Level Up

At thirty years old, Phil is an unemployed gamer struggling to make ends meet. On the day his wife dumps him, he receives a mysterious piece of wetware — a game interface implanted in his brain that allows him to see the world through the eyes of an RPG player. His real-life stats are far below average. But real-life stats can be leveled up just like virtual ones. Can Phil stop being such a couch potato, win back his wife, and find out who uploaded the mysterious game to his brain?

Phil becomes one of the few humans to receive the mysterious alien wetware that allows them to see the world through an augmented-reality interface like a MMORPG. Guided by its stats and messages, he begins to level up, gradually transforming himself and his life — even opening his own business to help friends and strangers who have gained a newfound respect for him. As Phil continues on the road to self-improvement, guided by his own conscience rather than system messages, he tries to find out more about the mysterious third party that bestowed such abilities upon him.

Phil Panfilov's tribulations seem to have run their course — he's quite prepared to quit the alien game installed in his brain, and both he and his company are in excellent shape. But the timing is badly wrong. Humanity's enemies are stronger than ever. Despite all his new abilities, Phil has never been so close to defeat. He has to face his enemies and defeat them — can he really confront a force infinitely more powerful than he can ever hope to become?