In the year 2022, mankind finally brought a true virtual world into existence. But what we didn't know, was how dangerous a game could become...

Today was the bran-new release of a Virtual Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, or VMMORPG, called Dragon Art Online.

An eighteen year old was in his room looking at his computer screen, which was showing a prologue of the game he was about to play. Once that was over they where showing images of gaming stores with a large line of people in front of each and every one.

"And now we begin!" said a cheery voice. "It's this week's MMO stream. For starters, we had you watch the PV. Looks like this is from last week's launch. What were all these people in line for? Dragon Art Online!" An image of a group of people appeared. they all had the new game in their hands and were all smiling. "Those in front said they started waithing three days prior to the release. Unbelievable! No, I should say it's natural for true gamers!"

As she was talking the boy was reading an article about the game. It showed an image of the creator of the game and NerveGear, Alvin Trench.

"On today's MMO Stream, we'll be covering the internationally renowned Dragon Art Online, or DAO for short. Frankly speaking, none of the NerveGear software so far has been able to tap into the machine's full potential."

"Son I'm off to work." the boy's father called from the door.

The boy looked out the window and saw his father leaving for his work. His father was a mountain of a man with a huge red beard. He was so busy that he didn't have time for him.

"Better yet, it's the long-awaited VRMMORPG that we've all been waiting for! It earned astounding praise from beta testers too. I wanted to try it too! With only 10,000 units available, it sold out instantly online. And as you saw earlier, you won't have much luck looking for a physical copy to buy."

The boy shut of his computer and walked over to a sort of helmet, his steps sounded uneven. That was because the boy was missing his left leg. He picked up the helmet which was in fact a NerveGear.

He placed the NerveGear on his head, plugged in the cord, placed the Dragon Art Online game in the console and lay down on his bed. The NerveGear powered up, the boy closed his eyes with a smile and said "Link start!"

In a split second he entered the virtual reality. After his touch, sight, hearing, taste and smell were online and ok, he selected his language and logged in. A screen came up 'Beta test data still available. Would you like to use it?' He clicked 'yes' and the game began. The first thing he saw was the big letters saying Welcome to Dragon Art Online!. After that he found himself in a large city.

He blinked his eyes and looked at himself and saw that he had succesfull entered the game.

"I'm back in this world!" he said with a smile. In this game his name was Hiccup. The main objective of the game was to conquer all islands on the 100 floors of the large castle, Aincrad, which was floating in mid-air. Each island had a floor boss and to move on to the next floor you had to beat the boss. Naturally there was no way you could beat the boss on your own, so you had to team up with other people.

Soon more people appeared and they began to cheer as they succesfully entered the game. In fact you could hear their cheers al across the city.

He didn't waste any time and began running trough the streets and that caught the eye of a brown haired boy.

"Hey, you there!" he called and began running after him. Hiccup came to a stop and looked at the other man. "Me?" Hiccup asked. The boy had finally caught up with him and stood with his hands on his knees panting. When he regained his breath he looked up at Hiccup.

"From the looks of your confident stride, I'm guessing you were a beta tester?" he asked slyly. "Y-yeah." he said while rubbing the back of his head.

"I just started this game. I wanted to ask if you could show me the basics?"

"uh..."

"I'm not going to ask something for nothing. If you help me, I will help you."

Hiccup tought for a minute and looked at him with a smile. "Alright, I'll help." he said extending his hand.

The boy took his hand and shook it. "Great! My name is Ragnar."

"Hiccup."

Hiccup took him to the outskirts of the city and they began training. "GAH!" Ragnar yelled. Hiccup was watching as Ragnar was trying, and failing, to hit the boar with his sword. Ragnar landed on his back and lay for a second before he stood back up. "I'm so glad we can't actually feel the pain."

"Like I said, the key is your first action." Hiccupp said with crossed arms.

"I know, but he won't stay put." Ragnar pouted. A bit farther the boar was standing with it's back to them.

"If you get your first action right and activate a sword skill..." Hiccup picked up a rock and trew it at the boar. As he trew it the rock had a red aura around it and hit the boar with a great amount of force. "The system will correct your aim and ensure a hit."

"Action... action..."

Hiccup took his sword as the boar was going to attack him. "How should I put it?" the boar charged and Hiccup dodged it easily. When the boar turned around and charged again, Hiccup easily blocked it with his sword. "Pause for a second, and once the skill activates, just let it rip." Hiccup explained.

"Let it rip?" he questioned. His eyes lit up with understanding and raised his sword. It began to glow with a yellow aura and Hiccup smiled. He released the boar and kicked it towards Ragnar. The boar charged straight towards him, but before it could make contact, Ragnar released a powerful shockwave and sliced the boar in half.

Seconds later it got a notice informing him of how much experience, gil and items he got. "Hell yeah!" he cheered.

"Congrats." Hiccup said and they high-fived.

"Unfortunately..." Hiccup said as he sheeted his sword, "That boar was just a low-level fodder, like slimes."

"I tought so..." Ragnar says. "I guess this is an RPG without magic skills?"

"Not really... there is still a discusion about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in the game there are dragons of different classes. The classes are Stoker, Boulder, Sharp, Tidal, Fear, Mystery and Strike. When you befriend a dragon you have a bond. Now, when you have a very close bond with your dragon you can talk with your dragon."

Ragnar wistled. "They really outdid themselves when they made this game."

"Yeah, it's a bit much to take in."

"What do you say we move on" Ragnar asked while sheating his sword.

"You're on."