Chapter 1: How not to summon a Demon Lord
Iradora was a virtual reality RPG game. The first true one of its kind. As expected of a fantasy game, it included mythical races, weapons, and magic. First a player chose his race, then his vocation. A magic caster who specialized in high amounts of magic and variety in spells. Warriors who emphasized strength, speed, and durability. Then there were battle mages which was by far the most popular choice. They could wield both magic and weapons though the potency of both was weaker. The player would pick up items and spells along his adventures. This is the story of how one of the game's best players left the game and found…well you'll see.
A lot of people have fantasized about visiting fantasy worlds seen in games, novel, or movies. Of course, everyone knows that's impossible. Merely a fantasy of neets. Or rather, that's how should have been.
Zeryk was a demon lord. In Iradora, demon lord was a title granted to 5 demon players who had accomplished three things. Reaching the level cap of 100. Having the most player vs player duel victories. And finally, defeat the final boss monster, demon god Surtr. Zeryk had conquered the most dungeons of all of them, reached the level cap in record time, and had won over a hundred one on one player vs player matches and lost only four. He had even assumed a moniker as the demon king and regularly dominated during tournaments.
While a demon he generally maintained his more humanoid form. He had black hair with dark purple tips. He had two strait horns jutting out from the back of his head behind his eyes. The areas around his eyes as well as his forearms and lower legs were all covered in black scale like skin. He wore black plate male armor with a chain mail cape from his belt down. He wore clawed gauntlets and greaves and had a curved horned helmet.
Of course, this was just his game avatar. In real life, Issac was simply a kind, and relatively calm high school teacher fresh out of grad school. He had no significant other and both of his parents were dead, and he had no siblings. He was content to merely live a humble, normal life helping kids and then being forgotten. If someone were to ask him if he believed in fate, he would have said no. What would soon happen to him would cause him to seriously question that belief.
The demon king Zeryk stood triumphant having just beaten the newest dungeon. The pit of Barakon. He had teamed up with a group of other high level fighters and claimed one of the new treasures. The ring of Barakon. An item which reflected all magic below level 50. Useless in most PvP matches because nobody that weak would be stupid enough to challenge him to a duel. But it would be useful when dealing with mobs in dungeons.
As he signed out and shut off the nerve gear, he looked at the clock and saw it was nearly midnight. He went to bed and fell asleep.
Issac had been sleeping comfortably until a bright light jolted him awake. He opened his eyes to see…the sky?
"Hold on I went to bed in my room? So where-" He paused mid thought as he noticed two girls leaning towards him. "Am I having a wet dream? Maybe I need to take a break from-" He cut himself off again as both girls kissed him on the cheek or would have if he wasn't wearing his helmet…wait.
"I'm in my armor? It feels, heavy…real. And why do I smell perfume? You can't program smells or the sensation of clothing!" Suddenly an iron collar appeared around his neck.
He took another look at the two girls one was…a were cat maybe and the other was an elf with weird ears that angled outwards instead of up.
She was a short girl with long black hair that grew down all the way to her waist. Her ears and tail were both equally a beautiful black color. She had cat-like, almond-shaped green eyes and spruce eyebrows. She had a slender body type. Her clothes were a vest that went to her chest, had shoulder pads attached, and was hanging from a jacket, and a wide leather belt coiled above her waist. It had a great number of pockets attached. She wore a skirt of layered cloth around her waist and skin-tight short shorts/spats underneath the skirt.
The elf seemed to be the polar opposite of the cat. She had long golden blonde hair, which some were in a braid, and there was a grass decoration placed on her head. She wore a green tunic only tied up with strings in several places.
Zeryk looked at himself and found he was wearing his in-game armor. "Wait, did I transform into my avatar?"
"With this the enslavement ceremony should be complete." The cat girl said.
"It was a success? Then that means I've become a summoner!" The elf cheered.
"Enslavement Ceremony?! Summoner?! What the hell is…Oh hell no! This isn't happening! I did not just get isekai'd!" He thought. Unaware of his inner turmoil, the two girls began to argue.
"I summoned this thing. Honestly, your delusions are troubling." The cat said.
"But I used the ritual just as you did. Besides I kissed him." The elf said with a blush.
Zeryk froze as the sensation of their lips or rather lack of a sensation popped into his head.
"So did I." Responded the cat girl with a deadpan tone.
"Oh, why did I have to be wearing my helmet!?" Zeryk screamed in his mind.
"I summoned him." Both girls said simultaneously.
"I have no intention of being a summoned slave. Besides, I've mastered mental magic so it should be impossible to control my mind anyway."
"Do you understand my words?" The cat girl asked, turning to Zeryk.
He hesitated, he contemplated just leaving but decided against it. He didn't know where he was and for the time being, he needed these two for information. "I…understand." He finally responded.
"It can talk?" The elf said in amazement. She then puffed her chest "As I expected. Even though it's my first summoning, it looks like I called upon a unique one." The elf said, confidently. She smirked at the…were cat? Cat girl?
"I've never seen a humanoid summon, never mind a talking one. Thinking about it theoretically, the only one who could have summoned something like him was me." The cat girl said.
"Something?" Zeryk thought to himself, irritated.
"Hmmph. How pitiful. The poor pantherian can't stand to admit she's been outdone and now is in denial." The elf replied. The two glared at each other.
The pantherian scowled as she looked ready to punch the elf square in the face. "Fine then." Let us ascertain which of us he is enslaved to." She suggested.
"Fine then. I hope you're ready for disappointment." The elf replied.
Zeryk slowly felt his temper rising as these two girls continued fighting over him as if he were a toy.
The cat girl pointed at him. "I order you in the name of Rem Galleu. Raise you right hand."
"No." Zeryk replied harshly.
The pantherian, whose name was now known to him as Rem's face fell.
"Do you see now? The summoner was me. So, with that being the case, by the name of your master Shera I order you! Give this pantherian a spanking! The elf Shera ordered much to Rem's horror.
"So immature. No, I won't do what either of you say." He stated, suddenly rising to his feet. "As I thought. My mental resistance means I feel no compulsion to obey them."
"It-It must be some sort of malfunction, the collar should-" Rem began but cut herself off when Zeryk grabbed the collar and tore it off as if it was made of paper.
"Ah, that's much better." He said as he stretched his neck.
The two girls' jaws dropped in disbelief. They suddenly went pale as Zeryk released his aura causing the air to become heavy.
"Listen kids and listen well. I believe in, perhaps more than anything else, individual choice. You ripped me from my home and attempted to enslave me. And you think I should just be obedient?!" He roared as the building they were standing on shook.
"What the hell did I summon?!" Rem/Shera thought.
"What if I put collars on you and forced you to follow my orders? Would you like that?" He asked them.
"…no." They replied weakly.
"Do you understand why it's wrong to do that to a person against your will?"
They nodded rapidly. "Now that we've established that." He suppressed his aura. The two girls gasped in relief.
"Now then why don't you two be good girls and make up. Now smile and apologize." He said. His tone was sweet but there was a slight violent edge in his tone that promised pain I they didn't comply.
The two girls' mutual contempt seemed to outweigh their fear however.
"As if I would apologize to a no-good elf like-" Rem trailed off as a green aura appeared around her body.
"Ha! The underdeveloped kitten here is clearly the one in the-" Shera also trailed of as she also found herself compelled.
The two of them began to move, their movements stiff and robotic. The looks on their faces showed they were resisting every motion.
The two of them hugged as if they were good friends. "I'm sorry Rem/Shera please forgive me." They said stiffly.
Zeryk blinked in confusion. What was that glow? He hadn't used magic to persuade them.
Suddenly enslavement chokers pooed into existence around Rem and Shera's necks.
"Huh!?" Was the general reaction.
"Enslavement chokers!?" Rem shouted in surprise.
"Why are we wearing them? I thought the ritual was undone when the summon destroyed his collar!" Shera shouted.
"What's going on? I destroyed the collar so why…" He trailed off as he remembered something. "The ring of Barakon reflects lower level magic, when I touched the collar with it, it must have triggered a reversal albeit delayed. This means my magic still works!"
"Maybe in the future you'll think before you use binding magic on an unknown stranger." He said. "I possess a unique item that lets me reflect magic attacks."
"Magic reflection is a tremendous ability but…I can't accept this, such a thing."
"No, I refuse let myself be enslaved!" Shera shouted as she grabbed her bow.
Faster then, she could react Zeryk grabbed the weapon and ripped it out of her hands.
"You reap what you sow. Besides you used this magic so just undo it." He replied unsympathetically.
"If we could have done that, we would have done it already. The knowledge of how to undo enslavement is not common knowledge. The only way I know of is… for the master to die." Rem explained.
"Oh really?" He responded calmly. He admitted that a part of him was nervous from the threat. However, a larger part of him was confident that with his new body he would be more than capable of defending himself.
"But if we had that kind of strength, there would be no reason to summon you in the first place." She added nervously.
"Hmm. I wonder how my avatar ranks on this world's power scale. In the game I was pretty much the peak of strength. But this isn't a game anymore so there shouldn't be any level cap which means that their potential isn't limited like mine. Should be concerned? Or does this mean that I can still grow as well?"
"Hey, your names are Rem and Shera, right?" He asked. They nodded.
"Where's the nearest town?" He asked.
"Faltra city is a few miles south east." Shera responded.
"Very well then. If I'm going to remain trapped in this world then you two are going to help me by telling me everything I want to know."
The newly formed trio walked down the circular tower. Starfall tower was known for being a good focal point for summoning rare beasts. The only downside being that the region wasn't exactly the safest.
His two new companions were not exactly pleased with the results of their trip.
"Like I said it's me!"
"No, it's me!"
"Oh, for the love of God. Shouldn't the fact that they're both wearing collars render this argument moot?" He thought.
"I have formed contracts with seven summoned beasts. That's a top-class number. Whereas this was your first-time summoning." Rem said.
"And yet you've never summoned anything even remotely similar to Zeryk." Shera retorted.
"You elven tree huggers should just stick to your bows and arrows. Rem stated.
"Elves are good for more than just archery. Besides you're a pantherian and yet you have no close combat skills." Shera retorted.
"I should intervene, or this will go on forever. I feel we need to clarify some things." Zeryk said loudly, drawing their attention. "I am not a summoned beast. I do not appreciate being treated like pet to be fought over. I am a level 100 demon, battle mage!"
"Battle mage?" Shera asked. The term was unfamiliar to her. Most mages didn't wear armor due to the fact that they had no outstanding physical abilities to speak of.
"Wait?! You're a level 100?!" Rem shouted.
"Ah, good. It seems I don't need to be concerned about being overwhelmed given her reaction." Zeryk wondered.
Rem took a moment to compose herself. "Yes, well as you said you're clearly not an animal like most summoned beasts. However, you're also clearly not human. What's more even if you're not a beast you have to have some sort of unique skill that makes you a candidate to be summoned." Rem asked.
"Of course, I do. Though it's not just one." No good gamer is a one trick pony."
The two girls huddled together a short distance from the demon.
"I've never heard of a summoned beast possessing multiple abilities." Rem said.
"Should we really be measuring Zeryk with the same yard stick as a normal summoned beast?" Shera asked.
"I guess he's still too much of an enigma for common sense to apply to him."
"You know I can still hear you?" Zeryk shouted. One thing he discovered quickly was that his senses had been greatly enhanced since coming to this world.
The two girls flinched though Shera was the first to recover. "So, would you be willing to give us a demonstration?"
Zeryk smirked. "All right girls class has started. I'm not sure how the magic system works here but mine works like this. There are thirty branches of combat, some are magical while some are physical. Every fighter can be put into one of three categories. Magic casters, who can only use magic. Warriors who can only use physical attacks. And battlemages who can use both, like me."
"But wouldn't using both essentially make battlemages the defacto strongest class?" Shera asked.
"Yes and no. For certain I have more variety in my attacks but I am physically weaker than a warrior and have a smaller pool of mana or magic energy than a magic caster. For example, someone who puts all their effort into the tank class will become almost impervious to most physical attacks, even mine. What's more there are certain spells that can only be used by people who focus solely on magic and use staves."
"So, you combine chemical elemental magic with sword fighting? Don't you think you would have been better off just training to be a warrior?" Rem asked.
"Why would you say that? Sure I'm not the physically strongest but I can easily compensate with magic." He paused and noted the girl's skeptical expressions.
"What's the matter?" He asked.
"The only real use for magic here is summoning magic. Chemical elemental magic such as throwing fire and whatnot only has prank level strength." Rem explained.
Zeryk stared in disbelief. "The summoner class is the only viable mage class. The most exploitable and weak skill set?!" It was true. In Iradora summons could be taken over by mental magic or resurrected by necromancers. These vulnerabilities made the summoner class quite unpopular.
"I see though I assure my magic is not something to be underestimated. Now in Iradora there are things called castes. Castes are a path of combat such as pyromancy which is fire magic or sword arts which is basically a set of sword based attacks. I have mastered null magic, sword arts, corruption magic, druid magic, mental magic, cryomancy, fulgomancy, and runes. Once you reach level 100 most have mastered eight castes aside from null magic which pretty much everyone can use, which is the most any have ever mastered or can master."
"I've never heard half of those terms." Shera said.
"Aren't runes just old letters?" Rem added.
Zeryk clicked his tongue at their flippant attitude. "Fine then a demonstration." He approached a boulder.
"Hundred fold slash" Moving too fast for the girls to comprehend, he drew his sword and slashed the rock into a hundred pieces in the blink of an eye. The pieces seemed to hover in the air as if time hadn't caught up with them. Then the stones fell into a pile. Zeryk held up his hand. "Crumble" He casted. His palm began to glow red as red cracks began to spiderweb across the broken pieces of the boulder before they began to disintegrate.
"Have I made my point no-" He asked as he turned around to see the girls had fallen to their knees. They looked at him speechless.
"Amazing!" Shera suddenly shouted. "I never knew chemical elemental magic could cause such destruction!"
"Not even the strongest summoned beast should have that much power." Rem said.
"Oh, was it that impressive? Those were only rank seven attacks." He asked causing them to look at him incredulously. "Ah yes abilities such as the ones I used ranked from one to eleven. One being levels 1-10 and so on."
"S-So that wasn't your full power?" Rem asked as Shera paled.
"You thought that was my beast? Well then you are in for a treat." He replied. Their reactions indicated that the strength that he just displayed was at least praiseworthy if not outright legendary. That was good. "Did you expect anything less? I am a demon lord."
"I guess I should be thankful this demon seems more interested in asserting himself then destroying things. Maybe he can help me with…no I don't know if I can trust him yet." Rem thought.
"Well yeah, that's because I was thinking that I wanted to make a demon lord my summoned beast." Shera stated, much to Zeryk's annoyance.
"Having your head shoved so far up your rear so you don't listen to what others are saying this is why elves are so…well, it's fine." Rem muttered.
Zeryk rolled his eyes as he realized that these two arguing would be a common occurrence. Suddenly Shera latched onto his arm. "Let's hurry and go back to town to do the adventurer registration. With you around, I'll finally be able to be a summoner!" She said happily as Rem frowned in annoyance.
"Lets just head to town already." Zeryk demanded. The two began leading him towards faltra where his name would soon become legend.