R(emnant)PG –Update 1.1!

Chapter 001 – It Begins

"Identity cannot be found or fabricated but emerges from within when one has the courage to let go."


Do you ever have that one really strange dream, that one that sticks with you, and you're never quite sure if any of it really happened or you just have some deep seeded mental issues that your brain isn't ready to process?

Yeah, that's basically my life now.

It started perfectly normally. I spent my day watching anime, laughing at the internet, and went to bed, content in the knowledge that my unremarkable life was just one day shorter.

Wait, content is the wrong word. Ah, terrified! That's what I meant! That very concept terrified me. And as such, my reaction to waking up in a formless black void lacking all sensation my body once felt was completely understandable.

"AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaHHHHH!" was about all I was capable of saying, thinking, or comprehending for a period of time which I could only assume was several minutes.

That was, until I was interrupted. A voice rang out in the darkness.

[Greetings! Allow me to be the first to welcome you to… uh, is this a bad time?]

Fortunately, this seemed to be enough to at least briefly stop my panic attack regarding my apparent demise. On the other hand, it then led to a secondary panic attack regarding my own sanity. That too was quickly stopped by the knowledge that I had gotten this far in my years of existence without questioning my sanity.

[Ahem! As I was saying, Allow me to be the first to welcome you, User, to a very special experience. You have been selected for a rare, one-of-a-kind multiversal experiment. Interested?]

Hesitant to speak, I attempted a simple nod. It was at that point where I noticed that I seemed to lack the ability to move my head. Or my limbs. Or my body. Did I already start panicking? Because I think that this is an appropriate moment to panic.

[Please, stay calm. This is all part of the process. Allow me to explain the details!]

[You have been authorised for a Guided Adventurous Material and Ethereal Reality, or GAMER experience. You may be familiar with the concept if you've ever read Fanfiction or web comics before.]

"I-I think so?" I was surprised to find that I could still speak, though strangely not about how my voice had transformed into a much more vague and indistinct state. It held emotion but was still distinctly inhuman.

[Don't worry, I'm here to run you through the basics! I am known as System. I will serve both as your guide and your interface for the foreseeable future. Ready to start?]

I was pretty much convinced at this point that I was either dead, clinically insane, or both, so rather than question the absurdity of this occurrence, I simply sighed.

"Fuck it, why not?" I said quietly. It was basically all I could do right now. Fortunately, it seemed to be the correct answer.

[Great! Now, let's start with getting you a body. Character creation is important, and you won't be able to change it later, so take care with the options.]

"Gah!" I yelped in shock as a box suddenly appeared in front of me. It appeared to be a small, semi-transparent cube, written on which was a short sentence and two options.

[Please select your gender – Male or Female.]

"Wait, so I can just change it? Just like that?" I muttered in confusion. It made some sense, since I appeared to be creating some form of new body for myself but it still seemed unusual. I tried to reach forwards, but quickly remembered something.

"Wait, how does this work? I-I don't think I have, you know, hands. Do I just talk or-" My unusual ramblings were cut short as the voice – System – spoke again.

[Ah, right! You're new at this. There are two types of commands, Hard and Soft. Soft commands work both mentally and verbally. They're set as default so just think, and I'll handle the rest.]

"Huh. Neat, I guess…" I muttered. Curious, I decided to test, and looked over to the box yet again. It still sat there, flickering faintly.

"Male." I thought.

The moment I finished the word, there was a loud 'DING' noise and the box disappeared, its top and bottom half meeting as it did so. It was then that I suddenly felt something. I found my gaze, the only thing I had access to beyond my mind, looking down, and noticing a torso growing beneath me, with shoulders and arms not far behind. It watched, mesmerised as a shimmering effect progressed down further, producing legs. Feet quickly followed it, and experimentally I flexed them. They were certainly present. I could indeed feel… something. I felt as though I was somehow swimming through some kind of smoke or air, and the thought brought a gasp from me. Blinking with new eyes, I saw faint mist coursing around the void I was in.

"Wow… That was just… wow." I failed to articulate any appropriate words, transfixed on my brand new hands. They appeared blank and formless, though still distinctly humanoid. I sighed in relief. At least I had a body now.

"What now?" My voice sounded more distinct, the faint echo of an English accent rasping its way out of a throat that lacked presence moments before.

[Well, next up is Species. If we were using your home server, this wouldn't be an issue, but this is a bit more… complicated.]

The System itself had a more clear voice too, presumably the result of my new set of ears. It sounded female, and light at that.

"What do you mean 'complicated'? What home server?" I nervously asked. I had a feeling the answer wouldn't exactly be pleasing.

[Don't panic, but your Home Server- Which you might know as Earth or maybe Universe Prime – is currently on lockdown. The GAMER can't run there. The hardware isn't compatible.]

I nodded. Whatever this was, it was certainly not something that had ever – or perhaps could ever exist on Earth. The 'hardware' being referenced was probably some kind of reference to the Laws of Reality, or something similar. As I came to this realisation - surprisingly calmly- I could have sworn I heard fingers snapping.

[I knew you'd get it! See, your Homeworld isn't compatible, but found within your memories are plenty of 'fictional' worlds which will do. A world has been randomly selected for this, and I think you'll like it!]

"Okay, shoot. Where am I going?" I said. I felt like I should be more upset or shocked about vanishing off of the face of the Earth, but I suppose it hadn't quite sunk in yet. I made a mental note to have a suitably large panic attack about it later.

[I'm glad you asked! The world selected is… Remnant, the world of RWBY!]

The System was right. I did like that world. It certainly could have chosen much worse places to live. At least there was a good chance of any weapon also being a gun, and the people would still speak English. And, as a bonus, assuming this was the same world as the series I watched, then I had an advantage.

Knowledge of the future!

[Easy there, User. You'll still have to finish making your new self first. Now, I believe we were on Species?]

"Right, right." I had practically forgotten about the character creation I was supposed to be doing, so caught up in a strange mix of excitement and discomfort. On the one hand, I got to live in and anime universe. Yay!

On the other hand, I could be killed by a whole lot of evil monsters. Boo!

"It's Human or Faunus, right?" I asked. Those were the main humanoid races shown in the series, but I didn't want to assume anything. The System was certainly unusual enough to have come up with other options.

[Correct! Faunus possess a randomized animal trait and its associated abilities, if it has any, as well as natural night vision. On the other hand, Humans are the dominant species and have an easier time interacting with others. Both options are good choices. So, what'll it be?]

I hummed in response. At first glance, human may have seemed like the best option, as it was what I was used to- having lived as one for all my life- but Faunus still seemed like a good choice, with more practical advantages.

And if I was going to face off against the embodiments of darkness, I needed as much of those as I could get.

"Faunus." I decided. After a moment, there was another 'DING' and instantly I felt something new in my body. It was rather surreal, though no more so than growing a body in the first place. I checked myself, looking for some kind of tail. I saw nothing.

[Don't worry, you'll see what you've got once we finish up here. The next bunch of options are all for your basic appearance, so I'll leave you to that. Fair warning though, be careful when adjusting… Certain body parts.]

I could practically hear the embarrassment in the System's voice. I rolled my eyes with a small grin on my face. It was odd for such an entity to show such emotions – or, at least, it seemed odd. I had no context, after all. Maybe this was normal. I shrugged, and went to face another box. It was larger than the others, and a mirror appeared beside it, showing my face. The eyes were a dull grey, and the other features were small and unrefined. The head was completely blank upon a dull grey skin. Like everything thus far, it seemed so unreal, and yet clearly real at the same time. I sighed.

"This is supposed to be me? No, no, no. This will not do." I attempted to crack my fingers but the noise was faint, and unsettlingly uniform.

"Time to fix this."


It took me hours – or at least, I think it did – to manage to piece together an appearance I was satisfied with. The process of messing with my facial features alone had me reeling back into early stages of panic. It was one thing to experience this sort of thing from behind a screen, but to be living it? To feel the sensations run across my new skin, the tingling of faint yet constant winds across my brand new hair, to watch as my eyes filled with colours as I adjusted them?

And that wasn't even getting into the strangeness that was adjusting my own –

[OKAY! I think you're ready. You're lookin' good, User! Although, I have to ask, were the eyes really necessary?]

I curiously gazed upwards, in the direction I would assume the voice to come from. In reality, it was more omnipresent, but I figured if it was some kind of supernatural being, it was probably looking down on me.

"What's wrong with my eyes?" I accused. I thought they were perfectly fine, like the rest of my new body's appearance.

They were just Silver. That was all.

[Nothing's wrong! In fact, it's a rather good choice. Just something to consider. Anyway, how about the rest? Are you happy with it?]

I hummed as I thought on it. I had given myself a lean, muscular build. Strong enough to be capable of surviving, but not too much so as to make myself a tank build. I wasn't sure if any of the physical elements really mattered, but it still felt important to keep in mind.

It also looked really good, to be fair. If only working out was this easy.

Otherwise, I had a head of short hair that was dirty blonde in colour. It was spiked lightly, but otherwise was fairly unremarkable. It rested upon my new, faintly tanned skin which spread smoothly across the previous grey layer of whatever my new body was made of. There was a small nose and small ears, with a set of perfectly white teeth below. My new body stood at just barely six feet tall, drifting in the void. There was just one thing missing.

"Please tell me I'm not being sent to another world naked." I quipped. I wasn't sure why, but my new body seemed to come with new confidence. I was glad. It would allow me to save time on panic attacks.

[As good a sight as that would be, I'm afraid not. Here are the clothing options. You don't have a whole lot of choice now, but you'll be able to get more later. For now, you really just need something to throw on.]

"Got it." I replied as another box appeared in front of me, reflecting my new naked body. I scanned my eyes over the options briefly, noticing the disparity between the available options compared to what I could do with my body. I decided to select some basic boxers, which materialised over my body, perfectly tailor fit. Comfortable too.

Whatever this strange System was, it made for a damn good tailor.

Eager to get things going, I rushed to select a plain black T-Shirt and dark blue jeans, but stopped as I noticed something. Another black T-shirt, but with a small emblem on the chest. It appeared to be a stylised crown of gold. I was somehow transfixed by it, and so selected it quickly. It emerged on my body a moment later. I considered shoes, but for some reason decided against them, and as such I was set to go barefoot. I grinned and looked back up.

"Now are we ready?" I smiled.

[Almost, I swear. Before we go out into the big wide world, you'll need a name. I also have just a little more explaining to do, but we can cover that once we're there!"

"A name? That's easy, it's-" My mouth moved but no words came out. Suddenly worried, I tried again. "My name is-" Yet again, my actual name seemed to be impossible to say. I frantically panicked, attempting to pull on my mouth to no avail.

I had lost my name.

Somehow, that realisation struck me like a truck that carried nothing but piles of bricks. It was hardly the most strange occurrence that had happened in the past few hours, Hell, it was probably the least strange, but it stuck with me. I felt suddenly weak.

[I'm afraid a new name is required, User. I cannot let you leave without one. Sorry.]

I gulped nervously as a blank box showed itself in front of me. It only had four words, and I found myself somehow strangely revolted by them.

[Enter Your New Name.]

"Fine." I gritted out. I found my body shaking and my new hands clenching tightly into fists. "I'll play along. But I want to make one thing clear."

[Oh? Very well. What is it you want to say?]

The System sounded nervous, but not scared or surprised. I hesitated, curious, but shook my head. This was important.

"I won't forget myself."

I stepped forward, and, briefly looking down, placed a new name down into the box. It shimmered away, and the System spoke once more.

[Fine by me, User – Oh. Sorry, Fine by me, 'Rex Aurum!' Now, are you ready to begin?]

Was I? Everything that was happening was a complete mess, and I had no idea if any of it was even real. My life that had once seemed so mundane before was crumbling to pieces. I had no idea if I would ever see normality again. But there was only one thing I could do. Maybe only one thing I should do.

Keep Moving Forward.

"I'm ready." I spoke, blinked,

And the world began.


[Ah, readers! It is I, the System, briefly taking this opportunity to address you all. I have a message from The Author that he wants to show you. Transcribing now!]

So, here it is. A brand new RWBY Fanfic. I haven't had this idea for too long but my mind is already racing with the possibilities! I should mention that it's not quite entirely new, since it's technically a rewrite of an earlier work of mine. I'll leave the original up just for fun. Anyways, I have plenty of plans for this new Gamer story, and I hope you'll enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

Time to take things to the next level!

[Transcription End. That's all for now. I better shut the fourth wall before reality breaks down. See Ya!]