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

"Wait, what? Are you serious?" Alex asked.

The Tomb of the Dead was the first dungeon he had cleared, and he remembered it very well. Yet there were no Liches inside, not a single one.

"Yes, I am. Look at the video I just sent you in private," Fried Bacon said.

Using the game's message system, Fried Bacon sent the video the member of his guild had recorded. Alex watched it, and there was no denying: it was a Lich! An undead creature with a scepter, wearing a long tattered purple robe. The most impressive thing was the fact that the Lich used a type of teleportation magic and vanished! It was way different than the Shadow Blink Alex could use. His blink had a distance, but the Lich? It did not seem to have one.

"Fucking hell. Do we know the level of that creature?" Alex asked.

"No, not at all. The level was too high for my guild member to identify. I think this creature is pretty damn powerful," Fried Bacon said.

Pearl Door