As promised, the first chapter for the rewrite of A Gamer's Path. I have three things I want to address really quick; the changes to the Game mechanics, the overall theme and mood of the story, and the pairings.
1. The Game has been altered to be more in depth and have better progression. The main thing I need to note is the Skill system; there are two types of Skill progression. The first is Level based, the Skill will gain Experience the more it is used and eventually level up, this increases the abilities of the skill. At a certain Level the Skill will evolve into a better and superior form. The other is Point based, the Player receives a number of Skill Points based on the number of Skills they have. The Player allocates the Points to improve the Skills effectiveness. Attributes are Point based.
2. This story will be darker than the previous incarnation, though while an ever present part of the story it won't be dark all the way through. There will be plenty of humor, romance, and general lightheartedness.
3. The main pairing should be obvious from the description; it will be Corvo with Rias and Akeno. The other pairings will be Kiba and Xenovia, Issei and Asia; potentially more. Koneko has yet to be decided, so input is welcome; as long as it has a reason, I don't want biases responses.
Now with that out of the way I present: The Price of Revenge.
Chapter One
You have slept in an owned bed. HP, MP, and STA restored. Aliments cured.
I awake to this message. You see two weeks ago I woke up to a message saying I was the new Gamer. As it sounds, I've essentially been turned into a video game character. I get Experience and gain Levels; I have Attributes and Skills. I look at my Attributes once again to check my progress.
Name: Corvo Draven
Title: None
Class: Avenger
HP: 300
HP Regen: 5 HP/ Sec
MP: 375
STA: 300
STA Regen: 5 STA/ Sec
Level 15
ATTRIBUTES
0 Points
PHYSICAL
Strength: 25/100
Endurance: 10/100
Vitality: 10 /100
Dexterity: 25/100
Agility: 25/100
MENTAL
Intelligence: 15/100
Adaptability: 15/100
Perception: 15/100
Fortitude: 20/100 (5+15)
SPIRITUAL
Power: 15/100
Projection: 10/100
Manipulation: 10/100
My Stats unquestionably lean toward a power based blitzkrieg style of combat. My high Agility, Dexterity, and Strength give me an ample boost to quick attacks and ambush tactics; though my low Vitality and Endurance will screw me over in a drawn out fight. That needs to be remedied, as I have no idea what my target is capable of. I should explain the target thing; you see, when I was 6 years old I watched my brother die. He was killed, and not by a human. While I don't know what killed him, I do know it was some sort of monster or demon. Everyone said that the shock and trauma of witnessing my brother die caused me to create a monster as a way to cope, but I know what I saw. Everyday since the age of 13 I have been training to get my revenge and this new ability will help me do so. I have trained in martial arts, swordsmanship, strategy, tactics, and the occult/supernatural. Shortly after I turned 13 my father got transferred to Japan and I've lived here ever since. About a year ago I got accepted into Kuoh Academy, unfortunately my father could not move to Kuoh due to his job; but I am old enough to live alone in Japan. So I've been living on my own for about a year, which is fine with me. It allows me to train in peace and now it will let me explore my new power without interruption. With that in mind I check my Skills.
SKILLS
0 Points
COMBAT SKILLS
[Physical]
Dash: Level 2
Power Leap: Level 2
[Spiritual]
Space-Eater: 15 /100
Shock Wave: 30 /100
Hundred Fang Blade: 25 /100
[Passive]
Combat Analysis: 34/100
SUPPORT SKILLS
[Physical]
Guard: Level 2
[Spiritual]
Harden: 12/100
[Passive]
Tactical Analysis: 34/100
Stealth: Level 4
PERSONAL SKILLS
Observe: Level 5
ZET-Form: Level 2
PERKS
Unshakable, Unbreakable
While I don't have many skills, the ones I do have serve me very well with the style of combat I have chosen. Space-Eater creates a spherical distortion in space that warps everything inside it. It's essentially a localized centripetal bubble of gravitational force that distorts the very fabric of space it occupies, destroying everything it touches. Shockwave, as the name suggests, creates a shockwave of kinetic force. The force is projected from my hands and can either be used to supplement my punches or to attack from a medium distance; though using it as a ranged attack greatly diminishes the damage it deals, but is good for knocking an enemy off balance. Also since it is pure kinetic force it has the ability to pass through some armor and hit the body directly. Hundred Fang Blade is my most interesting ability so far. It allows me to either transform any of my limbs into a blade or project blades from my body to form a deadly defense.
Guard is an activated ability that will automatically block the next physical attack directed at me. Harden is likewise an activated ability that drastically increases my defensive capabilities by turning my skin into an organic metal like substance. The best thing about Hardenit has no time limit, it merely takes a portion of my Mana to stay active, lowering my overall Mana pool; an acceptable trade off to eliminate one of my inherent weaknesses. ZET-Form is a transformation that changes my appearance and increases all of my physical abilities by 10 Points, though I suspect that number will increase the higher it's Level gets.
The Perk Unshakable, Unbreakable has a few different effects. The first is it numbs my ability to feel pain, allowing me to fight through severe injury with little impact on my overall ability to continue. The second is an increase in Mental Fortitude allowing me to survive trauma and mental attacks much better. The final benefit is a healing factor that grants Health and Stamina regeneration.
Finishing the review of my current status, I get dressed in the standard Kuoh Academy male uniform. The only deviation to the dress code is a choker styled rosary my brother used to wear: a constant reminder of the path I am walking. After making sure I am presentable and have all my school supplies, I head out for the day.
Time Skip
School is as boring as usual but a trip to the library, under the ruse of using the bathroom, yielded an interesting find; a book on supernatural encounters that appears to be well over one hundred years old. I haven't had a chance to read it but I have a feeling it will be exceedingly useful. Any creditable information on the supernatural world that is hidden from human eyes is of extreme importance to me. Three days after gaining my Gamer ability I was using Observe on everyone and everything to level it up and came across a man whose race was Gargoyle. After tailing him for several hours I witnessed him transform into a living Gargoyle; he was huge with grey skin and had large bat wings sprouting from his back. I followed him for a few minutes before he suddenly darted back towards me and lashed out with his claws. I nearly died that night; I also made my first kill. Ever since that fight I've been gathering as much reliable information on the supernatural races as I could, so as to not repeat that near death experience.
The only interesting that happened at school so far was a run in with Rias Gremory. She commented on how I've changed since last year; and given the way she said it, she wasn't talking about my appearance or behavior. She knows more than she's letting onto and I can't have that. Not until I determine whether or not she is a threat to my goal. I need to gain some information on her; the problem is that she's always with her club, which stands to reason that they know more than they should too. I need to find a way to gather information without raising suspicion. Come to think of it, Issei Hyoudou recently came to school with her. So it stands to reason that if I can become friends with him, I'll have an inside man to unknowingly feed me the information I require. It shouldn't be hard; his group, known as the perverted trio, has been trying to recruit me since last year. With my plan devised I wait for lunch to arrive.
Once the lunch bell rings I head for Issei and internally sigh. I hate being around these three; they are pathetic perverts with no hope of redemption. Well minus Issei, he does have potential, though he will be hard pressed to realize it.
"Issei, want to eat lunch with me?" He looks confused as I've made it clear on numerous occasions how I feel about his little group. "I'll explain as we eat, meet me on the roof."
Once he gets to the roof I point to the seat next to me and he sits down. He looks nervous, hell he looks down right scared. I don't blame him, I did beat the shit out of his bald friend after he tried to pin their peeping on me last month. Still he's brave enough to meet me on an empty roof all alone. After staring at him for a few more moments to make him sweat even more I finally speak.
"I invited you to eat with me to tell you that I am willing to start a friendship with you. You see the only reason I declined before is because those other two you hangout with. You have potential to grow into a decent person, they however are irredeemable, but it seems over the last few days you've stopped hanging out with them. So, here I am; do you still want to be friends?" He looks dumbfounded, but nods.
"Y-yes." Good, my plan is working. You see I don't really like Issei that much, but he now has a use. He's so far only shown himself to be a no good pervert with little to no hope; but with his recent departure from his group coupled with the Gremory girls sudden interest in him, he might be shaping up to be truly interesting. Regardless of my previous feelings I must befriend him, so I smile and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Good, do you want to hangout after school?" His eyes go wide and he looks worried.
"W-well I'd like to but I have club activities. I mean, we can hangout after that if it's ok." I just nod and smile. Good, he is already fulfilling his role. I now know he is in fact an actual part of Rias's little club.
"That's fine, I do have some things to take care of anyway, so I'll just get them finished early then meet up with you. Speaking of which, where do you want to meet up?"
"How about the arcade near the mall, it's where I usually hangout?"
"Sounds good, you probably should get to your club, but I'll see you later."
"Yeah, see you later." He says before running off. As he disappears from sight I begin to formulate my plan to gain the information I need through him.
I should feel bad about using him, but I don't. That woman knows something and I need to find out what. She could ruin my plans and I will not allow that. Nothing will get in the way of my revenge; I'll do whatever it takes to avenge my brother. Even if it means casting off my very soul to do so, there is no price too high and no length I won't go.
Time Skip
Heading to the arcade to meet up with Issei I review the information I gained for the book I found. It was primarily about Vampires and Werewolves, but did contain encounters with a few other species. It also coincided with other reliable information I have gathered and personal encounters with two of the races contained within the pages; I have fought two Werewolves and three Trolls. This new book contained some facts and tactics for fighting the races in it I was unaware of. All in all it was a great find.
Reaching the arcade I see Issei has beaten me here, a good sign, he is eager to obtain my friendship; an easily exploitable weakness. As I walk over to him he spots me and waves with a huge grin on his face. I reciprocate the action; he clearly isn't used to having friends other than the two perverts.
"So what do you want to play first?" He asks enthusiastically when I reach him.
"I don't, I've never been to an arcade." I reply honestly, with all the training and research I do I rarely have any free time. His face is a picture of shock as he processes my statement.
"Are you serious, you're a teenage boy and you've never been to an arcade? How is that possible, what do you do for fun?" He asks in pure exasperation. I chuckle at his antics, if nothing else he is good comic relief.
"Pretty much all my time not spent at school or sleeping is spent training or studying." I reply with a shrug of my shoulders, not seeing the big deal.
"Training? You mean like martial arts?" A nod is his answer.
"Swordsmanship too." After a few minutes his confusion turns into awe.
"That is so cool. You know martial arts and how to use a sword?" His expression turns to confusion once more. "If you know how to use a sword why aren't you in the kendo club?"
"In middle school I was the number one in the country for my age group. Kendo is no longer a challenge for me, so I see no reason to be in the club." I say simply.
"Seriously, you're that good? That's really damn impressive." He exclaims loudly, garnering the attention of everyone in earshot. I shake my head and motion to the arcade.
"Come on, show me what arcades are all about." He more than happily complies.
Time Skip
Sitting on my bed I reflect on my outing to the arcade. It was the first time I have hung out with someone since my brother died. For the first year I was so depressed my parents pulled me out of school and my mom homeschooled me. The next six years I was distant and despondent. Barely speaking or interacting with even my parents. Then just days before the seventh anniversary of my beloved older brother's death we packed up and moved to Japan. Leaving the home I spent my childhood in, the place I watch my brother butchered; it triggered something in me, a raging inferno of pure rage, hate, and determination.
Every night, every time I close my eyes, every time I stop to breath I relive my brother's death. I can't escape those nightmares, but the thing that tortures me even more than that is the fact that in three years of searching I haven't come across a single strand of evidence or a minuscule piece of information about that night or what killed my brother. The sun has been down for about two hours and I haven't slept in four days; I have no choice but to give in to the terrible grasp that is the horror of sleep. Once again I will be drowning in unbearable fear and insufferable pain until the brief reprieve of morning comes, only to be snatched away by the same darkness creeping into my every waking moment.
Thank you for and please don't forget to review.
With laughs,
SonoftheJester