When Miko opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a magnificent room filled with luxurious items like golden statues, and paintings.
He immediately realized that he was in the game, and that he was sitting on a throne.
“Impressive.”
He turned his head and saw Tiamat standing beside him.
“How are you in the game?”
“Why wouldn't I be? I'm a part of your subconscious, as well as your soul. We're literally one in the same. The spell recognized this and pulled me along with you. Of course, if I didn't want to come along it couldn't force me.”
Tiamat's words shocked Miko. It wasn't long before a thought occurred to him.
Luka obviously played this game before, so she must've known that Tiamat would be dragged into the game with him.
“I see, I've been played. Luka was using this game to reveal the identity of my [Parent God].”
“Pretty clever, don't you think?”
Tiamat said while grinning. She truly enjoys whenever Miko's plans go astray, because it would led to an interesting outcome.
“Yeah. I was completely outsmarted.”
“You don't look upset though.”
Even though he was tricked, Miko still didn't look angry. In fact, he looked excited.
“Of course, I'm upset. But I'm more impressed than upset. A girl who isn't even 10 can be this cunning? How could I not be excited?”
Tiamat nodded in approval to Miko's words.
“So what are you going to do?”
“I'm going to play the game of course. If she wants to analyze me, then let her. I'll show her who I truly am, while learning all about her in the meantime.”
Miko stood up from his throne and overlooked his virtual subjects.
“It's been a while since I've cut loose. So I might as well burn everything to the ground while I'm at it.”
Meanwhile on the other side of the virtual continent, Luka sat on her throne with a pleased expression.
Beside her was a extremely handsome young man.
He had long black hair that was braided into one, and a pair of red beastly eyes. He was dressed in kingly robes, which was black with gold linings. He gave of a majestic and all knowing atmosphere, like a sage.
“That boy should've realized his situation by now.”
The man spoke gently to Luka.
“Yeah. He might be really angry right now.”
“He can freely log out of the game, aren't you afraid that he'll leave in order to hide his [Parent God’s] identity?”
“I don't think he'll do that.”
Luka waved her hand and a holographic window appeared in front of it. It showed seven names different from her's. All of which were green. This indicated that they were still in the game.
“You sure have faith in him. Could it be a crush?”
The man said teasingly.
“Don't be stupid, Father. I'm not like the other Flamehearts, who fall in love for the simplest reasons. I just know his type, that's all.”
“His type?”
“Manipulative, arrogant, and always scheming; this type of person wouldn’t run away from a challenge no matter what.”
“It sounds like you just described yourself.”
“That's mean. How could you say that about your daughter?”
“It's because you're my daughter, that's way I can say it.”
Luka pouted at the man’s words. The man didn't mind, because he knew that it was an act.
“Anyway, Gamiko isn't the only enemy in this game. It's best to get rid of everybody else before I take him on.”
The spells and the scientific techniques used to create this game, were truly exceptional.
Players can feel like they spent years inside the game, when in actuality only a few hours had passed. This means that the players can treat the game like reality. Especially since every physical feature and ability you possess will also be interpreted into the game, and create real life issues and problems; as well as advantages.
Miko and Tiamat were sitting side by side in the throne room. In front of them were dozens royal subjects.
“Bring in the chest.”
Miko ordered.
Soon two servants entered the room, pushing a giant treasure chest. This chest caught the attention of every subject in the room.
The chest stopped in front of Miko and Tiamat. Miko stood up from his throne and signaled the men to leave.
He walked up the chest and put his hand on it.
“There are some of you here who are dissatisfied with me being your king, because of my age; am I correct?”
No one responded to Miko, they all turned their sights from him.
“Is that ok? Ignoring your king’s question like that? How bold.”
Tiamat spoke with a playful tone, as if she wanted the fan the flames.
No one still dared to answer. Especially when it was from a woman who skinned and hanged the former queen and took her place.
Just talking to her with the wrong tone of voice could lead to their deaths. So they chose silence.
“Be quiet. If they want to ignore me, it's they're choice.”
Saying that, Miko suddenly kicked the chest over, and made all the contents known.
“Just like it was their choice to try and betray me.”
What met the subjects eyes, were dozens of severed heads.
Seeing these heads made their blood run cold. They all knew the persons these heads belonged to. They were former advisers and ministers, the most influential men in the kingdom. Even the king couldn't take them lightly, but here they were all dead.
“These morons all tried to conspire against me. Apparently, they were all upset when I let the woman who was acting as my mother, die at the new queen’s hands.”
Miko frown as he remember the first day he appeared in the game world.
“That woman wasn't a mother. All she wanted was power, so she killed the king and tried to make me her puppet. Well, it was her role in the game, so I can't blame her. But the bitch actually had the audacity to try and control me, so I got rid of her.”
The game was truly a masterpiece. It creates various scenarios to threaten the players’ reign; meaning if one wasn't careful, they could lose the game without clashing with other players. They could die in their own castles, by their own people’s hands.
So in short, only the wise can win this game.
“To be honest, I wanted to slaughter all of you here as well. That's because I know that everyone of you here have their own schemes to gain power.”
Miko's words made everyone pale with fright.
“However, I'm in a good mood; so half of you are forgiven.”
Miko waved his hand and several guards came forward and riddled half the people in the room with bullets.
Their screams were loud, but the guns were louder.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The guards didn't just stop at bullets, some even beheaded the dead bodies and threw them aside.
This horrified the remaining subjects. Some even wet themselves.
This little boy was the devil, that's what they all thought as they noticed Miko smiling.
“That's enough. Carry the bodies and stake them in front of their homes.”
He said leisurely.
He then returned back to his throne and stared at his remaining subjects.
“Listen, mongrels. I can be benevolent like a buddha one second, and become the devil the next. It's all depending on how you treat me.”
He glared at them intensely.
“Try and plot against me again, and I'll erase you and your families from history.”
The glare caused many of the survivors to feel weak in the knees.
“Okay, now that's out of the way. Let's go destroy some countries!”
As if not noticing the mood, Tiamat got up from her throne and excitedly yelled.
Meanwhile, Luka and her “father” were observing a war between two players, that one of their spies were streaming to them.
It was between the teen boy and one of the women players.
“They're really going all out from the get go.”
Luka watched as hundreds of thousands of soldiers brutally slaughtered each other. War jets and tanks clashed against giant magic spells; it was pure chaos.
“It seems like the boy chose to attack the player closest to him, which resulted in this mayhem.”
Said the man.
At this moment, a giant dragon rose from the teen boy’s kingdom and burned the entire battlefield.
“He bought a dragon?! He must've sold most of his countries resources to buy that.”
Said Luka.
Each player is given an imperial budget to do what ever they wanted with it. Players were able to buy items like powerful spells, unstoppable warriors, invincible magic items, and legendary monsters. They can also choose to improve their kingdom with the money.
Players also have the option of selling parts of their kingdoms as well as royal treasures, in order to obtain more money.
“It looks like he's chosen to be a tyrant, and force everything to submit under his power.”
The man sighed and said.
“It's too bad, he doesn't have the wits the to be a true tyrant. Selling out your kingdom to buy a dragon is a stupid move.”
“He'll be of some use.”
Luka stood from her throne and called for her generals.
The war between the boy and the young woman raged on for several months.
The boy’s dragon was overwhelming; it mercilessly slaughtered the girl’s army and pushed her in a corner.
She sat on her throne with a grim face. Her advisors were also panicking. Some were even planning their escape.
“Reporting! A large army was spotted towards from the east!”
Hearing the report, the girl’s face grew grimmer.
“How big?”
“It's impossible to count, the scouts believe that it is a coalition army!”
“Tsk. So I'm done for.”
“Not necessarily.”
At this time a young girl appeared out of nowhere in the throne room.
“You're one of the other players! How did you get in here?!”
Luka's appearance shocked the woman. There were spells that allowed one to teleport in the game, but you need to be within a few hundred meters of your target. Which meant that Luka had infiltrated her palace undetected beforehand.
“That's not important. What's important is your predicament. That dragon is hellbent on destroying your kingdom; and to make matters worst, a coalition army is marching towards you. You're like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.”
“This brat! Did you come here to rub salt in my wounds?!”
“No. I'm here to offer you an alliance as the coalition army’s leader.”
“Wha?!”
The woman was shocked. Not only was Luka apart of the coalition heading towards her, she was also the leader. A brat like her?!
“….Why offer me an alliance? My country is already on the verge of ruin. What benefits would you get from partnering with me?"
“I seek no benefits. I just want get rid of that dragon. As long as its around, everyone is at risk.”
The woman stared at Luka suspiciously. She couldn't trust her words no matter how much she tried.
“Oh come on. What do you have to lose? It's like you said, you're on the verge of being destroyed; the situation can't get any worse. At least this way you'll survive and still have a chance of winning the game.”
The woman was still cautious towards Luka.
Seeing that, Luka sighed.
“If I wanted to kill you, I could have done it already. Yet you're still here. That's because I need your strength. If you join my alliance it would be three against one, with those odds we'll be able to keep the damage to a minimal. If you're still not convinced then, my army will be the vanguard, and your army will be in a safe and secure position. All I ask is that you help out if the situation gets out of hand.”
The women knew Luka was right, there was nothing to lose. Whether the dragon destroys her or Luka betrays her, either way the result would be the same.
At least if she join the alliance, she'll get a chance to destroy the arrogant teen who caused her misfortune.
This kind of offer was too tempting for someone pushed into a corner; so the woman finally nodded, and agreed to the alliance.
The alliance consisted of Luka and two female players. They came together and attacked the teen’s army headed by the dragon.
Just like Luka said, her army acted as the vanguard. They clashed directly with the dragon with vigor. She used a treasure and teleported her army and the dragon away to battle to minimize the collateral damage to the rest of the army.
In the meantime, the armies belonging to the two women clashed against the teen’s army.
One of the women had used majority of her imperial budget to purchase strong warriors and artillery.
Her army released an onslaught of missiles and long ranged spells.
Fire scorched the battlefield.
The teen retaliate by sending all of his remaining soldiers to kill his enemies. However, there were far more soldiers than they were supposed to be.
The teen had used duplication spells on his soldiers.
“You can do that?!”
Shouted one of the women.
At this time, a flock gargoyles suddenly descended from the sky and attacked the teen's army.
“Ahahaha! How's that?! I used the remainder of my budget to buy those gargoyles! This is my revenge!”
Shouted the woman who was pushed into a corner earlier.
The gargoyle numbered in the tens of thousands. They swept down began to rip apart the teen’s armies.
The soldiers tried to retaliate with guns and magic, but the gargoyles were too swift and ferocious. They were being slain by the hundreds.
However, they still had the number advantage. The army driven crazy by the desperate situation, no longer care for their wellbeing and attacked their enemies like madmen.
This intense war between the three players lasted for several more months. The lands were scorched, black smoke covered the sky, the stench of death was in the air, and countless dead bodies laid everywhere.
It was a game, but for the players this scene was reality. Just like a dream, everything was too real; none of them remembered that they were playing a game.
Hatred bloomed in their hearts as they did everything possible to destroy their enemy.
By the time it reach nearly a year of fighting, all the players were greatly fatigue as well as their armies and resources. However, neither side chose to retreat.
It was at this moment, one of the women got a report from her scouts.
“That girl’s army is returning?”
The woman pondered for a bit before speaking.
“Did she successfully kill the dragon? How many soldiers are coming?”
“Nearly a hundred thousand. They all look fatigued and injured.”
The scout responded.
“That's less than a third of her original number. She must've sacrificed the remainder to kill the dragon.”
“We don't have that much either. I barely have a hundred thousand men, and they're all tired from fighting. So her men could do us good against that evil brat.”
With reinforcements on the way, the women were revitalized and so were their soldiers. They attacked their enemies with everything they had, and held nothing back.
That was when it happened.
“Roar!”
A loud roar silenced the battlefield, and everyone froze in place.
It wasn't long before they saw the dragon, that Luka was suppose to kill, fly over the mountains and towards the battlefield.
“Wha?!”
The women were shocked. They thought that they had gotten rid of the dragon a long time ago; but here it was before them, who couldn't hope to fight it with their tattered bodies and limited resources.
The teen on the other hand was rejoicing.
“You're back, my trump card! Hahahaha, what a loyal pet!”
He stood before the dragon and pointed at his enemies.
“Kill them! Kill them all!”
He roared like a madman.
The dragon, however turned its sight on him, and destroyed his camp with a breath of flames.
The teen didn't even have time to scream, he turned into ash in an instant.
This shocked everyone on the battlefield. The dragon had killed its own master, this was incomprehensible.
“What's going on?!”
Shouted one of the women.
“R-Report! The reinforcements suddenly became lively and started attacking us from behind!”
A soldier, who came running, shouted with a pale face.
“Report! An army numbering over a hundred thousand suddenly appeared from the east!”
“Report! There's an army coming from the west as well!”
Hearing the reports the women froze.
Just a second ago they thought that they could finally end the war, but now they were surrounded and were awaiting their demise.
“W-We were set up! That girl was planning to crush all three of us from the start!”
“That's right.”
Luka suddenly appeared in front of women on top of the dragon’s head. She looked so casual sitting there, while looking down on the women.
“Thanks to the three of you, I got a free dragon and time to strengthen my country; even if it was just a little. Thanks.”
The women glared angrily at the smiling Luka.
“This was your aim all along!”
“How can you tame a dragon?! That's impossible!”
“I'm somewhat a dragoness myself, so it wasn't hard to bring it under my control.”
Luka then pointed to the man sitting beside her.
“Besides, compare to him this is a commoner. So of course it'll submit to us.”
At this time, Luka's army was wrecking havoc across the battlefield, slaughtering the fatigue soldiers. They were like demons slaughtering lambs.
“It's my victory. You two old women should retire.”
Luka tapped the dragon’s head, and spoke.
“Burn them.”
It wasted no time, and killed the women with its breathe.
Luka then stood up and overlooked the battlefield.
“This was too easy. I wonder how Gamiko is doing?”
She watched as her men and dragon dominated the battlefield with a proud expression.
“After I stabilize my new found kingdoms, I'll go pay him a visit.”
While Luka was dominating her enemies, Miko was relaxing on his throne; looking down on the men kneeling in front of him.
“My king, thanks to you we were able slay our former masters and take the kingdoms for ourselves. We are extremely grateful for your assistance.”
Said one of the men.
Unlike Luka who personally destroyed her enemies, Miko took a different approach.
He used spies to monitor not his enemies, but their servants. After months of observation, Miko and Tiamat personally paid a visit to those he determined useful.
For the two who truly understood the ugliness of the human nature, it was easy to manipulate their targets.
They enticed their greed, their ambition, and their carnal desires to control them. They pointed out every flaw that their masters had, and convinced them that they were more suitable to rule their individual kingdoms.
They provided them with schemes, resources, and military power to take the throne. In the end they were successful.
Yes, they were successful puppets.
“There's no need to thank me. I did what I thought was right. You brave men are truly worthy to be-”
“Hey, do you still need to act like a benevolent King? It's getting boring now.”
Tiamat cut Miko's speech short, with a bored expression.
“Ah~. You're right. This façade is too tiring.”
He waved his hand while looking tired.
“Kill them.”
“Wha?!”
Before the men could react, their heads were severed from their bodies.
“That wasn't much fun.”
Tiamat walked over the headless men and looked down at them.
“Maybe it would've been better to just crush the kingdoms with brute strength?”
“Does it really matter? The result would've been same anyway.”
“I guess you're right. Well, at least this way you and that girl can compete without any interferences.”
“She apparently already crushed her enemies. So, she'll soon try to find out your identity.”
“So what, I should go into hiding?”
“Naw, that wouldn’t be interesting. Let's show her everything she wants to see. In return, I’ll also find out everything about her.”
“You'll make your decision afterwards?”
“Yeah.”
Miko rested his head on his palm, with his legs crossed; and then spoke with a playful smile.
“Whether I kill her or possess her, depends on how she tries to fight me.”
His eyes turned a beastly purple.
“This should be fun.”