'm definitely the main character! Just you wait and see!"
"Huh? Don't make me laugh... yeah! My Explosive Art is what truly suits a main character... yeah!"
"Your near-self-destruction from being toyed with by Itachi Uchiha was indeed 'artistic,' you clown!"
"What did you say, you bastard!"
Their exchange drew serious attention from the other Akatsuki members nearby.
"Will my past duel with Hashirama Senju be exposed?" Kakuzu worried, fearing his hidden elite status would become known. He didn't want to stand out too much in Akatsuki.
"I hope it's Sasuke..." Itachi Uchiha, the clan-destroyer, remained silent with closed eyes.
Similar discussions occurred in other regions.
"I hope it's one of Konoha's newcomers!" In the Hokage's office, the gray-templed Third Hokage sincerely wished.
"Hmph, it must be my little brother Killer Bee!" The Fourth Raikage A, awaiting his subordinates to capture Killer Bee and bring him back to Hidden Cloud Village, slammed the table.
"The main character... hehehe... If he were alive, wouldn't he have been the world's protagonist?" At the women's hot spring entrance, a contemplative Jiraiya sighed mournfully. "Or... perhaps Nagato?"
Here and there.
Every world repeated the same scenario.
Not just the Naruto world.
In One Piece, in Bleach, in Dragon Ball, in JoJo, across countless realms, the same events endlessly recurred.
The entire multiverse tangled into chaos, ultimately settling into calm acceptance.
Amid this process, the countdown numbers signaling the broadcast's start began ticking down.
10... 9... 8... 7... 6...
[Top10: Heart Like Glass, Body Like Steel—This Form Is Yet Is Not a Sword]