The crowd roared as the sound of the custom gaming systems booting filled the halls through the speakers.
It all came down to this very moment.
"Welcome back ladies and gentlemen to the moment you've all been waiting for! The final round between the reigning champion Neo Cosgrave and his challenger, Kai Zephyr!"
Neo rolled his shoulders and leaned forward as their monitors lit up, despite his readiness for the final round, he looked off, almost as though he wasn't in the right state of mind.
He was also the reigning champion of the W.G.O, an acronym for the World's Gaming Organization, for the past five years.
He grinned as he wore his custom headphones and logged into the RPG game of the tournament, The Last Son Of Sparta.
The RPG: The Last Son Of Sparta, was a game known for it's torturing difficulty and near endless content featuring various levels and modes.
It's punishing difficulty, coupled with it's level of popularity, made it the perfect selection for this year's W.G.O tournament.
"Do you really believe you can defeat me nerd?" He blurted with a rude tone, he seemed drunk, but at the moment a more pressing matter was at hand.
Their characters stood at the center of an ever burning field known as the Last Stand, a battleground birthed by the blood of several demons and humans, gods and demigods.
It was the final resting place of Sparta.
Neo's character, Sparta [Level 100] stood at the right, and Kai's, a battle-scarred original character [Level 00] stood across.
"And it has begun!"
The commentator declared as the final round officially began.
Neo's fingers danced across the keys of his keyboard, and his mouse glided effortlessly over the mouse pad.
Each click of the mouse resonated across the game hall, leaving a rhythmic percussion to the digital battlefield.
Seconds turned to minutes and Neo still couldn't find an opening against his challenger. Every dodge and counterattack from Kai only drifted him further away from victory.
"Hm." Kai grinned, his demeanor calm and decisive as he punched in a series of combination keys.
"You are quite skillful, that I'll admit, but you have three great flaws, first."
The key combination he punched in executed a secret code [Armor Break].
"What!?"
"You rely too much on offense and neglect your defenses just because you were able to purchase Sparta, with each attack Sparta launches, there's a two second cool down before he can use it again."
With Sparta's armor broken, Kai unleashed a barrage of assaults that cut down 40% of Neo's HP.
"Tch! Don't ever assume that a brat like you can take away my title!"
On Neo's screen, a notification popped up.
[Secret Technique (Ultimate Reinforcement) has been activated!]
"He's done it! He's done it! He's activated the technique that has won his battles since the beginning! Is the challenger done for!? Is the challenger done for!?"
As the game's commentator exclaimed continuously, the crowd roars became much louder. [Ultimate Reinforcement] was a skill exclusive only to Sparta, who himself was a hard character to procure given the level requirement needed to unlock him.
Neo laughed.
His HP returned to its maximum and all his expended beast energy was replenished.
"It's over." With a mischievous smile, Neo punched the attack key which fired of a powerful slash from Sparta's sword that depleted 99% of Kai's HP.
The crowd screamed with joy, the final round was everything they had hoped for.
Once again, the championship title was in Neo's grasp.
But, even with 1% of his HP left, Kai did not falter. He remained as composed as ever.
"Is it over!? Is the final round between the challenger and the champion finally coming to an end!?"
Neo leaned back in his chair, just like him everyone thought the final round indeed has reached the conclusive end.
As he charged up his final attack, he scoffed as he remembered Kai's words from earlier.
"So... What is my second mistake? You cocky bastard."
He chuckled.
"Your second mistake..."
With the push of a button, all the energy that came at him dissipated completely.
The silence in the hall defined everyone's shock, the commentator struggled to find the words to say to the audience.
"W-what?"
"Your second mistake is simple, you are not smart, if you were, you would have noticed from the beginning. Victory belongs to only those who can forsee."
Neo's eyes widened with disbelief as he finally realized what he meant.
The level of their respective characters said it all, while Sparta was at level 100, Kai's character was at level 00, in other words..
Level delta.
Such a level only meant one thing.
"I-it can't be! Is that!?"
[Beast Manifestation has been activated]
The level 00, was a level only attainable after defeating the final boss of the game, The Third Wrath, Exodus. Alongside defeating Exodus, the player is granted his unique ability.
The ability of an SSS-Ranked beast tamer.
"Your final mistake... Was playing me."
With one push of his button, Kai adjusted his glasses back into its initial position. His screen exploded with a dazzling array of lights as the word "You have a winner!" flashed across it.
For a moment the hall remained silent, then.
"T-the champion's down! The champion's down! We have a new winner!" The commentator leaped casually as the crowd's roar filled the whole center.
"Finally, after five long years, a new champion has been crowned!"
Kai stood to his feet casually, his expression even more calmer than before, almost as if he knew his victory was inevitable.
It sent chills down the commentator's spine as he approached him.
He was awarded a trophy along with a cheque of $100,000, he raised the trophy above his head as the crowd roared even more louder now, attempting to deafen him with their loud applause.
"You've endured a long and frustrating week to arrive at this very moment and pulled off one of the most historical comebacks in gaming history, is there anything you have to say about your victory here today?"
The commentator extended the microphone to him, the crowd lowered their voices as they awaited their new champion's words.
"Let's see, was winning this competition easy? Not so much, there are two types of gamers in this world. The first type are those who play for the fun of it like your previous champion, then there are those who play with purpose."
"That purpose could stem from anything, the desire to escape reality, to escape depression. This is where I fall in, my purpose is simple, to help those who can't help themselves."
Years ago he lost his father to prostate cancer.
His father's cancer could have been detected earlier and treated, but due to their family's financial status, it proved impossible.
His father's death that could have been prevented became his resolve to fight against cancerous patients who couldn't afford to save themselves.
That was his purpose, a purpose he used his skills to attain.
"As such, I'm donating this cheque to the general healthcare hospital, to give kids who still have what my father didn't. A fighting chance."
His mom ran towards him from backstage and embraced him tightly with tears rolling down her cheeks from her eyes.
It was his dream to become the W.G.O gaming champion and after years of struggling, hardwork and dedication, he finally achieved it.
"I'm so proud of you Kai, I knew you could do it." His mother whispered into his ears.
"There's someone waiting for you at the back."
His mom interrupted his moment with that news, her smile convinced him it was something good.
They went backstage as the cameras which filmed the whole event went off-air. As they arrived backstage Neo couldn't believe his eyes.
"Congrats Kai!"
It was Sonia—his friend, and the girl he'd secretly liked for the past two years. She rushed to him without hesitation and wrapped him in a tight, heartfelt hug.
His mind felt foggy, and his eyes were unsteady, like he was living the best moment of his life.
He didn't even notice when the trophy left his hands. His mom had quietly taken it, knowing he hadn't been paying attention to anything from the moment Sonia hugged him.
Kai was her friend, and they talked often, shared laughs and stories. But he never told her how he truly felt. The truth was simple—he was shy, too nervous to bring it up. What if she didn't feel the same? A conclusion he was afraid of.
Anyone would be shy, too, standing before someone so dazzling and breathtaking. She pulled back from the hug, her face glowing with excitement, eyes sparkling like she held the sun inside her.
"How about a celebratory dinner? Come on it's my treat."
Slowly Kai's eyes widened with joy, from his perspective she was asking him out on a date.
As he turned to face his mom, she gave him a quiet nod of approval. In that moment, Kai felt it, tonight, all his dreams were coming true.
Kai and Sonia walked through the quiet streets, leaving the building where the gaming event had been held. His mind was still clouded, replaying the whirlwind of events that had just unfolded. It all felt surreal, as if he were caught in a dream he wasn't ready to wake up from.
"It was nice of you to donate your prize money to the general hospital, how does it feel to be the champion?"
Kai's attention returned back to the world as Sonia shook his hand noticing he was lost in his thoughts.
"It's, it's a dream come true."
He replied not being able to contain his happiness, all of his dreams were actualized in the biggest way possible.
"I can tell, you can't seem to stop smiling and I get it. I know the feeling of wanting something knowing your going to achieve it sooner than you expected."
Sonia interlocked her hands with his before they came to a stop in front of a gift shop. Kai's heart pounded heavily as he realized what was going on.
"Kai um, I have something I need to say. Something I have been keeping a secret for some months now."
What was it? He thought he knew what it was but it was too good to be true.
"I broke up with Neo a year ago, I thought my main reason for it was because he treated me badly on several occasions but that wasn't it. My feelings had changed, I fell in love with someone who was always there to support me, he made me smile when I was down. And he showed me the world was nothing to be afraid of."
She smiled, her gaze locking with his, and Kai knew—this was it. She wanted him to finally confess.
It wasn't hard for anyone to see the truth; Kai's feelings for Sonia were as obvious as the stars in the sky.
"I also have something I need to say Sonia."
She held his hands tightly and stared into his eyes awaiting his confession.
"For the past two years I developed a crush on you after you supported me in my gaming career, it started out like that but after we graduated my feelings changed. Even after every loss I encountered you still supported me given you were dating the champion."
It was now or never, life was too short to back out from any opportunity. Who knows what would happen to us in the next hour, like Kai's mom always told him.
Life is too short to worry about what was going to happen next so take risks and enjoy the outcome.
"The truth is Sonia, I love you, I always have but I was too worried how it might affect our friendship. But I'm standing here to tell you I don't care about my worries anymore."
There was a brief moment of silence, for a minute he thought it was a huge KO on his love life for sure but her answer surprised him when she finally spoke up.
"I know, I've known for months now. But what I didn't know was the man I fell in love with back then wasn't Neo, It was you Kai. It has always been you."
In Kai's mind It was too good to be true, the most alluring girl in school had fallen in love with someone like him? He couldn't believe it.
"I love you Sonia, I always have. So if it's alright with you..."
He tried to gather the most suitable words for this but just couldn't find it, maybe the fear of rejection still had him dancing to it's tune.
That was all shattered the moment Sonia placed her right hand on his cheeks.
"It is Kai, it always have been."
That assurance shattered every thought of rejection Kai had. As that was the case he decided to take his mother's advice and grab life by the horn.
"What do you say Sonia? do you want to explore a relationship with me? Will you be my girlfrien-"
His request was cut short by a tight hug given by Sonia. She wasn't even going to wait for me to finish his question.
"Yes, yes I will."
She accepted after giving Kai a kiss, it really was a dream come true. First he won the first place championship of the W.G.O, gaining enough money to support the fight against cancer and now this.
"So it was you after all!"
There's always someone who tried interrupting the good moments, but as the newly created couple turned around to find out who it was. To their greatest surprise, it was Neo.