1 Play The Game

Ring!

Ryota suddenly jolts up to his alarm going berserk. It's always a normal event for him to hear an alarm that sounds like 10 million fireworks ready to deafen his ears. Immediately, he stopped the alarm and ran straight to the shower.

"Another day, another suffering." he hummed to himself, as drips of water touched and flowed down his skin.

For one, Ryota hates going to school even though he's running to be the next valedictorian with such high grades. All of it is because of how people bully him for not interacting with his schoolmates.

This made Ryota your average loner nerd kid who has no interest in having friends. He even has his motto, "I don't need friends, they disappoint me."

He finished up showering and went on to dress himself up in his uniform, and went down for breakfast. There he saw his mom in the kitchen making eggs and bacon.

"Good morning mom." he greeted with a wide smile on his face. The only woman he would give a wide smile to.

"Oh, good morning to you honey!" she replied, putting his meal on the table, proceeding to speed through the kitchen for unwashed dishes. "Eat your breakfast before you go,"

He quickly finished his food and readied his bag before heading out. "I'm gonna go now mom," Ryota shouted while he put on his shoes. "Be careful now, you're going to be late," she replied.

In Ryota's thoughts, "She must think school starts at 5 in the morning or something." Ryota knew to himself that he would never be late because he always goes to school earlier than expected.

"I'm off!" Ryota shouted before closing the door behind him, starting another day of his worthless struggle in school.

"What level are you in?"

"Really, you got an artifact from this dungeon?!"

"Can we co-op later?"

As Ryota continues to walk, he hears whispers from other students going in the same direction. "They must be talking about that new virtual reality game.." he thought.

Ryota knew about that game yet he did not pay attention to it, he only thought of it as a distraction from his studies. All he knows that it is a fairly new game that was released a month ago- but it struck gold with students his age as many are always heard and seen playing it.

"No one will be successful with that game anyways." Ryota mentally criticized them.

As he is nearing school, that's when he saw something that made him skip his heart.

Fair skin, long jet black hair, wonderful big eyes that shine like the whole Solar System.

It was the love of his life... Sayaka.

Ryota has liked her since their first year in high school but he is too much of a wimp to admit to his crush on her.

Every time he sees her, he often spaces out and daydreams of him and Sayaka going out. His heart beats too fast, and he gets astounded and amazed.

Too amazed to realize Sayaka is now inches closer to him, repeating his name. "Ryota-kun?"

Too late, he's already in Sayaka land.

Thankfully, Sayaka slaps Ryota's arm lightly bringing him back to reality. "You're spacing out again, Ryota-kun!"

Ryota blinked, realizing how close Sayaka is right now to him. He steps back a bit, frantic and shy in front of the woman he has been liking for years. "M-me, no I'm not spacing out, I was just thinking something."

"You sure?" Sayaka asks, the tone of her voice genuinely concerned. "Did you have enough sleep?"

"Y-yeah, you know, just couldn't stop thinking about the exams." Ryota muttered, scratching his head out of embarrassment. "

As the pair walked to their class, they continued their talk about their upcoming exam. Ryota is in Cloud Nine, he can't believe he's talking to Sayaka.

It's a normal occurrence by now, but for Ryota- every day is like a new day for Ryota. In fact, she's the only one that makes the day better for him in this hell of a school.

They reach the class filled with few people- figured since they are early.

"So, you've heard about the new game?" Sayaka mused as she sat down on her chair.

"Yeah… but I've never played it yet." Ryota hummed back, "Though, I haven't played any game for years."

"Really?" Sayaka turned in surprise. "I would've taken you as someone who would play a lot of games."

Ryota sighs. "Of course even Sayaka would think I'm like that."

"I just don't have the time… always studying you see." Ryota shrugged, holding a foreign language textbook as he opened it up.

Sayaka reached out and slammed her hands lightly on the book Ryota was just about to read. "No way, you should start playing it."

"W-why?" Ryota stammered. Once again, Sayaka's face is a few inches too close for him, it's making his heart pound loudly again. "Do you play that game Sayaka?"

Sayaka beamed, "Yup! That game is fun as heck."

"And you know, it's sort of weird." Sayaka pointed out with a finger up, "It's so realistic, unlike most of the other games that've been released this year."

"Oh…it must be the technology advancing."

"Maybe." Sayaka grinned, "Trust me, it's a lot of fun, you'll actually feel like you're in that world!"

Ryota just looked at Sayaka, admiring her for her bubbly attitude. He always thought that something about Sayaka is very endearing, maybe that's why she's been the most popular in our class.

"Most popular hanging out with someone like me." he wonders inside his head.

It's not a surprise why people would bully him for it. But for Ryota, at least he gets to talk to Sayaka everyday, something not many people have in their lives.

Whenever Ryota hears Sayaka talk, it's as if there's something profound that surrounds her. He feels like Sayaka always radiates color and energy from her aura.

With those thoughts alone, Ryota felt his cheeks burn up. He turned to his desk and put out more of his books as means of distractions.

"A-ah, well then, maybe I should do some advance reading then." he stuttered while re-opening his foreign language book. Sayaka just pouted in response.

"You know Ryota, you always read books." she sighed in annoyance. "Maybe, you should enjoy life sometimes."

He would look up to see Sayaka get approached by her other classmates, and she excuses herself to her seats. Ryota just sighed. "Back to being a loner for seven hours."

"But, how can I enjoy my life when my life is just about books now…" he ponders mentally.

Ryota pondered. He has never got to enjoy his life, with his parents finding someone who can bring their family back together, he ended up being the one person everyone is counting on to make it.

Because of how studious he became for his family, he ended up abandoning his sweet youth in exchange of growing up as an adult quickly to study.

"What a crummy life being a nerd it is." Ryota sighs in his head.

Soon, the class fills up, yet Ryota didn't bother to look up from his textbook. It has become a daily pattern for him, and for everyone in the class to treat him like this. He didn't wanna bother because he already knew who they were to care more.

Suddenly, a hand pressed hard on his book. All Ryota can think of is, "Here we go again."

Ryota looks up to see three men circling around him like lions discovering their prey. "Sup' nerd?"

Deiro, Ken, Maki- also known as the 'three demons' (nicknamed by Ryota himself) who kept tormenting Ryota's life non-stop every day. Maki, the one who owns the hand pressed on Ryota's textbook, is their leader.

Ryota looks to see the identical siblings Deiro and Ken. Despite their muscular build, they prove to be just slaves (self-proclaimed brothers) of Maki, someone who is leaner in build.

"What you doin'?" Maki snickered, moving his face closer. "Getting ready for the exam again to attract the A+ Grade?"

The two siblings snickered in unison behind him. "I bet that's the only thing you can attract in your entire life. You hear that?"

No one in the class responded except Deiro and Ken who were wheezing out of what's possibly the worst insult that humanity has ever put out.

"You three!" Sayaka's voice roared from a distance as their fellow classmates parted like the Red Sea. "You better leave Ryota alone or else you'll end up like fried chicken in the cafeteria again like last month."

The three bullies just sneered and went away to another classroom, probably to torment another person. Ryota just noted, "They never learn."

Sayaka walked to Ryota's seat in concern. "You okay?"

Ryota just gave out a warm smile. This woman is his hero. "Thank you Sayaka, without you, I would've been more than just a loner here with these pests."

"Pfft, no worries, I always gotchu!" Sayaka smirked, lightly slapping his arm. "But you gotta learn how to stand up for yourself, it's not okay for them to keep bullying you."

She looked at me with a stern look. Even though Sayaka is one colorful character, she's damn scary when she needs to.

No wonder she's so popular. Everyone wants to be like her.

"Like breaking bones?" Ryota jokes, raising a brow, earning a shared laugh from Sayaka.

Soon after, the bell rang and class started.

For Ryota, this is the best time as every time he is in class, he gets to shine at his best. Even though studying trapped him, he made sure to enjoy every single second in the class. Maybe that's why he started enjoying classes so much.

Hours flew by and suddenly, recess soon came after.

Their teacher immediately darted out of the room like it's no business. Sayaka immediately stood up with her bag on her shoulder as she smiled at Ryota. "Let's eat?"

It's been ages since they last ate together since semestral break started. Ryota is just happy to be able to spend time again with Sayaka alone. For him, this is a dream come true this morning- he has been daydreaming for Sayaka to eat lunch with him again and the gods just granted his wish.

Ryota thought, "What a lucky guy I am right now!"

Immediately after arriving at the rooftop of their school, the two sat on the floor as the cool breeze brushed against their entire body. For Ryota, it's perfect weather for a date- lunch with Sayaka. Not too hot, not too cold, like Goldilocks.

They unboxed their lunch boxes that are filled with assorted foods. "My, my Ryota, those are nice foods your mom cooked for you."

"Yeah…" Ryota quietly spoke, blushing from the compliment. "My mom is a real great cook alright."

He looked at Sayaka's box, it's obvious she made all of that. "You did great on yours too."

This earned a wide grin from Sayaka. "Really? Thanks!"

They proceeded to eat silently, munching on the food of their lunch boxes. In between, it was all small talk for the two of them.

"You know I realized, when you invited me to your house for our school project last month, I didn't see any action figures or video games." Sayaka pointed out. "Even cards and posters, nothing… just plain."

Ryota looked down out of pure shyness. Of course there wasn't any, like he said- he's only a guy who focuses on his books.

"I know you already said to me, a million times in fact, that you don't play nor pay attention to them because it'll just affect your studies big time," Sayaka continued after a brief pause. "But have you ever considered using it to escape reality?"

Ryota just looked at her in confusion to which she just turned to him with a pleading face like a lost puppy. "Video games are not only a distraction Ryota, they are a new world to explore, an escape from this world we are."

A new world to explore. An escape.

Ryota has never thought of video games that way. For years, he thought video games are just unnecessary roadblocks for his goals in life- his family's goals for his life, in fact.

For sure, Ryota has been pressured a lot all of his life, and he has given up a lot just to make sure he can achieve the goals his family handed to him. The dream of being successful in this world sure drains you out as a human being.

That's why he hasn't taken interest in any games at all. He had been focusing all his life on earning money and properly studying, even going far to get a summer job. Ryota knew by then that his intelligence could get him any job he wanted.

Ryota continued to pour out his thoughts about it as Sayaka kept rambling. Maybe, it will not hurt to try. Besides, he's got the money for this anyways, and pretty sure no one in his family would care- unless it actually flunks his grades. But for sure, he can manage.

Maybe, this is what he needs. Like Sayaka, he is introduced to a new world of fantasy, so maybe another new one where he is free to explore may help him ease a bit.

"Fine, fine." Ryota decided, "I'll play the game… as if I can say no to you."

Sayaka yelped in glee, to which Ryota just sighs. "We can get to play together!"

"Really?" Ryota said in an additional glee and obvious blushing. Playing with Sayaka? This isn't a bad idea at all then. "That would be nice."

"You like me that much that you can't say no, right?" Sayaka poked with an ear-to-ear grin. "I heard you say it, don't you deny it."

"I-I meant that-," Ryota tried to defend himself- blushing furiously, but Sayaka just laughed at him.

"I'm just messing with you." Sayaka mused as they shared a laugh together, though Ryota is keeping his laugh to a down low as he's trying to hide his tomato-like face from blushing.

Hours went by, class soon ended.

Both Ryota and Sayaka separated ways outside the school gate. As Ryota walked home, he did not forget to stop by a gaming store not far from the campus.

As he entered the store, he was met with many games, but the new game is obviously heavily advertised with posters and banners surrounding the store. He went straight to where the game is located and picked up one.

He read the name of the game and its content. "So this is the game, huh? Interesting."

His thoughts kept going back to whether this is a good idea or not. But soon, he realized- he needs to step out of his comfort zone more.

The more he thinks about his decisions, the more he grows conscious of how he's been living his life. He's different from other kids, sure, and maybe this game will allow him to start a new identity- away from what he is right now.

And plus, he gets to play with Sayaka. Ryota can't shake the thought of playing with Sayaka in this game, as he wonders what character Sayaka might look like.

He sighed, cashing out the VR set and the game itself, not caring about how much it costs. What he is now worried about is how much time he will consume from this, that hopefully it won't get in the way with his studies.

"Maybe I should just try it like Sayaka asked." he thought.

Immediately after buying the game, he went straight home.

"Mom! I'm home!" he shouted as he opened the door.

"Good, dinner is ready in the dining area. I cooked your favorite tonight!" she replied as she continued watching television in the living room.

"I'm gonna head up and drop my stuff first." he responded back, running to his room with his bag.

In his room, he swiftly put down his bag, opened it and got the VR Set and the game out of the bag. At first, he wondered how he would set it up, but after a few minimal trial and errors, he got it working.

Ryota picked up the VR Set with the game installed in it. This is it for Ryota, he's about to enter a new world, a new reality for him to escape to. "No going back now for him", he guesses.

He knew to himself, there's always a first time for everything, so... here goes nothing.

Ryota puts on the VR Set, and immediately he is met with the game's title card.

Encadia Realm X.