NPC's Path

Virtual worlds are places of boundless freedom. Anyone can become an elven mage or an invisible rogue, join a clan and go on raids, fight, develop their characters and most importantly, escape from the daily grind. However, a game is only a game if you can quit. This is something I learned the hard way. I just wanted to let off some steam in virtual reality and ended up getting murdered and imprisoned in the body of one of the undead-slow, clumsy and cursed to die at the hand of other players over and over again. The only way out of this awful predicament was to find the legendary Scroll of Rebirth, but the helpless plague-ridden corpse would need to be turned into a real killing machine. If only people knew what it was like to level up a dead rogue . . .

What could be worse that getting stuck in a virtual world? Instead of enjoying the game, I found myself trapped inside my character's dead body. Now the only way I can save myself is by procuring the Scroll of Rebirth. The problem is, my chances of getting it are slim. I'm an undead: an outlaw with no friends, only fickle allies, and plenty of enemies. Who are only waiting for their chance to strike. My undead hangman character has to tread a razor's edge, with only the support of his fellow players preventing his imminent plunge into the abyss. But are they who they claim they are? In a game, there's nothing easier than assuming another person's identity.

Getting stuck in virtual reality isn't fun, but being trapped in an NPC's dead body is really the pits. Still, there might be a way out-provided John can find the Scroll of Rebirth. The problem is, finding it is only half the hassle; knowing how to use it is another bag of worms entirely. Several months of full VR immersion may have turned the cumbersome walking deadman into a swift killing machine, allowing him to earn the patronage of the Lord of Chaos and even acquire his own crypt-but John is still a long way away from reaching the coveted level 100 which would allow him to escape his virtual prison and rescue his own physical body. John has run out of time; he can't afford to play by somebody else's rules anymore. Which means it's time to set his own. Would you really call his plan crazy? Earning all the remaining XP in one fell swoop by killing the terrible Lord of Decay? A crazy escapade indeed, but who better suited for it than our very own Dead Rogue?

Dying in virtual reality isn't fun, but facing bullets from real-world criminal overlords is really the pits. In such a desperate scenario, their demand to render them a service in VR doesn't sound like such a bad alternative. The problem is, the games played by spook agencies follow much harsher rules. For them, the absence of choice doesn't sound like a good excuse-not if you end up in the grindstones of their undercover schemes. Still, it's not as if I ever had a choice. That's why the price tag for my freedom didn't sound too excessive. All I had to do was log in, become a necromancer, shake the malefic hunters off my tail, pass the elimination test and locate one particular person. Which one? Why? And how was I supposed to do it? Wrong questions. Instead, I had only to ask one: why me? Why John Doe?

In virtual reality, nothing is for real. Fake orcs pretend to fight phony elves. Priests go through the motions of casting blessings. Wizards defeat their enemies with digital illusions of combat spells. Still, every game is only a part of something much bigger. Human nature doesn't change. People will always find a way to take advantage or even hurt someone, even if that someone ends up suffering real losses or dying the ultimate death in real life. I'm John Doe, a necromancer and guardian of the dead. Still, this is only my game persona. Just an illusion. In reality, I'm a sleuth forced to follow a trail of clues. And to make it even worse, my employers' interests aren't limited to the game alone...