Extra Chapter 2: Q & A

Extra Chapter 2 takes place after Chapter 15… Or does it?

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Xander: Hello everyone, and welcome to the first Question and Answer chapter of the Stop Calling Me A Demon King story.  I’m one of your hosts for this event.  I hope you all recognize me as the protagonist of the story, Xander.

Aase: I’ll be a co-host and commentator, Aase.

Daphne: And I’m another co-host, Daphne.  Nice to met you all.

Mercedes: My name is Mercedes, and I will be reading the questions that the readers have submitted, as well as offering technical explanations as they are required.  The first question I will be submitting to our panel of hosts is not one submitted by the readers, but one that needs to be addressed in any case.

Q: Why and how are the story characters answering the questions?  Shouldn’t the author be doing that?

Mercedes: Well, the four of us are currently in a null space not connected to reality, and thus our connection to-

Xander: Mercy!  Stop talking!

Mercedes: Awww…

Xander: In layman’s terms, we’re currently outside of continuity, with full knowledge of who we are and what we are in the core story.  The author, BakaGrappler, decided that he preferred letting us, the cast and crew of Stop Calling Me A Demon King, handle the questions instead of answering them himself.

Daphne: Just so you know, we won’t remember what happens here in the Non-Continuity space once we return to our regular story.  I hope you’re not too disappointed, everyone.

Aase: As for the why, I can only assume that the author didn’t want to put the effort into answering the questions himself.

Daphne: Aase, stop that!

Aase: Well, why else would he push this work onto us?

Xander: We should probably get to the first real question now…

Q: Okay, MC is weaker than I thought he would be? ~ohmariowv

Xander: Hey, screw you!  You try getting hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat!  See if you can walk that off!  That’s not even a valid question!  Mario wasn’t trying to submit it for the Q&A, Mercy!

Mercedes: A lot of people were confused and curious about how you got beaten up so badly, Xander.  I think that makes it valid.  It also had a question mark at the end, so by definition it is a question.

Xander: *grumbles incoherently*

Daphne: Well, that first blow that Xander received struck him not only while he was not actively using body enhancement magic, but it cracked the skull and caused a significant concussion.  Xander was lucky he didn’t black out immediately from the shock to his brain.  As I’m sure many of you know, a concussion will hamper a person’s ability to move, think, and causes a large list of side effects, such as loss of balance and nausea.

Aase: Basically, Xander was in no condition to protect himself after getting hit like that.  So please don’t judge him too quickly.

Xander: There was also the fact that the guy ambushed me.  I mean, the hits you’re not expecting are the ones that hurt you the most.  And for those people who have read too many stories about people getting combat and status menus when they travel to other worlds; I’M NOT SOME GAME CHARACTER!  I’m made of flesh and blood, not HP.  The basic rules of biology still apply to me, alright.  One mistake in a fight, and I’ll die like any other man.  …Not that I intend too…

Hey, Daphne, how’s my condition in the core story?

Daphne: Stable and likely to make a full recovery.  So don’t worry about it too much.

Xander: Okay, thanks.  But I’m really not looking forward to going back to being heavily injured.

Mercedes: And on that note, our next question is…

Q: Is Xander’s modified body the type that gets stronger after it has been beaten to within a quarter inch of death, or something else? ~Random Internet User ™

Xander: God, I hope not!  I don’t want to go through something like that again!

Aase: It’s okay, Xander.  Nothing like that’ll happen again.  We won’t let it.

Daphne: Ahem.  Um, the answer is no.  I’m not sure about everything that’s happening to Xander and Aase’s body, but I can tell you that their basic biology is still the same.  If their bodily functions are going to improve, it’ll be through their use of body reinforcement magic, not some literary technique to cause a shortcut to increased combat strength.

Xander: Yeah.  My hair turned black, not gold.  I’m not some frikkin’ super Saiyan.

Mercedes: And using that as another segway…

Q: What’s up with Aase’s hair turning more white while MC’s is turning more black? Is it like Yin and Yang? ~ohmariowv

Chaz: Dramatic license, mostly.

All: Gah!

Xander: Who the hell are you?!

Chaz: I’m the humanoid personification of the ambient forces of energy that form the curtain between dimensions that is known as the nearly impenetrable energies of Chaos that Xander and Aase passed through when they were summoned.  I’m known by many names; Loki, Cthulu, Mindflayer, The Devourer, and many others that are even less pleasant.  But I prefer Chaz.

Aase: Why Chaz?

Chaz: Because it’s like the word Chaos, but with a Z.  Anyway, the raw energies that form me are also the raw energies of magic itself.  And since I don’t like doing things by half measures when I have the chance, I decided to allow your bodies to be spruced up a little once you’d collected enough ambient magical power in your selves that correspond to your personalities and emerging magic abilities.

Xander: So you’re saying our mutations are based on our individual characteristics?

Chaz: Yup.

Aase: And my hair turned white because…

Chaz: You have Ice and Snow magic.  Snow is white, and you were already a blond.  It fit.

Xander: And my black hair?

Chaz: Because black is more dramatic than brown.  Seriously, you’re hair was boring as all hell. You should thank me for changing it.

Xander: I’m not thanking you for anything!  You don’t actually exist, anyways!  Get out of here!

Daphne: We’re actually not In Continuity… so maybe he can exist here…?

Chaz: Q: What other changes/mutations will Xander and Aase go through? ~Wizard Classic

Mercedes: Hey!  That’s my job!

Xander: Yeah, get out of here you!

Chaz: Okay, fine, I’ll leave.

Xander: Good riddance!

Aase: Maybe we should have let him answer that one first, though?  About what other mutations we’ll experience?

Xander: Shit.  Hey, Chaz!  …Where’d he go?  Crap.  Um… We’ll get… uh…

Aase: Maybe we’ll get colored fingernails?  Like human shaped monsters in the movies do?

Daphne: I can’t say you won’t.

Mercedes: Something like that is actually very probable, as one of the more common mutations of Beasts and Monsters is the accumulation of magic in the materials that form ivory, bones, claws, and fangs to make them more sturdy, and useful in battle.  Dragon parts being the most famous amongst these kinds of examples.

Xander: Mercy, next question, please.

Q: Then what martial art does Xander practice? I remember you said it was a Chinese martial art. And based on a quick internet search is it Northern Shaolin kung fu?  ~Wizard Classic

Aase: And we’re back to questions about you getting into fights.

Xander: At least it’s not about me getting beaten on.  So, yeah, I know and used martial arts.  It’s a little bit of a hodgepodge of styles, really.  My main base is Seven Star Praying Mantis Kung Fu.  That covers my footwork and striking style, along with my weapon preferences, since I was tall from a young age, I was taught according to my strengths.  My instructor mixed in northern Chinese body strikes because your average American is a lot taller than your average Chinese and could use them more effectively.  Finally, my father taught me some Tae Kwon Do and some Aikido he’d learned for his job as a police officer.  If people are wondering why a geek like me would learn so much about fighting, it’s because of my father’s philosophy.  It would take a while to explain, but the short version is, “Bad people are naturally good at hurting good people.  Good people need to learn to fight back against bad people.”

Q: What martial art does Aase practice? ~Wizard Classic

Aase: What!?  When have I ever said I knew kung fu?!

Daphne: I, I don’t know.  You don’t know any?

Aase: None at all.

Mercedes: Maybe Wizard is misunderstanding my summoning circle.  The fact that it’s been programmed to find people that won’t be overly sensitive to the idea of killing people could have been misconstrued to mean someone with the pre-existing skill set to take other people’s lives?  Sorry if that was misunderstood, but the search parameters only involve moral compasses and not life experiences.

Xander: Actually, maybe it’s because I mentioned that Aase has “Girl Guns.”

Aase: Hmm?

Xander: Well, Aase, uh… Okay, I’ll dive right in.  Aase, you have a really well defined body.  You have some great muscles in your arms, and you’ve got tight legs.  You have the body of an athlete, basically.

Aase: Hm-hmm.  I also have six pack abs.

Xander: Really?  Can I see?

Aase: If you’re lucky.  Well, there’s a few reasons why I’ve got such a “well defined body.”  For one, I’m Norwegian, so I’m of Norse descent.  I’m predisposed to developing muscle.  I also like looking good in a party dress, so I put a bit of effort into staying in shape.  But most of all, I have a title to maintain in the yearly games.

Xander: In the what now?

Aase: I suppose the name would translate to something like “Viking Ancestor Competitions,” for you, but it’s a set of yearly games my home town has in the summer of every year.  The entire city turns out for it, with all the games, prizes, costumes, and competitions.  I’m the defending champion of the young women’s log chopping competition two years running.

Daphne: You look really proud of that.

Aase: Well, I’d like to be humble, but I spent a long time training to swing an axe in each hand.  You pretty much have to in order to even be able to compete in the contest, let alone win.

Xander: That’s why you own multiple axes!  Oh, thank God!

Aase: Why are you so relieved, Xander?  …Why did you think I owned more than one axe?

Xander: Uh.  Uuuuh.  Next question!

Q: Do you plan to create a glossary about the world info (beasts, monsters, herald, nations, geography)? ~vanagandr

Mercedes: I actually have an answer to this question written by the author himself.  Let me just unseal this envelope.  Let’s see.  It says, “Damnnit, Jim, I’m a Writer, not an Illustrator.”

Xander: I guess that’s a no, then.

Mercedes: But it continues on to say, “My brother, on the other hand, is a skilled artist.  And there are a great many people on the internet who may volunteer their time and abilities.  So, I don’t know what may happen artistically for the story.  And a general index of important information will likely occur on it’s own, so I can keep info I need for writing handy to refresh my memory some times.”

Q: Are you planning to put others into the “cast page” like the undead counts, the religious guys, the underground ppl and so on? ~vanagandr

Mercedes: The letter continues on the back to say, “Yeah, I will.  But not until there’s non-spoiler material to share, so be patient.”

Q: Will we see a drawn map of Meowrh? ~SaMu

Xander: That kinda continues on from the glossary questions, huh?  Well, since the author is making up the geography as he goes, any maps would be local in scale, and slowly increasing as land masses get placed.  He apparently has a broad landscape design in place, but I doubt he wants to pen himself into a corner by releasing maps that would cement the world before he can get around to writing about it.

Q: I see a few parallels to warhammer: undead counts, brute squad (knights on bumpy animals [could be Demigriphs]) is that unconscious or planed? (I don’t know much about warhammer) ~vanagandr

Mercedes: Oh, here’s another letter from the author.  For some reason it is made from cut out magazine and newspaper clippings, and stained in some red substance…

Aase: They kinda look like tears of blood…

Mercedes: It says, “Dear Games Workshop, I have not, nor ever plan to copy or steal your Intellectual Property.  Please do not try to find me, I have wired the doors of my bunker to explode.”

Xander: So I guess that’s a no, then.

Aase: So, any similarities between the two fictional worlds is coincidental, then.

Daphne: And besides, knights don’t ride on bumpy and misshapen creatures.  They ride on-

Xander: Hold it!  The author is obviously unbalanced right now because of this law suit scare!  Don’t go dropping spoilers, it might push him over the edge!  …Even further over the edge.

Aase: But we should probably mention that whatever the readers think is the deal with the “Counts” as our reader put it, it’s not that.  The author is genuinely expecting people to be surprised by the reveal of those characters’ backgrounds.

Daphne: And that was the last question for this session.

Xander: Alright, now we can go back to Continuity… where I’m half dead and in a coma…  Are you sure we’re done here…?

Aase: Oh, come now Xander.  We have to continue the story some time.  May as well get back on track.

Daphne: Thank you all for reading and for submitting your questions!  The Question and Answer event will return again in the future, so please submit your questions either in the comments section of this chapter, or any chapter as the story proceeds from here on out.  Please don’t post in old chapters, though, as they might not be noticed by the author if you do.

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