The path forked ahead, and Wesley brought up his map. Two options: the Crona Sapphire to the north or the remembered Spiff to the east. The sapphire was marked with a hazard icon -likely toxic environments or poison enemies, which meant he'd have to chug antidotes regularly. The spiff, on the other hand had a skull icon over it, indicating that a boss lurked within. Wesley smirked, after taking down the zombie lord, he was ready for any other challenge. He directed Thorn towards the remembered Cliff and as he approached, the screen flashed red- Thorn's health bar dropped by a quarter. A faint hiss echoed from behind. Wesley's eyes widened. "Poisoned?" He hadn't even entered the sapphire yet. Spinning the camera. Wesley spotted the culprit: a shadowy figure with glowing red eyes crouched low behind a broken statue. It was an assassin, a classic ambush enemy. The figure dissapeared in a blur of motion, leaving behind a puff of dark smoke. Thorn's health continued to tick down from t

The name ‘The Abandoned Desert’ flashed on screen as the sweat on Wesley’s forehead dropped and he wearily clutched the handle of his sword. "Okay, deep breath... I just need to get through this level. There must be a way out of this game…”. He and his companion, Thorn, were traveling across a barren region under the scorching heat of the sun. A thick sandstorm surrounded him and obscured his vision. ‘Be careful about your health, player! You’re low on energy now. Drink a potion before the next wave hits’ a fellow player suggested.Wesley rummaged through his stash and pulled out a health potion off his bag. “Well, that should suffice me for the moment.” He moved forward and in an instant, the screen blinked. The ground seemed to buckle and move, and there, just for a moment, a familiar sight flashed before him, a memory. Mom’s garden in spring, beautiful and ringing with colors. His dad laughing from the outside and his brother and other friends coming down the street on their b

A clock appeared in the top corner of his screen, counting down from 24 hours in real time. His heart thudded in his chest as he started moving through the forest, his HUD glowing red, indicating enemies were near. "Just stay calm", Wesley muttered. "It's just an event driven quest." But this time the enemies weren't mindless AI-controlled mons. They were ruthless adapting to his tactics. He switched between stealth and combat mode, landing critical backstabs and counter-parries, but they just kept coming, their movements more erratic, as if the game's AI was learning faster than any other game he'd played. For the first time in years, he felt like he was outmatched. Finally after what felt like hours of endless fighting, he reached a clearing. In the center stood a towering black beast, Tador. It's body a mass of writhing shadows, its glowing eyes locked on a figure bound to a pillar of light. His mother. Wesley's breath caught in his throat. She looked exactly like his real mom.

Wesley knew he didn't have much time left. He was thus determined to fight any mini-bosses that might be left lurking in the shadows. He had a strong resolve to ensure he made his family proud. Coming from a home where games were prioritized even by his father he was thus determined to ensure he kept to the mark. He would then tell his victory story of how he was able to make it out of a game that meant to lock him up forever.He had countless mini-bosses ahead of him to fight. So he was bent on being as prepared as possible. He had just confronted some of the strongest of them. That meant that those ones he was yet to confront might even be stronger than the ones he had fought and won. And they also weren't easy battles. He continued on his way. Making sure to keep to all guidelines and rules given. He was bent on being the winner. He was stopped in his way by a clawed hand. The hand was very muscular and he kept wondering how this hand located him and who exactly the hand belonged

'You are welcome to the bridge of Despair' a notification read on the screen as the AI voice read rhythmically. Wesley was filled with an awe he was so intrigued at and overwhelmed with. He thought so much that he was close to finding the exit portal for the game. Little did he know he was close but not yet as close as he thought. The grounds immediately began to shake and tumble. He was terrified. The ember was weak and he was yet to exit this level so there was no upgrading or gifting till he did. "What do we do?" Wesley asked, looking frantically at Thorn. "We might need to seek the help of the goddess. This seems like doom if we don't find a way out." "Ta-da? I'm here!" Lily said from behind Wesley's ears. "You scared me Lily! What did you do? The ground is suddenly steadied!" "I did what I had to do to help a dying hero!" Lily mocked. "You mustn't mock me! C'mon! That's what you Lightans do! Help people! Ain't it?" "Yeah, so is it a crime if we take some feather