The sensation was unlike anything Joshua had ever experienced.
One moment, he was sitting in his chair, eyes locked onto his screen. The next, he was falling—or at least, that was what his body told him. His stomach churned as if he had just been yanked out of an airplane without a parachute. Air rushed past his ears, his limbs flailed, but there was no resistance, no surface, nothing but an endless void swallowing him whole.
Then—
Light.
Blinding. All-consuming. A brilliance so intense it seared through his retinas, forcing him to clamp his eyes shut. But even then, the glow burned through his eyelids, as if it were etching itself into his very being.
And then—silence.
Not just an absence of noise, but an eerie, suffocating stillness.
Slowly, Joshua opened his eyes.
The world around him came into focus, first as a blur of colors—greens, blues, golds—before sharpening into something tangible. His breath caught in his throat.
It was beautiful.
He stood atop a gentle hill, overlooking a vast expanse of emerald grasslands that stretched beyond the horizon. In the distance, a river glistened like liquid sapphire, winding its way through the rolling plains. The sky overhead was a perfect shade of cerulean, dotted with fluffy white clouds that moved just slightly out of sync with the wind, as if they had a mind of their own. Birds—real, living creatures—soared above, their wings casting fleeting shadows upon the ground.
Joshua turned in a slow circle, taking it all in.
"This is… a game?"
He pinched himself. Hard. The sharp sting confirmed what he already suspected—this wasn't just visual trickery. He felt the wind, the warmth of the sun on his skin, the faint tickle of grass brushing against his fingers when he crouched.
"This is insane," he muttered.
He took a step forward, then another. His body felt real, every movement perfectly natural. He jumped, testing the weight of his limbs, then laughed—a short, incredulous sound.
This wasn't VR. This wasn't even close to the full-dive technology he had read about. It was something beyond that.
A soft chime echoed in his ears.
Joshua glanced up. In the corner of his vision, a single message blinked in soft, glowing letters.
—
Welcome, Player.
Feel free to explore the world of infinite possibilities.
The choice is yours.
Everything will depend on how much risk you are willing to take.
—
Joshua frowned. "That's it?"
No tutorial? No prompt asking him to set a class, choose skills, or distribute stats?
He instinctively swiped his hand through the air, expecting a menu to appear. Nothing.
A chill ran down his spine.
No system. No health bar. No mana pool. Not even a nameplate above his head.
He dismissed the message with a mental command, then took a deep breath.
"Alright," he muttered. "I guess I just… go?"
There was nothing else to do but move forward.
The Journey Begins
Joshua made his way down the hill, his bare feet sinking slightly into the soft earth. The game—or whatever this was—mirrored reality too well. He wasn't given equipment, wasn't wearing armor, not even a pair of boots. Just simple linen clothes, loose-fitting and rough against his skin.
If this was a starting zone, it didn't feel like one.
As he walked, he became aware of a dull ache settling in his legs. His breath came quicker, his chest rising and falling in exertion.
"...Seriously?" He wiped his forehead, feeling sweat.
The game simulated his real-life physical limitations.
Which meant—
He was just as weak here as he was in reality.
That realization hit harder than he liked.
Joshua wasn't unhealthy, but he wasn't exactly athletic either. Years of sitting at a desk, buried in books and equations, had made him lean—borderline fragile. And now, that weakness followed him into this world.
For a game that prided itself on infinite possibilities, he was starting to feel like his options were pretty damn limited.
Still, he pushed forward.
After what felt like hours—though, in reality, it might have only been one—he spotted something in the distance.
A village.
Tiny, rustic, alive.
Smoke curled from chimneys. The scent of burning wood mixed with something rich and savory, like stew bubbling over an open flame.
Joshua's stomach growled.
Ignoring his fatigue, he picked up the pace, stumbling slightly as his legs threatened to give out. He needed answers, supplies—something to help him make sense of this world.
But as he neared the entrance, something strange happened.
The villagers turned to look at him.
Not just a passing glance—they stared.
Their eyes held no recognition, only wary curiosity, as if he were something foreign.
Unwelcome.
Joshua's instincts screamed at him that something was off.
This wasn't a friendly starting town.
This wasn't a place meant for beginners.
And as he stepped past the village gate, the air around him shifted—
—like a predator locking onto prey.
(TO BE CONTINUED...)