The first thing Tsukune Aono heard when he woke was the long drawing sound of cicadas. A common sound in the country. Yet he didn't open his eyes. His bed was soft, and the autumn air was just chilly enough to make the absorbed heat from his body pleasant from under his blanket.

The night before had been long and meandering. With the lecturing done by his parents out of the way, he was left to stew in his own disappointment. His parents had gone to all the trouble to pay for his prep school, and he had wasted his entire break, all for nothing. Because he had failed his entrance exam to the local high school.

It wasn't that he was particularly dull, or from any lack of effort. It's just, he couldn't wrap his head around the higher maths, or remember the obscure reference material required for the written portions.

Honestly, he hadn't even done that bad. But the school entrance policy was to take in the students on the merits of their scores. If a student hopeful scored better than him, even by just one point, they would take priority in the queue. As it was, he had been overtaken by about 20 points.

No use crying now. It was over and done. And while his parents were disappointed, his uncle offered him a place in his construction company. Seeing as it was now likely a choice between that and a salaryman like his father, tsukune thought he might at least attempt it.

Construction was at least respectable for a career path. Above all else, despite what he had told his father, tsukune didn't want to become a faceless gear in the grinding machine that was a company. His father, Koji Aono, earned a good living as the middle manager for a large corporate office. But tsukune knew how hard he had worked for that position. How much he had allowed his bosses to abuse him over the years.

It was a tough and unsympathetic position to be in. But just for now, under his blankets, he supposed he could feel sorry for himself.

Eventually, though, the moment passed and Tsukune knew he would need to get up. A long sigh escaped his lips as he opened his eyelids. Followed by a strangled gasp at what was in front of him.

There, floating about a foot from his face, was a translucent blue box.

Tsukune shook his head slightly, his mind concluded that he was still asleep. But the box followed his vision. Almost lazily.

Eyes coming into focus, he saw it had text.

Congratulations!!!

You have been selected to be a host of the Gamer System!

Amazing battles and adventures are in your future!

Please complete Setup!

Name?

He looked on in confusion, briefly wondering if his mother had signed him up for one of the weird Gameshows she watched. The prompt remained, however, flashing.

Hesitantly, he answered. "Ts-Tsukune Aono?"

The text box flashed and his name was in place.

Name: Tsukune Aono

(Stats have been assigned based on current factors, and are subject to change after class selection.)

Lvl: 1

HP:15/15

SP: 8/8

MP: 3/3

STR: 2

DEX: 4

VIT: 5

INT: 3

WIS: 1

CHAR: 10

END: 3

Tsukune wondered how he measured across the board of others his age. What did each statistic mean? Why was his CHAR so high? This was all so confusing. Especially for so early in the morning. Before he could question further,

Please select class...(Classes are permanent. Choose wisely)

A large column of different words came down. It was so long in fact that it ran through the floor. He didn't know what any of these words were. What was a 'Dragoon'? Or a 'Void lord'? Why was 'Harem king' an option?

As he scrolled through, he was still distracted by how it seemed to flow through the wooden floor of his bedroom. Putting off sorting through the colossal list of words he didn't recognize, Tsukune stood on his bed for extra high. Even then, the list still extended through the floor.

"Well, I'll be damned." He muttered in absurdity. That was the wrong thing to say, however, because it turned out that the box demanding he sort through the hundred, possibly thousands, of options was voice-activated on top of being touch-based.

Class selected: Damned Soul

Please choose a point of origin. (Powers and scaling may vary between Underworld of Origin)

Please note: Classes are just that, a class. You won't be punished for your choice. All classes are viable.

Hell: Gregorian mythology

Naraka :Hindu Mythology

Yomi: Shinto mythology

Random

His eyes widened, and he nearly fell off the bed. "No! Go back!" The screen flashed red, and made a dull noise. It didn't change, however.

"Please, go back! I didn't mean that!" it flashed red again. And a box appeared overtop the class selection screen.

All choices are permanent. Please select a class.

Ok?

With a sigh, Tsukune clicked the 'Ok?" box. But he was surprised when the box felt like a solid object. Running his hand along the edge along the side, it felt like a mixture between plastic and glass. Weird.

Pulling his finger away from the edge, his pinky grazed the screen slightly. Tsukune didn't even have time to panic as the screen prompt changed.

Random selected. Randomizing.

Tsukune was beginning to hate how he didn't at least get an instruction manual for this thing. His ignorance of how it functioned was really costing him!

Class selected: Damned (Infernal)

Infernal have been in hell for a while, so long in fact that the very flames and smoke of the pit have infused into their very being.

You are a being of fire and corruption.

50 percent more damage from holy elements.

30 Percent more damage from water elements.

Times X5 to fire-based abilities.

Times X5 to smoke-based abilities.

Grants skill (Smolder)

Unleash the fire that burns beneath your skin. By sacrificing HP, you can make your skin hot enough to catch fire.

Grants skill (Ember)

By sacrificing MP, you can draw upon the ember of Hell that dwells within you. Spit out a small stone-sized ball of fire from your mouth.

Grants skill (smoke screen)

The soot of hell is forever caked into your lungs. Using stamina, it is possible to unleash this soot into a cloud of disruptive smoke. Depending on the cost, it may provide a visual impediment , or a causative reaction similar to pepper spray.

Class selection complete. Please say 'Status' to continue the tutorial.

He felt a ripple across his body, and he felt, off. Strong even. The world seemed sharper, and his body tightened. But he decided to store what was most definitely a mild panic attack away for later. Because right now his full attention should be on this screen. Lest he makes another mistake like before.

"S-status?" he clenched his eyes shut, expecting some sort of catastrophe. Instead, nothing happened. He cracked his eyes open and saw what looked like a tabletop character sheet.

Name: Tsukune Aono

Class(Damned Infernal)

Lvl:1

XP0/100

HP:80

SP:63

MP:48

STR: 7

DEX: 9

VIT: 10

INT: 8

WIS: 6

CHAR: 15

END: 8

His eyes widened. That was, a huge leap in numbers! Even if he still didn't know what they meant. For the top ones anyway.

"Tsukune! Are you awake?" He heard his mother call from downstairs.

Thankful for the much-needed distraction, tsukune stepped off his bed, of which he had not stepped down from. "I'll be right down, mom! I'm just getting dressed!" he called. The reply of "Alright" faded into the back of his mind.

Now the status screen was just floating in front of where he needed to see. It was translucent at least. So he could see through it. But it obstructed his reach. It made grabbing day clothes more complicated than it needed to be.

It all came to a head when he accidentally bumped his elbow against it while putting on a shirt.

Frustrated, he grabbed the edge and tried to throw it to the side. To his astonishment, it disappeared with a soft 'ping'.

Tsukune blinked in surprise. He couldn't believe that had actually worked.

"Tsukune! Are you coming?" his mother called.

He shook his head to clear it. Not entirely sure this all wasn't an extremely vivid dream.

It was as he slid his door open that the problems began. He thought he had used the same force as usual, but the loud clack of the door hitting the back of its frame could be heard all over the house.

"Tsukune? What was that?" His mother called in the tone that only mothers could use. The one warning of impending doom.

Frantically, he tried to think up an excuse. "I, uh, I just stubbed my toe mom!" Silently, he prayed she beloved him as he examined the door. Thankfully, it wasn't damaged.

"If you say so, but please come down! Your father and I have something important to discuss with you!"

Tsukune inhaled. He was pretty sure he knew what this was about. No doubt his father had called some friends in the company to find him a spot. Probably in some basement mail room. He could already hear his father jovially telling him that 'Everyone started somewhere!'.

He sighed with the energy of a man walking to the gallows. And descended the stairs.

When he walked off the last step, he could hear his mother washing dishes in the kitchen. Not hearing any activity elsewhere, he headed in that direction.

Sure enough, inside was his father sitting at the table with the paper and some coffee. His mother was simultaneously watching something she was cooking in a large pot, and cleaning dishes as she cooked.

"Tsukune." His mother said when she heard the door slide open. She smiled and dried her hands on the towel resting to the side. "Please sit down. We want to talk to you about something."

At his mother's prompt, his father placed the paper he was reading down in front of him. Taking a long drag from his coffee as the three sat together at the table.

"Now Tsukune, we know that you tried your best to make a placement. And had we the extra money, we would have you attempt it for the school in the next town over. But, as you know, with the economy being what it is-"

"I know." Tsukune interrupted his mother. "Uncle Konjo. He said that he has a place for me on his crew. I'll start as soon as I can speak with him. I won't be a burden."

His mother and father's faces however spoke of surprise. "Look, I'm grateful to dad for finding me a position in his company, but I just don't –"

"Tsukune, stop. What are you talking about?"

He paused confused. "Isn't this about me needing to find a job to help out? I failed my exam after all, and we can't afford to have me take it elsewhere."

The parents looked on in confusion, and then amusement. His father tried to hide a smile behind his coffee, but his mother chuckled outright.

"No Tsukune, but it makes me proud that you are so willing to work for your keep. No, what your mother and I were trying to say is-" But his father was cut off by his mother's excitement.

"We found you a school!" She clapped and produced a brochure.

It was printed on, of all colors, pink paper. Inside was the bare minimum of information. It also made his head tingle slightly to look at. All the same, he skimmed through it. The more he read, the more suspicious he became.

His parents noticed his scrutiny. "What's wrong?"

Tsukune looked up and saw their frowns. He felt a pang of guilt for what he was about to say. "I…think this might be a scam."

His father put down his coffee and gestured for the page.

"Why would you say that tsukune?" his mother asked.

He drummed his fingers along the table as he assembled his reasons. "Well for one, everything is vague. It talks about its 'diverse' clubs, and about how the faculty believe in student decision-making, but it says nothing specific. The pictures all look like they're taken of some European mansion, not a school. And most suspicious of all, it doesn't have an address listed. Just a phone number. Presumably for 'tuition' payment.

It seems pretty sketchy. Where did you even find it?"

His father took that as a cue to gloat. He straightened his tie and smugly told tsukune that it had fallen from the pocket of a priest while he had been out drinking after work.

Tsukune tried to keep control over himself as his mother hung herself off his father's every word.

"You see tsukune! Fortune favors you!" She cheered emphatically.

His eye twitched violently. "Let's say that this is real. It's still too late for me to take the entrance exam at this far-away boarding school."

His father snapped his fingers dramatically. "That's the best part Tsukune! They don't require an entrance exam!"

With every word, he became more convinced that this was fake. "Please, tell me you haven't sent these frauds money." The defeated desperation in his voice pierced the haze of his parent's euphoria.

His father cleared his throat, only now noticing him and his wife's antics. "Ahem. That's the thing Tsukune! I called the number, and after giving them the basic information, they told me that with your example scores, they were willing to allow you a scholarship!"

If he wasn't certain before, he definitely was now. "This is a scam." He said confidently.

He wished he hadn't. The look of disappointment on their faces hurt worse than if he had been slapped. His father looked ashamed, and his mother looked like she was about to cry.

Gods damn it. He thought to himself. He still thought he was correct, but he probably could have let his parents down easier. This must have seemed like a miracle to them.

With a sigh, he decided to try a compromise. "Look. How about this? It says here that the pickup date is in three days. Mind you, it's in the middle of nowhere. But, I suppose as long as you haven't paid them, I can wait at the pickup point. Is that alright with you?" Rather than answer verbally, his mother instead grabbed him into a tight hug.

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you! I'm sure you won't regret this Tsukune!"

He didn't have the heart to tell her he probably would.

Over on the stove, the pot began to bubble over. "Oh no!" his mother said as she rushed to it.

"Tsukune." His father said as he returned to his paper. "With your mother busy with breakfast, do you mind finishing the dishes?"

Tsukune was in the process of agreeing when the nearly forgotten about blue screen appeared.

Quest alert!: Help your mother with the dishes.

REWARD: 10XP

Your mother and father will be pleased.

Eat breakfast as a family until your father leaves for work.

FAILURE:

Your parents will be upset.

Missed opportunity to spend time with family.

He blinked in surprise. That was new. He had quests now? Like a video game? Come to think of it, that status thing sounded like a video game too.

He didn't play many video games growing up. That was more his cousin Kyoko's thing.

As for the quest, he would have done it anyway. Making his way over to the dishes, he dismissed the box while pretending to yawn.

After that, he did the dishes and ate with his family.

After his father left, his mother sat down in front of the tv to watch her shows.

Curious about the prompt from earlier, Tsukune asked his mother if any chores needed to be done.

She was all too happy to supply him with a list. Gushing about how attentive her son was, and how her tv club would be jealous.

Tsukune on the other hand had confirmed his suspicion. As soon as he had received his list, he gained a quest.

Quest alert!: House chores!

You've taken the initiative and asked if you can help around the house. What a good son you are! Complete the chores to gain a reward!

1: Air out the laundry.

2: Weed the garden.

3: Clean the floors.

REWARD: 10XP for every completed task.

Your mother will be happy.

FAILURE:

Your mother will be disappointed in you.

No time like the present he supposed as he got to work.

Airing out the laundry was easiest. He simply took it from the washer and hung it up along a line.

Seeing as he was already outside, he moved on to weeding the garden. This took a bit longer but was ultimately finished promptly.

The floors took up the most time by far. But Tsukune discovered something else new about the strange anomaly. Even when he hurried, he didn't tire. In the top corner of his vision, he noticed three bars. One red, one green, and one blue. They were easy to ignore if he wasn't paying attention to them. But once he began hurrying, he thought he saw the green one move a bit. Not by much, and it always filled faster than it shrank. But it was still interesting.

Perhaps he should call Kyo. She would at least know the basic terms.

When all was said and done, he got a soft ping. He now understood that it meant he completed his quest. The garden looked beautiful, the floor was spotless, and he even brought the laundry back in. That wasn't part of the quest, he just felt it would be the right thing to do.

His mother was elated. At least, if her excited chatter on the phone with her friends was anything to go by.

Though he wasn't sweaty at all, Tsukune decided a bath would be nice.

He stripped down and stubbed himself before entering the tub.

Sighing at the pleasant feeling, he opened his status again.

Name: Tsukune Aono

Class(Damned Infernal)

Lvl:1

XP 40/100

HP:80

SP:63

MP:48

STR: 7

DEX: 9

VIT: 10

INT: 8

WIS: 6

CHAR: 15

END: 8

He noticed it immediately. The XP had gone up from zero out of one hundred to forty out of one hundred.

So then, what happened when he crossed that threshold?

He could assume, based on cultural osmosis, that he would go from level one to level two. Though what benefit that would have was unclear.

"This whole thing is so surreal." He muttered.

The day passed by somewhat calmly after that. His father came home at the usual time, and Tsukune even gained another ten XP by helping his mother with dinner preparation. As well as something else.

New skill acquired! (Cooking) Lvl 20/100

Cooking is a skill everyone needs to know. The higher the level of skill, the more competent! Anyone above LVL 10 can at least manage a sandwich! Anyone above lvl 70 is considered a master chef!

Apparently, could gain 'Skills' by just being somewhat competent at a task.

It wasn't until after dinner that he managed to get a hold of the phone long enough to call his cousin.

"Hey Tsuki! What do ya need?"

He rolled his eyes at her informal manner of address.

"Hey Kyo, I just called to ask a few questions."

"Oh? What about?"

He inhaled in preparation. His cousin could be…intense. And prone to jump to assumptions.

"Video games."

Her voice took on a lecturing tone.

"Tsuki! Didn't you just fail your entrance exam? Don't tell me now you plan on becoming an otaku! Because I won't help feed that habit! You hear me!"

Despite the fact he had drawn the phone several feet away from his suffering eardrums, he had in fact, heard her.

"It's nothing like that Kyo. I just need some help with the basic terminology. I've come across some shortened words I don't recognize and I thought I would ask you about them."

Her tone shifted immediately. Despite the fact Kyo wasn't related to his mother by blood, Tsukune couldn't help but note they were the most alike.

"Oh! I see now. Of course, I would be happy to help my darling cousin! Lay them on me. What are you struggling with!"

He had a mental list compiled. Starting with what was floating in front of his face.

"What do the red, blue, and green bars mean?"

"Oh yeah! That's super basic, I'm surprised you don't know. The red one is for your health. When it runs out, your character is dead. The green one is for your Stamina. That's a refillable resource that's used to complete physical tasks. Stuff like running, or sometimes attacking. Lastly, the blue one is usually for magic. So, it goes down when you cast spells and stuff.

Did that help?"

"Very helpful, yes." He said as he tried not to think about the implications of the red bar going down. "I have a few more if you have the time."

"Of course Tsuki! Let your wise and benevolent Kyo bestow her wisdom onto you!"

Tsukune ignored Kyoko's boasting and whispered "Status" bringing up the status screen.

"Right, so, what does 'lvl' mean?"

"Level. That's how strong you are usually." Tsukune was happy to have that confirmed. "What next?"

"H P."

"Health points. That's the red bar from before."

"Ah, ok. So SP and MP are…?"

"Stamina and magic points. Respectively."

"Right. Ok, so then what about these? I have STR, DEX, VIT, INT, WIS, CHAR, AND END. What do all of those mean?"

"Oh wow, no wonder you're asking for help. Those are old-school, for sure.

Yeah, they're usually called stats, and they're numerical ways of tracking how strong your character is. Let's see, STR is strength. Pretty self-explanatory. DEX is for dexterity. Or how, I don't know, like how much control your character has over their body. It's basically the fine motor control stat. VIT is probably vitality. That usually affects how much HP you have. INT and WIS stand for intelligence and wisdom. Those usually control how much MP you have and what spells you can cast. CHAR I'm pretty sure is for charisma. That one affects the social aspect of the character. What they can convince other NPCs to do? Oh, that means Non-Player-Character. Finally, I'm not sure about END. Maybe endurance? That usually affects…Health and…poison resistance? Eh. Something like that. Anything else?"

"No, you've been super helpful. Thanks a ton."

"No problem little cousin! But just between you and me, I wouldn't bother. You would suck at video games. I can tell. You don't even know basic RPG terms."

He dreaded to ask, especially after everything he just learned. But "What's an RPG?"

Her response was just to laugh and hang up.

He started down at the phone in confusion. "It was a genuine question."

The next few days passed by without much fuss. He hadn't gotten any new quests, even when helping his mother out. Not that he minded. The worst part of chores was that they made him a little tired and sweaty. But now he didn't have that problem.

Though, one of the kids from the neighborhood had given him a dirty look the other day. He suspected that it was the son of one of his mother's Tv club friends. She hadn't been quiet about his helpfulness all weekend.

But eventually, the time came, and Tsukune found himself skeptically standing in the appointed spot. One point of credit was that his uniform had been waiting for him on the porch in a bag this morning.

Tsukune couldn't decide if that was a point for or against the idea that this was a scam. After all, the uniform was green. And now like a subdued green either. It was bright grass green.

He chalked up the fact that it fit him perfectly to the idea that his parents must have given out his measurements.

It could all be a scam still. They could just have given out the uniform as a way to convince gullible parents that might be left with some reservations.

In any case, he had his portable cell on him. If, or rather, when the bus didn't show up, he would call his uncle. At the very least, this 'Gamer system' would allow him to work harder than others his age. He could rise up the ranks quickly.

Then, from around a corner, a bus pulled out.

"No way. Probably just passing through on its way to somewhere else." He told himself.

But when it slowed in from of him, and the door opened, he couldn't help but gape.

The man on the bus stared at him from within the shadows of his hat.

"Well, are you getting on or not?" he said in a gruff and aged voice. No doubt from smoking so many of the fat cigars that he held between his lips.

And before he could think about it, he was on the bus.

A/N So, I'm pretty sure, to my knowledge, nobody has done this before. And if they have, I intend to do it better.

This will be a harem fic. Assisted by the bullshit, world-altering powers of the gamer. Though it'll still be slow at first. I don't want Tsukune to be a planet-busting got by the time Yukari shows up. But I also want him to be strong enough by the end of it to Fuck up Fairy Tale.

If you like it, give it a fav. If you want to see something leave it in the comments. I might take inspiration.

This fix will mostly follow the plot, but I plan to have Tsukune act like a normal person instead of a blank slate to personify.

Peace out.