It didn't seem like it could load fast enough, but I knew that this game had the fastest loading time of any of its kind. A skipped through a few of the introductory pages. Usually, I would read them to get the whole experience, but I had edited and reedited those pages so many times. I didn't want to find some nonexistent flaw and make myself all depressed. I doubt anything could bring me off of this buzz, though.

Basically, the pages explained the concepts of the game. It really was the ultimate game. It tied several different gaming options into one giant adventure. Different goals. Different competitions. Different fighting styles. Different cultures. Different times. The possibilities were endless.

The next screen let the user determine how they start off. This was one of the most time consuming parts of getting started. Being the game creator, I had infinitely more options. It was a big commitment. I had to choose the look, abilities, and starting stats for my character that would last me pretty much throughout the game.

The name wasn't really that hard to choose. I had used this name since I was a little girl: SakurAssassin. The gender was easy as well: undefined. I hated to be classified as one or the other. I wasn't a guy and didn't believe I should pretend to be one. Girls never had the stats I wanted. So, I had formulated the system in a way that I could just focus on stats and override the gender identification.

To go with my name, I chose to be a ninja. It was best for sneaking around the game trying to find areas to improve. I chose my favorite ability: invisibility. It wasn't perfect invisibility because that wouldn't be fair, but it was pretty darn close. I would be invisible to all people whenever I chose under a certain setting except for the one who killed me last.

There was also a starting item that would let me walk through solid objects. That may have been a bit of a hack. The staring weapons are usually supposed to be chosen randomly. It could be anything from a weapon, or specialty item, or just a potion. I was sure to get the ghost walker so I could maneuver through my game. I made the excuse that I needed it for my job, but in reality, I just thought it would be awesome. I could get through all those crowds so easily. If only that could happen in real life.

Once I was satisfied, I submitted my final decision for my player. It showed my character before loading the actual gameplay. My person was covered head to toe in black. The only thing you could see was a pair of eyes. A black mask covered most of my face. Even when I chose not to be invisible, I could remain a mystery.

The starting point for my character was in Japan. There were eight different starting points based off of the eight main powers in World War II. The scenery, although it was virtual, was breathtaking. The trees were all in bloom with soft pink flowers. Birds chirped softly through my headphones. You could see the wind rustling the trees. If only I could feel that on my skin. This whole experience was sensational.

Of all the places, Japan was my favorite, at least when there was no one else around. It was so peaceful. China was pretty peaceful, too. There were a lot of shops there. It was a good place to get the best deals, but the quality was not always the best to trust. There wasn't much in Russia, but it was a good place for fighting some pretty intimidating snow monsters. They were rare, but gave a lot of experience.

France was pretty. It had some high quality shops, so that would attract a lot of people. It was a good place to meet others and compete against them in duels. England was a rather dreary place. There were a lot of magical qualities to find there. Potions were hidden all over the place, and there were a lot of mischievous creatures.

Germany would be a good place to find really strong fighters, like Russia. In Germany, there was an institute for game strategy. It was a pretty slow way to gain experience, but there wasn't any risk. You could always try for the Black Forest, but you could never really tell what you'd find there.

Italy didn't really have anything for fighters. I had a feeling it would be popular with some of the girl gamers. This place, as well as France, was where you could find some of the romance aspects of the game. There were pretty gorgeous NPCs that were hopelessly devoted to whoever could unlock their hearts. The hotter they were, the harder it would be to obtain. It was fun to look at pretty boys and all, but I preferred to go out on adventures.

And last but not least, the farthest west was America. It was probably one of the most exciting places in the game. All major information about the game and player standings could be found here. It was a good place to get updated on all the different aspects of the game. It was probably my second favorite place in the game. At night, the lights would dance around the night sky. It was beautiful in a different way than the natural Japan.

I looked at my clock. It read midnight. This had taken me longer than I intended. The game would be released today. There was only about eleven hours until the players would log in. That gave me just enough time to do a final run through of the game while checking for flaws.

Even being able to walk through objects, it took a very long time to check every nook and cranny of the game. The world was just so huge. Everything came out satisfactory. Hidden items were where they were supposed to be. Creatures and bosses were at reasonable levels and were able to be defeated. NPCs were interacting properly.

I made it all the way to the final boss chamber. This was the last place I needed to check. I slipped through the heavy puzzle door. I checked the time. It read 7:40 am. I rubbed my eyes. I had made great time, but I was starting to get sleepy. I promised that I would go to sleep just after this. I turned my invisibility on. This final boss was pretty intimidating. The invisibility wouldn't really do much. The boss could hear pretty much anything. His reactions were lightening quick. I peered around the corner. Yep, he was where he was supposed to be. Great. Everything checked out alright. I tiptoed back to the door. I would need to find a good place to save and come back to, so I could go to sleep.

I heard a small beep in my headphones. Hmm, that was odd. I had gotten a PM through the game. Maybe one of the other workers was online and checking through things. I didn't think I had missed anything, but it would be important read in case there was a flaw in the game.

UltimateHeroEric: Dude, heads up!

I squinted at the screen. I didn't recognize the username. That was impossible. I rubbed at my eyes. Was I so tired that I was seeing things?

I heard something else. Something banged. I whipped around. Had the Boss woken up? I wouldn't be able to sleep for a while if it did. I could tell this was going to be a pain. I was so tired.

From a small hole in the ceiling of the chamber, something marred with the light that shone in from the outside. What was that? It looked like a rocket. Holy shit, that was a rocket! Before I could do anything or figure out where it could have possibly come from, it hit me. I watched helplessly as my HP depleted. The screen went black.

I blinked and did a double take. My face reappeared on the screen as the system started up again. No way. This wasn't possible. Did I...did I die? But there weren't supposed to be other players until 11:11!

As soon as the home screen came up, I checked the stats. 0 players currently playing. That was normal. Had something with the system failed?

I checked my history. It had collected the data from my hours of playing. Something caught my eyes and breath. UltimateHeroEric killed SakurAssassin. The shot had been from over 100 miles and somehow managed to be critical. That was my one weakness. I had purposefully used my points to cover other areas. I hadn't known any player would could aim accurately from that far anyway. Yet, this UltimateHeroEric had managed to take me down in one shot.

I turned off the game and took my headphones off. I sat back in my chair and weaved my fingers in my hair. I couldn't handle this. It just wasn't registering. Maybe all the excitement was getting to me? Hopefully when I woke up in the afternoon, this would all be a bad dream.