Chapter 1: The Day Everything Changed

Cole Haan stared at the sleek black box sitting on his desk, his heart racing with anticipation. The VR helmet inside wasn't just any gaming device it was a gateway to what everyone was calling the future of virtual reality. Belruna World. The name alone had dominated every gaming forum, social media platform, and news outlet for the past six months.
 
"Over a billion copies sold in one day," Cole muttered to himself, carefully lifting the helmet from its packaging. The device was surprisingly light, with a metallic blue finish that seemed to shimmer under his desk lamp. "Insane."
 
His small studio apartment in Seoul was cluttered with the evidence of his gaming obsession posters of various MMORPGs covered the walls, empty ramen cups littered his desk, and his computer displayed at least fifteen browser tabs of Belruna World guides and theorycrafting forums. At twenty-two, Cole had spent more time in virtual worlds than he cared to admit, but he had no regrets. The real world had never felt quite right for him anyway.
 
College classes could wait. His part-time job at the convenience store didn't start until tomorrow. Tonight was about something far more important: the official launch of Belruna World.
 
Cole checked his phone. 11:47 PM. Thirteen minutes until the servers went live.
 
He'd saved for three months to afford this. Skipped meals, walked instead of taking the subway, and survived on convenience store discounts from his job. But holding the helmet now, feeling its weight in his hands, he knew it was worth every won.
 
The game's promotional materials had promised something revolutionary. A world larger than Earth itself. Realistic sensory feedback that made you taste food, feel pain, and experience weather. A fantasy realm where magic and martial arts coexisted, where players could build entire civilizations or explore endless dungeons. Where you could be someone special.
 
Cole powered up the helmet and settled onto his bed, adjusting the device over his head. The interior padding molded perfectly to his skull, and a faint humming sound indicated the neural interface was initializing.
 
"Belruna World," he whispered, his pulse quickening. "Let's see what you've got."
 
The helmet's display flickered to life, showing a countdown timer: 00:11:43.
 
Cole had done his research. He knew the basics five main class categories at the start: Warriors, Mages, Healers, Archers, and Rogues. Each could evolve into advanced classes later. The game featured both a Magic Element system and something called Aura, though details on how they worked together remained vague. The developers had been frustratingly secretive about core mechanics.
 
But that was part of the appeal. Discovery. Mystery. The unknown.
 
His phone buzzed. A message from his only real-world friend, Min-jun.
 
Min-jun: Dude, you getting on at midnight? This is going to be legendary!
 
Cole: Already got the helmet on. You?
 
Min-jun: Same! Let's meet up in the starter town. I'm going Warrior class. You?
 
Cole hesitated. He'd been debating this for weeks.
 
Cole: Probably Swordsman. Seems versatile.
 
Min-jun: Boring but practical. So you. LOL. See you in there!
 
Cole smiled despite himself. Min-jun had been his roommate freshman year, the extroverted gamer who somehow dragged Cole to enough social events that he didn't become a complete hermit. They'd stayed friends even after Min-jun graduated and got a real job at a tech company.
 
The countdown hit ten minutes.
 
Cole lay back, letting the helmet's neural sensors calibrate to his brainwaves. The process felt strange a tingling sensation that spread from his temples across his entire skull. The manual had warned about this. Full-dive VR technology worked by intercepting neural signals, essentially putting your real body to sleep while your consciousness inhabited a digital avatar.
 
It was the kind of technology that would have been science fiction just twenty years ago. Now, in 2075, it was available to anyone with enough money and a stable internet connection.
 
00:05:00
 
Cole's thoughts drifted to his mundane life. College lectures that bored him to tears. A part-time job that paid barely enough to cover rent and food. A family back in Busan that he called maybe once a month, mostly to assure his mother he was still alive and attending classes. No girlfriend. No exciting prospects. Just the slow, grinding routine of existing.
 
But in games? In games, he could be someone. He'd been a guild leader in Eternal Destiny Online. A ranked PvP champion in Martial Kings. A legendary crafter in World Forge. Games gave him purpose, challenge, community.
 
Maybe that made him a loser by society's standards. He didn't care anymore.
 
00:02:00
 
Cole closed his eyes beneath the helmet, focusing on his breathing. The anticipation was almost unbearable now. All across the world, a billion players were doing exactly what he was doing waiting for that countdown to hit zero, waiting to enter a new world together.
 
00:01:00
 
His hands trembled slightly. Cole forced them still. This was it. The game that had consumed the entire planet's attention. The game that promised to redefine virtual reality itself.
 
00:00:30
 
The helmet's humming intensified. Cole felt the neural interface lock into place, his real body relaxing completely as the system took control of his motor functions.
 
00:00:10
 
A voice smooth, feminine, artificial spoke directly into his mind: "Preparing full-dive initialization. Please remain calm during the transition process."
 
00:00:05
 
Cole's heartbeat thundered in his ears.
 
00:00:03
 
"Here we go"
 
00:00:02
 
New world. New life. New me.
 
00:00:01
 
Belruna World.
 
00:00:00
 
The world exploded into light.
 
Cole gasped as every sensation in his body seemed to dissolve and reconstruct simultaneously. The darkness behind his eyelids transformed into a brilliant azure sky. The firm mattress beneath him vanished, replaced by the feeling of standing on solid ground. The stale air of his apartment shifted to a fresh breeze carrying the scent of grass and flowers.
 
He opened his eyes.
 
And found himself standing in paradise.
 
Rolling green hills stretched in every direction, dotted with colorful wildflowers that swayed in a gentle wind. In the distance, massive mountains pierced white clouds, their peaks glittering with what might have been snow or crystal. To his left, a forest of enormous trees created a verdant wall. To his right, he could see structures buildings made of white stone with blue-tiled roofs, arranged in neat rows that suggested a town.
 
But it was the sky that truly stole his breath. Two suns one golden, one pale silver hung in the heavens, casting the world in a dreamlike double shadow. And floating in the air before him, translucent and glowing with soft blue light, was a message window.
 
[WELCOME TO BELRUNA WORLD]
 
[CURRENT PLAYERS ONLINE: 1,247,853,692]
 
[AUTHENTICATION COMPLETE]
 
[PLEASE CONFIGURE YOUR AVATAR]
 
Cole looked down at himself. He was translucent, like a ghost, wearing simple gray clothes. His body looked like his real one average height, slim build, nothing special. But the system was giving him options to change that.
 
A character creation interface materialized before him, showing a three-dimensional model of his avatar. Sliders and options for everything height, build, facial features, hair, even voice tone.
 
Most players, Cole knew, would spend an hour here making themselves taller, more muscular, more handsome. The chance to be physically perfect.
 
But Cole had learned something from years of gaming: looks didn't matter nearly as much as skill. And he liked his face just fine. It was his face.
 
He made minimal adjustments kept his black hair but styled it slightly messier, kept his dark brown eyes, kept his average build. The only change he made was fixing a slight scar on his chin from a childhood accident. No point bringing real-world imperfections into a fantasy realm.
 
[AVATAR CONFIGURATION COMPLETE]
 
[PLEASE ENTER YOUR CHARACTER NAME]
 
Cole paused. This was important. Names mattered in MMORPGs. They were your identity, your brand, your legacy.
 
He'd used various names across different games, but none of them felt right for this. Belruna World was supposed to be the game. The one that would last for years. Maybe decades. He needed something meaningful.
 
After a moment's consideration, he typed: Cole
 
Simple. Clean. His real name. If this world was going to be his new reality for the foreseeable future, he might as well be himself.
 
[CHARACTER NAME ACCEPTED: COLE]
 
[PLEASE SELECT YOUR STARTING CLASS]
 
[AVAILABLE OPTIONS:]
 
- WARRIOR: High physical attack and defense. Masters of close combat.
 
- MAGE: High magical attack. Controls elemental forces.
 
- HEALER: Support class. Keeps allies alive and provides buffs.
 
1- ARCHER: High ranged physical attack. Precision and speed.
 
- ROGUE: High critical chance and mobility. Stealth specialist.
 
Cole studied the options carefully. Warrior was straightforward but potentially boring. Mage offered power but usually poor defense. Healer was always in demand but rarely got glory. Archer was fun but equipment-dependent. Rogue was exciting but difficult to master.
 
His hand hovered over Warrior the safe choice, the versatile choice but something made him hesitate.
 
A sixth option appeared, grayed out but visible.
 
- SWORDSMAN: [HYBRID CLASS - LOCKED]
 
[REQUIREMENTS: NOT MET]
 
Cole frowned. Locked? The forums hadn't mentioned locked classes. He tried to click on it for more information, but the system didn't respond.
 
"Interesting," he muttered.
 
Well, no point worrying about it now. He could always change classes later through the advancement system.
 
Cole selected: WARRIOR.
 
[CLASS SELECTED: WARRIOR]
 
[STARTING STATS ALLOCATED]
 
[LEVEL: 1]
 
[HP: 150/150]
 
[MP: 50/50]
 
[STRENGTH: 12]
 
[AGILITY: 8]
 
[VITALITY: 10]
 
[INTELLIGENCE: 6]
 
[WISDOM: 6]
 
[LUCK: 5]
 
The translucent quality of his body solidified. Cole looked down at himself, now dressed in basic leather armor brown chest piece, simple arm guards, worn boots. A basic iron sword appeared at his hip, sheathed in a plain scabbard.
 
He drew the weapon experimentally. The weight felt real. The leather-wrapped handle pressed against his palm. When he swung it through the air, he felt the resistance of movement, heard the whoosh of displaced air.
 
"Holy shit," Cole breathed. "This is incredible."
 
[TUTORIAL QUEST ACTIVATED]
 
[WELCOME, WARRIOR COLE]
 
[HEAD TO THE STARTING TOWN: HAVEN'S REST]
 
[SPEAK WITH THE TOWN CHIEF TO BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY]
 
[REWARD: BEGINNER'S SUPPLY PACK]
 
A golden arrow appeared in Cole's vision, pointing toward the white stone buildings he'd spotted earlier. The UI was intuitive the arrow visible but not intrusive, overlaid on his vision like augmented reality.
 
Cole sheathed his sword and started walking. The grass beneath his boots felt real. The wind against his face carried actual temperature warm but not hot. When he reached up to touch his hair, he felt the individual strands.
 
Every game claimed to be immersive. This was something else entirely. This was indistinguishable from reality.
 
As Cole walked toward Haven's Rest, other players materialized around him the system staggering logins to prevent overcrowding. A warrior in identical starting gear appeared to his left, looking around in wonder. A mage materialized ahead, already testing a basic fire spell that produced actual flames above her palm. An archer sprinted past, whooping with joy.
 
Everyone was excited. Everyone was amazed. The chat channels that appeared in the corner of Cole's vision scrolled at impossible speeds as players worldwide shared their first impressions.
 
Cole felt a grin spreading across his face. Whatever came next whether this game lived up to its hype or not at least he was here for the beginning. Part of gaming history.
 
He picked up his pace, jogging toward Haven's Rest, ready to start his adventure in Belruna World.
 
If only he knew that in less than an hour, that adventure would become something no one could have possibly prepared for.
 
Something that would change his life forever.
 
[END OF CHAPTER 1]