This Game Called Life
By: Bubbajack
Beta's and Co-authors: Icysnowsage, Heliosion, Loamy Coffee, and Geoffry Lannister
Disclaimer: We do not own the following anime/mawha, comics, or tv shows or to the following: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Goblin Slayer, references to Highlander, Highschool DxD, Heavenly Demon Instructor, How not to Summon the Demon Lord, I am the Fated Villain, I'm Really not the Evil God's Lacky, Overlord, references to Lord of the Rings, Percy Jackson, Solo Leveling, Solo Max Level Newbie, and Star vs the Forces of Evil.
Ch.1: Welcome Player Two.
'I'm going to hazard a guess,' Alexander 'Xander' Lavelle Harris thought as he woke up in his bed staring at a blue screen, 'That I got into something wiggy last night.'
[Greetings! You have been chosen to be a Player in The Game. Press the X on the screen, swipe right, or think dismiss to continue]
"Okay… I'll bite… what is The Game?" Xander asked no one in particular as he swiped right. "Cause there has to be a catch, there's always a catch."
[The Game is simply what you have been doing so far, Player. Fighting monsters only now, it'll be a lot more lucrative for you. You can slay dragons, save the princess, and might even get laid. Congrats!]
After living here for so long, Xander knew that if something sounded too good to be true, it was. No likely about it. "Okayyy~ but what's the catch? There's always a catch. Can I see the terms of service for this game?"
[Certainly, just a moment…
Terms of Service and Conditions:
Welcome to the Game Called Life. You are a follower of one of many paths. Remember that this system is here to grant what you desire most and to help with that there are terms and services.
This contract was made by offering your consent through a legal contract by choosing to live on a gateway to hell.
You have been granted the privileges of a Player and now can participate in The Game.
Remember that there are many dangers and your life is not guaranteed.
To offset this we have currently locked you into [tutorial mode] for your safety. Once the Tutorial Dungeon (first dungeon) is cleared, [Tutorial Mode] will be turned off for all Players.
You are allowed to skip the tutorial at your own risk.
[Recommendation] DON'T! SKIP! THE! TUTORIAL!
Be warned that Janus Industries is not held liable or accountable for any ill effects that fall upon you.
This follows but is not limited to: death, toruture, snu snu, mass pregnancy, whitening of hair due to stress or hair loss, lack of sleep, vampirism, possession, loss of sanity, turned inside out, implosive diarrhea, explosive diarrhea, loss of senses, being eaten alive, or any other ailments that may cause or lead to death.
We at Janus Industries are happy to answer any of your questions within the limitations of the system.
Thank you for actually reading the terms and service.
A small reward will be gifted for being the first player to actually read the terms and conditions.
+1 to Wisdom and Intelligence]
Xander blinked, read the Terms of Service again and asked, "How would mass pregnancy lead to death?"
[I dunno, probably the same way snu snu could lead to death?]
Xander briefly had a flashback to the Praying Mantis Demon. "Right, nevermind." Shaking away one of his more embarrassing near death experiences, he asked, "Since I just got a bonus to my Wisdom and Intelligence does that mean I have stats?"
[Yes, just think Stats, and the screen should pop up.]
'Stats,' Xander thought as he threw his bed sheet off of himself and proceeded to get ready for the day.
Name: Xander Harris aka Player 2
Title: Hellmouth Survivor (Temporary)
STR: 13
DEX: 12
CON: 11
INT: 11
WIS: 17
CHA: 16
LCK: 16
Skills: Path not yet selected.
Perks: Apocalyptic Maiden Saver, Cretin King, Evasive, School of Hard Knocks.
Xander looked at the stat block and blinked, "Okay, so I'm a DnD character with a Luck Stat added on?"
[No, Player, these stats are found in various media. Especially Korean comics.]
As he threw on one of his usual garish Hawaiian shirts, along with a pair of jeans as he replied, "You're talking about those tower climbing ones."
[Correct Player, grab a bite to eat, and I shall explain more. In the meantime for surviving so long on a partially closed portal to hell, and being the only one smart enough to ask to read the terms and conditions, have five extra attributes points allocated to any attribute of your choice besides luck. Luck can only be leveled up by winning at games of chance, surviving encounters outside of your safety level,selecting a particular path and thwarting those blessed by fortune. For those favored by fortune shall be bountiful while those forsaken by fortune must strive the harder less traveled path.]
'Interesting choice of words,' Xander thought as he climbed his stairs on cats paws, careful not to wake Tony. Nothing good ever happened when he woke up Tony out of a drunken haze.
[Stealth check passed unlocked minor skill silent steps]
[Silent Steps lvl.1: The best way to sneak in quietly. Your steps are less likely to be noticed in situations where there shouldn't be any. Leveling up this skill helps increase the likelihood of passing a stealth check.]
'Oh cool, so you unlock skills by doing things,' Xander thought smiling. So thinking he decided to be bold and after checking to see he had some eggs, juiced some oranges for orange juice, and browned some bread for toast. He assumed that if he actually tried cooking himself breakfast he could unlock the cooking skill or something similar. It worked but not quite as intended.
[Novice Alchemy lvl.1: The most trusted items are made by hand. You have unlocked the skill alchemy. By combining certain ingredients together you can create potions, mutagens, and poisons. Rarer ingredients/materials might need to be obtained from slain monsters or can be harvested only from dungeons.]
[Novice Cooking lvl.1: You know how to cook basic meals, they may not taste the best, but they fill you up. You have a long, long way to go before being called a Cordon Bleu chef.]
As he ate his meal, he asked a question, "Hey um, whoever is in charge, I noticed when I picked up the eggs, not only were they actually labeled as eggs with a little box around them, but it was also color coded white. Is that like a rarity thing?"
[+1 to Intelligence for using your , Player; certain items in the world are color coded to show their rarity. The rarity system is Normal items, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Unique, Legendary, and Mythic. They are color coded as Copper, Bronze, Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril, and Adamantium.]
Xander nodded. "Cool, is there anything else I need to know like the location of the tutorial dungeon, other conditions for clearing the tutorial, or anything like that?"
[The Tutorial ends when a player or a group clears the Tutorial Dungeon. You can either wait for someone else to clear it, or clear it yourself. However, until the dungeon is cleared, monsters in Sunnydale will be much more powerful in the interim.]
Xander almost did a spit take, "What?! Why?!"
[Not everyone deserves to play the Game, Player. The tutorial is meant to separate the wheat from the chaff. The strong from the weak, and the heroes from the cowards. If you truly wish to save as many people as possible, you must clear the dungeon. But in order to do that, first you must spend your extra granted attribute points…]
Xander was tempted to put them all into a single attribute but then paused. 'That would be dumb. This Game isn't a game at all, it's my life, and I only get one. I should be very rational about this,' So thinking he looked at his current stat spread and then allocated the points out evenly.
Attribute Points to Allocate: 5
STR: 13
DEX: 13
CON: 13
INT: 13
WIS: 18
CHA: 17
LCK: 16
"Okay, that'll do, what next?" Xander replied as he put his dishes in the sink and grabbing his backpack crept towards the front door and out of the house.
[Next you need to choose your Path or basic class if you will. They're standard but give bonuses to Attribute acquisition. You can choose Fighter, Mage, Thief, or Priest.]
As he jogged to Sunnyhell High, he asked, "Can I get some more info on all the classes?"
[+1 Wisdom for being wise enough to ask that. But of course.
Fighter: Fights foes with melee weapons and the like. Increase Str by 2 and CON by 2.
Mage: Uses magic and mysticism to slay foes from afar. Increase INT by 3, CHA by 1.
Thief: The sneaky stabby type. Increase Dex by 2 and LUK by 2.
Priest: Uses holy power granted by a deity to smite their foes. Increase WIS by 2 and CHA by 2.]
'Hmm fighter seems pretty good to start off with… and magic and I don't mix… but my highest stats are Intelligence and Wisdom at the moment… Wow, never thought I'd say that. But since that's the case, doesn't that mean I 'should' go for Fighter, to balance things out more? Or should I go for Priest despite not being religious and raise my highest stats even more?' Xander did something that was very unlike him, he gave this some serious thought. "I think… I'm gonna go with Fighter."
[Congratulations on picking your starting Path! +2 to Strength and Constitution. You are now familiar with all weapon, armor, and shield types.]
[Skill Unlocked! Jog lvl.1: You can hustle. You can move twice as fast as normal for a number of minutes equal to your Con Score. If you exceed this limit, you become fatigued. If you exceed this limit equal to twice your Con Score you become exhausted.]
As Xander turned the corner to Sunnydale High he smirked thinking. 'It's a start.'
Name: Elizabeth Anne Summers aka Player 1
Title: The Chosen One
STR: 35
DEX: 35
CON: 35
INT: 11
WIS: 8
CHA: 14
LCK: 20
Perks: Faux-Slaying Talent, Faux-Natural Blonde, Lover of The Damned
Skills: Faux-Martial Arts lvl.5, Cheerleading lvl.6, Improvised Weapon Use lvl.4, Beginner Bowyer lvl.6, Fluency: French .
"Grr, block all popups." Buffy growled on her way to school.
[Wait, what are you serious Player?]
"Do I sound like I'm joking?" She snarked at the latest mess she had to deal with due to being 'the slayer'. 'God, I hate my job! No benefits, no dental, like zero time off, and I literally only get to sleep when I'm dead.'
[You realize if you do this, you may miss out on some very important-]
Buffy swiped past the screen without even bothering to read it all, "Yeah yeah dire consequences world ending threat, where haven't I heard that before? Blah blah blah. Are you gonna shut these screens off or not?"
[So, to be clear, you are opting out of the tutorial?]
"Duh," Buffy replied, "Now hurry up and make the changes. I'm already a social pariah, I don't need to be considered crazy if people see me muttering to myself."
[Fine, but don't blame me when people start dying Player 1.]
"Wait, woah, hold up, you never mentioned anything like-"
This time it was a screen that cut her off [Too late, as per your request this will be the last screen you ever see. Good luck and try not to die.]
"I think… I might've just messed up," Buffy said as she sighed. "Damn it," Buffy trudged her way into the school grounds going to the one person who usually had answers when weird and wiggy things happened.
Sprinting past the rows of wooden bookshelves with the smell of old paper hitting her nose, she called out, "Giles, something weird is going on!" Buffy cried out into the hallowed halls of the library by way of greeting.
"Good morning to you too Buffy," The British man said dryly as he fixed his glasses. "By chance does this new strange development have anything to do with a blue screen popping up in front of your face the moment you woke up this morning?"
"Yes!... Wait, it happened to you too?" The Slayer was surprised.
The Watcher nodded. "Quite, in fact, I received a call from Willow this morning reporting much the same."
Buffy began to pace in front of the librarian's desk, "Wills too… you me, and Wills… what could've caused this Giles?"
Putting aside the book he was reading, Giles replied, "If I were a betting man Buffy, I would wager that this was likely caused by the backfiring by Ethan's chaos spell last night."
Stopping and turning on her heel, the faux-blonde questioned, "I thought you dealt with the spell?"
To which Giles nervously replied, "In a manner of speaking, yes. Chaos magic is fickle and dangerous Buffy, to mess with a spell especially one using the power of a god, could've been deadly for me. Plus, I didn't know the counter-spell. So I did the next best thing."
"Which was?" the slayer questioned.
Clearing his throat the watcher admitted, "I destroyed the conduit from which the chaotic energies were being channeled. That is to say, a bust of Janus."
Buffy didn't follow. "Okay… but how does that equate to life becoming a videogame?"
Giles sighed, "Buffy… the bust was a conduit… it was channeling the chaotic energies of a god. When the bust was broken those energies spread throughout the hellmouth… and likely affected everyone who lives on it."
Buffy nodded, kinda getting the gist of it, except for one little detail, "Oh… but why a video game?"
"Perhaps because Janus' aspect as the god of primordial chaos was being invoked and this would amuse him most?" Giles shrugged, "Even I couldn't really say, I can only speculate. The important thing is to not panic or do anything rash."
This caused his charge to look away sheepishly and reply with, "Umm… define rash?"
Giles sighed and looked up to the heavens for patients, "Buffy, what in the name of Queen Elizabeth, did you do this time?"
"Nothing, and why do you always assume it's somehow my fault Giles?"
Rubbing his temples and using the dry wittiness expected of an Englishman, Giles responded with, "Because my dear, I've been around you long enough now to know better," exasperation lacing his tone he continued, "Now, what did you do this time?"
Sighing, the teen replied, "I might've told the popups to stop popping up?" The Slayer began to pace the carpeted floor in front of her watchers' desk again.
"That… could be very bad? It could've been much worse but…" the librarian said at length. "Did you happen to read the terms and conditions though?"
Buffy rolled her eyes, "No, who even does that?"
Xander, who was walking through the halls of the school, suddenly sneezed.
Giles gave his ward a pointed glare. "You should've done so. If you had, you would've known that until the tutorial dungeon is cleared, the vampires around here will be much more dangerous and aggressive than normal."
Buffy blanched, "Oh…"
"And," Giles went on as if she hadn't spoken, "That by opting out of the tutorial you become ineligible to clear it."
"Oh no…" Buffy's shoulders slumped as the realization set in.
"Oh yes," The Watcher replied, "And you made it worse by not even bothering to figure out what was going on before dismissing it out of hand," He gave her a disapproving look, "I would've hoped by now Buffy you would've come to me before taking brash actions not after and leaving me to get the broom and dustpan to clean up the mess."
To her credit, Buffy hung her head in shame. "Sorry Giles…" Raising her head to the heavens much like he did earlier she asked, "Well now what do we do?"
"For now, you go to class. After school you'll as usual meet up here with Willow and Xander and we'll see what's going on about all this?"
That got Buffy's attention. "You don't think Xander got affected too do you Giles? I mean you, me, and Willow I can understand, but Xander? He's… just Xander."
'He's also the boy who saved your life last summer, averted a prophecy, and despite being human, kills vampires in melee range which is uncanny,' Giles thought to himself. "Just meet up here after class, and get going before you're late."
"Right," Buffy said, waving as she took off, calling over her shoulder. "Seeya Giles."
Only once he was sure she was out of hearing range did the Watcher sigh, "Good Lord, that child will be the death of me. Stats."
Name: Rupert Giles aka Player 4
Attributes:
Strength: 12 Intelligence: 15
Dexterity: 10 Wisdom: 18
Constitution: 12 Charisma: 14
Fatigue: 0 Luck: 14
Title: Ripper: When you cast a wind based spell deal slashing instead of blunt damage. This title was gained due to your past "youthful" experiences. Allows easier intimidation to those who recognize it.
Perks: Cutting Wind, Patience of a Saint,
Skills: Demon Summoning lvl.7, Counter Spell lvl.6, Expert Arcane Knowledge lvl.9, Interrogation Techniques lvl.4, Demonic Host Lvl. 3
The Watcher looked over his page once again. 'I can guess at what some of this means but I've a feeling Xander or Jenny would know better than I,' He sent an untrustworthy glare at the computer that sat on the left of his desk. 'Damn devil box.'
Willow Rosenberg came to school scowling, which was unusual for her. The reason being? A very rude very dumb popup greeted her when she woke up this morning!
[You really, really should read the Terms and Conditions Player 3. It could save your life.]
"I don't need to read the terms and conditions, I'm a genius. If this is just a game then the rules should be simple to figure out. I mean Xander plays these types of games all the time, so how hard could they be?"
[A lot harder than you're giving them credit for, I assure you.]
"Are you calling me dumb?" Willow was a lot of things, but one thing she prided herself on was her intelligence and she didn't like having it questioned.
[More like ill equipped to handle the current situation without the proper knowledge… which is what the tutorial is for! Use it!]
"I already told you I don't need your stupid tutorial!"
[So you're opting out of the tutorial then? Really?]
"Yes! I don't know how many times I have to tell you before you get it!" the redhead all but growled. She hadn't seen Buffy today due to dealing with this, or her Xander-shaped-crush and she was starting to get grumpy, to put it nicely.
[Okay… That also means you're opting out of completing the tutorial dungeon… So good luck with what's coming.]
"Wait what's coming?" She asked, unknowingly echoing Buffy's question from earlier.
[Sorry, but the knowledge you've requested is connected to the tutorial and terms of service which you've opted not to participate in nor to read… Would you like to choose your Path?]
Willow blinked and questioned, "What's a Path?"
[A Path and its benefits are explained in the tutorial… which you opted out of.]
Glowering, she asked, "Okay, well how do I look at my stat page?"
[You would know how…If you did the tutorial.]
"Grr… You're not being very helpful."
[Games aren't supposed to be helpful, they're supposed to be challenging… The helpful part is what the TUTORIAL is for! Perhaps you should've made use of it when it was available?]
The first ringing of the bell brought a swift end to the argument, " I'll deal with you later, buster. I have class right now."
[Good luck in the trenches Player 3.]
Xander did something he didn't normally do in class… he paid attention. Or did his best anyway. 'Okay so I need to solve for x and the answer is fifteen so x should be five right?' He raised his hand catching the teacher by surprise and gave his answer, to his, and to the teacher's surprise, he was correct.
[+1 to Intelligence for applying yourself.]
'Thanks to you, school is actually rewarding now.'
[School has always been rewarding Player 2, it's just that the benefits are now tangible. You are getting somewhat immediate gratification for your efforts.]
'True but this like the carrot and the stick method, me doing well is actually getting me benefits for once.'
[+1 Wisdom for the good analogy]
'Of course, even knowing this, I still have a long way to go.' Xander mused.
[+1 to Wisdom and Intelligence. Wisdom for knowing you have a reason for applying yourself in school now, and intelligence for knowing you still have a long way to go.]
When the bell rang it was time for computer class. 'I bet doing well here will raise my INT.' Xander thought to himself.
Jenny Calendar was one of the few teachers he actually liked. She was kind, funny, down to earth, and understood his humor. She also never complained about him being half dead in the mornings due to lack of sleep from patrolling. So as he sat down at the Windows 95 with the screensaver being a multicolored window, he gave her his full attention as she started to speak.
"Hello everyone! Today, we'll be working on typing so I thought, to kill two birds with one stone, you all could work on your English reports here on the computers."
A series of cheers went up, with Xander among them. 'See, this is why Miss Calendar is cool! She actually looks out for us,' He thought as he opened up a document, double spaced it, put it in Times New Roman, and started typing. After about fifteen minutes, a message popped up.
[Due to the simple menaughtomy of and dexterity required of your task, your have increased your Wisdom and Dexterity by +1]
Xander found an eyebrow raising towards his hairline, 'My Wisdom and Dexterity increased by typing? Cool.'
By the time the hour was up, his report was done, and he had gained an additional +2 in Dexterity and Wisdom.
Then it was time for what passed for lunch in this hovel they called a school. 'Pray for me system, the food here might just kill me.'
[Paguwa som fa Paguwa som fa Paguwa som fa!]
As a brown glob of… something that Xander thought was supposed to be Salisbury steak plopped onto his tray Xander thought wryly, 'Do you happen to have any Phoenix Downs? I might need one if I try to eat this.'
[You have received the Onyx Tier item: School Lunch. -1 to all physical stats for one hour if consumed.]
'Onyx Teir what is Onyx Tier?' He asked the System.
[Turns out you were right, the food here really is cursed! +1 Luck for somehow guessing that. Also Onyx Tier is the tier reserved for cursed items.]
Sitting down at his usual table with Willow and Buffy he thought. 'Is there a tier for the opposite?'
The System was quick to reply, [Yes it's called Pearlescent and it's for Divine objects or relics for short.]
"Eww, are they feeding people Oozes now?" Willow asked as she poked Xander's meal with her spork, having brought a fruit salad and tuna salad sandwich from home.
"I have it on fairly good authority this stuff is cursed," Xander replied with a grin.
"It looks cursed… I think it just moved," Buffy replied, giving a wary glance. Taking pity on her Xander-shaped-friend, Buffy split half of her lunch, some cold pizza her mom ordered while she was out chaperoning last night, and gave him a slice. "Here, I can't bear to watch you eat that."
[You have gained an item Normal Item: Cold Pizza. Gives +1 to all mental stats for two hours if consumed. Cowabunga dude!]
"Thanks Buffster," He said with a grateful smile.
"Here's some fruit too," Willow her cheeks a little red as she pushed her fruit salad towards him.
'Does willow have a fever? Maybe she should wear lighter clothing.'
[Wisdom check failed, try harder.]
'Huh what am I not getting she's sick right? I always thought she was anemic because she's always red.'
[Wisdom check and Intelligence check failed. C'mon man you're an insult to your sex and gender.]
'Okay, so she doesn't have a fever, and she's not anemic… well the only other reason I can think for a girl's face to go so red is because… no way…'
[Yes… Yes?!]
The revelation hit Xander like a ton of bricks. 'Willow… likes somebody!'
[+1 to intelligence, good, good, keep going!]
'I've only noticed this within the past year or so… so does that mean… She likes Buffy!?'
[We take that intelligence back and give you a perk instead. Head of Lead]
'Should I encourage this?'
[Please don't, seriously don't. Why would you even think that would be a good idea?]
The teen's rebuttal was swift, 'Because Willow is definitely better than a demonically possessed undead corpse?'
[Fair point Player 2, but you're wrong about one thing] the System replied.
Xander was confused, 'What's that?'
[If only you had some way to observe the stat sheets of others… if only…sigh….]
'Can I observe other's stat sheets?' Xander asked.
[You have gained the Skill: Observe lvl.1]
'Thanks, Observe.' Xander thought as he looked at Willow.
Name: Willow Rosenberg
Path: Magician Lvl.1
Attributes:
Strength: 9 Wisdom: 11
Dexterity: 10 Intelligence: 30
Constitution: 9 Charisma: 8
Fatigue: 0 Luck: 13
Likes: Player 2 Dislikes: Cordelia Chase
Summary: Could become a decent magical type in the future if raised well, but beware magic on the hellmouth is dangerous.
'So… She likes me as a friend right?'
[I give up, you have truly earned that Lead Head perk.]
Xander was starting to panic now, 'She only likes me as a friend, or brother right, right?!'
[The System refuses to answer you out of disgust. You're on your own buddy.]
[Head of Lead: Congratulations you are so dense that you cannot recognize a forest for its trees. You have gained a perk that harem protagonists everywhere have standard. This makes you less likely to be charmed, bewitched,influenced and resilient to love/lust potions. Congratulations, you are the natural enemy of succubi everywhere.]
Xander sighed and admitted an uncomfortable truth at least to himself, 'Willow 'likes' me, doesn't she?'
[Hallelujah! He's not as dumb as he looks ladies and gentlemen! I'm tempted to give you that plus to Intelligence back… but I won't because this was like pulling teeth.]
He chewed his food sullenly. 'That's fine… I don't know what to do about this though.'
[Here is a tip from the system. If you don't like her that way let her down gently. That is all you can do. Heaven forbid you get aphrodite involved. Here's a hint: love gods don't give good love advice.]
"Duly noted," Xander mumbled to himself.
"Everything okay Xan, you seem kinda down?" Buffy asked as she playfully nudged him in the shoulder and nearly knocked him out of his seat.
Righting himself he replied, "I'm good Buff, just… Last night was weird right?"
The Slayer rolled her eyes. "Yeah that's putting it mildly."
'Observe' Xander thought idly.
Name: Buffy Anne Summer
Class: Fighter lvl.1
Attributes:
Strength: 35 Wisdom: 8
Dexterity: 35 Intelligence: 11
Constitution: 35 Charisma: 14
Fatigue: 0 Luck: 20
Likes: Angel Dislikes: Being the Slayer, School, Vampires, etc..
Summary: A truly powerful individual. She could be considered a 'main character' with stats that high at level one. If you want to survive it is advised to stick close to this one.
'Not surprised, if my life was a tv show, Buffy would be the star and I would be a side character.' The teen thought to himself.
Finishing up his meal just before the bell rang, Xander hurried off to history class.
"God, I'm happy school is over for the day!" Xander cheered as he stretched, making his way out of the school doors. Then a notification popped up in front of him as he walked.
[Tutorial Curse: As previously stated until the tutorial dungeon is completed all the monsters usually found here will be much stronger than usual. Once darkness falls, these stronger beasts will begin hunting… either find sanctuary or if your feeling bold, hunt the beasts for experience]
'Uh… where is the Tutorial dungeon?' Xander asked.
[Dungeon is located in the abandoned warehouses. Suggested level is four or four level one players.]
'Okay so I'll just get Buffy and Willow and…' His thought was cut off by another window.
[Actually Players 1 and 3 have opted out of the tutorial meaning they cannot complete the dungeon… in fact the only person who didn't opt out of the tutorial was you, and Players 4 and 7.]
'Who're they?' Xander asked.
[You know them better as G-man and Miss Calendar]
'Well shit… I'm gonna have to do this alone,' Xander decided. 'G-man and Miss C are both mages. Two mages and one Fighter? Not a good combo. I'd be better off by myself than having to cover them,' He noticed his fellow students fretting over something likely they were looking at their own screens. 'Right, I gotta do something about this,' So thinking he moved towards the warehouses.
Xander approached the warehouses as night started to fall, he figured if he was going to do this, he could afford to do it right, so he 'borrowed' a sword from Giles display case in the library, and silently cursing the fact he had no armor, made his way to the docks. The dungeon was easy to spot,the warehouse was all chained up, and it was exuding a menacing red aura.
"Like Zokinks Scoob, I think this is it." Xander muttered to himself before using observe on the building
[Dungeon: Tutorial Challenge Rating: 1 (party) lvl.4 (solo) Rewards: +1 Level, Basic Path equipment. Repeatable: Yes.]
'Wait, dungeons can be done more than once?'
To which the System replied, [Yes, cause the grind is real, but you should know that eventually they will stop giving out experience if you outlevel them and the rewards will become pointless as you continue to level up.]
As he approached the door, the chains fell off, and a new popup appeared right in front of the doors. [Would you like to do the tutorial in "Nightmare Difficulty"? If you click yes, enemies will be tougher but the rewards will be greater. Rewards +2 Levels, Basic path equipment and a bag containing 100 gold on top of monster drops, and chance of rare item drops doubled.]
'Well, chances are I'm gonna get my ass kicked anyway so…' Xander clicked yes.
[We Welcome you to the Warehouse of the Accerak… please enjoy your stay…]
The screen disappeared and he pushed open the doors to his very first dungeon, all while thinking, 'I shouldn't have clicked yes…'
The inside of the dungeon was pitch black, thankfully xander came prepared. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a torch, no not the British colloquialism for a flashlight, but an actual torch. He had broken off a couple of branches off a tree, wrapped them in cloth, and soaked them with a couple of grain alcohol from his parent's fridge. Using his dad's lighter, he lit it, raising it above his head to get the most light possible.
The rosy red light went about ten feet before the shadows encroached upon the light like a pack of starving wolves.
[The System Congratulates your ingenuity gain +1 Intelligence]
"Thanks," Xander muttered as he looked around, there were bloodstains everywhere, some blood trails showed that the victims had been dragged off into other rooms and the stench of iron hung heavily in the air. Set into every corner of the room was a large black sphere almost as tall as Xander was. He knew what they were on sight. Stable Sphere's of Destruction anything that touched them would be disintegrated. 'Classic Accerak dungeon design,' Xander thought as he wandered off towards the first room on the right.
As he inched his way down the hallway in the gloom, he heard a sudden ominous *click* on instinct he threw himself backwards and as flat on the ground as he could. It was a wise decision, for seconds later a wall of spikes came crashing down from the ceiling only to slowly laboriously be pulled back up into the shadows by some unseen mechanism by a half rusted chain clanking all the while.
"Fuck you Accerak," Xander muttered as he stepped around the pressure plate he didn't notice before, and gently pushed open the door at the end off the hall… only to duck as a half rusted bastard sword nearly took off his head, he responded by uppercuting the skeleton holding it, then he bashed it in the face with the pommel of his sword shattering its skull and the animated pile of bones collapsed.
"Ha, I should've unscrewed the pommel to end you justly," Xander joked, before looking around and seeing several other skeletons pulling themselves together and glaring at him, their eye sockets glowing an eerie blue, as their bony hands clasped aged weapons.
"Yeah… wrong room," Xander said before he beat a hasty retreat, the half dozen skeletons following behind him. The teen was smart enough to jump over the trap even in his panic… the skeletons were not as intelligent as he was and seconds later a thunderous crash was heard and by the time he made it back to the starting room, his pursuers had gone from six, to two.
"Okay, so two on one… I got this right?" Xander said to himself as one skeleton leapt at him trying to cut his head off with a downward chop. 'I don't got this, I don't got this!' He thought as he rolled away nearly setting himself on fire with his own torch. He brandished the flaming torch at the undead, and to his surprise, they backed away, fearing either the flames themselves or the light they generated.
"I… have a plan," Xander said grinning as he corralled the two to the corner of the room, before he stabbed one in the head with the torch, before kicking the other in the chest sending it tumbling backwards into one of the Sphere's of Destruction. All that was left was dust. "Ha! Take that skeletons! I should probably go check the previous room for loot."
Doing just that he avoided the trap again and gave the room that housed the skeletons a once over. It was an olde torture chamber. There were old fashioned torture devices all over the place. An Iron Maiden was half open, its spikes coated in rust and blood, hot pokers were sitting in braisers of coals, all kinds of sharp implements were on the walls, there was even a rack. He looked around the room for anything useful and he noticed a couple of things. In one corner was a half broken down bookshelf. A majority of its contents were half molded and falling apart from age… but one of them was glowing faintly. Going over to it, he picked it up and brushing the books off the cover he read "Basics of Smithing: A Primer."
[Congratulations Player! You have found your first skill book! If you read it, it will teach you the basics of forging your own weapons and armor.]
'Cool gonna save that for later,' Xander thought while putting the book in his backpack. He also noticed a small vial of red liquid next to the book. Using [observe] on it he found out what it was.
[Lesser Health Potion: Restores 15% of health on consumption.]
Before Xander left the room he sniffed the room and realized something smelt off. He turned and looked at the iron maiden again. He noticed the pool of blood near the maiden had gotten larger. He walked over to the iron maiden and gingerly opened the torture device. Inside he found a corpse of an unnamed woman. She had long flowing blonde hair and her face was stuck in horror. Around her neck was a simple necklace that seemed to have seven pearls on it. Three white pearls on each side of one pitch black one. Xander tenderly pulled the necklace off and closed the girl's eyes. He made a note to come back later and bury the girl whoever she was.
Xander used [observe] and was surprised at what he found.
[Necklace of Prayer Beads to an Unknown God of the East: This magic necklace has been blessed from a god long lost to time. Wearing it grants you the ability to use the spell Greater Restoration two times before the next dawn. This spell purges any negative magical effects on the body, cures charm or petrification, and protects your skill from being hampered. Those who wield weapons of the east grant the skill Brandishing Smite twice a day.]
"Alright, got my first item, skill book and a potion… things are going too well, where's the trap?" He started looking around furtively at the ceiling and in the shadows as if something was going to jump out at him at any moment, and considering where he was that wasn't entirely unfounded.
At this point the system pipes up. [Word of Wisdom Player this dungeon is still a tutorial. It was made to be run by stupid players in a group of four. Not one smart one who is paranoid to all hell. The other shoe will drop but you are in room two of an entire warehouse. +1 Wisdom for being on your guard.]
Xander paused and then realized something. Accerak would be douchey enough to hide a rare item in the beginning of his dungeon in the torture room. Who would think to check a torture room for treasures? Speaking of," Xander went back to the bookshelf and started removing the books thinking he might find a hidden switch… sure enough, one off the books he pulled had a rope attached to it and when he pulled it, the iron maiden moved back revealing a hidden staircase.
"Jackpot! Thank God I'm a huge Scooby Doo fan!" He cheered, lighting his second of three torches as he descended the cobweb covered staircase into the depths. It was slightly chilly down in this place and a slight breeze made his torch flame flicker. At the bottom of the steps he came to an open cave with a deep pool in the center with stalagmites and stalactites all over the place, like the fangs of some hungry beast. Xander looked around, saw this wide open space, and said to himself, "This is a boss room isn't it?"
As if on cue, a bubbling came from the center of the lake and then oh so slowly it rose. It was almost eight feet tall, covered in red leathery skin, its taloned claw-like fingers were webbed with yellow membranes, and its bulbous eyes were red with black slits. It had a yellow fringe on its back that moved up and down as it breathed.
'I smell… fresh meat,' A voice old and primal echoed in Xander's head.
"Fuck me, its a Slaad," he said as he readied his sword. Thankfully Slaad's while strong weren't all that fast, or smart. Not compared to the vampires he'd been fighting for over a year. When it tried to grab him with its overly long clawed arms he just hopped to the side and slashed at its legs. It bled yellow-green blood from a shallow cut.
'So its skin is like leather, it's kinda hard to cut,' So thinking he danced around the chaos inclined creature leading it towards a group of stalagmites. Once he was close enough on the beast's next swing he rolled between its legs, and upon rising shoulder checked it in the back causing it to fall forwards, and gore itself on the sharp pieces of stone. Yet despite its wounds, it was still trying to force itself up to its feet. 'Damn he's either stuborn or stupid, I'm not sure which. Still,' Xander thought as he made his way around to the head of the creature and raised his sword, 'It's my win,' He brought the sword down, and with it came the Slaad head in a spray of blood.
[Congratulations on defeating the Secret Boss Encounter of the Tutorial Player. This will be added to your final reward once the dungeon is completed. P.S. Check the brain.]
'Check the… oh right Slaads have gems in their heads,' Rolling the head over, he saw a slight protrusion in its skull, breaking off a stalagmite, he used the point to slice open the head, and removed a fist sized ruby from the dead monster's cranium.
[Skill Gained: Harvesting lvl.1: This skill is related to harvesting parts from animals, monsters, and plants, the higher the rarer and more efficient you are obtaining items from a dead creature, plant, or animal. Even fungus]
'Harvesting huh… Okay let's try it.' Taking the stone, he proceeded to pry out the Slaad's claws, as he was doing this he accidently sliced open its hand revealing some kind of gland or sac. Thinking it might be useful he very carefully cut it out and wrapped it in some spare bandages he brought along, and then did so to the other hand, removing that gland as well as the claws. He tried removing the eyes but only succeeded on removing one, the other having burst when his makeshift scalpel nicked it.
[Harvesting has leveled up! Harvesting is now lvl.2!]
Putting everything in his backpack he proceeded to make his way back to the main dungeon.
Xander proceeded to check the other rooms, even more slowly, cautiously, and carefully than before after fighting the Slaad. Down to his last torch, he proceeded cautiously through the remaining rooms of the dungeon, pushing doors open with the tip of his sword, ducking at the slightest unusual sound. It saved his life on more than one occasion. He would push open a door, only to hear the snap of a cord only to hit the dirt moments before arrows would've pierced his chest but the wall where he was standing just moments prior. Then there was the sheer number of fucking skeletons in this place! 'Fuck you Accerak! You and your skeleton hoard!' Xander thought as he skidded down an unexplored hallway as he was being chased by no less than a dozen zombies. He took a step, heard a faint click, and cursed as white fire, alchemist's fire began to spew from spigots in the walls where he just was… and it kept coming. 'Bad day bad day, bad day!' Xander thought as he raced towards the door with torrents of fire igniting behind him.
He threw himself shoulder first against the solid wood irond banded door, and it didn't give. He bannged on it! "Fuck is it locked?" He saw the metal loop that acted as the doorhandle and feeling dumb pulled the door open and rolled into the room moments before he would been consumed by torrents of white alchemist's fire.
"Holy shit I'm alive!" Xander cheered.
[Your ingenuity for surviving the trap leading to the boss room shall be added to your rewards at the end of the dungeon Player… should you survive.]
"Fuck you too pal!" Xander replied with a growl.
[I would like to remind you Player 2 that you chose to play the tutorial on Nightmare Difficulty. We are not talking down to you. This is truly incredible and dare we say heroic what you have done. Accerak was never known for being easy. EVER.]
Sighing, the teen replied drolly, "Mistakes were made." So thinking, Xander advanced further into the boss room. It was a large room, filled with rusty chains that ended in meat hooks covered in dried blood and that descended from the ceiling, the iron tang of blood was heavy in the air, and it was so cold he could see his breath, and the fluorescent lights in the room kept flickering with an annoying buzz, "Was this place a meat packing plant before it was turned into a dungeon?"
Then he heard it, a slight gurgling gasping noise and the sound of something shifting the chains to his left. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. In the inconsistent light, he saw it, it was about four feet tall, with a bulbous head and yellow green leathery skin with sharp teeth and claws.
"A Choker? They're never this direct unless…" He quickly whipped his sword up and stabbed behind him, its tip gouged into something with a meaty thunk. "Unless it was acting as a distraction," He finished looking behind him to see the other Choker who had tried to sneak up on him, that he'd just stabbed in the heart. Pulling it out, he turned to face his remaining foe, only to find it gone only the slight tinkling of chains showing that it had even been there at all.
Backing up until he had his back against the wall Xander waited. The chains shifted up and to his right, a shadow passed over his face, and he stabbed his sword straight up… when he looked, he found the other Choker impaled on the length of the sword, slowly sliding down it due to its own weight and slick blood yet despite that, it was still trying to get at him. Lashing out with its claws, it managed to slash him with three claw marks across his right cheek, annoyed more than hurt, Xander flung it off the sword where its body was tangled and caught on several meat hooks. The more it struggled, the more it tore at its own flesh, it was kinda gross, and sad to watch. So Xander decided to put it out of its misery while it was distracted, swinging his sword like a baseball bat, he lopped its head clean off, and watched it bounce across the floor for a second, slightly luminescent blood staining the ground as the head hit the floor before coming to a stop.
He expected for a window to pop up saying the dungeon was complete yet he was surprised when that wasn't the case. "Seriously, there's still more? What kind of boss room has more than just the boss in it?"
[This is the Tutorial Dungeon on Nightmare Difficulty Player Two. What did you expect, pumpkin juice?]
"Why would anyone expect pumpkin juice?" Xander wondered aloud as he proceeded further into the room, pushing his way past the meat hooks. Seeing a door at the end of the room he opened it, and saw at the end of a long hallway… an ornate wooden treasure chest. Stained wood, inlaid with gold, and precious stones.
Xander knew immediately without fail. This was a trap. There is no such thing as a treasure chest in dungeons made by Accerak. Only traps and … "That's a Mimic isn't it?" Xander said to himself drly as he approached cautiously.
When he got close, the damn thing started to talk in a childlike voice. "Hello my name's Chesty, would you like to be my Super Special Best Friend forever…"
"I'd rather not, Chesty thanks though," Xander replied dryly. "I would like to know the way out of here though."
"Aww… maybe you'll change your mind… after meeting some of my other friends…"
"What do you…" Half rotted hands burst up from the floor. "Oh fuck me!"
"Language, there are children here… I'm one of them," Chesty chastised as four zombies dragged themselves up from the ground. Xander noticed one was an orc, another an elf, a dwarf that was missing his legs, making him shorter than average, and even a goblin. This damn chest was running a collection of zombies!
'This dungeon better give up some damn good loot when I get outta here'" Xander thought as he launched himself at the undead. The Dwarf fell to him first. Well fell was a strong term considering it was already a dwarf, and dragging itself across the floor, but it died again, first.
"No you monster. How could you kill dwarfy? He had no legs to stand on! It's not nice to pick on the disabled."
He then focused on the actual threats, the main one being the Orc, all while Chesty commented in the background. Swinging his blade into its thick leathery hide… it got stuck, somewhere between the hide and the corpse wax.
"Oh eww there is grime and fat all over my sword,"muttered Xander as he tried to pull his sword out to no avail.
Of course Chesty commented on this, "Are you fat shaming Orky now! You're not a very good friend."
"Screw you chesty! I don't wanna be your friend!" Xander yelled in response, bracing his shoe against the orc and yanking his sword free, stumbling back a couple of steps only to run forwards and with both hands on the hilt of the sword he swung downwards, cleaving the sword halfway through the Orc's head.
The elf was nimbler than the rest he had snuck up on him and bearhugged him from behind and was now trying to take a bite out of his aorta.
"Elfy wants to give you a hug, he just wants to be friends!" Chesty complained.
Kicking off the orc's now still corpse, the elf's body bounced head first off the metal wall. Xander kept headbutting it, smacking its skull against the wall as he retorted. "I. Don't. Want. To. Be. Friends!"
Once the zombie's grip slacked due to its partially scrambled brains, Xander broke free of its hold and bisected it at the waist, only to lop its head off for good measure. Lastly there was the goblin…which apparently used to be a mage, as it tried to conjure up a fireball, only to set itself ablaze and try to give him a hug like his elven friend did.
"Oh c'mon!" Xander complained before he punted the burning undead humanoid in the head, sending said head flying the opposite way down the hall.
"You've killed all of my special friends. Even Gobby the Mage. Well I still have one trick up my hinge. My Best special friend. I will make you my super best special friend Xander," was the ominous words from Chesty as a large black chitinous claw reached out of the treasure and leaned on the ground. Then Xander saw something that reminded him of Mrs. French.
A six foot tall spider-like creature with gray-purplish skin pulled himself out of Chesty and stood tall with broad shoulders, a distended belly and grotesque spider-like face. It looked at Xander with hatred for what he guessed was upsetting his Super Special friend. Staring at it for a moment, Xander deadpanned, "An Ettercap, seriously?"
"Etti is my Super Special Friend! He'll make you my Super Special Best Friend Xander! He'll convince you to stay with us… forever…"
"Yeah, you're still not making that sound at all appealing Chesty. "Also… you dun goofed."
"What do you mean? The sociopathic chest asked.
"The Ettercap is too broad to fit in this small hallway…The Slayerette grinned, "It's a sitting duck."
The Ettercap somewhat disagreed with this notion as it proceeded to throw webs at him. Xander rolled backwards, and picked up his fallen torch. Using its dimming flames, he burnt away the webs the ettercap tried to entrap him in. He saw fear enter the creature's eyes as he approached it, and it howled in pain as he stabbed it in its bloated stomach and wrenched his sword down and out of his stomach, spilling its guts all over the cement floor. The spider-like creature instead of trying to run away or further attack stumbled somewhat as it tried to guard Chesty with its body. Blood was flowing into the chest but surprisingly Xander heard no slurping sounds. He guessed chesty would enjoy eating his friend? The ettercap then collapsed on top of the mimic.
"Aww, you even killed Etti, he was great at charades. You killed all my friends… I got it now, you want to be my only friend! Don't you Xander?"
The novice vampire hunter was flabbergasted at the situation, "No that is not it at all, I just want you to leave me alone you crazy evil monster!"
Chesty didn't seem to be paying any attention though, "It's okay, you don't need to lie Xander, it's just you and me now… we'll be Super Best Special Friends… forever… I enjoyed our game. I think I'll go find some more toys so we can have even more fun next time!"
There was a flash of blue-white light and when it cleared Chesty was gone, and Xander was looking at a fire door that said exit above it in big glowing letters.
[Congratulations Player 2 you have succeeded at defeating the boss Chesty. However instead of killing him you befriended him. You get extra XP and a title. Friend of the Strange]
[Friend of the Strange: Those with morality not common to humanity are more likely to see you in a friendly light. There is just something about you that attracts Aberrations, Shapechangers, Eldritch Abominations, and all other types of creatures that ignore common sense. Enjoy this title you poor bastard! Plus 30% increase in relationships with above stated races while title is equipped!]
'Damn it Chesty, even when your not here you manage to fuck me over!' Xander groused as he put his hand on the push bar a new popup appeared.
[Congratulations for Completing the Tutorial on Nightmare Difficulty your rewards will now be calculated based on performance and achievements done within the dungeon.
Times used Wisdom: 5
Times used Intelligence: 4
Times used Strength: 4
Times used Dexterity: 3
Times you got Lucky: 8
Lives Saved: 2
Found the Secret Boss: Yes
Defeated Secret Boss: Yes
Optional Boss Slain: No
True Boss Slain: Yes
Damaged Accumulated: Minimal
Enemies slain: 29
Completed Dungeon on Nightmare Mode?: Yes.
Totaling rewards please wait:
You have gained +4 levels in Fighter, Basic equipment that is all masterwork, 100 gold, 14 silver and 50 copper, and 14 Attribute points to spend as you see fit and extra 8 for leveling up four times.
For killing the Hidden Boss you gain one rare [silver] and one uncommon [iron] item of your placement choice. Ring, Necklace, Crown, Chest, Boots, Armguards, Belts, or Weapon.]
"I choose Rare Weapon and Uncommon Chest," Xander replied.
Gain a Mithril Breastplate and named sword "Wyvern's Barb"
'What the heck does it mean 'lives saved'?' Xander decided not to think about it, and pushed the door open taking his first breath of fresh air in several hours and he breathed deeply. "Well, that was… admittedly horrifying. But I completed the dungeon and hopefully no one got turned into a juicebox by uber vamps. As he walked home he brought up his stat screen there was something he wanted to check.
Name: Alexander 'Xander' Lavelle Harris
Path: lvl.5 Fighter
Title: Friend of the Strange
Perks: Apocalyptic Maiden Saver, Cretin King, Evasive, School of Hard Knocks, Head of Lead
Skills: Adrenaline Rush lvl. 1 Novice, Alchemy lvl.1, Cooking lvl.1, Taunt lvl.1, Moment's Respite lvl1, Jog lvl.1
Perk Points: 2
Attributes:
Strength: 15 Intelligence: 17
Dexterity: 17 WIsdom: 25
Constitution: 15 Charisma: 17
Fatigue: 89 Luck: 17
Attribute Points: 22
"Okay I've got a lot to work with… but I'm honestly too tired to worry about it right now, so I'll do it tomorrow." So thinking Xander activated [Jog] and sprinted down the street before tiptoeing into his house and down to his room and practically collapsing into his bed, and falling into blissful sleep at last. He didn't notice the screen that appeared over him while sleeping.
[Accumulation of Experience and leveling being applied. Improving Brain capacity and efficiency due to increased INT and WIS. Maintenance of Player 2 under way. Thank you Player you will be remembered by this feat. Many Sponsors are watching.]
Word Count: 9,408 Number of pages: 24 Date Completed: 3/28/2020
AN: Welcome everyone to what is essentially the Followers of the Path reboot. Why are we doing a reboot? Well, because we royally fucked up the game mechanics on Followers of the Path. So we decided fuck it we're gonna do it again and make our own system this time. And here we are. Snowy myself and the rest hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and now, here are some words from the resident Snow Sage.
Snowy: We messed up so bad. That Grandpa Freeman would whoop me for confusing so many people. I sincerely apologize for confusing the readers. Don't worry we have reworked the story plot and included some hilarious things. We promise a new experience and foundation for everyone to enjoy. Good luck everyone.
Thank you as always Snowy, and for those of you wondering what the perks and abilities do… you'll find out next chapter. Xander hasn't bothered to click on any of his skills or perks to figure out how they work yet. With that said to curb off the torrent of questions, we hope you all enjoyed the chapter and till next time, this has been an Inkblot Bros Production! Peace! And if you liked this work and would like to support me, feel free to go over to my Pat-Reon here, just remove the spaces: pat reon user ?u= 6740723