Chương 3

It has been one month since "Truck-kun's Failure." Rudra had finally been discharged the day before yesterday. To call the hospital boring was a massive understatement. It was a prison. Two of his three favorite hobbies—eating oily and mouth-watering junk food and working out until he collapsed—were strictly forbidden. His third hobby, reading web novels and manhwa, was entirely ruined by the hospital's notoriously terrible Wi-Fi. Now, he was back at his family home.

"Mom, I'm dying of boredom," Rudra groaned from the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

"You already tried dying. It didn't work," his mother, Meera, replied without even looking up from her restaurant accounts ledger.

"Now eat your apples." Rudra sighed heavily. He still wasn't allowed to exercise, and she watched his diet like a hawk to ensure he didn't sneak any junk food. But at the very least, he finally had access to a high-speed fiber-optic connection. He picked up his phone, scrolling mindlessly through Outstagram, when a targeted ad popped up. [Welcome to the World of Satisfy] [The first VRMMO game which perfectly replicates the five senses.] Normally, Rudra would have scoffed. Perfect sensory replication?

Classic marketing garbage. But something stopped his thumb from scrolling past. Satisfy. The word echoed in the back of his mind. It was the exact same word that had burned itself into his brain from those crushed soul fragments during the "ROB's Failure" incident.

"Let's see what this is about," he muttered, clicking the link. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. He registered for the beta on an absolute whim. He didn't expect anything to come of it. Over a billion people had applied globally, and only 100, 000 spots were open. The math was terrible. So, when the official acceptance email actually hit his inbox the next morning, Rudra stared at his phone in pure, unfiltered shock.

"No freaking way," he whispered. The next hurdle was the hardware. He needed a capsule to play, and they weren't cheap. He braced himself for an all-out war with his mother over buying a simple model while he was temporarily unemployed. He walked into the kitchen.

"Mom, I need to buy a VR capsule. It's... a little expensive."

"Buy the best one," she answered instantly, chopping vegetables. Rudra blinked, completely thrown off guard.

"Wait, really? You aren't going to yell at me about wasting my savings?" Shiva walked into the kitchen holding a coffee mug, a tired smirk on his face.

"She's worried that if you don't have something to occupy your mind, you'll wander outside and do something stupid again."

"Exactly," Meera nodded, pointing the knife at him.

"At least this way, you're locked in a padded box in your room safely. Zero chance of getting hit by another truck." Rudra crossed his arms.

"I am kind of offended by this lack of trust."

"Just buy the capsule, Rudra," Shiva laughed. Two days later, the delivery team arrived. They installed the massive, sleek machine in his bedroom while Rudra impatiently signed away his life on the terms and conditions paperwork. As soon as the technicians left, he practically scrambled to the machine. He didn't care that he was twenty-three; he felt like a kid tearing into his birthday presents.

"I'm going in!" Rudra shouted down the hallway.

"Don't play too late! Your bones still need sleep!" his mother yelled back. He climbed inside the capsule, settled into the comfortable cushioning, and initiated the boot sequence. The real world faded to black. The very first thing he felt wasn't a loading screen. It was wind. Cool, crisp air brushing against his face. Next came the smell. Fresh dirt and wild grass. Rudra opened his eyes. He was standing in the middle of a massive, rolling green field beneath a bright, cloudy blue sky.

He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers. He stomped his boot against the ground, feeling the hard resistance of the earth beneath the grass.

"Holy shit," Rudra breathed out, genuinely stunned.

"They really weren't joking about the five senses. I owe their marketing team an apology." Suddenly, a cold, androgynous voice echoed across the open field, ringing clearly in his mind. [Welcome to Satisfy-Beta.]