Pathfinders Ascent

To win means to attain endless wealth, boundless honour, unsurpassable status, and a chance to enter the promised land of Eden.

To lose means to remain trapped inside a murky, poisonous hellscape.

Victory or Defeat. Heaven or Hell. The Ascenders Cup will decide your place.

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Aether, (pronounced Ether), is a twenty-six-year-old, odd-jobs man. Faced with a sudden financial crisis that threatens to destroy his familiar life, he joins a group of teenagers to participate in a Fully-Immersive VR Arena Tournament that promises him wealth and much more. As desires and dreams, ideals and morals collide, Aether's journey is bound to change him forever.

Smash (the game) meets Cyberpunk in this novel, set in a post-fallout world. This is my submission for the MALxHoneyfeed competition.
Prompt: Cyberpunk.

2 chaps/day, for a total of 25-ish chapters. Average chapter length: 3500 words.