Long-distance love game

Part 1 Destiny: Chapter 1 Introduction - Back to the Game

Story written in Spanish, translated into English, please excuse my mistakes, English is not my native language.

Summary

This story is based on a real long-distance relationship, between two strangers who lived thousands of kilometers apart, but who loved each other as if they had known each other their whole lives. Separated by kilometers but so united that it felt as if they were right next to each other. They promised each other eternal love, and that flame of love was visible to all their friends, family, and acquaintances. I will narrate to you all the situations they had to go through to make their love grow day by day.

Chapter 1 Introduction - Back to the Game

It was an ordinary day in the life of Leonardo, a 29-year-old young man who was at a crossroads in his life at that moment, aimless because in 2021 he was overwhelmed by the Covid pandemic, which practically affected the whole world. He had started his university studies after postponing them several times due to work reasons or simply due to a lack of motivation at the beginning, but just as he was reaching his final year, perhaps due to a lack of motivation again, or feeling hopeless because of the confinement caused by the disease that was ravaging the planet, the mandatory quarantine, the distractions at home, among other things, made that year particularly difficult for him in all the subjects he was taking, as if it were a whim of life, nothing ever went well for him. After 4 years passing everything with high grades, he found himself overwhelmed by not being able to pass any subject that year. Moreover, the economic issue always worried him, how would he live if this continued? Is it worth continuing to study like this, locked up? I missed the university atmosphere, meeting up with other classmates, being able to chat about things with them, and making studying more bearable.

Feeling cornered by this situation, he tried to start his own business. He saw an opportunity in selling products online, as it only required selling online, and decided to try with digital products. At first, it went well; he realized that selling was fun, being able to chat with customers, helping them with their questions about the product. Generally, these were products related to video games, memberships that he bought and resold for a minimal profit but were very useful for receiving income while studying. But once again, the karma of fate made him feel inadequate, because the price of the items was increasing and reselling them was becoming more complicated; the platforms for posting those products were causing him problems he didn't know how to solve.
To be able to unwind from studying and his job as an online seller, with savings from previous years, he decided to invest in a well-equipped computer, to similarly support his online business and study more peacefully. At the same time, he was passionate about an online role-playing video game, that is, a virtual world with a medieval fantasy style, where one creates a character and decides whether to kill bosses to receive expensive "drops" or simply level up in the game to claim capes and extra game rewards. He had been playing that for years as a hobby, his dream was always to reach the highest level, and also to buy one of the most expensive items in the game, a blue party hat.

So in his free time from studying and his online business, he took the opportunity to connect to the online world. He hadn't really played in a long time; due to his studies, he had been offline for years, but it always gave him a sense of happiness to be able to log in for a while and greet old friends online, friends he had never met in person but felt very close to since he had known them for over 10 years. In real life, he was very antisocial and introverted; within the game, he was the complete opposite—talkative, charming, a team player. He feared nothing in that world; he could do anything, and no one could say anything to him. I could never be satisfied playing alone, I needed to find a "clan" where I could meet more people and be social with them, helping them play or just chatting about the game or life. When people are in character, they are more open to dialogue, more honest and sincere, or at least that's what he always believed, and it was also more fun. But here's another problem, so many years without playing left him distant from many people, some he would never see online again.
Upon returning, he realized he was in a clan where he didn't know anyone, didn't talk to anyone, and no one offered him help. The game had so many new things that he didn't know where to start to make up for lost time. So, he decided to seek new paths, spoke with an old friend who invited him to his new clan. For a while, he tried to learn the new things about the game, get along with all the members, but again, he didn't feel comfortable there. One realizes where they are not welcomed and where they are. They might not be bad people, but he felt he didn't truly fit into that group. Additionally, he had conflicts with one of the members. To keep calm, he decided to distance himself from them, but he promised that if one day he got bored of being without a clan, he would return.

But we all know that one seeks their happiness, if they didn't feel comfortable there maybe there was another clan where they could be more useful and also meet new people. It was then that he realized he had no idea how to join a new clan, but his ingenuity or perhaps by the whims of fate led him to enter the game's forums and simply search for "Latin clan." Looking through the options, none of the clan names caught his attention at first glance, until by chance he read one that said "the cutest clan in RS." It might have sounded silly, but he thought

-"Why not?" Let's give it a chance.

And that's how Leonardo, alias "Leo" in the game, joined a clan full of people he had never seen before, where they chatted a lot and everyone seemed very sociable. He felt excited like the first time he entered the game, where everyone asked about everything and invited him to do everything, like going to wars with other clans, venturing into dungeons, or simply gathering to show off clothing styles or things that others didn't have. In this clan, he felt that old Leo could have fun like before, and he could help many game newbies learn something from him. So many years of playing made him feel in a way that he wasn't the best, but he was experienced, whether it was killing bosses or teaching ways to level up faster, or helping with missions. So, as if unintentionally eavesdropping on other people's conversations, he saw two people arguing about politics and the crisis in Venezuela.

-Player1- I sell photos for a membership


-Player2- no thanks.


It is worth noting that the game was in English, so the Latino players mixed the language a lot between English, Spanish, or a sort of Spanglish, so to speak.
That's where Leo tells them.


-I'll pass, I'm not interested in that.


He always presented himself as mature to others, even though inside he felt like a 29-year-old child, but in the game, no one could judge him or knew his age at first glance.
Another one, as soon as he saw him speak, realized that Leo had never been there before, asked him where he was from, and his levels, just to have an idea of how to treat him.

Leo - I'm Argentine, I have a max cape, and I'm a newbie.



Player1- haha I don't think you're a newbie



Player2 - we are all newbies here, not you.



Player 3 "Ana"- I am indeed a beginner, but I can help, who needs help?



In a way, Leo liked how they talked to each other, which made him feel that he would join that clan since it seemed like a pleasant environment with people who helped and joked with each other, but he would take a few days to decide.
A few days later, he was already convinced to join, but he was just waiting for them to invite him again, so he wouldn't come across as desperate for an invitation. In that place, Leo couldn't even imagine what awaited him, but it would be something that would change his life, something that would mark him forever, in his heart, his way of seeing people and the world.
Nothing would ever be the same after daring to take that step, leaving behind the few acquaintances I had to enter the lives of new people, even if it's just within a game, they are also people behind the characters...