An: Yay! A free time to update the story~ But please hold your comments and reviews for now. The beginning of the game started only at the next chapter. I guess I referred LMS for this chapter..... is it good?

[It has been a decade ever since the founding of Virtual Space. At first many sides were skeptic about this technology and that it was always monopolized for military and medical purposes. Even after a long time negotiation with the Vatican regarding the view of a creation of an Augmented World, there was never an easy way for this discovery to be grasped by the public. However, after an announcement by the developer of Virtual Space, CYBERION Corps has began its debut with the release of a Next Generation Game Console—a perfectly immersive VRMMORPG! Continuing on, the developer David Watergate will—]

With a flick of finger, the channel changed. A young boy gave a sigh as he had watched this news all-over the internet and newspapers. It’s not that he was bothered but he was growing tired after so many advertise saying the same thing.

In his bedroom, the boy gazed up at the ceiling. It was never lit up and he never bothered to check what’s on the table. He didn’t even hesitate to throw away the food his sibling prepared even though his entire family was living in this house.Even if he had to eat, he would just order a delivery and he had plenty of secret savings to spend for thanked to his rewards for being an avid gamer.

Steve Westdale was a shut-in. He somehow lived like this ever since several incidents occurred in his life. They ruined his personality, his dream, his trust and even his mind so much he closed himself shut from everyone.

His parents’ words could never get through into him. His older sister’s scolding had never reached him. Even the beating of his older brother tasted as nothing for him.

Steve’s eyes were like ones of a dead fish. He lacked any desire to live. He didn’t want to die either. He just looked like an empty shell of the person he was once before. Putting the back of his right hand onto his forehead, the boy gazed to the sides of the bed.

There were the things of his past. There were his belongings that had been left dusty and none could be said as good mementos. Steve was tired of everything. He’s just too tired to even to think.

And yet, in this light less room where the only light came from a broken television, what else could help him ease his mind?

Contrary to his depressions, his face was as calm as the ocean. His emotion shattered, and his vigor remained as zero. Steve rolled on the bed and closed his eyes. Hoping the eternal darkness would claim him from being conscious.

That was when a knocking sound echoed. How odd, Steve thought as he got up from bed.

After living for so long and absentmindedly stuck in playing games and watching television, the boy could recognize who was who beyond the door. All by a knock and he would instantly recognized who. For example, his elder sister Angelica would knock in four times and the sound waves were light and careful like cracked glass.

That’s why—today, Steve couldn’t recognize who stood outside the door of the house. He knew that it wasn’t a guest as his family had next-to-none. The ever clingy neighbor family was also becoming distant with the fallout of the family.

Steve noticed the time as past afternoon, which meant nobody was home. The whole family members were already working persons or college students. Added with a total dropout.Steve was certain unless the ‘ever so silent and distant family' of his chose to wait at the doorstep only to say they wanted to sell the house except him budging out from the dark. Well, that’d be good as my life may end earlier but anyway.

Steve approached the front door. Curiously and anxiously, he opened the door and sneaked a glance……

“Are you Mister Steve Westdale?”

“—h-huh…? Who-who are you……?”

There were big burly men with blue navy worker suits as if they were some sort of moving agents. Those people who would help when moving from one house to another and Steve could see a big cardboard box being carried by three to four people behind the one whom he was speaking to.

Even so, to Steve, he was more scared of why these people were at the doorsteps. Don’t tell me, I really have to leave the house—?

“We’re delivering you a Full-Dive Gear. It has been paid and as per orders, can we install the Gear in your room as you’re the receiver?”

“What……?”

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Full-Dive Gear was as its name suggested. Equipment that enabled a person to ‘log in’ to the Virtual Space. It was considered as a way for soldiers to train live-combats without expending any lives. The fact that Virtual Reality could reenact World War II was definitely nerve-wracking and profitable for military.

Full-Dive Gear was basically a capsule or pod with enough space for one person to lie down relaxingly.

Unlike the Lite-Dive Gear which was made to encase the head only, Full-Dive gear encompassed more immersions and allowed the users to enter Virtual Space without any possible common drawbacks and their rare cases. Not to mention the fact that Full-Dive Gear synchronized all of five senses when logging in unlike the Lite-Dive Gear’s feature of synchronizing only the vision, hearing and scent.

Other than that, Full-Dive Gear featured HD video capturing device, health and mental monitoring as well as alarm to assist the users when entering Virtual Space. It even possessed a line for telephone too if there’s a proper setting.

The capsule’s interior was flooded with cool gel-like substances which possessed similar texture to water cushion. A part of nano-technology which would help controlling the user’s body when logging into VS for a long run. The gel would fill the capsule only when it’s activated and can be changed without difficulties. Of course there were limits as the radiation given by electronic device may be harmful which limited the usage of the FDG up to one day.

Other than that, the capsule activated by filling the nano gel to scanning the biometric data and then to connecting as well as synchronizing the psyche of human’s mind with the VS. Steve was already hurting at the head as one of the workers explained him about this marvelous Over-Science or something which he would definitely never remember for a lifetime. Out of headache of course.

Still, Full-Dive Gear offered the mass-produced economical home-friendly Dive gears could never do. So many benefits. So few drawbacks. And surely, Steve was in dazes.

After the seemingly complicated setups the CYBERION Corps’s workers assembled, now in the middle of his room was a big oceanic blue capsule installed. The power was on and the machine was being optimized according to the workers.

The boy could never understand why something as expensive as this entered his house. Much less into his room. He looked at the manuals lying on the capsule. He grabbed them but a note fell off.

Steve took it and there were letters written on it. Not printed message but instead, pen written notes. And it read as thus—

”—To Steve, my beloved little brother. This is a present for your 21st birthday from your older sister, Angelica. Please don’t mind the payment for the product and subscriptions. It’s all on my tabs.”

“………………………………………”

When he read the first line, Steve sweated chills. Then, when he read the second line, nausea filled his mind and he wobbled back and forth.

Steve reread the note for tens of times. Immediately after, Steve crumpled the note and threw it into the trash bin across his desk. His chest tightened from pains and feeling of betrayal.

(Fuck it. Why the hell is that woman giving me this? A gift? Even though it was YOU that said I’m no longer your little brother? Don’t fuck with me, bitch!!)

Steve waltzed around the room. He never wanted to escape from the room and only when he’s hungry and needing to throw out the bladder was when he would force himself. However, other than that, he chose to keep himself out from others’ views and even in the unlikeliest possibility where he would bump with his family, Steve simply ignored them.

For the first time in a while, the young man was angered. It’s because his family started to pity him and even crossed the line by giving him a birthday present. As if he was happy with it. Instead, Steve loathed his family even more for robbing him of his peaceful, empty life.

Of course, he couldn’t say no when a capsule worth of $2500 USD added with monthly subscriptions of $100 more entered his room. It would be rude to the people who have exhausted their strengths to carry such monstrosity of ‘money spending machine’ into the second floor of the house. Especially knowing if not cared, those workers would be living at the corner of the alleys by now.

But what else? Would he be forced to pay for it? Did they think he had a sliver penny to pay for the subscriptions and electricity bills now that he became a complete shut-in for five years?

Steve clawed his head in annoyance. To think Angelica, that symbol of audacity and proper human would give him the final blow to his empty conscience was the worse. That smart-ass had already graduated from IT Course last year and she’s recorded as the fastest person to attain her Engineer diploma. Steve didn’t care nor know what else she was delving in with after that but the two never met each other ever since the fallout of his family three years prior to it.

The young man barely noticed. It’s because when his older brother beat him up and when his family stared at his eyes, they understood one thing. Unapparent heartlessness and emptiness was the only thing that existed in Steve.

Ever since then, nobody pried further and the bonds between the family members began to grow distant. Ever so fleeting until it was reduced into nothingness.

“……fuck off. Who do you think you are? Do you think you even know what I had suffered? You know nothing… You didn’t receive what I received…… And you know nothing! NOTHING AT ALL!”

Steve threw the manuals at the wall as he cursed the loudest he could be. They fell, scattered on the heaps of his mementos and they followed the domino effect. Though he did it with all his strength, the blind rage strained his unused muscles and wore him out immediately.

He rested near the bed with one of his knees flexed. Steve’s mind was exhausted and so was his body. He really wanted everything to be destroyed. He wanted to kill himself for everyone pitied him.

Even so, he couldn’t do that. He was scared of blood and he didn’t want to see it. He didn’t want to recall his past. Steve was scared of dying that he’s now trembling and crying.

“…hah… hah ha ha…… Really. What fucked up cliché is this…? What the hell’s up with me…? Damn it……”

Hands raised and covered his face, the boy cried sheepishly. As he continued to wail in the darkness, the sounds of ruffling fell into his ears.

He stared at the object on the floor. A piece of paper advertising a certain product made by CYBERION Corps.

A colorful paper showing people who desperately fighting for glory. Against the unknown. Against menaces of all fantasy. Against a colossal dragon as if it could envelop one floating island within its wings.

Brave World Online—the most popular VRMMORPG born in this age. Despite having its appearance concealed and hidden and even after so many new games featuring Advanced AIs along with Virtual Spaces, BWO was the MVP of next generation game especially considering it fully utilized the usage of Virtual Space which could only be used online added with many Self-Learning AIs working together under the frameworks.

With just three years, the game carved a new record of users registering in and even with the increasing stability of the economy throughout the world, BWO harnessed the power to invite many people to join in. It held a different tier of strength even compared to the latest leftover history simulation software made by the military. Brave World Online was a different world altogether, and it’s a world where magic was possible to be wielded.

In the ever expanding fantasy world, people were given the choices to become anything. Either to be a hero like in some sort of fairy tale, to become a demon king who could destroy the world or exploring and discovering new continents above the sky.

Little information was given for the game itself. The developers chose to be secretive so that people could see the game world by their own eyes and recognize its majesty in entirety.

However—there was a line which could be said as the prologue to all users who entered that Augmented Space.

”—Only through the deepest courage will you be able to grasp the world.”

“……………Cou…rage……”

The coward stared at the advertisement paper. He remembered that the capsule was already installed with the game. With just several touches and the game would run and update automatically until it finished.

And then—a new world would be opened for him. There would be a place where he could do anything. There would be a place where he could belong in even if it’s just an artificial, miniature garden. There would be a place where he could live as someone who was not him and nobody else. He could become the One and Only person of his dream.

But, is that possible? For him who feared others. For him who could no longer trust in anything and anyone……In the back of his mind, a whisper came as if like the allure of a devil. It was his inner voice he often heard ever since he suffered in this world.

At first it was so faint it was nigh audible. But gradually, the voice became more apparent and clear that Steve feared his mind breaking apart beyond recognizable. Yet he never told anyone regarding this 'Devil' whom he knew only by hearing its voice. Day by day, the Devil incessantly desired for something Steve wanted. Month by month, the Devil whispered how despairing and hopeless the world was. And by years, the Devil's voice became Steve's voice.

Once again, the Devil commanded him. The tone was very cold that it gave shudders. Desires were obviously perceived only by hearing its 'breathing' and 'words'. With the command it gave as the most absolute thing for Steve to acknowledge other than this miscreant world full of malice......

”If you can’t take it, then escape. Take this ticket and run like a coward you are. Flee from this world… Abandon everything. And finally... you can die all alone. In a place where nobody knows you and in a condition where nobody could reach for you.”