1 Prologue

Adventurer, welcome to the year 3010. The year of the cyber era. The technology developed through the years, and now it's reached its long-awaited peak. The peak where you can enter another world as if it was a game.

"Ultra Games Virtual Reality" system is the name of this invention. Do you want to have your own imperial harem? Or maybe you are a man of courage, and desire to become a hero by slashing through armies of zombies? Or perhaps you want to be a mighty king? All of that is easy to achieve—sign in and find the game created just for you!

The game I invite you to play is CORE. It launched ten years ago, conquering the hearts of millions of players. The hyper-realistic- world makes the experience vivid and realistic to the point, where some players are afraid they really might die by playing it!

But don't be afraid, adventurer, we implemented the ESC key.

Press it when you are close to death, and our system will help ... You might ask—what would happen if I don't press it? Ohh ... Everyone pressed it, so no need to worry. And if you try to check what would happen if you don't... Well, it's up to you to verify it ... Just remember, there is no insurance in case you die.

Anyway, this is Carla, and I wish you a good die—day—and a wonderful journey!