1 0. A long prologue

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

He sat up in bed, turning off his blaring alarm as he pushed aside the VR headgear that lay beside him. Unlike most kids his age, he was introverted and he had a love for video games that overshadowed everything else.

He had begun playing when he was six, or rather he had felt the need to escape into a virtual world at that time. The other kids were boring, their imagination a quarter of what his was.

It took a few months but he convinced his father to get him a gaming console and there his entire world was flipped on its head. He played merely for fun but for some reason, he was at the top ranks of all the games he had played.

Grandroad, Elder Trials, Gauntlet of Doom, all of them being MMORPGs at which he held the top position, and although he'd know a little bit later, he was famous.

"Chemistry?" He sighed, grabbing his bag from the counter.

Unlike when he had started gaming twelve years ago, now he was in college, and believe it or not. The introvert who has over ten thousand hours on Elder Trials had a girlfriend.

Smiling, he strolled toward the library, reminded of her earlier text about the upcoming chemistry exam. Upon entering, he attempted to exude confidence as he approached the table where she sat alone. "Hi," She waved, and he reciprocated.

He didn't know he bagged her in all honesty and if she ever remembered to ask him about their first meeting, they might break up then and there because he forgot that too. "Umm, I noticed you really like that author. "He silently muttered as he sat down.

She glanced at him confused. "We've been dating for two months now, it's okay if you're still shy but I'm actually tired of this relationship being all about me and what I want to do, I don't need you to dominate or lead me or anything but at least, tell me about yourself."

He looked away, shyly. "There isn't much to say."

"Okay, you know what. Let's start from the beginning." She spoke and he turned back to her. "I'm Elizabeth Holly Perkins..."

"I'm Harvey Jude Laurier," Harvey responded, they had already done this before when they met but doing it again wouldn't hurt.

"Nice, now Harvey. What do you like to do for fun?" Elizabeth asked.

"So you like reading-" Harvey quickly changed the subject.

"This is what you did last time, and I overlooked it but not now! What are you not telling me? Do you think I'll laugh at your hobbies or job?"

"It's... not that."

"Then what is it!" Elizabeth saw the librarian put her finger over her mouth, prompting her to mouth the word 'sorry' toward her.

"I don't want you to..."

"I've dated a guy with an eye fetish. Trust me, I can handle anything."

"Are you sure?" Harvey spoke, his voice uncertain.

"Hit me." Elizabeth urged.

"I like video games."

"Oh... is that what's so bad? I mean sure I can understand being embarrassed but everyone plays video games now and then, even me,"

"I'm a professional player... not in teams and stuff but... I kinda play... a lot." Harvey played with his fingers underneath the desk as he spoke, knowing that the chances of her breaking up with him right after he finished talking were getting higher with each word he said.

"A lot is fine too, I mean not to brag." She got in closer, whispering. "I pulled an all-nighter to watch 'Love Journey' the other day."

"I have over thirty thousand hours on Grandroad." He blurted out, half expecting her to get up and leave.

"Almost four years… wow, that's actually so weird it's cool." She got up, grabbing her bag. "Let's talk as we walk."

Her words saved him from the mini heart attack that followed her rise. "Okay," He said as he followed her. "Wait what about Chemi-"

"That doesn't matter now." She said as they walked out of the library. "Both of us are gonna play a game till nighttime!"

"I haven't played in a while though," Harvey told her as they headed into a store.

"Why?" She asked as the cashier greeted them.

"I wanted to get better at school... and..."

"I see, so in hopes of one day landing me." She twirled around, her hair brushing past his face. "You quit your game addiction, quite the touching story."

"You gonna buy something or are you gonna keep flirting with your boyfriend." The store owner pondered.

"What kind of games do you play?" Elizabeth asked while staring into the clear glass display. "Oh, here's Grandroad. The one you have over thirty-"

"I LIKE MMORPGs!" Harvey exclaimed, cutting off Elizabeth before she could remove the store from the list of places he could visit.

"You heard him, do you have any good MMORPGs, preferably one that's new. Grandroad's been out since before my sister was born."

"A good new MMORPG... VISIDIA just dropped so I guess you could get that."

"VISIDIA!!!" Harvey exclaimed, but upon noticing their attention to him, he promptly closed his mouth, concealing the exclamation as a cough. "I didn't think it'd drop till next week."

"It was released yesterday, and I made every effort to secure a few copies. This is the last one, so I guess you're in luck," Said the store owner as she retrieved a key from her belt buckle.

"What Is it Popular?" Elizabeth asked as she saw his reaction.

"It was announced a while back, it's a distant sequel to Vancrest Online, the company that created it declared bankruptcy so I thought the game died off."

"Yeah, last week a trailer was released on Youtube and now here we are," The store owner grabbed a copy of VISIDIA from under the display, handing it over to Elizabeth. "I assume you have VR headsets?"

Elizabeth looked at Harvey, who nodded before turning back to the store owner. "We're all set on that front."

"Okay then, you guys have a good time."

After browsing other games in the store for a few minutes, they departed, making their way to Harvey's house. Elizabeth had visited once last month, and despite it being tidier than she anticipated, a chord sticking out of a door told her it was a hasty job. "Any other girls visited your place recently?"

"No, no, no! Why would you think that?" Harvey quickly responded.

"I'm just kidding." She laughed as she entered his house.

When she had come earlier, she hadn't gone into his room and she didn't ask a lot of questions, this was her chance to change that. "What about your parents?"

Harvey turned to her as he dropped his bag on the chair. "They're... overseas. It's work-related."

"How long have they been gone?" She asked as she dropped her bag onto a chair as well.

"A while now… they send money and stuff I guess." Harvey headed toward his kitchen. "You want anything?"

"Water, then let's JACK IN!" Elizabeth exclaimed, a flush of embarrassment washing over Harvey's face as he strolled into the kitchen, returning with a glass in hand.

She drank it quickly, faster than Harvey could slip into his room and clean it. "Let's go!" She got up, following Harvey up the stairs, to his room.

"It shouldn't be that dirty, but don't freak out and... don't touch anything."

"Aye, Aye Cap'n!" She saluted and Harvey opened the door slowly.

Her mouth widened in astonishment as she stared upon years of video game paraphernalia, from popular titles like Hal* 3 to less popular titles like Star Cry, his room was stacked. Poster, figures, old consoles, lots of monitors, and soundproof panels. "This has to be at least 10k."

"Well, a little bit more." He laughed softly as he walked into the room, grabbing his VR Headset from his bed.

"I thought you said you hadn't played in a while." She sat on his bed, staring at the walls.

"Yeah, I didn't play. I just slept with it."

"Maybe you've gotten too comfortable around me." Elizabeth scooted away playfully.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Harvey pondered.

"It is." She smiled.

He walked toward his wardrobe, grabbing another headset from within it. Giving it to her as he loaded up the game. "So, we're gonna sleep on the same bed? Are you sure you didn't just want to get closer to me?"

"This was your idea!" Harvey screamed and she laughed once more.

They both settled in, lying down on the bed with their headsets on, prepared to dive into the game. It loaded swiftly, and soon they were immersed in the massive virtual world.

Upon creating their characters and selecting their preferred classes and weapons, they were propelled through the sky, descending into the first starter city the game had to offer.

They landed near the city gates, experiencing no fall damage as part of the game intro. "Why is your character so cool?" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Is it? Yours looks cool too," Harvey complimented.

"Okay then, let's embark on our journey!" Elizabeth exclaimed as they walked through the gates, commencing the start of their adventure.