1 Chapter One

Edward Colt was a young adult man with a dream. Granted, that dream was to get lunch early today, but the man was dedicated to his dream nonetheless. He currently sat at his desk as he watched the clock tick by. Edward felt the saliva in his mouth gather like a river to a dam, his mind filled with anticipation for the warm hotdogs he would purchase from the cafeteria. His stomach rumbled in hunger, though he tried to ignore it.

His coworkers, the few that had desks next to him, also stared at the clock in anticipation. Most of them hadn't eaten breakfast that morning, considering they were all called in early. Thus, when Edward looked around the office he found the majority of his coworkers waiting with bated breath. Even Edward's boss, Markus, repeatedly tapped his pen against his desk as his knee bopped up and down.

Finally, the clock struck eleven! Everybody immediately stood up, a few of them donning their work jackets while a few others readjusted their shirts. Edward was one of the few who wore a more casual attire to work, so he didn't have to bother with a jacket or a tie.

"Let's eat!" Edward whispered to himself as he joined the river of coworkers heading to the elevator. As he walked, Edward felt a hand slap his shoulder. He turned, then found Markus's grinning smile. Markus was a cool boss, one of the best Edward had ever had. The two of them were of a similar age, with similar interests and ideals.

"Want to join me?" Markus asked with a smile, "I was hoping to invite Megan and Frank as well, but I can't see them."

"Sure," Edward nodded as he began to walk by Markus's side. The two of them quickly found the elevator, though they couldn't fit inside as it was already full. A few more unfortunate office workers waited outside as the elevator doors closed.

As they waited for the next one, Markus pulled out his phone and turned it to Edward. 

"Have you heard of this?" Markus asked. Edward looked at the electronic screen and squinted his eyes. His eyesight wasn't very good, especially when he was reading. However, after a moment or two of concentration, he managed to make out what was on the phone.

"Avalon? What's that?" Edward asked. Markus appeared to be showing him a video game poster, one of a game he didn't recognize. There was a young blonde lady on the cover, as well as a few knights surrounding her in defensive positions. They were standing in what appeared to be a green forest but with snowy mountains in the distance. Over the game characters, the words 'Avalon Online' were printed in bold.

Edward wasn't a very big player of video games, though he knew Markus occasionally kept up with the news.

"Desert Industries finally released the full dive gear," Markus explained. Edward's eyes widened in recognition. What little he knew about video games generally involved Desert Industries, a popular tech company that constantly released next-gen gaming equipment. The full dive gear, an extremely popular product, was one of the few things that kept Edward interested.

Up until now, there wasn't much information available about this product. The product was officially named the Desert Dive Set, or DDS for short. It worked like some sort of helmet, but it connected directly to the nervous system through some advanced brain-scanning technology implemented into the headset itself. Edward knew that the product promised full immersion in a video game, supposedly in a way that would break the industry from the ground up. No longer would players feel limited by a monitor or a controller. With the gear, they would be able to control their game characters with their real muscles- or it would feel that way, at least. This would all happen while the player's main body was resting comfortably at home.

Honestly, such a product was impossible to even believe. Edward thought the DDS would be a failure when he first heard about it. He believed it might end up buggy or outright dangerous, so he didn't pay too much attention to it.

However, when Edward looked at the game poster closer, he saw in the subtext 'sponsored and supported solely by Desert Dive Set' and his eyes widened once more.

"They've already made a game for that technology? When did the DDS release?" Edward asked as he turned his attention back to Markus.

"Just a few hours ago. I've already ordered one," Markus explained. He put his phone back into his pocket, then turned to the elevator as the doors opened once more- now revealing an empty elevator. Edward, Markus, and the few office workers remaining on the floor quickly shambled in. One of the workers pressed the button leading to the ground floor, then closed the doors. Markus looked back to Edward, "Will you?"

"I still doubt it'll work. How much does it cost?" Edward asked, mildly curious. He was still skeptical, but he knew that if the product worked as advertised, it would be a massive success. The developers would be correct in stating that it would ruin the game industry as a whole, considering both consoles and computers would become old tech.

"A little over three thousand," Markus answered, causing Edward to whistle in surprise. When it was first advertised, expected costs ranged near the twenty thousand mark, "It's honestly less than I thought it would be, considering what it's been advertised to do."

"That's still quite a lot," Edward smiled wryly. Markus smiled in response.

"I'll let you borrow mine for a day if it'll get rid of that doubt. It should arrive a bit before the day ends," Markus smiled. Edward turned toward his friend, then slowly nodded. Edward was still expecting the product to be a total waste, but he held a sliver of hope for its success.