2) Luca

'I used to be a king! People would worship me wherever I went, no one dared to offend me, I was in control. I would part the crowds like Moses the sea. I used to be respected, how did I end up like this?' wondered Luca as he sat across the headmistress.

"Luca, I know you are smarter than this. Last year your grades were not this bad. I am sorry but you really leave me no option. If your grades do not improve by the end of the semester I will have to expel you."

The truth is Luca's grades have never been good but last year he was the captain of the gaming team. Since the first fully immersive VR (FIVR) game came out in 2021 the world stopped showing interest in normal sports. At first, the use of a helmet to transport the consciousness to the virtual world was used, this limited the gaming time to 6h per day as people still needed to eat, exercise, and other daily needs.

Luca was an excellent gamer as he was street smart, not school smart. The school and his parents decided to turn a blind eye to his grades as long as he kept racking achievements, winning tournaments, setting records, and such. However, last year, when his team lost in the international competition he was so pissed that he assaulted their teammate.

He was removed from the team and his fans turned against him. He is now nothing more than invisible. Well, he is also failing most of his classes. His parents already kicked him out of his house and he has been living off the money he saved when he was a champion.

Now, his school was also threatening to expel him. In less than a year he lost everything dear to him. He was alone. One could say he hit rock bottom while being a high school student.

"How can you do this to me?! I brought a lot of money to the school! You owe me a lot!"

"I am sorry Luca but that was when you were a champion, now, it even tarnishes our image to still have you with us after last year's incident. We are only treating you as a normal student."

Luca didn't know how to feel. His world was crumbling right before his eyes and there was nothing he could do apart from sitting there before the headmistress.

She noticed the light in his eyes was gone.

'What a pity. He had such a bright future in the gaming industry but he burned that bridge', she thought.

After being lectured by the headmistress, Luca went back to the place he has been living since his parents kicked him out. It was a small hotel bedroom in a fancy hotel nearby. Even though his finances were limited, he was still a pampered guy who preferred living in comfort.

He ordered room service as he did every night. What he didn't know was that his money would not last much longer. After he finished his steak he took a shower. He looked at himself in the mirror. He had a slim body with a bit of a tummy as he didn't exercise much. His black hair was kind of long, he had a small nose, a light shade of purple in his eyes which made them very enticing.

*crash*

He punched the mirror to release all of his anger.

*Drip* *Drip*

His blood was dripping from his fist. It was not the first time he destroyed the mirror in his room, the hotel was also kinda used to it. He called the reception to let them know and so they sent someone to change it, again.

As usual, he had a lot of things in his mind so he had trouble sleeping.

'How did it come to this? Gosh, I really messed up didn't I? Please God, give me a second chance, I know I don't really believe in you but I have nothing else to lose.'

His mind wandered for hours before he finally fell asleep.

The next day, he arrived late to school as he overslept as usual. His teachers ignored it because they were used to it. He sat at the back of the class on his own. His friends had also turned against him because he lost their trust. The girl he assaulted was loved by everyone, she was a shy gamer who was also a beauty. The worst part? They were a couple. After sending her to the hospital he spent a week in VR confinement, which was actually a day in real life. Since then, the headmistress was planning on expelling him, it was not as easy as it looked like tho because the School Board of Fortuna Academy was very fond of Luca.

They decided to give him another chance and he was made to take anger management class but it wasn't working as he was not even trying.

The Virtual World had changed the entire world. Especially since the immersive pods were released. Criminals would serve their sentences in a matter of months and even if they had life sentences then they would be killed over and over again basically making them suffer. Luca had also spent a few months in confinement, he was arrested for multiple reasons.

Somewhere inside the virtual world.

"Is it done?"- asked a man in a black suit.

"Yes sir, the target is emotionally vulnerable." -someone answered through an earpiece.

"Send the big guns tomorrow."