"I should get some rest first. Lying down on the gaming capsule for three days made my body sore." He removed the virtual headgear, revealing the face of a man who looked to be in his late twenties. This man's name was Thomas, a normal salaryman. 

He stood up to stretch his muscles, making cracking sounds in the process. He then let out a deep breath while rubbing his neck area. 

While inwardly complaining about his sore muscles, he went by the window to check the situation outside. 

He pulled the curtains.

The sky was dark and the rain was falling hard. He could even hear the crackles of thunder. "What is going on? It has been raining hard these past few days." He muttered with a frown. According to the latest news report, the country will experience thunderstorms in the next few days. He just didn't expect it to be this terrible.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. He then went to the kitchen to grab something from the fridge. Playing straight for three days made him extremely hungry. Although the gaming capsule provided his body with sufficient nutrition, he felt that it wasn't enough. 

After he grabbed some food, he suddenly felt the phone inside his trousers pocket vibrating. "Hm?" He took a seat and placed his food on the table before taking out his phone. 

It was a notification from the game he was playing, Seeking the Immortal Path. 

Out of curiosity, Thomas clicked the notification.

The moment he clicked it, a prompt appeared on his phone screen.

[Are you prepared to find out the truth?]

[Yes] [No]

Seeing this, Thomas was momentarily confused. "What's this? Is this a hidden event?" 

In the game, he was one of the top 100 players. 

He wasn't a professional gamer, but because of the huge amount of money he invested in the game, he managed to clinch a spot among the very best. 

"If this is a hidden event, I might find some powerful items that can increase my stats drastically!" Thomas became excited just by thinking about it. 

Without hesitation, he clicked [Yes].

In that instant, he felt his whole body stiffening. 

'What is going on?' That was his last thought before he lost consciousness.

***

After an unknown amount of time, Thomas opened his eyes. 

The first thing he saw was an unfamiliar white ceiling. 

He looked around and found himself lying on a big bed. The room was luxuriously decorated with gold and all sorts of rare gems and antiques. "This… Where am I?" 

There was no such room in his three-bedroom apartment that he was most familiar with. 

"Did I log in to the game?" Thomas muttered in confusion. He tried to recall what had happened, but it only made his head hurt. 

Suddenly, the door was pushed open. 

"My lord! Thank god you are alright!" It was a young maid who had entered the room. Her eyes were filled with worry as she rushed toward him.

"Who are you?" Thomas furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't remember ever seeing this maid. She was a stranger to him.

Upon hearing his words, the maid's face fell. "My lord! Y-You don't recognize me?" She muttered in a quivering voice. 

"I-" Just as Thomas was about to respond, he felt a burst of pain in his head. 

Foreign memories replayed in his mind in fast-forward, repeating over and over like a movie.

'Fredrinn Firecrown… Red Sun City… Great Vemune Continent…'

'Fredrinn Firecrown… why is this name strangely familiar?'

'Wait… Great Vemune Continent?! I'm indeed in the game, but why do I have someone's memories?' 

"My lord!"

"My lord! Are you alright?"

The maid's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Because of the foreign memories, he now held strange familiarity toward this maid. She was Olivia, the personal maid of Fredrinn Firecrown. 

"Olivia, get me a mirror," Thomas said with a serious look.

"A mirror? Alright." Olivia quickly grabbed a mirror from the table and handed it to him. She wanted to ask him why he had momentarily forgotten her, but she decided to keep quiet when she saw his stern gaze.

Looking at the mirror, Thomas realized that this was no longer the face of the game character that he was familiar with. His game character held some resemblance to his real face, but now, it was completely different.

'This is the face of Fredrinn Firecrown, but why did my game character change into him? Is this part of the hidden event's plot?' That was the only theory he could come up with. 

'Open Status Panel!' He shouted in his mind. 

Fredrinn Firecrown [Body Refining Stage 10th Layer] [Level 10]

Spirit Root: Low-Grade

Affiliation: Firecrown Household

Fate Grade: F 

Fate Points: 0

'I remember now! Fredrinn Firecrown was the Beginner Boss in the game!' He was shocked when he finally recognized his current identity.

In the game, Fredrinn Firecrown was the first boss-level monster that he encountered. He wasn't a very powerful boss and even a solo player can defeat him all on his own. Thomas also managed to beat him easily after he topped up and bought the most expensive item that new players could buy at that time. 

'No way! Why did my level drop to 10?! I don't want this hidden event anymore! I want to abandon this quest!' Thomas screamed in his mind. 

As one of the top 100 players, his level was also among the highest in the entire player base. The thought of becoming Level 10 again almost made him vomit blood. After all, he spent more than five years to reach the top 100 spot. He didn't want to go through all those troubles again. 

'System log out!' He shouted in his mind.

'Huh? I can't log out! It must be a bug. Let me do it again.' 

'System log out!' 

'System log out!'

'System log out!' 

After trying more than ten times, he was left horrified. He couldn't log out at all! He could access his Status Panel and even his Inventory, but he couldn't log out! 

'No way!' His expression darkened. 

Thomas lifted his head and stared at Olivia who was looking at him worriedly. 

"My lord, are you feeling unwell?" She asked.

Thomas didn't say anything and just stared at her in silence.