The Event

Another flash and he was suddenly looking at a big crowd. A very big one. He couldn't see the end of it no matter how far he looked, and it surrounded him on all sides. 

He still felt odd, as if his actions were restrained by some supernatural will.

Okoma was standing on a platform with few other people. Other beta testers? He was reassured by the weight of the cold crown on his head. Since his identity was safe, he decided to concentrate on them.

He couldn't see Tennor, but he was also somehow able to recognize the other players for their score and title. A tall woman to his right was wearing a leaf wreath and had the title of "Elven Queen", he remembered her for being sixth place and having sided with the elves. 

Another one was a guy with a huge hammer in his hands. He had been rank 14 and he had specialized in making ultra powerful weapons. Now that he thought about it, it made more sense that this guy didn't have to get the demon's crown to finish the game, he probably had obtained another ending...

But before he could analyze his neighbors any further, a loud voice boomed in the sky.

"Welcome everyone! This is the welcoming event for the game "Dragon's Requiem"! I hope everyone here is excited! My name is Jury, and I'm today's event host!" The voice said enthusiastically.

As Jury started speaking, large images flickered into existence above their heads, popping up for everyone to see. On all the images was displayed the same angelic yet slightly inhuman face of the speaking voice.

"During today's event, we will be enjoying the following;

-A trailer for our much awaited game!

-An introduction to our top twenty promotional players!

-The system introduction!

-And finally, a discussion period in the land of Dragon's Requiem!

Without further ado, here is the trailer, we hope you'll like it!"

The light in the white space seemed to dim and become warmer as the images transferred to the trailer.

At first we could see an old, human king slouching in his throne, pointing a scraggly finger away from him as he was seemingly exiling a young nobleman.

Then it was an elf crying over a crystal coffin. From his experience, Okoma could tell that was the elf queen crying the death of her husband. Her fists clenched hard and seemed to suddenly glare angrily at the camera.

It cut to what Okoma guessed was a dwarf. There hadn't been any dwarves in the game he had played. He had a dirty face and was holding some sort of glowing artifact, a sinister smile on his face.

And for a second, the screen was occupied by a glowing red eye, only to be taken away by the beating wings of dragons soaring through a clear blue sky.

"A land filled with endless stories…" a velvety male voice started.

Now the image was going through a variety of people doing various jobs.

"A new start at life…" the voice continued.

Okoma felt his blood turn cold when Tennor was suddenly on screen, in what was most likely the game. Him and his party were having a good time at a camp site.

Then it was golden angel. She was beautiful. She stood with her back straight next to the human king and the eleven king and queen, extending her hand to the demon king. Her long wavy brown hair fluttered softly in a breeze, her blue eyes holding bravery and empathy.

Both of them had gotten a positive image in the trailer…

But Okoma's jaw clenched when it was his turn.

It was an image of an eleven village, the one southernmost of the capital. But it wasn't green and vibrant as it should have been, the plants were grey and the buildings burned to ashes, pale corpses strewn around.

In the middle of the mess, there was him, his back facing the image. And when the view closed in, it was there for everyone to see. He was holding Geneva in his left arm, tears had been flowing from her eyes and blood from her neck. In his right hand there was a bloodied dagger.

Of course they'd take that moment, those bastards.

In the image he saw himself slowly getting up, leaving Geneva on the ground. He slowly raised his hand to his face, dropping the dagger. And the image switched to a collection of faces, probably the other players.

A stunned breath escaped him. At least the video had stopped there. He really didn't want to see what came after, much less the whole of the new players.

"The beta testers joining up with the new players!" The voice continued, picking up the pace.

The image now displayed a variety of artifacts and then someone doing impressive magic.

"Riches and real life benefits!"

The image darkened and there was now only "Dragon's Requiem" written in a fancy font.

"Dragon's Requiem, now everyday at 9 pm!" The voice ended with intensity.

The image was back to Jury's face.

"Isn't it so exciting!" Jury began. "Now, let's introduce the players you've seen in the trailer."

The image switched to Tennor, he was also standing on another white platform with other people. He was holding a shield with the face of a lion on it. The view zoomed in on him.

"This is Lion Heart, the number one player of the beta version! He's the player that succeeded to subjugate the demon race with as little casualties for humans and elves. His starting class is fire elementalist, and he will warm your heart with his great humor!"

Tennor gave a confident smile and waved at the crowd.

The image switched to a woman with long brown hair. She had a delicate and beautiful necklace with a leaf pendant.

"Here is the Golden Angel! She's the second rank beta tester, and she's the only player to have successfully allied all three nations! Her starting class is healer, and she's the cure for broken hearts~"

She smiled slightly and bowed her head.

And then, as expected, the camera turned to him. He saw himself with the cold crown on his head. He didn't look very impressive with his medium height and meek physique, yet the featureless sleek mask looked menacing. He wish he could take it of so that it didn't ruin his image further, but unless he wanted the whole world to know who he was then it was better to keep it on…

"And this, is the Cold King! He's the third rank beta tester, and the only player to make the demon race go completely extinct! His starting class is water elementalist, though it's not water he's got on his hands…"

He breathed deeply and shook both his perfectly clean hands at the public in the friendliest manner he could muster. It's wasn't that bad, the introduction could've been worse. And the end didn't have to be interpreted in a sinister way, right…?

The image switched to a young man with brown skin. He had a pair of daggers hanging from a dark belt at his waist.

"And at fourth rank, we have Phantom! He's the only player to have managed to clear the game while staying undercover. His starting class is shadow mage, so be careful of what hides in the darkness!"

The man simply crossed his arms.

The image was now showing a girl with a very big sword in her back. She had dark almond shaped eyes.

"At fifth rank we have Edgebane! She has lead countless battles, with a success rate of 90%! Her starting class is paladin, don't let her shinning sword blind you!"

She smirked at the crowd but didn't take any other action.

Then it was the turn of the Elven Queen next to him, and he learned she had the shaman class. Then it went on for a while, going through the rest of the top twenty players.

Okoma tried memorizing as much details as he could, as that might end up becoming crucial information.

But as they went by, he felt his hopes being crushed. He was the only one wearing a mask. And… he had told his family that he was a beta tester, so they might just end up realizing he was the cold king. He didn't really think his parents would be problematic, though he'd rather they wouldn't know.

The problem was his step brother, and potentially his sister. They might just betray his identity. Of course part of why he wanted to keep his identity secret was because he didn't want to be seen as the cold king in real life, but that wasn't the biggest issue.

Okoma was sure that if he got in trouble with other players in the game, which he had a sneaking suspicion was going to be inevitable, then he'd get trouble in real life.

Because what happened in the game might not stay in it.