A/N: Well, this is my time travel fic. I drew ideas from the manga the Gamer by written by Sung Sang-Young and illustrated Sang-Ah. Finally, if you read the manga Gamaran or Rurouni Kenshin (If you like sword fighting with some realism, I'd give Kenshin an A rating) you will notice quite a few similar attacks from the Ogame style and some styles from Rurouni Kenshin, primarily the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū style.
In order to do this, I will copy and paste this in every chapter: I do not own a variety of things. The characters of Harry Potter: I do not own. The idea behind The Gamer: I don't own. The ideas and forms that created the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū sword style or any other sword style created by Nobuhiro Watsuki: I don't own. The attacks that can be classified as the Ogame Ryu sword style: I don't own. And of course, I make no money from this. By the way, a sakabato is a sword with a reverse edge, as opposed to a katana with a normal edge.
I'd like to think that my time travel idea is unique, but I can't promise that. I haven't read every fanfic, but this feels like something that hasn't been done before. I will use some scenes from the movies and books to build off, but as will become clear I go AU extremely quickly.
For a significant period of time we will only one POV, of a certain Harry Potter. I may intersperse a chapter or two of other POV at random times, we shall see.
This is different to Kick Ass which is more Weasley absent and Dumbledore a net negative but not a bad guy. This is straight up Weasley bashing and manipulative, almost dark Dumbledore.
I have not stopped Harry Kicks Ass. Like my bio says, I will finish it. But I needed a bit of a breather from that story, so I'm going to start something different for a little while. Hopefully Harry Kicks Ass will be finished sometime in 2021.
Here we go!
Ready Player Harry
Chapter 1: The Capricious God and the Tutorial
"Mum! Dad!" Harry raced across the open plain, throwing himself into his parents' arms. He felt tears start to drip down his cheeks, and he made no attempt to hold them back. From the wet feeling on his right shoulder, he could tell his dad had tears falling as well. Harry had not planned on this, but he was beyond thrilled. It was him and his parents again, on the other side.
"Hey pup," an all-too familiar voice said. "Miss me too?"
"Sirius," Harry said, attempting to withdraw from his parents arms to greet Padfoot, only to be held even closer by Lily Potter, who had no intention of letting her son go, not after all these years.
"You know she hated the beard," Lily told him. "It's too scratchy."
"I know," Harry said with a morose smile. "I'll shave it off when I see her." He looked around eagerly. "Is she here too? Otherwise," Harry held up his hands in mock surrender, but Harry felt his mother hold tighter as he began to shake with fear.
"Not exactly," James said, and Harry looked at his father curiously. "By the way, what was that blow you killed Voldemort with?"
"A secret," Harry said firmly. "Can we stop beating around the bush? I fulfilled the prophecy. Voldemort dead by my hand. I'd like to see my wife now."
"Harry, your dad was telling the truth. It isn't so simple," Sirius said. "Right now, she isn't here. Ever since you died at his hands."
"Yeah, he hit me with the killing curse right as my blade bit into his heart. Even though I died, the force of the blade drove through his heart. I planned it perfectly, for weeks on end." Harry shrugged his mum away from him. "I was unsure what was waiting on the other side, but if that manipulative old man was right, I would see those I loved on the other side."
"Harry-"
"No!" Harry shouted. "I'm happy to see you all, I am. But mum, dad, you are just memories. Sirius I miss you, but if you have been watching, you know who I want to see. Life simply wasn't worth it without her. She completed me in a way that stories couldn't even describe. If she isn't here…"
"She could be," a voice declared from behind him. "But not entirely. Unfulfilled, always wanting, never getting her dream." Harry whirled on the voice, his hand going to his hip, only to find his swords missing. "There is no need for violence, young Mister Potter." Harry got a good look at the man/woman/something who was speaking, letting his hand drop to a more natural position.
The being looked a bit like a leprechaun. The height of the being was certainly in line with the Irish creatures, but there was a pink beard. The hair was striped a rainbow full of colors, running to its waist. The shirt was bright orange, with red writing saying game over. What's more, the creature was holding what looked like a no-mag entertainment system.
Harry laughed in his mind as he registered the term no-mag. It had never caught on in Britain, despite the fact that the term had caught on all over the rest of the world, avoiding the pejorative tone that followed the term muggle. And he had been all over the world, his wife by his side during the lull in between Voldemort's first few defeats and his renewed assault. But that wasn't truly important right now.
"And you are?" Harry asked, fingering his wand. It was good to know that in this reality, wherever he was, he still had a weapon.
"I have many names," the creature said. "The Greeks called me Hermes. The Egyptians called me Thoth. In China I was called Nezha, and in India I was named Lakshmi. Other names landed as well, but I see by the light in your eyes that you are starting to understand."
"You are a god?" Harry asked a little stunned. He felt Sirius put a hand on his arm to steady him.
"I started as the god of gambling, games of chance. The no-mag have developed some wonderful technologies, things like Gameboys, computer games, playstation, xbox, which gave me new power. I've branched out a little and become the god of gaming. Now gambling is just my side gig."
"Uh…" Harry had no words. He searched for them, but came up with nothing.
"Well, that's a nice reaction," the god said. "But I go by a new name now. Elamamon."
"Sure…" Harry now realized what had happened. He had gone insane.
"No, you haven't gone insane," Elamamon said. Harry threw his occlumency shields up. "But you presented my father with an interesting quandary."
"Your father?"
"Yes, the father of gods, creator of the universe, blah blah blah," Elamamon explained. "See, you weren't supposed to die when you finished Voldemort. You realize you had the final horcrux inside you."
"Yeah, obviously," Harry countered. "So I die when he died, or like a millisecond before, and then he dies. Prophecy fulfilled. Maybe I meet my loved ones. If not, I couldn't go on without her anyways."
"Well, technically, since you got hit with a killing curse by Voldemort, you would come back to life." Harry started at the god as if he had been immobilized. "Yeah, I know. But here's the thing. Death owes you one. You sent him someone who has escaped him, so he interceded with our father on your behalf. The horcrux inside you was the life he took. You can still live."
"Look, send me back," Harry argued. "I'll just kill myself again, and then bring my wife here."
"That's exactly what we can't have happen," Elamamon said. "Because Death owes you, and my father always takes the council of one of his elder sons. But Death was not impartial, so you were handed over to me. I'm taking care of your case now while Death watches over you."
"My case?" Harry asked.
"Yes, Mr. Potter." Elamamon drew himself up, looking very serious. "You must return to life, leaving the horcrux here. But the gods will not let you kill yourself, nor will we let you suffer for what you did. So you will get a do-over."
"Are you fucking serious?" James shouted.
"No, I am," Sirius responded. James glared at him. "But I echo the sentiments. We just got Harry back. I can't watch him go through all of this again."
"Idiots, the lot of you," Elamamon snapped. "You don't have a choice. The choice is up to Harry. Harry, when did everything change for you? The moment where you could change the world the most if you had a chance?"
"The Triwizard cup," Harry reflexively answered. "That's when it all changed, for the better, worse, the pivotal moment and axis around my life. When I met her." He saw his mum's eyes start to water. "Where I fell in love with a goddess I never deserved, a woman who made me happy beyond my wildest dreams."
"Which is why she can't be here," Elamamon answered. "If she was here, you would never go back. So I am willing to send you back there. But there has to be conditions. And since you are my case, I'm using my specialty. Games."
"My life is a game to you?" Harry gripped his wand tighter.
"It's the only way I can send you back to that year," Elamamon explained. "My powers are limited, and sending you back 21 years is no simple task. Not even for Death, but for me, with your importance in the time stream, extracting the horcrux, restoring everything…"
"I don't really understand any of this," Harry conceded.
"My beautiful boy," Lily said "you will leave us soon. Return to a different time to change the world. We will always be waiting for you, watching over you."
"Wait," Sirius countered. "If we are returning to fourth year, then I'm alive! Harry and I can wipe up Voldemort in no time, and we can get your girl."
"Unfortunately, you don't get a free ride with Harry," Elamamon declared. "Harry saved the world. You get to be alive, but you don't get to keep your memories. To be fair Harry doesn't exactly get to keep his memories either."
"I lose the memories of my wife if I go back?" Harry growled.
"Actually, you don't," Elamamon answered with a frown. "The memories of your wife, when you started dating, when you got engaged, up to the moment she passed are so strong I cannot take them from you. But I can take other memories. The memories of your years in school, including some of the spells you learned later in life. I will also take the knowledge of Voldemort and his horcruxes. You will keep certain things to make sure you complete your main mission, the defeat of Voldemort, but death could not convince our father to let you retain your memories of him. Of course, you will have the memories you made up until you awaken. Ages 1 through 14.
"Great," Harry complained. "So I'm a normal fourth year with a horcrux stuck in my head?"
"No, you will not return with a horcrux. That is your payment for the death you are currently experiencing. And you are not a simple fourth year. You your magic is too advanced so I may make you forget some spells, but I cannot remove any of your memories of your sword skills. That too is imprinted in your memory."
"Ok." Harry nodded contentedly. "Then it shouldn't be a problem."
"There will be complications," Elamamon stated. "You can use the full potential of your swords and the mastery of your techniques because you have trained your mind and body. You will need to do so again."
"You mean to tell me if I want to use the inheritance techniques of the sakabato I need to train for years again?" Harry was infuriated.
"Not exactly, and if you let me start the tutorial, I will explain," Elamamon declared. The god looks definitively irritated, so Harry held up his hands. "Thank you. To go back, I needed to put you in a game. The first thing you need to understand is quests. Quests are how you move towards your ultimate goal. You can set your goal now."
"How about defeat of Voldemort, Dumbledore, and marrying my wife again?"
"That should work," Elamamon replied. He snapped his fingers. "Now, please look at your right shoulder." Harry looked and saw an odd tattoo of two parallel lines. "Hit the tattoo please." Harry obliged and something popped up in front of him."
"What the…" Harry stared at the writing in front of him.
"This is your menu," Elamamon explained. "As you can see, there are four options. We will walk through them now. The first is quests. Please tap your shoulder once." Again Harry tapped his shoulder and the words in front of him changed. "As you can see at the top, these are your major quests." Harry saw the three objectives he had just named, with numbers next to them.
"What are the numbers?" Harry asked.
"Ah, the numbers," Elamamon murmured. "The numbers are the tasks you must accomplish and items you must acquire to finish the quest. Levels to grow, friends to make, things to acquire." Harry looked and saw that the name of his wife had a 54, Dumbledore a 47, and Voldemort a 41.
"So marrying my wife will be the hardest."
"Potentially, but each number can represent a different thing. But these are your major quests. There are two more types of quests. Which you can see below." Harry did indeed see two more banners, story quests and skill quests. "I'll explain those now."
"Story quests are important events that occur in your timeline. You do not need to accept them, but I suggest it. Victory in those quests will allow you to gain memories of your past timeline, and other rewards as well. So only by defeating these quests will you be able to respond to past events and correct your mistakes. Each of these quests, when finished, will be rated from O to T."
"Outstanding, Exceeds Expectations, Acceptable, Poor, Dreadful, and Troll?" James asked.
"Just that!" Elamamon exclaimed. "The better your rating, the better the rewards, such as your future memories. Now you are starting to understand."
"And skill quests?" Harry asked.
"Ah, those are how you literally improve your skills. These will pop up constantly, and have the same grades. There is no cost to failing them except the lack of progress. While a story quest might revolve around the Triwizard tournament and the first task, which you now recall and will not when I send you back, a skill quest may be to complete a charms class. Simple and easy."
"What does my son get from doing these skill quests?" Lily demanded. "They sound dangerous."
"They can be," Elamamon replied. "But they are useful. I will help explain. Harry, hit your shoulder once again." Harry hit his shoulder, and now there were 4 bars in front of him. The top one said quest. "Tap your shoulder twice to open skills." Harry did so and saw three bars. They read verbal skills, nonverbal skills, and sword skills.
"Three types?"
"Open verbal skills." Harry tapped once. "Ah, you understand how to operate the menu." Harry tapped once, and then twice, and was back to the main menu, with quests atop skills. "Excellent. Back into verbal skills?" Harry followed the instructions, and saw a plethora of spells in front of him, with numbers next to them.
"My spells?" Harry asked.
"Yes, these are the spells you can cast verbally," Elamamon maintained. "The number next to them is your proficiency. 10 is the highest number. When you cast a spell, you improve the proficiency, which will in turn improve the accuracy, casting speed, and power of that spell."
"I have mastered expelliarmus?" Harry said pointing at the spell.
"Along with quite a few other spells," Elamamon said, looking at the list. "My, your skill set is extensive. But when I send you back, you will lose some of these. The more you cast, the more they improve. Of course, casting when you are under attack, or casting in a fight, especially a life or death fight will give more experience than in class, or casting on your own."
"Now, go back to the skill scene and go to nonverbal." Harry did it and saw a few of his spells that had been at level 10. "Once you get to level ten with a spell, you can cast it nonverbally. When you go back, I will remove your ability to cast nonverbally, but if you work hard you should be able to get it back fast enough."
"Finally sword skills." Harry saw all the forms he had learned. However they were all grey and they were all numbered at 1. "You see they are grey? That is because you need something to start practicing them and improving them."
"My swords," Harry grumbled.
"Yes, you will need a sakabatou and katana. There is one other thing. All sword skills are verbal. While executing the attack, you must verbally call it out to engage it. This is only true when using it against an opponent. If you are just practicing, there is no need to speak."
"And how do I get swords if I am stuck in Britain?" Harry asked.
"That takes us to third option on your main menu." Harry looked at him oddly. "The first list." Harry went back and saw the third option. "Inventory. Here there are two options." Harry clicked and saw the options.
"Consumable and equipment?" Harry noted.
"Yes, consumable will be things that can be used before vanishing. Hypothetically, food, water, potions, and materials you fight need to create a sword if you don't get one."
"And how would I get one? They don't grow on trees" Harry stated, sarcasm dripping from his voice. This god was starting to get on his nerves.
"Did I not say you would get rewards from your quests? It's not just memories that you will get. If you complete certain story quests with an O, you might just get some weapons. You then go to the equipment bar to use them. If you click in now," which Harry did, "you will see your wand and your dragon skin vest."
"At least you get your vest," Sirius said.
"Yeah it's saved my life a few times. Took a cutting curse from Rookwood and I was left with a small burn across my chest, which I stitched up later that day." James shook his head ruefully at Harry's comment. "What? I got in some pretty serious fights over the year."
"Hey, I didn't fight you for real once!" Sirius complained.
"Can you cut the Sirius jokes!" Lily demanded. "Harry needs to learn all of this stuff."
"Thank you Ms. Potter," Elamamon stated. "Now we get to the final option. Stats. If you don't mind?" Harry nodded and once more went back to the main menu and tapped four times. Again there were numbers, but next to them were words. He saw strength, agility, speed, intelligence, memory, and willpower. "The numbers this time max out at 100. Harry saw his speed was already at 90. Once you acquire swords, you will need to get your physical attributes up to use your sword skills. I believe the first form of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū, the Dragon Soar Flash requires speed, strength, agility of 40. You might remember that in your fourth year you were not in the shape you are in now."
"So lots of physical training," Harry realized with a sigh if resignation.
"Yes. Obviously you will remember all of this, but it is time to go. This plane of existence will not last much longer. I may occasionally check in your dreams if you get a crucial memory back, but primarily you are own. You may say goodbye."
"I'll miss you all," Harry said, getting a hug from all three family members.
"Don't come back for a long time," his mum instructed.
"And make sure you leave behind a few kids as well," James instructed.
"I guess I'll see you soon enough!" Sirius said. "Course, I won't remember any of it, so promise to help out."
"Two questions, and then I guess I might as well get going," Harry said, closing the menu in front of him with five taps to the shoulder. Elamamon nodded. "First, can I tell people about the fact I traveled from the future?"
"Good question," Elamamon observed. "Of course, there is a lot you won't remember. I'd advise you to keep this all to yourself. Beware, a mistake may unravel the entire timeline and Death may kill people to ensure you complete the task. You can tell people with the name Potter. After you complete all your tasks, the rules few change. This is all new."
"Be careful around by loved ones, until I marry got it. That inclueds any kids we might have that take the Potter name." Elamamon agreed. "Sirius, that means you are going to have some kids, so none of mine have to take the Potter name. I guess if I have girls they will have to keep my name."
"No, once you tell them they will keep the information if the name changes." Harry nodded in relief at that.
"One last question," Elamamon said, sweat dripping down his face. "Hurry, or I will lose the ability to send you back."
"You said the reason I couldn't see my wife was because she was unfulfilled. Why?"
"She told you her greatest wish, did she not. Two nights before the wedding."
"To have me be the father of her children, as many as possible," Harry responded with a sad look.
"Indeed. She was pregnant when she was killed. So she was left unfulfilled."
"Now, it is time." Harry nodded and then that existence was simply gone, leaving Harry in a dark space. "Worry not about the world you left, it no longer exists. Death has claimed it as his playground. Good luck, player Harry."
Harry snapped awake, breathing heavily. He looked around and saw something that he had not seen in many years, the Gryffindor common room. He searched his memories but only saw the memory of golden hair and a silvery laugh.
He saw something pop up in front of him. It said story quest at top." "Greet the visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang for the Triwizard tournament?"
"Harry you must understand something. Despite the fact that I am in charge of your case and I love a good story of a boy and girl falling in love, you were given this chance because of death. He wants Voldemort head in every reality, including the one you now live in," Elamamon said in Harry's head, his finger hovering over the accept button of the quest.
"I understand," Harry thought back.
"I did not have time to tell you everything, so listen carefully," Elamamon implored. "True, you returning your wife may be your main goal. I understand and respect that. But Death does not seem gave you this chance and will only except your main focus on Voldemort. He cares not for your wife, or Dumbledore, for the world. Death has far more power than me. If Death sees you ignoring the chance to accomplish a task that would get you closer to the demise of Voldemort in favor of one of your other goals, he will take action against you."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked
"I do not know for sure, but I suspect that he will take memories of your wife away, in order to ensure your focus is directed towards the task you must complete. Things will be different in this reality. Understand that the connections and people that you know and love do not exist here in the form that you knew them before. Events will happen differently. They must."
So I may have to give up the chance to know my wife and fall in love with her again in order to save the world?" Harry shot back angrily. "Be the sacrificial lamb again? Care not for my own happiness but rather save a world full of people who may not even deserve saving?"
"Harry, you must defeat Voldemort," his father said in his mind. "The prophecy is fulfilled and your horcrux is gone, but others remain." Harry nodded in memory. He had finally killed Voldemort's snake, and then Voldemort himself a year after his wife passed. It had been a lonely journey against the man who controlled magical Britain and most of France. "Make no mistake, you must be the one."
"Harry, loving someone means them being happy no matter the personal cost," his mother said. "Your father, godfather and I all want you to be happy, as well as your wife. Just understand that your happiness may not be with the person you had in a world that exists no longer. Be open to the possibilities. Good luck." Then the voice of his family was gone, and Harry sighed.
"At this point all I can say is good luck again and god speed." Harry heard Elamamon chuckling as his voice faded. "Get it? God and speed."
"That might have been nice to know earlier," Harry muttered to himself, "but I guess it's not like she will remember me anyways. The prophecy may have been fulfilled, but I still have a job to do. If Dumbledore will not save everyone, I guess I have to fucking do it."
Harry looked at the quest, and after waiting for a moment, clicked accept. "So, students from other school arrive tomorrow." Harry felt a headache coming on, and then it vanished and as Harry searched his memoriesof fourth year, he hit a wall in his mind. "Well, he wasn't lying. I can only hope that I do not lose you in the process Ms. Potter. I will see you soon Fleur." Harry shook his head. "What happened in fourth year to make me chose this moment?"