All properties used belong to their respective owners
This work of fiction has been made for the purpose of self-fulfillment and power fantasy. Expect OP, an attempt at plot, general cringe, etc.
Reviews detailing this cringe that are coherent and made with a calm state of mind will be grounds for a chocolate chip cookie.
Homemade chocolate chip cookies. None of that store-bought shit.
Please enjoy
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A simple Video Game, followed by Hordes of Living Darkness …wait, what?!
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PST: 8:20 PM
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*ding~!*
"Hm?" a blue notice in the corner of his screen; he'd gotten a message, "who sends a message this late?"
A quick check showed it was from some gaming company he'd never heard of; Magnum Inc. With a message addressed to his Xbox account.
[ Dear, SlushyAbdomen332 ]
'That is me, yes.'
[ You have been randomly selected to play a Pre-Alpha version of our soon to be released game, Isekai! ]
'Oh shit, is this a scam? I've never been scammed before!' at least on his laptop- 'no, wait, that's not true. I've been scammed…but never like this!'
A scam directed at a Gamer? About a fake game called Isekai? That was just too interesting to pass up!
'What little lies will you tell me, Nigerian Prince of mine?'
[ Spawn into a world of fantasy and adventure, and experience the Planet-sized sandbox we have painstakingly made for the enjoyment of all types of Players. Timed events, hundreds of unique NPCs, and a storyline you will surely fall in love with as we did, all in a destructible environment inspired by the well-known Red Faction series ]
"Fuck me, that's a lot of shit to promise," if he'd seen this on an actual company's site, he would've been beyond skeptical, "a full destructible environment the size of a planet? Try me in twenty years, and maybe then I'll be convinced."
It was almost insulting, dangling the promise of such an amazing game in front of his face.
[ In this wondrous world of Ar'Mour'ee, your every action will have a consequence. The revealing of a secret, the destruction of a fortress, and the political intrigue of the Kingdoms and Empires that span Ar'Mour'ee will all effect the world as a whole. From causing the collapse of a Nation to obliterating a whole society, the results will be up to your intelligence and cunning, or your charisma and strength ]
'Oh fuck off!' as if something like that could exist in this day and age! 'like I said, try me in twenty years.'
Fuck, he'd probably try this out just too see what it was, or if this scam gave you anything at all.
[ Not only can you explore our created world, but thanks to our asset identification and creation system, A.I.C.S., you can explore your favorite worlds from fiction! From the Katze Plains to the Riverlands, up in stars with the Citadel, and down below into the bowels of Blighttown, any franchise world can be replicated in its entirety! ]
"Bull-fucking-shit!" what had been an ember of curiosity turned into a raging fire of determination and outrage, "ever heard of 'too much of a good thing?' Who the fuck made this, an amateur?"
People might actually think this wasn't a scam with how outlandish and fantastical the promises were. Surely, they would think, no scammer would truly be this crazy with their promises? Or perhaps that was their goal? Not a very good one, but probably enough to get like one or two people.
'One of them being me,' he'd already deleted everything of importance on his laptop, all it had was his Email, 'i was gonna get a new computer anyway, now I have an even better excuse than my laptop being old!'
Still, he eyed his Power button, a finger placed over it and ready to shut down his laptop just in case.
[ Of course, you won't just be dumped into these worlds with nothing. To truly live up to our game's name, the A.I.C.S. has been designed to not only recreate a whole planet, but also to create any Power or Item requested by the Player! A Bag of Holding, Fire Bending, the Golden Gun, the Master Sword, Hydromancy, and so much more! All it takes is a single sentence, a few questions, and your Power/Item will be created! The only limit is your imagination! ]
[ Note #1: No Powers or Items granting Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience. These are restricted due to the infinite nature of these Powers and a recorded lack of enjoyable game time from our own time playing Isekai. ]
[ Note #2: As a Pre-Alpha user, you have been granted an additional four Powers to the normal two Powers ]
[ Download Here ]
This…this wasn't a scam.
How could a scam be this idiotic?
"There's a damn limit to how insane something can be man!" it could create an asset from a sentence? Never mind that it claimed to be able to make anything, "your lucky I'm letting this happen."
He clicked Download Here, and kept an eye on his laptop as he reached for his phone, 'I can probably make it an outing with some buds, if any of them are free and have masks that is.'
Sending out a message, he frowned when he saw only negatives. No explanations, just some 'sorry, can't go,' or, 'sorry, busy.'
"Oh well," putting his phone down he looked back to his laptop, specifically the download for Isekai, "Makes sense with this virus, and I can make du-?!"
[ 12.56 MB / 507.89 GB ]
"What the fuck is that?!" that was twice the size of Red Dead 2! Probably even larger! "shit, did I just Download a fucking Wiki page or something? What the fuck!"
He moved his mouse, stopping the Downloa-
/ O \
[ Halting Progression of Time ]
[ Deleting Possible Timeline… ]
[ Timeline deleted ]
[ Initiating Court of the Crimson King Protocol ]
[ Skipping discovery of Download Size… ]
[ Discovery skipped ]
[ Creating and Installing Puppet memory… ]
[ Installing "Excitement" into Subject… ]
[ Restarting Player, now ]
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Time: 4:50 AM
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"-uggghhhhhhhh!" sprawled across his bed, he glanced at the download, and the fact it had been 99% complete for the past four hours! "just let me sleeeeeep! Please!"
Rolling onto his chest, he pulled out his phone and started playing something, War Turtle or whatever, literally anything to alleviate his boredom. He was supposed to be sleeping by now dammit! Not stuck waiting for this game.
'But what if it's real?' and wasn't that an insane thought? A game like that would be revolutionary, and likely called the Ultimate Game, 'all because of A.I.C.S.'
A.I.C.S. made the impossible possible, it had made an infinitely replayable game.
Want to wield Thor's Hammer in Resident Evil? You could do it. Fight Batman with the skills of Armsmaster? Easy. Wage war with the Dothraki with Mongolian hoards? Hell yeah! Travel Remnant with Godzilla, summon Machine Gods to fight the Avengers, even have Emiya Shirou face Yukihira Soma in a shokugeki.
So long as Humanity created stories, Isekai would be forever replayable, with an endless number of combinations and worlds. You couldn't top that, all you could do was build off its appearance, and hope people would prefer that version over the original.
'Even if I'm wrong, I'll still have gotten something out of this,' he glanced at the download, grunting when it still read 99%, 'hey my dude, just got scammed! Wanna hear about it?' Always nice to have stories like that.
Over the white noise of bullets and explosions from his phone, his mind flitted around the possibilities of Isekai as a game. What constituted a Power? Could you get a companion, an animal? How long would it take to travel a world? Could it run the world of Crisis? Was becoming a Eroge protagonist morally acceptable? Could you become a giant monster?
'Fuck, I'm getting excited just thinking about it!' taking a glance, he groaned at the 99%, going back to his phone and giving one of his mice a minigun, watching it mow down spiders, 'if this is Magnum's first game I can't wait for what else they can do!'
Although, where could you go from here?
Thirty minutes later, he checked the file download again, and gripped his hair in frustration at the 99%, "Ugh! Just fucking load already! I just want breakfast before 10:30! Is that so much to ask?"
[ 507.89 GB / 507.89 GB ]
"Huzzah!" apparently it wasn't too much to ask!
Rolling off his bed and rushing to his computer, he plopped down onto his chair. There, next to his Google Chrome link, was a black circle, and an orange Roman "I" in the center, named, "Isekai."
'Here it is,' the coin flip, the Schrodinger's Cat, when he confirmed if he'd either downloaded the porn cache of some random mook or an actual game, 'shit, that actually sounds likely. My excitement is ruined.'
A quick click and a black window appeared, before his screen turned black. For a moment, he freaked, had it turned off his computer? Then, it appeared.
[ Loading… ]
A bright orange Loading, boxed in by brackets of the same color. One of the first things seen in a video game, second to the names of the companies responsible for its creation.
'Oh fuck, its happening!' it was real, it had to be, who made their porn archive as fancy as this? 'okay, calm down, people are sleeping beneath you.'
It was hard not to, because if it could deliver on any of the stuff it talked about, it would be a step towards greater things. The interactive world, the size of that world, the creation of fictional worlds, it would still be revolutionary, all because its scale was insanely huge compared to other games.
Minutes later, the Loading vanished, and a new box appeared. The same orange, beside it was the word, "Name," and a single, blinking line inside it.
'Meh, not important, let's put something edgy,' typing in, "Ancalagon," and pressing Enter, the Loading appeared again briefly, before six more boxes appeared, a single word that made him smile, 'now were talking.'
[ Powers ]
'What should I even put?' well, he wanted to dick around a bit, and he wanted to see how far it could go, so something OP? 'I don't want to get one-shot, so let's go with that.'
Still, what would it be? Something physical could be good, like a different body? Would test if it created animations along with assets.
"Alright, physical form it is, but what?" an image came to mind, and he grinned, "yeah, that'll work."
{ Body of a Platinum Dragon }
The Dragon species of Bahamut, literal Demi-Gods among Dragons. As well as being monstrously powerful even as Wyrmlings.
'Wanted to see if Hybrids a thing, but I'll try that later,' there was a chance that non-existant things would be harder to make, like a Brontosaurus Xenomorph, or a Lovecraft monkey, 'could I put in a metal from a different franchise, and make it a Dragon species? Questions for late-
[ Loading… ]
[ Question: Is this Dragon from your imagination? ]
'…ok, maybe Hybrids are a thing,' erasing his earlier Power, he put in a new one, 'will this work?'
{ Body of a Platinum-Prismatic-Uru Dragon }
[ Loading… ]
'Come on, work, please,' it was like a childish wish suddenly given form, that his very imagination could be made real, no matter its digital nature, 'I want my Brontosaur Xenomorphs!'
[ Loading… ]
[ Question: Is this Dragon from your imagination? ]
{ Yes }
[ Loading… ]
[ Question: Is this Dragon affected by a Franchise('s)? ]
'What?' was it asking him where it was raised? Because if it was, he knew exactly where.
{ Fate/Stay Night }
'Where the Overpowered becomes the Unstoppable,' seriously, Fate was like the multi-tool of Fiction. Magecraft only got stronger from other Universes, and its vague magic systems allowed it to be applicable in a good majority of Franchises. Shirou alone was the nightmare of any person with swords, not to mention the insanity that was the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, which could kill energy.
'What would a Dragon like mine be born in a world like that?' a beast, no doubt.
[ Loading… ]
[ Question: Is your Dragon raised before/during/after the Age of Gods? ]
'Hmm, A.I.C.S. knows its stuff.' It was nice to see it getting specific with a Franchise, but how many questions would it ask? 'shit, does it function like an Akinator? And what the hell was before the Age of Gods?'
Well, he was testing shit out, might as well.
{ Before }
[ Loading… ]
[ Is this your Power? ]
[ Body: Form of a Platinum-Prismatic-Uru Dragon, the Celestial Water, Anti-Velber Weapon of Mass Destruction [ Growth Curve: EX ]
Growth Curve? Like in a Level Up System? And what the hell was the Celestial Water? Didn't the Velber show up during the Age of the Gods? In a sense, he should've focused on that, above all else.
Instead, he stared awe struck at the image before him.
'It works,' there, in its monstrous glory, was his Dragon. A bulky beast, it was built like a tiger, or some kind of mega-lion thing. Long, yet thick legs, a scaled back packed with muscles, and a tail thick like a salamanders that swayed the slightest bit. Three pairs of black horns curled into a single pair of bull horns, with that slight curve at the tip meant to gore, and wings so large they were five times its size. Its whole body was a dark grey mass, turning darker the closer it was to its limbs, and shining with a multi-color luster in the light.
Majestic and monstrous, regal yet clearly meant for war, it had the grace and wonder of a war ship. Entrancing in its capacity for decimation.
Its slit, lightning blue eyes only affirmed this, an intensity, a primal intent that belonged on an animal rather than a digital masterpiece.
'But they are,' there had been a shred of skepticism before this, beneath the excitement of Isekai being real.
That skepticism was turned to dust at the sight of the Dragon.
"It works," he was beyond shocked; it had done exactly what it said, it had created a fully formed asset with animation and mechanics, within the span of seconds, "holy shit, it works…"
"…oh FUCK YEAH!" he shouted, before clamping a hand down on his mouth. His eyes glanced towards the floor, then too his phone, expecting to see a complaint from the building's owner. When none came, he removed his hands, grinning, "it works!"
A whisper, yet it was full of excitement. It was real, a game that should've been in the far future was here, and he was playing it right now.
'Let's get this going!' he confirmed that this was his Power, his body singing to him, 'what else can we do? What other Powers?'
Something versatile this time, that could be applied to any Universe. He was tempted to just put in Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, but that was a bit pointless when you could just crush your opponent. Of course, the Eyes were also strictly for killing, and he wanted variety.
'Solomon then?' the King of Israel was broken as fuck in Fate/Grand Order, and one of the most powerful Servants in Type-Moon, 'Solomon it is.'
{ Solomon from Fate/Grand Order }
[ Loading…]
[ Question: Before/After his Death? ]
{ Before }
[ Loading… ]
[ Loading… ]
[ Are these your Powers? ]
[ Magic: Knowledge of the Wise King, Mastery and Assimilation of All Human Mageraft [ Growth Curve: A ] ]
[ Summon: Call forth the Demon God Familiars of Solomon, Wise King of Israel [ Growth Curve: C ] ]
[ Transformation: Fuse with the Demon God Familiars of King Solomon to become Goetia, King of Demon Gods, an Evil of Humanity [ Growth Curve: D ] ]
For each Power was an image, and he felt a giddiness in him. One, the Star of David, ten rings in a circle around it. Another, a thick tentacle, a ring of eyes on its writhing form. The final one, the head of a monster, with horns like the branches of a tree, tiny leaves clinging to them. The Rings of Solomon, a Demon God, and Goetia itself, respectively,
'So it shows three instead of one?' it made sense, since the Familiars and Solomon's Magecraft were separate Skills instead of being the same, though Goetia was a surprise, 'shit, does that mean he could've destroyed the world at any time? Fuck.'
At least it was assuring that his already insane Dragon could now obliterate all Human life in an instant.
"I'm starting to see a pattern here."
{ Yes }
[ Power #2 - #4 confirmed ]
'Mmm, shouldn't stick with Fate only,' though it was hella interesting what would come up, he could make a Fate-based Character later, and he wanted to check something, 'let's see about Companions.'
Although, maybe he should head to bed soon? His head was starting to ache, and his eyes were heavy.
'Not yet,' a whisper in his head, and he clenched his fists hard, smacking his legs to get the blood flowing in him, 'just a bit more, even a minute of gameplay will be enough.'
{ Adeptus Asartes with Medieval weapons and armor }
Both Overpowered and Nerfed, and a check of how specific A.I.C.S. could get.
[ Loading… ]
[ Question: Are the Medieval weapons and armor an add-on or equipment? ]
"That's what I like to see!" he grinned, the horizon of A.I.C.S. widening significantly "I can give Batman Iron Man Armor!"
{ Equipment }
[ Loading… ]
[ Is this your Power? ]
[ Companion: Adeptus Astartes of the Mythicon Dominus [ Growth Curve: F ] ]
'Did it just make a Chapter?' The symbol seemed to glare at him, an Astartes helm wreathed in fire and lightning. Well, as long as it gave him what he wanted it cou-
THOOOOM!
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" the whole of the building shook, the cries of his neighbors muffled yet just as loud as his own.
"The fuck happened?!" rushing out of his apartment, he found his neighbors staring up the stairwell in shock and fear, and when he joined them, his eyes widened, "what the hell is that?!"
Up above, the roof of the stairwell was caved in, cracks reaching down to the walls and slowly spreading further. Even now, chunks were falling off, the cold air of the night seeping through. A closer look, and he saw that it was wide and weirdly shaped, like a pill the size of a car had fallen.
"Is anybody hurt?" looking up, he saw his landlord, an older man who'd come from the States, as heavily tanned as an ex-Surfer could be, "alright, ambulance is on its way, I want everyone to head outside before something crazy like that happens again."
Everyone complied, including him. Isekai was still there, and it was only the stairwell that was in danger. And he wasn't going to risk more of whatever the hell fell onto the complex to start fallin-
/ = / 0 \ = \
[ Halting Progression of Time ]
[ Deleting Possible Timeline… ]
[ Timeline deleted ]
[ Relocating Fifth Firmament… ]
[ Fifth Firmament has been relocated to Sub-Space ]
[ Altering multiple memories… ]
[ Installing "Sleep" into multiple Subjects… ]
[ Restarting Player, now ]
/ = / = / = | U | = \ = \ = \
\ =O= /
"-ust an accident? You're sure?" his landlord nodded, and he sighed, "ok, freaked out for a second there, sounded like the damn building was falling."
"Yeah, sorry about that," the landlord rubbed the back of his head, clearly unused to speaking with him; understandable, he'd talked more with his agent, since the guy was busy managing twelve other buildings. Really only lived here because of his family, or so his neighbors said, "my sister was trying to get something on a shelf and she knocked it over. Again, sorry."
"S'kay bruh, no worries," he raised a fist, and grinned when the landlord bumped it, "I'm just glad it wasn't anything crazy. So uh…goodnight, I guess."
"Yeah, yeah, g'night." he closed the door, and went back to his desk.
"Fuckin hell, heart stopped for a minute," but now, he was back to Isekai.
'What was I doing again? Oh yeah! The Astartes,' a quick Enter and it was confirmed, and all that was left was the pièce de résistance, 'what can I even put here? I've got everything covered now. Got a bud, insane powers, and probably the strongest dragon short of just putting in a God-Dragon like Io.'
Wait a minute…he had a monstrously powerful follower…all of Human Magecraft…had Demon Gods as his Familiars…why did this seem so familiar? It was almost like he was a…Oh.
'I'm an Optional Endgame Boss,' specifically the secret ending Boss that was behind all the bad shit all along, 'all I'm missing is an army of monsters that would lay siege on the world, who would be fodder to the protagonist…hmm?'
{ Summon Draconic entities }
'Vague, but I think it's enough,' and anything Draconic is already a step above the usual monsters, 'hope it works.'
[ Loading… ]
[ Loading… ]
[ Loading… ]
[ Question: What constitutes a Draconic entity? ]
'Here's to hoping this works,'
{ A creature, human, or humanoid that has the traits of a dragon, is considered a dragon, or is a literal dragon }
[ Loading… ]
[ Is this your Power? ]
[ Item: Libro'draconik, Tome of the Dragon God ]
"It's not what I asked for, but damn if that doesn't sound interesting," a tome of weathered grey scales, with a golden emblem of a raised fist with a riding crop in hand, its spine lined with golden scales, appeared in a box, "last Power confirmed."
{ Yes }
[ Power #6 confirmed ]
[ All Powers selected ]
[ Loading… ]
'I don't even care if the rest is shit, this was enough,' because even if it only delivered on the asset creation system, that was all that really mattered, 'I wonder, how much will Sony or Microsoft pay for A.I.C.S.?'
After a good ten minutes, the Loading faded, and a massive list appeared. At its top was, "Already Generated Worlds," which included what looked like the top twenty Franchises on every major genre on Fanfiction, 'which is probably a semi-good source to make lists like this.'
"Which do I choose?" there was everything he could've dreamed, and beyond; Skyrim, Worm, RWBY, Warhammer Fantasy, and some outlandish ones like Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo and Kuroinu: Kedakaki, "even off-brand stuff? Man, they really didn't skimp on the options."
Of course, the moment he'd thought about it, he knew what he'd choose.
{ RWBY }
Under-powered and full of endless hordes for him to test out his Powers, it was also a criminally underdeveloped world. If A.I.C.S. could fill in the gaps that Rooster Teeth didn't, how deep could this world get? Would be nice to find references of Ozpin's previous bodies in history books and stuff.
[ Loading… ]
'Not gonna ask me where I Spawn?' well that made it much more interesting! It balanced out the amount of freedom a Player had with the Power selection; made someone think more on what they had as a Power lest they get dropped into a volcano without any fire resistance. Maybe there was a gamemode for you to dick around in? 'I can deal with this, even if I'm right on top of Salem I can still kick ass.'
Let's see how the Grimm fare against the King of Magecraft and his Demon Gods?
[ Loading… ]
[ Loading… ]
[ Loading… ]
[ Loading… ]
[ Loading… ]
'…it's taking awhile…'
[ Loading… ]
[ Loading… ]
[ Loading… ]
[ Loading… ]
[ Loading… ]
'The fuck?' why wasn't it loading? It'd been loading for almost an hour! 'calm down, planets are big, it's probably just taking awhil-'
[ Loading complete ]
[ Beginning Spiritual Removal ]
'Beginning wha-'
/ O \
"-s ago, a man by the name of Michael Newmen was found dead in his apartment, his brain's fried. The autopsy report details that Mr. Newmen's heart, brain, and upper spinal column were simultaneously flash fried, killing him instantly. Researchers are still studying the body to see what could have possibly caused such a violent death, and have promised to update authorities on further discoveries. Here's too hoping we found out soon, and avoid the tragedy that befell Mr. Newmen. Coming up we have the most recent Corona Virus case-"
\ = \ = / = /
In the darkness, he felt nothing.
No light, no heat, no smells or sounds, no anything. Just an endless void, and a metallic feeling in his chest. As if a dense ball of steel was inside him.
And then…
[ You Died ]
A moment of complete silence, of his vision locked on that single phrase in glowing orange, before he heaved a long sigh.
"Couldn't just be a cool game, could it?" he muttered, his voice echoing in the black void, "was just some bullshit McGuffin for Isekai, couldn't be anything normal."
Of course, a part of him was fucking ecstatic. Actually being Isekai'd? With all the insane Powers he got? He'd be able to have fun here, and of course help the plot along, because who the fucks gonna just let people start dying left and right if they could do something?
'Actually, where are my Powers?' and then, he felt it.
A warmth spread through his body, and he felt the whole of himself enveloped in heat. No, Michael Newmen wasn't being drenched in this heat, the body was strange, larger. This physique was monstrous, brutal, and massive. The buzz of lightning, and a strength to crush mountains.
'My Dragon Body,' that ball of steel opened like a flower, and his body became even stronger. A torrent of power, of platinum, prisms, and a thunderous roar that shook the dark. With a swing, he would tear the land, with a heave, he would lift it. Not boasts, simply facts. His very roar would shake the world, and his breath would sunder it just as quickly.
His body burned, and yet he let it. What was this fire, but his own tool?
Man no longer, he would aid the good he saw in this world, whether they liked it or no-
[ Warning! Power #1 incompatible with Power #2! Redirecting Spiritual Conversion towards prepared Divine Construct until Power #1 has been altered ]
'What?' that flood of energy simply ceased, and was yanked away from him. His heat, his Prana and Od, lessened. He was still strong, still mighty, but compared to the volcano of power to this simple bonfire… 'w-why!? That was amazing! Incredible! It was…addicting?'
"Holy shit," his mind cleared, and he felt a horror fill him, of what he'd been prepared to do not a moment ago; to force the whole world to his way, a tyrant in everything but his mind and name, "holy fucking shit."
That level of Power was…it was beyond insane. It had made him insane.
"Fuck, thank God it's gone, and thank you!" he said, but paused, "um, whatever you are? Actually, what even did this to me?"
No answer came.
"..okay?" looking around the darkness, he simply floated in place, "nice warmth, at leas-"
[ Warning! Divine Construct incapable of bonding with Power #2! Creating Terminal for Player's use until Divine Construct or Power #1 has been Altered successfully ]
"Awww, come on!" what warmth he'd had was now gone, and the cold emptiness of the void bore down on his...he'd call it a body for now, "man, and I was starting to learn some cool shit too."
Like how the Borzak's and Caesarunde's branches of Magecraft were so interchangeable, and that if you added in the Etherlite, linking the familiars together, you could create-
[ Warning! Player is not an entity that can support a Terminal! Binding Player to source of Mana Substitute until Divine Construct Alteration is complete! ]
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" he wouldn't even have a body now?! Was he just gonna be connected to some Dust crystal? "fuck, am I gonna lose more shit now?"
When no response came, he waited some more.
'…okay, I'm in the clear,' he sighed, mentally exhausted, 'what happens now?'
[ Answer: Once the Binding process is complete, Player Ancalagon will be transported to Mana Substitute Generator's location and will remain with them until they produce sufficient Mana Substitute for the Player to manifest, the Divine Construct has been successfully Altered to bond to Power #2, or Power #1 is successfully Altered ]
'Ugh, that fuckin name,' at least he could tell people he had a different name, but… 'what is the progress on the Binding?'
[ Answer: Binding has already been completed, beginning transportation ]
'Wait, wha-oooohhhhh shiiiiit whaaaat tttthhhheeeee fuuuuuu-!?'
/ = / 0 \ = \
\ =O= /
First, he breathed
Next he felt
And finally, he saw.
'Forest,' a dead one, or maybe one in Winter? Either way he was surrounded by dead trees, with a rundown house in front of him, surrounded by… 'shit, Grimm.'
Beowolves, a lot of them, circling the house like…well, wolves.
'Does that mean someone's in there?' and where was his Generator? 'Well, they haven't attacked me yet, so maybe I can go check out the house?'
Carefully, he walked closer to the ruined house, passing the Beowolves who looked none the wiser. Waving a hand in front of their face did nothing either, 'good to know.'
Stepping through the door, he found the inside just as rundown as the outside, filled with broken furniture and plants growing through the floorboards, as well as some dusty books here and there. What he caught onto though, was the crying.
'Oh shit,' this was the house Yang talked about with Blake, wasn't it? The one where she and Ruby almost got killed…where there were only three Beowolves, 'there's like fucking twenty out there!'
'Shitshitshit, where are they?!' if he could find them and summon his Astartes, he could help them escape and get back to their house…which he didn't know the place of, 'damn you Rooster Teeth, and your lazy world building! Why can't you be like G.R.R.M and give us maps?'
Running through the rooms, he found the two huddled in the corner of a bedroom, a blonde girl with pigtails holding a stick of sharpened wood towards the door. Holding them close, a girl in a red hood was crying and whimpering at every growl from outside, eyes full of tears.
"Y-Yang! Make them go away!" Ruby clutched tightly to the older girl, staining their shirt with tears, "please make them go away!"
"D-Don't worry, Rubes!" her voice was shaky, and she was trying desperately to keep herself from crying, "j-just close your eyes, and everything will be just f-fine!"
"Grooar!" the building shook, and Yang simply dropped the stick in favor of holding her sister, tears streaming down her face.
'Okay, found them,' he entered the room, 'alright, time to summon my Astartes…how do I do that?'
[ Answer: Insufficient Mana to call Astartes at this time ]
'WHAT?!' he needed Mana for a Companion! 'why the fuck do I need Mana for something that's gonna be with my all the time?!'
[ Answer: Companions are superior to Summons in every way, and can only be Summoned once. Even if a Companion dies, they will Respawn within a day near the Player, unlike Summons that are able to be Resummoned immediately by the Player moments after the Summons Death ]
'Fucking dammit!' so what could he do?! 'wait, my Demon Gods! Can I Summon them?'
[ Answer: Insufficient Mana to Summon a Demon God ]
'Shit!' the house shook again, and it sounded like one of the Beowolves had broken down a wall, 'what can I Summon?!'
[ Answer: Libro'draconik: Draconic Leech, Draconic Puppet, Draconic Footmen, Draconic Dog- ]
'Footmen! Summon the Footmen!'
[ Beginning Summoning Process… ]
Inside his chest, he felt a slight drain, and winced at the sudden fatigue. Still, it had done its job.
"Master," standing there, in leather armor and wielding a spear, stood his Footmen, face hidden by their full leather helm, and completely ignored by the sisters as they squeezed their eyes shut, "what is your order?"
'Protect these children until help arrives!' he pointed towards the girls, 'the black werewolves are our enemy, don't let any get near these children.'
"Understood, Master," they gripped their spear, and aimed it at the door, "I will protect them with my lif-!?"
"GRAOOO!" a Beowolf suddenly grabbed the Footmen's arm through a wall, and dragged them outside.
"Have at thee beast!" they shouted as they vanished outside, the wolf's cry of pain clear through the air "come! Come and face me you dogs!"
A resounding howl was his response, and the sounds of combat echoed across the forest.
/ O \
Qrow Branwen
\ = \ = / = /
The kids weren't there.
Tai wasn't at home and the kids were gone.
'Where are they?!' soaring through the air on Aura enhanced wings, he circled back around and started to comb through the Northern forests of Patch, 'dammit Tai, of all the times to go to town it just had to be now!'
Of course, maybe the brats knew that, but Qrow was too pissed off to care. Tai was gonna hear about this.
Up above, he caught sight of a rundown home that he recognized immediately; their old house, from when they'd first left Beacon and started to live their lives.
Which was now hosting a battle on its lawn.
'There!' it might not be them, but like hell he wasn't going to check, 'please be safe, please!'
Swooping down, he reverted back into human form and darted towards the old house, finding four Beowolves tearing into a guy he'd never seen before.
Leather armor scratched up, and without a weapon, they were still able to grab a Beowolf by the neck and start choking it out, even as the others munched his legs and back, one even gnawing on their arm. With a start, Qrow realized the guy was doing it without Aura, as he was being cut by their fangs and claws.
'Shit,' he charged in and decapitated the one holding their arm, before doing the same with the other two. Landing with a flourish, he eyed the stranger as they struggled with the Grimm.
"Need some help with that one?" he asked, resting Harbinger onto his shoulder.
"Ah, no friend," the guy said, before with a grunt of exertion they snapped the Beowolf's neck, "I have it under control."
"I noticed," Qrow said, before also noticing the distinct lack of red and yellow brats, "well, I was glad to help, but I gotta go."
"Ah, wait a moment!" they said, grabbing him by the shoulder, "I am in great need of assistance. My Master has tasked me with protecting two children, who are inside the house. It would be most helpful if you joined me in this task."
"Sounds nice, but I don- wait," Qrow turned back, frowning, "did you say two children? Are they girls?"
"Why yes, actually," he said, pointing towards the house, "they're in the master bedroom, I can lead you the-"
Qrow was already inside, and had them in his arms quicker than they could blink.
"U-Uncle Qrow?!" Ruby said, before she smiled, "Uncle Qrow! You're here, were saved!"
"That's right, I'm here, you're here," he whispered, tightening his hold on both of them, before setting them down and glaring, voice cold, "and not at home."
What joy the two girls had slowly turned to dread, their faces paling.
/ = / 0 \ = \
Ancal-olo-ewmen
\ =O= /
"I can't thank you enough, Mister Foot," he held back a snicker as Taiyang Xiao Long shook his Footmen's hands, his face tired yet grateful, "I can imagine the trouble my daughter's put you through."
"Oh, they were fine," his Footmen, now named Nigel Foot, rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed, "I'm simply glad I could keep them safe until your friend came along."
"Well, Qrow always does come right on time," Taiyang grinned, although…it was painful to see how forced it was, the man was clearly still distraught, "it's his one good trait."
"I resent that statement," said bird man exited the house and into the night, the shattered moon bright in the sky, "kids are tucked in nice and tight."
"Thanks Qrow," some ounce of actual emotions came to his face, "anyways, are you sure there isn't anything else we can give you, or your Master?"
"I'm afraid not, unless you have a Bullhead lying around?" both of them laughed, again forced on Tais' end, "I best be going now, while there's still moonlight. Farewell!"
"Goodbye!" Tai waved them off as they vanished into the forest, where he would head to Patch and…teleport? Fade? He would go to wherever his Summons were supposed to go when he wasn't using them.
The moment Tai stepped inside, he moved for the couch, and simply collapsed into it, groaning.
"I can't believe they went there of all places," invisible to the world, he walked past the father and uncle duo, heading upstairs to the bedrooms, "Qrow, I'm so sorry-"
Whatever else he was going to say faded away as he went further into the house, and stopped at a door to his left.
Since he'd summoned the Footmen, he'd felt his emptiness slowly fade away, as if he was filling his stomach. It was likely the Mana Substitute, and he'd thought it was from an actual generator inside the house.
That theory was crushed when he'd been dragged along as Qrow took Yang and Ruby back home.
'My Generator is a fuckin kid,' likely Ruby, because why the fuck not?
'System,' a name he'd come up with for the sole fact he didn't have one, 'how long until I can gain a physical body?'
[ Answer: 5 years, 4 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 17 hours, 34 minutes, and 32 seconds and counting ]
'…'
...
FUCK! THAT!
'How can I avoid waiting five years for a body?!' he wasn't about to tag along with a little girl through her life when she wasn't even old enough for Elementary School! 'is there a way to have a body without a Terminal, Divine Construct, or whatever the fuck else!?'
[ Answers: Use the Tome to Summon a Puppet Body, forcefully possess a Mortal Body, completely drain current Generator to create a body, and forcefully possess your Astartes's body ]
'The Tome thing, do that!' if he could have a body like Foot's, it would be enough, 'give me the strongest Puppet Body you can!'
[ Answer: Available Puppet Body cannot support Player ]
'Fuck! How long do I have to wait for one that can support me?'
[ Answer: 1 week, 1 day, 1 hour, 1 minute, and 1 second ]
'Alright, fine!' he'd wait and do some boring shit like, ya know, be a fucking stalker, because what else would you call having to hang around with little girls in their every moment?! 'just why not?! Why? Not like I have better things to do! Because fuck me, right! Fucking hell! Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck-'
They proceeded to do this for a full hour, before their anger died out and they waited out the night.
/ O \
\ = \ = / = /
There…wasn't a lot that happened in Patch.
All he found out was that Patch was more a, 'yeah were a town but not really lol,' then an actual town. Like those towns you find driving through the States; a fake town that got by…somehow.
He'd also made a few more Footmen when he could afford it, their looks varying, but still the same. Nigel led them as the First Summon, and Michael sent them out on Hunter missions to start collecting lien. So far, they'd made a good five hundred lien from the odd jobs here and there, and a big job taking out a pack of Beowolves.
How they did this without a Hunter license, he had no idea.
Another thing was Ruby making a prototype Crescent Rose. Not a drawing, but an actual mechashift weapon.
Kid was a genius at her age, but only for weapons. Made some high-tech stuff, even made a little tank out of their microwave that shot Qrow's flask out of his hands.
Good shit.
Besides learning about Patch and Ruby's innate military genius, another thing happened.
*Bark!*
They got Zwei.
For the worst reason possible if he was a normal dog.
"A guard dog?" Qrow stared at the corgi, not even fully grown, "you know this is a corgi, right? A little, weak, corgi? I'm pretty sure the Tribe fed these to our guard dogs whenever we found some."
"He's a special case," Tai said, scratching them behind the ear, "little guy has an awakened Aura, can take a 12-gauge slug and walk away."
"Shit, really?" Qrow then kicked Zwei straight into a wall.
"Qrow what the fuc-?!" instead of slamming hard against wood, they bounced off the walls like a ball, and slammed straight into Qrow's face, "*pfft!* hahah!"
"Sonnuva bitch!" Qrow clutched his now bleeding nose, wiping the blood off with his shirt, "alright, that was cool. But fuck that dog."
"You did kick him," Qrow just glared, making Tai laugh.
'Hmm, so he was a badass even as a pup,' which meant that in dog years, Zwei was a veteran Aura user when the show starts, 'sick.'
"Daddy, what was that sou-?!" Ruby and Yang both stumbled downstairs, tired eyes widening at the sight of Zwei, "PUPPY!"
*Bark!* they swarmed the pup, lifting him up and petting him, and Zwei soaked it all up with a happy smile, *bark!* *bark!*
"Its three against one, Qrow," Qrow continued glaring, and Tai grinned, "looks like were keeping him, girls!"
"Yay!" besides that, nothing else.
Now, it was Monday morning, and he would finally have his new Body.
'Although…' this peace the Rose-Xiao Family had was...nice, reminded him of his childhood, 'probably because it's someone's childhood.'
Still, he couldn't stay here, he had to go and…and…
…what could he do?
He couldn't wait for his Powers to return, who knew how long that would take? There was a chance of heading to Ozpin with his new body, but how would the Professor even react? For that matter, he doubted any legal pilot would bring him to Beacon if his body looked freaky.
And if by some chance he reached Ozpin, what would happen? Unless the old man could use Magic to help him build an army, he would still be in the same boat as before. All that would change is a place for his Summons to work from, as if that was a problem with his Sub-Space for his Summons.
He had no good reason to leave, for the simple fact nothing would change.
'Well I should still leave!' there were too many chances for him to derail canon with him around, and Patch was too small for the army he was going to create, 'not to mention my Puppet Body!'
[ Paradigm Entropy: Named Automaton Puppet Body ]
The thing was terrifying; all black with a thin red visor, it looked like a robot ninja. A terror that it could back up with enhanced strength and speed, on or near the level of a Huntsmen.
'Whatever that is,' although if Yang was any indication, they were absolute monsters, 'should actually find that out later.'
So with how terrifying his body would look like, could he really stay in a public place? It seemed far more logical to just pack it up and start amassing his army to deal with Salem himself. He'd have to find her first, but that was paltry when you could summon a drago-…wait…
'System,' he asked, 'does this Puppet generate Mana?'
[ Answer: No ]
'…ugh,' well, there was his answer.
'System, how long until I can have a Puppet that can generate Mana?'
[ Answer: Never, Puppet Bodies cannot generate Mana for Spells ]
'Gnnnnghgh!' a rage began to build up within him, 'what Summon does generate Mana? Can I possess it?'
[ Answer: Cannot Possess Summons not designed for use as Puppets. Should a Player attempt to possess a Non-Puppet Summon, the Summon will combust and die ]
'Fucknnngngningnnnnghghhhh!' he punched at the air, before digging his nails into his own body in a vicious hug, 'fucking…ugh. Fine!'
Looks like his decisions was made before he'd even gotten here!
As Ruby and Yang fawned over Zwei, he muttered curses a few feet away, eyes smoldering.
'I just wanted to play a Video Game, dammit.'
/ = / = \ = \
~ o0o ~
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This is likely my first big project during Quarantine, but still, don't expect some stupid shit like 'consistency' and 'proper wording' because I don't play that shit!
Hope you enjoyed!