'Thought'
"Speech"
System text
"Book, note, or projected speech"
I'm sure everyone reading this that has ever read any of my other stories is wondering "Hyde why are you writing another danmachi story when your others haven't been updated in a while?"
Well a few months ago life gave me a real kick in the balls. I got semi depressed and until recently I just had zero motivation to get back into writing fanfics for danmachi.
I'm much better now and this story is my way of getting my foot back in the door. With that said I do plan on continuing my other danmachi fics they will have some updates in the following weeks.
With that out of the way thank you all for reading and please leave a review if you would like.
I sat up with a start my breathing labored as I was met with a floating screen.
You have died! Congratulations you are being reborn!
I am the system of the Departed Immigration and Complementary Enlightenment! You however may call me D.I.C.E.!
'This is a joke right? I ate something bad and it's fucking with my head.'
Why D.I.C.E.? You may ask. Well that's simple this system lets you become a D character! Awesome right?!
'This system is ignoring me.'
However there are a few small changes depending on the randomly selected world you will be sent to! Though that can wait till a later time. For now let's start by making you.
The floating screen is replaced by a what looks like a character sheet. Keyword being 'like' as there are a few small differences.
If you haven't already noticed there are some differences between the system and the normal character sheet you're used too. The answer is simple! The system will fill in those areas randomly depending on where you end up!
Name:
Level: 0
Class: None
Race: Human
Xp: 0/10,000
Stats:
STR: 0
DEX: 0
CON: 0
INT: 0
WIS: 0
CHA: 0
Well as you can see you currently have nothing in your stats. Let's fix that right now!
Suddenly the next thing I hear is what sound like an entire box of dice thrown onto a solid wood surface. It honestly kinda made me jump a little.
Statistic 1: 13!
Statistic 2: 15!
Statistic 3: 11!
Statistic 4: 11!
Statistic 5: 13!
Statistic 6: 8!
Your Stats have been rolled! Now let's select your class and then your world will be randomly selected!
Okay, not bad, those stats aren't terrible. The only one that may be a slight pain will be that eight.
Now what class should I choose? Obviously I'll need some form of magic. If I were to be dropped into a world like Bleach anything other than magic would be a death sentence.
On the other hand if I focus only on magic I'll get my ass handed to me if I end up in a world like Fairy Tail.
Oh decisions, decisions.
Fuck...that was annoying.
You have 200 GP remaining.
So, you're probably wondering 'what is GP'...well basically it is a form of currency, called gold pieces, that I can spend in a 'shop', these items can range from monster corpses, magic items, all the the way to feats, skills, attribute points, and even level ups. The last one is a bit strange considering there is still an xp counter.
As for why I have so much GP...I really don't. One quick look tells me that everything in the shop is really, really expensive. The bummer is that I had to spend most of what I had to nullify my flaws. Randomly...generated...flaws I might add, seriously who would put 'Boaster' and 'third person speech' as flaws!
All that I've purchased so far is the nullifications for each of those and that cost me three HUNDRED each.
On the bright side I was able to literally create my appearance. A positively badass, handsome bastard is what I was shooting for and I think I managed to get it. I'm about five foot nine inches, swimmers build, with short black hair and gold eyes.
Now I'm stuck on what should I do next. Technically I could go ahead and be done with it thus saving my GP for later. That would be a reasonable choice...or I could go ahead and buy a few more points in my stats.
Name:
Level: 1
Class: Ranger, Sorcerer
Race: Human
Xp: 0/10,000
Gender: Male
Stats:
Hp: 11
Armor Class: 15
STR: 13 (12)
DEX: 16 (14)
CON: 8 (9)
INT: 16 (14)
WIS: 13 (12)
CHA: 19 (16)
Okay so let's see how much it is to buy another level.
You do not have enough GP to purchase level up!
GP required to level up: 100,000
Remaining GP: 200
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
I stare at the screen dumbfounded 'Okay so it costs an insane amount of GP to purchase my next level. I guess that answers why there is still an experience function. Wait...is the cost proportional? If that's the case then...oh my god...the cost is my current level times one hundred thousand.'
I take a few deep breath's trying to calm down. "Okay let's see how much it is to purchase some stats. Let's see about getting my strength to fourteen."
Strength point cost: 200
Remaining GP: 200
'Okay...what about my charisma to twenty?'
You don't have enough GP to purchase stat point!
Charisma point cost: 600
Remaining GP: 200
"So...the cost is...what?" I then start to think about it. The cost of a strength point was two hundred and the cost of a charisma point was six hundred. Wait...that means the cost of my stat points are determined by the base stat.
It goes like this: base stat minus ten, times one hundred equals point cost. If I'm right then that means.
Constitution point cost: Free!
Remaining GP: 200
'Yep it's free because it would be in the negatives otherwise.' With that realization I purchase two points in Constitution bringing my base stat to eleven.
Okay with that out of the way I decide to save the remaining two hundred GP for later. I quietly decide to allocate my spells. For the time being I have a good mix of combat and defense spells. My four cantrips are Firebolt, Mage Hand, Ray of Frost, and True Strike. My two first level spells are Mage Armor and Shield.
Are you finished creating your character?
"Yes"
Character creation ended! World selection beginning. Remember certain aspects of the system and how it interacts with your character will change depending on the world selected.
Randomizing.
Randomizing.
A horrifying thought just crossed my mind. 'Oh dear God, PLEASE! NOT ONE PUNCH MAN!!!'
Randomizing.
World selected: Danmachi.
"Oh thank fuck."
Randomizing start location.
"Very Hard" start selected
"Oh shit."
Family name changed.
Starting equipment assigned.
Magic parameters adjusted. Spells may now be cast so long as character has the required mind (mana) and level. Spell slots now only regulate the number of equipable spells.
Oh...okay I quickly look to the new pop up that has my updated character sheet.
Name: Dante Fenix
Level: 1
Class: Ranger, Sorcerer
Race: Human
Xp: 0/10,000
Gender: Male
Stats:
Hp: 15
Armor Class: 15
STR: 13 (12)
DEX: 16 (14)
CON: 12 (11)
INT: 16 (14)
WIS: 13 (12)
CHA: 19 (16)
Due to your starting difficulty the system shall provide you with your backstory.
You are Dante Fenix. As an infant you were left in the care of an orphanage on the edge of the elven forest Fenix. Ever since you were a small child you have been different, showing maturity and forethought years ahead of others your age, because of this you attracted the attention of the elder to the elven village. The elder taught you the ways of the elven hunters as a result you grew into one of the best hunters produced by the village often being contracted to hunt down and kill various monsters. Eventually the elder bestowed upon you the last name of Fenix in recognition of both your skills and accomplishments.
As you were an orphan you had hardly anyone to teach you...so in lieu of monetary payment you requested an advanced education which they were happy to offer. Soon thereafter you began the study of magic eventually discovering you had quite the natural talent for it as a natural born human mage.
However the years as a hunter have caused you to grow weary of the profession. There have become fewer and fewer monsters that could truly give you a challenge or allow you to feel the excitement of the hunt. Recently you have set out on a journey to Orario to become an adventurer, taking a job as a guard to a small merchant caravan you are currently two months away from Orario when you have been ambushed by bandits.
With your fellow guards either injured or distracted you alone must defend the caravan. You will have to fight seven bandits, two of which are archers, and the leader is a mid tier level 1.
Your starting equipment is as follows: Explorers pack (contains: bedroll, mess kit, one days worth rations x10, 50ft rope, tinderbox, waterskin, torch x10), longbow, arrows x20, leather armor, short sword, small knife, and bag of valis containing 50,000 valis.
Due to starting difficulty you have been granted an additional 1,000 GP.
Are you done with character creation?
I quickly swap out my mage armor spell for magic missile. "Yeah, I'm ready."
Initializing start, be aware you will have a fifteen second grace period of time freeze to get readjusted.
Quest received.
Quest forcibly minimized, complete insertion to view quest.
In a flash of light I find myself standing in the middle of a mountain road. To both my left and right are high cliff facings, directly in front of me are the bandits I'm supposed to fight. Behind me is the caravan, four horse drawn covered wagons in total with various people running about. I can see several logs that seemed to have been rolled directly into the path. It seems the bandits released them from further up the trail.
Looking back to them I can only shake my head at the stupidity of their setup. Seven armed men with no armor, the only exception is the leader who's wearing a single chest piece. The archers are standing just behind the main group arrows nocked and strings drawn. That's pretty stupid considering if they were to stand on the cliffs above they would have been much harder to deal with or hide from.
Oh well, I immediately cast my shield spell and draw my short sword. Just as time unfreezes I can feel the adrenaline starting to flow though my veins. Immediately the archers have arrows fly towards me stopping once they hit the see through blue half sphere shield. Holding out my left hand towards them I use my magic missile spell "Magic missile.". Immediately three darts of light shoot out toward the two archers and the leader.
The other four were quickly demoralized as each archer had a dart imbedded into their skulls. The leaders armor seemed to have saved him from instant death however...well 'saved' probably isn't the right word considering he's choking out blood due to the dart in what is most likely his lung.
While they were distracted I took the opportunity to close the distance running one through the back with my sword.
"Four down three to go." I yank my sword out of the bandit letting his body hit the ground. The final three seem to wise up as they fan out to try and surround me.
'Fat chance'
"Firebolt!" Throwing out my left hand a powerful blast of fire and lightning mixed shoots towards the closet bandit hitting him square in the chest.
I soon lunge backwards to avoid a sideways slash towards my abdomen. "True Strike" just as I uttered the spell I suddenly know that the bandit is about to slash upwards. I'm ready and just as he does I slash downward cutting off the hand that held his sword. He didn't get the chance to scream in agony as I follow up my downward strike by thrusting my blade directly through the bottom of his jaw into his skull.
Using my free hand I point towards the feet of the remaining bandit "Ray of frost!". Immediately a wave of ice encases the lower half of his legs. As he begins struggling to break free I slash his throat.
Taking a step back I look around to see the bandit I had hit with Firebolt was still alive and crawling away. "Magic missile." I fired all three darts into his back finishing him off.
I sigh as I flick the blood off my sword and go to make sure the leader is dead. I can feel my heartbeat slowing down as I'm coming down from the adrenaline rush. Thankfully it seems everything provided to me by the systems backstory has in fact happened. I have memories from each and every event in my...well not my but this bodies past. Thankfully even though I've taken control it seems I've not lost anything.
Looking over the body I can tell that he's definitely dead, and good timing too. Just as I stand up I can hear the shuffle of feet and armor. Turning around I'm met with looks of gratitude and acknowledgment from what my memory tells me are my fellow guards.
Soon the foreman in charge has everyone clearing the road and getting ready to leave. It's not a bad idea either, apparently they want out of here as fast as possible because there might be more bandits nearby.
After twenty or so minutes We're off again and I'm in the back of one of the carriages. I decide to check out the quest I received.
'Oh I actually completed it.' I'm surprised but for some reason I don't think I should be. Eh probably because in every game I ever played there was always that one quest at the start that basically just boiled down to 'survive'.
A Quest has been completed:
A Brave New World:
A few days into your journey and you've already been attacked by bandits? Show these measly pests just who they're messing with!
Objectives:
Survive for 180 seconds: 180/180 [x]
Bonus objectives:
Take no damage: [x]
Kill at least three bandits: 3/3 [x]
Kill the leader: [x]
Kill all the bandits yourself: [x]
Rewards: 100 Xp, 200 GP, one random item from the shop worth 1,000 GP
Bonus Rewards: 50 Xp, 200 GP, 1 free feat, 5 to a skill of your choice.
Okay...that was a lot better than I was expecting. I now have one thousand six hundred GP in total and a random item from the shop worth one thousand GP. Actually, let's go ahead and see that item.
Would you like to receive random item.
'Yes please'
Randomizing.
Ring of Warmth:
A ring that feels as though it has been sitting in the sun all day long. Provides resistance to cold. In addition, you and everything you carry are unharmed by temperatures as low as -50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wow that's not too bad I actually remember this ring from a few campaigns. It came in clutch in winter terrain. Looking at the fresh snow on the ground it looks like it might just do so again.
Looking back at the screen I silently wonder what should I use the skill increase and feat on.
'I wonder...D.IC.E. is the free feat reward random?'
No, the reward 'free feat' allows you to select one feat from a prepared list. Would you like to see the list?
Holy shit the system actually responded, that was just a fifty-fifty guess. 'Yes, I would like to see the list.'
Hmm scrolling through the list I can't really see much that would be useful though there are a few that could work.
To name some of them, first we have 'Arcane ammunitionist'.
Arcane Ammunitionist: Your character may conjure mundane ammunition such as bolts for crossbows, arrows for bows, or stones for slings, and it will disappear if left unused. You must have a 13 or higher in wisdom or intelligence to use this feat.
Not bad that could come in handy considering I have proficiency in my archery skill. It could also be useful inside the dungeon. Huh I'll circle back if I don't see anything else.
Fast learner (can be purchased more than once): Gain 5% more Xp from rewards and kills.
Okay that might be useful, let's see how much Xp I got from those seven bandits.
Xp: 155/10,000
I...I see why this is 'very hard'. Hell it's probably that same thing they talked about in the show monsters outside Olathe dungeon don't give a lot of exilia that probably goes for actual people too.
'Well I know what feat I'm picking.'
I select the fast learner feat and dismiss all the screens. I relax as the carriage just rolls along.
"Brave new world indeed."