1 Entering the Game

Inside a hectic and boisterous classroom—

"Bros, did you hear that Fatal Fantasy is coming out this week?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's gonna be released on Saturday, right?"

"Yep, just two more days to go! How about you, Yuan? Aren't you excited?"

His classmate, Regino Narez, looked at him expectantly. In response, Yuan Alcatar just gave a casual smile and said,

"You guys already know that I don't play any video games. For me, it's just a waste of time. Instead of that, why don't you guys study to improve your grades? If you want, I can even help with tutoring."

"Seriously, man? Not even this one time; I mean, this is the game of the century we're talking about here! You'd be missing out on a whole new experience!"

"Yeah, Yuan. Don't tell me you haven't heard that this is the first-ever game that's said to have completely incorporated Virtual Reality! The beta testers even said in their reviews that they couldn't believe what they were playing, saying that they had a hard time differentiating the game from reality."

"Look, guys. As crazy and wonderful as that sounds, I still wouldn't want to waste my precious time on a videogame that won't be beneficial to my future. And besides, I wouldn't want to get addicted to video games and be in the same state as you guys. You both practically don't get enough sleep because of playing all night."

"Tch. Fine, whatever you say honors student."

His other classmate, Christian Velga, pouted and didn't continue persuading him any longer. Yuan could only give a wry smile at his childish reaction.

"Alright, everyone. Please settle down on your seats. Class is beginning."

Just in time, the instructor for this period's lesson came inside the classroom, stopping their conversation right then and there.

…

Two days later. Saturday, 6:28 AM.

Yuan arrived at the nearest game store from his house and already saw a considerable line in front of him.

"Guess I wasn't too early." He couldn't help but smile wryly while looking at the backs of these people. "These guys are absolutely nuts. How long have they been waiting here for in the dark, chilly weather?"

As he thought to himself, Yuan went to the very back of the line and stood there like everyone else. At exactly 7:30 AM, the game store's window shutters were lifted up and the door was opened from the inside by a middle-aged man.

"Alright, everyone. I need you all to file in one by one in an orderly fashion. After buying your game, please exit through the other doorway. Thank you."

At once, the customers entered the store systematically. Every now and then, Yuan could see a few people leaving through the other doorway with a disk case in their hands.

"That must be the game…" he muttered to himself.

Twenty minutes later, it was finally his turn. After the guy in front of him moved to the side and left, Yuan came to the reception.

"Good morning, Sir. How can I help you?"

He was promptly greeted with a smile from the pretty receptionist.

"I'd like to buy one copy of Fatal Fantasy, please." Yuan got straight to the point.

"Alright."

She nodded her head then quickly took out a copy of the game before placing it in front of him.

"That will be 6,990 pesos, please."

"Here."

Yuan placed the money he prepared beforehand onto the counter.

"Thank you for your patronage, Sir. Next please."

She gladly received the money and said, never breaking her smile throughout the whole process. Yuan immediately stepped aside with the game he bought in hand. He quietly looked at the pretty receptionist one last time before finally departing.

"What a professional…"

He couldn't help but think so on his way out of the store.

…

When he got back to his house, Yuan went straight to his room and inserted the game disk into the VR Game Drive. He only had to wait for a few minutes before it was done with installing.

"OK! Let's give this baby a go!" Yuan said while excitedly gripping a VR headset in his hands.

This particular VR headset was specifically made by the company that produced the hottest and newest VRMMORPG game—Fatal Fantasy—which he was going to be playing right now. It is said that this piece of modern equipment is a state-of-the-art VR Gear that even the military would use in their training. From what he had heard, this VR headset boasted a 99% surrealism rate, which is basically how experts measure a VR game's resemblance to real life.

The VR headset is called Infinite Distant 9; a very famous and well-reputed VR model from the tech company. It's an expensive product that was usually reserved for those with big bucks in their fat wallets. However, due to the release of their brand-new game Fatal Fantasy, the company decided to sell a limited supply of the model at a discounted price. And that's how Yuan barely managed to snag a model for himself despite the amount of money he possessed as a high school student.

"The hardships and the disgusting amount of overtime work I had to endure to buy this thing. I hope it's worth all of my efforts!"

At long last, Yuan put the VR headset on before going to his bed and lying down. He pressed a button on the side of the headset. Then, his vision was all of a sudden barraged by a wide variety of radiant colors as he felt his mind spin. He felt a strange feeling like his very being was sucked into an unknown realm of endless data.

When he came to his senses, he found himself surrounded by sparkly greenery. There were thick bushes, lush trees, colorful flowers, and verdant grass wherever he looked. He could hear birds chirping, the leaves rustling, and see butterflies fluttering about; it gave him an unimaginable feeling that everything he was sensing was actually real, and that he wasn't simply inside a game simulation.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Heeeeeeeeh?!?"

Yuan instantly let out a weird noise when he felt a finger abruptly poke him from behind. He immediately turned around to see who or what it was that surprised him.

"Bahahahaha~! What a nice reaction you've got there."

What greeted him was a cute short girl that resembled a porcelain doll. She was wearing dark-purple gothic clothes and a pointy witch hat that sat atop her pretty silver hair. Her adorable beauty could easily melt a grown man's heart, and the sound of her cheerful laughter was like heavenly bells chiming in his ears.

"Pleased to meet you. I am Grazier, the witch of Evermond Forest." She displayed a courteous bow and a wide, cheeky grin on her face.