In a near cyberpunk future, VRMMOs aren't all just fun and games.

Max is a poor teenage boy, born into the lowest societal rung of Gray City known as the Bottoms. To earn money to pay for his dying mother's medical treatment, Max04428 works as a gem miner in Alethia—the fantasy world within a death game called Starsword Online.

No reality is kind to those of the Bottoms, however, and soon Max's ever-mounting expenses begin nipping at his heels, threatening to bring his fragile life crumbling down. Overworked and under-appreciated, he takes drastic measures to improve his situation. Namely, thievery... but new thieves are rarely good thieves. When the scheme backfires, Max is thrown into a dangerous world with no friends, very little knowledge, and nothing in his inventory but an unidentifiable black stone he found in the mines.

As Max struggles to level up and gain power in the vast world of Alethia, he'll need to fight his way through mountain citadels ruled by Yetis and a sky city with an empty throne. Steadfast allies are sure to come to his aid, but murderous enemies also follow his trail, seeking answers to the mysterious item in his possession…

Answers which lead to the very heart of Starsword Online itself.