Oscar was led to the king.
The king was an old man, who had long white hair and carried a golden staff embedded with rubies.
Two guards stood at his side in black armor, covering them from head to toe. They carried halberds, which were also ink black, both the handles and the spear-like ax at the end of them.
"Your Majesty, I present to you the one who has been mentioned in the prophecies. When we noticed the red moon, we rushed to the room of summoning to check it out, and this man exited from a portal. We have seen his power, and he surely is the one spoken of! Not only this, but his benevolence and hatred for evil is great! He did the liberty of eliminating a traitor within our ranks, and uncovering a plan of the Vythguard Empire to assassinate you!"
The head guard explained the situation to the king.
The king took a regal stance, and spoke.
"I see. Hero, step forward. Your efforts deserve reward, and I will allot you a position of the highest honor. You will be deemed to be equivalent to a Duke of this land, and you will be second to me only in name. In exchange, I beseech you, fight for this country. Search out the four heroes, and guide them to defeat the demons of the monster realm once and for all!"
The surrounding nobles in the stands made some groans and complaints. They were clearly envious that a man could appear out of nowhere and obtain the rank of Duke so easily. Especially a man dressed in such odd attire.
By the way, Oscar was currently wearing a Hawaii floral shirt and some cargo pants, as if he was a tourist, and he wore a sunhat atop his head.
Oscar made a grand display of bowing to the king, taking his hat off respectfully. He looked as if he had practiced hundreds of times before, the motions were so fluid.
"Your majesty, I couldn't ask for more. However, I lack information. Could you tell me some more about these demons I am meant to kill?"
The king then explained the words of the sage from 200 years ago, and how Oscar was the person destined to awaken the abilities of the four heroes after searching them out.
Oscar knew inherently that when he found said individuals, he would be able to awaken them using a command.
For now though, he wished to test his command ability.
"Well then, your majesty, may I rest for today? I wish to go over my tasks and form a plan."
The king smiled and allowed Oscar to go.
Oscar was lead to a room in the castle, with a huge red velvet bed and more space than he could ever hope for.
"If you wish for any women, then simply request as you please. There are many available for your choosing.", the guard who led him to his room said before returning to guard the door.
Oscar laid down in the regal bed.
He opened his command screen and typed a command.
[Create beer]
A can of beer appeared in front of Oscar.
He had the power to create items from nothing.
Oscar gulped down the beer in moments, and smacked his lips with an "ahhh"
This was the best beer he had ever tasted.
To think he was able to freely create such things, and so easily.
Oscar tried something else.
[Enhance physical abilities of Oscar]
[Error. Oscar's statistics are indeterminant, and as such cannot be defined]
Looks like he couldn't make himself stronger.
Even so, to be able to kill people with a simple command...
Wait.
[Kill Demon Lords]
[Error. You need to specify the name of an entity to perform any commands on them]
"Ah shit"
Oscar cursed.
Not only could he not make himself overwhelmingly strong, but he was unable to kill anyone without knowing their name.
[You have a new message]
[Option available- 1 time opportunity!]
[Would you like to change the game mode of the demon lords to nightmare mode? Doing so will make it so that their chance of survival is decreased to 1%, however this heavily depends on their actions and the events in which they encounter.]
Was this a dream?
The demon lords that he had come here to defeat. The only ones who could be considered his opposition in this world.
It was said that they would become strong enough to take over the world if the heroes did not work together to defeat them before they became too strong.
If they were allowed too much time to become strong, then it was said that even the legendary heroes would be unable to do anything about them.
This included the powers of the one who awakened the heroes, aka himself.
And now that he had tested his limits, he understood why.
He was not able to give himself direct power, and so he couldn't fight the demon lords himself.
This was only the case however, if he could not find out the names of those who he was fighting.
If their names became known to anyone who was within his network, he would be able to kill them here and now, however the king did not seem to know this. He always referred to them as 'the demon lords' or 'the evil beings'. It was all very shrouded in mystery.
There was another particular name for them which he used, however Oscar did not think much of it.
Of course, if there was only a 1% chance of their survival, then he could write their chance of surviving off as negligible.
Oscar smirked.
[Confirm]
[Demon Lord Party has been set to nightmare mode]
[Would you like to include a message to the party?]
[Good luck, losers. Try as hard as you can not to die on this mode.]
----
Now Oscar could really relax.
His opposition had been taken care of before they were allowed to oppose him.
Now he could take his time and manipulate people. Demons might be unreasonable. He certainly wouldn't be able to negotiate with monsters, however he was confident that he could twist any person around his finger if need be.
What would his first step be?
He would find the hero from the kingdom of Ruthobold Kingdom. He would wrap whoever this person was around his finger, and play them like an instrument.
Now that the demon lords were not a threat, should he tell the people of the kingdom this? What would happen to him after that if he did so?
Perhaps they would throw him a banquet. Perhaps they would reward him with riches and fame. They were sure to take his word, as he had already proven himself trustworthy and powerful enough to do such a thing.
However, those nobles seemed to disagree with the rewarding of Oscar.
If the threat no longer existed, then his purpose as a being destined to awaken the heroes might not be worth anything anymore. They might even go against him. If he didn't know the names of the people he fought, things could be troublesome. Therefore, he would need a reason for the country to keep him around.
If he could get the hero on his side, he wouldn't have to worry.
He could always figure out peoples names on his own information, however that would take time and backing, and be much more work than simply searching out the heroes.
Once he found the heroes, he would inform the country that the demons are long dead, and the country would then be at ease. There would no longer be a need for Oscar, yet the ones who were awakened would prevent them from killing Oscar for the sake of convenience.
After all, if one could eliminate a threat, they would do so before it became one.
And without demon lords to defeat, the heroes threatened to change the balance of power between the four countries.
The nobles of the Kingdom would do anything to stop that from happening.
However...
If just one of the heroes had been summoned...
The one from the Ruthobold Kingdom....
The nobles would instead seek the opportunity to increase the power of their kingdom.
They would appease Oscar, and Oscar would offer them his own backing, which came with the power of the legendary hero.
At that moment, they would do anything to appease Oscar and the hero.
But that would only be the start...
Oscar grinned in delight.
What if.... What if...
What if he could get the four countries to go to war with each other?
What if he could plant seeds in each country, creating hatred and distrust. What if he could encourage the countries and their heroes to hate each other, and create war across the land?
If he did this, they would destroy themselves.
And who would swoop in to pick up the broken pieces and put them back together again?
None other than Oscar.
Oscar would mend the relationships between the four heroes, who had fought each other and destroyed each others countries. The government structures of each country would easily crumble, and public opinion would favor the one who could unite the four heroes.
And then, the world would be his!
Each of the four heroes would be his right hand men, ensuring that no revolts against him occurred.
Now... how would he go scheming about this?
Oscar stayed up the rest of the night, thinking about how to pull this off.
----
Claire was an average girl.
She was 10 years old, and was taking a walk one day with her parents when she got separated.
She ran around, looking from shop to shop as her long silver hair flowed in the wind.
She wore a sundress and a white hat, with a wide brim. When she realized that she had gotten lost, she looked around frantically.
"Mom? Dad?"
She had lived a good life so far, but she had never been separated from her parents.
She started to cry.
"Wahhh!!!! Mom!!! Dad!!! Where are you!?!?"
But nobody was around.
She lived in a relatively rural area, and the sidewalks were empty near the shops.
All of a sudden, as she was crying and pouting, alone in the middle of a suburban plaza, a car came speeding down the road.
It was a nice Tesla, but it was going 100 mph on a country road that had a speed limit of 40.
SPLAT!
The white dress that Claire wore became stained with blood.
Her hat fell dramatically to the ground, and the girl was killed instantly.
----
Claire woke with a message.
[You are being transported to the world of Yolenos]
[You have been given partial administration permissions, however you may not freely use commands]
[Your mind will be accelerated by 10 years so that you can comprehend the information ahead of you]
Claire's mind was filled with memories.
First, she was simulated through 10 years of a life that she did not live.
She was made aware that the memories of this life were nonexistent, however her mentality and maturity was completely changed.
The new memories she gained were that of her living her life as a middle schooler, then a high schooler, and even the start of college.
Her loving parents always supported her in this simulation of her life, and she was always grateful for everything they did to help her.
She was not spoiled, but rather her parents did just enough for her to form a good character. She was challenged and forced to make her own decisions at times, but they were also there to support her and help her to forge her own path.
After graduating high school, she started college to become a student in computer science. Her dream was to one day create her own video game.
These memories were of course guided by the system, which was implanting them into her.
Over the course of these memories, Claire became a true role model- not one like Samantha who was trying to show off her kindness to others, but one who stood back from the spotlight and let others take the credit while she showed others kindness in the darkness.
She was humble and mature, loving and forgiving. When someone did something to hurt her, she wouldn't retaliate against them. She would try to work at their heart to bring them around to the light.
Alas, these memories were not actually real.
She did not hold hatred towards the man who killed her, but rather what she felt was sorrow and concern.
She was shown the image of Oscar carrying away her body, her grieving parents after her death, and the lawsuits against him which ended in his innocence due to government corruption and scandal.
It saddened her to know that a man who would do such a thing was allowed to roam free. She was not angry for her own death, but concerned that this man would cause others pain if he was allowed to continue doing as he pleased.
However, she was then shown the scene of his death, and his reincarnation in this new world.
When the scene played for her, she saw it from his perspective. She saw his thoughts, his plans, and was made aware of everything that he had experienced up until his plot to use the heroes to throw the human countries into chaos before taking them over.
Being made aware of everything, this made Claire become very serious.
"I have to stop this man."
She resolved herself.
[Do you wish to assist the enemies of the indeterminant?]
The indeterminant.
This was the name that the system had given to that man.
[Yes]
[This will mean becoming an evil entity in the eyes of the humans, and assisting the anti heroes in becoming the demon lords. You will walk a path of irreversible darkness if you accept. Are you still fine with this?]
She gave this some thought.
What if these anti heroes were merely evil?
What if her actions instead caused more people to die?
Could she live with herself?
[Would you like to be made aware of who the anti heroes are?]
[Yes]
Another set of memories flooded into the head of Claire.
This time, she could not hear the thoughts of the people who were in the memories, but rather she saw what happened as if it was a video.
She saw from Garett's perspective, his journey through the dungeon. His meeting up with his four party members, and their defeating of the boss slime. She was made aware of the effects that nightmare mode had placed onto the anti heroes, and she was filled with compassion for them.
"They might be a bit rough around the edges, and they certainly are not your average description of a good person.... but they are not evil. I can tell by their actions. These people are self interested and crude, but they are compassionate towards their own, and will not abandon them. If its them, they might have the will to go against that man, and prevent his rule..."
She decided to help Garett and his party.
But she had to warn them.
She had to help them.
[Do you wish to provide the anti heroes with assistance?]
[Yes]
[They have been provided with items to help them survive]
[Do you wish to leave a message for the anti heroes?]
[I am doing what I can to help you, summoned anti-heroes. Make your way to me, and I will explain more. Whatever you do, do not allow anyone to find out your names. You will be killed if they become common knowledge]
She left the anti heroes with this message. She prayed that they would understand.
[You have been assigned a role: The determined]
Status:
[Strength: Determined]
[Dexterity: Determined]
[Perception: Determined]
[Charisma: Determined]
[Intelligence: Determined]
[Skills: Partial Administrator Privileges. You may lock entities as constrained, thus preventing any interference from the Indeterminant. This does not apply to people or monsters]
She tried typing a command.
[Lock Beer]
[The properties of beer have been locked. Commands from the Indeterminant relating to beer will no longer be applied]
Did this mean that the Indeterminant was no longer able to create beer, or edit its properties?
The possibilities with this ability were endless, however they were just as endless as the possibilities that the Indeterminant held. If you could think of it, you could command it.
She decided that it would be best to gain information on the movements of the Indeterminant before trying to constrain him more. After all, she did not wan't him to catch on to her existence.
Claire was then spawned into the world.
She had the form of a grown woman, with long flowing hair as white as snow.
She was wearing nothing but a ragged nightgown, and her skin seemed to be glitching out.
She looked relatively human aside from the fact that her body did not seem to be fully attached to this world.
When she looked around her surroundings, she saw a large amount of short shacks. They were roughly put together from sticks and straw, and they were very large. It looked like a tribal village.
Where was she? Was this the world of Yolenos?
She knew one thing.
She had to stop the evil man who had been reincarnated with those absolute powers, and she was one of the only people who had the ability to restrict him.
"I have to find those anti-heroes. If we do not work together to defeat that man, this world is doomed."
-----
The Indeterminant.
The power to take reality which was determined, and erase it such that it becomes indeterminant, only to redefine it anew.
The Determined.
The power to lock reality in place, and determine or redetermine fate itself, and disallow an indeterminant state to be put on an object.
The power to keep things determined as they were, and to determine things as one needed.
These were the two powers which had entered the world on this day, and eventually they would clash. They were destined enemies, and now that they were together in this world, there would be no stopping the eventual fate that was to come.
Author's note:
This marks the end of volume 1 of Undetermined: The Demented Adventurers. I hope you all enjoyed it, and will continue reading onto volume 2.