Bwaaahhh! Hello everyone!
I bet you weren't expecting this, were you? Yeah, well, expect this AND something else similar in the near future!
I'M BACK BAYBAY *Austin Powers face*
Anyways... D'arc Game of Life's 20th chapter will come out relatively soon. It will be there before the 1 year anniversary of the last chapter!
I will not become like TFS with Hellsing Abridged! I will endure!
I will fight!
I WILL WIN!
Now then... let's just jump right into this, shall we?
Why not?
Oh right, I know why not! Because I need to make something clear!
So... this story will be purely for me to just do as I want with the powers of The Gamer. This story's very existence breaks my personal rule of "You only have 1 Gamer story, so you have to make that 1 chance count!", so I have this story, AND another story also coming soon that takes the opposite approach.
If DGOL is the mid-level in terms of power scales, then this story reaches higher, and the other story will be another Gamer where Jaune chooses the path of a warrior and it will reach lower than DGOL's power scale, if not by too too much (because awesomeness is AWESOME!)
This is NOT replacing DGOL! DGOL is NOT cancelled! This is merely a breath of fresh air before I tackle making the rest of chapter 20 of DGOL.
Now, with all that said and done, let's get to it!
Chapter 1: Ready Player One
(Earth, 2018, USA, somewhere in Texas)
(3rd person POV)
In the town he lived in, a young man lived. Going to college, trying to keep his lazy life from falling apart through his academic efforts, dealing with poor health and sleep, he was pretty run-of-the-mill as far as college was concerned.
Plonking his head onto his pillow, he sighed and felt the wet pits of his shirt, "Goddammit... need to go to the store soon. Stupid phone, needing to charge." he sighed and got up, going over to his desk and checking his wallet. Credit cards, fifty bucks from Christmas, and his driver's license.
He took a moment to look at the picture of his younger self, cleaner cut hair and less beard, happier and overall more full of life. That was back when he was in high school. He was only 21 now, and already his life seemed to be a drag. He couldn't even make a nice, legible signature like the one below the picture, which neatly spelled out 'Zachary Willstock'. It was still his first license card ever received, but he had to renew it this year.
However, he didn't let that discourage him. He just... didn't. Maybe it was a mental fortitude or maybe it was apathy, but he didn't experience existential dread. Maybe he just wasn't in that kind of position in life, but he wasn't really sure.
Sighing, he plopped down in his computer chair, a loud noise accompanying his terribly overweight body hitting the padded surface and the force subsequently being transferred to the rigid parts of the chair, causing the floor to creek slightly. He rolled into position and switched tabs, "Might as well try to type some more on DGOL before I go." he quickly brought up the document and opened a new tab to check the reviews he hadn't replied to. Sighing, he began typing out responses, smiling at the nicer ones, and adopting a heated glare when replying to a few unjust and unkind words, "I'm not perfect, the quality of my work is limited to the quality of my abilities as an author. As I wrote the fucking story, I improved, that's why the earlier chapters are lamer compared to the later ones." he sighed and lowered his gaze, turning skype on when he thought about the ending to his conversation with his friend last night.
It went... poorly. Brendan had written out three ideas, one involving Locke and Janus, one involving Ronin and Izanagi, and the final involving Locke and Cloud. He sighed, "Fucking... I know it's not, but still... it feels like it was cucking Farin's family legacy, giving away the Buster Sword." he sighed again, scrolling straight back down to the bottom after reading a couple of nicer messages, mainly involving two other characters. At the bottom he saw the numerous links he'd provided to images of a fluffy anime catgirl, and smiled. Thinking on it a little longer, he switched back to his Youtube tab and was pleased to see the youtuber who had the catgirl as his mascot, and unpaused the video.
Watching the last few videos of said Youtuber in his massive, swollen, burgeoning Watch Later list, he went back to the Fanfiction tab and quickly scrolled down to the bottom, "Hehe... Turkish Oil Wrestling. Honestly, it's fucking ridiculous, but it'll DEFINITELY get the girls looking at Jaune more sexually. Don't wanna overdo it, but still... fuckin' GREAT fuel. What if I made one of them develop an oil fetish?... no, that'd probably be weird. Even just one or two weird fetishes is enough. Alright..." he typed all throughout his speech, thought paused to go back and fix something.
...
After a while, he checked the time, "Fuck! Nearly noon. Better check my phone." rolling his chair over to his bed, he grabbed the old android phone and checked the battery, "Seventy-eight percent... good enough." he unplugged and pocketed it, then rolled back to his desk and grabbed his wallet and keys, then stood up.
He grabbed his drink container, put on his flipflops (even though it was the middle of January, he didn't care. He had a good resistance to the cold), then walked out of his room, making sure to turn the light off on his way out.
He passed by his mom in the living room, as well as his mom's nurse, "I'm going to the store. Do we need anything for the house?"
His mother looked like she didn't know anything, and the nurse got up after a couple of seconds, "I thiiiink... maaaaybe... lemme check."
After a few minutes and a couple more items jotted down in Skype, he exited the house and got into the family's car.
Plugging up his phone again before taking off, he checked his messages. Brendan hadn't woken up yet, no news from his Fanfiction friends, so he was clear to go.
Just then, his dad called.
...
Driving down the highway at a strong 80 miles per hour, he held his phone low, occasionally glancing at it to make sure The Machine was making what it needed to. He hummed softly and stretched his neck, then cursed when he realized that some jackass had blocked his exit, "GODDAMMIT!" he held the steering wheel straight, checking one last thing on The Machine, "Shit!" he accidentally started a battle, and had exchanged his one-hit weapon with a different one after a previous battle, "Fuuuuck fuck fuck fuck." he rapidly tapped at the six buttons, then looked up.
He was dangerously close to the wall of the high-rise ramp that led to the interstate, and let out a loud, stuttered curse as he threw his phone aside, trying to correct his course.
Too little too late, unfortunately, as fate decided to take a big fat shit all over him, and his worst fear was realized.
Going much too fast, he hit the wall and the car jumped and crumpled, rolling up and tipping over the edge.
Screaming at the top of his lungs in true, unadultered fear, his eyes bugging out of his head, he watched the ground, once probably three hundred feet above him, rapidly approach.
The car flipped over, and slammed into the ground below.
The roof caved in... and so did his skull.
(An unknown amount of time later)
(Zachary's POV)
Consciousness faded in, and I resumed screaming. The world rose suddenly as I shot up, finding myself laying on the ground in the middle of a forest clearing. My voice pierced the air, and I panted heavily, fighting to get to my feet before falling again, feeling almost weightless.
Adjustments being made. Please wait.
A blue window popped up in front of my eyes, and I froze in place.
"... a Gamer window?... no... no fucking way..." way, it seemed. I struggled to move, but my body seemed to be fading in and out of being able to be controlled. My struggles died as they were being made, and came back to life after I'd already fallen.
I gave up and took a deep breath, panting heavily as the cold ground below me reminded me that it was still winter.
"A Gamer window... meaning I'm seeing Gamer things... the fucking awesome but fucking FICTIONAL shit I write about... goddammit... this is a dream, or heaven, or hell, or... what?" I watched the swirling 'loading' circle rotate on the blue window as I slowly rolled over. Grunting, my body still felt completely numb, but I tried to sit up.
Suddenly, I shot up as the window shifted, and I coughed heavily as I read the words.
Welcome to The Game! Several adjustments have been made on your part to make The Game easier! Be thankful, as this was done to increase enjoyment!
Let's get started, shall we?
I hit 'Yes' with a thought, looking down at my suddenly oversized clothes.
Excellent! First off, The Game's core powers!
-.-.-.-.-.-
You gained the skill "Gamer's Body"
You gained the skill "Gamer's Mind"
You gained the skill "Gamer's Sight"
You gained the skill "Gamer's World"
You gained the skill "Gamer's Soul"
-.-.-.-.-.-
I read through everything, gaining a point in INT in the process. It was all fairly standard stuff. Gamer's Body converted all physical damage to HP damage, instantly recovered body damage, made it so I don't have 'weak points', meaning I could get my head blow off and it'd come back immediately with no problems, as well as negating many physical debuffs and removing the need to eat or sleep, though doing so would give me buffs.
Gamer's Mind was the standard 'no mental debuffs, reduces intensity of emotions to manageable levels, keeps me calm, allows undisturbed focus', as well as a repeat of Gamer's Body negating pain almost entirely. I'd still feel SOME pain, but it'd be a tiny amount.
Gamer's Sight replaced what most called 'Observe', and gave the usual gathering info when observing something, however it currently only let me see 20 levels above my own.
Gamer's World, surprisingly, gave mention and cover to the whole 'quests, loot, and giving everything a stat block' thing, which I honestly never thought was needed, as it was sort of automatically covered in the overall sense of "The Game" being an RPG.
Gamer's Soul, however, was the most intriguing.
Gamer's Soul (Passive & Active) Level: NULL
The Soul of The Gamer. Grants the power of The Game and makes the owner The Gamer. However, Gamer souls come in many shapes and sizes. However, what determines this? What is The Game? Where does it want The Gamer to end up? Is The Gamer's path predetermined, or is it forged by The Gamer's own free will? Who knows?
Grants ownership of The Game.
Allows The Gamer to level their Character separate from Stats and Skills.
Grants additional unseen bonuses based on what kind of Gamer that The Gamer is.
Gamer Type: ?
"I... had this kind of thought before..." I stared at the info before me, stunned, though Gamer's Mind kept me thinking.
I'd thought of it a number of times. What kind of path did a Gamer take? What did they become based on their choices? Did they get led down a certain path by the author who wrote them, or did the author who wrote them separate themselves from their character and wrote what they felt was best for them to do?
Basically, was the fictional "free will" of the character what determined the path they followed, or the very real plans of the author who wrote them?
Did The Game develop organically, or along a set plan?
The Star, The Wizard, The King, The Tree, The Warrior... all were ways to go.
Who determined which way would be gone?
Contemplating the nature of The Game has increased WIS and INT by 1!
More info on "Gamer's Soul" has been added!
Another few windows popped up, but I read the new info, which basically gave definition to the different 'ways' I'd thought of. The Star was simply a hugely powerful soul with lots of magical capabilities and overall power. The Wizard was the same but with much less physical power and following primarily the mental stats increasing, the opposite being The Warrior who focused on physical stats and had less MP and more HP and SP, which in themselves increased the power of their soul.
The King was simply a great leader and a mighty fighter who used any style really, but focused on being the greatest among his peers. Simply speaking, it adjusted relative to the power level of the world.
The Tree was basically Yggdrasil, stretching far beyond any of the others through combining all aspects imaginable, which was basically what I had written for DGOL Jaune's soul.
Huh... speaking of my story, I ought to read the rest of these windows, just to be better informed.
Gamer's Body has increased sub-standard stats to a default 10!
Gamer's Body has adjusted your weight, height, and age according to The World's needs. You have been compensated, so congrats!
Weight reduced from approx. 380 lbs to 130 lbs. Your VIT has increased by 1 point for every 10 pounds lost!
Height reduced from approx. 5'8" to 5'6". Your VIT has been reduced by 1 point for every inch lost!
Age reduced from 21 to 16! STR bonus negated! DEX increased by 1 for every year lost! VIT not affected!
Gamer's Body has removed the trait "Astigmatism"
Gamer's Body has removed the trait "Fat Guy Lungs"
Gamer's Body has removed the status effect "Irritated Bowels"
Gamer's Mind has greatly reduced the duration of the status effect "Phys-shift Adaptation"
Well... that explained the emptiness on my face. I rubbed my eyes and blinked about a dozen times, just enjoying the fact that I didn't need glasses anymore. It was awesome! I let a fart rip and didn't need to fear for anything else coming out either!
"God... fucking... DAMN..." I stretched and nearly lost my pants, my boxers clinging to my waist weakly as my pants fell down, "Oh right... FUCK... I just basically lost 250 pounds instantly. Dammit, all the clothes I own are 3XL or higher... wait a second... how the hell am I not freaking out in every sense of the word about becoming a Gamer?"
Gamer's Mind, right... actually stopping to think, I realized that my shaking wasn't from the cold, but rather from what would have been overwhelming emotions, mainly excitement, flooding my mind. Thank god for THAT at least!
"Alright, alright... let's just see... fuckin'... read the rest of these windows." I cracked my neck and sighed, looking at the next window.
QUEST RECEIVED!
Quest: No Streaking!
Objective: Find some clothes that fit you.
Failure Conditions: Get arrested. Get banned from all clothing stores within a reasonable distance.
Time Limit: 1 week
Reward: New clothes that fit. Not getting arrested for indecent exposure. Other rewards based on completion conditions.
Penalty for Failure: No new clothes, your old ones are all you have. Get arrested.
Penalty for Declining Quest: You sick fuck, walking around with your wiener hanging out. You disgust me. AND everyone around you.
Well... I can see that The Game has my kind of humor. I'll get started on that ASAP, after finishing reading these other windows.
I was meticulous like that.
Gamer's Sight leveled up by 1!
Gamer's World has identified the Template World you have been sent to.
You are in the Template World "Remnant, of RWBY"
OH FUCK YES!
Time to find mah boi and mah waifus!
First up, though... I skimmed through the rest of the windows. Thinking about features introduced them into The Game, and also increased my CHA for reasons I knew of.
Simply put, my CHA increased because CHA is not only physical looks, but also charm and self-expression. With enough of it, I could probably develop Telekinesis just through sheer willpower becoming supernaturally strong enough to affect the physical world.
However, before I could develop any Telekinesis or anything, I need to check the most important thing!
THE PROFILE!
-.-.-.-.-.-
Name: Zachary Willstock
Title: The Gamer
Level: 1 (+1) = 2
Class: (none)
Nickname: Butthead
HP: 330/330 (+330) = 660
AP: (Locked)
SP: 330/330 (+330) = 660
Strength: 5 (+5) (*Boost Negated*) = 10
Dexterity: 12 (+5) = 17
Vitality: 11 (+25) (-3) = 33
Intelligence: 49 (+1) (+1) = 51
Wisdom: 14 (+1) = 15
Luck: 5 (+5) = 10
Charisma: 13 (+1) = 14
Stat Points: 0 (+5) = 5
Age: 16
Birthday: November 5th
Race: Human
Height: 5'6
Weight: 130
Build: Slender, moderate build
Hair/Eyes/Skin: Brown / Green & Hazel / Pale Caucasian
-.-.-.-.-.-
Alright... looks like it shows the most recent stat boosts, given how the stuff in parentheses disappeared after a few seconds, adjusting my stats as needed. Pretty cool shit. Now I just... "Wait a second..." I looked at the last couple of windows.
QUEST RECEIVED!
Quest: Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
Objective: Find out what Template World you have been transported to.
Failure Conditions: Die before you find out
Reward: +100 EXP. Adjusts profile based on location world.
Penalty for failure: Death
Penalty for declining: You're a fucking dumbass.
Well... that solved itself nicely.
I looked over my stats and hummed in contemplation, a habit I'd written into Jaune's character... wait a second...
Speaking of...
"MAH BOI! MAH GURLS! OH MAH GOOODDD~!" old man Joestar would be proud of my shouting!
Alright, alright, let's see... first off... I needed to assert myself.
And that meant doing something only The Gamer can do!
"Hrrrmmmmmmm grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNN!" I grunted and growled with the force of a Super Saiyan 3. My sharpened mind and enhanced will pulled on the power I could feel inside myself.
And then...
The power of Gamer's Soul wishes to unlock your Aura!
Optional requirements for self-unlocking:
Total STR+DEX+VIT over 75
25 INT and 25 WIS
25 INT and 15 CHA
50 INT and 10 CHA
75 INT
50 CHA
30 VIT and 30 INT
30 VIT and 30 WIS
30 VIT and 30 CHA
(Note: Only one set of requirements needs to be met)
Well, luckily I happened to meet one of them.
"Alright, let's start with something rather exceptional." I looked up at the sky, "Pewdiepie, you might have a chair that can lean back... BUT CAN YOU DO THIS?!" I pressed my palms together and focused internally as I selected the option.
I felt something inside me shake, then shiver, then shudder, and finally a surge swallowed my senses. I felt the power within myself and grasped it tightly, uprooting it with my mind and pulling it towards me with my willpower.
Out of nowhere, warmth exploded through me. A soft, light blue glow flared up around my body as I willed my soul to express itself into the world!
You have self-unlocked your aura!
You gained a stat boost based on the requirements met!
INT increased by 2! CHA increased by 3!
You gained the skill "Aura"!
You gained the skill "Awaken Aura"!
I let out a roar of vigor, feeling the energy surge through my body, covering me head to toe in warmth and a feeling of strength and safety. I checked my stats and saw that instead of 'Locked', my AP now read 1060/1060, having already adjusted to the increase in INT.
"Fuckin' SWEET! Alright... now then..." I made to open the map, when I saw a couple of new windows pop up.
Due to your unlocking your Aura, you will now attract Grimm regardless of how calm Gamer's Mind makes you.
"Shit... being a star student isn't exactly fucking helping me here! Well... time to figure out how to fight before any Grimm fight me." I looked around, then cleared my throat, "Right, right, of course! I know exactly how." I chuckled and grinned, excitement welling up within me.
However, just then, the shrubbery shook and burst open. Gamer's Sight told me it was a Beowolf, level 7, and I dived out of the way.
Quickly turning to face it, a flurry of projectiles suddenly flew from my hand as I willed them into existence. Energy Bolt and Energy Arrow were gained as skills as I cast several of them at the Beowolf.
Energy engulfed and penetrated the beast, and I stood up again with a loud sigh, seeing a burst of EXP fill the bar. Not enough to level up, but I figured as much. Still, really useful that I knew these spells.
"Goddamn. If I hadn't written and also read a lot of Gamer stuff before ending up here, I'd be fucking dead..." I trailed off as I leaned against a tree, the realization hitting me.
I... I had DIED!
I had flipped over the wall of the high-rise ramp in my care and FUCKING DIED!
My friends, family, everyone... all gone without a word...
"... I... I just..."
Gamer's Soul has encountered an existential crisis error!
Gamer's Mind taxed heavily!
"I... I... I'm... I'm d-... d-... I'm... I..." I stared at the sky, then down at my hands.
Another Energy Bolt flew from my hand and burst in the dirt. I flexed my fingers, and my aura flickered, then faded as the cold weight of reality set in.
"I... I'm de-... d-d-d-d-de-..." I looked down, my eyes unfocusing.
Gamer's Mind overtaxed!
Existential crisis consumes!
Shutting down to preserve life...
And then I passed out.
Well... here we are.
If you're one of my followers, then I'm glad you saw this and decided to give it a chance!
I'm probably not going to post this super often, as I try my best to get back to typing DGOL, and I am infinitely thankful for those who have stuck with me and endured this ungodly long hiatus.
This is the first chapter, and as such it's a bit of a mess as I cram a bunch of intro and startup info into it, but the next chapters will be much, MUCH less intensive on the info dumping. I just had to get out the stuff here.
If you're wondering if this SI will be OP... pretty much, yeah. It's my personal philosophy that while The Gamer might not be destined to become "God among men" or something, it's still a power that allows one to increase their power level to match the greatest people of their world. It's a power of growth, advancement, and incredible versatility.
As such, if someone understands The Game by a massive deal, especially if The Game that they're transferred into uses mostly the same system as a The Gamer story that they've fucking written, then they're going to be able to do some crazy awesome meta shit.
Therefore, this Self-Insert, which is "me but better", because of-fucking-course that's how I'm going to write myself, even though I'll make sure to include my flaws, I excluded enough that the story wouldn't be weighed down (like me probably breaking down completely as I immediately remember that in order to enter Remnant, I had to FUCKING DIE, and that I even died at all! Also, I had to write myself as having enough capacity for foolish moments to actually be on my cellphone while driving, especially when approaching a high-rise ramp)
I'll do my best to not be writing myself as a Gary Stu, but I might slip up now and again. If that happens, you guys should tell me, so I can go back and fix it. Also, accordingly, I am not going to be writing the same length of chapters as I do in DGOL, these will probably average around 5k-10k, as I'm doing THIS story mostly for fun, whereas DGOL is for seriousness.
Fun fact 1: hitting and flipping over the wall IS a legitimate fear I have about an actual high-rise ramp leading off the highway to the interstate that runs through my actual town.
Fun fact 2: I literally based the beginning off of this morning as I typed this all out. After posting this, I will indeed be going to the store. Hopefully I don't miss my exit, flip over the ramp's wall, and die. I don't think I'd end up in Remnant, I think I'd just be fucking dead.
Like I said, the quality of this chapter is probably pretty low compared to the standards of DGOL, but it's a pilot chapter and I'm also somewhat cold and slightly shaking in both coldness and excitement as I type all of this, because I'm writing a self-insert in a story that will hopefully be, as in-story me says, AWESOME.
That's all folks! Please follow and favorite if you feel so inclined, and leave a review telling me what you thought of this!
DGOL chapter 20 coming relatively soon, don't you folks worry!
Now then...
Player1 signing out.
Peace out, people!