Chapter 8: Demon King
Barely turning around, I was greeted with a bloody mutilated walking corpse. Moving choppily like a piston-powered machine. I tried my hardest to control the fear that wreaks unmerciful havoc in my veins. However, I did not try to run nor fight back, instead, I stood as straight as a soldier, tucking my arms to myself, trying in distress to dilute the fear that eluded me. From many life cycles, I notice that being calm and collected in any situation yields the best results, but that is easier said than done.
It slowly creep up towards me… Standing in front of me, his hollow eyes stared at me with disdain. He scuffed, asserting: "Weak, just like the others." He turned around, slowly walking towards a bloody throne with perfect imbalance. Extending his arm to grab the fleshy throne, supporting himself to sit on the throne with effort.
There was a moment of tension between us. I couldn't talk as his invisible pressure wielded my movements. He finally continued: "So here I was convinced that humans would become a threat, but it seems I was wrong." There was a moment of silence, before he starts to question: "What can a puny humans do? Kill monsters, raid dungeon and build a city. In the end, their fortified great walls would crumble, their countless hours of raids and repairs would not amount to anything. A waste of time. My precious time."
He lifts his left finger, hiding his enormous pool of pure pressure, I felt freedom. After all, I am, but an old snake going through ecdysis. He advanced: "Do you have anything to declare towards the great demon king, weakling?"
I did not utter a single word, not even twitching a single strand of hair.
His right brows lifted an inch, it seems his judgment was wronged.
"Nothing? Not even a word to your future king?" He tauntingly ask. I stared calmingly at his roaring eyes. "Amusing! This is the first time in a long while a human did not succumb to pride, one of the 7 deadly sins. Tell me your name?" He said with an amazing change of heart.
"Li Bai" it was a flat monotone voice, contrasting the demon's volcanic laughter from hell.
"Li Bai, I shall remember that name. You are different from your fellow wretched kind. Perhaps you could provide me with something vastly more interesting than their current fallen state; maybe we will meet again soon. I will not take your life today, unlike the others, but the next time we meet on your soil, it will be different." He announced, clenching his fist as he looks silently towards his crumpled hands of a conqueror.
I headed towards the exit like a wind. White light slowly encumbers me…
The Silence Corporation, had done 2 things well, fascinates and provide a common goal.
The first part of the tutorial would with the automination explaining would later be removed completely, as it was an example of a boring tutorial. Changing it so that the moment you turn around, the second scene with the demon king would occur, giving a feeling of thrill and goal. The customization menu would be in your settings instead.
Those 50,000 people who had gone through the first tutorial would be gained the title of
Emerging out of thin air, I stood outside the castle gates of a large medieval city. Mountainous concrete wall scaling as high as the heavens, terrorizing little ants below its foot. I entered the city through the front portcullis, passing a thin membrane that surrounds the entirety of the city. The so called law membrane allows NPC, so called non player character, or players to customize everything in a city at a cost. Anyone in the city would be under the law of the city owner, and have to abide in it, unless they want a personal meeting with the city guards.
{System: Congratulations, you have discovered your first city, river city! +5 silver coins} popped up on my barren chat system.
That is 5 000 copper coin for a head start. A pretty ridiculous amount when starting out.
Even at the game's early state, the streets were bustling with players and NPC walking about on beaten stone pavements that branched into nauseating streams of tunneling network. Large medieval house varying in size and architecture, messy as I would call it.
Created by NPC using wattle and daub method as a cheap alternative. Self built houses, cold and dark, very well shows the state of those who live around here. Then compare that to the far away jeweled morden towering walls that wrap around the inner layer of the city, segregation and discrimination. New players could only dream the luxurious gold that drowns within the inner city..
"What could that asshole self proclaimed demon king mean?" Those were the big question every new players are thinking.
It is the fear of the unknown that lingers in them; it is those fears that makes them fill with anticipation and excitement. The carefully directed hate of the demon king given to them would make new players immersed in this game, a common goal to achieve as humanity. Toxicity would be diverted towards the common enemy, humans would bond in order to take back their dignity.
Such a subtle move may have some players annoyed at the game devs but within such realistic scenario, players would eventually be immersed in the very world they hold grievances.
The very essence of the game is its lore, players and plot; it is the feel, not the visual stunts that makes a game comes at a whole.
Continuing down the streets I repeatedly encountered posters that implicitly guide players towards the main hall. A rendered poster of the main hall with "new" as an emphasis; it, unconsciously or not, tried to guide players towards the main hall.
I, on the other hand, head towards the plain looking field teleporter that stood bravely right across the main hall. A runic circular hollow bronze circle engraved with unreadable mystical runes.
Rune scripts was one of the many languages I've learnt, I must learn. Learning the art of ancient scripts like rune are not mandatory; the game never forces you to do something, but if you want to get the most out of this game learning the art of ancient scripts would open a whole new world to you. For every ancient script you learn, you learn the ancient civilization's life and history; you uncover their success and delve deep into the very cause that lead to their fall.
In fact, there's an alternative, if you have a high enough intelligent stats and reputation on an ancient civilization, their succor would teach you their art and the game would automatically translate everything for you. A cheap alternative, but a well done on the game developers part.
Field teleporter need to be activated before anyone can use it, and you guess what? You need to understand the engraved language to activate it; this meant a deep understanding of the engravement, the instruction used to open one of these portals.
The first time I played this game, people had not found a way to open this field teleporter until a rune archeologist had accidentally decrypt the runes and made travel to any area a breeze; he, undoubtedly, rose in fame and fortune. That was at an average level base of 20.
Currently, 3 days after release, it is only level 7, the highest level as of now is level 10 and it is written blandly on the leaderboard that was plastered closely to the walls of the main hall entrance.
The instructions of the field teleporter read as follows: "break your heart, bleed your hand, creating a river of blood that flows through the heart of the city."