King Me

Chapter 1: Drawing of the Five Kings

Yancey's eyes burned from the unblinking stair she'd given her computer screen for the last six hours. She'd reached the top of the leaderboards in another videogame, having wasted countless hours to achieve such a feat.

 "Four AM. Should get a nap before work." She mumbled to herself. She liked talking to herself out loud; it never garnered a strange look as she lived alone. No family, no friends, just a sub-par set of co-workers and her videogames. Just the way she liked it.

Her hand slid towards the computer's power button but stopped. A popup ad had appeared on her screen. Not just any ad, the kind that demanded her attention: a videogame ad. Powerless to resist its enticing flash, the pair of partially open eyes glanced its title over.

King Me. Select your team of five kings and wage war to decide the fate of Earth.

"The fate of Earth? Interesting, but horribly cliche." She rolled her eyes, yet clicked upon the ad regardless. She cocked an eyebrow as no download screen appeared, only a screen displaying selections of kings and a small bar of information regarding exactly what a king is below. Her eyes, barely open, read through the tip bar.

Kings are the epitome of skill. For example, a King of horse riding will be the human individual who possessed ability in horseback riding greater than any other who has or will ever, live. If two skill levels are equaled, another factor that could be used to boost the originally selected one will be taken into account. In the horseback example, a rider who is physically stronger will take the crown. They are selected from the pool of time when that king's skill was at it's highest point.

"Ok, that's fairly interesting. So, I'm guessing this is some sort of RPG. I know the basics of building a good team."

With that, she typed a skill into the King search bar-- Tank. Every gamer knows the foundation of a good party is the tank, of course. 

Not only did her search produce, but a vivid image of a man in a military uniform appear. Dressed in a flat-green uniform, he was the definition of an American soldier. Tall, muscular, tightly cut blond hair, and a set of steely eyes. His information was listed below.

Conner Smith, the king of tanks. A commander of tanks upon the battlefield, he lead his unit to victory in over 76 missions, single-handedly turning the tide of war on the eastern front of World War Two. His unparalleled ability to both pilot and command tanks ranks him unchallenged as the King of Tanks.

"Wow, I was thinking more along the lines of a heavy-armor medieval knight, but damn if that isn't an interesting backstory. I guess technically he is a tank king. Alright, Conner, you're my first pick."

With her first of five selected, she returned to the search bar. Half-asleep, she still assumed this was an RPG, and typed Bard next. Another information pannel, accompanying the vivid image of yet another man began to awaken her. His skin was dark as night, and he was incredibly handsome, almost inhumanly so. A little chubby, but that was always the tell-tale sign of a seasoned bard. This chub only helped to frame the jester-like attire that covered his body in vibrant blue, red, and yellow shades.

Adoltin Gellantra, the king of bards. Excelling in every instrument crafted in the late 1500s, gifted singer, and unparalleled ability to consume and digest alcohol grants Adoltin the title of Bard King. 

They had Yancey at his drinking ability alone. Another pick. What to search next? Always need a mage. A dark and powerful mage, born of darkness, was always a wise choice. Next, she searched Necromancer. A little older this time, roughly mid-40s. A man as pale as the moon with white hair that matched this complexion. He wore strange black-leather robes that reminded her of a plague-doctor without the weird mask, and carried a scythe that was as large as him and appeared to be made of bone, only the blade of metal.

Dr. Faust, the king of necromancers. After the death of his wife, he sold his soul to the elder Devil Mephistopheles for the ability to raise the dead. Untiring ability to raise the dead, ability to heal himself and others among the living, and able to pull evil spirits from the depths of hell makes Dr. Faust not only the strongest Necromancer of Earth, but the strongest to ever live within the confines of the universe. A king among kings in this Necromancer.

"A king among kings? Sounds Overpowered. So much yes." Another pick. Two left. But her interest in this new game had begun to stir her fuzzy mind, and a sense of clarity started to stir as she examined the screen. The details of the characters were, impeccable. Their images were obviously taken of real people. People they'd put into crazy outfits. Had she just happened to type in selections that worked? Time to try random titles. 

Is there a king of dances? Huh, sure enough, there was. Vivid picture and backstory, too. King of drag queens, just to get as far out as possible? Yup, and in quite a cute outfit too, Yancey noticed. "Alright, what the hell. How about a king off... Basketweaving." She spoke as she typed this obscure ability in. And there it was, a king of basketweaving. 

"What is with this detail? No, this must be using some sort of generator based around my searches." Yancey assured herself, and figured it was at least worth finishing her team, even if she didn't play some fake game. So what next?

A character came to mind from one of her favorite movies, and she typed it in. Drift King. The image of an elderly Chinese man appeared, a certain sense of wisdom and dignity in the air around his image. He was the first to be dressed in plain attire, a simple white t-shirt and jeans covering his skinny frame.

Ren Sato. With an almost supernatural sense of where another driver is moving too on the road, he can drift through rush-hour level roads without touching another vehicle. He has won more drift races, both professional and underground than any other driver, and can masterfully pilot virtually and land-based vehicles. Drifting is a very specific skill, and Ren reigns as the king in this category.

"Shit, gotta have a drift king to get my mage and bard to their next location. This could be a really fun game if it has any playability. Only problem now is, I have four male characters and not a single girl to represent me in the game. I wonder since they're called kings if there are no girls." 

She pondered her next search. With a simple shrug, she simply typed whatever came to mind. Her next search was Strategy, and luck was on her side. Not only did the picture of a woman appear, but she was the most beautiful thing Yancey had ever seen in her uneventful 28 years.

A red-headed beauty, hair flowing all the way down to her hips like tongues of flames, body adorned in white linen robes. Her curves showed through them well, rolling beneath the white linens like clouds popping from the sky on a hazy autumn's day. It would be hard to imagine anything short of Alaskan frontier attire could hide her endowment. She was short, the shortest by far on her team, but an undeniable sense of power and confidence seemed to radiate from even this unmoving image of her. 

"Damn, I'm gonna have to look her up before I go to bed. She's the definition of beauty."

Aurelia Marciana Decius. A commander of over 72,000 Roman soldiers. Having never lost a battle despite facing vastly superior forces over nearly her entire career, her ability to strategize in nearly any scenario is unparalleled. Coincidentally, she is unmatched in any board game based upon strategy that existed by 300 BCE. Wits, an ability to view a situation from endless angles, genius level of intelligence, and an unmatched skill regarding any form of war render Aurelia the unmatched King of Strategy.

The easiest selection yet. And the last. Yancey had selected all five of her kings, and eagerly awaited what would happen next. The world vanished.

She fell to the ground, chair disappearing literally from beneath her as an empty white void surrounded her in all directions. The ground was like a single solid white tile that stretched on forever in every direction, and the sky was white like one giant cloud covered it. She screamed for a moment with surprise, and glanced around the white void. Well, not entirely void.

Her five kings were all glancing around in surprise themselves just behind her.