In those three days, Leo conducted extensive research on the game he was about to play. Unfortunately, he found nothing, not a single piece of information. This meant he was about to enter a completely new world. He went to sleep knowing that tomorrow would change his life, and the lives of billions and billions of people.
***
How long will you remain ignorant like this?
How long will you remain ignorant like this?
How long will you remain ignorant like this?
Wake up, Destroyer.
***
Leo woke up feeling that this day would be special. He immediately found his father, mother, and even his sister Sally sitting in front of the television, with an announcer speaking.
"The game is here, the Cosmic Star is here. Buy VR headsets for only $500 for three days. Available in every store and game company, this headset is everywhere. Hurry and be the first to try the game."
"Sally, Leo, take these two thousand dollars and buy four headsets. I know neither your mother nor I will play, but take them just in case one of the headsets breaks, so we'll have spares," said their father, handing them two thousand dollars.
***
"Get in line, everyone," shouted the seller loudly.
Leo and Sally waited a few minutes until they reached the seller.
"I want four headsets, please," said Leo politely.
"Alright, that will be 1800 dollars for you," said the seller in a businesslike tone.
"I won't take more than 1600," Leo bargained rudely.
The truth is, Leo didn't really know how to negotiate properly, but he tried, and somehow the seller accepted the deal and gave them four very small boxes, about the size of an adult human head.
After the successful bargain, Leo and Sally returned home. They hid two boxes and took the other two to their private rooms. Leo rushed to his room, turned on his laptop, and connected to a program called Team Talk. He told his friends,
"Hey Mark, Andy, and Jassim, I bought the headset box."
"You idiot, we were waiting for you to open the boxes together," said the three, laughing.
"What? It's still six o'clock," said Leo, annoyed.
"Don't you know everyone's awake now?" said Andy cheerfully.
Leo replied, "Sure, but I didn't think of it that way."
Mark quickly interrupted, saying, "Come on, let's open the boxes quickly. We want to see the mysterious game."
"Alright, Mark, but why does this box look like a square?" asked Andy.
"I honestly don't know," replied Jassim.
"Okay, let's open the boxes," said the three as they began opening the boxes.
Leo held the small box, which had a strangely square shape. He felt around the box, trying to find a way to get the helmet out.
"Hey guys, have you figured out how to open it?" Leo asked.
"Yeah, in one direction, there's a tape that says 'Cosmic Star' in regular writing for sighted people. I asked someone who can see," Andy said.
"Yes, I found it," Leo, Mark, and Jasim said.
Leo found the tape and carefully removed it, then lifted the lid to reveal an ordinary helmet without any wires or anything—just the helmet.
"What’s going on?" the four said together, surprised.
The group was as surprised as everyone else who tried to open the box.
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"There's a button on the right side, so it doesn't matter how you position the helmet. But I'll mark the right side and then put the helmet on," Leo said to himself.
Leo's intelligence allowed him to discover the strange button and figure out that the helmet didn’t run on electricity. He also discovered that the helmet would work no matter how it was positioned, and he informed his group about this.
"Guys, we’ll leave our devices on and enter the game together. Are you ready?" Leo said quickly.
"Wait, lie on your back before pressing the button," Andy said, stopping Leo from acting hastily.
"Okay, we’ll do that," the group replied.
"Alright, let’s go," they all said together.
Leo lay on his back, removed his earphones, and pressed the button.
At first, nothing happened, so he pressed and held the button until everything vanished.
Everything gradually disappeared from his hearing until there was nothing.
Leo opened his eyes but immediately closed them again.
Something sharp burned his eyes; he couldn't bear it.
"What, what, where am I? What's happening?"
He tried to open his eyes but closed them again.
Taking a deep breath, he relaxed and slowly opened his eyes.
At first, it felt like boiling oil had been poured into his eyes, but the brain-numbing pain gradually faded until it was gone.
Then, he was shocked.
He was standing in a strange place. Wherever he turned, it felt like he was touching but not touching at the same time, as if he could reach distant objects.
He was surrounded by glass on all sides, and he knew this because he saw it.
For the first time, he could see.
He was seeing.
Leo was overwhelmed with shock and couldn’t stop crying, even if it was just in a game.
But he could see.
Suddenly, the glass shattered, revealing a huge man, muscular and powerful.
He looked like he could crush mountains with one hand, shatter planets with one attack, and kill humans with a flick of his finger.
He exuded a royal presence, like a high-level being that no one could touch. Then he spoke.
"Welcome to our world."
His few words sent chills down Leo’s spine.
"If you have any questions, ask," the man said, sounding bored.
"Sir, who, who are you?" Leo stammered without knowing.
"I am not yet worthy for you to know my name. Let's proceed then."
The man pulled out a clear white crystal ball from nowhere and gave it to Leo.
"Focus on it and see what you find."
As soon as Leo put his hand on the crystal and focused, it shone with a blinding golden light.
The problem was that Leo had just learned to see, but he had to close his eyes at that moment to prevent them from bursting into a shower of blood and flesh.
After about 10 seconds, Leo opened his eyes and found a golden, shiny screen floating in front of him.
He read—yes, he read the words, though they were incomprehensible.
<< Leo Inaros
Age: 16
Abilities:
Golden Eye, Vital
Sun Emperor, Imperial
Bloodline:
Bloodline of the Imprisoned Emperor, the Destroyer >>
The man was briefly stunned before regaining his composure and saying, "I will transfer you to the outer world now. Go."
Everything vanished once again, and Leo regained consciousness shortly after.