1 Prologue: Valhalla

After the year 2030, Humanity had achieved full-dive virtual reality technology so advanced that one could even rewrite their memories while in a capsule to live a completely different life in a world of their choice. Magic, Monsters and Maidens was the main goal of most of the top-tier players in the ranking lists for fantasy VRMMO's all over. One in particular stood out, as it had a seemingly endless amount of quests, jobs, and skills unique to some individuals, or common among others. This game was called Valhalla- Named after the legendary hall of warriors from Norse mythology. Players could fight in full scale battles and wars, or live simple lives as farmers or merchants as they pleased, all under the guise of a new life. This story begins with a young man who spent so much time here, that he was known in the real world as a No-Lifer.

As sunlight crept through an open window, Kael Stephens groaned and tried to close his eyes despite the bright glare of the sun. A rather thin individual, his messy black hair fell all over his face, gaunt and pale from staying indoors. Had he been a healthy looking guy, one could say he would be a decent looker, if not a bit good looking but in this state he looked like a skeleton. Only 20 years old and still living with family, Kael devoted his time and energy to becoming the top ranked player in Valhalla. But when he had made his character, he was given no job, no class, and no gear. He couldn't even kill a basic enemy like the most common beast-type monster from every game, [Horned Rabbit]. With a stat table of 1 flat across the board, and no skills to his name, he futilely tried to live his life as an adventurer. But that morning, the power grid had been having issues, fluctuations making it unstable throughout his small town. Unknown to him, he stepped into the capsule that took up most of his tiny room, and booted up the processes....

THOOOM.

Out of nowhere, the capsule began to shake, the menus and screen vibrating and blinking rapidly with alarms. Unable to escape, he tried screaming for help but since he had no job, his parents were at work and none of his neighbors could hear him. As he closed his eyes and gave in to the void, he felt immense heat and then nothing but the cold void around him.

The newspapers were packed with stories of an unfortunate young man who had an accident with an explosively defective VR capsule. All models of the same brand were called back for testing, and slowly, the world moved on while his memory faded away.

"Hmm... Feels quite lonely here in the middle ground of death does it not, boy?" A voice rang out from the dark, clear and filled with... Amusement? "Oh, not cool. I just died!" He huffed out in his thoughts, annoyed that such a rude voice was here with him. "What's funny about being dead, huh? I'm not laughing." He called out into the emptiness, floating through endless space of black as far as his vision went.

"Are you quite sure you wish to die? I can make you a deal, you know." The voice ignored him, sounding less and less like a helpful one. Despite his rather uneventful life, he was pretty happy... "...Fine, what do you want? It better not be my soul, weird voice. That or I'm going insane..." Kael called out to the nothing, when his vision slowly started to return. He was laying in the same clothing he died in, on the floor of a clean, plain apartment space. The only thing special was the amused looking woman sitting across from him.

"Well? Why don't we get started with the deal. I'll offer you a new life, in that game you loved so much. Except obviously it will be real and not some silly video game. But... if you don't complete the task I give you by the end of your life in this new world, I will condemn your soul to the void for all eternity..."

The woman would be quite attractive if not for the dark, sadistic gleam in her eyes, long blonde hair reaching down to her waist. She had somewhat of a childish face, and looked no older than 16 or 17.

Kael quickly rolled up to his feet, backing slowly away from the woman... girl rather, after that examination. "What's the task...? And how can I trust some random evil looking teenage girl who clearly isn't human."

She merely smiled and waved her hand, knowing he wouldn't complain about a new life in a game world. "Oh you'll learn everything soon enough. Yes, or no. The choice is yours, Kael Stephens."

His spine tingled when his name was said casually, as if it were nothing of significance. Gritting his teeth, he nodded and stood, worried inside about whatever job he's being forced into in this new life. "Fine, I accept. Let's just get it over with?" He murmured to the girl, annoyed that he was so easily swayed. He didn't have time to question, before everything faded to black.