Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? - Side Story 40: The Demon King’s situational analysis

In the year 2022, gamers rejoice as Sword Art Online-a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) like no other-opens its virtual doors, allowing players to take full advantage of the ultimate in gaming technology: NerveGear, a system that allows users to completely immerse themselves in the game world by manipulating their brain waves to create a wholly realistic gaming experience.

But when the game goes live, the elation of the players quickly turns to horror as they discover that, for all its amazing features, SAO is missing one of the most basic functions of any MMORPG-a log-out button.

Now trapped in the virtual world of Aincrad, their bodies held captive by NerveGear in the real world, users are issued a chilling ultimatum: conquer all one hundred floors of Aincrad to regain your freedom. But in the warped world of SAO, “game over” means certain death-both virtual and real…

After dying from exhaustion in his dreary corporate job, Riku Sakamoto awakens to find himself reborn in the world of his favorite game — EverRealm Online. But he’s not just any adventurer — he’s The Grand Maximus, a max-level legend with every class unlocked and stats that break the system.Yet instead of battles or kingdoms to conquer, he’s greeted by something far more unexpected: the Peaceful Life System — a mysterious power that rewards him with modern comforts for every act of kindness he performs.Help a farmer? Get a fan. Heal a wild animal? Receive electricity. Solve a village crisis? Unlock hot baths, fridges, and fresh-brewed matcha.Armed with nothing but infinite power and zero ambition, Riku settles in a sleepy starter village to live the slow life he always dreamed of. But as he helps the villagers, befriends forest creatures, and lazily reshapes the world around him, his actions begin to ripple far beyond the village borders…After all, who needs war when you’ve got peace, pancakes, and a weatherproof roof?

“I lost everything again...?”Kain had to work hard to feed himself, in a small village on the edge of the forbidden lands. Unlike the others, he hated Keepers, the only people capable of fighting the creatures from the Astral Dimension. Everyone saw them as heroes, but Kain blamed them for the greatest tragedy of his life - the death of his parents.Ironically, the sacrifice of one Keeper allowed Kain to obtain a Rune Brand - the key to begin a trial, the outcome was either power or death.Facing another world, Kain discovered that his blood was cursed, and misfortune would always haunt him.But death would avoid Kain, wanting to keep such a valuable sacrifice for a god. Only failure would await him, but if it was possible death would pass by.Now, Kain must break his curse and take fate into his own hands for the first time in his life or remain a nameless offering.

In the wake of the apocalypse, betrayal doesn't just stab you in the back—it bites. Zorvax learned this the hard way. Abandoned by those he trusted, he didn't just become another number in the legion of the undead. No, his fate was far more peculiar.“I thought death was the end... I was wrong,” Zorvax mutters, his voice a gravelly echo of his former self. He's a zombie, but with a twist—he's got his human mind intact. Trapped in a decaying body with an insatiable hunger, Zorvax finds himself in a gruesome predicament that's just the beginning of his ordeal.Enter the 'Zombolution System,' a mysterious power he awakens that's as cryptic as it is potent. “They wanted a monster? I'll show them the true meaning of terror,”Zorvax boasts, with a smirk only a sentient zombie could muster. This dark gift is his ticket to ascend beyond a mere walking corpse, promising to unlock abilities that could crown him the emperor of the undead.As Zorvax hones his newfound skills, the line between man and monster blurs. Will his human intellect triumph, or will the beast within claim the throne? “This world has no place for the weak,” he arrogantly declares, ready to challenge fate itself.