Liam Barette:
"Ahhh!"
My eyes snap open as I wake up screaming. The trees, the goblins, and thankfully, the stabbing pain are all gone. Looking around, I see familiar black walls pulsing with the creepy green light.
"Wait, what the heck!"
Hearing the door's hissing as it opens, I run out and see a bunch of other raffle winners already in the Gaming Cube's lobby. Sitting in plastic chairs, they look at me before turning back around. However, some winners aren't just sitting. I see a few crying, a handful who look bored, and even one person curled up in the corner, whispering something about Call of Duty. As if on cue, the same sponsor then appears.
As smooth as ever, and still in his shiny silver suit, the sponsor claps his hands like this before pulling out a tablet from his suit.
"Welcome back...Liam Barrett," he booms after reading it from the tablet. "It seems you have lost. Such a shame."
"Lost," I yell. "That stupid goblin stabbed me! How was I supposed to block him when I was holding the necklace?"
The sponsor smiles, shrugs, and then snaps his fingers.
A massive screen turns on on one of the cube's walls. It grabs all of our eyes, and we watch a replay of my death in cinematic slow motion. I see myself on the ground, wrestling the goblin, before pulling it away. I grinned in triumph before the golbin jumped out and stabbed me. We all watch as the goblin drives the blade in, complete with a dramatic zoom and even a different angle.
I hear my own scream, and can even still feel the stone dagger in my chest. Looking around, the others winch, too. They clutch their chests, arms, and legs, most likely their phantom wounds.
"See," the sponsor says while pointing at the screen. The way he said it, so cheerfully and happily, I think about punching the smudge bastard.
"That's the beauty of the Gaming Cube," he goes on. "It is real. Actions have consequences. You died, Mr. Barrett, which means...Your turn is over!"
The sponsor then spreads his arms dramatically, like he's a giant bird trying to fly.
"Wait, wait, wait," I say, raising my shaking hands. "That's it? No respawn? No continue? I don't get another life?"
"Nope," the sponsor answers, popping the "p". The sponsor snaps his fingers again, and the screen changes.
Turning, I see the wannabe warrior leader, Sir Shouts-a-Lot, looting my dead body!
"Oh, come on."
Sir Shouts-a-Lot raises the stolen necklace above his head. He, the mage, and the rogue all circle around and cheer. They shoot their hands into the air and start jumping up and down. I think I can actually see golden rays of sunlight descending on the three of them. As if throwing salt into my phantom, stone dagger wound, I see my former party all leveling up.
In see-through white letters, I see the words Level Up appear above their heads. Going from 0 to 3, I almost scream when I see Sir Shouts-a-Lot get a +10 strength above his head.
"Are you kidding me?" I shout this, unable to hold it in anymore. "I do all the work, and that clown gets to level up! Come on."
The sponsor smirks and places his hand on my shoulder.
"Welcome to the Gaming Cube, Mr. Barrette. There are some risks, some falls, but many excellent highlight reels."
I cry and bury my face in my hands.
"This sucks!"
Dragging my feet against the carpeted floor, I drop like a rock onto one of the empty seats and look up at the giant flatscreen as it keeps showcasing Sir Shout-a-Lot and now his party returning to Mildred the Widow. Mildred smiles and cries when he gives her back her late husband's necklace. I feel steam shooting out of my ears when I see them getting gold coins, actual gold coins, or at least, in-game gold coins. Meanwhile, we in the "Game Over Club" can only sit and keep watching.
The warrior leader is practically strutting around like a hero. After helping Midred with her quest, he and the other two took on more quests. They fought even more goblins in tiny, cramped caves, survived a bandit ambush, and even attacked a pack of wolves that were terrorizing some traveling merchants. When the screen isn't showing the leader off, it shows other winners who are still in the game.
We all watch as they go shopping for better gear, moving up from leather armor to full iron armor sets. Mages and wizards are casting new flashy spells. I have to cover my mouth when one wizard shoots a bright, purple-white lightning bolt from the palm of his hand. He hits a running bandit in fur armor, knocking him to the ground. While all of this is happening, the sponsor strolls around, talking like some movie director. He keeps adjusting his tie while muttering random lines.
"Wonderful reaction shot," the sponsor shouts when a rogue buys an upgraded bow. His eyes are wide, and his jaw hangs. Drool is falling out of his mouth as he holds his new bow in his hands. The screen switches, and now, it shows another party of four, shouting and cheering after clearing a whole ruined tower of more bandits. They stand at the top of the tower, near the top of a snowy mountain, shooting their weapons into the air.
"Oh, that will trend for sure!"
Now and then, another unfortunate player's adventure would end, either with a sudden scream from a flying arrow or a slip and fall from a high ledge. We watch as their screen cuts to black, and just like me, they would yell and come running out of the gaming room, still holding their phantom wounds. One of us then welcomes the new player to the "loser's lounge." This would go on and on for the rest of the day. However, during the same day, I couldn't look away.
"The Gaming Cube is alive," I think. "Every quest, every stumble, every fight was real. Even from only sitting here in the lobby, I can still feel everything. It's like watching a movie, and I'm the star! The sting of the stupid goblin's dagger, the smell of that meat roasting over the fire, the taste of the Honeywood's air, it was all so real."
I slap myself on the forehead for dying so early.
Before I realize it, the day is over, and only about three or four players didn't die. The sponsor congratulates them first before thanking the rest of us. He then tells us to leave as the Gaming Cube is closing. The whole time I am walking back to my apartment, I can't stop thinking about it. Even after I reach my apartment, I instantly put on my headphones, set up both my microphone and camera, and start recording to my three viewers, two of whom I know are bots.
"You don't get it," I shout, almost knocking over my microphone. "This isn't just a VR headset. It was like being there! Actually, legitimately, being there! You could smell the food. You could feel the armor weighing you down! A goblin stabbed me, and I swear, even hours later, it still hurts!"
"Liam," someone shouts.
Looking over, I see my roommate and best friend, Jordan. With tanned skin and short black hair, Jordan is wearing a light orange shirt with a darker orange undershirt and long black pants. Sitting on our couch, with a bowl of instant noodles on his lap, Jordan looks up from his phone.
"You have been talking about this 'Gaming Cube' for six hours straight. Enough already."
I spin around and point a stern finger at my best friend.
"I have been talking about the Gaming Cube for six hours straight because it is real, my man! Jordan, don't you get it? This is my chance. This could be the thing that finally blows up my channel! Forget Let's Plays. I will be the first guy who will literally die for content!"
Jordan pulls his head back and looks at me with a crooked eyebrow.
"That's not exactly a high-selling point. So, can you go back?"
The blood in my veins freezes when I hear this. I can feel my smile turning upside down.
"...I don't know."
Those three words dug themselves into my head and kept on repeating.
"The only reason I even got in the first place was that I won that raffle. Remember?"
"Wait, that wasn't a scam?"
"Surprisingly, no, but ignoring that for now. I have no idea how to get back in, but no! I refuse to give up. I will definitely find a way to get back into the Gaming Cube. EpicFailGamer94 isn't done failing yet! He is just getting started. Watch me, Jordan! I will become the greatest Gaming Cube YouTuber ever."
"Okay," Jordan replies, returning to his noodle.