Nyaa-chan teleported to the guild hall to complain to Iroas. He doesn’t do that often, complaining. To other people, at least.

“Iroas! Someone broke into my apartment!”

“They didn’t get the uploader, did they?” said Iroas.

“Uploader? What are you talking about?”

“You told me about an uploader once, I remembered awhile back. I was worried about how you were acting until you got that new skill. You really didn’t try to off yourself and become a magical girl in a game for the rest of your life, did you?” Iroas laughed at him.

“Stop joking around. Like an uploader is possible.”

It is, since he made one. Nyaa-chan made that clear to himself.

“I’m sorry. My imagination ran away with me at the beach before I hit on a girl that looks like you, sorry,” Iroas apologized. He’s considerate.

Nyaa-chan had a hunch it was true, and that Iroas was clearly telling him this for his own twisted enjoyment. Iroas is like that sometimes. Nyaa-chan opened his mouth to speak but held still a moment to let the embarrassment pass.

“You mean my character?”

“Yep,” said Iroas. There was a smug grin on his face.

He got her huh, Nyaa-chan shivered at the thought.

There’s something more important than his disgust at the moment.

“Uh, can you introduce me?”

Nyaa-chan didn’t want to admit it but he was interested in seeing how close she was to his character. He didn’t think that he wanted to date her at all, if he did then he would unleash a ‘Shame Supernova’ and destroy the guild hall. There’s interest there.

“Right now she’s not talking to me much. She didn’t like the ‘I’m married’ part- Hey, she’s calling, hold on.”

Iroas activated the phone app and placed his hand to his ear to act as an imitation receiver and transmitter. He nodded his head along as panicked mumbling could be heard. It was a completely optional setting that Iroas had to go out of his way to add so other people could just barely hear his conversation.

“You want me to find a troll?” Iroas asked.

Entering World Online…

Walking along in this strange new world, my red cape blew in the wind behind me. Before being taken by foul magic into another world, I had a kingdom. I looked out over the plains to the city of Hygea. My memories drifted to me of a time long ago before my kingdom fell. All my mind could think of are these memories. Even here, in another world.

I left my bedroom back then swinging my red cape free. As it swirled in the air, I felt the cool breeze from windows formed in ice. An entire castle, an entire city, my city, my kingdom. Ice sculpted into a massive castle, preserving heat. My feet tapped away from that room against the ice floor, a troll woman inside still on the bed. As Troll Hero-King, I have other duties I prefer to busy myself with.

“Ahgo! Come back!”

That troll woman shouted at me, but I wouldn’t stop. She wouldn’t pursue. It was bothersome to sire as many heirs as I could, but it was my duty. There are a lot of things about being Hero-King that I enjoy. Siring duty is not on the list. Battle is, fighting is the only activity I ever cared about, and that’s both how I got my position and why I grew frustrated with it. I rubbed my nose and fluffed my cape to ward off the discomfort of refusing her so boldly. If only I could be so confident with my advisors. They had many, negative, and contradictory, opinions on my decisions during my rule:

“Ahgo, the economic trade with the neighboring kingdom, shouldn’t we increase tariffs? I told you many times about the benefits of…”

“Offer more tribute to Granadyr? You’re always on about that, Ahgo! He hasn’t done anything but skulk around the kingdom we built in his shadow of his tower, the reason why we have you is to hold him in check! Shouldn’t you do your job better?”

“What do you mean your judgment is final? This is why we should divide your powers among representatives of the trolls. You spend all your time training like an idiot for a fight that will never come! You’re just holding us back!”

“Ahgo, I advised you before, dealing with the dwarves like that is unwise. They have those runed harpoons that can negate our regeneration. If you further antagonize them, they might reduce their trade with us. Did you even think of the war that might cause in the future? One misstep here…”

“Ahgo! What did I tell you about being soft on the dwarves! Their trade is nothing compared to the human empire! Did you even think of the war that will ensue if we don’t deepen our relations now-”

All of them have good points. I may be an idiot who only wants to fight, but I’m not dumb. That’s why when my kingdom fell, I didn’t blame them. I walked through my kingdom towards Granadyr’s tower, gazing out the open windows of the castle kingdom forged out of ice. One castle, one kingdom, that is the size and breadth of the place. I loved running through the halls in my youth, hunting down fellow trolls in mock combat.

Ice Trolls of my kingdom lived in the icy north huddled under the dragon Granadyr’s tower. We built this place with our magic, ice magic. Granadyr taught our people that magic and gave us a home in the shadow of his tower. I favored summoning personalized swords of ice myself, and a bunch of them at once. By becoming Hero-King by winning a tournament each year, I never had to use my ice magic to help build the castle. So I spent my time training, fighting anyone who would accompany me, training weak Trolls and crafting my own swords with ice magic.

Each one of them has a name and a history all their own. Each one’s weight and balance felt different in my hands, some for throwing, some for defending, some for hacking, I made many. Each of them I had to memorize the exact specifications of to recreate them from memory with my ice magic. No one doubted the genius of that skill, they marveled at how each ice sword had a different shape and usage. If a trainee stopped and asked me, a few hours could pass with my discussion of a single swords creation. If their faces grew bored of my ranting, when I had the presence of mind to notice, I challenged them to a fight.

I thought of my advisor’s comments again with rage.

“One choice, so many outcomes. I chose the decision for my kingdom, and my advisors have nothing but complaints. Is this is how they repay me?” I said. Complaining to myself, I noted the value of their criticism. However, in the end I chose. By choosing, I sealed our fate. Was there anything more I could have done to save my kingdom from him, from Granadyr, the dragon who protected us and gave us a home?

The first time I met Granadyr in his tower it excited me. I stepped into a fantasy. That was the feeling I had then. The tales going back five hundred years speak of the trolls selected to be Hero-Kings to parley with the dragon gave who my people a home in the frozen north sea. One troll to speak with him, one troll to defend against him. The Troll Kingdom comforted by their king being a hero who would keep the dragon benefactor in check. That was a lie. The horrible secret I learned that day chilled me to the bone even in a frozen land like this.

“Defeat me? Pay little attention to the lies of legends. I don’t fight, I win. That the trolls feel like this is a relationship where they have some countermeasure against me was another treasure I gave them. After all, I wanted them to feel at home,” said Granadyr on my first meeting. In the shadows of his tower filled to the brim with treasures there was a dragon whose appearance belied his ability.

“So all my training, the tournament I must win every year to keep this role, it was all useless?”

I said back then.

“Hardly. I merely wanted the king of trolls to be the finest among them. One who respected the reality of the harshness of this world, and yet was generous with his time and thoughts to his people. I thought that would be best, when the first Hero-King pleaded to me to live under my tower’s protection. At first, I laughed. Then, he offered me his life and honor as a trade for his people. What finer treasure than the life and servitude towards others for the sake of one’s honor and courage to support his people? To a greedy old dragon like myself, it sounded amusing to accept,” Granadyr said.

“I saw many treasures of unimaginable worth in this tower. To think the stories were true!”

“Ahgo, the hero-kings before you all wanted these treasures to improve the lives of the people of the troll kingdom. What about you?”

“When I saw them, I thought the same thing. I thought to myself, how does he even use these? Then I realized that for you it must be like my training is for me. I never had much else that entertained me and made me feel so accomplished as the goal of being Hero-King. When I thought of it like that, I promised myself that the only way I would take them is if I was willing to kill you and protect my kingdom with my own hands alone,” I said.

“Ah, so refreshing. You remind me of the Second Hero-King. He was a bit more tactful than you, though. Do you always like being so honest, Ahgo, Hero-King of the Trolls?”

“In battle, each wound is there or not. Even with our superior regeneration, it still is a slight to my honor to take even a single hit. How much farther could I go if that hit didn’t meet me? I always worried about that. To hear that you believe that you could win a fight against me in an instant…”

“You want to try me?” Granadyr laughed. I remembered that laugh fondly, once.

I summoned countless swords of floating ice. Those days, I would just try to get as many in the air as I could to shock the enemy. I thought it was a good tactic. Now I laugh at my poor judgment back then. As I pulled the ice sword Hydr to me back then, I challenged the dragon.

“Granadyr, would you be generous enough to duel with me? It would be,” I smiled at what I was going to say next, “a treasure to me.”

Granadyr laughed, the sound reverberating around the tower of ice and snow. Then he slapped me to the ground over and over again. A lighting hammer out of thunder. A snowball like a shooting star. A forgotten blade, pulled from a portal and bested me in combat with a summoned warrior. An illusion so large I spent years wandering in it, saving the sick and aiding the poor and righting wrongs but it turned out to be a few seconds in real time. Fire that never stopped burning me, and cool water that put it out as Granadyr laughed at me dancing wreathed in flame. I tried everything, and each time I lost my smile inside and out only got bigger.

“It’s been hours, you know? Even your exceptional regeneration and stamina should be sapped,” groaned Granadyr.

“I apologize. This must be boring for you. Personally, I don’t think I would like to stop until you finish me.”

“Don’t you have a kingdom to run! My, isn’t this one troublesome. Get a bit better and I’ll fight you every once in awhile. It was another treasure, this fight.”

I imagined Granadyr was smiling back then. That night, I had the best healers I could get me back into shape so I could get to training as soon as I could. In those days, I neglected my king duties far too much. Without Granadyr’s teaching and knowledge during our private combat, I have no doubt I would have been exiled or a small army sent to oust me before long. I was grateful. I still am grateful. The one I can’t forgive is myself.

“Ahgo! Are you listening! To space out when I’m giving such an important report,” said Krgi.

My advisor, Krgi , a troll of intellect and age and nothing more. I could beat him easily, but there would be no victory in that.

“Krgi. What about the dragon’s tribute? It’s petty this year. I’ve been supplementing with my own funds for so long, is there nothing in the budget we can offer him?”

The problem was weighing quite heavily on my mind in those latter days before the end of my kingdom. Granadyr’s tribute. We needed far more, and my kingdom forgot Granadyr’s gift of safety. Though they lived under his tower, though they lived under my reign, the trolls of my kingdom were swayed by never. They kept more of their treasures to themselves.

What could I have done? I grumbled to myself, coming back to reality. I stared at the city of legend taken form in this new land I was summoned to. Each building a different height, yet some were as tall if not taller than Granadyr’s. When I traveled out of the Troll Kingdom, one massive castle under Granadyr’s tower, I saw my whole kingdom in one glance.

This city in front of me was taller. I made comparisons, recalling the art that decorated our walls. There seemed to be little detail on theirs. My memories faded in again, of a time when Krgi yelled at me.

“You have angered so many with your insipid focus on that worthless dragon!” Krgi said.

He meant Granadyr. What a fool. The idiot continued.

“Our kingdom has long past such worship, we have grown strong enough to take down many dragons! You alone, shouldn’t you be enough if it’s only one or two?”

They didn’t know. I tried my best to tell them, the wild dragons who they would hunt quite easily were nothing compared to Granadyr. If only I had thought then of luring Granadyr into a fight outside of his tower to showcase his might to my people. I know then just as I knew now that that wouldn’t have solved it either.

“Just find the budget! I’ll go deeper into debt. If I need to kill something or someone to get the money, tell me who or what,” I said to Krgi, groaning in my tone.

“Solving everything with violence again! What have I told you…”

Krgi went on into the night with his diatribe. I would stand up, do everything but threaten Krgi, threaten him, and he would storm off angry. It was a common tale up until the end of my kingdom.

I awoke one night in a start, feeling heat like a bonfire was next to my bed. I rushed to the window and outside I saw my kingdom in a glance. The kingdom of ice and snow melting and burning and my people running. Granadyr speeding above, laughing and blowing down flame.

I had been expecting it for awhile. My talks with Granadyr became less and less friendly and more confrontational. Granadyr blamed me. No, I blamed me. I wish Granadyr would have blamed me, that would have been easy.

“You’re one of the finest Hero-Kings I’ve had serving under me. Your people have become rotten to the core. They shun me and think nothing of the land and protection I gave them for so long, and I watched carefully as your efforts failed. A troll of Krgi’s age should know better. This problem is too deep. I will take this kingdom’s death at my hand as a treasure,” Granadyr grumbled to me one night soon before the end. In his tower, in front of the person I respect most in the kingdom, I burst out with emotion.

“Granadyr! What else could I have done! You told me, you taught me so many things! I enjoy your company in battle more than any troll! You,” I collected myself and continued.

“Don’t do this. Take my life instead. Let me go on a quest to secure the greatest treasure for you. I would spend the rest of my life to fulfill this duty! Anything! Give me any way to succeed! I’ll show you that at least one troll in this kingdom respects you, even if I have to do it all alone!”

I felt betrayed. I felt worthless. The history of my kingdom would end under my reign.

I couldn’t read Granadyr’s dragon face at all, but I was hoping for mercy then.

“Out of respect for the treasure of the time spent with you, I will fight you. Amongst the burning embers of the death of your nation I will have a final battle with you. For the longest time, I have not fought. I have won. You will fight for your nation, and you will fall before my might like always. The final hero-king of the troll kingdom that I let grow and I destroyed. That will be your final gift to me.”

I cried after hearing that. In front of the being I respected the most in this world, my friend who understood me the most, the one I knew the best, and the one who would render all my effort put into my life meaningless. I left in a daze and spent the final days training far past the point my regeneration could sustain me, with healers standing by to revive me only to continue. I told everyone I could to leave the kingdom, to escape the end. Those who listened, I hope they are doing well. I am no longer your king.

I stood there, the city melting as Granadyr mounted on a throne of troll corpses of his own making. Fire burned all around me, even in the icy north. The numerous fishing holes were melting, the leviathans in the sea below us feasting on the hated trolls who hunted them for so long as ice chunks cracked and floated away with burning homes into the open sea. Granadyr’s tower, in the center looking over the kingdom was untouched. I had no words left, but I had my swords. They meant little to him.

In the real world my eyes came back into focus. I snapped out of my reverie again, and sighed as I tried to read a sign. It’s a language I had never seen before. Numerous humans and a species that seemed to be a cross between animals and humans were making looks towards my way. Were trolls rare in this land?

“The kingdom is called Hygea? I can read this sign. How unexpected. Why would a human summon me here? I never heard of such magic, and for that girl to then suggest marriage? She seems desperate. It’s always those types that are the most troublesome. I have a feeling there will be no small share of mysteries from this point on. How can I seek an ending like this?” I groaned.

An ending to my tale. I had read the tales when I was young, that sparked my ambition to be the Hero-King himself. They gave me joy. I wanted to be a hero. I became a hero. But now, all I was doing was walking away. My survival is an unfortunate result of Granadyr’s whims and my unwillingness to submit to death. It was that I couldn’t pass up a fight more than anything. I looked at the people around me, the spires above me. Their architecture lacks detail! My kingdom’s ice carvers would have a fit at how they didn’t decorate their buildings. If you spent so much time into something like that, wouldn’t you want even the smallest parts of it to have beauty and meaning? My hands raised in the air, I realized people were looking at me, as if they wanted to talk with me. Couldn’t you just all attack at once instead of chattering with this failed hero-king? If I were to die in battle, then it would be the best fate I could think of right now.

What else am I to do? I summoned the ice sword Prdo, it’s namesake isn’t important right now. I pointed my sword to the crowd and grinned.

Entering World Online...

A vast balcony overlooking the central town of Mental World Online, Hygea. There near the railing stood an old man with a dignified face crinkled and a light smile. An upturned bell glass of wine was in his hand. A roman toga with a red sash, typical of those of the roman senate, adorned him.

“Interesting. Very interesting. I didn’t think such a thing would be possible, but I was able to peer into Ahgo’s mind like any other player. How human, for a troll, so well behaved as well! I’ve had my troubles like that in the past. These young kids, watching over them is the least I can do. Quite serendipitous. Nyaa-chan, or, should I call you Clive? He seemed like the type to prefer his character name. I’ll send you a mail soon. I’ll have to thank you, I feel like I’m young again!”

Myalor cackled on the balcony and threw back some digital wine.