"Epidemic World".
The most famous MMORPG of its time. The undisputed king of fantasy games, it left an indelible mark on an entire generation.
Released for PC over ten years ago, the game not only broke sales records but also changed the way people understood fantasy forever. International tournaments, massive forums, entire streaming channels dedicated to it… at its peak, it recorded an astronomical figure of over 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 alien creatures, humans awakening special abilities, and a system that tested the limits of human strength.
The concept was simple, brilliant and, above all... addictive.
But the curious thing was something else: over time, the game's fame did not wane.
Ten years later, the servers were still active. The forums were brimming with theories and strategies. And new users were signing up every day...
And yet, when you asked anyone for their opinion on the game, the answer was almost always the same:
"What a bloody load of rubbish."
The game was difficult, and disgustingly frustrating.
The final bosses were designed to make you cry, the mechanics were unfair, and to top it all off, 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… to put it mildly, the worst of the worst. The stagnant water of the rubbish tip: toxic and extremely cruel.
Yet, nobody could stop playing it.
No matter how many times you died, the hours you wasted, or even the insults you received… there was always a reason to keep trying again and again.
And, right at that moment, in some corner of the world, a certain streamer was about to find that out.
A hand moved swiftly across the keyboard and the sound of a click echoed throughout the room.
Everyone held their breath.
The chat was filling up wildly with intriguing comments.
However, the young man in front of the monitor had no time to check the number of viewers; he was completely focused.
His fingers danced across the keyboard, and the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. On screen, his character's health bar was dwindling by the second, whilst a monster resembling an angel unleashed violent bursts of energy.
"Come on, come on, come on!" he roared through clenched teeth.
One last hit.
One more.
One...
BOOM!
A loud sound shook the monitor and almost instantly the screen went dark.
In the centre, in large, bright red letters, two familiar words appeared:
[GAME OVER]
"NOOOOOOO!!" the dark-haired boy shouted so loudly that even the neighbour next door could hear him. "Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!"
In his rage, he slammed his hand down on the table and his coffee cup nearly spilled.
Instantly, the monitor flickered... and went blank.
"Bloody rubbish game!" he growled.
At that moment, as if revelling in his misery, a notification appeared just in time:
[Boterss56 has donated 500 coins]
"I told you, boss, that game's impossible
(ง ื▿ ื)ว"
"Oh, thanks for the 500 coins, Boter," he replied, raising his voice in an exaggerated tone. "Impossible? Ha, ha, ha! Please… when have you ever seen me, YOUR FATHER NightSlicer777, fail to complete a simple game?"
As soon as his words fell, the chat window exploded:
[Lassy32]「Showing off again (# `Д ´)/」
[XttDarkLordxXc] 「HAHAHA, that's your fourth attempt now, you wimp」
[Trollface_99] 「Give up, mate, you weren't born for this」
[Boterss56] "What can't be done, can't be done ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)"
[MillionGodswort] "Here we go again, chat, get the popcorn ready"
[DarkLordxX] "Masochist confirmed
ヽ(`д´;)/ "
"Masochist my arse!" he replied, frowning and moving the mouse quickly once more.
With a click, he selected the option:
[Do you wish to start again?]
[Yes] / [No]
"Of course I do," he said, finally calming down.
Instantly, the screen began to load.
> [Loading…]
…
[%$$# Error]
"Eh?" he frowned.
He tried again.
> [Loading…]
…
[%$$# Error]
"No, no, no, no!" he banged on the monitor again.
Suddenly, a wisp of smoke began to rise from the computer.
"Shit! The fire extinguisher!" He jumped to his feet, but didn't realise his foot had got caught in a loose cable and ended up falling face-first onto the floor.
The chat user, who had obviously seen everything, didn't hold back:
[Trollface_99] 「HAHAHAHAHAHAHA」
[Rosy] 「My poor baby, are you alright?
(╥﹏╥)」
[Boterss56] 「Streamer 0 - Cable 1
(っ ͡ ͡° - ͡ ͡° ς)」
[DarkLordxX] 「This is cinema ( ๑‾̀◡‾́)✧˚ 」
NightSlicer777 raised his head, his eyes moist, only to see the entire chat making fun of him.
He snorted and, staggering, took the fire extinguisher off the wall. Luckily for him, the monitor began to cool down on its own and the game interface reloaded.
> [Starting…]
"Phew…" he sighed with relief.
But as soon as he recalled the scene, his cheeks flushed slightly and he seriously considered hiding in a corner.
"…I should turn off the stream," he muttered, touching his face.
He put the fire extinguisher away and sat back down with an indecisive expression on his face.
Just then, as if reading his mind, a notification appeared:
[MillionGodswort has donated 1000 coins]
〔Boss, please play one more game٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡ 〕
—Oh, Godswort! —he smiled, trying to sound humble—. Actually, I was planning to stop here… but seeing your sincerity, how could I ignore you?
Seeing the sudden change in his expression, the chat lit up again:
[Trollface_99] 「Look at this slave to capitalism (𓌻‸𓌻) 」
[DarkLordxX] 「LOL, sincerity, he says」
[Rosy] "I'll donate too if you call me pretty ᡣ𐭩𖹭"
[Boterss56] "Boss, your eyes are shining with greed ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و"
—Ahem, ahem! —he coughed discreetly and moved the mouse to the character creation tab.
As it loaded, the game title appeared on the screen:
> "Epidemic World"
After a few seconds, the interface finally appeared.
There, you could customise everything from scratch—eye colour, skin tone, and even race—all to your liking, and as a bonus, you received a random ability for the tutorial.
It was one of the reasons the game exploded in popularity… although, of course, it all came crashing down afterwards.
NightSlicer777 moved the mouse with precision and greater speed than in his previous three attempts:
Prominent jawline.
Slightly upturned nose.
Shiny black hair.
When he was done, he puffed out his chest with pride.
"Done. What do you reckon, lads? Doesn't he look just like me?"
The chat couldn't take it and exploded:
[Trollface_99] "Bloody scammer!"
[DarkLordxX] "Just like you where? (߬⚈ o⚈ꪷ)"
[Rosy] 「You're gorgeous, boss! (∩˃о˂∩)♡」
[Boterss56] 「Aren't you ashamed to say that, you cheeky thing」
—You're all so hard on me! —he laughed nervously—. I just tweaked it a bit… but overall, it's my own face.
Suddenly, another notification popped up on the screen:
[Rosy has donated 200 coins]
〔You're so handsome (❀❛ ֊ ❛„)」ᥫ᭡.〕
"Rosy!" he beamed as if he'd won the lottery. "You really know how to appreciate beauty."
The chat couldn't bear to watch any longer and fell into a collective depression:
[DarkLordxX] 「Damn… (ﾉಥ益ಥ)/」
[Trollface_99] 「Injustice ︶꒷꒦︶」
[Boterss56] 「I'm going to unsubscribe(ˊᵒ̴̶̷̤ꇴᵒ̴̶̷̤ˋ)」
Ignoring the chat window threatening to leave, he refocused on the game.
> [Loading…]
…
[Loading#$…]
The screen froze halfway through.
NightSlicer777 didn't bother this time; he simply reached out and went to restart it, but then:
—Eh?
The world began to spin.
The chat, the monitor, the room… everything became blurry.
His breathing quickened.
And, just before losing consciousness, he managed to read one last message on the screen:
[Trollface_99] "Boss, if you die again, I'm unsubscribing ┌∩┐(๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)┌∩┐"
Then, total darkness.