“Where am I?”

Only a dark ceiling came into my view as I then opened my eyes. I looked around only to find myself in a small room with only a strange light source dangling from the ceiling and a strange object that is emitting cold air. As I then tried to get up to inspect the objects….

Clang

Something stopped me. I then looked at my hands only to find shackles on both of my hands and legs.

“Hmm? These chains… who dare to do this to me?”

I tried to free myself from the shackles, but my body didn’t seem to budge.

“What is with this body? This strange feeling…. It’s not my body. ”

As I tried to free myself from the shackles, someone opened the door.

“Ohhh, you are up?”

A humongous man came, followed by a woman. They both entered as they then took a seat in front of me. The woman came with various dishes as she then presented the platter to me.

“Creator, please eat something and calm yourself. Your body is too weak now.”

She tried to shove some unknown dish inside my mouth, but I shoved her hand away. The plate fell along with the food.

“You!! Don’t you know how to be thankful? She prepared those with utmost care for you.”

The humongous man then grabbed me by the collar of the unknown cloth that I was wearing. Even though I was in this weak body, I never thought that it would be this painful. He grabbing my collar only made me feel choked as I coughed.

“What are you doing!! Don’t you know who he is? Let him down.”

The woman stood up as she then glared at the man. The man looked shocked as he then tried to appease her.

“But leader, he threw your food.”

“Let him down!! It’s my order.”

The man then reluctantly let me down, while looking down apologetically. Looking at him, I sneered, only to make him angrier.

“Heh, serves you right.”

“You!!!”

“Stop it!!”

The woman angrily looked at both of them, making them shut their mouths. She then talks to the shackled man.

“Do you really not remember anything, creator?”

She, with hopeful eyes, looked at the man she calls creator only to get her expectations shatter.

“I do not know what you are talking about. And why are you calling me a creator and what is with this goddamn body?”

As I spoke, the woman in front of me looked devastated as she then pulled out the gadget from her back as she then aimed it at me.

“Who are you?”

The man behind her also took out something as he also aimed it at me.

“What? Don’t you know me? The one who destroyed you, all players and those Gods? If not for that coward Spear Master, I would have destroyed both that and his world.”

“W-What are you..? Don’t tell me!!”

“What? I am…. Wait! What was my name again?”

“Eh.?”

“Ehh..?”

The situation became more awkward as they both looked at me. Even though I tried to remember my name, nothing came to my mind as I felt frustrated that I cannot even remember my name in front of these pests.

“Are you the one killed the alliance of players and pulled the supreme beings from their realm?”

“Ohhh… you are a knowledgeable one!! I kinda like you now. If you free me, I will spare you.”

After getting my answer, they all look even more shocked as both stared at each other’s eyes.

‘It’s not possible, right? For an NPC to become a human?’

‘How would I know, leader? And isn’t he the one who created the game? Maybe he is the last boss or something, or maybe he is just talking bullshit while having his memory lost.’

While the two talked by looking at each other’s eyes, the man, or rather the NPC, became restless.

“What are you doing? Free me, right now!!”

He screamed, while looking at them with blood-shot eyes. Dark purple aura oozed out from his eyes and from his whole body, shivering the two in front of him as he then broke the shackles that were restraining him.

“You two have the guts to look down on me, the strongest, and the pinnacle of everything. How dare you even tried to restrain me!”

The raging aura then wrapped around the necks of the two people, choking them while also lifting them up in the air.

“Now, tell me earnestly. Whose body is this and where am I?”

“W-We w-will talk, but first, l-let us down.”

The NPC, who looked at the eyes of the woman, then left them both down, leaving them to stabilize their breathing.

“We are now at our base and this world isn’t inside the game. You are now on earth, among the people who play the game. And…”

She then looked at the NPC hesitantly before speaking.

“The body that you are talking about is the body of the creator, the one who created ‘Apocalypse’ and the one who created you.”

***

“What the hell are you talking about?”

The NPC, who heard the woman, looked like he chewed on a rotten egg. His face crunched up as his face became red.

“You mean I am now trapped with this body and that I am in the real world? Do you realize how ridiculous it is to even hear?”

The two people, with their guard up, looked at the man in front of them with fear and caution, as the pressure from before didn’t fade away.

“It is the truth. The owner of the body that you, the NPC, is living in now belongs to the one who created ‘Apocalypse’, of which you were part of.”

“Then why am I the one who opened my eyes in this body? Why not that damn creator or whatever he was is in this body? Why can I not get the rest I wanted?”

The man plopped down in the chair and the pressure also elevated, making the two take a breath comfortably. The NPC, who looked at them, asked the woman another question.

“Then what is the name of the creator? Who was he? How did he create a world like ‘Apocalypse’?”

Hearing the question, the woman looked dumbfounded. She tried to answers as she opened her mouth only to close it again.

“I-I….do not know. I only remembered him as the creator, as what my grandmother taught me. She told me he was the one who stopped the corrosion of earth and he was the one who created the game, b-but….”

“But what?”

The NPC then stepped up with heavy steps. The surrounding pressure again increased as the NPC approached the woman.

“I-it was the Spear Master’s father, Heath von Nuevan. T-The one who took all the credits to create the game.”

The woman blurted out everything quickly as she felt immense fear for the first time. Then, the pressure disappeared as she then looked at the face of the NPC only to get horrified at the express the NPC wore.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY!!”

“…!!”

His bloodshot eyes, filled with rage after hearing about the Spear Master, looked at the woman. His face distorted, and he gnashing his face looked like that of a demon.

“So both father and son screwed me and the creator!! Tell me where is he!! I will kill them both.”

The NPC hurried towards the door, only to get stopped by the woman.

“W-Wait!! There is no way you can defeat them now. You are weak now and—”

Gathering whatever courage she can, she clasp the hands of the NPC tightly.

“And in this world, the more powerful you are in the game, the more influential and powerful you can become in this world.”

“So please…”

The NPC, astonished by the confidence of the woman, held himself back as he then looked at the woman.

“Then tell me….”

Taking a seat again, while removing the pressure, he grinned.

“How can I join this game?”

***

One month later.

I stood on the balcony, looking at the rising sun in front of, with a chilly breeze hitting my face.

Slurrp

Taking a big sip of the tea that the maid provided me made me feel energetic. The past month was a big heck of a rollercoaster for me as I get to know various things about this world and that world that these humans called game.

“How can one person create an entire world and at the same time let other invade that world in the name of game?”

Clenching my fist tightly while looking at the reflection of my face in the tea made me angry, but I let myself calm down.

“For now, I have to achieve everything again from start and I have to create my presence in this world.”

“Just you wait Heath Von Nuevan and Spear Master!! I will destroy you and this world that you tried so hard to save.”

As I looked at the rising sun, a familiar sound called me. I turned around, only to find Levila, the woman who rescued me from that facility.

“Creator, the preparations are complete.”

“Hmm. Good work.”

I placed my palm on her shoulder while complimenting her. Hearing me, she trembled as she then hid her face. The giant man, Drake, who always followed her like a dog, gritted his teeth.

As I passed from them, I arrived in front of a room. Standing beside the door, two men of Levila looked at me with caution as they then opened the door when they looked at her behind me.

The incident that happened a month ago still haunts them as the NPC, who discovered the truth, tried to kill everyone, but…

“Ahh…”

He grabbed his chest as he moaned in pain. The attack of the Spear Master left a huge damage as he still hasn’t recovered from the attack mentally. Looking at the sorry state of the NPC, Levila gave him a suggestion.

“If you want to get your revenge, then we will help you. You are not in a perfect state to face Heath and the Spear Master in this world and the game.”

After her suggestion, the NPC calmed down as he took a month to somehow recover his health while also started to exercise in order to increase the adaptability with the body of the creator. And now, after a month, he somehow recovered enough to finally start his new journey as he stood in front of the door, behind which was the first step he had to take.

As they opened the door, what came into my view was a capsule like machine in the centre of a room with various wires attached to it.

“The capsule is ready, leader. He can now log in to the game safely with no one knowing about him.”

“Excellent work, professor.”

While the men inside talked to their leader, I moved towards the capsule. Touching it, a strange sensation arose in my heart, a feeling of excitement and nostalgia.

“Did he also make this?”

To my question, Levila answered back.

“Yes. It is the first prototype that he made 60 years ago. My grandmother stole it when Heath trapped you in his facility.”

“Is that so?”

I looked at the capsule. Even though it is old, an unusual feeling made me assure that using this machine will not harm.

“Then prepare this machine.”

Hearing my order, the professors then helped me get inside the capsule as they then made me wear a helmet. Even though it was huge, it felt comfortable as I then lied down and closed my eyes.

“We are ready to start ‘Apocalypse’. Please log out if you feel anything strange. To start the game, please say log in.”

“Log in!”

As I said that, even though my eyes were closed, the surrounding view turned from black to a white space.

“Woah!! Isn’t this illusion magic?”

I pondered, as I also used to apply illusion magic to my enemies. But now I have seen and known enough to know that this is reality and that I am now entering the world I once belonged to. A female, robotic sound that was like the Supreme Goddess was heard.

[WELCOME!]

[Would you like to register for a new account?]

“Yes!”

[Iris Scan is in progress!]

[Other biometric scans are in progress!]

The system took some seconds to scan my iris and my fingerprints. Soon, a window appeared in front of me.

[Welcome Creator!]

[Would you like to log in?]

The system accepted me as the creator. Looking at it, I am not surprised, as I somehow guessed that something like this would happen. As I tried to press the yes button, a red screen appeared.

[Error!]

[Soul record not found!]

[You are not the Creator!]

[Capsule Self-Destruction activated!]

“Ehhhh!!”

This damn system! How dare it try to kill me? As I looked around to do something, the red screen, which was red, turned blue.

[Capsule Self Destruction halted.]

[Searching for soul record!]

[Soul record found!]

[Name: ???]

The system then showed questions marks at the field of name. Even though I don’t know my name, seeing it like this embarrassed me. Soon the question marks disappeared, and a name revealed itself.

[Name: Welrez]

[The Strongest NPC.]

Ding!

Soon, multiple windows appeared before me, but a single window piqued my interest.

[You have gained the title ‘The One Who Will See the End’.]

[As the soul record didn’t match with the old records, the user will now start from LVL. 0.]

[All privileges of the Creator will now be locked.]

“Just get over it already!!”

Upon my frustration, the system then spoke.

[Player ‘Welrez’ will now be teleported to the outskirt of beginner city.]

[Best of Luck, Creator.]

I stood there blankly after hearing the system. Even though I know that this is just a machine, it felt more real hearing someone encouraging you.

Soon, a bright ray of light engulfed me as I was then atop a small hill.

“So this is where my journey begins.”

I looked towards the city, filled with various players and NPCs. The peace that was established after my death bloomed even more, but…

“Wait for me, as I annihilate you and your damn world.”

I took my first step towards the world that I was once part of. Not knowing what the future holds for, I took a step towards my journey. To find out about the creator and to regain my power as the strongest as I will then destroy both worlds.

Strongest NPC Returns as a Player

Prologue Arc: End