Exceed

I knew this was a god-tier game, and I knew countless people admired it. “But… I never expected it would turn out like this…” I whispered, smiling with a feeling I couldn’t describe with mere words. Anger, sadness, joy, pride, disappointment, excitement—every emotion I could think of blended into one inside my chest. In front of me—no, in front of all of us—a strange screen appeared. Something that no logic could explain. Something that should’ve been impossible. [WELCOME TO EXCEED, PLAYERS] --- Exceed. The god-tier game that dominated the top rankings of every search engine in the world, translated into dozens of languages, and enjoyed by almost everyone—rich or poor, young or old. Why was it called a god-tier game? Because it was the first and only VRMMO that truly made you feel like you were transported into another world, side by side with millions of other players. Yes—millions wasn’t an exaggeration. It was the truth. Everyone knew this game. Almost everyone had played it at least once. A game offering a completely new world, one so immersive that players often forgot the real one. No one really knew where the game came from or how it worked, because even after years of research, scientists still couldn’t explain it. Even the company behind it sounded unfamiliar to seasoned gamers. On the surface, Exceed was a simple RPG—set in a medieval world where players hunted monsters and fought the servants of an evil god. A cliché storyline. So people thought, *“Just another boring game.”* But Exceed was… different. Just like any RPG, players chose their role, distributed stat points, and grew stronger by leveling up. There was no pay-to-win. No shortcuts. Everything depended on the players—skills, equipment, titles, quests. The possibilities were limitless. That’s what made Exceed feel alive. Real. The graphics were breathtaking, the freedom unmatched, and the mystery around it only made people love it more. That’s why it was called a god-tier game. And I—Rasya Rio—was one of its players. No… Exceed wasn’t just a game to me. You could say it was a companion I grew up with. A part of my life. I didn’t play it when it first launched. I only watched clips on social media, but it caught my heart instantly. I saved money for months just to buy the device required to play it—expensive, especially for someone who lived alone and worked every day just to survive. But once I had it, I fell in love. And eventually, I became one of the few players whose name appeared on the top-ranking boards of the entire world. In other words, I was part of the top 1%. I made as many accounts as I wanted—five in total. Three of them were top 1% accounts; the other two were for experimentation. Each main account had different roles and different builds. I practically knew every strong build, every hidden skill, every obscure trick in the game. I was part of Exceed itself. People called players like me “NPCs”—not because we were weak, but because we memorized monster patterns, skill formulas, and every tiny detail of the game like walking encyclopedias. And how did I earn money while playing every day? Easy. Exceed opened the door for people like me—NPCs—to offer services. Unlocking difficult skills, farming rare items, boosting accounts. Players paid real money for my help. It was easy work, and fun. It wasn’t pressure for me to repeat the same tasks every day. If anything, it showed how much I truly loved the game. Of course, I didn’t share everything I knew. Some of the strongest skills, titles, and equipment remained secrets. That’s why I stayed a ranker—on all three accounts. Then came the announcement that shocked me more than anything. “The final update.” The final… what? Was Exceed shutting down? Already? It had been less than five years since launch! A final update? Don’t joke with me! I almost exploded with anger when I read the letter from the developers. But what could I do? All I could do was complain online, rally players to protest—even though the developers ignored us completely. Eventually, the awaited day came. The final update. And it was… … “What the hell is this?!” “Where are we?!” “Wait! I was with my girlfriend—where is she?!” “More importantly, what is this place? Why is everything white?!” “Is this a prank?” “Damn… there are so many people here!” “..............” “......” “...” We were gathered in a blinding white room, hundreds of us. No ceiling, no floor—at least none we could distinguish. As confusion spread among us, a familiar melody echoed softly. Exceed’s opening theme. A song I would never forget. A melody full of nostalgia and memories. Then, after the silence, a notification chimed—one I knew better than my own heartbeat. A translucent blue-and-white screen appeared above us. [WELCOME TO EXCEED, PLAYERS]