1 In Which We Meet Ardella

Somewhere in the future, a young woman was in deep slumber, in the most glorified ways. With drool from her mouth and a game controller in the grip of her sweaty hands, anyone could conclude that Ardella Dezel slept halfway through a game.

"Sis! Rise and shine! Today's the day you free-loader!" screamed a high pitched voice outside the messy room.

The door was pushed with a bang and a woman came in with a large black box. On top of the box, lies a logo of a company of famous game developer, The Sevenx. Its recent casual games have become hits and topped the charts nationwide, but it will be the first time they will be releasing a VRMMORPG on such a large scale.

Aria knew how much Ardella adores the games developed by this certain company, but due to its silence for over a year, Aria could see how bored her sister has become.

It was in fact that this was purely the reason why her sister was freeloading off her. Ardella didn't want to go livestreaming on Youtube and earn money!

Thus, Ardella's Youtube channel has been quiet, with her fans wondering where she is as she was gone without a trace.

If they knew that their idol was sleeping like a monkey, how would they react?

Aria looked around the messy room. The computer blinks continuously, and is that left-over chips on the floor?!

"OH MY GOD, wake up! Seven Infinity comes out today! And if you aren't going to clean your room, I'm not going to give this to you."

Ardella woke up in a pinch. "What?" She asked with a yawn. Wiping the drool on her face, she blinked and was greeted by an angry Aria.

"Do you want this or not?" Aria drummed her fingers on the sleek box.

It took over a moment for those worlds to sink in her brain. Her hair was messy, so was her brain. The last thing she remembered before she slept was the death of the last boss in last night's game.

"YES!" Without asking what to do, Ardella ran towards the door to the bathroom, leaving a gaping Aria marvelled by her tremendous speed.

"I hope you're right about this." Placing the box on an empty table, Aria gazed outside of the window. In the midst of tall buildings over the city, she could figure out that the whole world is excited towards the new game that will be launched today at exactly 12 o'clock.

It's the beginning of a new era.

***

Ardella caressed lovingly of the VR handset, patiently waiting for the clock to strike 12.

Over a million people are waiting for the server to launch with their VR handset ready on. People are gathering together with their friends to celebrate the birth of Seven Infinity, a VRMMORPG created by the magical hands of the people behind The Sevenx.

This was what Ardella had always love, on how games could be a platform for people to share their passion of gaming and make new friends.

On top of that, this new brand game is another world full of monsters and demons she's determined to defeat with her own hands.

Seven Infinity was a worldwide sensation when it was announced a month ago. Pre orders of the specifically made VR headset just for the game topped like crazy on the day itself.

In a world where possibilities are limitless, players are able to explore different worlds and embark their own adventure.

They could become a hero who defeats evil, a blacksmith who creates weapons, a gardener who tends plants, a businessman that makes money, an idol that sings for her fans or even a simple bookstore keeper guarding books brought from the outside world.

In short, you could be anything you want in Seven Infinity. That is if you could level up your skills to top-notch, the cream of the crop through grinding levels.

Maybe it was the thrills of escaping reality is what people are after. Or the fact that you could convert in game money to real money is what truly what invoke the deepest desire of one's heart.

But what makes Ardella's thrilled over this game is revenge, the best dish served cold, brought to you by your one and only Ardella Dezel.

She still couldn't overcome the horror of loosing progress over a crazy PvP game last year, all thanks to the devil in pajamas, Emre Nolan.

At that time, Ardella was guilty enough to sneak into Emre's house in the middle of the night to play on his computer, in which the internet connection is on its top speed for some reason there.

Yes, she was wrong! But it doesn't mean that he could do whatever he pleases.

All this time, her teammates knew how much she despises the devil, to the extent of complicating his workload.

Dishes? Leave that for Emre to do.

Public relation skills? Let Emre do all the talking.

Sneaking into his house? Ardella's a pro in that. It's been three months since she started to make his basement as her own area just to play games.

Only for some reason on that day she was fired, the devil actually woke up and caught her playing.

Of course, this made Emre tired of Ardella's antics.

"If only he didn't trip over the wires, I was just about to save the game!" Ardella grumbled, her eyes stole a glance towards the clock.

"One minute left!" She could hear herself internally screaming, and not screaming literally to avoid Aria coming in and confiscating her precious game.

Which always happens everytime.

Ardella quickly wore the headset as a countdown appeared in her view.

"3." She followed the chant, so does the whole world.

"2." She could hear her heart beats heavily, her deep breath no longer can be heard.

"1." She couldn't feel her body movement anymore.

"Welcome to Seven Infinity! May your wishes comes true."

Instead of being greeted by an NPC that will appear to help her customizations like in the catalogue stated, all Ardella saw was black.

She couldn't feel anything.