How Kai met Sky

It was midnight. While all the residents of Nara were comfortably sleeping in their houses, in one house, there was a young man who wasn't getting sleep and was in deep thinking.

"100 million Yen Signing bonus and 20 million Yen of annual salary, Eh!" Kai was recounting everything that happened that day. He would be lying to himself if he wasn't tempted to accept it but, when he remembered his game account, the twenty-four-year-old fell into a dilemma.

There are several things that are making him go back and forth.

First of all, he wasn't single. He has a daughter to look after. So, even if he returns to the gaming world, his work hours will have to be restricted and when attending leagues, he might have to stay away from his daughter.

Then, there's an issue with the media. When he retired from the gaming world at the peak of his popularity, he disappointed a lot of fans and was afraid of their reaction if ever returned. He wasn't worried about directing insults at him but their effect on his daughter's life.

And there's the major issue with the gaming account itself.

On the other side, due to the debts of his late father, his financial situation is currently not that great.

Adding on top of that, his daughter will have to start going to kindergarten starting next year. As she grows up, spending money will be increased. And his mother is also growing old. What if she falls ill?

With his meager 5 million Yen annual salary (far below of national GDP per capita of 7.7 million Yen), it's tough for Kai to save up money for the future.

Moreover, even if he returns, there's no guarantee that his skill will be the same as before. Moreover, he had to lead a team to the championship,

There were so many problems Kai was facing and yet, his heart was reluctant to return to his past life until now.

But, now that there was a four-leaf clover placed before him, he was wondering whether to pick it up or throw it away.

"What to do. There will be a salary hike in July but the most would be 10% unless I receive a promotion… Sigh…" While Kai was deep in thought, he heard the sound of the door opening.

As he turned his head, he saw a middle-aged woman step out of the room.

"Mom," Kai quickly got up from the couch. "What happened?" He asked. Since there wasn't any cry from the bedroom, Kai ruled out the possibility of Miura having nightmares. He could only wonder whether the kid's temperature had risen.

Because Miura doesn't have a mom and still is a little kid, he is extra attentive to her.

"You still haven't been asleep, yet?" His mother walked towards him and took a seat. "Thinking about the offer?"

Since his mother was asking a casual question instead of telling him about some kind of worrisome news, Kai eased up and sat down in relief, "Yeah. If I accept it, then, all of our debts can be paid in one settlement."

"But, going there means you have to live in the dorm again, right?" She spoke in worry.

"That's what I'm thinking about." Kai let out a deep sigh. "I don't want to compromise my time with Miura in exchange for a high salary."

"Then, negotiate." His mother advised him. "If they want you, I'm sure you can set the terms, right?"

"It's not that simple, Mom," Kai told her that he already left the gaming circle for four years and lagged behind everyone a lot. He needs to work hard and there might not be a guarantee that he can reach the peak. He also pointed out the other issues regarding the media's effects on Miura's life.

Upon hearing everything, she patted his shoulder with a smile, "No matter what you decide, I will support you. All I hope is that you aren't forced to choose a path because of a situation like four years ago. The only thing that matters is whether you still have that passion left in you or whether it was extinguished."

Kai couldn't say anything to it but only tell her to go and sleep or else, Miura might be frightened to find no one around her.

As the mother returned to the room, the son switched off the lights and went to his room, and sat on his bed. After thinking for a while, he went to the cupboard and opened the locker. There's a black colored card with the words Dual Persona and the company's logo on it.

He sighed once again as he looked at it, "It's been a while, Sky."

Eight years ago, December 25th, 2037, Tokyo;

Opposite the Headquarters of Challengers Club, a 7-story dorm is located where the E-sports players contracted to the company stay together.

16-year-old Kai was seen walking out of the headquarters and going towards the dorm with a tired-looking face after pulling an all-nighter.

He entered the dorm building and reached the fifth floor. After entering the pin, the door to room 502 was successfully opened.

*Cling*

Opening the door, the young man entered the apartment and took off his shoes.

"Kai, you got a parcel." A voice was heard from the living room.

"Who is it from?" asked the young man as he walked towards his room, not intending to ask where it was as if he didn't have any interest in it.

"The name's not there. Probably from one of your fans. The ribbon was tied nicely. I bet it's a girl." His dorm mate joked before he threw it towards him, "Here, catch…"

"Woah…" Kai caught it in instinct and stared at the blonde-haired Ralph, "Careful, will ya. What if you damage the gift…"

Ralph snorts, "Please, as if you cared about gifts. You still didn't open the Christmas gifts until today."

"Whatever!" Shrugging his shoulders, Kai entered the pin on the lock on his door. Just before he was about to enter the room, Kai heard Alex talking to himself, "Anonymous, eh! I wonder whether it's from his ex-girlfriend. After all, someone did spot her nearby."

As soon as he heard the words, Kai's eyes widened and he quickly closed the door before unwrapping the gift in a hurry to find a note along with an account card of Dual Persona.

He read the note.

"A lucky Christmas gift for the chosen. I hope you enjoy the game.

Password: Persona"

There's no name inside the note except for a strange message and the account details, which made Kai curious about it.

Wondering whether it was a high-level account that was gifted by a fan or someone he knows, Kai switched on his computer and inserted it into the log-in device.

As he opened the game, a usual message appeared on the screen.

"New Account is detected. Please enter the password."

Kai typed the password he was given.

"Eh?"

BGM started to play while an opening scene played where the humans find life in places other than Earth in the far future and embark on a spaceship to conquer planets, capturing various species for research, and mining the resources.

Basically, the game wasn't about noble heroes protecting their planet from invasion but instead, it was about humans invading the other planets filled with primitive or advanced races and capturing their territories. 

*Dual Persona*

The moment he watched the opening scene, Kai realized that it was a blank card and felt like he was being fooled.

But then again, as something is better than nothing, he proceeded to click on continue and went to the character screen only to see a cloaked man, instead of bare-chested.

It was then, that he received the shock of his life.

The cloaked man character that was in sitting posture suddenly stood up.

The cloaked character then spoke cheerfully, "Hello, Kai Spencer. I'm Sky, a sentient A.I. by Dr. Mac, although I was been labeled as a virus instead. Anyway, Congratulations on becoming my host."

"What the heck is this nonsense prank?" Kai didn't take it seriously and thought it was a mod account, which is considered illegal and cannot be played on any official servers even if one wanted to.

He was prepared to throw it away.

But, to his shock, just as he was about to log out, the screen suddenly turned black and then, displayed 1s and 0s for a few seconds before the cloaked character reappeared once again but this time, he had an animated face of Kai instead, "You don't need to panic. I'm a friendly A.I."

"What the f**k." Kai couldn't help but pull out the card in a hurry.