She was surprised that he had invited her to play the game together.
Kai.. At least, the old Kai was not exactly someone one could get along with easily. He wasn't rude or anything, but he simply didn't care about many things.
Having helped his mother from a young age, he had focused only on things that mattered—things that could help them survive—while ignoring the activities many kids his age participated in. In doing so, he had alienated himself from others. Their view on life was.. Just so childish. He used to look down on them. But after suffering for years on a do-or-die planet and being forced to work with others, his mindset had shifted—just a little. He had become more accepting of others.
Once, he had been cold, ruthless, both in the online game and during the early years of the offline planet. When others hesitated, questioning the morality of dealing with aliens—or even other humans drunk on their newfound powers—he never did. Killing had come easier to him than it should have. That was what had kept him alive all those years, but mere survival had never been enough. Just as that NPC woman had told Deimos.
He had changed. Found friends. Found purpose. Found love.
"Should I? I'm not really good at games.. You'll just get annoyed with me as usual," Mimi said, her tone hesitant.
Kai understood what was going through her mind. Without a word, he raised his hand, activated his holo, and ordered a physical copy of the game. He selected her address for delivery—three days until arrival. That was why he had bought it from the nearby game store he remembered.
Mimi stared at him, wide-eyed. Understandable. He had never spent much money on her before. 5,000 Exelos wasn't a small amount—one could buy a brand-new holo with that. But to him, it was nothing.
"Why did you do that..?" she asked at last, uncertainty flickering in her eyes.
Kai simply smiled. Using his hands, he replied, "I invited you to play with me. I should pay, right?"
Her eyes shimmered on the verge of tears, but she didn't cry. Instead, she dabbed at them with the sleeve of her fluffy winter sweater and broke into a bright smile. Then, suddenly, she jumped at him.
The force knocked him onto the couch, her weight pressing against him as she landed on top. He froze for a moment, startled. After a few seconds of silence, she murmured near his ear—
"Idiot! The first gift you give to a girl, and it's a fucking video game.."
He only smiled and waited for her to get off him, which she did—though not for some very long minutes.
In her mind, she might try to justify her feelings, might even try to convince herself that she loved him. But it was just a teenage thing. Kai knew she was just a good friend. She just hadn't found the right person yet. Hopefully, she will grow out of it.
Mimi left after an hour of chatting about random things—school's new semester starting, movies, her favourite idol gossip, and other nonsense. Once she was gone, Kai ordered another copy of the game, along with a new VR headset. He wanted his mother to play too. Once it arrived in a couple of days, he would have a talk with her.
He had intended to return to the game immediately after heading back to his room, but instead, he turned on his computer and started gathering more information. There were already plenty of videos online—some people were even streaming it live.
After spending an hour and a half piecing together the details, Kai managed to put together a rough timeline of the game's world.
Other than the Nexus Kin path—which, in all cases, spawned players in rural villages on this planet—the Stonebinder path placed players in a small-sized city where the main NPCs all belonged to the Stonebinder species. The usual protagonist was nowhere to be seen, but it was still only the beginning. What lay ahead in the story remained to be revealed.
The Exodian path, however, was the one Kai was most interested in. Players who chose this route were spawned atop the many floating cities—vast, advanced civilizations that far outclassed anything else on the planet. Compared to them, the Stonebinder cities looked like relics from the Stone Age. Glowing swords, energy rifles, laser whips, cybernetic enhancements—everything in the Exodian settlements screamed futuristic. As a species, they looked like full-fledged alien monsters. Not a single one retained any human features, and players who chose this path could fully customize their alien traits.
Stonebinders, on the other hand, were confirmed to be humanoid, a species deeply connected to their planet, granting them supernatural abilities. Since they still had those powers, it was clear they were still on the same world—but the landscape had changed drastically. There were some familiar elements, but the area available for exploration for players was still too small to determine the full extent of the changes.
Social media and gaming forums were already flooded with videos and images from the game. The level of realism was being praised far and wide, just as had happened with Nyxfall 6. However, some fans of the Nyxfall series were disappointed by how much the world had changed since the previous installment's ending.
Kai checked a fast-summary version of Nyxfall 6's story and found that it was almost identical to theirs—except this time, the game had an actual ending. The alien force known as the Dark Followers had indeed attacked the Stonebinder planet, triggering a massive war that lasted for years. That much was confirmed in the in-game credits. Many fans had expected to play through this war-torn world from multiple perspectives, but instead, it seemed the game had skipped a significant stretch of time. Now, the two species had somehow found a way to coexist. What had happened in between? Only time would tell.
Players were being spawned into random families of these three factions—Nexus Kin, Stonebinders, or Exodians—each learning different skills and completing various quests. The online shop had yet to be launched, so the player base wasn't as overcrowded as it eventually would be when money was involved. For now, only hardcore fans and gaming communities were active, but the game was quickly becoming an online sensation. Within weeks, another wave of curious human players would join in.
Alien players and their bizarre mannerisms were already being turned into memes, spreading rapidly across social media.
Now that Kai had a clearer picture of the game's state, he got to work.
First, he edited his own gameplay footage, cutting out any moments that showed Deimos or his personal interface. He arranged the video to highlight his survival on the first day—how he had acquired numerous hunter skills, completed the village quests, and witnessed that strange event where a baby was launched into the ground from the floating cities above. The villagers' reactions, their brief conversation with him—he included it all. He wanted the video to be entertaining, but also something that would help viewers learn and apply useful strategies to become stronger in the game.
After that, he wrote a post on the forums about his "beginner" experience, emphasizing that players should not kill NPCs and should pay close attention to details.
Once everything was done, Kai shut down his computer, stretched, and, without hesitation, put on his VR headset once more—ready to continue the game.