Humanity had prophesized the coming of the Chosen One since the beginning of the Mechanical Era. A human from another world with otherworldly divine abilities will end the terror of the Darkness and bring peace upon the civilized nations.

 

Everyone had heard of this prophesy including the demons. Orcen, the God of Necromancy,  could especially feel the creeping presence of the Chosen One’s aura, which increased with each passing day. Judging from the aura’s density, the Chosen One was likely to appear sometime later this year.

 

Struggling with anxiety and stress, Orcen became irritable and violent. When his subordinates couldn’t take it anymore, they petitioned to Orcen’s left hand – a well known demon monk by the codename of Strategist who was both wise and powerful – to consult with Orcen and put it at ease.

 

One day, while Orcen sat on its throne chair, Strategist appeared with a scroll….

 

“What’s that?” Orcen asked as it glanced at the scroll gingerly.

 

Strategist bowed and handed the scroll over for Orcen to peruse. “This is a summoning scroll, Lord Orcen. And one at the highest order. I found it in our treasury vault.”

 

“Oh? Why did you bring this out?” Orcen scratched his hairless face as he unraveled the scroll.

 

“I, as well as your subordinates, have noticed that you seemed troubled over the past few weeks about the coming of the Chosen One. This could help us tremendously.” Strategist answered, his back still bent in a bowing position.

 

“Be at ease, Strategist. Tell me how this will help?” Orcen waved his hand while he admired the intricacies of the summoning scroll.

 

Strategist groaned slightly as he straightened his back. “The prophesy foresaw the coming of a hero from another realm with divine powers but it doesn’t say where and who summons the Chosen One.”

 

“That’s right.” Orcen nodded.

 

“Then, why don’t we forcefully summon that hero to us and make the Chosen One our own?” Strategist suggested after some careful though.

 

Orcen yelped in surprise as it slapped its thigh with laughter. “What a splendid idea! Why didn’t I think of that? But wait, what if it doesn’t work?”

 

“If it doesn’t work, then why not have whoever we summoned be our ‘hero’ and help fight against the Chosen One?” The demon monk replied.

 

“Interesting! Very interesting! But how will we convince the summoned that we are in the right and those despicable humans are the evil ones?” The god voiced another doubt.

 

Strategist calmly dismissed his master’s worries with a witty response. “Don’t worry about that. I have my means.”

 

Not wanting to press any further, Orcen sighed and nodded. “Alright. I trust you. Let’s start immediately.”

 

“Yes, your lordship! Right away!” Strategist bowed deeply before scurrying out the room to get everything prepared for the summoning ritual.

 

Half an hour later….

 

“This thing goes here…that thing goes there…bring in the offerings and connect the magic circle! Done!” Strategist exclaimed as he placed the summoning circle at the middle of the freshly drawn magic circle.

 

“Is this it?” Orcen grunted as it walked up beside its left-hand man. “It looks pretty fancy.”

 

“It has to be. I followed every step detailed in the summoning scroll. All that’s left is to say the magic words and the scroll does the rest.” The demon monk bent down on one knee and placed his hands at two points on the magic circle. “Ready when you are.”

 

“Let’s begin.” Orcen affirmed as it took a step back.

 

Strategist closed his eyes and began chanting a bizarre, devilish mantra. “Wor eupoholf en! Hitgemse rea ycal! Suoenns hm hncte omoe! Mec…monec!”

 

As soon as Strategist chanted the first sentence, the scroll began to glow brightly and the offerings began to tremble. As the chant continued, the offerings rolled towards the scroll which grew ever so brightly. Suddenly, once the last word was uttered, the offerings merged with the scroll and the entire thing converged into a single point.

 

One second passed but it felt like a whole day. With a loud boom and a release of fiery energy, a portal split open from the middle of the magic circle and out collapsed a body. After dropping the humanoid body, the portal converged once more and vanished into nothingness. The glowing magic circle dimmed as if the last bit of power was used up.

 

Orcen and Strategist leaned over to look at the body and found that it was that of a human male, probably in his mid-twenties. The young man wore a funny outfit and carried a cloth-covered…case over his shoulders. He had brown curly hair and pale skin. From first glance, people would assume him to be frail and sickly. The young man stirred a bit and woke up. He immediately jumped to his feet and looked about cautiously.

 

“Where am I? Who are you? What am I doing here?” The young man questioned Orcen as soon as he laid eyes on the god.

 

Orcen flashed an ugly grin and was about to answer when Strategist stepped in with a wave of his hand. “Welcome to my master’s humble abode! This is Orcen, the powerful God of Necromancy, and my master in this life. My name is Strategist. We have summoned you here mighty hero to help us in our time of need!”

 

“You? Aren’t you people non-human? Shouldn’t it be the humans who should summon me to help kill demons? Why does it seem to be the other way around here?” The young man shrugged as he stared at Orcen with cold eyes, as if taunting the god.

 

Strategist laughed gently while directing the young man’s attention onto himself. “We were but simple folk, living peacefully until one day the humans and their allies, seeking after our lands and resources, declared that we were evil and should be eradicated for the well-being of this world. Do not listen to their lies for they are the true evil! Save us, hero! We beg of you!”

 

“Hmph! How cruel!” The young man nodded with sympathy. “Fine, how should I help?”

 

“Great! For now, place your hand on this.” Strategist clapped as he handed the young man a card.

 

“What’s this? Surely this isn’t a status card, right?” The young man chuckled as he examined the blank card.

 

“Status card? What’s that? No, this is the Profile Plate. It measures your potential and capabilities and quantifies them onto the plate so anyone can see them if you let them.” Strategist explained as he signaled the young man to drop a drop of blood over the plate.

 

Isn’t that the same thing? The young man muttered inwardly as he did what he was told. With a flash of light, the Profile Plate confirmed the young man’s status started to display his statistics and skills.

 

Name: James ‘Jack’ Deeming

Title: Orcen’s Hero

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Orcen, God of Necromancy

Skills:

• Dissection (Active) – Jack has the ability to dissect corpses with precision and neatness.
• Blade Mastery (Passive) – Jack spend a few years mastering Kendo, an otherworldly blade skill.

Blessings:

• Undeath – Blessed by Orcen

 

“Great! It seems that you have some useful skills.” Strategist smiled in delight as he clapped his hands twice, summoning a maid to his side. “Follow her while she takes you to your living quarters.”

 

“Alright.” Jack agreed as he read his plate over and over again with interest.

 

Once he left, Orcen approached Strategist with a frown. “He’s not the Chosen One. I can still feel the aura leaking out from who knows where. What are we going to do about this…and about him?”

 

“It’s fine if Jack isn’t the one we were hoping for. However, isn’t this fine? Let’s train him up to be our champion. With his and your powers combined, who can say whether the Chosen One can defend against it or not?”

 

“Fine. What should we do about the ‘hero’? Your little story might not convince him completely. There’s quite a few loopholes. Should we brainwash him or kill him and turn him into a death knight? Or should we let him live?”