“Game Over.” A simple screen I've seen God only knows how many times before. Honestly it might as well say something like “Get Better” or “Man You Suck.” This is my third death today and it's really starting to get on my nerves. I let out a long sigh before closing the game and removing the headset off my face. Sitting up on my bed I briefly inspect the device.

The NeuroDrive is a new virtual reality headset. It was released about 3 years ago, fall 2053. It's one of the first full dive VR headsets ever made widely available to the public. Being able to process and read your thoughts, allowing you to look, move, talk, do anything inside the virtual world without you needing to move in real life.

Damn it, nothing’s wrong with the thing. If it was, I could at least make excuses about faulty hardware or software. I feel awful right now, like I just want to melt away in a puddle of uselessness-

Suddenly my phone plays its notification tune. A reminder, class tomorrow afternoon at 11AM. Thank you, phone, I needed to get my mind off that depressing line of thinking before it started. It's still fairly early now, maybe I should go for a walk around the city to get my mind off things. Oh! I’m feeling slightly hungry. Maybe Boss still has some breakfast sweets or something at his cafe?

I leisurely get dressed, sliding into my favorite black hoodie, cleaning my glasses, and trying to make sure my black hair isn't too messy.

“I’ll be back, Mom.” I make sure to say farewell as I get my shoes on and exit the apartment. I feel the cold fall breeze as I move down the stairs. Luckily I won't have to brave the cold for too long since The Velvet Cup, Boss's café, is so close it’s almost like it’s across the street.

“Aiden? Is that you?” Ah crap, I think I recognize that voice. Sure enough I turn around to find the towering linebacker, Tristan Parker. He must have finished practice not too long ago since he still has his red and white jersey under his jacket. “Long time no see buddy! What have you been up to these days?” There it is, the one question every introvert dreads.

“Oh, um… Nothing too crazy. Just classes and playing games like usual.” I scratch the back of my head and make the go-to nervous laugh.

“Eh, that's classic Aiden for you. What was that video game you mentioned last time? People were calling it Turtle or something like that?” TROTL, or its full title The Realm Of Timeless Lands, is the VRMMO I play a lot. It was originally a launch title for the NeuroDrive, but was delayed a few months. For a while the game was able to maintain its player base but now that the last major update is almost 2 years old a lot of people have just moved on and in turn a lot of hackers and cheaters have started playing instead.

“It’s nothing important…” I mumble having a hard time trying to think of what exactly to say, which only leads to an awkward silence. The friendly smile on Tristan’s face turns to a more serious expression.

“Come on- Aiden, I know how much you like playing your games. But seriously, I think it’s about time you found a real goal. Something you can really put some effort in. Something that will let you meet some new people. You need to get your life together” Here goes this same old song and dance. Me and Tristan used to be really good friends back in high school, we actually had a decently sized group of friends. We would play games together all the time. Until Tristan decided he really wanted to pursue football, and ended up putting all his focus on training. He ended up dropping games altogether and the rest of the group soon followed. Being the only one that still enjoyed playing video games, I quickly found myself isolated from everyone. Ever since I have felt kind of lonely and lost on what I should do, actually maybe I felt that way even before then.

“I know, I know it's just- I don’t know- I feel like I still haven’t found what my purpose in life really is yet.”

“You gotta keep looking, it’s hard watching you waste away like this. Hey! I have just the idea! Was just on my way to meet up with my girlfriend at that coffee place down the street! What about you tag along? Maybe there are some friends she could introduce you to? Wouldn't be the worst idea to try and find a girlfriend! What do you say?” Ugh, there are many forms of torture I would rather be put through before being a third wheel on their date. I let out a laugh just as nervous and awkwardly as before as I try to avoid any eye contact.

“Sorry I really only came out to see if a package was delivered. I still need to get some work done before classes.”

“Aw, my bad. I won’t keep you then. See ya, Aiden!” awkwardly we both give each other a friendly nod as Tristan walks away. He hesitates for a moment and turns back. “Hey Aiden, really think about what I said,” he smiles kindly. “Life comes at you fast.” lost for words I just nod once more, taking no time to return up the steps and back into the safety of my apartment. As the door shuts I let out a long groan. The apartment feels as cold and lifeless as I left it. Taking off my shoes I walk towards the table at the entryway. 

“Hey Mom, I’m back,” I say toward the photo on the table. It's a photo of me and my mother while I was still a toddler. Younger me was crying and throwing a fit like the brat I am, but Mom didn't look angry or upset in any way. She looked toward me with a warm and gentle smile. I really wish I got to know her better. Sadly she left us when I was 4, so honestly I have a hard time remembering a lot about life when she was here. I just wish she was here, or anyone who could tell me what exactly I should do.

I start making my way back to my room and fall backwards crashing onto the bed. Releasing a deep sigh before turning over and taking a good look at my NeuroDrive. I guess I will just get back on TROTL instead of getting depressed about everything else at the moment. I reach and grab the headset, slowly putting it on my head and turning it on

In the next moment I'm in a pitch black room. Despite the lack of colors everything is still illuminated and easy to see. There is a familiar menu hovering just within arms reach. At the top of the menu it reads: “Last Played: The Realm Of Timeless Lands”. I almost instinctively reach out and tap on it. Slowly the black void around me begins to fade into that of the game's world. I’m in the meadows outside of Silverhelm, the game's starting city. Here the login menu opens and I see and select my only character. 

In The Realm Of Timeless Lands, You have to choose a primary and secondary class to play as. I play as a thief and knight character Echo_Of_Amber, though most people in the game just call me Echo. He is a human male with scruffy red hair and light blue eyes. I’m a good bit into the endgame so I have a good sword and chestplate for offense and defense respectively. Recently I found a white thief's cloak I like since it doesn’t completely cover my face.

Next I have to choose the area I want to start playing in, choosing from social zones or combat zones. For the past couple days I have been trying to level up some of my Thief skills so let's choose a combat zone for now, I guess The Astrawood should do the job. When I select my destination the world around me fades once more into the mystical forest that is The Astrawood.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The Astrawood is an enchanted forest full of mint green flora and roaming mist. It is located to the north of Silverhelm and the Rhovan Meadows that surrounds the city. The elven temples deep within attract a decent number of monsters that move through the mist, hence why the forest is the destination for my farming session today. For a lot of people the mist can be kind of an annoyance, but as a Thief my visibility is increased making it less of a problem. Stepping into the forest I try to listen for any monster noises to point me in the right direction, but after a bit all I can make out is clanging metal, probably the sound of two other players fighting. I’m not really the biggest PvP guy so it might be better to leave them be.

As I started moving in the opposite direction of the sounds I suddenly noticed a new noise, someone- or something running in my direction and fast. I turn on my heels and reach for the blade on my back ready to try and counter a surprise attack. What came out of the bushes was instead a girl running at full speed. She notices me and yelps trying to brake, causing her to trip over a tree root and fall flat on her face.

“Uh, sorry, are you doing okay there?” I still have my hand on my sword just in case, but I'm starting to get the feeling she isn't here to mug me.

“Ugh this just keeps getting worse.” the girl gets up onto her knees and begins to lift herself up and dust herself off. She is a slender girl, slightly shorter than me with silver white hair that reaches her neck. Despite the dirt's best efforts, her face is still kinda cute with light pink eyes. Her outfit seems to have taken most of the dirt. She is wearing a dark blue vest with a sleeveless white undershirt. She sports brown shorts with a belt pouch, it also has some kind of blue gemstone on the buckle. To finish the look she has black leggings and some common brown adventurers boots, of course it's all now covered in dirt. Now that I think of it she doesn't have a weapon on her, ah she has fingerless gloves and her arms are wrapped in bandages, looks like her main class is brawler, probably some kind of mage secondary class based on the lack of weapon. As she finishes getting up a username appears above her head, StarDrifter.

“Hey you! You look like you’re pretty high-leveled, right?” She calls as she jumps closer to me, her face completely serious. Taken back I only nod my head at first before adding,

“Yeah, I guess? Do you need something?”

“You have to come quick! There's this cheater beating up a bunch of newbies and stealing their drops. None of us have been able to beat him so far.” Now that is an issue. Usually the course of action when encountering cheaters in games would be reporting and blocking their account while you enjoy the sound of their tears as they get banned. Unfortunately with basically no moderation team for TROTL that probably won't be happening here.

“Okay, I can’t promise I can do too much but lead the way.”

StarDrifter’s face lights up before giving a nod. “Follow me, they’re not too far away!” As we both start to run she begins to explain more about the cheater. “This guy maxed out his level and offensive stats, he keeps on one-shotting anyone that gets near him.”

“Not good, depending on his build I might end up in the same boat. You happen to have any support skills?”

“Yeah, my secondary class is enchanter.”  I was hoping she would say cleric. I might be able to survive a hit, and a good cleric would be able to provide near constant healing from the sidelines. But I guess beggars can’t be choosers, enchanter is still a good support class. The problem is enchanters can only provide one buff outside of battle. Having her participate in the battle is probably a no go, meaning I have to choose what buff I want before we start fighting. “That therian over there! See him?”

As we come to a halt she pulls us behind a nearby bush and points to a clearing in the forest. There a large barbarian reptile with red scales towers over a group of exhausted adventurers sprawled out across the clearing. Though there is one guy still standing, a Knight in full iron starter gear, pointing his sword toward his foe. The therian smirks, barely able to control his laughter.

“You know, maybe I should have tried this game sooner. Breaking you idiots is the most fun I’ve had all week!” as he finishes his sentence he swings his massive war axe, making contact with the knight confronting him. The poor guy gets sent flying towards a nearby tree and gets knocked out, his body slowly begins to glow and fade away. Even without a crit that would have knocked him out in one hit. Cackling the therian looks around the group for his next target. “Which one of you want to go next! Who knows maybe I’ll get a home run now!”

“This is what we’re dealing with,” says StarDrifter. “You think we have a chance?” Honestly, it’s tough. This guy is using starter barbarian equipment and still able to wipe the floor with everyone here. The group doesn’t look like horrible players either, warrior and mage type classes at varying levels. If I want a chance to win I’m going to need some kind of plan... Wait a second, no one here is a rogue class, also if this guy is new to the game despite cheating that means he…

“I think I have an idea, do you have the skill Wisp’s Veil? If so, can you use it on me now?” She looks puzzled for just a moment.

“Yeah I do. Why?” Despite the question she agrees and holds her hand out toward me using her enchanter skill.

“Stay back and help the others, I'll deal with him.” I try to sound confident as the skill begins to take effect. I get up from behind the bush and walk into the clearing. “I guess I’m up to bat.” I say jokingly. Okay maybe my one liners could use some work. The Therian turns to look and takes an investigating look at me, his tail flopping back and forth like a happy puppy. Now that I’m close I can see his name for the first time, Dead-F3

“Hmm? Looks like this one is a little confident,” he scoffs. “Let's teach you where you belong, trash.” As he finishes his sentence I initiate an official battle while drawing my sword and a holographic ring surrounds us. He positions his sword and the battle begins. Good, he accepted, this plan might actually work! I get to go first. I use a thief skill Shadow Foot, boosting my speed. “Ha, what a waste of time! Earth Cleaver!” he goes on the offensive swinging his axe straight down at me. I try to dodge of course but it isn’t enough for a max level player and the axe connects with my leg. The axe pierces the ground with a loud crash, shaking it like an earthquake, sending dirt flying as my health drops to somewhere around 20 percent. If that was a crit I would have been out already. StarDrifter’s Veil skill is to thank for that. Speaking of, her and the others are watching intently from the sidelines, they all seem to be amazed that I even made it this far.

I can’t let up now, once my next turn starts I activate Shadow foot once more. “Impressive, you lived through one, but it’s time to end this! Earth Cleaver!” this guy does know he doesn’t need to say the names out loud like in an anime, right? He raises his axe to the sky and repeats his attack as well, however this time I’m able to dodge it with ease to his shock. “Huh! How are you still alive?” The effects of Wisp’s Veil and the repeated Shadow Foot have paid off, increasing my speed and evasiveness. However I can’t take any chances at this low health, so I use Shadow Foot once more just to be safe. Dead-F3 angrily swings his axe wide toward my general direction, another barbarian skill Blade Sweeper if I’m not mistaken, but he can only cut the air. I'm able to dodge all these swings with no effort.

“Wait, what is that?” says one of the bystanders. As swings come to an end a deep fog quickly begins to roll into our combat arena, taking advantage I begin my counter attack using Viper’s Strike, lunging at and past him, repositioning myself while doing a small bit of damage.

“Damn it where did you go!” this is The Astrawood fog, and one of the reasons I made this an official turn based fight was because the fog will come and go every 3 turns when fighting in The Astrawood. Now that the big guy has no visibility there is no chance he lands a hit. He keeps trying to swing around randomly, so I take the opportunity to use Valiant Will to increase the damage of my next attack. “Come out already! You- Damn- Pest!”

It’s time to end this. I start running towards him while he continues his swings wasting his turn. Once behind him I decide to reveal myself by saying my attack’s name as well. “Lion’s Slash!” I yell out the name of the knight skill as my sword swings in an uppercut, slashing his back with a critical hit. The fog begins to clear as my sword connects, leaving the image of me behind the giant therian with my blade pointing up toward the sky. The red slash graphic on his back begins to spread across his whole body. Defeated he begins to fade away. “Checkmate.”