It was a typical Morning for Mavis. He wouldn't have noticed, of course; his curtains were tightly shut, the dark red fabric blocking all the light of the sun. However, Mavis liked his room well lit, so he installed three ring-shaped lights above and around his set up for excellent lighting for himself and his flying drone camera. This, along with the small drone camera he had floating near his monitors. He sat alone at his computer desk, clicking and tapping away. He focused heavily on one of the screens in front of him.
"Alright, guys, come on just two more floors, and we will have made it through the biggest raid in history!" He could see his chat lighting up with replies. A tired smile dawned on his face as the encouraging messages pushed him through his sleepless crusade.
Mavis was a well-off variety streamer on Re-live, one of the most popular streaming platforms on the world-link. He knew how fortunate he was to be in his position; although his job didn't pay as well as Defender-related work, it allowed him to at least afford his humble two-bedroom apartment where he and his younger sister could live in relative comfort. For a young man at the age of 17, this was already more than most people could hope for.
In short, he was grateful to his fans, and he wouldn't let them down now that he was this close to completing such an epic run. Unbeknownst to Mavis, he and 3 of his guild members had been doing this raid for over 15 hours. Even if he didn't realize it, a new day had already started.
Even if he was aware of the amount of time he spent on this run, he probably wouldn't care. Mavis had been an avid gamer since he was six years old, and any true gamer has been through their fair share of all-nighters.
Despite his focus, Mavis was sleepy, and it showed, although he was considered handsome by most, even then, he couldn't hide the redness that had grown under his eyes. As he glanced toward his second monitor, he could see the chat filled to the brim with 'zzzzzzzzz' and his own custom sleepy face emoji.
"You know what's not resident sleeper chat? This gameplay! Where about to finish the 99th floor. If any of you fall asleep, you better gift someone a sub when you wake up!" He yawned as he spoke, somewhat betraying the hype he was trying to build.
With that said, he refocused on his gameplay. His mouse was practically flying across the pad. His character was a well-known S class defender named 'Zealous' who, despite only having a single-arm, became one of the greatest heroes of the previous era. With focus, Mavis used one of Zealous's signature abilities, 'Sin Blade,' to repeatedly slash through mobs clearing a path for his team through the dungeon.
This game was one of the most popular MMO's of the current generation, 'Shadow fall,' and its popularity in the gaming scene was very high. This was due to its characters, who were all well-known Defenders of the current and previous eras. Everyone with a brain knew that anything related to Defenders would have high interest, and even an MMO that featured them was no exception.
In this world, having a special ability strong enough to allow you a chance to become a defender was a cause for celebration. If you could become one, you would be set for life, and the respect you would receive across the planet would be through the roof. Defenders are all people with special abilities chosen to defend humanity not only from natural disasters but also people who would use their special abilities for evil.
Mavis enjoyed playing this character because his biggest strength wasn't his special ability but how it could be used to such great effect, especially in group battles. Zealous's Special ability was known as 'Rage Drive.' If he channeled his anger, not only could it become so potent that it could manifest into wind slashes that cut his enemies to smithereens, it could also be used to disrupt his foe's emotions if the slash didn't kill them directly.
Mavis used this ability perfectly, forcing the strongest enemy agro (aggression) onto himself so that his teammates could inflict greater damage. The anger caused by the sin blades gave the monsters greater strength, but the biggest downside was their lack of focus and clumsy movements. This allowed his team to slowly finish off their enemies with relative ease.
This was a strategy Mavis had invented himself, and this, along with his amazing gameplay, is what earned him the following he had. Mavis played many games, but fans of his knew that he owed his career to Shadow fall, and it was also the game he was most skilled at. He was a pro.
As his team was clearing the final few enemies, he got a donation, and his AI read it off to him in a monotone voice. "Phano makes Zealous look like a raid boss! It looks like someones are finally going to bag Nightos this time, boys! God knows the real Defenders can't do it, lol! W's in the chat."
Mavis laughed the comment off, but if one looked into his eyes, they would see a hint of rage as well as determination. Nightos, the Eternal Sword, was considered by all to be in the top 5 for greatest Destroyers in history, and for a good reason. No one truly understood his ability, but everyone knew the destruction his sword had caused was endless.
Two things always seemed to be a constant with Nightos, His signature faceless gold-plated mask that struck fear into the hearts of the world and the single katana he carried that had slain countless Defenders. His origin was a mystery, but the thing that people feared most about him was his life span.
Nightos had appeared over 500 years ago. The defenders simply couldn't deal with him, and with each appearance, a new blade would always be in hand. As the years passed, he always seemed to grow in power, and although his last appearance was over 16 years ago, Mavis's city still hadn't completely recovered from the damage he had caused.
Defenders continue to hunt him to this day, but he has never been caught. Most people feel he could never be defeated; they all simply pray that each appearance will be his last.
Mavis didn't respond but what he could see was all the W's being spammed in the chat as his guildmate smacked the final enemy to pieces with his Giant multi-colored shield. With that last kill, the 99th floor was complete, and after the 10 minute prep period, he and his squad would have to face the legendary villain.
With a quick check on his gear, Mavis made sure he had everything he hoped he would need to defeat the last boss. "Alright, guys, come with me. I definitely need some food before we tackle the big bad." After a long stretch, he tapped his drone and set his watch to screen share so he could see the comments while he went into the kitchen. His Camera drone followed him closely as he opened up the door of his gaming room.
When he opened the door that led him to his living room, the natural light hit him, and he realized that the raid was going on for a lot longer than he initially thought. "Wow, it's morning already; hopefully, Lilly made breakfast then; I'd hate to eat 3D printed pancakes again...