The sound of gunfire and explosions echoed from a distance, with dust and flying debris visible on the horizon.

"I need backup!" I shouted desperately into my VHF radio, hoping to receive reinforcements. I was the sole survivor in my platoon, and there were still enemies remaining on the battlefield.

"Negative, sergeant! You're on your own!" a stoic, coarse voice replied from the other side of the radio.

"Screw it!" I muttered to myself as I checked the remaining ammo in the magazine of my Glock 9mm pistol. "Only five bullets left. I better make them count," I thought to myself.

As the gunfire and explosions drew closer to my position, I took a deep breath and without hesitation, ran towards the next hiding spot, bullets raining in my general direction. While running, I quickly turned to locate the source of the fire.

Finally, I reached the next hiding spot unscathed. Two enemies were positioned at my twelve o'clock, and one at my three o'clock, approximately twenty feet away. Now that I knew their locations, I kissed my trusty pistol and swiftly aimed at my twelve o'clock, firing two shots in succession, hitting the enemies square in the head.

Immediately after confirming my kills, I hid once again before the third shooter could find me. I cautiously peeked to check on the enemy and saw him moving towards my position. With three bullets remaining, I felt confident in my ability to win.

Slowly aiming at the third shooter, I patiently waited for his head to appear. I controlled my breathing, focused my aim, and steadied my grip on the gun. As soon as he exposed his head, in a split second, I fired my pistol and shot him directly in the head. The enemy fell to the ground.

I was ecstatic; I had finally emerged victorious. But before I could gather my thoughts, I heard a loud bang, and then everything went black.

______________________________________________

"Defeat!", A notification appeared on my user interface or UI, followed by my score:

Kills: 13

Deaths: 1

Assists: 3

"Damn, there was a fourth shooter, lame," I remarked as I took off the virtual reality visor. I lay on my bed, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the familiar surroundings of my gray, four-cornered room. It was an ordinary place where I lived alone in the city, far away from my family.

I used to be a high school student, but I stopped going. Instead, I spent my tuition and savings on this awesome gaming setup I have. Just to be clear, I'm what people call a shut-in. I'm not ashamed to be called that. My days are spent inside this small apartment, immersed in games and doing the bare minimum to live. I prefer this life than what's outside, when I mean "this life", I meant the digital world that's more interesting than this world. My room is filled with garbage, but it doesn't bother me. After all, nobody checks on me anyway.

"Ding-Dong!"

The sound of my doorbell echoed through the apartment. That was odd. I wasn't expecting any visitors, and my class president had given up on trying to coax me back to school. It was probably another misdelivered package. What a nuisance. The doorbell continued to chime, each ring louder and faster than the last, mirroring the rising tempo of my blood pressure. Annoyed, I flung the door open and shouted, "What!?"

To my irritation, there was no one there. I peeked left and right to confirm. Yep, I've been pranked. Those damn kids, this wasn't the first time.

Just as I was about to close the door, I noticed a small box on the doorstep. My gaze fixed on the package. My immediate thoughts were: prank, misdelivered package, or a bomb, in that order. Upon closer inspection, there was a sticker on the package. The address was mine, and my full name was written there. Being a shut-in and watching too many conspiracy videos had made me paranoid. Finally, I decided to bring the package inside.

I placed it on the table and inspected it further. It was a small, rectangular box with brown packaging. There was an unfamiliar logo - a silhouette of a rabbit's head inside a circle. I shook the package. No sound. Whatever was inside was light and tightly packed, so it probably wasn't a bomb. With negative thoughts flooding my mind, I took a deep breath, shrugged, exhaled, and decided to open it.

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After unwrapping and opening the box, my eyes widened. Inside was a game box for my VR console. The cover art immediately caught my interest - a cool-looking knight brandishing a flaming sword. The game title read "The Chaos Knight". What a cliché title. Developers these days seemed to be running out of original ideas. They just slapped any adjective before the word "knight" and called it a game. It is probably a fantasy hack-and-slash game.

I inspected the game box. It said "SG5" on top, the brand of my VR console, "Story Gaming 5". That meant it was compatible with my system. Other than that, there was no logo for the game developer's company, only an "M" rating, which meant it was probably a violent game.

I turned the box over and read the game's synopsis. Apparently, I would play as someone named Ragnar who dies unfairly and seeks revenge. Yep, totally cliché.

I checked the package once more and found a piece of paper inside. It was a message from the developers, I assumed. It read:

"Dear Traveler, Congratulations for being chosen as the lucky winner to play our VR game as an early access. No one in this world gets the chance to play this innovative game first but you! From the developers of this game, we wish you the best of luck!"

At first glance, the greeting message seemed fairly normal. But the word "Traveler" struck me as odd. Maybe it was tied to the game's story for immersion. And why would they wish me luck? I couldn't imagine needing luck to play a story-driven game.

"Riiiiing"

Before I could delve deeper into the game, my phone rang, its shrill tone interrupting my thoughts. I put down the game box and saw the caller ID on the phone. "Mom," it read. She hadn't called me in months. What could she want now?

I sighed and answered the call.

"Yeah? What do you want?" I asked, gripping my phone tightly.

"Hi honey, I called to check on you, how are you?" My mom responded.

"Living my best life," I answered directly and sarcastically. Not that she'd notice.

"Listen, your younger sister, Erica, just graduated middle school as the valedictorian. Could you please call and congratulate her? Your father was adamant that you do," she spoke, her voice tinged with nervousness.

"Why would I?" I replied insensitively and directly.

"Please, son, she's your sister, your family," my mom pleaded.

"First of all, half-sister! Second of all, you can tell Albert to take a hike!" I responded, my voice rising. I gripped the phone harder.

"Don't call your father like that, son. He may be your stepfather, but he cares about you more than you realize," my mom retorted, her voice shaky.

"Yeah, I can see that when he sent me to this hell! You only call me when you have a favor to ask. You don't even know how I'm doing here. So why don't you all just disappear, since you're practically non-existent in my life!" I shouted angrily. I was so loud, I could've sworn my neighbors heard me.

"Son, I-" Before my mom could finish, I ended the call.

In a fit of rage, I threw my phone out of the single window in the apartment. Without thinking, I took out the new game that had arrived and immediately inserted it into my VR console. I put the headset on and lay down.

"Game Initialize," I uttered as tears streamed down my cheeks. I felt the cold wet sensation in my ears as I sniffed.

"I wish I lived in another world." The words slipped out, coupled with the deepest feelings I had bottled up inside. I closed my eyes as different thoughts raced through my mind. I truly wished to belong somewhere, just not here.

_______________________________________________

When I opened my eyes, I was standing in front of a castle. My sadness was immediately replaced with awe as I stared at the incredibly realistic game. It was so real that all my senses were active inside this game.

I looked at my hands; they were the hands of a strong warrior, complete with thick calluses. It seemed so real.

"Ragnar! What are you doing standing there?" A young woman's voice suddenly called out to me.

As I turned, I saw a stunningly beautiful young woman. Her face was as flawless as a beauty pageant winner's. Fair, smooth, symmetrical. Her eyes were as blue as the sky, and her long, golden hair was devoid of any split ends. Her petite yet curvy physique was divine. She looked like a goddess.

"Princess Felicity," my mouth suddenly answered on its own.

Ragnar's voice was commanding but gentle, the voice of a military man in his twenties. It was a strange feeling, having someone else talk with your own mouth. But it felt surprisingly natural, as if it was my own body to begin with.

"Ragnar, I've told you many times to call me Fel, all my friends do," the princess urged.

"I'm sorry, princess, but I am your humble servant, only here to be your protector," Ragnar responded kindly.

"But I've always considered you a dear friend, you know. We've known each other for ten years, even before you became the Captain of the Royal Guards," Princess Felicity candidly proclaimed, smiling all the while.

"Yes, and I consider you the same, princess," Ragnar responded professionally yet gently.

Suddenly, I felt a surge of cold wind, making me shiver. As I looked up, the clouds began to darken, and a swirl of dark clouds formed above us. Immediately sensing danger, Ragnar took the princess's hand. Without saying anything, he led the confused princess towards the castle doors. At that instant, a bolt of lightning struck between them and the door. Smoke filled the area from the point of impact.

When the smoke cleared, a blindfolded elf woman appeared. Her hair was as white as snow, and she looked young, like someone in her teens. Her pale white skin complemented her flowing black garb.

Ragnar immediately hid Princess Felicity behind him as he drew his sword, aiming it at the mysterious elf.

"What are you doing here? This place does not warrant the presence of the 'Circle of Weavers'," Ragnar boldly proclaimed.

From his tone, it seemed Ragnar knew who or what this person was. He identified her as someone who belonged to a group called the Circle of Weavers.

The princess, who was not scared in the least, revealed herself from behind Ragnar. She held Ragnar's hand, signaling him to put away his weapon. Unable to defy the princess, Ragnar sheathed his weapon.

"I am Princess Felicity of the Kingdom of Messina. What an honor it is to be graced by one of the powerful mages of the Circle of Weavers," Princess Felicity greeted the elf mage and bowed gracefully.

"Unfortunately, my father, the King, is indisposed at the moment. But may I ask what business a powerful mage has with our Kingdom?" Princess Felicity inquired in a dignified tone, befitting of royalty.

The blindfolded elf mage gazed at Ragnar for some reason and then began to speak.

"I have no business with your Kingdom, not directly," her voice was clear but held a menacing undertone.

"I have been looking... no, I have been waiting for someone for a long time," she spoke as she revealed her intentions.

She removed her blindfold, revealing her white glowing eyes, with white electricity emanating from them. She made a gesture, as if she was holding something in the air, or more like guiding something with her hands. Her hands glowed with pure energy of different colors, and then she stopped and said, "I have found what I've been waiting for."

With her fingers, she released an icicle spear aimed at us.