Superstar System: Crowned in Stardust

“Alright, let’s start over from scratch.”

Lucas had resolved to put aside any worries about what might go wrong in the future. 

He was clearly a different person from the original Lucas—confident, hardworking, and optimistic, someone who could rely on himself no matter the circumstances.

In his former life, Lucas had been a top student, quick to grasp complex ideas and always excelling. 

He even managed to land a position at one of the top companies in his country.

“I know this won’t be easy,” he thought, “but there’s no other choice. I have to rebuild my life here, step by step.”

For a moment, he imagined if only the original Lucas, now a rising star, could be more reliable. 

But unfortunately, the original Lucas was only average in his skills, and the agency had already lost faith in him. 

Besides, Lucas himself had no experience in the entertainment world.

After classes ended, Lucas made his way to the school cafeteria. 

His friends were surprised; the original Lucas had always gone straight home, whisked away by a car from the agency. 

He’d never lingered at school.

But Lucas now sat casually at a corner table in the cafeteria, earphones in, listening to an audiobook on the history of this parallel world he found himself in.

He pulled out his phone and messaged William.

[Lucas: Will, buy all the prep books for college entrance exams.]

[William: Why? I don’t need them, and you know I’m not going to college.]

[Lucas: But I need them.]

[William: Then buy them yourself.]

[Lucas: I’m broke.]

[William: Since when are you this shameless?]

[Lucas: C’mon, a good friend would happily share, right?]

The next morning, as William prepared for his usual run, he was shocked to find Lucas already dressed in workout clothes, ready to go.

“Lucas, what’s going on? It’s so early… and what’s with the athletic gear?” William asked, baffled.

Lucas casually grabbed his sneakers from the rack and sat down beside William to put them on.

“You think I’m dressed like this to meet Emma at this hour? I’m joining you for a run,” he replied.

“What?!” William stared at him in disbelief as Lucas got up and headed outside first.

“Come on,” Lucas called back, “don’t you have dance practice this morning?”

Running side-by-side, William couldn’t help but chatter, his curiosity getting the better of him. 

He was still trying to wrap his head around Lucas’s sudden change.

“Lucas, be honest with me—what’s going on? Are you in love or something? I’ve heard love can make people do crazy things.”

“Can you shut up and focus on running? I’m already out of breath here,” Lucas said, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

“No, wait. This is too weird. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Enough. You talk way too much.” Lucas gave a short laugh. “I told you, I’m starting over.”

With that, he sped up, leaving William to catch up, who followed in a mix of amusement and confusion.

In their group, the agency had always enforced a rigorous fitness routine to keep their stamina and health in check. 

However, outside of those scheduled sessions, neither Lucas nor David were particularly committed to working out regularly; they stuck to the agency’s schedule and not much beyond that.

Now, for three days straight, Lucas had been coming to school every day. 

Each morning, he fit in a quick run before hurrying off to class. With the agency no longer providing him with a car service, he had to rely on public transport to get there. 

This change came on the heels of Emma’s warning that Lucas might be at risk of being dropped from the agency.

Sitting in the very back seat of the bus, Lucas gazed out the window, reflecting.

“The original Lucas would probably find this inconvenient,” he thought, a hint of amusement on his face, “but back in my world, this was my daily life. So this? It’s a breeze.”

Lucas was determined to gather as many skill points as possible, knowing he could use them for various purposes. 

By boosting his skill scores, he envisioned leveraging them to ultimately enrich himself.

He considered that if his agency no longer cared about him, he could start his own YouTube channel and do live streams. 

With the small amount of popularity he still had, at least he wouldn’t be starting entirely from scratch.

But of course, to start live streaming, he still needed some initial funds. 

Since he didn’t have that yet, Lucas decided to postpone it for now.

When Lucas finally arrived at school, his recent changes didn’t go unnoticed. 

Not only were his group members intrigued, but classmates and even teachers had taken note. 

Word spread quickly, even reaching the school’s online forum.

“I saw Lucas actually showing up to school regularly now.”

“Yeah, me too. He seems serious about studying. What do you think brought this on?”

“Did he get into an accident recently that rewired his brain? Haha.”

“No, I heard Stellarix might be disbanding. He’s probably switching tracks because he was the least popular in the group, so now he’s trying to get into college.”

“Haha, that actually makes sense.”

Everyone knew Lucas was part of the group chat, but they didn’t seem to care if he saw their comments or not. 

Luckily, Lucas didn’t pay attention to the chat; he’d long since stopped caring what they thought.

Lucas focused on his classes with full dedication, never missing a single lesson. 

He was determined to give his best; his current goal was to secure a place at the country’s top university, Westbridge College.

At the end of the school day, Lucas received a notification from the school’s package drop-off point. 

A package had arrived for him. He grinned, knowing it was the stack of study books he’d asked William to order.

“William, you’re the best,” he thought. 

Although William had initially protested, he’d eventually agreed to send all the books Lucas requested online.

As Lucas carried the heavy stack, he struggled, and the books tumbled to the floor, still in their packaging.

Still, Lucas didn’t complain—he was excited about the books.

Two classmates, Mason and Chloe—a couple from his class—noticed and came over to help him.

“Lucas, let me help you,” Chloe offered with a warm smile.

“Thank you,” Lucas replied.

At first, Mason hesitated. “Do we really need to help him?” he grumbled, but Chloe pulled him along by the hand.

“Lucas, are these all books? There are so many!” Chloe asked, glancing at the stack.

“Yeah, I ordered them online,” Lucas replied.

“You’ve been pretty diligent about coming to school lately, huh?” Chloe added casually.

Mason smirked. “Of course, Chloe. The rumors about Stellarix breaking up are everywhere, so I’m sure he’s just doing this because he’s out of work.”

Chloe shot Mason a glare. “Mason, can you please watch what you’re saying?”

Lucas paused at Mason’s comment, then continued picking up his books. “Yeah, that’s true,” he said simply.

Chloe shifted awkwardly, feeling guilty for even bringing it up. “Lucas, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“It’s fine,” Lucas replied calmly. “You’re right—I won’t have any work after this. Besides, I’m curious to see what I might accomplish if I put some effort into my academics.” 

His tone was even, showing no hint of irritation, which only made Chloe feel worse.

Chloe and Mason stared in disbelief at Lucas’s response.

“Lucas, are you serious? You’re not actually aiming for the top 20, are you?” Mason laughed.

Chloe and Mason were both top students at the school. 

Chloe consistently ranked in the top five since her first year, while Mason held a solid spot in the top 20—still far better than Lucas, who had always been in the 700s. 

Mason couldn’t believe Lucas’s confidence and was ready to laugh at him.

Chloe nudged Mason in the stomach, signaling him to stop with the taunts.

But Lucas simply smiled. “Want to make a bet on that?”

Feeling confident with his new abilities and the system on his side, Lucas was unfazed by Mason’s doubt.

“Oh, absolutely! If you manage to place in the top 20, I’ll run around the school 20 times in nothing but my underwear!” Mason declared, bursting into laughter.

Chloe looked horrified. “Mason! Are you serious?”

“Haha, don’t worry, Chloe,” Mason replied. “I know that’s never going to happen.”

Still, Chloe couldn’t shake the feeling that anything was possible. 

She worried about Mason’s bold bet, wondering what would happen if Lucas somehow pulled it off. 

But she also didn’t feel she could stop it.

“But Lucas,” she added, “if you lose, you’ll be my personal assistant for a month. How about that?”

Lucas just smiled. “Of course, I agree. Let’s both remember this bet.”

With that, Lucas walked away, leaving them both standing there.

“I can’t believe he’s that foolish,” Mason scoffed.

“Mason, are you sure you’re not taking this too far?” Chloe asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mason replied.