[CONGRATULATION!!]
[You have successfully overthrown the authority of Persindia's authoritarian ruler!!]
[The Persindia Empire has been eliminated from civilization.]
[King Arthur Milan of Persindia is dead, and all his colonies are automatically disempowered. Do you wish to claim them?]
The transparent screen floating in front of Azka had two options available to him.
Yes. No.
However, he knew what he would get if he pressed the yes option.
'It would be troublesome for me if I took all the loot. After all, I'm about to retire.'
Persindia was the largest kingdom in the Land of Emeralds. They had a territory the size of China and all of Southeast Asia combined. Its collapse meant that there was plenty of treasure to be plundered, including its now no-man's-land territories, thanks to Azka Aldric.
It was just that the other players wouldn't be able to take whatever was left if Azka didn't give it up.
The scenario had been designed for the winner to take all the loot and then retain it after the scenario's pause period, which would end in the next forty hours.
The Conquest of Persindia was an SSS level objective and could be done solo or in a party. This objective fell into the Tyranny category section before the scenario switched to Quiet Times.
There was a great shock in cyberspace as the announcement of Persindia's downfall was fed into the internet algorithm.
"Persindia has fallen?!"
"Hey, is this real or a hoax?"
"Who has done it? That scenario has been unconquerable for a century!"
"None of the Order, WB Generation, and The Sentinel have released official statements."
"Did other parties do it?"
Despite the ubiquity of the news and the fact that many social media users have taken to CosmicArea's comments section, no one knows who masterminded the success of this most difficult objective.
Everyone was curious, even politicians and the world elite. However, CosmicArea had a system to hide user identities that was already available when players registered.
Azka chose to hide his identity, and this also meant he knew the risks of not being able to enter any party.
Well, he certainly didn't intend to join any party in the first place.
He was a solo player, which is very rare.
And being a solo player came with a huge risk.
Azka was completely unaware of the uproar in cyberspace. Yet, he knew that sooner or later this would become a global attention.
Sooner or later.
Finally, Azka pressed the no option on the transparent screen.
[Are you sure?]
'Yes.'
[All the results of your hard work will be released without ownership, including the territory of the former Persindia, until someone comes to claim it.]
'Well, a very big loss. Unfortunately, I'm not who I used to be.'
Azka only took a medal that he could later cash in. The medal was a rare SSS item that belonged to King Arthur. If it was cashed in, then Azka wouldn't have to work for the rest of his life.
On the altar of King Arthur's throne, Azka stretched his arms upwards, followed by a light sigh as if tearing down the largest kingdom in the region was akin to completing a college homework assignment.
'I will have a good life ahead of me. Rich, living in a mansion on a hilltop, and staying single.'
Azka looked around, a room that used to be the royal courtroom. It was spacious, grand, and shining. Reminded him of a council chamber in a certain country. On the upper floor there was also an area that was typically occupied by the king's concubines.
By now, this room was nothing more than a ghost story filled with dead bodies and rubble.
"Okay, let's head home."
He opened his inventory screen, then selected a green orb and activated it.
[Usage once a day.]
Another screen came up, this time a map.
[Tap the location you want to go to.]
He was about to press the teleport site not far from the kingdom, but the screen suddenly became tangled for a moment.
"Huh..." His forehead puckered for a moment, "weird."
Yeah, it was weird. There were no system glitches that Azka had experienced before this. Did something happen at headquarters?
The screen was out of action for the next minute until it came back into service.
'Huh. Something did happen.'
Brushing his curiosity away, Azka pressed the teleportation site and transported through the tunnel of light emanating from beneath his feet.
***
He arrived at the teleportation site, where it was a circular altar with green radiance coming out of it.
Although it might be the closest to the kingdom, the site was actually 9 kilometers away. The location was also well hidden in the shade of a wooded area and was heavily guarded by guards mounted on giant owls.
Only the players knew of this site.
And, the only method to get back to Earth.
The guards noticed Azka's arrival.
On the uniform they wore, there was a CosmicArea emblem on the left chest in the form of a shooting star. They were the officers who were in charge of keeping the mobs (as Earthlings call the inhabitants of this planet) away from the teleportation site.
"Greetings, Azka Aldric. Congratulations on completing the Persindia objective and congratulations on being the only one who managed to do so."
Azka gave a light nod. The guard continued.
"With that, the Tyranny scenario has been completed and will be transferred to the next scenario. You will be honored as the Conqueror of the Monarchy for your success."
As soon as he said that, a golden light rained down on Azka for a split second. Azka could see the title embedded in his profile screen, along with the other titles.
For CosmicArea players, titles were quite important. Titles could make a player more worthwhile and add charisma points. Having a title could increase a player's value in the transfer market; the more unique the title, the higher the price.
Transfer fees served as a basis for player transfers from one party to another, as was the case for footballers.
If Azka's status as a player became public knowledge, his transfer fee would likely be the highest, possibly not only in this generation.
Still, he kept the Solo Player title as his main one.
'To me, this title makes me feel much more special than anything I've ever received.'
"Which destination do you wish to reach, Azka Aldric?"
Azka looked back at the guard mounted on the giant white owl. The bird's black eyes stared intently at him.
Azka was constantly faced with such a question whenever he was about to make a teleportation journey. This time, it would be the last time he would hear it.
Azka had been a player since he was eighteen years old. He was no different from other teenagers at that time, overly hyped about realistic survival games that had been around for three centuries. Although it was a game, no more than a hundred people passed verification as players each year. The screening of entrants was always very thorough in order to prevent the game from reaching excessive capacity and excessive raiding.
And, against all odds, Azka passed.
Considering his background, he was practically a nobody. Young Azka was just a high school graduate at the time with mediocre grades. The only things that caused him headaches were his father and his romantic life, which never seemed to blossom.
When he succeeded in becoming a player, he didn't tell anyone, not even his mother, who was the closest person to him. He hid his identity as a player, then he got to work: looting, going through scenarios, selling the items he got, then repeating.
Sometimes his mother wondered where he got the money from, but Azka simply told her not to worry about it. Now he was 29 years old, his mother no longer lived in a simple house, and he had a lot of land to do business with. This game really changed his life.
Azka took one last look at the sky of the planet Superterra before answering.
"Earth."
The guard nodded and stretched out his arms toward the altar, allowing Azka to climb onto it.
'I'll miss this.'
Azka stood at the altar while the guard made the call.
"Travel to Earth in 3... 2... 1, launch!"
In the blink of an eye, Azka was no longer there.