Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or the Gamer.
Warning: Antagonist OC, death, possible gore, etc. Further explanation of this will be addressed at the end of this chapter.
Summary: The stories go with a Gamer always trying to do good in the world they're reborn in, but good is a subjective term. Waking up as a young Adam Taurus is bound to make undesired ripples. [RWBY/The Gamer] [Anti-Villain/Antagonistic! OC]
This is an Antagonistic!OC. He won't be someone who will kill and hurt people easily, though there will be buildup towards such a thing. I feel there needs to be buildup towards justifying such a thing and even then, the reason why he's an anti-villain is because he ends up at the wrong side of life due to circumstance and desperately wants to find freedom.
Text Meaning:
Normal Text: Either talking when it's in speech, or accounting details which the character is experiencing in their personal view.
Italics: Thoughts - this shows what these characters think of one another: 'Random thought in my head.' Can be used in a narrative context.
Bold Italics: Interactions with objects through the Gamer's System. Can be used as a serious expression.
Text on lines: Scene Breaks, also used for tracking where the character is
"I'm not sure why I decided to rewrite this all over again, but at this point, 2020 vision. Probably will be still bad."
Vale
You know, I'm not entirely sure how someone could explain this.
It's one thing to wake up and be in the middle of nowhere after fainting through intense pain, but it's another to wake up within some sort of weird place in someone else's body. I can't really explain just how lucid this whole thing is, but it feels real and I'm probably going to be waking up with nausea after all of this.
It's probably just a dream.
I stand up, and I'm suddenly a lot taller than I remember. It's very uncomfortable - and believe me, it's like walking on stilts for the first time. Speaking of the where I am...
The outskirts has this lovely and dainty pile of grass fields around me - almost spiraling like a drunkard walking about in a local city (at this point, I may as well imagine it as such, okay? This whole situation is weird) with red, purple, and blue flowers springing up now and again. The wind billowing past isn't intense, it's soothing? It's quite weird. This whole thing is weird and I'm honestly wanting to just wake up and forget it all.
There's this massive stream, though. A river of sorts, spanning the side going right next to the city. It's more of a lake for the city that seems to go further down, I don't know how long. I hope to not be swept down there, ever.
There's also this odd trail of smoke coming from the far back; for some reason, I feel a pang in my chest. For a moment, I'm entranced and I feel like I'm missing something. Was it something to do with whoever was in this body before? I may as well walk away from it if it means avoiding the danger.
I start walking. I don't know for how long; I hear the soft pats of my torn shoes meeting the grass, thankfully not feeling cold and wet, a massive mercy. I'm walking towards some sort of large city at this point - I can't even begin to describe just how odd it looks. Imagine cities made of green and brown, with grey-metal on the outside, giant gates in the middle, and that's what you have.
I'm ashamed to admit, but... I tripped a few times.
Now that I think of it, doesn't this city feel odd for a place like this? It's quite weird having to wake up in the middle of nowhere, but it's different to have a city right in front of me just as I wake up—
[Welcome to 'The Gamer' Engine - congratulations for being one in all of existence to gain this power!]
"HOLY SHIT!" I'm not going to lie. I screamed. How do you get some sort of SCREEN popping up in your face and decide that's okay? How is this happening? Why? What's even going on? What's next, an odd message about how observant I am?
[For being observant, we have rewarded you a single Health Point!]
I'm not even going to contest. Just... alright. This is definitely not real and it's all fake; I'll forget about it when I wake up, right?
Right?
Never mind.
This window seems to have appeared right in front of me when I thought of it. I don't know if anyone else could see it if anyone was around, though, so I have to not show it in front of anyone to make sure nothing happens. I can't help but notice a few tabs like 'Inventory' or 'Statistics'.
Which brings me back to this screen...
Apparently, this is a game? It's hard to imagine as such. It looks real, sounds real, and even feels real. I didn't know games have become so advanced; was there a VR game that had managed to pull this off? All I remember is that they sounded real and looked somewhat real.
Wait, does this mean I could tell the system to put certain screens up?
"Status," I whisper.
[Name: (N/A)]
[Level: 1]
[HP: 101/101]
[MP: 30/30]
[STR: 5]
[VIT: 3]
[DEX: 4]
[POINTS: 0]
[MONEY: 0]
You know, now that I think of it... what are these horns on my head? They're quite round and odd. I flick them and-
"Jesus!" I exclaim. That actually hurt? It felt like a punch to the head! And why do I hear growling? Is that my stomach again? I don't feel hungry at all; perhaps a little.
I keep on walking towards the city and I can't help but feel like I'm hearing growling and it's slow, quiet, but there. I walk faster, and I swear to the Earth itself the growling became louder. At this point, I'm going on ahead and feeling like death's around the corner.
[Quest: "Big Bad Wolf"]
[Objective: "You might want to turn around."]
I turn around.
You ever see a massive wolf and think, holy shit, you're going to die? Imagine you're looking at this wolf with black fur, red eyes, and a snarl that's putting most dogs I've ever seen to shame. It's growling and wait, is it starting to run? It's starting to run. There's a stick that I could use to hit it?
The wolf's growls become louder and to be honest, it's either the stick or running, and well, that wolf is getting larger and closer by the second, soFUCKITIMRUNNINGOHSHIT-!
I'm sprinting. There are random screens in my face and I'm flailing them away from me like they're ads.
[The Beowolf is getting closer! RUN FASTER!]
[Beowolf is 50m away from you! RUN!]
"SHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT!" I scream repeatedly, and the wolf is starting to catch up. There's some sort of EXP meter in the background going up as I run, and I swear I'm running a little faster.
I feel hope in my chest, the gate's coming closer! I can already imagine the safe houses, the warmth, the lack of discomfort. It's almost a miracle in a sense, and I swear the growling has stopped and there's no snarling. I'm just looking only at that city, and running as fast as I can.
I think I can make it - maybe? I'm going on ahead, I think I can make it! I'm going to make it!
[You're almost there, don't let the Beowolves catch up!]
"BEOWOLVES?!" I scream hoarsely, and I hear even more snarling in the background as a response. My legs feel like they're on fire and I'm developing a harsh stitch, but I have to keep running. I feel horrible, but if I can run a little more, fight a little more and get there I can then make it and be sa-!
I feel a massive mass barrel into me and then I'm thrown across the entire area, rolling sideways and it's like I'm turning in all directions. I can't even see clearly at this point and my head is foggy. I start to hear ringing, before I am swallowed by water.
I fall down for what feels like forever.
[HP: 0/101]
Black covers my vision.
[Quest Complete! Level up to LVL 2!]
[Rewards: 20 EXP, 25 Lien]
[Health Configured from 0/101 to 30/151!]
[Character Revived!]
[Tutorial Passed! Name Given!]
[Name: Adam Taurus]
[Level: 2]
[Age: 17]
[HP: 30/151]
[EXP: 0/40]
[MP: 40/40]
[STR: 5]
[VIT: 4]
[DEX: 4]
[POINTS: 5]
[MONEY: 25]
When I wake up after what felt like forever, I hear ringing. I do feel nauseous and tired, though for some reason my whole body doesn't feel as good as it usually does at this time of day.
What was that whole dream about? It was weird to be chased by wolves and then have superhuman powers so far beyond the norm, but thankfully it wasn't real anyway. Why am I worrying about it so much?
It was just a dream.
Anyway, I start standing up, and then... I can't get up. I'm in too much pain. Ever feel like your legs just snapped into two like bent matchsticks? That's what I would compare the feeling to what I imagine it to be. Definitely hurts.
Wait, why am I on mud and grass?
I look around. There's a massive stream, but it's from above, leveling down like a hill towards where I am, though it's too narrow for anything to come back down from there. I see trees, and thankfully, I don't hear any growling anymore (I can't even bring myself to imagine a world in which that happened to me) and I feel... nothing. I don't know what I'm feeling. I'm scratching the sand and feeling everything but it can't be real, right?
Everything stops.
I don't know how it all started, really. Maybe it was the fact that what happened earlier was real and I had been chased by demonic wolves wanting to devour me, maybe it was the fact I'm stranded in the middle of nowhere with no way to go home, maybe it was the fact that I can't see any of my loved ones anymore or anything like that. I just... couldn't breathe. I feel like the air has been punched out of me and I start shaking.
"This is a dream, I can solve this. I can do this," I say, tapping on any surface to just check. To see if it felt real. I don't want to hear anything that sounds real, or see anything that looks as subut it's not going away. It's not going away!
I'm sweating at this point. I'm trying to calm down by focusing on my breathing but it's just not working. Is my family okay? My friends? Do they even know I'm gone? What if they're scared for me and think I've abandoned them? I'd never do that! I couldn't have done anything to do this so why is this HAPPENING?
"This can't be real, right?" I'm not even asking myself, just.. I don't know, okay? "I need to go back. I NEED TO GO BACK!" I'm not even hearing anything at this point. I'm swinging my arms to get rid of the alerts from the Game Engine. For a moment, everything seems to ring and I feel hope, before my vision clears and all I see is a screen.
[Welcome to RWBY: The Game!]
And then I... realise that this might be permanent.
I cover my face with my shaking arms and at this point, I'm sobbing. I don't care if the wolves hear and come, I just want my family back. I want my friends, my family, the people I value and treasure. But they're... I don't want to say they're gone. I need to hope. I need to think that they'll be here. They have to be!
What else do I have if they're not here?
"Nothing," I mumble to myself at that thought. "God, why did I waste so much time complaining about my life and never asking if they were okay? Why did this happen? What was the point of it all?" I start laughing at the ridiculousness of it all - to be honest, I'm just so tired and I don't even care, before everything just rises up and becomes too much and all I have to wonder is why me? It's like this is some joke and I'm the punchline.
I don't know how long it took until I stopped crying. I can't even begin to describe what I'm feeling. I've known grief, but I've never known the feeling of losing everything. Everyone. I've never known that and hoped I never would, always joking that I would've rather it been me to know it than anyone else in the family.
I wish it stayed a joke.
I drag myself off the ground and stand despite the pain. What I'm feeling right now is worse. All I have now is hope that they're still around and okay. I hope they're okay. I... have to play this to the end, right?
If I beat the game, I get out of here.
[That's correct. Find a way to beat the Game and you leave this world to return to Earth.]
"Another world?" My throat becomes tighter, somehow. That means I could die and never see them again, or worse, have them die while I'm here. It means I'm literally on the clock to get this right on time and make sure they're all okay, along with meeting the conditions of this world, too. Does this mean the society of this world would be impossible to communicate with? What about the financial aspects? Their laws? How am I supposed to do this if I can't even speak the language?
And another world? Does this mean there are countless worlds that have people living in societies there? Does this mean all of those 'fictional' worlds people wrote up are actually real, too? There's so many questions to ask, with nothing to answer yet.
I think about what to do for a long time. I don't know how long, though. I'm still shaking by the end of it all, and my breathing is still going wild. Despite all of this, though, I still have hope. There's not much I have left.
What I also have to point out is that the name the Game has given me is Adam Taurus, not my real name. The name sounds familiar but I can't recall exactly where from. Maybe it was from a show I watched? I'm not sure. All I know is that I am not Adam Taurus; I'm my own person.
Right?
It doesn't matter. I need to find something to use in case one of those wolves come back.
I walk and find some sturdy stick at the river...
[Sturdy Stick: Not exactly a weapon a normal person would use, but you're not exactly 'normal' now, are you?]
[Rank: U]
[STR: 1/1]
[Note: The first number reveals the conditions of the weapon, the last number reveals how sturdy it can become.]
It's the best I can find, at least. There seems to be numbers involved with skills like 'Observe' and 'Sword Proficiency', even 'Physical Proficiency'. Observe seems to be a powerful tool that could observe anything I find and therefore gives me information others would find invaluable as soon as I analyse it. The power is extraordinary - though it's at level one, which means it can become better than that. Does it mean it can be used on people, too? It could work to ascertain how people are in terms of nature and their intentions, along with hidden skills and their pasts, but it feels invasive... it's weird how I'm considering that last part in spite of all the power.
There are also basic mechanics that explain how I can use skills or how much damage I can take. HP is obvious. MP, on the other hand, is obvious but also develops differently from HP. It takes more level-ups and has a variety of requirements in terms of skills, from stat numbers to requiring the knowledge of a certain topic or aptitude in an unique skill. Does this work like a magic system or is it related to aura? Too many questions to answer with nothing coming up, sadly.
Speaking of which, the Gamer System seems to have recorded information. Does this mean I can 'remember' this information and therefore recall it at any point, or does it mean I need to look it up if I forget? If it's the latter then that is understandable and human, logically. If it's the former though... that would be like having perfect memory. There's also an entire 'Skills' section available to show what skills I have learned and how I can apply them into my life to improve them. It's almost like an extensive journal that complies statistics.
[Skill: Physical Proficiency]
["A strong body paves for a strong mind to succeed." - Random Quote Generated]
[Level: 1]
[EXP: 0/5]
[Suggestions: Do a few exercises!]
I watch the sunset. It's weird how the sun and an auburn sky can just remind me of the fact that, though I'm stuck on another world, there is still life here to protect, to appreciate. Something to improve and make better. I know that I failed to appreciate what I had before, but I can begin to appreciate what I have now and work to get back what I had, even if I'm feeling utterly horrible and about to emotionally break down.
There has to be a way to get through this.
I begin to train.
End of Chapter Discussion
Hi.
There are probably going to be a few questions about how this is going to go. I'd like to explain that, firstly, Adam Taurus' history is different than in canon. He's slightly older than he would be in this time period and this version never ended up joining the White Fang. Obviously this means there are a few big changes in the RWBYverse such as:
* Blake leaves the White Fang earlier than in canon. This is because Blake didn't have Adam as a reason to stay, meaning she's been effectively on the run for months in this universe and is slightly weaker than in canon.
* The White Fang has a slower shift to the way it is in canon, meaning it's a somewhat peaceful organisation beginning to shift to violence.
* This version of Adam will interact with the White Fang, albeit for different reasons than in canon.
ALSO:
There will be violence and gore. I don't think there'll be anything too emotionally graphic and triggering, though. I'm not comfortable writing such scenes. I want to also bear in mind that I'm writing from the perspective of someone who just landed into RWBY without knowing much of its canon knowledge, meaning he has no idea that Cinder is a villain, Salem exists, Ozpin is immortal, etc. He doesn't know what happens in canon.
Gamer Restrictions
The Gamer powers are also weaker than in usual fics because I feel intelligence and wisdom as stats are OP. Luck is also OP. I'm also not using Gamer's Mind or Gamer's Body because they're both too powerful and make scenes awkward to write. You could, therefore, consider this a 'Hard-Mode' Gamer fic where everything is, well, harder than normal. Auto-loot is also not a thing, and neither are dungeons. The inventory will have a limit as to how many items can fit into it and how much mass it can handle. I want this to be a fic where the Game Engine is beneficial but not over-powered and is balanced with everything else.
The Observe powers will be nerfed as well. They will only work entirely on someone who is beneath Adam's level, and the more underpowered they are, the more information is given off. Adam won't be able to 'Observe' his relationships with other people.
The Gamer powers will be considered Adam's semblance, meaning he can't charge up and use powerful attacks like he can in canon. He also won't be able to use spellbooks, and will simply learn skills at a faster rate than everyone else but not too fast. This means he'd be considered a prodigy of sorts rather than a genius that can somehow calculate how they defeat Salem at Level 1.
Another big change to how the Gamer fic will play out is that Adam can only use a certain amount of Skills in a fight because the MP and HP can't be restored until the fight is over, and people can only be healed if they've stopped fighting for an entire minute. This is also another aspect for balancing. He also won't be able to learn certain skills until the very end.
These skills include:
* Major healing skills (so healing that can undo someone's damage in a matter of minutes.)
* Skills that could be considered as Semblances on their own.
* Skills that can't be learned in the canon universe.
* Skills that are simply game-breaking (time manipulation, reality manipulation, meta manipulation, fate manipulation, clairvoyance, etc)
What I want to note as well is that opponents will be proportional to the Gamer's level, similar to how enemies in 'worlds' in most MMOs work. They will gradually become stronger, though there will be a few exceptions where the enemy is harder than usual, and this also includes enemies other than Boss fights. This will make it so that the Gamer can't train forever in one area and then beat the entire game. Each character will grow in levels over-time provided they train their skills.
Post-Tutorial Adam Taurus Gamer Stats
[Name: Adam Taurus]
[Level: 2]
[Age: 17]
[HP: 30/151]
[EXP: 0/40]
[MP: 40/40]
[STR: 5]
[VIT: 4]
[DEX: 4]
[POINTS: 5]
[MONEY: 25]