ALL NOVEL Chapter 1
Chapter 1
—–CROW—–
[Newbie pulled an SSR, is this good?]
Collection-type RPGs always have characters that are, so to speak, a laughingstock.
[It’s called Oz, Successor of the Demon King, looks fucking strong]
The term “laughingstock” is used in many places, but in games, it usually refers to characters with problems in performance or treatment.
There are three types of characters considered laughingstocks.
-Usable after max level, equipped with exclusive gear, and then Transcendence Awakening, Talent Blooming, Soul Liberation, and Limit Break.
└ No way, are these the actual growth methods in this gacha game? The game’s standards are…
└ Isn’t a game that takes care of old characters a god-game?
└ I thought I was talking to a human, but it was a pig all along?
└ Oink oink
The first type:
Simply outpaced by in-game power creep, no longer finding a place in the meta.
-An all-around character that deals damage, tanks, heals, and provides utility.
└ Isn’t that just another way of saying a jack-of-all-trades, master of none?
└ Yep, you know it.
Characters with strange skill mechanics.
-At least the story is interesting with Oz in it.
└ What’s it like?
└ He rolls around well, like an armadillo.
└ LOL
And characters who are treated poorly in the game’s story.
The character, Oz, [Successor of the Demon King], surprisingly, fit all of these categories.
Simply put…
-He’s a meme character.
A meme, a gamble character.
He was an SSR-rank character released early in the game, but it was severe.
Even with balance patches, there was no sign of him becoming top-tier.
This laughingstock character had fundamentally flawed skill mechanics.
His passive skill, [Contemplation], revealed hidden treasure chests on the map and enemy weaknesses.
The ability to find treasure chests was useless since their locations never changed, and revealing enemy weaknesses became obsolete after one use.
Even that became a meaningless skill once the monster encyclopedia was published on the official website.
[Active Skill 1], [Master of Mana], perhaps inspired by his title as the Successor of the Demon King, randomly used one of the active skills possessed by all mage characters.
That’s right. This skill was the main culprit that made Oz a meme character.
Naturally, “all mage characters” meant all characters from N-rank to SSR-rank.
It was infuriating to see him use something like [Fireball], a skill used by N-rank mages who were immediately sold to the shop upon summoning, during boss battles.
[Active Skill 2], [Spatial Barrier], deployed a barrier around him that ‘unconditionally’ blocked even instant-death level damage once.
As it was literally a barrier skill, it possessed some defensive capabilities, but it was practically useless.
It might seem somewhat useful since it ‘unconditionally’ blocked any attack once, but it was better to use a tank than this disposable glass shield.
His ultimate skill, [Challenger of Divinity], was even more spectacular.
A mage, a character whose role was supposed to be a damage dealer, had a healing ultimate skill.
Unless the developers had gone insane, it made no sense.
Furthermore, even in the game’s story, Oz was treated poorly.
Whenever an enemy appeared, he would enter with a flashy presentation, confidently challenging them, only to be predictably beaten.
And that continued from Chapter 5 to Chapter 13 of the main story. Even Vegeta would have won at least once in that timeframe.
The character Oz felt like he was subjected to the developers’ malice.
With a seemingly impressive appearance and skills that seemed good individually, he was a trap character that tricked newbies lured by the hollow SSR rank.
If you didn’t like it, you were supposed to reset and start over.
That’s why
Yes, ‘unfriendly.’
There were no signs, no foreshadowing.
It wasn’t like I specifically insulted the character Oz or provoked the developers.
I didn’t perform any unknown updates or open any suspicious emails.
──All I did was ask my friend how the new main story was on my way home from work. The reply I received from my friend wasn’t anything special either.
[That laughingstock died right at the beginning of the main story, LOL. It doesn’t even show how he died LOL. The forums are on fire LOL.]
But after seeing that reply.
The moment I chuckled.
“What the fuck is this…?”
My vision had changed.
What I saw were sky-blue eyes that felt cold and jet-black hair.
[SSR Successor of the Demon King]
Oz Quabadis
At first, I thought it was a window.
But looking closely, it was a mirror with ornately decorated edges.
Yes, I had become Oz, the SSR-rank laughingstock character, [Successor of the Demon King], in
* * *
What kind of character was [Successor of the Demon King] Oz?
First, judging solely by his appearance in the story, his initial treatment wasn’t bad.
His title itself was [Successor of the Demon King].
Such a character couldn’t have acted foolishly from the beginning.
Oz’s initial evaluation was a ‘deus ex machina’ character who forcibly changed the plot. Yes, his appearance itself was unusual.
In Chapter 3 of the main story, Oz appeared, saving the protagonist from a crisis with spectacular magic.
The effort put into Oz’s appearance CG at that time was so evident that everyone could guess.
──The character Oz would definitely be released as an SSR-rank character.
He had that much presence.
But what was the reality?
Of course, based on the pre-release PV alone, it was enough to make everyone excited.
Oz’s appearance, unleashing various flashy magic spells on the enemy one after another, made him seem like a must-have, essential character.
But what was released wasn’t an essential character, but a meme, a clown.
The result of countless experiments by users trying to find potential was ultimately a fool with only high ‘attack coefficients.’
The excitement for the new character quickly cooled down.
“The problem is that that’s me now…”
In the early story, Oz displayed overwhelming power.
He was so competent that most problems were solved with his mere intervention.
That was the impression he gave to the surrounding characters.
It couldn’t be anything but an overestimation.
Users who knew his in-game performance couldn’t help but laugh at the evaluation, but in the early part of the story, he did display such power.
──But that was only until Chapter 5 of the main story.
Users could guess by observing the flow of the story.
That Oz was used as a sacrificial lamb for the protagonist’s awakening.
‘Oz was defeated…?’
As if the spiritual deity of the main character had disappeared, everyone was in an absurd state of shock, while only the protagonist continued the fight, burning with fighting spirit.
As a result, the protagonist character, who was a scarecrow not even worthy of an R-rank in terms of game characters, became a somewhat usable SR-rank character in the story.
An SR-rank character obtained by sacrificing an SSR-rank character.
Unbelievable cost-effectiveness.
Regardless of Oz’s laughingstock journey, that episode received a relatively decent evaluation.
Probably because the protagonist’s awakening scene was quite something to behold.
But our incompetent developers seemed to think differently.
Oz, who had shown an overwhelming performance every time he appeared, became a laughingstock after that episode.
More precisely, he was relegated to a combat power measuring device, showcasing the enemy’s strength by being defeated by them.
‘Was I careless?’
It was hard to hold back laughter every time that line appeared.
But now that it had become my reality, I couldn’t laugh.
“Sigh…”
Frustrated with the current situation, I ran my hand through my hair while checking my reflection in the mirror again.
“Well, yeah. I am handsome. I like that.”
Just as I was feeling satisfied with the sudden plausibility while looking at my reflection in the mirror…
“Hm?”
I spotted a sticky note attached to the edge of the mirror.
“A schedule? Detailed.”
As if the Oz before me had written it down, the note was densely packed with today’s schedule.
Meeting various high-ranking officials, showing his face in social circles, conducting personal research, and so on. A tight schedule that seemed impossible to complete in a single day.
“…Yeah, you sure live a busy life.”
As I was getting overwhelmed by the densely packed schedule that seemed impossible for a human to handle, I noticed there was writing on the back of the sticky note.
“What…?”
Normally, even if I saw something like this, I wouldn’t think much of it, but the way it subtly aligned with the current situation sent chills down my spine.
Why
There would be no need to write “must read” if it was something he needed to remember. But this was different.
It felt as if he knew I would possess his body.
Don’t stop [Contemplating].
“Contemplation, that was Oz’s passive skill, wasn’t it…? Ugh?!”
The moment I became conscious of [Contemplation].
The world changed as if the very vision itself was distorted.
“Ugh.”
While in pain, I felt like the pupils reflected in the mirror became slightly sharper.
“This is…”
It was nothing short of amazing.
To be able to make such accurate observations even while the world was shaking like this.
Not only that. I could feel blue energy-like things floating around.
I could understand that it was mana.
Just by looking at it, I could grasp the general method of utilizing it.
It was literally [Contemplation].
“It was a broken ability…?”
It was an insignificant ability in the game, but this level of observation was definitely a tremendous ability.
Observing my surroundings was the most important thing in my current situation.
If I could see even the smallest details like this, it would be easier to find a way out even in a crisis.
“Phew…”
While enduring the pain, I focused on my reflection in the mirror.
More precisely, I focused on my pupils, controlling the output of [Contemplation].
[Contemplation – Activated]
After concentrating on my senses for a while, the pain subsided, and things I couldn’t see before began to appear.
My mind felt clearer.
Knowledge about magic, which I shouldn’t have known originally, surfaced as if being etched into my mind.
[Erosion Rate 7%]
“…”
And I discovered some rather chilling information. What was [Erosion Rate]?
What happened when the [Erosion Rate] reached 100%?
Even though I now had magical knowledge, I was closer to my original self.
Then, this 7% figure was likely Oz’s share.
Literally interpreted, if the [Erosion Rate] reached 100%, would my existence be overwritten by Oz?
“This is some seriously shitty information.”
Damn broken game.
Even at just 7%, Oz’s influence felt stronger than expected.
Even in this perplexing situation, I remained composed.
It felt like I was dreaming.
[Erosion Rate 4%]
As I thought that, the [Erosion Rate] decreased by 3%.
“Wait, it’s called Erosion Rate, but it decreases too?”
Did it change based on my thoughts?
It could be considered good news, but the volatility was extreme.
3% might seem small, but broadly speaking, it meant my mind was that much more confused, so it wasn’t a good thing.
“Phew…”
For now, I adjusted the output of [Contemplation] to a level that wasn’t bothersome and checked the other information.
What I could do, or more precisely, what ‘functions’ Oz had.
[Master of Mana Lv. 1]
[Spatial Barrier Lv. 1]
The first things that caught my eye were, of course, Oz’s skills.
There were no skill levels in the game, so what was this?
Did things like coefficients or probabilities increase as the level went up? It didn’t seem bad.
“Hmm…”
I slightly increased the output of [Contemplation] and focused on [Master of Mana], which could be considered Oz’s main skill.
Then, more detailed information entered my mind.
But…
[Master of Mana Lv. 1]
[★First-Time Limited Commemorative 100% SSR-rank Magic Appearance!!]
“Aren’t these guys completely insane?”
Something felt off.
—–CROW—–