-Chapter I-
-Tutorial I-
[Gamer System Online]
New Abilities Added!
Observe (Active)
Displays basic information about the target
Deconstruction (Active)
Immediately breaks down various misc. Items into craftable resources
I jolt back to consciousness and find myself inside a train car. There was no one else with me and I felt something vibrating in my pocket. I pulled it out and it looked like a generic brand phone at first. I try to unlock the phone and- "AHHH! MOTHERFUCKER, THAT STINGS!"
I felt a sharp, burning sensation on my right hand. I dropped the phone and bit down on my backpack strap to suppress my screams.
When the pain stopped, I looked at my hand and saw a strange symbol branded onto me. The brand was still red hot, but the pain was tolerable. I gathered the nerve to turn the phone back on and nothing happened. I checked the message that was sent and it was from someone just named 'Patron'. Heh, I can't imagine a giant dragon typing this on a tiny phone.
Hail Avatar, and welcome to the first day of your new life. Let me get you up to speed. You have recently moved here to attend Kuoh Academy, at the request of your parents. Class begins in three weeks, so use this time to get familiar with your surroundings and grow stronger. Your living quarters will be located at this address.
There are several apps on your phone that will aid you on your journey. There will be a tutorial message on each app when you open them.
Before I let you go, I need to tell you about your most vital resource: favor. Favor is a special currency gained through various means: defeating enemies, completing quests, and successful dungeon runs. Favor is used for leveling up, upgrading weapons, and entering dungeons. You will unlock more efficient ways of gaining favor as you level up.
After reading that, I decided to check out the apps on my phone. Other than the typical apps you'd find on a phone, there were three unique apps: the Dungeon, the Vault, and the Marketplace. I decided to open the dungeon app first.
Welcome to the Dungeons! In the dungeons, you will be transported to an ever-shifting that's designed to test your strength, cunning, and courage! Entering a dungeon will require a certain amount of favor. The higher the cost, the more dangerous and rewarding the dungeon is.
Ooh, I've always loved a good roguelike, so this sounds really fun. I checked the app to see what was available and saw there was only one option: The Darkwood. It looks like new dungeons will be added every five levels. I decided to check out the Vault next.
Welcome to the Vault! In your vault, you can safely store items in your very own pocket dimension. This place is safe from all manner of thieves, but space is limited for now. You can put anything (within reason) in your vault. Another feature of the vault is the Backpack. Although fewer items can be stored in the backpack, you can access your items faster without opening the app. With a simple thought, you can immediately take and put things away.
Alright, looking into my vault, I can store one-hundred items here. I have a feeling this is going to be filling up real quick. I guess it's time to check out what the marketplace has for sale now.
Welcome to the Marketplace! On this app, you can buy and sell items with a whole network of other avatars. The only currencies the marketplace accepts are gold and favor. Items that cost gold are usually more mundane items you can find in your world. Items bought with favor are more fantastical: enchanted artifacts, mystical scrolls, and technique manuals.
If you have enough favor, you can expand your personal marketplace's inventory to include items from other universes!
Holy shit, that sounds amazing! I check out the marketplace and check out its inventory. I could buy a bunch of items from the store like guns, swords, and armor. Ooh, it even has a stylish-looking long coat for sale too! For the next ten minutes, I've been scrolling through my options and thought about what I should get later.
On a whim, I just typed in Devil May Cry to see what would come up.
At first, it just showed off the games that have been released in my world. When I scrolled further, I saw people selling weapons from the game! People are selling Rebellion, Yamato, and Red Queen for ludicrous prices. Though, it takes a whopping 100,000 favor just to unlock the privilege of buying these items.
This does raise some questions. How did these avatars get these weapons? Why would they be selling them here? Did they reincarnate as these characters and just didn't need them anymore? Or did they kill the original owners for their weapons? Either way, both implications scare me.
My pondering was soon interrupted by an announcement, "Next stop: Kuoh Station. Next stop: Kuoh Station."
Welp, enough thinking about that stuff. I gather my things and step off the train. It was a gloomy morning and I had a pleasant walk to my new home. I arrive at an apartment complex and followed the address to my very own apartment.
I toured my new apartment and found it a pretty nice place. The first thing I do was check out the fridge and saw that it was fully stocked with food. I actually started giggling since this was the first time I'd seen a full fridge in a long time. Maybe I can start getting back into cooking again.
I go to the bedroom and find a strange case on the bed. I open it up and find a handgun, a sword, and a strange device. I inspect them to see what they are.
Handgun (LVL 1, COMMON)
-Damage: 15
-Fire Rate: 5/s
-Range: 40ft
-Keywords: Pistol, Mundane, Piercing, One-Handed
Iron Sword (LVL 1, COMMON)
-Damage: 23
-Fire Rate: 2/s
-Range: Melee
-Keywords: Sword, Mundane, Slashing, One-Handed
Forcefield (LVL 1, COMMON)
-Capacity: 70
-Keywords: Forcefield, Magical
Ooh, this is so cool. I equip my new items and check out the dungeon app. I really wanna test these things out and get some action. It says that the first dungeon run is free and when I tapped the 'Go' option, I get swallowed up by a red glyph beneath my feet. I see nothing but darkness for a few seconds.
I soon land on a grassy field and see an imposing forest ahead of me. A golden glyph glows in front of me and a tiny little dragon pops out. It's as big as a house cat and looks as cute as one. I resist the urge to say 'aww'. I walked toward it and it spoke to me!
"Howdy there! Our master has sent me to help you on your journey! Pleased to meet ya!"
Oh god, it sounds so cute too… I just wanna shrink it down and put 'em in my pocket! "Do you have a name?"
"Nope. Mind giving me one?"
"Uhh, sure. How about Rascal?"
"Yay! Thanks, Arthur! As thanks, here are some new abilities for you!"
New Abilities Added!
Dash (Active)
Gain an incredible burst of speed to dodge incoming attacks.
AP Cost: 25
Heroic Strike (Active)
A powerful swing that strikes targets in a large area, causing 100% more damage
AP Cost: 50
Charge Shot (Active)
Infuse your weapon with arcane energy for a single powerful shot, causing 100% more damage
AP Cost: 50
"Alright, anything else I should know?"
"Oh yeah, you don't need to worry about ammo with your guns. Just fire away and try not to die. That's all I got for ya. Give 'em hell!"
The tiny dragon disappeared and the trees part ways to reveal a path. I enter the forest and the trees move back to their original positions. True to its name, it's pretty dark here. The canopy barely lets in any light and all the trees have this unnatural black color to them. At the end of the path, I see a massive circular door and a hand imprint at the bottom.
I put my hand on it and saw it was a perfect fit. But that's not the only thing I see. I see three branching paths beyond this door and most importantly, its rewards.
[FAVOR] [GOLD] [RESOURCES]
I chose the path that led to more favor. I wanna get as strong as I can before Issei goes on his date with Rayanare. The door opens and I follow the path. I find myself in a clearing and I find three horned humanoids resting at a campfire. I crouch and inspect them.
Feral Satyr #1 (LVL 1)
-HP: 100/100
Feral Satyr #2 (LVL 1)
-HP: 100/100
Feral Satyr #3 (LVL 1)
-HP: 100/100
Are they hostile? They probably are, but who knows?
"Howdy boys, how-"
Nope, definitely not friendly. They immediately take out their axes and take combat stances. I take out my weapons and the battle starts.
I charge at one of the satyrs, shooting my pistol at them as I do. A couple of shots land and I get into close combat with them. I then start slashing at it with my sword, landing some good hits. As the satyr fought back, my body subconsciously begins blocking their attacks. Despite never even holding a sword before this, this felt like second nature.
Unfortunately, I can't block all hits and they pierced my shield with their melee attacks.
Arthur Freeman (LVL 1)
-HP: 70/70 | 237/260
-AP: 80/80
Feral Satyr #1 (LVL 1)
-HP: 43/100
Feral Satyr #2 (LVL 1)
-HP: 100/100
Feral Satyr #3 (LVL 1)
-HP: 100/100
Since it looks like melee pierces shields, I dash out of combat, but not before a satyr gets in one more hit. I begin shooting at the satyrs from afar and I managed to finish one off with a headshot.
The others are undeterred and charge toward me. I continued to fire at them to get some shots in and managed to dash out of the way of their swings.
Arthur Freeman (LVL 1)
-HP: 70/70 | 214/260
-AP: 55/80
Feral Satyr #2 (LVL 1)
-HP: 64/100
Feral Satyr #3 (LVL 1)
-HP: 100/100
I continue to evade and shot the satyrs as they mindlessly charged at me. I managed to hit most of my shots on the injured satyr and even got it in the knee. The healthier one got mad and threw its axe at me! Thankfully it missed by a mile and just hit a distant tree.
Arthur Freeman (LVL 1)
-HP: 70/70 | 214/260
-AP: 55/80
Feral Satyr #2 (LVL 1)
-HP: 16/100
Feral Satyr #3 (LVL 1)
-HP: 100/100
-Disarmed
I felt safe enough to go into melee and charged at the injured satyr. It tried to stand defiantly at me, but I swiftly cut off its head. The one who threw its weapon at me was running to get it and I gave chase.
Once it noticed me, it started running faster and it looked like it was panicking. I shoot at it with my gun and it fell to the ground. I soon walked up to my prey and stabbed it right in the heart, killing it immediately. I take a breath and watched as all the bodies and their weapons disappeared. A red orb then appears at the center of the clearing and I take it.
Encounter Finished!
+750 Favor
Cool. Rascal pops out and says, "Great job on your first fight! Once you get to a rest area or leave the dungeon, you can spend your favor. You can also decide to leave the dungeon at the end of each encounter, but you'll lose most of your stuff if you do. You can only leave with all your stuff if you finish a boss encounter first."
"Thanks, that's good to know. I'll be off now if you don't mind."
Rascal soon disappears and I walk out of the area. I'm on the path again and I come to a crossroads. I feel that same sensation I felt at the door and I see where the paths lead again.
[GOLD] [?] [?]
What the hell? I don't feel too particularly adventurous today, so I'm gonna stick with the gold. Maybe next time. As I walked down the path, I felt my stomach rumbling and I suddenly feel a little dizzy. In retrospect, I think I should've eaten something before dungeon diving. This is gonna get exhausting.
I find myself in another clearing, but it's suspiciously empty. I see a treasure chest in the middle of the room and I immediately know it's a trap. I get that this is a beginner dungeon, but even I'm smarter than that. I walk past the chest and prepare to leave the room before several trees sprout up to block my path.
I turn around and see that the treasure chest was jumping around and I prepare for combat.
Arthur Freeman (LVL 1)
-HP: 70/70 | 214/260
-AP: 80/80
Treasure Chest Mimic (LVL 1)
-HP: 150/150
Of course, it was a mimic. Arms burst out of the sides of the chest and it revealed its large, gaping maw. It was filled with glistening golden coins and I had a pretty good idea of why it was extra shiny. I began firing my gun at it and managed to get some shots in.
The mimic soon began spitting out coins at rapid speed and I began running to avoid them. Although my shield was able to prevent lethal damage, those coins hurt like hell.
Arthur Freeman (LVL 1)
-HP: 43/70 | 214/260
-AP: 80/80
Treasure Chest Mimic (LVL 1)
-HP: 102/150
I continued to keep my distance from the mimic as we both continued to shoot at each other. I dashed toward a large boulder for cover. I prepared a charged shot and once it was primed, I fired at the mimic. I couldn't see if the shot connected, but from the mimic's pained cries, it sounded like I did.
I poked my head out to inspect it and fired off a few more shots for good measure.
Arthur Freeman (LVL 1)
-HP: 43/70 | 214/260
-AP: 30/80
Treasure Chest Mimic (LVL 1)
-HP: 45/150
I decided that it was time to end this and started charging at the mimic. It desperately began firing off several coins at me and while some hit, I managed to get in there. When my first few slashes just bounced off its wooden body, I stabbed it in the roof of the mouth when it tried biting me. It screamed in agony before becoming lifeless. Its body soon turned to ash and left a small pile of gold.
Encounter Finished!
+100 Favor
+500 Gold
Phew, good thing I didn't need to touch all that gold. It looked so gross and slimy. After that, the trees blocking my path rapidly rotted and I was able to cut my way through them. I continued on my path and I saw another choice.
[?] [?] [?]
Oh god, it's really pushing me into this, huh? I just chose a random path and hoped to my new god that this wasn't bad. I appear at another clearing and I find a grey-haired beastman sitting by a campfire. With him, there is a reptilian creature I don't recognize, but with the wagon on its back, it looks like a beast of burden.
I pull out my weapons, but the beastman actually spoke to me, "Peace, Avatar. I am just another humble servant of our master."
I put my weapons down, but don't put them away. He beckoned me to sit with him and I oblige. The elderly beastman had the features of a goat. Horns, hooves, and even the weird sideways pupils goats have. Despite his features, he still has a face that looks human. It looks like the beastmen here are humans mutated with animal features, not animals with humanoid bodies.
There was a moment of silence between us until the beastman broke the silence, "Last night, Dukrongruth Himself spoke to me in a dream. He told me another avatar would cross my path. My name is Yaron and I am a traveling weaponsmith. With Merson over there, we travel our lord's realms for new materials to improve our craft."
"Do you have anything for sale?"
"Of course, Avatar. Since you are a vessel for our lord, I would be grateful if you'd take one of my pieces."
He gets up and sets up his shop. I walk toward him to see what he has for sale.
Longbow (LVL 1, COMMON) (100 Gold)
-Damage: 72
-Fire Rate: 2/s
-Range: 75ft
-Keywords: Bow, Mundane, Piercing, Two-Handed
Power Gauntlets (LVL 1, UNCOMMON) (150 Gold)
-Damage: 52
-Fire Rate: 3/s
-Range: Melee
-Lifesteal: Heals by 10% of damage dealt.
-Keywords: Gauntlets, Enchanted, Blunt, Two-Handed
Tommy Gun (LVL 1, COMMON) (100 Gold)
-Damage: 10
-Fire Rate: 11/s
-Range: 60ft
-Keywords: SMG, Mundane, Piercing, Two-Handed
Pump-Action Shotgun (LVL 1, UNCOMMON) (150 Gold)
-Damage: 5x14
-Fire Rate: 1/s
-Range: 30ft
-Pyro: This weapon now applies fire damage.
-Keywords: Shotgun, Enchanted, Piercing, Two-Handed
Ooh, these look really cool. I've always been a huge sucker for shotguns in video games, so the choice was obvious. I pay the Yaron and I go on my merry way. I follow the path and I hadn't seen any splitting paths in a while. This looks like this is going to be the last encounter of the dungeon. My instincts are proven correct when the path ends at a large, overgrown temple.
I calm my nerves before opening the large red doors at the entrance. The door was pretty heavy and it took more effort than I thought to open it. When I got inside, there is a large pit that looked like a battle arena at the center of the temple. There's no going back once I jump into the pit.
When I jumped down, I hear gates open around me. There was a moment of silence and I pulled out my shotgun.
Suddenly, a large minotaur charged at me from the darkness! It came so quickly, I couldn't dash away in time before it rammed me into a wall.
Arthur Freeman (LVL 1)
-HP: 70/70 | 183/260
-AP: 80/80
Minotaur (LVL 1)
-HP: 500/500
Jesus, that's a beefy boy right there. I managed to escape the minotaur's grasp and get to safety. I begin firing at the minotaur with my shotgun.
The minotaur wielded dual axes and threw one of them at me. I managed to dodge out of the way, but its hand glowed with arcane power and its axe returned back to its hand, hitting me on its return.
Arthur Freeman (LVL 1)
-HP: 35/70 | 183/260
-AP: 80/80
Minotaur (LVL 1)
-HP: 388/500
The minotaur charged at me and I began running like hell. I pulled out my pistol and began shooting back as I ran. When it tired itself out, I pulled out my shotgun and fired off a charge shot.
Arthur Freeman (LVL 1)
-HP: 0/70 | 160/260
-AP: 30/80
Minotaur (LVL 1)
-HP: 271/500
The minotaur was enraged and started relentlessly slashing at me. I tried to block the hits with my sword, but that ended extremely poorly. It kept hacking at me and it even chopped off both my arms. I fell to the ground as I bled out and the minotaur stood proudly over my body. It soon stomped my head in and I saw nothing but darkness…
[...]
I wake up in my bed, my arm still attached to me and my head not turned into a paste. I saw Rascal napping on my lap and he woke up, "Hey there, Arthur. How are you feeling?"
"Ugh, I feel like shit. What happened?"
"Well… to be blunt, you got your ass kicked. Good thing you won't permanently die in the dungeon when you get killed. But you're also cursed."
"What?! Cursed?!"
I check my status and lo and behold, a curse.
-Creeping Gloom-
Mysterious shadow creatures shall avail you in combat…
Duration: 24 hours
What the fuck? What does that even mean?
Rascal has a concerned look on his face and says, "Yeah, sorry about that. Every time you fail a dungeon run, you'll get cursed and you can't access the dungeon for 24 hours."
Ugh, this is the worse! Guess I can't complain too much though. At least this is better than actually dying. I get up and Rascal follows me to the kitchen. I open the fridge to make a proper breakfast. Just some simple pancakes with bacon and eggs. Nothing too special right now.
After I was done eating, I felt slightly better but something was off. Usually, I like pancakes. But something with these was just off slightly. It was the same recipe I used back in my old life and I couldn't get enough of it. Now? I could barely bring myself to finish it. I guess those traits I picked out did more than just affect my stats.
I wanted to get into some fights with stray devils, so I just lounged around in my apartment for the day. While I played some games, I also used the favor I got to level up to level 3. I allocated my 26 skill points to combat skills like guns and melee and I was able to choose my first perk.
All of the perks were categorized into classes. As I browsed through my options, three classes caught my interest: Commando, Berserker, and Firebug.
Commando specialized in perks that enhanced various firearms and explosives. Looking at some of the higher-level perks, it even gives me the ability to rocket jump! I loved games like TF2 and Quake, this was gonna be on my radar for that perk alone.
Berserker was pretty simple. Big angry man smashes things. It gave various buffs when in an enraged state and many of the perks helped with improvised environmental weapons. Reminds me of the beast style from Yakuza.
Firebug caught my attention the first time I saw it. It mostly had abilities that helped set shit on fire better. From leaving a burning trail behind you, calling down a big-ass meteor on someone, to just making an enemy spontaneously combust just by standing near you. I might hold off on this though. I don't wanna set the world on fire yet. Or at least Kuoh.
In the end, I chose a new Commando ability to become more efficient with my guns.
LVL: 1 - 3
HP: 260 - 270
AP: 80 - 88
[STR] Melee: 44 - 56
[AGL] Guns: 36 - 50
New Ability Added!
Trigger Happy (Active)
Your trigger finger just got a lot itchier! Give all your guns a 100% faster fire rate for 5 seconds!
AP Cost: 50
At nightfall, I gathered my things and went on patrol. Since Kuoh recently became Rias' and Sona's territory, I expect them to be wiping out the strays here. I wanna make a good first impression on either of them and get another good scrap in.
As I strolled through the streets of Kuoh, I heard mischievous giggling wherever I walked. I constantly tried to find the source of it, but I could never pin down its exact location. Soon, the street lights flickered out and I'm in total darkness. I pulled out my shotgun when I heard a woman scream in the distance.
I ran toward the source of the noise and saw a grotesque creature looming over someone. Before it could cleave that poor woman in half with its bladed limbs, I shot at it.
Arthur Freeman (LVL 3)
-HP: 70/70 | 270/270
-AP: 88/88
Stray Pawn Devil (LVL 5)
-HP: 164/220
Civilian (LVL 1)
-HP: 50/50
The civilian froze as the stray recoiled in pain and yelled, "AHHH! WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU GET A GUN FROM?!"
Ooh, that got his attention. I yell out to the civilian, "Get the hell outta here!"
That seemed to bring her back to her senses and she ran as fast as she could. The stray's attention was all on me as it charged senselessly toward me. I managed to dash out of the way of his flurry and retaliated back with another blast from my shotgun.
Arthur Freeman (LVL 3)
-HP: 70/70 | 270/270
-AP: 63/88
Stray Pawn Devil (LVL 5)
-HP: 94/220
"YOU'LL DIE SCREAMING YOU LITTLE FUCKING WRETCH!"
I shot at him with my shotgun as I yelled, "Pipe down will ya? You might wake up the neighbors!"
"FUCK YOU!"
All this stray seems just to know is charging in and wildly swinging at the air. This is way too easy. As I aimed to finish this stray off, I heard manic giggling. Then, something came from behind me and began biting the shit outta my neck and ankles! What the fuck?!
Shadow Goblin #1 (LVL 3)
-HP: 70/70
Shadow Goblin #2 (LVL 3)
-HP: 70/70
Shadow Goblin #3 (LVL 3)
-HP: 70/70
Oh right, the curse. I try to shake these little shits off of me and while I was distracted, the stray slashed me right on the chest.
Arthur Freeman (LVL 3)
-HP: 70/70 | 181/270
-AP: 63/88
Stray Pawn Devil (LVL 5)
-HP: 38/220
Dammit, just what I needed. As the devil tried getting another cut in, I threw one of the goblins right at him and he sliced right in half. I threw the other two at him and managed to knock him over. I walked toward the devil, shot both of the goblins, and finished the stray off with a headshot. The stray's brains now painted the pavement.
Encounter Finished!
+450 Favor
Noice. As I get ready to leave, who else walks in but Rias and her peerage. I wipe off the stray blood that got on my cheek and made myself a little more presentable. Everyone, except Issei, of course, was with Rias. She smiled at me and said, "Ahh, you must be the new foreign exchange student I've heard about."