Finally. He had killed the last demon.
He looked around him for hidden survivors, either they be allies or enemies. Only smoking ruins, ashes and corpses remained. It seemed he was alone.
Shaking off any guilt or alike, he headed to the black marble throne with the black steel crown in hand.
He sat on the throne and put on the crown.
"Game end." he declared.
And then, the world faded away.
He expected to finally meet the creator of this damned game. He had something to say about randomly choosing beta testers.
But he was met with a weird voice that was devoid of any emotions.
"You have gained the title 'cold king'.
The 'Cold steel' path has been cleared.
Game score:
Demon's final status: Completely eradicated (0% population remains)
Humanity's final status: gravely damaged (45% population remains)
Elves final status: highly endangered (0.02% population remains)
Player's party final status: Dead (no survivors)
Player's final status:
Name: Okoma Horkensov
Score: 999k+
state: Slightly tired.
Evaluation of clearing technique: B-. Achieved main goal, but didn't bother protecting his allies and innocents civilians.
Evaluation of general strength: A. Stealth is slightly lacking compared to the rest.
Evaluation of war tactics: B. Perfect execution, but even when planned, loosing in death more than 99% of military forces is bad. Executed large scale attacks even when knowing it would butcher his own forces along with the enemies.
General evaluation: B+. Prioritized personal development over general development of military forces. Won over majority of military forces, formed many alliances. Manipulated allies in staying loyal and obedient even when sent on suicide missions. Cleared the game with the cold steel path; eradicated demon race and claimed for his own the humanity's throne as well as the Demon's throne, also subjugated Eleven race.
Final title obtained: cold king.
Final fighting class: Blood elementalist(final evolution of water elementalist).
Notable achievements:
-Outsanding acting performance, pretended to be sent by god and managed to fool everyone, including the enemies.
-Purposefully led Elven race to have a civil war, weakening them enough to take control of the population.
-Was the one to execute 80% of the demon race, 30%
of humanity and 50% of eleven race.
Total playing time: 3 years and a half."
Okoma blinked. Well, that was effectively one way to put it, even if it didn't put him in a good light.
"Do you want to consult other player's Game score?"
As he expected, there was other players.
"Yes."
And so, a list from most outstanding to less outstanding appeared.
The first one was a certain Lion heart. They were at the top of the list for a good reason.
They got a A++ grade, the guy managed to subjugate demon race while both humanity and eleven race stayed in a good condition, his story seemed made from true comradeship and bravery. Allied all nations and organized things so everyone would be strong and good strategists, all that while also making himself extra strong. All that in four years. Truly outstanding.
Second place, while not being really strong in any particular way, was also incredible. She was titled golden Angel. She brought peace by pacifying things between the three nations, even the Demons. Okoma had a hard time picturing that. She was also a first grade healer. All that in five years. she got an A.
Somehow, he was third place. Even if other people got better grades then him.
afterwards, about twenty others had succeeded.
All cleared the game in various ways, sometimes by luck or things like that. Though, it seemed he was the only one that managed to completely eradicate the Demons.
Obviously, he could not see every information about other players, like their names, but he could see in general what they did. Sadly, it probably also meant the other players could see his game score.
What slightly worried him was the long list of people who failed.
"What happened to the people that failed?" he asked.
"They either died or the demons took over or someone else was responsible for clearing the game. But worry not, they will all be sent back home too. Though, their memories will be wiped. Are you ready to go back?" the voice asked.
Okoma guessed he wouldn't yet get to know who was behind all this. But whatever, as long as this was over.
"Yes!"
Once again, the world faded.
This time he woke up on his bed, fully dressed in his school uniform.
Finally seeing this familiar place and smelling a nostalgic smell, he almost cried. Now, how should he explain his three year absence?
He looked around for his phone to check what day this was, but he came to a sudden realization.
Time on Garth hadn't passed at all. He verified it with his phone, which luckily was able to open with fingerprints, since he couldn't remember the password. And effectively, time hadn't passed at all.
He was able to realize it because nothing in his room had moved, there wasn't much dust and more importantly, he clearly remembered his mother saying she'd turn his room into an interior garden of some sort when he'd move away. If he had disappeared for three years, this room would be filled with plants, not with his stuff.
It was 6:58 so he had time before going to school. At this hour, his family would have yet to be up. The first thing he did was rush to his mirror.
One of the thing that annoyed him the most about the damned game was it's primitive hygiene system. There were toothbrushes, but no toothpaste, dental floss or mouthwash worthy of the name. Obviously, he used salt and soap as a substitute for toothpaste, apple cider vinegar as a substitute for mouthwash and normal thread as substitute for dental floss, but they tasted disgusting, were uncomfortable and not as effective as the modern stuff. So no matter how careful he had been, by the end of the three years, his teeth had turned yellowish and he had a few cavities.
So he was extremely relieved when he saw they were as pearly white as before.
Okoma liked taking good care of his teeth, he was actually aiming to be a wealthy dentist in the future because he had a peculiar interest for buccal health and hygiene.
Which is why he was studying in science.
Oh no. School.
He had completely forgotten! He also forgot what he was learning three years ago, in physics, Chem, and math. The final exams were near, he barely had time to refresh his memory. Damn this cursed game.
Well, he wouldn't have much trouble in magic education since he learned how to control it during these three years.
Though, as he could feel it, he knew he hadn't kept all the power he had developed in the game. His muscles were just like his teeth, the same as before the game.
But it didn't matter. He wanted to be dentist, not an Olympic mage. He was very camera shy so, even if he had kept his power, he'd still rather become a dentist.
Basically, his dream was to have a wife and a son, a house and a cat, a Cartier watch and a cool jeep while being a dentist. He didn't want attention, at least not from complete strangers.
So he was kinda pissed the game had put him in a dire situation for his studies.
He searched for his backpack to check what he had today, with a bit of luck, he'd remember where the classes were and his classmate's names.
But on his desk layed a paper note.
The ink was golden and the paper was beige.
it read "
-Congratulations for clearing the tutorial game.
-As a reward for being third place and clearing cold steel path, you have gained the cold crown.
-Reach stage 2 for further instructions."
Okoma felt the blood drain from his face.
"T-tutorial?"
Those painful and harsh three years were... a tutorial?
Not the whole game? Wait, was that tutorial even for a game?
How the heck was he supposed to reach the next stage if he didn't even understand what the stages are?
And what was that cold crown?
He looked around the room.
A box wrapped like a gift was waiting next to his bed.
He took it and opened it. Inside, there was the black steel crown of the Demon king except a steel mask extended from it.
The mask was also made from the black steel, it was shaped in a Stoic face that heavily lacked details. Weird thing was that there wasn't any holes for the eyes, nose or mouth. Was he supposed to wear it backwards? plus, Okoma wore glasses. That had been annoying during the game... no, the tutorial.
He decided to Wear it normally. The size fitted him perfectly, and surprisingly, he could see. Very well, even. As if he was wearing his glasses. He could also breath freely. To put it simply, it felt as if there wasn't a mask. Though, when he tried touching his face, he touched the cold steel instead.
He walked to his mirror to see how it looked.
Honestly, it was kinda creepy. Cool, but creepy.
Putting it on his desk, he sighed.
It's been three whole years since he last saw his family and friends. It was sad to say but, he wasn't that enthusiastic about seeing them again.
During the first year, he worried about them and missed them dearly. During the second year, he thought about them less, still missing them. During the third year, he avoided thinking about them because everytime he did, he felt uneasy.
Even if he was aware it wasn't real, it was but a game, those three years still changed him.
It felt so real, he had phases where he doubted if this was really a game, was the people he killed actually real? At some point he even nearly fell for his own lie about being sent by god.
It had been extremely hard. He matured during these three years.
He heard his sister get out of her room and walk to the kitchen.
Okoma got up. Even if it felt he had killed the original him during the game, he still had to face them.
When he was about to open his bedroom's door, he froze.
On the door was nailed something gross, but nostalgic.
It was the hide of an opossum.
An odd story.
Okoma couldn't hold back his snickering.
Maybe he hadn't changed that much.