Guests

It had been a few days since several of his team members had quit, and Akira had spent most of his time in his room, sitting in front of the computer screen with a controller in his hand.

"Damn it!"

That day, after another disappointing training session, he lost yet again. His frustration was unbearable, and he smashed the controller to the floor, shattering it to pieces.

Before using a controller, Akira was a mouse and keyboard player. He had an incredibly precise aim and an amazing flick. He was even at the top of the leaderboard until an injury struck his wrist.

It not only caused excruciating pain in his right hand but also made his gameplay terrible. Forget aiming; he couldn't even move the mouse. He needed a new way of playing that didn't strain his wrist, and the answer was a controller. It only required a few finger movements and didn't strain his wrist.

However, transitioning from a mouse keyboard to a controller wasn't easy. In the first month, Akira could barely hit his targets, even though the aim assist was strong.

Akira might have had extraordinary skills with a mouse and keyboard, but a controller was a different story. Building muscle memory with thumbs was much harder than with an arm. The joystick's movement space was tiny, offering only vertical and horizontal input, even though it could rotate 360 degrees. Unlike a mouse, which had a wide field and could move in various directions.

This often led to Akira's frustration. He kept losing match after match in PvP. Even his smurf account, which he used to practice with the controller, had only a 0.8 KD ratio, compared to his main account's 4.5 KD ratio.

"Big bro! Are you okay?"

Hearing his sister's voice from downstairs, Akira regretted smashing his controller. He took a deep breath, calming himself.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Fuumi," Akira shouted.

"Did you smash your stuff again? That's the eighth time this month."

"Nope," Akira lied. "It was just my alarm clock. I accidentally knocked it over while gaming. Don't worry, nothing's broken."

"Good to hear. You don't need to waste money ordering new stuff again. We're already running a deficit this month."

Akira sighed deeply as he no longer heard his sister's voice. He then buried his face in his hands.

Born into a happy little family, Akira Takeda was your typical eldest son. He had an office worker father and a stay-at-home mother. His sister, Fuumi, was seven years younger than him.

His youth was full of happiness. Akira attended the best private high school in Tokyo. He had lots of friends and even a girlfriend. No one ever tried to bully him. And at home, his parents provided him with various facilities, including a mid-end gaming computer.

However, things were different for Fuumi. When his little sister turned 12, their parents died in an accident. This brought deep sorrow to both of them. Their parents had left a substantial insurance sum. But still, surviving without parents was tough for kids their age.

The eldest son had to take on the role of head of the family, while the youngest had to grow up quickly. The girl had to sacrifice her teenage years. No playing after school or going to cafes with a boyfriend. She had to work part-time to meet daily needs.

Akira took a bold step into the professional gaming world. He broke up with his girlfriend of three years and cut off his social life, fully focusing on Rex Regum Online. And his sacrifices paid off. For the past five years, he had lived without touching his parents' insurance money.

Unfortunately, his life hit rock bottom again. With four team members, including the co-founder and manager, resigning and sponsors pulling out, Quantum Esports was on the brink of collapse.

"Oh God. What should I do?"

Akira fell into despair as he recalled his problems. Quantum Esports wouldn't last another month.

He still had some savings for emergencies, but it wasn't enough to cover operational costs and employee salaries if he wanted to continue the esports business. However, if he added his parents' insurance money, Quantum Esports might survive for another nine months.

"What am I thinking? Stupid!"

Slapping his own face, Akira pushed the idea away. He couldn't bear to use the insurance money. He planned to use it for his sister's college tuition after graduating from high school.

Back at his computer screen, Akira opened his email and social media accounts. After withdrawing from the esports scene seven months ago, he had posted a recruitment announcement. Unfortunately, no one had met his expectations.

Akira had pretty high standards. But the situation changed his mind. He hoped there would be some applicants with interesting resumes.

When he logged into his social media accounts, he received dozens of notifications. A grin appeared on his face but didn't last. The computer screen showed dozens of negative comments. Insults and criticism filled the comment section, blaming him for Quantum Esports' hiatus.

[Loser! Your team is about to disband! It's your fault for being incompetent!]

[You'll never succeed in RRO again. You might as well quit! Your glory days are over!]

[A team that never made it to the Rex Championship Series wants top-tier players. What a joke!]

Clenching his teeth, Akira suppressed his anger as he read the comments one by one. If he weren't a professional, he might have replied to every single comment. Besides, his hand wasn't in any condition to type.

"Losers. I know you're just bitter because I rejected you, huh. So you vent your anger on my page, hoping I'll respond? You think I'll take the bait? Of course not, buddy."

Laughing sinisterly, Akira blocked all the accounts that left bad comments. He didn't care and didn't have time to deal with them. Then, he closed the social media tab and tried to distract himself with emails. But there was no good news there either. No new emails besides spam.

Leaning back in his chair, Akira looked at the ceiling. His head was spinning as he recalled about his current situation.

"Let's find something refreshing."

Bringing his face closer to the screen, he reopened social media to find a bit of entertainment or escape. As Akira was scrolling, he found a post from a well-known esports page.

Akira saw a photo of his former teammate and friend, Haruto, with his new team. The wide smile and confident face seemed to mock Akira.

[Official Roster - Monster Eaters Esports]

[We welcome a new member to our big family! One of the best players in Rex Regum Online and Top Three Fragger on the Japan leaderboard—!]

[Welcome— Haruto "mangoboy" Takahashi!]

"No wonder he quit. It was to join a giant team," Akira scoffed, clicking his tongue.

At the same time, a sense of disappointment pierced his heart. Akira couldn't deny that he felt betrayed. He was still angry about Haruto leaving the team but also couldn't blame him. They were both nearing their mid-twenties.

Unlike most athletes, whose twenties are their prime years, esports athletes often retire by the age of 23 to 25. Few continue their careers into their thirties.

Akira himself was already in the retirement phase, especially with his hand condition. Even if his hand healed, his reflexes and accuracy might never be as sharp as they once were.

Looking at his hand wrapped in a cast, Akira pondered his fate.

"Should I retire?"

Akira might be considered old in the esports industry, but he was still young for a man his age. He could still do many things, even make money from gaming in other ways, like becoming a streamer or content creator.

But his heart was reluctant to leave the competitive scene. He still had the spirit to fight.

"Damn it! Thinking about it makes me angry."

Rising from his chair, Akira grabbed his jacket and left the room. As he headed downstairs, he passed Fuumi. The ponytailed girl frowned as Akira walked by without saying a word.

"Where are you going?" Fuumi asked.

"I need to go to the office. There's something I need to check on."

"Eh, if you stop by the convenience store, could you get—"

BAM!

Before Fuumi could finish her sentence, the sound of the door slamming echoed. She just shook her head.

Last night's rain had left everything wet. The asphalt looked darker than usual, and the sound of water dripping could be heard in various corners of the street. Akira walked along, his head tilted up to the clear sky. He didn't know what he intended to do at the office, but staying cooped up in his room was driving him crazy.

About five meters before reaching his office, he noticed a black Rolls-Royce parked across the street. Just by looking at the car, anyone could tell its owner was extremely wealthy. Akira wondered what someone like that was doing in this small complex.

The buildings here had little value. The location was not strategic, far from the bustling city. Most of the owners were elderly, running small shops just to get by.

"Are they trying to buy land here?" he wondered.

When Akira arrived at his office, he met two guests waiting in front of the door. One was a teenager, probably around his sister's age, and the other was a mature woman.

Their appearance was very neat and formal, especially the woman. She wore a white suit with a knee-length skirt and high heels, while the boy wore a suit that looked like he was going for a job interview.

Just a glance told Akira that they were the owners of the Rolls-Royce parked across the street.

"Hello, is there something I can help you with?" Akira asked politely.

As Akira greeted them, the woman turned and gave him a gentle smile.

"Is this Quantum Esports' HQ?" she asked, her voice as soft and elegant as her appearance.

Naturally, Akira raised an eyebrow. "Yes, it is. I'm the owner. Do you need something?"

The moment they realized Akira was the owner, surprise flashed across their faces. The boy quickly changed his demeanor.

"Ah, apologies for the rudeness. I didn't know you were the owner. My name is Hana Ito, and this is my son, Haruki Ito. We are very eager to meet you, Mr. Takeda. If you don't mind, could you spare some time for us?"

"Uhg."

Hearing the overly polite request, Akira just nodded. He had no reason to refuse them. The team had rarely received visitors since its hiatus. Now, one question remained—What business did they have with a nearly collapsed esports team?