EGO: Explore Game Online (LAMBDA)

 The crowd roared with excitement. Knox stood tall.

"I have to leave," Knox said. "I'll be going offline for a while. I might not be back for a couple of days."

The crowd buzzed with curiosity, whispers of surprise spreading like wildfire. "What could he possibly need to do?" one player murmured.

"Well maybe it's a personal thing, he also has a life outside the game you know" another player added.

Sherry her eyes narrowed, "Next time, I will surely win," she declared, almost to herself.

Knox turned to look at her. "Well," he began, "you would have won if you had actually used one of your Archeans. I only possess ten requip gears, but you have more than a thousand. Your Archeans are probably your most powerful gear. If you had actually used one of them, you might have stood a chance."

Sherry froze, her heart racing. "How did you know about my Archeans?" she asked, her voice laced with confusion.

Knox with an enigmatic smile. "Well, that's a secret for another time." Without another word, he turned away and, with a powerful beat, soared into the sky, flying out of the arena.

As he disappeared into the horizon, Sherry stood still, her mind racing. 'Wait... there's only one way someone can see a Requiper's requip gears, how they're arranged and formed. That's only if they have the eye of the beyond, the Polarpupil'

 Her thoughts spun out of control. 'But that's impossible... the Polarpupil quest was considered unbeatable... how could he even manage to do it?'

Suddenly, Ichio entered the ring. "You were amazing," he said, approaching Sherry. "But it's actually quite unfortunate that you lost."

Sherry blinked, trying to shake the confusion from her mind. "Well, get ready for tomorrow," she said, her tone firm as she composed herself. "We have to find a way to...," she trailed off, realizing she was about to discuss something private in-game.

She paused, then cleared her throat. "We'll talk tomorrow, okay? So log out." With a soft smile, she turned and left the arena, logging out after.

The screen faded to black, and the scene shifted to Ichio's gaming room—a sleek, futuristic space filled with advanced gaming equipment and top-tier VRMMO sets. The hum of machines filled the room, faintly blending with the sound of the pod mechanisms winding down. One of the VRMMO pods hissed open, releasing a cool mist as Ichio stepped out.

He stretched, rolling his shoulders to ease the tension. "That was quite a battle," he said to himself, a satisfied grin on his face.

As he turned, he noticed someone standing beside him. Aiko leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed, her expression somewhere between amused and exasperated.

"Thank you, Aiko," Ichio said, walking over to her. "You really pulled through."

Aiko raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, Ichio, I don't know why you're going through all this trouble for her. If you like her, just confess already."

Ichio scratched the back of his head. "You know, it's not actually that simple."

Aiko sighed, pushing off the wall. "Whatever. Anyway, will you come over for dinner at my place today? My mom's cooking your favorite."

Ichio smirked. "Unless there's fried chicken, no food is my favorite."

Aiko smirked back. "Well, then you're in for a treat, because today there's going to be lots of fried chicken."

Ichio chuckled. "Alright, alright. Give me a few minutes. I'll change and meet you there."

After a quick change into casual clothes, Ichio followed Aiko to her house next door. The Shimizu home exuded a warm and inviting atmosphere, with the faint aroma of cooking wafting through the air. As they stepped inside, they were greeted by Ms. Shimizu, a kind woman with a radiant smile.

"Good evening, Ms. Shimizu," Ichio said politely, bowing slightly.

Ms. Shimizu's eyes twinkled as she looked at the two of them. "Oh, the two of you came together? Were you on a date?"

"Mom!" Aiko protested, her cheeks reddening. "Stop!"

Ichio laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "No, we were just... doing something else."

Ms. Shimizu chuckled, waving them inside. "Come in. Dinner's almost ready."

As they entered, Ms. Shimizu added, "Aiko, your dad won't be home early today. He said he has extra work to do."

Aiko nodded. "Oh, then we should just have dinner without him. He can eat when he gets back."

They headed to the dining table, where an array of dishes awaited, including a mountain of golden, crispy fried chicken. Everyone clasped their hands together and said in unison, "Thank you for the food!"

As they ate, Ichio glanced at Aiko, his fork idly poking at a piece of fried chicken. "Um, tomorrow… if I don't find a way to convince the student council to approve our application, we might not be able to form our club."

Aiko paused, looking up from her plate. "Well, you'll be the club president, so yeah, you have to find a way to convince them."

Ichio groaned, leaning back in his chair. "It's not like I asked to be the president, you know."

Aiko smirked, taking a sip of her drink. "Don't you have Yumi with you? She'll be the vice president, right?

You could just ask her to help convince them, and why not ask Hiroshi to talk to his sister? She's the student council vice president, right? That'd be helpful."

Ichio frowned, crossing his arms. "You know how I am with Hiroshi. We kind of don't see eye to eye… because of that one time his sister talked to me."

Aiko rolled her eyes. "Seriously? What's wrong with you guys fighting over something so pointless?"

Before Ichio could respond, Ms. Shimizu interjected, her voice carrying a teasing edge. "Honestly, Aiko, why don't you help him yourself? You two work great together, so what's the point of sending him to another girl for help?"

Aiko's cheeks turned red as she sat up straight. "Mom, stop! This isn't the time for your games."

Ms. Shimizu chuckled, shaking her head. "I'm just saying, don't regret it later. If you don't make your move now, you might miss your chance. Believe me, if I'd been like you, I wouldn't be with your father right now."

Ichio blinked, confused. "What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing!" Aiko snapped, quickly shoving another bite of chicken into her mouth. "Just finish eating and leave."

Ichio shrugged, deciding not to press further. "Alright, alright."

The rest of dinner passed with light conversation, though Ms. Shimizu couldn't resist casting sly glances at her daughter. After they finished eating, Ichio stretched, standing up from his seat.

 "Do you mind helping me, though?" he asked, looking at Aiko.

 "I mean, I can't just go ask Yumi, so… yeah. I wouldn't mind you helping."

Ms. Shimizu's face lit up with a grin as she gave Aiko a discreet thumbs-up. "This is your chance, Aiko. Accept it."

"Mom, stop it!" Aiko hissed, her face bright red. She cleared her throat and turned to Ichio, trying to act casual. "Alright, tomorrow then."

"Thanks," Ichio said, smiling warmly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, he left the Shimizu home and walked the short distance back to his own house. Once inside, he kicked off his shoes and headed straight to his room, he decided to relax and prepare for the challenges of tomorrow.

Ichio collapsed onto his bed, exhausted from the day. The cool sheets welcomed him as he closed his eyes, drifting off quickly into sleep. Then dreamed.

In his dream, the world felt warm and nostalgic. He was a small boy, no older than six, standing in a familiar living room. Before him were two figures—his parents. His mother knelt down, placing a gentle hand on his head, while his father stood behind her, smiling kindly.

"Ichio," his mother said softly, "be a good boy, okay? Mommy and Daddy have some important business to take care of." She handed him a sleek, new cell phone. "Take this. Call us whenever you miss us, okay? Don't worry, we'll always send you whatever you need."

His father added, "If you need company, go next door to the Shimizus'. Their daughter is about the same age as you, so you'll get along really well."

Little Ichio held the phone tightly, nodding earnestly. "Okay, Mommy. Okay, Daddy. I'll be good."

The scene shifted abruptly, as dreams often do. Days had passed. The young boy sat alone on the couch, the phone pressed to his ear. A robotic voice responded on the other end: "The number you are currently calling is unreachable. Please call back later."

He tried again the next day, and the day after that. Each time, the same disheartening response echoed back. "Unreachable. Please call back later."

The boy's shoulders slumped as he stared at the silent phone, his heart heavy. Suddenly, a ringing sound jolted through the dream—a loud, insistent tone, like a doorbell piercing the haze of sleep.

---

Ichio's eyes snapped open. His chest rose and fell quickly as he stared at the ceiling, trying to shake off the remnants of the dream. "Wow," he muttered, rubbing his face. "I haven't had that dream in quite a while. So… what gives?"

The ringing persisted, pulling him fully into reality. He groaned, rolling out of bed, and shuffled toward the door. As he opened it, a familiar face greeted him.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Aiko said, hands on her hips and an amused smirk on her face. "I see you're still half-asleep. Get ready fast, or we're going to be late for school."

Ichio blinked, disoriented. "Wait, what time is it?"

Aiko glanced at her watch. "Almost time to be late."

"Wait, what?!" Ichio exclaimed, his grogginess replaced by panic. "Wait for me! I'll be right back."

He dashed back inside, scrambling to change into his uniform. He hurriedly brushed his teeth, grabbed his school bag, and stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth before rushing back to the door. "Alright, let's go!"

Aiko raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "You know, if you didn't sleep in, mornings would be a lot less chaotic."

Ichio mumbled through the toast, "Yeah, yeah. Let's just go."

The two walked side by side, heading toward school. The streets buzzed with the usual morning energy—bikes zipping past, birds chirping, and the faint hum of conversation in the distance. Ichio glanced at Aiko out of the corner of his eye, her familiar presence easing the lingering heaviness from his dream.

Aiko catches him staring. "Um, is something wrong" she asked.

Ichio shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's hurry up, or we really will be late."

Aiko tilted her head but didn't press further. "Fine, let's go."

As Ichio and Aiko walked side by side toward the school, Aiko glanced at Ichio.

"So," she began, "why did you create another character in the game? Why couldn't you just tell Yumi that you're Knox?"

Ichio sighed, already bracing himself for the discussion. "Tell me something, Aiko. Out of all my friends, who knows that I'm actually Knox?"

Aiko frowned slightly, thinking for a moment. "Just me."

"Exactly," Ichio said, his tone growing serious. "You're the only one I've ever told. Nobody else knows, and I don't plan on telling anyone."

"Why?" Aiko asked. "It's not like it's a bad thing. If anything, it's impressive."

Ichio looked ahead, avoiding her gaze. "Because we've known each other for a long time. We share a bond where we can trust each other with things like this. But if I told Yumi, and she ended up liking me, I'd always wonder if she liked Knox, the character, and not me—Ichio. I don't want that."

Aiko was quiet for a moment. "Okay, fair enough. But why did you use your real name for this new character? That seems... odd."

Ichio scratched the back of his head, clearly flustered. "Um, nothing. It just… Thinking up a new name is such a pain, you know?"

Aiko smirked, her eyes narrowing playfully. "I know exactly what you're trying to do. You're using your own name so Yumi thinks you're just some clumsy beginner. That way, she'll always try to help you out whenever you mess up. You're hoping she'll see some charming, helpless side of you, aren't you?"

Ichio's face turned a faint shade of red. "No! No, that's not it at all! It's just that—" He faltered under Aiko's knowing stare. "Okay, fine, that's it."

Aiko let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. "Seriously, what do I even do with you?"

Before Ichio could respond, Aiko suddenly pointed ahead. "By the way, Yumi's just in front of us. Look forward."

Ichio's head snapped up, his heart skipping a beat. Sure enough, standing near the school gate was Yumi, waving cheerfully in their direction. Her bright smile seemed to light up the entire morning, and Ichio felt a pang of nervousness in his chest.

"Great," he muttered under his breath. "And now I have to act natural."

Aiko snickered, giving him a light nudge. "Good luck with that, Mr. Clumsy Beginner."

As they neared the gate, Yumi's cheerful voice rang out. "Good morning, Ichio! Aiko!"

Ichio plastered on a smile, doing his best to steady his nerves. "Morning, Yumi!" he called back, hoping he didn't sound as awkward as he felt.

Aiko, watching the scene unfold, couldn't help but smile. "This is going to be interesting," she murmured to herself.

 CHAPTER END.