Books in This Series 3
More by James A. Hunter
The vaunted power of the Mage’s College. Unbounded freedom among the Wolfmen. The best of both worlds.
Recent college grad Sam King was hoping for a backpacking trip across Europe as a graduation present. Instead he’s going to get a different kind of trip: a three-month stint in the ultimate immersive gaming experience. As a lifelong geek, gamer, and outsider, it’s a better gift then he’d ever dreamed.
But when he jumps feetfirst into the world of Eternium, run by CAL, the Certified Altruistic Lexicon, it’s not exactly what he expected. All he wants is to quest, game, grind some levels, and get his hands on awesome loot. You know, have fun! But the Mage’s College seems to have a very different definition of fun, one involving study, blisteringly strict regulations, aristocratic hierarchy, and tons of pay to play.
Sam crosses the College and finds himself running for his life with a back-talking book that is far more than it seems and a class that no one has even heard of. If he can navigate the deadly College politics and the looming war with the barbaric Wolfmen, he might just find the fun and adventure he was looking for.
December, 2042
The Imperial Legion marches, and war looms on the horizon…
Jack Mitchel and his misfit crew of rebels never wanted a fight with the Empire, but the time for diplomacy has passed.
Ruthless tech-genius Robert Osmark is coming, and trailing behind him is a vast army determined to wipe the Crimson Alliance from the face of Eldgard. Impossibly, Jack has united the warring Murk Elf clans under his banner, but even with their aid, the Alliance is still badly outnumbered, and Osmark has some nasty tricks up his sleeves.
And while the long-awaited battle unfolds, an ancient evil stirs in the heart of Viridian Gate Online—one that will change the game forever.
November, 2042
It's been a busy month for thirty-two-year-old Jack Mitchel:
Three weeks ago, he died.
Two weeks ago, he founded the first Faction in the ultra-immersive, fantasy-based VRMMORPG, Viridian Gate Online.
A week and a half ago the world ended, destroyed by a cataclysmic asteroid.
Seven days ago, he conquered the Imperial city of Rowanheath, bringing all of Eldgard to the brink of war.
Though Jack's Faction, the Crimson Alliance, has a tenuous truce with tech genius and Imperial lord, Robert Osmark, Jack knows it can't last. Osmark is devious and power hungry, and it's only a matter of time before he sends his forces to wipe Jack and his underdog crew off the map for good.
If Jack hopes to survive another month inside of VGO, he must find a way to beat Osmark and his army of bloodthirsty thugs, and a new quest-the Path of the Jade Lord-may be just the ticket. But this quest will be far harder than anything Jack's faced before, pushing him to his mental, physical, and moral limits. And if Jack isn't careful, his quest to defeat Osmark and the Empire may end up turning him into the despot he's been fighting against.
"Viridian Gate Online: The Jade Lord is a fast-paced litRPG romp packed with game-world expanding worldbuilding and killer action. Even as it moves the story of Grim Jack toward an inevitable confrontation, it packs a wallop with a revelation that blows the doors off and clears a path to further adventures." -S.R. Witt, Author of the Electric Shadow Series
October, 2042
Three days ago, Jack Mitchel saved his life. By dying.
He dodged a world-ending bullet-in the form of an extinction-level asteroid cannonballing toward Earth-by successfully uploading his mind into the brand-new, ultra-immersive, fantasy-based VRMMORPG, Viridian Gate Online. Unfortunately, he's also stumbled headlong into a secret conspiracy that will transform V.G.O. into a new feudal dark age.
Jack expected to live out his new fantasy life in peace, but now he and his misfit crew of rebels are the only ones preventing a tyrant emperor and his regime from taking power. Thankfully, everything isn't quite as hopeless as it seems-Jack has a plan. Sort of. With only a handful of supporters, he's going to get the jump on the bloodthirsty empire by snatching one of their key cities right from underneath their noses. In order to pull off the impossible, however, Jack's going to have to develop his formidable Shadowmancer powers, raid some ridiculous dungeons, and make some shady allies-allies who may be more dangerous than the empire itself.
October, 2042
An extinction-level asteroid, 213 Astraea, is cannonballing toward Earth. Collision, imminent. An international team of scientists is working around the clock to avert the cataclysm—few are optimistic. World governments are preparing for impact with deep earth bio-dome bunkers, but only a select few lottery winners will be saved.
Jack Mitchel, a thirty-two-year-old EMT living in a tiny studio apartment on the West Coast, isn’t one of those winners.
Still, there might be a way for him to survive Astraea: a slim chance, requiring a radical leap of faith. Through a connection at Osmark Technologies, Jack’s acquired a NexGenVR capsule and with it, a one-way ticket to the brand-new, ultra-immersive, fantasy-based VRMMORPG, Viridian Gate Online. Taking that leap of faith, though, means permanently trapping his mind in the game, killing his body in the process.
Worse, one in six die during the transition, and even if Jack beats the odds, he’ll have to navigate a fantastical world that’s home to vicious monsters, domineering AIs, and cutthroat players. And when Jack stumbles upon a secret conspiracy to sell off virtual real estate to the ultrawealthy—transforming V.G.O. into a new feudal dark age—the deadly creatures inhabiting Viridian Gate’s expansive dungeons will be the least of his concerns.
If Jack can’t game the system, he’s going to be trading in a quick death for a long, brutal one …