Hello, and Welcome to the Jungle.

No, I don't own that song, but it gets me pumped up.

A more accurate depiction of the greeting I gave before, is welcome to Chapter 4.


-Answering Reviews-

Tsunashi777: Thanks for reading, and you're welcome. I feel like I can update often if I can get on a roll. As far as Kiba goes, there is a reason 'he' is a 'she' in this story. I don't have any plans to introduce a 'male Kiba' at this point in time, but it might be possible.

Plasma Dragon 312: Thanks for reading. Hm, I would have to say that it depends on both perspective and time. Please keep in mind that he is still level 10. I will spoil just one thing. He has two and a half years until canon and in most RPG(s), a character's progression will speed up as they go further and further. He certainly won't be a pushover when canon arrives.

Jack vile Ripper: Well...I'm glad to know that I 'surprised' somebody hahaha. You were actually the reason I didn't waste another day or two on stretching the last chapter out. I just kinda read what I had and was like, "No, this is good". Now, responding to requests is...hm, :) . By the way, thanks for reading!

ARSLOTHES: Thanks for reading! Quite a few people are commenting to me about a harem and the pairings and whatnot. I hope that the selection I have planned for this story can find some appeal with the readers...

RadioPoisoning: Well, first of all, thanks for reading. Now, I was considering putting some average human's stats in the last chapter to give a comparison, but then I kinda felt that, for Roland being the kind of guy he is, it wouldn't seem as important to find out the stats of other humans when faced with Devils. And, as far as Kiba and Akeno being 'too strong', I merely wish to direct your attention towards people like Rizevim and Loki. Imagine what 'their' stats will be like~! His decision to not put anything in INT will be explained in this chapter, so yeah. He's saving his stat points, though, so I hope that will convince you that he's not a total moron~...

Kinunatzs The Eternal: Thanks for reading. You and RadioPoisoning seem to think alike, so I will simply ask for you to read the answer above for 'details'. As for how he progresses, thanks for the suggestion, but I already have him covered. As far as the 'trade LVL for Skills'-thing, I feel like it would make the [Game] too easy for people. Most developers of games tend to try and aim for creating new and unique challenges, or just cliche and overused challenges. I know there are people who curse my name at night for not giving Roland the clearance to become a god within two or three chapters, but I've never played an RPG with such insane shortcuts like that.

Xbox432: Thank you, and thanks for reading! Yes, he will encounter them again before canon starts. As far as the power difference goes, I felt that they needed to be strong enough that 'regular' humans wouldn't stand a chance against them. That, and offer Roland some insight into how pathetically weak he is. As far as the 'minimum level requirement', I have also done that. However, Roland is not as stupid as his 1 point in INT would make people think. He's got a bit of experience at this~!

Spice: Thank you for reading!

FateBurn: Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

Squadpunk 2.0: Not even considering the fact that it would've been a complete accident as well~...


EDIT 5/22/17: I went back to make some slight tweaks to emphasize Douglas Roland's play-style as being 'skill-based' and not 'by the books'.


Disclaimer: Why would I even want to own Highschool DXD anyway? The third season of the anime already exists, and nobody wants to have a fancy dinner where they serve their companion a big fat turd on the plate. No, I'm fine with some story ideas and a socially-awkward OC who considers a random cave more interesting than listening to Rias Gremory talk like a succubus.


Guide as to how to read this story:

"Speech" = Spoken Speech by people like you and me.

"Disembodied Voices" = Schizophrenic stuff.

Warning: Thoughts and descriptions won't be written any differently in terms of font or punctuation. This is for my convenience. For a detailed explanation, refer to Chapter 2's beginning notes.


Chapter 4: Welcome to the...Forest~!


[ID: Dark Puppet's Temple]


*SIGH*

"Fucking jerk. Makes people wait for seven fucking months due to 'planning and shit', then takes almost a month to do pretty much the same shit he did during those seven months. Seriously, our lives don't revolve around whether or not he wants to do his fucking job." I complained, tilting my head to the right hard enough for it to give a pleasant 'crack'.

Now, back to the plot.

I continued my trek down the...what the fuck are these called? They're like one-sided caves, almost as if someone or something carved pathways into the sides of the plateau. That's what I was walking through!

Anyways, considering how skinny this plateau is, it's almost like a spire or something of that effect. I certainly doubt that it's a natural landmass. Especially when you take into account of what's around it.

Yeah, remember those other plateau/spire-things that I said were on one side of the one I'm on? They're completely surrounding this one in a full circle. They were spaced out, of course, by about three hundred feet or so. As I was walking down the spiral pathway of the plateau I was on, I did a quick head count of them.

The tallest one in the center, which I'm on, and six shorter ones centered around the tallest. They were each covered in thick greenery, so I can't really make out a heck of a lot of details, but that's the situation.

So, yeah...I sincerely doubt that any of this is 'natural'. However, it's not as if my ability to simply warp into an area like this is 'natural' either, so I don't really think it's all that complicated to think about.

'Game logic', is not 'real logic'.

'Real logic', is not 'game logic'.

Must have taken a bloody fucking genius to figure that out, huh? *WINK*

Returning back to the stuff that matters, I continued my trek down the 'path', with absolutely no problems whatsoever.

Seriously.

Nothing happened.

Well, until I came to the bottom, anyways.

Before me, sitting at the bottom of the plateau, was an arching gate about fifteen feet high with moss and mushrooms growing on it. Beyond the gate, was a pathway that led to the forest. Slightly above the trees, I could make out the temple in the distance due to the fog that surrounded it and the huge-ass tree sitting on top of it.

Stepping through the gate with no difficulty whatsoever, a red screen appeared before me...


-You are now leaving the Exit Point!-

-[ID: Escape] is prohibited until Dungeon is Cleared!-

-Do you wish to leave the Exit Point?-

+Yes

+No


Clicking on the 'Yes' option, the screen shifted to another red screen...


-You have now left the Exit Point!-

-To leave the Dungeon, you must complete the [Quest], then return to the Exit Point and use [ID: Escape]!-


There was a 'check mark' button on the bottom of the screen. I pressed that and the screen went away...

And then, the sound of rustling leaves graced my ears...

I saw some things moving out of the tree-line on both sides of the pathway...

...three Puppet Soldiers...great...

One of them came out from the trees on the left, whilst the other two came from the right. The one on the left was slightly closer due to the gate being positioned at a slight angle in relation to the pathway.

I decided to do this proper, since fighting one gave me a little bit of trouble earlier. I've already learned that these guys were quite a bit better than regular Puppets, after all.

"[Observe]. [Observe]. [Observe]."


-OBSERVED-

Name: Dark Puppet Soldier
Race: Monster

LVL: 2
HP: 60/60
MP: 0/0

STR: 10
END: 10
AGI: 10
INT: 0
MAG: 0
LUK: 0


"Okay, here we go." I muttered as the three of them were jogging at me with the clubs raised proudly and 'flailing-ly'.

The left-most one reached me first, as per logic. I already started circling to the left before it even came within ten feet of me with it's club raised.

Which, of course, meant that it started correcting its course in a near instant...by angling its strike to the left.

So, I quickly switched my circling to the right whilst ducking slightly, evading the Puppet Soldier's swing and giving me the opening to-"Whah! Shasha! Chow!".

Punching it in it's stomach, then it's chest, before grabbing it's face and pulling it downwards whilst pulling my knee up, I delivered a combo to it that I had somewhat learned while I was grinding to get to LVL 10. It wasn't as easy with the Puppets, as I had to only hit them lightly or risk them dying too quickly.

Anyways, the Puppet Soldier didn't go down from that, so I circled back to the left of it to make sure that his buddies have an obstacle blocking their path. This gave me a small second to glance at the Puppet Soldier's health.


-HP: 12/60-


Well, he's almost dead.

Having staggered back slightly due to being kneed in the face, the Soldier recovered after a second and started moving towards me with its club raised to the side. I also noticed his friends change their jogging direction when they were about fifteen feet away from us so that they would run up to the left and right sides of the one in front of me.

So, I guess their AI is also a bit better than the regular Puppets. They're not just gonna stumble up to their friends and then stop to turn. They'll just run directly towards where they're gonna end up.

Clenching my stomach, I ducked down in order to dodge the attack from the Puppet Soldier in front of me. However, it's club still skimmed on top of my head, leaving a slight sting in its wake.

I cocked my right fist behind my back as I then straightened myself back up. Thrusting my fist at its chin, I gave it a sick uppercut that caused it to fall to the ground and go all 'black smokey' on me.

One down, two to go...

The other two were upon me within three seconds. The one on the right had its club raised for a downwards swing, whilst the one on the left had its club hanging to its side for a horizontal swing.

I waited until they were almost on top of me before strafing to the left as fast as I could. I figured that if I timed it right, I could get them to hit each other...

...and I was right.

Well, half right.

The one on the left swung at me, though I raised both arms to block it. There was a slight sting on my forearms, but I doubted that I took a hell of a lot of damage. The one on the right, though, had swung down at where it thought I would be and ended up clocking the other one in the head with its club.

I didn't really want to stop and check how much damage that did, though. After all, I had a chance to inflict damage on the one that was formerly on my left.

"One, two, three, four!" I grunted as I punched the Soldier in front of me with four rapid punches in the chest. Crumpling to the ground, it vanished like its ally. That leaves onl-"Uhn! Back! The! Fuck! Up! Bitch!"...

...one of my brighter ideas...

...rush forward and punch 'em a lot!

So, after having been hit once on the shoulder by the last Soldier's club, I gave it five good punches to the chest. With that, the last Soldier of the group fell to the ground gracefully before disintegrating.

And so, having finished my fight with those three Soldiers, I went ahead and started heading down the pathway into the jungle...

...except...

"I never really thought about it before, but the fact that the Puppet Soldiers drop their weapons in here is kind of...I mean, the Puppets never actually 'dropped' anything on the ground. So, why are these things getting dropped now?" I asked myself as I knelt down and collected the three Wooden Clubs that were on the ground.

Putting them into my 'Inventory', I just shrugged and continued on.

Maybe it's dropping because I'm in the 'Boss ID'? You know, since I can't really get out, they have their guys drop their weapons and such just in case I need a boost?

It seems kind of...weird that they would just do that, and only for the 'Boss ID'.

Huh, maybe it only works with weapons?

Mm...but, that still seems kind of weird.

Well, it doesn't really matter at the moment. If anything, I can just sell these later on.

Anyways, the pathway that I was walking down was somewhat wide. I'd say about twelve feet from tree line to tree line. More than enough space for surprise fights to break out...

...

Anyways, the density of the tree line and fauna on the sides of the pathway was also somewhat commendable. You can barely see even a dozen feet into the jungle before the greenery got too thick.

Well, even if I'm surprised, I doubt that there's anything near me that can one-shot me. Besides, I'm curious as to how much damage I had taken in that battle...

So, pulling up my 'Status Screen', I continued walking absentmindedly while I checked it over.


-Status Screen-

Date: August 12, 2014 (Canon Start: 972 days)

Name: Douglas Roland
Age: 15 (Real Age: 20)
Birthday: April 25
Race: Human
Race Bonus (Rank 1 Human): +1 LUK/level
Occupation: Gamer
Title: Numbnut Noob (+1 LUK)

LVL: 10
EXP: 60/258
HP: 127/140 (+12.0 HP/minute)
MP: 128/140 (+10.1 MP/minute)

STR: 20 (20+0+0)
END: 20 (20+0+0)
AGI: 20 (20+0+0)
INT: 1 (1+0+0)
MAG: 1 (1+0+0)
LUK: 12 (1+10+1)

Stat Points: 15


"Okay, so my extra END paid off a little. But, why did I get hit so much? I'm at 20 AGI, and they're at 10, so why are they able to hit me like I'm...standing...still?" I questioned as I walked, confused as to why the attacks of the Puppet Soldiers have been hitting me so often. I mean, granted, they're faster than Puppets, but I should be faster than they are...

"I mean, not like I'm a genius at fighting, but it seems like something more is going on than just me being used to the slow movements of the Puppets..." I sighed, closing my 'Status Screen' and opening up the 'Help Screen'.

Time for a little resear-"The fuck is this?"

Cutting off my plans of doing some research, I stumbled on another pathway on the left. Well, I say 'pathway', but it only went on for about ten feet before being blocked off by a huge violet-colored force field.

Why the fuck would something like that be in the jungle?

Walking up to the violet barrier, I saw that it was a little bit see-through. On the other side, it seemed like the same kind of pathway I was walking down, though...I could also see that the pathway started to curve into the distance.

Hell, if I were to hazard a blind guess, I'd say that the pathway would lead to one of the spires that was surrounding the one I started out on.

Out of curiosity, I put the palm of my hand on the force field, gaining a similarly colored violet screen appearing in front of me.


-Must be Level 80 in order to enter!-
-[Quest] location!-


And, not five seconds later, a blinking orange screen took it's place.


-Quest Alert!-

Quest Title: The Dark Puppeteer!

Quest Details:
-You have found a force field inside the [Dark Puppet's Temple]! However, you're not strong enough to enter it yet. What mysterious secrets are beyond this barrier, and who is the 'Dark Puppeteer'?

(Quest Note – To turn off 'Quest Notes', go to Options): This is an optional [Quest] that you are not ready for. However, this [Quest] shall always be available for you to 'Accept' once you reach the 'Minimum LVL Requirement'.

Difficulty Level: '7' (Harder than Chinese Algebra)

Objectives:
-'?'
-Defeat '?'

(Optional)
-'?'
-'?'

Time Limit: N/A

Completion Rewards:
-+7 HP Bonus
-+7 MP Bonus
-700,000,000 Yen
-[Title]: [?]
-1x '?'
-1x '?'
-1x '?'

Failure Penalties:
-Death

Accept?
(((You cannot accept this [Quest] yet.)))


"Yeah, fuck that." I responded, promptly dismissing the screen and choosing to instead get back to walking on the pathway towards my [Quest]...

...that is, until about 200 feet down the road from the barrier, I came to a four way intersection with two of the same violet force fields covering each pathway to my sides. I did a quick check on each of them, and found that they were part of the same [Quest] that I had just seen...

...except, the barrier on my right seemed to not allow entry from this side, and the barrier on my left seemed to only allow entry if you've completed everything to the right...

Considering the layout of the land, the pathway for this [Quest] seems to circle around to the different spires jutting out of the ground. The path starts at the first barrier I was at, circles around, comes out at the pathway to the right, before you finish off by going through the pathway on the left.

Anyways, now that I've solved that little conundrum, I continue onward whilst pulling my 'Help Screen' back up.


-Please type either keywords or a question pertaining to the [Gamer] system-
-Why do my physical stats not seem to influence my physical abilities?-


Pressing the 'enter' key on the keyboard, the search results came back up in the same style format as when I performed my first few searches.

(((Note: I will be summarizing this one afterwards, so if you don't want to read it, then feel free to skip.)))


-Version x1.0: This [Game] introduces a feature referred to as the [Effort Gauge]. This concept became realized due to potential problems related to [Gamers] not trying very hard to play the [Game].

Instead of relying solely on the [Gamer]'s 'Stats' to determine their abilities, the amount of effort a [Gamer] exerts will play a key factor in how they can utilize their 'Stats' to enhance their abilities.

For instance, if a [Gamer] punched an enemy, the amount of effort the [Gamer] puts into the punch will determine how much of their STR 'Stat' is applied.

According to the [Architect]: "The [Effort Gauge] was introduced as a way to make sure that, no matter how high your 'Stats' get, you still have to put in effort in order to play the [Game] properly. For the more 'combat oriented' lifestyles, this system also offers another advantage in that the [Gamer] won't simply kill anything they touch due to the system not recognizing whether or not they're putting any effort into what they're doing." (Click for details)-


"Okay, so the [Effort Gauge] is basically another feature introduced to make the [Game] more realistic and rewarding to play. Which, for me at least, means that it's not enough to simply have a higher AGI 'Stat' than the Puppet Soldiers in order to dodge their attacks. I actually have to push myself to do it..." I mumbled as I continued walking.

Hm, it's a good thing that the Puppets only come out from the plant life. It makes a hell of an alarm sound~!

Stopping my movement and closing my 'Help Screen', I saw four more Puppet Soldiers come jogging out of the tree lines on both sides of me.

I glanced to each side to see them getting closer. Each side had one Soldier getting ready for a downwards swing and the other ready for a horizontal swing. Bending my knees to just shy of a 90 degree angle, I waited until they were about five feet away before bending backwards and kicking off the ground.

Okay, so I may not be a very gymnastic person, as evidenced by the fact that I was sent tumbling over the ground and onto my stomach due to my own actions, but it was worth it!

I heard three *thunks* and a *snap*, indicating that the Puppet Soldiers performed quite a bit of 'friendly fire'. Getting my knees underneath me, I quickly pushed myself up off the ground. I looked up to see two of the Soldiers were almost on me, with both going for a horizontal swipe.

Clenching my stomach muscles again, I knew that I'd need to put some genuine [Effort] into this until I got good at dodging shit. Bending my knees, I whipped my torso downwards to dodge their attacks.

...

...and it worked, too.

Unlike the other times, this time I actually dodged their attacks entirely. Though, I'm not one to waste these opportunities. Snapping my torso straight-up again, I threw two punches at the same time, connected with the left's stomach and the right's shoulder.

Now, before I forget...

I used [Observe] on the both of them, starting with the left.


-OBSERVED-

Name: Dark Puppet Soldier
Race: Monster

LVL: 2
HP: 35/60
MP: 0/0

STR: 10
END: 10
AGI: 10
INT: 0
MAG: 0
LUK: 0


-OBSERVED-

Name: Dark Puppet Soldier
Race: Monster

LVL: 2
HP: 38/60
MP: 0/0

STR: 10
END: 10
AGI: 10
INT: 0
MAG: 0
LUK: 0


-Magic: [Observe] has increased by 1 level!-
-[Observe] – LVL: 12 – EXP: 5/100% - Active – MP Cost: 5 MP-


Oh, hey! Look at that handy dandy blue screen that tells me something I don't really CARE ABOUT RIGHT NOW!

Paying as little attention to the clusterfuck of blue screens in front of me, I alternated throwing hard punches at the two Puppet Soldiers directly in front of me. They staggered a little with each blow, which allowed me to take them out in three more hits each.

As they crumpled to the ground, dropping their Wooden Clubs in the process, I saw the other two Soldiers circling around the soon-to-be-gone corpses. They were coming up on my left and right sides simultaneously. I knew that this wasn't a good kind of position for me to be in, so I started back-stepping as fast as I could, trying to keep them both in front of me.

Well, with these two here, I can get a little practice in dodging. I'll just wear them down enough to where I can kill them in a single hit before that, though.

I don't want to die, after all...


1 Hour Later

"...Buh. Da Buh. Da Buh. Da Buh. Da Buh." I rhythmically chimed as I ducked and weaved out of the way of the two weakened Puppet Soldiers' attacks.

Yep, as I figured, these guys only have two different attacks. Vertical and horizontal swings of their clubs.

Other than that, I started to understand what it means to put quite a bit of 'oomph' in my movements. All those guys in anime and manga and shit that make it look like the easiest thing in the world are lying. And now I can truly appreciate how good I was doing without seriously trying...

With the Puppets, I only got hit four times. Two of those was when I tried to find out if I can block their attacks. The other two were in one of the later areas of the [Puppet ID] when I had to fight 23 of them at once. They got a few lucky shots in, but I only took like five points of damage.

These guys are a bit more challenging in that they don't move anywhere near as slow. I've gotten hit about sixteen times since training started. However, before that, I think I got hit around five or six times.

But, as I get increasingly used to putting effort into my movements, their attacks seem to be missing more and more. It feels more like fast-paced dancing than anything else...

Which is why, starting about fifteen minutes after all of us began my training, I starting making rhythmic sounds to try and see if I could pick up on a trick to dodging more efficiently.

Though, this method probably won't work for any kind of intelligent opponent, against these guys that have a set pattern it seems to be an almost surefire way to know when they are about to attack.

That's probably the reason I haven't even been hit in the last ten minutes or so...

"Alrighty boys, thanks for the help~!" I politely said before dodging one last vertical swipe from the Puppet Soldier on my right before slamming my right fist into its abdomen while simultaneously bringing my left leg up to lightly kick the other Soldier who was on my left in the shin. This stopped him from attacking for a moment, which I took advantage of by planting my left foot back on the ground and swinging my left arm in a chopping motion, catching it in the chest.

Both Puppet Soldiers crumbled, leaving the pathway open for me to walk once again.

And walk I did...after picking up all of the Wooden Clubs the entire group dropped.


15 Minutes Later

"Wham! Cha!" I shouted as the small group of five Puppets that had ambushed me in a sharp bend in the pathway had been dispatched cleanly and efficiently.

I sighed slightly as I inspected the area around me. The path in the direction I came from to my left seemed to bend into something resembling a 'U'-shape before it continued on to my right, curving towards the right in the distance and seeming to lead into the land of mystery...

I betcha anything there's gonna be trees, dirt, grass and plants in that 'land of mystery'.

There! Not so 'mysterious' anymore, is it!?

Over the course of the last fifteen minutes, I had opened up my 'Help Screen' and looked for information about [Observe] and [ID: Create] on the grounds that I had a 'fleeting curiosity'.

In my defense, everyone has those moments.

Anyways, you know how my INT is supposed to govern how fast my 'Skills' and 'Magic' gain EXP? Yeah, well, these two abilities are 'exempt' from that rule. It says that it's on the grounds that they're given to you at the very start of the [Game] and that they're basically the 'bread and butter' of [Gamers].

In other words, without possessing any other 'Skills' or 'Magic' that can gain EXP, INT is pretty much useless to me at the moment. Not to say that it won't possess significant importance later on, but I think I made the right choice by not dumping any points into it.

Same goes for MAG, too. Once I get the 'Tokens' for completing this [Quest], I can buy a 'Skill' and 'Magic' that can help me out. At that point, MAG and INT will probably become important. However, for right now, it would be best to not get too hasty.

I can only imagine some poor [Gamers] out there, prematurely dumping their points into 'Stats' that won't do anything to help them. Then, they'll face some kind of enemy or whatnot, and be completely helpless...

...all because they may think, "Oh, if I have massive INT, I can come up with a solution!".

...or, you could use 'common sense', think about the situation a bit, and save your points for something else?

Seriously, for a guy that has only a single point of INT, I'm fairly certain that I'm not the stupidest being in existence.

Besides, I hardly think there are many enemies out there that you can put down with nothing but INT.

STR fucks them right up, though!

But, just before I was ambushed by Puppets, I was contemplating on another aspect of the [Game] that I found rather annoying. I felt like I had way too much information popping up on my 'Status Screen' and any 'Observed Screens' that come out in front of me in the middle of a fight.

Thus, I looked through my 'Options Screen' for the first time since I became a [Gamer] over like five or six hours ago.

With a white screen popping up in front of me, I set about personalizing my [Gaming Experience]...

...if that's even a thing...


-Options-

(Choose an Option for more Details)

+HUD
+Gameplay
+Video
+Audio
+Notifications
+Gamer Menu


"Well, let's get started..." I muttered, pressing on the 'HUD' option and seeing what all I could do...


-HUD Options-

+HUD: Disabled
+HUD Position: N/A

-HUD Display-
+LVL: N/A
+HP: N/A
+MP: N/A
+EXP: N/A
+Stats: N/A
+Clothing/Armor: N/A
+Weapon: N/A


"Alrighty, we're gonna mess around a bit..." I said, fucking around with the settings until they looked something like...


-HUD Options-
+HUD: Enabled
+HUD Position: (Custom) Upper-Left

-HUD Display-
+LVL: Disabled
+HP: Enabled
+MP: Enabled
+EXP: Enabled
+Stats: Disabled
+Clothing/Armor: Disabled
+Weapon: Disabled


And, now I have a floating blue screen about the size of your average cell phone sitting in the upper-left corner of my vision. I can view it comfortably at any moment, whilst not moving my vision away from in front of me by too wide of a margin.

In other words, it was perfect for me.


-Douglas Roland-
-EXP: 123/258-
-HP: 140/140 (+11.0 HP/minute)-
-MP: 118/140 (+10.1 MP/minute)-


Nice.

Now, onto the other ones...


10 Minutes Later

Hoo! I'm finished!

I think I fixed my problems! So...yay~!

I stayed away from the 'Video' and 'Audio' settings, as that's almost a surefire way to fuck yourself over.

In the 'Gameplay' settings, I really only tweaked the 'Auto-Loot' function. That setting was the reason that I didn't pick up the weapons of the beaten Puppet Soldiers instantly. It's description basically says that it will automatically collect the specified kinds of loot that you tell it to, and give them to you when you re-enter the 'real world'.

I can't imagine much of a logical reason for not doing it with 'Weapons', though. Unless the 'Inventory' isn't infinite. But, it wouldn't be picking up most loot automatically if that were the case.

I shrugged before turning it on to just collect everything. I doubt that I'd really need to have immediate access to each individual piece of loot I get. Especially in the first dungeon.

In 'Notifications', I set it up so that any 'pop-up screen' for any kind of 'level up' and whatnot to be posted after the battle was over. I, however, kept the 'HP Critical Notification' settings as is, which is to warn me when my HP gets below 25%.

While they may contain unneeded information, I decided against altering the 'Observe Screens' for now, simply because I feel like I would just change it back to how it is now in the future for sure. Sometimes, it's just good to have all that extra info on hand.

Then, I got to my own personal 'Status Screen' in the 'Gamer Menu' section.


-Status Screen-

Date: August 12, 2014 (Canon Start: 972 days)

Name: Douglas Roland
Race Bonus (Rank 1 Human): +1 LUK/level
Title: Numbnut Noob (+1 LUK)

LVL: 10
EXP: 123/258
HP: 140/140 (+12.0 HP/minute)
MP: 140/140 (+10.1 MP/minute)

STR: 20 (20+0+0)
END: 20 (20+0+0)
AGI: 20 (20+0+0)
INT: 1 (1+0+0)
MAG: 1 (1+0+0)
LUK: 12 (1+10+1)

Stat Points: 15


I mostly just got rid of some of the more useless parts, like my 'Age', 'Birthday', and 'Race'. I already know those things, so I don't need to be reminded of it every time I look at my 'Status Screen'.

And, with that, I think I've personalized my settings enough that it won't annoy me anymore!

Also, I started walking again...


1 Hour Later

...

...

...

Am I there yet~?

Glancing upwards through the trees in the general direction of the temple, I sighed when I saw that one tree standing above the rest...about three miles away. At least, that's what it looked like to me.

"Nope. Not even close..."

Hah, between Puppets and Puppet Soldiers popping out of the trees like ants every fifteen minutes, this is taking for-fucking-ever!

I had walked down to another bend in the road, that curved me way to the right, seemingly putting me on course to get to the temple before nightfall, but...

...well, it's as you can guess...

...the fucking ants, man. They keep fucking popping out in two's and three's. Between that, and surfing the 'Help Screen' on various topics, I get the feeling that it's gonna end up being night-time soon...

...

...hold the phone...

...the fuck!?

"Where's the fucking Sun!?" I yelled, not seeing a familiar enemy to all [Gamers] flying high in the sky like it fucking owns the place. However, glancing upwards, I found that there wasn't really a 'light source' to be found.

Everything was just...lit.

It's just as sunny as when I first got here!

...

...time for more 'Help Screen'.


-Please type either keywords or a question pertaining to the [Gamer] system-
-Why is there no Sun in the [Dark Puppet's Temple]?-


-Version x1.1: In order to solve severe issues with lighting a realistic 3D open-world [ID] within the [Game], the [Architect] removed any notion of [Suns] or [Stars] and instead created an 'omnipresent light' that will light every area equally. However, the 'shadow effect' has been altered so that all shadows point towards the ground, giving an immediate impression that the lighting is coming from an 'over-head source'. (Click for details)-


Ahh...so, the [Architect] fucked up with some basic programming and decided 'screw it' and just took a cheap shortcut, huh?

That's cool...

...

...

...Shit.

Fuck.

Ass.

Dammit.

I can't believe I'm this freaking stupid!

I just realized something. The reason why it's taking so fucking long to get to the temple...

I don't get tired or fatigued...yet, I'm fucking walking.

"Fuck this. I'll take the damn risk. I ain't fucking walking anymore. God, how could I have been this fucking stupid!?" I groaned as I closed the 'Help Screen' and started at a decent run down the path I was on.

Seriously, I could feel my freaking blood boiling along with a heavy weight in my stomach from how freaking embarrassed and frustrated I am! I spent this much fucking time on taking a 'Sunday stroll' through the goddamn jungle when I could've probably beaten this [Quest] by now if I had thought to 'run' instead of 'walk'!

Maybe now I'll fucking get somewhere, huh!?


1 Hour Later

After going through the most round-about fucking pathway to ever exist, along with frantically beating the shit out of 40 Puppets and 31 Puppet Soldiers due to still being frustrated over my own personal 'fuck-up', I finally came up to the giant wall of purple-pink mist that I saw from on top of the spire.

I was also stupid to refer to those things as 'plateaus'. I was stupid for just fucking going along with the flow. I was stupid for not fucking taking this seriously.

Am I a fucking retard!?

I almost got 'one-shotted' by fucking pre-canon Kiba! And it was on accident!

I understood that, I know I did. But, with all of these 'mistakes' that I'm just now noticing, I probably wasn't able to connect the dots and actually do something about it. Thus, it just slipped my mind that I'm about as fragile and stupid as a damn baby, I GUESS!

Seriously, how could I be this stupid!?

Hearing rattling sounds coming from behind me, I saw three more Puppet Soldiers come out of the tree-line before jogging at me with their clubs raised.

Using [Observe] on all three of them, I gritted my teeth before running towards them with my arms cocked back.

Getting up close, the one in the middle swung down at me, but I was already moving to the side. I dodged its attack cleanly before slowing down to counter-attack. I gave its stomach the good old 'one-two' treatment. It staggered backwards slightly, but I wasn't gonna be easy on these guys anymore. I wasted a lot of time giving them breathers when they would not have done the same for me.

Wrapping my arms around its waist, I picked it up and carried it back a few meters in order to get some distance from its friends.

Once I had done that, I let go of its waist and punched it two more times whilst it was busy raising its Wooden Club to the side for a horizontal swipe. The Puppet Soldier stopped and crumpled to the ground, evaporating into mist, its weapon disappearing with it.


-Douglas Roland-
-EXP: 147/383-
-HP: 158/160 (+14.0 HP/minute)-
-MP: 146/160 (+12.1 MP/minute)-


Planting my feet in the ground, I stopped the small amount of leftover momentum I had from pushing the Puppet Soldier back. I could hear the little 'pit pat' noises behind me coming closer, so I quickly turned around and swung my right arm out, catching one of the Puppet Soldiers coming towards me in the rib-cage.

This caused it to stagger back, but his buddy who was beside him wasn't affected. Stepping to the left and ducking, I avoided the buddy's downward swing. I then charged at the one I had already hit and punched him two more times before he could recover completely.

At that point, I took another step to the left in order to get a visual on the one I had dodged earlier. It was almost on top of us, with its club raised to the side.

I chose to wait before dodging, causing it to hit its buddy instead, who was also in the midst of raising its club for its own attack.

That last hit caused the Puppet Soldier I had attacked to crumple to the ground. Rushing forward a few steps before ducking to the right, I dodged the last Puppet Soldiers final attack before pummeling it like its friends.

And, like that, the battle ended. I was mentally keeping track during that little fight, and managed to tell that it took about 11 seconds total from when they came out of the tree line.

And, unlike before my training session, I hadn't taken a single point of damage.


-Douglas Roland-
-EXP: 161/383-
-HP: 160/160 (+14.0 HP/minute)-
-MP: 147/160 (+12.1 MP/minute)-


Well, now that I'm done fighting, I can turn my attention back to the purple-pink mist wall that covers the path in front of me.

It certainly doesn't look like 'normal' mist, that's for sure.

Hm...I wonder if it gives off any kinds of 'status effects', like it sometimes does in games?

"I don't know if this will do anything. [Observe]." I used my now familiar ability whilst looking at the mist.


-Non-Observable-


"Well, waste my time and MP, why don'tcha." I sighed before shrugging and stepping cautiously into the mist.

It can't be that bad, can it? After all, this is the first dungeon. I doubt that they would make anything too unfair happen...

After walking into the mist for a while, I deduced that there wasn't going to be any negative effects occurring due to this.

And so, I set off running again.

Like I said, I am not gonna fucking walk in here unless I have to!

However, after a minute or so of running, I hear the sound of running water. Almost like a really big river...

Disregarding the fact that all the area around me is dyed lightly in a purple-pink color due to the mist, I was able to make out what looked like a downwards slope in the pathway about 30 meters ahead of me.

Running down the slope, slowing down slightly just in case, I saw that the pathway took a sharp right...next to an obvious cliff.

I slowed down to a walk, coming up to the cliff and peering over...

...

...oh...fuck me!

It's about a 200 meter drop into something resembling a moat combined with a high-speed river. The cliff face was sheer and almost clean-cut, meaning that if you fall you most likely can't even crawl your way out without proper gear.

If you survived in the first place...

...seriously, no telling if there are sharp rocks or not under there. Despite the fast moving water, I've seen enough games to know that you can program weird geological phenomena into the stupidest and most illogical places.

However, about 50 meters down and slightly to the right, I saw what looked like a rather well kept wooden rope bridge going from this side of the gap to somewhere further...into...the mist...

...'staring'...'staring'...'staring'...

"Looks like a heavily fortified fortress. And by that, I mean it looks like a troop of idiots decided to make camp at the other end of the bridge, but with wooden buildings instead of tents." I commented, manually observing the small congregation of wooden houses. I couldn't really see anything smaller than them, considering they're about 100 meters away from me, it's still misty and they're more like 'huts' than 'houses'.

Shrugging, I turned to the right and noted that there seemed to be stairs made from mashed-up stone leading downwards through a kind of opening in the cliff face, with a couple of support columns on the open side of the walkway that were also made of stone. This is kind of similar to the spire I went down...a couple of hours ago.

Sheesh, this is taking a while!

Anyways, I started jogging slightly down the steps since they were set up in a kind of 'gentle slope'. I noticed that the pathway was angled into the cliff face, meaning you get deeper into the cliff the further you go down. After going forward about 20 meters, the path did a 'U-turn' to the left. I slowed down slightly to follow it around.

However, as I was about to speed up...

*FWIP* *CHICKA*

"Holy shit!" I yelped, startled by some foot long 'thing' that just flew in front of me by about a meter before hitting the stone support column just to my front-left. I looked over and saw an arrow made completely out of wood fall to the ground after failing to penetrate into the column. The head of it was a sharp flat bulge.

I immediately ran up to the nearest pillar on my right before taking cover behind it. After a few seconds, another arrow flew by in front of me, though this time it was about two meters away, and hit a column before falling to the ground.

After that, it was about five seconds to the next arrow, and then another two seconds to another arrow.

Whoever was firing didn't have the best aim, though. Since their shots were hitting all around me, even hitting some of the other floors. I could tell they hit there, due to the soft 'snap' sounds of wood hitting rock.

I tried looking across the way when I could, but I couldn't really see anything and [Observe] couldn't pick anything up.

I guess this is the reason for the fog, then.

Ah well, I'm not particularly concerned with this. I'll just run when the coast is clear, and hide when it isn't.

And so, using that strategy, I managed to get down two more floors to this little 'cliff-side cavern thing-y' I was in. I was now about five feet away from the bridge and understood immediately what I was expected to do.

I have to run across this bridge, towards incoming fire, in a straight line, with no cover.

Wait for the two-second arrow to pass...Now!

"Let's fucking do this!" I yelled as I dashed out from behind cover and started running like a madman over the bridge, noting absentmindedly that it didn't rock or sway that much like rope bridges usually do.

Within seconds, though, I could feel an arrow whiz by my head. Then, another nearly grazed my hip. Then, a third zipped between my legs. The fourth nearly stabbed into my right arm.

Luckily, I had another four seconds until the last one hit and I was only about ten feet to the end of the bridge. I could see that it was a pair of shorter Puppets using wooden bows to shoot at me, but I'll deal with them shortly.

Almost there.

Almost there.

Almos-"GAWD FUK ITOLL!" I screamed as I forcibly took an arrow...

...

...

...

...

...

...to the...

...

...

...knee.

"OH HELL NAW! I'M NOT A FUCKING MEME, AND I REFUSE TO GET TREATED LIKE ONE! I'MA TURN YOU FUCKTARDS INTO MATCHSTICKS! I'LL RIP OUT YOUR WOOD-NUTS AND TEAR OFF YOUR HANDS, TIE THEM TOGETHER TO MAKE A FUCKING PADDLE BALL!"

I felt a searing pain shoot all through my leg, though mostly focused on the knee area, after about a millisecond or so. I screamed bloody murder at the two Puppet Archer-things that shot me as I got off the bridge and pulled the arrow out of my knee. Already, there was a familiar dark red liquid soaking a huge splotch into my jeans, covering most of my calf. Soon after, I could even feel it starting to seep into my socks and shoes...'blegh'...

I glanced up to look at my HUD, though.


-Douglas Roland-
-EXP: 161/383-
-HP: 140/160 (+14.0 HP/minute)-
-MP: 145/160 (+12.1 MP/minute)-


"[OBSERVE]! [OBSERVE]!" I yelled, already running for them as I felt pain surging from my knee with every step, though I could also feel that, for the first time since becoming a [Gamer], my body began pumping adrenaline to combat the pain.

And the adrenaline...

...it felt GOOD...

A pair of blue screens popped up in front of me as I ran/limped towards the Puppet Archer-things that were loading another arrow into each of their bows.


-OBSERVED-

Name: Dark Puppet Archer
Race: Monster

LVL: 3
HP: 40/40
MP: 0/0

STR: 15
END: 5
AGI: 15
INT: 0
MAG: 0
LUK: 0


"Aw, so you two 'wittle archer wannabes' are fragile?! GOOD TO KNOW!" I mocked as I finally got within range to rip them apart.

Reaching out and grabbing a hold of the shafts of their arrows just before they released them from the bows, the arrows never moved...until I took them and used them as 'schtabby schtabby' instruments against the Puppet Archers.

"FUCK! YOU! FUCK! YOU! FUCK! YOU!"

Using my patented 'over-headed stabbing methods' on them, it only took two stabs each for them to fall. As they crumpled to the ground, I quickly gave them an extra stab each just to solidify their position in my eyes.

Once they were gone, the arrows in my hand also disappeared, probably meaning that 'Auto-Loot' picked them up along with the bows.

"Fuck them. Fuck them and whatever demon hell-spawn children they have." I spit on the place where their damned bodies once stood.

Hearing a cluttering sound coming near me, I swung my arm out and managed to catch another Puppet Soldier in the torso as he tried attacking me from behind.

I noticed at that point, that there were about ten Puppet Soldiers in the small congregation of huts around me.

Should've known that this place would've had more than two guys in it...

...which I did know, but those two assholes decided to turn me into an over-used meme.

"I'm in a real peachy fucking mood here boys, so I'ma beat the shit out of ya, just a bit, yeah?" I spoke in some weird mix of Scottish and...I think, Norwegian accents?

I don't fucking know.

Skip to ass-kicking...

...[Command Acknowledged. Skipping Ass-kicking...].

"Fus Ro-Fuck You!" I yelled as I kicked the last Puppet Soldier from the, now ass-kicked, group off the edge of the cliff, taking significant pleasure in seeing it rag-doll towards the raging rapids.

Glancing upwards at my HUD, I just sighed pleasantly...


-Douglas Roland-
-EXP: 299/383-
-HP: 149/160 (+14.0 HP/minute)-
-MP: 87/160 (+12.1 MP/minute)-


-Douglas Roland-
-EXP: 311/383-
-HP: 150/160 (+14.0 HP/minute)-
-MP: 88/160 (+12.1 MP/minute)-


"Well, after gaining another level for [Observe], now making it 16, and recreating a famous historical massacre with Puppets, let's move on...though, can I open these?" I asked out loud as I moved towards the small door to one of the wooden huts. Grabbing onto the door, I give a push and a tug, but it didn't budge at all.

Moving to all of the others, I found that they also couldn't be opened up.

"Well, fuck them. I've got a temple to go to-ho...lee...shite." I muttered as I directed my attention away from them and upwards, finding myself staring at a large series of stairs all pointing towards one direction...

...the Temple...

...Finally, my time has arrived...

...I can finally finish this first [Quest]...

...The world...

...Shall know my name and...


CHAPTER END


-Status Screen-

Date: August 12, 2014 (Canon Start: 972 days)

Name: Douglas Roland
Age: 15 (Real Age: 20)
Birthday: April 25
Race: Human
Race Bonus (Rank 1 Human): +1 LUK/level
Occupation: Gamer
Title: Numbnut Noob (+1 LUK)

LVL: 12
EXP: 211/383
HP: 160/160 (+14.0 HP/minute)
MP: 160/160 (+12.1 MP/minute)

STR: 20 (20+0+0)
END: 20 (20+0+0)
AGI: 20 (20+0+0)
INT: 1 (1+0+0)
MAG: 1 (1+0+0)
LUK: 14 (1+12+1)

Stat Points: 27


Author's Note:

Well, well, well...here's the next chapter of this story! By no means, should this be taken as a sign that I'll update on a weekly basis, however. This chapter, in and of itself, was rather hard to write simply due to poor planning.

I originally intended to have Roland start to go through the Temple by the end of this chapter, but in the end, I decided that a 'slower, more fleshed out' approach would give Roland a proper push to start taking this [Gamer] thing seriously.

Because, above all, Roland is a human. And humans make mistakes. Sometimes, even some of the stupidest mistakes. However, it's a good thing he noticed what mistakes he was making in the middle of Chapter 4, and not say...Chapter 40 or so?

I will say that I plan to finish off the [Dark Puppet's Temple] in the next chapter, though. It was only supposed to take two chapters to start with (barring the end of Chapter 3 because that was just introducing the LVL 2 'Mob Monster'), but again, the decision was made whilst writing this chapter to flesh it out to three.

So, if people read this chapter thoroughly...maybe they can stop pestering me about the whole "INCREASE INT! INCREASE INT! INCREASE INT!"...

I had already planned for [Observe] and [ID: Create] to work on a 'fixed EXP gain'. They're simply too vital of abilities for a [Gamer] to put strict limitations on. However, Roland was a 'little' stupid for not being 'super efficient' with his abilities.

He'll fix that...sooner or later.

So, in short, I'm hearing the complaints, but I've already planned out that part of the story. I'm confident in my overall plot-line too.

However, if you have complaints, go ahead and put them in a Review or a PM. I'll definitely 'read' them out~!

As always, Thanks for Reading!