Kernstalion

One release per week [Hiatus in November due to NaNoWriMo] [Changed the Summary based on reader feedback. Thanks guys!] When Mitchel gets a birthday gift from his girlfriend Sandra - a pre-order version of the newest VR game, he is thrilled. Real-life graphics, full-body senses, and a mysterious world that nobody knows anything about seem like a great way to escape real-life for a few months or longer.  Two days later, his dreams of a pleasant pastime are shattered. After meeting a rude welcome-NPC, getting a weak starting body, and having a near-death experience, he finds himself sleeping on the ground, cold and filthy. Unable to log-out, he now has frightening dreams where the tutorial-AI is walking around in his body plotting Earth's conquest. If that isn't enough, he slowly realizes that the game might not actually be a game but that he could very well be in another world. Can Mitchel find out what is going on and where Sandra is? Can he regain his own body, and would he still want to when all is said and done? [The Story] What this story is: A LitRPG, portal-like, slow-moving story with a protagonist who has to balance crafting and 'magic' to survive. The books have a pre-thought-out plot and finish.  Also, the world is harsh, and things don't always go the MC's way. What it is not: A drama, romance, grimdark, although these elements might appear. I've had some feedback that the intro seems to set up a very rough life for the MC. There is a reason for this, and I hope you give it a try beyond the first few chapters. Do note, this is not an unreasonably harsh novel.