Chapter 7

After picking up my car keys from the top of the lamp desk, I went out of my room and ran to the garage. I pressed the key fob to unlock the car, settled myself inside, and stepped on the gas once I started the engine.

The summer heat was scorching hot. When I arrived at Flint's house, the team huddled outside, waiting for me to pick them up. Everybody went to their usual position inside my car when I stepped on the breaks to let them in. Flint turned the air conditioner up and fanned himself using his hand while settling on the front passenger seat. On the other hand, the guys at the back groaned exaggeratedly.

"This is the first time he got late…" Louis commented, expressing his disappointment.

Shaking my head and wearing a small grin on my lips, I pressed my foot on the accelerator to get the car moving.

"Thought he already forgot us," Yohann added.

I chuckled lightly because I found their playful disappointments funny. I was only three minutes late to our call time, and they were already overreacting like I was late for an hour or so.

Trey leaned forward from the backseat. "For sure, he lost track of time playing Beyond the Realm." He then turned to me. "Am I right, Ry?"

The bitterness in his voice was very audible, making the guys laugh. They immediately shifted their target to Trey after guilt-tripping me. I was in the middle of a mental conflict if I should join them in teasing Trey or if I should just keep my mouth shut because I was feeling a little guilty.

"Don't be such a cry baby, Trey," Flint laughed and lightly tapped Trey's cheek.

Trey shoved his hand away and sat properly at the back. I glanced at him in the rearview mirror. He got his arms crossed over his chest, and there were deep lines on his forehead from frowning.

With a teasing tone, Louis asked, "Why don't you tell us about your hopeful journey yesterday, buddy?"

While shaking his head as he reminisced on the unfortunate event yesterday, Trey started to narrate. "I woke up at dawn, traveled to NYC, arrived at Time Square with full confidence that I'd be one of the early birds, but damn it! New Yorkers knew how to play well. Some even camped out. Still, I waited in line since the pop-up booth was only set up an hour before one in the afternoon."

"What happened next?" the curious Yohann asked.

"I was so desperate that I even bribed someone on the line," Trey confessed, and the guys burst out laughing. Once again, he shook his head and continued. "I offered him 300 bucks, but he declined. I tried again, but I just got rejected again."

I could only hear half of Trey's narration because the guys were laughing hard. I glanced in the rearview again. Trey couldn't take it anymore and punched Louis and Yohann. Flint was safe from the punches he threw as he was seated in front.

It took them a while before they calmed down.

"What about the additional 100 copies of the game they gave away yesterday?" Yohann's curiosity struck again. "It was all of a sudden!"

Trey nodded. "I know…" he uttered slowly. "I even hoped that I still had a little luck left in me and be one of those random individuals, but I guess I was wide awake when the clouds rained some misfortune."

"Some?" Louis was still not done teasing Trey. "It seems to me that you swam in a sea of misfortune rather than just getting rained on."

Trey spat some curses at Louis, who only countered him with more teasing remarks. Laughter boomed inside the car, and I just heavily sighed, trying to keep my sanity while these dorks were wildin' all at the same time. However, not even a minute had passed when I regretted choosing to be quiet. The indifference I showed only made the guys notice me more.

"Wait, guys! We seem to be forgetting something…." Flint announced as he tapped my right shoulder. "The main star of the show isn't given enough attention yet."

Louis clapped like a madman, and Yohann laughed like a devil.

"Yeah, yeah!" Trey shouted to get the guys more hyped. Good for him that the attention had drifted back to me.

Like trying to make me spill a secret, Flint leaned closer to my side. He took his fist just a few centimeters away from my mouth, acting like he was holding a microphone to interview me.

"Shh! Guys, quiet first!" he ordered the three at the back.

I tried to focus on driving, especially when Flint poured all his attention onto me. It seemed like they had forgotten that I was driving. I couldn't believe they had the guts to annoy me while my hands were on the wheel and my eyes were on the road… I shook my head because I knew I couldn't stop them anyway.

"So, Mr. Ryker Henderson…" Flint trailed for a second to increase the tension. "Have you started playing Beyond the Realm?"

Knowing that I couldn't avoid answering his question, I nodded.

The guys showed various reactions, but it only made them more curious. Flint asked them to settle down again when questions started pouring in simultaneously. All I heard were disrupting noises from their indistinguishable words. I couldn't understand a word they were saying.

My brows furrowed when I experienced a brief headache from the noise. Fortunately, Flint managed to calm them down.

"Okay! Now that we're all settled down, let's continue the interview…" he calmly said, and surprisingly, the guys remained quiet. "There are a lot of reviews on the forums and posts on social media. Famous streamers gave Beyond the Realm ten out of ten stars. As shown in the trailer, the graphics are good, and it looks pretty promising. I don't mean to doubt the scores, but as a picky gamer, do you think it's worth the hype?"

"True!" Louis couldn't keep his mouth shut anymore. "I'm only gonna trust Ry's review on this one. We know how meticulous he is when it comes to the games he plays."

Yohann laughed when an interesting memory occurred to him. "Remember when we were all so hyped about playing Glory, he got curious and tried it as well?"

"Uhuh…" Trey slowly bobbed his head to nod. "He was only playing for ten minutes and stopped right away. He told us it was boring, then walked away like nothing happened."

"I remember uninstalling the game afterward," Flint added. "Quest of Legends is the only game he played for a long time without getting bored."

"Well, not anymore…" Louis meaningfully said.

Flint nodded and tapped my shoulder. "Ry, stop playing mute and tell us if the game's really worth the hype or not."

I attempted to act seriously and pressed my lips together, but a smile eventually broke across my face. The exciting pleasure I felt when I played the game earlier came back and awakened my desire to play more. I wanted to turn the wheels around and return home. That was how much it grew into me, even though I only played it for a few minutes. However, I had my responsibilities to the team, not just as their leader but also as a player. I would never abandon them.

However, never had I foreseen myself playing a game in the future, but I did with Beyond the Realm. If I were lucky enough to survive all the missions and quests, I'd still keep on playing.

"It's… an excellent game."

One positive comment from me, and they all had their jaws down. I didn't need to look at them one by one, but since they were all speechless and at a loss for words, I was pretty sure they did.

I wasn't lying when I declared Beyond the Realm as the game of the century. It might be too early to tag it as one, but no game had made me feel so ecstatic. The moment I held onto my sword's handle, overflowing emotions sprung and surged inside me. It was a mixed feeling of excitement, passion, determination, and enthusiasm.

"Damn…" Louis was the first to react and whispered a curse. "That must be really good, then."

"Kill me now," Trey devastatingly said. Confirming that it was really a good game must have heightened his disappointment at failing to grab a copy.

Flint shifted to his position to face me better. "Tell us more."

I told them about my first experience when I logged in earlier without hesitation. I didn't leave any important details, especially about how outstanding Beyond the Realm looked and the automatic transfer of money to my bank account from the game, which made them more frantic and… envious.