THE GAMER'S ASCENSION
AN: This work is a combination of a gamer fic, an Essence CYOA and a Jump Chain fic. Elements of this story have been borrowed (with permission) from the Gamer's Guide series by The Dark Wolf Shiro and Gamer of the Void by a_shifty_sword.
You can contact me with reviews and questions here and on Shiro's Discord at /wd3tUYWVCd
Now, onto the story.
Chapter 0
Darkness.
It surrounded me. As far as I could see, interrupted by the occasional spark of light, which would flare brightly into existence, then dim slowly, snuffed out and absorbed by the unending dark.
I just knew that if I let my guard down for one moment, it would happen to me too, and I would be wiped from existence. I'm sure you're asking how I would know. It's simple, really. I had already started to forget. My memories are dim. I don't recall anything that happened to me before the age of five.
And this shouldn't be possible, because I have an eidetic memory. So I tried to hold myself together, recalling the memories of a life once lived, as I floated along the invisible currents of the darkness.
I would retain my identity, goddammit!
I'm happy to say that in a previous life, I was, in the words of my professors a god-dammed genius. I had a special talent for biochemistry and computer programming. The only thing I sucked at was drawing.
I had below average looks, mostly due to my tendency to sit behind a computer, working or watching various TV shows and anime. Shockingly enough I did manage to get a girlfriend.
"But how did you die?"
Right. So remember that girlfriend I mentioned earlier? Well, it turns out she was cheating on me with my best friend, or at least, I thought he was. Anyway, I confronted the pair of them making love on my own bed. It devolved into violence as he attacked me.
Fortunately, I was the better fighter.
Unfortunately, my now ex-girlfriend grabbed a knife and stabbed me in the back. The rest, as they say, was history.
Don't ask me for names. I've been here too long to remember them.
Anyway, I was just floating through the vast expanse of darkness, holding on to every shred of my identity until-
"Hmmm... for a mortal soul to have survived this long..."
"Wait! Who are you?"
"That is none of your concern, mortal... for you to have survived the currents of the Void this long... I'm impressed. And very little impresses me these days."
"Wait. The Void? As in non-existence, that void? "
"Close enough, but not quite. The infinite darkness of the Void wears down on anything that enters it. Mortal souls are usually stripped of all identify, before the Void itself removes them to be reincarnated. For you to have retained your identity for what would be three thousand of your years... Impressive."
"Uh... thanks?"
"Right. Usually, a soul with your potential would have been picked up by Lord Shiro's guild. How you were missed is honestly shocking. Lord Shiro must be spread too thin,with the entire Gamers guild to run."
"Gamer's guild? "
"Yes. Usually, souls that last more than 10 years are picked up and invited to join. They're reincarnated into fictional worlds, live life according to RPG rules and level up as they ascend to godhood."
"So will I join the guild, then?"
"No. I have a better idea. Have fun."
Suddenly, my vision turned white as I was engulfed in blinding light.
When the light cleared, all I could see was a blue box with text in it.
Hello, new Gamer!
Welcome to the Game of Ascension.
Oh. So that's what he meant.
Do you want to customise your character? Y/N
Yes. Obviously. The pop-up closed as a new one opened.
Input your name.
Hmm... could I have some suggestions?
What are your parameters?
Hmm... let's see, names beginning with A
Generating suggestions...
Adam
Adhir
Aiden
Abel
Alexander
More...
Hmm... Adam's right out. So is Abel. Too... generic. Adhir sounds too foreign. Aiden's good. I'll go with Aiden.
Name selected: Aiden.
Select your race. [Human] [?] [?] [Locked] [Locked]
Why the question marks?
Try your luck. Your choice could be a higher race like Dragon or a lower race like Slime or Insect. It's all up to you.
Thanks, uh... what do I call you?
System would do.
Right. Thanks, system.
+2 Reputation with System (2/100). You're welcome.
Hmm... Well, that's interesting. Anyway, back to the race thing, I'll go with Human. Don't want to take the risk.
Race [Human] selected.
Customise your appearance.
[General][Head][Torso][Legs]
Each tab opened into several other options. I set my body to 6'3'' with a light swimmer's build, jet-black hair and silver eyes, and a face which would be described as bishõnen in any anime.
Do you want to finalise your changes? (Y/N)
Yes.
Appearance customisation complete. Generating stats...
Stats generated: Base human.
Name: Aiden
Race: Human
Alignment: True Neutral
Level: 1
Class: None
HP: 200/200 (2per second)
MP: 200/200 (2per second)
STR 10
VIT 10
DEX 10
INT 10
WIS 10
LUK 10
Points: 0
Each level up increases each stat by 1, before class bonuses, and 3 free stat points, as well as 10 HP and MP.
Okay. Cool.
[Skill Gained: Gamer's Mind ] (Passive) (Rank: EX)
You're in a game now, Don't panic.
Suppresses extreme negative emotions and protects you from possession, mental intrusion and other harmful mental effects.
[Skill Gained: Gamer's Body] (Passive) (Rank: EX)
Your body is that of an RPG character. Your health is measured in HP and sleeping heals you fully and removes all temporary status debuffs.
[Skill Gained: Observe] (Active) (Rank: EX)
No cost
Cast to gain information about a target information about a target.
Other analytic skills will be integrated.
[Skill Gained: ID Create/Escape] (Active) (Rank: EX)
Costs 50 MP.
Allows you to enter and leave Instance Dungeons. Dungeons are scaled to level. Can not leave during combat. Dungeons unlock as previous ones are cleared.
[Skill Gained: Fictional Adaptation] (Passive) (Rank: EX)
Allows you to use various skills/spells/magic/energy from different fictional universes. Allows you to gain skills from [Skill Books].
Well, this is okay, I guess, for a starter skill set. Uh… hold on. Can I create new skills?
No.
Damn it! All right. I guess I could live with that.
Please select your first world.
[High School DxD] [One Piece] [ASOIaF/ Game of Thrones] [Marvel] [DC] [Buffy the Vampire Slayer]
Okay. Process of elimination. Marvel and DC are Death Worlds TM. The One Above All, The Spectre, do I really have to explain this? I'll never go to One Piece. Piracy is overrated and that One Piece of treasure is unfindable. I'll have to pass on DxD. I can't go there as a noob, not especially with mega OP characters like Sirzechs and Ophis. I'd have to get very strong very quickly.
I guess that leaves Game of Thrones. The world of advanced politics, kings, knights, castles and dragons. Oh well… I guess I'll go with Game of Thrones.
World Selected: [ASoIaF/ Game of Thrones].
Confirm? Y/N
Yes.
Choice confirmed.
Initializing World Jump…
Initialization Complete.
Congratulations. You have received 500 jump credits. You can use credits to edit your background and the world as well as to buy Perks. You may take drawbacks to gain credits, but they will be difficult to remove.
Looking through the system store, I decided to select [Noble]for 100 credits and [Great House]for another 100. Nothing else interested me and I was about to close the store when I saw something that made my heart skip a couple beats.
Essences.
Unfortunately, each cost 500 credits, which means, if I wanted one, I'd have to take a drawback. Oh well, Essences are way too important to ignore, which means I had to look through the drawbacks.
[Bastard]was right out. So was [Dwarf]. [Greyscale] was also a huge no-no. [Targaryen Sickness]was also out. Incest and paranoia? Heck No! My mind is my own, thank you very much.
I finally settled on [Lustful]for 200 credits. Although it wasn't limited to this world like the others, its effects were light enough that I could still function. Mostly.
[Trait Gained: Lustful]
You are ruled by your desires. Let's just say, you'd hump everything in a skirt within a 1 mile radius if you could. You can control yourself, but it does get quite hard at times. Pun intended.
Anyway, now that I had my 500 credits, I could purchase one essence. I decided to pick up [Essence of the Binder – Gamer Edition]first, since being able to control anyone I touched was a good thing, especially in this world of politics and backstabbing. A lot of annoyances could be neutralized that way.
You have gained [Essence of the Binder - Gamer Edition]
By consuming the essence of the binder you gain several boons;
Have the ability to mark targets with a sigil of your own design. This sigil manifests wherever you want on their body and may even be full body tattoos should you wish.
The Mark can become invisible without active use. At its base lets you telepathically speak to each other and know the exact location and status of whoever marked.
This mark is completely immune to any sort of tampering save yourself and is otherwise permanent though you may remove any mark with but a thought.
Those bound by the mark gain access to weaker versions of the essences you have, even this one. You may choose which essences they are empowered with.
They may also be granted weaker forms of other powers you may possess at your discretion. If the mark is removed they will retain some but not all of this
power just wisps of it.
Marked beings who mark others will give weaker versions of their own powers to their marked
Marked beings have infallibly loyalty hammered directly into their mind, body, and soul. They will not and cannot consciously or unconsciously choose to hurt you or go against your will unless you allow it or outright order them to. This loyalty may be dialed from slight trust all the way to complete and total devotion.
This function only rests with you and those you explicitly give it to.
You may optionally discard this function permanently this once.
The Binder has the ability to invoke 'commands' which are absolute orders the marked is compelled to follow.
[Perk Gained: The Binder]
You can bind up to (INT + WIS) people. Those you bind can have their loyalty adjusted by you and are compelled to follow specific orders.
Grants [Bind] and [Order] skills.
[Skill Gained: Bind] (Active) (Rank: EX)
No cost.
Touch a person and think of your sigil for 1 second to bond them. You can adjust the loyalty of those bound to you all the way from slight trust to full fanatical devotion.
You can also enable those bound to you to use lesser versions of all your [Skills] and [Perks], except Gamer-specific ones.
[Skill Gained: Order] (Active) (Rank: EX)
You can give verbal or telepathic orders and those you have bound are compelled to obey. Orders may cause the bound to temporarily exceed the limits of their physical or mental capabilities.
Orders can not be resisted.
I rolled the Riverlands for my starting location, making me a member of the house of Tully.
Damn! Baelish truly fucked them over in the series. He'll have to go. Real quickly. The [Bind] skill will definitely come in handy. I chose to drop into 276 AC at 15 years old. Young enough to solve the Baelish problem, yet old enough to be taken a bit seriously. And I'll still have time to prepare for the big events. That Cersei Lannister and Lyanna stark would be in my age group had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all.
Document Complete. Initiating Jump Sequence…
Sequence Initiated. Synchronizing World…
Sync Complete. Adding Gamer Perks…
[Perk Gained: Tempered by the Void]
The currents of the Void have infused and strengthened your soul.
You are also undetectable by magical or clairvoyant means except by beings of the Void.
INT and WIS +25%
[Perk Gained: Lady Luck's Love-Child]
We don't even know how this is possible. Well, either way, your life's definitely interesting.
LUK +20%
[Perk Gained: Unlimiter]
Congratulations, you're a gamer. Such pesky things as limits do not apply to you. You will evolve when you meet necessary conditions and your skills can be upgraded to their maximum. You're welcome.
[Upgrade Quests] unlocked!
Additions Complete. Syncing Quests…
Sync Complete. Adding Background Memories…
Memories Added. Initializing Jump…
Everything went black.
Stats
Name: Aiden
Race: Human
Alignment: True Neutral
Level: 1
Class: None
HP: 200/200 (2 per second)
MP: 200/200 (2 per second)
STR 10
VIT 10
DEX 10
INT 10
WIS 10
LUK 10
Points: 0
Skills
Gamer's Mind
Gamer's Body
Observe
Fictional Adaptation
ID Create/Escape
Bind
Order
Perks and Traits
The Binder
Unlimiter
Tempered by the Void
Lady Luck's Love-Child
Lustful
Patch Notes: Edited the Main Character's Skills and changed his Essence since Blank is a bit redundant.