The notification on Ren's phone glowed like a death sentence.
[RENT OVERDUE: 14 DAYS UNTIL EVICTION]
"Ah, fuck me."
Ren Yuto tossed his phone onto the pile of empty instant ramen cups littering his desk. His cramped Tokyo apartment looked like a disaster zone—clothes everywhere, trash overflowing, the only light coming from his three-monitor gaming setup that probably cost more than six months of rent.
Twenty-five years old and professionally fucked. No job, no money, and as of three hours ago, no girlfriend either.
He grabbed another cup of ramen, realized it was empty, and threw it at the wall. It bounced off pathetically.
"Going nowhere, she said. GOING NOWHERE?!"
The café meeting replayed in his head like a bad movie he couldn't turn off.
Akari sat across from him at some overpriced Shibuya coffee shop, her designer bag taking up the seat next to her like it was more important than he was. Probably was, honestly.
"Ren, we need to talk."
"Oh shit, here we go," Ren muttered, already knowing where this was headed.
"I'm serious."
"Yeah, yeah. Let me guess—you're breaking up with me because I'm broke as hell?" He laughed, but it came out bitter. "At least be honest about it."
Akari's face tightened. "You think this is funny? Ren, you're twenty-five and you don't even have a job. All you do is play that stupid game—"
"Stupid game?" Ren leaned forward. "That stupid game is worth four hundred thousand dollars. My account could buy your designer bags for the next five years."
"Virtual money isn't real money!"
"Money is money!"
People were staring now. Akari lowered her voice, embarrassed. "My parents asked what you do for work. What am I supposed to tell them? That my boyfriend plays video games all day in his trash apartment?"
"Tell them I'm a professional gamer. Tell them I'm ranked number three in the world. Tell them I'm the best 1v1 fighter in Genesis Online and I've never lost a single match."
"I can't tell them that because it sounds pathetic!" She stood up, grabbing her bag. "You're going nowhere, Ren. I'm not going to waste my twenties on someone with no future."
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."
Now, back in his apartment, Ren spun around in his gaming chair, staring at his ceiling. "No future, huh? Bitch, I AM the future."
He turned back to his monitors. There it was—his baby, his masterpiece, his only real accomplishment in life.
[ASHURA.]
Level 500. Dragonscale armor glowing like liquid fire. The legendary Crimson Moon blade strapped to his back. And behind him, seven gorgeous female companions who actually appreciated him.
[ASHURA - LEVEL 500]
[CLASS: DRAGON WARRIOR]
[TITLE: THE UNDEFEATED]
[1V1 RECORD: 2,847 - 0]
[GLOBAL RANKING: #3]
"See this shit?" Ren jabbed his finger at the screen. "This is three years of work. Three years of grinding while everyone else was out there 'living their lives' or whatever. And you know what? I'm the best. Top three in the entire fucking world."
He cracked his knuckles. "Akari wants a guy with a future? I could sell this account right now and have more money than any salary man she'd bring home to mommy and daddy."
But he never would. This wasn't just an account. This was proof he wasn't a complete failure.
A notification popped up.
[DUEL REQUEST: PLAYER "UNKNOWN"]
Ren squinted at the screen. "Unknown? The hell? Never heard of this guy."
[STAKES: ACCOUNT DELETION]
"Oh shit, an account deletion match?" Ren leaned forward, interested now. He hadn't done one of these in forever. High stakes, high risk. Loser's character gets permanently deleted.
"Ballsy. I like it."
Then the message came through.
[MESSAGE: "Let us stake our accounts, or are you a bitch like your mom?"]
Ren's hand froze on the mouse.
The apartment went dead silent except for the rain hammering against the window.
His mom. This motherfucker just brought up his mom.
His dead mom who worked herself into an early grave raising him alone. Who never complained, never gave up, even when things were impossible.
Ren's jaw clenched so hard his teeth hurt.
"Oh. Oh no you fucking didn't."
His finger was already moving.
[ACCEPT DUEL REQUEST]
A tiny voice in the back of his head screamed that this was obvious bait, that he was being trolled, that he should calm down and think.
But that voice was drowned out by pure, white-hot rage.
"You wanna talk shit? Let's fucking go. I'm about to end this man's whole career."
The arena loaded—some dramatic-ass colosseum floating in space with purple lightning and a starry void. Way too edgy. Ren approved.
Across the arena stood his opponent.
[PLAYER: UNKNOWN]
[LEVEL: ???]
[CLASS: ???]
Everything was hidden. Black armor, no features, no visible weapon.
"Ooh, mysterious. Trying to be intimidating?" Ren cracked his neck. "Doesn't matter. You're about to catch these hands."
The countdown started.
[3...]
Ren's fingers hovered over his controller. Dragon Warrior had seventeen combo chains. He'd perfected all of them.
[2...]
"This is for talking shit about my mom, asshole."
[1...]
[BEGIN!]
Ren lunged forward, activating [Dragon's Descent]—his signature gap closer. Never failed.
And then he just... stopped.
Froze mid-air like someone hit pause on his character.
"What the—" He mashed buttons. Nothing. "The fuck?!"
[STATUS EFFECT: DIVINE PARALYSIS]
[DURATION: 20:00]
Ren's eyes went wide. "DIVINE PARALYSIS?! That's an admin skill! How the hell did you—"
The voice chat crackled. The voice was distorted, robotic, wrong.
"Surprise."
"You're cheating! This is bullshit! I'm reporting your ass right now—"
"Report what? That you lost?"
The Unknown player walked slowly toward Ashura's frozen body. Ren could only watch, helpless, as his character stood there like a statue.
"Wait, wait wait wait! Let's talk about this! I'll give you platinum! Rare items! Anything you want, just don't—"
"Lol. Get gud."
[CRITICAL HIT: 147,892 DAMAGE]
"NO!"
[CRITICAL HIT: 152,447 DAMAGE]
"STOP IT!"
[CRITICAL HIT: 149,203 DAMAGE]
Ren's health bar disappeared like water down a drain. His Mythic armor, maxed defensive stats, legendary gear—none of it mattered.
"PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU! DON'T DO THIS!"
The Unknown player raised their weapon one last time.
"Thanks for the account."
[FINAL HIT: 999,999 DAMAGE]
[YOUR CHARACTER HAS BEEN DELETED]
The world shattered.
Ashura exploded into a million pieces of light, each fragment dissolving into nothing. His seven companions vanished. The Crimson Moon blade crumbled to dust. Three years of work evaporated in seconds.
[ASHURA NO LONGER EXISTS]
[ALL ITEMS, CURRENCY, AND PROGRESS HAVE BEEN REMOVED]
[THANK YOU FOR PLAYING GENESIS ONLINE]
The screen went black.
Ren sat there, controller in his hands, staring at nothing.
"No."
His hands started shaking.
"No, no, no."
He stood up, knocking his chair backwards.
"NO NO NO NO NO!"
He grabbed his desk with both hands, shaking it, screaming at the monitors.
"THAT WAS EVERYTHING! THREE YEARS! FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS! THAT'S ALL I FUCKING HAD!"
Tears were streaming down his face now. He didn't even care. His life was falling apart and the only thing holding it together just got deleted by some troll with admin powers.
He slumped back into his chair, burying his face in his hands.
"I got nothing left. Nothing."
Then the black screen flickered.
White text appeared.
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESTORE YOUR CHARACTER?]
[YES] [NO]
Ren's head snapped up.
"What?"
He wiped his eyes, leaning forward. Was this real? Another trick?
"Is this... can you actually...?"
His mouse hovered over [YES].
Every logical brain cell he had left was screaming at him to stop, to think about this, that nothing in Genesis Online worked like this.
But Ren wasn't thinking.
He was desperate.
"Fuck yes."
[YES]
The screen exploded with light—brilliant white that flooded his entire apartment. His monitors, walls, ceiling, everything blazed with impossible brightness.
"Whoa, what the hell?!"
The light wrapped around him like chains. His body felt weird—heavy, then weightless, then like he was falling even though he was sitting down.
"Wait, WAIT! WHAT'S HAPPENING?!"
The apartment started spinning. Rain sounds faded. The whole world tilted sideways.
"OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT—"
His vision went dark at the edges. He tried to grab his desk but his hands passed through it.
The last thing he saw was a message floating in the air.
[WELCOME TO GENESIS ONLINE]
[TRANSFER COMPLETE]
"Transfer? THE FUCK DOES THAT—"
Everything went black.
To be continued in Chapter Two…