1 Into a new world
"Oh look, it's Fatty Leo," a girl yelled out when Leo rushed into the class. His breaths were ragged, his skin covered by a thick layer of sweat from running along the hallways just to get to class before the final bell could ring.
"Looks like you need a towel," a boy taunted with a scornful laugh.
"Or a cup to drain all that sweat," another boy added the insults.
Most of the days, his classmates were such big bullies, making fun of his weight. They always found a way to provoke him through their words since they couldn't bully him physically due to the strict school rules.
What they didn't know was the fact that his weight gain was caused by hyperthyroidism, a rare but possible occurrence. And even though he was on medication, his metabolism was still imbalanced and there was a possibility that he'd continue gaining weight.
He lowered his head, his heart shrinking from the humiliation they made him suffer almost every day. If his father hadn't threatened to take away his gaming equipment, he would never step foot in this hellhole called a school.
He made his way to the back of the class, fists clenched inside the kangaroo pocket of the black hoodie he wore.
As he walked past the only girl he had liked for years, the boy seated to her right jerked his foot across Leo's path.
He saw it, the danger glaring at him, but it was too late to jump over it.
His body thudded heavily on the floor, leading to a painful assault on his face and shoulder. A wave of laughter filled the air as they watched him struggle to lift himself off the floor. Some blood leaked from his mouth due to how hard he had bit his tongue.
Fuck you all, may you die with your mouth sealed for an eternity.
He hated school.
Hated people.
Hated his life.
Everyone judged him for his weight. No one even bothered to get to know him, not even the girl he had a crush on. She had never said as much as a hello to him even though he had sat behind her in class for the longest time.
He was sure that the students he had studied with for two whole years had forgotten his full name after nicknaming him, Fatty Leo.
The world treated him like an outcast.
The feeling of disconnecting from people he would have loved to be close to left a great effect on his soul. The only source of joy for his pathetic existence slowly became an RPG game called, Darkest Demon Lord.
He loved taking on the role of the Demon Lord and slaying other players. The entire game was about the Demon Lord, with other parties undergoing countless training just to try and kill him and take his demon core for themselves.
He related to the Demon Lord.
He wanted, to be, the Demon Lord.
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Thunder roared, and lightning flashed.
The sky continued gathering an ominous darkness, spreading over the city like a fine eerie blanket. Even with all the signs of a heavy storm, not a single drop of rain was falling. Instead, the dark clouds began to spin at a steady pace, unnoticed by the world.
"Argh!"
Leo groaned disappointedly at the large screen casting a pathway of light on him in his dark room. He was facing two of the five demigods of Broria Pavilion, the most powerful sect in Agrerea(the game world).
"Come on!" Leo groaned again.
Why couldn't he defeat them? His character was one the most powerful in the game without having to undergo trivial tasks just to level up. So why was the Demon Lord looking so weak?
He had only been able to injure one of the opponents, but they had already recovered whereas he was running out of mana. This had never happened before. The Demon Lord's mana usually increased with each fight he survived.
Could it be...a glitch?
Leo slid his headphones down his neck and paused the game. He quickly checked the comment tablet for any complaints about other characters but was frustrated to see nothing of the sort.
"What is going, on?" He whispered to himself, his fingers moving on the keyboard to find the source of the malfunction.
"I choose...him," a sudden strange manly voice spoke from nowhere. It sounded weak and on the edge of losing all of its vitality forever.
Leo quickly whipped his head around him, searching for whoever had spoken. But there was nothing else keeping him company except for the thick darkness behind him and the gaming PC in front of him.
"Him?" Asked a second voice, a feminine one.
"Yes!" Grunted the first masculine voice.
"So be it," the female declared.
All that while, Leo had frozen in place. His green eyes widened at the screen. Why was the Demon Lord moving?
The other characters were still paused, and yet Leo's character was moving and speaking.
"Your hand," the Demon Lord instructed in a faint voice while reaching out to Leo from the other side.
Leo's own hand started moving subconsciously, stretching out for the screen.
He was still in shock, his mind trying to grasp what was happening but ended up with a frail conclusion that he had probably fallen asleep.
It was all a dream, Leo consoled himself even as his left hand came in contact with the screen.
A terrifying thunder cracked from the outside. The sudden horrifying sound gave Leo a deep startle, almost knocking him off the seat. He gasped throwing his gaze to the shut windows. Not a single ray of light could penetrate the thick curtains he had asked his mother to buy him. This gave him a sense of relief. But the sensation did not last for long.
He caught the lightning bolt that darted right through the window, shattering the glass and boring a hole through the curtains. It was fast, too fast.
He wanted to evade it, but he was too slow. How could this be? Leo questioned the laws of the universe as the lightning struck him on his chest, eliminating all traces of life within him.
His hand dropped from the screen, following his lifeless body as it fell back on the seat.
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Blink.
Blink.
His eyes fluttered faintly.
"My Lord?" A stranger's voice called from somewhere close.
With his death, his name had vanished with it. Here, he was now Surrdon or as the world knew him...the Demon Lord.
"My Lord," the female called again.
Leo could see a blurry figure hovering over him and could feel a hand tapping his cheek.
"Where...where am...I?" His words were as frail as his entire body was.
"Oh My Lord, you finally wake up?!" The female cried in both relief and sadness. "You're in your bedchambers How do you feel?"
For an entire minute, Leo could not put together a sensible answer. He had no idea how he felt or how he was supposed to feel. His whole body just felt light and strange.
"I'll go fetch the mage," the female alerted before jumping off the grand bed.
A soft whooshing sound filled the air as pink mana whirled around her body before she disappeared into it.
"Hey? Where-" he pulled himself up to a sitting position, struggling not to succumb to the splitting ache shooting through his head, "-where are...you?"
His thoughts fell apart even further upon processing the room.
The bed was bigger than a king-size, its posts high enough to touch the ceiling with bed-hangings.
Such a style was not common to Leo's knowledge. It looked odd, outdated, and traditional.
The was enough space within the room to fit a standard lounge and still leave a bit of room for a small pathway. Its walls were plain just like its ceiling. The red and black curtains at the windows matched the furry red animal rug lying on the floor.
As he was busy studying the unfamiliar surroundings, a translucent red screen appeared in front of him. Leo gasped startled to the odd square frame hanging in the air with the words, Stats Window at the top.
"Oh shit!" He cursed backing away from it but it followed him.
He tried to turn to the side, anything to get rid of the weird translucent square. But nothing seemed to work. After two minutes of scuffling around the bed to evade it, the little strength he had left, vanished.
"Oh gawd," Leo breathed collapsing on the soft cushions. His breaths were rough, unsynchronized, and heavy, yet his chest felt light.
It was only until now that the thought of examining his body crossed his mind.
He lifted his hands, and slowly inspected the long slender fingers caressing the air.
Amid his shock, he unintentionally touched the floating screen, activating it.
Words started appearing on the red screen, one after the other till they stopped, leaving behind an analysis.
Title; Demon Lord Surrdon
Level; 1
Mana; 5
Skills; none
Pet; none
Weapons; devil Excalibur
"Sur-Surrdon?" He stuttered. The name sounded familiar, too familiar.
Oh right, he used to play the character Demon Lord Surrdon in Darkest Demon Lord.
