Technology has always been growing as humanity prospers. Civilization will always have its own entertainment to let its citizens to spend their time.
20 years had passed since then. Computers nowadays could only be called as thing of the past. The computers had been replaced by cabins. These cabins attached to what called the computer users in the past by CPU. Central Processing Unit AKA CPU, the exact same name and function of the CPU of computer. These cabins had been used by the society even for working. As many collaborations effort made by the many companies, cabin also got its own PC AKA Personal Cabin.
Cabin which its CPU directly implanted inside it. Used for personal use, like the old PC which could only be found in the Museum of Technology in city T, city where all cabins were being produced. The museum located right on the airport opposite. Many had been coming and leaving city T for sightseeing, either parents letting their children knows about the past technologies before cabins or reminiscing the past they once had or even a trip from a school, company or community. PC mainly made for personal use and limited to maximum amount of total people of the house and only accessible by the people registered inside as well.
Games or more generally known as entertainments, included literatures or videos, had been the main reason this PC being produced. Users can enjoy these entertainments in any ways.
----------------------
Somewhere on City H
Inside an apartment building, eleventh floor. One of the few floors only accessible by using the special VIP elevators. A lady with long hair in apron was humming while preparing breakfast. Tasting her cooking, she smiled in satisfaction. Pressing a button nearby, "Muqiu, go call your dad to come down to eat breakfast."
The teenage boy called Muqiu replied the lady "Yes." before returning the hologram screen in front of him to forum pages and closing it. He got down from his bed and left his room to enter the room in front of his room. A sight of three cabins entered Muqiu's view. The middle one is running. He pressed his palm on the cabin and a transparent hologram screen now glowing on top of the cabin showing him the point of view of what the user is seeing in real time. Seeing the screen, he blew a sigh while gave a smile towards the cabins head.
He turned towards the cabin next to while repeating his action. The Cabin opened its hatch letting Muqiu to enter it. Reading his brainwaves, the hatch closing. His mind started thinking, "Open game, Glory. Log in! Gunner0."
Glory. A really famous game that was once the peak of the E-sports. Even its position as number one had been long since replaced, it always stayed on the top ten list of E-sports regardless of the time. When I was still fourteen, cabins had replaced the computers, Glory's Alliance Association directly created its AR and VR versions along with PC first launching. Thus AR league and VR league directly made along the game and it was said the teams also spared some of their players to fight for the new leagues championship.
The Glory Muqiu logging to is the very same Glory that once dominating majority of the E-Sports Magazine before that day.
"Old man Huang, switch with me!"
"!!!!! *sigh voice* This little brat of yours really take over you, Old Ye. Little brat, come. We PK."
"I got no time for you. I still never beat my dad on VR yet. Come to me on AR then I will accompany your little tantrum."
"pei pei pei pei pei. You little brat still not dominating me on VR yet."
"But, you are no challenge in AR. This is right before breakfast, you know the drill each morning."
"Little Muqiu, you should let your grandpa Shaotian ease his old mind."
"Okay okay okay. You two father-son duo are just too shameless. Little brat, go get beaten up by your shameless father."
"Watch me, ex-master-trashtalk."
Huang Shaotian almost spurted blood hearing Muqiu's last taunt.
Gunner0 replaced SwordSaint's place on the PVP room. His opponent would be Yexiu's Legend Of Happy.
3
2
1
FIGHT!
Gunner0's bullets flew towards Yexiu's Legend Of Happy. None hit. Those bullets felt like a ring bell telling a round started, but instead of a round it more like an alarm telling those who had heard the sound the beginning of a battle between beyond god-like existences. Nothing could describe this battle better. Huang Shaotian who stood on the audience felt stupid as his eyes catch nothing while his ears only hears clashes sounding cling clang here and there. This once famous of Sword Saint of Blue Rain shown a high determination on his eyes before closing his eyes slowly.
Not long after his eyes closed, he tried to change his point of view to one of fighters in the arena only to feel sick and then vomit. He felt dizzy enough to felt sick and vomit just for like a second of their view. He deliberately hired the technician of the cabin HQ just to allow him disable the safety system to allow him experience their view. Each time he vomit, Shaotian always recalled his sour experienced of being mocked by everyone who had yet to experience this morning routine of the household for being delusional. The whole old circle of the once praised as gods from the old era all invited to witness the indescribable battle of this father and son morning routine. These old gods were all flabbergasted and believed they were still dreaming since this fight only done once and always last for ten minutes each time, no less no more. Muqiu always the first one to stop or both of them just log off as if the fight produced a winner and the loser just acknowledged his loss after the ten minutes exchange.
This miraculous phenomenon was happening on [Limit Break Mode], a new mode made not long after the old league had ended its legacy. This mode like the fixed field arena but instead of averaging everything, it let you to set anything. This mode even let a new account experience a max account's might or even a pro character's taste like.
The ten minutes passed just like that for the three of them. The sole audience finally regained his composure after vomited six times, three from each. The teenage boy felt that ten minutes were too short for a limit. The living legend enjoyed the short ten minutes and the joy of experiencing his son's growth. Ten minutes for each of them were different in each sense. While all were still being aware more or less the time passed, in their mind it was more like either a short moment to fell better after some nausea, a time wrap which made the ten is a one or a really long yet short time to reminiscing a growth of a man from a petite newborn to an eighteen teen with amazing achievement accompanied by the brightness of his uncle along with his wife's and his love for him.
The hatches opened revealing two similar figures inside. The figures rose up and left the cabins and walked towards the door. "Again?! Even after I developed the Golden Firearm?" Muqiu throwing his little tantrum. Yexiu laughed before saying "I was told the highest grade should be glory, in your case it should be Glory Firearm and if any were made it would get a version on its name. Even the league teams only use silver grade weapons." "Hmph… I always have them swept even with me focusing on the style of my avatar. If the league didn't forbid me from fighting them with only weapon and silver equipments only to spare them being humiliated too much, I would have fought them naked." "We are given the special privileges to be able to use unlimited of materials just for us exactly for that reason." Yexiu gave Muqiu a head-pat after their little bonding and arrived at the living room. Su Mucheng gave both of them a charming smile welcoming them for breakfast.
The family had their warming breakfast in happiness.
Breakfast ate, Muqiu rose up and said his greetings to his parents, "Dad, mom, I will head to aunt Tang Rou's house then."
"mmm.." "Safe trip" Yexiu gave his acknowledgement while Su Mucheng waved her hand with another soothing smile.
*door closing voice sounding* *Elevator arrival sound*
"He even has surpassed the peak Muqiu could achieve." said Yexiu while sipping his tea
". . ." Su Mucheng sat beside him making a melancholy face, "you always think brother as the best." said the lady while resting her head on his husband's shoulder.
". . . He always is. He invented the Myriad Manifestation Umbrella. He introduced to me the world of silver equipment. Gave birth to the Battle God." He got no answer, turned his head only to found his wife's eyes closed.
Muqiu named Ye Su Muqiu as he wanted to remember Su Muqiu, Su Mucheng's brother, who died on car accident. Ye came from his surname while naming him only Ye Muqiu would like Su Muqiu married to the Ye family. ALAS, his surname, Ye, had to be in the name while omitting the Su out of the three words would somehow beat the meaning. Thus, their son named Ye Su Mu Qiu.
-------------
Ye Su Muqiu left the apartment building and running toward Tang Rou's house to practice piano. He almost stopped playing piano until one day after him confessing his will to stop, Yexiu brought him to Tang Rou's and show off the quick play he once did on a certain club stunning the ones presents by force. He told him "Surpass this and beat me even once on VR Glory. By then, if you still want to stop then stop."
In the end, Muqiu prevailed the practice. Adding the nature of his teacher, Tang Rou, who had always been competitive, Muqiu joined the league. He repeated one of his female teacher's achievements, beating the pro player on ALL-STARS. He, of course, was assisted by Tang Rou who lend a hand to make him the -lucky- audience. Muqiu who had played with the best rookie who did 1v3 on her first year and the legendary Glory textbook each morning, of course, without doubt beat him with near to zero effort. What even shocking was that the pro player beaten three times since the Alliance had made a rule after that fated day a certain man got wrecked by a new player who had only played Glory for a month. The rule is [If a pro player is beaten on the All stars, the pro player can choose to back down or challenge the challenger to a best of five match. The challenger was also given the privilege to deny the challenge of the pro player]. A rule disadvantageous for the pro players was somehow made when AR and VR Glory leagues were born. Back down and be ridiculed for your whole life or win back the little honor you had left. Luckily for the AR and VR generations of pro players, the tragedy never repeated, until the day Muqiu emerged.
Muqiu became Team Happy's ace player on both AR and VR leagues on the fifth season of the new leagues. A year had split to two seasons and each year two ALL-STARS events were held. Championship was bagged by Team Happy for three seasons until Muqiu felt the competition no more. He backed down on regular league matches and only reemerged when he wanted to. The young Ye Su Muqiu earned a sole nickname that would be remembered for a long time, a nickname called [The Devil]. He earned the nickname after massacred the whole opposite team on team competition after 1v5ed them on group arena.
He was only fifteen when he attended that ALL-STARS event. Three years had passed since then. The new leagues were entering their eleventh season this semester. Muqiu cared none of that since he only attends any match when he is in the mood. The honorary ace of Team Happy.
He going the route he was so familiar with. Yet today, the route somehow felt unfamiliar since a big crowd coming from in front and behind him. He was about to make a move to avoid them, but a shadow grabbed him out of nowhere toward the gap of the buildings. The hooded person put a handkerchief on her mouth and nose, making the teen losing consciousness.
"You awake." the hooded one reacting to Muqiu as if knowing the boy will definitely wake up on that moment.
The boy who just woke up instantly startled as the hooded man's voice entered his ears.
"What do you want?" Muqiu asked cautiously after being kidnapped in a broad daylight.
"Calm down. Muqiu son of Yexiu. I am Author. I am here to offer you choices."
"Arthur? Is that English? Are you a foreigner?" asked the confused Muqiu
"Ye Su Muqiu, you don't need to care either of that. You can only choose. Stay the way you are or become better." Author mistaken as Arthur by Muqiu unhurriedly gave him his speech that would change the being called Ye Su Mu Qiu.
Muqiu taken aback by the choices given to him, "Become better? And stay the way I am? Aren't you kidnapping me for a ransom?"
Author pulled a box with embroidered cloth layer out of nowhere alarming the amazed teenage boy who directly exclaimed in excitement "WOW!!! MAGIC!!!!! HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!!!"
As if nothing happened, the hooded Author who had stayed hooded the whole time waved his palm on the box and touched the box with his left index. The box started to vanished as until the small gap separating the upper part of box, which should be the cap, revealing a jade colored orb on top of the bottom part of the box.
Again with the magical experience booming his head, Muqiu gasped before inhaled a deep breath separating his eyes from the jade orb on Author's right palm to meet his eyes. After a brief exhale, "Are you saying I will be better and able to do the same thing you did after swallowing that orb? I am tempted!!!" sparkling eyes were sparkling as Muqiu asked the question without even bothered masking his excitement.
Author giggled "Hahahahaa… Of course… not." after his short teasing he continued ignoring the heartbroken man in front of him "This is a [Plot Pill]. Just call it PP. It is a pill that will bring you back to when your parents had just helped Happy won its very first championship. You will be given a task to win another championship for Team Happy as Lord Grim successor. You MUST win eleventh season or you can just say goodbye to your current parents and live as unknown orphan in that era. Lastly, the fact that you are from the future is a top secret you have to protect no matter what. Any hint noticed by Team Happy or any of your acquaintances then I will bestow you, a punishment. A punishment that will make it harder for you to complete the goal. Or you can back down and this conversation will be as if it never even happens in the first place. The gist is if you swallow this pill, you will embark a journey to the past to learn from your father of the past and become better enough to compete with your current father. As a bonus, you will learn a lot of thing about your parents and their peers. If you backed down then you won't even remember anything about this. Choose!"
Muqiu took the PP and swallowed it.
"Let's the story begins!!!" Author snapped his fingers