Arc 2: Demon King?
Chapter 21: Prologue
Years in this world are arranged in a very strange way. The only reason they are currently legible is because people have decided to omit an entire section of it.
Take this year for example, it is currently V99CVV III. If one took preliminary looks at the sections with Vs and Cs, one would come to the natural conclusion that it is roman numerals, but one would be wrong.
This world uses a strange system called “Stardust numerals.”
Let us backtrack a bit here. How does it work? Well, the year construction is written down as four different parts, two if you are a peasant. Higher aristocrats in other countries still use it because it is known as “Epoch notation.”
The first set of letter or letters represents regular roman numerals depicting the epoch. As it turns out, every 10 thousand years a large groundbreaking change occurs in the Realm of Light, causing major changes to both the political and cultural norms.
The 99 is directly representative of the century in the current epoch. Since it takes 100 centuries to trigger a new epoch, the number is written directly to signify the world state and closeness to the changing tides. Since the current year has 99 as this number, the current year we are working with is 59900.
Now consider the latter portion of the year. This is what peasants and commoners refer to as the “Stardust common year.” As stated before, most have completely forgotten about the epoch, except for excessively high-ups. It is not like people would believe you if you stated a major event was on its way, right? You would have no way to tell what it is, no way to distinguish where it came from. The current year is written as CVV III to the majority of the population.
The first part, CVV, is where the confusion really begins. In the first epoch, the common lifespan of humans was around 25 years. As such, they denoted it as A, B, and C to represent the former, middle and latter quarters of the century. A would be 25, B would be 50 and C would be 75. If you wrote no letters there, it is 0. Every V you added after the letter (or lack thereof) would add another 10.
The second term represents a set of ten years. Normal roman numerals are used except for the ten character X. If you are approaching 10, there would instead be a second V character representing the next five. One would be I, four would be IV, six would be VI while nine would be VIV. Currently they are 8 on the set so it would be III, meaning 95 plus 3.
After doing all of this math, the current year of history that is recorded in Stardust is 59998. V99 representing 59900, C representing 75, VV representing 20 and III representing 3.
Months? They just write numbers for them. In this world, there are 13 months. Each month is 28 days and there is an exception for the first month, which is 29 days. Would it not be strange stating there are still 365 days if the world’s size was different and orbited around the sun at the same speed?
Since the formatting is like this though, there are far more consistencies when it comes to holidays and calculating quarters. Simply factor in the first day of the year as an exception to business and let it be a holiday, problem solved. Natural disasters and other major climate disasters do not occur in this world which is already strange enough. Perhaps magic is maintaining it.
This world is truly odd.
It should probably be mentioned that the epochs’ names are largely kept hidden and published in top secret books pertaining to history only.
Epoch 1 was called the Advent of the Beginning where the world’s inhabitants were mysteriously cultivated. This epoch’s title was really confusing as no specific history was written on it.
Epoch 2 was called the Advent of Civilization, where major cities and political powers started dominating the globe.
Epoch 3 was aptly titled the Advent of Magic, where animals and all living things started developing magical abilities. Military powers all over started seriously ravaging the wildlife to preserve the species.
Epoch 4 was called the Advent of Blessing. This is where the mysterious “Slate” ability started really taking hold. It took a full 10 thousand years of persevering for humans to finally evolve to a state of flexibility. After this point, humans started gaining titles and countries all over the world vied for their cultivation and abilities. Spell analysts and other runecrafters also popped up during this time.
The final and current Epoch’s name is called the Advent of Destruction. I was really shocked to find that dream I had was really nearly 10 thousand years ago. The Advent of Destruction is where the demons and other major beasts took over half of the world.
At first, humanity really panicked at how fast they took over, but then found out that they only occupied half of the world and left the other hemisphere completely alone. Of course, it is impossible to regulate monsters so every once in a while one would slip through and attack, getting soundly destroyed. The rate of migration for monsters to the Realm of Light was not nearly enough to cause havoc, which is why the two halves of the globe were named such.
Largely calm, the Realm of Light’s population exploded to what it is today. People of special talents show up left and right whenever they please.
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“You see my lord, that is how the history of this world played out.” Said the demon in front.
“Wow, the year system is seriously confusing.” I replied.
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3rd Person Perspective, Day 363 of Year V99CVV III
As Sword returned to his camp, he sent the demons away to pay heed to the situations occurring in other countries. The result of the Adventurer’s Industry test is that Sword was widely accepted and known within the Adventurer’s Industry circles. Deliberation after deliberation would soon cause a great change and mark the shift of an era. The worst part is that none is the wiser about such things, as history is frequently overwritten and ignored.
Many country’s political situations have remained stable, wars never truly broke out and the demons also remained uninvolved in countries, largely only sending minor probes to gather some intel.
Sword was made aware of some spicy information, information that would require any country many decades of investigation to gather. The demons truly are a formidable force.
The contents of the probe revealed that one of the ancient scrolls that were left from one of the demon generals were discovered by a distant kingdom. Many millions of mages were involved in the uncovering and revelation of its effects. Vague explanations were given, but countries were nearly driven mad by the results.
It turns out the scroll is capable of summoning powerful heroes.
…
…
Such a state of affairs was kept strictly confidential. Which kingdom would then be the lucky kingdom in possession of such a scroll?
Unfortunately, the greedy Human kingdom, the South Fare Kingdom.
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Russia, Year 2075, 3rd Person Perspective
Between the years 2010 and 2075, Russia got embroiled in many conflicts and minor scuffles. The administration of Putin and others were rapidly increasing in power and they were a central stage world actor. In 2030, the United States got embroiled in a civil war over the internet, causing many world economies to collapse and rebuild.
One such beneficiary was Russia. They remained largely uninvolved in the United States’ affairs, following suit with China and other 1st world nations. 2030 was a large year of instability, a turning point for the world’s tide of peace.
No large wars broke out between countries between the years 2030 and 2050, the world then stabilized. Russia’s political system remained in place, but garnered much trust in the eyes of the populations of the world. Syria, Egypt, Hungary, France, Libya and other minor nations had minor wars with neighboring countries over resources and nuclear armaments.
The world’s population reached a peak of 11 billion individuals spread throughout the world, and Russia remained a powerhouse involved in the development of many world states.
Technologies invented between then and now could not be scoffed at. From VR’s initial publicity flare in 2012 to major improvements like Track Boars in 2030.
Track Boars were trains quick enough to reach distant countries the height of Mexico away in only 3 days’ time. Much quicker than airplanes, the only downside is they were underground. People with claustrophobia could not ride them.
The year 2055 is when a major invention was released: Blockchain Reality, or BR as it is known. Big rooms were dedicated to this technology. One could step inside such a room, and then put on goggles. There would be a two-dimensional conveyor belt below you where you could walk in any direction and explore any world you were in.
However, this is where the huge part of its release comes into play. As its name implies, it is run as a Blockchain network of worlds where people could create rules, implement their own laws and run their own miniaturized worlds. This sparked a huge boom in creative worlds, created a massive market of open worlds and also encouraged the use of decentralized currencies as their trade.
Food? No need to worry much about that. You couldn’t buy any inside of the networked worlds, but by the time this year rolled around grocery delivery has already been finalized. Many households took advantage of such a system to be able to govern and run their own virtual worlds. Coding took on a whole new paradigm. Anyone can create their own programming languages, share it between worlds and invite anybody to code with them.
Some would call it a revolution, others would call it a disaster. This system has created a need for people to not socially interact in real life, creating a much more serious shut-in situation. As it is blockchain, no countries could truly banish its use.
In 2063, a major war has begun over the technology’s monopolization. Countries all over the world vied for its fantastic but destructive and unbeatable force. The population of the world then dipped down to 7 billion people once again. After the peak of 11 billion, it was marked as a historical moment for the planet as the population began to decline.
Some corrupt governments perished, others were built (corrupt or otherwise,) and Russia became the world’s greatest power, ironically due to its lack of intervention in the world’s BR systems. Since Russia monopolized a lot of the world’s peace, religion faded out slowly and they became a large secular state managing the world’s economy as once the United States did. Many skyscrapers and city walls were built to prevent invasions and other foreign interventions.
By the time 2075 hit, Russia has become a stable country, with a democratically elected leader. No such wars or malpractices were used to turn Russia into such a country. Having the East be able to manage its own large economy was one of the great fortunes the world was granted with.
One peaceful day, many children were walking to school in the morning.
This conversation took place between a few of such students.
“Why is it that BR is so expensive nowadays? My mother told me the government has a strict stranglehold on which worlds can get which currencies, so it seems they have no excuses left, no?” Asked Quentin.
The one who spoke was Quentin, a relatively tall student who’s qualification was in Computer Engineering and Quantum Physics. Large, brawny stature sitting at 17 years of age, Quentin wore his school uniform. He has dark brown hair protruding every which way except up, and wore a smirk of confidence wherever he went. Quentin has blue eyes.
The one Quentin is talking to is a girl who goes by the name Marsha. She is also a little tall for her age. She is currently 17 years of age as well, but her disposition is quite different from Quentin’s. She has blonde hair, dark brown eyes and a… let’s say not generous body proportions aside from her height. If not for her hair many would mistake her for a boy. She does not wear girly clothing on her days off, nor does the school require her to on her days in school.
Coincidentally, she studies Computer Engineering. However, she studies in biology classes on the side instead. Quantum Physics never really suited her fancy.
“As it so happens, President Dia has said he is trying to avoid monopolies on the currencies more stringently inside of the worlds. He sends multiple platoons of enforcers every time one crops up. I wouldn’t call it tyrannical though, many of these worlds have been running rough shot over the world’s institutions and also been dictating how normal people would live their lives. Blockchain naturally means the government has less control, meaning they are free to introduce things back like gambling virtual currency or political interest groups outside the jurisdiction of the government and its multiple military divisions. I am not good with politics generally, so the announcement seems to be a good enough explanation.” Replied Marsha.
“But Marsha, if that announcement is true doesn’t that mean the government has very little influence and is only trying to assert its dominance? Would the government truly be so petty?” Said Quentin.
Marsha concluded, “This problem cropped up for the same reason the internet’s problems did. If you haven’t noticed, they are similar too. It is because the government is woefully incapable of adapting to the changes in environment in these worlds that they were forced to intervene.”
“BR has become quite the problem, hasn’t it?” Asked Quentin.
“True.” Said Marsha.
Flash!
Quentin, Marsha and several others in their surroundings started to glow and emit some strange black lightning. The ground seemed to dimly glow as well.
“Marsha, what is going on?!” Shouted Quentin.
“Who knows what this is?? Could this be a supernatural phenomenon?” Replied Marsha, clearly panicked.
“Woah what is going on with those people?!” Many people around started to gossip about the goings on with these people.
One after another, people began to question, “Why are they glowing like that?!”
“What’s going on?” Many more people exclaimed.
But to no avail.
Once the glow went away, the people who were glowing noticed they were in an entirely different environment. They appeared in their own little rooms with nobody else in it, stark naked. They had clothes next to them and the rooms were dimly lit.
Of course, they all panicked at the sight. They were obviously unfamiliar with their surroundings but they quickly equipped the clothes on themselves.
“Huh?! What the heck?” Said Quentin.
Quentin got dressed and he left the room, he then found a hallway as wide as a digital football stadium in front of him. It had quite a medieval feeling to it.
On one hand, there were church vibes going on with the designs of the pillars and supports keeping the room sturdy, but the people who exited the booths noticed that the booths were very small compartments compared to the stature of the room.
On the other hand, none of the people here seemed to be religious, or part of any church. Instead, they gave off a noble aura. A dignified appearance, as though they could pierce through their intentions with but a glare.
One after the other, the people were instructed to leave the room and line up. An ornately decorated middle-aged man was sitting on a big golden throne with a red carpet trailing from it to the front of the room, directly parallel with the booths.
Once all the panicked and vigilant people reluctantly followed their instructions, the man on the throne spoke up.
“Heroes, I welcome you to the world of Stardust! My name is Viseff, the current king of the Kingdom of South Fare.” Stated the king loudly, introducing himself in the process.
“I apologize for bringing you heroes here without warning, but we are currently pressed for time. According to our sources, each of you will be bestowed with a blessing and most-likely something known as a “Hero Weapon.” You all are capable of checking your status as well, simply make a thought of it with your intentions.” Stated the king.
Once people calmed down, they were baffled to find their stats were highly elevated, but not much explanation was really given for their abilities. Blessing of Compression, Blessing of Kineticism?
All of these were terms used in the world they came from, but it was highly unlikely that in a world that resembles the medieval era that they could understand such scientific terms.
“I will send a representative to grant you each a hero title.” Stated the king.
That is when the crowd of children broke their silence.
“Viseff Sir, why were we brought here? What purpose do we serve? And for that matter, once we complete our purpose, will we be returned to our world?” Asked one of the kids.
“To your first question, there is an evil Demon King who reigns in the Realm of Darkness. There are two halves of this world, one half is the Realm of Light and the other is the Realm of Darkness. For over a hundred thousand years, the Demon King is thought to have been concocting an evil scheme to overtake the Realm of Light, and in a small backwater city in another country, a Demon General has supposedly started to make moves. An entire mountain has become desolate and red as a result. Many of the surrounding cities were forced into Crisis Rank B which prevented any immigration or emigration in the city.”
As Viseff was explaining this, the representative was going through each hero, saying their title.
The king continued, “To your second question, you heroes were ordained by the gods to eradicate the Demon King and his many Demon Generals. Of course, your purpose differs slightly from person to person, but the end goal is largely the same.”
Viseff concluded, “To your final question, the inscriptions in the scroll we investigated seem to note that that would occur. I have no real details beyond that, except for the fact that you heroes are seen as gods to the magic inscription.”
“Gods?” Stated the curious kid.
“Yes, gods. Our magicians were able to vaguely read that if you are to perish, somehow you are to be teleported back to your world, powers and all in tact. In other words, you cannot truly die in this world. What a curious finding.” Said the king.
As the king was blabbering on, I started to hear the representative, and noticed he was giving some strange object to each person.
Quentin overheard the representative say, “You are the hero of Kineticism. This is your Divine Object contained in this crystal. You can will it to come out whenever you want, but do not do so here please. Nobody can use this other than you.”
Quentin heard several similar speeches when she finally got to Marsha. “You are the hero of Suggestion. Unfortunately we are missing a divine object for you and Sir Quentin. As for you Quentin, you are the hero of Light. It is strange that with such a straightforward and important title you do not receive a divine object, but there is nothing we can do about it. Hopefully your powers make up for this misfortune.”
Quentin was disappointed.
No Hero Object? Is that not the symbol of their power? How can I use a power without a Divine Object?
As Quentin asked that, a prompt came up. “[A limit of 18 remaining Hero-Class weapons could be granted with the supply of XX22R6 Planetary Crystal. Another must be crafted to accomplish this task.]”
Quentin felt strange that a seemingly omnipotent prompt answered his question so directly. It seemed to be trying to clear his confusion for him, but that only served to drive him further into confusion.
He tried several more times to get the prompt to answer him, but it did not show up a second time.
“What are you doing?” Asked Marsha.
“Some message popped up telling me about the weapons. Apparently we didn’t get one because there was some upper limit on them.” Replied Quentin.
“Really? What a shame. We still got titles, so I imagine we simply do not need one.”
Marsha’s optimism really lifted Quentin’s mood.
“Maybe you’re right.”
Quentin investigated his abilities some more from his status window, to find his race is “Blessed Human” with an ability to “Lord over Light.” What a strange state of affairs.
Little did Quentin know, a pair of red glowing eyes were pointed his way during his entire visit from the rooftop, blended in with the darkness.
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Year VI0, Sword’s Perspective
As I finished my remaining request, I departed with many parties I was affiliated with. I remained largely in Harlequin city to gain reputation among the locals, with huge success.
Finally, my trip to the demon realm has arrived.
“My lord, we have come to pick you up.” Said the odd-eyed demon.
“By the way, what is your name?” I ask.
“My lord, this lowly one’s name is but Vieron. It was given to me by my supervisor at One Pillar, and my jurisdiction is at that region only. I can bring you to the demon realm’s border and no further. After all, I have a role to play here. Of course, you can overrule that decision, if you deem it necessary.”
“No need. I have received plenty of useful information from you. I will be bothering you for the next little while.” I state.
“...Such overwhelming words...” Vieron stated in pure awe.
So embarrassing…
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As we approached the Demon Realm, not much resistance was met from demons. Vieron would confront those at border checkpoints, we would then teleport passed human borders and regulatory checkpoints to avoid confrontations with national affairs. Humans still inhibit the highest population. A small conflict at the border could spark mass hysteria and rumors.
I entered the demon realm alone and did not object to his decisions any further. I noticed I was in a wasteland with smoke pretty high in the sky. Demons would occasionally pass me by but confrontations were rare. Only muscle heads would confront me based on power. Not out of animosity either, simply out of respect for my power.
Color me impressed. This place is quite civilized despite its desolate nature. I can see burning flames and towering icicles in the distance. It made me curious so I approached it.
May huge stalagmites were protruding out of the ground, some made of dirt, some ice, some even pure flames. None of them were using their elements out of control, like a marvelous display of battle prowess has occurred here. It is simply beautiful. Craters in the ground, lightning clouds in the sky that refuse to shoot bolts, a very thick smog in the sky that is crimson in nature like the rest of this place makes it a very atmospheric view.
I see multiple different purple auras surrounding these protrusions in a seemingly hap-hazard way.
What a confusing sight to behold.
I walk further down the path of destruction and elements and once again the land becomes desolate. My journey seems to have just begun.
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This next region is really confusing. Another desolate mess. What is weird in this scenario is there are actual true to the word skyscrapers towering. I seemed to have stepped foot into a cityscape, but there are no residents. The same crimson fog exists in the sky, with a slightly different hue from the rest of this land. I have no comments, it is just really strange.
As I explore more, I notice that the land is not abandoned. The buildings are definitely maintained. The skyscrapers tower as high as the lowest mountains, but are all spiking in one corner and valleying in the rest. Big, grid-based ornate designs on these buildings give the impression of magnificence.
However, there are no residents to be found. This place has been completely abandoned. What the heck is going on?
Just as I made that thought, I hear weird sirens from dedicated siren towers, then my impression of this city has completely flipped. The streets become bustling, humans walking to and fro, back and forth, left and right. There is no end to it. None of the humans attempt communication with one another, they all seem to have lifeless eyes.
I ask one of the residents what is going on, and I get a stern, “I apologize, but I am going to my meeting. I will be late.” And they rush off without telling me anything.
What the heck is this place?!
I see many strange lit-up billboards on the skyscrapers with advertisements to vapid and meaningless products. Things that have no meaning whatsoever. Is this place filled with lifeless sheep?!
There was a very ominous atmosphere going on with this city. I explore the city a bit more but decide to quickly leave it as only two minutes after the people were rushing, they all vanished like the wind.
It became a ghost town again, how unsettling. I decide to leave the city and explore deeper into this realm, hoping to approach my destination soon.
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Year VI0, Demon Realm, Administrator’s Perspective
What is this place?! It seems this world is cleanly divided in half, like some sort of organized civilization. However, none of this makes any sense. What kind of madman could organize something so meticulous and planned with no resistance?!
This is truly terrifying. Only two years ago, this planet became a blip on Gehenna’s radar. I was sent here to investigate the reason this world came out of nowhere, only to be disappointed.
A Rank-E designated world with 20 Hero-Class Objects released?! This does not make a lick of sense!
I am a rank B 7th stage World Administrator Devil. Do not let my designation fool you though, I have absolutely no affiliation with whatever these soulless horned beings are. They have never appeared anywhere in this embassy before, and the previous administrator of this world is completely unknown to me.
Normally, such a serious unknown with no clues to its origin would be marked for destruction from Gehenna, but this world has been presently marked as valuable?! What is the cause of this?!!
As I explore more of this “Demon” realm, I come across an utterly terrifying sight.
I am completely shocked.
This is a city that seems to be under the direct designation of this world’s previous administrator. Its citizens are lifeless robots who do their duty and call it a day. How do I know this, I decided to destroy one or two buildings to see how they would react, but they just fell to the ground and splattered with no resistance. One could arguably destroy or modify this city in any way, and no humans would mind.
I asked one of the humans in the buildings what the hell this place is and they only referred to it as “God’s experiment.”
This place is giving me a serious headache.
But, no time for that, because what appears to be a sly demon has appeared. These demons bear absolutely no resemblance to Gehenna’s minions. This is the first time I have laid eyes on one myself.
“Who are you, and what are you doing on Stardust, World Administrator? This place is not of your domain. Leave or I will force you to perish.” Said the sly demon.
“Leave?! You’re commanding me to leave a world I was deigned to rule over?! You insult Gehenna, you b*****d!!” I shout.
