As the cutscene unfolded, a planet that resembled Earth crumbled and collapsed in on itself, exploding into a million pieces. Slowly, the fragments came together, forming a black tower that was the size of a planet. The scene was both majestic and horrifying, and then suddenly, a short sentence materialized on the player's screen: [The Tower of Eternity is here!] The screen went black.
"Ah... after seven years... they're pulling the plug on the game, huh?" An emotional yet youthful voice could be heard.
Suddenly, rays of light broke into his vision, but it was just his game capsule opening up, allowing the sunlight to stream in through his window.
"Looks like I pulled an all-nighter again," said the 15-year-old boy as he attempted to stand up from the seat inside the game capsule, which was now powering down.
He walked slowly through his spacious but messy room, with clothes strewn across the floor and notebooks and school papers scattered haphazardly about. Despite the disarray, it didn't seem to bother him. Although he had pulled an all-nighter, his body was brimming with energy as he made his way towards the door on the other side of the room. With his vision still adjusting, he failed to see the wire on the floor and ended up tripping.
"Shit!" he exclaimed as his face slammed into the hard floor beneath him. "Damn, that hurts..." He touched his face, fearing that he had injured himself, but fortunately, there was no damage.
He got back up and continued towards the door, eventually reaching it and opening it to reveal the grand and luxurious living room beyond.
A hologram of a maid materialized beside him and greeted him in a lifelike voice. "Good morning, Master Yuuki."
"Ah, good morning, Miri. Where are my parents?" he inquired.
"Master Masaru and Mistress Akane left early this morning for their business trip, I'm afraid," she replied, bowing and looking sympathetically at the boy.
"I see. No worries, Miri. Can you make me some breakfast, please? I'm in the mood for some omurice today," Yuuki requested.
The holographic maid responded with a delighted smile, "As you wish, Master Yuuki!"
Yuuki walked over to the dining area and sat down, resting his chin in his hand as he gazed around the room with a look of boredom. "Ahh... what should I do today? The game has already shut down, and there's no release date for the sequel yet," he muttered with frustration as he began scratching his head.
"May I ask, Master Yuuki, how is your game?" the holographic maid inquired as she cooked.
He suppressed his irritation and looked at her, saying, "It's fine, but the game has already shut down--" Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him. He pressed the marble table three times, causing a holographic screen to pop out. He began controlling the hologram and accessed the Google search engine, typing the following words: [Tower of Eternity release date when?]
The search results showed an official article that had been released just two hours ago, announcing that the sequel's release date would be in one day, specifically, tomorrow afternoon in 4 PM.
"Yes!" Yuuki exclaimed as he slammed his fist on the table, causing Miri to jump in surprise.
"Ahh! Please don't do that again, Master."
"Sorry about that," Yuuki apologized with a bow before continuing to express his excitement silently.
He continued browsing the internet, checking out the latest news and popular trends. The most eye-catching headline was about the Overseer. "They're always in the news," he muttered to himself. In Japan, the Overseer was the number one guild, thanks to their Guildmaster, Raiden Musashi, also known as the Void Slasher, who was currently the strongest real-life player. (This shit will be explained on the other stories, not here.)
Today is Sunday, and suddenly, Yuuki remembered an important detail.
"Oh yeah, tomorrow is the start of the new school year, damn!" he said, feeling stressed and touching his forehead. Moments later, Miri came to him with the omurice.
"Here you go, master!" she said with a smile as she put it down.
"Thanks," Yuuki replied.
"You're welcome! Oh, if you need anything later, just call out for me, okay?"
Yuuki smiled back, "Yeah, thanks again."
She disappeared instantly.
As he ate, Yuuki pondered, What could I do today? It's not like I could go to Yohan today. Ahhh! I really have nothing to do today. One more day?! Dammit! Just release it alreadyyyy!
With anger etched on his face, he began chomping down on his breakfast like a glutton, finishing it in just a few moments.
"Dammit!" he exclaimed with a full mouth, the food almost blocking his voice. He rose from his seat, hastily swallowed the last morsels of his meal, and then walked over to the sink where he gingerly placed the plate and spoon. After washing his mouth and face, he made his way back to his room.
"I'll just have to wait until tomorrow," he thought to himself. Yuuki's lifestyle was such; while he consistently ranked among the top scorers and his grades rarely ever fell below average, he never expended much effort to improve them further. Rather, his success could be largely attributed to his exceptional photographic memory. Aside from exams, Yuuki only halfheartedly participated in school activities and projects.
Had he put in the effort, he could have been a top-performing student in all subjects. Unfortunately, there were three subjects that had consistently been the bane of his existence since middle school: Music, Arts, and P.E. In fact, he had almost failed one of these subjects a few times in the past.
As he entered the room, he couldn't help but notice the mess he had been ignoring for quite some time now. Despite the disorderliness, he refused to allow Miri to clean his room as he knew where everything was and didn't want to risk misplacing anything. Although Miri had been installed for over a year, he still hadn't reached the limit of her capabilities. "Ah!" he exclaimed, slapping his forehead in frustration. "She's an A.I.; her memory is better than mine..." Despite his realization, he still didn't want Miri to touch or clean anything.
Finally, he arrived at the capsule and pressed his palm against the front glass panel, causing it to slowly open and power up. He peered inside with an irritated expression before lamenting, "Haah… I guess I'll have to resort to that game for now."
He made his way over to the game capsule and took a seat, watching as it closed and sealed him inside. The moment it was sealed, his consciousness was transferred to the virtual world, the lights flickered on, and holographic UIs began to appear.
[Welcome Back, Samurai_HeroHero]
Despite how cringe-worthy it sounded, this was the username he had chosen seven years ago and it had stuck with him ever since. He had been inspired by the heroic deeds of the current ranked #1 player in the world, Raiden Musashi, and this was the same username that he had used for his character in the prequel to Tower of Eternity. He had played that game obsessively for seven years, and by the end of its lifespan, he had the highest PvP and power ranking. Now fifteen years old, he had fully accepted this username even though he could easily change it.
Scanning the long list of games, he settled on one that, while he hadn't played it in a long time, his muscle memory was still as strong as breathing—[Riposte]. The game was simple, almost deceptively so. It was a duel with no stats, just a choice of one or two weapons that suited your playstyle. There were no armors or magic mechanics involved, and both players had the same amount of health with no stamina system. This game was notorious for being unforgiving, where a single strike could mean everything, and the outcome depended solely on each player's gaming mechanics. There were no pay-to-win aspects, and all transactions were purely cosmetic. It could even be called a fighting game of sorts.
As he was booted into the game, he found himself in a populated waiting area where he could watch multiple fights happening simultaneously in the same sandy arena. He just needed to navigate a channel button to find interesting matches.
There was a way, however, for both players who fought, called gladiators, and spectators to earn money. That was through betting. (Note: I won't go into the mechanics of betting for this game, as it's not the focus of this.)
He clicked on the [Matchmaking] button on the interface and within seconds, the connection was established. Instantly, his body fragmented into a multitude of blue pixels and rematerialized at the duel arena. Upon casting his gaze ahead, he was confronted with a formidable opponent, boasting a fearsome avatar. The latter featured a blazing aura, draconic full plate armor, and a menacing greatsword hanging from its back. However, despite appearances, this virtual game did not include armors, only weapons. Yuuki's avatar, on the other hand, was comparatively simple: just a figure clothed in a blue kimono with a katana sheathed at the waist.
Contrary to their fierce-looking avatars, the opponents immediately greeted him like an adoring fan girl.
"Oh my god," a male voice exclaimed. "Are you the real deal?!"
"Uh… Yeah, I suppose."
"Damn! I'm a huge fan!" The man stepped towards him with the intention of embracing him.
"Whoa, buddy, back off!"
"Just a hug, please! It's my first time meeting the legend."
"Not today, man. Let's get to the fighting!" he retorted, refusing the man's hug.
In response, the man stepped back, opened his user interface, and forfeited the best of 5 matches. "No worries, I know I won't win anyway."
"Don't you even want to try? Come on...! Alright, how about this: if you manage to win even once, I'll let you hug me."
"Really?! BET!" the man eagerly accepted.
"Sure thing."
They both brandished their weapons and assumed their stances.
The man charged forward and swung his massive blade but missed. A deafening boom reverberated as a flurry of sand was sent flying into the air.
"He's not here..." the man panicked, searching frantically for Yuuki.
"Over here!" Yuuki called out, but it was too late. He lunged from the side and drew his katana, executing a clean decapitation with graceful precision.
With that, the first round came to an end, with Yuuki emerging as the victor.
As the second round commenced, the competitors became more focused and serious. This time, Yuuki decided to confront his opponent head-on, despite the latter's heavier weapon. A sizable crowd had gathered, and many were placing bets. Of course, defeating Yuuki was considered impossible, so the wagers were centered on whether the man could even manage to win a single round.
The two began trading blows, with Yuuki evading the massive swings with elegance and skill, while his opponent merely blocked. However, even with his adversary's bizarre movements, he couldn't block everything, and he gradually sustained injuries.
"Dammit! You really are a legend! It's an honor to get an ass whooping from you, Sir!"
"Don't call me Sir!" Yuuki shouted as he deftly parried the downward slash and delivered a swift downward cut, severing his enemy's right arm from his shoulder. The man immediately lost his weapon, and Yuuki dealt the killing blow with another decapitation.
As the third round began, Yuuki remained calm and collected, while his opponent mulled over various strategies to try and win.
"I'm going to get that hug from you, Sir!" the man declared.
"Damn it, I said don't call me Sir. And you're definitely older than me in real life!" Yuuki retorted.
His opponent swung his greatsword diagonally to the left, which Yuuki effortlessly dodged, but was then caught off guard by a kick that sent him flying a few feet away. The man followed up with a relentless barrage of attacks, wildly swinging his weapon left and right until he had Yuuki cornered.
"That's a pretty good strategy, but..." Yuuki trailed off, as his opponent angrily swung his greatsword in a horizontal sweep, causing the blade to embed itself in the arena wall. Yuuki managed to avoid the attack by leaping into the air. While mid-air, he found the perfect opportunity to deliver a swift kick to his opponent's face, causing him to fly upward. As he descended, Yuuki deftly grabbed onto the handle of the greatsword that was still stuck in the wall, unsheathed his katana, and delivered the final blow to his opponent.
"Good game," Yuuki declared, as he executed the final strike with precision.
"Sorry bro, no hugs for you, I guess," he said with a hint of amusement.
