I apologize. First chapter is somewhat of an info dump, and a general idea of how I decided the MC's abilities. I wanted to include the thought process.
Updated (12/31/18)
Chapter 1 – Transmigration Bus (Version 1.02)
I awoke to a white room.
"You died, Kid. It was like 'BAM!' You got hit by a bus." I was hearing a voice in my mind.
"What? I died?"
"Yup. I didn't expect that at all. Your death was pretty unusual."
I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It was aggressive, so I had already expected to die anyways in a month or so. I had already made my peace with it. "Did I commit suicide? How did my parents take it?"
"Nope. It was the transmigration bus. Unexpected, really. No one ever sees it coming. Even me. And I can see everything coming. Cause of death was noted to be a hit and run in your world. Your parents grieved when they found your body. You had a very nice funeral."
"Who are you?"
"God."
"Oh. Cool."
"Yup. Full disclosure—all of the Gods of the Multiverse are watching what is going to happen on this bus."
"What? Why?"
"Obviously, because you're going to be a great source of amusement in the future."
"Oh crap."
"Yup."
I was silent for a minute. "So now what?"
"Now for the fun part. Since you're on the Transmigration Bus, you get to go to a different world!"
"Can I return to my own world?"
"Nope! It's not fun that way. Also, I don't control the rules of the Transmigration Bus. I only control things in this universe."
"So what kind of world am I going to?"
"I don't know. It's your pick."
"I can choose?" That was both surprising and interesting.
"Of course! This is like winning the lottery!"
"Cool! So what worlds can I choose?"
"There's just about anything you would like! You can choose any story world like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson and the Olympians. You can go to any anime world like Naruto or One Piece. You can even go to any game world like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Final Fantasy, or Assassin's Creed. You could even be a part of one of those Xianxia Novels that you love so much! Hell, you might even choose to be a part of the Marvel or DC universe."
"Woah…" That is a lot of choices. God apparently pointed out a majority of the ones I had always wished I could be a part of.
"I'd choose wisely if I were you. Some of those worlds are extremely dangerous, hopeless worlds. Would you really want to live in those worlds?"
He was right. I could only handle a certain amount of danger. I wasn't a rapid growth MC like in all of the stories and games.
I thought through all of my options for a while, but I couldn't decide on where I wanted to go.
Apparently God could sense my troubles. "There's also two other options. First, you allow the transmigration bus to choose for you. It'll choose the world most suited to you, with the potential of leading you towards a great life. Of course, in return, you must accomplish missions for the bus in that world, or you will die."
"That doesn't sound pleasant."
"It depends on your point of view. Is the best world in the multiverse worth doing these tasks? Also, are you willing to do anything the bus asks of you in that world?"
"How many mission would it send me on? Are there any rewards for accomplishing these tasks?"
"Unlimited. The chosen world is your reward. There are no additional rewards for completing tasks."
"That's not good, but I guess maybe I wouldn't mind if the bus was giving me objectives to save the world."
"Unfortunately, that's not how it works. The requests are generally random and chaotic. The missions are whatever it feels would be interesting for all of the Multiverse Gods to watch, whether for good or evil."
"So what you're saying is that one day it could ask me to save a city, and the next day it could ask me to destroy it?"
"Yes. Essentially similar in concept. Almost no one selects this option once they know that."
"Yeah, that option's a no. What's the last option?"
"You could choose the random draw function, and a random world will be chosen for you."
"So it could be a really crappy world?"
"That's right. This option is rare too and only chosen slightly more than the other one, but in exchange, you can choose a couple of 'cheats'. You can grant yourself a couple of abilities, which fit the world's theme, within reason, to give yourself a fighting chance in that world. Of course, it could be an easier world to live in, and you would still get cheats, however they would be scaled down accordingly. It's just the luck of the draw."
"Hmm. So, I have three actions I can take right now. I can choose my world, and be sent there with no strings attached. I can allow the bus to send me to a world that would be great for me, but become a system's bitch. Or I can choose a random draw, and try to set myself up for success in that world."
I thought about it for a while. Time had no meaning where we were so I could take all the time I wanted. I had two real options. One was choosing the world myself, and the other was to be thrown into a random world with various possible benefits that I could choose for myself.
The major problem I was having was which world to choose. I feel like it would be awesome to be on a Pirate Ship with Luffy, and party with those guys, but maybe it would be too much non-stop adventure. Plus, I wouldn't want to be considered a criminal for the rest of my life. I was thinking the Naruto World, but I don't feel I would be able to make a difference among the main characters, and having to kill people for money in the future sounds depressing. Bleach is a bit too creepy in real life. I don't want to live a horror story.
The Harry Potter world seems fun, but I don't want to do something so basic. The Pokémon world sounds like a really fun world, but maybe it might be a bit too vanilla. Sure, I could choose a Pokémon world that was dark and gritty, but that would take away the whole Pokémon charm, which would defeat the purpose. The Dragon Age and Mass Effect series where great stories, but I'd never actually willingly want to be a part of such hopeless worlds.
The DC and Marvel Universes would be cool, if I could choose my origin. A Xianxia world would be cool too, but I'm not sure if I could take that cutthroat world without any advantages. I'd need to be born into that world and have all my memories wiped, to be able to fully adapt to that world. The Dragon ball universe is out for the same reason. Those people are crazy fighting maniacs. I wouldn't fit in.
I could keep going about all of the other worlds that I've imagined myself being a part of. But if you have to go into those worlds for real, you have to evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses.
On the other hand, I couldn't stop thinking about cheats. If chosen correctly, I'd be able to protect myself regardless of the world I fall into. Also, a leg up might be more important than choosing the world.
"I'll do the random draw."
"How exciting! I can't wait to see where you go! I'm getting messages from everyone! They are all excited about this!"
All of a sudden, screen appeared flashing words so quick that I wasn't able to read anything.
"Pull the lever whenever you're ready, and it will stop at that one. You are lucky that the Transmigration Bus is kind. If will only choose worlds that you are capable of understanding. Worlds that exist in more or less than three dimensions will not be included."
"Uh huh…" I didn't even know that was an option.
I took a deep breath and pulled the lever.
On the screen, the words stopped at Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka*. I vaguely remember reading some of the manga, and then I stopped because it wasn't releasing fast enough. I'm going to lose out greatly on information here, but at least I don't remember it being as harsh as other worlds.
"Not a bad world. Relatively peaceful. Game mechanics and growth make things easier."
That's what I remember too, but I only read a little bit compared to how far the story has actually gone. "Why is there an asterisk next to the world?"
"It means that it's an alternate universe version of that universe. There will be some differences fro the main story and world. You'll find out the details eventually."
"Okay…so that's totally not cryptic and ominous. So what's the next step?"
"Next, you get to choose your race, because that is an option. That will affect your starting point."
"What's the strongest race?"
"Each has their strong points. Any race can become strong with falna, so it doesn't' really matter."
"What race has the longest lifespan?"
"None. They are all about the same. The stronger you become, the longer you live."
"Then you should just make me human. I don't want to be questioned about the culture of another race, especially since I won't know the answer."
"Whatever you want. Next, do you wish to be born into that world, or would you like to directly transmigrate?"
Damn, this was a hard one. I'm not sure I can endure another childhood. I just can't. And new parents? I don't think so. Mine were the best. They did everything humanly possible to keep me alive.
"I'll transmigrate. Same age—18 years old."
"Understood. Here is a copy of your current falna, or status."
My status appeared in the air.
Krishna Khanna
Level 1
Basic Abilities
Strength I0
Endurance I0
Dexterity I0
Agility I0
Magic I0
Magic: N/A
Skills: N/A
"The only thing you are able to do is affect the last two categories, magic and skills. You are unable to affect your actual falna as that requires experiences that you don't have. You have 3 slots for magic and 5 slots for skills. Be aware that depending on what you ask for, you may not be able to fill up all of the slots. Think carefully on how you wish to proceed."
I thought about it for a while. Of course, when I said, "a while", I meant a day or two. I was able to come up with some good ideas.
"First, I want a skill that can automatically update my status with needing a god to do it."
"Oh, that's interesting. Why's that?"
"In case I get stuck somewhere, or spend a long time in a dungeon, I would like to be able to continuous get stronger without going back."
"Not a bad idea. Okay, what's next? List off everything you want and I'll give you your options."
"I want a limit break skill that will allow me to break successive stat barriers into the SS and SSS like Bell Cranel could do. It should also allow me to obtain 2 Developmental abilities per level up, and allow me to have more than 3 magic spells." If I am going to go into the dungeon, I can't fall behind Bell too much in terms of abilities. I also plan to join the Hestia Family, as apparently, joining another family is too hard and Hestia is currently accepting just about anyone.
"Wow, that one was both well thought out, and greedy. Next?"
"I'd also like an inventory with an auto-loot function. Oh, I would also like a mediation skill that can help me recover my magic and improve it at the same time like in the gamer. Hell, if I could make that skill improve all of my basic abilities, then that would be even better. I can't think of any other skills."
"What about magic?"
"I would like to be able to have the Summon Elemental ability from the gamer that Han Ji-Han uses. I'd like a teleportation skill that can take to me to any floor of the dungeon that I've already been to. I'd also like a Spell for ultimate defense."
"That is a lot of cheat abilities. Unfortunately, you are unable to have all of them exactly as you wanted based on the world you will be going to. If you want all of them, their abilities will be reduced significantly. This is what that list of abilities would look like if you took all of them."
Magic:
Summon Elemental (10 minute casting time, one elemental at a time, immense power drain, Activated at Level 4)
Teleportation (1 use every 3 Days, Personal use only, escape the dungeon only)
Absolute Protection (20 minute casting period, effect lasts 15 seconds)
Skills:
Limit Break (Can break through S-Rank)
Inventory (2x2 ft.)
Auto-loot (magic stones only)
Automatic Falna Update (once per week)
Mediation (Recover mind power slightly faster)
These abilities all sucked. "Those don't really seem like cheats at all…"
God was amused. "Even if they aren't close to what you wanted, each one of those abilities are all something all adventurers would love to have. The summons can be used as a distraction. Teleportation out of a dungeon is an amazing survival ability. Absolute protect would be extremely useful in a group battle.
Limit break allows people to get stronger. An inventory of even a small size is useful for carrying essential items such as food, water, potions, and loots. Auto-loot saves a bunch of time. Automatically updating your falna is useful for people in large families who rarely get to see their gods. Mediation allows mages to be able to use more magic faster."
[Note: I am going to call them families, not familia, so that I don't get annoyed by "misspellings"]
"I know what you're saying, but it's not what I wanted." God made a point, but if I choose these, then I would have a weak number of abilities all geared towards survival, rather than success in the dungeon. I wanted to succeed.
"I understand. You will have to remove abilities to improve the others. Perhaps you will need to add restrictions to some abilities. To make them work."
I went back to the drawing board. I had to choose one ting first that was absolutely necessary, which was Limit Break. Being able to break through the S-rankings to SS and SSS were important to becoming stronger. I also wanted to be able to choose double the developmental abilities. That was extremely important. I can let go of having more than 3 magic spells.
The Auto Updating of the Falna is also extremely important. As you get further into the dungeon, the more days you spend there. It would help a lot to be able to improve while there, even if it was once a week. Also, if I have to leave my family, my status will still keep updating. I'm keeping this one.
I can remove the meditation ability, as a watered down version isn't as useful, and I can raise my attributes continuously in the dungeon.
The inventory and auto-loot functions are great but too flashy. They would attract a serious amount of attention, as people would want me to become their supporters. I'll have to come back to that one, but it seems unlikely to happen.
In terms of the magic skills, I want all three of them, but they aren't as useful as I was hoping. I'm removing absolute protection because its casting time is way too long, and lasts for a really short time. It's not worth it.
"If I remove both the meditation ability and the Absolute protection ability, is that enough to improve the limit break to have 2 developmental abilities per level up?"
"No. It is enough to make your inventory 50 x50 feet though."
Damn. What else can I take off? Tsk. I guess there's no helping it.
"Take off the Inventory and Auto-loot."
"Done. That is more than enough for a second developmental ability per level up."
"Great, can you show me what I have now?" An updated screen appeared up in front of me again.
Magic:
Summon Elemental (10 minute casting time, one elemental at a time, Immense Constant Mind power drain, Activated at Level 4)
Teleportation (1 use every 3 Days, Personal use only, escape the dungeon only)
Skills:
Limit Break (Can break through S-Rank, Two Developmental abilities per level up)
Automatic Falna Update (once per week)
Damn. I took off 4 abilities to get double the developmental abilities. The inventory and auto-loot would have been amazing for carrying capacity of loot and supplies. It'll be a pain without it.
Now that limit break is complete, I need to pick another skill to center my skills around. I want the Automatic Falna update, but even if I don't center on it, it isn't the end of the world. If anything, I want something I can use for combat. I guess the next step is centering around summon elemental.
"How bad is an immense mind power requirement?"
"Hmm. I shouldn't tell you, but I suppose it doesn't really matter. It means at level 4 with a magic stat at 999, you'll be able to use a single elemental for a couple of minutes."
"What? Damn! I wouldn't be able to use any magic till level 4, which would mean no magic gains at previous levels. That would make my magic weaker than normal. Okay, take off Teleportation. How much does Summon elemental improve?"
"5 minute casting time, multiple elementals at a time if you have the mind power to support them, immense constant mind power drain, with it being useable starting at level 3."
Dammit. This still isn't useable right away. I may need to give up even more. I can't give up any of the others. Those are too important. I have no other choice. I have to go all out.
"I give up any future use of my two other magic spell slots. I give up all future magic abilities. What can that get me?"
"That…let me see. Instant cast, multiple elementals (if you have the necessary power to control them), immense constant mind power drain, and activated at level 2."
"What? How is this still not enough? This is bullshit!"
"It's not crazy. Elementals are beings with absolute control over their elements. You are asking for an insanely powerful army to fight on your behalf in a dungeon. It's also a world breaker ability. Even if you gave up all future skill slots, it still wouldn't be enough to bring it down to be useable to level one. The immense mind power drain would only allow you to use the skill for a few minutes at S rank for level two anyways."
Damn damn damn damn! What can I do? Are there any solutions? Think, think, think! In this way, a few hours passed. I'm glad God was patient with me. Finally, a thought occurred to me. Wait…does it have to be elementals?
"Can I summon stuff other than elementals?"
"Of course."
"What about Pokémon?" Pokémon would be interesting and strong and useable for all occasions.
"Instant cast, multiple Pokémon, immense constant mind power drain, and activated at level 1."
"What? Okay, what about Marvel heroes summons?"
"Instant cast, multiple heroes, immense constant mind power drain, and activated at level 1."
"What? That's the same as Pokémon! Why is there still an immense mind power drain?"
"Because they are both strong groups and their themes don't fit into your world. They would attract far more attention than normal. Elementals fit the fantasy theme of the world, otherwise they would be even more expensive."
God, this was so frustrating. I wish I could somehow get a version of this skill that had a lower magic requirement. At this point, I am willing to give up on summoning altogether and take up a simpler magic spell. Maybe take the inventory back with auto-loot, and a swordsmanship skill. But I came up with another idea. Something I knew that the bus would probably enjoy.
"What if we gambled on my summon type with a random draw. Would that make it possible to decrease the magic power of whatever I'm summoning from immense mind power requirement to a low mind power requirement?"
God communicated with the bus. "The bus is greatly intrigued and excited by your idea. He will allow it if whatever you summon is scaled by your magic power. For example, you might get the ability to summon Demon Gods, but you you're a level 1 with a magic stat of H101, your summon will be just as weak as your magic power."
"Then what's the point of having summons if they are just as weak as me?"
"Take or leave it." God was stoic.
The bus was amenable to bargaining, so I came up with a counter offer that would work to my favor. "I'll accept that, if you allow 3 things."
"State your terms."
"First, I expect loyalty no matter what. I don't want to end up in a situation where I get summons that won't listen or cooperate with me."
I got a feeling of discontentment. God laughed. "The bus was really hoping you wouldn't notice that he could allow the possibility of disloyal summons. That is, of course, against the spirit of your original request, so once you noticed the loophole, the bus has no choice but to agree to that. All options for summons that won't be loyal to you have been removed from the draw. Just so you know, when you summoned those elementals, they too would have had free will, and could have chosen to harm or help you."
I sweated. Dodged a bullet there apparently. "The second thing I want is that death isn't permanent for my summons. It just sends them back for a specified amount of time, and then they can be summoned for use again. No loss in memories if they are intelligent."
"That was going to happen anyways. Agreed. Time it takes to bring them back after they are gone depends on how strong your summons are. The stronger they are, the longer it takes. Memories are maintained. State your last one."
This one was what I really wanted, and the main benefit. "If my summons are going to be weak, then any fighting they do should be able to improve my stats as well. If they take damage, that should improve my endurance. If they use their power, agility, dexterity or magic, it should improve mine in those categories as well. Their experiences in dungeon should be able to be added to my own falna."
Essentially, even if I don't fight, they can improve my falna by fighting for me. Of course, I plan on fighting too, because otherwise, I'd get killed while in the dungeon. I don't want to be the weak link.
"The Transmigration Bus states that it'll allow it, but only because your requests will change what is available in the random draw. It will balance out in the end. Whatever you get, whether if it ends up being the ability to summon dragons or slimes, Jedi or Hutts, teletubbies or Dora the Explorer, Blue's clues or Sponge Bob Square Pants, Mario World gumbas or Sonic the Hedgehog…whatever it is, you have to live with it."
I hate random draws. I feel like I'm going to regret this. Once I agree, I can't change my status. Is this chance worth it? I'm not sure. Is it worth giving up on an inventory and auto-loot, and potential weapon using skills? The only thing I really know about the series is that it's lonely in the dungeon. I'm not saying that you should try to be stupid and actually pick up girls in a dungeon, but having comrades is necessary to stave off insanity. I know it's almost illogical to go through with the draw, instead of just choosing a bunch of survival abilities, but I'd rather be good at something, than mediocre at everything.
"I'd like to start the draw."
A screen appears in the air and various options were flashing through, some I'd heard about, while others not so much. All of the options seemed fairly specific too, like I saw options for Dragon ball aliens, Mario Tennis, Donkey Kong ride-able animals, Darkspawn from Dragon age, a random race from Mass Effects, and other specific stuff. I was expecting to be able to summon anything from a specific world or series, but I guess that would be way too much to ask for, especially since my summons can't die, and can help me grow stronger. God did say the bus would balance things out in the end. I should have expected a limit on the number of summons I could have. Hell there was even an option for random earth clothes. I hope I don't get that one. That seems fairly useless, but at the same time, if summons scale in power with my magic stat, then maybe a shirt and pants could become extremely strong.
I pull the lever and it stopped.
"Oh no. Hell NO!" It was all over. I can't use any other magic spells anymore. I gave up everything for this.
"You live with whatever you get. That was the deal. No take backs."
"Oh come on! That's just not cool!"
"Sorry. No changes."
"Look, I can work with literally anybody. You want to give me an army of Barbie dolls? I'm up for it. The Animanics? Sure thing. The Smurfs? I can figure it out. I can make the Winnie the Pooh characters into an army of monster slayers. Hell, I'll even work with a group of fat house cats. This is just too much for me though. I can't do this."
"Stop whining. It's not that bad."
"Please! Can't you do anything?"
"Nope. The Bus is greatly amused by the outcome. It thinks this is the best thing to happen in a really long time. The Bus, however, has decided to improve your Automatic Falna Update Skill to occur daily as a consolation prize."
"Not exactly what I had in mind—"
"Would you rather get nothing? It's more than willing to take it back."
"No, no, I'm good. I'll definitely take it."
"That's excellent then. Your origin story will be a human that lived with his family in a town called Talvin, until they passed away from a monster attack. You decided to pursue your fortune in Orario and join a family to pursue whatever goals you want. Your first day in Orario will be the same day that Bell Cranel meets Ais Wallenstein in the dungeon for the first time. As that is when the novel originally starts. Is that okay? If you wish it, we can send you at some other time of your choosing."
They were being surprising accommodating about the timing.
"Honestly, I would like to start like a year earlier, but then it's highly likely that Bell wouldn't get his Liaris Freese skill. So I guess its fine."
"Alright. I believe we talked about almost everything. When you get your falna, the only thing that will appear initially is your Summon magic. If you spend three continuous days in the dungeon, you will obtain your Updating Falna skill, which will be known as Constant Grace. Lastly, when two of your stats happen to reach the top of S-Rank, you will obtain the Limit Break skill. That's everything. You will be sent on your way in 30 seconds. Thank you for participating, and enjoy your stay on the next world."
"Thanks for helping me out and being patient with me. I really appreciate it, even though the whole summon fiasco didn't work out like I wanted."
"Don't be too sure. Who knows how that'll work for you?"
"Are you saying there is more to this than meets the eye?" When God hints something, you pay attention.
God laughed. "Anything that looks like a dud has a lot more to it. It isn't as apparent as having an army of super soldiers. There aren't any worthless summons, only worthless summoners."
"Wait! What should I—" I was cut off as I was transported to another dimension.
Meanwhile, after I left…
"Is it okay for him to be given that summon? You even nudged the random draw a little to change the original choice, and had to compensate him with an improved Continuous Grace skill. Yes, I know it'll be more amusing than the Cloud's team from Final Fantasy 7. Okay, whatever. Just be glad I decided to go along with your plan and didn't tell Krishna. He would have been pissed. After all, Cloud's team would have been a great asset in the dungeon, almost like winning the lottery among that other stuff. Anyways, I'm leaving to go watch the show. I hope it's a good one!"
All that was left on the Transmigration Bus was a screen that said:
Disney Princesses*
Krishna Khanna
Level 1
Basic Abilities
Strength I0
Endurance I0
Dexterity I0
Agility I0
Magic I0
Magic:
Summon Disney Princess (Instant cast, multiple summons allowed, constant low mind power drain, power scales with magic stat, Loyal, No permadeath, Gain excellia for Summoner's use)
Skills:
Limit Break (Can break through S-Rank; Two Developmental abilities per level up; Locked and hidden until requirements met)
Continuous Grace (Falna automatically updated once per day; Locked and hidden until requirements met)