“Thousands across the continent are awaiting tonight’s midnight release of EndGame Online. EndGame Online offers a full dive virtual reality experience boasting a realistic and memorable experience. Explore this sword and sorcery fantasy world at your own pace. Choose your own adventures. Fight against monsters and other players. Complete quests as you wander through the land. Improve your skills, and much much more. This ultimate dungeon explorer VRMMORPG has something for everyone. Join in on the discussion at ‘skyroyalstudios.org/EGO/forum/discussion' for the latest information.”

An advertisement can be heard playing in the background as I walk down the street. These types of advertisements have been playing more frequently over the past month, and one cannot go a day in the city without noticing them. Normally these advertisements are filtered out of my mind; however, the product of this advertisement is something that cannot be ignored. The reason is: I hold one of the limited copies of the gaming system.

It is currently mid day on July 11, 2026, and a cool sea breeze comes off the ocean, alleviating the sun’s blistering hot rays if only for a moment. Sweat rolls down my face as I raise my hand as a visor and look at the sky. High cirrus clouds can be seen moving at a fast pace, indicating a change in the weather front. Usually, a clear sky indicates a high pressure system, while clouds come with a lower pressure system along with a change in weather. The darkened clouds in the distance show that a storm is coming.

A vibration escapes from my pocket as my phone lights up. On it is a message from Devon, one of my friends from high school. “Hey! Rose, Zoey, Chris, Jimmy, and I were thinking of going down to the beach before the storm hits. Are you in?” Devon and Rose are a couple that does absolutely everything together, while Zoey and Jimmy only recently hooked up with each other. Poor Chris is currently the third wheel, so it was most likely him that suggested I come as well.

Since i’ve got some time to kill, I open up the keyboard and send my reply: “Yea, I’m in. Which beach were you thinking of?” If I can get there via bus, I won’t bother going home.

The reply comes almost instantly: “We’re headed to Cadboro Bay, the place we went to last year. We’ll be there at 1:30pm.” I look down at my watch and see it is currently 1:00pm. Devon hasn’t given me much time to work with, but if I catch the next bus, I should be able to make it.

The bus finally arrives, 10 minutes late. The bus service is our city is famous among the residents for it’s reliability. The bus driver is an old man that looks to be in his 60’s with a bald head and a beer gut. He only gives a passing glance to make sure I payed before turning the bus back onto the road. I find a seat near the back where I don’t have to sit next to anyone. There are a few interesting characters on the public transit during peak times, but thankfully in the early afternoon the bus is relatively empty. Look through the windowing, the scenery goes by quickly and without rest.

Cadbury Bay is near the University, so many bus routes terminate there. As I stare outside the window, I cannot help but think of what life would be like in a video game without these worldly constraints. A few months prior, I had lined up in front of the authorized retail store to obtain one of the hundred available gaming units in our city of two hundred thousand. My best friends Chris and Phil were there with me, and had brought out tents, sleeping bags, and other supplies camping out for days. A few days of University were missed, but my attendance record was otherwise unblemished, so it was easy to get away with.

In the end, we managed to get three of the last units sold, but not without an astronomical price tag. The unit itself cost a few thousand dollars and that doesn’t include the monthly subscription fees. However, to experience the first ever real life VRMMORPG, after having read about them in countless web novels, blowing my savings on this was well worth it. Finally, about 15 minutes of daydreaming later, the bus arrives at my stop.

A short walk down to the beach later, I come across a group of familiar faces. Chris, Devon, Jimmy, Rose, and Zoey are all standing next to Devon’s van unloading beach chairs, towels, a beer cooler, etc. Chris looks up and notices me, “Look what we have here!” He gathers the attention of the rest of them and directs it towards me, “Quinn’s arrived, but...” He looks me up and down, “Where’s your bathing suit and towel?”

The others seem to have noticed my lack of supplies, and I notice Rose trying hard to surprise her giggling, while Devon has a slight look of pity in his eyes. “What do you expect? I was downtown and given a 30 minute window to get here!”

“Alright, Alright!” He replies, “I brought a spare towel that you can use.” Chris tosses me the towel in his arms, “Catch!”

“Come on, let’s try and find a good spot!” Jimmy announces, while dragging Zoey behind him down to the water. This is my first time actually seeing his new girlfriend. She has light brown hair tied up in a bun and a friendly face. Her body has retained some of her baby fat; however, it is in all the right places. I can see, at least superficially, why Jimmy likes her. Jimmy himself is on the short and stocky side, and while he may look like a delinquent, he has a really kind character.

The rest of us follow them down onto the beach, through the maze of driftwood, over the coarse rocks, and onto the fine grains of sand. People of all ages can be seen walking up and down along the shoreline, or resting atop the sand. Plenty of people are also in the water and sailboats can be seen not too far off the coast. Cadboro Bay is as the name suggests, a bay, and a marina is located not too far away from our location.

Along the beach, many of the best spots have already been claimed; however, Jimmy and Zoey find a nice spot for us. When we spread out our towels on the sand, Devon and Rose combine their towels next to each other. The same is true for Jimmy and Zoey, which leaves Chris and I to be the odd men out.

“Ahh” One of the girls lets out a content sigh, “This is so nice! I wish we could do this more often.”

“Yea!” Devon agrees, “It’s a shame that we’re a lot busier than we used to be. With our jobs and university, it’s hard to find time to relax with all of us.”

“It’s technically not ‘all’ of us.” Chris comments, “Neither Phil, nor Tara are here. I know Tara is working, but I don’t know about Phil.”

“Ahh, he’s probably preparing for that virtual reality game that’s coming out soon.” Jimmy replies with a mocking tone, “What’s it called again?”

“It’s called EndGame Online.” Annoyed by Jimmy’s attitude, Chris retorts. “It’s the first ever VRMMORPG, and it’s coming out tonight!”

“What’s VRMMORPG stand for again?” While feigning ignorance, Jimmy comments.

As if unwilling to listen to Jimmy taking this any further, Zoey interjects in their conversation. “It stands for Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. I, for one, am jealous of those who obtained a copy of the game. I heard people had to camp outside for days just to get a copy, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do that.”

Devon finally joins the conversation. “Well, from our group, there are three people who have the game, so maybe you could use one of their systems.”

“Three!?” Zoey’s eyes light up. “Ahh, i’m so jealous! Who else has them?”

“Hehe, that would be Chris and Quinn.” Jimmy replies. ”Those three skipped school to camp outside the store. Even ate away at their savings to purchase the game.”

“You’re so lucky!” Zoey turns to face both Chris and I, “The next round of systems is set to be released in two weeks! Do you know how much of a head start two weeks will give? Especially for a MMORPG?”

I only give her a halfhearted awkward smile in response, while the others seem be unable to respond. Finally, Rose breaks the silence. “I’m going to go down to the water. Would anyone care to join me?” Without waiting for a reply, she starts taking off her clothes, exposing her white and black bikini. Her body is as well toned as I remember. With a bountiful chest, a flat stomach, and a tight ass, she draws the attention of many male onlookers. Paired with her generous personality and kind temperament, Devon has really found himself a keeper.

It doesn’t take long for the rest of them to follow suit. All of them, except myself, have swimsuits, so soon I am left to guard the towels. Oh well. I remove my shirt, create a makeshift pillow, and lean back to enjoy the sun. The next few hours go by in a flash, and eventually the sun becomes hidden behind the clouds. Once the chilly wind hits us, we unanimously decide to call it a day.

Rather than waiting for the bus to take me home, I hitch a ride with Devon and Rose. Thankfully, they live not too far away from me and were willing to give me a lift. When I walk through the front door of my house I am greeting by an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Having spent the day with my friends, I have already started to miss them. None of my family members are home at the moment, so the house feels deserted. A few months ago I would have been greeted by my beloved family dog, but now all I see is his collar sitting on the windowsill. Still protecting the house.

Since I am the only one home at this moment, I go into the kitchen to make a snack. The house is a farmhouse that is over 100 years old. Built during 1916, it is still standing despite the two major earthquakes that occurred during it’s life. The whole interior has been renovated extensively, so the kitchen is modern and up to date.After fixing myself the snack, I climb the stairs to my room on the second floor. My room is the smallest of my family members, but that is to be expected being the youngest. At the far end of my room, beneath the window is my bed, on which rests the Ocularis headgear for EndGame Online. I might as well configure the gaming helmet while i’m at it.

The helmet has a sleek black design, which encompasses the entire head. Electrodes are placed at various points along the scalp to pick up neural activity. This also serves to provide sensory and motor functioning. At the base of the helmet, where the brain stem is located, a specialized probe is sent to intercept motor neurons and prevent superfluous movements. This is designed so that when one is running or fighting in the game, the individual’s real body remains motionless. The power is supplied externally, but the helmet includes an internal battery which can last up to 96 hours of continuous gameplay.

The helmet is the first in it’s class and syncs up with the central servers at Sky Royal Studios via wireless connection. This connection is independent of regular internet service providers and is designed to provide near instantaneous transfer of data without risk of losing connection. I have no knowledge about physics, so, in my view, it seems as if our consciousness is transported directly to their servers. This is truly the dawn of virtual reality gaming. 10 years ago, something like this would have been impossible, but a major breakthrough in data transmission a few years ago made it possible. It drove the large communication companies green with envy.

Virtual reality itself has been commercially available for the past decade or so, but it is only recently that the working class can afford their own private systems. I’ve used virtual reality before at the university, but the models they have are already outdated. It is an ever growing market with Sky Royal Studios at the very forefront. It’s similar to how ten years ago, once the smartphones hit the shelves, the technology was already outdated compared to what was in the research labs.

In the past, research had been trending towards acceleration of time within virtual reality. However, the human brain is physically incapable of withstand speeds beyond 4x normal capacity in the virtual reality setting. But, even this is only in short bursts. The virtual reality stimulates the user’s brain to function, but this still uses up valuable nutrients for the brain. It has been shown that irreparable brain damage will occur if done over long periods of time.

Therefore, current research has shifted towards increasing the realism of the virtual reality. This refers to how close to reality is the virtual world. From the outside, realism seems more of a marketing technique, but rigourous research has proven it is possible to measure the differences in percentages. The term itself was just arbitrarily named based on science fiction of the previous decade.

As for games, I am no stranger to MMORPG’s. I had gotten addicted to a computer based MMORPG during my teens and ended up spending four years of my life in front of a computer screen. I later quit the game while going through a major depressive episode and moved on, but something about MMO’s always drew my interest. Perhaps it was the feelings of accomplishment from levelling up, completing quests, or hunting monsters, but I had always been drawn to medieval sword and sorcery fantasies.

In my youth, I took fencing and archery lessons. Due to my fascination with swordplay, I had received many comments on how I should have been born in another time. As for archery, while I may not have been the best, I was at least good enough to hit the target.

Before I knew it, the sun has already gone down. An overcast sky along with the light pollution of a city shrouds the stars, drowning out their light. I had missed dinner, but I can always fix up something in the morning.

*Sigh*

During the dead of night my phone lights up. I received a text message from Phil. “Hey, you ready for this?”

“Of course. I’ve been waiting for months.” I send him a message back.

“Ahh, this is going to be awesome! Only 30 more minutes until launch!”

I check the clock and sure enough, it is 11:29PM. A silence lingers throughout the house, but the internet remains as noisy as ever. Sky Royal Studio’s main webpage is open on my laptop, displaying a count down. The chat bar in the bottom corner of the screen is constantly updating at a speed to fast to read.

“Maybe you’ll finally find a cute girl in the game. I heard the avatars will be based on our real appearances.” Phil is perpetually single, so i’ve grown accustomed to this side of him.

“Really? Damn... I was looking forward to customizing my avatar.”

“Ahh, don’t worry about that. There will be 500,000 players, so there are bound to be quite a few cute female gamers out there. Everyone has their own preferences.”

“...”

“Well, you never know, eh?”

“True. Anyways, have you decided on a class yet?”

“Yea, I think i’ve got it settled between a knight and a warrior, but i’m leaning more towards the knight.” Three main melee classes exist within EndGame Online: the Warrior, the Knight, and the Barbarian. The knight is defence oriented, while the barbarian is strength oriented. The warrior takes the middle ground and is a balance between the two.

“Hmm... I would have thought you’d go with the mage.”

“Pfft... I was a mage in the last game, so I’d rather try something new. How about you?”

“I still haven’t decided yet between two classes, but it’s not going to be a knight or a warrior.”

“You’re always so secretive. Anyways, I’ll find out sooner or later”

I check the count down on the webpage once more and see a big red 00:15:35 “Looks like we are almost out of time. I guess i’ll see you in the game.”

“Alright, later.” My phone lights up with his final message. I don’t even bother opening up the app, and just let it turn off automatically.

I put down my phone and ready the system. It’s odd to think that five hundred thousand people are doing this exact same thing, waiting for the launch of EndGame Online. Rain begins pounding outside my window as I take a final glance at the world outside.

The clock now shows 11:50pm, ten minutes before the midnight launch of EndGame Online. The rain has picked up and it seems a thunderstorm is on its way. Oh well, it’s almost time to enter the game and say goodbye to this dull reality. However, before that can happen, my phone lights up once more.

“Hey! One last thing. I heard a few rumours through the grapevine that a few celebrities will be joining the game. Maybe you’ll get lucky and meet one of them.”

“Knock it off. I’ll talk to you later”

“Damn it!” He replies almost instantly after my message sends. I sometimes wonder if he even bothers reading my messages.

“What now?”

“Chris’s unit has malfunctioned somehow, so he can’t play until he gets it fixed tomorrow.”

“Shit luck... I guess it’s just you and me tonight then.” That’s unforunate, but it just means we’ll get a day or two head start. If worst comes to worst, he will have to wait two weeks until the next shipment of devices is planned to arrive. “I’ll see you in there.” I plug the helmet in, attach it to my head, and lay down on my bed trying to get comfortable.

“Link Start”

The helmet scans my retina to confirm my identity and within seconds the outside world begins to fade as I await the launch. In my vision is a giant red clock counting down the minutes and seconds. Nothing to do but wait patiently for the time to slowly trickle by.

00:06:25

00:05:47

00:05:12

[Attention players. There are now five minutes remaining until launch.]

00:04:35

00:02:10

00:01:15

[Attention players. There is now one minute remaining until launch.]

00:00:30

00:00:16

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