VRMMORPG: Rise Of The Blood Paragon

"Damn it!"

Lionel's voice rang out, frustration clear as his fingers hammered the keyboard.

"Why the fuck won't this guy back off? Pick someone else already!" he muttered, slouched in his gaming chair.

His dark eyes were glued to the screen, where chaos erupted in a digital battlefield. Leaning closer, his legs bounced against the floor, his avatar darting through the virtual world, seeking cover in an abandoned house.

Every day, Lionel would sit in front of his system and play video games all day. The only time he had to leave his room was when his friends and he needed to meet up.

As he played, gunfire cracked, blending with his heavy breathing.

But then the breathing worsened as his door opened with a creak. His head snapped to the side, irritation etched on his face at the intruder.

"What now?" he muttered under his breath.

"Lionel." His father's voice echoed in a strained yet firm tone. "Are we really doing this again?"

But Lionel couldn't care less.

"Right when it gets interesting…" He muttered under his breath.

To Lionel, his father was little more than a necessary inconvenience, like a toilet—useless yet occasionally useful. How fitting.

And time and time again, his father proved him right.

Because who kills his mother, then his stepmom, and still expects his son to respect him like a naive nine-year-old?

Well, Lionel had stayed quiet, but he wasn't nine anymore.

His father's eyes swept over the disaster Lionel called a room—pizza boxes littered the floor, empty cans and snack wrappers were strewn everywhere, and dirty clothes clung to random furniture like overused rags. Amidst the chaos sat Lionel, headset on, glued to his screen.

Without hesitation, his father strode in and yanked the headset off Lionel's head.

"Dad! What the hell?" Lionel shot up, glaring.

But his father wasn't one to back down. His face twisted with fury as he held the headset tightly.

"You don't get to disrespect me or disobey me as long as you live under my roof—especially when I'm the one paying for your exotic cars, funding your stupid habits, and making sure you have internet to fuel this nonsense," his father barked.

Unfazed, Lionel folded his arms and responded with a smirk. "If you want me to keep my mouth shut, don't disturb me. Let me play my game and live my life however I want. I've lost purpose anyway, so if you want me gone, just say the word."

"You—" His father's face darkened, his hand twitching as though tempted to strike.

But he didn't. Instead, he took a deep breath, dug into his pocket, and pulled out a crisp sheet of paper. Without a word, he thrust it toward Lionel.

Lionel snatched it, his eyes skimming the contents before shoving it into the drawer beside his bed.

"Is that it?" he asked, voice laced with sarcasm, arms crossed.

His father's tone softened, but his words still carried weight. "You need to go to college. You need to do something with your life."

"I understand," Lionel said with deliberate calm, gesturing toward the door. "Now, can you leave?"

His father sighed but said nothing. He walked out, and the moment the door clicked shut, Lionel slammed it behind him.

Then, without hesitation, he pulled the paper out of the drawer, tore it into tiny pieces, and tossed the shreds into the trash.

He returned to his gaming chair, only to be greeted by a depressing sight: his game screen displaying a "defeated" message. His avatar's kill count was at zero.

"Fucking hell," he cursed. His father had interrupted just when he'd been dominating the tournament.

With his headset gone, the vibe was ruined. He stood and began tidying up, half-heartedly picking up dirty clothes and pizza boxes. The room looked slightly less chaotic afterward, though far from clean.

Then, he sat down on the bed, breathing fast.

He stretched forward, reached into his drawer where different bottles of pills were stored, and brought out a pink bottle. He sighed, hesitating for a second as he caught sight of another pill bottle—a reminder of the rough line he was walking.

These weren't for his mental health. These were the hard drugs he'd turned to when the stress, panic attacks, and manic episodes became too much to bear. A quick fix. An escape. Something to numb it all.

As he poured the pills into his hand, the familiar dark thoughts crept in. 'I wonder what will happen if I kill that man…'

He tried to push the thoughts aside, but they always resurfaced. Frustrated, he gulped down the pills and rose from his bed, heading toward his video game chair. Instead, he walked past it to the door behind the curtain by the game.

Lionel slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out a key, which he used to open the door. The room was quiet and cool, with a purple light on. It was his escape room.

A sleek gaming chair sat in the center, and at the far end stood a capsule—a state-of-the-art full-dive VR gaming setup.

His eyes lingered on the capsule, his expression unreadable. "That stupid game…" he muttered.

He remembered the first time he'd tried it. His friend Alex had hyped it up endlessly. But fantasy games weren't Lionel's thing. Dungeon looting, role-playing—it was all so…boring.

Yet now, with nothing better to do, he considered it. His father had disrupted everything else, so why not?

"Should I play it?" he mused aloud, crouching to inspect the capsule.

He ran his hand over its cool, smooth surface before opening it. The padded interior looked as inviting as ever. It was a space designed to make hours, even days, pass unnoticed.

Sighing, he stood up and went out of the room, then sat on his bed, again, now frustrated and stressed. As he sat down, his phone buzzed beside him, but he didn't check it. Instead, he sniffed his shirt and scrunched his nose.

"I can't wear this to sleep or perhaps play that game again," he muttered before standing up to grab a towel.

He stripped off his clothes, wrapped a towel around his waist, and headed to the bathroom. As he left, his phone buzzed again—another message from his friend, Alex.

[Hey! Are you even alive?!

Just wanted to give you a heads-up about the game. It's undergoing some updates, so you can't log in for now. Also, after the update, rumors have it that it won't be the same as last time, so you can try it out again then.]

After his shower, Lionel dried off and returned to his room. He dressed in a casual dress, but a texture recommended for the game before entering into the VR gaming room again.

He approached the sleek, capsule-shaped gaming pod. He opened it and without overthinking, climbed in, letting the capsule envelop him like a cocoon. He pressed a few keys, and the capsule sealed shut. His senses blurred, and the faint hum of machinery filled his ears as a voice announced:

[Welcome to Eternity's Edge.]

[Click to Log In.]

The world around him dissolved into darkness, then reformed into a floating, ethereal void.

"This… isn't how it looked before," he murmured, frowning.

A blue panel materialized before him:

[Game setup has undergone some changes.]

[Would you like to recreate your character? Yes or Yes?]