Chapter 1

The stadium shook with the deafening roar of the crowd as Reo Li sprinted down the court, the ball a blur in his hands. His teammate, Josh, shouted from the sidelines, "Shoot the ball, Reo! It's all on you!"

Reo could feel the weight of the game on his shoulders as he dribbled past the defender, his heart pounding in his chest. The defender lunged for the ball, but Reo was too quick, pulling the ball back and pivoting to his left, leaving the defender in the dust.

With the three-point line in sight, Reo felt a surge of adrenaline course through his veins. He could hear the crowd chanting his name, the lights from the stadium blinding him as he took the shot.

The clock ticked down to the final seconds, and with a deep breath, Reo released the ball from his hands. Time seemed to slow down as the ball soared through the air, spinning toward the hoop. Suddenly, Reo's eyes snapped open, and he found himself back in reality, lying in his bed. "Damn," he muttered to himself, "another dream. I was good back then, wasn't I?" He shook his head, trying to shake off the remnants of the dream.

As he got out of bed, Reo couldn't help but feel a sense of longing and regret. He remembered the days when he was a star basketball player in high school, with colleges vying for his attention. But his small size had been his downfall, and he was ultimately passed over for bigger, stronger players.

He got dressed in his dirty and muddy black uniform, ready for another day of working at the junkyard. As he headed out the door, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was missing in his life.

As he approached the gates of the junkyard, one of his coworkers, Joey, shouted from the crane operator booth, "How's it going there, All-Star?" Reo forced a smile and shouted back, "Barely alive, but I'm here."

The day passed by in a blur of breaking off car parts and gathering metal scraps. But lunch break was Reo's favorite part of the day, as he would eat his sandwiches and head to the homemade basketball court that he and some of his coworkers had put together to pass the time. He would stand there and dribble and shoot, practicing his lay-ups as if he was a D-1 college star.

Joey, who was a hockey guy, noticed Reo's talent, "Well what happened? Clearly you love that damn ball of yours, Ive never seen anyone move with that thing the way you do. Mind you I'm kind of a Hockey guy so this basketball stuff never really interested me...but I can see talent from garbage any day of the week." Reo's heart sunk as he remembered the reason why he couldn't pursue his passion, "Well damn, I guess it was my height, colleges were interested but didn't want to take a chance with me, being 5'7 and a hundred and thirty pounds soaking wet, didn't make me stand out much from the bunch."

As Reo walked back to his work station, he couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something more out there for him. He was digging through the many piles that were scattered across the junkyard, and as he was cleaning, he could have sworn he heard a voice whisper to him "Reo," the voice said, sounding so faintly like it was the sound of the wind. Reo walked closer to where he thought the whispers were coming from, but as he got closer, nothing was there. He dug and searched through the many piles like a maniac, the other workers were watching in awe.

"You okay there, bud?" One of the supervisors shouted.

"I'm alright, sir. Just thought I lost something," Reo replied, embarrassed by his actions.

As he walked back to his initial junk pile, a voice so loud and clear, as if it was right behind him, called out "Reo." He could feel the breath out of the words touch the back of his hair. Reo turned around and saw no one, but as he turned around, from a small glimpse of his eye, he saw something glowing and shining underneath a rubble of scrap metal and broken car parts. He approached the glowing object, but as he got closer, the object seemed to have stopped glowing. He brushed off the dust and picked it up, examining the small rectangular device with its strange knobs and buttons. Intrigued, he decided to take it home, not knowing what it was but something in his heart told him to take it home.

As he clocked out for the day, he shouted to his coworker, Joey, "Clocking out, Joey. Stay safe out there, buddy." Joey shouted back, "You too, All-Star."

Back at home, Reo took out the small radio and his toolbox, eager to see what he could do with it. As he unscrewed the small box and connected the broken wires, he couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and curiosity. But as he examined the radio, he couldn't find a power button. "This little thing is strange, I must say," he muttered to himself as he started pressing the various buttons on the radio.

Suddenly, he pressed a button that made the radio beep and start making strange noises. The volume increased, and a strange light began to glow from the radio. Reo's heart raced as he tried to make sense of what was happening. In a panic, he tried to run out of his small apartment, but the light was growing larger and pulling him in.

"Aw, shit! What the hell is this?!" Reo screamed as his body was sucked into the light. He felt as if he was being pulled through a tunnel of swirling colors and shapes, and he had no idea what was happening to him.

But deep down, he had a feeling that this was it, the moment he had been waiting for all his life. And as he emerged from the light, he knew that his destiny was about to change forever.

As Reo opened his eyes, he found himself laying on a field of grass in the middle of what seemed like a public park. But this was not the same world he had originated from. The sights and sounds around him were like nothing he had ever seen before. Cyborgs with mechanical body parts and aliens of all shapes and sizes wandered about, going about their day to day routines. "Where the hell am I?" Reo muttered to himself, as he took in his new surroundings.

He sat up and realized that even his own body had changed. He was still the same height, but he could sense that something was different. His tattoos seemed more defined, and his muscles felt tight and stiff. He looked around and saw flying cars and giant skyscrapers with neon lights advertising things he had never even heard of before. The hovering cars circled the busy city, and he was in awe of everything around him.

Suddenly, a strange ringing noise sounded in his head. "Notification Alert," a red exclamation mark appeared in the corner of his vision. Reo sat there confused, not knowing what to do. He focused on the symbol, and a giant hologram screen popped up in front of him. "Welcome to Bayside City, you have been transported from your realm and into our beautiful, lustrous city. Here, you have the chance to change your life and become whole again."

Reo sat there in shock, not understanding what was happening. "What the hell is this thing?" He muttered to himself as he continued to read through the mysterious screen. "Quest 1: explore the city. After completing the quest, you will gain experience points. Use these experience points to level yourself up and use the skill points to upgrade your stats."

Reo couldn't believe what he was reading, "Is this some kind of video game?" He had never played many video games growing up, instead dedicating all of his time to basketball, practicing every day and even on weekends. But, he knew one thing and that was basketball.

Excited by the discovery, he navigated through the screen and focused his mind on the stats menu. "Name: Reo Li, Age: 17, Height: 5'7, Weight: 135 lbs, Race: Human." Reo was in shock, he had gotten younger in this new world. "Okay, what else can I see about myself?" he thought to himself. He navigated to the "Skill Stats" section and was amazed at what he saw. "Speed 8, Agility 8, Jumping ability 9, Strength 7, Stamina 8, Shooting ability 8, Dribbling 8, Lay-ups 8, Dunk 6, Passing 8, Blocking 6, Steal 6, Rebound 6." He couldn't believe it; these were all his basketball stats.

Reo was filled with excitement and determination as he got up from the ground and closed the menu. He started to get the hang of this new and unique situation he found himself in. "Well, this is weird. I don't even know what I'm supposed to do, but I guess I'll just walk somewhere," he thought to himself. He strolled through the park until he reached a basketball court where a group of people were playing a pick-up game. There he saw a tall green humanoid with bright purple eyes soar through the sky, dunking on the defender guarding him. Reo approached the court and examined it, he was amazed by the technology this world possessed. For a public outdoor basketball court, it was lit up with neon lights and the concrete ground seemed to change its texture, making it as smooth as glass. The sound of the basketball bouncing off the ground brought back a nostalgic fire that used to burn inside of Reo.

"Hey, you guys got room for one more?" Reo called out, hesitantly.

"Yo, look at this little fella over here!" the tall green alien, Lexz, called out with a laugh. "You sure you want in on this? These sad bustas over here could use a hand."

Reo felt a tingling sensation in his spine, and butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he stepped onto the court. He felt a strange vibration, almost as though he could sense and feel the aura of each player on the court. Different colored auras illuminated from each player, and Reo could feel their intentions and emotions flowing together like a symphony.

"Over here, kid," called out Jix, a towering purple humanoid with orange hair and the appearance of an ogre, with two large canine teeth protruding from his lower jaw. He extended his fist, and Reo matched Jix's fist bump and felt a sense of camaraderie with his new teammate. As they began to play, Reo felt as though he was in a fantasy realm. Reo found himself completely absorbed in the moment. He was determined to give it his all and show the other players that he was a force to be reckoned with.