"You… you cheated," the man said before me.

The murky skies of grey flashed only for a second.

Illuminated across a vast open field were bodies motionless in the pouring rain, their weapons - spears, axes, swords, shields, all strewn about within the tall grass.

"You probably… enjoyed it, huh?" He winced in pain.

It wasn't really a view I'd relished, nor dreamt of ever happening to me in my lifetime.

"Once a coward… always a coward. Getting us in this mess wasn't enough… you just had to indulge in your sick fantasies too?"

But as the man before me buckled to his knees, heaving in agony, there was just no denying to me, or to the many others staring in disbelief encircling the vicinity that I was the one that had did this.

The man struggled to breathe, "And you're supposed to be our hero? The gatekeeper to everything, huh? I don't buy it. Not a single person in this entire place does. Don't forget, Sora. Always too little, too late… this was... all your fault... to begin with."

He collapsed to the ground, unconscious, as the many others did before him.

My fault. My fault. My fault.

I turned to them all. The loathing stares, the silent judgments. A crowd of pure hostility yearning for my just desserts.

"Who's next?" I asked, scouring through the many faces teeming with hatred. "Seven against one didn't seem to work out in your favor, maybe try eight this time… you might just get a punch in."

A thunderous roar, the multiple scrunches of grass from behind, closing in fast.

I spun behind me.

A reverberating clang resounded through the air as sparks erupted from the point of contact. My sword clashed with the blade of another, his expression strained, his eyes full of hate.

I glanced at the grey border hovering just slightly above his head.

<>

"Well, you're certainly higher than the rest of the bunch," I muttered.

Another from the crowd started a violent charge towards me, his battle axe raised high up in the air. A third from the left, with her spear in a tight grip. Fourth to the right, with his bow straining in an arc.

All at once, the arrow, the spear and the axe descended upon me. My blade soared through the air and the arrow was deflected.

My free hand pulled the spear loose from my next assailant's grip, smacking her face with the butt. Twirling the weapon in my hand, I thrusted the blunt end of the spear into the axeman's stomach, sending him crashing to the ground.

The swordsman came next, his sword raised in the air in an attempt to strike me down. But before he could come in range, the spear in my hand flew and impaled itself into the swordman's shoulder.

He staggered to the ground, clutching the spear embedded deep within his limb, his eyes frantically looking upwards towards his health bar.

An action that really wasn't necessary.

"I don't kill," I answered, meeting the heavy gazes of all my assailants, "I never have."

The rain continued to pour, the thunder continued to shriek, the bodies continued to pile, but the fighting never ceased.

Six months of turmoil. Still, too little too late. That was all anyone has ever said to me for six agonizing months.

Yet before all of this, before all the pain and turmoil of days that seemed to never end, there was a time where all the suffering I knew consisted of just simple things. Simple things like sitting too long on my chair, hunched over dead-eyed in front of the computer monitor scrolling leisurely away on countless websites.

I recalled it was hot that day.

I also recalled my A/C being broken. That's probably why.

A little while into my mouse-clicking adventure, a small little recommendation caught my eye, pasted to the side of a video about why cheese is racist and also misogynistic.

Out of boredom, I clicked on it and immediately, memories of a distant past resurface in my mind.

I squinted my eyes and read to myself, "Medieval Centuries Online Launch Trailer (15/3/2026)".

Questions began sprouting out from this sudden revelation. Questions like 'Why didn't I know about this sooner?' or 'It came out two weeks ago?' to 'It's a VRMMORPG now?' but none in more prominence to the one that surfaced out the depths of my throat.

"Wasn't this supposed to be out three years ago?"

I decided to search for any past information about the game's development.

That search brought me down an endless list of articles regarding multiple delays, developer changes, release date modifications, engine overhauls, and public outcries of multiple staff members resigning.

Needless to say, the game's been through quite a bit of drama and the fucking thing hasn't even been born yet.

Despite it all, the hype stayed firm and strong throughout its problematic development. In part due to the immense success of the first game which at this point was sixteen years ago, which coincidentally was the year where I was born.

Now I wasn't much for MMO's, but if you wanted to take me hostage, all you'd gotta do is give me even a little glimpse of anything related to fantasy and boom! I'm yours. So you bet I gobbled that shit up. Poor taste, I hear you say? Pssssh, I hardly even know her.

I still had my reserves though. The voice of reason in my head reminded me of the implications of such a troubling development cycle.

Is it really as good as everyone claimed it would be? Is it really as pristine and immaculate as that shifty developer guy stated it to be? Does it even work?

Slowly, I begin to reconsider and weighed the pros and cons.

Needless to say, I bought the game two days later.

I had the whole set-up done faster than you can say, "Get a life" and before I knew it, my body laid rested on the bed, headgear and all equipped.

This was it.

My first step into the virtual world, a world I will embrace... two weeks later than everyone else. Should I tell Minatsu to not disturb me? That I won't be coming down for dinner or for the rest of my life for that matter? Nah, too lazy to get up.

The headgear started to whirr and my vision began to blur. This was it. The start of a new life.

There was a brief period of nothingness shortly after start-up and then, light. The light was white, bright and an absolute strain to the eyes.

Where's the brightness slider, geez.

I felt a strange sensation... It was like standing in a void, feeling nothing and everything simultaneously.

I know that makes no sense, but drifting through endless white isn't something you usually can describe. Bear with me.

Before long, a small prompt appeared.

<>

Guess they're going for the simplistic approach when it comes to character creation. Not even any BGM. Welp, I'm gonna be here for a while.

And indeed, as I typed away a username befitting a man such as me, the prompt was sent away and another came in its place.

You got your usual "select your gender" and "customize your appearance" mumbo-jumbo, which in all honesty I got bored of rather quickly. Instead, I just went with the option of basing off my real-life appearance.

After a final "are you sure?" I was finally greeted with something new. The barren white all around faded to black, consuming everything in my sight. A deep booming sound echoed throughout the dark space... allowing an ominous dread to envelop me.

-In a world...

Oh my god, it's a cutscene. A stupid cutscene. That scared the hell out of me.

-A time not long before man...

Ah man, I have to sit through this now. Where the shit is the option to skip? Where's the skip button? Oi, how do I skip?

-Dawn of a new age, an age of prosperity, an age of peace...

An age of where is the skip button so help me God, I just want to play the game.

Alright for the sake of everyone's well being, I'll not mention the absolute dreariness I just went through trying to play the game. No one wants to know how I figured out how to swing a sword or jump in the air or how I cramped my finger navigating the menu system. So I'll just summarize it by saying it took 'Centuries'.

See what I did there? No? Kay then.

Finally, jumping over the final tutorial hurdle, I took my first real steps into the virtualistic dreamworld paradise I've so sought after.

Looking back now, I really should have just reconsidered more before I bought this damn game.