Heaven's Sword Online- Book One of the Alta Luna Saga

Episode 1- Unemployed

*Manuel*

The harsh rays of the sun hit my eyes directly, causing me to shield them with both my arms. Why did my dream have to end? Why couldn't it be true? If only I had a job. Why God? Why did I have to be such a failure in life?

"Manuel!" Mother calls as she knocks on the door. "Breakfast is ready."

I am lucky to have parents like mine. Though sometimes I wonder if their constant babying has hurt me more than it has helped. I mean, perhaps I would be more motivated and have already found a job if they had threatened to kicked me out of the house.

I stand up from my bed and quickly change out of my pajamas into a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt. Once I'm done, I rush out of the room to get myself some nourishment.

My younger sister, Jasmine, smiles as soon as she sees me. "Hey, big bro. I heard at school that there's a job offer for beta testers. You already spend most of your free time playing video games. Might as well make some money while having fun."

My ears perk up. "Really? Is it argumented reality or deep dive tech?"

She nods and narrows her eyes. A playful smile dances on her lips. "Yeah. It's for a deep dive virtual reality game called Heaven's Sword Online."

A deep dive game? I have watched plenty of anime to know that playing one of those might end up bad.

"Want me to get stuck?" I ask, leering at her.

She slaps her head and shakes it at me. "Brother. This is real life. Not some anime. You're to stay in the game world for a period of three days then you'll be out the next day."

"Three days will become a year," I say, staring down at my steamy soup. But maybe this is a good chance to meet a pretty girl. I mean, that tends to happen in most of the shows I've seen. "Alright. I'll do it. Where do I need to go to sign up?"

"At the old game store downtown. You know, the place where you used to buy your lame game cards."

My face heats up. They were not lame. They were perfectly good collectibles and the game itself was enjoyable. It even had six anime made for it. How does she dare call such an accomplished franchise lame?

"Don't they have the application online?"

"I searched but didn't find anything."

My lips crease into a grin. How lucky of me to have a sister like her. Even if she can get on my nerves from time to time. "I'll give it a visit!" I blow on my soup and rapidly devour it. Picking up my plate, I take it over to the sink and sit it down to wash later. Today being my turn to wash dishes.

"Alright. I'm off!" I yell, waving goodbye as I rushed for the door.

"You're going to go ask for an application with those clothes?" she says.

I look down at my light blue short-sleeved t-shirt and blue jeans. "Yeah. It's not like this is an interview. Plus I doubt that they'll care about my appearance if this is video game related."

"Wrong!" sister says, bolting up from her seat. She narrows her eyes, giving me that know it all look of hers. "There's a reason for why they are giving applications only." She crosses her arms together and puffs up her cheeks. "They want to meet the applicants in person. The researchers are said to pick those who they deem qualified. Dressing nicely has to be on of the qualities."

I sigh. Suits always look weird on me. I lack the shoulders to fill one so they always look too big on me. "I doubt it. Besides, how many are they even hiring?"