The [Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon God].
A masterpiece; that was what this was. Everything from the fights to the world-building was perfected to an uncanny degree. I felt like part of the Murim, also known as the Wuxia Cultivation world, when playing.
The idea of a Heavenly Demon came from Korean martial arts novels and instantly gained popularity. Compared to Chinese Wuxia and Xianxia novels, where Demonic Martial Arts also existed, Murim was a lot more fleshed out. Also was somewhere between those two worlds in terms of power ceiling, and in that world, the sheer pressure behind the title of the Demon of Heaven made the world tremble.
This world, [Arcane Crown], saw demons as a general enemy. Although I didn't get to fight him, the final boss was a Demon King. There were also the 72 Devil Pillars of Hell. It was a typical fantasy game, although with some major unique additions.
Between the Demon King and the Heavenly Demon, anybody would choose the second because it's just so much better. Cooler, too. Well, anybody who knew his shit, anyway.
"The Heavenly Demon Skill Tree [1%]..." I read the line out loud again.
A percentage increased after I received all those memories. It seemed like my understanding of 'martial arts' as a whole concept, along with the other memories, contributed to the increase.
Having played the game 17 times, I knew all about the plot and the main character, the Heavenly Demon. What I didn't know was how the martial techniques really worked; after all, clicking the mouse and performing a technique was far different from actually knowing how it worked. Thankfully, these memories contributed to my understanding of how I could implement them in the real world.
The percentage was so low despite my profound knowledge of martial arts because it only gave me a general idea about 'martial arts,' as well as 'demonic arts' and how to practice them on a basic level, but not the information about how to perform the truly magnificent techniques of the Heavenly Demon.
If I had to guess, I'd say that as I level up, the System will grant me access to techniques on its own as the percentage would go up. But I'd have to actually level up to see if that theory was correct.
That's a little disappointing, I noted. Then again, it was not as if I could have used the techniques even if I did know how to. My body was too weak, and I didn't sense any form of energy in my body.
I was a Mana-less, Qi-less child.
[...You have accepted your new reality.]
[Moving on to your tasks, your quest…]
My celebration was cut short when more blue boxes formed in my vision. It was true, I had accepted my reality, and the pain earlier helped. A bunch of messages greeted me. I looked at them, and my expression soured.
[You've traversed to another world.]
[Your travel is not random but rather has a clear cause and effect. You have a role to play in saving this world from doom.]
[This Planet, Vear'thia, does not have an open ending. It has a true ending only through which this world can be saved. You must save the world.]
Main Quest: Reach the True Ending
Details: You're in the world of Vear'thia, which you know from a game you've played. Going by the terms of the game, this world has a dedicated true ending. If a wrong ending is reached, everything will meet its end, doomsday will come. It falls on your shoulders to save this world from imminent doom. Make a Cult: Save the World.
Reward: 1 Cosmic Level Wish, Dominion over the World Core.
Failure Penalty: Permanent Death
"Oh please."
Did it really ask me to save the world? If so, why did it have to add that penalty?
"Penalty Death…" I frowned. A moment later, I ignored it. It was nothing to be angry about. If the world was destroyed, I'd die along with it anyway. So I guess it wasn't that bad as far as threats went.
What bothered me was the quest itself. I had decided not to follow the plot the moment I realized I had the powers of the Heavenly Demon. With that kind of power, if I raised myself properly, I could even be dubbed as the 73rd Devil Pillar. Yet, it felt like it was telling me to go to school and fix the plot?
It certainly implied so. I had to go to the school if I wanted to 'fix' the plot. Most plot-heavy incidents happened there – deaths among them the most important – and missing out on any of them would make things go in a totally unexpected direction.
What was the point in going to some Academy when I could raise my Level in the mountains, slay dragons, and travel the world? Especially since I'll have demonic energy leaking out of me soon; the people at the Academy would burn me on a stake, thinking I was a Demon in disguise.
But if the System threatened me like this, what other choice did I have? If that wasn't bad enough, it then told me to make a Cult! Did it truly want me to revive the Heavenly Demon God Cult, go against the 12 Gods and 72 Devils of this world, and label myself a terrorist to the entire realm?
The problem was, I didn't even know the ending. I didn't get to complete the game, I was close, stuck in a fight against one of the last bosses.
"Haah…" I let out a heavy sigh. "How am I supposed to reach the true ending and save my life?"
The start of my new life wasn't looking very bright.
After getting past the initial shock and a bit of rage, I took a long look at the reward instead. "Cosmic Level Wish? What does that mean? Dominion over the World Core, too."
So, if I wanted to become a God or something, would it make me one? If I wanted to go back to my world, would it allow it? Hmm, if I wanted to become, let's say, a particular alien being with the cosmos for skin, would that happen? I had no idea if I was on the right track here.
"Any words of advice, System?"
In this world, there existed a game-like System that everyone, even the NPCs, had access to. For the record, theirs was a little limited compared to the Players'.
From the looks of it, I still had access to the player system since it was giving me a main quest, despite being in the body of an NPC. In this world, NPCs could only take [Ascension Quests] to overcome particular level blocks; for that, they had to visit one of the twelve Gods' temples, and the God would grant them a quest. However, I just got a quest while sitting on my luxurious floor.
Unfortunately, the system didn't reply. About time I get off this floor. I dusted off my clothes and walked over to the bed. I needed a shower. I'd been passed out for a while, and thanks to the sweat, I smelled somewhat.
"Jus-" I tried to recall the name of the butler under me. "Justin! Come here."
When I sat down on the bed, Justin entered the room swiftly. He put a hand on his chest and bowed slightly. "You called me, young master…?" He asked slowly, and he sounded slightly scared.
What? What kind of guy was the original Iskandaar that he's so scared? Hmm… Memories flashed in my head the moment I wondered that, and I got my answer.
It seemed that since the batch of my memory was so large, I only recalled some incidents after questioning them or encountering them. My memories told me that Iskandaar wasn't honestly that bad of a person, he was just an unusually useless piece of shit, but being the son of a Count, that was a big thing.
I disregarded that for now and said, "Prepare a bath." I'd decided to accept that this was the real world and that this was my life from now on, so I had to get moving.
Some emotional people might be surprised at how easily I accepted this and didn't miss my friends and family from my past life, but that was exactly the thing.
I missed nothing from my life. Everything that was good had left me that day, when my legs were crushed under a truck. My kickboxing career, those fake friends… everything.
If the person who sent me here thought they were giving me a punishment, they were not.
"Jokes on you, Aeth123." I had nothing in that life of mine. Why would I hate a restart? If Iskandaar was a piece of shit, I had to accept myself as that and move on. Since I was him now, his qualities were mine, and I'd have to work on them.
"Yes, young master," Justin nodded and left the room. A minute later, two maids entered the room, who pinched their skirts and bowed to me before entering the bathroom attached to my room.
Damn. This world was not bad at all. If it had such a nice attached bathroom, it wouldn't really be a medieval world then, would it? There was even a clock on the wall. Weren't clocks invented in the 17th century?
Once they were done preparing the bath, the maids invited me inside and stood in the corner. I waved them off, unwilling to let these women suffer in discomfort. The original owner of this body never really noticed or cared that these maids hated helping him bathe, but the memories allowed me to recall clear details.
"Curses, what's up with him?" One of the maids whispered, although it still reached my ear. "Did he hit his head that hard?"
"Shh, are you crazy?!" Her friend slapped her on the head, making her wince.
Hmmm, isn't the first maid the same one who was whispering earlier too? Damn, what did I do to her for her to keep talking about me? I wondered as I walked toward the tub.
That's right, this place has a tub. I was saved. "Ak-!" Taking a step, I almost slipped because my leg gave out. I barely caught myself by holding on to the nearby cloth hanger.
Holy fuck. That almost killed me. My body didn't have much strength. My bones gave up easily. I was chronically sick. Rather than dying from the world getting destroyed… I would probably die slipping and hitting my head again.
Goddamnit, how do I fix this?