“I finally won one,” I sighed as a looked at the screen with a big victory displayed in it.

“That tired me out, why am I always teamed up with noobs,” I complained as I stretched my body while sitting on a chair.

I entered a new lobby and was about to accept a match when my phone rang. It was from my boss from work. I had to pick it up.

“Hello, sir?” I politely asked. “Oh, Nathan. I am here to confirm if you’ve finished the evaluation?”

“Yes, I already finished it sir. I sent it to the team. Is there anything wrong sir?” I answered.

“I see. A notice had come from higher-ups.”

… I have a bad feeling about this. “What is it?” I asked, worried.

“They slashed our budget, and moved it somewhere else,” the boss replied.

“Eh?” Doesn’t that mean?

“This meant that we have to reorganize everything from the ground up.”

“Seriously? Did you talk to the team leader about this?”

“No. That’s why I talked to you. Contact her and inform her about this.”

This chicken… “I don’t think it is best for me to talk to her, I’m just the lead tester you know. She wouldn’t believe me and will just talk to you to confirm it. I think you should send Alan.”

“That is true…. I’ll talk to Alan then. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye sir,” I replied. Thank goodness. I’m sorry Alan, I’ll pray for you.

The boss ended the call and I shifted my focus on the PC.

There was a warning about me not accepting match, and I was put on the low priority list.

“Oh, come on.” I closed the game. I wasn’t gonna play another match anyway.

“Should I play another game?” I looked over the section where my games are. My mouse hovered over the different games when I notice one that I didn’t recognized. I read the game’s title.

“Paragon. I don’t remember you,” I said. I don’t remember buying or downloading it. Maybe it was a part of a bargain sale. I opened the browser and searched the game. I selected the first article and was sent to an app store.

In it, I saw the game had a trailer and I watched it. It was really good. From the looks of it, the game looked like it was an RPG set in a fantasy world. At least that’s the only thing clear, the games description only read: “Travel to another world.” Short and concise. There were no reviews for it.

“It must be pretty new indie game.” I closed the browser and opened the game.

The game opened with an extended version of the trailer. It ended by stopping at a stone gate, with the word Paragon carved on top. Then a [New Game] option appeared right at the center.

“Hheeehhhh. They really worked hard,” I was impressed. It felt like it was given the triple-A treatment.

I clicked on the [New Game] and the scene was changed into that of a tavern. It was apparently the character creation screen. On the left side of the screen was a character model, on the left were sliders for changing the character features. I fiddled with them for a bit, and found that they were quite detailed.

“They really went all out huh,” I exclaimed as I was impressed by the quality of the game so far.

It took me a while trying to create my character. Going back and forth on deciding how my character should look. After thirty minutes, I eventually gave up. I couldn’t get what I wanted so I just selected a preset that I liked.

The character looked to be 19-20-ish. She had brownish wavy hair reaching just below her shoulders. Her face had that perfect shape, with small nose and slightly thin lips perpetually smiling. She had big almond shaped eyes. Her smile gave her a relaxed and confident look. Her body is what you would expect, a perfect shape.

After clicking done, the sliders slid out of the screen. The word Background then replaced the Creation. Under it were several options that slid in.

[You are a part of the Cult of Damnation. Work in the shadows and fulfill the will of the Damned.]

[You a royalty of a kingdom at the verge of strife. Will you be able to preserve peace and you’re your people against the looming shadow that threatens the world?]

[You are a young champion of light. You are given a task to investigate the looming shadow that surrounds the land. Stay strong and never waver.]

[You are …]

[…]

I scrolled over options and looked for something that caught my eyes. I must say this is quite novel, “I wonder how these affects the story, hm?”

[You are but a humble traveler, caught in swirling stories of the world.]

“This,” I liked this option. It sounds like it gives the most freedom. I selected it and clicked done. “The next should be class, right?”

{Character has been created.}

I heard a mechanical voice inside my head. “Wait what-.”

{Entering the other world.}

“EH!?” I was flustered at the sudden words.

{3...}

“OH MY GOD!” NO WAY!

{2…}

My mind blanked and I could only stare at the screen. It showed the same countdown. 

{1…}

“Ah,” I just remembered.

{0.}

My boss is gonna be pissed at me.

I was then overcome by drowsiness.

…

By the time I woke up, I was flying through the air.