Chapter 1 - Sleep

It was the end of the day. Work really took quite a toll on me. The cup noodles I ate four hours earlier didn't quite give me the boost I needed. Yet, despite my low energy, I decided to play this new game I just bought.

"Heaven's War", I read aloud, while noticing silhouettes in the cover.

It's a Fantasy MMORPG game. I know, MMORPG games weren't as popular as they were back then. In the present day, FPS, and Battle Royale games dominated the virtual gaming world. Fantasy genre was big back then, but as with time comes age, and the new generation changed their preferences. Well, I still love my fantasy MMORPG games. Especially this new one. Heaven's War wasn't quite famous, since it just released, however, RPG mongers still bought it. So I expect that the plaza won't be quite deserted. Heaven's War, like any other virtual reality games, needed a VR helmet. Back then we would wear our VR helmets and walk around, actively interacting with the game's features. However, VR games today only needed you to lie down. You can even play while sleeping. People were immersed in this type of gaming system that the gaming world in VR became a second world.

"It's about time I logged in. I wonder what's in store for me this time."

I put on my VR Gaming helmet and pressed the button on the right side that powered it. Then I slept, waiting to enter the VR world.

A series of blue boxes appeared, the system calibrated my senses. Once it disappeared, I saw a system loading screen.

What. The. Hell.

"A system loading screen?! This isn't 2018!" inwardly cursing the game since I can't speak out because I was asleep. These were just thoughts I had.

"This game needs to make up for it." A VR game with a loading screen. After fifteen minutes of update, the login screen came up and automatically logged me in. I woke up in a grassy field, endless blades of grass as far as the eye can see. I was then greeted with a system notification.

[Welcome to Heaven's War!]

[Character Creation]

There were lots of character classes available. Just as I was about to pick one, the system glitched. Various colors flashed at the land, distorting the area. The distortion started from far away, then it all came at me, rapidly approaching me. As I was in character creation, I couldn't move my VR feet, only my arms. As I looked at how distorted my field of vision was, I tried ways to log out.

"It's SAO all over again!"

I jokingly said, trying to calm myself. I really couldn't log out. As my body started to distort, I could feel a sting in my head. A pain that was too unbearable. I collapsed.

Did SAO really happen?

Did I just die?