BigToad

Alex Mercer was a legendary thief known for his audacious heists and cunning skills. However, his criminal streak comes to an abrupt halt when he is finally apprehended and sentenced to prison.

In the midst of his imprisonment, a revolutionary virtual reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game (VRMMORPG) is launched, called Eternal Realms, captivating the attention of the entire world. The prison authorities, seeking to introduce recreational activities for the inmates, decide to allow select prisoners to participate in the game as a means of passing the time.

Eager to escape the monotony of prison life, Alex eagerly takes up the opportunity to join the immersive virtual world. To his surprise, he discovers that his notoriety as a master thief has caught the attention of players within the game. They started offering him IRL means to reduce his prison sentence in an exchange on a daring quest to retrieve valuable treasures scattered throughout the virtual realm.

With a hidden class known as the "Shadow Hunter," Alex possesses unique skills and abilities that make him an invaluable asset to the players seeking rare and precious items. As he delves deeper into the virtual world, he finds himself entangled in a complex web of alliances, rivalries, and dangerous quests that blur the line between the game and reality.

As the stakes rise, Alex must navigate treacherous dungeons, confront formidable adversaries, and outwit both in-game challenges and real-world dangers. Along the way, he forms unexpected alliances and confronts his own inner demons, questioning the choices that led him down a path of crime.
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For anyone wondering about the romance, it will take a long time as this is not the focus of the book.

MMORPG: Shadow Hunter

The forest was a place for hunters to prey on their prey. Alex had to stop multiple times to deal with wolves with snake tails, plants that moved, and even a walking fish near the river. That was one of the strangest things he had seen.

Shadow Strike, Alex's skill, was used multiple times during his search for the blue creatures. The deeper he went into the forest, more monsters appeared to attack him.

But not all of it was bad. The monsters had a level ranging from 20 to 25, and the higher leveled monsters gave Alex more experience points. Every time the body of one of the monsters fell, and the notification of experience popped in front of Alex, he overjoyed himself.

More, more, more. The more monsters he killed, the more he forgot about his initial task, which was to follow the two blueish lady creatures.

Run, Jhin