Chapter 1: An Adventurer is you!
Hiraga Saito was bored. The young man of now 13 years was the curious sort. While he could honestly admit he was average in most aspects, that was more to a lack of interest than anything else. He was by no means lazy and would do any work required of him, but it was only the things that caught his interest that he pursued with any passion. That was why he knew how to sow, bake, and make nearly any manner of dessert you could desire. At one point or another these things had all caught his interest. His current interest was video games, RPG's in particular although he did dabble in other genre's.
So when Saito was wandering Akihabara he found a strange game that caught his interest. The package for the game was an inky black with opalescent sparks and sheens sliding across the simple box. The title was vague, Gamer's Odyssey, however it was the tagline that fired his imagination.
"Life is a Journey, the world may seem like an endless march to oblivion, but what if there was more? What if you could open a door to infinite adventure? What if you always lived in interesting times? This is the key, take your first step unto glory."
Now Saito was intrigued and confused, despite the grandiose tagline there was no description, no images, not even a maturity rating. Just the title, the tagline and, a price tag. 5,000 Yen wasn't that cheap but he could afford it. Shrugging his shoulders at the thought he decided to go for it, it wasn't like he had any plans for the winter holidays anyways. He promptly forgot about it as he went through his list of christmas presents to buy for family and friends.
Later at home, Saito was putting away his purchases when he noticed the game again. Deciding to see what he had paid for he made to open the box. The quality of the package was fairly high and seemed to be made of something more than cardboard, perhaps plastic. Sliding open the box eagerly Saito was blinded by a flash of light and a sharp noise, similar to the sound of an automatic door chime one might hear in a convenience store, if said door chime was a loud as a jet engine. Dropping the box to clutch his ringing ears and blinking away colorful after images.
"Sonova-...", Saito resisted the urge to swear with a flinch and a shudder, a habit formed by his mother and many memories better left out of print.
As his vision cleared Saito glared at the offending box. Picking it up again only to find it empty. Growling he hurled it at his bed.
'Scammed! 5,000 yen for a headache and a box, lovely.'
His mood ruined Saito finished putting away the christmas presents he had bought before taking a bath to cool his head.
Relaxed and vowing to return the game tomorrow if he could find the store again, Saito headed to bed. His head still aching from earlier and Saito was exhausted from combing Akihabara during the holiday rush, he quickly fell asleep.
That night Hiraga Saito dreamed. He found himself in a void, not a cold and empty void like that of outer space, merely an absence of sensation. He could feel his body but could not see much beyond a vague outline. In front of him was the only source of light in the void. A glowing pinwheel of motion reminiscent of a loading screen. After a moment the pinwheel disappeared and lines of text began to form.
New Player Acknowledged…
Loading Physical Data…
Loading Mental Configuration...
Loading Destiny Potential….
ERROR!
Multiverse Connection present…
Configuring Character Options…
Welcome to your new life noob.
Open your Status to get started.
Saito couldn't help but blink in confusion, this was by far the clearest and most bizarre dream he had ever had.
'Well might as well get into it. Status?'
Saito Hiraga
Race: Human Title: None
Level: 0
Age: 13
STR: 6
PER: 4
END: 11
CHA: 9
INT: 13
AGI: 6
LCK: 15
HP: 210
EP: 91
Traits:
Gamer's Soul
Fiction Adaptation
Gandalfr[Sealed]
Lifbrasir[Sealed]
'Cute, I'm 'special' huh? At least the game thinks I'm smart, I'm not too sure about lucky though. Hmm, HP is pretty straightforward what is EP though? Is there a Help guide or something?'
No sooner had he thought the word 'Help' before more text appeared before him.
STR: Strength, raw muscle power, Affects most melee damage as well as non-inventory carry weight.
PER: Perception, your awareness of the world around you, Affects your ability to perceive secrets, lies, special properties and traps.
END: Endurance, you physical and mental toughness, affects your HP, resistance to poison and disease, Together with INT affects resistance to mind control, insanity, etc.
CHA: Charisma, your ability to draw the attention and, affection of others, affects all social interactions.
INT: Intelligence, Your mental acuity, ability to absorb, organize and use information, Affects skill gain, and retention.
AGI: Agility, your reflexes and dexterity, affects movement speed, ranged accuracy, some melee damage and reaction time.
LCK: Luck, How much the universe likes you or likes to screw with you, Affects loot drops, critical chance and random events.
HP: Hitpoints, how much damage you can take before you die.
EP: Energypoints, many universes use different forms of energy to perform various absurd and powerful feats, some of these energies are violently incompatible, lucky for you you have the most basic form of energy available, unfortunately it is one of the most difficult to increase and your efficiency in converting it to other forms of energy is limited by your skill levels with said energy. Some forms of energy you can convert to include; Prana, Mana, Psi, Ki, Chakra, etc.
Gamer's Soul: Allows the user to treat reality as a game, receiving healing and damage in Hitpoints, powers and skills using Energypoints, as well as keeping a cool head in most situations.
Fiction Adaptation: Allows the user to absorb the knowledge of 'fictional' universes and apply them as 'truths'. Some universes may affect the usability of said knowledge in others.
Fiction Adapted:
Lifbrasir: [Sealed] ?
Gandalfr: [Sealed] ?
'I guess that answers that question, kind of strange how it responded though.'
Saito did not have much more time to process this as he felt his awareness fading and the sensation of falling taking over.
Jerking awake to barely catch himself from falling from his bed, Saito's eyes widened as he saw the same floating text from the dream before his eyes again, this time bordered by a faint transparent screen the same blue tint as his eyes.
You have rested in a bed, HP and MP restored, [Headache] Condition removed.
'Oh sweet Kami, it's real! Well that or I've lost it. Wait… crap I can't tell anyone about this they'll just think I've gone back to my Chuuni stage…. NEVER AGAIN!'
Shaking his memories of those dark days. Saito began fiddling with the options while doing his morning ablutions. In his tinkering he found he had a few tabs he could open with a thought.
Menu didn't have much though it felt like it had been left with extra space, aside from the ability to change the font and color of his options there wasn't much else, though he did discover he could turn on a HUD that let him see his HP and EP as two bars and put up symbols if he was affected by a condition. It also placed a digital clock in his vision with a thought.
Memo was handy for taking notes and such, it also had a reminder function he could use like an alarm clock. He particularly enjoyed being able to think memo's directly into existence even if it was only as fast as could type on a keyboard since it left his hands free.
Inventory was hax and he loved it. While he could carry bags and things on his person, the inventory function worked like a hammerspace pocket, similar items could stack and he had 20 spaces to place items. It also looked like he could get more inventory space but he didn't know how yet. The only downside was he needed a free hand to pull something out of inventory and items in inventory could not provide him with buffs, he had to wear them or hold them physically. Though it did mean that any food or perishables he put in there wouldn't go bad, ever.
Status was exactly what it sounded like, it showed his stats, Titles, Traits, Conditions, etc. Pretty straight forward.
Skills was also pretty clear though it could be configured to organize skills into tabs, categories and the like. At the moment he only had a few skills though some seemed to pop up simply by doing them in his daily routine. As of breakfast he had;
Skills;
Cooking: Lvl. 16
Cuisine Known; Japanese, Western, Dessert
Tailor: Lvl. 10
Hygiene: Lvl. 3
Inspect: Lvl. 1
He was curious about the Hygiene, Tailor and, Inspect Skills. Cooking was pretty obvious although it seemed a good dish could provide buffs a failure could work like poison though.
Looking up the Skills he saw;
Tailor: Level 10/50
Rank: Hobby
The ability and proficiency you have in creating, repairing and, maintaining clothing and outfits. Can be used in combination with other skills, to make superior products.
Hygiene: Level 3/10
Rank: Average
The ability to keep yourself and your environment clean, organized and, filth-free.
Keep this skill high to avoid social penalties.
+30% chance to remove Body Odor
+3% to resist disease and infection
Inspect: Level 1/10
Rank: Inanimate, Simple
The skill of observing objects in your environment to gather information on them. Your rank in this skill represents the maximum complexity object you can inspect.
Cost: 1 EP
'Hmm, so skills are a little more complex than I expected, still from what I can tell If I bring up my level I can rank up the skill. Still some skills look like I need to maintain them if I'm reading Hygiene right.'
For noticing key details swiftly, + 1 PER!
'Sweet? I think...? Did I just get insulted? Still this could be useful, I really need to work on Inspect though, I wonder how fast I regen EP?'
Deciding to try it out, Saito Inspected his bookbag for school
Black Messenger Bag
Type: Common
A basic bag used for school or casual errands.
Can be used to store and retrieve items without unequipping.
'I guess that's about right to be expected.'
Saito learned that he regained EP at a rate of 1 EP per minute.
"I will need to figure out a way to increase my EP and my EP Regen in the future.'
Saito decided to head to the park to try out his new ability after breakfast, however on picking up a dropped manga he was halted by a message.
You have acquired a Trait book;
[Card Captor Sakura]
Would you like to use Fiction Adaptation?
Y/N?
Shrugging Saito selected Y, The manga burst into motes of color which streamed into him.
Saito was forced to grit his teeth as memories, fights, and knowledge burned itself into his mind.
Fiction Successfully Adapted! 98% Sync.
Regretting his decision as the pain of the knowledge faded, the memories brought a blush to his face.
'I did not need to know what it looked or felt like to be a Magical Girl'
Skill Gained!
Transformation: Lvl 30/50
Rank: Poor
Forms Available: Magical Girl
This skill allows you to transform yourself to allow you to use special skills, abilities and, powers. Many forms are available all with their own advantages and weaknesses.
Clow Card Magic: Lvl 1/52
Rank: Novice
Cards: Capture
This is the skill to use Clow Cards. Items of incredible power and versatility. Higher Ranks allow the creator to use Clow Cards, untransformed and even create new Cards.
Requires: Magical Girl Condition
'NO NO NO NO, consider these skills sealed, I''m a dude if I'm gonna do magic I'm gonna do it as me!'
Saito shuddered perhaps if he had been older he would not have been as worried about such a skill, and perhaps even seen the potential, but for now he did not.
A few realities to the West….
Issei Hyoudou felt a great loss in the opportunities for perversion in the force and wept.
As did Jiraiya of the Sannin a few more realities North East.
Back to our regularly scheduled reality….
Saito shook his head to clear his thoughts and continued towards the park. As he walked he considered his options.
'I need to be careful with that Fiction Adaptation ability. I mean knowing all that stuff, like how to make Clow Cards is cool but I don't think that means I actually have the skill to do it. Especially if I have to transform to do it. Plus I wouldn't want to fry my brain by grabbing to many different sources. That friggin' hurt. Still I can practice gaining and grinding skills while I come up with a plan for that Fiction ability. Plus that Sync thing makes me wonder how well it would work.'
In the park Saito found a secluded area to try out his ideas. In a few short hours he had Ranked up his Inspect and gained several new skills. He also learned that he won't gain any progress by Inspecting the same object repeatedly.
His skill gain was as such;
Running: Lvl 8/100
Rank: Average
This is the ability to run, sprint and dash.
+8% Max Movement Speed.
Sprint/Dash: Convert EP to Movement speed at 8% efficiency for five minutes.
Climbing: Lvl 5/100
Rank: Average
This is the ability to traverse terrain with both your hands and feet, including vertical and hanging terrain.
+5% Max Climbing speed.
Meditation: Lvl 10/50
Rank: Poor
The ability to calm oneself and reflect. Improves control and perception of internal energy.
+.1% EP regen if Meditating.
Brawling: Lvl 4/50
Rank: Poor
The ability to throw your fists, feet and, any other available body at others with intent to harm. No technique or form, just raw aggression.
+.4 Damage in Unarmed Melee.
Saito had also gained 1 STR and 1 AGI for his exercise. He felt this was an absurdly fast improvement, but then again the power of the Gamer is absurd to begin with. He also could not help but marvel at the changes in his body. He could still feel the exertion from running or climbing and the like, but he never felt like he was running out of energy, in fact if it wasn't for the clock function and the sun changing position he felt like he could have been doing this all night. When he fell from a tree while climbing he could feel the pain from taking damage but after that it was as if nothing had happened. After a few minutes he could feel a see his HP slowly regenerating at about 1 HP per 4 minutes, much slower than his EP but still absurdly fast for life. That on top of the fact that he couldn't find a wound aside from a minor bruise that didn't hurt and faded as he healed.
Heading home Saito continued to plan, because hey, when life is a game everyday is an adventure.
After a quiet dinner where his parents hadn't changed Saito to some comfort in the fact that not everything had changed, his parents were the same as always, his father still loud and boisterous, his mother still calm and sweet but holding that steel edge that kept both him and his father in line.
Relaxing on his bed Saito tried to summon Help on Sync. He was getting the hang of it now with mental commands despite the fact that it felt like something else was living in his head he could talk to with his mind.
Fiction Adaptation:
Sync: This is the percentage that you have accurately synchronized with the 'Fiction' Reality you are adapting to. When drawing on memories, skills and, knowledge from a given reality this is the likelyhood you will be successful in your attempt. Reaching Master Rank in a skill will ignore this failure chance. To improve your synchronization, you can; meditate on a given Fiction, gather more unique ability books on that Fiction or, travel to said Fictional Reality. It should be noted that the last is the only method to reach 100% Sync.
'I'm 98% Compatible with Card Captor?! WHY? Damn it. Wait travel to another reality? You mean I can do that?! Cool! Now I just need to figure out how.'
NEW MAJOR QUEST ALERT!
Opening the Odyssey Gate.
You have realized the potential for infinite adventure within yourself. Now you have to find a way to start your journey. Simple right?
Objective: Use a Method to travel to alternate realities.
Bonus Objective: Use a Method that doesn't doom your home.
Bonus Objective: Use a Method within 3 years, 2 months and 6 days.
Rewards: Title: Planeswalker, +1LVL, +1 to S.P.E.C.I.A.L.
Bonus Rewards: Advanced Rank Skill Book, Epic Rarity Item
Failure: Reluctant Adventurer
Major Quests are automatically added to your Memo section, removing them will deny or Fail the quest, Minor Quests can be accepted or denied, if accepted they will be added to your Memo section.
'HOLY LOOT GODS!'
End Chapter 1
Character Status:
Saito Hiiraga
Race: Human Title: None
Level: 0
Age: 13-17
STR: 7
PER: 5
END: 11
CHA: 9
INT: 13
AGI: 7
LCK: 15
HP: 210
EP: 95
Skills;
Cooking: Lvl. 16/100
Rank: Advanced
Cuisine Known; Japanese, Western, Dessert
Tailor: Lvl. 10/50
Rank: Hobby(Poor)
Hygiene: Lvl. 3/10
Rank: Average
Inspect: Lvl. 3/25
Rank: Inanimate, Complex
Running: Lvl 8/100
Rank: Average
Climbing: Lvl 5/100
Rank: Average
Meditation: Lvl 10/50
Rank: Poor
Brawling: Lvl 4/50
Rank: Poor
'Sealed' Skills:
Transformation: Lvl 30/50
Rank: Poor
Clow Card Magic: Lvl 1/52
Rank: Novice
Authors Basement: Hey guys this is my first fiction on this site, so reviews are welcome. I am looking for a beta if anyone is interested. I have several 'Fiction' realities I am looking to draw from or send Saito to so if you have any ideas you would like to add I'm all ears. Also while it is a long way down the road I am interested in hearing peoples opinions on the possible harem route.