1. Grinding
"Please go out on a date with me."
Matteo stood just outside the school, watching one of his classmates confess his love to his crush. He rolled his eyes at the sore sight. Oh, Leo, you fool. What good will it do publicly displaying your feelings when the probability of having them reciprocated is zero?
The other students there stood and watched in silence at the bold display. The girl being addressed shrugged and looked down at Leo in disgust. "Look here, plastic bag, if I had to choose between you and a horse, I would choose the horse."
The students before the school entrance started to snicker. Matteo stood there indifferently, clutching his bag handle. Leo was his only friend in the school—confident, playful, and also a gamer. Above all else, he had a few screws loose.
"Wait a minute, Carol, why did you pick a horse over me?" Leo asked with a righteous voice. It was one of his best qualities and also a stupid one. His nonchalant attitude was one of the few things that made Matteo smile in this world of needless principles.
Carol rolled her eyes and hissed before walking away. Many exchanged glances at Leo before leaving. Matteo walked next to him and gave him a light nudge.
"Let's get going, Leo," Matteo said and headed for the school gate.
Leo groaned inwardly before following his friend, but his mood lightened shortly after. "So, how was my proposal?"
"Flawed," Matteo said with disinterest as they walked side by side down the road.
Leo chuckled as he looked at his friend. "True, what about Miranda Claymore?"
Matteo did not respond.
He did not really care about confessing to his crush like an idiot the way Leo did—he had more important things on his mind.
Throughout the month, he had been grinding on the beta version of a new game called Neon Solaris. It was one of the newest games with the most advanced graphics and gameplay. Only a few players were able to sign up to test it. Some like him were actually invited to test the game.
Matteo joined in the fun and really loved the game. When the beta version shut down a few weeks back, it was all he could think about. No other game gave him the same feeling as Neon Solaris, and he was sure the one hundred other game testers felt the same.
The game was estimated to reach global popularity just from its tested gameplay. After the beta testing was completed, all videos and trends of the game stayed up for a week before vanishing without a trace. Many gamers suspected this was done to prevent details from leaking to other game companies or because some changes had to be made.
The day summer break began was when the game would finally launch. Many believed the target audience to be younger gamers around the globe. And best of all, it was free. Who would pass up such an offer for an advanced game when it was free?
Dark bags could be seen under Matteo's eyes. He had spent all his time perfecting his gaming skills and timing, planning strategies for when he would next log into the game.
Leo, his friend, was also one of the original game testers and was a serious gamer, but compared to Matteo, he was still lacking.
"At least you could have told her how you feel about her before we go. But it's you—you're always a blockhead," Leo joked.
Matteo did not think of his crush as anything more than a mere distraction. "The game launches at seven. Don't fall asleep."
Leo nodded and smiled lightly. "Okay, boss. It's good to see you excited."
After he got home that day, Matteo quickly had a shower. Looking at himself in the mirror, he was thin and pale—a victim of poor nutrition. His mother always managed to force him to eat healthy whenever she was around, but that wasn't enough to change his state.
His hair was usually messy, but he never bothered. As soon as he was done, he got to his gaming chair and slipped his headset over his head. Soon, he was grinding again on one of the games he frequently played. After the warm-up, he looked at the time. It was still twenty minutes before the game would launch globally, and he had to wait.
Waiting, for him, was a boring thing. He tapped his foot on the ground impatiently as he chewed from the bag of chips in his hand. He took out his phone and looked at his channel. Messages started popping up one after another, and he read them. He rarely had time to follow up on his fans' conversations unless they were known gamers.
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RED HAWK: HEY, YOU THERE, NOBLE ZERO?
ONLYMAGE 16: I'M SURE HE'S JUST TOO EXCITED TO START THE GAME. I HEAR IT'S GONNA BE WILDER THAN THE BETA VERSION.
LEO IS TOO HANDSOME: WELL, YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW—MAYBE HE'S HAD A BRUTAL HEARTBREAK FROM A GIRL HE PROPOSED TO TODAY.
IAMNOT: THE CRAZY FAN IS BACK.
ONLYMAGE 16: IT IS GONNA BE WILD. I HEAR NOBLE ZERO RANKED 1ST IN THE BETA VERSION. HE'S A LEGEND. I WONDER IF SOMEONE CAN LINK ME UP WITH HIM.
LEO IS TOO HANDSOME: ACTUALLY, I KNOW HIM... INTIMATELY!
JUST_BOB: AND HERE HE GOES AGAIN WITH HIS INSANE THEORIES.
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Matteo smiled at his friend causing trouble again on his feed. Just then, the time hit seven, and Matteo moved with practiced speed, hitting the download button on the game. In some parts of the world, the site crashed because of the massive number of downloads at once, but Matteo knew his site could take it.
Besides, he had strong internet to get the game as soon as possible. Soon, he had the game installed on his PC. He smiled as he saw the glass screen loading before him.
He waited a bit for the gaming data to appear, and after a few minutes, it was completed. He leaned closer to the screen as a question popped up.
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PLAYER: WOULD YOU LIKE TO START THE GAME?
Y/N
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"You don't have to ask me twice," he said with a smile as he clicked his mouse on yes.
The screen of the PC shot out a blinding light and enveloped him. A second later, it went off—
And Matteo was gone.
A/N: If you loved the first chapter please drop a comment, it helps to keep me motivated.