In the Land of Leadale (Episode 1) - An Inn, a Tower, a Bear, and a Banquet

Cayna woke up in a strange room with a little girl informing her that breakfast was ready. It felt familiar and yet a little strange. Where was she? That would have to wait, however, as breakfast was ready!

In the Land of Leadale (Episode 1) – An Inn, a Tower, a Bear, and a Banquet

What happened?

While the room and the little girl were surprising, it was the fact that Cayna could move her legs that caught her most off-guard. When she went to sleep, she had been in the hospital as she always was, unable to move, unable to breathe on her own, unable to do anything. Her only salvation was the VRMMORPG called Leadale. Somehow, she was now living in that world as her avatar.

Over breakfast, she caught up on the state of the world and was surprised again to learn that it was roughly two hundred years since she had last been in the game. A lot had changed since then. Her initial goal was to find her tower, but when she asked about it, the locals warned her not to go there as it was the home to the Silver Ring Witch… Even after two hundred years, she had not been able to shake that nickname!

What did you think?

This series will undoubtedly be my chilled viewing for the season. The OP reminded me of BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense, which is great news if it can match that series. Very little happened in this episode, but it was enough to pull me in and leave me wanting more. There was some exposition, but at the same time, it left a number of things for the viewer to interpret which was something I appreciated.

While this series seems like it’s going to be incredibly uplifting, I can’t help but feel sad at the same time, especially when Cayna realised the inevitable of what happened to her and when she reflected on her past life. Hopefully, these moments of reflection will help to make the light and fun moments that much more impactful. It’s a great start and I’m looking forward to more.

In the Land of Leadale Episode 1 Cayna Serious

What have you learnt?

As I said earlier, I appreciated the way it handled the exposition in this episode. There was the mention of the Silver Ring Witch, which was a nickname that Cayna had acquired while playing the game. It was due to a silver ring that no doubt functioned as the equivalent of a wheelchair in the game. Of course, I’m speculating as it didn’t outright tell us. We also have no idea what happened to Cayna and I don’t know if we ever will, and I’m fine with that.

It also appears that Cayna had been playing Leadale for a long time as she was pretty overpowered and feared as the Silver Ring Witch. I’m assuming that this was because of her medical condition and how the game was her only escape. As such, she probably played it pretty much all the time as there wouldn’t be much that she could do in her hospital bed. This was a potential use for VRMMORG technology that I mentioned in a post I wrote almost two years ago – Applications of BOFURI Technology!