1 Beginning, test helmet.

---2034---

Since 2024, virtual reality has almost always been the centre of attention, and three years ago it made an incredible breakthrough.

And, after observing the degree of advancement, a great number of companies decided to combine into one mega firm, Xeno.

Xeno collected and combined the wisdom of the world's experts to design a game that would become a second world for humanity, using the breakthrough in VR technology as a base.

According to Xeno, the game served two overarching purposes. The first, to create a second world for humanity that synced with the first, and the second, to perfect the ai.

Once the ai was perfected it would be able to solve any problem given to it, be it politics or space travel.

To increase ai's ability they decided to make it into a game. Then, in order to increase its popularity, Xeno made an announcement.

[Fissurent reality - A game of skill and fate.

As you grow in 'Fissurent reality,' you will automatically develop better reflexes, which will help you improve in things such as sports.

Fissurent reality will also include a currency system directly tied to real-life currency. As a result, obtaining cash in-game will be equal to obtaining currency in real life. Furthermore, due to the deep sleep a player is placed in, you may play for several hours and then log out feeling completely refreshed.

Finally, Fissurent reality is completely controlled by our cutting-edge artificial intelligence, which means no outside interference is possible. Fissurent reality - a game of endless possibilities - a second world.]

The game's popularity skyrocketed as a result of this statement, and fans were ecstatic. The game was expected to sell in the billions, significantly surpassing the most sold game at the time, Minecraft.

Whether it was farming gold coins to cash in, enjoying the excitement of fighting monsters, taking in the scenery, or doing a regular job. Everything could be done. There was no limit.

However, there was one catch to it: the equipment cost roughly $4000 USD.

Though this may not seem like much to some, it was a prohibitively expensive price for others, and would result in a decrease in player count

David belonged to the latter group who weren't able to afford it.

Samantha, his sister, went into a coma for no identifiable reason three years ago. Doctors were perplexed by her case, but it wasn't important, so they soon moved on.

This was the reason for David's financial breakdown.

Over the years, he had poured his blood, sweat, and tears into a variety of jobs in order to pay for her medical bills, frequently leaving him starving.

However, despite all the effort, the amount of money he could earn was nowhere near enough.

As of today, David not only had no funds, he also owed $1 million in medical bills.

The hospital had the ability to discontinue her care if he could not pay at least 30% of the sum outstanding by the end of the month, according to a law he found somewhat aggravating.

And this caused him to become desperate, and eventually, he found a slimmer of hope in the shape of a game console.

--------

"You... you're my only chance..." David said hopefully, his face flushed with tears.

David lay in the corner of a dingy, inexpensive rental room, desperately clinging to a metal helmet with an enormous amount of cords attached.

It was a virtual reality (VR) helmet for the game "Fissurent Reality."

About a month ago while dumpster diving for anything precious that could be pawned, He found it. A broken VR helmet.

And, despite his lack of expertise, he decided to try repair it with what little free time he had.

Then, after an overwhelming amount of all-nighters, it was fixed. Just before the opening of Fissurent reality.

Of course, he hadn't had the opportunity to thoroughly test it yet, but he was confident that it would work; it had to.

David searched the crooked, worn surface of the helmet for the power button, gliding his fingers over the crooked, battered surface until he found a perfectly circular indent. He pushed hard as soon as he felt it, almost shattering the button in the process with anxious excitement.

"I need to make so much money this month," David quietly sobbed, "it's impossible to make $300,000 in one month, but this is my best chance."

Then, all of a sudden a noise reached Davids sorrowful ears.

David's attention was drawn to a beautiful chime that resonated around the room. The helmet shone with a bright white light, illuminating the confined space David was in, before going dark and sending audio clip through its speakers.

"Place your head into the helmet after lying down on a comfortable surface. Do not attempt to fight the sleep that will come, this will prevent you from logging in."

David gladly obliged, laying down on his filthy mattress and donning the helmet. Soon after it was secured, he slipped into a deep sleep after letting out a yawn

A voice then resounded in his head, startling him.

[--loading game: Fissurent reality---]

[---21%---loading assets---]

[---67%---intializing functions---]

[---96%---registering---]

[100%---game successfully loaded, no errors found---]

White invaded his senses after he registered the system messages before settling.

David could see an infinite grid expanse that stretched beyond his senses as he looked about, and a clear blue panel featuring the words:

[---extra_talent_testing = True---initializing---]

He was taken aback by this; he hadn't expected anything like this.

It was obvious that the helmet he had picked up was a development or testing model.

"How could they toss something like this away?!?" He exclaimed.

Another message rang in his head just as he was coming to terms with the shock.

[---function executing: innate_talent_search_test---]

[---searching 100% complete, innate_talent will now be applied---]

[new player statistic tab - innate_talent - has been added. player panel will now be shown---]

[---Name: N/A

---Title: N/A

---Attributes:

VIT: N/A

STR: N/A

AGI: N/A

INT: N/A

---Sub-attributes

Health: N/A

Defence: N/A

Physical damage: N/A

Lift strength: N/A

Dexterity: N/A

Speed: N/A

Magical points: N/A

Wisdom: N/A

---Skills:

N/A

---innate_talent:

Monster_synthesization->

Description: Allows for the synthesization of monsters - bypasses protocol 13.

Granted_abilities->

Merge: You can synthesize items and objects with monsters. The cost varies depending on the monster's level and power. The status of the monster being synthesised must be: [undead] || [living]. As more is discovered about this Grante_ability, more will be added to the description.

---Equipped:

N/A

---]

After seeing his character page, David was speechless.

His mind simply couldn't comprehend what had just occurred.

After a few tens of seconds, a thought came to mind: "What the hell!?"