«Epidemic World.»
The most famous MMORPG of its time. The undisputed king of fantasy games, it was responsible for shaping an entire generation.
Released for PC more than ten years ago, the game didn't just break sales records — it forever changed the way people understood fantasy. International tournaments, massive forums, entire streaming channels dedicated to it… at its peak, it recorded an astronomical figure of more than forty million players connected at the same time.
The original story was based on a fantasy novel of the same name:
A world invaded by external creatures, humans awakening special abilities, and a system that tested the very limits of human strength.
The concept was simple, brilliant, and above all… addictive.
But what was truly curious was something else: over time, the game's fame never diminished.
Ten years later, the servers were still active. Forums overflowed with theories and strategies. New users registered every day…
And yet, when you asked anyone their opinion about the game, the answer was almost always the same:
—What a damn piece of trash.
The game was hard, disgustingly frustrating.
Final bosses were designed to make you cry, the mechanics were unfair, and to make matters worse, if you died even once, you lost absolutely everything and had to start all over again.
And if that wasn't enough, the community was… well, the absolute worst. The stagnant water of the sewer: toxic and extremely cruel.
Even so, nobody could stop playing it.
It didn't matter how many times you died, the hours you lost, or even the insults you received… there was always a reason to try one more time.
And, right at that moment, somewhere in the world, a certain streamer was about to find out why.
A hand moved quickly over the keyboard, and the sound of a click echoed through the room.
Held breath.
The chat filling rapidly with intrigued comments.
With no time to check the number of viewers, he was completely focused.
His fingers trembled over the keys, and the tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife. On-screen, his character's health bar dropped with each passing second as the final boss unleashed violent bursts of energy.
—Come on, come on, come on! —he roared through clenched teeth.
One last hit.
One more.
One…
Silence.
The screen went black.
In the center, in large, bright red letters, two familiar words appeared:
[GAME OVER]
—NOOOOOOO!! —the dark-haired boy screamed so loudly that even the neighbor next door could hear—. Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!
He slammed the table with his open hand, and his coffee mug almost spilled.
Instantly, the monitor flickered… and shut off.
—Damn trash game! —he growled.
At that moment, as if mocking his suffering, a notification popped up right on cue:
[Boterss56 has donated 500 coins]
「Told you, boss, this game's impossible
(ง ื▿ ื)ว」
—Oh, thanks for the 500 coins, Boter, —he replied in an exaggerated, theatrical tone—. Impossible? Hah! Please… when have you ever seen me, NightSlicer777, fail to beat a simple game?
The moment his words dropped, the chat instantly exploded:
-[Lassy32]「Showing off again \(# `Д ´)/」 -[Trollface_99]「LOL this is your fourth try, noob」
-[Boterss56]「What can't be done, can't be done ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)」
-[MillionGodswort]「Here we go again, chat, get your popcorn ready」
-[DarkLordxX]「Confirmed masochist
ヽ(`д´;)/」
—Masochist, my ass! —he snapped, frowning as he quickly moved his mouse.
With a click, he selected the option:
[Do you want to start over?]
[Yes] / [No]
—Obviously, yes.
The screen started loading.
> [Loading…]
…
[%$$# Error]
—"Huh?" —he frowned.
He tried again.
> [Loading…]
…
[%$$# Error]
—No, no, no, no!—he banged the monitor in frustration.
Suddenly, a thin thread of smoke started coming out of the PC.
—Shit! The extinguisher! —he jumped up, but didn't notice his foot caught on a loose cable and ended up crashing face-first onto the floor.
The chat, of course, having witnessed everything, showed no mercy:
[Trollface_99]「HAHAHAHAHAHA」
[Rosy]「My poor baby, are you okay?
(╥﹏╥)」
[Boterss56]「Streamer 0 - Cable 1
(っ ͡ ͡° - ͡ ͡° ς)」
[DarkLordxX]「This is cinema ( ๑‾̀◡‾́)✧˚ 」
NightSlicer777 lifted his head, teary-eyed, only to see the entire chat mocking him.
He snorted, wobbled to his feet, and grabbed the fire extinguisher from the wall. Luckily, the monitor cooled down on its own, and the game interface came back up.
> [Starting…]
—Uff…—he sighed in relief.
But the moment he remembered the scene, his cheeks turned as red as tomatoes, and he considered hiding in a corner of the room.
—…I should end the stream —he muttered, touching his face.
He put the extinguisher back, sat down again, and pretended nothing had happened.
Right then, as if reading his mind, a notification popped up:
[MillionGodswort has donated 1000 coins]
〔Boss, please, one more round ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡〕
—"Oh, Godswort!" —he smiled, trying to sound humble—. "Honestly, I was planning to stop here… but seeing your sincerity, how could I refuse you?"
Seeing how quickly he changed his mind, the chat lit up again:
-[Trollface_99]「Look at this capitalist slave (𓌻‸𓌻)」
-[DarkLordxX]「LOL 'sincerity,' he says」
-[Rosy]「I'll donate too if you call me cute ᡣ𐭩𖹭」
-[Boterss56]「Boss, your eyes are literally glowing with money ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و」
—"Cough, cough!" —he fake-coughed and quickly moved his mouse to the character creation tab.
As the game's title popped up on the screen:
«Epidemic World»
After a few seconds, the interface finally appeared.
You could fully customize everything — eye color, skin, even race — and as a bonus, you'd get a random skill for the tutorial.
It was one of the reasons the game exploded in popularity… although, of course, everything later went downhill.
NightSlicer777 moved the mouse with more precision and speed than in his last three attempts:
Chiseled jawline.
Slightly upturned nose.
Shiny silver hair.
When he finished, he puffed out his chest proudly.
—Done. What do you think, guys? Doesn't it look just like me?
The chat couldn't hold it in and burst out:
-[Trollface_99]「Scammer!」
-[DarkLordxX]「Looks like you where exactly? (߬⚈ o⚈ꪷ)」
-[Rosy]「You're gorgeous, boss! (∩˃о˂∩)♡」
-[Boterss56]「Aren't you ashamed saying that, you shameless bastard」
—You guys are so harsh! —he laughed nervously—. I just touched it up a little… but overall, it's basically my face.
Suddenly, another notification invaded the screen:
[Rosy has donated 200 coins]
〔You're really handsome (❀❛ ֊ ❛„)」ᥫ᭡.〕
—Rosy! —he grinned like he'd just won the lottery—. You truly know how to appreciate beauty.
The chat couldn't stand watching anymore and collectively sank into depression:
-[DarkLordxX]「Damn you… (ﾉಥ益ಥ)/」
-[Trollface_99]「Unfairness level: god-tier ︶꒷꒦︶」
-[Boterss56]「I'm unsubscribing (ˊᵒ̴̶̷̤ꇴᵒ̴̶̷̤ˋ)」
Ignoring the chat threatening to leave, he refocused on the game.
> [Loading…]
…
[Cargan#$…]
The screen froze halfway through.
NightSlicer777 didn't get angry this time; he simply stretched out his hand to restart — but then:
"Huh?"
The world began to spin.
The chat, the monitor, the room… everything blurred.
His breathing quickened.
And just before losing consciousness, he managed to read one final message on-screen:
-[Trollface_99]「Boss, if you die again, I'm unsubscribing ┌∩┐(๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)┌∩┐」
Then… total darkness.