Leon walked down the stairs quietly. His steps were light, but there was a tiredness in the way he moved. His messy hair fell over his face, partly hiding his green eyes.
His green eyes came from his mother, but they stood out more on him, with a rich emerald shade.
He was thin and looked fragile, and his skin was pale from too many days without sunlight. He wasn't tall, and the slight hunch in his posture, along with the way he moved, made him seem even smaller.
Leon soon walked over to the empty chair and sat down quietly.
"Morning, Mom. Morning, Dad," he murmured as he took his seat.
He kept his eyes on the table, quietly tracing the grain in the wood, doing his best to avoid the concerned looks he knew were on him.
"You know, spending so much time in that game isn't good for your health," Eevi said softly. She tried to sound calm, but the worry still came through.
"Now that my character reached Tier-3, the gap between time in the game and real life got wider. It makes me a little clumsy right after logging out, but nothing to worry about," Leon said.
When he saw that his parents didn't understand, he let out a small sigh.
"It's hard to explain… you wouldn't get it unless you tried it."
His voice carried a hint of disappointment and loneliness.
Eevi sighed, her worry growing as she noticed the distant look in his eyes. He was there with them, but it felt like he was somewhere else, a far cry from the lively boy she used to know.
"I'm not putting on that strange helmet, Leon. Who knows what kind of tech it's using or what it's doing to your brain."
If he hadn't been so desperate to escape the suffocating loneliness he lived in, she never would have agreed.
She regretted ever allowing it. If it weren't for his desperation to escape the suffocating loneliness he felt at home, she never would have agreed.
But Leon didn't argue. He had already braced himself for her disapproval and steeled himself for the questions he knew were coming. Before she could say anything, he pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it to her without a word.
Eevi blinked in surprise as she looked at the phone screen. It was a grade report from his online classes. Nearly perfect scores stared back at her.
She held back the questions and looked at him. Leon stayed quiet, his eyes lowered, waiting for her to say something. His fingers moved nervously on the table, like he wanted to go back to the virtual world where he felt more at ease than at home.
In Finland's education system, where grading was typically on a scale from 4 to 10, Leon's report was equivalent to nearly straight 10s, a stark contrast to the B-level scores ⧼equivalent to 7s or 8s⧽ he used to scrape by with.
She stared at the screen, a flicker of suspicion rising in her mind. The sudden improvement seemed almost too good to be true, and for a moment, she wondered if this was one of his old pranks.
The thought sent a pang of bittersweet longing. She remembered the days when Leon was all energy and laughter, his joy filling every corner of the house.
But those days felt like another lifetime. The boy who was once full of curiosity and enthusiasm had slowly faded into someone quiet, distant, and closed off.
It hadn't happened overnight. The change began with the diagnosis that shattered their normalcy, a rare condition that left him hypersensitive to sunlight, forcing him to live in darkness while the world outside carried on without him.
Losing the freedom to step out into the sun cost him more than his health; it stole friendships, social skills, and the simple joy of belonging. One by one, his friends drifted away, leaving him alone with nothing but online games and endless webnovels to fill the void.
As the loneliness grew, he became more awkward around people. He kept pulling away, stuck in a cycle that slowly turned him into a stranger in his own home.
But it wasn't just Leon who had changed. Her husband had too since the accident five years ago. The light in Noel's eyes was gone, and his voice had lost its warmth. Now, there was only a quiet sadness he couldn't hide.
Noel had once lived with purpose, but now spent his days cooped up at home, haunted by the sense that he'd become a liability to his family. The pride he once took in being their pillar had faded over time.
He still tried to help where he could, but the confidence he once had was gone, leaving behind a man burdened by what he'd lost.
Lost in thought, Eevi barely noticed the tears on her face until Noel's voice snapped her back, speaking to their son.
"What's so special about it, anyway? Is it really that different from other games?" he asked, leaning forward a little as he looked at Leon.
His tone was casual, but beneath it was an attempt to bridge the growing gap between them. He wanted to understand the world Leon had grown attached to, and maybe feel a little closer to the son who seemed to drift further away each day.
Leon looked up, surprised Noel had compared ALTER REALITY to a regular VR game. He took a deep breath and said with a trace of excitement.
"It's way more than just a game. It's so immersive it feels more real than life itself. The Neurodrift helmet uses new S.E.E.D. technology that makes everything hyper-realistic, and costs just 99 dollars. There are already over 200 million players worldwide, and it's only been out for 20 days!"
Noel raised an eyebrow, still skeptical. "How can a game be that advanced? It sounds like something out of science fiction."
"That's because it's developed by F.U.T.U.R.E. Conglomerate," Leon replied with a hint of pride in his voice.
Noel nodded, already familiar with the name. "Yeah... yeah, I've heard about them. They're practically taking over the world. Everything from healthcare to AI; they're behind all the latest technological breakthroughs. Even now, in 2022, their tech feels decades ahead."
Leon leaned in with a rare spark in his eyes. "Exactly. They're into everything now. And out of all of it, ALTERREALITY is one of their biggest achievements. This game changes how we see life itself. I'm telling you, it's going to become a part of everyday life worldwide, and that day isn't far away."
Noel's skepticism lingered. "If the game's as amazing as you say, why is it so cheap? Something that advanced should cost a fortune. There's gotta be a catch."
As if he had expected the question, Leon's expression stayed the same as he explained, "There's no catch, it's really that good. F.U.T.U.R.E. Conglomerate isn't trying to profit from game sales. They're using it as virtual marketplace for all their other products. The game pulls people in, and once they're hooked, they start buying everything the company offers using in-game currency. It's more than just a game. They're building an entire new economy inside it."
Noel paused, thinking over his son's words. He saw a flicker of passion and conviction in him that had been missing for so long. Despite his doubts, something about the way Leon spoke made him wonder if maybe there was more to this than he initially thought.
Noel nodded slowly, a faint smile on his face. "Maybe it's time I see what all the fuss is about," he said, his tone carrying a hint of curiosity that surprised even himself.
Eevi watched them, her expression softening as she caught a rare moment of connection between father and son. She still wasn't okay with Leon playing that game, but if it helped bring them closer, she didn't want to get in the way.
"Just promise me you'll be careful, Leon. And you too, Noel," she said gently, her voice laced with concern. "Don't get too caught up and forget about your health. Both of you."
"I will, Mom," Leon said, still surprised that his dad wanted to join him in the game.
Noel gave a small nod. He understood her worries, but he didn't share her belief that the game might harm the brain. If anything, his curiosity was growing. Maybe he'd end up enjoying it.
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Author Note:
The revamped version of EAP Volume 1, 2 & 3 are now live on Kindle. You can find them on Amazon by simply searching the book title. Thank you for your support, and I hope you enjoy the new edition!
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Exclusive artwork for every free chapter is now available on my PATRE0N page! You can find the link in my Discord server.
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Discord Link for 'Earth's Alpha Prime' :
https://discord.gg/P6cWGg2G
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