Hello there! EyesOfChaos here, finally delivering the long-promised rewrite of Gaming DxD! Man, did this take a while! Let me tell you, typing on mobile sucks!
Now, I shouldn't have to tell you, but updates will probably have pretty substantial gaps in-between them until I can procure a laptop, because I live nowhere near any public libraries. But, until I can get a new laptop, this is what I'm reduced to, and I'll have to make due with it. Oh well.
And for those of you who don't know that this is a rewrite, well now you do! And also congratulations for not having to witness the embarrassment that was my first attempt at this story.
But you didn't come here to hear me complain, so without further ado; Gaming DxD!
Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD (obviously). High School DxD is the intellectual property of one Ichiei Ishibumi. The only thing I own is the Original Character (OC) protagonist.
"Regular Speech."
(Thought).
Written word.
#Electronics (cell phones, televisions, etc.)#
"{Foreign Language}."
"Sealed beings, Godlike entities, really pissed off people."
Gamer related Content
++0++ - minor time skip.
++V++ - major time skip.
Prologue
Act One
"Press Start To Begin"
Sound. The first thing he registered when he awoke was the sound of an old radio playing a dour jazz melody, the moody tones almost convincing him to stay where he was and go back to sleep. Almost.
Cracking his eyes open, he observed the room around him, noting that, first and foremost, it was definitely not the room he'd gone to sleep in. In fact, it was so far removed from his small apartment bedroom that he'd at first suspected he was still dreaming.
Put simply, the room he currently resided in looked as though it had been ripped straight out of a classic detective movie, complete with a haze in the air that one would expect from cigarette smoke, the cause of which was, unsurprisingly, a cigarette that had been left lit in an ashtray on the desk he found himself sitting behind, situated in a surprisingly comfortable leather rolling chair.
The detective's office-he referred to it as such because it could be nothing else-featured gray walls with chipped paint, two potted plants on either side of the door, which had his name printed on it backwards (from his perspective), shuttered windows and even a slowly rotating ceiling fan, its blades moving too slowly to disperse the smoke in the air.
Besides the ashtray, there was also an old, square radio sitting on the left side of the desk, the source of the music being pumped throughout the room. Lastly, in the corner of the office there was a hat rack devoid of any actual hats, sitting bare for all the world to see.
The second thing he noted was that he was no longer in his boxers, as he had been when he'd fallen asleep. No, now he was wearing a dark grey hoodie with a pair of black khaki pants and a matching pair of black high-top converse with pink trim. A cursory look under his hoodie told him that he was also wearing a lime green t-shirt.
(What's with the lounge wear?) It was pretty casual attire, in his opinion, and not at all what he usually wore. While he didn't consider himself an overly formal person, he usually made an effort to at least look casually professional; polo-shirts and khaki pants, at the very least.
And for that matter, why was he in a detective's office? The last time he'd checked, he hadn't committed any crimes. But then again, he was behind the desk, so did that meant that he was the detective? Because if so, then why?
Sure, he did enjoy the odd crime show or two, but not enough to buy himself a detective's office, and most certainly not enough to actually become a detective himself.
Before he could attempt to do any more than look around the room, however, a strange anomaly appeared in front of him; a light grey text box. One that was floating. In front of him. In the real world. So either he was in a very realistic virtual reality game, or his life had just taken a very strange turn.
The screen in question simply showed the words 'Life: The Game' in blocky white letters against a black background, with a start button boxed underneath the title. Figuring that he wouldn't get anywhere by staring impassively at it, the young adult conceded and pressed said start button.
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Load Complete!
Hello, new Gamer!
Have you ever wanted to slay dragons and save princesses? Have you ever wished that you could have shootouts in space?
Well, now you can!
As a Gamer, you will travel to different worlds and forge brand new experiences within them!
Will you be the brave hero who leads the people into a bright new day?
Or will you be a villain, and conquer the world for your own personal benefit?
YOU decide!
Oh, and don't worry about being found out; your arrival will be planned so as to not make you seem out of place!
Just don't tell anyone about The Gamer or the existence of the multiverse, or we'll come find you and do terrible violence-related things to you!
WE MEAN IT!
(...huh. Okay then.) He thought numbly, mulling over the information he'd just received. If this wasn't just some prank or an ultra-advanced video game, then he'd just become a Gamer, like Han Jee Han from the titular manhwa of the same name. And that... was pretty awesome.
But then again, what about his old life? What about his apartment, and his job, and... well, that was about all he had in his old life, really.
...why did he care about his old life, again?
Oh right, he didn't.
Turning his attention back to the screen, he saw that it had finished reading out its welcome message and was now displaying an empty line with a button below it that said 'select'.
Press this button to determine your destination via random number generator. If the outcome is not to your liking, please choose again until the outcome becomes favorable.
Player may be subject to physical alteration to conform with universe-specific logic (Ex: cannot be human in a universe where they do not exist, cannot be a male/female member of a female/male only species/race, etc.).
When in-universe, if the player 'dies', they will receive a Game Over, and be sent to the waiting room to choose a new destination.
(...well, alright then.) Proceeding as instructed, he watched as the screen faded to black. Right afterward, a low drumming sound could be heard that slowly increased in intensity until it became a full-on drum roll, at the end of which two cymbals clashed loudly as the outcome appeared on screen.
"Bleach"
[Confirm] [Try Again]
(Bleach? The filler anime? No thanks, mate.) Hitting the 'try again' button, he watched as it went through the motions once more before spitting out a different outcome.
"Grand Theft Auto (series)"
[Confirm] [Try Again]
(Yeah, that's not it either.)
"That Seventies Show"
[Confirm] [Try Again]
(Nope.)
"To Kill a Mockingbird"
[Confirm] [Try Again]
(Nah.)
"Pokemon (game)"
[Confirm] [Try Again]
(Slightly tempting, but no.)
"Pupa (anime)"
[Confirm] [Try Again]
(Oh, hell no.)
"Berserk"
[Confirm] [Try Again]
(...you've gotta be kidding me.) This was getting ridiculous! All of those rolls were either terrible or boring! And what was up with those last two both being about gore and body horror? He needed a good roll, dammit! Pressing try again one more time, he sat back and hoped that this time, the outcome wouldn't be terrible.
"High School DxD"
[Confirm] [Try Again]
(High School DxD? I can live with that.) At least it was better than fussing with the destination button for the next twenty minutes. Besides, High School DxD was the premiere place to start building godlike levels of power, which he'd no doubt be able to use to dominate any other universe. Except for Touhou. Touhou girls were ridiculous.
Oh, and there were also multiple opportunities to build a harem, if he so desired.
...but on the other hand, High School DxD was full of a surprising amount of bloodshed and violence with dark biblical overtones, not to mention the ludicrously powerful beings that called it home who would no doubt make his life infinitely harder for no reason other than because they could.
After several moments of carefully weighing the pros and cons, he hesitantly hit the confirm button, and then leaned back in surprise when an 8-bit trumpet fanfare began to sound right afterward.
Destination Selected!
Calibrating Stats...
Harmonizing Skills...
Localizing Mcguffins...
Load Complete!
Enjoy your trip!
When the fanfare finished, the screen then switched to a title menu for a High School DxD-based video game, complete with the opening theme of the anime playing in the background.
"Gaming DxD"
"A High School DxD RPG"
[Start]
Behind the title and subtitle were three silhouettes of humanoid-looking beings. One was of a curvy woman with batlike wings sprouting from her back, the second was of a different, yet equally curvy woman with what looked like bird wings, and the third was a man, also with bird wings, but his outline was pure white, contrasting the other two's black outlines.
Pressing start, the screen then disappeared, and his confusion began to rise when nothing happened for a solid five or so seconds.
Hello, Gamer!
Out of nowhere, a message popped up in front of his face, startling him slightly due to its closeness.
Let's start off by familiarizing you with your menu! To start, think or say 'menu'. Please take this time to look through all currently available tabs.
(Yeah yeah, I've read enough Gamer fanfiction to know this whole song and dance.) He grumbled, inwardly irritated at being jumpscared by text. Nevertheless, he did as instructed, speaking the word inside of his head because he refused to say it out loud like a mongoloid.
[[Menu]]
[Status]-[Skills]-[Inventory]-[Equipment]-[Quests]-[Relationships]-[Go Online]-[Shop]-[Compendium]-[Options]
It was, by and large, exactly how he'd expected it to be, though he hadn't foreseen that the majority of his options would be greyed out and unavailable, nor that there would be an option for playing online. Though now that he thought about it, he guessed it made sense; some people thrived on socialization or pitting themselves against their peers in video games.
...well, that was true of most everything, its just that video games just so happened to be the most relevant one to his situation, but that was neither here nor there. After a moment's thought, he decided to start from the top, and selected Status first.
[Status]
Personal Information
[Human]
Name: [Elliot Winterveil]
Age: [21]
Race: [African American]
Gender: [Male]
Title(s): [N/A]
Class(es): [Civilian]
Alignment: [N/A]
Sacred Gear: [N/A|Dormant]
General Stats
LV: 1
HP: 70/70
MP: 10/10
EXP: 0/30
Stat Points: 0
Physical Stats
VIT: 6 (0)
AGI: 9 (0)
STR: 8 (0)
DEX: 11 (0)
ACC: 13 (0)
Mental Stats
INT: 24 (0)
WIS: 21 (0)
CHA: 7 (0)
Metaphysical Stats
LUK: 12 (0)
MAG: 1 (0)
Perks/Buffs/Debuffs
[Passive Regeneration]-Desc: [Regenerate HP and MP over time.]-Effect: [Passively regenerate HP at a rate of 0.6/s, and MP at a rate of 0.1/s.]
Quick Character Bio
"Elliot Winterveil. Gamer."
Drops
5 exp, Human Corpse (x1), Black Converse, Black Sweatpants, Green T-shirt, Grey Hoodie
(ten stats? Ten stats?) How was he supposed to manage ten stats at once? Was he supposed to just ignore one or two and favor the rest? Or was he actually expected to keep all of them at an optimal level? Because if so, that was barbaric and cruel.
...well, not really. It couldn't be that difficult to take care of ten different stats. He was mostly just exaggerating the situation as a coping mechanism for the fact that his life was now literally a game.
And also, why was The Game telling him what he'd drop if he died? That was kind of redundant to him. And why was he only worth five exp?!
Aside from his stats, there was also a character portrait taking up the entire right-hand side of the screen. Staring back at him was a young adult with skin the color of rich cocoa, a pair of curiously deep amber eyes and a head of wild, curly hair the color of midnight. He was slightly taller than average, just two inches over six feet in height, and had a lean frame that made him seem even taller. That, combined with his broad shoulders, made him seem as though he took up more space than he actually did.
Contrasting his relatively slim physique, his body was noticeably toned from frequent exercise, though most of that was from having to walk everywhere or carry heavy things at his job rather than any intentional attempt to work out. That didn't mean he wasn't thankful for it when he needed to lift something particularly heavy at work or needed to run when he was almost late, though.
His portrait was, of course, wearing the clothes that he was at that very moment in time, and as he found out when he put the hood on out of curiosity, changed in real time to reflect his current state. And in his opinion, said outfit looked surprisingly good on him considering that he'd never worn anything like it before.
After staring at himself like a narcissist for a whole minute, Elliot then backed out of his status screen and clicked on Skills.
[Skills]
[Gamer's Mind]-LV: [MAX]-Desc: [Gamer's Mind allows the user to think calmly and carefully in any situation.]
Skill Effect: [Knowledge of all languages. Negation of psychological skills and status effects. Immunity to mental disease/sickness.]-Skill Cost: [N/A]
[Gamer's Body]-LV: [MAX]-Desc: [Gamer's Body allows the user to live life like a video game character.]
Skill Effect: [Immunity to physical injury (does not negate damage or death). Immunity to sickness/illness/disease. Unlimited stamina. Eating and sleeping optional.]-Skill Cost: [N/A]
[Fiction Adaptation]-LV: [MAX]-Desc: [Fiction Adaptation allows the user to adapt concepts from other works of fiction and add it to their current world.]-Locked
Skill Effect: [Adapt and utilize any item, power or concept from any work of fiction. Adjustments may be made to make said concept more world-friendly.]-Skill Cost: [N/A]
[ID Create]-LV: [1]-Exp: [0/220] Desc: [ID Create allows the user to create an instant dungeon on-command.]-Locked
Skill Effect: [Create instant dungeon.]-Skill Cost: [10 MP]
[ID Escape]-LV: [1]-Exp: [0/220]-Desc: [ID Escape allows the user to exit an instant dungeon.]-Locked
Skill Effect: [Exit current instant dungeon.]-Skill Cost: [N/A]
[Observe]-LV: [1]-EXP: [0/40]-Desc: [Observe allows the user to analyze anyone/anything in detail.]
Active Skill Effect: [Analyze object/being. Determined by skill level vs object/being level.]-Skill Cost: [N/A]
Passive Skill Effect: [Notice discrepancies/illusions more easily.]-Skill Cost: [N/A]
(Oh, Fiction Adaptation. How broken art thee?) The answer was very. It was very, very broken. He could already imagine what would happen if he took, say, Superman's abilities and paired them with Discord's powers of chaos. He could also just give himself overpowered weaponry like Lucifer from Devil May Cry, or the Black Knight Greatsword from Dark Souls.
He also got ID Create and ID Escape, both of which had the potential to be ludicrously powerful skills when in the right hands, especially considering how ID Create could make an empty Instant Dungeon and simply let the user walk about freely without being detected, and ID Escape allowed them to exit into the real world at any time, and thus an intelligent individual could use said skills in tandem to escape-or ambush-targets.
Indeed, he'd definitely have to check them out when he was allowed to use them. But for now, he moved on to his Inventory.
[Inventory]
-Black Converse (Equipped)
-Black Sweatpants (Equipped)
-Grey Hoodie (Equipped)
-green T-shirt (Equipped)
Yeah, pretty much what he expected. Nothing but the clothes on his back. And front. And everywhere else on his body, for that matter. And it was for that very same reason that he didn't check out his Equipment menu; it would've only told him what he already knew, and he didn't exactly need a refresher on what he was already wearing.
So, with nothing much left to look at in his inventory (and no desire to look through the Compendium at the moment), he moved on to his last option... Options.
[Options]
HUD: Always On [Auto-Hide] Always Off: (Realism Mode)
Low HP Warning: [ON] OFF
Item Popups: [ON] OFF
Skill Popups: [ON] OFF
Status Popups: [ON] OFF
Auto Loot: [ON] OFF
BGM: [ON] OFF
Battle Music: [ON] OFF
Subtitles: [ON] OFF
[Help]
(Yeah, changes're gonna be made here.) Going down the list, Elliot turned Item Popups, BGM, Battle Music, Low HP Warning and Subtitles off. For as much as he liked awesome music to fight to, he valued the ability to hear his own thoughts during battle even more so. Similarly, the 'low hp warning' in most video games pissed him off to no end, no way was he dealing with it in real life.
Also, if he was going to be able to understand everyone anyway, then why have subtitles telling him what they were saying? It just seemed kind of redundant.
With that out of the way and no more menus to fiddle with, he dismissed the menu entirely, only to have a message pop up in his face.
Done yet? Good! We hope you familiarized yourself with the menu, because it will be your main interaction point with The Game during your journey as a Gamer.
But now we have a serious question to ask; would you like to take the tutorial?
[YES] [NO]
(...might as well.) After all, even though the 'Gamer' system was based on a work of fiction with its own set rules, it was largely up to the writer to determine how they wanted it to work for their story, and therefore there was no set 'standard' for it.
Which meant that even though he had an inkling of what he'd be dealing with, he still didn't know exactly what to expect. He was, effectively, flying blind. And that was something he needed to remedy as fast as possible.
So after thinking it over and reaching a logical decision, he clicked 'yes'.
Tutorial Selected!
Constructing Starting Gear...
Scaling Enemy Stats...
Downloading Rewards...
Load Complete!
Have fun in the tutorial!
The moment the tutorial finished downloading, the door leading out of the room swung open. But instead of a hallway waiting on the other side of the door, it instead led out into a moonlit urban street.
What little he could see of said street included a few shops and buildings, a line of cars parked on the side of the road and a few streetlamps lighting the way. All in all, it was an odd choice for a tutorial area, but it would have to do.
Standing up, he prepared himself for whatever the Game was about to throw at him, and walked through the door. And as his shoes hit the pavement, Elliot's senses were bombarded with a million little smells, sounds and feelings. The smell of fresh coffee and desserts wafting from the shops. The distant honking of car horns and the sound of the wind whistling through the empty street. The feeling of a cool breeze washing itself over him.
It all came together in one overwhelming package that suddenly and loudly informed him of just how sterile and blank the 'waiting room' had been. He hadn't noticed, but he hadn't actually smelled the smoke in the air, or felt the breeze coming from the ceiling fan, he simply knew that both existed.
It was... odd, realizing just how deprived of sense he'd been only moments prior, like he'd been trapped in a vacuum and only just now had he been spat out of it.
Speaking of which... turning around on his heel, he looked back into the so-called 'waiting room', taking in the moody private investigator's office in silent reflection, before mutely closing the door and turning back around to further observe his environs.
Just as he suspected, his 'tutorial area' was an urban environment in the streets of a nondescript city, one likely fabricated by the Game itself. He couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but the architecture of the 'city' was definitely of European design, some kind of mix between Italian and French, if he had to guess.
Looking around, he found that there was only one place for him to go; forward. A glance behind him, where the door had been before it disappeared, showed that the street terminated into a dense, pitch-black fog that seemed either completely impassible or so dense that walking through it would be ill-advised.
By contrast, the street in front of him went on for what looked like miles, with no clear end in sight. The streets were also empty; not a single soul could be found, despite the numerous lights on in the various buildings and the distant sounds of the hustle and bustle of human activity.
Nonetheless, he wasn't going to get anywhere by standing around, and so he made to start walking. But before he could get anywhere, another screen popped up in front of him, though this time it was a respectful distance from his face.
Welcome to the tutorial!
Here you will experience combat firsthand!
But don't think that we'll be sending you in raw! No, we've got something special just for you!
(Just for me, eh?) Was it a weapon? It was probably a weapon, like a sword or a gun. But then again, it was tutorial equipment, so it'd probably be crap equipment, like a foam sword or a dart gun.
Your very own [Sacred Gear]!
...what?
That's right! You will be receiving one free world-friendly mcguffin with which to practice! As you've chosen to enter the world of [High School DxD], you will be given a [Sacred Gear] to train with and to keep!
We would also like to stress that this [Sacred Gear] will in no way impact your ability to naturally develop a [Sacred Gear] in the future! In other words, this one's on the house!
(Sweet!)
After he finished reading, the screen then dismissed itself, and his attention was drawn to a pillar of light that shone down like a spotlight directly in front of him. Then, like a gift from above (which it technically actually was), a golden ball of light literally descended from the heavens and hovered in front of him for a moment, before before floating into his body and phasing though his flesh painlessly, settling itself into his core with an odd, palpable presence.
(I... I guess that's that.) He muttered in his own head, letting the feeling settle as told himself that he'd eventually get used to it. But more pressing at the moment; what sacred gear had he gotten? Was it something flashy, like Sword Birth? Or utilitarian, like Twilight Healing? Oh, maybe it was a kind of shield, like Applause Wall, or a battlefield-controller like Gravity Jail!
But why waste time speculating when he could find out! Opening his inventory to equip said sacred gear, he became confused when it was nowhere to be seen. Would it not count as an item because it was technically a part of him? Perhaps so. But a cursory glance at his status showed that his sacred gear was still listed as dormant or nonexistent, so maybe it was just dormant, and he had yet to unlock it? That sounded probable enough.
But how did he go about unlocking it, then? How had they done it again? Oh, right! He needed to emulate a stance or a pose from someone he thought was powerful. But he knew of a lot of powerful characters (both anime and video games were full of them, after all), so who did he attempt to emulate? Josuke? Yeah, how about Josuke!
...but which one of Josuke's poses did he emulate, then? The one with his hand on his hip was definitely out (he didn't even have a bag to sling over his shoulder), but maybe the one with both hands in the air and a twist in his hips? Yeah, that one was fine. So, he mimicked said pose, and concentrated on the odd feeling that had settled into his core. But unfortunately, he didn't feel a single thing happening. Maybe he needed to do an action pose? Fine then, how about Jotaro's 'Ora Ora' pose?
He mimicked that pose perfectly as well, but the only thing that did for him was make him look like he was scratching his head. But if that didn't work, then what would? Jonathan's 'hamon channeling' pose? Nope. Joseph's 'next you're going to say' pose? Nah. Giorno's 'fabulous' shirt-grabbing pose? Not that either.
Hell, not even Dio's 'Wryyy' pose worked! What was this nonsense?!
Hey there!
He was startled out of his fruitless concentration by a popup message appearing in front of his face.
How d'ya like your [Sacred Gear]? Love it? We hope you do!
(I'd love it more if I knew what it was.)
Now, with your brand-spankin' new [Sacred Gear], you can properly take on the tutorial!
(Yeah, except I can't actually use it!)
For this tutorial, your objective is to make it to the end of this road, but don't think it'll be that easy! There's plenty along the way to slow you down and stop you in your tracks!
But please, do try to have a good time! That's what the Game is for, after all!
Well, that's all for now! Have fun!
Well, that wasn't ominous at all. Rolling his eyes in a vain attempt to shrug off the tense worry that began broiling in his gut, he then looked down at his hands, wondering why summoning his sacred gear hadn't worked. Was it a problem with him? Did he not have enough mana or something? Or was he not strong enough to wield it yet?
Well, whatever the problem was, there was no use crying about it now. Maybe he could figure it out later. Breathing a sigh through closed teeth, he let his arms fall to his sides, before turning his attention to the task at hand; completing the tutorial mission. But how did he do that with no means of defense? Sure, he could just punch his enemies, but he didn't particularly have very much experience in that method of combat, and so he'd likely be mediocre at best.
Maybe there was some kind of improvised weapon laying around close by, like an old pipe or something. Hell, he'd settle for a toy sword at the moment! But no, unfortunately for him there was nothing in the vicinity that he could use as a weapon, and he'd even checked the alleyways, too... There was nothing even passably lethal around for him to pick up, not even a rock or a broken chunk of pavement.
That would be the only time he cursed having a clean, pristine environment.
So, with feelings of great trepidation, he then began to walk down the street, feeling all too vividly his relative defenselessness considering that he had naught but his own fists to protect himself with.
...this was gonna suck, wasn't it?
It didn't take long for him to run into danger. After only about three or so minutes of walking did something burst forth out of one of the many shops lining the street, sending shards of glass raining down onto the sidewalk.
Elliot's eyes widened slightly as the figure finally stood to its full height, allowing him to see what it was. It was a man. Or at least, it would've been a man if it actually had any defining features. Instead, it was simply a black mass shaped like a human and wearing human clothes. The clothes of a stereotypical crook, to be precise.
It also had an assortment of several valuable-looking necklaces in its clawed hands, which clacked and clanged loudly against one another as it spun to face him. Despite the fact that it had no eyes, he felt its severe gaze pinning him down and sizing him up at the same time.
Thinking quickly, he activated his Observe ability to find out just what he was up against.
[Observation]
Personal Information
[Shadowfiend]
Name: [Dominic]
Age: [36]
Race: [N/A]
Gender: [Male]
Title(s): [N/A]
Class(es): [Phantom Thief (Grunt)]
Alignment: [Shade Gang]
Sacred Gear: [N/A|Dormant]
General Stats
LV: 1
HP: 120/120
MP: N/A
Physical Stats
VIT: 2 (0)
AGI: 4 (0)
STR: 3 (0)
DEX: 3 (0)
ACC: 2 (0)
Mental Stats
INT: 5 (0)
WIS: 2 (0)
CHA: 7 (0)
Metaphysical Stats
LUK: 9 (0)
MAG: 0 (0)
Perks/Buffs/Debuffs
N/A
Quick Character Bio
"Unfortunately more likely to steal your valuables than your heart."
Drops
5 exp, 4-20 gold
Okay, first of all, who puts that much character into a trash mob. Seriously, he has a name and everything! Wouldn't it just be easier to make them like mass-produced generic goons instead of actual individual characters? And secondly, why did said trash mob have more health than him if it had less VIT?! That was just unfair!
...okay, okay, he just needed to calm down and think about this rationally. Sure, this wasn't not what he was expecting, but the situation wasn't unmanageable by any stretch of the imagination. Taking a deep breath, he took up a boxers' stance, albeit a sloppy one due to him mostly imitating what he'd seen before, and waited for the phantom thief to make its move.
[Enemy]
Dominic (LV: 1)
HP: 120/120
MP: N/A
VS
[Player]
Elliot Winterveil (LV: 1)
HP: 70/70
MP: 10/10
Turned out that he wouldn't have to wait for very long, as 'Dominic' leapt toward him, attempting to rake him across the face and forcing him to dodge to the side, stumbling somewhat from the sudden movement. Elliot then saw a -5 appear in his mind's eye, and felt a bit of blood trickle down his cheek. Clearly he hadn't been fast enough. He'd have to work on that.
But instead of taking the opportunity to attack in return, he instead took a moment to observe how long it took for Dominic to recover from his lunge, noting that Dominic had really put his whole body into that attack, and that if he'd been caught by that, he probably would've had to say goodbye to his face. Dodging was definitely a must.
As his foe got back to his feet and turned to face him once more, Elliot mentally and physically prepared to evade another attack. And sure enough, the phantom lunged at him once more, but this time he was ready. Ducking under the thief's outstretched claws, he delivered a hard right jab to the gut that dealt 27 damage and sent Dominic reeling, which he followed up with a left hook to the thief's side.
...or at least he would've if the phantom hadn't recovered far quicker than expected, and scored across his incoming arm, cutting through the fabric of both his hoodie and shirt and causing a spray of blood to squirt out, a -32 flashing in-front of his eyes.
"Shiiifuuummmph!" He spat unintelligibly, reeling back and retreating a few feet as he clenched his left fist in pain. That was almost half of his health in one shot! Why did the tutorial enemies have the power to almost halve his health with one attack?!
(Note to self; enemy's reaction time is far faster than expected.) Shaking his head, he gathered himself just in time to dodge another clumsy swipe that sent his foe careening. And as he saw Dominic flop down to the ground again, a plan was born inside his mind. Waiting for the opportune moment, Elliot allowed the thief to stand up once more, but this time when he came hurtling at him, Elliot made sure to duck under Dominic's arm instead of dodging to the side, and then bashed him across the back of the head with a left jab, dealing 44 damage with a 'headshot' message popping up beside it and also staggering the phantom significantly.
(That's it!) Headshots! He'd have to go for headshots to end this quickly!
Taking a boxing stance once more, Elliot cocked his right arm back and tensed it as he waited for his adversary to get to his feet. And when Dominic turned around, Elliot rammed his fist directly into Dominic's 'face', sending him sprawling back down to the floor and dealing a critical 56 damage with another 'headshot' message beside it.
(Hooray for Game Mechanics!) No, seriously. He would not be doing as well if Game Mechanics weren't a thing. If he managed to keep this up, he might just do well long enough to find an actual weapon! Taking advantage of his enemy's downed state, Elliot walked up to him and curb-stomped Dominic's head several times, dealing 38, 52, 44, 56 and 60 damage in quick succession.
Suffice to say, the phantom thief did not get back up again.
He let out a sigh of relief when he finally saw the body disintegrate, along with getting a message that he'd gotten 5 exp and 9 gold.
(Well, that was... more difficult than it needed to be.) Honestly, who threw a speedy charging enemy at a newbie in a tutorial? And as his first enemy, no less! Seriously, what if he'd been slower to react than he had been? He'd be dead, that's what! D.E.A.D murdered!
Elliot was interrupted out of his griping when another message popped up in front of him, this time showing him two new skills he'd created.
[New Skill Created!]
[Boxing]-LV: [1]-Exp: [0/30]-Desc: [A form of unarmed combat primarily focusing on punches and quick movement.]
-Sub Skill: [Right Hook]-LV: [1]-Exp: [0/20]-Desc: [A bonafide jaw-dropper. And also a jaw breaker.]
Skill Effect: [Throw a mean right-hand punch that has a higher chance of dizzying the target.]DMG: [STR*0.9 + DEX*0.5]-Skill Cost: [N/A]
[Street Fighting]-LV: [1]-Exp: [0/30]-Desc: [A form of no-rules, unregulated combat where anything goes.]
-Sub Skill: [Curb Stomp]-LV: [1]-Exp: [0/20]-Desc: [Add insult to injury by kicking them when they're down. Literally.]
Skill Effect: [Deliver successive hits to a downed opponent.]DMG: [STR*1.1 + DEX*0.2]-Skill Cost: [N/A]
(Well, at least something good came out of this.) He sulked as he sat down to take a break and calm down.
Congratulations!
And then got surprised by yet another message popping up in front of his face.
Out of all Gamers in existence, roughly 62% suffered a Game Over at this stage in their respective tutorials and had to restart! Good job being in the minority!
(Okay, there's a lot of ways that last remark can be taken, and most of them aren't good.)
Please proceed to the rest of the tutorial when you're ready!
A giant, glowing green arrow then flickered to life, pointing in the direction of what was obviously the only way to go before disappearing.
(...that is absolutely useless.) Heaving a sigh, he looked down at his arm, gazing at the dried blood that had pooled around where he'd been cut, idly noting that both his arm and his clothes had stitched themselves back together, thankfully not within one another. He definitely did not want cloth in his wounds.
Waiting for his health to regenerate, he passed the time by getting up and looking into the store the thief had bolted out of, noting with no surprise that it was, indeed, a jewelry store. In fact, there were quite a few valuable pieces held within.
(Hmm...) Looking around to make sure that no one could see him, he stepped lightly through the broken window, peering around at all the merchandise that was just sitting there, ripe for the taking. Surely the owner wouldn't mind if he took juuust one of them, y'know, for saving his store from theft. No, they wouldn't mind at all~
Tip-toeing over to the nearest display case, he peered in at the expensive-looking sapphire necklace held within. Bingo. Lifting up the glass gently, he slipped his hand in and quickly pinched the necklace, softly dropping the case back down, now sans the item it had been displaying.
(Cha-ching.) This necklace must've been worth at least five hundred dollars! Why, he was almost tempted to wear it, if he didn't have plans that involved making serious cash off of it.
[New Skill Created!]
[Thievery]-LV: [1]-Exp: [0/45]-Desc: [Who says crime doesn't pay?]
-Sub Skill: [Steal]-LV: [1]-Exp: [0/35]-Desc: [Take it right out from under their noses.]
Skill Effect: [10% chance to successfully take small items without being noticed.]-Skill Cost: [N/A]
(...I got a skill? One that could, if nurtured properly, let me take whatever I want without getting caught?) ...and here he was, standing in the middle of an unmanned jewelry store, with plenty of loot ripe for the plundering. Normally, he'd never have thought about stealing. But now, when he knew that he could make a valuable skill out of it...
...well, he may have to start adhering to some stereotypes.
Cracking his knuckles, he let out a little chuckle as his face slipped into a wry grin.
"It's liquidation time."
Softly whistling a merry tune, Elliot strutted nonchalantly out of the jewelry store a far richer man, before walking merrily down the street as if nothing had happened.
(Oh, happy days~) He was gonna be so rich when he finished this tutorial! Well, relatively rich, anyway. He'd at least be able to live easy, maybe retire early if he put it all away and let it gather interest. Or maybe he could invest in the stock market, and make it big if he bought the right shares. Either way, he'd probably be able to spend his later years relaxing in some tropical resort.
*Craaasssh!*
But he could worry about that later. For now, he had to deal with another phantom thief that had arrived on the scene, this one having a similar means of arrival as the last. But unlike the last phantom that he'd faced, this one wasn't decked out in expensive jewelry. No, instead this one had several types of pharmaceutical supplies tucked into its arms.
[Observation]
Personal Information
[Shadowfiend]
Name: [Cameron]
Age: [29]
Race: [N/A]
Gender: [Male]
Title(s): [N/A]
Class(es): [Phantom Thief (Grunt)]
Alignment: [Shade Gang]
Sacred Gear: [N/A|Dormant]
General Stats
LV: 1
HP: 160/160
MP: N/A
Physical Stats
VIT: 5 (0)
AGI: 3 (0)
STR: 4 (0)
DEX: 2 (0)
ACC: 1 (0)
Mental Stats
INT: 3 (0)
WIS: 5 (0)
CHA: 4 (0)
Metaphysical Stats
LUK: 1 (0)
MAG: 0 (0)
Perks/Buffs/Debuffs
N/A
Quick Character Bio
"Unfortunately more likely to steal your valuables than your heart."
Drops: 5 exp, 4-20 gold
Okay, so apparently this one was named Cameron, and Cameron was apparently more of a Brute than Dominic. Seriously, what was with this unnecessary characterization? They even had different stats! Just as before, the phantom took his sweet time standing all the way up before turning to look at him, all of his stolen loot clattering to the ground in the process.
[Enemy]
Cameron (LV: 1)
HP: 160/160
MP: N/A
VS
[Player]
Elliot Winterveil (LV: 1)
HP: 70/70
MP: 10/10
(Well, here we go again I guess.) He sighed, once again taking a boxer's stance as he waited for his opponent to make a move. Only this time, he had a plan. The moment that Cameron darted toward him, Elliot rolled away as normal, except that he took the time to scoop a large-ish shard of glass off of the ground before he stood up again, twirling it idly in his hand as he waited for his opponent to make another move.
And once again, the thief darted toward him with outstretched claws, forcing him to dodge to the side. Not waiting for him to recover this time, Elliot rushed up to Cameron and kicked the back of his knee, forcing him to fall into a kneeling stance as he grabbed the phantom's head with his free hand and forcibly drove the shard of glass into the back of Cameron's neck. Predictably, this killed him instantaneously, the thief disintegrating even as he fell to the ground, hands clutched to the shard poking through the front of his throat.
(...why didn't I just do that the first time?) Honestly, that had been markedly easier than before! Who knew shards of glass could be so deadly?
Oh wait, he did. Elliot had just forgotten in the heat of the moment.
Well not anymore! Grabbing up several sizable shards of glass, Elliot stuffed them into his inventory for use later. Finally, weapons! Crappy weapons, but weapons! Finishing that, his attention was then turned to the pharmaceutical supplies that had been dropped by the late thief in its haste to defeat him. Walking over, he inspected some of said items.
Bandages. Cold medicine. Cough syrup. Typical pharmaceuticals, and not really worth his time. At least that was what he thought until he spied the first aid kit laying at the bottom of the pile of items. Picking it up and turning it over, gears started turning in his head. First aid kits in video games were always health items. If he was in a video game now, then did that mean...?
Using his Observe ability, he analyzed the first aid kit in order to figure out whether his logic held.
[Item Observation]
[First Aid Kit]-Item Type: [Consumable]-Durability: [90/90]-Item Rating: [C]-Item Rarity: [D]
Item Effect: [Recover up to 50% of maximum HP.]
Item Desc: [A medical toolkit containing supplies to help stabilize an injured person's condition.]
Yup, it was a health item! Undoubtedly useful, useful enough in fact for him to ignore the moral dilemma of stealing from a pharmaceutical store in order to further his own goals. As a matter of fact, taking a peek into the store through the shattered window, he felt that his Thievery skill could use some working out...
After having cleared out the store of all useful supplies, he once again made his way down the street, inventory full of goods requisitioned for a greater purpose; his continued survival.
The next two enemies (who were named Jack and Brian, if you were wondering) were more of the same. A window broke, a phantom thief popped out, and he shanked them in the neck until they fizzled out of existence, netting him more exp and gold as well as whatever valuables the thieves had been interested in. Purely to level up his Thievery skill, of course.
(Good God, this is boring.) Wasn't fighting only supposed to get boring when it became an exp grind? He was still the proper level for these beginner mooks, and they were still managing to be as boring as dirt! That must've been some kind of record, like 'fastest an enemy becomes old news' or something. Honestly, the only excitement he was getting at this point was from his constant steali-err... from his continued requisitioning of necessary supplies for a greater purpose.
Fortunately for him, he'd finally reached the end of the street, and so it seemed that he wouldn't have to deal with anymore basic trash mobs. Unfortunately for him, however, the end of the street happened to be a rather large and abandoned looking hospital that screamed 'gang hideout', complete with graffiti courtesy of one 'Shade Gang'. And if its outward appearance weren't enough to project that idea, then the two phantom thieves posted on either side of the door were.
But unlike the bottom-of-the-barrel mooks he'd been dealing with thus far, the two guarding the entrance were actually armed. The one on the right had procured (read: stolen) a metal baseball bat and was idly palming it over and over again, while the one on the left wielded a wicked looking knife that was razor-sharp and shone in the moonlight as the fiend idly twirled it in their hand.
Suddenly, one of the guards began to look up, causing him to quickly duck into a nearby alleyway and press himself against the wall, praying that he hadn't been spotted. Taking on one phantom thief? No problem. Taking on two, probably harder. But taking on two who were both armed? Tantamount to suicide, at least at his current level. No, he'd have to play this smart to get by. After counting down fifteen seconds, Elliot chanced a quick peek around the corner, seeing that, thankfully, neither guard had moved from their positions.
[Observation]
(1)
Personal Information
[Shadowfiend]
Name: [Mary]
Age: [32]
Race: [N/A]
Gender: [Female]
Title(s): [N/A]
Class(es): [Phantom Thief (Throat Slicer)]
Alignment: [Shade Gang]
Sacred Gear: [N/A|Dormant]
General Stats
LV: 2
HP: 140/140
MP: N/A
Physical Stats
VIT: 4 (0)
AGI: 5 (0)
STR: 2 (0)
DEX: 6 (0)
ACC: 5 (0)
Mental Stats
INT: 6 (0)
WIS: 5 (0)
CHA: 3 (0)
Metaphysical Stats
LUK: 2 (0)
MAG: 0 (0)
Perks/Buffs/Debuffs
N/A
Quick Character Bio
"Adept at all manner of neck slicery."
Drops: 20 exp, 11-30 gold, Serrated Knife (9%)
(2)
Personal Information
[Shadowfiend]
Name: [Shelly]
Age: [28]
Race: [N/A]
Gender: [Female]
Title(s): [N/A]
Class(es): [Phantom Thief (Legbreaker)]
Alignment: [Shade Gang]
Sacred Gear: [N/A|Dormant]
General Stats
LV: 2
HP: 190/190
MP: N/A
Physical Stats
VIT: 9 (0)
AGI: 2 (0)
STR: 7 (0)
DEX: 1 (0)
ACC: 1 (0)
Mental Stats
INT: 3 (0)
WIS: 2 (0)
CHA: 2 (0)
Metaphysical Stats
LUK: 3 (0)
MAG: 0 (0)
Perks/Buffs/Debuffs
N/A
Quick Character Bio
"A shady goon, in more ways than one."
Drops: 20 exp, 11-30 gold, Baseball Bat (12%)
(Are you kidding me?! Almost double the health for a level 2 enemy?!) What kind of nonsense was that?! These were supposed to be tutorial fodder, not actual threats! No, seriously, these enemies were supposed to be his introduction to The Game, his first steps! Why was this basic enemy's health soaring above his own?! Ducking his head back into the alley, he wracked his brain for a way past the guards. Maybe he could launch a sneak attack? No, that would never work, he wouldn't be able to get both of them. But maybe he could just lure one away from the other, and take them out individually? Yeah, that might work. But how was he going to lure them away? He didn't yet know if they responded to sound at all, and he most certainly wasn't going to try revealing himself to attract one of them.
Taking another peek around the corner, his eyes roamed over the scene in its entirety as he mulled over his plan of attack. Nothing. There was only empty space between them and him, and not very many hiding places considering that the entrance to the alley between the building he was hiding behind and the hospital was well within view of the guards.
Speaking of alleyways, he hadn't actually checked the one he was hiding in, and that was simply unacceptable! What if there had been another enemy waiting in there to ambush him? He'd be dead, that's what! Turning around and observing his little hiding place, he found, predictably nothing. Still, didn't hurt to che-wait, what was that? Walking further into the alley, the object that had caught his interest was revealed to him; a frying pan, tossed haphazardly onto the ground.
Picking it up, he turned it around in his hand, finding that said pan had clear signs of age; there was rust on the handle and in spots on the bottom of the pan, as well as black scorch marks from continued use in cooking, and even a few scrapes here and there from who-knows-what. Still, it was fairly weighty, and serviceable enough as a weapon.
Using his Observe ability, Elliot analyzed his new weapon to see what he was dealing with.
[Rusty Frying Pan]-Item Type: [Club]-Weapon LV: [1]-DMG: [75 + STR*1.9 + DEX*0.8 + Club Proficiency*2.2]-Req: [3 STR 1 DEX]-Durability: [75/75]-Item Rating: [D]-Item Rarity: [E]
Item Desc: [An old, rusty pan that's seen better days. More brittle than it used to be, but still pretty solid.]
Yeah, that was about what he expected. Honestly, one couldn't expect much else from an old cooking utensil. Still, it was much better than punching everything or stabbing enemies with shards of glass, so he'd take it. Well that was his weapon dilemma solved, but he still had to figure out how to approach the situation itself. He obviously couldn't come in from the front, then he'd have to take both on at once.
But then how was he supposed to get to his destination? Go around them and come up from behind?
...actually, that sounded like a pretty good idea. Looking up, he gazed at the relatively low roof of the building in front of him. Yeah, staying above the enemy sounded like a pretty good plan. After all, if there was anything that playing the Sly Cooper games taught him, it was that being sneaky and staying on the rooftops was A), fun as all hell, and B), a pretty effective strategy.
But that presented him with another problem; how was he supposed to climb and hold onto his frying pan at the same time? It couldn't fit in any of his pockets, and it would jostle around and make too much noise if he put it in his belt loop, not to mention how obstructive it'd be to his climbing.
Maybe he could just stow it into his inventory for now and take it out when he needed it? Sounded like a sound idea, all things considered. Doing just that, he was then free to start climbing, and climb he did. Hauling himself onto the roof of the building with a grunt of exertion, he crouched low just in case the guards happened to look up, even going so far as to pull his hood up over his head.
Still ducking down, he crouch-walked his way across the roof as silently as possible, before lowering himself down into the far end of the adjacent alleyway and then quickly-but-quietly sneaking his way across the open space, keeping an eye out for movement from the too-close-for-comfort guards. Thankfully, neither one noticed the hunched-over shadow run by before pressing itself against the side of the abandoned clinic-turned-gang-hideout.
Relieved at the success of his plan, he let out a breathless sigh, all too aware of the closeness of the armed thugs standing only several feet away from his current position.
[New Skill Created!]
[Stealth]-LV: [1]-Exp: [0/50]-Desc: [Evade detection like a true ninja.]
-Sub Skill: [Sneak]-LV: [1]-Exp: [0/40]-Desc: [As quiet as a mouse, you'll be.]
Skill Effect: [10% chance to successfully evade detection while crouched.]-Skill Cost: [N/A]
Great. First Thievery, and now Stealth as well. He was really turning into a regular thief himself, wasn't he? Kind of made his goal of clearing out the thieves' hideout a bit hypocritical, even. But now was not the time to ponder on moral dilemmas, he had some baddies to bash! Getting over to the hospital was just step one of the plan, now it was time for step two. Retrieving the frying pan from his inventory, he quickly peered around the corner, confirming his target's height and therefore the area where he'd need to be ready to strike.
Then, looking around in his general location, he quickly spotted a rock sitting within close proximity to where he was standing. Bending down and picking up said rock, he tossed it in his palm a few times to judge its heft, before lobbing it at the ground hard enough for it to make a rather loud impact noise. The result was immediate. He heard the shifting of both enemies as they turned to face the noise (confirming that they did, in fact, react to sound), before hearing the telltale sound of footsteps.
A single pair of footsteps.
Mentally praising whatever deity had decided to watch over him, Elliot brought the arm holding the pan back, getting ready to swing. And the moment he saw the thief come around the corner, he struck, a loud clanging sound echoing loud in the still night air as the guard's body dropped like a sack of potatoes, a 206 above its head alongside both a *headshot* and a *sneak attack* notice.
(Note to self; headshot bonus plus sneak attack bonus equals ridiculous damage!) He said to himself, chuckling soundlessly even as he heard the frantically approaching footsteps of the other guard upon her teammate's demise. Winding up another swing, he proceeded to also sneak attack and one-hit-kill the second guard. Not only did said action free up the entrance to the hospital, but it also gave him just enough points to level up.
[Level Up!]
LV: 1→2, HP: 70→130, MP: 10→20, Stat Points: 0→15
Hmm, not as much as he was expecting, especially on the rather pitiful mana gain, but he couldn't exactly complain about it. He did, after all, only have one point in MAG. But now that he had a whopping fifteen points to spend, he could start boosting some stats. Maybe a few would wind up in MAG, who knew?
(Let's see here...) Looking over his stats, he pondered on exactly how to spend his stat points.
VIT was always a winner, as that governed his ability to not die. AGI could also come in handy for dodging things, while STR and DEX were both good for handling weapons, which he could theoretically forgo in lieu of becoming a caster, and ACC was also necessary if he wanted to be able to hit anything from far away.
INT and WIS were always useful, so he had to boost those. CHA was not as immediately important as all of his other stats, so he could likely not focus on it at the moment. LUK was also good if you didn't want to get screwed over constantly with bad rolls or constant misses, so that was also necessary. But then what about MAG? That could also be pretty useful...
...but not as useful as being able to move faster, hit harder and evade better. After a few more minutes of deliberation, he made up his mind, and began distributing his points until he was satisfied. When he was done, he'd put eight points into VIT, one into AGI, two into STR, one into both DEX and ACC and dumped the last two into MAG, just because.
Now you may ask, why spend a whole eight points in VIT?
Well, he could tell you why; VIT was what governed his health and therefore his ability to not die, meaning that it was a pretty reliable stat to bank on off the bat. It also likely governed his pain tolerance and resistance to bodily harm, so yes, he was going to pump the everloving hell out of VIT until he was reasonably sure he couldn't be one-shot by a trash mob.
Not only that, but for every point he put into VIT and MAG, both his maximum health and mana had increased by ten respectively.
[Stats Up!]
HP: 130→210, MP: 20→40, VIT: 6→14, AGI: 9→10, STR: 8→10, DEX: 11→12, ACC: 13→14, MAG: 1→3, Stat Points: 15→0
With that taken care of, he looked down to see if either phantom had dropped anything, but unfortunately their weaponry had disappeared with them, and so he was still stuck with the frying pan. Slightly disappointed, he shrugged, and then he walked to the front entrance of the building, grasped both door handles and pushed the doors wide open.
...at least, that's what he tried to do. In actuality, the doors shook slightly on their hinges, but otherwise stayed firmly shut.
(What?) Why hadn't they opened? Were the doors 'pull' only? Grabbing the handles once more, he attempted to yank them open with force, to no avail. No, no they were not in fact pull doors. Were the doors locked, then? No, he could turn the handles just fine. By all accounts, the doors should've swung open. So what was wrong then? Eyes roaming over the door, he could find no outward reason for it to prevent him from opening it. Perhaps the hinges had rusted shut?
No, they didn't look that old. But then what was the problem? Hmm'ing to himself, he peered through the glass window to see if he could spy anything.
(...oh. So that's the problem.) An investigatory look inside the building presented him with the culprit; a crowbar, wedged in-between the handles of the other side of the door, effectively barring him from getting inside.
Or in other words, he was locked out.
"God dammit." Elliot swore exasperatedly. Really, he was locked out of the dungeon? How was he supposed to progress? Was he expected to just brute force the doors open? No, that would never work. Oh! Maybe there was another route into the building? Yeah, that had to be it! And so, he began a trek all around the building, trying to find an entry point. But unfortunately for him, every single conceivable entrance was in a similar state of impassibility. And so he arrived back at the front of the building, with nothing to show for his effort.
(This is ridiculous.) Honestly, why couldn't the doors just be open? Really, if not for his sake, then for the guards who'd been standing in front of the door itself (at least before he'd killed them, anyway). How were they expected to get in? Did they just call their buddies inside and ask to be let in? Sighing in irritation, his eyes began trailing up the building in idle curiosity.
And that was when he saw it, his ticket inside; a fire escape leading all the way to the roof of the building. Well, it was less a fire escape and more an absurdly long ladder, but still! It led to the top of the building, where (hopefully) he could get inside the building. And so, going around to the side of the building, he began the long and arduous task of climbing to the top of the hospital.
And considering how tall the building was, said task would be very arduous indeed. But he wouldn't get anywhere by complaining, so he just kept climbing.
And climbing.
And climbing.
And climbing.
(Goddamn Snake Eater ass ladder.)
Six minutes later, he finally reached the roof of the abandoned hospital, thankfully feeling none the worse for wear (he thanked Gamer's Body for that one). Striding over to the door leading into the hospital, he turned the handle and pulled, finding that, thankfully, this entrance wasn't closed, and therefore all of his climbing hadn't been a waste of time.
Congratulations!
But before he could go any further, a message popped up in his face, almost startling him enough for him to yelp and potentially alert the nearby guards.
(You've made it to the end of the first half of the tutorial! But now comes the second half; dungeon delving!
Make it through this dungeon and defeat the boss within, and you'll have completed the tutorial!
Have fun!
(Yes, because that sounds so easy.) Sure, just clear out an entire gang hideout and take down their boss. No biggie.
That was sarcasm, by the way.
Grumbling grumpily to himself, he hesitantly entered the stairwell, gently closing the door behind him before bringing out his frying pan and cautiously descending the flight of stairs all the way to the top floor of the hospital. And the moment that he was out of the stairwell and into the hospital proper, two things happened simultaneously.
One, the door slammed shut behind him, causing him to jump and let out a startled bark. And two, the name of the dungeon itself popped up in front of him.
"Blackwood General Hospital"
(Greeeaaat.) He grumbled sarcastically. (A creepy old hospital full of gang members. This'll be fun.) That, again, was sarcasm. He had the distinct feeling that this would not, in fact, be fun at all. And if that weren't bad enough, attempting to open the door to the stairwell told him that it had been locked, effectively trapping him in the dungeon until he either cleared it or died. Yippee.
Still, he couldn't beat the tutorial and therefore get on with his life until he conquered this dungeon, so he had to keep going. Steeling himself, he took a deep breath, and began his descent into Blackwood General.
Well, there you have it, the first chapter of Gaming: DxD, the remastered edition! Once again, I can't apologize enough for how late this is. I mean, honestly! Almost four whole months?! How much of a lazy bastard am I? Even with the whole 'losing my laptop' thing, I still should've at least had a chapter or two out by now! Man, I really need a better work ethic, don't I?
Oh, but enough about me. If you've gotten this far, then thank you for giving this a read! I hope you enjoyed!
Now, I would like to assuage some concerns some of you may have. First off, no, I am not going to flood the story with 'Gamer' related stuff every few sentences. The only reason it's like this in this chapter is because this is the first chapter, and I had to explain how everything works. Trust me, this is the worst it'll get in regards to clutter. Every chapter after this will have much more game-free content, I promise.
And for those of you questioning the inclusion of ten stats (you know who you are), I have this to say to you; I've chosen these specific stats for a reason. Yes, there are indeed more than in the original version of this story, and yes, it will make my job a bit harder, but I feel that these are story elements which need to include for reasons that would spoil the plot so I can't tell you, sorry.
And as for what these stats actually mean, here you go!
VITality: Governs overall health and endurance; resistance to damage and pain tolerance.
AGIlity: Governs physical agility and muscular reaction time.
STRength: Governs physical strength and muscular durability.
DEXterity: Governs physical dexterity and muscular coordination.
ACCuracy: Governs hand-eye coordination in regards to long-ranged weaponry (EX: Guns, throwing knives, etc.).
INTelligence: Governs ability to retain knowledge and comprehend complexities (puzzles, devices etc.).
WISdom: Governs decision making skills and perceptiveness.
CHArisma: Governs persuasiveness of speech and outward charm.
LUcK: Governs positive or negative aspect of random chance, critical hit percentage and item drop rates.
MAGic: Governs magical capability and overall mana pool.
Well, that's all for right now! Once again, I hope you enjoyed!
EyesOfChaos, signing off!