Purchase

By evening, Hiro was just about ready to leave when he heard the doorbell.

Standing on the doorstep was his younger cousin, Xavier — eyes sparkling, grinning like he’d just won the lottery.

“I’m here to make sure you don’t waste your money,” Xavier declared without even a hello. “We’re going to get you the best VR headset and games. Budget-friendly but top quality. Trust me.”

On the way, Xavier chattered non-stop about his “life as a gamer” — all the tournaments, all the nights he’d pulled, the thrill of high-score glory. He ended his speech with a dramatic sigh.

“Honestly, Hiro, your life’s probably been so boring till now—”

Hiro didn’t let him finish. With one swift motion, he reached over and twisted Xavier’s ear.

“OW! OW! OW!” Xavier yelped, trying to pry Hiro’s hand away.

That was when Hiro noticed something strange. Xavier’s grip was… strong. Stronger than he’d expected from someone who spent most of his time in front of a PC or VR screen. And under his hoodie, the kid was more built than he had any right to be. Sure, Xavier was still four inches shorter than him now, but if he kept growing like that, Hiro might be looking up at him sooner than he thought.

When they reached the electronics store, Xavier didn’t browse — he made a beeline straight to one of the stalls and grabbed a sleek VR headset like he’d already picked it out days ago.

“This one,” he said, shoving it into Hiro’s hands.

Before Hiro could even pull out his wallet, Xavier had already sprinted off toward the game section. Moments later, he came running back, breathless, and grabbed Hiro’s arm.

“Come on, you’ve gotta see this!”

Inside the game store, he presented a box with a grin: Size Sphere.

The store manager, noticing their interest, stepped in. “It’s a metaverse RPG,” he explained. “Players can do quests, interact freely… and the twist is, after each quest, your avatar’s size changes. You might grow, you might shrink — it all depends on your performance.”

Xavier’s excitement doubled. “It’s like some of the games I’ve played in Roblox, but way better!”

By the time they left the store, Xavier was practically bouncing on the sidewalk. “Size Sphere’s global launch is the day after tomorrow,” he said. “Until then, you can mess around with the inbuilt games on your headset. But trust me — once the servers go live, it’s gonna blow your mind.”

They parted ways at the corner, Hiro headed home with the headset box under his arm.

In his room, Hiro unboxed the headset carefully, following the manual step by step. Once it powered on, he connected the copy of Size Sphere he’d purchased… only to be met with a glowing countdown on the interface: 33 : 42 : 57. The seconds ticked down — 57, 56, 55, 54… — before he sighed and logged out.

Before he could try out the inbuilt games, he heard the front door open. His father had come home early from the office, and soon the three of them were heading out together to a hotel for dinner

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