Three hours later…
Rex found himself seated in an exotic-looking office, predominantly designed with rich mahogany wood. The very architecture of the office screamed wealth.
Big-Boned Ben was an elite player in Cosmic Ascendance, and in their world, in-game wealth could be directly exchanged for material riches.
As a pro-level player, his earnings from the game were upwards of 100,000 Credits monthly. To put that in perspective, a family of four's monthly expenses hovered around 10,000 credits.
As Rex admired the affluent and tasteful furnishings of Big Ben's office, he felt a fire slowly intensifying in his heart, spreading through his whole body. His aim was to be ranked among the very peak of players in Cosmic Ascendance. In a matter of hours, he would finally take the first step towards realizing that goal.
"Heyyy, my very own birthday boy!" Big Ben's voice boomed as he strode into the office where Rex had been waiting patiently.
Rex's eyes widened into large O's, his jaw unconsciously dropping. He was completely unprepared for Big Ben's announcement. Today was his seventeenth birthday—the very reason he could finally embark on his quest. He had no idea how Big Ben knew.
"Ahh!" Rex managed. "Why do you look so surprised?" Big Ben chuckled. "Don't tell me you thought I love battles so much I wouldn't care about important stuff like this?"
He made his way to a section of his office where a panel in the wall automatically slid aside, exposing an assortment of drinks and two boxes. He promptly retrieved the boxes from the cold storage unit, placing them on the table in front of Rex.
Rex studied the two offerings. One was a tastefully designed paperboard box holding an abundantly vanilla-iced cake. The other was a sleek metal case with two buttons on its side, clearly the opening mechanism.
"Well? Aren't you going to open your gift? Or do you want me to do that too?" Big Ben teased. The teasing prodded Rex into action. He pressed the two buttons, and the case's mechanism activated with a soft click, the top slowly disengaging and splitting into four directions. It exposed a pill-shaped bottle holding a glowing, sea-blue liquid that pulsed intermittently.
COSMIC ESSENCE!!!!
"Jeeeezzzz!!!!"
Rex exclaimed loudly, eyes glued to the bottle.
The glass bottle before him was one of the wondrous items obtainable from Cosmic Ascendance. When equipped to a Cosmic Pod—the custom Virtual Reality unit used to play the game—it directly augmented and improved physical advancements gained from playing. It could boost a player's in-game capabilities and enhance their body's physical development in real life.
"From your reaction, I'm guessing you already know a bit about this, right?" Big Ben's expression switched as if he'd donned a mask. His stare gained a flood-like intensity, his eyes seeming to bore right into Rex's skull.
"Yes, I have," Rex managed to muster, feeling the weight of that overwhelming gaze.
"Good. I'll just make a few statements then." The intensity in Big Ben's stare decreased slightly, his face taking on a warmer appearance.
"In Cosmic Ascendance, stamina is your currency," he began. "Once your in-game stamina is depleted, your avatar is forcefully put into a Rest-State until you've recovered enough." He leaned forward slightly. "Your stamina recovery rate depends on a lot of factors: your avatar's talent, class, and level. But there's one external factor you can control."
Rex's ears practically perked up; Pro-tips for Cosmic Ascendance were invaluable.
"Cosmic Ascendance places demands on your physical body," Big Ben continued, "which is why it can elicit these physical advancements. When your physical body's energy is depleted, it actually affects your avatar's stamina recovery rate.
The opposite is also true: if the physical body is abundantly nourished, recovery rate improves." He tapped the glowing bottle. "This liquid, when equipped on the Cosmic Pod, will saturate every single fiber of your being with energy. It will maintain your body in this energy-rich state throughout your gaming session.
This bottle contains D-Grade rated Essence and should last you at least a month, even with the most intense gaming." Big Ben finished his explanation, his intense gaze still locked on Rex.
A smile, born from the very core of Rex's being, spread across his face. A month! He knew a bit about Cosmic Essence and had even procured some with his foster-dad's help—an event that had left him as broke as a church mouse for only five F-Grade Essence bottles.
A D-Grade bottle couldn't be purchased by simply having wealth; you needed connections too. It was a rare resource, even among high-level players.
Rex pushed down on the buttons that had unlocked the metal case, an action that caused it to lock up again with a satisfying click. "Thank you," he said, the two words carrying the weight of his appreciation.
"Ahh! It's nothing for my most entertaining student," Big Ben waved a dismissive hand. "With that out of the way, please tear open that creamy-looking cake!" His face was now completely devoid of its prior intensity as he ogled the birthday cake he'd bought for someone else.
"Hahaha!" Rex giggled, putting his hands to his face in a mock gesture of embarrassment at his teacher's shamelessness. The tastefully furnished office filled with a warm atmosphere as a bulky figure, well over six feet tall, and an athletic, handsome boy with a noble grace about him, devoured a five-inch creamy cake.
. . .
"Duuuu….."
An almost imperceptible hum, born from the workings of a dark-coloured hoverboard, whispered through the empty streets of Maplewood Boulevard in the Greenview District. Rex was on his way home from the dojo.
He had come to reside in this modest housing district after Edward Carson, his family's former butler, adopted him.
This arrangement was dictated by his parents' will, following their untimely demise in a devastating assassination—a tragedy that had turned Rex's privileged life upside down. In the aftermath, a significant portion of his parents' wealth vanished as supposed family friends revealed their true colors, exploiting legal loopholes to seize what they could.
Edward Carson had been Rex's rock, guiding him through the turmoil and safeguarding what remained of his inheritance. While the will named Rex as the sole inheritor, mysterious debts had materialized, casting a long shadow over his future.
"Zimm!" A smooth zing sounded as Rex negotiated a turn.
The cool air of the autumn eve caressed his face, seemingly blowing away the dark shroud his recent train of thought had cast over his mind. "That tiny glutton would gouge herself on this," Rex thought, sneaking a peek at the gable box in his right hand. It contained the leftovers of his birthday cake—the little he had managed to salvage from Big Ben's voracious appetite. The "tiny glutton" was Edward's only daughter, Ella, who had become his stepsister after the adoption.
. . .
Beep! Beep! Beep! The X-27 security lock interface chirped as Rex punched in the keycode to his home. Duuu… A soft vibration accompanied the door sliding open.
"Hey Rex!!" Ella's voice called out from the living room. She lay on the couch, AR glasses perched on her nose, but she sat up slightly to fix her eyes on him. "Any goodies for me?"
"Silly oaf," Rex tossed the cake box her way. "Knew you could never have enough sweets. I saved this for you."
"Thank you!" her sweet, melodic voice sounded as Rex dashed upstairs to his bedroom.
Rex and Ella had always been close. Ella had lost her mother at birth, but that wasn't the last cruel fate dealt to her. Soon after, she was diagnosed with "Aethel Syndrome"—a disease that left her with a suppressed immune system, a low metabolic rate, and weak musculature. Her condition had resulted in her becoming a shut-in. A shut-in with mad gaming skills.
As Rex neared his room, the door noiselessly slid open, an action initiated by "Home," their integrated structural AI.
"Zzzzzzz."
Rex zipped open his backpack, pulling out the sleek metal case containing his D-Grade Cosmic Essence. He stored it carefully in his cooling unit and then fell onto his mattress like a chopped log. In mere moments, he had dozed off, the day's exertions—both physical and emotional—finally catching up with him.