BEEP~
[The game is turned off]
[You can safely take off the VR headset.]
BEEP-
Max carefully removed the helmet-like device from his head, a tangle of wires connecting it, and rose from the bed where he had been immersed in the virtual world. His entire body was drenched in sweat, his shirt soaking wet, a clear indicator of his prolonged gaming session with the VR headset.
Despite the game's purely digital nature, the brain responded as if the actions were physically performed, creating a vivid illusion of reality. This led to the inevitable effects of perspiration and exhaustion.
And for Max, who struggled with excess weight, the physical toll was even more pronounced.
Yes, you heard that right! Unlike his in-game character, who was very thin and pale, Max was on the heavier side in reality, to the extent that he took up an entire two-person bed on his own.
Normally, players would run to shower after logging out from the game but right now, Max was strangely quiet even after taking off his VR headset.
“Sob….sob…”
It wasn't long before tears began to trickle down his face, and his plump cheeks contorted with a mixture of fear and sadness.
“I really don’t…sob!..want to die……sob!.. but I hate living like this…”
He mumbled amid sobs, attempting to hold back his tears.
School.
For most kids, it was a place of learning, but for Max, it was nothing short of a nightmare.
Everyday, he would be bullied in the class, beaten up for no reason, shamed in front of everyone in the classroom, and marked for his overweight, which made him a prime target for the bullies.
“I don’t…want to….sob..”
Reality can be harsh, but for Max, it was a living nightmare. His torment was undeserved; he was subjected to relentless bullying for no reason other than the cruel amusement of those who considered themselves 'privileged.'
Creating a game character with pale, skinny features was Max's escape from the harsh grip of reality, a desperate bid for freedom. To onlookers, he might appear a coward, and in that assessment, they would not be wrong.
Max is a coward, and he didn’t have the courage to face his fears, so he chooses to run away from reality. It is what most people do when they face their fears, but Max was getting tired.
Tired of living a fake life like this…..Nevertheless…he was also afraid.
He was afraid to die, after all, he was a coward.
BLINK-
Right when he was sobbing while wiping away his tears, the headset he just removed made a unique sound.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Max, who was sobbing just now, instantly felt a chill all around his body, and for a moment, he forgot what he was thinking.
“Huh…? Did I play the game for too long? My eyes are dry….”
It was a common side effect of playing VR games for a prolonged time. The user feels detached from reality for short durations or at least that’s what he thought…
“Huh?”
But Max was met with a shock!
“What is happening?”
Something was terribly amiss. Max's plump body seemed to disintegrate before his eyes, as if he had become a glitch in the game. Panic surged through him.
“Huh? What..?!! What is going on?”
he cried out in desperation. Yet, despite his fear and confusion, his transformation continued.
“Ahhhh! Erhhhhhhh!”
His body broke apart into tiny, pixelated blocks until nothing remained but the VR headset, which now emitted a faint red glow. As the strange process unfolded, system-generated messages rang the background.
[System Diagnostics complete.]
[Biometrics check complete!]
[Materialization of character - #141203 is under process!]
[Rebuilding the Vessel in progress...!]
[Proceeding with the
***
“...Ah!”
Max's eyes snapped open to the sight of his plain white apartment ceiling. Confusion and lingering discomfort flooded his senses.
"What the hell hap—" he began, but his words were abruptly cut off by a sudden, searing pain in his head. He grimaced and instinctively covered his throbbing skull with both hands. As he grappled with the ache, a voice unexpectedly pierced through the haze.
[94.83% materialization complete.]
[The Vessel is stable.]
[The character-#141203 is judged fit to participate in the
The sound was coming from his VR headset equipment. Max looked at the helmet with questions, only to be shocked by what he saw in the mirror behind the VR headset.
“What…?Why is my body…!!?”
He stammered in disbelief. The once overweight figure he'd known had transformed into a young man with a thin and pale complexion, an almost fragile appearance.
He couldn't help but touch his own face, as if seeking confirmation that he wasn't seeing things.
“..! This face….No way! I look like my in-game character….”
he whispered in astonishment. However, his moment of realization was abruptly interrupted by an intense churning in his stomach.
Max's complexion shifted from wonder to discomfort as he clamped his mouth shut, attempting to hold back the impending bout of nausea.
“Urk!”
But it was a losing battle.
“BlerghHHhhhhhhh!”
He retched uncontrollably, spewing the contents of his stomach onto the apartment floor.
As he wiped his mouth, Max groaned, "What the hell is happening to me…?"
[System Diagnostics complete.]
[Materialization of character- #141203 has been completed.]
[The
Max furrowed his brow, his confusion deepening. "Tutorial?"
Once more, the voice emanated from the VR headset, and Max instinctively reached for it. However, before his fingers could grasp the device, his surroundings shifted abruptly, and he found himself no longer in his room but standing at the top of a skyscraper.
"!!!" Max gasped as the sheer drop below him sent shivers down his spine. He staggered back from the edge, the newfound height triggering an instinctual fear of falling. Panic welled up inside him.
"What is this…? I was in my room just moments ago... How did I get here, and where is this?" Max muttered, his eyes darting around at the towering skyscrapers that loomed nearby. The nighttime atmosphere confirmed he was still within the city, though the precise location remained a mystery. His mind whirled as he grappled with the inexplicable events unfolding around him.
Before he could fully comprehend the situation, a deafening crash echoed nearby, startling him.
"No way…" Max's face drained of color as he locked eyes on the towering, grotesque creature before him.
"The game's... flesh demon!!"
—***---