Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

(???, ???'s POV)

With a surprising suddenness, I became aware of the all-encompassing, abyssal Void surrounding me.

That's not to say I was suddenly in the Void; rather, something told me I had been here for some time already, and yet only now was I becoming aware of it. My mind was hazy, like coming out of a dream I didn't want to wake up from, leaving me groggy and disoriented. I tried to look around, and take in my surroundings, but all I could see was nothingness.

Complete and utter blackness in all directions.

I tried to rub my eyes, but when I went to move my hands they never connected with my face. It was as if my arms were suddenly miles long; I could feel myself attempting to move them, but they never seemed to go anywhere. I tried blinking very hard, to clear my vision, but I felt no resistance from my eyelids, and nothing seemed to become any clearer. I tried to look down at myself, to see what my arms were doing, but there was nothing there to see. I couldn't see my arms, my legs, my torso; even my nose was gone from my face. Nothing to be seen but darkness.

At this point I felt something was wrong. Well, clearly something was wrong, my fucking body was missing! However, the more immediate issue was that it didn't feel like an immediate issue. My body, or the apparent lack thereof, felt like nothing more than a fleeting issue, not worthy of any concern or introspection. Even as I tried to focus on the issue, I could feel a calmness settle over my mind. Why should I bother worrying? I couldn't even remember what my body looked like, what was the point in missing it?

...Wait. WHAT?!

With the vaguest stirrings of panic, I tried to force myself to remember my body. My arms and legs, my hair and face. The feel of my skin after a hot shower, the subtle numbness after a day in the snow. The sound of my voice, the color of my eyes. Yet even as I tried to force the memories to the forefront of my mind, I could feel them slipping away, becoming murky and indistinct. And even as I tried to hold on to the slow panic, the only feeling I could muster, it too slipped away from me. With my last burst of emotion, I screamed out into the Void.

“Hello?! Can anybody hear me?! Where am I?!” And yet even as I felt the words leave my mouth, if I even had a mouth to begin with, the sound seemed to die in the still blackness of this alien place.

If I could feel my eyes, I'm sure they would have started to water. 'Am I alone in here? What happened? What's going on?' I attempted to move, to maybe find anything else in this barren landscape, but I couldn't move. Not only did I seemingly have no body to move, but something told me the “air” in this place was as solid as stone. Even if I did have a body, I felt like I'd be stuck in place here, immobile. The disassociation of my missing body and the forced calm this place was pressing onto me was making me shut down. I started withdrawing into my own psyche, whatever was left of it at any rate, when suddenly a sound and a brightness invaded the space around me.

*Ping!*

[GREETINGS, GAMER!]

...What in the Hell? Floating in front of me was what I could only describe as what looked like a pop-up window. A large rectangle of transparent blue background, with white lettering on it. Like something out of Final Fantasy, or some other JRPG from my past. Actually, wait a fucking minute; how did I remember what Final Fantasy was but I couldn't remember my own face?!

[Because you are in the In-Between. Physicality matters not here. Memories of concepts or ideas hold more weight than recollections of your mere mortal shell.]

“...Who are you? Where am I?” The sound of my voice still seemed to die not even a foot from where I pictured my mouth to be as I tried to express my confusion, but whatever this entity was it seemed to hear me anyway. “Wait, did you just read my mind!?”

[I am a System of the Game. And you are the latest applicant to be a new Gamer. We are in the In-Between, the realm between realms, so that we may converse, and an offer may be made. Thoughts and intentions are as solid as speech here.]

“What am I doing here? Why me?”

[Your memory might be faded, but try and remember your last moments.]

“My... last moments?” That was very ominous, and I didn't like it. I gave it my all, and really tried and focused on the last thing I could remember...

Fire.

I remember Fire.

I was walking along a sidewalk, but from where I was coming or where I was going I had no recollection. Suddenly, ahead of me, I could see a bright light and feel a great warmth, getting stronger as I approached. An apartment building was on fire, smoke wreathing the top floors and gouts of flame shooting from the top windows. There were firetrucks parked in front, hoses on full blast and aimed at the windows, firefighters shouting and racing around. As I stood there in numbed shock, with a few other nearby pedestrians, I heard a sudden quiet, gasping cry. A little girl was on the fire escape, but it was an old building, and the ladder has rusted off.

She was stuck, two floors up, and flames were licking at the windows behind her.

Seeing that nobody else seemed to notice her, I tried to run and grab one of the firefighters, but a sudden explosion from one of the upper floors grabbed their attention, and they brushed past me before I could explain. Seeing a side door on the same side of the building as the fire escape, I hesitated for only a moment before running inside. The fire hadn't fully reached the bottom floor yet, as far as I could tell, but smoke was filling the halls. I stumbled around for a bit, searching for stairs heading up. When I did find them, I had to pull my shirt up to cover my mouth from the excessive smoke. On the second floor, I could feel flames behind some of the walls, and the smoke was even thicker here. I tried to stagger towards where I remembered the window to be, but it was difficult, as my head was swimming and my eyes were stinging and watering from the smoke.

When I finally made my way to the window at the end of the hall, I could see open flames licking the wall, pouring from the open door of the closest apartment. I braced myself, and flung myself through the open window, feeling the flames licking at my back through my shirt. As I landed on the fire escape, I saw the little girl staring at me, tears in her eyes. She couldn't have been older than 5, blond hair in pigtails, wearing overalls and a pink shirt. She was the picture of childhood innocence, and any regrets I had about leaping into this situation were gone.

“Are you okay sweetie?” I asked, trying to put on a brave smile despite the burns on my arms and neck. She didn't respond beyond a teary nod, so I gently picked her up and rushed to the edge of the railing. I shouted and waved towards the group on the sidewalk, and this time one of the firefighters saw us, rushing over immediately. As I gently lowered the girl down to the firefighter's waiting arms, I heard a sudden explosion, closer and louder than any of the others. A distant voice screamed in panic, “The gas line ruptured!” Even as the girl left my arms, I twisted my head, and over my shoulder saw a fireball racing towards my face. I felt extreme heat along my face and chest, and before I could even scream I was thrown bodily off the escape. I felt myself engulfed by the flames, flying through the air, before hitting the wall of the opposite building, and then I knew no more...

“I... died?” I asked in a stunned, subdued voice.

[Yes, you did. You broke your neck upon impact with the other building.]

“...did the little girl make it?” That was the only thing I could focus on, my own death far too vast a subject to think about at this point.

[She did. She survived, as did her parents. They would go on to have a son, and name him after you.]

“Good... That's, that's good.” I fell silent. What more could I say? I died saving a little girl's life. That seemed like a good way to go, I'm pretty sure. I looked around again, the pop-up window excessively bright against the pure darkness of the Void surrounding us. “Is this Hell then? I'd hoped that maybe saving a little girl's life might have overwritten some of my Highschool exploits.”

[No. As I said, this is the In-Between. You have been diverted from your ascension to Heaven in order for us to offer you a deal, if you are willing.]

“Oh, I did get into Heaven then?”

[You were plucked from the arms of an angel to be brought here. And if you decide you have no interest in our offer, you will be returned to that exact moment to go on and enjoy that afterlife should you so desire.]

Well it seemed like not all of my emotions were completely stifled, as I couldn't help but surge with a flicker of anger. I got into Heaven, and this fucking pop-up box pulled me from the literal arms of an angel to stick me in a featureless Void and waited until I almost had a fucking panic attack to even show up!

“Fine, give me whatever offer you have so I can tell you to fuck off and go to Heaven!”

[You are upset. That is understandable. But if you truly are not interested in another chance at living, then we will send you back to your afterlife.]

“...What do you mean?”

[You are the latest to be offered the opportunity to become a Gamer, and be reincarnated in another world with all the powers of the Game behind you! This is a very rare and unique offer, and comes with many potential perks and opportunities.]

“Such as..?” Despite myself, I was intrigued. Heaven sounded great and all, but getting to live again was an awfully big draw. Maybe if I were older, and had people waiting for me, it would be more tempting. But I haven't lost anyone close to me, as far as I could recall; Hell, I'm pretty sure my childhood dog was still alive! There was nothing personally waiting for me in Heaven, beyond the generic promise of Paradise, and the option to live again, even on some other world, sounded very tempting. And this was starting to sound vaguely familiar to me, too... Something from my faded memories was trying to scream for my attention. But it was just out of reach.

[If you are willing, you have the option to recreate yourself within another world of the Multiverse, and become a Player utilizing the Gamer System to essentially become a living Video Game character. You will have the opportunity to gain Skills and Abilities by gathering Experience Points, level up by killing Monsters and completing Quests, and gather rare and powerful Treasures and Loot. You will have free range in this New World to act as you see fit, and possibly even Travel between Worlds once you become strong enough.]

“So, let me get this straight; if I take your offer, not only do I get to live again, but I'll have the chance to become some kind of super powerful game character, and do all sorts of cool shit like fight dragons and aliens, and I could become strong enough to return home one day, since I could travel between worlds?”

[That is correct. It would take a lot of time and effort, but it is certainly possible to return to your Earth at some point in the future.]

“Alright, you spin a good pitch, I'll give you that. What's the downside?” This seemed too good to be true. There had to be some kind of catch, somewhere. No such thing as a free lunch, and no such thing as a no-strings attached resurrection.

[Clever. Yes. There is... one thing, you should probably be made aware of now. Your new life will not be without risk. If you are to perish while in any plane but your home world, your soul will be lost to the Void, and return to the In-Between. However, souls are not meant to dwell here without an anchor to keep them present, and this place will actively decay any unprotected souls. Reincarnation wipes your soul clean, and severs its ties to your own cycle of Life and Death. Normally this tie is reforged upon rebirth into your own world, should you choose to reincarnate to your own world, however the rules change when moving between worlds. If you die during your adventures, before you become powerful enough to insert yourself into the new world's Cycle, you get no Afterlife, and your soul will be drawn here and decay until you simply cease to exist.]

That, uh... That was a really big catch. Huh. So it seemed like my options were to refuse, and return to the guaranteed safety and paradise of Heaven, or agree and be sent to a new world I may know nothing about with only the vague promise of one day becoming strong enough to return home, and the very real threat of my soul literally ceasing to exist if I mess up. This should be a no-brainer, I'd be an idiot to accept this stupid offer! But that distant part of my mind was still screaming at me, begging me to take this chance.

“I'll need a moment to think about this.”

[Take as long as you like. Time is irrelevant here.]

I should say no. I should absolutely, 100% say no to this stupid idea. Whenever you are given a choice between a zero percent chance of having your soul obliterated, and a non-zero chance of having your soul obliterated, the choice should be pretty damn clear! But something about this was just so appealing... The opportunity to basically get superpowers, to become magical and powerful, to go on some grand adventure... It called to me. I wanted it. It's a stupid, silly, ridiculous idea, and my common sense was screaming in my ear that this was a horrible thing to even begin to consider. And yet... I could feel my non-existent heart start to race. Adrenaline, or the psychic resonance of such, surged through me. Every objection or reason that I shouldn't do this faded away, and all I could feel was excitement. My mouth moved without conscience thought;

“I accept.”

[Verbal acknowledgment accepted! Establishing Game System v1.4.8b interface. Initializing {Gamer's Mind}. Restoring memories.]

A new pop-up window appeared just below the one I'd been reading this whole time; this one was slightly smaller, with a pale gray background instead of blue, and solid black letters instead of white. The bold letters gave me the details of my first “skill.”

Skill Gained!

{Gamer's Mind: Unique}-Passive| Lvl. Max

{Mind over matter, taken to the Nth degree. Your Mind is now another system of the Game. Grants a calm, steady and objective mental state in all stressful situations. Protects the Gamer from all manner of Mental and Emotional trauma, manipulation and Status Effects.}

Before I could fully comprehend the ramifications of that skill, I was overwhelmed by the sudden influx of my missing memories and emotions rushing through my brain, as if a dam in my mind had burst. I could suddenly remember most everything about myself; I was 20 years old, I lived just north of Boston, I had a Father I hated and hadn't spoken to in 3 years and a Mother I loved but who was such a doormat for everyone else in her life. I had never been a great student, I fucked around in school and got a horrible job at a call center that paid like crazy to try and keep people from quitting every other week. I had a few dates and flings along the years but never anything serious.

I could even remember what caused that walk on my last day on Earth; my brother swapping between beer and weed going on with his political bullshit, my sister only pulling herself away from her chips and computer enough to scream her conflicting views back at him, and my Mother just ignoring the entire screaming match to take some pills and watch talk shows. So I gave the dog a pat on the head and wandered out to get some fresh air and quiet. I didn't think I even said goodbye to anyone at the time, I just had to get out of the house. Then it was my fateful trip towards the inferno. The only things still missing were my name and my physical appearance. Those were still just a void in my memory. Trying to stifle the emerging headache from the rush of information, I turned towards the main pop-up screen, that I'd been more or less focusing on as the “face” of the entity I'm speaking with.

“You could have restored my memories at any time? What the Hell, why would you do that?”

[Apologies. But you needed to make this decision solely of your own response. While your memories were unavailable and your emotions tempered, you still retained your sense of self. You could not make this decision in a state of panic or resentment.]

I groaned and tried to rub my temples in exasperation, before remembering I had neither hands nor temples at the moment. “I don't know why you'd need to bother. Now that I can remember it, my life kind of sucked. Shitty job, no real friends beyond people I texted with, out of shape with no real future. I would have probably killed someone for the chance to be Isekai'd.” If I had eyes right now, I'm sure they'd have been bugging out of my head as what I'd just said registered, and that faint voice in my brain that had been shouting for me to take the deal was suddenly a lot clearer. Memories of hundreds of fanfictions and anime suddenly raced into the forefront of my mind, and I could no longer hold in my excitement. “Holy shit I'm getting Isekai'd!”

[That is a terminology your world uses for situations like this, yes. Earths are always wonderful nexus points for ideas, they tend to filter into the greater subconscious even without interference. Now, we have a lot of things to cover in order to get you situated, so let's start.]

“Wait, before we start, I just have to know. Why did you pick me? Is it because I saved that little girl, because I died doing a good thing?” If I didn't ask, this would bug me forever. I knew that ultimately it didn't matter, I was already here, but I needed to know what made me so special. The window was blank for a few moments, and I was worried that by asking I had broken some rule or something, before it finally started to fill in again.

[You were chosen for this opportunity because you died doing something interesting. There was a firefighter who died in that fire as well. 8 years as a crew member. A good person, without a doubt. But he was used to everything by then; it was a job. It was routine. He was not chosen. Once, we would choose people based on their moral choices, acting as a pseudo-judgment system. We would send Saints and Sinners, the Holiest of Holies and the most depraved of Wretches, to other worlds and see what they'd do. Some were wonderful to watch, causing chaos and disarray like nothing you could imagine. Paragons of virtue, standing between the people of that world and all of its Evils. Or living monsters, engines of destruction who would destroy everything just to watch the world burn. We cared not which path they'd take, as long as it was interesting. But do you know what most of them did?]

I could only attempt to shake my head in denial, struggling to catch up with the text that was filling in even faster as it went on, as if the entity was getting frustrated.

[They did NOTHING. We gave them gifts and powers beyond mortal reckoning, and so many of them refused to use them. They would simply act like the standard mortals of their new home, rejecting their Status and going about their mundane lives. Or they would flock to the strongest banner to keep them safe, using just enough power to become useful enough to their new masters to warrant their protection. And so, many of us started to seek a different kind of entertainment. We would take random people, regardless of their pasts, and simply drop them into the new world directly. No options or chances to refuse. Sometimes without even activating the Game system. Other times we would tweak the system, make it more and more difficult to manage or succeed. Many of these Gamers died swiftly in their new realities, their souls left to rot. If the mortals would not entertain us with their lives, they would entertain us with their deaths.]

If I could blanch in fear, I probably would, while taking a few steps back for good measure. I swear, I could almost see the text in the pop-up screen shaking in anger. But after a few more moments of silence, the text slowly started to scroll again.

[But that's not going to happen this time. I'm glad you brought up the question, honestly, because it saves us the issue of bringing it up later, or beating around the bush. You wanted to know what the real “catch” of this situation was, correct? Well there it is. You are being given this offer because you interest us. As long as you keep us interested, as long as you keep us happy and entertained, there won't be any problems. YOU just need to keep going on adventures; grow strong and explore the multiverse, give us a story worth following, and WE will keep supplying you with new trials and powers, giving you new horizons to cross and worlds to plunder. Do we have an Accord?]

“Yes, that's a deal. Sure. Can do! No problem!” I was rambling, and I didn't care. I would have said anything to just have this conversation be over.

[Don't sound so worried. We won't demand you fight gods every Tuesday or anything like that. Just don't stagnate. At least for as long as you keep our attention; when we inevitably grow bored with you, and move on to the next Gamer, you will be free to live your new life as you please. At that point you could consider it a “retirement,” of sorts.]

“Alright. Yeah, okay. I just, uh, how will I know if I'm 'stagnating?' If I'm gonna spend like a little while training or preparing for something, will that make you angry, or... What's my limit here?”

[Don't get cute. Training your skills or preparing for a fight is not the same as cowering behind the legs of whatever pathetic mortal you decide serving is more important than entertaining us. Just don't be purposefully useless. We'll certainly let you know if we're getting bored with you.]

Ominous. As. Fuck. I was starting to regret agreeing to this, just a little bit, but something told me I was beyond the point of backing out by now.

[Now that all of that unpleasantness is out of the way, we can get to the fun parts!]

A beam of light suddenly erupted from behind the pop-up, shooting straight up into the sky for a very long ways, before coming to a stop. It must have been as long as a football field! The edge of the beam slowly began to move in a clockwise manner, leaving behind a bright white streak on the blackness of the Void. I watched as the beam of light slowly rotated around the pop-up window, eventually creating a full circle when it had reached the zenith again. Suddenly a thin black line raced up the circle, and began moving the opposite direction in a counter-clockwise spin, and as it spread it seemed to leave writing along the edges of the circle that slowly spread towards the center. Eventually the black line also ended its rotation, with a whole slew of different writing crawling along the circle. There had to have been hundreds, no, thousands, maybe millions of separate words on the wheel now.

“What was that?” I asked in confusion, trying to read any of the words on the wheel. However most of them were too far away to see, and the ones closer up were still too small to read properly.

[This is how we are going to determine what world to send you to. This wheel contains every single subset of the Multiverse Clusters we could send you to. We will spin the wheel to determine where you're going to end up.]

“Huh. I was kind of expecting to not know where I was heading? That seems to be pretty common with Isekai stuff. I'm not complaining or anything, though!” I quickly backpedaled, “it'll be nice to know before hand what's going to happen.”

[You will need to know what world you're heading into for the Character Creation process. While it would be mildly amusing to see you create an elf and be sent to a world of lizard-men, or create a cyborg and go into Tamriel, I am not that cruel. I'm sure quite a few of my brethren would enjoy putting you through such an ordeal, but I'm going to give you at least a decent start. We will determine what world you are being sent to, and then you will be able to create your character.]

Without any further input, the wheel began spinning with the classic “click-click-clack” sound of a prize wheel. I watched the wheel spin with a sense of wonder; I couldn't stop the childlike anticipation from bubbling up from within. I was actually going to go to some crazy fantasy world. It was finally settling into my mind that this was real; this was happening.

After some time, the wheel was no closer to showing any indication of slowing down. I mean, that makes sense; it was choosing between an uncountable number of worlds. Still, I felt the urge to fill the silence.

“So, you mentioned that these are all, uh, 'Multiversal Clusters,' right? What does that mean?”

[Hmm... How to explain. The Multiverse is infinite, that's a solid fact. However a lot of people don't seem to grasp what that entails, what it truly means for something to be Infinite. What is a portion of Infinity? It is still infinity, but a smaller piece of infinity. The total of all universes in the Multiverse is infinite, and the number of universes where-in the events of Star Wars, for example, and all of its variants and permutations are taking place is also infinite. So these infinities are equal, as they are both infinite, yet at the same time the infinite universes with Star Wars are an infinitely smaller number than the infinities of the Multiverse. Do you follow?]

“Yeah, no. I think you've lost me on that.” I swear I could feel my brains leaking out of my ears...

[Alright... Put it this way; picture all of the decimal places between 0 and 1. You know, 0.1, 0.01, 0.001, all the way through 0.9, 0.99, 0.999 etc? That could go on forever, since no matter how long it gets you could still just add another 0 to the front or a 9 to the back, so it will never quite reach 0 or 1. So there are an infinite amount of different, unique numbers between 0 and 1. And each of those unique numbers represents a universe where, say, DragonBall Z's events have happened, with all of its variants. With me so far?]

“Yeah, I think I get it so far...”

[Now, picture all of the decimal places available between 1 and 2, and all of those infinite numbers represent universes where the events resembling World of Warcraft have happened. The infinite numbers between 0 and 1 are equal to the infinite numbers between 1 and 2. And the numbers between 0 and 1 or 1 and 2 are still equal to the infinite numbers between 0 and 2, yet are each only half of the infinite numbers between them. Now picture between 2 and 3, or 3 and 4, or 4 and 5... It keeps going forever, as it hits every number between 0 and infinity. And each amount of decimal numbers between integers is infinite, and as such are equal to the total value of infinity, while simultaneously being an infinitely small percentage of the greater infinity.]

“Okay, that makes sense, I think? I mean I guess the logic is all there...” Seriously, my brain was actively melting out of my head. I was just trying to make small talk, I didn't want to get into a Masters class on theoretical physics!

[Yes, of course it is. Simple.]

That one was straight-up condescending, I just know it! Fucking smug pop-up window...

[But to answer your original question, if you picture that every possible permutation of a certain type of universe are held within those decimal points, then the different integers representing the different types of universe are what's on the wheel. Instead of having every decimal point between 0 and 1 to denote all the available universes with DragonBall Z's variants on the wheel, we just have 0 on the wheel, and if it lands on 0 we'll just throw you into one of those particular worlds at random. It still means that the wheel is infinite, but at least we're only going to have to choose within one set of infinity.]

“So are all of the universes just copies of each other, but some of them might be slightly different? You said 'Variants,' right?”

[Yes and No. Each universe is unique, and vary from each other. Sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot. Worlds within the purview of what you know as the Pokémon universe might vary from as little as Ash wearing a different colored hat, or eating a different breakfast one day, or even something as mundane as the planet weighing 1oz more. Or they might vary as much as Ash dying from Pikachu's thunder attacks, or the entire planet being destroyed under the assault of thousands of magical monsters going 24/7, or even Pokemon overthrowing humanity and they are the ones keeping humans as battlepets instead.]

“Okay, I see. So whatever world I go to, if its even one I recognize, might not be identical to the version I'm familiar with?”

[Correct.]

“Wait, so if every version of every type of world exists out there, does that mean that every fanfiction or SI story exists in the multiverse too?!”

[Yes, it does.]

“Well, damn... I feel sorry for some of those people. Some of those worlds are just completely fucked up.” Suddenly, before the pop-up could respond, the click-click started to slow down, and eventually stopped entirely. The entire wheel slowly started to dissolve, starting at the bottom and going along each edge upwards, until only the single chosen option in the dead center of the top remained. The writing quickly shot down to hover just above the pop-up, but even up close I still couldn't read it. Probably in some kind of weird, R.O.B. language then.

[It is decided. You are being sent to a world you would find most familiar as being similar to the events of the anime Highschool DxD.]

...Holy Shit. This was either gonna be really good, or really, really bad. Highschool DxD had a lot of really awesome power-ups and amazing things I could get and do without too much hassle. If I could get my hands on some Sacred Gears, that would make this whole Gamer thing way easier. However, it also had a lot of really strong people who would have no qualms or issues with killing me really easily without any effort on their part. And I'd only ever seen the anime, I'd never even read the manga or light novels! I had read quite a few fanfictions, including some Gamer fics actually, so I kind of had the gist of the situation for the starting arcs at least. But I was sure there must be a whole bunch of super crazy stuff just waiting to happen in the future I had no idea about. That schmuck Issei barely even got to stop and think about getting with all those cuties in his harem, what with all the insanely powerful-

Wait a second. Hold up.

I was forgetting the most important part of Highschool DxD's entire deal: THE WOMEN! Okay, now, I needed to think again for a moment here. Real talk time: Did going to this world, a world full of really, horribly powerful beings who could literally destroy my soul, seem like a fair trade off for the chance that I might be able to get together with some of those beauties?

Yes. Yes it did.

“Alright then, Highschool DxD it is! What's next?” As I asked, the pop-up suddenly changed, growing into a much larger window. A bunch of sliders and options suddenly lined the edge of the screen, and in the middle was a 3D render of a formless humanoid shape, looking vaguely like a manikin, yet somehow with even less detail. The same text I'd gotten used to since arriving here was now scrolling along the top of the screen;

[Create your Character!]

Suddenly another window popped up overlaying the 3D model, giving me a number of options before I got into actually designing my new body, I guess?

~What sex would you like to play as?~

[Male] [Female]

While I'd known a number of people who would kill for one of these pop-up menus in their real lives, I didn't hesitate to mentally choose Male.

~What race would you like to play as?~

[Human] [Cambion] [Nephillim] [Hanyou]

There were only four options lit up that I could choose from, even though I could clearly see a large number of other options that were grayed out, and written in whatever that weird R.O.B. language I can't understand is. “How come there's only these 4 options? I see a bunch more that are locked.” The normal pop-up gave me an explanation with scrolling text, as the race options were still in front of me.

[When reincarnating to a new body in a new world, you must be sent into a form as close to your previous as possible. For you, that means a human, or at least as close as possible. Therefore your choices for this world are only those with human ancestry. Had you been sent to another world of, say, nothing but mermen you could only be an aquatic creature. Or in a world like Tamriel, you could also be a Beast Race or a Mer, as they are all considered more or less equal.]

“Okay, makes sense I guess. I was maybe hoping for full-devil or something right off the bat for an easy power boost, but I'll take what I could get. Are there any special bonuses or anything for choosing one over the other?” As soon as I asked, the window shifted, growing taller with a lot more detail.

[Human]: The most numerous race on Planet Earth, humans are stock standard, pertaining to no specific Pro's or Con's. They do not have any resistances or weaknesses to attack types, and gain no base bonuses to any attack types. However, due to their adaptability, Humans gain a +10% Exp Boost while leveling, a +1 to all Stats every Level, and have a 1% chance to be born with a Sacred Gear.

[Cambion]: The offspring of a Human and a Devil, Cambions take much of their power from their infernal parentage, yet retain some of the perks of their human heritage as well. Cambions gain a +25% Increased Infernal Resistance as well as a +25% Increased Infernal Damage. Cambions have a +25% Weakness to Radiant Damage. Cambions suffer no penalties in sunlight. Cambions gain access to the Skill: Devil Magic starting at level 1. Cambions are born with Wings, and gain access to the Skill: Fly starting at level 1. Cambions are supernaturally durable, and only take 25% of Non-Magical Damage. Cambions are beings of Sin, and are born with 2-4 Deadly Sin Traits, to be determined at rebirth. Due to the failing Heaven System, Cambions have a 0.01% chance to be born with a Sacred Gear.

[Nephillim]: The offspring of a Human and an Angel, either Fallen or a normal Angel who has since Fallen from committing this act, a Nephillim gains immense powers from their semi-divine parentage. Nephillim gain a +25% Increased Radiant Resistance as well as a +25% Increased Radiant Damage. Nephillim gain access to the Skill: Light Spear starting at level 1. Nephillim are born with Wings, and gain access to the Skill: Fly starting at level 1. Nephillim are supernaturally durable, and only take 25% of Non-Magical Damage. Nephillim are beings of Sin, and are born with 1-2 Deadly Sin Traits, to be determined at rebirth. Due to the failing Heaven System, Nephillim have a 0.1% chance to be born with a Sacred Gear.

[Hanyou]: The offspring of a Human and a Youkai, Hanyou is a broad term that could refer to any half-spirit, half-human, not necessarily just those born from Japanese Youkai. Most Hanyou gain specific traits and skills based upon what type of Spirit their parent is, but they do all have some base traits that are shared. Hanyou tend to display the attributes of their heritage in the form of animal ears, tails, claws or wings, but they may disguise themselves as whatever creature their Spirit half was descended from, as well as a normal Human. Hanyou are capable of using the power of Ki to perform spells and strengthen their bodies, utilizing their own internal energy. Hanyou are supernaturally durable, and only take 25% of Non-Magical Damage. The type of spirit the Hanyou is descended from is determined upon Reincarnation. Due to the failing Heaven System, Hanyou have a 1% chance to be born with a Sacred Gear.

Alright, that was some good info to know. Hmm, decisions decisions... I know it sounded really lame, but I was kind of leaning towards Human. The starting skills for the other races were really good, especially the Nephillim. Having access to Light Spears from the get-go would make dealing with Devils a lot easier, and if I got dropped anywhere near the start of Canon the main baddies were gonna be Fallen and Stray Devils, and then eventually the fight with Riser's peerage if I get pulled into Rias' mess, so the extra damage and resistance to Radiant would be useful. However, it might also alienate the main team there, especially Akeno, who really hated anything that reminded her of her heritage.

As for the reason as to why I was hesitant with the Cambion, I'd be better protected from other Devils, true, but as soon as I fought an Angel I'd still take way more damage from them. When the Kokabiel arc happened, I'd be taking way too much risk. Plus, it seemed like people really didn't like Cambions, if how Vali was treated as a kid was any indication. I liked it a bit more than Nephillim just for the “Devil Magic” skill. Devil Magic was literally based on imagination, and I had an entire lifetime's repertoire of video games, cartoons and comic books to pull from. But I wasn't sure if that outweighed the negatives.

Hanyou might be neat, no weaknesses against the major Factions, but I was hesitant about the randomness of whatever spirit I'd be descended from. I could luck out and be half kitsune, or half inuyoukai, like Inuyasha, or I could get a bug or a fish or something. So I was thinking I'll stick with Human. The free boost to Stats and Experience was going to be a godsend, and if this was gonna be anything like those other Isekai stories I'd be able to find or learn those other skills anyway.

I mentally chose the Human option, and the pop-up disappeared before the character creation screen shot closer to me, so I could see all the details. The 3D model had now filled out to looking like a naked, yet very average human male. My eyes couldn't help but shift to what was to be my new body's groin, and I could confirm that this default was VERY average. I could probably make this look like my old body, if the System let me remember it, but honestly, I was never overly fond of it to begin with from what I remembered, so given the option to upgrade I was certainly gonna take it. This was gonna be fun!

Oh God, that took forever.. . Messing around with crappy character customization for a throwaway game playthrough could already take forever, but when it was going to be your actual body, as well as being such a detailed creation kit, that probably took me literal hours. No way to know in this place. But I was happy to say, I was finished! I gave my creation one last once over, to make sure I was satisfied with it.

It took a lot of doing, and I was sure I messed up somewhere, but since I was heading into an anime world I decided to make myself look like, in my own humble opinion, the King of all anime pretty-boys, Cloud Strife. And I would fight anyone who disagreed.

I think I pretty much nailed the face from the FF7 remake, and the body was pretty easy to get going, too; I just went with a solid, muscular build but still very lean. I was debating making myself just a little taller though, since Cloud was only supposed to be like 5' 6” or 5' 7”, but I decided to just cap him at 5' 7” and be good with that. Besides, people tended to underestimate the little guys, and in a world with people like Cao Cao and Rizevim running around, I really wanted to be underestimated. I went with Cloud because I'd always thought that conventionally “handsome” guys in anime always tended to look really wooden. I was sure the artists were trying to go for super masculine, but I thought it made them look like their faces were carved from blocks of oak or something. Not very attractive, honestly. It was the androgynous pretty-boys who usually stole the show and got the girls. And if anyone tried to give me shit for being “girly?” I'd slap them with the 9” schlong I gave myself! Ha ha! Ah, what was wrong with me... I probably spent too long working on that part, honestly.

And I knew for a fact I spent way too long deciding what to do about the eyes. I was fine leaving pretty much everything else as the default, colorwise, but Cloud's eyes were kinda boring. They're just... blue. They were a pretty blue, admittedly, but I was going into an anime world here, c'mon! I needed something crazy! Eventually after going back and forth forever I decided to go with a nice, pretty lilac color. That did, however, make me go back to the sliders for hair color out of morbid curiosity, and I swapped Cloud's bottle blond for a silvery platinum blond, bordering on metallic gray. I couldn't help the snorts of laughter as I looked at myself; the attractive, androgynous face; the silvery blond hair in Cloud's trademark cut, sticking out in all directions; and the lilac eyes, sparkling in a stereotypical anime manner... I looked like someone's Targaryen OC. I kept laughing, even as I went ahead to accept the body I'd made. I looked damn good, I was sure I'd fit right into the world, and I could give myself a good laugh whenever I looked in a mirror. After a bit, I finally got to the last pop-up for the Character Creation.

~Are you sure this is the Character you'd like to Play as?~

[Yes] [No]

Still chuckling, I selected “Yes,” and suddenly my entire world was reduced to Pain. I'd been numb hovering in this Void for so long, as well as having my mental state screwed with by the R.O.B., that I had forgotten what bodies were supposed to feel like. Suddenly being shoved back into a body, with all of its senses going from 0 to 100 was pure torture. It was like every nerve was firing at once, starting off feeling like pins and needles along all my limbs and spine, then evolving to poison ivy over all of my skin, before finally going to full on bitten by fire ants in all of my muscles.

I had no idea how long the pain lasted. It could have been a few minutes, or a few days. There was no way to tell. All I knew was that eventually, mercifully, I found myself on my hands and knees, panting like a winded dog, with all of my bodily sensations returned to me. I struggled to my feet, nearly falling over and collapsing to my knees before I managed to fully push myself back up onto my feet. The Void seemed to have formed a solid floor under me to give me stability. Still a little wobbly, I managed to stay standing, before looking over my new body. It was an... odd feeling, to look down and see a body that I knew did not match any of my memories.

Still, it was a very nice upgrade, and I couldn't help the grin stretching across my new face as I beheld my nude form. I ran my hands over solid pecs and corded biceps, before tracing my fingers over the soft lines of my new abs, even dipping lower into the 'V' of my pelvic muscles. I stretched and looked over my newly sculpted shoulders to see the sharp lines of my back and, in my opinion, one tight little ass. I ran my hands over my newly softened jawline and thin lips, high cheekbones and sharp nose, learning the new contours of my face by touch. I felt almost like a blind man, in a way, learning a stranger's face. I squatted down to feel my legs, thighs and calves thin yet rippling with strength, seemingly carved from marble instead of flesh and sinew. And finally, I could put it off no longer, I gave my new penis a fondle.

I doubt anyone could find any man in creation who, upon being given a new body, wouldn't immediately feel for the difference in his junk. The fact that I saved it for last should get me bonus points for my restraint, if anything. But still, it looked alright as far as I could tell. Decent length and heft, even while soft. Perfectly straight, uncut and smooth, the only trace of hair being a small thatch of silver above where my shaft met my body. That was the only body hair option the creation menu had, so I'm unsure if I'd just grow normal body hair as I went forward, or if I would stay smooth forever. Might be an anime thing, now that I thought about it. Didn't usually see fuzzy pits, legs or stomachs in most ecchi series.

My impromptu groping session over, I turned towards the pop-up to see what was next. The Character Creation screen was gone, replaced by the original pop-up alongside a few more of the gray Skill screens in front of it. The smaller screens proudly displayed my new skills;

Skill Gained!

{Gamer's Body: Unique}-Passive| Lvl. Max

{Infinite potential in the palm of your hand. Your Body is now a Game Avatar. Your body can be improved through Leveling Up, gaining Skills, or by using special Items and Consumables. Resting in a Bed or other Safe Zone will restore all HP, SP, MP and remove all physical Status Effects. Regardless of damage done to your body, you can only die once your HP reaches 0.}

Trait Gained!

{Adaptable}

{Ah, they grow up so fast, they spread across the world, and in a few generations they become unrecognizable... You are a Human, filled with piss and vinegar, ready to take on the World. Gain an increased 10% Experience from Combat and Quest rewards, as well as a +1 to all Stats every level.}

“Alright, that sounds pretty great. So what happens now- Oh, wow, is this what my voice sounds like?” It seemed like the Game had gone above and beyond for my new body; there hadn't been a voice option, so I was resigned to sounding like my old self, but it seemed like it knew what voice would suit my new look, and with that new husky timbre I sounded just like Cloud. Thank you, Game!

[Now you get to choose your starting stats. We have 3 ways of doing so, so take your pick.]

Another new window popped up in front of me, and I actually did step back in surprise. Now that I had a flesh and blood body again, I could feel the slightly displaced air as these things popped into existence, meaning they are physical objects to an extent, and I had no desire to know what would happen if one popped up inside of my body.

~Choose your Starting Stats!~

Base 10's: You start with 10 in every stat. 10 would be considered an average stat for most normal humans of average health and fitness, and grants you a level playing field to start with. Choosing this option also gives the [Average Joe] * trait.

Standard Array: You may assign any starting value to your stats from the given values of 14, 12, 12, 10, 8 and 6. If you know what type of character you'd like to play, this could give you the opportunity to min-max a bit. Choosing this option also gives the [Same Old, Same Old]* trait.

Roll for Initiative!: You have the option to let Luck determine your future, and can roll 6 numbers to be assigned to your starting stats as you see fit. Potential for very powerful starts, but might come back to haunt you as well. Choosing this option does not give any additional traits.

“Well, seems like someone's a bit of a D&D fan. So what are the stats, anyway?”

[There are 7 Major Stats you should be aware of, as they not only effect your Avatar in some way, but certain Weapons, Armors, Skills and even Classes have specific Stat requirements you have to meet in order to use. The 6 you must choose are as follows:

• Strength (STR) is a factor of how much physical power your body holds, and determines damage dealt by melee weapons and skills, as well as your starting HP and SP.

• Endurance (END) is a measure of your physical resilience, impacting your natural damage resistance and determines your starting HP and SP, your HP gain in the future, as well as your HP regeneration rate.

• Dexterity (DEX) reflects your speed and flexibility, and impacts your movement speed and reflexes, damage with certain finesse-based weapons, as well as your starting SP, SP gain in the future and SP regeneration rate.

• Intelligence (INT) is directly related to how smart you are, and impacts the rate at which you learn new Skills along with Stats gained per level, as well as directly impacting the damage you do with magical attacks and skills, as well as your maximum MP.

• Wisdom (WIS) is how well you apply your intellect, and therefore your magic, and as such effects your natural magical resistance, as well as the effectiveness of certain magical skills and your MP regeneration rate.

• Charisma (CHR) is the deciding factor of your personality, and will determine how much people like you, which will effect Reputation gains and losses and could potentially open or close certain interactions with other people.]

“Alright, seems pretty straightforward... More like Elder Scrolls stats then D&D stats then. Hmm, what are these traits if I choose the first two options..?” Since I now had actual hands, I could physically reach out and touch the pop-up, so I gently clicked on the two listed traits, hoping the * symbol meant that more info was available. I was in luck, as clicking on them opened up a description of each trait.

{Average Joe}

{ Just a face in the crowd, 999,999 in a million, nobody special . Permanently removes first impressions, both positive and negative, from all characters upon first meeting them. Permanently reduces the Stat requirements of Equipment, Skills and Classes by 5%.}

{Same Old, Same Old}

{ You're the kind of person who always orders the BLT, because you like to know what you're getting, huh? Permanently removes random encounters and events, both positive and negative, from the world. All details of Items, Skills and Quests will be available upon first viewing, regardless of Level or Skills.}

Hmm, I didn't know what to do here. I wasn't thrilled by starting at neutral stats if I chose Base 10's, but the second half of that trait seemed like it would be super useful later on. I doubted 5% stat requirement reduction would be too useful starting out, but if I got to the point in any kind of end-game where the requirements for Legendary gear or classes were in the thousands, 5% off would be huge. But again, starting off as an average human, as well as losing out on any first impressions was kind of harsh. If any of the Gamer stories I'd read held true, then the Reputation system was gonna be insanely useful, so losing out on any boost to that would be a no-no.

The Standard Array wasn't usually too bad, I'd made plenty of D&D characters with it before. Granted you a few guaranteed strong stats, with one neutral and one bad. However, it looked like this version had been reduced even further. It looked like... yes, the numbers added up to 60 total, same as choosing Base 10's. Looked like it was trying to balance between the two a little bit. So three above-average, one average and two below-average starting stats... If this were a “normal” game, and I knew what class I was going to spec into, that seemed pretty fair. But this was a Gamer experience, and any inconvenience or handicap at the beginning could be a death sentence. Also, the trait seemed a little lackluster, honestly. Removing any random encounters was like... were you even playing a Game if the system didn't throw crazy curve-balls at you? Plus, while knowing the details of everything from the get-go was a nice bonus, I'm sure I'd be able to do so myself without too much issue before long.

That just left rolling my stats, which would determine whether or not I started off with an advantage, or if I died in my first combat encounter. I could get really lucky, or really unlucky doing that, but it's also my best shot for starting off on a good footing. With no small amount of hesitance, I reached out to press on the Roll for Initiative! option. As soon as I clicked the chosen option, the entire pop-up window suddenly shifted. It cleared itself off and flipped to become a horizontal surface, with all 6 stats written on it in a column, next to blank spots, taking up the left half of the screen. The other half of the surface was empty, and as I watched four red, plastic D6 emerged from the tabletop, and it filled with writing.

~Roll all four dice and drop the lowest number to generate a Stat Value! This Stat Value can be assigned as the starting value for any of your stats. Your current Values are:--, --, --, --, --, --.~

Alright, here goes nothing... I picked up the dice and cupped them in my hands before shaking them gently, listening to the rattle of the plastic. I closed my eyes and tossed them onto the table with a clatter, bracing myself before taking a peak at the first set of results.

The dice showed a 5, a 6, a 4 and a 2. Add them together and drop the 2... I got a 15! Alright, that was already better than the highest option for the Standard Array. Just needed to hope my luck kept up. I swept the dice back up and shook them again before tossing them down once more. This time it was a 5, 6, 5 and a 6, so that's... 17?! Amazing! That was 2 really good scores so far. To my utter shock and joy, my luck stayed strong for the entire process, and I proceeded to roll a 13, a 12, another 13 and a 14 in quick succession. I just stared in amazement, wondering if I was imagining things, but nope. The scores were listed on the screen in descending value, right there in black and white.

~You have rolled all your Stat Values. Please assign your Values to your chosen Stats as you see fit. Your current Values are: 17, 15, 14, 13, 13 and 12.~

Alright, this was really good. Got a really good start here. I just needed to decide where to allocate these scores. After a bit of deliberating, I reached over and dragged the 12 to the Charisma box. While Charisma was going to be an important stat later on, it wasn't as important right now as survivability, and as a stat that had no impact on my physical attributes or combat prowess it got the lowest value. But considering that it was still an above-average stat, I didn't feel too badly about it. I also didn't hesitate before bringing the 17 over to Endurance. As a stat that impacted health, stamina, damage resistance and health regeneration, that needed to be high from the start. I waffled for a bit before assigning the 15 to Intelligence. If that skill only impacted my maximum mana, I might not have given it the second highest stat, but considering that it also directly effects how smart I am as a person, as well as earning Stat points per level, it got the 15. With those taken care of, it was a lot easier for me to assign the rest of the points, and at the end I was left with what I felt was a pretty decent spread.

STR: 14

END: 17

DEX: 13

INT: 15

WIS: 13

CHR: 12

~Are these the Stats you'd like to start with?~

[YES]

I pressed the little Yes button, and the screen cleared and the dice vanished. However, a D20 suddenly appeared on the table, and a new set of writing filled in the empty space.

[There is one last Stat that needs to be addressed. Your Luck (LCK) Stat has no direct impact on you physically or mentally, but will impact everything you do in some way. It increases your chance for Critical Hits, improves the rate of Item Drops, the quality of Loot and the chance for random Events to occur, and improves the overall odds of things going in your favor. Fittingly for this Stat, there is only one way to determine its starting value: Roll the D20.]

“I knew I was forgetting something,” I groaned. The stupid pop-up even mentioned 7 stats at the beginning, and I only rolled 6 of them. How could I forget Luck?! It was one of the most important stats in Gamer fics. Where would the protagonist be without getting a Legendary skill from a Gacha reward, or a really good starting bonus from the first dungeon? I needed this to be a good roll. If I got a 1 for my Luck, it wouldn't matter if all my other stats were at 20, I'd still probably die in a matter of days. With shaking hands, I picked up the D20, and rolled it around in my fingers for a moment. Finally, with a silent prayer, I tossed the die and watched it roll across the screen before coming to a stop.

18.

I let out an explosive sigh of relief. That was really good. That was going to almost guarantee me some good starting loot once I really began leveling and dungeon crawling. The screen rotated back to being a vertical pop-up in front of me again, and started filling itself with more text.

[Your starting stats and attributes have been set, and can now be viewed at any time in your Stats Menu. Try accessing it now by saying “View Stats Menu.”]

“View Stats Menu.” Oh, I'd been wanting to view my menus for ages now! Another pop-up appeared in front of me, this one a sky blue edged in white as opposed to the R.O.B.'s sapphire blue.

Race: Human

Title: The Gamer

Level: 1 (1) [0/1,000xp]

HP: 310/310 (3.4/s)

SP: 440/440 (2.6/s)

MP: 150/150 (13/s)

STR: 14

END: 17

DEX: 13

INT: 15

WIS: 13

CHR: 12

LCK: 18

Alright, looking pretty good here. Stamina regen was a little lower than I'd like, but it looked like I had a pretty decent reserve of it, so hopefully I'd just be able to fall back on my reserves until I could level my DEX and get it higher. Also, I was a little worried about my mana regen. If the mana regeneration formula was so high compared to health and stamina, it was probably because magic was gonna eat through my mana pool really fast. I was already going to be leveling INT for the bonus to Skill leveling speed and the bonus Stat points, but I might need to focus on it to upgrade my mana pool as well. Still, overall I was very happy with my starting stats.

“So what's next?”

[Choose your starting Class! Classes are going to be the major way you unlock Skills, Traits and Attacks as you level. Once you choose a Class, it will level alongside you as you collect experience, and as the Class levels up you will improve the Skills associated with that Class, or even learn new ones. You only have access to a few Classes at the moment, but more can be unlocked through various actions, such as leveling up, maxing out other types of Classes, completing Quests or Story Events, as rewards from Dungeons or as Special Rewards. Which is your preferred starting specialization?]

[Combat] [Stealth] [Magic]

Hmmm... So far, I'd definitely been preaching survivability above all else. But now I needed to stop and think about what that really meant, because this was gonna be an important choice. I think I'd been focusing more on physical survival; being able to take a hit and keep going. That's why I prioritized END earlier. It's the style I preferred in most video games, beefy tanks who could take obscene amounts of damage while dishing out steady hits in return, with bonus points for any kind healing capabilities. It's why I usually ended up as a Paladin or similar in most games. But in the Highschool DxD world, taking most attacks head on was suicide unless you were strong enough to get away with it. I didn't think you could just tank one of Sirzechs' Power of Destruction blasts... So maybe the other options were a better idea.

Stealth class meant I could avoid direct combat entirely, and take out my enemies from hiding without exposing myself to danger. However, that kind of a build wasn't made to take damage, and if I ever did end up in a direct confrontation, or a situation where there wasn't any way to hide myself, I'd be a sitting duck. If this Game followed kind of generic RPG mechanics, though, Stealth would be where ranged builds fit in. Combat Stealth Archer, maybe? It always worked in Skyrim. Damage from a distance solved some of those issues. Although, something like that would probably be locked until I have both Combat and Stealth classes under my belt. Hmm...

I couldn't lie, the thought of doing Magic, actual Magic, being able to just throw my hands out or say some nonsense words and have blasts of fire or knives of ice shoot forward, or have a wave of shadows erupt from the ground, was definitely a childhood dream come true. Depending on the specifics, I could become impossibly BROKEN using magic, just snap my fingers and evaporate my enemies. But again, also depending on the specifics of how the system was gonna handle magic users, they could be so squishy. You always needed to dump points into your mana pool, into your mana regeneration, into casting speed, etc., meaning things like health and strength fell by the wayside. The best option in my opinion would be something like a Battlemage, tough and heavy armor, high health and using support magic to enhance your physical attacks. Maybe even get a healing spell in there, some extra DPS with temporary buffs... aaand I'm back to Paladin again. Hmph. I'm sure there's some kind of Paladin class in the system somewhere, I'd just need to unlock it eventually.

“Hey, are there any kind of multi-class options? Like, have two going at once?”

[After Maxing out a certain number of Classes, there might be a Quest that could be undertaken to unlock Multi-Class capabilities.]

“Alright, and how do I reach max level in a class?”

[Classes are considered to be maxed out at Level 50. Upon reaching Level 50 in any Class, you have the option to either Prestige the Class or pick a new one from your list of available Classes.]

“Geeze... Okay, so I won't be unlocking multi-class for a while then. What happens if I prestige a class?”

[Prestiging a Class allows you to level it again from 0. The levels and Stat Points earned from the first 50 levels will remain, but it will reset the Skills of that Class to 0, if applicable, while upgrading them to the next Skill tier automatically.]

That made me feel a little better, honestly. Seemed like this Game was gonna expect me to have a lot of levels by the end of it, and it offered a lot of variety. I think I was gonna focus on Combat for now, dedicate a few points to INT and DEX here and there as I leveled, and then spec more into Magic and Stealth as I went. And I just realized something, too. While it was true that usually you couldn't just tank certain attacks, in this universe that didn't hold true after a certain point either. I had completely forgotten about people like Sairaorg Bael. Strongest Devil of his generation, pretty sure he was Ultimate Class, and he didn't have any fancy magic or special powers. Dude was just that strong that he could punch in the same weight class as the rest of the magic spitting Devils. And furthermore, if straight-up physical strength and defense weren't valid options, then Ajuka wouldn't have created the Rook Evil Pieces. I'd seen Koneko just shrug off massive explosions and insanely powerful hits like they were nothing.

I laughed, and shook my head. I suddenly felt very silly. I was trying to assign too much real-world logic to this kind of thing. Not only was this a Game, literally designed by higher powers to be entertaining, I was heading into a borderline Hentai world where the main protagonist got power-ups through breasts and the second most powerful being in the world was a Gothic Lolita dragon. There was never any logic here to begin with. Still chuckling, I clicked on the Combat option.

[Combat Classes will enhance your martial abilities, and are predominantly focused on the STR, END and DEX stats. Which class will you start with?]

[Warrior] [Barbarian] [Martial-Artist]

Okay... Barbarian was out, they were usually not allowed to wear armor, and while D&D tends to make them seem like unkillable rage machines, I'm not sure how much of that will need to carry over into the Game. I didn't love the idea of constantly needing to be angry to be any good at fighting. Martial-Artist was out for now, mainly for the same reason that they don't get armor, but also because of the lack of weapons. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of just punching things to start out. However, this world had a lot of Ki usage, with things like Senjutsu and Touki and all that being rather prevalent. Martial-Artist was either a class that used Ki, or was more likely a prerequisite for any class that uses it. So that was on the back-burner for now, but I's probably revisit it once I get a bit stronger, or once I could get multi-class going. I chose the Warrior option, and my vision flooded with pop-up messages.

Skills Gained!

{Standard Weapon Handling: Novice}-Passive| Lvl. 1 (0%)

{ The pointy end goes in the other guy. You have gained a basic understanding of most standard melee weapons, and can wield them reasonably well without hurting yourself. Can do base damage with melee weapons you meet the requirements of.}

{Heavy Armor Proficiency: Novice}-Passive| Lvl. 1 (0%)

{ Bite my shiny, metal ass! You have gained a basic understanding of heavy armor types, and can wear them without penalty. Gains base defense rating from heavy armor you meet the requirements of.}

{Focused Attack: Novice}-Active| Lvl. 1(0%)

{ Strike with the force of a great typhoon. Channel your full STR into your attacks. Adds your STR score as a flat damage modifier to any melee attack. Costs 30 SP.}

{Brace: Novice}-Active| Lvl. 1 (0%)

{ Prepare for impact! While active, all incoming physical damage is reduced by your STR and END scores combined. Channeled Skill. Costs 100 SP maintenance.}

[Class selected: Warrior! View details of your current and available Classes in your Class Menu. Try accessing it now by saying “View Class Menu.”]

[You have gained Active Skills! You could view them and your Passive Skills at any time in your Skills Menu. Try accessing it now by saying “View Skills Menu.”]

I blinked away the after-effects of having like 6 bright pop-up windows suddenly shoved in my face before opening up my Class Menu. It was the same sky blue as my Stats Menu, but didn't show much info.

Current Class: Warrior, Lvl. 1 (0/1,000xp)

Available Classes:

Combat: Barbarian, Martial-Artist

Stealth: Rogue, Thief, Hunter

Magic: Mage, Cleric, Warlock

Combos:

Special:

I couldn't click on any of the other classes for more information about them, so either I had to go into each new class blind or I'd be able to “unlock” it somehow. A little disappointing, honestly. But I guess I couldn't have everything handed to me. I opened my Skills Menu to see how that one was organized. It just listed each Skill I'd gotten so far, and if I clicked on them it brought up the full description again. Useful, but nothing groundbreaking.

“Alright, so that should be everything, right? I've got my new body, got my starting stats and my starting class. Is there anything else we need to do?”

[There is one last option, if you wish.]

A small table rose from the darkness in front of me, and on top of it was a small bowl filled with... fortune cookies? “Um, thanks? I guess?” I reached out for a cookie before the pop-up flashes to grab my attention.

[Before you take the cookies, let me explain. These cookies each contain a Fickle Fortune, each of which will grant you two Traits, one positive known as a Perk, and one negative known as a Flaw, though they are usually linked in some way*. You may take as many or as few as you'd like. Once you are ready to proceed, simply let us know.]

“What's with that little asterisk there, Game?”

[*Due to the effects of a certain Fickle Fortune resulting in a Gamer erasing the Glunck-Pau Gamma series of Multiversal Clusters, as well as the usurpation and eventual dissolution of several System Operators, it has been decided as a whole to remove the negative traits: Asexual, Erectile Dysfunction, Frigid, Premature Ejaculator and Inorgasmia from the System.]

“Wait, wait wait wait... let me get this straight. Some other Gamer got bad traits, and he was blueballed to the point he destroyed a portion of the Multiverse and killed off some of the Game Systems themselves?” I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that, I really didn't.

[We don't like to talk about that. Now either take your cookies or shut up and move on.]

“Fine, fine. I think I'll take a few of them.”

Ah, the good old RPG flaws system. Immediate positive gains for a minor negative that could usually be overcome with time and effort. Depending on what I pulled, this could be pretty useful. Hopefully it was nothing too bad though, but it should be fine... I'd take one and if wasn't too bad I might try for a few more. I picked up one of the cookies and cracked it open before pulling out the little slip of paper; “You look awfully familiar, huh stranger?”

Traits Gained!

{Cool Backstory, Bro!}

{We've heard it all before. Upon entering a new world, that world's history will be rearranged to give you an existing identity and backstory. It will be as if you had originally been born into the world itself.}

{Do I Know You?}

{Your past is a mystery to everyone... even you! Nobody knows who you are, you have no idea where you've come from, and you'll need to find your own identity by yourself.}

[You have collected new Traits! Traits passively effect you and the world around you in many different ways, some good, some bad. You may view any Traits you have collected in your Traits Menu. Try accessing it now by saying, “View Traits Menu.”]

Still a little confused, I ignored the prompt to open yet another new menu. “Um, what does this mean? Don't these just kind of cancel each other out?”

[Hmm, interesting combination. The overlap should mean that while you will have an established identity in the new world, you won't be appraised of the details immediately. You'll most likely have to do a Quest of some sort to unravel your own history.]

“Alright, that's not too bad. Honestly that's just a net gain, since I wouldn't necessarily have had a backstory in the first place, so it basically gave me a quest to gain one. Pretty good, I'll take another one.” Cracking open another fortune cookie, I pulled out another paper; “No pain, no gain!”

Traits Gained!

{“Natural” Gains}

{Gonna have to put an asterisk in the record books. Gain double Stat Points per Level Up. Does not effect Stat Points gained through Consumable Items or Quest rewards.}

{It's All Uphill From Here}

{In my day, we had to level uphill, in the snow, both ways! Leveling Up now requires 25% more Experience per level.}

“Yes!” I was hoping for something like that first skill! Oh, this was gonna be a lifesaver. It was essentially like double levels! I wasn't exactly thrilled with that 25% more experience needed per level, though. That was gonna be really annoying at higher levels, so I was gonna need to overcome that sooner than later. Maybe through potions? Most Gamer stories had XP boost potions, right? Still, pretty good overall. I was a little more hesitant to take another one, since the odds were gonna catch me eventually, but overall this had been a positive. I grabbed one more cookie, and the scrap of paper in this one was... glowing? It read; “You are one of God's Chosen... Punching Bags.”

Rare Traits Gained!

{Soul of a Champion}

{Like a cosmic Cracker-Jack box. You are reborn with a Sacred Gear added to your soul. Sacred Gear will be determined randomly upon reincarnation.}

{Foot in Two Worlds}

{Half-breed. The spawn of two separate races, your existence is an affront to some. Cannot choose a pureblooded race at character creation. Decreased Reputation gains/increased Reputation loss with bigots among both races you are descended from.}

Before I could really even take in those traits, I was suddenly in front of the Character Creation screen again.

“Wait a minute, what's happening here... Oh, God damn it!” Fuck! I went on that whole mental soliloquy earlier about how being human, while boring, was the best choice! And now I couldn't even choose it! Uuuuggghhh!

“Fuck it all! Fine, dammit, I'll take Cambion for the Devil Magic. Can I at least keep my current body!?”

I guess the Game was taking at least a little pity on me, as the Character Creation screen popped up again showcasing my current body. The only difference seemed to be the black wings sprouting from my shoulders, and I think I looked a little more... refined, maybe? Bit sharper jawline, maybe slightly shapelier lips, bouncier hair... I wasn't sure how to put it into words, I just looked a bit better . I mean, I guess Devils were supposed to be incredibly attractive to entice Humans, so it wasn't that surprising, but still. I accepted the new race change, and was once again forced to my knees in pain as my body changed around me.

It felt like my shoulders were being pulled from their sockets, and my skin was on fire as I could feel my features shifting ever so slightly. This change lasted only a few seconds, so not as all-encompassing as the first time, but it was still not comfortable at all. I got back up, and my balance was immediately thrown off by the enormous bat wings suddenly hanging off of me. I instinctively flexed them, and estimated I must have had at least a six foot wingspan. I gently reached out and felt them, marveling at the tactile feedback. They felt like the richest, most luxuriant leather I'd ever felt in my life. I gave them an experimental flap, and was thrown off my feet by the unexpected displacement of mass. Giving them a few more flaps, I think I got the hang of at least moving them around without falling on my ass. I folded them against my back, and shivered as I felt them seamlessly slide into my back , leaving no outward traces that they existed. I looked up, and started to wave away the cloud of gray pop-up boxes that came with my race change.

Traits Gained!

{Hellspawn}

{You weren't merely raised in the Darkness... you were born in it. You are a child of Hell, born from the loins of Devils. You gain +25% Infernal Damage with all Skills and Weapons and +25% Infernal Resistance from all Sources.}

{Prayers Unanswered}

{ Smite me, almighty Smiter! You are an Unholy being, born of the Underworld, mired in Sin. You take +25% Increased Radiant Damage from all sources.}

{Supernatural Durability}

{'Tis but a flesh wound! You are resistant to all forms of Non-Magical Damage, taking only 25% of Damage from Non-Magical sources.}

Trait Lost!

{Adaptable}

Skills Gained!

{Flight: Novice}-Active| Lvl. 1 (0%)

{ To Infinity; and Beyond! You were born with Wings, and know the basics of how to use them. Allows for flight within any area large enough for your wingspan. Costs 5 SP/s.}

{Devil Magic: Unique}-Active| Lvl. 1 (0%)

{ Will the World to Change, and accept nothing less than the fullness of your Dreams. Grants access to the Devils' brand of magic, limited only by the limits of your Imagination. Costs vary based on desired effects and Skill level.}

Alright, I could admit these were some decent skills to have. Aside from the increased Radiant damage, of course. As soon as I stopped being mopey about the lost XP and Stat boost from the Human race, I'd probably be excitedly testing out my wings and Devil magic. But right now, I was still upset. As I cleared out the last gray pop-up, I saw the bowl of cookies was looking as full as ever, and the blue pop-up window was awaiting my signal to move forward.

[Are you ready to proceed?]

That fucking smug pop-up, it knew how pissed I was about this!

“You know what? Fuck it. Last one! One more Fortune, and then I'm done.” I grabbed one final cookie and broke it open with extreme prejudice to read the fortune inside; “ Here's a tip: Become a Pizza Delivery Boy.”

...What in the fuck did that even mean?!

Traits Gained!

{Paradise Lust}

{Bow chicka wow wow. The status of the world is increased from an Ecchi universe, to a Hentai universe. Sexuality is a much more open topic, and sexual situations will happen more frequently, with stronger results.}

{Nobody's Watching for the Plot}

{I only read it for the articles, I swear! The world, or at least some parts of it you will encounter, now runs on Porn Logic. This can effect Allies, Enemies, and World Events at random.}

Huh. Okay. This would certainly be, um, interesting... On the one hand, it meant I'd probably have to fight tooth and nail if I wanted keep my new body's V-Card, and I'm not gonna end up blue-balled like Issei always was, so that's a fun perk. However, Porn Logic was... well it was nonsense. I was going to have to start keeping a freaking tally of all the times a supernatural woman got caught in a laundry machine or something. While this one seemed like a very silly “Flaw,” I knew that realistically it was just going to mean the Game would randomly throw challenges and hardships at me, that just happened to be perversely themed. Oh no... Issei was going to be literally useless in any and all fights, since the girls weren't just going to be naked now if their clothes or armor are destroyed, they were going to be provocatively naked!

“Touche, Game. That's a flaw that will sneak up on people. Doesn't really seem like a bad thing until you really think about it.”

[That's the idea. Are you ready to begin?]

“Yeah, let's do this!” I pumped my fists in excitement, as I felt myself begin to be enveloped by an unfamiliar energy, and the Void and the pop-up slowly faded out in a white haze, though I could see the last few lines of text on the screen...

[Initializing World Transfer in...

3...

2...

1...

Game Start.

Good Luck!]

Chapter Text

(Kuoh Town, ???'s POV)

As I blinked my eyes against the sudden brightness of a noon-time sun, my first thought was that the past few hours or so had been a dream. I must have seen an apartment fire on the news or something, and daydreamed about how I'd respond in such a scenario. Then a brief nap after binging one too many Gamer or Isekai fics, and thus my overactive subconscious giving me a workout with a very vivid dream.

I really wanted to believe that, but I couldn't.

Because even as I hoped it was all fake, I could tell I was lying on my back on the grass of some park I didn't recognize. From the corner of my eye I could see the tops of skyscrapers and office buildings I was also sure I had never seen before in my life. And dead center in my vision were a slew of blue pop-ups. I groaned, and tried to just wave them away for the time being. Luckily after a few swipes they minimized, and I ended up with a small, blue exclamation point flashing in the corner of my vision. Still annoying, but easy enough to ignore for the time being.

With a sigh I sat up before wrapping my arms around my knees and pulled them to my chest. Resting my chin on top of my tented knees, I stared out into the new world around me. Unsurprisingly, it didn't look all that different to mine. A normal, albeit rather large, park surrounded me, as I sat under the shade of a leafy tree just off a nearby walking path. The weather was sunny and pleasantly warm, but I could feel just the barest nip of cold in the gentle breeze, so maybe Spring? Fall? I had no idea. In the background I could hear the gentle bubbling of a fountain, was it the same one Issei died at? Maybe. I couldn't see it from here, and I may not even recognize it if I did.

I could see a small stand nearby, with a few signs displaying prices for whatever it was selling. However, that brought up an issue I had rather obviously overlooked here: I didn't know Japanese. I'd absorbed enough just, like, general anime nerd knowledge to bullshit my way through saying hi, maybe introducing myself and letting someone know I didn't speak Japanese, but that was about it. I also didn't know how to read or write any kanji, so going the “mute foreigner” route and just writing everything down wouldn't work either. With a groan I let my face fall into my hands as I realized I hadn't even thought about such an obstacle before jumping into things.

“Hey, are you alright?” A voice suddenly interrupted my breakdown before it had the chance to build up much steam. I looked up to see a middle-aged Japanese woman in a sundress looking at me in concern. She must have been walking along the pathway and saw my pity party, and decided to check in on me.

“I'm fine, thank you, just having a bad day,” I automatically responded before I could think about it. As she nodded and walked away, I was frozen by the fact that I had just understood and spoken flawless Japanese. What the Hell, how did I do that?! Wait, wait wait wait... That was a thing in Highschool DxD, wasn't it? The Devil race could speak and understand any language! That must be passed down to Cambions as well! Alright, so that was one major issue solved. Considering that I still couldn't read any of the signs on the nearby cart, however, either the ability didn't apply to the written word, or Cambions got a weaker version of the effect than Pure-blooded Devils did. Since I remember both Pure-blooded Devil heiresses seeming to have had no issues with reading or writing Japanese as they played at being schoolgirls, I was going to assume it was the latter.

So I could communicate with people, but I was just functionally illiterate for the time being.

Yay.

Getting over that hurdle, I finally took notice of what I was wearing. Thankfully I wasn't still naked like I was in the Void, or I'm sure the conversation with that woman would have gone very differently. I was wearing a blue tracksuit, like the kind you'd see any anime character wearing during the cliché “training montage” episode, and a pair of cheap white sneakers with socks. The suit was thick blue cotton with white stripes down the arms and legs, and the sneakers seemingly had no brand name to them at all. I could tell I wasn't wearing anything underneath the tracksuit, not even a pair of underwear, so the Game has seemingly given me nothing beyond the bare basics.

I finally pulled myself to my feet and started walking, meandering down the path deeper into the park. As I passed by the cart I saw that it was selling bottled drinks and packaged ice cream. A quiet gurgle from my stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten before I died, and apparently that hunger seemingly carried over to my new body. A quick patdown of my pockets surprisingly did not turn up a wallet full of cash, so the Game was really pulling no punches on the whole “starting from scratch” approach.

I followed the sound of water and eventually entered a wide open area, dominated by a large fountain. Was this the fountain Issei got speared by Raynare at? I didn't know, I couldn't remember the scene in that much detail. It was large, with three jets spraying into the air, before the water splashed down into a large, rectangular pool. It was low enough to the ground that several small children were able to splash and play at the edges. As opposed to that nighttime encounter, the park was much more vibrant during the day. Multiple families wandered around, enjoying the weather, and I watched a few harried mothers pulling some of the small children away from the fountain. A few people in tracksuits like mine or other workout gear were jogging around the far edge of the plaza, and a tight cluster of salarymen in neat suits were cutting through in a hurry. A few tables and chairs were strewn about, as well as several benches, sparsely occupied by those sitting and talking. I gingerly stepped by an older man, tossing seed to the pigeons, before I plopped down onto an empty bench with a huff.

I was really starting to realize what a massive undertaking this whole thing was going to be. In most cases like this that you'd see in anime, the Isekai'd hero would either have a friendly sidekick ready to explain everything and help them get food and shelter on their way to the big city, or the strange new world would inexplicably be like a fantasy RPG and have helpful NPCs ready and willing to offer a warm bed and free meals while they dumped exposition about what needed to be done in the area. By contrast, I had more or less been dumped into early 2000's Japan without any supporting information. The lack of a wallet earlier made me realize I was in a much more dire situation than just not being able to afford an ice cream cone. I had no money for food or shelter; I had no existing house or apartment to live in. I couldn't read or write any Japanese, so my only option to earn money in the interim was going to be manual labor while I taught myself to read and write. Actually, scratch that, I couldn't even get a manual labor job, because I had no ID. No birth certificate or driver's license or passport or anything to show who I was. I was basically an illegal alien as far as Japanese immigration was concerned...

Ugh, this was gonna suck ... Who cares if I was going to be powerful enough to rip the Moon in half someday if I was gonna have to either beg for change or dumpster dive for food in the meantime?! Wait a second... That trait I got, the one that gave me a backstory, it must have kicked in by now! Sure, I didn't actually know my history, but it existed! It might include a house or a bank account, or at the very least some valid ID I could use to get lodging in the short term and avoid being picked up by the human police as an illegal immigrant.

Assuming that the info I did have would be in the pop-ups from earlier, I tried to subtly “drag” them up from their collapsed form, probably looking like an absolute idiot to anybody watching me. Luckily after a few tries I managed to snag them and all of them became full size in front of me again and- oh, wow, there were a lot of them! Even as I read the first one, though, I started to relax, as it immediately made me feel better about this whole situation.

[New Quest Added!]

-{Stranger in a Strange Land}-

[You're certainly not from around here, and while it might be neat to watch you flounder around and try to set yourself up legitimately, that's gonna be kind of boring to watch. So instead, here's an easy way out for you! Don't get used to it, though.

Objective: Complete the Tutorial Dungeon.

Rewards for Success: Access to Instant Dungeons, “Legal” Documentation, { Well Read Tourist} Perk, Newbie's Bangle, ?.

Rewards for Failure: Up to 3 Years of free Food and Housing after being arrested for illegal entry into Japan.]

[Accept Y/N?]

Well, good news for me at least, the R.O.B. would rather let me get settled into things before running off into my misadventures, instead of just letting me struggle to survive from the get-go. As I clicked the Y button to accept the quest, I suddenly fell flat on my ass as the bench I was sitting on disappeared. The bright, sunny park disappeared as well, as I found myself in a dank, dark stone room, dimly lit by two stuttering torches mounted on either side of a banded wooden door. It looked like the most generic entrance to a dungeon from every RPG ever, and I couldn't suppress the grin that grew on my face from seeing it. Before doing anything else, however, I decided to look through the rest of my pop-ups, to try and avoid any more blindsides or panic attacks. Let's see...

[Due to the effects of your Cool Backstory, Bro! perk, the world's history has been altered to fit your existence! You are the-

The rest of the pop-up was just nonsensical scribbles and symbols after that, until the very end when it picked back up.

-Details of your new identity are hidden due to the effects of your Do I Know You? flaw. Must determine your new identity through other means.]

[Skill Gained!]

{&#@!%$ Clan Ability: Starlight Wandering}

Huh, okay, that was really neat. As a Cambion, I was obviously descended from a Devil family, and even though I didn't know which family it was, I still gained their special bloodline perk. Which meant it was probably one of the main, noble families, I guess, since I didn't think most of the other Devil clans had individual traits like that? I'd have to see what that did later on.

[As a Cambion, your Infernal heritage manifests in an increased predisposition towards Sin. You have been mired in 3 Major Sins.]

[Traits Gained!]

{Sin of Wrath}

{Sin of Pride}

{Sin of Greed}

Ughh... I had forgotten about that part. So I'd have to deal with Sins... how was that gonna work with {Gamer's Mind} though? I mean, it protected my mind from outside influence and let me keep my head in stressful situations, so I wasn't sure what's gonna happen. Alright, whatever, let's see what else I'd gotten.

[Due to your Soul of a Champion perk, you have gained +1 Sacred Gear! Randomizing gear...]

[You have gained 1x Sacred Gear: Blade Blacksmith!]

[Skill Gained!]

{Blade Blacksmith: Unique}-Active| Lvl. 1 (0%)

Hmm, I was really hoping for a Longinus, but still, that's pretty useful. That was the Holy Sword version of Kiba's Sword Birth, if I remembered right. The reincarnation of Joan of Arc in the Hero Faction used it, I think, and it had a pretty cool Balance Breaker. I didn't know if that was unique to her though, I might get a different one. Might end up being able to pull an Unlimited Blade Works out of my ass if I was lucky. That was going to be super useful if I ended up fighting against other Devils. Alright, and the final pop-up looks like it just appeared once I entered this place.

[Welcome to the Tutorial Dungeon!]

[This is a Pre-Generated Dungeon that will teach you about combat, how to use your skills, how to use equipment, how loot works, and how to level up. This Dungeon has the following Completion Objectives:

Explore all rooms (0/11)

Fight all enemies (0/25)

Find all treasures (0/7)

Kill the Boss (0/1)

Complete all Objectives for a Bonus Reward!

When you're ready to begin, simply go through those doors, and the tutorial will commence.]

Neat, it looked like the Game rewarded completionists! Before jumping into immediate danger, though, I brought up my new abilities, so I didn't ignore anything super useful, starting with my new “Sins.” Might as well get the worst out of the way.

{Primary Sin of Wrath}

{Shared by all members of Clan &#@!%$. Your Primary Sin is a smoldering Wrath that may take time to fully erupt, but when it does reach its peak your rage could put Satan himself to shame.}

{ Sin of Pride }

{You see no God up here... other than You. You hold the potential to stand above the world, and you know it. You stand proud and unwavering before anyone who comes against you.}

{ Sin of Greed }

{Enough is never enough. There is a hole in your being that hungers for wealth and power; A disease of the heart, which can only be cured by gold.}

I was really hoping for more info on how this is gonna work moving forward... Oh well. So I just needed to keep an eye out for being angry, proud and greedy... Fuck, that's literally just how all Gamers already were in most stories. Okay, I would just try and keep that in mind, and wing it as best I could. Alright, and what did we have for new skills...

{Blade Blacksmith: Unique}-Active| Lvl. 1 (0%)

{Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the Earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a Sword. Grants the ability to create Holy Swords out of Mana, which deal extra damage against Infernal and Undead enemies. Can currently summon: One (1) sword of (Predetermined) appearance. The strength of the sword is dependent upon Skill level. Costs 100 MP. *Swords created by Blade Blacksmith can be used by the wielder without negative effects, regardless of their race or natural ability to wield Holy Swords.}

{Starlight Wandering: Unique}-Active| Lvl. 1 (0%)

{As the Stars start to align, I hope you take it as a sign, that you'll be okay... Everything will be okay... The Legendary Power of Clan &#@!%$. Grants the ability to open portals of starlight to any known location. Mana Cost is dependent on distance traveled and Skill level.}

What. The absolute. FUCK .

I could open a portal to anywhere. Just, fucking open a portal to fucking ANYWHERE. Anytime I wanted! Because that was a totally normal thing to be able to do! Who the fuck was I descended from?! Because if the Devils had had this power, especially the Old Satan faction, they would have just portaled straight into Heaven and started wrecking Michael's shit before he could even respond, so clearly this was from a super rare bloodline or something. Wait a second...

“Oh no... Don't tell me Game, let me guess: This is some kind of super rare clan ability from some supposedly “extinct” family, and the fact that I have it means it's gonna be a super big deal, and I'm going to have to get involved in Devil political bullshit, right? Tell me I'm right?!”

The Game, obviously, did not respond to me. I was just going to assume that that was a yes and move on, because if I spent too long thinking about it, I was going to get an aneurysm. Hmm, actually, could this body even get an aneurysm...? Eh, thoughts for later, it was time to get this shit show on the road.

Without another word, I marched over to the wooden doors and pushed them open, revealing a larger room, also made of stone, but this time with high, vaulted ceilings. The room seemed empty, a few crumbling wooden benches carelessly tossed along the walls resembled pews to my mind, and so I mentally dubbed this room as an abandoned Cathedral in appearance, despite the lack of windows, stained glass or otherwise. Slowly creeping forward, I noticed one object in the middle of the room: a wooden hump-backed chest, roughly 3 feet by 2 feet, and coming up to my waist. It had rusted iron fittings, and a simple latch with no lock. Stereotypical video game chest, really. I cautiously approached the chest, looking around for any monsters or other dangers that would attempt to jump me as I opened it, but I saw nothing. I crouched down, and flipped the latch before slowly opening the chest. Before I could get it more than a few inches open, however, the lid suddenly slammed open, and a brightly colored ball of light shot forward into my face. “Hey!”

I fell flat on my ass and instinctively threw my hands forward in an attempt to swat at the light. Suddenly, I felt a cold rush through my arm, as if I had just passed under an AC vent or something, and a twinge of pain spiked behind my brows like a sinus headache coming on, or having spent too long looking at a phone screen at night.

That's when I noticed I was apparently holding a sword.

It was about 3 feet long, with a simple guard extending 3 inches each side beyond the grip, which was bound in soft brown leather, and was just a bit longer than my hand was wide. The pommel was just a solid metal bottle stopper in shape. The entire sword was made of a light silver metal, which seemed to almost glow in the dim lighting. Wait, no, it was actually glowing... I think I accidentally activated Blade Blacksmith? Before I could open my Menu and see if I used any MP or gained any experience with that Skill, I was interrupted by a high-pitched voice.

“What was that all about?! I'm here to help you out, and this is how you repay me, with a sword in my face?! Maybe I'll just leave you to figure it all out on your own!”

The ball of colored light, which I had forgotten about in my surprise, was hovering in the air in front of me, bobbing through the air in a seemingly agitated manner. The light had resolved into a pale blue aura, surrounding a deeper blue core, which glowed even brighter than my new sword. Coming out of the back of the ball were four little, insectoid wings that seemingly flapped at random, since they didn't match up with the ball's movement at all. A faint trail of glittering motes of light fell from the ball as it moved.

Hold on a second; bright ball of blue light, four wings, and a high-pitched, annoying voice...

“...Navi?” I asked, stunned.

“Hmmph, just because you've heard of me, doesn't mean I forgive you so easily. Say you're sorry! Say it!” The iconic fairy scolded me.

“Um, I'm sorry for pointing a sword at you? I was just surprised, I wasn't expecting you to come out at me like that.” Well this was getting crazy. One of the most memorable video game helpers of all time was going to give me the tutorial for my new life as a Gamer. Okay, made as much sense as anything else I'd been through today, I suppose. Carry on.

“Hmmph! Fine, I guess I forgive you. Just don't do it again.” The fairy started flying around me in a circle, seemingly inspecting me. “You look a little like the first kid I was helping get sorted out on an adventure. But he was more into green than blue. And he was a bit cuter than you~”

Okay, so I was ignoring the fact that Navi was now going on about Link being cuter than Cloud (which, okay, fair) and decided to focus on the tutorial. I got to my feet, using my new sword as a crutch, and dusted off the back of my tracksuit. I interrupted the fairy, who was still prattling on.

“Alright, so let's get this tutorial going. How do we start?”

“Hmm? Oh, right! First things first, we need to go over Equipment! Take a look in the chest!”

She fluttered over to the chest, and started doing languid loop-de-loops in the air over the open container. I went over and looked inside to see what it contained, noticing 4 distinct metallic shapes. A closer look revealed plates of metal, probably armor of some variety, and an unsheathed sword of some kind. Pulling them out and laying them on the ground confirmed my suspicions, this was clearly a breastplate, a pair of arm-guards, and a sword about 2 feet long.

“In order to make sure you're making the best decisions for equipping gear, you'll want to check the status first. Use the Observe skill to see how good that gear is!”

[Skill Gained!]

{Observe: Unique}-Active| Lvl. 1 (0%)

{My, what big eyes you have! All the better to see you with, my dear. Allows you to determine information about Living Creatures, Objects and Locations. The higher leveled a Creature or Object is than the Skill, the less information you will discern about it. Costs 5 SP to use.}

Alright, I was wondering when this was going to come into play. A Game without Observe is basically just another random Isekai, after all. I quickly took a look at the new gear to see what I was working with.

[Iron Breastplate]

A simple iron breastplate of reasonably good craftsmanship. Protects the front of the torso. Capable of deflecting some minor blows. Can be worn over clothing.

[Iron Bracers]

A simple pair of iron bracers of reasonably good craftsmanship. Protects the forearms. Capable of deflecting some minor blows. Can be worn over clothing.

[Iron Shortsword (28)]

A simple iron shortsword of reasonably good craftsmanship. Deals damage equal to STR*2.

Alright, nothing groundbreaking, but standard fair for the start of an adventure. It took a moment of mental math, but I determined that the “28” is the base damage I'd do with the sword based on my stats. I glanced down to my new holy sword, and checked how it compared to the basic starter weapon.

[Holy Longsword (70)]

A blessed longsword of sanctified steel. Used by lower-ranking members of the Church to hunt Devils and Unholy abominations. Deals damage equal to STR*3+WIS , plus an additional 15 Radiant Damage . When fighting an Infernal or Undead enemy, they receive Light Poisoning , doing an additional 5 Radiant Damage per second, for 10 seconds. This effect is renewed upon successive hits.

Now we're talking! This thing was awesome, it did more than twice the damage of the starter sword even before taking the Light Poisoning into consideration. A guaranteed 50 points of chip damage on Infernal and Undead enemies, even if I only scratch them and run away, is nothing to complain about at all. And this was only at level 1 of Blade Blacksmith! I couldn't wait to see how powerful the swords could get once I got that leveled up some more.

“Hmm, looks like you already have a pretty good sword there. Might want to use that instead. You should put the iron sword into your Inventory for later, see if you can do anything useful with it down the line.”

I looked up at Navi, who had flown closer as I inspected the two swords. “How do I do that?”

“Easy! When you're holding or touching an item that you 'own,' you can simply picture it entering your Inventory, and it will go there! Or you can just say, 'Send to Inventory.' Try it out, put the sword in there now.”

I focused on the iron shortsword for a few seconds, mentally thinking about sending it to my inventory, when it finally vanished in a puff of blue pixels.

“Yay, you did it! Remember, you can only store something in your inventory if you could realistically store it somehow normally. For example, you couldn't store an entire building in one go, but could probably manage it if it were broken up into piles of lumber, pipes and nails and such. Now, put on your armor, and let's check out the Inventory Menu!”

Shrugging, I followed the fairy's instructions, and quickly strapped on the armor. I guess that {Heavy Armor Proficiency} skill wasn't lying; I managed to get the breastplate strapped on in no time, and the bracers were fitted without issue, as if I had done it all a hundred times before.

“You can view your total Inventory, as well as any Equipped gear, in the Inventory Menu. Open it now by saying, 'View Inventory!'”

Opening yet another menu, I immediately saw a little portrait of myself floating in front of me. I was wielding my sword in an exaggerated action pose, and had a battle-ready smirk on my face. The entire window was the now familiar sky blue box edged in white, with words written in clear white lettering. Definitely still getting Final Fantasy vibes from the UI. Off to the side of my portrait was a small list under the heading “Inventory” which showed all the items I currently owned. The items I had equipped, such as my armor, track suit, sword and even my shoes, all had a small “>” next to them. The iron shortsword did not have a check, and was showing up under the rest of my equipped gear. I assumed that any equipped items were going to show up at the top of the inventory list, which would make it a lot easier to see what I had at a glance. I noticed a drop-down option next to the Inventory heading, and clicking on it brought up a filter of sorts; I could choose to display All, Weapons, Armor, Clothing, Aid, Crafting or Misc.

“Good job! You can also swap items that are already in your inventory at will without opening the menu. And if you know what you're looking for, you can pull any item out of your inventory by mentally requesting it.”

I played around with this function for a few minutes by mentally swapping my holy sword with the iron sword back and forth a few times without reopening the menu, and taking them out of my inventory and putting them back as well.

“Another function that will most likely be useful in the future is going to be the 'Hide' option. Equipped armor and weapons can be toggled so that you can choose whether or not to display them from the Inventory menu. This will simply hide them from view, without effecting their defensive capabilities or weapon readiness.”

Oh yeah, that was definitely going to be very useful. I didn't want want to wander around Kuoh wearing armor with a sword on my hip; that would immediately key Rias and Sona in that I wasn't an average human. I didn't want them sniffing around me until I was strong enough to defend myself, or at the very least avoid being bowled over by the pushy devil heiresses. I'd leave the display toggled “on” for now, but would have to remember to hide my gear before leaving the dungeon.

“Great job! I think you've got the basics of Inventory management down, so let's head on and learn a bit about combat!”

Navi shot forward and started bouncing around another wooden door at the far end of the room. I took one final look around the room, making sure I hadn't missed anything, before I followed the hyperactive fairy. Approaching the door I pushed it open before entering the next room.

This room was a lot smaller than the cavernous room I had just met Navi in; the ceiling was lower, and the walls were narrower, with a thin coating of grime. Definitely a room that screamed “dungeon,” at least to me. Instead of another treasure chest, the only thing in this room was a pile of green ooze-

Wait a minute... “Observe!”

Green Slime, Lvl. 1 || HP: 50 SP: 00 MP: 00

An enemy! Alright, time to test my mettle. I raised my sword, ready to move forward, before Navi interrupted me.

“Hey! Listen! You've spotted an enemy! Good work 'Observing' it. That will always tell you the name of an enemy, and will usually tell you their level and their health, stamina and mana pools. It won't always work on higher leveled creatures if your own skill level isn't high enough, so make sure to level it up as much as you can. Now, get ready to attack the monster! It's just a Green Slime, so it won't attack you, so no need for any fancy attacks. Just swing your sword at it!”

“That's what I was going to do before you interrupted me,” I groused, but shook it off and approached the Slime. Up close, it looked a lot like someone had taken a massive ice-cream scoop of lime Jell-O and just plopped it onto the floor; mildly translucent, and looking slick to the touch. It didn't seem to register my approach. In fact, I was fairly certain it hadn't moved at all since I Observed it. If it weren't for the fact that it had a health bar, I would have sworn the thing wasn't even alive. Speaking of which, after I used {Observe} the Slime's name, level and stats were still visible, hovering above its head like a mob in an MMO. I raised my holy sword, and gave it a solid swing down. It sheared through the ooze like, well, a knife through Jell-O. The pile shuddered before collapsing in on itself and... evaporating? I guess? There was no body or remains left, it had all vanished in a haze of green steam.

I suddenly saw a small notification flash across the corner of my vision:

+20xp!

“You did it!” Navi cheered excitedly, bouncing around my head. “As you may have noticed, killing the Slime got you some Experience Points, also known as XP. You need XP to level up your Class, which also increases your total Level overall. Classes max out at level 50, after which you can choose to Prestige that Class or pick a different one. Leveling up also grants you a set number of Stat Points to allocate per level, with a base amount of 5 per level, plus an additional point for every 10 INT you have. Leveling up also fully restores your HP, SP and MP. You can only level up once combat is over, though, since total XP is only awarded after combat ends. So don't get in over your head and expect a lucky Level Up to save you! Next, let's learn a little more about Skills.”

As I mentally parsed through the massive info-dump Navi just gave me, she shot forward into the next room, which did not have a door separating it from this room. I followed behind her, sparing one last glance at the stretch of floor that once held a Green Slime, but now stood empty. The following room was a lot rougher looking than the previous two; the ceiling was made of roughly hewn stone instead of orderly bricks, forming a cave-like roof above us. There were two Slimes in this room. However, they were a different color; instead of being acid green, they were a deep ocean blue. I used {Observe} on both of them to see what was different.

Blue Slime, Lvl. 1 || HP: 100 SP: 25 MP: 00

“Hey! Listen! These are Blue Slimes, they're tougher than Green Slimes, and they can attack you back. They might not do a lot of damage, but it's better to be safe than sorry. You have a Skill that helps prevent damage, don't you? Go ahead and activate it.”

Oh, yeah, I did have a Skill for that. I struggled for a moment on how this actually was supposed to work, there wasn't, like, a toggle in the menu or anything... Eventually I stumbled across what I was going to think of as a mental “switch” that corresponded to the skill, and activated {Brace} for the first time. Immediately I felt a little winded, like I had just gone up and down a few sets of stairs or something. It passed after a few seconds, but I quickly brought up my status and saw that my SP now read as 340/440. It didn't go up any more than that, even with my passive regen, so I guess that as long as {Brace} was active then it would just take away from my maximum SP to maintain the Skill. Hopefully the cost would go down as I leveled the skill, otherwise I'd be down almost a full quarter of my SP as I used it for the time being.

I turned towards the Blue Slimes which were, to my surprise, actually moving a little bit. Not very fast, more like sliding around like big goopy snails, but still, proof of life. I raised my sword to attack once more, when Navi butted in with some more “advice.”

“Hey! These guys are stronger than the Green Slime, so you can't kill them in one blow. Try using an Attack Skill to do a little more damage to them!”

I clenched my teeth to keep from snapping at her interruption, and just wordlessly nodded to agree with her before marching up to the closest Blue Slime. Where using {Brace} felt more like flipping a switch, which made sense for a maintained Skill, {Focused Attack} was more like building up the energy inside me, and just kind of pushing it into my sword. As I swung my sword, the edges now encased in a faint red aura signaling the Skill taking effect, the Blue Slime shuddered at the strike and collapsed into a puddle, before bouncing back into shape. However, I could clearly tell that I had done some decent damage, as the HP now read 12/100. I finished it off with a regular sword swing, and it evaporated like the Green Slime before it.

Before I could turn to the other Blue Slime, however, I stumbled and fell to the floor as the very same Slime in question slammed into my chest with the force of a tossed basketball. I think it just... tackled me? I looked down, yeah, there was a splotch of blue on my breastplate. I don't think I took any damage though, the combination of my armor and {Brace} meant my HP hadn't gone down at all. After getting back to my feet, another combo of {Focused Attack} followed by a regular sword slash took care of the second slime.

+60xp!

“Okay, guess the blue ones are worth 30 each instead of 20. Makes sense,” I mused while Navi, who had been hovering near the ceiling during the fight, dropped back down once both were dead.

“That's right! The stronger the enemy, the more XP it drops upon killing it. Fighting stronger enemies is the key to leveling up quickly! Now, remember, XP only levels up your personal level, and the level of your Class. Skills only level up by using them. Take a look at your Skills, I'm sure some of them have gone up a bit.”

At Navi's prompting I opened up my Skills Menu and sure enough, she was right. My {Weapon Handling}, {Armor Proficiency}, {Focused Attack}, {Brace}, {Blade Blacksmith} and {Observe} had all gone up from 0%. {Armor Proficiency} and {Blade Blacksmith} were only at 5% of the way to level 2, but {Observe} was all the way at 30%!

“Most Skills level up rather quickly at early levels, but take longer to level up at higher levels. Standard Skills have a level cap of 50 per Ranking, at which point you can't gain any more Skill XP unless you improve their Ranking.”

“What do you mean by Standard Skills? And Ranking?” I asked, focusing on the fairy who had seemingly gone into full tutorial mode.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah! Skills tend to be categorized into two Types, and two Classifications. Types are simple, “Active” and “Passive.” Active Skills like {Observe} and {Focused Attack} need to be consciously activated, usually with an associated MP or SP cost, and only go up when you use them directly. Passive Skills like {Weapon Handling} or {Armor Proficiency} are always active, and gain Skill XP when their related actions occur, like swinging a sword or getting hit while wearing armor.”

Alright, that made sense. Pretty standard RPG stuff so far.

“Now, Classifications are split between “Standard” and “Unique” Skills. Standard Skills usually come from your Classes, have a set rank, and can be leveled up 50 times before maxing out for that Rank. You'll need to unlock the next Rank of that Skill to level it up any more.”

“But what are the Ranks, and how do you increase them?” I inquired, wondering how this was supposed to work.

“Let's look at one of your skills, {Focused Attack.} See how it's listed as Novice in your Skill Menu? That's its current Rank, and means that you can only level it to 50 at the moment. It's at Novice because you got it as part of your Warrior Class, which is a Tier 1 Class. Standard Skill ranks go from Novice, to Apprentice, to Adept, to Journeyman, to Master, to Grandmaster, and finally to Legendary! Leveling Skills will make them more effective or reduce resource costs, but maxing out for the Rank will usually give them additional effects, too! If you want to increase the Rank from Novice to Apprentice, you'll either need to hit level 50 as a Warrior and get to 50 in all 4 Skills, and then Prestige the Class, which will start the Class leveling over and unlock the next Rank of all the affiliated Standard Skills, or get a Tier 2 Class that also uses the {Focused Attack} Skill, which will also grant you the ability to level to the Apprentice Rank version.”

“Okay, so the Rank of Standard Skills is linked to the Tier of my Class, basically? Either by Prestiging a Class and bringing it up a Tier, or just by unlocking a higher Tier Class to begin with?”

“That's right! And if you choose a higher Tier Class that grants you a new Skill, you'll start with that Ranking unlocked, even if you don't have the lower Ranked version. For example, a Tier 3 Ranged Class that uses the {Aim} Skill will unlock it at the Adept Rank, even if you don't have it at Novice or Apprentice Ranks yet, so you'd be able to level it up all the way to 150 before maxing it out for that Rank.”

“So the highest level a Standard Skill can get to would be level 350, Legendary Rank?”

“That's right! It'll take awhile to get a Skill that high, but the bonuses are worth it.”

“Okay, and so going by that math, there are seven Tiers of Classes?”

“Yup! You'll naturally unlock higher Tier Classes by leveling up different lower Tier Classes, but you can also be given Special Classes as rewards for Quests, find them as Dungeon Loot, or get them from Random Events! These can teach you some really good Skills you might not be able to get via normal Tiered Classes.”

Okay, feeling pretty info-dumped right about now, but that all made sense so far. I'd need to remember to try and Rank up my Skills as I leveled, or they wouldn't keep pace with my overall character level. It'd suck to be at level 400 or something and have my swordsmanship be capped at level 100, Apprentice Rank.

“And then we have Unique Skills,” Navi continued, as we started approaching the next room. “Unique Skills don't have a Rank, but they also don't have a level cap, so you can just keep leveling them forever! Just like with Standard Skills, leveling them can increase usefulness and reduce resource costs, but at higher levels you can gain secondary effects, customization of the abilities, or even spawn entirely new Skills or Traits that are affiliated with the Unique Skill! Unique Skills can take a looooooot of use to level up once they get very powerful though, so make sure to keep practicing! You'll get most of your Unique Skills either from Skill Books, which can eventually be found as dungeon loot or Quest rewards, or be directly awarded them for special events or Quest bonuses. Some Tier 7 Classes also have Unique Skills you can't learn anywhere else!”

Okay, that all seemed pretty straightforward. As far as I could tell from my own Skills, each use of a skill was giving me 5% towards the next level. Well, at the Novice Rank at least. Which, admittedly, was very generous as far as some RPG's went. Something told me that it wasn't going to stay that fast forever though, so I'd make sure to enjoy it while it lasted. Taking one last look around the room, I confirmed it was empty of any more enemies or treasures before following Navi and moving on to the next one.

The next room was a long hallway, similar in design to the previous room, but the walls were starting to become encrusted with slime and lichen, growing in thick patches between the torches burning in their sconces. The scattered light and resulting shadows from the flames danced on the rough stone roof, giving the entire place a very primitive vibe. The floor was different, though, swapping from the even brickwork to hexagonal flagstones. I saw no obvious enemies or treasures at first glance, just a straight hallway to the next door, a barred wooden gate set into the far wall.

As I started forward to cross the room, before I could take more than a few steps Navi interrupted me again, her high pitched voice piercing the silence.

“Hey! Watch out!” She fluttered down and hovered above a flagstone a few feet ahead of me that was noticeably raised- a standard pressure plate trap if I've ever seen one. I could see that there were about half a dozen of them between me and the exit, and they were all pretty obvious to see.

“Yes, it's very clearly a pressure plate trap,” I deadpanned. I was starting to get a little annoyed with Navi's constant interruptions. I mean, I knew it was a meme that she was annoying, but damn. It wasn't helped by the fact that I never really enjoyed tutorial levels that much in video games. I originally grew up playing SNES and PS1 titles, and you'd be lucky to get more than a basic “Arrows to move, A to Jump” kind of text in those before being thrown into the deep end. I didn't mind being told basic information about how things worked, but Navi was driving me a little crazy.

“Well if you hadn't seen it, you could have triggered it! You need to be alert when in an unknown situation!” She scolded me, and I couldn't hold back a snort of disbelief.

“The thing is a good inch higher than the rest of the floor, I'd have to be actually blind not to notice it. I don't need you chiming in every 10 seconds over things I can handle by myself!”

Navi stilled for a moment, before silently rising up to hover a few feet above me as she drifted forward towards the next room. I felt a momentary pang of guilt for snapping at her before I sighed and started walking forward; I'd apologize after we were done with this whole tutorial thing. I easily stepped around the protruding flagstones and approached the next door. It was a large, barred gate, but there was a convenient lever on the wall next to it, rusty and stiff. I grabbed hold and with a sharp tug brought it down, and the door creaked out its irritation as it begrudgingly swung open.

The next room was a near perfect copy of the previous; long hallway, torch sconces along the walls, rough stone ceiling. The only real differences were that the flagstones were in even more disarray, rising and falling in peaks and ditches in random patterns by whole inches at a time, making the floor almost look like an uneven sea of crashing stone. At the far end of the room were three pillars, about waist-height. The middle pillar held another treasure chest, and the two on either side of it were capped by more slimes of a different color. Cherry red in color, with little trunks sticking out of them, like slimy tapirs. Navi was noticeably silent as I entered the room, and as much as I still felt bad for snapping at her it was a nice change of pace. Two quick uses of {Observe} showed me what I'd be dealing with.

Red Slime, Lvl. 1 || HP: 50 SP: 20 MP: 30

As I stepped fully into the room, I must have passed into some kind of awareness zone or something, because the two slimes simultaneously popped up and swung their noses to point straight at me. With a muffled Thuuumph! they both shot out blasts of red liquid.

“Woah!” with a cry I dodged out of the way, stumbling forward as I tried to avoid twisting my ankle on the uneven stones of the floor. Unfortunately getting closer meant the little bastards were more accurate, and when the next volley came I only managed to dodge one of them. I think I must have cracked my teeth with how hard I bit back the scream as one of the attacks hit my shoulder and proved to be highly acidic, melting through the cheap fabric of my tracksuit and burning against my skin. I could feel the goop corroding through my skin into the muscles beneath before it finished, either fading away or being diluted by my blood.

Halfway across the room, no cover to hide behind, and suddenly painfully aware of how much these little fuckers could hurt me, I abandoned all caution and just bull rushed them as fast as I could without tripping and breaking my neck. This went, predictably, very badly, and I caught four more shots as I ran. Two of them splashed harmlessly against my breastplate, but one skimmed the side of my stomach leaving a long gash that throbbed as I ran, and the other hit me square in the leg, burning a hole in my thigh that caused me to stumble and hobble the last few feet towards the pillars as my right leg gave out. Luckily the Red Slimes didn't seem to be able to move, being more like stationary sentries, as they failed to respond as I closed in on them. With an enraged shout, two swift swipes of my sword imbued with {Focused Attack} splattered the Slimes into nothingness as they evaporated like their Blue and Green predecessors.

Fighting back a deep groan of pain I fell to my knees before dropping back on my ass and slumping against the middle pillar. I closed my eyes and thunked my head against it, barely acknowledging the brief flash of “ +80xp! ” across my vision. Navi, who had been silently observing as all of this went down up near the ceiling, circled down to flutter in front of me.

“Those enemies were a bit different. They had ranged attacks, and were able to notice your presence from a much higher distance than the other Slimes. Different enemies may necessitate different strategies to take down. When you used {Observe} you saw that they had MP, which means that they had some form of magical attack. You probably should have tried a different approach.”

“Well what should I have done?!” I yelled at the fairy, opening my eyes to glare at her and determinedly not looking down at what I'm sure are very disgusting flesh wounds. “There was nothing to hide behind or take cover from, and I don't know if you noticed, but I don't have any shield to block with or anything!”

“It was a lot easier to dodge the attacks at range, right?” Navi seemed unimpressed with my excuses, and continued on with her lecture. “If you had kept an eye on them after the first use of {Observe}, you'd see that each shot cost them MP. You could have just dodged until they ran out and then charged them when they were helpless. Or you could have used your fancy new wings and flown over to them, using your maneuverability in the air to dodge better. Could have used {Devil Magic} to conjure up a lightning-bolt or a fireball to chuck at them. Or even used {Starlight Wandering} to open a portal behind them and get off a couple sneak attacks. You had a lot of options back there, but you focused on just rushing in and swinging your sword at them. I know you think I'm annoying, I can tell, but I want to help you get through this alive. But I can't help you if you rush into things half-cocked like that!”

I huffed, and knocked my head back against the pillar in agitation. I was pissed, but not at her. Because Navi was right. I had a whole lot of options to tackle that room, but they all just went right out the window. I was enamored with the novelty of it; I had a magic sword and some fancy armor, and I wanted to swing my sword at monsters. I completely forgot about my other Skills, and just rushed into things like an idiot. If I hadn't pissed off Navi, she may have given me a head's up, but that's the immediate consequences of my own actions coming to bite me in the ass. Some real tough love the Game is giving to me.

“Hopefully you keep all this in mind for the future. And while I am very much NOT HAPPY that you got hurt, this does give me a chance to go over how HP works. Now, tell me, aside from when the attacks actually hit you, beyond the first few seconds of pain, do your wounds still hurt?”

I wanted to answer immediately with a resounding YES! as the memory of my blistering skin and the sound of my muscles burning when the acid sizzled into them came to mind, but I stopped myself when I realized that it was just a memory by now. Nothing actually hurt at the moment; I felt no pain from any spots that had been hit by the acid. Bracing myself to see if the acid had melted through to kill my nerves or something, I looked down at the wound on my leg, and just stared in amazement. Where once was a gaping, golfball-sized hole in my thigh, was now intact skin. The surrounding tracksuit was still burnt and soaked in blood, but the skin was pristine. It was lobster red in color, like a bad sunburn, but even as I watched I could see it slowly lightening to the tone of healthy skin.

“Go ahead and bring up your Stats and view your HP,” Navi ordered.

I did so, and just stared at the numbers that presented themselves. My current health was at [HP:292/310] and even as I watched it quickly ticked back up to full in a matter of seconds. When my HP reached the max of 310, the three spots showed no sign of ever being injured in the first place. If not for the blood and burnt holes in my tracksuit, there would be no evidence I had been hurt at all.

“Something you need to remember from now on is that you're not a normal human anymore,” Navi quietly stated. “You are an Avatar of the Game. You can literally have your arms and legs ripped off, or get your internal organs scooped out, and as long as you never hit 0 HP you won't die. Any fight you can crawl away from and rest for long enough, and you'll wake up good as new. But dealing with those kinds of injuries would still drive a normal person insane with pain, so it's been tempered for you. So yes, you'll still feel pain when getting hurt, just so you're aware that you've been hurt at all. But you won't really need to deal with the pain beyond the initial unpleasantness, and even that has been dulled. Do you think a normal person would still even be conscious after the pain of getting shot at by that kind of acid? No, your sense of pain has been toned way down so you don't go into shock every time you get in a fight and take a heavy hit. Eventually, as you level up and increase your Stats and Skills, you'll find fewer and fewer things that are even capable of hurting you in the first place, and you'll be effected by the pain less and less.”

I slowly, shakily, got to my feet, feeling a little unstable as the adrenaline rush died down and I considered Navi's words. I think I knew, intellectually, that my physical well-being would no longer necessarily match with my actual “health,” but actually experiencing it first-hand and having a fairy lay it out for me in black and white was another thing entirely. That was a truly terrifying experience, and if only for a moment, it made me regret agreeing to this insanity. I had gone from an average guy who had never been in a serious fight, or even broken a bone, to having incredibly potent acid spat at me by Slimes. If the Game was less forgiving, if the acid had gotten into my eyes or my mouth, if I wasn't some kind of superhuman being now...

My breathing sped up, and I felt a cold sweat break out on my forehead.

I wanted to go home.

It was a shitty life, but it was safe and familiar and it was mine. I started hyperventilating, and I was terrified I was about to go into a panic attack or something. However, right as I was sure I was about to pass out, I heard a chime go off, and saw a message pop up in front of me.

[{Gamer's Mind} Triggered!]

All of my stress and tension instantly bled out of me, my breathing slowed down and my legs steadied themselves once more. And it wasn't just the stress of the battle that was gone, I realized, but the stress of the entire day's events; from my death and resurrection to being thrown into another world and dealing with an overly exuberant fairy in a dungeon. I guess everything had just been building this whole time, waiting to bubble over at an opportune moment.

With one last sigh, I pulled myself back together, a lot more calm and centered. I was suddenly a lot more thankful for that Skill, because without it I knew I'd be an absolute mess right now. In my clarity, I could admit that I had made a rather hasty decision in agreeing to all of this; and yes, I was more focused on the future benefits when I was at the level of a God-Slaying Badass, and not as much on the struggles it was going to take or how long the road was going to be to get there. But I had made my decision, and there was no turning back now.

Navi, who had given me some space during my short-lived breakdown, fluttered over and nuzzled against my temple. “I know this is kind of scary right now, but I just know you're gonna do great!”

“Thanks, Navi,” I smiled shakily at her words of encouragement. “And I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. You're just trying to help, and I let everything get to me, and I just... you didn't deserve that. I'm sorry.”

Navi was quiet for a moment, before- “{Gamer's Mind} is a very potent ability, but it has some drawbacks,” she spoke slowly, as if she wasn't sure of the best way to phrase her thoughts, “it's main purpose is, to some extent, to desensitize you to the world you're about to enter. It will prevent you from crossing that threshold, like you just saw, and will prevent any lingering traumas or mental illnesses after the misadventures you are going to go through. But it can't stop you from feeling. You're still gonna get angry at things. You're still gonna get scared. It will just prevent you from fully losing control to those feelings. But anything right up to that point? You're gonna have to keep an eye on that yourself.”

Hmm. In most Gamer fics, the MCs just seemed like they were immune to fear entirely. I didn't know if my version was just weaker, or if that was the difference between a story and reality, for what little that word meant to me any more. But I was glad to have learned this lesson in a relatively controlled environment, as opposed to having it happen in a more life-or-death scenario.

Once more I focused on the little fairy, who had taken to gently fluttering in a circle above my head. “Thank you, by the way. For being here for me, and guiding me through all of this.”

She chimed in joy and bounced a little in the air. “Of course!”

Getting up, I finally turned my attention to the chest that had been sitting, ignored, on top of the pillar I had been resting against. It looked nearly identical to the chest I had found Navi and my bits of armor in, but with the sudden realization of how serious this all was, I didn't want to take any chances, and hit it with a quick {Observe}.

Tutorial Chest (Unlocked)

A simple wooden chest, unlocked, containing predetermined item(s) for your Tutorial Dungeon.

After confirming that the chest was not, in fact, a Mimic or something, I opened the lid and pushed it back to reveal the mother-lode; it was full of gold! Plenty of small, golden coins were spread throughout the bottom of the chest, and sitting on top, half buried, was an ornate wallet made of black leather with gold and silver filigree on the corners. I pulled out the wallet and checked what it was, since it was seemingly the main focus of the chest this time.

[Gamer's Wallet]

A magical wallet that attunes itself permanently to one Gamer. Once attuned, the wallet cannot be opened by anyone aside from its owner, and will automatically return to the Gamer's Inventory if a distance of more than 25 feet comes between them. The Gamer's Wallet can contain an infinite amount of mortal currency, exchange between mortal currencies at will, and allows for the collection of Credits.

Oooh, that's a fun find. Was going to be real useful once I had some cash on hand. Based on the description, and the location of the wallet, I was going to go out on a limb and assume that these little gold coins were the “Credits” it mentioned. I picked one up to take a closer look. It was a golden coin, about as big around as a quarter but a little thicker, and much heavier. One side depicted two long, thin rectangles, parallel yet not mirrored, on either side with a small square near the middle. It took me a minute to recognize it was supposed to be a depiction of Pong. The other side depicted a long, serpentine dragon biting its own tail, encircling the coin's denomination, 1¢r. I used {Observe} for good measure.

[One (1) Credit]

A physical manifestation of a Game Credit, the primary currency found in Instant Dungeons and given as Quest Rewards. Game Credits can be exchanged for mortal currency or spent at the Game Shop.

Wonderful! I tried to put the coin in my Inventory, but it failed to go, just sitting in my palm. It took me a moment to remember the description of the Wallet, and I quickly equipped it before successfully collecting the Credit. When I went to grab the others, they all vanished into my Inventory at once with the satisfying sound of metal coins clinking together. A small pop-up flashed across my vision, similar to getting an xp alert, but this time it read “+500¢r!”

“So what's this about a Game Shop?” I asked Navi as I stepped around the pillar and started making my way to the next room, keeping my eyes peeled for any other obstacles or treasures I may have missed.

“Once you hit a high enough level, you'll be able to access an In-Game Shop and exchange Credits for things like equipment, crafting materials, Skill Books, Stat boosts, summons and more. Eventually you can even join in on the Auctions, and gain access to random items sold by other Gamers across the multiverses! You'll also be able to sell items you make and things you get from the Dungeons that you don't need to get some extra Credits.”

“What level do I need to be to unlock the Store?”

“Level 250! It's only once you're a bit stronger so that the early game isn't too easy for you, and because some of the things are kind of expensive, so hopefully by then you'll have some stable way of gathering wealth.”

“A Game Store with morals? How shocking!” I joked as we passed into the next room.

“Hey! Don't equate the System not giving you an easy out as a kindness. The Store also sells Gacha Tickets with higher rates, you know.” Navi puffed up in faux-outrage.

“My apologies, I was clearly mistaken; the Game Store was obviously made by the Embodiment of Evil.”

We both laughed a little at the lame joke, as I took a look at the next room. It's very clearly not another “lesson” type room, as it was just a massive boxy room with the rocky ceiling covered in moss and vines that were starting to crawl down the walls, flickering lanterns set on hooks around the walls, and about a dozen Blue Slimes wandering around in little clusters. Taking the chance to grind a little bit, I used {Observe} on every Slime, and after the 9^th I got a small pop-up;

[Your {Observe} Skill has leveled up!]

Yay, my first Skill Level! I quickly brought up my Skills Menu to see if there was any change, but aside from now showing me as 0% towards level 3 in {Observe}, there was no other updates. Maybe I just needed to get it to a higher level before it would show any bonuses? I made sure to {Observe} the last 3 Slimes just for the Skill xp as well before thinking of a plan. Didn't want to just wing it in here, or I could get swarmed by the little blue bastards.

I knew I could kill the Blue Slimes in 2 normal hits, but this was a good chance to grind out my {Focused Attack} as well. At my current SP, I could use it 11 times in a row without stopping, just needed to make sure I didn't get surrounded by the others as I was squashing their buddies into goo. Hmm, actually, that was an idea... when I hit the previous Blue Slimes with a {Focused Attack} they collapsed into puddles, and took a few seconds to recover... I could work with that.

With my “plan” in mind I slowly started creeping around the edge of the room, heading towards the nearest cluster of slimes, 3 in a small grouping. Once I was close enough, I rushed forward and let out a sudden flurry of three {Focused Attack} strikes with my sword, and as predicted, all three Blue Slimes collapsed into puddles before they could react. Three more normal stabs finished them off before they could recover. Pleased with how well my plan had worked thus far, I slowly made my way around the rest of the room, taking out the remaining Slimes in clusters of 2 and 3. A couple of them did notice me and attacked before I could stun them, leading into four wet tackles, but they couldn't even break through my {Brace} skill, so I wasn't too worried. My passive SP regen wasn't much at the moment, but it was enough that even the few seconds of sneaking between Slimes was enough to let me do the full 12 {Focused Attack} strikes I had planned.

After killing the last Slime, I took a moment to catch my breath, and looked around the now empty room. I was pleased to note a few glimmers of gold scattered here and there, and assumed that a few of the Slimes had dropped some Credits for me. I walked over them and they automatically jumped into my Inventory, thanks to the Gamer's Wallet I had equipped. The pop-up told me I had collected another 32¢r. I also found two large droplets of semi-solid blue gel, about the size of a lemon, which I identified after a quick {Observe}.

[Blue Gel]

The leftover remnants from a Blue Slime. Can be used to make any number of things. Smells like blueberries.

Neat! Hopefully this stuff wasn't going to spoil in my Inventory; not sure how long it would take to get a crafting Class or Skill. I packed away my spoils, and finally acknowledged the little pop-up in the corner of my vision that happily declared I had gained “+360xp!” Alright, that was some decent experience. I was just over a third of the way to level 2. As I went to make my way into the next room, Navi pulled my attention to a particularly overgrown section of the ceiling.

“Hey! Don't be so hasty to leave 'empty' rooms once all the enemies are defeated. There's treasure hidden everywhere!”

Walking over to where Navi was fluttering, I could see a distinctly boxy shape underneath all of the foliage, tangled in a web of vines. It was too high for me to jump for, and I doubt I could swing my sword up with enough precision to cut it loose from down here, so I tentatively decided to try flying up for it. With a near silent rustle I felt my wings extend from my shoulder blades, shuddering at the unfamiliar sensation, and I gave them a few hesitant flaps before slowly rising into the air. I was still pretty janky in the air, but I managed to get up to the chest and tear it free from the mossy vines before dropping it to the ground. I quickly followed suit, nearly falling out of the air after unbalancing myself. Flying was hard! No wonder we barely ever saw the devils doing it in the show. Still, at least it looked like it was going to level quickly enough; I was in the air for maybe a little over 10 seconds or so, and the {Flight} Skill was already at 65%. It looked like the Skill would be exhausting, but easy enough, to grind levels for.

Another quick {Observe} on the chest to be safe, and I opened it to reveal another piece of armor.

[Iron Greaves]

Simple iron greaves of reasonably good craftsmanship. Protects the legs. Capable of deflecting some minor blows. Can be worn over clothing.

I quickly strapped myself into my newest armor piece. Larger plates of iron covered the outer edges of my thighs, leading into diamond-shaped kneecaps that then fed into tighter plates that wrapped around my calves. They were a tight enough fit I was pretty sure I could wear some boots or something over them without too much hassle. Alright, I was really starting to look the part of an adventurer, almost my entire body covered in iron armor, magic sword in hand. Just missing a helmet, boots, maybe a shield. I quickly jogged over to catch up with Navi, who was already halfway to the next room in the time it took me to get the greaves on.

The next room was certainly different than any of the previous ones. As soon as I passed the threshold, I had to backpedal to keep myself from falling into a pool of brackish water. The room was long but narrow, with high, arched ceilings inset with glowing blue stones. Instead of bricks, the walls were tiled in large ceramic plates, cracked and dingy with moss crawling up the grout. About a dozen different grates of various sizes and shapes were scattered along the walls, trickling a steady stream of water into the pool below, filling the room with the gentle noise of flowing water. There didn't seem to be any way across the pool, no ledges or stepping stones; there were patches of pond scum and lilypads here and there though, and the scent of standing water hung heavy in the air.

Okay, this seemed like a pretty standard dungeon puzzle room; I needed to figure out how to get across without falling in the water. Easy... Maybe too easy. Needed to figure out if and how it was going to try and screw with me... My wings were still out from the previous room, so once more I spread them and started to shakily move forward through the air. I kept my eyes peeled, waiting to see what surprise this room was going to throw at me to mess me up. As I passed one of the grates I got my answer, as the gentle trickle of water suddenly erupted into a geyser as I went by, barely avoiding me as I backpedaled in the air. I got too close to one of the grates on the other wall, and it also erupted into a blast of water like an erupting fire hydrant. I barely managed to retreat to the entryway before I collapsed, panting. I waved away the notifications that my {Flight} had leveled up from the brief exercise. As I sat up and caught my breath, I watched how every grate was now shooting out jets of water at random intervals. I'm sure it had some sort of pattern that I could probably memorize if I paid attention for long enough.

So it looked like the “intended” way to solve this room was to memorize the patterns, and fly across without being hit by the water geysers, since they seemed like they had enough force to slam me into the opposite wall if I got caught. So I could do that after a little trial and error, but I was pretty sure I'd end up in that water at least once. Or...

Focusing on one of the only Skills I had yet to truly examine, I mentally brought up {Starlight Wandering}, pictured the landing on the other side of the room, and waved my hand in a grand gesture, mainly just to see what would happen. Immediately a thick cloud of iridescent indigo smoke, interspersed with the faint imagery of distant stars and swirling nebulae, flowed from my hand and coalesced into a solid wall, before the center of the cloud cleared to show the door leading out of the room. I leaned over and peered past the edge of the wall of smoke, and saw a corresponding bank of clouds hovering at the other end of the room.

I slowly stepped through the portal, and found myself in front of the exit door. I couldn't feel anything odd as I stepped through the portal; no sensation of motion, no chills or pressure, nothing.

That was insane.

I mentally cut the connection of my MP to the Skill, and watched as the portal collapsed into mist before fading away entirely. Suddenly, I fell to my knees with the worst headache I had ever felt in my life; it was like an ice-pick got stabbed straight through my eye into my brain. I collapsed forward, pressing my forehead onto the cool tiles, and grabbed my temples in a vague attempt to stem the pain. After a few seconds, when my brain stopped feeling like there was an immersion blender just going to town in there, I brought up my Stats menu. I remembered the brief headache I got from using {Blade Blacksmith}, and assumed this was also related to using MP. Sure enough, my MP total currently read a mere [MP: 2/150] and rising, so I assumed the pain was the cost of expending a lot of MP at once.

“That's right,” Navi explained, once again seemingly reading my thoughts. “Casting spells or utilizing any “Magic” Skill that uses MP without a {Spellcasting Proficiency} Skill will result in a headache like that. The more MP you use at once, the more painful it is. Consider it like how incredibly sore and painful your muscles would feel swinging a sword and running around in armor without the requisite Skills, only for your brain instead. Leveling up your Wisdom Stat will mitigate the pain to an extent, and once you get a {Spellcasting Proficiency} Skill of some variety it will pretty much go away entirely.”

Alright, that made sense I guess. If I wasn't going to be playing a Magic build from the get-go, the Game may want to discourage me from double-dipping, as it were, until I'm a bit higher leveled. Focus on doing one thing well instead of many things poorly, and all that.

Still, even as my MP regenerated and my headache receded, I felt a little more satisfied about the{Starlight Wandering} Skill not being as abysmally broken as I was afraid it was. Opening a line-of-sight portal, just big enough for me, over a 40ft distance wiped out literally all of my MP after maybe 5 seconds. So my worries about it being a busted Skill from the very start were put to rest. I was sure it would get there someday, but for now it wasn't going to be my go-to. While a super OP Skill right out the gate would've been neat, it felt a little cheap, and I couldn't help but think something like that might mess with my progression.

As I got back to my feet, Navi happily buzzed down and rubbed my temple, before flying in circles around my head.

“Anyway, I'm happy you remembered that Skill, and didn't try to just brute force the water puzzle! Remember, always use every tool in your arsenal, that's what they're there for!”

I smiled up at the fairy as we continued forward, and as we passed into the next chamber I felt a subtle breeze against my face. I closed my eyes and leaned into the light wind; I hadn't really noticed how still and dead the air had been up until this point, but now that I could feel some moving air I wanted more of it.

As I got a good look around the new room, I realized it was massive, easily the largest room in the dungeon I had come across so far. Well, honestly, room might be a bit of a misnomer. We'd exited onto a large balcony situated against a sheer cliff face in a seemingly underground chasm. Easily 60 feet wide and 30 feet to the edge, iron braziers of warm orange flame were spread evenly across the edge, balustrades between them forming a railing. The light from the flames gave the entire balcony a calm, relaxing vibe. The floor was a giant mosaic made up of small tiles coming together to depict a massive, stylized tree with branches encircling the area, with a large stone fire bowl in the middle, complete with a few stone benches.

I apparently wasn't the only one who thought this was a peaceful area to rest in, as I stared in confusion at the two skeletons collapsed in front of the ashes in the fire bowl.

“Um, Navi? What the hell is this? Why are there skeletons in my tutorial dungeon?”

“Well, to be fair, it's not exactly your tutorial dungeon. The Game has a bunch of them that it brings out more or less at random for new Gamers, depending on what kind of System you ended up getting. We maaay reuse some of them from time to time, if the Systems are similar enough. Looks like we missed a little bit of clean up last time this dungeon was run. Sorry about that!”

Okay, well, ignoring how incredibly blasé Navi was being about the dead people in my tutorial dungeon, I cautiously wandered over to investigate. As I looked the two skeletons over, I quickly realized they weren't human remains. The proportions were all off, the skulls had elongated faces and long canines, the hands and feet only had four fingers and toes each, and the spines extended into stumpy little tails. I used {Observe} to see if I could figure out what I was looking at.

Kobold (Skeleton), Lvl 0 || HP: 0 SP: 0 MP: 0

The remains of a nameless kobold Gamer who was unable to survive their Tutorial experience. Were they under-prepared for the challenges? Purposefully misled by their System? Thrown into this life without explanation? Who knows. Their story is already over.

Well, that was a cheery message... I used {Observe} on the other skeleton, just to receive the same message again. Standing next to them, I could see some more details. They had the threadbare remnants of cloth on them, possibly the tattered remains of shirts and pants. One had the rotted, leather remains of a belt, where a chunk of rust that may have once been a knife or dagger was at their side. The other had no noticeable weapon, but a flimsy cocoon of differently colored fabric threads around its shoulders may have once been a cloak or shawl; a caster of some type, maybe? With one last lingering glance I turned away from the rather macabre sight.

I wandered around the landing, looking for the way forward. As I approached the railing, I took a moment to enjoy the airflow, and leaned against the railing as I simply took a breather. As I looked down into the chasm below, I spotted the way forward. About 30 feet down the cliff face, barely illuminated by another brazier, was a massive spear of stone jutting from the wall. Even further down was a smaller orange light I assumed was another one, so I could only assume there were a series of them leading down the cliff. I was surprised I could see anything down there at all, to be honest, but I assumed that Cambions had better night vision than normal humans? It would make sense.

Navi fluttered over to me, and we both just stared down into the yawning abyss below us. The gentle breeze I had been enjoying echoed as it ran downwards, and it bounced off the cavern walls, sounding like the moans of the damned, clawing their way up the cliff-side. After a long moment of silence, Navi piped up, her normally cheerful tone sounding rather forced at the moment.

“Y'know, it's not often that I'm glad to just be a copy of the physical appearance and perceived personality of a character from another dimension slapped over what is essentially a sentient AI system. But the positive of that is knowing I'm literally indestructible, and could outlive the destruction of this entire universe. And that is the only reason I'm going to go down there with you, because this seems scary, and you might die down there.”

“Thank you, Navi, your confidence in me is inspiring, and will keep my heart warm on this toilsome journey,” I sarcastically drolled.

After a quick, steadying breath, I leapt off the balcony, spreading my wings wide to gently glide down through the open air. I gently flapped every few seconds to keep myself on target, the gentle wind trying to nudge me off course as I descended. It took a few, admittedly harrowing, moments of maneuvering in near-total darkness before my feet touched down on solid stone. I approached the warmth of the brazier, letting my wings rest for a moment as I waved away another system notification. It seemed like I was right earlier about how easy {Flight} was going to be to level, as that last glide was enough to bring it up to level 3. Looking over the edge, I spotted the brazier on the next platform of stone further down, as well as something else... a spot of red? I wasn't sure if {Observe} would work this far out, but I gave it a try, and sure enough, Red Slime!

It seemed to be too far away to start shooting at me, but it would most likely start up once I got closer. How did I want to handle this? I could fly down and just try and avoid any of its acid, maybe use {Starlight Wandering} to open a portal behind it and get in a sneak attack... Or, for more fun, I could try out the only Skill I hadn't attempted yet.

Let's see... {Devil Magic} was supposed to be based upon imagination, if I remembered correctly. In the anime, it meant that you could just invent your own spells with enough time and effort, like when Issei invented his “Dress Break” spell out of his desire to strip women naked. However, Navi had already told me I could use the Skill to shoot fireballs and whatnot, so clearly it was different for me, or possibly just different in this universe entirely. I mentally pulled at the energy I associated with the {Devil Magic} Skill, and tried to get a feel for it. It felt very... fluid, for lack of a better term. Ready and waiting to be molded into whatever form I desired it to be. I gathered it into my hands, wondering how to make this work, before another pop-up window suddenly appeared in front of me.

{Devil Magic: Spell Effect Creation}

{Desired Effect Description?_}

Well, that seemed a little anticlimactic. It was just, like, a computer window waiting for an input; it even had a flashing underscore! Whatever... Okay, what spell effect did I want? Let's do a lightning-bolt! Couldn't beat the classics. Did I just explain what I wanted to happen, or..?

“Um, I'd like to make a lightning-bolt, from here to that Red Slime down there?” Did that work?

{Effect Confirmation; lightning extending from [Player]'s current location to designated target [Red Slime]?}

{Y/N?}

The wording on that seemed a little odd, but I guess that was right?

“Yes?” I verbally confirmed, uncertainly. The menu disappeared and I felt a sudden headache as my MP was rapidly drained to fuel the spell. I barely heard Navi scream, “Wait, no!” before I registered an intense light that seared my eyes even as I instinctively closed them, and the sound of a massive conflagration coming into existence in front of me, before the pressure caused my eardrums to burst and all noise ceased. I felt an incredible heat as I was thrown back into the cliff wall, and everything went black.