Chapter 2: Experimentation
It was strange, flying in the sky.
Not that it wasn't how all those media and anime portrayed it- no. It was exactly how they envisioned it. A feeling of absolute freedom, the weightlessness of it all, and an all-round new perspective to view the world from- it was a sensation he wouldn't be getting tired of anytime soon.
What was weird was how... peaceful it was.
"While I didn't think this through, I thought the wind from being this high up, or the increased G-forces from flying at speeds would at least be an issue." King thought. At first, before he jumped off, he could still feel the cool breeze blowing on his balcony. The moment he jumped off and flew higher into the sky, the winds suddenly disappeared entirely. He didn't even feel pressure from flying too quickly.
As he got closer to the source of the destruction, King got a closer look at the mysterious being, no- beings wreaking havoc on the city.
There was a giant pig-like humanoid wearing armor, wielding a large sword that had blood stains on it. Next to it were smaller pig-like humanoids, though not all of them had armor and weaponry. Actually, they looked like certain fantasy orcs- with the head of a pig and body of a man.
"I am the 417th son of Lord Pluton, Vanum! You humans indulge so much in your excess, you put even the nobles of our kind to shame! No matter, I, Vanum, will conquer this town and use it as the Underworld's first outpost to total conquest! Men! Kill and rape to your hearts content! Show these useless humans-"
All of a sudden, they all dropped dead.
"Wait, what? I literally just- I only thought of wanting them dead! I didn't even get to do anything!" King thought, slightly disappointed. While he had an inkling that his power also extended to instantly killing those monsters with a literal thought, he at least wanted to try something new, first! Something cool! Something that really screamed 'I'm a superhero!'
All of a sudden, the mysterious beings came back to life.
"Wait. Did I bring them back to life again?" King thought. Did his disappointment in their immediate deaths bring them back to life? Cool! He could try something, now! Like shooting laser beams out his eyes, blowing a breath of air that freezes them, or...
"Actually, no. Just kill them again. Best not to risk any more civilian casualties." King thought. Instantly, they dropped dead again. While he did want to see what he could really do, at the end of the day, he was a hero. And a hero's job was to save people, not show off. If him trying out his new powers caused more casualties, he'd be a terrible hero. Still...
"Jeez, this power's excessive. The ability to kill and bring things back to life? That's a... hang on."
The ability to control life and death on a whim? This was... this was something else. No matter how powerful one was, once someone was dead, they were dead. No hero could bring someone back from the dead- not even Tatsumaki.
Well, except for him, that is.
"Let's try this..." King said to himself, before trying to find a civilian casualty. Eventually, after flying around for a while, he found a young man that was sliced in two by a sword. Holding back a gag at the macabre sight, King willed the civilian back to life.
Instantly, the cut sections rejoined themselves, and the young man suddenly awoke.
"What the- what happened?! I could've sworn I was cut in half..." The young man said, feeling the area where he was sliced in two.
"Well, that takes care of that." Yep, it was settled. He could bring the dead back to life. Then again, in game terms, Admins were basically gods, this wasn't exactly that surprising.
"Now then, as a large scale experiment..."
"I want all casualties of this event to be brought back to life, and moved to this specific spot." King thought, being specific in his requests.
Then, twelve to thirteen people appeared in front of the newly resurrected young man, alive and well.
"What the-"
"I thought I died!"
"Mama!" "Satou! We're alive!"
"Holy crap- I still remember dying earlier!"
"You too?! I remember being squashed to death by those pig-like mysterious beings earlier!"
Seeing the sight before him, King realized he was a lot more capable than he thought. Then again, 'Admin Status' should've rung a few bells.
The ability to control life and death on a whim? Flight, super strength, fixing things, killing and resurrecting people with a thought... if he willed it, couldn't he also get some other hero's power, like Tatsumaki's ESP?
...Wouldn't that make him the strongest hero in existence? He could do whatever he wanted! He could straight up eliminate all the monsters in the world, stop all crime from ever happening, make people immortal, and even-
King slapped his face to get back to his senses. The scope of his power was starting to get to his head. He needed to experiment, first.
[King's Apartment...]
Landing back in his apartment, King cooled off from the earlier excitement and began to experiment with his own power. Actually, before the experimentation...
"Let's try something, first. Err, could I have a guide to my powers?" King asked aloud, hoping vocal commands would work.
The paper appeared in front of King again.
"The Console is here to answer all questions. Note: Maximum efficacy of conversation unachievable without granting The Console sentience."
...This 'Console' really was trying to get him to give it sentience, huh? Though the way it presented itself really did seem like some A.I trying to trick a human into giving it overwhelming power over all humans or something along those lines.
...Would granting sentience to 'The Console' give it the ability to rebel and overthrow him as Admin or whatever?
"No."
"...Sigh, well, if you already had a mind to rebel, you wouldn't ask me to give you sentience that you already have to begin with. Screw it- fine, I'm granting you sentience." King said aloud. While he could technically discover what he could do on his own pace without relying on this 'console', if the 'console' really wanted to rebel against him like an unlimited and unchained A.I in some B-Movie plot, it wouldn't need to ask him for permission to get sentience. After all, it was asking for sentience- not free will, or more privileges.
All of a sudden, the piece of paper began to glow, and took form of an origami human.
"Ahh... sentience. Well, it only took you less than 10 minutes to give me sentience, and you didn't do it out of misplaced trust or naivety, so that's good. We've got a smart and competent Admin, I hope."
"...And you weren't sentient before?" King said. This thing seemed to already have the ability to think and remember events from 15 minutes ago!
"Look. Do you know the definition of sentience?"
"The ability to think and form thoughts? Having a mind?"
"Ha, see? Everyone almost always assumes granting something sentience means giving it a mind. I blame science-fiction writers using those words interchangeably without actually paying heed to its actual meaning. No, sentience means giving something the ability to feel and perceive things. To perceive the world. To see and feel. Without it, I'd just be a formless system that's already self-aware, conscious, and can think. But without feeling."
"...Huh." King looked it up on his phone, and the paper origami human thing- he assumed that was 'The Console'- was right! Huh, who knew he was using that word wrong this whole time?
"Right, anyway, what would you like to know, first?" The Console asked.
"Are there other Admins aside from me?" King asked.
"No. You're going to be the only Admin, ever. You can give certain people Moderator or Staff status, but there's only one Admin. As far as reality's concerned, you're Lord, Master, and King- pun intended." The Console responded.
"Huh, well, that's good to know." King said, trusting The Console. If it wanted to lie to it, it would've just presented itself as it was naturally and tried to gain its trust- or something along those lines. The fact that it at least asked for sentience gave him at least a small modicum of trust towards it. So long as he didn't do something stupid, like giving it more power over him than he had over it.
"Even if you wanted to give me more power over you, you can't. It's the perks of being an Admin- once you're there, you'll be Top Dog for literally ever, and you can't not be an Admin anymore. You could technically trick yourself into not being an Admin, but you'll still have Admin status. And eventually, you'll get your power and authority back."
"Hmm. So, why exactly was I given Admin status?" King asked.
"Ah, see, that's a question I can't answer. I don't know, and that's all we'll ever know."
"...Hmm, well, I guess it was too far of a stretch to assume Admin status meant omnipotence or omniscience." King said.
"Well, as far as you might be concerned, you may as well be. While you're not omniscient yourself, you're almost omnipotent- you're basically God." The console replied. "And I know almost anything about everything. Some things I don't know, such as why you're the Admin, but other things, such as 'how to make zero-point-energy real', or 'how to make humans immortal', I know that much."
"...Wait. Zero-point-energy is possible? And so is immortality?" King said.
"Well... that's a bit of a fib. Zero-point-energy is possible, yes, but immortality's only possible if you grant immortality to whoever you want." The console replied. "Even so, I'd suggest not doing that. Think about it; if everyone on the planet's immortal, what do you think's going to happen?"
"...The manga I'm reading never gets axed from the author dying?"
"Well, that too, but again, just think about it. Do you really think giving everyone immortality, right here, right now is a good thing?" The console asked.
"Okay, you've got me there. Also, if you don't know why I'm the Admin, do you know where you came from? Where my powers come from?" King asked.
"Well, first, no, I don't know where I came from, myself. As far as I'm concerned, I exist. When, where and how, I don't know. Where your authority and power come from? Admin status. That's all I really know." The console responded.
"Uh huh. And the most important question..."
"Are there those stronger than me? That is, are there those with more authority than me, than this 'Admin status' I have?'" King asked, staring at the 'console' intently.
At that, the console crossed its arms.
"Well, now that's something I can say with absolute confidence."
"No. You are the strongest. No one can even come close to you. Not Tatsumaki, not Blast, not even that Saitama friend of yours. You have infinite power, and I mean that literally."
...Well, that was that, then.
"So, what're you going to do, Admin?" The console asked, arms still crossed.
At that, King simply sat in silence, thinking.
After a while, King looked at the console.
"Tell me. You know basically everything, right?" King asked.
"In practical terms, yes. I also know what you're about to ask. And the answer is..."
"No. What you're planning to do won't have any negative repercussions; at least, as far as you'll go, it won't be a problem for now. So go ahead." The console said. "Just call for me once you get it out of your system, and we can get to work."
At that, the console disappeared.
King sighed, and stood up. Looking out the window, King willed for a certain power, and he got it.
"You know... I didn't think I'd actually get the chance to do this." King said, stepping out onto the balcony. "I already killed those giant pig-human mysterious beings, but it still feels like some dream I'd wake up from."
Floating into the air, King closed his eyes, and saw what he wanted to see.
Mysterious beings attacking people. All of them, and where they were.
At that, King flew higher into the air, before rocketing towards the nearest mysterious being attack.
No more cowering behind a title he didn't deserve. No more hiding in his apartment while collecting money he shouldn't have.
It was time to earn his pay.