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

Harkor led the way to one of the many training rooms inside the mansion. It was a place where anyone could lock themselves in and practice whatever abilities they had.

"How does this disguise work?" Alex inquired.

"We are masters of illusion, so this disguise essentially alters the perception of others. Even with a low mastery of the skill, only a few individuals will see through it. That's how great the ancient vampires were," Harkor explained, never missing an opportunity to extol the superiority of the ancient vampires over the new ones. Having experienced both worlds, Alex had to agree that the ancient vampires were far more intimidating and skilled.

Once inside the training room, Harkor demonstrated the skill firsthand, as it was the best way for Alex to determine if it was worth his time or not. A type of energy appeared above Harkor's hands, different from his blood magic – a purple energy, something Alex had never seen before.

Illusion Spell