The next morning, Gary was already awake before the alarm rang. He didn’t sleep well, mainly because he was so excited about the game.

Cedric was already up, while Dom was still snoozing. Cedric saw that Gary was awake, and shook Dom by the shoulders.

“Broooooo,” Dom moaned as he rolled back onto his face. “I’m too zonked to go.” Dom fished his wallet from his pocket. “Can you just buy it for me?”

Gary grabbed the wallet. “Sure, whatever Dom.”

“Gnarly,” Dom slipped back into sleep.

Gary’s mom was already up and trying to force him to eat a full breakfast, but Gary wanted to head to Walmart right away. They settled on a compromise: Gary and Cedric each grabbing a piece of buttered toast on their way out.

In many ways, both Cedric and Dom had become like sons to Mrs. Swamps. Gary didn’t have any siblings, and Mrs. Swamps had always wanted more kids, truth be told.

Gary couldn’t think of anything other than ForeverQuest Online while on his ride to Walmart. It was a short bike--only two miles.

In his pocket was 800$, a lot of money for a kid like Gary. His mother gave him money when he needed it, but for something like a game, Gary had to raise his own funds.

Gary was a high-level player for a game called Four-Ruins online, and from his success he had been able to earn real-world money from in game cash. The transfer rate was 1,000 in game gold for 1 dollar, and he was able to average 42,000 gold per hour. Sure, he earned about 42$ an hour, which was just under minimum wage, but he had found a way to get money while playing video games.

Using these funds, he had been able to spend more money on games. Cedric worked a gym to get money, and Dom ran a semi-successful online stream to grab cash.

None of them had much, but it always worked out. Of course, Gary still got his living expenses paid by his mom, like most boys his age. Just for extra stuff, like video games or movies, Gary had to earn his own cash.

They found a big line at Walmart, but it wasn’t packed. Many people had gotten the game the night before, so the 6 A.M. crowd wasn’t that large, luckily for Gary and Cedric.

Of course, there were specialty game stores too, but Walmart’s prices were just the same, and it was a more manageable distance.

It might seem odd that in 2036 that games were still sold in physical copies, but some years ago developers stopped online downloads. They were too easy to bootleg once data was being thrown around all across the internet.

Hence, except for the small-time indie developers, games returned to almost exclusively physical copies.

A couple hours later and Gary was holding two brand new copies of ForeverQuest online. The boy’s heart was thumping at a fast rate, blood pounding in his ears as he looked at the cover of the holochip-case, which featured a knight in shining armor standing in front of a perfect green valley littered with goblins, dragons, and trolls.

Cedric was in equal awe, holding the case as if it was a baby. “Gary…” he said in a quiet voice. “Is this real life? It doesn’t feel like it...” Cedric shot Gary a sneaky grin.

“I don’t know, dude.” Gary said. “I don’t know...”

Not paying a bit of attention as to where he was headed, Gary ran face first into a heavy set boy with flaming red hair.

Gary, who was quite skinny, fell to the ground like a sack of flour. His ankle shot with pain as he twisted it on the concrete. “Whoops,” said Gary with a frightened smile. “Didn’t see you there, Tommy.”

“Watch where you’re going, nerd!” said Tommy with a scowl. “I almost lost my place in line!” the boy cried, although in all honesty, he hadn’t budged an inch.

“I’m sorry Tommy. I really didn’t mean to run into you,” said Gary earnestly as he got to his feet.

Tommy grunted. “Yeah, whatever. Watch where you're going next time, chump.”

Gary looked down in shame, but didn’t say anything. Cedric’s facial expression hardened, the muscles in his arm tensing up.

Gary left the store with Cedric, his spirits slightly broken. “Why is Tommy always such a jerk?” Gary said softly. “I’ve never done anything mean to him or anything like that…”

Cedric sighed and took a moment to think. “Some people just have a chip on their shoulder. They just want to bring you down. You know what I’m sayin’?”

Gary’s stomach was a bit upset, as often happened to him when he was anxious, but he slowly nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. But I wish he wasn’t like that.”

“Agreed,” said Cedric. “Don’t worry though, If he ever lays a finger on you, I’ll teach him a lesson.” Cedric’s tone was serious.

For a moment, they just walked, but then Cedric playfully boxed Gary on the shoulder. “Lighten up. We are about to dive into the VR game of the century!”

Gary laughed, and the mood lightened dramatically. “I can’t wait,” he admitted.

When Gary and Cedric arrived back at the house, Dom was sitting on the kitchen counter, gripping a piece of bacon with greasy hands, while Mrs. Swamps was sizzling bacon and eggs.

“Most radical, Mrs. Swamps. This bacon is totally well prepared,” Dom said through a full mouth.

“I’m so happy you like it!” Mrs. Swamps cried. “Do you want more?”

“Indeed, that would be much appreciated!” Dom hooted as he dug his fork into a sunny-side egg, the yolk spilling all over the plate sloppily.

“Dom!” Gary said. “It’s gaming time! What are you doing?”

“Brofessor Gary,” Dom replied. “I am merely enjoying a well-prepared breakfast. Would you like to join? Just like we learned in health class, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

“You know that is pretty debatable…” Gary said as he rolled his eyes. Cedric emitted a short burst of laughter.

“Come on Gary, have breakfast with us!” Mrs. Swamps said as she plopped a perfectly cooked egg on a plate and handed it to Dom.

Although Gary couldn’t wait to start playing, he was still quite hungry, and he didn’t much like to disappointed his mother, so he sat down and started tearing through a plate of eggs and bacon. Cedric joined them, and soon, all three boys had devoured piles of bacon and dozens of eggs.

After they were thoroughly full, they ran down the stairs, Dom gasping at the cover art.

“Woooooah. This is so cool,” he hooted.

Gary took his usual position in the far corner of the room, while Dom stood in the middle, and Cedric set up behind the couch. Because they had to move frequently to play, the boys stood a few feet apart.

Without further ado, Gary strapped on his haptic suit and VR headset, and threw the holochip into the system.

“Time to play ForeverQuest,” Gary said, his voice filled with wonder.

“Most definitely,” Dom said as he strapped on his VR headset.

“See you guys in game!” Cedric added while he slipped his legs into the haptic suit.

Gary was now in some kind of waiting room. A red laser shot out of the wall, and bathed him in red light.

“Scanning….Scanning….”

Gary shivered while he was bathed in a red glow. He looked down, and his body looked that same as in real life! What?

He was used to some sort of character select and/or customization screen. Was he going to have to be just himself?

The light stopped. “Scan complete. Your Real Life stats are shown below.”

A stats screen popped up in Gary’s headset.

Your Real Life Stats

Strength

26

Intelligence

42

Dexterity

60

Charisma

33

Endurance

54

Gary’s eyes noticeably dilated. Real life stats? the boy thought. He looked at the screen again. Only 26 strength? Really? Gary thought in dismay. Lame.

He then heard an automated female voice in his headset. “Hello,” the voice said. “I am Britney, the AI of ForeverQuest Online. You have just been given your real world stats. These are calculated based off a full-body scan. Do you have any questions?

“Yeah!” said Gary. “Why is my strength so low?”

“Perhaps it’s because you are a shrimpy little boy.”

Shocked, Gary took a step back. “What did you say to me?”

The voice started laughing in a robotic manner.

“Just kidding. Relax, Gary Swamps. For a boy your age, 26 is quite average, actually. In ForeverQuest, Real World Stats are calculated based off your aptitude on Real World skills. Because your muscle mass is a total of 52.35lbs, you have been given 26 Strength.”

“But…. How did you calculate my Intelligence?”

“Simple.” The voice said. “We just evaluated your brain activity over twelve seconds.”

Gary took a moment to think. He supposed that made sense, although he was still unsure if that would lead to an accurate evaluation of intelligence.

“In ForeverQuest, your appearance is the exact same as real life. You may be recognized by those who know you. However, to promote some degree of anonymity, you will be asked to create a username. What would you like to be called?”

A prompt appeared in Gary’s vision, asking him for a username. Gary typed in his standard name: Neoswordsman.

Are you ready to enter ForeverQuest?”

Gary nodded quickly.

“Very well. Entering Lomberg in 3…2...1…”

Gary saw a bright flash, then a swirling vortex of colors that eventually faded into darkness.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in the courtyard of a castle. Gary marveled at the intricate stonework of the castle walls. The boy took a few steps back in wonder. He then looked up at the sky, which was clear blue, like a sapphire. A few swallows flitted through the air gracefully.

Gary’s breath almost stopped as he looked around the courtyard. It was filled with peasants in ragged clothing dragging dead animals, merchants dressed in silk, selling armor on wooden stands, blacksmiths hammering away in the forge. A gentle fog rolled over the ground, creating a mystical scene. A carved maple sign stood in the center of the castle courtyard. It read: Lomberg; the Lumber Town.