Earth
20:00
Year 2018
30th of December
The moon was shining unusually bright that night, and it made the streetlights seem like it was a waste of electricity.
On the sidewalk, a man staggered as he walked, his breath fogged, cheeks, nose, and ears red from both the cold and alcohol.
He was Deran Collin Wade, a miserable, disappointing failure of a human. Having spent the last of his remaining money on alcohol after being fired, he knew he couldn't keep going anymore. He no longer had a desire or reason to live.
Everything he remembered about his life was that—all of it was utterly miserable. He wished he could have given up sooner if he knew there was no hope for him, but even if he knew, he was too much of a coward to even end it.
There, mindlessly, he walked on the sidewalk, mesmerized by the calm snow that was slowly falling, and had no destination whatsoever.
• • •
He had travelled in a straight path for quite a while now; his teeth were clattering already. Snow piled on his shoulders and hair, contrasting his black hair and dark clothing that concerningly had fewer layers than what the current temperature demanded, he kept going regardless. The warmth that he got from the alcohol dissipated as he slowly sobered up, yet his brain still refused to think clearly.
• • •
It has been hours, he can't feel his face, he wasn't sure how many, but it has certainly been long enough to be considered at least more than an hour or two. At this point, there were no more buildings in sight, no more lights, no one to help him. Like a brainwashed zombie, he still kept walking and walking with no regard for his health or anything for that matter. It seemed as if his life's mission was solely to keep moving forward, no matter what.
• • •
His steps grew weaker and slower, and his body shivered uncontrollably. Finally, he collapsed to his knees and tried to crawl instead, but expectedly found that he couldn't even move his arms anymore, it was already numb and stiff, frozen. He knew that, but he still tried.
'Huh... I really don't understand myself.'
Already given up, he just closed his eyes as he lay motionless on the snow, helplessly letting the cold take his life away without much of a fight.
'Everything is numb now... Well, I guess it gets better with time. Not so painful anymore...'
'Why did I choose to go out this way?' He complained in his head, listing less painful ways to die before his thoughts inevitably froze with his life.
00:54
Year 2018
31st of December
• • •
[ System69: Congratulations. :) You have received a second chance at life! ]
'..?' A pair of eyes squinted as a semi-transparent digital window blinded it with brightness.
[ You will be transported to the world: Thareo. Complete the quest of the world to return to your original world. ]
'Why should I.' Is what Deran wanted to say, but found that his voice was lost or he could not hear; after all, he had not heard a single noise ever since he gained consciousness in this endless darkness of a place.
'Where the hell am I.' His transparent blue soul floated in the dark void; the only thing that really caught his eye was the system window.
[ Upon successful completion of the quest, a hero shall be returned to their original world, and the wish they made when they faced death will be fulfilled. ]
'Just let me disappear already... I'm already dead, damn it.' He doesn't recall any wish he even had, but he remembered his death, yet he felt nothing about it, though it's more like he couldn't experience emotions in this state or in this place, that even his inner voice became monotone.
[ The process for transportation had begun. glhf! ]
'...' The choice was not his to make; he couldn't even get angry because of his emotions' failure to form.
Shortly after, he felt his consciousness flicker like he was riding a plane that went 100 times faster than it should.
• • •
Thareo
05:00
Year 1624
1st of January
Deran felt the severe need to dump his stomach waste onto the floor, his head and vision spun, but the nausea immediately vanished like it never even happened as his consciousness fully imported into the new world.
He found himself on his knees—on a platform that had unfamiliar symbols drawn with blood, and he could smell the familiar metallic scent all around. It seemed to be a huge summoning circle.
'It's hot.' Deran's cause of death—being the cold, he was familiar with the feeling of being frozen. Naturally, the biggest change he noticed was the significant rise in the temperature.
He took a look around him to find 5 more other people on the same summoning circle who looked like they also just regained their bearings.
"Success! The Heroes have been summoned!" A short man with a thick beard shouted.
"The goddess has blessed us!" The other hooded figures collectively cried out, their hands in a prayer position, and some had tears running down their eyes.
'...When do I die.' Deran just saw these people as absolute freaks that he didn't want to deal with.
Those on the summoning circle clearly looked wary and agitated at the situation they found themselves in.
[ Welcome to Thareo, Heroes. ]
"..."
No one dared to speak first, no matter how puzzled they may be.
The window quickly disappeared automatically as the man with the thick beard approached them.
"Heroes, please save us..." He knelt on one knee and stared at the summoned heroes.
The heroes stood up one after another with caution, the tall middle-aged man—one of the summoned heroes—came forward and was the first to speak.
"I am Stan. Can I ask what exactly we're supposed to save you from?" He was calm and had a mature vibe that made him seem reliable.
The man who knelt showed a hopeful expression. With a face all lit up, he cleared his throat.
"The demon kings have been tarnishing our land and slaying our people! The saintess has received a message from the goddess that the only way we can put a stop to them is by summoning heroes from another world. We beg of you; you all are our only hope." His face displayed an expression that would have made people pity him.
"I see..." Despite his calm exterior, Stan was also nervous himself, as evidenced by the shaking in his pinky, which he so quickly tried to hide behind his back.
[ World Quest Initiated!
Quest: Defeat A Demon King 0/1
Status: Ongoing
Tip #1: Work as a group.
Tip #2: Do not kill your group members.
Tip #3: Train.
Tip #4: Prepare.
Awakening at: 14:59 minutes ]
'...Interesting. Death mission? Demon King totally sounds like a final boss... there's multiple? Nice. Perfect... They brought me here just to die again...? Or is this hell?' Deran was cut off from his negative thoughts as the system flashed a red window in front of his face.
[ Suicidal Tendencies Detected! System Activates Restrictions!
Restrictions:
#1: I love myself - Experience extreme pain when attempting any voluntary actions that might cause harm to one's body or lead to one's death. (Exception: World Quest)
#2: Cowardly Survivalist - A cowardly survivalist will take control of your body if the mind is compromised while in active danger. ]
'Ahk—! What the fuck...!" Deran instinctively flinched. He looked around, but fortunately, no one seemed to notice, or at least he thought so. He took a deep breath as he quickly recovered from the sudden jump scare.
'I didn't even realize my background thoughts are already thinking of ways to kill me...' He sighed; his eyes fixed on the ground. The continuation of the conversation between Stan and the man with the beard merely became background noise, worthless to even comprehend, as they registered as muffled and distant to Deran's ears.
'Like my life isn't miserable enough already... Just, who did I offend...?' He sighed again in disbelief. It was so ridiculous that he almost started to laugh; he fell deeper into despair as he dismissed the blaring system window.
He killed himself just to be brought to life and be forced on a death mission. If he didn't sigh enough already, he sighed once more.
'Alright...'
Finally, he took a good look at the other heroes. 6 in total, including himself, his eyes first fell on the tall middle-aged man, Stan. He had a well-built body, displayed by the tight, stretchable shirt he is currently wearing. A fitness trainer, he assumed.
His eyes darted down toward a black-haired, short girl, from her uniform and ID—she seemed like a middle or high schooler. This one clung onto the hem of Stan's shirt.
'Maybe they know each other.' Though he questioned, he didn't linger on it; it's a small world.
His attention was then caught by a woman adjusting her glasses. She was dressed formally, with an ID also hanging around her neck, and looked to be an office worker.
Another one was also wearing glasses, but they were circular in shape. The man had short brown hair and looked to be about the same age and height as him; he looked quite scrawny. He wore a white dress shirt that was tucked into his pants.
'Very... unremarkable.' He felt a little guilty and quietly scolded his inner voice.
'What a bad, annoying habit.'
Lastly, he turned to look at the only one remaining to find their eyes already locked on his own. He couldn't tell what their gender was, they were androgynous and young, but they were dressed pretty masculine, height was maybe an eleven or twelve centimeters shorter than him, their shoulder length hair was dyed blond with black hair near the roots, they had a sharp cold gaze that felt like it was saying, 'What the fuck are you staring at you fucking creep.' It was just Deran's interpretation, though.
Though he liked to assume, he felt that in the near future, he would be cancelled for misgendering someone.
He felt that he couldn't stare any longer and turned his head in the opposite direction, but that didn't stop the other person from aggressively using their eyes toward his direction.
'Awkward' With that, he paid closer attention to his surroundings; it seemed like they were in a basement of some sort, judged by the lack of windows and what looked like a stair that spiralled upstairs.
• • •
After some more conversations, mostly Stan doing almost all of the chatter, they were led upstairs to a spacious room with a large wooden rectangular table in the center; there were at least a dozen chairs arranged evenly around it.
The hooded people and the short, bearded man left them to themselves.
'A meeting room of some sort.' Deran chose to sit on one of the longer sides as he watched the others take their seats.
"Shall we introduce ourselves?" Stan initiated, but was met with silence.
Deran wondered why nobody answered, but failed to realize that he himself never once spoke. Everyone still processed their situations, and maybe some are just cautious or shy.
"Then I'll start, my name is Stan Bernard—" A window suddenly popped up before he could even finish his introduction; it seemed to always interrupt people.
[ Congratulations. You Have Awakened!
You have awakened as a Dark Mage! You have awakened as a Hero!
Health: 500/500
Mana: 350/350
Dark Mana: 550/500 (+50)
Dark Mage: Your talent for Demonic Arts, Dark Magic, and Necromancy is strong. You are a natural at using Dark Mana (+50 Dark Mana)
Dark Mage Abilities:
#1: Dark Mana: Formed from negativity, can be used as an alternative to mana and can be combined with normal mana to enhance it.
#2: Dark Magic: You have a talent for Crystals. Conjure dark, hard crystals that slowly corrode anything upon contact.
#2: Curse: Cursed enemies will experience fatigue over time. (Limit: 0/2)
#3: Debuff: Apply instantaneous negative effects on enemies.
Debuffs Available:
• Paralysis (0.2s)
• Confusion (0.2s)
• Fatigue (0.2s)
• Hallucination (0.2s)
Hero: Growth in your knowledge and physical body is endless and fast. You cannot die from natural causes or curses.
Hero Trait:
#1: Natural Enemy: You become 35% more powerful while facing demons. ]
'Not bad, honestly.' Deran found himself strangely interested in the abilities given to him. Considering that one of his first thoughts was to dive straight into danger and die.
"—And... It seems like I am an Archer...?" Stan continued. It looked like he didn't expect to get that, too.
'Who would've thought?' Deran thought that this guy was better suited for the frontlines, but no one gets to decide anything after all.
After some hesitation, each member began to introduce themselves one by one.
"My name is Lyliane Coryn, and it seems like... I am a Scout..." The office worker looked at her status window with an eyebrow raised.
"...Um, I'm Mindy... I'm uh, Poisoner...?" The shy schoolgirl almost had the same expression as Lyliane as she read her job.
'This system is evil, isn't it?' Deran sighed inside and opened his mouth, seeing as everyone hadn't talked for a moment.
"I'm Deran, and I'm a Dark Mage." He said nothing more, not even about its abilities, as everyone who introduced themselves also did not.
"I am a Tanker; my name is Rodney." The guy with the circular glasses said monotony.
'That stick...?' Deran looked at Rodney with skepticism, but the guy just stared back with gloom.
'Surely, I can't be the only one that's somewhat normal, right?' He looked at the androgynous person with anticipation.
"..." They said nothing. All of them were quite left hanging.
"You're not going to at least tell us what you awakened as?" Stan's voice was more careful and softer than usual. This blond person, who had their arms crossed, looked pissed from the very beginning they got here, quite scary.
"No." A cold, deep voice of a man came out of the blond person's mouth.
"Oh—...Wh— what... should we call you then?" Stan was taken aback not by the way of speaking, but by the unexpected voice that didn't quite match the face.
"Sireol." He said casually, with clear arrogance like he spoke to bugs, and like he just didn't make a man twice his size stutter.
'What the hell is that Cereal guy acting like that for? Or Serial? Whatever that name was.' Deran's internal sighs might be in the millions. Added one more, this time from Sireol's attitude.
• • •
After some small talk and mostly silence, the hooded figures, along with the man with a thick beard, peeked and quietly entered the meeting room. He sensed the awkward atmosphere and broke the awkwardness. They, the hooded figures, led the heroes to their separate rooms; the space was way bigger than Deran's whole shabby apartment back on Earth, that apartment infested with rats was all he could afford without going bankrupt the next day. He felt almost grateful but remembered this world was supposed to be some type of hell, after all,
'Where else would demons be if not hell?'
• • •
The heroes were treated with utmost care and only the best of the best. The food and clothing were of high-quality; they even had mentors who taught them basic skills, though they quickly surpassed them. The first mission was nothing notable; it was just some elimination of weak demons outside the walls, so they could get a feel for actual fights that involved death.
In this world, there are multiple demon kings, each having their own territory in the land they chose to reside in. Though rare, they are very territorial and will fight each other to death if they must. The heroes only need to slay one to finally get out of this hell of a world.
•••
Over 7 months, they improved rapidly. Stan could hit a shot from kilometers away; Lyliane could find all the hidden paths and treasures this world has to offer; a drop of Mindy's poison is enough to kill a whole village. Rodney became less gloomy and became fit enough to actually tank, and Sireol's personality didn't change much, but it was revealed that he was a Killer. He gained permanent but insignificant effects that stack as he kills.
'No wonder he didn't reveal it at first. He was a Sireol Killer.' Deran couldn't help but let out a giggle whenever he thought of it, but he, too, had a significant growth in his abilities.
[ Status Window -
Health: 1590/1590
Mana: 3485/3494
Dark Mana: 4550/4500 (+50)
Dark Mage: Your talent for Demonic Arts, Dark Magic, and Necromancy is strong. You are a natural at using Dark Mana (+50 on Dark Mana)
Dark Mage Abilities:
#1: Dark Mana: Formed from negativity, can be used as an alternative to mana and can be combined with normal mana to enhance it.
#2: Dark Magic:
- You have a talent for Crystals. Conjure dark, hard crystals that slowly corrode anything upon contact.
- You developed a talent for Smoke. Conjure dark, thick smoke that limits visibility and inflicts hallucinations that get worse the longer one inhales it.
#2: Curse: Cursed enemies will experience fatigue over time. (Limit: 0/9)
#3: Debuff: Apply instantaneous negative effects on enemies.
Debuffs Available:
• Paralysis (1.7s)
• Confusion (1.4s)
• Fatigue (1.5s)
• Hallucination (2.0s)
Hero: Growth in your knowledge and physical body is endless and fast. You cannot die from natural causes or curses.
Hero Trait:
#1: Natural Enemy: You become 35% more powerful while facing demons. ]
•••
A month later, it was the day they finally took on a demon king. They have been informed of the location of a possible demon king, and all they need to do is get there. They packed their bags for the trip. No matter how confident, they're still unsure how strong a demon king truly is, and they're about to find that out the worst possible way.
•••
10:10
Year 1625
10th of September
The group had no choice but to get off the carriages as they were faced with a rocky mountain.
"Ha... This really isn't as easy as I thought." The now more outgoing Rodney sighed and pulled up his sleeves all the way to his shoulders as he latched onto the rocks. He climbed with ease while the rest stared at the obvious flaunting of his muscles.
"There was no need to pull it up that high, right...?" Stan's eye twitched, quite envious at seeing someone with now bigger muscles than him.
"Yeah..." Deran rubbed his temple, finding Rodney ridiculous.
"Well, let's go." Lyliane spoke nonchalantly; she found the best rocks to grab onto and overtook Rodney in a matter of seconds as she ignored the "That's unfair" cries of the Tank.
The others followed behind Lyliane closely. Mindy, Deran, Stan, and Sireol rode on the Dark Mage's smoke magic, which is practically just darker and more harmful wind magic that also doubles as a smoke screen.
• • •
The distance was farther than they originally thought, and that had them camp in the mountains about two times.
Finally, a stone castle that looked closer to a ruin came into their vision; whilst they hid behind the protruding rough rocks, they surveyed the castle that seemed suspiciously deserted.