All Ethan wanted to do was take his girlfriend to Pixelcon and watch the release coverage for Serra Online, a virtual role-playing game. The game sounded better than Ethan could imagine, from new classes to unstoppable magics, but the icing on the cake was a chance to be one of the first to play it. After an easy decision to play a gladiator, he woke up in a new world separated from the one he loves the most.world? Get a dog and start a collection of plucked-out eyeballs, of course.

Picture rippling muscles, clad in magical armor, perhaps, artfully splattered with the viscera of foes smote in twain. Or...ooh...alternatively, a severely tasteful robe, dusted - equally artfully - with the ashes of enemies immolated with eldritch fyre. Now picture these paragons of heroism sitting astride their muscled warhorses, surrounded by the cheering, garland-throwing peasants of a hamlet they have saved from the blight. Now, throw that image out, because this isn’t that story.

When Anders awakens in a foreign land, he finds himself far from the campaign in Southland and anxious to get back. The sapphire’s intoxicating grip has given him more than just a craving for power. Its tainted magic pushes him closer to the precipice of becoming more like the evil that he is foretold to destroy. In his attempts to resist the darkness, Anders must work through his pain before he can return to the fight he abandoned so suddenly. 

In the bleak, not-too-distant future, most people who could fled to the virtual reality OVR World Online. Zachary "Zee" Jones will never be able to afford to become a player of the game. After committing a crime in order to save his mother's life, he was arrested and included in the Inmate Player Program. Even without perception filters to limit his pain, it was better than the alternative. He has the opportunity to earn more money in a five-year sentence then he could have in his entire life as a hospital janitor. 

He escaped slavery. He defeated the Lich. But will he survive the arena? Locked in a cell underneath the Colosseum, James refuses to be a pawn anymore. He needs to rescue his friends and escape his captors, but it won’t be easy with the entire city out to get him.

The end of the world is not such a bad thing for Russian weapons engineer Vlad Nardoir. Really, his world ended six months ago when his wife died, and ever since then, things have been downhill. Soul-crushing medical debt. Favors to the Russian mafia. Now, asteroid. For Vlad, this is life in a nutshell. But, in a wild twist of fate, he has found a way out. A chance to start fresh in a brand-new ultra-immersive MMORPG called Viridian Gate Online. Making the leap might kill him, but again, death is not such a bad thing for a man with nothing to live for.

The world is ending. Yet in the midst of its destruction, there's Haven, an escape from the pending doom. Unfortunately, this doesn't include Phil. After losing his sister, he's miserable and just looking to survive. When he illegally finds a way into Haven, he discovers it's a world that's unlike anything he's seen before.

In the industrial wasteland of future America, Solomon Herrick spends his days wandering the streets and getting into trouble. Staying one step ahead of the local PD, his life is mostly spent immersed in history or aimless exploring - until Shyft comes along. Whether that's a good thing or not is still up in the air. Shyft 2.0, an immersive, open-world RPG, just entered beta, and though Solomon Herrick wasn't on the list, his friends knew a guy who could get them in.

The Ouroboros Project was my last chance at salvation, but the new virtual reality was just as bad as the world I’d left. Backroom deals with corrupt nobles, slavery, and murder were all swept under the rug in the pursuit of gold. Despite everything, I found mercenary life fulfilling, until my guild was attacked. Now, I've got unknown, extremely rich enemies on all sides, a mysterious woman with strange magic and compound eyes, and a guild to save.

The blood of the Ancients is the most coveted ingredient in all of Damaris. The fabled elixir made from it grants those who drink it life that extends far beyond natural means. There is no higher honor in the kingdom then being granted the privilege of bidding for it. And the people found with the cursed blood? By law, they are the rightful property of the kingdom. They are tributes. 

A lone DeathEater has forsaken his clan. Leaving behind his previous life, Skharr starts building a future next to a dangerous forest in an unknown land. He tells himself it is better than taking gold for questionable reasons. A lone old man travelling with a donkey offers him a choice: Continue this farm life, or trade him Skharr's just finished home and tilled land for a map. A map that Skharr can use to live large for years...if he survives.

Adam begins his adventure in the latest VRMMORPG, but it's not long before he realizes there's much more at stake when taking a life in this new game. The pain is very real, and death...is permanent. Now, trapped in a virtual world, Adam must take the mantle of Zander Darkblade and brave the dangers of the Aether Gate.  

Transported to a land of myth and magic, Nolan scrambles to adjust in a realm where he contains magic. Of course, some lovely locals are in desperate need of a savior as the vile ratkin invade. Destined to unleash his power upon the wicked, he may just save some damsels along the way. 

I was there when the Gaia System was first born. The changes were more than anyone could have dreamed of: magical powers, a stronger body, and a call to adventure. It should have been a paradise; gifted the ability to combine spells with my Meta Bracer, I should have had an easy climb to the top. Maybe it was just me, Jory Mitchels, previously middle management in a start-up from hell. The change was supposed to make life better for the humans of Earth, but something went wrong. 

New worlds get new kings, and that’s exactly what Abby thinks she’s found in her boss’ hacked code. With a cataclysmic asteroid careening toward Earth, the VRMMORPG project Viridian Gate Online has become more than just a game, and Abby thinks her boss, Robert Osmark, wants to be more than just its founding father.