Chapter 16 : King of the world

If there was a technology that best suited the term “boon of civilization,” it would be the internet.

The internet enriched lives. It allowed people to consume, create, and share countless forms of content from the comfort of their own homes with just a finger. Modern people watched OTT programs at home, posted on online communities, ordered goods through online shopping, played games, and worked remotely.

Of course, there were downsides, but one thing was certain: modern people couldn’t go back to a ‘time without the internet.’

And…

Hundreds of years ago…

I fell into this other world without the internet. Suddenly, without any warning, unilaterally.

‘I almost went crazy back then.’

Of course, the absence of the internet wouldn’t kill someone immediately. Humans were adaptable creatures, and there were plenty of things to enjoy even without the internet. Learning magic, acquiring skills and growing stronger, becoming a hero on the battlefield… it was all enjoyable.

Not only that, but I achieved fame, accomplishments, and power that an ordinary person couldn’t attain even in the 30th century, let alone the 21st. I was called by many names: war hero, mercenary king, Archmage, companion of the hero, founder of the academy…

I enjoyed everything a person could possibly enjoy.

But…

Despite all this glory…

No, rather, because I enjoyed all this glory…

Because I had reached the highest position possible…

‘I realized that life was desperately lacking in content.’

My craving for the internet intensified. I needed the endless stream of constantly generated content.

Otherwise, I felt like I would die of boredom.

Boredom was poison. A poison that killed long-lived beings. That’s why dragons spent their lives sleeping, and vampires spent their time holding endless parties in the dark.

And so…

This otherworldly transmigrator decided to create the internet.

The process was extremely difficult, but…

Finally, I succeeded.

“Oh, lots of video content is being uploaded already. It’s a bit inconvenient to watch, so I should add some simple algorithm functions.”

I lay in bed at the mansion, watching videos.

The most popular videos recently were online lectures. It seemed that since educational opportunities in this world were limited, more commoners were trying to educate their children through the magic tools. Thanks to this, the illiteracy rate had decreased, and more people could do basic arithmetic and accounting.

The most popular video was a coding lecture uploaded by the Imperial Court Magic Tower titled, “You Can Do It Too! Magic Coding Lessons from the Head of the Imperial Court Mages!”

I watched a few animal videos and then ordered potato chips online.

A basket of potato chips popped out of thin air, and I munched on them while still lying in bed. It was an incredibly lazy and inconsiderate act, scattering potato chip crumbs on the bed, but…

“The internet is god, and the unemployed are invincible.”

It was fine. I was invincible, after all.

As I was diligently enjoying my unemployed life, Sylvie entered the room.

“Master, may I go to the commercial district for a while?”
“Hmm? Have we run out of ingredients already?”

“Yes. With the increase in the number of elves, we need more salad ingredients.”
“I’ll give you Mana Stones, so just order them online.”

“To buy fresh, high-quality vegetables, it’s best to see them with your own eyes at the commercial district.”
“Well, that’s true. Then use the warp gate.”

“Yes.”

The elves took care of the housework, money automatically flowed in from internet transaction fees, and I just lay in bed, enjoying endless content.

This…

…Was the life!

The Saint was confused.

The academy student ‘Calvin’ had literally vanished. She couldn’t find him in any records, and he didn’t even exist in the memories of other students or professors.

She felt like she was sinking in quicksand.

‘God, where is he?’

The Saint prayed. Clasping her hands, closing her eyes, desperately.

As always, there was no answer.

It wasn’t God who always gave her answers, but that ‘mage’. When she was confined to the church, when she was attacked by a demon, when she was in trouble at the academy… Always, everywhere, only the mage’s voice was truly just and benevolent, providing everything.

So, if ‘God’ was a being who guided the lost…

…That mage was her God.

‘…This won’t do.’

Even when she prayed, she couldn’t hear God’s voice. The mage who always answered her was gone.

So now…

‘I’ll find him myself.’

It was time for her to find him herself.

She didn’t know what to say, or why she wanted to find him so much, or if she even had anything to ask.

But she knew one thing. Questions alone wouldn’t solve anything. Sometimes, you had to move and see with your own eyes to understand.

The mage had taught her that.

“Hero Calvin…”

The only clue she had was his name.

And his old exploits recorded in history books.

That alone wouldn’t be enough to find him, but…

‘He said that all the souls in the world were connected to the internet.’

In this world…

There were…

Long-lived races with near-eternal lifespans.

So they too must be connected.

[Searching for Hero Calvin of the Great War.]

To this magic called the ‘internet.’

The last vampire. The progenitor Kinnikos.

The words ‘progenitor’ and ‘last’ didn’t go well together, but Kinnikos was indeed the last surviving vampire. A Sky Whale had fallen onto the vampire’s fortress while sleep-flying, tearing apart the veil of darkness that protected it.

The never-ending parties, the servants who attended to her, were all gone.

No more loud party music could be heard outside the castle, and inside, all she could do was lie in her coffin and sleep.

And so, the progenitor Kinnikos was left alone in this world.

And…

[“Hello, friends! It’s the Mage!”]

It was a mage who saved her from her solitude.

The mage played music, told stories of various people, and introduced different cultures and issues from various countries. They reassured her, left alone, that she ‘wasn’t alone in the world.’

Since then, the mage had bestowed countless blessings.

Now, Kinnikos could communicate with others through the internet, enjoy loud music, and command countless servants who praised her.

[Lilith Original – Vampire’s Servant]

When she uploaded the music she created using a vocal synthesizer to the internet, countless comments praising her poured in.

Although her old servants were all dead…

The various party music they had created together remained in her memory.

Alice, Lilith, Nymphi, Aurel…

Receiving praise in the names of her old servants, Kinnikos felt both satisfaction and emptiness.

“…”

In the end, she was alone. There were no servants, no family, no one left to share her old memories with.

The fortress was still like a deserted island.

Silence, still like a coffin holding a corpse.

It made her feel infinitely empty.

“What’s the point of all this…”

Even the mage’s voice, which had lifted her spirits, was gone now.

No one remembered her.

Even if she disappeared, the world wouldn’t change.

Kinnikos quietly lay down in her coffin.

And, unable to sleep, she browsed the internet.

She searched for reactions to the song she uploaded, searched for the names of her old friends, pointlessly.

And…

[Searching for Hero Calvin of the Great War.]

“…Huh? Is that… the Calvin I know?”

She found the name of her old friend…

…Now a distant memory.

The Demon Monarch was displeased.

The Demon Realm was becoming richer every day as Mana Stones became the world’s reserve currency, demons were living more comfortably than ever, and the Demon Monarch herself was being praised more than ever, but…

All of this was due to the accomplishments of a mere mage, not her own.

Stealing praise by leeching off someone else’s achievements wasn’t befitting a monarch. It was undignified and beneath her.

“…This makes me look like a beggar receiving charity. How insolent.”

She didn’t like that she had unilaterally received favors…

…And the one who bestowed them had disappeared.

Even a great Demon God wouldn’t treat the Demon Monarch this way.

The Demon Monarch was the Lord of all demons.

The demons’ sorrows, joys, successes, failures, all belonged to the Demon Monarch. Debts were the same.

She had to repay them.

“Come to think of it, something similar happened hundreds of years ago, when my father was still alive…”

The hero went on strike.

“No! I won’t save the world! The Holy Sword is stupid!”

A wedge created by God to prevent the destruction of humanity. A being who couldn’t get close to anyone or form deep bonds.

The Hero.

If the Hero didn’t work, the world would be destroyed. This world was overflowing with evil gods and ancient beings.

“I said no!”

The Holy Sword convulsed, emitting a holy light like crazy, but the hero wasn’t motivated.

In the end…

The Holy Sword had no choice but to promise to grant the hero’s request.

“Ah! You’ll find the Mage-nim? Hee hee. Thank you!”

“…It’s a bit chilly.”

Did the heating magic break down?