"I want to challenge him."

  Then, just as quickly as the tension arrived, it vanished.

  Maya blinked, and the steel in her gaze melted back into a playful, dazzling warmth. She offered a mischievous wink to the lens, a practiced weapon of mass affection.

  "And maybe... if I'm lucky, find out if he's as handsome as the rumors say."

  She let the sentence hang, teasing the audience with a coy smile.

  The chat stream melted down immediately.

  ────────

  [Chat]: AAAAAAAH!

  [Chat]: SHE SAID IT, GUYS! SHE SAID IT!

  [Chat]: SHIP! I SHIP IT!

  [Chat]: NOOO! MY WAIFU!

  [Chat]: Zero x Maya confirmed?!

  [Chat]: R.I.P Zero, she's gonna hunt you down for a date lol.

  ────────

  "Haha!"

  Jinx laughed out loud, throwing his head back as he read the overflowing messages.

  Internally, he gave Maya a massive thumbs up.

  'She really is a veteran,' he thought. She knew exactly what the fans starved for: a little romance, a little drama, and she fed it to them on a silver platter.

  Turning back to the screen, Jinx decided to ride the wave.

  "You heard it, everyone! Maya admitted it herself!" He leaned into the microphone, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "And Zero... if you are perhaps watching... please know that our Queen is on the hunt! So stay cautious!"

  The virtual studio roared with laughter and applause.

  Jinx let the moment breathe before smoothing his expression. He clasped his hands together, shifting the tone from playful to analytical.

  "But jokes aside, let's talk about the biggest mystery the community is trying to solve. The identity of the player."

  He swiped his hand, bringing up a graphic of a question mark over a silhouette.

  "Who is he? Do you think he's an ordinary person who just happens to be a gaming prodigy? Or is he a hidden master? Or perhaps... even a Sovereign in disguise?"

  Maya shrugged, her expression thoughtful.

  "I can't say for sure. But I know that they must be skilled in real life as well. The Tower of Trials utilized Neural-Sync technology. It required genuine reflexes, pain tolerance, and tactical processing speed. An ordinary civilian would have passed out from the mental strain on Floor 5. Zero cleared Floor 100."

  "Right, right," Jinx nodded, tapping the desk. "He has to be someone powerful or insanely skilled then."

  He paused, letting the silence stretch for a beat. Then, he dropped the bomb.

  "Do you think... he has a connection with the Real Zero?"

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  At the question, the sounds in the studio died instantly.

  Even the chat stream, which had been moving at light speed, froze.

  'This...'

  Despite anticipating difficult questions, even Maya blinked in genuine surprise.

  The name echoed in her mind, and likely in the minds of everyone watching the stream.

  Zero.

  He had appeared about six years ago, leaving the world stunned. He had defeated numerous Calamities single-handedly, saved countless cities from destruction, and vanished before the cameras could capture his face. Although he rarely appeared in public, and mostly when disaster struck, his feats already rivaled the world's greatest heroes.

  He was even compared to Rio Dume, the current Strongest Man Alive.

  '...'

  Another silhouette flashed across Maya's eyes, which made her recover from the momentary shock, shaking her head slowly.

  "...I am not sure," she replied. "But if I had to guess? No. Because there is a vast difference between the two."

  She looked at the camera with solemn respect.

  "The Hero Zero is a savior who protects our reality with his life. The Gamer Zero... well, he is a legend, but he is playing a game. I don't think a man busy saving the world has time to grind for levels."

  "Right," Jinx smiled, though a glint of excitement remained in his eyes. "But if it turns out to be really him... imagine the hype! The Savior of Reality conquering the Virtual World too!"

  He turned to the audience, pointing a finger at the lens.

  "Civilian? Sovereign? Or the Zero himself?"

  He left the question hanging in the air, staring directly at the millions of viewers watching.

  "Just who is he?"

  _______ _____ _

  "Just who is he?"

  The question hung in the air, echoing through the speakers of the holographic display.

  Click.

  Ryn tapped his wrist, terminating the projection instantly. The enthusiastic faces of Jinx and Maya vanished, replaced by the quiet hum of his bedroom.

  "...What is wrong with these people?" Ryn muttered, rubbing his temples.

  He stared at the blank space where the chat stream had been flowing just seconds ago.

  "Why were they 'shipping' a complete stranger with their 'beloved idol'?" he wondered aloud, genuinely baffled. "They don't know who Zero is. For all they know, he could be a sixty-year-old man living in a basement, or a ten-year-old kid. And why are they so obsessed with the identity?"

  He sighed, leaning back in his chair and staring at the white ceiling.

  "Did it never occur to them that the person chose anonymity for a reason? Maybe they just want privacy. Maybe they don't want cameras shoved in their face every time they go out."

  He shook his head. The celebrity culture of Nasera was something he would never understand. To him, fame was just a target painted on one's back.

  He glanced at the corner of his room.

  Sitting there, gleaming with a sleek, obsidian finish, was a Mirage-Link Immersion Pod.

  It wasn't the standard headset model available in stores. This was a "Premium Edition", a gift sent directly from Mirage Corp to the address registered under his old account. It had arrived yesterday via a private delivery.

  "They said I could log in an hour or two before the official launch..." Ryn muttered. "Probably to give me some time to escape this so-called 'hunt'."

  He checked the time on his Arc-Watch.

  [8:15 AM]

  The official global launch was set for 10:00 AM. He had exactly one hour and forty-five minutes.

  "Perfect."

  Thankfully, the house was quiet. He had already finished a hearty breakfast and warned his mother that he would be 'diving' until lunch. Since the admission letter from the Stellar Nexus Academy had arrived, she had been incredibly lenient, practically spoiling him.

  She hadn't even questioned the expensive-looking pod. She must have assumed that he had bought it with his own savings or winnings from his "gaming hobby". She trusted him too much to pry, and besides, he'd always been generous with his winnings.

  "Mmm..." Ryn stood up, stretching his arms until his joints popped.

  "Time to get back to work," he whispered. "Let's see what they have prepared this time."

  He walked over to the pod and pressed the biometric panel.

  Hiss.

  The obsidian lid slid open silently, revealing a plush, gel-lined interior that looked more like a luxury cockpit than a gaming device.

  Ryn stepped in and lay down.

  "Oh."

  He blinked. It was surprisingly comfortable. The gel molded instantly to his spine, supporting his weight perfectly. It even felt superior to the simulation pod he had used during the Academy Exam.

  "Mirage Corp really knows where to spend their budget," he murmured, relaxing his muscles.

  He reached up and pressed the internal activation switch.

  Hiss.

  The lid slid shut, sealing him in absolute darkness. The sounds of the outside world, the birds in the garden, the distant hum of traffic, were instantly cut off, replaced by the soft, rhythmic thrum of the cooling fans.

  A soft blue light scanned his retina.

  [...]

  [Biometric Scan Complete.]

  [Mental Signature: Matched.]

  [Identity Confirmed: Zero_2.]

  [Legacy Data: DETECTED.]

  Ryn took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

  "Link Start."

  [Command Acknowledged.]

  [Initiating Dive Sequence...]

  [Starting...]

  A voice, warm and mechanical, echoed in the center of his mind.

  [Welcome back, Champion.]