Luckbane (Otherworld #1) by Tony Breeden: Chapters 1 - 3

In a dystopian future, online gaming is the ultimate escape... until one corporation gives a few lucky players the chance to play their favorite sword, steampunk and sorcery game live and in-person on a distant planet. In the inaugural Otherworld campaign, the Champions will face monsters, magic, steampunk machines, dragons and betrayal as they quest to find a weapon capable of stopping the dread Firelord and his Infernal armies. For one lowly janitor-turned-alchemical adventurer, the stakes are much higher. Someone wants him very, very dead and has hacked into the system to carry out his execution. If you die in this game, there are no extra lives! In a world where no one is who they seem to be, Jarrod Luckbane has no idea who he can trust. Otherworld: Everything is NOT under control. For one lowly janitor-turned-alchemical adventurer, the stakes are much higher. Someone wants him very, very dead. And in a world where no one is who they seem to be, Jarrod Luckbane has no idea who he can trust. Otherworld: Everything is NOT under control.