I do not own "The gamer", nor do I own "DC comics".
In this issue, we get exposition. Too much of it, in fact.
"I AM FREE ONCE MORE!" Yelled a disturbing deep voice. A will beyond my own grasped my hand upward and palm open. And, as dark clouds spewed out of it, I thought that I had unleashed untold terror and destruction to the world, with the cost of my soul. Hearing my brother past the hazy fog that covered our apartment, I could sense distraught and yelling, but no exact words. Miniature lightning strikes hit the table, floor, and ceiling, and feathers swum out of the vortex that dominated my mind.
"I just had to press yes." I screamed. "I just HAD TO! BUT NOOOO- BRO'S CODE, YEAH!? WHAT THE FUCK!" Then, with no rhyme or reason, it just stopped. There was silence. My hand was still in the air, afraid of what could come. I felt something there, squishy and plump. Too much of a coward, I had to ask my brother. "Dude...what the fuck's in my hand?" I couldn't see, but I could still hear. He was laughing. Laughing like a madman.
"Ethan," My brother, Michael, congratulated. "I can't believe it, you followed our grandfather's footsteps! You've done it!"
Yeah, for those of you who didn't know my brother, he wasn't always a perfect candidate for working jobs, and helping people. There was a time between the beginning of elementary to middle school filled with a god-complex. When he talked back then, it was always in this high and haughty voice, what he thought was the voice of god. Of course, I was shocked to hear him talk like that again, so, for a brief second, I opened my eyes. There was a fucking dove with eyebrows in my hand. I couldn't take it, I started laughing too. And that, was how I met my assistant.
Eventually we calmed down, and realized it moved form my hand to the table. Cowering together, my brother and I would spend time looking down laughing, looking up, and starting the cycle over and over again. Sooner or later, the dove started joining in too, in imitation of us. We spent a good two hours like that, all together. Seemingly tired, it eventually spoke.
"You know, I've been doing this for a while, but this has been the worst encounter with people I've had so far." The dove said in a deadpan, squeaky voice. "Are you two going to man up, or am I going to do something?" Again, it said in a light, small voice, unfit for its eyebrows.
We laughed again, looking mad, but on the inside, for me at least, felt as scared as a pine cone on the moon. After hearing something about going out of order, a wave of calm held my mind together, and straightened my face.
Looking towards my brother, he had the same look of calm and collectiveness that he usually had, but somehow...enhanced? Turning towards the dove, I guessed it was it's fault. "Do I now have your attention?" The thing asked, head turning towards the side. "Good, because you'll need it."
"Welcome, Ethan and Michael, to the game! The game of life! Due to mental instabilities with Ethan, your brother has been included in the game for a predictable amount of time. He will share passives, but not actives." The bird spluttered out. "He will not have the same body, however, and remain human. How he will survive, will be up to you."
I was heavily confused by the first sentence, but keenly, like always, my brother was on point. "What are the rules? Who are you? Passives? Actives?"
The dove replied, beak smiling. "No rules that you could break, and I am your ability's A.I.. And passives are powers that do not have a cost, and actives do. You will all understand in a few minutes. Come meet me at your computer. It will be easier to explain that way." And with that, flew off to the next room.
Feeling the calmness fade out a bit, I hurriedly asked my brother what was going on. Him, not knowing himself, concluded that we should spend some time alone to collect ourselves before we headed on.
"So, what the hell was that?" I started, as we sat on the couch. "That...that doesn't happen usually, yeah?" I asked, feeling bewildered.
"Yep," my brother continued. "People appearing, dark clouds condensing out of nowhere, talking eyebrow birds..."
"Wait." I stopped. "Appearing people?" I asked, dimwitted.
"Yeah, you just...appeared. You didn't notice?"
"N...no."
"Hah," he sighed out. "Tell me everything that happened beforehand. What exactly where you doing?" And then I told him. The box, the blue hue covering the world. But I, of course left out the bathroom bit, as that was just...embarrassing.
Muttering to himself, He looked between me, his phone, and the open door into the next room. Meanwhile, I kept to myself. What really DID happen anyway? What was expected of us? What was going to happen to us? Shaking my head, I got a call. Stumbling to my feet, I got my phone out, as old as it is and answered.
"Uh...hello?" I stated to the number I forgot to check.
"I am king" Stated the number in my brother's voice. Turning around, I saw that he was on the phone as well. "Answer me. I am king."
I was, without a doubt, even more confused that I originally was when the bird appeared- but after a few seconds of staring, I finally got it. "You are not king, but god!" I said all so cringe-filled. That was the phrase he made me say every day when we where little- and if I didn't, he would annoy me until I did. Smiling, he hugged me, and told me why he needed a phone.
"I needed to check if you where you, of course! You had your phone, but did you have your memories?" he said all to proudly. Yeah, now that I look at it, he was doing the act because he was nervous, but still, it comforted me on a level back then.
"Hey," I wondered aloud. "What about that thing you said- following grand-dad's work? What did that have to do with anything?"
His smile faltered. "Well, where are the groceries?"
I gulped about twice. And then, after a few lectures, we headed for the room.
The bird watching, we read. No, not literature of the times of old, legends, or prophecies. We read a freaking webtoon.
"Alright, hold it." the bird said as we were about to go on to episode seventy-four, huffing. "That's enough, the rest is basically useless."
"How come?" my brother asked, seemingly knowing where this was going.
"Because the rest is just a bunch of fighting, it should be the end to the introduction of the mechanics." The bird heaved, as if it had done this millions of times.
"I see..." My brother said, basically getting the gist of it.
Meanwhile, I was basically rubbing my temples in confusion. Tuning out my brother's questions towards the bird, I looked outside, to see it was still blue as the sea out there. Looking at the three people on the street, I wondered the meaning of life for about two seconds, before I was pecked on the head.
"Hey! Are you listening!?" The bird yelled straight into my ear.
"Yeah yeah yeah, I get it, neat cartoon. What does this even have to do with us!?" I yelled, annoyed. I was calm when near the bird, but I could still feel.
"Dude, I know you're a little slow-"
"Hey!" I yelled.
"But we've, or rather, you, just got that power!" he said, excitedly, pointing towards the screen. It took a second to process, but then I too, smiled. Yeah, it was a big game changer. Flight was cool, but the ability to learn how to fly alongside energy blasts, magic shields, personal dimensions, and more? It sounded cool, but...
"Why couldn't we refuse?" I asked, frowning. "I picked no at first, remember? Why didn't you just...leave us alone?"
My brother, frowning, about to talk, was interrupted by our feathered quest. "I don't know. One second, I give you the choice, you pick no, and I get yelled at to ask again until you said yes."
"Wait a second, you have higher ups?" my brother asked- eyes narrow.
"Yes, but I do no know who, before you ask. Can we just get on with this so I can sleep?" The bird demanded. Seeing nothing else to do, we nodded. "Alright. Say stats Ethan, just like in the manhwa." I did, and this was what I got;
Name: Ethan Alen Pierre
Job: The gamer
Level: 0 Next Level: 0.00%
Title: Absolute scrub
HP: 100/100
MP: 0/50
STR: 12
VIT: 11
AGI: 9
INT: 7
WIS: 6
LUCK: 16
Affinities; none
Points: 0
Money : o
Yeah, safe to say, after the explanation of the points, I was pretty mad. Apparently, while ten was the norm for baseline humans, twenty was the max, while the highest anyone had gotten on any stat was eighteen. The evaluation was based on my highest EVER on each stat except luck, which was at it's lowest recently. So, never mind the insult on intelligence, the fact that luck was the highest thing I had was quite...annoying. It felt like every bit of work I did throughout my life was pointless, from caring of my parents to giving simple advice.
Seeing my blight, my brother grasped my shoulder, and showed me he didn't care- all without speaking. God, he was amazing. Anyway, when I asked how come he could see my stats, the dove answered that brother's came in a pair, and smiled a bit. It felt like a very welcoming space, that room. That was, until after I was told about skills...
Gah! Getting out of order! anyway, after that, the dove talked about skills; and that, if I don't intend to get the skill, I wouldn't get it, but it would still level up n the background and only come into effect when I get the skill, giving me a boost in that particular area. I learned to realize it was pretty sweet, that way. No notifications every time I take a crap.
So, the bird told me to get an observe, or rather, an "evaluate". He found it better, because, and I quote; "taking time to read in a battle would get a stalk of the enemy's arm up your ass." So, I just, looked. I looked at my brother, and after a few seconds, got and evaluation on him.
CONGRATULATIONS! Through past abilities and small effort, you have gotten the skill evaluation!
[Evaluation] (passive) lv15 EXP: 0.0%
A gift from the A.I., boosted to level 15, this skill allows you to get the gist of an enemy's stats. Highest level of person to evaluate; 15. Gets skills at level 20. Gets background at 30.
Seeing my brother, I fell to the ground in minor defeat. Sure, he was my brother, but he was literally better in every stat except luck and strength by THREE. Well, save wisdom, by which he was better by Four! While I sat on the ground, all I could hear was my brother trying to cheer me up while the bird insulted me. Michael, bless his sweet heart, helped me up, and made the bird continue the lesson.
"Now, I need you crybabies to toughen up, because you're going to be hit." The dove said, relaxed, seeming to enjoy our reactions.
"Wha-why would we be hit?" inquired.
"Because my boss said you're taking too long. Now pucker up." He lazily said, then, in an instant, pecked both our foreheads, planting us with a minimal, yet crucial knowledge. And it hurt. A lot. Pain wrecked our heads, and as we clasped our heds, all I could see was the dammed bird's smirk. Within seconds, we passed out.
Then, I woke in an alley.
A.N: Yeah, pretty bad, but that's why I said bad writing in the summary, no?
Also, yes, I meant "I woke in an alley" not "we woke in an alley". You'll get it, sonner or later.
Edit; changed an "except" to a "save"
Edit2; fixed the indents.