Chapter 0 Prologue
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Hello everyone, this is new project about conquering world. Instead become a hero, he become Demon King like person. I hope you like it…
APOCALYPSE SAGA
This is an MMORPG that Japan’s leading game maker released with the slogan “This is the epitome of the Japanese spirit.”
In the year of its release, Japanese games were already at the forefront as a leading force in the world, and even within the genre of MMORPGs, there were various well-known titles competing against each other. However, APOCALYPSE SAGA stood out as a truly unique presence, shining with its popularity.
If you ask the main reason for this, everyone would answer with an overwhelming degree of freedom.
Adventures with comrades in numerous cities and battle areas across thirty continents, as well as group battles (raid battles). Gathering materials through activities such as fishing and mining. If you purchase your own land, you can have a farm to grow vegetables and fruits, an aquarium to display the fish you catch, various shops, and even manage an underground-style gambling den… the list goes on and on.
APOCALYPSE SAGA embodied the phrase “infinite ways to play,” with countless different content, both big and small.
The main content is adventure and combat, but even just looking at that, the degree of freedom is high. If you purchase the separate create tool, you can freely modify the appearance of characters and equipment to your heart’s content. The number of races (tribes) and occupations (classes) easily reaches three digits each, and it was a game where players could do as they pleased with what they liked.
Such extraordinary freedom perfectly matched the robust spirit of Japanese creators. And it gained a popularity beyond imagination from such an unassuming title.
Yes, APOCALYPSE SAGA was at the peak of MMORPG ten years ago.
Due to the manufacturer’s scandal and significant changes in the management policy, it greatly reduced the active users who once numbered tens of millions at its peak, and now it clings to the past glory and is being operated as a “relic of history” in a small and meager manner.
* * *
The warm afternoon sunlight was blocked by the heavily shaded curtains, leaving only the faint glow of the computer’s lights in the dimly lit room. Inside the room, where the curtain of fell silence, there was only one man in front of the computer.
Rubbing his tired eyes and stretching his back with a loud yawn, the man took his gaze away from the computer he had been facing all day. As he finished stretching, the logout page of APOCALYPSE SAGA appeared on the computer screen.
”…I’m sleepy.”
Muttering such words, the man named Kondo Haruto slipped into bed. Despite its decline, he carried the burden of relentlessly spending money on APOCALYPSE SAGA without losing interest.
He started playing APOCALYPSE SAGA on its release day and eventually became known as one of the top players in the world during its heyday.
As he closed his eyes in bed, Haruto’s memories of those fun times always appeared behind his eyelids.
Haruto was at the pinnacle as a player, but what particularly captivated him was the “Dungeon Content.” Simply put, it involves creating the strongest dungeon and battling within it. Players can create their own preferred dungeons and place subordinate monsters within them. There are also strategic elements, such as preventing the conquests of other players’ dungeons at times, and leading subordinate forces to attack other player dungeons.
The “Dungeon Content” includes a gacha to obtain subordinate monsters, which is separate from the gacha designed for obtaining weapons and items for general use. It is considered a separate game within APOCALYPSE SAGA to such an extent that it is difficult to coexist with more common content, and it required a significant amount of in-game purchases, even among numerous other contents.
However, the content also includes an extraordinary level of depth, such as the exterior design of the dungeon, the creation of subordinates, and detailed settings, which Haruto became so engrossed in that he would want to add countless “levels” to it.
Haruto couldn’t quit his job, but when he returned home, he spared no effort to create his own dungeon. With no dependents, no lover, and no pets, he cut back on living expenses and extravagances to the bone, pouring the majority of his salary and bonuses into APOCALYPSE SAGA. He dedicated himself entirely.
Haruto had a personality that was deeply committed to what he was fixated on, and during high school, he had seriously aimed to become an illustrator, so he put all his energy into the dungeons and the appearance of his subordinates.
From cute female characters to muscular male characters, handsome men who suited the clever four-character idioms, and even dragons and monsters, he drew and programmed the appearance of all his subordinates himself, as far as his money would allow. Especially in the case of female characters, they were elaborately crafted with Haruto’s hobbies in full swing, and he has fond memories of diligently drawing even under the clothes with a liquid tab and grinning.
His extraordinary passion was recognized, and he won the dungeon tournament many times, and the subordinates’ monsters he submitted to the contest also won the grand prize.
To call oneself a Dungeon Master is synonymous with being either a hardcore player or a heavy spender. In this contest, which has garnered significant attention from both domestic and international sources, the subordinates sent forth by Haruto were treated as official characters and even had doujinshi publications. Naturally, they were not only visually appealing but also incredibly powerful. Haruto’s tower-type dungeon, “Saint Tower Babellion,” always held the top spot as the greatest dungeon.
And now, it has widened the gap with the second-place dungeon. The reason is simple: most of the Dungeon Masters who were in competition with Haruto have retired from APOCALYPSE SAGA.
There have been times when they attacks with their armies and reached just short of his dungeon core. Conversely, there have been instances where a few Dungeon Masters formed an alliance and launched an attack, as well as large combat-oriented guilds making serious attempts at conquering the dungeon alongside their preparations for major events.
They were hated rivals, but more than that, they were friends who colored Haruto’s world. It was embarrassing to say such a thing, but everyone must have felt the same. When they left APOCALYPSE SAGA, they handed over to Haruto their subordinates and their equipment, which were the crystallization of their blood, sweat, tears, and precious lives.
With a voice that can be imagined with an innocent smile, they left behind the words, “If it’s you.”
One by one, rivals left, and as former friends, they entrusted their subordinates (memories) to Haruto. Looking only at the results, it may seem that he received top-class subordinates without spending money or effort, but what Haruto felt was deep sadness, anger, and above all, emptiness.
Now, what forms Haruto’s dungeon is something like the residual thoughts of those people. The player who created Sleepless City, one of the three great dungeons alongside Babellion, has been gone for ten years since leaving. In the game world, hundreds of years have passed.
If APOCALYPSE/SAGA were real, would the subordinates entrusted to their rivals have already become seniors instead of guest captains? …Having such a fantasy, Haruto closed his eyes. He then opened it and took a deep breath.
It takes a lot of effort just to maintain a large dungeon. However, he couldn’t quit even though he was entrusted with the job, so APOCALYPSE SAGA, which he continued every day, is no longer as fun as it used to be.
In fact, since the management has changed since the time of its decline, they are increasing the variety of content in an effort to somehow retain the few remaining players and new enthusiasts. It may be the end of the world if people dismiss it as a mediocre cliché, but since it was originally a good work among good works, there are elements that make it enjoyable in its own way. Recently, it even held its own events.
Still, Haruto feels unsatisfying. This is only because he knows those days when time passed by in the blink of an eye. When he compares it to those days of friendly competition, when he went crazy with victory and cried with defeat, when hours felt like minutes, he feels a helpless sadness.
Of course, he has never expressed those feelings. No, he hasn’t found anyone to whom he could express them.
And since when did Haruto, who silently dominates the top of each content, start being called the “Remnants of the Era” with overwhelming respect and a hint of mockery? The management also supported this nickname by sending Haruto the unique and unparalleled title of “King of Ten Thousand Crowns.”
He was certainly pleased with the exclusive title. It was a dual name that the management prepared only for him, a symbol of strength. It can be said that it tickled his adolescent heart. However, at the same time, he also thought that he didn’t want to receive such a title in this outdated environment.
If that title existed on top of the victories he fought for with all his might against those rivals back then… No, he knows it’s pointless to think about it. But he just can’t help but think about it.
”…Well, that’s why I’m called the Remnants of the Era, right? Remnants… What an ironic resonance.”
That soliloquy made him feel as if the title of “King of Ten Thousand Crowns” was a title that represented foolish people clinging to past glory and memories. Unconsciously, his back teeth clenched and creaked.
”King of Ten Thousand Crowns” is the one who has reached the highest position. Those who are weak-willed should not face him.. His divine power makes all bow down and forget the beating of their hearts… Or so it seems. No matter how many times he reads it, it’s a cool flavor text. But on the other hand, it’s pity for the old fools who can only live in the past. It’s empty.
Those days will never come back.
When he become calm, emptiness wells up instantly. He want to quit everything and run away… So, Haruto pulled the futon that had become a lump at his feet and covered his head, closing his eyes again, wishing to forget everything.
…
…
…
That was Haruto’s last memory in Japan. Everyone fantasizes about what would happen if they entered the world of games or anime, what they would do. Haruto was also one of those men who enjoyed games while indulging in such common fantasies.
However, until that moment, it was just a delusion. It wasn’t even an outlandish thought to jump into a truck to make the delusion a reality. Of course. Fiction is fiction. It’s not a question of whether there are aliens or not. There are no parallel worlds, games don’t become reality, that’s the normal way of thinking.
Yes, until that moment, it was just a delusion.
This is the story of Haruto, who is transported to another world. It’s a story of being transported with the dungeon and subordinates he created at the cost of his life.
If he were to look back on his life and write something, he would use this title. Maybe a long title that’s popular these days would be good.
’APOCALYPSE SAGA: Since I’ve transported to another world with the online game dungeon and the strongest subordinates, I don’t plan on a slow life, but rather on a demon king move to conquer the world.’
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.