thanks to my co-author N. Polsteam, without her you would be reading something of a 2 levels worse quallity

Start

A few months ago, the dream of every gamer came true: virtual reality was made possible via capsules in Korea and this novelty now went international. That is to say, not every gamer's dream, only of those with deep pockets, and the only game that comes with it is Royal Road, an MMORPG – not everybody's first choice but still all those who could buy it and loved games in general did so.

There were many debates about virtual reality concerning Royal Road not being a game but instead an entire new universe but let us not go deeper into that and no – there will be no persons from other dimensions coming into RR. (sorry )

A tall, athletically built man in his twenties was sitting at his desk at home, his eyes glued to the Hall of Fame videos playing on the computer screen. He ran his fingers through his jet black hair as he smiled absentmindedly, excited like a child wanting a new game. After all, he did spend most of his free time reading fantasy novels and watching anime, so this innovation was right up his alley.

He is a computer tehnician who goes by the name Vladimir, also assistant master aikido instructor, currently 1st kyu*. At this moment, he was sighing at his computer screen, or more specifically, at the price of capsule + monthly subscription. The price was insane but still understandable as it was, after all, such high tehnology. But can you really put a price on possibilities?

As a tehnician his payment was average. He wasn't a very materialistic person so even though he could make much more money he chose not to. And as for why he was doing this boring job of dusting computers, replacing parts and installing Windows while overpricing his labour, well that's a story for another time (perhaps after a few chapters).

Suddenly:...

Plop

plop

plop

plop

...

plop.

It was that funny facebook notification sound which regularly frayed on his nerves. Wishing the stupid thing could somehow be changed, he moved his mouse over the tab and saw that his friend Darya was messaging him. She sent him a link to a tournament event, saying that there still is a chance to play RR. Apparently, winners of each category are awarded with a capsule and at least one month of subscription (subscription length may vary).

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His interest piqued, he replied:

V: This is for real? Fuck yeah, I'm going!

D: You mean we're going

V: Team up in RR, that'd be awesome Oh wait, what's this tournament about again? Not a lot of info in that link.

D: Doesn't say much, just that it's a test of skills

V: Weird, but whatever. Tomorrow?

(It's a 5-day tournament, and you can only enter on one of those days meaning 5 winners)

D: I can't tomorrow but will go on Wednesday.

V: Ok, will let you know how it went

D: Ok, do that for me, bye kiss

V: Bye

Darya was an old friend, as absorbed into anime and fantasy in general as he was, if not even more. They had a thing going on, and would occasionally hook up. There was never any serious development though, but that didn'bother Vlad in the least.

Logging out, he stretched in his chair and grimaced as he yawned. "It's evening so maybe I should train some jo** katas and meditate so I can relax and fall asleep. Who knows, training with jo might come in handy tomorrow,yeah right."

He did 31 jo kata a dozen times and, settling himself comfortably on his bed, meditated until he fell asleep. He was never much good at the whole meditation thing but it came in useful in situations where he had to relax and fall asleep quickly, at the very least.

In the morning he did his usual routine and went on to register for the tournament. It was starting at 17:00, which gave him enough time to eat lunch and read a few more chapters of this novel he recently got hooked on, much to his pleasure. Utilizing his amazing cooking skills, he made perfect instant ramen, and actually managed to read all the way through Dragons of Autumn Twilight. Afterwards, he dressed and made his way to the gym where the tournament was being held.

*aikido ranks : 7 to 1 kyu and then 1-10 dan which are black belts

**Jo is a stick of about 160cm in lenght