by Sir Kayaba
After his girlfriend cheats on him, eighteen-year-old Shun completely falls apart. He gains weight, skips university, lives on junk food, adult videos, games, and self-pity, and starts turning into exactly the kind of person he hates. Then he finds THE CRUCIBLE, an illegal full-dive VRMMO being sold for $99.99. Its promise is simple: every stat earned in-game carries over into real life. Shun starts as a Wretch, armed with a plain sword and assigned to Kagami Rei, a beautiful, sadistic Valkyrie who seems to take personal offence at how pathetic he is. Strength, endurance, intelligence, confidence, and appearance all have to be earned through brutal trials that can break players physically and mentally. And the stronger Shun becomes inside The Crucible, the less recognisable he becomes outside it. ... Release Schedule: Every Day, 23:00 (BST)
