When Isaac woke up, he was laying in his actual bed in the real world. It seems that when he had fainted in the game, it had activated some auto-disconnect feature. Isaac looked at the clock. It was 6 pm, so he decided to get up, make a quick sandwich, and then go to bed. "Time to get back to reality for a bit, seems I'll have to wait til tomorrow night."
Isaac had a straightforward 9 to 5, Monday through Friday job, so it made it simple enough to play Lore of The Myst for a bit each night and then spend the weekend really working on progressing in the game. He wasn't particularly talented at anything, though he had a keen eye for detail and organization.
At the moment, Isaac was a shelf stocker at the local market. It was a straightforward job, the products would be unloaded off a truck and brought out onto the sales floor on pallets. His job was to take the products off the pallets, and put them on the shelves in a neat, orderly fashion in accordance with whatever the most recent planogram said. Sometimes they would ask him to come up with a display for a featured product, and this is where he would really shine. He would plan the week ahead of time for an elaborate display, bring it to his boss to approve, and then spend the next day or so getting the display set up. His displays were amazing, sometimes gravity-defying! If you could imagine it, he could make it with stocked products. His boss was frequently impressed and never had a design change to offer.
When he wasn't stocking, he was helping keep the place clear, and as a last resort, would help cashier. This part of the job Isaac didn't really care for, as he wasn't much of a people person in real life. He preferred the stocking, as it allowed him to focus on that and forget the world around him, much like how playing Lore of the Myst allowed him to forget the real world. Isaac knew a few of the regular customers, but none of them really interested him. There wasn't a particular person he wanted to get to know as a friend. Not that he had any friends, that is. He had always been a bit of an outcast.
Growing up, Isaac was a bit smaller than the rest of the kids his age. He wasn't very talented when it came to sports. He was exceptional at Math and Science. But Isaac kept to himself for the most part, and for the most part the others left him alone. After school, he helped out with things around the house, and then stayed in his room, writing small stories of adventure and fantasy, which he kept stashed in a loose floorboard under his bed. His parents didn't approve of the idea of him becoming an author of fantasy, wanting him to grow up and become a doctor, a lawyer, something "meaningful".
Isaac was far from meaningful. He was the nobody. Ignored in school, forgotten on the bus, and just another employee at the store. Eventually his parents' expectations got to be too much, which is why left. Truthfully, an argument with his father about joining his law firm was the final straw, though Isaac would never openly admit it. After the fight, he simply said it was time he started doing things on his own. He packed up his things, politely thanked his parents for helping him with learning life, and left.
For a few days, he stayed with his uncle until he found an apartment he could afford. It was in town, a run-down building, and didn't feel safe, but it was what he could afford. The only benefit he had seen so far was a neighbor that had introduced herself when he first moved in. Rina was... intriguing. Something about her caught his eye. He didn't know it yet, but she would be far more important than he expected. Both in-game and in real life.
Today was like any other day. He got to work at 8:45, got all the things necessary for the day, spoke with his boss about an upcoming planogram, then clocked in at 9am and started stocking. It wasn't an exciting job by any means, but he didn't mind. It was steady, the pay was enough, and it was consistent. He was always done on time, so he could always plan his day. Now with Myst to fill in his free time, he knew what his full day would look like - aside from food, that is.
Myst. Just thinking of the game brought up the memory of what had happened last night. HIM? A legendary hero? Impossible. Isaac had always been mostly average, so to be destined in a game for such greatness... it almost frightened him.
"That can of beans catch your eye, Isaac?" His boss asked. That's when he realized he had stopped while thinking about the game. "W-what? Oh, sorry. I had something on my mind." He proceeds to continue stocking. Then, he notices Rina, his neighbor, standing at the end of the aisle, comparing cans. What's she doing here? he thinks to himself. He then feels dumb for asking. "oh right... it's a grocery store" he says.
Rina was a young woman with an athletic build. She has tanned skin, auburn hair, and blue eyes. Freckles dot her complexion, and she has rather prominent canines that are visible when she smiles. Isaac finds himself staring, interrupted by the sound of the can he was holding hitting the floor. Rina is startled and looks at him "Oh! I didn't see you there! You're... Isaac, right? Rina. I'm your neighbor, remember?" He reaches down and grabs the can he dropped. "Y-yea, I r-remember" he stammered. Oh god, why am I stuttering? I sound silly.
He cleared his throat "Can I help you find something?" She holds up a can of light kidney beans and a can of dark kidney beans. "Is there a huge difference between these? I'm trying to make a stew for a lunch thing at work." Isaac's eyes brighten. Finally I can put my cooking knowledge to good use. "If you're making a stew, you're gonna want to use the dark kidney beans. They'll be softer and easier to chew when cooked than the light ones. Also, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but don't buy our store brand. It's much saltier and will ruin the taste". He grabs a fancier brand "there's a coupon in the flyer, makes this the same price".
"Awww thank you!" She says excitedly. "You saved me a huge headache. Tell you what. If I have any left over, maybe you can come over and try it!" Isaac blushes slightly and his eyes widen "Y-you mean... to your apartment?" he asks nervously. "I mean yea, sure. That would be cool. Well, I should get back to work. Nice to see you". She politely thanks him again and heads on her way. He catches an interesting floral scent as she leaves that he didn't notice before. Focus, Isaac. You have too much other stuff to worry about. Besides, she would never be interested in you. With that thought in mind, he returns to his work.
The rest of the day passes and it's uneventful. Finally, it's time to head home. He takes the bus home. As he enters the building, he can smell what he assumes is Rina's attempt at making this stew for her work thing. Smells good, he thinks, as hints of garlic and cabbage waft through the air. Maybe I should offer help. He reaches for her door to knock, then decides against it, instead heading to his door and entering. Isaac doesn't have the energy for real food tonight, instead opting to make a microwave meal. He sits on his bed eating, and checks the connections for the VR helmet. "Okay. After dinner, it's time to figure out what all of this nonsense is about."
When he finishes dinner, he gets everything cleaned up. As he's about to set up the game, there's a knock at his door. Looking through the peephole, he sees Rina standing on the other side of the door. "Hello?" He asks as he opens the door. "Hey Isaac. Say, I don't mean to bother you, but can you help me with something? I don't know what I'm doing wrong" she gestures towards her apartment. Isaac follows her, hesitating a moment at her door before entering. Her apartment isn't what he expected. There's no girly stuff, it doesn't smell like flowers, and there's honestly not much that would suggest it was a girl's place at all. There's some fitness equipment in one corner, a lot of plain furniture, and a few random RGB lights throughout. In the corner looks to be a comfy chair and equipment he recognizes instantly.
"Is that... Do you play Lore of The Myst too?" He asks with genuine curiosity. She has a slightly embarrassed look on her face "Welllllll.... I would, but I have no idea how to set this thing up... or even how to plug it in for that matter. Could you help me?" He nods, moving the chair "So you have the helmet and the power cable to charge it... uh, that should be it. So you just plug it in and- " no lights illuminate on the helmet.
"Oh... that was supposed to work" he says, confused. "Did you use the right hole on the helmet?" Rina asks. "Yea, I definitely did. That's not the issue" he replied. Then Issac tries the other plug on the outlet, with no success. "Do you have like a nightlight or something? I wanna try something". She looks around the room "I have this fan, will that work?" She asks him. "Yea, that should work". He plugs the fan in, turns it on... nothing. "Okay, good. I mean, it's not GOOD, but it means the outlet just doesn't work, not that something is wrong with your helmet. Pick a different place for now and have maintenance come fix that".
She motions to her bedroom "Oh, ok. Well in that case, can you bring it in here and we'll set it up in here?" He stiffens "You want me... I'm... but that's your private space" Isaac blushes again. "It's fine, it's not like you're a creep or something" her face darkens. "You're not a creep... are you?"
Isaac looks a little shocked "No I'm not a creep!" He exclaims. He picks up the helmet and carries it into her room. She has a bed that's almost too large for one person and a gaming set up. He sets the helmet on the gaming desk and plugs it in. A red light appears on the helmet and it starts to blink "There you go. All set. Anything else?"
Rina looks at him. "No, that's it. Hey, give me your gamer tag and I'll figure out how to send you a friend request once I'm in the game" she smiles at him. "Thanks again for your help, Isaac." She kindly helps show him the way out "Maybe we'll see you soon." She says, closing the door softly behind him.