A world of villains is no place for a hero.
Imprisoned for a crime he barely remembers, Gunnar is forced to labor in an underground prison camp. But if he works hard, he earns time in a beta test for the first fully immersive online RPG. Pantheon Online is beyond anything Gunnar has ever experienced, but the game is inextricably linked to his reality as a prisoner. He may not be the best or the brightest criminal, but if he fails to perform...things are not going to go well for him. Gunnar must quickly learn to navigate a cutthroat city of thieves and assassins, garner the favor of a goddess, earn his way into a guild, and try not to be the brunt of all the AI's deprecating jokes. But there's more going on, and the further Gunnar progresses, the more he realizes that he is in for the ride of his life. Or is it...for his life?