In the 21st century, an online multiplayer game known as THE GAME swept across the globe, attracting over a hundred million players.
After a decade of closed beta testing, THE GAME's public launch rapidly established a brand-new competitive event system around the world. Four years later, in this extraordinary era, all sorts of strange talents were running rampant: data-stream prodigies with phenomenal computing power, beta testers with a decade's head start, and gifted players who seemed to have official cheats built in.
This is no twilight, but the dead of night. Competitive leagues at every level have settled into place, with professional esports clubs and school teams woven together like roots. Great trees grow from tiny shoots, and nine-story towers rise from piles of earth.
“But I don't like games,” said Saki Miyanaga, a first-year student at Kiyosumi High School, age 15.
The plot begins to become clear in 19