Dominion of Blades

For over thirty years, Dominion of Blades has been the hottest online role-playing game in the world. But after an epidemic of real-life fatalities, public use of the immersion technology has been banned and the game shut down. Jonah wakes to find himself in-game, level one, with no memory of how he arrived and no way to eject. With only two companions, trapped in a world that once hosted millions, he must battle across a treacherous landscape — fighting virtual monsters, all-too-real pain, and a very human enemy — in a desperate bid to survive.

It was supposed to be a simple scouting mission for Popper — in and out, no fighting, no new quests. Just him, his hippocorn Alice, and a few hired mercenaries, tiptoeing into the Spiral to get some information and leave undetected. Yeah, about that.