A young man with long black ponytailed hair, wearing only underwear, had an angered expression as he used the gamepad in his hand to control a game avatar dressed like a cultivator on the screen.
"Tch. How the fuck am I losing to this bastard?!" Rain yelled in anger.
His avatar — Dance Of Fire — was a Rank Five and wasn't meant to be steamrolled by a mere Rank Two avatar that was just added to the game's new edition.
Well, he could have won a long time ago if the battle was against the AI that controlled the opponents, but today he was playing against a human who was also probably in his mother's basement, littering it with empty plastic bottles, pizza cartons, chip bags and leftovers, including dirty laundry.
That was technically Rain's life. At the age of twenty-two, after finishing schooling, Rain decided to end his life in his parents' basement, playing video games based on the lives other humans were currently living while he was cursing their avatars.
The opponent's avatar rose high into the sky and crashed down on Rain's avatar with extreme force that created a virtual crater and also exhausted the last life of Dance Of Fire.
The life in the form of a red heart placed in the top left corner of the monitor disappeared, and a large banner, "GAME OVER. YOU LOSE." popped up on the screen, with the opponent's avatar staying still in the crater.
Rain would have angrily thrown the gamepad away, but he knew his limits. He definitely didn't want his anger to turn into tears later if the pad spoiled, and besides, he was hungry.
"He only defeated me because I couldn't concentrate due to hunger," he muttered and glanced at the player's username, then sent him a friend request on the game so they could play again someday, when he wasn't derailed by hunger.
He stood up and paused for a while, his eyes searching for simple clothing.
The basement wasn't exactly big. There was a wooden staircase that led to the main house and, beside it, was the wall where his gaming station and television were mounted, with a foam cushion placed in front of it. The room was brightened by blue, green, and red light coming from the small string Christmas lights he had wired across the room.
A standing fan was placed near a bed lying on the floor. But Rain didn't see any of this interior description except for the bulb strings, due to the dirty laundry and leftovers that had covered everything.
He picked up a black joggers and sweater, then sniffed them. He twitched his nose a little and nodded slightly.
"Hm... good enough."
He walked out of the basement, where bright light assaulted his eyes for a few seconds.
"Ah, look... the loser vampire I call a son is out of his hole. Should I feed it some garlic so he leaves my life forever?" a masculine voice scoffed with disdain.
Rain turned around and saw his dad — a man in his late sixties dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, holding a cup of tea in his hand. He had little wrinkles and a few visible strands of gray hair mixed with brown strands. There was a disappointed expression on his face.
Rain rolled his eyes upon seeing his dad in the passageway. "Not now, Dad. I'm starving."
He said and walked away from the old man's sight, entering and turning into the kitchen that was opposite the sitting room. His mom was in the kitchen dressed in a short black gown and an apron. She had braided black hair and a dark complexion and looked younger than her age.
He kissed his mom on her cheeks and opened the freezer, bringing out a red soft drink. He opened the lid with his teeth and drank the cold liquid.
Ryan, his father, didn't leave him and instead followed him into the kitchen.
"Oh, you're starving? I think I can solve your problem for you. Why don't you get out of my house and find yourself a job as a salesman in a bakery where you can have all the bread or cake you want? Now, doesn't that sound great?"
Lila sighed. "Ryan, please don't start again."
Ryan hissed. "You keep taking his side, and he's going to follow us to the elderly shelter and live with us for the rest of his life."
"I'm not taking his side, Ryan. Just give him some time. He's only twenty-two."
Rain walked out while his parents continued arguing, hearing their voices as he walked away.
"He's just twenty-two?! I know a lot who are younger than him and are doing way better. I didn't live in my dad's basement when I was twenty-two, did I? No, I didn't. If he's so useless, why didn't he just go for the awakening test or something and get killed by a Yaoguai in a portal raid for all I care? At least I'd be happy he did something with his life before he died."
"Ryan, don't say that about your son."
"Ah, I don't think he is my son."
"What gives you such ideas?"
"Well, for starters, my hair's brown and his is black and grows like a female's hair."
Ryan opened the entrance door and stepped out. He stopped at the porch, the door slamming shut behind him, but his parents' voices could still be heard, though faintly.
No matter how he wanted to hide it, he also hated his life. His dad wasn't wrong at all. Where others awaken as Cultivators and scale the Tower of Aperture and also engage in portal raids, he played virtual games based on those cool stuff.
He didn't exactly have the plan to awaken as a Cultivator, but all he wanted was to be somebody at least. Maybe a banker, a doctor, or a business owner.
Owning his own business would be a dream come true, but what were the chances of that life coming to pass?
He looked around. The street was quiet as usual. It was an estate situated in Sector 8. The buildings here were mostly bungalows of different shapes, looks, and architecture. The road stretched long towards the end of the street that wasn't in sight yet.
He sighed and wanted to go back inside to stop his dad from saying hurtful words to his mom when the air in the surroundings immediately changed. It became violent all of a sudden, sending the trees swaying.
It carried Ryan's lawn machine and threw it away as if it were a feather.
Rain gasped, understanding what was happening. Fear gripped him.
Right on the road, reality tore, and a blue swirling portal appeared. Rain stared, his soft drink slipping from his numb fingers.
"Oh... this is not... good."