Chapter 1

Into the Jungle?!

    "Sign!" A sigh escaped from the young man sitting on the sofa in his study room.

    One hour earlier,

    In the VIP lounge,

    After Pun had received his prizes, the organizers invited him to a special guest room. Pun wondered if his rights were being revoked since he had swept all the special prizes. Who would take a chance now that the grand prizes were all claimed? Now, he could only follow the female presenter leading the way.

    Upon entering, instead of being disqualified, the staff came to ask for his name to send the third to sixth prizes online, as those prizes were from a game and needed to be delivered online.

    But the big problem was that Pun didn't play games at all, especially the "Dream Come True" game he had never touched, leading to a debate with the bunny-dressed female presenter.

    "Why don't you buy the 'Dream Come True' game then? I'll throw in an extra 'Blazing Stars' mystery box for you," the presenter, now turned salesgirl with sparkling eyes, suggested.

    "But why would I buy it if I'm not going to play it? I'd rather sit and read the complete set of jungle adventure novels, not to mention the books I bought today. I want to go home and read more than anything."

    "Oh, come on! Why don't you give it a try? Here, I have some game screenshots to show you," the master salesgirl turned to signal a staff member to project the game images immediately.

    The images showed a bustling city filled with people in fantasy costumes, wielding two-meter swords, some floating, others casting spells in battles, and numerous bizarre creatures Pun had never seen or imagined existed.

    "That's!!~~" Pun watched the images until one caught his eye, making him turn to the salesgirl instantly.

    "I'll take one console, please."

    "Right away, young man. Hurry, get a console for him," the salesgirl instructed the staff to fetch the device quickly, fearing he might change his mind, secretly hoping for a hefty bonus.

    "Here you go, the console costs 45,000 baht."

    "Yes, here... Uh, this is from Lililokon Corporation, right?" Pun asked uncertainly.

    "Yes, it is. Why do you ask, Pun?" the salesgirl, still confused in her presenter form, inquired, hoping he hadn't bought one already.

    "Oh! I have a membership card. I'd like to use Pantharak Rakkaewprasert's discount." Pun said happily, glad to have the discount.

    "Sure, Pun. I've entered your membership details. You're a Master level membership, so you get a 30% discount. Good luck with your game," she said, returning to her presenter form, and registering his ID. After completion, she asked him to note down his address for the delivery.

    ………

    "Sighhh..."

    And why was I sighing again? Why is that? Hahaha!

    Because I didn’t know how to play!!! Not only did I not know how to play, but I also didn’t know any gaming terms!! If it were about surviving in the jungle, I'd be fine since I was a true fan of jungle adventure novels. But this was... Ah!!! I didn’t have to play the game, haha!! Let's head to the jungle... Eh, but I needed to prepare survival gear first...

    Hmm, survival gear. It felt like having just a knife would be enough (that's what the books say).

    I should ask my dad first since he's great at jungle trekking. But where would he trek in real jungles when all that was left were man-made forests? Hmm... Anyway, I should try asking him. With that thought, Pun ran down the stairs to the central hall.

    "Dad!!~ I need some advice. Oh! What are you doing, Dad?" Pun turned to a man sitting on a very comfortable sofa. Despite his age, the man looked young and fit due to regular exercise, never abandoning the habits of his past as a Colonel Pireepinart Rakkaewprasert of the Galaxy Ground Operations Unit.

    Pun once asked his father why he left the military. His father said, "Pun, I became a soldier because I loved challenges. But now, I've found a new challenge." After saying this, he turned to look at Pun with a smile and playfully ruffled his hair.

    "Come on, Dad?! Why were you just so stingy, told me" Pun thought about this and couldn't help but smile.

    "What is it, Pun? Why did you call me?" His father turned to look at him, puzzled by his son's staring. "I know I'm handsome, but you don’t need to stare that much. It's making me blush, geez..."

    "Dad, what are you doing? Oh!!~ Uncle Ratna and Uncle Tinwong, hello. What brings you here??" Pun greeted the two uncles sitting next to his father, looking at them curiously. It was rare for him to see them, as they were now stationed in an Armory depot somewhere in space, the location of which he had forgotten.

    "What's up, young Pun!!~ Haven't seen you in so long, you've grown into a young man now, ha ha ha," Uncle Ratna, whose appearance didn't quite fit that of a soldier and seemed more suited to a monk's robe, responded. "Ah... Uncle Ratna used to be quite religious, didn't he? But after joining up with my father, he changed. Is this craziness contagious? Better keep my distance."

    "Hey, Pun, Uncle Tinwong and Uncle Ratna came here today to bring something for Pai to see. It seems you wanted something to decorate the living room, how odd," Uncle Tinwong said, shaking his head at the bizarre and strange habits of Pun’s father.

    “Dad, what are you planning to buy? I've never seen you buy anything for decoration. It’s always mom who does that,” Pun turned to ask his father, then turned to look at the boxes they were opening.

    "Whoa!! Amazing, Dad... this... it's..." I was stunned for a long time. Dad looked at me, smiled, and said,

    "Ha ha ha, I knew you'd like it. I ordered these two to find it for a long time. Once we got it, I thought it'd be nice to decorate the new room I'm planning to make. Better to display our family's collection than just keep it stored. What do you think, Pun?"

    Hearing that, Pun thought of the family's collection, including Bengal tiger skin carpet, deer heads, rhino heads, and stuffed bulls, realizing his family was partly responsible for the extinction of these wild animals.

    "By the way, Dad, which one are you choosing? Let me help you decide." Pun immediately volunteered.

    Pun excitedly looked around at the various guns. "That's a CZ in .30-06, and that one's a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44... that’s a Winchester in .458. Oh!! That's a .600 Nitro Express, the biggest of them all. Wow!! There's so many. But, Dad, have you decided which one you're going to choose?" Pun looked up at his father, noticing both his father and uncles looking back at him in astonishment.

    "Why... Dad, Uncle Rat, Uncle Tin, why are you looking at me like that?" Pun turned his face to look at his father and uncles, who looked surprised.

    "Well... Dad didn't know you liked these guns. But how did you come to know about them, Pun?" his father asked, curious.

    "Well... uh, these guns are in the books about jungle exploration. I like them, so I remembered. Oh... right, that's why I came to see you today, Dad. I wanted to ask about the essentials for going into the jungle," Pun quickly changed the subject, fearing he might forget to ask again like before.

    "Hmm! And where do you plan to venture into the jungle? These days, besides the limited conservation areas, there are only man-made forests," his father wondered where his son planned to explore.

    "Well... it's just... I saw in the game... 'Dream Come True,' there's a vast forest. And the people at the store recommended it because the game is very realistic. So... I wanted to try exploring it," Pun replied shyly.

    Pun's father then looked meaningfully at his two friends.

    "Ha ha ha! Never thought Pun would want to play a game. I see him buried in books every day. Alright, let me list the items for you. But have you set up the game yet?" His father turned to Pun, who responded by shaking his head.

    "So, Pun, you're going to play 'Dream Come True'? Perfect, Uncle Rat will throw in some extra items for you. Let me help you set up the game. But, have we bought the game yet?" Uncle Rat turned to look at Pun.

    "I've already bought it. They're delivering it now, along with some other things I bought today," Pun replied clearly.

    "Ding Dong!!!"

    "Ah, They’re here," Pun announced.

    ...

    Dad and the uncles all helped carry the gaming equipment upstairs to set it up for Pun, who stored the complete set of jungle adventure novels in his study.

    Pun looked at the books with affection; they were so old they could be considered antiques, just a couple of hundred years shy of being a thousand years old. Pun admired the books with joy; their longevity was understandable as the paper was made of silver alloy, now slightly tarnished but enhancing the gold lettering. The covers were beautifully made of gold and adorned with precious stones spelling out the book titles. Pun wasn't surprised by their durability but wondered... how these books had survived thieves?

    Sigh... I've read these on e-book several times already. Let's go on an adventure first, Pun will come back to keep you company...

    Pun thought to himself before reluctantly leaving the complete set of jungle adventure novels, as if leaving a beautiful bride alone in a small bridal chamber.

    "How are you doing, Dad? And you all are so skilled, setting up this equipment. I couldn't possibly do it with all these cables everywhere," Pun told his father while watching him and the uncles intently working on the setup.

    "Pun, do you know how many hours away from the real world this game allows? And how many days can you play it at most?" When Dad asked Pun, the response was a head shake.

    "Seriously? you can play this game for up to 7 days, with 1 real-world hour equaling 4 in-game hours. So, one real day is like 4 days in the game. Dad will set the timer for you to try it out for 7 days in the game. This game has a life-support system, so you don't have to worry about food and the like. Alright, you can get into the console now," Dad told Pun.

    Pun went to lie down in the coffin... Ah!! No. It was an elliptical sleeping pod filled with various cables and tubes inside. Pun entered and lay down, a bit tense, but received an encouraging smile from his father before the lid was closed, with his father said,

    "Have fun, son. This game is yours. Dad hopes your dream comes true."

    Pun watched his father before closing his eyes, feeling something connecting to his brain, some cables wrapping around his wrist, as his consciousness slowly faded away.

    Pun thought he heard Uncle Rat telling him to go to the bank first once he was in the game...

    Wait for me!!~ The jungle waits for me.