The blankets covering my body were itchy. Now, I'm not one to complain about these sort of things usually, but it's almost obnoxiously itchy. That however, paled in comparison to the other problem I had with my current situation.
I had no idea where I was.
Now, I could see what the room looked like. It was small, and very bare. There wasn't much in the way of decoration, with the only exception being a small weapon rack with a few bows on it and a closed closet at the end of the room. What I didn't know, was where this room was. No wait, that's still confusing. How the hell do I even-
Good morning Gamer! Welcome to the first step of your life.
Gamer? Well yeah, I played games before. In my old life I… in my old life I…
I can't remember.
Do not worry about your current lack of memory. As a body clone, you do not possess memories of your own yet.
Body clone? What the hell was going on?! Why can't I remember anything?! What's going-
A sense of calm washed over me. My fears and worries were still there, but they seemed… lesser than before.
Do not panic, for this is the start of something glorious. As the seventh body clone and only successful one, you have been gifted with the rare opportunity to go out and make something of yourself.
I was nothing more than a clone of someone else. I wasn't my own person. That's… a lot to take in. I have memories of things, knowledge of pop culture and sciences. Almost as if it were directly plugged into my brain. However, I don't have any personal memories. No family, no Christmas Eve dinners, no waking up early to get ready for school, no nothing. But at the same time, now I had that opportunity. So, let's see where this goes.
I'm glad you've decided to accept your role in life. As the first and only successful body clone, you are permitted to take the name of your creator. Please, say STATUS.
Take his name huh? Well, at least I won't have to come up with one. "Status."
Darius
Title: None
Race: Unknown
Age: 23
Health: 20/20
Magic: LOCKED
Levels: 0
Experience: 0/7
Darius? I mean, it's better than what I would've come up with. Also, why are the numbers so low? I mean, just seven experience points to level up? And what's with my race?
Unlike what remains of the gamers of old, your system is entirely based on the world you reside in, with some added features of course. As for your race, that's something you'll have to figure out.
That explained nothing.
Of course. Let me explain how this system works. You see, your system revolves entirely around crafting things and building monstrosities of science and, eventually, magic. As such, you are unable to learn many directly offensive skills and will not be able to increase your own base stats outside of normal exercise and practice.
Well that was… upsetting. How am I supposed to get cheat my way to power if I didn't even have stat points or any way of boosting myself to ludicrous levels?
That is up to you to figure out. Now, when concerning your personal levels, they are not a solid stat. They are what you use to RANK up a skill. For example, a common skill of RANK 2 would cost 20 of your personal LEVELS to get to RANK 3. Much like how you would spend experience to enchant an item in Vanilla Minecraft.
Christ. First crafting and now using levels to make my stuff stronger? This is starting to sound a lot like… Minecraft. Oh shit.
Congratulations! You've figured out your starting world! Do not worry, the world of Minecraft will not look like it does in game. It will look just like any other place. Though do be weary, this Minecraft is different than the one you remember.
Still… fucking Minecraft? What about RWBY? Or hell, I'd even take DxD at this point! What am I gonna learn here? How to make a giant golden cock?
Remember, this world is far different than the one from your memory. There are new threats, both of the monster variety, and of the people variety.
That was really awkwardly phrased, but I understand exactly what you mean.
Great! Now, as a starting bonus, here is an All Rank Gacha token.
Slow down there, I get the Gacha part, but I'm still not entirely sure what these ranks are supposed to be.
In order of ascending quality, the ranks go:
Poor
Common
Uncommon
Rare
Legendary
The All Rank Gacha will be able to pull from any rank and access all the prizes stored within the system. An All Rank Gacha Token has been deposited into your inventory. Say INVENTORY to access it.
The more things change I guess. "Inventory."
A large screen popped up, looking almost exactly like the Minecraft one. The only differences he could see were a scrolling tab on the side, and the addition of more armor slots than in the regular game. There was room for rings, necklaces, bracelets, belts, and just about anything you could think of. I removed the Gacha Token, which had been in the first slot, and gave it a cursory look.
It was a small golden coin, with a rainbow "G" on both sides.
Now then, say OBSERVE while looking at the token.
Finally, something useful. "Observe."
Gacha Token
This token can grant any item from its associated Rank, but it can only access twelve items at a time, with a few minor exceptions. This tokens Rank is ALL. this allows the token to access all items from any Rank.
Well, this might be handy. The only problem is that I don't know how to use it. Or what the rainbow "G" means, but that's more of a nitpick than anything else.
The "G" signifies its Rank. Here is a list of the colors and their Ranks:
Poor – Gray
Common – Green
Uncommon – Blue
Rare – Purple
Legendary – Gold
All – Rainbow
If you wish to use the Gacha Token, simply flip it like a coin.
Flip it huh? This was gonna look awesome then. I flipped the coin, watching as it dissolved in a rainbow light and a notification popped up in front of me.
Congratulations! You have obtained the GREEN THUMB skill!
Green Thumb - You know your way around the garden, and can work with a variety of plants.
RANK 1 - You can work with plants up to common rank.
Next RANK costs 10 LEVELS
In any other situation, this would be useless. However, in Minecraft? Where farming was key? This was going to take me far.
Now that you have obtained a skill, you should open up the SKILLS tab by saying skills.
And here is the meat and potatoes of any game. The skills. "Skills."
Skills:
Craft RANK 1
Structural Analysis RANK 1
Reinforcement RANK 1
Deconstruct RANK 1
Green Thumb RANK 1
Observe RANK MAX
LOCKED
LOCKED
LOCKED
What's with the locked skills?
Those are skills that you have, but are unable to access at the moment.
Fair enough I guess, but it's kind of a dick move to give me skills that I can't even use. Whatever, can I see the descriptions of the skills I can use?
Of course. Simply use your mind to command a specific skill description to open, or have them all open at the same time.
Well, that's convenient. I focused on all of the skills, with the exception of Green Thumb, and watched as they all opened up.
Craft
Craft anything you can imagine using acquired blueprints and imagination to mix and match their desired effects. Upon Rank up, gain five blueprints of that rank.
RANK 1 - you can use materials up to common rank. Next RANK costs 10 LEVELS
Structural Analysis
Learn the very being of anything you use this skill on.
RANK 1 - you learn a little about an object and can make common RANK blueprints of them. Next RANK costs 10 LEVELS
Reinforcement
You can increase the capabilities of a single object/person.
RANK 1 - you can actively increase an object/person's capabilities by 20%. Next RANK costs 10 LEVELS
Deconstruct
Deconstruct an item to its base materials.
RANK 1 - get up to one material. Next RANK costs 10 LEVELS
Observe
Glean hidden information about people and objects.
RANK MAX – You can see the stats of any person, and the description of any object.
Well… that's amazingly useful. I mean, Craft alone was enough to be giddy over, but the rest of the starter skills were also just amazing.
Congratulations! As a reward for unlocking the common RANK of CRAFT, here are 5 blueprints!
Minecraft Armor pack
Minecraft Tools and Weapons pack
Minecraft architecture pack
Minecraft miscellaneous pack
Minecraft enchantments pack (Requires enchanting skill)
The headache was worth it. I could feel the knowledge of all the craftable items in Minecraft flood my mind, and the sheer combinations and possibilities made me grin.
As you continue through your life, you will be briefed on game mechanics as they become relevant. Until then, may the game begin.
I wasn't given much time before the door to my right was opened, letting in a cool breeze as an older woman walked in. She must've been surprised that I was awake, as she jumped slightly and began to speak.
Universal Translator Active
"Oh! It seems you're awake. You've been out for a while there. Are you feeling well? You were in pretty bad shape when I found you."
Ah, it seems we're doing this now. "I'm doing fine. I don't remember much though. Can you tell me what happened?"
She nodded, her blonde hair bouncing slightly as she closed the door and walked towards the closet. "You had a foot in the grave when I found you. Looked like you had a run in with some particularly vicious skeletons and creepers, if the crater you were in is any indication."
She opened the closet, revealing multiple shelves of clothes and a half sized mirror with a crack in it by the corner of the closet. She grabbed the clothes and pushed them towards him. "Here, your old clothes were a bit roughed up. These should fit you. You look to be my late husband's size, if a bit skinnier."
I took the clothes from her hands, muttering a quick thanks and standing up from the bed. The wooden floor creaked slightly as I stood. If I had to guess, I was probably around six feet in height, give or take a couple of inches.
The blonde woman turned to face the corner. Obviously for privacy, but this also meant that I wouldn't have to do this manually. I opened my inventory and placed them in there. Without a moments delay, I equipped the clothes, discarding my old tattered ones and watching as they shrunk to fit my form better. "It's alright miss, you can turn around now."
I waited for her to turn before motioning toward the mirror. "May I use the mirror?"
She stepped to the side, leaving an opening towards the closet door. Walking forward, I gazed into the half mirror. The clothes she gave me were a typical farmers attire, white cotton shirt with a brown cotton pants and vest. Surprisingly enough, there had been socks in the clothes bundle, so I wouldn't have to wear any shoes or boots without them.
Taking a closer look at my own features, I could safely say I was average looks-wise. My hair was black, eyes brown, and my skin held a very light brown color. Spanish maybe? I wasn't sure, but it was the first thing I could think of.
"Once you're done gettin' your bearings, meet me outside. I'll introduce you to the community."
The woman left, leaving me alone in the small room. Scratch that, this was probably the whole house.
I flexed my hand slightly, feeling the muscles tense up. It was weird. I had memories of so many different things and experiences, but I had never done them. It was both incredibly familiar, and very alien.
Now wasn't the time to focus on my nonexistent past however. It was time to step forward. I turned to the door, and left the house. The cool spring-like breeze hit me, tousling my hair slightly.
"That was quick. Good to see you're so up and at 'em. My name's Helen."
Facing Helen, I gave a slight nod of the head. "A pleasure to meet you. My name is Darius. I can't quite remember what happened to me before I woke up, but I hope to move past that."
There we go. Give her an abridged sob story, build up the sympathy points, and then… something. I was still working out the plan, but I'm sure it would end up being profitable.
"Well a strapping young man like yourself would definitely be useful 'round here. We're a bit… depopulated as of late, so any labor you could do would be appreciated."
That last bit threw me around for a bit. Especially once she said "depopulated". Not gonna lie, it did get my hopes up.
Helen motioned for me to follow as she began to walk into the small settlement. There were about half a dozen houses around, and maybe about twice as many people. It was… almost depressing. Still, that wasn't going to stop me from doing what I can to profit off this place. Who knows, maybe it'll be mutually beneficial?
As we walked, she began to introduce me to the inner workings of this village. "There are only about a dozen or so of us, so we do what we can here. Fletch takes care of the animals we bring in from hunts or from the small pens we have. Mason takes care of our weapons and walls, but he's a bit of a grump that one. I keep guard at night and hunt when I can. The rest of 'em are farmers, keeping our food supply stable with what they can."
As she spoke, she pointed out each individual as they up. Fletch was in the center, cooking some meat over a large fire. Mason was off in the back, napping or something. Everyone else was out in the back, farming from what looked to be three small fields of crops. This place was a god damn ticking time bomb. No way it was going to last.
"What did your husband do? If you don't mind me asking."
She smiled at that, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "He was a glass smith. It wasn't the most necessary job, but he always made it seem like we'd be better off dead without it."
Time to abort. I glanced around the area, watching as the villagers worked themselves to the bone and then some. "You mentioned something about hunting. Would you mind teaching me at some point?"
If the bows were any indication, she knew her way around a quiver. All I had to do was go with her on a few hunts under the pretense of helping, and I'd be an archer in no time.
Helen chuckled. It was a tired sound, but there was amusement nonetheless. "You men and your weapons. If you want, you can come with. But until you're good enough to do it yourself, you're gonna have to work the fields too."
Well it was better then nothing. Besides, I'm sure I'd be able to squeeze in a few levels from it. Hopefully. Shit, did you get experience from farming in Minecraft?
…
The short answer was no, you did not get experience from farming. The long answer was fuck no, you didn't get any motherfucking experience from god damn farming.
I had spent literal hours getting rid of weeds and tending to the crops, and I didn't get a single fucking point of experience for it. At this point, it was already noon, or at least, around noon. I was still trying to get the hang of this whole sun time thing. Still, there was some good news for the day.
"Relax your stance a bit. You're too stiff."
Apparently Helen goes out hunting every other day, and I was lucky enough to awaken on one of those days.
"Good. Now fix your grip and knock the arrow.
We were in a forest about half an hours walk away from the village, and so far I hadn't had much luck with this whole bow thing.
"Alright, now bring it back up to shoulder height and fire. Remember, bring it only to your anchor point and make sure to follow through."
Some people might say that expecting to be a master archer after only training with a bow for about fifteen minutes is a bit delusional. Some people think fucking a girl who has a penis is a sexy idea. In both cases, they're fucking wrong.
I shot the arrow, and watched as it missed the pig by about a foot. It swirled in surprise, but not before Helen shot it in the neck.
"Better. You managed to shoot it forward this time."
There were no words to describe how much I wanted to deck this woman. "Thank you."
We walked to the pig and watched as it slowly stopped squirming and died. It was a bit gruesome, but I'm sure I'll be forced to do much worse in the future. Oh, that was a bit dark. Let's fix that. "Think he had a straw house nearby?"
Helen took the arrow out of its neck, giving him a confused look as she did so. "Why would it have a straw house? Besides, this one is a girl."
I looked down at the pigs backside. "…So it is. Whoops. I'll go grab the arrow I shot now."
I left the situation as quickly as possible, instead choosing to retrieve the arrow I had fired. The interesting thing about these arrows, was that unlike in regular Minecraft, there wasn't any string to feathers used. Instead, they used leaves to fletch it and tie the stone tip to the wood. I had immediately used Structural Analysis on it and got the blueprint for it. Kind of annoying that I had to do that in the first place, but it was a minor annoyance at best.
Making my way back to Helen, it seemed as if she was just kneeling there. "Hey uh, aren't you gonna skin it or something? That's what you did with the rabbits."
Her eyes held amusement as she answered me. "That I did. So, now it's your turn."
She wanted me to…? I gave the corpse a look. There was no way I was going to do that. "Listen Helen, I wouldn't want to accidentally mess up such … juicy game. Why don't you-"
She threw the knife at my feet. "Sorry Darius, but if you want to hunt with me, you're gonna have to do everything."
Oh shit… she was serious. I bent down and grabbed the small knife, grimacing as I got a little bit of rabbit blood on my hand.
"Good. Now, find its throat and cut it open. We'll need to drain it first."
I did as I was told, reaching just above the breastbone and making an incision. The blood started to leak, and it- oh god it's on my hand! Fuck! This is so gross!
"Now help me tie its legs together. We'll need to hang it up."
We used a rope Helen had in her bag to tie the pigs legs, before hanging it up on a tree.
She turned to me, a cloth rag in her hands. "Here. Get as much blood off your hands as you can."
I took the rag from her hands, probably a bit more aggressively then necessary. Once I got as much blood off my hands as I could, I asked my companion a question that had been plaguing me ever since we started skinning the pig. "Why are we skinning it here? Wouldn't that be a bit dangerous?"
It wasn't like I minded or anything. If I managed to kill something, I might finally get some god damn experience.
Helen sat down on the grass, leaning against a nearby tree. "Normally yes, but we're so close to the village that if push comes to shove, we could run back. Besides, now you can get more practice in."
Well, I didn't need to be told twice. I grabbed the quiver and slung it over my shoulder, holstering it on my back. I took aim at a nearby tree, nocking an arrow back and letting it fly.
"Well, you almost hit it."
Helen's snark wasn't appreciated, but I kept my mouth shut. I nocked another arrow, and shot at the tree, with the same result as last time.
This was going to take a while.
…
The night had approached far too quickly for my tastes. We had finished skinning the pig and returned to the village by the time the sun was halfway done setting. As a side note, I need a fucking clock or something.
We had given the meat to Fletch, who had managed to start another fire with some dry leaves and sticks in order to make a stew. Dry leaves and sticks. It sucks having knowledge of future technology and not being able to do anything about it.
I decided to forgo any pleasantries and eat alone in the corner. It's not that I don't want to talk to people, it's just that I really didn't want to talk to people. Plus, there's this one girl who keeps staring at me really creepily, and it's unnerving.
I wasn't alone though. A few feet to my left was Mason, the man eating his stew in peace. He was a large guy, though his age was pretty apparent as his beard was almost completely gray. He was bald, and looked as if he never smiled a day in his life. And by Christ he was just so cool looking!
He looked like Kratos, just less pale and without the tattoos. Still, I had to be mindful about this. Can't sound to fan girlish. "Hi my name is Darius and I like your beard."
Nailed it.
Mason grunted and holy fuck his grunts even sounded like Kratos! The older Kratos obviously, but that was till just as awesome. He didn't speak further, instead focusing on the stew in his hands. I needed to hear him speak, just to make sure. "So… I hear you run the forge. That's pretty cool, or not, considering, you know, forge… fire."
He grunted again, though this time he looked up at me. "What do you want, boy?"
I want you to exclusively call me boy for the rest of my life. "I was just curious. You must know your way around a weapon."
He grunted again, turning back to his stew. "That was a long time ago."
His voice was the most amazing thing I have ever listened to. "That's alright. If it doesn't trouble you, may I ask what it was like?"
I had barely finished my sentence before he responded. "No."
Not gonna lie, that's probably the best sounding rejection I will ever have. I finished my stew and gave one final look toward the rest of the village. They were talking and laughing, as if there wasn't the threat of not making it passed the next day. Except that creepy girl, she was still staring at me. Time to bounce.
I took my wooden bowl and walked over to the well, pulling up a small handful of water and rinsing it off.
"Hi there!"
Jesus fucking Christ on a stick! The creepy girl had scared the shit out of me, appearing right behind me as I put my bowl down. I turned to face her, doing my best to ignore my gut instinct of noping the fuck out. "H-Hey there. I'm Darius, who might you be?"
She smiled and tilted her head slightly. "My name is Ava. I'm glad to of finally met you Darius."
Despite my instinct, she behaved normally. No weird ticks, no twitches of the eye, nothing. I used observe on her to see if anything was up.
Ava
Title: None
Race: Villager
Age: 20
Health: 20/20
Magic: LOCKED
Levels: 5
Damn, nothing. I was hoping she would have a title or something, but it was all normal. "Likewise. I was just rinsing off my bowl before going to the edge of the wall and practicing with the bow before I go to bed. Speaking of which, I should go."
It was a bit rushed of me, I'll admit. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was up with her.
"Well then I'll join you. I used to be pretty good with it myself. Maybe I could help you?"
This bitch. "I mean, I wouldn't want to waste your time."
She shook her head, her surprisingly red hair shaking with her. "It's fine. I miss it sometimes, plus I'd like to get to know you, if that's alright with you?"
That was literally the worst thing that could happen. Damn, I didn't have a good excuse to dismiss her without looking like an asshole. I grit my teeth as I accepted her proposal. "Well then, that'd be… grand."
She giggled slightly, placing her hand over her mouth. "You sure do like talking fancy like that."
And now she was making fun of my speech. Great. "I do what's natural for me."
I didn't bother waiting for a response, instead turning on my heel and walking toward the edge of the village, adjusting the bow and quiver on my back. It didn't take long to get there, a few minutes only. Though that didn't stop Ava from talking my god damn ear off while we walked.
"So, is it true that you can't remember anything?"
I glanced to my side, watching her walk alongside me. "Yeah. It doesn't matter though. What does matter is that I'm doing the best that I can here."
She gave a quiet "hmm" before continuing to talk my ear off. "That's pretty responsible of you Darius. You sound like a pretty smart man."
I stopped near the edge, grabbing a large wood log and placing it against the wall. I drew my bow and nocked an arrow, aiming it toward the log.
"Oh. You uh, you almost hit it."
Motherfucker. I'm not sure if she's trying to be sarcastic or encouraging, but it's not helping. I nocked another arrow and watched as it hit two feet to the left of the log.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Here, let me try it. Maybe you'll see what you're doing wrong."
I relented the bow to her, though that didn't stop me from huffing slightly. She held the bow and nocked an arrow she got from my quiver. Her arms stretched and- holy hell I did not notice how stacked she was. How does she function?
The thunk of an arrow hitting wood snapped me out of my shameful thoughts. The arrow she had fired landed in the direct center of the log.
"There. Did you get that?"
I got something alright. "I don't think so. I just don't see it."
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Right. How about you try again, and I'll tell you what you did wrong. Okay?"
A quick nod of the head and bow exchange later, and I was getting ready to fire again.
"Stop. You're so… tense. I think you're overthinkin' it Darius."
Overthinking it? I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
She put a finger on her chin, narrowing her eyes at the bow in my hands. An idea must've hit her, because her eyes brightened and she snapped her fingers. "Alright. You have five seconds to hit that log."
Five seconds? I don't-
"Five."
"Now wait a-"
"Four."
"This doesn't-"
"Three."
How about-"
"Two."
I didn't bother trying to stop her instead doing my best to fire the arrow before she got to one.
"On-"
The arrow made a loud thunk as it hit the log. Well I'll be damned. "Huh, I did it. I have no idea how, but I did it."
Ava walked over to me, hands held behind her back in a manner that seemed scientifically designed to distract me with her chest. "Yeah. I don't know how you learned it so fast, but you had the basics down pact. You just seemed to overthink the whole process."
That's bullshit and makes no sense. Testing her theory, I nocked another arrow and quick fired it, watching as it hit the log again, not accurate enough to split the first arrow, but enough to get close. "Well then… I guess you were right."
She laughed slightly. "Yeah well, I do what I can. Anyways, it's getting late. I want to be in bed before the zombies and stuff start coming out. Maybe we can… do this again sometime?"
Her eyes averted my own, instead preferring to look at the ground. My instincts began to flare up again. She was almost devious in her machinations. "Maybe. If we ever have time."
Her smile seemed to radiate as she beamed. "G-Great! I'll see you around."
She jogged off towards the main square, leaving me alone in by the log. She was almost definitely planning on sacrificing me to some meat god.
Due to learning a skill in a supernatural amount of time, you have revealed a hidden perk!
Prodigious Learner – Your inherent biology allows for you to learn anything at a supernatural rate.
Due to finding your first perk, you have unlocked the PERKS tab. In order to open it, say PERKS.
Well that was just amazingly useful. It didn't explain why I couldn't use a bow while concentrating on it, but I guess it's better than nothing.
I looked up to the sky, watching as dusk began to fade and the night began. The sounds of monsters rang out in the distance. This was my life now. I was a gamer… Stuck in Minecraft… Fuuuucckk.
…
So, there are a lot of disclaimers with this. The first, if you're from Soul Searching, check out my page for some info.
Now in regard to this story, it actually came to be from a dumb idea I had on Shiro's discord about how a gamer that could only use his power to build things. From there the Minecraft idea for thrown in and while at first it was a dumb idea I was never gonna pick up, it niggled in the back of my mind. So I decided fuck it, why not? I built the mechanics, designing it around the Minecraft ones, and made a simplistic Gacha for it. It still falls within the same omniverse idea as Soul Searching and the shitpost Bloodborne one shot I made. So it will have elements of that.
Also, there is going to be a bigger focus on skill and preparedness then most other gamer fics. No bullshit OP magic spells or insta kill swords, just using your equipment to the best of your ability. Unless the Gacha screws me over.
Again, as you probably know by now, Darius isn't exactly able to level himself up. Only his skills. So he's going to have to work around that for a while.
Also, a huge thanks to DictatorPerpetuo (why is that your name?) and the guys on Shiro's Discord for looking over this. Now I feel like an actual professional.
This has been a weird idea with A Decent Hoonter, thanks for reading.