21st May 2224.
Location : A normal household in the Pioneer Colony on Mars.
"Saras Gayen! Are you reading those dusty old books again?"
Nina Gayen's shout preceded her entrance as she banged open the door to her son's room. As she expected, she found Saras sitting on his bean bag, holding a paperback copy of World History: The Ancient Civilizations.
She snatched the book from his hands and tossed it into the pile of other books covering a range of topics from politics to economics related to Earth.
"Look at Ellie's daughter, Stivi. She has already reached Level 3 in the Dreamverse VR within two hours of its launch. Why are you still lounging at home?"
"I am not lounging! I am studying History…" Saras protested, looking at the book pile before turning his gaze towards his mother.
She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him as if he had committed a grave sin by not entering the game as soon as it was launched.
"You are turning 25 this year. If you don't play the Dreamverse VR now and join a good guild, how will you find a wife?"
The same argument again. Calluses had grown in his ears from hearing the same spiel repeatedly. Today, Saras decided to take a stand.
"Mom! VR games are not everything! I can still work somewhere else and earn good money. I can still find a suitable girl to date… I don't need VR Games, not after what happened..."
That incident from three years ago was a taboo in the household. Just like usual, his mother ignored it and continued her tirade.
"And where will you find a good job? How will you earn well enough to find a girl?"
His mother interrupted, leaving him speechless. He had not thought things through. Before he could formulate a suitable plan, she brought out the deadliest weapon in her arsenal.
"You know your father is a simple porter, working on the starships of those big corporations. And I am but a useless housewife… sob… Only if we could afford to purchase the New Gen Knowledge chip for you...Sigh… Without it, how are you going to find a job? Who will hire you?"
She sniffled, dabbing her eyes with her napkin. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye but he remained unmoved.
She sobbed a bit louder and covered her face with the napkin.
"It's all our fault! If your father had chosen to be a gamer instead of a porter in a freight starship, maybe our conditions would be different. We may have been able to buy the chip for you…"
His resolve to not give in had already started to crumble. He would rather go play the VR game than listen to his mother's sob story a thousandth time.
"Son, you are my only hope of lifting our family out of poverty."
His lips twitched at her exaggerated performance. Dad was a Porter? Porter my ass! He was the fricking Captain of the ship!
Lifting out of Poverty by playing VR games? The only reason they lost most of their wealth was because he was playing VR games.
As for those chips, the knowledge in them was outdated. Hence, his parents never invested in them. They would rather buy the nutrient shakes to keep his mother's looks and prevent his father from developing a dad-bod.
He knew this and yet he fell for her sob story every time. Guess it was the Indian genes in him that made him want to please his parents.
He sighed and threw his hands up.
"Fine! I'll go and play the damn game."
Her expressions changed faster than the speed of light.
With a bright smile on her face, she hugged him and cried with joy, "That's my good son! If you do not join a big guild, how will I brag about you to Ellie and my other friends?"
All that drama - Just for bragging rights? Sigh.
He struggled free from her bear hug and changed his clothes. She was pleased with his behavior and made him his favorite dish, the wheat noodle soup.
She sent him out of the door and warned, "Remember, you need to reach level 10 today or don't bother coming home for dinner!"
Then she slammed the door in his face, leaving him speechless. A few seconds later, the door opened again. He thought his Mom had changed her mind and wanted to apologize, so he waited patiently.
Instead, she shoved a Dreamverse ID Card in his hands and closed the door again!
'Damn it, Mom!' Even If he swore in his head, he knew in his heart why she acted that way.
She just wanted to see him smile again and get over his depression over what had happened three years ago, after that dastardly incident which had almost plunged the Gayen family into the depths of poverty...
On his way to the VR Complex, he heard a quarrel from the house beside theirs. He could not be bothered to check, had that house not been of his childhood friend, and one of the OG Ragtag members, Stivi.
He pushed the gate open and decided to see what the fuss was about. If it helped him delay going to the VR room, that was even better news.
"You are still Level 3? What were you doing all morning? I bragged to Saras's mom that you must have already advanced to Level 5! How will I face her now?"
"Do you think leveling up is so easy in Dreamverse? I am already in the Top 100,000! Do you know how many players are playing this game? More than a billion!"
The agitated voices of Stivi's Mom and Stivi fell on his ears.
The fact that even a skilled player like Stivi was struggling to level up said much about the difficulty of the game. He sucked in a cold breath and decided to forego tonight's dinner. There was no way he would be able to hit Lv10 by the Dinner time.
"Tsk! This just shows how bad the quality of players of your generation is. Back when I was your age, we used to hit level 10 in less than an hour and finish the first job quest before the day ended!"
"But that was not Dreamverse VR..." Stivi protested only to shut her mouth after a glare from her mother.
"So what if it was not Dreamverse VR? The Omega Online We played was no less thrilling!"
Stivi's Mom said haughtily, regaling her daughter with the exaggerated tales of her youth. Stivi sat at the dining table with a sullen face having no choice but to listen to her brag.
He decided to go in and rescue his childhood friend.
"Hello, Auntie! Can I borrow Stivi for the day? I need her to initiate me in Dreamverse VR."
The faces of both the women lit up. Stivi looked at him like he was her savior while Stivi's Mom was happy to find another person who had yet to hear about her daughter's incredible achievements.
"Oh? You still haven't started? My Stivi is already Level 3 and she is even in the Top 100,000! Had I not called her back for lunch, she might even be in the Top 10,000…"
He raised an eyebrow at Stivi who blushed with embarrassment.
"Mom!" She whined.
But was it possible to stop Moms from bragging about their child? No.
Stivi's Mom continued to speak without paying attention to her daughter's protests.
He decided to step in after having heard enough.
"Auntie, I think we should get going or else it will be too late for me to catch up with the front runners; Stivi might even be pushed out of the Top 100,000!"
That did the trick. Stivi's Mom stopped her yapping and immediately pushed the both of them out.
"Go! Go! Don't waste time with this old woman's ramblings. You need to get into the top ranks and make us proud!"
He exchanged a smile with Stivi and they made their way to the VR Room Complex.