This is my best attempt at a gamer fic at my current skill level. Chapters will take a while to come out for many reasons, (Length, plot preparation, editing.) so a little mercy in that regard is appreciated.
A void. Uninteresting and unending, it surrounds me nonetheless. I've gone from an agonizing minute of burning alive, locked in my cellar after my demented brother and I had an argument, the psycho, to feeling, seeing, hearing and otherwise sensing nothing. It's peaceful, it's serene.
But apparently, it could not last.
In a very disorienting instant, I can feel again, breath again, see again. Above me is a faint light surrounded by dark rocks, I'm at the bottom of a hole and I can feel a collection of soft objects below me. Then, my gazing at the ceiling of this cave is interrupted by something strange, alien but oh so very familiar.
Congratulation!
You are reborn.
You are [The Gamer] and this is the tutorial world.
Many functions of The System will stay limited or locked until you are of sufficient growth.
...
My hand tightens around what I can now feel are flowers, yellow ones after closer inspection and I tremble a bit at the screen. It's not a dream, I couldn't dream in the void and the void itself could not be a dream because of it's very nature of depriving me of my senses, but maybe this is an hallucination? Well, I don't know what side effects there are to being reborn, so maybe this is normal?
Well, the theory is tested by one simple word, a word that comes to mind for any person born in the 2000's in this situation. "Status."
Name: Frisk/CHARA?
Titles: [SOUL of Determination] [The Gamer]
HP: 20/20
MP: 10/10
LV: 1
VIT: 5
ATK: 6
DEF: 0
DEX: 5
INT: 7
That's a double whammy. I am, in fact, The Gamer, something from mere fiction in my previous world but I'm also in Undertale, an equally fictitious thing from my first life. If the two names and my first title weren't enough clues, my flowery bed and the corridor leading to a door I can barely see should cement that fact.
I do not panic, I was never one to think about things like this. Could I change anything about this situation? No, nor do I want to, so I roll with the punches. But the most pressing thing now is my next move. Well, first I stand up, my bones feeling like they've not been used in ages, and I dust myself off, but then I think for a bit as I stretch my body out. Also, UNDERTALE huh? It's not hard to come to terms with that probably being my new reality and I simply shelve thoughts of it for later, when said thoughts have probably been invalidated by my time spent here.
Before I can plan my next move the System, the disruptive thing that it is, pops up again.
You have been awarded an additional Skill Branch in the [Skill Tree] along with a new Stat for compensation of an early death.
Was I not meant to die that way or this early the first time? I shake my head and move on, it's not good to dwell on such things. First, skill tree?
[-The Skill Tree-]
[5 Skill Points]
Branches:
[SOUL]
[MAGIC]
[CURSED ENERGY]
From my stats, SOUL and Magic where obvious but Cursed Energy? What, from Jujutsu Kaisen? I try to confirm that assessment by pressing my finger, slightly smaller from my original body, onto that button. It revealed a giant network of circles and strings connecting each of them, though most where grayed out. But two where glowing bright and at the very bottom.
[Cursed Energy: Infusion]
-1 Skill Point-
[Cursed Energy: Channeling]
-1 Skill Point-
it didn't prove much but I simply don't know any other Cursed Energies in any media and, if this isn't something completely original, I will continue with the assumption that this is the JJK Cursed Energy. I apparently have five of these 'Skill Points' and I've always wanted supernatural powers and this is a good step towards doing some cool day-dream type shit, so I buy both.
[Cursed Energy: Infusion] Level 1/100
This skill allows for the user to infuse their cursed energy into different objects around them, even the very air in later levels. This can have varying effects, from enhancing it's attributes to enchanting it with various effects when used in combination with skills later on in this branch of the Skill Tree.
[Cursed Energy: Channeling] Level 1/100
This skill allows for the user to channel their cursed energy into different parts of their body, this can enhance senses or strengthen blows, it may even lead to incredible speed boosts when much Energy is provided at later levels.
I nod, interesting skills, making me basically superhuman, if my state as a semi-immortal kid doesn't make me one already. Wait, am I immortal? I am the 'SOUL of Determination', so the power to reset and save should be mine... Anyways, I test out my newfound powers immediately and try to feel for some new and foreign energy in my body. It's almost laughably easy, it's a cold but overflowing power that begs for me to use it, it's in every crevice of my body but it's somehow not manifested, if that's the right words. It feels there, all around my body but there is some barrier between it and the real world.
I am guessing normal Jujutsu sorcerers have to overcome this barrier but my skills let me simply think of letting my energy flow into my fist and the wall between spiritual and physical falls and my hand glows with a deep and dark cyan blue. I smirk and punch the air in front of me. My fist stretches out completely and some dust is blown up, unimpressive but expe- then I feel the cursed energy flow outwards and out of my fist and all the dust and debris a few meters in front of me is blown into the air, forming a small and lightly visible tunnel. I open my status to see a new stat.
CURSE: 4.982/5.000
I could not tell you what prompted me to have enough Cursed Energy to have the Itadori punch but I am glad that it's here now. While throwing the serious punch, I notice my blue shirt that, upon looking down, is covered in three violet stripes. I gladly don't have yellow skin, not that that's wrong, it would just be very disorienting and distracting. I will have to wait for Toriel's house, if I make it there, for a mirror to look for my other features.
Speaking of progress, I should start making some. I walk down the path and a patch of grass slowly creeps into view past the gateway into the ruins. The little fucker Flowey will try and kill me in just a few seconds there. I walk through the gate and sure enough, a few seconds into my walk towards the second gate, the dirt below the grass rumbles for a bit before a flower with a eerily smiling face rises out of it. It's voice is high pitched and over the top nice while staying annoying. "Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower." It says, more like screeches as it wiggles and moves in a theatrical manner.
"Yo." I try not to spit out, this thing is fucked and twisted, I don't even make the connection between Asriel and his soulless self, separating the innocent and nice goat boy from this sadistic flower in my mind is for the best moving forward. "I'm Frisk."
"Nice to meet 'cha Frisk! You're new to the Underground, aren'tcha?" It -or is it a 'he'?- says as it smiles at me, seemingly provoking a response.
I nod, my face hopefully still impassive. "Yeah, I kinda dropped into this place. Do you know a way out of here?" This was my 'Tutorial World', so I'm guessing I'm not escaping without making it through the underground but I want some excitement in my second life anyways, so I wasn't planning on just leaving but I need to make an impression of somebody from this world who has a home to return to. Though, even if this was my original world, I wouldn't want to return to my home, all my family is as sadistic as the monster I'm staring at, I only made it through life with the help of the internet and a grandpa that offered a place to stay.
The flower shook it's head and I was back in the present. "No, no, no! You fell and you'd need to get to the end of the Underground to escape! So, to help ya out, I'll explain how things work down here. Say, wouldn't that be nice?" It offers, I hate it so much already. I know, I know that this could be some AU of Undertale and this guy is some saint that wants to actually help but I always work with a plan and I need information for a plan and my greatest ally right now is my meta-knowledge and I'm not throwing it away because of paranoia, so I'll judge this guy from the original Undertale. That assumption also makes my Name in my status more concerning, more so the second part. Chara...
"Yeah... no." I'm not dealing with this right now. If I play along, he'll trap me and I don't know if engaging in combat on his terms would be good for my health, nine out of ten doctors would not recommend, so I'll strike first. "You see, I know what's going on here." I smirk, my first time emoting in this conversation and the smile drops from the flowers face. "And you're not going to be playin' games with me, little goat." And I loved the shock on his face at the nick-name. I showed him just how much I know and he didn't like it at all.
"C-Chara?" It meekly asked.
I chuckle and channel enough cursed energy for three punches into my two arms, hopefully I can only punch out as much energy as I want with each strike and have enough left over for more. "You're wrong, but not by a lot." As soon as I start running at him, the world around us flickers and a second later, it all became black and white. The stone around us, the gate behind the flower, it all was chroma keyed black and white into kingdom come. But what stood out was the red glow around my chest coming from the red heart the size of my fist.
I ignored it all, I semi expected it anyway, and I charged the flower. I wasn't banking my survival on the Goat mom arriving and, with the help of the element of surprise, I swing my fist into it's face. The first hit made it's 'head' fly backwards but my second impact forced the flowers face to bounce of the ground like a punching bag from those carnival machines. It must be rooted pretty well into the ground.
But Flowey got out of his- I'll just call him a he from now on, it's easier- funk quickly after that and disappeared into the ground, reappearing a few feet in front of me with a bruised and bleeding face. "You'll regret that!" He shouted and the ground rumbled and three large vines, as thick as my torso, started tearing up the floor, rising and retreating from and into the ground like dolphins in the water.
I see them coming though, it would be hard not to and I dodge accordingly, a step to the left for the first one and then two to the right for the next. But the last one surprised me by lunging out out of the ground, where I had to block it with my arms, using up a bit of the energy stored within. No problem though, as I replenish it in just a few seconds.
Before any of us can continue, a fireball splashes against the flowers back and it grumbles before looking back at me with a sick grin, it's white and spiked teeth showing. "This world, you know, it's kill or be killed. I'll show ya'." And it burrows back underground. The world returns to color and a screen appears but is quickly discarded.
*Flowey ran away.
My first encounter with a monster went to plan and I hated it. The thrill of the fight was nice and all, even desirable, but I just hate interacting with the flower, I hated it in-game and I find myself hating it even more in real life.
The mood is changed for the better though as the caster of the flame orb that banished away my most recent headache steps out of the doorway in front of me. Tall, very tall, covered in white fur and dressed in a large purple robe with a sigil drawn on the chest area, Toriel comes into view. "Ah, do not fret child, the danger is purged!" She says, I've thoroughly disrupted the normal dialogue as it seems.
"Seems like it." I comment.
She stops her power-walking a meter or so in front of me, catches her breath and finally addresses me. "Greetings child, I am Toriel, caretaker of these ruins." She introduces herself, her voice warm and inviting. A much more desirable monster to have your first encounter with. "I pass by here often to see if a human has fallen."
I smile at her, she deserves my respect. She's gone through much, loosing her adoptive and non-adoptive kid and then children she cared for for god knows how long on top of leaving her husband after the man declared war on Humans, something despicable to her. Yeah, now that I'm starting to think of these people not as video game characters, it's really daunting how much shit they all go through. As a Fanfiction writer in my past life, I've always done an analysis of my favorite characters when I play their games or watch their shows, so thinking of them as real isn't that hard. "Yeah, I'm kinda confused though, what are you? Oh, and my names Frisk." It's weird how the universe works sometimes, huh? My name in my previous life was also Frisk, gave me a chuckle when I first played Undertale but now it seems like fate...
Toriel blinks a few times before realizing. "Oh, obviously. You just came here, you must not know about the Underground." She then nods to herself. "Follow me, I shall explain while we walk towards my home." She gestures for me to hold her hand.
I stare awkwardly at her. "Lady, I'm 19. I aint' no kid." I say with a raised eye brow.
She gasps in shock. "That young?!"
I blink in surprise this time. "Uh, no. That's the age of full maturity for Humans, we only life to about 100 on average. I'm guessing you're not a furry cosplayer but part of some race that lives here?" I gesture her with a wave to start our walk and our conversation.
She nods and we walk side-by-side into the doorway. "Ah, so it seems. But that is much too short of a life, is it not? And no, I am no Human and not a 'Furry', I am a Monster." She elaborates as we enter a large opening.
"That's... mean. Who names their race that, it's kind of rude. I would rather not call everybody I meet a monster." I off handedly say to keep our talk alive but I focus more on the pretty sight in front of me. A large building, three stories high with two stairs leading upwards, a tree in front of me at it's base, consisting of black bark and with red leaves at the bottom. A gold star shimmers at the foot of the oak. A save point.
Toriel walks up the right set of stairs and through the door at the top, leaving me alone. Didn't think she'd do that but I take what I can get. I walk up to the save point, a warm aura of comfort and relaxation radiates out of it. Toriel didn't even glance at it, so it's invisibility is as it was in the game. I reach out with my hand.
*The fact that you got a second chance at life fills you with Determination.
*HP fully restored.
[SAVE] [RESET]
The two buttons at the bottom are new, can't remember them being there in the game but I guess the System made my timeline controlling powers more accessible. I save my progress and continue to follow Toriel.
A pair of stairs later and we stand in a room filled with pressure plates and a door. "The Ruins are filled with puzzles. Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys." She gestures to the switches on our left as she stands opposite of me in a calm posture, it's obvious that she's done this quite a few times.
"Yeah, I'm guessing that sign gives me a clue?" I point towards it, the wooden rectangle placed on the wall to the left of the closed door. "And why does one fill a home with traps and puzzles?" I question the logic.
She contemplates answering for but a moment but resigns to just sigh and move on. "Ah, well, do please adjust yourself to the sight of these japes as we continue towards my lodgings." She walks over to the buttons, only activating five of them before the door flies open with a click.
I shrug and follow her through.
We pass into the next room and I recognize it instantly. "As a human living in the UNDERGROUND, monsters may attack you." She begins and points towards the dummy standing in the middle-left of the room.
"I gathered that." I comment with a smile, Toriel just exudes such a welcoming aura that you can't help but like her, it's even stronger when she has seemingly taken you under her wing- or hoof.
She chuckles awkwardly but continues otherwise. "Well, you will encounter a monster at some point and when you do, you will enter a FIGHT. In a FIGHT you should strike up a friendly conversation." Her smile dims a bit and she sighs, downtrodden. "But I am aware of some more... unruly monsters living down here. Defend yourself but do not... finish it. Please." She wasn't begging, it was more a recommendation and with her words, the choice of what route I will go down- No, it's not even a choice, I will do True Pacifist. I'm no Hero but if I can help somebody I will, for the most part. That kindness depends on my relation to that person but that's a topic for later thought.
I nod at her, agreeing. "I'm no Killer, Toriel. Not all conflict is resolved with words, though." I let that hang in the air but turn towards the dummy. "You want me to practice conversation with an inanimate object?" I laugh to myself in the irony. She frowns at him. "Fine, it's all good. I'll do it." Besides, I know that there's probably, most likely a ghost in that thing and I hope I can make a good enough impression to avoid mad dummy later on. The world flickers in a manner becoming quickly familiar and then only I, the dummy and a faint outline of the rest of the world remain. That this isn't a skill denotes that this is the result of the world and it's rules, not something important right now to me but important enough for me to keep in mind.
"Yo." I only now notice the little HUD from the original game, I think my adrenalin and the short nature of the fight with Flowey made me ignore it previously.
FRISK LV: 1 HP: 20/20
[FIGHT] [ACT] [ITEM] [MERCY]
The act button continuously glows as I choose to talk to the dummy. So, there are no turns, this HUD just glows in a reflection of my choices. Besides showing my HP, there is not much use to this thing, maybe easy access to my Items? I ignore it for now and focus back on the dummy. "So, what's good?" I ask, extremely awkwardly.
...
"Dude." I deadpan. "Am I done now, Toriel?" I turn to her and the world flickers back to normal with one last screen above my battle HUD.
*Toriel seems appeased.
Toriel laughs in a mixture of pride and joy, I think I really like her as a person, easy to talk with and comfortable to be around while not needing much upkeep to talk to, as I've found out in the past two hours. "You did well, my child." She claps her hands together.
I am swept up by her praise. "Hell yeah I did! I made conversation!" It's sarcastic and done with a smirk but I laugh out loud a bit. "Didn't even punch someone this time." Yeah, I'm one for two with positive monster FIGHTS. I then calm back down, even if I wasn't riled up in the first place and assume my newfound resting face around Toriel and her aura of comfort. A contemplative smile.
We arrive in the next room and this one too, I recognize. A long hallway. "My child, Frisk deary-" I smile a bit at her kind way of addressing me, after my first life devoid of love, I kind of sun myself in hers. Weird how monsters can just feel so strongly for someone in such a short time, even Flowey comments on that. "-I must ask a difficult thing of you. You must walk to the end of this hallway all by yourself." She turns away from me as if it hurt. "Forgive me my child."
I look with a face twisted in confusion as she sprints to the end of the hallway and hides behind a pillar standing at it's end. I was always confused at this part of the game, I can see her robe and feet as she tries to shuffle around the pillar. "Okayyy?" I draw out the word but sigh after. "Guess I'll test my top speed with Cursed Channeling. Do something productive while I have the chance..." I jump around in place for a bit, loosening my ligaments, I was always good at running. I add a bit of the energy to my arms and legs and a bit to my lower abdomen, it all matters in a good run.
I stop my hopping and my right leg stays on the ground as it slides backwards and I lean forward, hands touching the ground. A good and proper running stance, though my new body and it's slightly smaller frame made the positioning a bit harder and the lack of developed muscle made the wobbling in my outstretched leg annoying.
I take off and my own body takes me by surprise as I am launched half-way through the corridor in one step. As if dragged by a car going at full speed, tied by a rope to it's trunk and on foot, I stumble at the speed I cannot keep up normally. I plant my face on the ground as I stop slightly beside the white column where Toriel now stood with a worried expression.
-1 HP
The number flew upwards as I turned to lie on my back. I look up at the far too worried eyes of Toriel, a woman I met, like, four hours ago. "I'm good." I groan as I stand up and dust off my cloths.
She helps me get up, her hands large and strong as they help me stand. "Are you sure my child? What kind of magic was that?" She asks. "Please, take caution when using it." She disregards her own question in favor of not prying into my personal life. Is the nature of ones magic a very personal thing here? I wouldn't know, there are many cultural differences that aren't shown in the game, amongst other details.
I nod at her concern. "I'll just need to get better with it." I smile up at her to placate her worry.
It worked and we continued on.
You know, when you can see the monsters approach you to fight them, it's pretty easy to avoid them. Toriel didn't leave after the corridor to leave me alone to go through the rest of the puzzles. No, she had me by hand through each one. It was a good time, I bonded with her over the weirdest things, we both like to read and we both like learning, though she favors teaching even more.
And now, we stand in front of her home. "I shall go prepare the pie, Frisk. You can accompany me or wait in the Livingroom, it's to the left." She had asked me my pie preference, well, she had asked me to choose between butterscotch and cinnamon and I, knowing she'd choose both still, had said I'd like to have both in the pie.
She walks inside and I look towards the shining star to my left.
*The feeling of a loving Mother fills you with Determination.
*Hp fully restored.
[SAVE] [RESET]
A loving mother? Is that the warmth I felt when she smiled at me? Huh, do I share the affinity to quickly attach oneself to kind people with the monsters? It's... something to think about.
I shake my head and leave to enter the last part of the ruins. I hope I can separate from Toriel on better terms than in game. The idea of leaving her somehow sends a pang of pain through my heart. How had this happened so fast? Despite that, I still smile.
"I'll help you, mom!" I say- and stop as I walk into the room. I had called her what now?
She turns to me slowly, apron over her robe and tray of unbaked pie in both hands. "Chil-Fri-Pardon?" She stutters out. Then she smiles, as if she had accomplished something. "I am glad you're ready to help." And then she handed me the cold tray smelling of cinnamon and butterscotch.
My brain rebooted and I catch it from it's decent to the floor. I- if that's how I feel, why not call her that? Why had I hesitated? Flashes of another woman of the same position but of entirely different intention, a smile on her face as she scratched his arm with her long nails, drawing blood as punishment. He flinched as phantom pain struck his arm.
The image was gone, the sensation was gone and all that remained was the mother he'd wished he'd had all along.
Just then, he felt he knew why he attached himself so quickly, because she filled a hole he didn't know he had.
It's been two days with Toriel, former Dreemurr and it's been the best time I've had almost ever. But when I awoke today, a screen sent a tremor down my spine.
You need to progress, otherwise the tutorial is for naught.
If you have not left the Ruins by today's end, the world shall be RESET.
I was fully awake the next second. I need to train, I need to get something- anything out of my system. I don't know what it is but the feeling is overwhelming me. I ran outside and started to punch the air with Cursed Energy. Like continues shots from a gun, I probably woke every still sleeping denizen of the ruins with my 'Training'.
When I turned to the house again, Toriel stood in the doorway. "Hey, mom. I- fuck..." I pause for a bit, she had a concerned but knowing look as she recognized a temper tantrum when she saw one. "I need to leave the Ruins."
That shook her.
"My- my child? Did- are you not happy here?" She asked, where she any more emotionally vulnerable, I think she would've cried.
I shake my head and my jaw tightens. "No, but I need to leave the underground at some point. You just saw what I can do, I'll be fine."
She doubted it, I could see it in her eyes even as she tried to smile. But even that smile dropped after her next words. "I-" She sighs. "I shall test that myself." As if a mask fell over her face, she steeled herself for something she probably dreaded. "Every time a child comes here, they leave and then they die. Frisk, I will not allow you to die."
Ah, so that's how she sees it.
It really made sense why she tests you then.
And why she tests me now.
I stood in front of my mother and the world twisted to black and white. "Mom. You can let me through without doing all this." I try again, the act button glowing.
She didn't respond, it would probably break her facade if she did. I guess I'll do it like in game, dodge until she tires. Toriel swipes her left hand in an arc above her, leaving a trail of fireballs behind. With increasing speed, they fly towards me. But they do not- or cannot try to predict my movement and so, I can dodge all of them. And as I continue to dodge attacks without retaliation or conversation, my MERCY button glows a yellow shade.
I just continue to dodge, one step to the side or a dash backwards, her attacks are relatively slow. For me, I know that I wont die out there- well, I will but I'll just come back- so this doesn't have any stakes for me. Right now, I'm doing this for her to get some of her emotions out. If it where purely about progressing, I could've probably made it to the door by now but I want to leave her on good terms. "Toriel, do you know about the special ability of my SOUL?" I ask, while I may be willing to wait it out, if I reassure her, I could probably get a better result than in cannon.
She doesn't answer, determined to 'test' me. "I cannot die, Toriel." I call her by name to keep the serious tone of the conversation, as one-sided as it is right now. "There are Save points, little yellow stars that I can SAVE at. And when I die, time reverts to when I last interacted with one such Save point." I do not explain RESETS right now. Not only is it unnecessary but it's probably not good for her to know that I have such a power. It would distress her, at the very least.
She flinches for a moment, does she believe me? I'm not stupid, I know how unbelievable it sounds but she adopted CHARA and she- or he?- had a red SOUL, though if they could RESET and SAVE is debatable.
"So, you're right. I will probably die but in the eyes of every monster in the UNDERGROUND, I will flawlessly triumph over any and all challenges." Oh- I have now realized that that explanation might not calm her any more than staying silent would've. Why? Because I just told my mom that I will die over and over and over again, a most deplorable form of torture.
And that realization promptly made Toriel fall to the ground, tears in her eyes. She had believed me, strange... How can she trust me this much? Mine is such an unbelievable power for monsters that she should've doubted me at least a little bit. "Just let me leave, I'll be fine." I lie. I wont be, it'll suck a lot to be killed in a lot of ways.
You have completed the a quest!
Beat Toriel, Boss Monster of the Ruins
Reward: 2 Skill Points, 4 INT
You have beaten a Boss!
You have discovered your Cursed Technique!
[To Move Forward. Stronger.]
Each time you beat a strong foe in combat, you gain their signature skills.
You have gained a Skill through [To Move Forward. Stronger.].
[Fire Magic] Level 1/100
Through your SOUL, you can use magic to create Fire. The more MP is used, the hotter and larger the flame can be.
"M-My child, if that is true, then you can go... but please, please be careful. That power, your SOUL, it doesn't sound that nice." She had gathered herself in the time it took him to read through his notifications. Her eyes where still wet but she knew what was best for me and she agrees with me that I should go.
We parted with a hug, it was a comforting motion that made me feel a warmth I hadn't before. Since we parted with a certain understanding and without her needing to worry about my 'death', she gave me a phone and told me I can call her.
But right now I'm in the hallway outside the Exit of the Ruins, staring at the black screen containing white letters. After the quest, I was back up to five Skill points and decided to use one in SOUL magic and two for one skill in CURSED ENERGY and save two for later use.
[Cursed Energy: Cursed Speech] Level 1/100
By channeling Cursed Energy through a set of tattoos on the users tongue and cheek, each spoken word can and will change reality according to the word spoken. The more drastic or powerful the command, the more energy it costs, in some cases even leading to injury.
This skill was a continuation of the Cursed Energy: Channeling skill in the skill tree. Though I was worried that my vocabulary would be severely limited from now on, it turns out that the marks only appear after I push magic into my mouth. Now, there where two paths in the SOUL tab, same as the Cursed Energy one.
[Magic Manifestation] Level 1/100
Through your SOUL, you can create solid magic constructs. These can have traits according to your SOUL.
I smirk and activate my Cursed Speech in preparation of the likely confrontation with Flowey in just a few moments. I walk for a bit, the corridor progressing into darker shades until only a patch of grass similar to the one at the very beginning of my journey remains. I was right, Flowey is stupid enough to confront me again, rising out of the ground with a wicked grin. "You think you're real clever, huh? First you fight me with intent to kill- I saw your expression, don't lie- and then you go on to spare her?" He swoons around for a bit. "I'll make you regr-"
"Wither away." My voice echoes around as I cut him off, tired of ramblings that I've already heard. My voice is heard all around in a boom, even if I whispered it. My throat becomes hoarse and my cursed energy decreases a substantial amount, almost 20%.
I don't care that I'm proving him right by killing him, some things have to be done. It's not like I was raised to have good morals, or that I really was raised at all. The internet and gramps did that, neither focused much on what's right or wrong. So, I'll keep safe who I want and kill who I think deserves it. I know what's supposed to be right and what's wrong, so I'm no off-the-rails psycho but neither am I some Hero who tries to save as many as he can. Just the ones I want to save if I can.
My command worked and, starting at the 'jaw' of the thing, it turned dark and a sick green as all the moisture and life was sucked out of it.
You Won!
The world didn't even flash to black and white, no battle was started. Flowey was there one moment and a withered flower stood there, crumpled up, the next.
You've gained ? EXP! You're LV increased to 20!
Oh, so all of Flowey's kills, past timeline or not, counted? I look at my stats...
Name: Frisk/CHARA?
Titles: [SOUL of Determination] [The Gamer]
HP: 99/99
MP: 12,32/12,32
CURSE: 5.800/5.800
LV: 20
VIT: 9
ATK: 39
DEF: 2
DEX: 23
INT: 12
Only my DEX and ATK increased, together with my HP, which increased to the normal games level cap. I shake my head, no use thinking about it, what's done is done and I've become stronger for it. No need to kill anything now, not that I would've but now even the incentive is gone. My tattoos retreat again and I smile, that's a peaceful timeline secured. Maybe I can actually live here for a while after confronting Asgore.
I look forward to the large door and slide it open, cold wind blasting into me. How does snow even get here? I wonder as I look at the snowy path that splits the forest of dead trees in half. I smile as I start walking down the snowy channel, knowing that I passed a hidden camera on the way and knowing who will start showing up behind me.
The snow crunches satisfyingly below my feet as I walk, the 'gate' slowly coming into view. I step over a large branch and manage to avoid snapping it. Though that effort was in vain as it snaps behind me a second later. I smile.
I approach the gate and stop in front of it as I hear somebody approach behind me. I can sense the presence of this being as it stops right behind me.
"Human." The voice asks, It rumbles with a deep tone.
"Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand." I smile as flashes of both the runs I did in my first life flash before my eyes, of what the monster standing behind me is capable of. For a second, I was scared but then I remember two things. First, he has no reason to kill me. Second, from the fact that I got the cursed technique unique to someone for myself implies I can get other cursed techniques from people of the show, including the mortal gods like Sukuna and Gojo. And so, if I have enough time to beat a few strong foes and focus as much as possible on my CURSED ENERGY path, I'll not have to fear anything in this life, in contrast to the constant fear of my last.
There might be more powerful powers in my two other paths, MAGIC and SOUL but I don't know that, so I'll focus on what I do know. And that's that there are quests hidden from me that I complete by achieving some kind of feat and that the CURSED ENERGY tab is sure to give me strength that lies beyond any scale. I've also been ignoring my own cursed technique. Similar to Yuta Okkotsu's, mine is capable of giving me infinite potential in the manner that I could get every and any power I want from the opponents I meet.
Really, overcoming adversity has always been a point in my life. From my family to my death, I've always moved on. I've always fought. It truly fits me. That I even got a technique of my own implies that I can also get a Domain, which I'm exited for.
And so, considering all of that, I should move forward by doing impressive things and setting challenges for myself, so I can level up only my CURSED ENERGY tab for now and expand my repertoire with my cursed technique.
While on that topic, why didn't I get any powers from Flowey? Well, he got blasted away by Toriel in the beginning of the game, so maybe he just isn't that strong in base form. I also killed him instantly so...
I shake my head and turn around, returning to the situation at hand. Unlike when you see him at this point in the game, I can see the skeleton in his pale glory instead of a black silhouette. I reach out with my hand with a grin on my face, I always liked Sans and I'll finally get to meet him, hopefully even befriend him. Not like he befriended Kris' mom in Deltarune, just normal befriending.
A noise similar to farting with an airy ending echoes throughout the forest clearing.
I meet the eyes of the monster, the white orbs floating in his sockets meeting my stare as we wait for the noise to end. Sans let's go of my hand, his light blue hoodie fluttering in the cold wind as he leans back slightly, his hand retreating into his pockets. It's weird to see a skeleton move so naturally, I can see his leg bone and it's moving! God, the supernatural world is crazy.
"hehehe..." He chuckles, his voice less ominous but still keeping it's baritone nature. "The ol' whoopee cushion in the hand trick." His head finally moves up to me, removing any shadows that remained in his ominous image, the scene taking on a more light-hearted feel. "It's always funny!" The last of two skeletons in the UNDERGROUND says with a chuckle.
"Anyways, you're a Human, right?" He asks and I nod.
I rub the back of my head, aware of the cheesy nature of that movement, and respond. "Yeah, I'm Frisk." It somehow starts feeling uncomfortable using that name. It's a new life and I am using it to leave my old one behind. Also, I'm not only Frist. According to my Status page, I'm also Chara. It's a headache to think about this. I'll come up with a name at some point, I'll take the one I'll get in the next world I go to, assuming I'll get a new one. It's strange how saying the name I've had for two lives now is becoming uncomfortable...
"Nice ta' meetcha'. I'm Sans. Sans the skeleton." He starts as he looks up at me with his eternal smile. Yup, he needs to look up at me. In contrast to the actual Frisk from this world, I'm actually about six feet tall and the skeleton is half of that, maybe a bit more. "I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now but you seem like a cool guy, so I'll let ya' pass." His smile somehow becomes a smirk without moving at the bad pun. Really, 'cool'?
Despite my disappointment, I cant stop smiling. I've always liked bad puns anyways. "Really, that's n-ice of you." I smirk at my own pun and his smile widens.
"You must be a fellow pun enthusiast. But I'm chilled to the bone, so let's move this along." He motions for the 'gate' behind me.
I deadpan. "You don't have skin. Or nerves for that matter. You shouldn't get co- Oh." I missed him making a pun. I sigh at his look. "Yeah. Let's go." I move through the gate.
"I may be chill with you being here but my brother, on the other hand, now he's a human-hunting fanatic." He warns as he stares forward, thoughts of said brother filling his skull.
I nod and note the lamp of a vaguely human shape and the sentry post (read: cardboard hut) as we enter a larger clearing. "I think I see him coming. Quick, behind that conveniently shaped lamp." I smile and nod, sprinting towards the lamp.
Now, I could not tell you why this worked, from Papyrus' perspective, he should just see me standing next to the lamp.
No matter, the scene played out like in game, Papyrus entered the clearing designated as a sentry outpost. He was tall, slightly taller than me and his battle clothes hung neatly from his skeletal frame. "Sup, bro." Sans comfortably greets his brother.
Papyrus' voice is loud and proud, kind and light as he converses with the other skeleton. "You know what's 'sup' Brother!" He exclaims. "It's been eight days and you still haven't recalibrated your puzzles!" The taller brother accuses his shorter sibling. "You just hang around outside your station!" The hand movements he was doing, proud and large swiping motions to accompany his image, stop for a moment. "What are you even doing." If a skeleton could express emotion, Papyrus would be deadpanning.
Sans shrugs. "Staring at this lamp. It's really cool. Do you wanna look." The taller brother does not even grace my direction with a look. Is that how he missed the player? By just never looking? But I should be in his peripheral!
"No!" Papyrus regains his mojo and continues on. "I don't have time for that!" He motions to his 'gate' that stood behind Sans. "What if a Human comes through here?!" He asks. "I want to be ready." And does not await an answer before continuing. "I will be the one! I must be the one! I will capture a Human!" His hand flies to his chest as he proclaims his desires. "Then I, the great Papyrus will get all the things I utterly deserve!" He shouts to the false sky of the UNDERGROUND. "Respect, recognition. I will finally be able to join the Royal Guard!" Is he shining? "People will ask to be -friend-! I will bathe in a shower of kisses every morning!"
I deadpan at him, though he does not register my look. Dude. "Hmm... Maybe this lamp will help you." Sans 'helpfully' adds.
The tall undead stomps the ground with his boney feet. "Sans! You are not helping! You lazybones!" He actually was helping. In his own, lazy way. "All you do is sit and boondoggle!" What? What does boondoggle mean? Who says that word... "You get lazier and lazier every day!" I think Papyrus has shouted more than I have in the last few years of my two lives.
Sans pushes the air with his gloved hands, trying to placate his brother. I can sense the pun coming, if that's because of my foreknowledge or my building familiarity with the person Sans and not the character, I couldn't say. Though I can't remember every bit of dialogue from the game, so I have been surprised plenty of times. Like, when a Froggit broke the fourth wall and told me to 'press ESC to pause'. I think the frog monster doesn't realize I'm no videogame character anymore. What was weird was that the Froggit completely forgot it said that when I asked.
I refocus on the situation again. "Hey, take it easy. I've gotten a ton of work done today." The grin the monsters face grows. "A skele-ton." I giggle a bit.
Papyrus grinds out his words. "Sans!"
The mentioned sibling chuckles. "Come on. You're smiling." The genuine tone of the monster brings back just how much Sans cares for his brother.
Papyrus cross' his arms but his own grin doesn't seem to want to leave, despite the pompous monsters dismay. "I am and I hate it." He deflates a bit, his boney shoulders covered with his armor slumping slightly. "Why does someone as great as me have to do so much just to get some recognition."
Sans' toothy grin rises a bit at his left cheek, I finally know in what way his grin can get a smirking quality! "Wow, sounds like you're really working yourself..." He waits a bit. "Down to the bone." I snort. This guy, man.
Papyrus groans but still smiles, man they love each other. "Ugh! I will attend to my puzzles. As for your work... Put a little more Backbone into it!" He laughs, a chuckle that could warm the heart of the coldest veteran. Papyrus is such a silly guy. He then rushes off into the distance.
I hear Sans as he turns towards my direction. "Ok, you can come out now." I follow his advice and evict myself from the lamps territory.
"You're brother seems like a cool guy." I tell him as I approach.
Sans nods at that, agreeing swiftly. "Of course he is. He works hard to be so cool." He looks towards the directions his brother ran off. "He has a lot of Puzzles he worked hard on. I would appreciate if you played along." The skeleton asks.
I nod. "Of course I will. You two seem fun enough and I hadn't stretched my brain muscles in quite a while." I then nod at him as he walks back to where I came from. I hear a flicker behind me, he probably teleported away, or as he would say, 'used a short cut'.
I just saved back at the save point after my first interaction with the Skele-bro's when I decided to train my skills a bit. Most of them aren't even past level 1! Now currently, my best way to train my skills is to use Cursed Energy channeling while summoning a magical construct and imbuing it with Cursed Energy infusion. Then, with my other hand, I use fire magic and use Cursed Speech with light commands like 'vibrate' or 'freeze' on things like a flower or so.
I walk up, towards where a fishing rod stood, line in the water and use the calming aura of the area to train.
The magical manifestation is drawn out with purely my imagination, there is no technique needed. I must simply imagine what I want to summon and it draws on my magic in proportion to what it is. I test it my summoning a sword. A translucent red sword, as if made of crimson tinted glass, immediately lies in my hand, as if made from thin air. Just like glass, it weighs almost nothing and I swing it around a bit. I chopped a tree in half with just one swing.
Fire magic is self explanatory, I make fire. At my level, there was no special heat control or lightning creation, or even melting things with just a touch. I could make fire in any shape I want and that's that for now.
I continued to train until every skill was at least level 30, there was no time pressure in this world after all. I could just reset if I really needed time, even.
While training, I notice how far my new physique goes. With reaching level 20 and my DEX reaching the thirties, my speed is actually crazy. Even without Cursed Channeling, I can perform the same feat I did back in the Ruins when I tested my full sprint.
"You know... You could exceed level 20." A voice says from behind me. It's pitch high and ethereal but keeping it's most distinguished feature. It's very ominous, as if the Grimm Reaper stood behind me.
I spin around, needing to break my momentum with my right foot because I didn't regulate my speed correctly. What I see is... the only thing I feared after killing Flowey. The only thing that could stand in my may now.
Chara.
It may be a ghost form, transparent with a white outline, but it's still them. Or her, as her chest implies. Never thought she was a girl but sure. Right now her gender is not important, her mere appearance is. "Why are you here? I-" I stutter for a moment. "My levels, of course!" Then it comes back to me, the more my EXP and LV increase, the more of Chara returns. No wonder she's here now.
The girl, a creepy smile on her face, nods. "Yup! Though because you haven't really killed enough, so I'm just a specter only you can see!" I hate how chipper her voice is as it's ethereal nature overtakes any other quality near the end of every sentence she says. It's mocking me with how she is returning. Slowly but surely.
She's also less ominous than in the game, where she only gave brief inputs in red text, excluding the last part of the genocide route but here, she is much more active and... emotive. "And you're who I think you are?" She nods at that, as if proud. That's all I needed. I rushed at her in the blink of an eye. Undertale power scaling, if there is such a thing, almost nobody is, like, really fast. So, when I used my new physique plus Cursed Energy to seemingly teleport in front of Chara's face, she was righteously surprised.
But my fist, even infused with as much power as I could have them filled with without exploding, only pass through her ghost head. I stay like that for a moment before I straighten back up, not taking any stance or preparing for a continued fight. "Well, I can't do anything about you. Guess that's that then." Yeah, I don't like her being with me- or even here- but I can't do anything about it. If neither my physical self nor my spiritual energy- which is supposed to be able to hurt spirits- doesn't do anything, then I'll just have to deal with the murder demon.
"Y- Hah... You tried? Really?" She smirks at me, even if her smirk wavers a bit. She sensed how strong that attack was and how much damage that would've done where she material.
"What's you're gameplan here?" I ask with a weary expression.
Chara chuckles and tilts her head, her index on her cheek in a provocatively cute way. "Kill all humans. And monsters, while we're at it." She added at the end as if wanting to add a bit of salt to her eggs.
I don't bother to ask why, I don't care about fixing her, or about her at all. If she plans to kill all monsters, that includes Toriel and I cherish that woman dearly. I would even dare to include the skele-bro's, as I'm more than sure that I and them will be great friends based off our first interaction and the game. To test something, I think about throwing another punch at her face and she flinches before I can perform the strike. Then I think to myself that I plan to exorcize her with my cursed energy, even though I don't know how that would work and there's no reaction on her face.
So, she can read my intent but not my thoughts. Good, she shouldn't know about the nature of this world in relation to my first life. I guess she knew that I knew her from my interaction with Flowey?
I shake my head, the situation is clear to me and so is what I need to do. Deal with her when my Jujutsu skills are greater. Why would they matter? Because the clothes of the ghost teen- yeah, she looks about 17 or so- fluttered when my fist passed her head, meaning that the damage I can cause to this Shikigami cursed spirit mix is in relation to the power of my Jujutsu attack.
I just hope she doesn't have Cursed Energy too because of her origin from my SOUL.
"Now, I just wanted to pop in and say hi! I'll be leaving now, it takes a bit of power to manifest like this, I'll come back from time to time, hopefully you'll be more..." And then her face is covered in shadow and that smile takes over. Yeah, this one: =). "Reasonable." And then she sunk into the floor.
It took little time to compose myself after my... encounter. There was no real danger to myself, per say, but she's still a big unknown in regards to her power and she could maybe hurt my friends. Er- friend. Right now it's only Toriel and she's more a mother than a friend, so I'm actually pretty lonely. Strange that I don't feel that way though as I see both Papyrus and Sans stand at the end of a long, snowy path.
I can see them talking and I know that this is the 'Is that a human?' scene plays out but I wanna do my own thing, not follow some script. "Yo." I shout, waving my hand at the brothers. "I heard you wanna capture me?" I ask, looking at Papyrus.
Papyrus almost twists his spine as he turns to me while, in contrast, Sans takes leisurely steps to turn. "That depends... are you, perchance, a Human!?" He points at me accusingly.
I nod. "As human as one can get." I point at my chest. "Beating heart and all!" I proudly proclaim.
Papyrus' gloved hands fly to his cheeks. "Wowie! A beating heart, I've only heard tales! This is so exiting!" Papyrus says.
Sans smirks. "Yeah, my hearts almost beating out of my chest." I can almost hear the drums.
The taller brothers excitement almost dies instantly. "Not only was that a bad joke, Sans, but neither do you have a heart nor a chest it could beat out of." If a skeleton could deadpan, Papyrus would set an example. He shakes his skull. "Nevertheless, as a Royal Guard prospect, it is my duty to capture you!" He regains his pride and fervor and points at me. "I shall dazzle you with my amazing puzzles and, when you are sufficiently confused, I shall capture you and become famous!" He exclaims.
Sans nods. "Yeah, I wish ya luck kiddo 'cuz my brothers a real wiz with the puzzles." He comments, 'warning' me.
I chuckle and nod. "I'm waiting for it!"
Papyrus laughs, his 'Nyeh He He's echoing proudly. "We shall part for now. May you survive until we meet again!" And with that, he turns to leave.
The area calms again as the taller brother leaves. I approach Sans, who was staying behind. The skeleton looks up at me with a fond smile, I can't seem to figure out how he can wear the same grin but emit different emotions and wear so many expressions all the same. "Thanks for playin' along with my bro. I really appreciate it." And then, he walks back the way I came again. I smile, they're fun.
Chapter one is done! I hope yall liked it.