Hey Guys! It is I, the Phoenix, back with the new story I mentioned before. This story promises to honestly be one of my biggest projects yet. I'll be honest with you guys; this story has been in the making for a while, but I never found the right combination of elements I wanted to use for a Fate: Grand Order story like this one.
Then I read a story on Questionable Questing that was recommended to me by a friend when I mentioned the problem I had. It was called Fate: Eroge Order, a Quest-type fanfic, and it was pretty damn awesome. I suddenly had an idea of what I wanted to do, but there was something else missing.
Then I happened to read SAO: The Eroge. And this story was born.
This is an entirely new but relatively easy type of Gamer System to write; the Dating Sim style, used only by Saint in SAO: The Eroge, and now by me. Of course, this story isn't a crack fic like SAO: The Eroge, since I literally cannot write those, so there will be many different mechanics that weren't present in that story. This is still a relatively serious story designed to touch upon various themes throughout its running.
The initial segments of this story takes inspiration from Fate: Eroge Order, which I tried to adopt considering it hadn't been updated for a year, but I found out that the author never logged on again for the same amount of time, so he or she never got the message I sent regarding the adoption. I don't know if something happened to them, but I simply couldn't leave that concept abandoned.
So I adapted it and modified my own already present idea to incorporate elements of that thread.
And while it may be the love child of SAO: The Eroge and Fate: Eroge Order, please keep in mind that this story is completely different from them in many aspects. In fact, I have to say that this story is pretty unique among the F/GO fandom considering the basic idea that's going into it. While there have been Ritsuka Gamer stories before, there had never been a Dating Sim Ritsuka. Hell, there hasn't even been a Dating Sim Naruto, and that's the fandom where people write up whoever the hell they want and stick Naruto's face on it.
So yeah. This story is now a thing. Wow.
Uh, so I'd like to warn you guys that I'm following the Nasuverse rules as they were explained in F/GO, not the other source materials. Just putting it out there. Some poorly defined concepts that haven't been touched upon in the source material like character personalities or even Magecraft will be explained based on my own understanding from the given evidence.
Please read the author's note at the end of this chapter to get a basic summary of what this story has to offer.
That's all I have to say, so I hope you guys enjoy the story, because I sure am excited to keep writing it!
UPDATE! I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THIS STORY STARTS TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE EVENTS OF F/GO CANON! I REPEAT, RITSUKA GOES TO CHALDEA EARLIER THAN IN CANON. (Sorry for forgetting that part.)
Chapter 1 - The Time For Flags Has Come
Ritsuka Fujimaru liked to think he was a pretty normal guy.
He was almost 16 years old now (only a week away!), and hadn't ever experienced anything that could be called 'supernatural'.
He had straight As, but didn't really hit the same level as some of the other people in his class, who would settle for nothing less than 99% at least.
He was a part of the Sports Club and actually the President of the Student Council since he'd joined high school, but that was basically the only thing about himself he could really call 'exceptional'.
His looks weren't all too exotic when you considered he was half American, on his mother's side. He had unkempt black hair, blue eyes and a face that his mother and sister insisted was handsome, but to him was pretty average. He was fairly muscled, having been somewhat of an athlete since he was a kid. And that was basically it. No odd birthmarks, no red eyes with commas in them, arrow-shaped tattoos on his scalp, etc.
He didn't have any bad habits barring a slight problem with Gacha games, though he was way better off than his older sister Gudako, who regularly blew her allowance on Azur Lane.
He had a small circle of friends, had never dated anyone before, binged videogames when he had free time, and had never really gotten in trouble for anything since the age of 6.
As far as he was concerned, he was about as average as they came. A Mass-Produced Model, if you will.
He wasn't the type of person who would be the main character of a novel or anime.
Or so he thought.
The floating pink window in front of his face with white text on it begged to differ.
[Congratulations! You have become 'The Protagonist'! It's time to start raising Flags!]
Blinking in utter confusion, Ritsuka, dressed in his ultra-comfortable bunny onesie (a gift from his mom that he couldn't refuse) stared at it dumbly, his brain trying to process what was going on.
School had ended two days prior, and he was taking the opportunity to relax for a bit before working on his summer homework. Everything seemed normal, as usual, when he had gone to bed the previous night.
He'd woken up only moments before, and was now faced with... this.
Was he hallucinating? Because Ritsuka didn't think he honestly had the imagination to dream up something like that.
Still, this situation reminded him of something... but what?
Slowly sitting up, the black-haired boy almost flinched when he saw the mysterious 'screen' moved with him, staying always at a fixed distance from his face and in perfect balance, as if it was purposefully trying to stay in a way he could perfectly read it no matter which direction he looked in.
Finally, after several seconds of doubt, Ritsuka extended his hand towards the phenomenon and, with a weirdly 'digital' sound, it vanished, startling him.
"…What the actual hell was that?" he mumbled in utter confusion, before deciding to just ignore it and get on with his daily ablutions so he could get his brain working properly.
He brushed his teeth, flossed, and washed his face, before it finally hit him. The reason why the situation seemed so familiar.
"This is kind of like The Gamer!" he exclaimed excitedly, now wide awake.
He'd read the manwha, and even the various fanfiction stories spawned from the concept, so now he had a pretty good grip on what was going on.
Him, the perfectly average Ritsuka Fujimaru, had become a Gamer, one of the most coveted desires of teenage boys everywhere.
He couldn't wait to check it out and see what awesome powers he could get.
Apparently, nothing.
Fifteen minutes had passed, and Ritsuka was almost completely sure he had been hallucinating earlier, if it wasn't for one small thing.
"Menu."
[Menu is currently Locked. Menu will be Unlocked when Main Scenario 0.5 begins.]
The Message proved that he wasn't being delusional, but apart from that and a small pink bar of unknown function at the bottom left of his vision, there was literally nothing else that proved he was anything more than the normal person he had been for the last 16 years.
According to the source material, he should have been given some sort of Tutorial, but no dice, unfortunately. He'd tried all sorts of voice commands, from normal ones like "Tutorial" or "Help", to slightly crazier ones like "Henshin" and "I choose you!"
Nothing. All he got for his efforts was a Message saying that he needed to wait for "Main Scenario 0.5", whatever the hell that was.
The only thing he could really infer with absolute certainty is that any 'powers' he may or may not have spontaneously developed would only show themselves when they felt like it.
Either that, or the funny mushrooms from last night's pasta would finally wear off, and he wouldn't be seeing weird screens anymore.
Regardless, it was probably for the best if he just continued with his day.
First things first; breakfast!
Ritsuka slipped out of his onesie, neatly depositing it in the hamper, before throwing on a pair of dark sweatpants and a T-shirt with a Pikachu on it.
Cracking his neck, he stopped by the door to the room right next to his, rapping on it with his knuckles.
After about ten seconds, he heard a low moan, a sign that the person within was (somewhat) awake.
"Onee-chan, it's time to wake up!" he called, and got a groan in response.
Taking that as an affirmative, he called out once more that he was making omelettes, getting a thump that was probably his sister rolling out of bed.
She tended to be like that.
Ritsuka descended the stairs, to find a rare sight; both of his parents were home.
His father was drinking a cup of tea, while silently watching the news on TV and his mother was drinking coffee while texting someone on her phone.
"Good Morning!" he called, getting a nod from his father while his mother looked up from her phone to smile at him and ruffle his hair when he got close.
"Did you wake your sister?" asked his father, Tetsuo Fujimaru.
Ritsuka nodded, and he let out a sigh. "I swear, despite her age Gudako-chan is still such a child..."
"Oh, don't be so sour, Tetsu-kun." snickered Maria Fujimaru, taking a sip from her mug. "She has to go back to college tomorrow! Let her enjoy her last day off."
His father shook his head with a sigh and a wistful smile, causing both mother and son to laugh.
Ritsuka opened the refrigerator and took out the eggs.
Putting on an apron, he raised an egg with the intention of cracking it.
And then the World froze.
As in, literally. A weird 'sound', suspiciously similar to the the noise produced by the ability activation of a certain Stand, suddenly filled his ears and everything around him lost color and froze, as if someone had cast an unnatural spell to freeze time itself. Even the egg in his hand remained floating in the air when he let go of it.
It wasn't the sight of the frozen World around him nor of his paralyzed parents that shocked Ritsuka to the core, though.
No, what took that prize was the new screen that had shown up, a pretty pink with white text.
Taking a look around him to make sure there weren't any blond vampires around, Ritsuka took a look at what the screen had to say.
[Tutorial: Minigames!
Certain actions such as Cooking trigger fun Minigames for the Player to participate in! Doing well in these Minigames will cause the efficiency and the quality of the corresponding activity to go up, will help Level Up related Skills faster, and may even Unlock new ones or Evolve existing Skills. However, the penalty for doing badly in these Minigames is... well, it's probably best if you don't fail. Once the requirements are met, the Minigames for certain actions can be bypassed entirely to produce a product of average quality for the Player's corresponding Skill Level.]
Okay, what the actual hell?!
The moment he finished reading it, the screen disappeared, and time unfroze, the World going back to normal.
However, Ritsuka found out, much to his alarm, that he had somehow lost the ability to move. It was as if he was trapped in his own body.
Another Message popped up in front of his face, almost mocking him of his confusion.
[Cooking Minigame Started!]
What.
[3!]
Ritsuka tried to move, shout, scream, or even wiggle, but his body was completely out of his control. It was a rather terrifying experience.
[2!]
After another split-second of pointless struggling, Ritsuka got the message; resistance was futile.
[1!]
He just had to go with the flow. And that meant he had to play the 'Cooking Minigame'.
[Go!]
Controlled by a foreign power, Ritsuka's body moved towards the refrigerator, before mechanically withdrawing some onions and tomatoes.
He placed an onion on a cutting board, and then grabbed a knife, raising his hand into the air.
The World froze again, and another Message appeared.
[Cut the Onion!]
Time remained frozen, but a semicircular sliding bar had appeared above the raised knife, the pointer sliding from end to end. Most of the bar was red, with a small patch of green in the middle and an even smaller patch of gold in the center of the green.
Ritsuka stared for another second.
"Huh, this really is a Minigame."
Having learned his lesson that he had no choice but to go along with the Game, Ritsuka prepared himself to cut the onions.
Originally, he was just going to do it without really paying attention to the Minigame, consequences be damned, but a small spark of curiosity and a flicker of competitive spirit forced him to still his hand.
His blue eyes narrowed as his focus became razor-sharp.
They tracked the pointer, never once letting it out of their sight.
The moment the pointer edged onto the gold area, Ritsuka nudged his arm, causing it to swing downward and chop the onion neatly.
A small heart popped up from the neatly bisected onion, with a 'Perfect!' emblazoned in its center, before another bar showed up, this time for the dicing portion.
[Dice the Onion!]
Ritsuka let out a sigh, before waging war against the onions.
Two minutes later, and the onions along with the tomatoes were completely mixed into the eggs. He had to repeat the same process for each and every vegetable, and it was only a decade's worth of arcade skills that kept him in the clear.
As he was about to pour the omelette mixture onto the pan, the World froze once more.
[Fry it just right!]
The moment, the mixture fell into the pan and began to sizzle, a meter appeared above the pan, indicating the degree to which the food had been cooked. Judging by the way it appeared, he had to withdraw the pan the moment the pointer hit the small gold portion of the bar, just like before with the vegetables.
Overcome by his gaming impulses, Ritsuka didn't even try to fight it, instead lifting the pan the moment he saw a flash of black on gold, causing another 'Perfect!' heart to pop off of it.
One flip, and he repeated the process again on the other side. Finally, he placed the finished product onto a plate, and was rewarded with another Message.
[Perfect Score! EXP Gain Boosted! You have Unlocked the Achievement: 'Gastronomy for Beginners'! You have gained +1 Wisdom! You have gained the Title: 'Novice Chef'! You have gained +1 Wisdom!]
Ritsuka finally regained control of his body as the Message faded, and he experimentally waved his arms to make sure he was still in working order. He let out a breath of relief, before looking down at the omelette he had made and blanching.
It looked perfect. It looked like something you would see on a cooking show. Vibrant color, sublime texture, and it smelled amazing. Okay, maybe he was exaggerating a little bit, but it was certainly better than anything he had ever cooked before. He was no slouch in the kitchen, as he regularly cooked for himself when his parents were out doing their respective jobs, but he had never really risen beyond the basic level when it came to the art. It was something he did out of routine, but not something he necessarily excelled at or enjoyed.
Until now, anyways, if one could call what had just happened 'cooking'. It was pretty fun if you ignored the fact that his body had been hijacked by a foreign force.
Oh right, there was that too.
Suddenly, those powers he had gotten didn't seem like a hallucination in the least, nor did they seem as lame as he'd initially thought.
Stopping time, controlling his body, and even warping reality to turn cooking into a Minigame?
Absolutely insane.
There was only one problem; apparently, he couldn't do any of that stuff voluntarily. He'd been hoping for the standard RPG experience once he had managed to wrap his head around the fact that there were floating text boxes appearing before him, but instead the only time his new power had shown itself was when it decided to help him cook.
Talk about a downer. While other people could shoot fireballs and create pocket dimensions to fight zombies in, he got saddled with Gordon Ramsay's Cooking Simulator.
Ritsuka chuckled at the thought.
Whatever. While it was cool that he had some sort of videogame ability, he wasn't really disappointed by its almost total lack of actual value. At least it had made cooking more fun than it used to be.
Still, he couldn't help but feel a horrible premonition that his powers were a lot more complicated than he was making them out to be, and would give him more than his fair share of headaches in the future.
Oh, whatever. He would have plenty of time to check it out later. After all, it was summer break. He had nothing but time.
Ritsuka turned his gaze on the remaining vegetables and eggs, before he raised his knife with a grin.
It was time for some Arcade-style cooking.
"Ritsu-chan, have you been practicing your cooking? This looks great!" complimented his mother, sitting at the dining table.
"I'll admit I'm impressed." commented his father, adjusting his glasses and grinning at him. "Is there a special lady you're trying to please, hmm?"
Ritsuka swatted his father's arm playfully before setting down the rest of the omelettes he had made on the table, each one looking better than the last.
The Minigame didn't change, and he didn't get any Stat bonuses or Achievements like before, until he finished the last one.
[Perfect Score! Due to the requirements being met, your Cooking Skill, Rank C has Evolved to Faerie Feast, Rank E! +1 Wisdom!]
While he didn't fully understand what his new Skill did beyond the obvious association with cooking, mainly because the Menu still refused to open, he wasn't so daft as to not understand that he had some kind of Skill System, that had Rank Tiers as a measure of Level.
Pretty cool. Maybe his powers weren't so lame, after all. Faerie Feast sounded pretty awesome for a Skill related to the culinary arts.
His train of thought was interrupted when he was grabbed from behind and put into a headlock.
"Nope. You're not looking at a girl until you turn 30, Mister!" said his sister, Gudako, rubbing her knuckles on his head before letting him go with a laugh. "So don't get any funny ideas!"
"I'll be sure to remember that." he sighed, taking his seat.
They made quite the color-coordinated family, sitting together at the table. Gudako had her mother's reddish-orange hair and her father's yellow eyes, while Ritsuka had his father's black hair and his mother's blue eyes.
The Fujimaru family was a bunch of busy bees, despite their rather odd personalities. Tetsuo Fujimaru was a famous doctor around those parts, while Maria Fujimaru was a fashion designer. Gudako Fujimaru, his older sister by three years, was in college studying law.
They each had their own... quirks.
His father was a compulsive gambler, which wasn't really a good thing for someone involved in the medical profession. He was a calm and wise-looking man until faced with something revolving around chance, upon which he usually threw away his own dignity to win some kind of prize.
His mother was extremely protective of her family (them) and very prone to violence. In fact, she was a national-level Kickboxer who had left the scene in order to pursue her career in the fashion industry. The two traits combined to create a person feared by the entire district for her unpredictable nature and volcanic temper.
His sister had inherited both her mother's propensity for violence and her father's compulsive gambling habits, which both fused to create a terrifying monster who sowed discord and madness wherever she went. When she had announced her intention to become a lawyer, nearly every person above the age of sixty in the nearby area suffered simultaneous heart attacks. Ritsuka could understand why. A bringer of chaos like his sister with legal training? No one in the World was safe.
In fact, he was pretty surprised at how tame she was being at the moment, but chalked it up to her not being fully awake yet.
That was good for him, because he was usually roped into her shenanigans.
(It should be noted that what Ritsuka didn't know was that he was regarded as the "white sheep" of the Fujimaru family, having inherited neither of the partially psychotic traits his parents had. Many would describe him as a sweet boy who spent most of his time picking up after the carnage his family left behind, such as dragging his father and sister away from the Gacha Games at the arcade after they wasted all their money, or taking the people beat up by the female Fujimarus to the hospital. The townspeople were grateful that there was some semblance of normalcy in that family, and prayed that his innocent soul wouldn't be corrupted by all the chaotic elements he surrounded himself with.)
Breakfast was a peaceful affair, mostly because neither his parents nor his sister were morning people, and his parents were busy with their own respective jobs. They complimented his cooking, which he felt somewhat guilty about because for him, the process no longer resembled cooking at all because whatever force took control of his body was doing all the work.
Ritsuka couldn't lie; he had outdone himself, because the food was pretty damn good.
Anyways, he cleared the plates, planning out which of his various summer homework pieces he wanted to complete first, when the doorbell rang.
Ritsuka blinked.
Was someone coming over? Nobody had said anything.
Maybe one of Gudako's friends came to say hi before she left for college the next day?
Putting the dishes aside, Ritsuka wiped his hands on a towel before heading to the door, and opening it.
He came face to face with two people he didn't know, dressed in white uniforms and carrying a briefcase. Their uniforms were emblazoned with a stylish 'C' he was pretty sure he had seen before.
"May I help you?" he asked politely, though his face was probably showing his confusion.
"Excuse me, are you Ritsuka Fujimaru?" asked the person on the right, a large man with bushy eyebrows.
"Yes, that's me. Is there something you need me for?" he asked curiously.
"Actually, yes. We're from the Chaldea Security Organization, and we would like to speak to you regarding a certain matter."
There was a moment of silence before Ritsuka's imminent reply was interrupted.
"Hey Ritsu, if it's the Yakuza guys again, then just tell them they can pay me their tribute tomorrow!" called Gudako from somewhere within.
Ritsuka did his best not to sigh, before smiling sheepishly at the two men, who were visibly amused by the comment. Looks like they'd already heard of his family's reputation.
Come to think of it, he did remember the name 'Chaldea Security Organization'. He'd donated blood to them at a rally the day before on a whim. That was where he had seen their logo before.
But what on Earth did they want with him now? He already got the stickers and even the balloons they were handing out to those who donated a pint. Was there something wrong with his blood?
...
...
...
...
He was 99% sure he didn't have Hepatitis.
Honest!
{Several Hours Later}
"What is even happening?" asked Ritsuka to no one in particular, strapped into a seat on the private jet he was pretty sure was going at supersonic speeds.
Earlier that day, he had been cooking omelettes with his Bargain Bin Gamer Powers, and now, he was on a jet heading for God knows where as an employee for an organization he'd heard of only a day before.
It had all happened so fast.
The good news was that he didn't have Hepatitis (yay!).
The guys from Chaldea had wanted to see him in order to give him a job offer. He wasn't sure what he had done to warrant such a thing, but for some reason, they were desperate to make him accept, mentioning something about him having '100% Rayshift and Master Compatibility' or something like that.
Obviously, he rejected it. He didn't know anything about Chaldea except that it was involved with the UN. Google searches had revealed almost nothing about the organization, except for the fact that it was founded by some dude named Marisbury Animusphere.
Fancy name, but that didn't change the fact that this offer was way too sudden, and way too inconvenient for him. After all, he would apparently be required to leave Japan, which was a big no-no for him. He wasn't afraid of going to another country or anything, but going for a job that would only last for 2 months, until Summer Vacation ended?
Definitely not worth it. He wanted to finish his education and pursue his dream of becoming a psychologist. From a logical standpoint, it would be detrimental for him to accept Chaldea's offer.
His parents agreed. His mother had nearly brought out the taser for even suggesting that she should send her son, who was legally a minor, to an unknown place outside the country.
And then they told him the salary he would get if he took the job. The salary of half a million US Dollars he would get.
Every month.
Ritsuka wasn't someone who cared much about earning copious amounts of money, but holy sh*t that was a lot of cash.
What kind of job was he even being recruited for?
Once they had confirmed that their words were legitimate and the pay was through completely legal channels, his father and sister had caved in.
As the person who was usually responsible for paying off their gambling debts, Ritsuka was pretty sure he knew why they suddenly became supportive of the whole thing.
But he and his mother still weren't so certain about it. True, he would be practically set for life and college expenses wouldn't even be an issue if he took the job, if only for the summer, there were still too many unknowns.
Not to mention they wouldn't give a straight answer for why they even wanted him of all people.
Ritsuka was far from the most talented person in the city, and he was pretty sure there were at least hundreds of people far more suitable for whatever job they were offering him.
Was that 'Compatibility' thing they were talking of really that important?
He didn't know, and while he wasn't an overly cautious person, he still had no idea what he would even be doing, not to mention he would be required to leave the country, which would lead to a whole different set of problems because he would have to apply for a Visa to travel to whatever country Chaldea was based in.
That whole process would definitely take over a month, which kind of made the whole thing pointless.
So for the second time, Ritsuka rejected their offer, but explained his reasons why because he didn't want to seem like a pompous jerk.
They simply laughed, and showed him a part of his Employment Contract.
Ritsuka's eyes almost fell out of his sockets. Not only was the pay that high, but he would even get a permanent International Travel Permit and diplomatic immunity?!
What actual hell?! How much influence did Chaldea even have?!
While that removed most of his reservations, the final blow was delivered by another piece of information they mentioned.
Chaldea had some of the greatest minds on the planet under its banner, and as a student-age individual, he could get Recommendation Letters for college from such renowned people if he managed to impress them, and would even be given the opportunity to study at some sort of elite institute called the 'Clock Tower' in London if he wanted to.
At that point, he simply couldn't refuse the offer anymore. The perks were just too good. If he did this job well, he would literally have no other troubles in life. True, they didn't explain what he was even supposed to be doing or where he was supposed to even go, but considering that Chaldea was a legitimate organization, those weren't too worrisome.
Although his mother still had a few misgivings, Ritsuka accepted the offer. At that point, he would have been a fool to refuse. One doesn't look a gift horse in the mouth, after all, and this was job was an entire herd of gift horses.
A few NDAs and a signed Employment Contract later, and he was told to pack his bags and meet them at the Chaldean Embassy nearby for his transportation to Chaldea's main HQ.
He packed his necessities, did the laundry, neatly packed a few pairs of clothes along with his bunny onesie, and set off towards a new horizon after promising his parents he would call home every day.
He then had his biometrics taken before being thrown onto a jet, which led to his current situation.
It had been a few hours since takeoff, and was nervously drumming his fingers on his thighs. The heat of the moment was gone, and just like anyone else, he was struck by a sudden bout of anxiety.
Would he do well at his new job?
Would he get along his fellow employees?
Would the food be as good as the paycheck suggested?
Questions like those flooded through his mind. For some reason, Ritsuka felt like he was forgetting something important, but he couldn't remember what it was.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when he was approached by the flight attendant, who handed him a briefcase with a smile.
"We will be approaching the main branch of the Chaldea Security Organization in about 10 minutes." she said, before gesturing to the case. "Inside this briefcase is your uniform and a company-issued smartphone you are to keep with you at all times. Your smartphone has been keyed in with your biometrics, and possesses the authorization code for your assigned room. Your monthly pay will also be sent to it digitally, upon which you can choose to transfer it as per your desire. Further instructions will be given to you after arriving at the main branch headquarters. Thank you for your time."
Having said her piece, she left when Ritsuka gave her his thanks, feeling slightly bewildered.
It was the feeling of 'Oh my God this is really happening' that usually struck people at awards ceremonies that permeated him.
Still, he couldn't help feeling excited, and he carefully undid the latches on the case before opening it.
Before he could even see what was inside, he was suddenly assaulted by a large pink screen with white text.
And then Ritsuka remembered what he had been forgetting. His life had literally become a Game that morning!
He felt a deep sense of shame that he had forgotten something so important, and was pretty sure every other Gamer across the hypothetical multiverse was rolling in their graves, but he couldn't help it; he'd gotten so caught up in the excitement of joining Chaldea that he'd completely forgotten his admittedly lame and harmless new powers.
Wait a minute. Could the two events have been connected somehow? It didn't make any sense, considering that a cooking simulator had nothing to do with Chaldea in the least, but it was pretty odd that both his mundane and professional life had been thrown on its axis on the same day, within an hour of each other.
'Maybe if you read the damn Message blocking your vision, you might figure out if you're right, Ritsuka.' snarked a small part of his brain, causing him to pay attention to what was literally in front of him.
[Congratulations! You have Unlocked Main Scenario 0.5: The Chaldea Security Organization! You have Unlocked the Achievement: 'Team A's Rookie'! You have gained the Title: 'Junior Crypter'! You have received +3 to All Stats! You have received the Mystic Code: "Chaldea Uniform"! Due to Unlocking a Main Scenario, the Menu is now available!]
Wait, he was now in a Main Scenario? Then his powers and Chaldea were somehow connected!
This just raised a whole bunch of new questions.
And what the hell was a Crypter?!
Before he could try and process the implications of the new Message any further, he heard an announcement that they had begun their descent and were about to land in five minutes.
Ritsuka dismissed the Message urgently. He could deal with that later; first, he needed to get into uniform!
A few minutes later, Ritsuka found himself dumped in front of the entrance to a rather large and impressive building complex.
The flight attendant told him that he would be automatically authorized by the doors, before bidding him goodbye and leaving him alone in front of said doors.
Ritsuka blinked and looked from side to side, seeing nothing but snow in every direction.
Where was he? Siberia? The Himalayas, maybe?
Curiously, he placed his hand on the door as instructed so he could finally figure out what was going on around here.
"-Base sequence: human genome confirmed," an electronic voice reported from speakers you couldn't see. "-Alignment: Neutral-Good."
Alignment? How did this system even determine he was "Neutral-Good"?!
"Welcome to the data center for the future of humankind."
...What?
"This is the Security Organization for the Preservation of Humanity, Chaldea."
"This day keeps getting weirder and weirder." Ritsuka muttered.
"Fingerprint, voiceprint, and DNA authentication cleared. Magical Circuit assessment complete."
"Uh...Magical Circuit? What is that, exactly?" he asked curiously.
He was starting to see a pattern here. First, he got some sort of weird, reality-bending power and then was recruited into Chaldea, which was apparently an organization for preserving humanity?
Definitely connected.
To top it all off, magic was apparently real if the computer system was to be believed. Of course, he'd figured that out already, no thanks to his new powers, but he didn't know that magic was so widespread and there was an entire organization of magical people!
Er, Wizards? Warlocks? Mages?
[Congratulations! You have Unlocked the Achievement: 'Moonlit World'! You have gained +1 Wisdom!]
"Not now, Game!" he cried, swatting away the Message.
"Username:"
"R-Ritsuka Fujimaru."
"Matched," the voice continued, ignoring his very important question. "You are recognized as a member of the primates."
That sounded both incredibly patronizing and also vaguely ominous for reasons Ritsuka couldn't quite understand...
"Nice to meet you. You're our final visitor today. We hope you enjoy your time here."
"Great, can I please go inside and ask someone what's going on!?"
This day had literally blown his normal life out of the water in a manner befitting a hydrogen bomb, and Ritsuka was starting to get overwhelmed by his total lack of information on the matter.
"We are very sorry. Another 180 seconds is needed to complete the admission process."
"Oh. Guess I'll wait then."
"Enjoy a simulated battle while you wait."
"...Uh, hold on a sec-"
"Regulation: Senior"
"Shouldn't it be 'newbie' or something!?"
"Contract Servants: Saber, Lancer, Archer."
"What the heck is a Servant?! Will I at least get a Tutorial?! Please?!"
"There will be no record of your score. Please feel free to enjoy. Activating Heroic Spirit Summoning System Fate."
"Can I just get-"
"We hope you have a good experience as a Master for these 180 seconds."
Suddenly Ritsuka felt his stomach lurch as the world suddenly shifted around him...
As the world finished shifting around him and he managed to get a grip on his surroundings, Ritsuka looked around and saw that he were suddenly standing in the middle of a vast green field that seemed to stretch infinitely into the distance. In front of him stood three people he had never seen before: a young blonde woman in a blue dress and metal armor, holding...empty air(?), a blue-haired man in blue spandex gripping a bright red spear that seemed to make the hair on the back of his neck rise from the aura it was giving off, and a slightly younger-looking man with black hair and green armor holding a red bow.
'So...if Spandex Man is 'Lancer', and Bow Guy is 'Archer', that meant the girl is Saber? What is even going on here?! This is even more confusing than the Game!'
Ritsuka suddenly saw something move in the distance, and his eyes widened as he saw a group of actual walking skeletons heading straight towards him, swords, spears and bows in hand.
The three people who were there with him didn't seem to notice or care, simply looking at him expectantly...
Were they even real? The computer said it was a simulation.
There were so many question and so little answers he had, and it made Ritsuka want to tear his hair out.
"Okay, Ritsuka, think!" he muttered to himself, taking a breath. "You're in some kind of battle simulation, and there are three... Servants on your side, whatever that means. So the point of this exercise must be to defeat those skeletons and survive. Since I literally have no idea how to fight beyond brawling, I probably have to command them to do it for me. I think. Hopefully."
Ritsuka waited for a few seconds, before he realized that no Tutorial was coming, both from Chaldea and from the Game.
So he just had to yolo it
"Uh...okay...er, Saber and Lancer, engage those skeletons!" he ordered, praying that it was the right move to make in the given situation. "Archer, shoot at anything that gets past the other two!"
Once he gave out the orders Saber and Lancer nearly vanished as they covered the ground between Ritsuka and the skeletons in a near instant, and as he looked on in awe and confusion as he could see broken bones starting to fly in every direction as the Servants(?) began tearing through the skeleton army. Also, he noticed that even though Saber looked like she was swinging nothing but air around, skeletons fell apart when she swung at them regardless. Did she have an invisible sword or something?
To his side, Ritsuka saw Archer launching arrow after arrow at anything that tried to run towards him, and he was positive that at the speeds Archer was firing at, there was no way he was carrying that many arrows on him.
'Come to think of it I'm pretty sure he doesn't even have a quiver. He's just creating arrows out of thin air before shooting them!'
His thoughts were cut off as he heard a loud roar in the distance, and saw some kind of amalgamation between a lion, goat, and snake charge towards Saber and Lancer, knocking aside any skeletons that got in its way. With Saber and Lancer too far away, Ritsuka turned to Archer and ordered him to "Hit that lion thing with everything you've got!"
What he was expecting was for Acher to just shoot it full of arrows.
What he was not expecting was for him to draw back his bowstring and notch an arrow with cracks of light running along it, scream "STELLA!" at the top of his lungs, and fire a massive arrow-shaped bolt of light at the creature, instantly annihilating it...
And the skeletons...
And Saber and Lancer...
And apparently himself...
...Ritsuka got the distinct impression that he wasn't supposed to do that. B-but it wasn't his fault that Archer misinterpreted his order!
Plus, it was a simulation, and he didn't even have any idea of what was going on!
Yeah, that totally justified it.
Obviously.
"Simulation complete. Deactivating Heroic Spirit Summoning System Fate."
Once again the world around him shifted, although this time around Ritsuka suddenly felt incredibly drained...and...pretty...sleepy...
He didn't even hear his score as he hit the ground before falling unconscious.
"Fou? Kyuu...Kyuu?"
"Ngggh...five more minutes..." Ritsuka groaned.
"Fou! Fou...Fou!"
He felt something lick his face, which was enough to bring him fully around, and now that he was more or less awake, he looked down to see...
Something.
...He didn't know what he was looking at, actually. It was white and looked pretty fluffy though, and Ritsuka was pretty sure it seemed to like him...
"...Um. Since it's neither morning or night, please wake up, Senpai."
The speaker was an exceptionally attractive lilac-haired girl with lavender eyes who was wearing what looked like a school uniform with a gray hoodie over it.
Ritsuka blinked.
...Had he known there were girls that cute waiting at Chaldea, Ritsuka wouldn't have hesitated nearly as much to join-
'Wait a second. She's probably an employee here too!'
He jolted upright and straighten yourself out slightly. "Uh, s-sorry about that. My name's Ritsuka Fujimaru. You would be...?"
"That's a hard question to answer suddenly," the cute girl said, which...didn't really make any sense. Was everything about the current day going to be confusing as hell? "Maybe I'm not important enough for you to know my name?"
RItsuka... honestly didn't know how to respond to that.
Before he could even begin to think of an answer to that loaded statement, his eyes snapped wide open when he heard a familiar sound as the World froze around him.
His attention was immediately drawn by the three large speech bubbles floating before him.
A-[I see. Please get out of my way then. I need to find the person in charge.]
B-[You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met! Why wouldn't you be important enough for me to know your name?! Please forgive this ignorant peasant!]
C-[Well, you're the first person I've met at Chaldea, so I'd say that's important enough for me!]
"What." simply stated the boy while staring at the 3 lines of text, especially the middle one.
This format jogged something in his memory. A text bubble above the three choices with Mash's words enshrined within, and three options for him to choose from below?
This was...
'No...'
Suddenly, the earlier words from the first screen came back to his mind, making him blink in disbelief. A new screen popped up, probably the Tutorial, but Ritsuka ignored it completely as a revelation began to make itself known.
"It couldn't be..." he said in abject horror as he began to piece all the clues together.
A Game that referred to 'raising flags' and the plot as a 'Scenario'? A game that had no Combat Tutorial yet had Skill Mechanics and Minigames for activities like cooking?
He looked back to the options hovering before him and swallowed, the blood draining from his face.
Somehow, without any indicator or semblance of reason, Ritsuka Fujimaru's life had become a game that morning.
But not just any game.
Ritsuka Fujimaru's life had become a Dating Simulator.
And that's a wrap!
As you can see, there are already several differences between SAO: The Eroge's system and my own, although the basic premise is the same. For one, there is the addition of Minigames, like with the cooking, and the second is the addition of Mystic Codes, which will be explained more in the next chapter. Even the Affection Points have been replaced with Bond Levels in typical F/GO fashion. Of course, Kirito himself is fundamentally different from Ritsuka, so their reactions were different in their intensity. After dealing with his family's shenanigans, Ritsuka's learned to take things in stride. After all, he didn't freak out when the World was literally incinerated around him, while Olga ran around like a headless chicken even before she found out she was dead.
But of course, the most important thing is the plot.
For those of you who didn't understand what the 'Junior Crypter' Title and the 'Team A's Rookie' Achievement meant, I'll make it clear; Ritsuka is now a member of A-Team. Thanks partially to his Dating Sim powers, along with another secret that will be revealed later, he has 100% Master and 100% Rayshift compatibility, making Ritsuka essentially a gem to Chaldea. There was literally no other Team he would have been assigned to considering these "Qualifications".
Personally, I feel like the Crypters don't get enough love. I know they do a lot of horrid stuff in the Lostbelts, but you have to understand that the Lostbelt Crypters are them at their absolute worst. Getting blown up and then sealed in cryogenic stasis, along with meeting the Alien God afterwards did not do good things for their mental health. In fact, for those of you who have played the Lostbelt Saga, you'll notice that Da Vinci and Mash keep remarking that the Crypters all act noticeably different from the way they were in Chaldea. Kadoc used to be like a bootleg Shirou Emiya instead of the Sasuke Uchiha (Beta Version) he is in Russia. Hinako used to be less murder vampire and more quite bookworm. And so on.
One of the major points of this story is going to be his bond with the Crypters, who have a surprising lack of exploration in the fandom, something I want to rectify. Of course, since we know next to nothing about Beryl's past and Daybit's... everything, I'll have to take a few liberties, so I hope you guys forgive me for that.
They will appear in the next chapter itself, so stay tuned. At least Kadoc's happy he's not the baby of the team anymore.
Also, I actually decided to give Rituska a real family and an actual past. It's not like they'll be totally irrelevant either. Of course, Gudako will be Gudako. Nothing's strange about that.
Additionally, Ritsuka may have seemed way too flustered at the end, but keep in mind that he has to deal with the fact that Magic is apparently a widespread phenomenon, the shady organization that recruited him is like something out of a comic book, and of course, his mysterious Gamer powers that seem to defy everything he thinks he knows about them.
He'll get over it pretty soon though. Mental stability is one of Ritsuka's base characteristics.
Anyways, that's all I wanted to say for now. I hope you guys enjoyed this story and want more, because I'm here to deliver. I already finished almost a quarter of the next chapter. It might even be out by the week's end.
Spatialphoenix here, burning to ashes.