An: slight spoilers for JoJo part 8, Deltarune part 2, and Attack on Titan's manga.
Well, not slight spoilers for AoT, because one of the main characters is complaining about the ending a lot. You know, the usual.
Life was pretty good until a 1 ton metal box starts to speed at you uncomfortably fast with nothing to stop it.
Wait a minute.
THAT'S A CAAAAAAAAAAAR!
And so here I was, dead.
Like, super dead.
In the void in the middle of nowhere lying patiently for any sort of judgement dead.
…Ah shit, I left all of my friends without letting them know that I've taken a vacation on life.
They're waiting for me for their TF2 session…
Welp, at least they can finally decide on what the worst day of their lives were.
Damn bastards thinking that Mike not getting an australium was worse than me getting the wrong australium.
You have been randomly selected to become a player. Do you accept?
…Huh?
The heck is this… text box?
Wait a minute…
Hey, so I've been reading a lot of gamer fics recently and…
…Mike.
You son of a bitch, if I knew you were right I would've actually listened to you a bit more.
Ah…
I don't even have a body to respond with…
…Sure, yes? I accept?
Please agree to this contract.
'All my actions are of my own doing, and Fair and Balanced Incorporated is not responsible for my actions.'
THAT'S OMINOUS?
Mike, what the fuck is a gamer fic? The only parts I listened to was it's about getting isekai'd and getting a gamer power or something like that. What's the contract for?!
…
I am getting isekai'd though…
Yeah, I'd say I'd accept.
You have signed the contract.
And then ANOTHER screen pops up in front of me, this time, there was a…
…Robot Dragon Samurai guy with a cape?
I have to say though, the black and red makes him look super cool… And edgy, but hey, a bit of edginess is good in life.
Suddenly, he starts to speak.
"Helllooooo! You, my good friend have been chosen to become one of my esteemed players at Fair and Balanced Incorporated! You, particularly, have been chosen to become…"
The person that hasn't given a name yet takes out… A piece of paper out of nowhere, and takes a good glance at it.
…This guy is giving me the impression that he's a shit employee.
"Ew, hero player? Such a shame, but that's life for you. Anyways, you've been chosen to become a hero player in our PvP system (Version 3.0)! What does that mean? You're going to fight against another player, a villain player, in a match on a random world, for our entertainment! And trust me, your side's win/loss ratio is not very good…"
Wow, this guy sounds like an asshole. He probably is one as well.
Look, I think I get it…
I have to fight some other dude, right? Maybe I have to do some preparation, but it's the same concept, yeah?
"Ah, anyways, rules are in the help menu when you get down… More rules that we explain elsewhere… Character creation, yeah I bet that's important… Eh, doesn't sound interesting, boring… Who put all this junk in here anyways?"
He starts listing off a bunch of things that I kind of know but don't.
But seriously, rules and character creation sounds a bit important, no?
So could he fucking explain it?
"Hmph, well, statistically speaking, you're a bit more likely to lose anyways, so I don't care. Have a great time! And remember my name, Skryb! I'm your CEO!"
And the screen abruptly disappears and another appears in its place.
Create your new self.
[Species]
[Class]
[Modifiers]
[Starting Advantage]
[Difficulty]
[Name]
Please start at [Species]
…
What the fuck?
No, seriously, what the hell?
That told me absolutely everything and absolutely nothing at the same time!
Okay, let me think…
So, I'm going to get isekai'd to another world, alright, I get that.
So, I'm supposed to be fighting someone? For a match? For their entertainment?
Also, what the hell is Fair and Balanced Incorporated? Actually, wait, that uh… Skryb guy said he was a CEO… So is Fair and Balanced Incorporated a company?
…That makes things like this?
…
I think I'll continue with this for now. Maybe, if I go to the help menu that Skryb guy mentioned, I'll figure things out.
Species
Please pick a species. This decision cannot be reversed.
[Human - The basic human. Plagues almost every single world. 3 stat points per level up]
[Random - When you choose this option, you will get 3 random species to choose from, however, the human option will be locked afterwards]
Uh huh…
…
Don't gamble it…
…Don't gamble it…
…You've… Broken out of your own gambling addiction…
…Ah, what am I saying, I play Genshin Impact, of course I have a gambling addiction!
Species
[Automaton - Robots, what more could you ask for? - Increased crafting efficiency -5 stat points per level up. 5 End per level up]
[Succubus - Demons that use lust as their main weapon. You become a female when you choose this option. 4 stat points per level up]
[Catgirl - C-C-Catgirl? Uwu? You become a female when you choose this option. 3 stat points per level up. 2 dex per level up]
…Shit.
…Well, actually, this doesn't seem too bad…
Automaton sounds good, because I, as a human male, am never going to be able to take myself seriously ever again if I choose the succubus or catgirl option.
Besides, that's like, 10 stats every time I level up. And considering everything else here is way below that, automatons have to be like, a top tier species or something.
…I hope that it isn't a mid tier species. Like, I really do.
You have chosen automaton as your species.
Now, create your appearance.
My… Appearance?
Ooh, I think…
Yeah, this is a good idea.
And so a bit later, I now have the body of Wonder of U from JoJolion.
Also, just to be safe, I added some weird metal bolt things that are meant to let me move around all around my body.
Just in case if they wouldn't let me move if I hadn't done so.
Sure, I don't have a mouth anymore… Or like, any insides, but hopefully, the little holes I put in the mouth get translated into some kind of radio thing that I can use to speak?
I have no idea how robots work, but hey, this looks really cool.
…Also blatant plagiarism, but who's going to sue me?
Classes
You may choose a 2nd class at level 30.
[Warrior], [Mage], [Rogue], [Ranger], [Support]
Class…
Class…
Huh… On one hand, magic does sound cool…
On the other hand, I played a shit ton of support for my friends, and I kind of liked it. So I think I might check out the support section and if I don't like what I see, I'll switch over to something like mage, maybe ranger.
Classes
Support
[Commanders], [Healers], [Producers]
…Producers?
Actually, I am a bit curious, what the heck would be in the producers section?
Classes
Support
Producers
[Blacksmith - Creates weapons and armor - 1 str, 1 end per level up.]
[Alchemist - Creates potions - 1 int, 1 wis per level up]
[Engineer - Creates technology - 1 inst, 1 wis per level up]
…
…Engineer?
Son of a bitch, that's one of my favorite gaming archetypes.
I really shouldn't, this is a support class and support classes obviously don't really go hand in hand with beating people up…
But I gotta.
You have chosen engineer as your class
I may regret this in the future, however, as of right now, I am of the mindset of 'technology cool' and who knows? If I end up in a backwater world, I'd instantly make myself a thousand times more valuable!
…The same could be said if I just got to level 30 and got engineer as my second class…
But hey, maybe there's a secret advantage to picking it as my first class?
Modifiers
Modifiers are bonuses that are either advantageous, disadvantageous, or simply changing to yourself. Modifier choices are based on the options you've previously chosen. You can gain any number of modifiers you wish.
You cannot remove any modifier until your match is over.
[Hero Player], [Automaton], [Engineer], [World]
…Huh.
Okay, that's neat. So I guess I'll try the uh…Hero player one?
Hero Player modifier
[Developer Aid (Jaeger) - You gain FaBI's Villain Developer, Jaeger, as your system. This modifier was created because Jaeger lost a bet and didn't pay up like a bitch.]
…Who?
Wait, Jaeger as in…
And I was like, 'that's the funniest thing I've ever-' wait a minute.
Who dis?
…Hi?
…
Oh that son of a bitch.
Wait here, don't even think of touching anything, or I'm going to throttle you. Let me clear shit up with Skryb.
…Okay?
That's… Not at all comforting.
Should I just… Not get any more modifiers and move on? Uh, but he did say to not touch anything…
…Jaeger…
From Attack on Titan? I thought it was spelt like Yeager… I'm actually pretty sure it is.
…Wait.
Is he the one who said 'I want her to be on her mind for 10 years at least?'
Holy shit, I have an incel in my mind.
I FUCKING HEARD THAT.
Holy shit, I have a tsundere in my mind.
SHUT.
Yeah, okay, sure. Mind explaining? I see that you've lost a bet or something…
Shut. I did lose a bet, and now here I am, on my quest to help you or something. I thought Skryb got rid of this when we made this system, but he's a dick, so he kept it in for me to remove.
…So why didn't you remove it?
Because I thought Skryb would do it.
…Wasn't Skryb that uh… Black dragon guy I saw at the start?
…Yeah, why?
Because, if you believed that guy who just screams out 'i'm an asshole,' it's probably your own fault.
That's… Fair.
I really don't know what I expected.
Yeah… Er, anyways, modifiers, mind helping me out?
Yeah, sure anyways… What the fuck.
…What?
Okay, tell me, why did you, firstly, go into the support section when you had literally any other option?
Because… I played support when I was alive?
Okay… So, why did you go into the producers tab?
Because I wanted to know why it was there?
Mhm… SO WHY DID YOU PICK ENGINEER?
IT'S MY FAVORITE ARCHETYPE ALRIGHT?!
YEAH, IT'S A FAN FAVORITE TO GET YOUR ASS KICKED AS WELL!
LOOK. It may not have been a good idea, but I'm sure these modifiers will help balance it out, right?
…Uh…
Actually, let me see if I can pull up that modifier list…
Uh, okay…
…Huh, there's a definite possibility that this might work out… Let me check the automaton modifiers as well…
…Okay?
After a bit of waiting…
Yeah, okay, this awful first class might be salvagable if you don't get the like, 32% chance to get something fucking awful.
Okay, 32% chance…
I have no hope that I can avoid a 32% chance of something bad happening.
…You too, huh?
…You too?
139.
My gacha gambling addiction.
Oof.
Well, chin up, if we want to win, we have to fight. There's no way this 32% chance is gonna kick both of our asses today.
Yeah… Okay, I feel you. This feels winnable. 32% chance? I've crapped out better odds than that… Like, once, but it's happened!
Yeah! That's the spirit, now here's the plan. The hero player modifiers are very hit and miss on how good some of them are, so unless if you're feeling lucky, we won't roll on them. The same goes for the world modifiers, because they can mess with meta knowledge sometimes and that's a risk we're not willing to take probably.
On the other hand, automaton is like an S tier species right now, mostly because of Skryb's bias since he's like part automaton or something, so getting a bit of luck on those modifiers can boost us a ton.
Now, the part where we need mother luck to guide us is the engineer modifiers. So, there's this thing where, when you get your second class, you can get an extra modifier for that class. Since support classes are usually picked second, most modifiers for support classes are, at the very least, decent.
So, we're going to roll a lot of engineer, some for automaton, and none for hero player and world. Any questions?
Hm…
Nope, this seems like a reasonable plan.
Actually wait, no, one question, how much is a lot?
Like… 5, maybe 6 and beyond.
I see…
Well, I'm going to press the engineer button 5 times and hope for the best, then.
Don't jinx it.
Too late.
Engineer Modifiers
[Resource Efficient - Crafting material requirements are decreased]
[Efficient Recycler - Dismantling an item gives you an higher amount of resources back]
[Rusty - All created items are in a rusty and rundown state]
[Insecure Prices - All items have fluctuating materials needed in order to craft them, making some dirt cheap and some ridiculously expensive. Costs will never go under 0.1x or 10x of original cost]
[Automation - When you craft an item for the first time, the following costs of the same item will decrease by up to 50% depending on the item. Additionally, the speed at which you craft the item will decrease]
Okay…
This is…
You know, it's actually pretty good.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Rusty and insecure prices are bad… But do I see the beginnings of some kind of infinite item duplicator here?
Yeah, I think I see it too… Although, that insecure prices modifier might be a bitch.
Yeah, you're right, but this is like, the best we could've hoped for, right?
Ah… Basically, yeah. If I got to pick and choose, I'd replace the insecure prices modifier with almost anything else, like the uh… Sentient items modifier, but this is pretty good too for the occasional discount.
Yeah, great.
So, is it safe to assume we're going to get fucked while trying for the automaton modifiers?
Oh, most definitely, want to try our luck anyways?
Hell yeah, what is gambling if not trying our luck in the most hopeless places?
You get me!
3 times!
Automaton modifiers
[Broken Speech - Your speech is glitched out, making understanding you sometimes a chore]
[Unclear Volume - Your body is fluctuating between being extremely loud, or extremely quiet]
[Music Player - Your body now has a built in music function]
IT'S ALL SHIT!
RNGESUS HAS SPOKEN AND DEEMED US UNWORTHY!
Jaeger, I know I was shitting on you earlier for being an incel who still remembers a year old shit ending, but you truly understand me here.
…But like, are you just using the name or are you actually…
We're just built different.
Also I am just using the name, however, gamers are basically gods, so I am Eren Jaeger because I can just replace him.
…Huh.
So you're a self insert?
…
Yes.
No shame! Well, putting that aside, more thoughts on these modifiers?
They're all shit.
Yeah, I know, but like, how bad COULD it have gone?
Uh, let me see here…
…
Well, you could've just been walking forever, or like, never being able to move… Or speak…
Even one here to just say 'you're human now lmao.'
That…
You know, when you put it like that, this is shit, but like, not super-shit, you get what I'm saying?
I get you.
…Wanna do a hero player modifier?
Lmao sure.
Hero Player modifier
[Crisis Bringer - Whenever you are around, there seems to be minor problems that seem to happen often]
…
…
Well.
Shit.
I'm blaming you for this, if you didn't want to bang Mikasa so badly, we could've avoided this.
THAT ISN'T ME.
YOU'RE SHARING THE NAME.
I'M A DIFFERENT JAEGER.
OH YEAH, THAT'S WHAT THEY ALWAYS SAY, RIGHT?! 'YEAH, THEY WERE BAD AND FOLLOWING ORDERS, BUT I'M DIFFERENT!?'
I'M LITERALLY A GOD I CAN JUST CHANGE CANON
COPE.
SEETHE IN YOUR PIT OF BEING WRONG.
COPE.
Starting Advantage
A starting bonus to make sure you don't die day 1.
[Material Finder - Materials you're looking for are highlighted and able to be seen through walls.]
...Eh?
Oh, that's nice.
Yeah, it is...
Difficulty
[Very Easy - All enemies are pushovers. Major decrease in experience gain]
[Easy - All enemies are slightly easier. Slight decrease in experience gain]
[Normal - All enemies are close to canonical power. Normal experience gain]
[Hard - All enemies are slightly harder. Slight increase in experience gain]
[Very Hard - All enemies are harder. Major increase in experience gain]
[Extreme - All thy be dead. Experience is multiplied by 10]
Oh yeah, the difficulty?
Normal. Don't even argue.
...Yeah, fair.
You have chosen normal as your difficulty.
Anyways...
COPE.
STAY MAD
HOES MAD
STAY MAD
Name
HOES- Oh yeah, my name?
STAY- oh yeah, your name…
Eh, any recommendations?
Uh, some of the most common names, like Michael, Shiro, Akira, or like, any protagonist of any TV show or anime, get chosen a lot, and we have this thing where people with the same name fight, forcing the loser to change their name.
So basically, don't pick a common sounding name.
That's… Vague and broad.
Most people just choose a nickname or a gamer tag they had when they were alive for the first time.
Oh yeah! My gamer tag… Er, while somewhat unrelated, can I get my friends roped into this?
You get access to your previous world when you win your match… Actually wait, I haven't watched the hero player video yet. Did Skryb explain the whole reason why you're here at all?
Uh…
Eh, doesn't sound interesting, boring… Who put all this junk in here anyways?"
…No.
Oh of course…
Uh basically, you're going to go into a deathmatch with someone.
…oh
I kind of already got some knowledge of that but like…
Uh, what happens if I die?
You become the winner's slave for the rest of eternity.
Oh shit.
Yeah, some very brutal things have been done to the losers.
Although, there's this one guy I know in the office… Uh, I'll tell you about it later.
Uh, okay, so winning… I just have to kill the other guy?
Basically, yep. I'll tell you if you start breaking rules, but the rules are very easy to not run into. The only real thing you have to remember is that you need to meet the other guy in a year to not be called boring and get the match deleted instantly, where you'll die as well.
…Ah.
I'm becoming less enthusiastic about this the more you talk about it.
Yeah, everyone has the same reaction.
Anyways, name?
…Cereal.
…You what?
Cereal, that's my name now.
…
Nice joke, what's it actually.
Cereal, did I stutter? .
Why the fuck.
It's my gamer tag. Plus, you said something on coming up with uncommon names? Cereal must be pretty uncommon, right?
…Well yes.
BUT THE EXPECTATION WAS YOU WERE GOING TO PICK AN OBSCURE WORD?!
CEREAL IS AN OBSCURE WORD!
I-WELL-AH.
Wait.
You're wrong, but at the same time, you're sort of right.
I've literally never heard of a guy named Cereal.
Yeah, suck it, bird.
Bi- OH FUCK OFF.
Yeah, how big is society anyways? Like, how many uh… Gamers are there? There can't be many people if a common word like Cereal isn't chosen a couple of times.
Fuck you. Around 3-4 million.
That's… Not a lot?
You'd be surprised how much gamers hate other gamers. People get killed all the time.
Yeah… But only 4 million?! I've been in CITIES with populations larger than that!
Well, if you want to artificially extend the numbers, if we count everyone who has some sort of system as a gamer, there's like 26 billion, but they're mostly duplicates of each other.
…Explain?
Alright, so, what's the first fictional character that pops into your mind right now?
Eren Jaeger?
Okay, so, think, there's me, and there's canon Eren, someone else's Eren that's derived from canon Eren, and a bunch of other people who also has an Eren around.
And since systems are the primary way of giving power, a lot of these Erens have some sort of gamer system.
So, to count how many should actually be counted, we only count for people who aren't in a fictional setting, and started out with a standard system.
You're not counted, by the way. You're a player, which is lumped in with the group that gets their systems from other gamers, and that population is around 12 or 13 million last I checked. But you get upgraded to Gamer when you win because we're awesome and basically call the shots in this universe.
…Huh.
That was pretty boring. I forgot what you were talking about.
You piece of shi-
ANYWAYS shouldn't we like, start already?
…
Yeah okay.
Alright, nice.
You have chosen the name Cereal
By the way, Cereal?
Yeah, Jaeger?
You're no breakfast food, you're a dinner.
…What the fuck?
AN:
Me zooming in 2x speed at 3 AM to finish the chapter before new years happen in my time zone.
Speaking on that, happy new years! To celebrate the year's passing, I decided to end a fic and rewrite it from the ground up.
Well, the start of rewriting it, anyways.
Last Cereal and Jaeger definitely cruised to the top without much issue. Like, they just walked in through the front door and nobody had an issue with it.
This Cereal and Jaeger is still climbing to the top without much issue, but I'd like it to be like 'wow, this guy is pretty useful to our city' instead of 'they literally walked in through the front door and told us god sent him with physical evidence to prove it'
Unrelated note, "they literally walked in through the front door and told us god sent him with physical evidence to prove it" has to be one of my better sentences that I wrote.
The ultimate goal? Capitalism, I'd bet. I mean, it is pretty heroic to bring an industrial civilization to a futuristic one, and if that includes getting a shit ton of money… Better to the hero than the villain, right?
Eh, I'll get that ironed out as I write it. It probably won't be that dark. Cereal probably just wants his friends to have a good time.
Also, I realize now that this chapter is very back loaded, where all the semi-important shit happens at the end. Although, the conversations do seem a bit forced… But I sidetrack from conversations all the time, and I guess Cereal and Jaeger are just a pair that side tracks often. Canon.
Now, I'm asking myself, 'why rewrite Dev Com and not Replacement?' and my answer to that is, 'replacement would've been the 4th MHA gamer fic I'd attempt and likely fail.'
I like MHA, but there is a limit on how much of the same thing I can do with it. Crazy to me how some people have the motivation to just write for like, only 1 or 2 fandoms and have like dozens of works.
Anyways, that aside, give a review if you want.
[2nd time's the charm! Just ignore my first two works…]
[Resisting my urge to put a new fic with another gamer in Inazuma. Like, not a PvP one, just a regular gamer]
[Maybe after I get done with a fic.]
[I still have little self confidence in my own abilities, but i like to think I'm doing better than I was a few months ago. If anyone wants to verbally tear into me, that's also fine.]
[Note to self: Don't spend 12 chapters doing what is essentially nothing.]
[Literally forgot to write the difficulty they were playing at [[AND THE STARTING ADVANTAGE?!]]. Thankfully, only like 65 people read this chapter beforehand, so I'm safe lmao]