As the rain pounded against the window, Jake sat down at his computer, ready to escape into the virtual world of his favorite video game, Bladecraft Online. He'd spent the last few hours slaving over a frigid cutting table as a sushi chef, and all he wanted now was to relax and forget about the long day behind him.

He booted up the game and settled in, the neon colors and familiar sounds of the opening screen a comforting presence. This was his sanctuary, a place where he could be anyone he wanted to be and do anything he wanted to do. He wasn't exactly a loner nor a shut-in, but he felt most like himself at the computer.

As he clicked through the menus and selected his character, he couldn't help but smile. It was going to be a good night.

Although the game was primarily dead due to its generic gameplay and style, you couldn't expect anything else from a game released nearly two decades ago. It included the classic trichotomy of humans, elves, and dwarves, gradually adding more content over the years and eventually reaching its behemoth lore. If the developers had revamped some of the game's old mechanics, there was no reason for Bladecraft to die out.

Besides, it was the game to popularize the entire genre, as some people even called it the mother of all MMORPG.

Ding!

A notification rang on his table.

"Huh, I thought I turned them off," he mumbled, checking his phone.

It was an email from the developers of Bladecraft Online, which was rather strange as the developers had discontinued the game years ago. Even weirder was how the email was personalized to Jake.

"To think they'd message veteran players so suddenly," he speculated, fingers navigating through his apps. "Don't tell me they're shutting the game down!?"

Hey, Jake! How are you doing? Bladecraft dev here with a quick message.

We've noticed your account is still relatively active ever since you joined us on day one as a beta tester, and we're incredibly thankful for your dedication. As you've most definitely noticed, our game is no longer being updated, but we've been working hard on something else behind the scenes.

It's another MMORPG that takes place in the same world as Bladecraft. But there is a twist, and dare we say it? Well, yes, but it'll be much more fun to see for yourself.

Besides, since you've been with us for so long, we can only assume you're old enough for that sort of content. We'd love it if you could test out our game and give us feedback as you've done upon Bladecraft's initial release.

Anyway, if you'd like to try it before its release date, just click below. It's free, and you get some beta tester rewards too.

Thanks,

The Bladecraft Dev.

Jake tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. Beta testing wasn't his passion. He was more fond of complete games where he could max out characters, but he still couldn't help but look further. After all, the last non-repeatable quest he completed was during high school; after that, there was little left to do.

He tried to google anything related, but it was challenging when they never mentioned the game's name. Furthermore, no relevant results arose upon his searches about the Bladecraft dev looking for playtesters.

Somewhat hesitantly, Jake clicked the giant pastel Download Now button, sending him to Bladecraft's outdated sign-in page. Still, seeing a page that hasn't adapted to the trending minimalistic style was refreshing.

He typed in his account details along with his password and went through the hellish two-step verification that he had come to despise.

Then, on his computer, an empty profile appeared, inviting him to create an account for whatever he just had installed.

Please create your avatar.

The user interface was practically identical to the original character creation, with neon blue grids and a low poly 3D model, which were adequate for its time. The only difference was a few more options to fiddle with.

Jake based his new character off his main account and designed it as attractive as possible; perfect height, defined jawline, hunter eyes, and luscious arctic-white hair, mostly because he couldn't decide. If he couldn't get generous RNG genetics in real life, then at least his virtual avatar was blazing hot.

Beneath the other cosmetic options was one that particularly stood out.

Penis Size.

Between the five sizes—extra small, small, medium, large, and extra large, Jake felt a pang of ravaged self-worth as his actual size was just shy of the in-game small.

"It's average, it's average, it's average," repeated Jake's thoughts as he unconsciously hovered his mouse toward the extra-large option. And with the last touch of masculine buttocks and perfect dick veins, he had now crafted the perfect character.

"Done!" he declared, wiping off the sweat on his forehead. "If I looked like this in real life, imagine how many more girls I would attract," he considered. "Probably way more than I could handle."

Upon clicking finish avatar, he suddenly felt a strange sensation wash over him. It was as if the pixels on the screen were shifting and swirling, forming a vortex that seemed to be pulling him in. The computer light shone brighter, radiating his entire apartment with an opal haze as time itself ceased to be. The raindrops outside were locked in place, and his ceiling fan couldn't spin; every sound besides his uneasy, ragged breathing was silenced.

He tried to pull back, but it was too late. With a bright flash of light, he felt himself being sucked through the portal and his body tumbling through the boundless decline.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in the middle of a vast open world, surrounded by towering ocean cliffs and shimmering lagoons. The sound of the lapping waves caressing the shore, the gentle breeze running through the foliage, and the soft, restful atmosphere felt so illusory yet familiar.

He could hardly believe it—he was actually inside the realm of Bladecraft, standing at the very place he had only ever seen on a screen.

"How is this possible? Am I dreaming?" He was befuddled by the sudden turn of events, his mind racing to make sense of it all. "Huh, isn't this scenery identical to the tutorial level?"

As he looked around in awe, trying to spot signs of a lucid dream, he noticed that he had grown slightly taller. In addition, his relatively average body had grown lighter and more athletic with poreless skin.

"Doesn't that mean I've become my character!?" he blurted, hands feeling his altered facial structure.

But there was one more thing to check.

Jake's heart pounded as he slowly peeked down his pants. Then, just as he carefully opened his eye to examine his thing, a sound resonated inside his head, causing him to flinch and hit his family jewels.

He tumbled to the ground, curling up in pelvic pain as the voice spoke. It was the so-familiar voice of the system: "Welcome to Bladecraft Infinity!"