A/N: I'm Baaaaaaaack! Decided to reboot this story, first chapter is pretty much just the prologue of the original, but with the first "real" chapter added on and heavily edited! And yeah, I'm several months late, I know. Old story is up, in case you, for whatever ungodly reason, still want to read it. New chapters, new direction for this story, new(ish) system, and a new commitment to writing again. Again, really sorry for the wait, lads. This chapter in particular is not very different at all from the original, though I've added a bit of action to it and changed around many of the technical aspects of the Gamer system as well.

Original A/N: Joining the long list of people who have done Gamer!Issei fics, hopefully I can do the trope justice! You can expect this to be fairly lighthearted as far as the story goes, I'm slowly training myself to not instinctively tread into grim-dark territory haha. The Gamer system won't be a Sacred Gear or anything like that, he'll still have the trusty Boosted Gear and Ddraig with him every step of the way. Just a little short chapter to start things out, let me know what you think!

Issei Hyoudou was a perfectly normal, if somewhat innocent, seven year old boy. He loved, in order, his parents, playing in the park, his recently-relocated and totally male best friend Rin, and the thought of being a hero. However, there was one thing that separated the otherwise ordinary boy from his peers. In the wake of his best friend leaving to England seven months prior, the usually quite happy young boy had been extremely distraught. On an average day, he would have left for the local park in his home town of Kuoh, Japan to play with his peers. On this particular day, he would have borne witness to a certain old man who would have opened his eyes to the beauty of the female form. Going to the park on this fateful day would have changed young Issei Hyoudou's whole life, leading him down a road of isolation due to his perversity that would have resulted in his untimely, albeit temporary, death nearly a decade later.

On this particular day, little seven year old Issei Hyoudou did not go to the park. Instead, the young boy sat in his room by himself, the door having been shut the moment he had come home from school. Issei was as lonely as he had ever felt, and it was rather obvious to his parents that something had to be done to get their precious son out of his rut.

Miki Hyoudou was a woman approaching forty years of age, though her ever-present smile and well-kept figure would have certainly hidden that fact well. She and her husband Gorou had tried to have a child twice before Issei, both times having resulted in a heart-breaking miscarriage for the couple. During the third pregnancy, the Hyoudou's had been so tense and scared that Gorou paced in front of a Shinto shrine, praying for the healthy birth of their child. In response to their prayers, Issei Hyoudou had been born healthy and hale in the middle of a thunderous April storm, named in honor of the honesty of Gorou's prayers to the Gods of Takamagahara.

On this particular day, Miki Hyoudou was not smiling, and she certainly felt every one of her thirty-some years. Her baby was clearly depressed, and nothing could possibly stop the stubborn mother from attempting to fix it. Gorou was still at his job, having worked at the same accounting firm since she had met the man. He made a comfortable living, and provided everything that the small family of three could ever want, but sometimes Miki wished he could take a step back from his corporate life and spend more time with their son.

Hearing his mother's gentle knocking at the door, Issei sat up, taking his head out of his hands. "Can I come in, sweetie?" His mother was clearly concerned for him, and for a moment Issei felt a stab of regret; his sadness was no reason to upset his darling mother. Instead of answering, the young boy stood from his bed, walking across the room to open his door and flinging himself at Miki in as powerful a hug as his little seven year old arms could manage.

Though he was too buried in her arms to see it, Miki smiled radiantly, silently stroking her son's hair as she waddled with him still attached to her chest back to their bed. Taking a seat, she stared at her young son, conveying as much love and trust as she possibly could without speaking. Issei picked up on the message, snuggling back into her arms as he began to cry.

"It'll be alright, sweetie. I know you're upset that Irina left, but I promise you it'll be okay." She whispered softly to him, still holding onto Issei. The young boy mumbled something into her chest that she couldn't quite hear, so she gently pushed him away, looking at him expectantly.

"It hurts, mom." Oh, her sweet, innocent child. Miki framed his face in her hands, pulling him back in and planting a loving kiss on his forehead. "I know it hurts, Issei. Seeing our friends go always hurts, but one day you and Irina will be all grown up, and I'm sure you can see each other again, okay?" Her tone was as gentle as always, calming down the despondent young boy in her arms.

"I know what we can do to cheer you up, sweetie. Go put on your jacket and your shoes, let's go to the mall." At this, Issei perked up slightly, wiping away some of the snot and tears with an errant swipe of his long-sleeved shirt that had Miki groaning in exasperation. At a pace that beggared belief, the young boy swept around his room like a whirlwind, picking out a red rain-jacket to throw over his black tee shirt and putting on the same pair of well-worn Adidas sneakers that had seen so much action in the local park.

"I'm ready, mom!" He nearly shouted, having gone from sobbing to fully dressed in under a minute, as most children are wont to do. Miki simply chuckled, fixing her son's slightly askew collar and zipping up his jacket all the way. The two walked out of the young boy's room as Miki grabbed her keys. Entering the attached garage next to their home, Miki and Issei got into the family's trusty Toyota, and after a moment to check the gas, the two were off to the Kuoh Mall.

The mall was rather vacant for a Friday afternoon, with only a few dozen people loitering around and perusing the various shops. The mother and son moved at a brisk pace, Issei's much-shorter legs pumping furiously as they made their way to their destination.

It was a local game store, tucked away between a McRonald's and a furniture store. There were other stores in Kuoh, many belonging to larger brands, but for as long as Issei could remember, something simply felt right about going to this particular video game store. The bell rang as they opened the door, and an incredibly tall man greeted them at the polished wooden counter. He wore a comfortable set of dark brown slacks, as well as a slightly wrinkled white dress shirt and matching brown vest. His hair was of a medium length, an untamed mane of dark brown hair with a golden fringe of bangs. The man was smiling kindly, greeting the two as they walked in.

"Welcome to Scapegoat Games, what can I get for you two?"

2003

"Your friends are here, sweetie!" Miki Hyoudou called out from the kitchen where she was preparing dinner for the Hyoudou household. Issei, having clearly heard his mother, raced down the stairs in a whirlwind, rapidly pulling a sweater over his lean frame to ward off the autumn chill. It was still September in Kuoh, but already the winter winds could be felt rolling into town, and within a few months Issei was positive that his home would be blanketed in white. His mother simply smiled fondly at him, pulling him aside as he lunged to the door to plant a loving kiss on his forehead. "Gah, mom, I'm 12! Stop it!" The pre-teen whined, trying in vain to pull himself free from Miki. "You can be 12 or a hundred years old but you're still going to be my baby boy, mister!" She chided playfully, handing Issei a small sandwich as she finally let him out the door. "And don't be too late out with your friends, sweetie! Back before dark, okay?" Issei turned back, the sandwich already half gone, crumbs adorning his mouth. "Got it!" He managed to affirm with a mouth full of bread, somehow.

Standing a short distance outside the door of the Hyoudou residence were Issei's two best friends at Kuoh Middle School, Matsuda and Motohama. The three had met in elementary when they were all eight years old, and since then had become as thick as thieves, much to the dismay of Kuoh's adult populace. Matsuda was slightly taller than the other two, clad in a well-fitting Adidas tracksuit and a running cap over his perpetually-shaved head. At his side, he had a tightly cinched backpack, full of water bottles and nutritious snacks. The bald teen was a rising star in track and field, having already broken a number of sprinting records in the middle school division. Motohama was the shortest of the trio, dressed in a white polo, dark slacks and the same glasses that Issei was fully convinced he had been born wearing. He was the smartest of the group, having already tested his way into acceptance at some of the nearby private academies in Japan.

The two quickly made their way to Issei, meeting him in the middle as the group quickly went off at a brisk pace to the Mall. Normally, it would have taken a solid hour of walking to reach the Kuoh Plaza where the trio always hung out, but Matsuda's slavish devotion to his sport had worn off (in part) to the other two, and the group were able to make their way to the shopping center in nearly half that time. Motohama and Issei paused, hunched over with their hands on their knees as they took in as much air as possible. Matsuda, for his part, was seemingly unaffected, still standing straight as he took a long drink from his water bottle. "You two gotta keep up! I almost had to slow down to a jog a few times there, guys!" He whined, dutifully ignoring the looks of absolute loathing his two best friends were giving off.

"Huff.. See who's slow when I... huff... jam my sneakers up your... huff... ass." Issei rasped, his death threat clearly not as effective given his current total lack of breath. Matsuda simply chuckled, tossing another water bottle and two small towels from his backpack to Issei and Motohama, who took the towels gratefully and gulped down the bottle in a few seconds. Once the less athletically freakish pair were sufficiently rested, the three took off, stuffing the towels back into Matsuda's backpack as they made their way to the spot they had been meeting after school for years.

Scapegoat Games had changed drastically in the five years since Issei had first gone to the store with his mother. The hardwood floor and well-worn counter-top had been replaced with stylish carpeting and a large counter-top of stone with various stools. All across the store, Issei could see massive TV screens, hooked up to the latest video game consoles. There were sets of comfortable couches in front of each TV, and though it was a Wednesday, already Issei could see a dozen or so of his peers crowded around one console or another, playing video games. Where there wasn't a TV or furniture, Scapegoat Games had large display cabinets, featuring the newest games and gaming devices on the market for sale.

As always, the owner greeted the trio once they had made their way into the store, dressed in the same exact pair of slacks, white dress shirt and vest as always. His mane of brown hair was as untamed as it had been the first day Issei had seen him, and he had the same sardonic grin as always. "Welcome, come on in boys! Always a pleasure to see my favorite customers, what can I get you three today?" He asked, a flourish of his long arms towards the gargantuan display cabinets accompanying his short speech. Issei had been coming to Scapegoat Games almost religiously since the day his mother had taken him there all those years ago, and approximately two years prior he had introduced his two best friends to the shop. Oddly enough, the two of them swore that they had never noticed this particular store in the Kuoh Plaza before, but Issei put that to the back of his mind as the trio engaged in their favorite pastime: gaming.

Matsuda, predictably, went for the same game he had been playing every day for the past year. Loading up Dance Dance Revolution Extreme into the nearby Playstation 2, within seconds the bald teen was tapping his feet rapidly. When the game had first come out nearly a year prior, Motohama and Issei had made fun of the runner for his choice in games, but Matsuda swore by it, stating quite smartly that it helped him train his reflexes and endurance. After a disastrous competition between the three had resulted in Matsuda wiping the floor with his best friends, Issei and Motohama had never complained or made fun of DDR again.

Today, however, Issei was getting rather bored. Matsuda was still playing DDR nearly four hours later, and Motohama was glued to his Gameboy, going through Pokemon Sapphire for the umpteenth time. The other children had long since left, leaving only the trio, and the mysterious owner in the back. A moment later, he left too, citing a mix-up in the store-room as the reason for his temporary departure from the store counter. Now, Issei was certainly a bright and quick-witted young boy, but patience has never been the virtue of the young; to put it simply Issei badly needed something to do.

Looking over the assorted games on the shelves, Issei could feel himself being drawn to one in particular. It was a rather plain cover, a simple black background with a strange looking symbol of a sleeping dragon. The title wasn't much better, simply 'Dragons of Dreams.' Nonetheless, Issei felt a strange pull in his gut, urging him to play the game. The pre-teen opened the cover carefully, peering at the strange cartridge-like device within. It certainly wasn't a Gameboy cartridge, or anything Issei had ever seen before. In fact, it felt strangely heavy, as if it was made of stone or metal as opposed to plastic. The moment Issei made contact with the cartridge, his whole world changed.

[Congratulations! Welcome to the Dream of Dragons. Please click NEXT.]

What in the world? Issei was bewildered, staring at the floating screen in front of him. For a moment, he thought that perhaps his mother had used moldy bread by accident, but an errant brush against the very much solid wall of text disabused him of that notion. What the hell was going on? After a moment of hesitation, and a quick glance to see that Matsuda and Motohama were still entranced in their respective games, Issei gingerly tapped against the underlined Next button.

[Issei Hyoudou - Middle School Student - Level 1]

That... that was him! And at a rather measly level one? Issei had been engrossed in video games ever since that fateful day that Miki had taken him to Scapegoat Games, so the young boy knew quite clearly that being a level one was certainly nothing to brag about. Crossing his fingers and hoping that this wasn't some insane delusion, Issei whispered out, "Character Screen... Uh, stats... Status?"

[Loading Status Screen, please be patient...]
[Loading...]
[Status Screen Loaded!]

What greeted Issei was an insultingly accurate screen of the same blue. Checking again to see that somehow, his two best friends were still totally ignorant of the situation, Issei scanned over his stats, taking in everything as best as the pre-teen could.

[Name: Issei Hyoudou]
[Title: The Gamer]
[Age: 12]
[Race: Human, ?]
[Level: 1 (EXP:0/100)]
[HP: 350, 25 HP/minute]
[MP: 175, 12.5 MP/minute]
[Description: Issei Hyoudou is a perfectly ordinary 12-year old boy. Born to Miki and Gorou Hyoudou in the middle of a powerful April thunderstorm, he was the third attempt to have a child by the young couple. The Shinto Gods heard their prayers and blessed the Hyoudou family with baby Issei. He is currently a middle school student at Kuoh Middle School, along with his two best friends Matsuda and Motohama. He is the wielder of ? and the current Gamer.]
[Stats]
[STR: 10]
[VIT: 10]
[DEX: 10]
[INT: 10]
[WIS: 10]
[CHA: 10]
[Stat Points: 0]
[Yen: 30,000]
[Buffs:]
[Novice Runner: +1 to DEX and VIT per level]
[Growing Young Boy: +1 to DEX, STR, VIT per level]
[Minor Shinto Blessing: +1 to CHA per level]
[Blessing of the Scapegoat: +1 to INT and WIS per level]
[De-buffs:]
[?: MP and MPR are slashed in half.]
[Passive Skills:]
[Passive/Active Skills:]
[Active Skills:]

Issei's mouth was agape as he stared at the status window. Before he could truly begin to freak out, or God forbid alert his two friends, he could feel a wave of unnatural calm washing through him, leaving him rational and thinking logically. "Okay, what just happened?"

[Would you like to view the Help Guide?]
[Yes/No]

Well, it couldn't possibly get any weirder than this, right? Issei tapped the Yes button softly, watching as the screen washed away yet again, to be replaced by a formidable wall of text.

[Welcome to the Help Guide! How can we be of assistance?]

This was insanity. It had to be; there was simply no other explanation for the lazily floating screen of light blue that hovered above Issei's head, seemingly mocking him. Licking bone dry lips and swallowing heavily, Issei whispered out to the screen again. "What... What the hell is happening?"

[Would you like to view the Tutorial?]
[Yes/No]

At this, the young boy simply nodded. In for a penny, in for a pound, as his grandfather had been so fond of saying. Shakily, Issei reached out with trembling fingers and pushed the faintly pulsing Yes button.

[Tutorial Activated! Please wait while the Tutorial loads...]
[Tutorial loading...]
[Tutorial loaded!]

In moments, Issei's vision was flooded, walls of text popping up in every corner, every nook and cranny of his sight, fighting for dominance to be the first thing the teenager could read. For a moment, and no longer, Issei felt a well of frustration bubble up in his chest, before it too faded away, replaced by an obviously unnatural calm. His fingers still shook and trembled, but the young boy pushed through, and began to push and pull overlapping screens apart, creating enough space between the boxes of text that he could read each one properly.

[Welcome to the Tutorial! You may access this function at any time.]
[Attributes and Basic Functions: Your attributes determine your strengths and weaknesses. The most common way for your attributes to increase is to gain more levels. Doing this increases all attributes by two points, but training or performing specific tasks will also increase specific attributes. For example, physical conditioning could be used to increase your Strength, Vitality or Dexterity depending on what the workout is. Currently, there are two categories of training: Physical Training, which can increase STR, VIT, or DEX, and Mental Training, which can increase INT, WIS, and CHA. Your basic functions determine your overall health and competence. Each level gives an automatic +2 for STR, VIT, DEX, INT, WIS, and CHA and +12 points to distribute freely.]

"Alright, that makes sense," Issei mused. "But what do these attributes do in particular?"

[Hit Points (HP):]
[HP determines the amount of damage or 'hits' you can take before your body fails to function and you essentially die. The more HP you have, the more damage you can dish out and the longer you will survive in this world. Hit Points are calculated through the following formula: Base HP (100) + (Vitality * 25)]

[Mana Points (MP):]
[Mana is the life energy of every magical being and is a versatile and powerful form of energy. It is essential to every technique and can be controlled and manipulated to create an effect that would not be possible otherwise. Mana Points are calculated by the following formula: Base MP (100) + (INT * 25)]

[Strength (STR):]
[The Strength attribute determines the person's overall physical power. This attribute affects the amount of damage a person can inflict on another with hand-to-hand combat, bladed weapons, or blunt objects. It also affects the amount of weight they can lift, or throw. Strength also affects the rate of HP regeneration. HPR is calculated as 2.5*STR/minute.]

[Vitality (VIT):]
[The Vitality attribute determines the person's overall health. This attribute also affects a person's ability to regain health outside of combat and resist specials types of damage from things such as poison, paralysis, burns, etc. Each increase in VIT leads to +25 HP.]

[Dexterity (DEX):]
[The Dexterity attribute determines the person's overall movement. This attribute affects a person's accuracy, evasion, speed, and ability to land critical strikes on an opponent in close, mid, and long-range combat. Dexterity also plays a major role in pickpocketing, stealth, use of weaponry and the ability to dual-wield weapons properly.]

[Intelligence (INT):]
[The Intelligence attribute determines the person's overall ability to think quickly and innovation. It also affects their ability to learn, memorize, retain information, and determines how smart they are. Each increase in INT leads to +25 MP.]

[Wisdom (WIS):]
[The Wisdom attribute determines the person's common sense and perception. Wisdom also allows an individual to make better overall decisions in day-to-day life. Wisdom also affects the rate of MP regeneration. MPR is calculated as 2.5*WIS/minute.]

[Charisma (CHA):]
[The Charisma attribute measures a character's force of personality, persuasiveness, personal magnetism, ability to lead, and physical attractiveness. It represents the strength of personality, not merely how others perceive you in a social setting. It can also affect your reputation with others and how easily you can make friends.]

[Loading Skills...]
[Loading...]
[Skills Loaded!]

[Skills:]
[Passive Skills:]
[Gamer's Mind - Level Max: Allows the user to calmly and rationally think things through. Allows a peaceful state of mind. Grants user an immunity to mind-altering Magic, psychoactive substances and psychological ailments. User can still be affected by mind-altering Magic if used by an opponent 20 levels or more above the user.]
[Gamer's Body - Level Max: Grants a body that allows the user to live real life like the world of a video game. HP and MP are fully restored after sleeping in an owned or rented bed, restored 75% if sleeping in a tent or other makeshift sleeping space, and 50% if sleeping outdoors with some protection from the elements.]
[Passive/Active Skills:]
[Novice Martial Arts - Level 3: A basic martial arts form that teaches one how to punch and kick properly.]-
- [Grants +3 Strength and Vitality during active combat.]
[Novice Sprinter - Level 3: A basic running form that teaches one how to make use of their legs properly for short sprints.]
- [Grants a +3 Dexterity and Vitality during active combat.]
[Active Skills:]
[Observe - Level 1: A skill that allows the user to gain information on people, animals, and objects. At higher levels, more information is revealed. Costs 5MP per use.]
[ID Create - Level 1: Allows for the creation of Instant Dungeons.]
- [ID Create - Null - Level 1: Allows for the creation of a null space.]
- [ID Create - Zombies - Level 1: Allows for the creation of the Zombies Dungeon. Suggested Level: 1-10]
[ID Escape - Level 1: Allows the user to leave an Instant Dungeon and return to the real world.]
[Novice Academics - Level 3: Allows for the learning of material in a school setting.]
[Novice Cooking - Level 2: Allows for the cooking of basic recipes that can replenish HP/MP and offer temporary stat boosts.]

"This," Issei rasped out, his mouth suddenly dry in spite of the rational Gamer's Mind preventing from having a full-blown breakdown. "Is so cool." Where did this power come from? And what was with the question marks? What were half of these skills even supposed to mean? Issei wanted to know more, but who could he possibly ask? Matsuda and Motohama hadn't noticed anything, and now that Issei looked more intently at them, he could see that they were frozen absolutely still, as if the world had paused all around him.

[That would be correct, User. Resuming real world in 3... 2... 1...]
[Real World Resumed!]

All of a sudden, the world had come back to meet Issei, and all the young boy could do was take a sharp intake of breath and stare, wide-eyed, at his two best friends. Were they in on this too? Only one way to find out. Softly, Issei whispered, "Observe."

[Name - Matsuda]
[Level - 1 (0/250 XP)]
[Occupation - N/A]
[Title - Middle School Student]

[Name - Motohama]
[Level - 1 (0/250 XP)]
[Occupation - N/A]
[Title - Middle School Student]

That... made sense, Issei supposed. His Observe ability was clearly only a measly level one, so the information he would have gotten from using the ability would most likely be simple, easy to deduce things. The only thing to do about it would be leveling it up, and Issei had never been afraid of hard work.

[For thinking things through in a rational manner, your Wisdom has gone up by 1!]

Alright, so that was a thing. Very cool. Trying his best to not look foolish, Issei did his best to use his ability as much as he could. His two friends were clearly quite busy with their own games, and it wasn't terribly difficult to look around, Observing individual items in the shop. There were tables, chairs, counter-tops, and of course, there were games. Many, many games. So many games, in fact, that in the span of a few minutes, Issei managed to get another lovely surprise, in the form of a small ringing noise. Thankfully, only he seemed to hear it, and even more thankfully, his two best friends seemed to not notice the glowing blue screen that popped up in the corner of his eyes.

[Congratulations! Observe has Leveled Up!]
[Observe Lvl1-Lvl2]

The second level of Observe didn't seem to change much, as Issei's use of the ability on his friends gave him the same description he had gotten minutes ago. However, his MP, whatever the hell that was, seemed to be shot to hell, and it would take some rest before he was fit to use the ingenious ability again. The young boy looked towards his two friends, who had thankfully wrapped up their games and were packing their bags, and without a word, the trio of middle school students walked back home. An hour later, Issei had said his goodbyes to his friends, eaten a quick dinner with his parents that had, once again, not provided much in terms of Observe-able items, and sprinted up the stairs to his bed, ready to take a nice long nap and hopefully deal with the massive changes in his life later. Before Issei could properly crawl under the covers and turn off his light, yet another screen had popped up.

[Foreign Presence Detected. Scanning for Foreign Presences...]
[Scanning...]
[Foreign Presence Found! Would you like to integrate the Foreign Presence?]
[Yes/No]

Not seeing any other option, Issei tapped the Yes button with as much surliness as his tired and cranky 12 year old body could muster. As he did so, he could feel an absolutely massive presence creeping behind him, an otherworldly aura of sheer power and strength that sent the young boy crashing to his knees. Issei craned his neck to the side, turning fully after a moment to take in the sight of an enormous scaly face, with one giant green eye staring deeply at him.

[Foreign Presence Integrated: Sacred Gear System Unlocked!]
[Sacred Gear: Boosted Gear - Longinus Class Added!]
[Updating System...]
[Updating...]
[System Updated!]

What the fuck?!

A/N: And that's that! Next chapter: Issei's conversation with Ddraig in much further depth, evading the suspicion of (great^n)Grandpa Az, and a whole bunch of grinding.