Games existed for one reason - to be beaten. That simple truth drove Leon Greaves through every digital world he entered.
Leon sat in his dim bedroom, the only light coming from three glowing monitors. Empty energy drink cans lined his desk like metal soldiers. His fingers moved across the keyboard faster than most people could think. Another boss fight. Another victory. Another yawn.
"Too easy," he muttered, watching the final boss collapse on screen. The game everyone called "impossible" had taken him two hours. Two hours for what was supposed to be a week-long challenge.
Leon had a gift. Controls felt natural in his hands, like breathing. Complex combos became muscle memory within minutes. Game logic made sense to him in ways that confused others. He could see patterns where others saw chaos.
His bedroom walls were covered with gaming posters and tournament flyers he'd never answered. His friends called him the "God of Games" - a title that used to make him proud. Now it just reminded him how alone he was at the top.
The problem with being the best at something was simple: nothing challenged you anymore.
Leon scrolled through his gaming library. Hundreds of titles. All conquered. All boring now. He needed something different. Something that would make his heart race again.
"Maybe online players will be harder," he said to his empty room. His voice sounded strange after hours of silence.
He opened his browser and searched for new MMORPGs. The screen showed dozens of options, but they all looked the same. Pretty graphics hiding simple mechanics. Easy battles dressed up as epic adventures.
Leon rubbed his tired eyes. Another day was ending the same way it started - with disappointment.
Then something changed.
The air in his room felt different. Heavier. Like the moment before lightning strikes. Leon's skin tingled with invisible electricity.
A bright blue light filled his vision. Not from his monitors - from nowhere and everywhere at once. The light formed words that floated in the air like magic.
[Ding! Congratulations, Leon Greaves. You have activated the Multiversal Gaming System]
Leon's chair rolled backward as he jumped up. His heart hammered against his ribs. The glowing text hung in the air, solid as glass but see-through like water.
"What the hell?" he whispered.
[You can now be transported into different worlds with the sole aim of defeating threats and saving worlds]
Leon reached out to touch the floating words. His fingers passed through them, but he felt a strange warmth. This wasn't a hallucination. This wasn't a prank. This was real.
[Please select system difficulty type!]
[Very Easy] [Easy] [Difficult] [Hard] [Hardcore] [Hell]
Six options glowed before him. Leon's mouth went dry. His whole life, he'd been looking for a real challenge. Now one was floating right in front of him.
His finger hovered over "Hard." That would be smart. Safe. Reasonable.
But Leon was tired of reasonable. He was tired of easy victories and bored sighs. He wanted to feel alive again.
He pressed "Hell."
[Hell selected! System has updated!]
The moment his finger touched the word, Leon's stomach dropped. What had he just done?
[Ding! A new universe in need of dire help has been detected.]
[Name: Gate, Threat level: S]
[You will now be shortly summoned into the universe. Survive.]
"Wait, what do you mean survive—"
The world exploded into white light. Leon felt like he was falling and flying at the same time. His bedroom disappeared. The safe, boring world he knew vanished in a heartbeat.
When the light faded, Leon stood on scorched earth.
Smoke filled the air, thick and choking. Orange flames danced across what used to be a peaceful forest. In the distance, he could see the burning remains of small villages. The smell of ash and fear hung heavy around him.
"Holy shit," Leon breathed.
A shadow passed overhead. Leon looked up and his blood turned to ice.
A dragon circled above him. Not a cute cartoon dragon or a video game sprite. A real, massive creature with scales that gleamed like black metal. Its eyes burned like molten gold. When it roared, the sound shook the ground under Leon's feet.
[Ding! You have been summoned into Gate, a fictional world currently facing serious crisis with Dragons, war between Empires, and invasion forces from Earth]
[Your mission? Balance the power between life in this fantasy world, defeat the dragons, stop the battle between empires, and hinder the forces of Earth that are forcibly overtaking the land]
Leon's legs felt weak. In video games, he always knew what to do. Here, surrounded by real fire and real danger, he felt lost.
[You have been given a beginner starter pack with basic necessities for your trip. Good luck.]
[Ding! Beginner starter pack has been sent to Inventory]
The dragon's roar echoed again, closer this time. Leon's survival instincts kicked in. He needed tools. He needed help. He needed to figure out how to stay alive in the next five minutes.
"Open beginner starter pack from inventory," he said, his voice shaking.
[Ding! Opening beginner starter pack...]
[You received: 1 White trench coat (Rare), Sasuke's sword (Mythic), 1 Red potion (Medium), Skill- Dash (E)]
Leon stared at the list. A mythic weapon in a beginner pack? And why was Sasuke's sword even here? None of this made sense, but he didn't have time to think about it.
"System," he called out.
A new menu appeared before him:
[Notifications]
[Inventory]
[Stats]
[Shop] (Locked!)
[Multiversal Chat] (Locked)
The chat function caught his attention. Maybe other people were trapped in this nightmare too. Maybe he wasn't alone.
He selected "Stats" and watched his information appear:
⟩Name: Leon Greaves
⟩Job: None
⟩Level: 1
⟩Exp: 0/150
⟩Title: None
⟩Strength: 5
⟩Agility: 5
⟩Endurance: 5
⟩Mana: 5
⟩Skill(s): Dash
⟩Affinity: Lightning, Darkness
The stats looked like every RPG he'd ever played. But this wasn't a game anymore. The heat from the fires was real. The dragon's roar was real. If he died here, he wouldn't respawn.
Leon took a deep breath and tried to calm his racing heart. He'd asked for a challenge. Now he had one.
The question was: would he survive long enough to beat it?
Another roar split the air. Closer. Much closer.
Leon's adventure had begun.