The blinding white light dissolved like a mist, the game's ground floor materializing around them. Kago was already in character selection as he locked in his choice: Mage.

I need something simple and strong. Jai thought, following Kago's lead, selecting the Warrior class. "Mage, huh? Didn't peg you for the spell-slinging type," he remarked.

"Duh. Why play a Deep Dive game if you're not going to go all out with magic?" Kago shot back, eyes gleaming from the glow of his level 1 staff.

Jai rolled his shoulders, adjusting to the weight of his armor. "Fair point, but we literally have powers in real life."

"Yeah, but not all abilities are that great," Kago muttered.

Jai slanted his eyes at the shift in tone. "What do you mean? Fungi has loads of potential. Maybe if you just worked a little harder."

A shadow crossed Kago's face, his features hardening into a scowl. "I worked hard! Harder than anyone! And It got me here." Kago paused. "Like you're one to talk. Three days in with literal power, and you've already hit a wall. No wonder Derro hates you."

The tension crackled between them. Jai raised both his hands in surrender. "Woah, woah, woah. Do we have to start arguing? I thought we were here to have fun?"

"Right," Kago relented, his anger dissipating as quickly as it had flared. He pointed toward a winding staircase in the distance. "The first floor's up those stairs. Let's go."

They approached the stairwell that was designed to look like ancient stone, each block bearing the weathered marks of "centuries". The textures were overly detailed, each crack and imperfection rendered with uncanny precision.

Jai ran his fingertips along the surface. "This detailing is a bit much. But it's just like real life!"

"The game uses your memories to generate textures," Kago explained, his expertise evident. "You might not realize it, but you've seen stones like these before."

Jai's eyes widened in awe. "Genius!"

A knowing grin spread across Kago's face. "You ain't seen nothin' yet."

They emerged onto the first floor to discover an army of hostile creatures awaiting them. Red names hovered ominously above each enemy like bloody omens.

"Time to experience the ultimate high!" Kago shouted, recklessly attacking head first.

Jai matched his charge, swinging his blade through the air with surprising weight. It connected with a skeleton, severing bone with a satisfying crack. Collapsed into a pile of fragments, it rewarded him with 30 XP and a small treasure cache at his feet.

"Ha! Too easy!" Jai laughed, having a blast.

Nearby, Kago had strategically gathered a bob of enemies, chatting a spell as energy channeled to his staff. His staff erupted with destructive power, unleashing a spray of fireballs that incinerated them all. The impressive kill streak tripled his rewards and catapulted him to level five.

"Show-off," Jai muttered under his breath..

Without warning, the entire floor shook with seismic force. The remaining enemies disintegrated like smoke, vanishing in an instant. Leaving behind an ocean of XP and coins.

Jai turned to Kago, confused as to what was going. "What is this? Some cheat code?"

"This isn't me... Something's coming."

The ceiling above shattered with an ear-splitting crack. Chunks of stone rained down with lethal force, catching them both in the deadly avalanche and sending them plummeting back to the ground floor. Their health bars lowered to critical levels, flashing red warnings in the corners of their vision. Through the clouds of dust, Jai struggled to his feet, finding himself face-to-face with the floor 100 boss.

"We're doomed," Kago whispered in terror, his voice trembling.

The monstrous entity unleashed a bone-rattling roar that shook the virtual world. It towered over them like a mountain of malice. In the real world, their vital signs spiked dangerously—heart rates rocketing past 100 BPM. Alarm systems shrieked on Riff's screens, prompting him to launch into action.

"Hang on, guys," he said, sweat beading on his forehead as his fingers typed frantically across the keyboard. "I'll get you out."

The boss revealed itself as a gladiator of chaos wrapped in armor, its surface revealing glimpses of an endless cosmic void within. With terrifying grace, it hefted an enormous broadsword, striking down directly at Jai. He raised his pitiful level-one sword in desperate defense, but it shattered on impact like glass. Jai fell in a single, brutal stroke, with his HP at 0.

Darkness swallowed his consciousness as the game screen went black. Text flashed before his eyes, indicating a system reboot. A white loading circle ran in circles as the software struggled to recover, launching a process never intended for the player's eyes. Buried data resurfaced from the system's depths, thrust into view by a glitch. A replay of past simulations previously hidden from other users.

Jai found himself transported into a memory, a ghost in what appeared to be military training exercises. Officers of the Circuit Corp moved through combat drills, utilizing the deep dive technology as a consequence-free training ground.

Intrigued, he examined the scene closely, and recognition sparked. Among the officers was a face he'd recently seen before. A younger version of the same guard who had been trading energy cells for illegal weaponry. Suspicion ignited in Jai's mind as he maneuvered closer to eavesdrop on their conversation.

The officer shot a moving target with before turning to his companion. "Now that we've successfully infiltrated, we just need to get to become official officers."

"Then what?" his co-conspirator asked.

"Simple. We take Sero's blueprints and go from there."

"Right. That is simple."

The revelation hit Jai hard. This corruption ran deeper than anyone could have ever suspected, with an unknown organization orchestrating events from within and behind the scenes. He had stumbled upon a goldmine, a conspiracy that threatened everything.

Deep in thought, a voice cut him off. Approaching the two officers from behind. "What the hell are you two doing? Get back to training before you get caught conspiring!"

The man leading them in the simulation was an accomplice. His presence was terrifying, and for a brief moment, he looked straight into Jai's eyes. As if he could see him watching from the future.

Panic surged through his system, and his vitals far beyond their limits triggered another crash in the simulation. Red alert warnings still flashed across Riff's monitoring screen. With a desperate lunge, Riff slammed his hand down on the emergency override, triggering a flash of light that forcibly ejected them both back into reality.

Jai tore the helmet from his head, his heart thundering against his ribcage. "What the hell just happened?"

His question died as a chilling sound cut through the room. The flat, continuous tone of a failing heart. Whipping around, he saw Kago lifelessly slumped in the chair.

"Kago!" Riff's voice cracked with panic as he grabbed a nearby crash cart, charging the defibrillator. He placed the paddles against Kago's chest. "Clear!"

The electrical discharge coursed through Kago's body, but the flatline persisted. Riff upped the voltage. "Come on, Kago! Don't you dare die on me! Clear!"

Again, nothing. With grim resolve, Riff cranked the voltage to its maximum. "Clear!"

The third shock jolted Kago up, miraculously breathing with a violent gasp, coughing harshly as life surged back into his body. "Hell yeah!" he rasped, each breath desperate and ragged. "You feel that, Jai? This... This is the ultimate high!"

"What the hell are you talking about, you idiot?! You nearly died!" Jai exploded, fury and fear battling for dominance. He rounded on Riff, accusation burning in his eyes. "And you! What the hell happened!?"

Riff's face collapsed into confusion as he scanned the diagnostic readouts. "The game got corrupted. I have no idea how. I'm usually super careful."

"No idea how? I'll tell you how!" Jai's voice rose with each word. "You lied about where you got this system from. You're no beta tester, you stole it from a trash heap in the Theta Sector!"

Kago's expression hardened with immediate disapproval. "Woah woah woah, don't go accusing my boy of things. He wouldn't lie about this."

Riff's shoulders slumped in defeat. "No. He's right Kago. I've been lying about where I got it so that you would try it with me. I did find it in a dumpster in the Theta Sector a while back. It was thrown out by the officers at the Circuit Center, so I helped myself."

"They're training headsets," Jai pressed, the pieces falling into place. "How did you even manage to reprogram them?"

"I'm... super smart?" Riff offered with a weak attempt at humor.

"Ha, just genius," Jai's response dripped with sarcasm.

"I have no idea what could have gone wrong," Riff continued on the defensive. "The test runs all have gone perfectly before. My programming is flawless."

"Did you change anything out recently?" Jai's mind raced through possibilities.

"Yeah, the battery. Why?"

Jai launched himself from his seat, moving with urgency. His hands searched the chair components, searching for the power source. Finally locating it, he pulled it out to confirm his suspicion.

"Yup, that's it."

It was the Spirit Energy Cell he'd been chasing across the city. Realization dawned that Riff had been his target all along. But that didn't matter now, there were more important things to worry about.

"I need to take this," Jai declared, pocketing the cell. "This is a highly dangerous energy source, you shouldn't have your hands on this."

Understanding crashed through his mind; the raw power of the cell must have overwhelmed Riff's programming, forcing a system reboot that resurfaced the hidden data. What had seemed like a frivolous detour had unexpectedly delivered exactly what he needed and more.

Riff offered no resistance, recognizing the gravity behind a Savior's warning.

"I'll catch you later Riff. Next time grab the right battery and I'll come to play again some other time. For now, Kago come with me. We need to go."

"What!?" Kago balked at the abrupt command.

Jai fixed him with a glare that spoke volumes, instantly crushing Kago's resolve to stay. With reluctance, Kago pulled himself up from the chair, exchanged a quick farewell gesture with Riff, and fell in beside Jai. Now it was Jai leading the charge, setting the pace as they raced toward the Theta Sector. Where his teammates were unknowingly about to stumble within a poked hornet's nest.