Chapter Text
SSS-Grade Supreme King. That was the title of a web novel that had a huge cult following despite its sorry excuse of a plot. It had a promising start, but after five years or so, the plot started taking nonsensical turns until it completely got lost in the mountains.
But despite the criticisms, it remained at the top of the web novel rankings for ten years, with no series ever hoping to dethrone it. It was so popular that it was even adapted into a Live Action, though that one flopped with a RottenPotatoes rating of 49%.
Anyway, the story only got worse near the finale, but the readers who have dedicated so many years following it wanted to see it through to the end for their peace of mind.
Kim Dokja was one of those stubborn readers who just couldn’t drop it midway, even though he had to sacrifice his mental health for it.
Basically, the story went like this: Yoo Joonghyuk, the first human in history to rule over the underworld after annihilating the demon kings, went on to join forces with the celestial realm to save the world from the outer gods.
After reigning over the three realms, he was hailed as the Supreme King. He then formed a harem that could fill an entire banquet hall, bearing children from all realms and races.
But that was just the first half.
After that, because of the author’s greed to milk the hell out of the novel’s skyrocketing popularity, the story was further extended until it became a novel capable of giving those popular makjang dramas a run for their money.
The plot was all over the place, the protagonist was always suffering, most of the notable characters died only to randomly resurrect later, the protagonist suffered some more, and then, in the finale, he died.
Needless to say, the ending left Kim Dokja speechless. Ten years. He wasted a whole decade for that.
He took a deep breath, placed his phone down, buried his face against his palms, and then leaned back on his chair to release a soundless scream.
Unfortunately, Kim Dokja leaned back too much that he ended up free-falling backwards, thus breaking his skull. And just like that, he died—
—only to wake up in the body (or more like, the form) of the Demon King of Salvation, the first antagonist of the web novel that had given him so much frustration that he ended up dying because of it.
This brings us to the present, where Kim Dokja—who’s now DKOS—just received his mission from the so-called Star Stream.
MAIN SCENARIO
Category: Main
Difficulty: S+
Clear Conditions: Turn this third-rate trash into a masterpiece with an overall audience satisfaction rate of 90% and above
Time Limit: ???
Reward: Full control over the character without the system’s interference
Penalty: Instant disconnection from the character
< Wait, if I get disconnected from this…body…where would I go? >
[ The user will be transported back to their original body. ]
< But that one’s skull had already been cracked?? >
[ That’s right. ]
< …Fuck. >
The system intrinsically just told him he’ll die if he fails, even though it was reworded into ‘disconnection’.
< Disconnection, my ass! >
If Kim Dokja could curl on the ground and sob, he would, but he’s just a dark mass of demonic energy with no physical form at the moment.
In the novel, DKOS was a demon king of unknown origins. He hated how weak his corporeal form looked, so he reverted to being a mass of energy, hoping to obtain a new, stronger body. Moreover, he preferred that form since he was less vulnerable that way. Think about it: how exactly can you even attack gas? (Yoo Joonghyuk found a way later, though, hence DKOS' demise in the novel.)
Anyway, after finding a suitable candidate, DKOS took in (kidnapped) an 18-year-old Yoo Joonghyuk from the human realm, then raised (enslaved) him in the underworld to become his vessel.
Actually, DKOS didn’t have much of a role in the story. He only appeared in the prelude, serving as the catalyst that would drive Yoo Joonghyuk to destroy the underworld.
He was mostly treated as fodder and was killed off pretty early when Yoo Joonghyuk used a hellfire extinguisher on him. Kind of a goofy way to go, but it’s not like DKOS was relevant enough to get a remarkable death.
< What’s the point of respawning in a fictional universe when I'm in the form of this useless demon?! >
“My Lord, it’s been a month,” a voice suddenly calls out, interrupting Kim Dokja’s meltdown. It’s the imp, Lee Gilyoung, who serves as DKOS' attendant. “Shall I bring the human out of the dungeon?”
Kim Dokja racks his brain to recall the prelude of the novel. If Yoo Joonghyuk is in the dungeon, then this must be after that time when DKOS locked him up with the ferocious chimeras as punishment for not getting his sword stance right.
Yoo Joonghyuk is already 20 by now, which means he’d already been suffering at the hands of the demon king for two years. It would be nearly impossible to score brownie points with him now, so Kim Dokja wonders if he was merely placed in this situation for the Star Stream’s entertainment.
If they really wanted him to change things, they should have sent him to a much earlier period, because with the way things are now, there’s just no way he could live long enough to change the story's trajectory.
Kim Dokja’s busy wallowing in despair that he forgets to answer his attendant. That’s when the Star Stream’s robotic voice starts ringing in his head.
[ OOC Alert! User must respond in-character or face the penalty— ]
< I get it! >
He whooshes to the imp’s side, then in that Darth Vader-like voice, says, “Bring him to the training grounds.”
DKOS may have forsaken his physical form, but Kim Dokja found out through the abilities window that he could still access it. It’s kinda like those character skins in games. Kim Dokja’s not much of a gamer, but he knows that much, at least.
Anyway, the OOC alert wasn’t triggered when he accessed DKOS’ physical form, so that is probably allowed by the system.
Kim Dokja figured that if he looked human, then Yoo Joonghyuk would probably want to kill him less. That, or Yoo Joonghyuk would probably take this opportunity to make his death worse by chopping him into bite-sized pieces.
“DKOS hated this form?” Kim Dokja asks after seeing his reflection in the mirror. “But it’s just…me?!”
Could it be that since DKOS never used his physical form in the novel, the system never had a human body for him, so they just used Kim Dokja’s appearance from his previous life?
“My Lord, it’s time to—” Lee Gilyoung, who suddenly appeared by the door, quickly backed away upon seeing Kim Dokja instead of the dark mass of energy that he’d been used to. “Who are you?!”
Kim Dokja realizes that no one has seen DKOS’ physical form in this universe, so to calm Lee Gilyoung down, he transforms into his smoke form for a few seconds before returning to his human form. “It’s just me, Gilyoung.”
“My Lord…?” the attendant blinks as he steps closer to Kim Dokja. “Is this your temporary vessel? Where did you get it?”
“Uh, well, this is actually my original vessel. I just didn’t like it that much, I think?” Kim Dokja explains. Thankfully, still no OOC alert. The system probably has no idea how to deal with this development either, so they’re just letting him be for now.
Lee Gilyoung stares at him in fascination, but he doesn’t question him further. “The human is waiting in the training grounds.”
“Oh,” Kim Dokja gulps. “Let’s go then.”
The imp gives him a respectful bow before heading out. Kim Dokja’s about to follow when that annoying blue screen popped up in front of him again. It’s a new scenario, one that would give Yoo Joonghyuk the exact ability that eliminated DKOS in the novel, and would most likely eliminate Kim Dokja for good in the future, if he’s not careful.
SUB SCENARIO
Category: Sub
Difficulty: A+
Clear Conditions: Teach the protagonist how to use and control hellfire
Time Limit: 1 Week
Reward: OOC function unlocked
Penalty: Death
< Is there no scenario where I don’t die as a penalty?! >
[ There’ll be plenty more scenarios for the user in the future. ]
< That doesn’t answer the question! >
And just like that, the system goes silent again.