Prologue

"Alex, let's go. Feeding time," a guard said, using his baton to poke the metal bars of a cell.

A youth was reading a book inside the cell, sitting on a comfortable chair. Despite his young age, the youth was known worldwide for his meticulous heists ranging from banks, jewelry stores, and even the houses of billionaires. That youth was Alex Mercer.

With his skill of creating plans and managing a crew, they succeeded mostly until one of his crew members found a way to get Alex in jail, totalizing a whooping fifty years in prison. The rest of the crew got away, and Alex decided not to tell the authorities about the member who betrayed him. Why? He wanted revenge, and no one should stay in the way.

But despite his fate, Alex's life in the National Prison of Hillside wasn't bad. With all the money he acquired during his short outside life and his way of controlling people, he got himself a private cell, not having to divide it with another inmate, which was huge. That's why he could read his books without people annoying him.

Anyway, Alex placed the book above his table and left his cell, going down a staircase to the prison's kitchen, where the inmates ate. It was their free time, so the kitchen had plenty of people, ranging from thieves to killers, and some who weren't supposed to be there, but that's how life was, unfair sometimes.

Alex waited in line, filling up his plate and sitting on one of the many tables in the mess hall. Something caught his attention, though, and his eyes involuntarily followed the sound. It was the TV.

"Eternal Realms is launching today, and the company expects at least 100 million active users simultaneously during the launch. I am here with one of the developers who will answer some questions the fans eagerly want to know," the journalist on the TV said.

It caught Alex's attention. A VRMMORPG like those he only saw in animes or movies. That was precisely what he wanted to play one day.

'Tsk. A bad thing I am in jail right now and for the next fifty fucking years. Damn it.'

Some other inmates also saw the interview to pass the time but knew they couldn't play the game. Alex felt the same way, so he focused on eating and returning to his cell as fast as possible to read more.

As he was about to get up and leave, a guard showed up to speak with him. "Alex, the prison director wants to see you."

That didn't happen often. The prison director rarely spoke with any prisoner in private, which caught the surrounding inmates' attention, but they didn't say anything. No one wanted to get beaten up by the guards.

Alex exited his table, left the mess hall, and followed the guard toward the prison director's office. He passed through most parts of the prison, using that rare chance to watch and memorize everything that could help in a future escape attempt. Not that Alex wanted to do that, but it was good to know.

"Go inside," the guard said, pointing at a wooden door.

The door had a sign saying, "Director's Office."

Alex saw an older man with grey hair and glasses behind a desk. He wore a brown suit and had a goatee beard. That was Director Louis—the person in charge of the entire prison.

"Alex," Louis said, pointing at the chair before his desk, "Please, have a seat."

The situation was confusing, but Alex couldn't help but stare at a closed box in the room's corner and the word written on it: VR Helmet.

Louis noticed Alex's gaze and said, "By this point, you already know about the new VR game, right? The TV had an interview about it just now."

Alex sat before him, placing his elbow on the desk and using his hand to hold his chin, "You're right. What about it? Are you looking to play and want some tips from the younger generation?"

That was a safe way to call someone old. The good thing was that Louis wasn't there looking for a fight.

"I will play too, but I don't want the tips. I called you here for something else," Louis said, stopping momentarily.

"I want to use the game as a way for the prisoners to witness a world outside of these walls, especially for a young man like you. So, I chose a few prisoners who behaved and didn't commit that bad of a crime. Are you willing to play?"

That was not something Alex was expecting at all, but that didn't mean he wasn't happy about it. Alex was bored inside the prison, and his good behave finally paid off.

"Yes, I would like to, but how would that work with my other duties inside the prison?"

Louis, who seemed to be expecting that, said, "The game's servers open from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm. It's four hours for us, but the time inside the game differs, and it's said to feel like 24 hours inside the game. So we can move your duties to the morning and afternoon, meaning you'll have your night free. Also, we are giving you a bigger cell to fit the VR helmet and the hardware to run the game."

Alex was glad to hear all of that and thought the new cell would come by the next week or so, but no, Louis had it all prepared already!

"The game will launch today, so get ready to play. Maybe we can find each other in-game," Louis said with a chuckle.

After that, a guard led Alex to his new cell, which didn't look like a cell. It was a bedroom with a bathroom in it. The only difference was that there were bars on the windows, and the door was made of metal. Also, many guards were around it, ensuring Alex wouldn't have a way to escape.

But Alex rejoiced because being inside his new room made him forget that he was inside a prison and was anxious to play the game that day! The VR helmet and the hardware to run the game were already installed, and all Alex had to do was wear the helmet, lie on his bed, and play.

Louis was kind enough to give him the entire afternoon before the game's launch as free time, giving him plenty of information about the game to read. Alex did all that, and he even chose his class, Rogue. That fitted well with his personality.

When the clock was close to 6:30 pm, Alex prepared himself, and a message appeared before his eyes as he logged inside the game.

[Welcome to Eternal Realms]