Greetings everyone. For those who are waiting for an update on "The Dream of the Infinite", please allow me to express my sincere apologies as I'm currently having trouble in writing it. It's not really writer's block as I do know what I want to put in... It's just that I have no idea how to actually write it properly. Seriously, I'm having a lot of difficulty in actually getting the idea to take form. How do other authors deal with this?!
So in order to give myself a change of pace, I decided to write a One-shot. Truth be told, the concept for this one was written even before TDoI though the details and the actual events shown were only added recently. This was originally inspired by reading "The Gamer" and reading the LN "Log Horizon".
What started this story was a passing line from Ajuka Beelzebub about making a 'game' and inviting Ise to participate. The game mechanics are based from how Ajuka Beelzebub's [Kankara Formula] works.
A bit haphazardly written so expect it to be messy. i'll probably do some edits on it some other time and maybe I'll continue this someday I get the chance.
*Chichiryuutei = Thanks for the correction. Already edited.
=={Theoria Online}==
*Ring* *Ring*
His slowly opened his eyes as he heard the familiar ringing from underneath his pillow. He was extremely reluctant to get up and decided to simply reach for his phone under the pillow and stopped the alarm. Free from the incessant sound he repositioned himself on the bed and went back to sleep.
*Ring* *Ring*
Five minutes later, he could hear his alarm again.
"Gaaah! Why the heck does it keep ringing?!"
He sat up and reached for his phone. He had to squint a bit and rub his eyes due to the glare of the lights from the screen as he unlocked it.
The screen showed that the alarm was set to go off in full volume every five minutes from 5:00 am onwards. Still sleepy and somewhat confused, he switched the display to look at the time. Only then did he realize why he had gone through the effort of setting up his alarm that way.
The screen displayed that it was 6:55 am.
"Crap! It's already this late!"
Now fully awake, he hurriedly went online from his phone to access a certain website. He typed the full address quickly, his fingers accurately hitting the keys on the touchscreen without pause. The site address was long but due to the amount of times he had accessed it, he had already committed the full address to memory.
One could argue that a website that one would frequent would be bookmarked or at least be found in the browser history but the nature of the site he was visiting was different in many ways.
"Come on! Come on! Make it!"
The second he finished inputting the site address, an intricately designed magic circle appeared right in front of the phone. The screen went blank for a moment as the magic circle spun around. The spinning came to a stop and the magic circle attached itself to the screen. After another flash, the phone display was completely changed.
'You've been provided access, step inside the hidden world'
The text wasn't in any recognizable language. However he could still understand it without trouble.
After the text disappeared, another magic circle was displayed. It was the loading screen.
"Come on! Hurry up!"
Despite knowing that shouting at his phone wouldn't make it load any faster than it already he couldn't help but get frustrated.
*Ding*
The magic circle lit up fully and the display on the screen switched.
"Welcome to Theoria Online" A soft and mature female voice spoke as he was greeted by a beautiful blue haired girl. She wore what could be described as a blue miko outfit with a black chest plate and black hand guards.
Theoria Online was a special game known only to number of people. Out of the billions of people in the world, the current number of players doesn't even reach 4 digits. That number is justified though due to the fact that there were very strict requirements for joining.
There was also the fact that it was essentially impossible to know about the game. The only two ways to know about it would be by getting invited by another player or by pure dumb luck due to special circumstances.
Ise was an example of the latter.
"Okay Fuyu-chan I need to get in the event now! So please make it load faster!"
Ise practically begged the blue haired girl on his phone screen. The girl on the other hand, despite being nothing more than a program, seemed to have sensed the urgency in his words. The loading seemed to have become faster as a result.
The site finished loading as the user interface appeared.
The top part of the screen had the title of the game "Theoria Online" displayed in the same unrecognizable language as shown earlier. Fuyu-chan was positioned on the right-hand side of the screen while there where a list of options on that appeared on the left. He chose 'Quests' from the list. The girl on the screen nodded as she waved her hand to change the display.
On the next screen, he chose the word 'Event', hoping to every god that exists that he would make the cut. The current event had a limited number of slots and the starting time of the registration was at 7:00am in real world time. Despite the small number of players compared to many other online games, the number of slots that were available were even smaller. Though major events did not limit the number of participants, minor events like this one did.
In this case, only 20 players were allowed to participate in the event. Since pretty much every player of the game was both dedicated and obsessed with it, being late even slightly would cause one to lose out and be unable to participate.
"Please let me get in! I've been waiting for this event for such a long time! I can't miss out on this one!"
Minor event usually offered specialized items as a prize for completion. These 'specialized' items are termed as such since they may only be beneficial to certain players. Major events on the other hand, offered rare items that would benefit any type of player.
The event he was trying to join in this case was called "Power Personified" and offered an extremely rare item that he had wanted to get since he had started playing the game.
The "Familiar Class Formula: Dragon Taming", an item, true to its name, that allowed a player a chance to make a dragon into a familiar.
The loading screen appeared once again. At this point there were only two screens that would appear. The first one would be the event screen itself with his Fuyu-chan explaining the details of the quest with her soft and mature voice and gentle smile. The second one would be the normal quest screen where Fuyu-chan would be explaining that he did not make the cut with her soft and mature voice and mocking smile.
Fuyu-chan seemed to be programed to be slightly sadistic.
"Guuuuhhhh... This is my fault… If I had woken up earlier I might have been able to make it… Why!? Why couldn't I have just stopped watching 'The Legend of Oppai' Last night!?"
The loading screen took longer that it usually had, making every second more agonizing for him. Regret and self-pity was slowly swallowing his whole being.
"Please! Please let me participate! I promise not to watch any porn…. For a week!"
He started bargaining hoping that whomever was listening would take pity on him. He had waited for this event for over a year, preparing as much as he possibly could. He had always wanted a proper familiar since he had started playing and he really wanted to get a dragon as one.
*Ding*
His suffering ended as his phone made another sound.
"Master. You have successfully been admitted into the event 'Power Personified'. Please listen carefully as I explain the details of the event"
That moment was and forever will be considered one of the happiest moments in the life of Ise Hyoudou.
=={Theoria Online}==
"Ise, you really should be quiet in the morning. We're going to get complaints from the neighbours again"
"Though it's good you're enjoying yourself son, don't you think you're being a bit too excited?"
He was chastised by his parents as they ate breakfast. His near emotional breakdown, incessant pleas for success and succeeding victory dance could apparently be heard throughout the whole house.
He wasn't sorry though.
"Haahh…. Ise, maybe you should stop playing that and focus on your studies more? How are your grades anyway?"
"Son… It's probably the reason why you don't have a girlfriend yet"
If the situation were drawn into a manga format then the speech bubbles from his parents would most likely be impaling him right now. Grades aside, the world 'girlfriend' was a verbal attack that would normally score a critical hit to his self-esteem. Fortunately, he had yet been able to get over his happiness of getting into the event to even care.
"Kaa-san, my grades are fine. We agreed I can play my game as much as I want as long as I don't get any failing marks right? Tou-san… the game is definitely not the reason why I don't have a girlfriend!"
In fact, the reason why girls had avoided him like the plague was because he was part of the 'perverted trio' along with his friends Matsuda and Motohama. His reputation was only slightly better since his grades weren't abysmal compared to the other two.
He wasn't smart though, in fact he was an idiot, a very big idiot. The only reason that he had above average grades was because he worked extremely hard studying in order to make sure that his mother doesn't take away his phone privileges. The only exception to that were Mathematics and Science subjects that were slightly easier for him to understand. Playing Theoria Online greatly contributed in that.
"Thank you for the food! Sorry, I need to go!" He finished his meal and immediately went back to his room to pick up his bag.
"Ise! Come back before dinner!" His mom shouted as he left his house.
=={Theoria Online}==
He went onto an isolate place and brought out his phone. It was a simple phone that could be bought in stores that he received as a prize in a contest. Though it seemed normal, its operating system was significantly different compared to normal ones.
It also came with countless special features. The app he was about to open was one of it.
"Master, would you like to activate Theoria?"
Fuyu-chan appeared on the screen and magic circles that had 'yes' and 'no' appeared along with her. He used his thumb to select yes and Fuyu-chan showed a smile.
"Understood, Kankara Class Formula: Theoria, activate!"
In the next moment a stream of magical symbols came out from the screen of his phone and covered his body. Afterwards, a magic circle appeared under his foot and slowly went up until it stopped on the top of his head as if scanning him.
"Confirmed. I.D: Hyoudou Issei. Now loading, please do not move until program application has finished"
The seals that covered his body emitted a light then disappeared into his body.
"The process is complete. Please enjoy playing Theoria Online"
Fuyu-chan disappeared from the screen of his phone as she finished her lines. His phone now displayed his status screen. Showing his level, status and currently equipped formulas before setting out to complete the event.
=={Theoria Online}==
=={Tutorial}==
Theoria Online was a unique game that essentially made the more supernatural parts of the real world into a game. The word "Theoria" was Latin for theory. Theories, explained simply, are ideas or principles that are meant to explain various phenomenon. Theories however are suggested ideas that may be true; meaning they there is a possibility that they can be proven wrong.
The creator of the game, Ajuka Beelzebub, firmly believed that every phenomenon could be explained logically. Hence, in order to satisfy his thirst for knowledge and the quest to reveal the truth about every phenomenon, he had created the game Theoria online, a game that allowed its players to test his theories in a fun, enjoyable and creative way.
Ajuka Beelzebub also believed that if one could fully understand a certain phenomenon and is able to break it down into equations and formulae then one could be able to manipulate and alter said phenomenon as one pleases. In line with this, the game is played using 'formulas'. Formulas, defined in the real world, are facts or rules that are explained usually mathematical expressions. In this case however, they are expressed in magical symbols and have various uses in the game.
Game Mechanics:
There are three major concepts that are important to the game. These are 'Phenomenon', 'Formula' and 'Variable'.
'Phenomenon' referred to any event like rain or an explosion or effect like strengthening of material integrity and such things. 'Formulas' allowed players to alter or recreate certain phenomenon and 'Variables' referred to any required object needed by the 'Formula' to work.
Explained simply, 'Phenomenon' was the intended effect, 'Formulas' were needed to create the 'Phenomenon' and 'Variables' where needed by 'Formulas' to work.
For a simple example, the 'phenomenon' is a fireball. The 'formula' used to recreate it is called 'Nature Class Formula: Fireball'. The 'variable' in this case is simply magical energy.
The example is simple but there are many different types of phenomenon. Though simpler phenomena could be done by formulas only requiring magical energy as a variable, a phenomenon like recreating a sword for example would require steel as a variable. Quantity, quality and type of variable needed changes accordingly with he complexity and scale of the phenomenon that a player wants to enact with a formula.
How does one obtain a formula?
Formulas may be obtained by two ways. The first is by winning it as a prize during events or quests. The second is by crafting formulas.
Formula Crafting:
For the second method, 'Theories' must be made. Anyone can create a 'theory' and in order for this to become a formula, it must first be 'tested'. This is done by using 'Experimentation mode'.
'Experimentation mode' serves as special mode that allows one to test a 'theory'. A player needs to execute 'Experimentation mode' from their mediums (usually phones) before any 'testing' can be done. 'Theories' needed 'proofs' (could be likened to experience points) which is provided by testing it in 'experimentation mode'.
'Testing' however needs to be appropriate; improper methods of 'testing' would not provide any 'proofs' for 'theories'.
Explained simply (with analogies added in): 'Theories' can be created by the player at will, before it can be crafted into a 'Formula' (Skill), 'Proofs' (Experience points) must be acquired via 'Testing' while 'Experimentation mode' is executed.
It should be noted that 'experimentation mode' is not required to accumulate 'proofs'. However, accumulation of 'proofs' is significantly slower when not in 'experimentation' mode.
Formula crafting is an extremely difficult method since the proper method to get proofs for the theories is very difficult to identify. Players pool together information in a specially created forum that could be accessed via their respective mediums, often their phones.
The game itself possesses a significant danger as it is played in real life. It essentially turns real life into a game itself only giving its players more control of some of its variables.
There are many things that have yet to be discovered in the game. Though its creator Ajuka Beelzebub had revealed the majority of information regarding the game, he had also made it a point that a lot of extra content remains hidden for the players to find.
This ends the tutorial for Theoria Online.
=={Theoria Online}==
Now we return to our favourite perverted hero.
He opened his phoned and reviewed the quest details.
[Special event: "Power Personified"]
Duration: 24 hours. Timer will start after sunset.
Level Requirement: 50 and above
Quest Details:
=Craft a formula from the theory provided by performing experimentation mode.
=Theory: Impact Damage Reduction
Prize upon completion:
Formula: Familiar Class – Dragon Taming
=Phenomenon: The ability to contract a dragon as a familiar
=Varianble: Magical Energy and a Dragon*
*Dragons may be of any class provided that the player is strong enough to tame it*]
"One day?!" He exclaimed in absolute shock. Formula crafting was a difficult process that could take months to complete even with the proper testing method. A single day was absurd in comparison.
"… Well the theory isn't all too hard to test though"
The impact damage reduction theory was actually already crafted some time ago and resulted into many different variants of formulas. The proper testing method to acquire proofs for the theory involved allowing yourself to get hit by an impact type attack and using magical energy or other available means to reduce the damage. This method however, took at least several weeks to finish.
"The problem is that we need to finish crafting within the day…"
Speed aside, the testing method used would need to provide a large amount of 'proofs' to be able to finish formula crafting in one day.
[Oi, partner. Why not just make the method more difficult or dangerous?]
A voice inside him suddenly spoke. It was the voice of his partner and the resident of his sacred gear, the Welsh Dragon Draig.
"Difficult?" He questioned, not really understanding the suggestion.
[Remember that anti-fire theory you tested in the past? Weren't you able to make it faster when you tested with a more powerful flame?]
"Ah right… When I tried testing with the flame from the stove the proof went up really slowly… but when I tried the actual flames from monsters it went faster" he finished, realizing where Draig was getting at.
He stopped himself, carefully considering whether what he had in mind would actually be worth the prize.
"… Is it really worth doing that for this?" He asked, somewhat hesitant.
[Partner… you've been waiting for this for how long?]
"A year" He replied with an even tone of voice notice Draig's tone.
[…and you've been incessantly telling me this for how long?] He said not even bothering to hide his annoyance.
"A year" He replied with the same tone, ignoring the hint of annoyance in his partner's voice.
[Go. Now.] The commanding tone in Draig's voice could not be ignored.
"Okay, okay… but this is going to seriously hurt…"
He complied, taking out his phone once again. He went into his inventory and chose a particular formula.
Fuyu-chan appeared on the screen once again.
"'Travel Class Formula: Warp Portal, activate"
A stream of magical symbols came out form his phone and surrounded him forming a large magic circle.
"Set destination please"
"D-Dungeon, Cretan Labyrinth" Ise replied, still hesitating.
"Destination set. Transporting in 3…2…1…"
He closed his eyes just as the short bright flash of light covered the surroundings.
=={Theoria Online}==
The place was dim and damp. The air was stale and an ominous feeling surrounded the place.
"… I really didn't want to come back to this place"
Ise said with trepidation. The Cretan Labyrinth was once used for a major event that he had also participated in. The event involved being randomly placed into one of the many designated spots inside the labyrinth and the goal was to get out as fast as possible.
Of course just finding the way out would make for a boring event so the maze was riddled with monsters and traps. The labyrinth was also divided into several sections each of which had their respective time limits. When the time limit was fully consumed, that particular section becomes closed off, effectively locking anyone inside. That was the system used to eliminate the players of the event.
As players get closer to the exit, more and more monsters appear and at the final section where the exit is located, the 'boss' of the labyrinth could be found.
That was the one he was aiming for right now.
"Looks like the system is still in place… I haven't really visited since the event held in here. Looks like the rumours that the paths are randomized are true. Though there doesn't seem to be any other player right now…"
He currently had 'Augmentation Class Formula: Danger Seeker' equipped in order to navigate the maze. It was the same thing he had done in the event, using 'Danger Seeker' to find the most 'dangerous' path, taking advantage of the fact that more monsters appeared the closer it was to the exit. He also equipped 'Stealth Class Formula: Sneak' to avoid the monsters littered around the maze.
"I doubt anyone would be crazy enough to do what I'm about to anyway… Wait… When the heck did I become crazy enough to do something this stupid and dangerous?!"
[You're already here partner so there's no point complaining. You won't be able to exit anyway unless you get out of the labyrinth or you're forcefully transported when the place locks down. Heh, better start boosting]
"Yeah... guess I'll need all the power I can get If I want to live through this… Any chance I can just go home and read some porn books while we think of a better way?"
[No, you've been annoying me with this for a whole year. I'm not about to deal with you complaining about the fact that you didn't get your dragon familiar after this]
"Okay, okay I got it! I just hope that guy isn't still angry from last time…"
He complained as he activated his Sacred Gear while traversing the maze.
=={Theoria Online}==
"…Guurrrk!"
He groaned as he was allowed himself to be hit by a heavy uppercut to the torso. He was sent flying across the room but was able to perform an aerial recovery and was able to land on his feet.
"Haaah…. Haaah… I'm… I'm really starting to wonder whether that prize is worth it…"
He uttered with ragged breathing. A distance away from him was the boss of the labyrinth, the 'Minotaur'; a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man. It's size was easily three times of his and adding to the magical enhancement it seemed to have, each punch would send most to their deaths.
It's punches were classified as an 'impact' attack. True to their speculation, the 'proof' accumulation for every attack they received was massive. There was only one probable reason that other players didn't attempt the same thing.
They were relatively sane compared to him.
"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
He braced his body for yet another attack. He had already triggered his boosted gear and stabilized his power level right before he entered the room. Every time he was about to get hit, he would put his arms into a cross guard and would allow his body to follow along the motion of the attack, reducing the amount of damage he received.
"Gaaaah!"
He was sent flying once again but was unable to land properly as he rolled on the floor. He got back up immediately but had trouble standing. Though he was able to reduce the damage to him significantly, he had been taking blows for some time. He was already exhausted physically and mentally. The Minotaur on the other hand, seemed to want to take things slowly since it seemed to be content in hitting him.
The Minotaur was considered one of the most dangerous event bosses to have been encountered and was considered to have the best in terms of raw power. Right now, even though he already equipped every defensive type and recovery type formula he had in his arsenal plus using his maximum boost capacity, he was still struggling greatly.
He looked towards the open door at the other end of the room. The event in the past didn't require the defeat of the Minotaur. Right now he could easily disengage in battle and leave but he had yet to finish accumulating 'proofs'. He had already been in battle for a good fifteen minutes while in experimentation mode, as he allowed his body to receive punch after punch.
"Just… a bit… more!"
He uttered as he received another heavy punch from the Minotaur. This time however he was sent flying to the wall, hitting it with a loud thud. His consciousness started to fade and to make matters worse, the Minotaur charged, readying its fist to finish him off.
[Partner!]
Hearing Draig's voice snapped him back to the reality of the situation as he put all the power into his legs to dive to side. The Minotaur's fist passes right in front of his face, grazing his nose slightly.
{Testing Complete!}
{Serendipity Achieved! Crafted: Special Skill Class Formula: Absolute Perseverance!}
"…Eh? What?"
[BLOCK!]
Draig's voice instinctively made his body move. He put every bit of power he had left and jumped to the side using the force from the punch to propel him to the other side of the room. He rolled on the ground and sued the last of his energy to stand back up and use the exit before the Minotaur could launch another attack.
=={Theoria Online}==
"Haaah…. Haaah… I am never… going to do that ever again…"
He had his back to a tree as he tried his best to catch his breath and regain some energy.
[Heh. You succeeded though. Looks like you were the first to be able to do it]
The statement made him take out his phone to look at the event quest status. The word 'complete' could be seen. He then switched to his formula inventory, looking for the formula he had just crafted.
"Special Skill Class Formula: Absolute Perseverance. Yeah, I guess I didn't mishear. I think I heard the word 'Serendipity' there too"
He switched his display to the home screen and clicked on the Forum app. He did a search on the word 'Serendipity' to see if anyone had managed to achieve it as well but he got zero hits. He then decided to search for the meaning of the word itself.
"… Ah there it is. 'Serendipity', a fortuitous happenstance or pleasant surprise, luck that takes the form of finding valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for…"
He gathered his thoughts for a bit. The theory 'Impact Damage Reduction' had already been successfully crafted. Formulas that resulted differed but every single one were related to the original concept of 'damage reduction'. Crafting a formula that was unrelated to the original concept of the theory was unheard of. There was also the fact that it was an extremely rare Special Skill Class one.
Special skill class formulas could be counted by one hand and only ever received from special events.
*DING*
"Master. You've received a chat request from M3gane :3. Will you accept?"
"Eh? U-um yeah" He replied awkwardly, a bit surprised at the sudden inquiry from Fuyu-chan.
"Understood. Request Accepted. Video chat has now been enabled."
"Hey… Wha—"
"YOOOOOH! ISE-KUN! You still alive?!"
A female appeared on the screen of his phone. She had yellow eyes and light brown hair and wore glasses with pink frames.
"Y-yeah! I'm fine Kiryuu… Exhausted but fine"
If he convinced himself enough he was sure he could feel a tinge of worry in her question. It was just buried deep under the layers of excitement and amusement.
"Fufufufu… I knew you always wanted the dragon familiar thing but I'm honestly surprised you went this far. When I saw that your location was in the Cretan labyrinth I could pretty much guess what you were up to. Did you and the Mr. Minotaur have a and enjoyable time? Huh, did you?"
"Oi! I don't swing that way! Don't start another weird rumour!"
"Eh? What are you talking about Ise-kun? I'm just asking if you enjoyed the pounding that the Minotaur gave you. I'm sure you can barely stand afterwards!"
"Stop! Please stop! Seriously give me a break!"
He begged with the most pitiful face he could muster. It was difficult to stop Aika Kiryuu when she started rolling like that.
"Fine, fine, I'll let you off this time. So, what formula did you manage to craft? 'Steadfast Body'? 'Iron Defense'? Maybe a 'Ki Barrier'?"
Kiryuu questioned, listing off the common resulting formulas to the Impact Damage Reduction theory. Ise took in a breath before replying.
"I crafted a special skill class formula" He replied with a small grin. Kiryuu went silent as she seemed dumbstruck from what she heard.
"W-Wait! Seriously?! You crafted one?!" She exclaimed, both excitement and disbelief clear in her voice.
"Yeah… I was surprised too. I kept checking my phone and it looks pretty legitimate"
"What were the conditions?! The formulas you had equipped?! What about—"
"W-wait! Calm down, I can't answer when you ask so many things at once!"
"T-This is amazing! We need to see if we can replicate it!"
"Haha, yeah. Maybe we can find a way to make more Special Skill Class formulas. Okay, the formulas I had were—"
*DING*
"Master. You've received a message. Please read it immediately as it is of great importance"
"Ah wait a sec Kiryuu. Just need to take a look at this"
"Hmmm? Ah sure, go ahead"
Fuyu-chan's voice was a bit more assertive than usual so he felt the need to check the mail. He switched the display to his inbox but still left the video chat active.
His jaw dropped from what he read. He rubbed his eyes and reread the message again just to make sure but the words did not change.
"N-No way!" He couldn't help but shout. Barely able to contain his excitement.
"Eh? Eh? What is it Ise-kun? Did you get sent some lewd pictures or something?" Kiryuu asked, her curiosity piqued from his reaction.
He didn't respond and just forwarded a copy to her.
Subject: Event Completion and Rewarding
From: Satan_Blue
Congratulations on being able to complete the event quicker than most. I had honestly expected that I might have to extend the time period as I felt that it was too short as it is but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that someone was able to clear it in less than 2 hours.
In order to receive your reward as well converse about the peculiar experience you've recently had, I would to request that you meet me personally. You are free to decline the invitation and will still be able to receive the reward by other means; however I insist that you accept.
Best Regards,
Ajuka Beelzebub
=={Theoria Online}==
Well, thank you for taking the time to read this. The game mechanics were something I thought up on whim. I think it was done pretty well, do you?
Haha, if I think about it, the Evil Pieces and Angel's Cards could be considered class change/promotion items right? Well that's an idea for the future.
This probably remain as a one-shot for now
G'night for now. I promise to update The Dream of the Infinite within this week. Thank you for anyone who decides to review :D