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

Hunger was the biggest 'problem' a vampire had to face. While normal people would only get angry when feeling hungry, a vampire could attack someone they loved just to drink their blood!

That was how intense the hunger was, and all vampires had to do everything they could to keep it at bay, or else it could bring many problems. Alex and his friends needed blood.

"Emma, can you stay here? Me and Joseph will scout the area to see where we should go next," Alex said.

Alex could regenerate his resources much faster. His HP regeneration was high, and he did not use mana but Shadow Essence. As for Joseph, among them, he was the one who suffered the least.

The two left the hidden cave behind the waterfall, moving toward the nearby forest. There, hidden behind the trees and the bushes, they took out their blood flasks to drink.

"With this, you and me are safe, but Mary needs to feed too," Joseph said.

Unexpected Encounter