IMPORTANT NOTICE : Before you start reading this story, I just want to be honest with everyone about one thing : this story had already been published in the past and had grown quite some popularity, however a plot choice done by me caused the community to dwelve in half with an overwhelming majority disliking the given choices. It made me lose motivation for a few months however I'm not getting paid to do this nor am I doing this for any specific reason, I just want to have fun sharing stories that both you and me can enjoy, thus I decided to come back, delete the story and post it again until chapter 8, from chapter 8 and onwards will come a new scenario to correct my past mistakes.

Please note that this plot mistake doesn't mean that I don't know where this is going, I know what I want to do with this fanfiction and that mistake won't really change it so rest assured I'll do my best to give you a quality story that respects both the NGNL and COTHE worlds.

**ENJOY YOUR READ**

Chapter 1: Urban Legend.

This world is chaotic. There is no such thing as fate. This world is only full of coincidences. It is irrational. It is absurd. It makes no sense. Created from the famous wishes of those who have understood this truth and do not want to accept it. The wish for there to be things that make the world a little more interesting - it's called an urban『legend』.

- Now, here's one. Let me help you make this boring reality slightly more interesting. Or rather, let me entertain you with a 『new urban legend』. For now, I think I'll start the story like this. With a classic and elegant opening sentence.

- 『Have you ever heard of this rumor...? 』

Of a group of exceptional players, referred to by other players online as "Blank" because their nickname never appeared on any list, it was just a blank space. No one knew anything about these players, only one fact was known: they did not lose in any game. In over 280 online games, their nickname was at the top of the leaderboards. Some say it was a cheating organisation, others that it was a trend, that the empty nickname was used by different players, each good at their own game.

But the reality ... was quite different. As with all urban legends.

"... Arf... I'm dying, I'm going to die... ah, I'm dead... hurry up and come rez me*~"

*rez: a term used online derived from "resurrection" which means to revive.

"...*slurp*, *slurp*... controlling two mouses... with my feet... is impossible..."

"Whatever, hurry up, rez, rez, re... no but that is unfair, little sister I am crapping myself controlling several characters and all you can think of is eating!

"... Brother, you want to eat too... ? A Calorie Mate* or something..."

*Calorie mate: Brand of energy bars.

"Who would want to eat a bourgeois dish like a Calorie Mate? Whatever, that's not the point, just hurry up and get back to work!"

"... *sip*... Hmm, here you go."

Whoooooosh... ping!

" Oh. Well done~ ... by the way, what time is it?"

"...Err...it's still eight in the morning..."

"What a curious expression sis... bringing up eight in the morning to talk about the night. So, what day is it?"

"... Who knows... this is the first, second... fourth time we've had noodles... so, four days I would say?"

"No, no, little sister, I don't want to say how many days we stayed up all night. What day of what month?"

"...Why would a NEET need to know that...?"

"It's obvious! For online events or ranking tournaments!"

- A boy and a girl playing games on the internet.

Two people chatting without looking at each other while sitting in the same room. The room is... sixteen tatami mats in area. It's rather spacious.

But with cables connected to multiple game consoles and 4 PCs each, crawling across the floor in an intricate manner giving a modern art effect, as well as game boxes still in blister packs spread all over the floor next to those instant noodle packs and other water bottles these two call 『provisions』, very little of the original room could be glimpsed to feel its real space. The only light sources in the room were the dim glow of the LEDs and the sunlight coming through the opaque curtains.

The two spoke.

"...Nii, aren't you going to...look for a job?"

"...And you, aren't you going to go to school?"

" ... "

" ... "

They didn't exchange a word after that.

The older brother, Sora. 18 years old. Unpaid. Virgin. Not popular. Uncommunicative. Gambling addict. A young man wearing hikikomori* clothes, consisting of jeans and a T-shirt with black hair intertwined.

The little sister - Shiro. 11 years old. Out of school. Friendless. Victimised. Anthropophagic. Gambling addict. A girl with her face hidden by long, unraveled, pure white hair, contrasting so much with her brother's hair that it would be impossible to believe that they are related in any way, wearing a school sailor uniform that she hasn't worn outside since she changed schools.

*hikikomori: a Japanese word for a psychosocial and family condition that mainly concerns men who are isolated from the world and from others, usually confined to their rooms for several months or even years.

Shortly afterwards a notification lit up the tablet screen. Shiro, who was half asleep, leaned over to see what it was.

"Bro, I think someone sent you an email."

"I don't think so little sister, I never get emails."

"Maybe it's a friend."

"... whose friend? "

"Well, yours..."

"Hahaha, that's a good one, little sister! ... "

Sora's laughter was anything but natural and hid a certain awkwardness.

Shiro then clicked the button, usually they tended to avoid emails, because those were often, very often, just spam, you only had to read the title to guess, but this time it was different. The mail contained only these words "Sora & Shiro".

Reading the title Shiro was surprised, no one had ever contacted them by name. She pulled Sora by the sleeve of his top several times in a row.

"Haa! Wait, little sister, can't you see that I'm almost winning. You know very well what a heresy it is to interrupt an online game.

"Brother... this is important..."

"In that case, your brother will finish this sooner than you think! Yosh!"

After a few minutes the game was over. Sora was out of breath and waved his hand to ask for a few moments of rest. Once he was done, he picked up the tablet and saw the title of the email.

"What the hell... how do they know our names?"

"I told you... it's important..."

Sora was trying to remember everything they'd done recently to try and figure it out: a virus? Or had someone realised that the nickname 'Blank' was a combination of their first names? (Sora = sky, Shiro = white, white sky = empty for an empty nickname)

No, it couldn't be that, no one knew who they really were.

Sora looked at Shiro who nodded and clicked on the mail. A somewhat long and well-structured text appeared in front of them.

"Sora & Shiro, we are glad to meet you. This message is written by the administration of Kodo Ikusei High School, please read this email until the end, it is in your best interest and it will answer your questions. Kodo Ikusei High School is a prestigious high school of national standing, isolated from the rest of the country. Its goal is to train the youth of today to create the Japan of tomorrow. You will find all the necessary information on our official website located at the bottom of the mail. Sora & Shiro, we have analyzed your abilities on online games, we know that you are the players behind the highest scores on over 280 games."

"What?! How the hell do they know all this?"

Sora was panicking a little. Shiro saw him worrying and held his hand.

"Let's continue... reading... they said they would answer all of our questions..."

"Yeah..."Sora kept reading.

"Your talent is certainly remarkable, unparalleled even if you look at the track record in the world of gaming. A potential like yours, it must be nurtured. That is why Kodo Ikusei High School invites you, Sora & Shiro, to join its ranks and become the pillars of tomorrow. If you refuse our offer, we will start a procedure of separation between you. We know that you are not biologically brother and sister and that Shiro has no official legal representative. Therefore we can apply to the state for Shiro's adoption. An 11 year old girl who is not attending school and is living with an 18 year old unemployed young adult is not leading a healthy lifestyle and needs to be protected.

"What is this? ... They want to separate us ...? Who do they think they are..."

" ... "

Sora was annoyed, Shiro didn't know what to say, but the email didn't end there so they continued reading.

"However we know that you have been together for a very long time and we understand that your prowess must be the result of a powerful bond between you. Therefore, we would like to tell you how you can stay together. Sora & Shiro, if you come to our school and graduate after 3 years, we would deem you to be perfectly capable of taking care of yourselves, therefore Shiro will not need another legal representative. Moreover, our system allows access to all careers for the most deserving students. If you succeed, you will become whoever you want to be. To put it in a language that suits you better: win the game and you will get a reward of your choice as well as the opportunity to live together. Your safety will be guaranteed, we are aware of your communication and social problems, and we will personally ensure your safety. Our request is completely legal, your current situation is not notified to the state. I imagine that people of your calibre understand that the decision will not be in your favour if you attempt to challenge us. On that note, Sora & Shiro, you have 24 hours to respond, if you wish to join us, just click on the link below to enter our entrance exam. The content you have to study is on the link underneath. If you accept our invitation, you will have 7 days to start the test. All your devices will be temporarily disabled, only the device you start the test with will be available and the window will be frozen. This is to prevent any form of cheating. We wish you good luck and hope to see you soon.

After reading this email, Sora turned off the tablet and threw it on their futon. Going to school? And with Shiro? Was that even allowed? He didn't quite understand. Their questions hadn't been answered, if anything they had more questions now than they did at the beginning.

He was leaning back in his chair, tired from lack of sleep, looking up at the ceiling. Shiro was silent, fiddling with something on her laptop.

"I'll tell you sis, this is the first time I've had hallucinations since I got into gaming, the lack of sleep is something really creepy.

"...let's go to sleep..."

They both got up and laid down on their futon, settling down to slumber on the floor next to each other, no longer trying to understand what the hell was going on.