Prologue

  Could it really be that addictive?

  That particular question nagged at Klent’s mind as he gazed on in wonder at the headset.

  Yesterday he had noticed something tucked deep within his good friend Charlie's backpack. Upon asking what the milk-white colored object was, Charlie had merely given him a smile before saying, “See you tomorrow, bud.”

  Today though, the item was finally revealed to him as his friend laid it down on the table. The normally silent Charlie seemed to be in an almost bragging mood as he explained the purpose of such a mysterious thing.

  “This is the V.I.H. Generation One. Virtual Intelligent Hardware. Or, the first ultra-reality device.”

  “But, what does it do exactly?” Klent asked.

  Charlie looked at him like was crazy. His eyes gave Klent the, “Are you just stupid?” look. He sighed before realizing that I knew next to nothing about VR.

  “Ever played an RPG, MMO, or an MMORPG?”

  “A what?”

  “Damn. This is worse than I thought.”

  Klent tried to take that sentence without offense, but it was near impossible for an inflated ego such as his own. He bit his tongue hard, for Klent was still very much curious about the headset.

  “Okay, how about I explain in three words? Swords. Dragons. Awesome.” Charlie said condescendingly.

  “Alright, but what does this thing have to do with any those?” Klent said while pointing at the device, oblivious to its true nature.

  “Well, this thing runs games. But, it's best game is “War and Swords”, an MMORPG built specifically for the system.”

  It took Klent a stupendously long amount of time to pick up on the full meaning of the info that just spilled from Charlie’s mouth, but when he did, it hit him like a ton of bricks.

  “Wait, so… you can live that adventure?” He asked.

  “Bingo.”

  Klent finally came to the realization that, just maybe, this could be fun to try. Video games were mostly frowned upon in his home, leading him to know very little about the digital world that many were so obsessed with. But he still had more questions.

  “What about an MMORPG? What do they bring that’s so innovative in terms of gaming?”

  This made Charlie have to think for a second. An MMORPG could be described in many ways, but which one would make the most sense for Klent? He ended up reaching the conclusion that the best way to explain everything would be to start from the basics.

  “Okay, this particular MMORPG is very basic. Gain enough experience points, you level up. Got it?” Charlie asked simply to make sure that he wasn’t moving too fast.

  Klent shook his head before asking, “Well, how do I gain experience points, and why would I want to level up?”

  “You fight monsters to-“

  Charlie noticed that Klent looked even more confused now then he did before. Regrettably, only one thing would make him truly understand. It was with both hesitance and trust that he handed over his precious device to Klent.

  “What are you doing?” Klent asked as his friend gestured the headset over to him.

  “I’m letting you borrow it for today. Try it out once you get home. You do have a computer, right?”

  The boy had not been raised with electronics like the rest of his generation. Instead, his father had unfortunately taught that being the best was all that mattered, and that technology was a mere distraction from the ultimate goal. From these teachings, Klent developed a competitive trait in his personality. With the rivalry amongst players a crucial gameplay element in an MMO, part of Charlie worried that VR would be too addictive for one such as Klent.

  Upon realizing that he did not have anything to run this device on, he decided, “How about you just stay at my place tonight?”

  “Why are you so adamant on me understanding these things?” Klent asked, to which Charlie responded by saying, “You’ll see.” with his usual cryptic smile. “I’ll be at my house. Just swing by when you’re ready

  Charlie stood up, gathered his things, and waved goodbye as he trotted home. Klent, on the other hand, whipped out his flip phone to ask his mom for permission to stay at a friend’s.

  Chapter One - Klent’s POV

  I watched as Charlie plugged in the headset to his PC. Not knowing how these mechanisms worked, I remained silent.

  “And...there! Should be ready. You just have to put it on now.”

  With that, I carefully placed the machine over my head.

  “When I press this button, you will fall into a sleeping state. For now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy dieing from your lack of experience. Ha!”

  I attempted to jab back at Charlie’s obvious jest, but my body would not move. No words escaped from my lips. The only thing I could do was close my eyes…

  Bright light pierced my vision as I looked around.

  So bright. I thought as a menu appeared before me, requesting a username. Username? What’s that? Is it like a normal name or…?

  I typed the five-letter name, Klent, into the menu. Upon entering the word, a new message displayed. -Username Already Taken-

  So it’s not asking for a normal name, huh.

  I reminisced back to when I once threw a touchdown pass with five seconds left, and won the game. Finisher. That’s the nickname I was given at the time.

  Once again, I typed a name into the transparent box.

  Next a password was asked for, and I put in what I normally used for passwords.

  “Account created. Welcome to Greayreel, a land of civil strife and violence.” A voice exclaimed from the light. “Here, your new life begins.”

  A large map emerged from the endless void. Apparently, this “Greayreel” place is a continent inside the game.

  The female voice showed no signs of halting as she continued again, “You are a citizen in this land. Caught between a war of two kingdoms, you must pick a side to fight on. Everything else will be revealed as you go.”

  I blinked my eyes several times and found myself in the middle of a town. The architecture looked like that of a medieval village, but the people were dressed in various styles of garb. Confused, I walked up to a large man sporting what seemed to be armor made of iron.

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  “Um, excuse me?” I asked.

  “What is it, son?”

  Unsure of what to ask, I decided to confirm the obvious. “Where am I exactly?”

  The man looked confused before realizing something, but I didn’t know what it was.

  “Oh, I see. You’re new, ay? Well, guess it couldn’t cause to much trouble to teach a newbie the basics.”

  Teach a ‘newbie’ the basics?

“First, clear your mind, then say ‘Open Menu’. This should open your UI, or status menu.”

  I proceeded to clear my head of all excitement and confusion. As the man had said, a blue screen appeared before my eyes. At the top-left corner of the ‘MENU’, a red bar showed my ‘HP’. I had no idea what these letters could stand for, but my curiosity forced me to ask.

  “Hey, what is this thing?” I pointed to the red bar.

  “Oh, that’s your HP, or hit points. It indicates how much life you have left before you die.”

  Die? This game could actually cause physical harm to me?

  The man must have seen the color drain from my face, because he quickly explained the context behind ‘HP’.

  “Oh, didn’t mean to spook you, son. You see, you don’t actually die for real. Your character in this world dies, but you respawn in the nearest allied city soon after.”

  My character in this world? So in here I'm... different from my real self?

  I suddenly realized that this was no normal reality. It was truly ultra-reality. All of my senses had been incorporated into this world. Every breath I took was real. I could be who I wanted to be without risk.

  Is the the freedom that I had long been searching for? The freedom to be who I want?

  “Anything else you can teach me about this game?” I managed to ask despite I newfound realization.

  “Alright, I got some time.”

  For about an hour, I was taught how to fight, craft, level up, and social interaction between other players. Still, I was left with many unanswered questions, but at least I knew the basics.

  “Guess I should log out pretty soon.” Klent murmured quietly to himself.

  It was already seven-thirty, and Charlie had to be getting pretty impatient at this point. I opened my UI, and scrolled down to the yellow button, ‘LOGOUT’

  I hit it, and my vision faded to black.

  My eyes opened, and I was back in reality. The reality that I had yearned to escape from. But something was off.

  “Charlie?” I called out.

  No one answered.

  I slowly tried to rise up onto my feet, but my legs had not yet adjusted, and they collapsed upon further attempts to get up. Upon trying harder, I was finally able to stand.

  “Charlie!”

  I searched throughout the house, yet could not find Charlie.

  Why would he just leave? Especially considering I had his probably mega-expensive headset.

  Returning once more to the cramped space that Charlie called a bedroom, I noticed a sticky note on his computer monitor.

  Must have missed that.

  I grabbed it and read the contents of the note.

  Klent,

  Sorry for bailing on you. Had to leave and meet someone. Feel free to continue to use the V.I.H. while i’m gone.

  Even more excitement now rushed through my being.

  I had permission now, so I could continue my life in that world. The surface of possibility had barely been scratched.

  But doubts soon entered my thoughts.

  You’re abandoning everything you've worked hard for.

  I reassured myself that this was only a game and nothing more. Still, it was shocking that I had merely gotten a taste of ultra-reality, yet I craved more.

  Quickly, I placed the V.I.H. back on my head, and was transported to that world of dreams. The world formed around me, and a strange calming feeling sparked inside of me.

  My first instinct was to ‘level up’, as the man suggested. Now that I thought about it, maybe the man, whose username I had learned was Gust, would want to fight monsters with me. I checked my friends list, but found that he was not online anymore.

  No matter. I’ll just do it on my own.

  As I headed toward the exit, I looked around town. The air was fresh, and the skies were peaceful. I had not yet witnessed any violence between players, but that was to be expected though, as this was the starter area for new players. In fact, Gust was actually on his way to the next town when I had stopped him.

  Eventually, I reached the outskirts of the village. There, only ‘Large Rats’ posed any real threat, but it could still yield some good experience for a starter such as myself. I got into position, and pulled out my ‘Wooden Stick’ which had been part of the starting gear.

  I will master this game one monster at a time!

  Clutching the stick as I ran, my heartbeat accelerated. The ‘Large Rat’ looked once at me before I dove. I expected to feel the impact of the stick hitting the rat, but no such thing happened. Only a mouthful of dirt awaited me.

  Unexpectedly, the rat had evaded my attack at the last moment. Clearly, it was a lucky sidestep for the rat.

  There was no way I would lose to a rat of all creatures.

  I showed no mercy as I swung my sword while still on the ground. The rat skillfully dodged all of my attacks.

  I got up, intending to prove to this monster that I was the strongest one in this world.

  “How about this?” I sarcastically yelled while swinging down at the rat as hard as I could.

  Once more, my stick was resisted by nothing more than hard dirt.

  It must have been quite a sight for the onlookers as I scrambled mindlessly around while trying to kill a rat. I didn’t care though, for I would one day show them that I was the best.

  “Kiiaa!” The rat screamed as it surprised me from behind.

  It did not truly hurt, but an uncomfortable feeling lingered from the hit. The attack must’ve been pretty strong, though, as my HP now sat at half.

  I swung down one final time, and the exhausted rat was dealt damage at last. Inside, I celebrated this measly victory, but I found out quickly that my premature enthusiasm was uncalled for as of yet. The hit did not kill the rat, leaving it to jump directly at my face. The direct hit killed me instantaneously.

  It-its okay. I'm just a beginner. Nobody is automatically good at these things right?

  My vision went dark, and all that remained was an image of my avatar. I had not yet seen my features, for the excitement of such a wonderful new world overtook any other feelings. Now that I could get a good look, I noticed that my game-self looked drastically different from me in real-life.

  For one, my normally deep-brown hair was now a glistening blond. The shape of my face differed little, as well as it’s features.

   Two major changes were the tone of my skin and my eyes. Normally, my skin would be mostly tan-colored, but this avatar was pale-white. As for my eyes, they were baby-blue, but now they're  light purple.

  Gust informed me that the avatar’s were randomly generated because if it looked too much like you in real life, then privacy problems may occur. This wasn’t my game anyway, so it doesn't matter to me. Fortunately, I wasn’t dissatisfied with my appearance, but it would take some getting used to.

  After a loading screen, I was plopped back into the starting town. Luckily, I still had my stick, so I wasn’t completely unarmed.

  With that, I traveled out to the fields once more.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted another ‘Large Rat’.

  I should surprise it from behind like it did to me. This would the creature no hope of escape. Or, maybe a sword skill? No. Gust didn't teach me enough about those.

  Upon deciding on my killing method, I attempted to stealthy sneak to the rat’s rear side.

  I now had an opening. The rat had no idea of my plan, making this the best possible moment.

  “Haa!”

  My body thrust upward, then I swung down on the rat. At the last moment, the creature saw me, and tried to evade. My attack was too fast, though, as the stick slammed into the flesh of the rat.

  The unexpected recoil distracted me for a moment, but not long enough for the rat to recover entirely from the pain.

  By the time the monster was fully able to fight back, another hit was on its way. It landed hard, and the rat stopped moving.

  Is it dead?

  That question was prematurely answered for me as the rat burst into orange and green sparks.

  Guess so.