Different Identities, Equal Fate

"Ugh…!"

Slowly, I opened my eyelids gradually to what appeared to be a glossy ceiling.

I was confused for a second and got up from the bed I was lying on.

Soon, I noticed my arms and legs hurt a little, but there wasn't much I could do about it right now.

Then I glanced nimbly around.

The furniture and all the other furniture that surrounded me was all luxurious, made from first-hand materials.

They were expensive.

In simple words, they were of a scope that I could never trace with the salary I received from my works.

"I've arrived?"

I quickly understood the situation.

Had I already entered that guy's body? — that meant I had transmigrated into the demon king's son.

The prince of the demon realm, the villain's descendant.

A throwaway character worse than an extra — I mean, in the first place, he wasn't even a character that appeared in the novel.

I had designed him, but the story didn't progress the way I wanted, so I abandoned it before I got to the point of his reveal.

In short, the Demon King's son, whose body was now under my control, was not a relevant character at all.

You could even say he was worse than a speck of dust.

"That Reaper said it would suit my personality…"

She had told me that I would be placed in a random character that resembled me in personality.

However, I ended up stuck in someone who couldn't even be called a character.

I might have been relieved to choose the safer romance, but in the end, I was put in a position where I would die right from the start!

Or worse, tortured and cast aside!

I wasn't the Demon King, or any of the protagonists — I was just an irrelevant prince.

Frankly, it would have been better if I were the Demon King.

Do you wonder why?

Well, for example, if I were him, technically I would be the highest level existence in the realm, so I could either surrender or flee.

I mean, even if he dies early, he shouldn't be despised. He was powerful.

Avoiding death with a powerful body wouldn't be a problem, at least I figured things like that.

"Let me remember…"

I massaged my temples gently.

If the information matched my prince project plans — which I discarded before publishing — I'm currently 17 years old.

It wasn't a huge discrepancy from my actual age — believe it or not, but I was originally a 21-year-old college student on Earth.

''Aak!''

As I was deep in thought, an annoying metallic creak sounded in my ears.

I grunted before I saw the source of that thing.

"What the fuck?"

A colored screen with several layers of text written in bold and italics, seemingly arranged in bullets, appeared before my eyes.

It was like the moment the content of the contract was decided, in that infernal office.

Certainly strange but interesting.

The functioning of the afterlife judgment could be simple but clearly functional.

> User Overview <

[Roselyn Tribah Tytanius III]

[Race: Archdemon(?)]

[Age: 17 years]

[Talent(s): None — You should try a little harder!]

> Statistics <

[Strength: 4.4 (?)]

[Agility: 6 (?)]

[Dexterity: 5.2 (?)]

[Magic Power: 14(?)]

[Toughness: 6 (?)]

> Skills <

[Eye of the Creator (S+) — Candidate "??????" Exclusive Skill]

[Sixth Sense from Beyond (D+) — Candidate "??????" Exclusive Skill]

[Demonic Domination (D) – Exclusive Skill to Archdemons]

OK.

There were some useful things here, huh?

I could have even been fooled by that sick contract proposed by the damned Reaper of Hell, but luckily, fate seemed to smile on me at that moment and I managed to find out who I really was.

First of all, I really was in the body I thought I was. Everything was in order.

However, why the hell was I so weak?

No, no. For starters, it was already impressive to have a game-like screen floating in front of my eyes in the real world.

If I was right, I never put this scenario in my novel, so could I assume this was something those guys who sent me here felt sorry for?

Or maybe there was some clause that benefited me that I had forgotten to check?

"Okay, okay." I commented to myself, analyzing the events. ''I better figure out how to use these skills first, no?''

As if waiting for me to say or think just that, the holographic windows of varying colors flashed with new messages in front of me.

I was scared for a second but then I read them decidedly.

[The ''Sixth Sense from Beyond'' detected the user's intentions!]

[Do you want to understand how your abilities work?

> In case of confirmation, keep in mind that:

– You will get a detailed summary in your mind and you can read the information whenever you want.

– The information obtained will be stored in the confines of the ''End Library'' and can be freely accessed in the system options by the user himself.

– Skill remaining uses will be decreased by -1 (Remaining uses: 3/3 (16 hours cooldown for each use)]

''I got it…''

[Do you want to accept?]

[Yes/No]

There was no reason for me to refuse, that was a situation in which I was only obliged to accept the conditions if I wanted to inform myself about the situation in which I found myself.

First of all, getting to know myself a little more in detail would be very helpful for me on the crooked path I would have to tread.

I pressed the [Yes] button.

[The action has been succesfully confirmed.]

[All process have been started...]

[Processing analysis…]

[The informations will be transferred to the User's brain…]

''Ugh!''

I felt a strange influx of information coursing through my entire body, through the finger that pressed the screen, all the way to my brain.

A few seconds passed and I felt a little better.

Plus, I felt smarter — this 'Sixth Sense' skill or whatever it was called was extremely good.

So let me see… is that how it worked?

"Creator's Eye." I spoke aloud.

[The 'Eye of the Creator' has been initialized...]

[This skill allows you to analyze the potential level of a specific individual. There are other additional system judgment effects that can be adjusted according to the user's wishes. The user can simply look at an individual with the intention of analyzing them or uttering their name to activate the skill's effect.]

[Note: There are hidden effects in this skill. They will be unlocked when the user reaches 300 Conquest Points.]

''Fantastic.'' I smiled at the information.

[Who do you want to analyze?]

[Due to the skill's current low level, remember that the effect will be determined by your proximity and prior knowledge of the target.]

''Roselyn Tribah Tytanis.'' I replied.

A procession of messages unfolded before me.

[Analysis is in progress…]

[The judgment of the system has come to an end.]

[Want to see the information?]

''Yea.''

> Available Content <

[Roselyn Tribah Tytanis]

[Growth Potential – Strength: A (Presumedly)]

[Growth Potential - Agility: F- (Presumedly)]

[Growth Potential - Dexterity: F- (Presumedly)]

[Growth Potential - Magic Power: SS (Presumedly)

[Growth Potential – Endurance: D+ (Presumedly)]

[Afterword: With the exception of things like "Magic Power" and "Strength", the individual's potential is simply the same as an idiot's talent for solving mathematical problems. It is impressive that the individual is still alive, but it is not recommended that he walk the path of battle if he is not going to focus on magic or something similar. In the end, it can be said that this individual is at rock bottom and has little hope of ever really becoming someone.]

> Comprehensive Skill Rating: Low Rank Demon (Currently) (Exclusive for user's species)

> Combat Level Rating: F (Currently)

''Shit. That's not good at all.''

By the looks of it, in terms of tropes, I was in a pretty common situation where an author somehow ended up in his own novel with a game system.

However, although it seemed to be a familiar situation at first glance, the thought that I had such mediocre talents as that made me come to the point of my wits end, close to losing my judgment and simply going crazy at any moment.

To begin with, it was hard to accept the fact that fiction had suddenly become reality. Now, to imprison myself in another world with insufficient growth potential?

"That surely is an efficient method of torture. Those motherfuckers didn't joke around, huh?''

The system was convenient, but I didn't appreciate it at all that he judged me incapable.

''This is disappointing...'' I sighed deeply.

Shouldn't the Demon King's relatives be of a different caliber?

Archdemon was certainly a pretty simple and self-explanatory species, but wasn't my current condition basically the worst of the worst I could be?

This body literally had no fighting ability. How much had he neglected training to stay in that pathetic state?

I had an ability that apparently allowed me to overpower all demons within a certain radius, but around me there was nothing but furniture and walls.

What a hell of a situation — it was even ironic to say that.

''The heroes! They are here! Run for your lives!''

I heard screams in the background. The crashes unfolded, resounding throughout the Castle I was in — for a second, the room I was housed in felt like it was going to come crashing down.

Shit.

By all indications, it was the beginning of the prologue.

o make matters worse, the system spared no effort in informing me of this.

[A quest was automatically generated on occasion!]

> Event Quest: Fall of the Celestial (Aka ''To Survive!'')<

[Description: The defeat of the Demon King and his army is imminent and impossible to avoid, but you are powerless to do anything. Do your best to survive.]

[Clear objective: Escape the Demon King's castle]

[Reward for Completion: 100 achievement points]

[Failure Penalty: Probable death]

I understand…

All I could do now was run like a coward.

I didn't even pay attention to those mysterious system windows that kept appearing in front of me.

— Klang! Bang! Chang!

The sounds of battle sounded throughout the castle.

''This is madness!''

There was nothing I could do to stop the war.

It appeared that the Demon King and the hero's group were already fiercely fighting inside the Demon Realm Castle, so it was already too late to take any precautionary action.

It seemed unreal for a moment but the violent explosions, the tremors and the deafening thunderous roars made me realize that this war was really going on at that moment.

Outside, there were guttural screams, loud screams and bloody explosions made by monsters as a gigantic siege was taking place.

The enemies seemed to have already broken through the defense.

I looked around sickened. The hallways were already full of dead or fallen demons.

The stench was unbearable but I couldn't help but run.

''Klgh...''

I couldn't even imagine a person dying in front of me, but it was even worse to see that one-sided massacre unfold right there.

Still, perhaps because I felt death was imminent, I kept running.

I was an ordinary human inside but I had to survive — in this world, even if I tried to explain everything that had happened, it's not like anyone would believe in a demon prince.

''Darn it!''

Having this cursed title while the Demon Realm was completely crumbling was one of the most dangerous things I could think of!

Honestly, I'd rather replace it with Human Soldier 14!

''Fuck it!''

Traversing the bloodstained corridors and dimly lit by unlit torches, I continued running, panting, towards the beyond.

I needed to survive.

No matter what it took, I would survive.

Certainly.