Hey, nice to meet you all! The name's crea-sei.
Notes and precisions at the end of the prologue.
King of Games
{ prologue: the gamer }
"I wish life was just a game..."
[ file 01 ]
Beep… Beep… Beep...
Yuugi blinked his eyes open, and sleepily brought a hand down on his alarm clock. Was it already morning…? But it felt like he had gone to sleep only a second ago...
Yuugi yawned, hiding his mouth behind his palm out of habit. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, and slid his legs over the side of his bed.
He slipped on his slippers, and readjusted his pajamas. (He didn't want to make a fool of himself – even if it was in front of his grandpa.) He walked out of his room, and slipped in the bathroom silently. He walked in front of the sink, grabbing his toothbrush and toothpaste, preparing to wash his teeth. (He put too much toothpaste and some fell off his toothbrush.)
As he put the toothbrush in his mouth, he looked up at his reflection, and froze.
[The Gamer]
[Yuugi Mutou]
Yuugi choked.
"Am I on drugs…?" he asked himself when he was back in his room. He shook his head tonelessly. It was the only possibility; unless he had gone insane through the night, and was just hallucinating all of this. "But how could I have— How did I even manage to drug myself without— How could I not notice— drugging myself?" It was only pointless rambling; logically, he knew that he wasn't drugged, but he just couldn't accept any other possibility.
He sighed.
"It'll probably go away anyway," he tried to convince himself.
[ file 02 ]
It didn't go away.
The 'ability' had stuck to him. It had been one entire month since the first time Yuugi had first seen those... things above people's heads. It hadn't stayed like that; no, instead, it had evolved. Now, Yuugi was able to live life as if it was a banal video game.
"Well," he said to himself one Sunday evening, sitting crossed legs on his bed, as he stared at the letters floating above his head. "I can't deny it anymore, so I just have to accept it." He sighed, and then took a deep breath. "Status?"
Name: Yuugi Mutou
Class: The Gamer
Level: Lv4
HP: 200/200
MP: 100/100
STR: 8
VIT: 12
DEX: 9
INT: 12
WIS: 11
LUK: 6
POINT: 00
MONEY: ¥ 1,656
"Wow," Yuugi exhaled. "That— That's..." Yuugi's mouth failed him, and he gaped at the screen helplessly.
He fell back with a loud sigh. "Alright," he decided. He was sure he could still continue to live his life normally, as if nothing ever happened.
[ file 03 ]
Yuugi was staring at the sky, noting the different shades of blue and white, when a screen appeared. He hesitated, but finally decided not to ignore it. He turned to look at it.
A skill has been created through a special act.
Through continuous observation, a skill to find the target's information, [Observe], has been created.
Yuugi stayed silent for a while, letting the screen shimmer out of existence. "But…," he muttered, after regaining the ability to use his brain, "I was staring at the sky..." He looked up again. "I can't possibly find information about the sky..." Right? Just to be sure, Yuugi tried, "Observe."
[Nut]
[Goddess of—
Yuugi didn't read any more, and closed the screen. No need to make all his beliefs crumble. Not like that.
[ file 04 ]
Yuugi looked at the Puzzle for a long time, disgruntled. He just couldn't figure out how to resolve it! He grumbled to himself, slumping in his seat. He wasn't really angry, just frustrated.
He sighed. "I wish I could just..." he trailed off, and blinked suddenly. He had an idea! He grinned excitedly; maybe this would help! His eyes found the Puzzle, "Observe."
[Millennium Puzzle]
A pendant that resembles an upside-down pyramid with an eye on the front.
The hieroglyphs inscribed read: The one who solves me shall gain the powers and knowledge of darkness.
Has been containing the spirit of the Nameless Pharaoh for more than 3,000 years.
Grants unknown abilities.
"What." Yuugi stared numbly at the screen, that rapidly shimmered out of existence. He turned his gaze onto the Puzzle. "What." Another screen appeared.
A quest has been created.
[Main Quest Alert]
Saving the Pharaoh: Solve the Millennium Puzzle!
Help! The Nameless Pharaoh has been stuck in this Puzzle for an eternity! He has already lost his memories!
Quick, help him out of there by resolving the Puzzle!
Time Limit: Your life.
Completion award: 10000 EXP.
Brings out your Other Half, and increases closeness with your Other Half.
Completion failure: None.
Y/N
"What," he repeated dumbly, still reeling under the shock of his recent discovery. After a minute though, he forced himself out of it. "What! Of course I'll do it! I can't just leave that poor guy in there!" He glared accusingly at the quest alert, and quickly accepted the quest.
He frowned down at his Puzzle. "Well," he muttered to himself, mentally rolling up his sleeves, "I'm gonna work hard on that."
[ file 05 ]
You have entered an instant dungeon.
Yuugi blinked in surprise, and looked around. He was alone. The street was completely silent, and all the houses seemed inhabited. He frowned worriedly, and continued on his way home. Apart from the lack of people, there didn't seem to be anything else… A noise caught his attention, and he whirled around in surprise.
He was sure he made a choked noise. "W-what?" Was that… a zombie…? "Err, o-observe?"
Zombie
Lv8
HP: 800 (800) MP: 50
A walking corpse, no matter how it died.
It hates the living, attacking and eating its flesh.
Although it's slow, its strength is twice as much as when it was alive.
Yuugi breathed out, trying to calm himself. Unexpectedly, he managed to become calm, his mind clearing curiously. Alright, so there was a zombie, threatening to kill and eat him. It was slow, but it could (possibly) kill him in one hit. Yuugi could dodge its hit easily, but if he was hit, he was done for.
He looked around, searching for an escape, or a weapon. There was a stick nearby, but it didn't really look sturdy. "Observe."
Wooden Stick
A wooden stick. Can break easily. Doesn't do much damage, but is very light.
Yuugi hesitated, but took the stick. It was kill or be killed, he guessed. "Alright," he whispered to himself, staring at the slowly advancing zombie. He tried not to tremble in fear.
The zombie's form shimmered and died, fading into a black mist. Yuugi fell down to his knees.
You have gained 1350 EXP.
Your level went up by 1.
Yuugi sobbed.
[ file 06 ]
"Pass those sheets to the person behind you!" the teacher ordered.
The girl before Yuugi sighed, and turned around, handing him one sheet. "Oh, um, thank you," Yuugi smiled up at her.
A skill has been created through a special act.
[Beaming Smile (Active) Lv1 EXP: 0,0%]
Allows the user to blind the target with their cuteness.
Can be used in fighting.
A skill has been created through a special act.
[Cute (Passive) Lv1 EXP: 0,0%]
You are cute, and can use your cuteness to manipulate others.
You have received a new title.
[Yuugi-chan]
Obtained by being cute.
You are especially cute, and everyone around you notices it.
Become the cutest guy around!
Yuugi's smile faltered, and he hung his head down, ignoring the worried look the girl sent him.
"So," Yuugi whispered to himself at recess time, when he was sure no one was listening, "what does it do?" He hesitated. "Err, titles?"
You currently have one title.
[Yuugi-chan]
Obtained by being cute.
You are especially cute, and everyone around you notices it.
Become the cutest guy around!
Do you want to equip this title?
Y/N
"Err, it doesn't tell me how it helps..." Yuugi frowned; he guessed it was something akin to reputation. He hesitated, but finally, touched the yes button.
Just as the screen disappeared, a student from his class entered the room. The girl blinked at him in surprise – maybe she hadn't expected him there? – and, to his immense surprise, smiled. Yuugi smiled back; he guessed it was an aftereffect of the title.
He didn't notice the blush that appeared on the girl's face… but maybe it was for the best.
[ file 07 ]
Yuugi grumbled, and tugged at his hair. "What is that even supposed to mean?" he asked himself. He was working on his English homework, and had been stuck on it for more than half an hour. He just couldn't understand! If only he was more intelligent… Wait... "S-status?" he called.
Name: Yuugi Mutou
Class: The Gamer
Title: Yuugi-chan
Level: Lv5
HP: 250/250
MP: 150/150
STR: 8
VIT: 12
DEX: 9
INT: 12
WIS: 11
LUK: 6
POINT: 05
MONEY: ¥1,656
"Yes!" he cheered. He could upgrade his status! "Now that I think about it, I'm just unlucky..." or he guessed he was. Which one could he possibly upgrade? At first, he had thought that INT was his priority, but in fact it was, along with VIT, his highest stat. But then, why couldn't he understand his English homework?
Yuugi turned back to his homework, deciding to think further about his status points later. He looked more closely at the exercises. "I very strong be and do struggle to lift things not," he read aloud. "That sounds wrong." He grabbed his pencil, and corrected the sentence.
Diligent studying causes your INT to go up by 1.
"What. Couldn't you have told me that ear— Nevermind." Yuugi turned back to his status window.
Name: Yuugi Mutou
Class: The Gamer
Title: Yuugi-chan
Level: Lv5
HP: 250/250
MP: 150/150
STR: 8
VIT: 12
DEX: 9
INT: 13
WIS: 11
LUK: 6
POINT: 0 5
MONEY: ¥ 1,656
Yuugi hesitated for a long time. While luck could help him generally, dexterity could also help him run from his bullies or simply dodge their hits. Strength wouldn't help him – he didn't want to hurt anyone anyway – or, wait, it could; he was sure the zombie thing wasn't just a fluke. So vitality could help him too. Intelligence and wisdom were high enough as they were – he could upgrade them later on.
So, for now he could still consider strength, vitality, dexterity, and luck. That was still a lot. Vitality was quite a high stat, so he could concentrate on that later. Strength and dexterity were around the same number, while luck was the lowest.
"Wait," Yuugi had a sudden thought. "If I have MP, it means that I have mana; does it mean that I can do magic?" Then, intelligence still was a skill to consider. And, anyway, why was he getting into it by such lengths? Strength wouldn't help him in today's society; he had to be clever!
But then again, there still was the problem of the zombie thing. Thankfully, it hadn't happened again; but he was sure it would, one day. He tugged at one strand in frustration. "What should I do…?" So, he could put some points in intelligence, then the rest in strength or dexterity… or luck. No, not luck; he still wasn't sure what it would do.
"So… 2 points in INT, 2 points in DEX, and 1 point in STR..." he mused aloud.
By thinking through logically and rationally, your WIS went up by 1.
Yuugi sighed, and put in the points he had decided.
Name: Yuugi Mutou
Class: The Gamer
Title: Yuugi-chan
Level: Lv5
HP: 250/250
MP: 150/150
STR: 9
VIT: 12
DEX: 11
INT: 15
WIS: 12
LUK: 6
POINT: 0 0
MONEY: ¥ 1,656
"Alright." He smiled.
[ file 08 ]
"Hey grandpa," Yuugi called, waiting until his grandpa raised his head to continue. "Do we have a baseball bat around here?" His grandpa seemed surprised at his question, and nodded.
"Yes. I think we have some sport equipment in the storage room." Yuugi nodded, and got up. His grandpa sent him a questioning look, but Yuugi acted as if he didn't notice. He just couldn't figure out how to explain it to his grandpa; he couldn't just say that he was afraid of having to fight against zombies without a weapon.
Once Yuugi was sure his grandpa wouldn't see or hear him, Yuugi whispered, "Observe," while grabbing the bat.
[Aluminum Bat]
Made by GaTek Manufacturing.
An aluminum bat made by GaTek Manufacturing. A little lighter and a bit stronger than a wooden bat.
Required: 5 STR.
"Alright," Yuugi breathed. "Inventory." He put the bat in his inventory, suddenly feeling much lighter, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
He then went to the bathroom, once again ignoring the (now worried) look his grandpa sent him. Yuugi opened all the drawers, but didn't find anything useful. He couldn't find anything to help him heal. Maybe he needed food?
Yuugi went back to his grandpa. "Grandpa… Could you teach me how to cook?"
His grandpa blinked in surprise, and nodded. "Of course, Yuugi." He looked at the clock. "Not right now though. But I think we have some books around here… or you could always buy some." He smiled at Yuugi. "Do you need any money?"
Yuugi blinked, wondering how much money he had. "Um..." It was around ¥1,500. "I have enough for one book." Immediately, his grandpa handed him a wad of cash. "Thanks!"
[Cooking Book n.1 ]
Made by Lived Editions. Written by Yuuta Keiji.
A book about cooking, for beginners.
Required: 5 INT.
[Cooking Book n.2]
Made by Lived Editions. Written by Yuuta Keiji.
A book about cooking, for beginners.
Required: 10 INT.
[Cooking Book n.3]
Made by Lived Editions. Written by Yuuta Keiji.
A book about cooking, for beginners.
Required: 15 INT.
Yuugi nodded to himself. And took the first book. A screen appeared.
Do you want to learn [Cooking Book n.1]?
Y/N
Yuugi clicked on yes. The book began to glow – Yuugi absently reassured himself that he had closed the curtains – and the light traveled to Yuugi's head. The light disappeared rapidly; Yuugi felt strange. Somehow, he could now cook, even if it was the very minimum.
A skill has been created through a special act.
[Basic Cooking (Active) Lv 30 EXP: 0,0%]
Allows the user to create food.
Food heals, and restores mana.
He immediately got up, and rushed to his library. He observed all his books.
In the end, he was only able to 'absorb' four of them; three that added to his INT stat, and one to his WIS stat. And, thanks to the cook books, he managed to max out his basic cooking skill.
[ file 09 ]
You have entered an instant dungeon.
Yuugi kept himself from whimpering in fear, and took a step back. "In-inventory!" He took out the baseball bat. He turned around, and looked for a narrow alley. There was one some meters away; he ran to it, gripping the baseball bat tightly. He whirled around as soon as he was there, more confident now that he had a wall behind him. He took a deep breath, preparing himself to hit any zombie that may come near him. "Observe."
Zombie
Lv8
HP: 800 (800) MP: 50
Yuugi rushed to the zombie, and gave four hits before he had to step away to avoid being hit.
Zombie
Lv8
HP: 800 (380) MP: 30
He swallowed, and waited until the zombie began to walk again. He hit the zombie again; in another four strikes, the zombie was dead… err, the zombie disappeared.
You have gained 1500 EXP.
Yuugi tried to regain his breath, trembling. His lips twitched in a relieved smile.
A skill to deliver a strong blow, [Power Strike], has been created.
[Power Strike (Active) Lv1 EXP: 0,0%]
Strikes the target with strong force.
15% increase in critical rate.
50% increase in attack damage.
A skill to utilize blunt weapons freely, [Blunt Weapon Mastery], has been created.
[Blunt Weapon Mastery (Passive) Lv1 EXP: 0.0%]
Allows the user to freely handle blunt weapons.
10% increase in attack damage with blunt weapons.
5% increase in attack speed with blunt weapons.
Yuugi quickly closed the windows, trying to keep in mind the words power strike. He checked his health points and his mana points.
HP: 250/250 MP: 142/150
"One point for each strike," Yuugi mused aloud. That wasn't much. Yuugi's eyes flickered up once he saw that two other zombies were slowly advancing toward him. Yuugi waited until one was closer to him than the other, and rushed forward. "Power Strike!"
Your level went up by 1.
Yuugi looked around, but there didn't seem to be any more zombie. He sighed in relief, almost collapsing to his knees. "S-status?" he panted.
Name: Yuugi Mutou
Class: The Gamer
Title: Yuugi-chan
Level: Lv7
HP: 182/350
MP: 15/250
STR: 9
VIT: 12
DEX: 11
INT: 18
WIS: 13
LUK: 6
POINT: 1 0
MONEY: ¥ 326
Then, in order to regain all his mana and health points, he had to wait for… half an hour? He didn't know. He looked up at the dark sky. "How do I escape this… dungeon?" Maybe he needed to voice a command? "Err, escape? Escape dungeon? Dungeon Escape? Oh, err, Instant Dungeon Escape?" As soon as he said it, the noises returned, and the zombies' grunts stopped. Yuugi held in a shout of relief.
A skill to get out of the instant dungeon Illusion Barrier, [ID Escape], has been created.
[ID Escape (Active) Lv1 EXP: 0.0%]
Used to escape instant dungeons.
A skill to make Illusion Barriers, [ID Create], has been created.
[ID Create (Active) Lv1 EXP: 0.0%]
Used to create instant dungeons.
Stronger instant dungeons may be created according to level.
Yuugi ignored the windows in favor of collapsing to his knees.
[ file 10 ]
Yuugi put down the Puzzle, frustrated. He wanted to concentrate on the Puzzle; he wanted to save the Nameless Pharaoh! And he was close to it: the Puzzle was almost finished! But it was still so hard… Yuugi sighed, letting his head fall back and staring at the ceiling. "Status."
Name: Yuugi Mutou
Class: The Gamer
Title: Yuugi-chan
Level: Lv7
HP: 350/350
MP: 250/250
STR: 9
VIT: 12
DEX: 11
INT: 18
WIS: 13
LUK: 6
POINT: 1 0
MONEY: ¥ 326
"Oh right, I have to allocate my points," he mused aloud. So now he had ten points. He still wanted to upgrade his INT stat, but he couldn't just forget his other stats. And the last fight he had had with the zombies had terrified him. He couldn't stay so helpless, not when there still was the possibility to be eaten by a zombie at any moment.
So, for these 10 points he had to concentrate on his fighting skills. And then, he would allow himself to concentrate on normal life. Strength was a priority then, along with vitality and dexterity. Or could he use mana in the form of magic? He would have to test that later.
"Hmm… 3 points in both strength and vitality, and 2 points in dexterity and luck." He did as he said.
Name: Yuugi Mutou
Class: The Gamer
Title: Yuugi-chan
Level: Lv7
HP: 350/350
MP: 250/250
STR: 12
VIT: 15
DEX: 13
INT: 18
WIS: 13
LUK: 8
POINT: 0 0
MONEY: ¥ 326
Yuugi nodded, and went back to his Puzzle. He just had to test the magic thing now.
You have entered an instant dungeon.
"Again?" Yuugi sighed. "Inventory." He took his trusted baseball bat – it was still stained with some zombie blood. "Oh wait, I should test the magic part out..." he reminded himself. Thankfully, there was a legless (?) zombie nearby. Yuugi pointed his palm toward it.
He concentrated all the power he could feel (flowing through his body; from the end of his feet to the center of his heart to the very blood in his veins), and directed it to his palm. A beam of white blueish light shot out from his palm, and exploded against the zombie.
The skill to directly use mana, [Energy Bolt], has been created.
[Energy Bolt (Active) Lv1 EXP: 0.0%]
A skill that attacks by emitting mana.
Attack power increases by INT.
Range 10 meters.
Yuugi stared in awe at his palm. "Wow," he breathed. "I can— I can use magic!" he exclaimed excitedly.
It didn't do much damage, but the zombie was stunned, and struggled to… get up – or at least, as much as he could without legs. So, Yuugi could simply stun the zombies – making them fall to the floor – and then hit them. And if they got up again, he could stun them again.
Yuugi smiled, much more confident now that he had a strategy. Life was getting better, even if just a little.
The only thing he needed now was getting the Nameless Pharaoh out of his Puzzle.
[ file 00 ]
Yuugi sighed, and massaged a bruise that had appeared on his left forearm. It wasn't much really – didn't hurt as much as the usual bruises did – but it still did, even if only a little. As touching it only made more painful – probably wasn't his smartest idea to touch it, but he just couldn't help it – Yuugi stopped with a wince. He let his head fall back, staring blankly at his room's ceiling.
After a moment, he closed his eyes. He could still hear his console playing a cheery little music, and unconsciously hummed along with it. He looked at the little characters on the console's screen, and heaved another deep sigh. Those characters all seemed so happy, so careless. If only his life was like that too...
Yuugi rubbed the skin under his eyes tiredly. "I wish life was just a game..." he muttered to himself. He knew it would never happen though, and he would never use this wish on the Puzzle – not that carelessly. There were greater things to wish for; like friends, for example.
"Wish granted."
Yuugi jerked in surprise, almost falling out of his bed. "What?" he yelped after a moment, looking around. But he was alone. He turned back to his console warily.
It seemed as though the little, cheery characters were smiling at him.
[ ERROR ]
I'm on drugs, Yuugi mentally repeated in his head, as he walked down to the kitchen. His grandpa was waiting for him, after all. I'm on drugs.
He sat down at his usual chair, and stared down at his breakfast silently. He could feel his grandpa's worried gaze on him, but didn't react. I'm on drugs. "Grandpa," he began, gloomily, after a moment of intense silence, absently picking up a spoon – or maybe it was a fork. "What world do we live in nowadays...?"
Silence.
"...Yuugi...?"
[ ERROR ]
"Skills!" Yuugi called, trying to back away from the slowly advancing figure. No such luck, there was a wall behind him. Yuugi desperately searched for a useful skill, but, finally, decided to use the first one he saw. "B-beaming smile!"
Almost unwillingly, his lips stretched into a huge smile.
CRITICAL HIT!
The zombie froze, staring at him. And… was Yuugi imagining things… or were there hearts floating above the zombie's head...?
...That beaming smile was quite useful, in fact.
(1) This story is a slight crossover with The Gamer, but it isn't by much. Apart from the Gamer ability, there's no resemblance. So please don't sue me about it.
(2) The [00] files take place in the past. The [ERROR] files are, what you may call, bloopers, or omakes.
(3) Also. "Nut" (or "Neuth") is the Egyptian goddess of the sky. She is a star-covered, nude woman arching over the earth. She is sometimes represented as a cow.
(4) I don't know if there will be any pairing. I guess it all depends on you.
(5) The [00] files take place in the past. So, please, don't worry about those. They do have a meaning though, and I will probably explain it later on. About the [ERROR] files: those are omakes, or bloopers. I don't really know how to call them.
The sentences at the beginning (here, it's: Yuugi wished he could join them), come directly from the [00]. They generally relate to the chapter – here, it's about going out with friends, which is what Yuugi did with Souzouji… well, kinda.
