So I've been doing some reading on the website, looking between RWBY Gamer stories and Fairy Tail stuff, and I couldn't help but wonder: why is it that the best ones I see are set in Renaissance, Medieval, or Dark Ages? Why is it that technology is limited to Steam Age and earlier? Why are all the houses Tudor style? Why are the only skyscrapers either superweapons, libraries, or parts of castle walls or keeps? And most importantly of all: why is it that when characters are thrust into the modern era with Gamer powers, they're the only one with the ability? Why do magic and technology never work in tandem? And where can I get myself some steampunk?
And then it hit me. Why do I have to find it? I'm an author, for crying out loud! I can write whatever the Hell I want to and read it anytime I want to. Because of that, this story is going to be a little (a lot) more different than other stories I've written (or ever done). So let me get some things out of the way first.
The story will follow around Jaune Arc, as is with most Gamer stories I've had the pleasure of reading. However, most start out with either a timeskip, rules to prevent leveling until a certain time, or MC being the only one with the power. This one will be a little bit different. We will actually show the MC reaching Level 1 in the first chapter, no spoilers because this is the first chapter. In this story, no one starts with any Levels, no one is born with any XP (Experience) because babies, and no one begins their story with passive XP gain. Also, stats gain is based on actions, battles, and other doable things that might actually affect someone in the real world such as manual labor or reading a book. And furthermore, certain stats are simply averages or the highest of however many sub-stats in that general stat there are, as in the real world your manual labor strength is not the same as your combat ability. Lastly, Faunus might be a discriminatory thing in RWBY but so are lower Levels or certain classes like I've seen in other Gamer tales. I will not spoil anything else, but you'll soon figure it out. Enjoy, and try not to hate too early.
Before we get started in earnest, I'd like to point out that I neither created nor own RWBY. I also did not create the Gamer story type. The former was a combination effort of the late legend Monty Oum and the equally intriguing RoosterTeeth. The latter I have no freaking clue about it, but to each his own so I still don't know because I don't know if someone else did something quite like this before me. The only thing I know is that the rules are my brain child and it could be that someone else thought of it first so please have mercy on me in the reviews. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the insanity that is an Autistic mind at work in fictional realities.
Jaune was excited. As in incredibly excited. He was so young - five years of age - and already was he entering grade school. Well, sort of. He was actually about to reach Level 1, which required something around 15 XP if his father was to be believed. Since attending a school of any sort required that one reach Level 1 at the minimum, he technically had two reasons to be excited. Furthermore, he actually stood a chance of gaining passive XP at Level 1, or some other cool ability. He was excited, and he had good reason to be at that.
Still, one couldn't be too eager to count their chickens before they hatched. He had yet to receive those last points of XP, which wasn't even 1 point anymore. If anything, he only needed .015 XP to fully reach Level 1. How much that was, he had yet to learn, but that's why he was so excited. He wanted to learn, he wanted to grow up and be smart and grow strong and be big like his mother, father, and seven older sisters. Yes, he was the last Arc to be born and proud of it. What he wasn't proud of was how much his sisters tended to toy with him like some kind of doll. His oldest sister, Saffron, was the one who usually did his hair up in little bows and made him wear dresses, which annoyed him to no end. He might not have a problem with Mages, but he certainly had a problem with this one.
Speaking of classes, that was kind of special in this world. See, one didn't simply get a class at a certain Level, as there have been cases where one got their class before even gaining their first Level, but those people were Savants. As for what each class could do, even that was up in the air. Any class could use most weapons, perform almost any action, et cetera; however, certain classes had bonuses, buffs, or other legs up over others. Specific abilities, skills, and even entire stats were only available to certain classes, and it was rare that one got those things without being that class. Armors, accessories, and special clothes were more often than not meant to be worn by specific classes, although the generic clothes could be worn by anyone. For example, corsets could be worn by anyone, even exclusive to gender and age as Jaune discovered once no thanks to Saffron's girlfriend Terra. He always seemed to have the worst luck with other people, didn't he?
Anyways, stats were a fickle thing as well. The Labor stat was different from the Fighting stat, although both stemmed from the same branch of Strength, and other stats had similar branches like Strength. Constitution even had its own sub-stats, Immunity, Endurance, and Tolerance. Endurance was different than any other stat Jaune has yet encountered, as it stemmed from both Strength and Constitution. He was once confused about it, but his father laughed when he brought it to his attention, claiming that he would learn more about it at Level 5. What a bit of help that was, but his father knew more.
Right now, Jaune knew the stats of his family through hearsay and the Family Records. This is what he knew so far, ranking each family member in order of age:
Strength: Father, 56; Mother, 64; Saffron, 28; Amethyst, 26; Pearl, 26; Crystal, 25; Diamond, 39; Tulip, 15; Quartz, 10; Beryl, 5; Jaune, 0.5. He wasn't too embarrassed by this, as he was little and wasn't supposed to be super strong yet. He would get there, he was adamant about that.
Intelligence: Father, 36; Mother, 48; Saffron, 45; Amethyst, 40; Pearl, 41; Crystal, 35; Diamond, 28; Tulip, 16; Quartz, 13; Beryl, 8; Jaune, 0.75. This is where Jaune starts to get embarrassed. He isn't known for wanting to be just like daddy, since his sisters have that covered quite nicely. By the way, they all just so happen to be Mage subclasses.
Constitution: Father, 34; Mother, 40; Saffron, 20; Amethyst, 18; Pearl, 16; Crystal, 13; Diamond, 30; Tulip, 5; Quartz, 5; Beryl, 6; Jaune, 1. This is where Jaune gets proud, as none of his siblings save for Diamond and neither of his parents reached a Constitution of 1 all around before reaching Level 1. One might think this is necessary for a Mage, but it actually isn't. Actually, Fighters, Sword Masters, Physicians, and Tradesmen need it more than anyone else, since they use it more often for their class activities. Especially the subclasses of Mage and Sword Master, the Paladin and Inquisitor. Or so his father told him, but that really intrigued him nonetheless.
Agility: Father, 28; Mother, 15; Saffron, 16; Amethyst, 10; Pearl, 13; Crystal, 9; Diamond, 15; Tulip, 19; Quartz, 7; Beryl, 4; Jaune, 1. Again, rather embarrassing to Jaune, as no one has even reached above an average of 30 Agility in this family yet. And he's being lenient for Tulip, Quartz, and Beryl since they're not much older than he is.
Resistance: Father, 78; Mother, 79; Saffron, 34; Amethyst, 15; Pearl, 16; Crystal, 13; Diamond, 88; Tulip, 8; Quartz, 2; Beryl, 4; Jaune, 1. This is the strange part of the story, as normally an Arc will simply develop multiple resistances at a time until finally they all just snap and reach those high numbers. Diamond, on the other hand, has gone all the way in training her body until she is completely resistant to most things; either that, or she happens to be so clumsy that she falls into everything dangerous. A good thing she likes pain. He thinks Quartz called her a massive kiss or something, but whatever it was it means she likes pain. As for Quartz, he just doesn't like pain that much, hence not having a high Resistance. Yes, Quartz is Jaune's only brother.
Social: Father, 104; Mother, 22; Saffron, 40; Amethyst, 78; Pearl, 56; Crystal, 38; Diamond, 15; Tulip, 18; Quartz, 10; Beryl, 5; Jaune, 0.9. This is where someone might get angry at him for saying it out loud, but it can easily be explained. His mother is antisocial, so the only reason she even fell for Dad was his huge charisma. As for Diamond… yeah, even Jaune might say she's a hopeless cause. Don't get him wrong, he loves her to death, but she can't talk to a fence post without freaking out and holding either Jaune or Beryl in front of her like a shield. Yeah, she has that kind of problem: immense stagefright and low self-confidence.
Levels: Father, 115; Mother, 112; Saffron, 58; Amethyst, 56; Pearl, 57; Crystal, 34; Diamond, 66; Tulip, 44; Quartz, 15; Beryl, 5; Jaune, 0. Only full Levels count on this, so Jaune isn't too upset about it. If anything, he's excited. Someday soon, he may yet have a chance of rising to or above his father's Level. Then again, his father is a Savant, one of the highest subclasses of Mage.
As for abilities, Jaune has none. His brother has the ability to focus on something like a hawk, hence him becoming somewhat of an Arcane Archer. His father's abilities are something to fathom, envy, and fear simultaneously when he uses even one. Heavenly Gaze allows him to scare off both undead and dark creatures with a single glance, and to be honest it works on the living and light as well. Curse Banish is basically what it says in the name, along with the chance of placing a curse on or outright banish the caster of the curse or banishment to a place Jaune is too young to know about just yet.
And then there is perhaps the most terrifying of all: Lightborn, which allows his father to unleash a powerful light equivalent to the average of his Level, Resistance, and Strength. It can sometimes come in the form of titanic wings each the size of a city block, or it can just make his body shine. Regardless, any undead, dark, or otherwise malevolent creature can either get completely destroyed, damaged appropriately, or scared off from his mere presence. While awe-inspiring, it is also quite terrifying and has made Jaune cry on at least one occasion.
Right now, Jaune is reading a simple book given to him by his aunt for either his birthday, Festa during the winter, or something just for the sake of giving it to him. Regardless, he happens to be reading it because his mother wants him to increase his Intelligence, even though he really wants to work on his Strength and help his father with whatever he does. Then again, he really enjoys helping wash the dishes because he thinks it's fun. Unlike most children who lose the Happy buff when something happens, Jaune always has it on him because very little can turn his day upside down due to his ever hopeful nature. His eyes always sparkle like stars on a moonlit night, his smile in a permanent crescendo, and his energetic enthusiasm unending for any reason, even going to sleep.
He reached the end of the book, and looked excitedly at his small bracelet. This particular bracelet, as his mother told him, will light up when he reaches Level 1. Unfortunately, reading this book didn't seem to do the trick, as the bracelet was still grey and cold-looking.
A familiar bell rang, and Jaune got out of his seat and ran to the door as quick as his little legs could take him. Quartz had just come home, and Jaune always wanted to help his older brother when he got home. Today, he might actually get that chance. Sure enough, Quartz entered the door carrying a small bag with a single book in it, as well as a huge bag full of equipment. What this equipment was, Jaune didn't know. All he knew was that his brother might need help.
"Quartz," Jaune called in his small voice. His voice might be small, but it sure carried. Quartz turned to his brother and smiled kindly. His hands were full, and he struggled to get through the door because of the bags he carried. Quartz was nearly twelve by now, his youngest sister merely eight; as such, Jaune had some serious looking up to do if he wanted to look his brother in the eye up close.
"Hello, Jaune," Quartz returned, struggling through the door as best as he could. "I might need some help, if you are willing." Jaune skidded to a halt at his brother's feet, an eager look on his face. "Could you take this bag here and set it on the table for me? I can't quite fit through the door while I'm carrying it."
Jaune agreed, taking said bag and waddling to the table with it. The book bag seemed heavy to him, but his arms slowly got used to it. He could feel his Strength stat slowly rising, specifically the Labor stat coming up quickly. He was too young for a Combat stat, but he could get there when he was older. That was his main problem with Strength, his biggest drawback.
Jaune sat down in his chair and, struggling to reach as he was, set the book on the table just in front of him. A sudden light caught his attention, and like the squirrelly boy that he was immediately looked over to the source. His face almost immediately lit up like the dawn itself. He hopped off the chair and raced over to his brother, the nearest family member, to show him his proud achievement.
"Quartz, Quartz," Jaune called excitedly. "Lookie, lookie!"
"Just a sec, brother," Quartz answered. "Let me set this down, and… ah, now what is it?" The older brother, the only one in the family with naturally silver hair, looked at the bracelet on his brother's wrist, seeing the shine it held. No more was it grey, but now it held a bright golden shine like his mother said it would. "Way to go, little brother. I'm proud of you. Now go tell Momma what you did, I'm sure she'll be very proud of you."
Jaune excitedly made his way to his mother and showed her the bright band. She too congratulated him, as did his father and the rest of his siblings. However, their expressions were about to change drastically.
"I'm sorry, sir," the Doctor apologized prematurely. "I understand that your youngest son has just reached Level 1, but he has also awakened something inside of him." I sat on the table, confused about the sad look on the Doctor's face.
"Awakened what, exactly," my father asked the Physician. "And why are you apologizing? You haven't done anything wrong."
"But I can't help your son as it is," the Doctor explained. "It seems as though I was right about your wife contracting that Parasite. The creature should have been taken care of as soon as it entered the bloodstream."
"So how does this affect my son, again," Daddy asked. "You keep saying something about him, then a Parasite. Did he contract a Parasite?"
"Technically, yes and no," the Doctor went into detail. "Your wife caught it during her pregnancy with your youngest son, and it seems as though he was the one who ended up with it without our realizing it."
"Again, how does it affect him," Daddy asked the Doctor. "As in what does it do? Can we get it out of him? Et cetera. Details, Doctor. You know me."
"Alright, let me begin by saying that this Parasite only started feeding when your son reached Level 1," the Physician explained. "This particular Parasite doesn't steal his ability to survive in any physical way. Instead, from what I've gathered, it will steal his XP as he earns it. How much it will steal is unknown, but I have seen this kind of creature before. Furthermore, it seems to be of a higher Level."
"Higher Level how?" Daddy inquired.
"As in the Parasite within your son's body is at Level 245, significantly out of my surgical range," the Doctor informed. "At that Level, the most it will take is half of his XP because it knows that at this high of a level it is virtually untouchable by most Surgeons. However, it could easily take all of his XP for itself and still be unsatisfied. It all depends on what it does next."
"So we can starve it, right," Daddy asked. The Doctor shook his head.
"Not quite, but I can give some recommendations," said the Doctor. "I could recommend a high Level Surgeon, if you have the money to go to him. I could also try a Banishment, but that could also risk your son going with the Parasite. Honestly, the best option is for your son to raise his stats to a high enough point where either the Parasite gets scared and leaves or he can defeat the Parasite on his own."
Daddy was silent for a moment. He looked around, and I knew he was thinking for a solution.
"What are the stats on that Parasite," Daddy eventually asked.
"Pretty high for a Parasite of this Level," the Doctor answered. "Its Resistance to Physical damage could be in the range of 20 to 50. Magical Resistance seems to be closer to 40 at maximum, but I have been wrong before. As for the Strength stat, it barely reaches 0.5, so your son is fine on that part. So long as he builds his Immunity, he should be unaffected by the Parasite."
"And its Constitution?"
"Definitely upwards of 70," the Doctor replied. "Your son is on the right track, to be honest. Even if he doesn't gain a Level for the next five years, he could very well beat this Parasite in that time."
I was still confused. A week of school has passed, my Intelligence stat has gone up at least once, and my Social stat has finally reached 1. My Level, however, hasn't changed in the slightest. If anything, I barely gained 0.075 XP from a full week of school. Not that we did much during that time, but all the same. How could that… whatever it is affect me in the slightest?
END
Thus concludes the first chapter. Next chapter will be pseudo-expositional, as we will be taking a look at what comes after Level 1. If you like the story and want to see more, Favorite and Follow so you never miss an update. If you want to say something, be sure to leave a Review or go ahead and PM me. I also have a story on Fairy Tail called Fairy Knight, so if you like that be sure to check that out. Other than that, have a nice day. This is General Texas, signing out.