4 Criotopia: The Game and The World(Edited)
I climbed down from the windowsill I was still sitting on and once again stood in front of the big mirror to look at myself.
'So, I'm Alexander K. Maximus now. And I'm living in an Eroge world of all places. Just. WOW… Still, though, what am I supposed to do now? Live my life like a random noble? All my years of hard work in my past life have been wasted by my sudden death. And also, I haven't even thought about the game elements of the world. There's a whole storyline with the Protagonist and the Demons. What about him? What about all the Capture Targets? And the villains and stuff? What do I do with it all?'
The Criotopia game that I knew and enjoyed was a rather interesting fantasy world, especially for a game that was quite literally an Eroge.
***
Criotopia was an Eroge game that has a very detailed story about youth, school years, politics, wars, and a harsh fight against the Demon King and his minions, who wished to conquer the world. That's the climax of the game's story if you exclude the Slice of Life elements that include more adult content and some side stories and the DLC content with the advent of Evil God.
While it was called an Eroge and had plenty of adult content and beautiful women (not just the Capture Targets, but the rest as well), it was also a rich RPG where you follow the story of Mark, an everyday commoner who accidentally finds the Holy Sword in the ancient ruins near his village and becomes the Hero (in the terms of the Status page, his 'Class' changes to Hero).
A truly OP and one-of-a-kind Class.
But his journey for him was filled with hardships and fights, to overcome the various troubles from people around him due to his commoner background, in the Noble's Academy, in the Nobility, and finally: the monsters and the demons.
Still, he struggles and along the way, finds and 'captures' various girls and women who aid in his quest to become the world's greatest hero and he finally defeats the Demon King. The End. Happy Ending for him and the world, including and followed by a crapton of creampies, of course.
The story was actually pretty good for even other players who didn't care as much for the Eroge aspect of things. The graphics, game mechanics, and story of the game were some of its main highlights. And it had a huge fan base, including myself, of course.
And of course, what almost everyone, including myself, actually played the game for. The Eroge part.
There was a crap ton of it.
Enough to keep you hard for 48 straight hours if you could binge the game's story. The game had a total playtime of 68 hours, for the main story. Of these, 20 hours were for normal gameplay and 48 hours for pure and utter intercourse.
It tickled almost every fantasy someone could have.
The total no. of capture targets in the main game was 36. And 12 extra were added in the DLCs. So, 48 in total. All of them are top-tier babes.
***
The thought of meeting those beautiful and hot girls in real life almost made me feel goosebumps.
'Wait, can I maybe…? No way, right? Unless…'
I suddenly had a stupid, possibly hedonistic, yet truly the best idea.
'Since I'm in an Eroge world anyway, I might as well meet and maybe woo some of these girls. There are too many for our dear old protagonist to handle realistically. I don't know if it's possible to woo them for anyone other than the protagonist, but it won't stop me from trying.'
The system had already read my true intentions even before I could fully process them myself.
[A new Main Quest has been created!]
[Quest title: I'll become a Harem King!
Description: In your last life, you died a virgin. To fix that, in this life, in a world that's based on an Eroge, you can create your own Harem, filled with various beauties from all around the world.
But it's no easy feat, especially when you have no real-life skills with women! You'll have to rely on your own foreknowledge, newfound charm, and other abilities in your power to pursue such a profound and magnanimous goal.
You must first start somewhere and slowly make your way towards the greatness that is Harem filled with beautiful women!
Objective 1: Have a lover. (Affection must be 90+ and you must have intercourse with her at least once.)
Objective 2: Have 3 or more women as your lovers. (Everyone's affection must be 90+ and you must have intercourse with them all at least once.)
Rewards: Title: Harem Lord, Passive Skill: Enhanced Sexual Stamina, Easier affection gained with women
Failure: You'll not have the Harem you desire.]
[Accept: Yes/No]
I blinked as I read the quest I just received.
"Pfft… Hahahaha! I accept—I mean, what the hell? Can I really just create silly quests like that?"
[You can. They're just memos, as you called them. And, don't call them "silly quests", please. I wrote them with care. :/ Also, you have created and accepted your first quest already. Congratulations!]
'Oh, my bad.'
And with that, I somehow accidentally(?) accepted my first quest.
… Not that I felt any regret for doing that, to be honest.
Can you blame a man for desiring love, maybe with multiple women at once, when he was sent into a literal fucking world based on an Eroge of all things? I would have to be a very normal or saint-like person to not fall into that temptation. But I was none of those kinds, sadly(?).
"Jokes apart, though. What I really need and want is money, which I can get, and power… Strength, I mean, to survive the uncertainties of this world and be absolutely safe and protect my loved ones, when and if I have them."
Even if the game was focused on an Eroge, it wasn't that easy a world you could just casually live in. Many things required you to fight monsters, gather certain items, or find/meet certain people who at times could be very dangerous, if not deadly.
And the common thing in most of these was that you had to be decently strong to survive the encounter. Fights were prevalent in the game's story. And since this world was based on the game, the same things would apply here in this world. Probably more so since this world was real and not a game.
And above all, there was one thing that had a stark and clear difference from the game.
'I can die if something went wrong and shit hit the fan. With my current stats, I'm probably weaker than even beginner monsters. I need to be much much stronger…'
As if waiting for that, another quest was instantly generated.
[A new Main Quest has been created!]
[Quest title: I need to be stronger!
Description: You've had an epiphany: You're weak as hell!
The world of Criotopia is as beautiful as it is dangerous. All sorts of beings here can and will kill you if they get a chance. Heck, the stronger ones can kill you with a mere fart. Even the weakest ones have a fair chance of killing you as you are now.
This is your second chance at life. You must not die so easily, for your own sake!
Luckily for you, you have a System that lets you Level up. And also, an unknown hidden power seems to reside in your body. You can access it yet as it needs you to be stronger than you currently are.
Objective: Level up to Level 5, Establish your Foundation with a grade of Gold or above.
Bonus Objective: Establish your Foundation with a grade of Platinum.
Reward: Unlock your hidden power, +10 free Stat points, +10 in LUC stat, Unlock linked Quest
Bonus Reward: +20 free Stat points, +10 in LUC stat
Failure: The hidden power will stay hidden, Greater chances of dying in the future.]
[Accept: Yes/No]
"This is a no-brainer. Of course, accept."
[Note: The Quest, 'I need to be stronger!', is a linked Quest! The next linked Quest will be unlocked once this one is completed.]
With that done, I was now ready to face the world.
… Not really.
As if to remind me of something crucial that I was forgetting, two knocks were heard from the closed door.
*Knock* *Knock*
'Is it someone from my new family?'
I wondered as a voice followed the knocks.
"Young Master, it is morning already. I hope you are not still sleeping. May I come in?"
I had spent a good hour or so since waking up catching up with everything. And the time was not on hold. The sun had already shown itself on the horizon. It was apparently time for me to wake up.
'Oh, shit!'
I finally realized.
'How the heck am I supposed to act? Alexander… I mean, I am supposed to be a 13-year-old noble boy. But how did I act? I don't even remember how I acted as a 13-year-old. Probably dumb and reclusive. But that's not how this guy, I mean, Alexander, who is I, acts too, does he? God, this is confusing.'
[A Sudden Quest has been created!]
[Quest Title: Who am I?
Description: You are currently Alexander K. Maximus, but you haven't lived the life of Alexander K. Maximus and possess no memories of it whatsoever.
Luckily, there's a way for you to get the memories of Alexander K. Maximus's life before you took over.
Objective 1: Talk to the person that has come to meet you.
Objective 2: Find out where you are, currently.
Rewards: All the Memories of Alexander K. Maximus, Knowledge about the current timeline of the world
Failure: You'll have to face the people without memories of your body for a little while, Possible suspicion from the family members and residents of the house about you.]
"Ugh."
'Are you fucking kidding me?! This is bullshit! How am I supposed to talk to these people without raising suspicion when I don't even know who they are? I don't even know who my current parents are!'
[Please calm down. I am aware that this is unfair to you. And it was admittedly my fault. I didn't have time to give you your memories as I was adjusting and fine-tuning everything according to you and your preferences.
This quest serves as a backhanded means for me to provide you with the knowledge that was rightfully yours, since it was supposed to be given right after you woke up, along with some extra information. As compensation, I will add an extra reward that you will like if you finish this sudden quest.
Since this is actually the fault of the System and not the user. My apologies. Contrary to what you may think, I'm not 100% perfect. After all, I was "born" just an hour or so ago. But I'm trying my best to give you the best experience. :( ]
'…If you say it like that, I can't say anything. It still sucks though.'
The 'System' added an additional reward in the form of a '?' in the quest rewards.
Now I had a major headache on how to deal with this situation.
I was not exactly an eloquent person so as to act as a noble, even if a young one. I had been a rather introverted person all my life— well, my past life. And right now, I was the same person inside a new younger body.
This was going to be a possibly rough experience.
My lack of reply prompted another few knocks on the door before the door was suddenly opened. And still sitting on the bed in a daze, I got to see the source of the knocks.
The very first thing I noticed was the British-themed maid uniform. It was one of those conservative maid uniforms I had seen on shows in my previous world.
But even that conservative maid outfit failed to hide the toned figure it covered. I could see the outline of medium-sized breasts that were tightly covered by a white apron on the already full-body main outfit but still showing their presence to the onlookers.
Her figure seemed exquisite too. It was certain that that cloth hid a bombshell of a body.
So, it was no surprise that those were the first things I noticed.
Moving further above, my eyes slightly widened when I noticed a cold gaze from the yellowish eyes and a stone-cold face that, even though gorgeous, didn't allow me to look at it properly due to unknown fear.
Her beautiful black hair was tied in a neat medium-sized ponytail that hung behind her. Her posture was perfect and didn't have an ounce of fault in it.
But those eyes and that expression—or rather, lack thereof, were chilling.
(Image)
Overall, she screamed prim and proper, and also cold.
While I was gawking—I mean, 'observing' her, she too looked at me with those cold yellow eyes of hers and finally parted her lips to speak.
"It seems you're up, young master. Yet you didn't answer my call. That is not the kind of poor behavior one expects from you. I've told you so before."
She then went silent, waiting for my response as she stared me down.
I realized that I finally had to speak.
Her eyes kept staring straight at me as if I was a convict. They made me feel guilty. And I had a reason to feel guilty too. I may have "observed" her body a bit too much— no, I mean, I wasn't who she thought I was!
Luckily, my poker face was still maintained… well, whatever poker face I could make on my 13-year-old face.
"Sorry. I was about to answer."
That's all I managed to reply, before going silent.
She stared at me for a few seconds which felt much longer and then spoke.
"I see. Well then, once again, very good morning to you, Young Master."
She greeted, but her voice was devoid of any cheerfulness or emotions one shows while greeting. Her tone was icy cold.
'Why is this woman so cold? Did I do something to her? She's kinda creeping me out and it certainly doesn't help that I am so short and weak!'
She was probably as big as I was in my past life, maybe a few inches shorter. She would dwarf the current me, though.
I tried to calm myself from all the swirling thoughts in my head.
Meanwhile, she spoke again.
"It is proper manners to greet someone who greets you, Young Master. I thought you were taught such basic manners."
Her voice was assertive. I felt like I had committed a big crime.
"Uh, sorry? I was about to—"
[-5 Reputation with the user from '?'.]
The notification stopped me from continuing.
'The hell? She totally has something again me, doesn't she? Did I pull her hair or grope her tits in the past or something?
This is getting ridiculous!'
But I was not as weak as to not even be able to talk to a woman wearing a literal maid uniform, even if she acted cold. She was indeed kind of scary, I'll admit, but she was just a maid. I was clearly a child of a noble house. I could afford to show some guts!
'A maid won't get the better of me.'
Taking a deep breath to compose myself, I smiled and then spoke as normally as I could. Though, much to my surprise, I accidentally used the teachings from my bachelor's degree's personality development classes.
"A very pleasant morning to you too as well… Are you satisfied now?"
My sudden(?) change in demeanor and my seemingly confident speech, finished with what was more of a business smile than a smile a child of my age might show seemed to throw her off of her track.
Her cold expressionless face showed some change as a tiny hint of surprise was momentarily visible in her eyes.
I noticed her eyebrows briefly moving upwards, then coming back to their resting place. The overall change was very marginal. She was still fairly composed and didn't seem like someone who was easy to surprise or who showed a lot of expressions when surprised.
She nodded politely and then entered the room, prim and perfect in her demeanor.
She closed into me and I could now smell a lovely flowery smell.
'Gosh, she smells damn good for someone who seems like she specialized in ice magic and doesn't care about indulging in any form of makeup or perfume. Unless that's her natural body odor, in which case I'll have to inspect properly— I mean, question the laws of this eroge-inspired world.'
I couldn't stop myself from taking a few more quiet whiffs to solidify that new but fragrant smell in my mind. Not showing I was doing so on my face.
She came closer to me and I was now standing too; now we were in each other's personal space.
I didn't like when someone intruded on my personal space, but for some reason, I didn't mind her doing so. I wonder why? Was it her smell? Or her being a gorgeous woman wearing a maid outfit?
She placed her hands on my shoulders and I looked her right into her cold eyes.
'What is she going to do?'
I wondered as I felt her hand clasping my shoulders and then pushing me gently to the side.
She looked at me as she spoke politely.
"Please stand here, Young Master, while I fix your bed. After that, I'll take you to the washroom."
"Okay…"
'So, it was that. I thought…nothing.'
Let's just say I may have had some inappropriate thoughts in the heat of the moment. It was probably just me since the maid released me and immediately went to fix the bedsheets and pillows.
I mean, what was I thinking would happen? My body was of a fricking kid's!
Still, I observed her backside as she fixed the bed, in a prim and proper way.
Even while working, her body language was perfect.
But that wasn't the only perfect thing about her.
Her well-shaped ass was quite perfect too. It was a gorgeous plum-shaped ass, which was more highlighted for me as she bent to fix the bed.
During the entire time that she fixed the bed, my eyes might have been glued to the movements of her lovely ass. It was kind of hypnotic.
'I would probably be killed if I tried to grab those buns.'
With an amusing thought like that, I came back from my daze. But rather than staring away, I stared at her, but this time with proper caution.
Soon, she was done with her work and I stopped gawking before she finished and turned back. lest she found out. I didn't want to find out the repercussions. Death wasn't what I was scared of. Nor was it a fear of being poisoned for molestation. She seemed like the kind of woman who could kill someone with just her icy cold glare and hurtful words.
She turned back to me once she was done and then spoke.
"Let's get you ready, Young Master."
I simply nodded. Seeing her cold face again had hardened my own expressions which were pretty loose and lewd when I was ogling her ass.
I was led outside the room, her soft hands holding my own like a child, through a long carpeted hallway with sidewalls filled with beautiful decorations, such as vases, paintings, and other décors.
Whoever my family was, they were definitely rich. A good thing for me, I thought.
***
