The notification on Ren's phone glowed in the dark like a death sentence.
Ren didn't pick it up right away.
He rolled onto his back and stared at the cracked ceiling of his cramped Tokyo apartment. The rain outside tapped softly against the window, steady and indifferent.
He reached for his phone at last, the screen light illuminating on his face
[RENT OVERDUE: 3 DAYS UNTIL EVICTION]
Then he scrolled to his bank app.
[BALANCE: 2365 YEN]
He tossed it onto the desk, where it landed among empty instant ramen cups. The smell in the room was stale broth, sweat, and trash. He nudged an empty cup aside to make room.
Tomorrow never came.
The apartment looked like someone had given up halfway through moving out. Clothes piled in corners. Empty cups stacked against the wall. He'd counted them once when he couldn't sleep.
Fourteen cups.
Everything else was unkept. The desk wasn't.
The mousepad was spotless. A cloth lay folded beside the keyboard. The triple-monitor setup glowed softly in the darkness, 4K, 240Hz.
No job. No money. And as of three hours ago—
"No girlfriend either," he muttered.
He grabbed another cup of ramen out of habit, realized it was empty, and hurled it at the wall. It bounced off with a pathetic plastic clatter.
The café meeting replayed in his head like a bad movie he couldn't turn off.
Akari sat across from him in that overpriced Shibuya coffee shop, her designer bag taking up the seat beside her as it mattered more than he did.
Akari set down her latte without drinking it.
He stared at the untouched cup.
The foam hadn't even been touched.
"My parents asked what you do," she'd said, eyes glued to her phone. "I told them you were between jobs."
"I'm not between jobs."
"I know." She finally looked up. "That's the problem."
"I make money—"
"You could make money." Her voice was flat. Tired. "But you won't sell the account. Because that would require you to actually—"
"Don't."
"—do something."
His hands clenched under the table. "I'm ranked number three in the fucking world—"
"I don't care."
"I don't care about your rank. I don't care about your record. I care that I have to lie to my parents because the truth sounds pathetic."
"So lie better. Tell them I'm an entrepreneur. Tell them—"
"I can't, Ren." She grabbed her bag and stood up. "Because you're not building anything. You're just playing."
She walked out.
Ren sat there for a solid five minutes before the waiter came over.
"Sir, are you going to order anything?"
"...Do you have anything that costs under 200 yen?"
"We have water."
"Perfect."
—
Back in the apartment, Ren spun slowly in his gaming chair, then turned back to the monitors.
"I don't care about your rank. I don't care about your record. I care that I have to lie to my parents because the truth sounds pathetic."
He mouthed the sentence without realizing it.
The cursor blinked on the character select screen.
[ASHURA]
Level 500. Dragonscale armor. The Crimson Moon blade was strapped across his back. Seven companions standing behind him, pixel-perfect, loyal, waiting.
[ASHURA - LEVEL 500]
[CLASS: DRAGON WARLORD]
[TITLE: THE UNDEFEATED BERSERKER]
[1V1 RECORD: 2,847 - 0]
[GLOBAL RANKING: #3]
The marketplace tab stayed unopened in his web browser
A notification blinked.
[DUEL REQUEST: PLAYER "UNKNOWN"]
[STAKES: ACCOUNT DELETION]
Ren frowned.
Ren leaned back and stared at the ceiling as he relaxed his back
He exhaled through his nose.
Then the buzzing sound alerted Ren; he saw the message.
[Let us stake our accounts, or are you a bitch like your mom?]
The room went silent.
"What type of cheap ragebait is this?"
His jaw clenched.
His mom, who worked herself into an early grave raising him alone. Who never complained. Who believed he'd make something of himself even when no one else did.
A tiny voice in his head whispered that he should log off.
That this was the last thing he should do.
Ren hovered over the mouse. [DECLINE]
The room felt smaller.
He clicked before the thought finished.
[ACCEPT DUEL REQUEST]
The arena loaded, a massive colosseum floating in space, lightning cracking through a star-filled void.
Across from him stood his opponent.
[PLAYER: UNKNOWN]
[LEVEL: ???]
[CLASS: ???]
Hidden. Black armor. No weapon.
"Hmm, this is weird," Ren muttered. "But it doesn't matter."
The countdown began.
[3…]
His fingers hovered over the controller.
[2…]
[1…]
[BEGIN!]
He didn't hesitate.
Ren activated [Dragon's Descent].
And froze.
Mid-air. Locked in place.
"What the—?!"
"What the fuck is this?!"
He mashed buttons.
[STATUS EFFECT: DIVINE PARALYSIS]
[DURATION: 20:00]
Cold crawled up his spine.
"20 FUCKING MINUTES??????"
[VOICE CHAT REQUEST ACCEPTED]
The voice chat crackled.
"Surprise."
The Unknown walked forward slowly.
Ren's chest tightened. "Wait. Wait, listen. I'll give you everything. Platinum. Mythics anything Just—"
"Lol, get gud"
The blade rose.
[CRITICAL HIT]
His health vanished in chunks.
"Please—"
Another strike.
"Wait, please—"
Ren squeezed his eyes shut.
Another.
His hands were shaking.
"Please… don't…"
The Unknown paused.
"Thanks for the account."
The final blow fell.
[YOUR CHARACTER HAS BEEN DELETED]
Ashura shattered into light.
He didn't wipe his face.
The screen stayed black.
Ren didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
The apartment felt too quiet.
He slumped back into his chair, burying his face in his hands.
He glanced at the photo frame on his desk. The only thing besides the monitors. His mom, smiling, holding a controller
The screen flickered.
White text appeared.
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESTORE YOUR CHARACTER?]
[YES] [NO]
His heart slammed.
His cursor trembled.
He clicked [YES] anyway.
Light consumed the room.
His body went weightless.
The apartment started spinning. Rain sounds faded. The whole world tilted sideways.
"WAIT! WHAT'S HAPPENING?!"
The last thing he saw was the message floating in the air.
[WELCOME TO GENESIS ONLINE]
[TRANSFER COMPLETE]
To be continued in CHAPTER TWO…