The world of games has long changed. The most popular of them is the VRMMO game “Ascension.” It’s a huge world divided into 100 floors. Each floor is its own boundless location with states, countries, tribes, and a variety of races, accommodating millions of players. There is sky and sun; seasons change; and ordinary, measured life goes on. The goal of the game is to find the key to each floor and reach the very top. New players are assigned at entry to one of the first three floors. The higher the floor, the higher the level of monsters.
When Will Thomson joined the game, he didn’t realize right away that he ended up on his floor completely alone. But when he took a mission to kill rats—the very first monsters any newcomer faces…