Disclaimer: I don't own either The Gamer or Persona. They are owned by their respective creators. I just own this excuse of a plot.
AN: Hey, hey everyone. Thanatos D.E.M. is here! I see this story didn't fetch much attention yet, but that's to be expected. After all, it's just the prologue! But still, I'll keep going until I crash and burn or until I reach the top. This is the path I've choosen. But, that aside... Let's answer the reviews and then start with the new chapter.
FadinYin: Thank you for the vote of confidence. Of course I'll continue!
kurokitsune028: He does deserve it, doesn't he? I'll do my best to make him get a happy ending, but that's not gonna happen for awhile. Still, I hope you stay and watch this story continue.
Angel of light darkness: Thank you. Yeah, I've also read that one. It was one of the things that inspired me to write this. Also, I enjoyed your MinatoxOphis story. I've loved the pairing since I read the work of Abel Sephaos.
With that done, let's get started!
[You have acquired 'The Gamer']
[Processing... Calculating karma... Fetching old status... searching for available skills and perks...]
So let's get started with the tutorial then, partner!
...What? Did you expect me to start without explaining the power of the Gamer in detail? You aren't avoiding this, the mandatory tutorial is a staple for the Gamer System!
"I'm not going to lie, that sounds boring." Said Makoto as he stared at himself. After obtaining The Gamer, he developed an astral body instead of just being a floating consciousness inside the seal. Asteos explained it was his soul taking form.
Of course it's boring, it's a tutorial! So make sure to pay attention, because all of this is important!
First, say Status. Out loud, mentally. It doesn't matter. I would recommend doing it mentally though. Don't want to look crazy if you are around people.
"Okay..." Taking a deep breath to prepare himself for what was coming and said "Status."
Status:
Makoto Yuki
Level - 1 (100 EXP needed for next level)
Class - None
Title - The Gamer (No effects)
Race - Human
Alignment - Lawful Neutral/Lawful Good
HP - ???/??? (You lack a physical body) (HP - VITx10 plus Perks)
MP - 1250/1250 (MP - INTx10 plus Perks)
SP - ???/??? (You lack a physical body) (SP - STR plus VITx5 plus Perks)
STR - None (You lack a physical body)
VIT - None (You lack a physical body)
DEX - None (You lack a physical body)
INT - 100
WIS - 50 (MP Regen/min - WISx2 plus Perks)
CHA - 25
LUK - 10
Points - 0
"Nice, but why are some of them so high? I'm supposed to be level 1." Makoto said as he scratched his cheek.
My, My... You want to know why? Let's go with the next part, Perks!
Perks are useful traits that a Gamer can acquire. There are many ways to obtain them! By leveling up, by raising stats to certain milestones and with special events!
Keep in mind that not all perks are useful. Flaw Perks can ruin your life if you aren't careful. Some of them are reversible but some will stick forever so be careful with your choices!
Here's my gift to you, to congratulate your start as a Gamer!
[New Perk Obtained!]
[Reincarnated Soul - Your INT and WIS can't be lower than their value they had in your first life.]
"Whoa, that's quite useful!" Minato stared in wonder at his first perk.
Nice, isn't it? Now you see the power of Perks? Now let's check if you have any usable Perks from your old life!
[Perks Recovered]
[Jack of all Trades - My specialities? All of them! Job EXP obtained is increased in 25%.]
[Mana Blessing - Your body was born with a bigger mana core! Your mana is increased by a 25% permanently and you get 50 maximum mana per level up.]
Ooh, Jackpot! You have good stuff here! Sorry, but that was I could recover from your old life. The other stuff was so degraded that it would be useless in the long run.
"Don't worry about it, these are already quite useful." Makoto said as he thought of the infinite possibilities that Perks offered. "I have a lot to do in the future... Better keep my eyes open."
Next, Skills! You will need a lot of these to survive out there. Okay, first there are three types of skills: Passive, Active and Reactive.
Passive skills are always activated and offer permanent bonifications not unlike perks. Some of these are stackable so make sure to get as many as possible. For example, Mastery skills.
Active skills require a command to be activated, like saying or thinking it's name. Oh, I know that face! Yeah, like Personas. You don't need a trigger here though. There are too many to make a specific example.
Reactive skills activate under certain conditions in and out of battle. When you take damage, when you are attacked, etcetera. Not all of them are useful, though.
Here! These are for you!
[New Skills Obtained!
Gamer's Body (P) - Maxed
This skill allows you to live like a Video Game character. You still can bleed and have needs though.
-You are highly adaptable.
-By resting in a bed, you can fully recover HP, MP and SP and also heal any status effects.
-Your needs to eat, drink and sleep are reduced but they are still there.]
[Gamer's Mind (P) - Maxed
Keep your calm and cool when needed. This skill allows to keep a calm state of mind.
-Immunity to psychological status effects, debuffs and attacks.
-In battle, allows the user to keep a steady mind to think logically. This can be broken if the emotions of the user are too much for the skill to handle.
-Most of the effects are only activated during battle, avoiding the loss of emotions of the user.]
[Gamer's Insight (A/P) - Level 1 (0%)
Allows to observe the world like a Video Game.
Passive Effects:
-Able to tell the true name, level and title of anyone around. (Can be turned off)
-Immunity to visual based illusions.
-Increased eyesight.
Active Effects: 10 MP are required.
-Glimpses the information of the target like name, level and status. As the skill becomes stronger you can glimpse more info of the target. However, individuals with high awareness can notice the effect of the skill.]
"That was a long read, but definitely worth it. These skills are worth their weight in gold." Makoto said as he readed through the skill descriptions.
Yeah, these skills are given to every Gamer. Some aspects differ depending of the will you are working with. I made sure to avoid taking your emotions with Gamer's Mind. Some wills aren't that nice.
"I see... Thank you. I spent almost all my life without my emotions." Said Makoto as he felt thankful of having this specific will as his partner.
Yeah, don't worry about it. I know all about what happened to you. Why do you think I considered that?
That aside, remember I told you that there are Perks that can be obtained after certain stat milestones? Well, that too applies for skills! Here!
[For reaching INT 50, you have obtained a new Perk!]
[Eidetic Memory - You can perfectly remember any picture, book, or face you've seen! Any skill books obtained won't be destroyed by use. Also, increases performance of mental magic formulas and calculations.]
[For reaching INT 100, you have obtained a new Skill!]
[Magic Mastery (Beginner) (P) - Level 1 (0%)
Your spells gain a increase of 15% in damage and the mana consumption is reduced on 10%.
Can evolve after reaching MAX level.]
[For reaching WIS 50, you've obtained a new skill!]
[Meditation (A) - Level 1 (0%)
Relax your body and spirit to reach new heights.
-Gradually recovers 15% of your HP and MP for every 3 minutes.
-Continued usage of the skill has the chance of increase WIS by 1.
-If you are attacked while meditating, you will get the status effect 'Stunned' for 10 seconds.]
"Nice. So the System offers rewards for effort and incentives to motivate the user to work harder." Makoto said. He was starting to see what Asteos meant for infinite growth.
Correct! A cookie for the winner please!
Alright. I saved the best for the last. Classes. Or Jobs. You can get a lot of skills and perks from these. They level alongside your normal level. Now, choose yours!
[Select Class]
[Fighter] [Mage] [Rogue] [Crafter]
It was a easy choice. Mage was the more convenient for me as a starter class. My INT was already high enough.
[Mage Class selected]
[Select Specialization]
[Elementalist] [Illusionist] [Necromancer] [Summoner] [Runic Mage] [White Mage]
Man, it was a hard choice. Elementalist was on the top of the list, but White Mage and Summoner were good too. Necromancer was also a good class, but it was somewhat edgy for me. Maybe Summoner would give me some answers in how to summon a Persona again too. Hmmmm...
[Elementalist specialization selected]
[Elementalist - Gain 5 INT and 3 WIS every 5 levels.
The elements are at your fingertips! Make sure to make the most out of them!]
[Gained New Skill!]
[Elemental Bolt (A) - Level 1 (0%)
Mana Cost - 45 MP
Deals 115 plus INTx2 magic damage to a single enemy. There's a chance of generating a status effect depending of the element of the bolt.]
Good choice! You can branch out after maxing that class. Hot tip, jobs need less EXP to level up compared to a normal level up.
Fantastic. It seems we are almost done. Check your status again.
"On it. Status!" Makoto said with a smile. The start of the new big adventure was near and he couldn't help to be excited for it.
Status:
Makoto Yuki
Level - 1 (100 EXP needed for next level)
Class - Elementalist (50 EXP needed for next level)
Title - The Gamer (No effects)
Race - Human
Alignment - Lawful Neutral/Lawful Good
HP - ???/??? (You lack a physical body) (HP - VITx10 plus Perks)
MP - 1250/1250 (MP - INTx10 plus Perks)
SP - ???/??? (You lack a physical body) (SP - STR plus VITx5 plus Perks)
STR - None (You lack a physical body)
VIT - None (You lack a physical body)
DEX - None (You lack a physical body)
INT - 100
WIS - 50 (MP Regen/min - WISx2 plus Perks)
CHA - 25
LUK - 10
Points - 0
Cool. Now, we just have to trigger the Random World Shifter and start the journey but before that...
[Golden Joystick Lootbox x1 has been obtained]
You can open it when you enter the first world. It has everything you might need for the start. If you are lucky you might even get some cool gear too!
Also, a warning for you.
After reading the last text, I straightened out, feeling a sense of foreboding out of these words.
Don't. Absolutely don't get arrogant. Make sure to keep your head and ego straight even if you become strong, because there's always someone stronger out there. My last host became too arrogant and paid the price for it.
"Your last host? Can you tell me about the other hosts you worked with?" Asked Makoto feeling curious about the last part.
Sure. As of right now, you are my third host. My first host... well, he was an edgy shit. He chose Illusionist as his first class. He didn't listen to my warnings, went on and on pissing everyone off and paid the price for it and he almost took me out with him. I started searching hosts more carefully after that. I hate edgelords now.
"Ah, so that was what you meant for searching for a host whose personality doesn't piss you off." Makoto nodded feeling one of the questions he had be answered.
Yeah. My second host was a swell guy with a wit as sharp as his tongue. I loved his sense of humor. He took the Thief, and eventually Shinobi class. He became stronger and stronger, gained money, lovers and resources to the point he ruled almost all of the worlds he got transported. He became arrogant.
One day, another Gamer arrived. He had white hair and blue eyes that occasionally flashed golden. My host got careless and underestimated his opponent. You can tell where it led him to. The will that traveled alongside him almost absorbed me had not my host ejected me from his body. The last I heard was: I fucking hate Lawful Good suckers.
And you know the rest, I found you and now we are partners. So yeah, third time's the charm and all that jazz. I just hope you'll be more careful than my last host. If you die as well, I guess I'll either go down with you or plain stop searching for hosts.
"I see... I'll do my best, Asteos." Makoto said, clenching his hand. He felt he would hear more of that Gamer in the future. Or not.
Hey, hey. Don't make that face, Makoto. You shouldn't worry about that guy. I'm pretty sure he's staying in his own multiverse. Unless you make too much racket in your travels, I'm pretty sure you'll never meet him.
"Okay, but I'll still be careful." Makoto said nodding, his complexion becoming more relaxed.
Okay~! Starting the shift now partner!
[Dimension Shift]
Marked Universes: None.
Start Random Shift -
Travel between Universes: (Requires a dimension traveling artifact, machine or magic)
[STARTING RANDOM SHIFT... SEARCHING... MATCH FOUND! STARTING TRAVEL NOW.]
Well, that's it for now guys. It was a big infodump most of the chapter, and I'm sorry for that but I needed to lay the foundations of the System. Makoto was OP at the end of P3 and he's even more so now. It will be his edge since most of the worlds that he will travel to will be full of strong and dangerous people. Now I have to choose a anime to start from. If you have any recommendations, please comment or send a PM with them.
Some of you may notice how I made a reference to the work of The Dark Wolf Shiro. I like his works a lot, it inspired me to start my own Gamer Story. The reference to Shiro and his hate for Lawful Good Gamers will only be a nod to his work and a passing mention. Don't expect him to appear around.
Now, some words of my beta, Minzhire!
Minz: Hope you enjoy reading the very first chapter of the fanfic! Asteos is an interesting character!
Me: Of course he is! It is my self-insert after all!
You know the drill. Read, review, share and follow.
Thanatos D.E.M. out!
Changelog 1.1: I changed Makoto's last name. Also a edit of the CHA stat to match Makoto's endgame charm.
Changelog 1.2: I changed the EXP needed for jobs to level up to avoid getting decimals.