1 The Package at the Door.

*Knock Knock Knock*

The door was given three rapid knocks that signified someone wanted in.

Erin paused what he was doing and scratched his head in confusion.

Who was at his door? He had long since stopped talking to his friends from school and the people at place that he worked at-used to work at weren't friendly enough to pay him any visits.

Curious, he strolled towards his apartment door and took a peek through the peephole. What he saw surprised him slightly.

There were three delivery men wearing blue clothes. They hauled a massive package in a cardboard box.

There was a logo that showed where they were from. A famous company that went by the name Candle Inc.

Without further ado, he opened to door and greeted them.

"Um... Im not sure I ordered anything. What exactly is this?" Erin asked, slightly hesitant.

"Sir, you are Erin Crest are you not?" The delivery man showed his clipboard to Erin.

"Ah... yes, but..."

"Ah, no worries. We couldn't get you on your phone so we decided to just drop off the package at your place."

"Oh, you couldn't' get me? I guess that was because my phone was outta battery but... what exactly is this?" Erin asks, still slight confused.

"Sir, you were not informed?" The delivery guy asks, surprise evident on his face.

"About....?"

"You are the winner of the Critical Draw. You are one of the three winners and such, you get to have a free Gold-grade capsule for the game, Critical world Online!" The man exclaims with slight bewilderment.

If it was he who had won such a prize, he would have made sure that he knew everything about it.

Erin could see the slight disdain in the man's eyes but he paid it no mind. That was because he was shocked from the news!

Gold Grade Capsule!

Draw Winner!

Critical World Online!

These three words brought a sense of utter joy to his face! It should be known that Critical Draw was something which literally billions of people had participated in.

One has to understand that Critical World Online had gone onto live servers around 6 months ago and instantly it became the world's No.1 game to hit the market. No other game could compare to it due to its function of true immersion.

It was a marvel of its time.

A true work of art.

And the best part? Erin could enjoy every bit of the immersion ability. There were only 10 Golden capsules that were ever made. Having one all for himself was literally a dream come true!

A regular VR capsule gave the User an immersion rate of 85%. A Bronze capsule, 90%. Silver, 95% and lastly Gold, 99.3%.

Every bit of increase in the rate of immersion would evolve a person's game play to a level that was unprecedented.

"Are... you.... joking?" Erin asked once more, just to be certain. A long time ago, he had signed up for the draw, but he was skeptical of his chances to win, thus never bothered to check who won.

Who would have thought that he would actually win a capsule! And not just a regular one, a golden Grade capsule!

"Sigh. No. Could we come in and please install this capsule in your house? We have other deliveries to complete as well, sir." The delivery asked, slightly annoyed.

"A-ah. Ye-yes. Come in. Come in!" Erin stuttered out.

The three men walked in and Erin rushed into his living room to clear up space for the VR capsule. Thankfully, as his apartment was a rather small one, it was easy for him to move up space. The delivery men were also nice enough to help him.

30 minutes later, the pod was set up and the delivery man read out the instructions to Erin. The Golden capsule had a variety of functions that vastly outclasses the others.

Vr pods released a liquid gel-like substance that would encapsulate a person's body and keep it safe from harm. This liquid also had a function that prevents muscle atrophy, a common issue that showed up due to long periods of gaming.

The Golden capsules also had an auto filtration system that would recycle the liquid and regularly perform self-maintenance on the pod. This was a very convenient system.

Erin thanked the delivery people and showed them to the door.

After they left, Erin cupped his chin as he thought about his current issue. He was out of a job and had little savings left. If he was frugal with his cash, he could survive for a month without working but it definitely wouldn't last.

He needed a way to earn money...

Erin took another glance at the VR capsule and reaffirmed his decision. There were plenty of people that played this game to make money and he could become like those guys.

A Gamer!

Unfortunately, he had to become good. He had to become the top of the top. Which was going to be a hard thing to do, considering that the game had been out for at least six months.

Erin sighed.

He rubbed his head and decided that he would worry about such things later. Rolling his shoulders in preparation, he went into the capsule and switched it on.

Instantly, gel-like fluid rushed from tiny holes and encapsulated his body. He had already heard the instructions that the man said. This fluid, although having a texture like water, was able to be breathed in.

Soon his eyes closed as his form drifted into a different world.

The world known as Critical.