Haruto stared at the glowing announcement for Eternal Realms: Rise of the Elves. The promotional trailer looped endlessly on his screen dragons soaring across crimson skies, elven knights weaving spells of fire and lightning, human armies marching in gleaming silver armor. The music swelled, an orchestral tide of trumpets and drums, as the narrator's voice declared:
"This is not a game. This is a world. A new life awaits…"
Haruto leaned forward, his pupils reflecting the brilliance of the trailer. His lips curved into a trembling smile.
"This is it… the game of destiny."
Then reality struck.
He pulled out his wallet with all the solemnity of a man opening a treasure chest. Inside were a few wrinkled 1,000-yen notes, three bent train tickets, and a coupon for half-price karaage that had expired six months ago.
His balance mocked him: 2,700 yen.
Haruto slumped back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "The gods truly want to test me… my future, my legend, locked behind a paywall."
For a moment he even considered selling his gaming chair, his beloved, squeaky, throne of conquest. But the thought alone was blasphemy. A warrior did not abandon his sword, and a gamer did not abandon his chair.
Instead, his eyes drifted to his phone. He scrolled through his contact list, ignoring names he hadn't spoken to in years, until his thumb stopped on one: Kenji Takahashi.
Kenji. His childhood friend, now working a respectable job in Tokyo. A salaryman. A man who could afford rent, three meals a day, and most importantly games.
Haruto swallowed his pride and pressed call.
Kenji: "Haruto? Don't tell me you just woke up."
Haruto: "Brother… I need your help."
Kenji: "I already don't like this."
Haruto: "Listen, there's a new game no, the game. VRMMO, neural-link, dragons, elves, you name it. This isn't just a release, this is fate itself knocking on my door!"
Kenji: "…and how much does fate cost this time?"
Haruto coughed into his hand, forcing a laugh. "A humble, modest, extremely reasonable price. Just… 120,000 yen."
There was silence. Haruto could practically hear Kenji's blood pressure spiking through the line.
Kenji: "You want me to lend you over a hundred thousand yen… for a game?!"
Haruto: "Not a game destiny! Don't you see? One day, the world will chant my name: Sunlight!"
Kenji: "Your mom's been chanting 'Get a job' louder than anyone for years."
An hour later, the two sat at their usual café.
Kenji looked effortlessly composed, sipping coffee in his office shirt and tie, tie loosened just enough to look casual but not sloppy. His hair was neatly trimmed, his watch gleamed. He looked like a man with his life in order.
Across from him sat Haruto: wrinkled T-shirt reading "Grinding is Life," a ramen stain near the collar, hair pointing in twelve different directions like a failed anime protagonist. His eyes shone not with discipline but with desperate enthusiasm.
Kenji exhaled slowly and slid an envelope across the table. "This is the last time, Haruto. If you waste this, don't bother calling me again."
Haruto snatched it with trembling hands, hugging it to his chest like treasure. "You won't regret this, Kenji! When I stand at the top, you'll be remembered as my first sponsor!"
Kenji gave him a flat look. "Sponsor? You're not an esports athlete."
Haruto raised a finger with all the solemnity of a prophet. "Yet."
Kenji groaned into his coffee.
That evening, Haruto sprinted home like a man carrying the Holy Grail, clutching the newly purchased box to his chest. The glossy cover gleamed under the streetlights: a knight on a dragon, sword raised to the heavens, facing a dark elf cloaked in shadows.
Above them burned the title: Eternal Realms: Rise of the Elves.
Haruto lifted the box high as if offering it to the gods. "At last… my true calling!"
His mother peeked into the hallway, squinting at him. "Another waste of money?"
"Not waste—investment," Haruto said, voice grave and solemn.
"Your destiny better involve paying rent," she muttered, slamming the door.
Haruto ignored her, reverently tearing into the packaging. Inside lay the sleek black VR headset, the neural-link module, and nestled within a crystalline chip pulsing faintly with light.
His hands trembled as he set it up, cables snaking across the floor like veins of power. He lay back on his bed, headset in place, heart hammering.
He whispered: "Goodbye, reality. Hello… Eternal Realms."
Darkness.
Then a chime.
When Haruto opened his eyes, he wasn't in his room. He floated in a vast black void, his body glowing faintly like starlight.
A crisp, mechanical voice echoed:
[System Initialization…]
[Welcome, Player. Please create a username.]
Haruto blinked. His nerves steadied. "Eh? A username? Just like the classics…" A smirk spread across his lips. "Alright then. Call me… Sunlight."
[Username accepted.]
[Welcome, Player Sunlight.]
[Game: Eternal Realms – Rise of the Elves.]
A holographic menu unfolded before him, shimmering with golden light.
[Select your starting body…]
[Race Options: Human / Elf / Half-Elf]
Haruto's hand hovered. Human felt too plain. Elf was tempting but Half-Elf… his instincts tugged him there. The outsider. The in-between. The underdog.
He tapped.
Light swallowed him.
When it faded, Haruto gasped. His reflection shimmered in a pool of light: emerald eyes, silver-tinged black hair, delicate pointed ears. A boy's face stared back, thirteen at most.
"W-What the?!" His voice cracked, higher, younger. He stumbled backward, gripping his chest. His heart raced not from excitement, but fear.
"This isn't an avatar… this is a body. My body!"
He slapped his cheek, pinched his arm. Warmth, breath, heartbeat real.
"No, no, no… this is insane. What if I'm stuck here forever?!"
The void pulsed, and the voice cut through his panic:
[Body Selection Complete.]
[Welcome to your new life, Player Sunlight.]
The void cracked, reality tearing apart.
In an instant, Haruto stood on solid ground. His lungs filled with smoke and ash. The sky above boiled crimson, dragons shrieking as they clashed in midair. Fireballs and lightning bolts rained down like divine judgment.
The earth quaked under the clash of armies: elves in shining mail loosing arrows of light, dark warriors wielding blades wreathed in shadow. The air stank of blood and steel.
Haruto staggered, nearly collapsing. "Wh-What is this… a tutorial?!"
At the battlefield's center, two figures clashed with apocalyptic force.
One: a towering elf knight, silver hair blazing, wielding a radiant sword of pure sunlight. His armor glowed as if forged from dawn itself.
The other: a dark elf cloaked in shadows, eyes burning crimson, blade whispering with cursed energy.
The shockwaves of their strikes split the ground.
The System's voice thundered over the chaos:
[Witness the First War. Witness the fall of peace. Witness the legend of Alexander, the Sunlight Knight.]
Haruto's eyes widened, his fear mixing with awe. Each clash echoed in his bones, each roar of dragons seared into his soul. He had played countless games, watched endless cutscenes but never anything like this.
This wasn't a cutscene. This wasn't a game.
This was history.
And somehow… it felt real.
His hands trembled as he whispered: "So this is… Eternal Realms…"
The ground split open, fire swallowing the battlefield, and the System's voice boomed once more:
[Player Sunlight. Your adventure begins now.]
Light consumed him, dragging him deeper into the world of Eternal Realms.