Disclaimer!
I don't own DC comics or anything like that and I claim no money from this fanfiction. The only thing I own are my OC's/Original Characters.
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Issue #3: Birth of the Dragonborn
17th of March/2024
Gotham City
[Update has completed. Your game system is now running version 5.220 and the skill error revolving the skill [Power Leap] where it had the MP cost as a constant drain instead of a singular cost per jump, other skills have also been fixed. Sorry about the inconvenience and a reward has been placed in your inventory.
Also, the HP and MP increase has been nerved a bit and you'll no longer gain such rapid expansions in your HP and MP pool. Instead, they rely on several stats being enhanced together to yield results.]
"How the hell do I have such a buggy superpower that needs to be updated all the time?" Neo complained while he sat up in bed as the sun rose over Gotham City and he prepared for his day. "What reward did I get?"
After opening his inventory, Neo saw a new skill book and properly pulled it out of his storage space and learned the mysterious skill book's contents.
[You have learned 'Earth Magic' from the skill book and attained the following skills.]
[Earthen Fist, Active Level: 1
Type: Destruction
Rank: Novice [Tier: 1]
You magically conjure a revolving ball of rock that you fire at an enemy to deal 40 Damage. The number of rocks available to summon will increase based on the skill level to the maximum of six.
Available rocks to summon: 1
Size: Comparable to a baseball
Range: 5 Feet
Damage: INTxWIS
Cost: 15 MP]
[Rock Trap, Active Level: 1
Type: Alteration
Rank: Novice [Tier: 2]
You can magically alter the ground beneath a person's feet and have hardened rock trap their legs to hold them in place.
Holds the enemy in place for 20 seconds and grants them the Slow and Snare debuff's while in place.
Range: 11 Feet.
Cost: 30 MP]
[Lesser Earth Movement, Active Level: 1
Type: Alteration
Rank: Novice [Tier: 0]
You can harness your magic into the earth and start moving the rocks and minerals beneath you. The amount you can manipulate will increase as this skill levels up.
Amount you can move: 1.2 cups of rock.
Cost: 10 MP per minute.]
[Due to attaining more than six skills in the Alteration magic tree you have unlocked the title [Initiate Geomancer] that can now be equipped.
The skill [Alteration Magic] has gained several levels and is now level 9!]
[Due to unlocking three earth-based spells you have unlocked a hidden passive skill and have unlocked the true power of the [Gamer] title that belongs to you.
You have unlocked the [Gaia's Blessing] skill.]
[Gaia's Blessing, Passive Level: MAX
The spirit of mother earth itself has chosen to bestow you with power and access to [The Green] energy.
All Destruction, Restoration and Alteration skills cost 30% less MP to cast and are now 15% more effective.]
[Title: The Gamer
You are a Gamer which is a unique power granted upon beings chosen by Gaia, the will of the Earth and primordial being of planet earth. As such you have an incredible responsibility to serve the earth itself.
All skills level up 20% faster.]
"That's a lot of game screens all at once and damn if it doesn't make me feel a bit OP." Neo said with a smile before dismissing the various screens before he cleaned himself up and ate breakfast before he headed outside in a basic hoodie and jeans.
There was no school today and Neo decided to take down another ward. He had already gotten rid of three and he had three more to go.
[Priority Message Alert!]
The message appeared in big bold crimson letters along with several skull icons which put Neo on high alert before another message appeared.
[The primordial goddess Gaia has had trouble maintaining the system revolving around the Gamer system after the original Gamer died in a battle against '?' enemy and the resulting battle not only damaged the Gamer power itself but has left several game breaking bugs and glitches which have been occurring.
Gaia herself is working to fix these issues.
Gaia: I'm deeply sorry for the trouble you have been receiving. That damned monster among elder Godly beings made sure that he deeply damaged my gift. I thought I took care of it, but some remnants of the curse remain.]
"Oh." Neo said in total confusion before he saw a new display for his quest screen that now also featured a numerical system that showed him the number of quests he had completed.
[Main Quest!
Name: Purify the Order
You have stopped three of the Order's wards that are spread across Gotham. You have a responsibility to put a stop to whatever they are planning by taking down their wards and dungeons.
Objective 1: Defeat the bosses of the [Soul Harvesting Wards] [3/6]
Objective 2: Clear the Order Dungeons 1-5! Located across Gotham! [0/5]
These objectives can be completed in any order, but it's recommended to target the lowest-level ones first.
Rewards: To be determined!
Failure: Death!]
"The quest looks cooler for sure and having a marker for how many objectives I need to finish is also cool." Neo said while toggling his quest and seeing his [Dungeon Locator] skill take effect and show him the various ways he could take to any one of the dungeons and wards.
Normally, Neo was lucky to only find the wards, and he knew that eventually he would find an Order base sooner or later, so he played a hunch and bought a map of Gotham city and as he theorized. His passive skill showed the locations on the map which allowed him to guess where the Order dungeons were compared to the wards.
"Now, time to start dungeon diving." Neo said before putting his map away and moving towards the closet map marker which placed him at an abandoned arcade of all things which was at the end of a rough looking street…Like much of Gotham honestly.
Nobody even noticed Neo sneak into the back of the arcade and inside the place was old, smelly and deserted and yet the moment he entered the manager's office he found a large red button underneath the desk and with a push, the back of the wall split vertically and revealed a descending staircase.
[Would you like to enter the 'Sanctum of Purity I' dungeon? Y/N? Recommended level: 11!]
"A secret base…Clever." Neo complimented before hitting the yes button and equipping his armor before descending the stairs and saw that the hall was lit by florescent lights on the ceiling while the entrance way behind him sealed shut and at the end of the hall was two closed doorways with a wooden treasure chest in the center of the room.
Neo walked over and checked the chest to see if it was a trap or if it was alive and thankfully it was another simple chest, yet it was starting to make Neo wonder if his bizarre ability was somehow spawning treasure chests as if it was a game made by Bethesda or Square Enix.
Inside the chest was two crimson gauntlets along with crimson greaves, full body long johns and a collapsable police baton. Neo didn't waste time in equipping the objects and soon enough saw a long-awaited game screen appear before him.
[You have equipped 2x Draconic Bloodmetal Gauntlets and Greaves to complete the five out of five set of Draconic Bloodmetal armor and unlocked its full enchantment potential.]
Neo simply took a deep breath and felt a warm feeling surging through his body that originated from the armor before a new alert appeared before his eyes.
[Due to gaining the skill 'Lesser Draconic Aura' and unlocking the full enchantment of the Draconic Bloodmetal armor, you have completed the requirements needed to evolve your soul and become a Dragonborn.
You have gained the 'Dragonborn' title.
Once you are in a safe location and sleep, you will evolve and become something stronger than a human or homo-magi. Be warned that changing back to a human might be impossible.
Do you wish to evolve into a Dragonborn race and gain the title? Y/N?]
"Oh…That's serious." Neo said to himself with a deep breath as he considered the options available to him. "I got this stuff for a reason and gaining more power is why I went hunting for this armor and these dungeons. My state of being will change but does that mean that my mind will change as well?"
The questions circled through Neo's head as he weighed the pros and cons before finally hitting the yes button.
"I might regret it later, but I'm not going to turn down the chance of becoming a dragon or at least like one. Dragons are OP in almost every story, comic, game and art form they are in for a reason." Neo reasoned to nobody before he also looked himself over and noted that just like the upper half of his armor. The greaves covered the vulnerable muscles of his legs but didn't outright look like knight armor and the newly gained long johns did a better job at making the armor stand out compared to the normal clothes he previously wore underneath the armor.
"No time to get vain. I need to take this place down." Neo said to himself before tightly gripping his newly acquired collapsable police baton in his right hand. The space was a bit too cramped for him to use his normal two-handed weapons.
Neo walked towards the right door first and noticed that it was unlocked. So, he walked past the door and down a hallway where he found his first enemy and unlike in videogames or the magical wards. This enemy wasn't a monster and instead was a person, but apparently his game system didn't think that the person was good enough for a name of their own.
Order Spark, Level: 10
Lowest ranked foot soldier
The man was clad in the white robes of his hate filled group but instead of the nazi insignia that Neo expected. He saw German cross inside of a shield icon with a halberd sticking out of the upper right side of the icon from behind. That was the symbol of this group, and the man didn't waste any time by charging at Neo.
Thankfully his [Blunt Weapon Mastery] skill didn't just work with two-handed blunt weapons and worked fine with single handed weapons within the same category. It allowed his a much easier time in knocking out the man before looting his unconscious body and selling his belongings to his Gamer shop where he also bought quite a bit of rope for dirt cheap. He promptly used it to bind the man's hands and feet together on the ground and while that happened, Neo was extremely thankful that his game system didn't take underwear from people when he used the loot option.
He didn't want to look at racist butt cheeks. In any case, Neo noticed that the hallway has several rooms, and he quickly explored each one while dealing with more Order Sparks that he knocked out and tied up before unlocking a new skill after he finished clearing out the final room in this hallway.
[You have gained the following skills.]
[CQC, Active Level: 1
You have learned how to fight in close quarters combat aka CQC which allows you an easier time in fighting bad guys in confined spaces.
While in confined spaces or narrow environments you deal 1% more damage.]
[Non-Lethal Takedown, Active Level: 7
You don't fight to kill, and it shows when engaging with enemies. You automatically use weapons in the most non-lethal ways possible and dead fatigue damage instead of lethal damage with critical hits or regular damage.
15% increased success chance of knocking out an enemy with a critical hit.]
[The skill [Blunt Weapon Mastery] has leveled up! Level: 13-15!]
Neo dismissed the game screens with a sigh before once again buying more rope but this time he looked up any spells designed around restraining an enemy and happened upon two skill books that he purchased. The skills will help tie up his enemies, give him a nice restraining action in combat and help him feed his laziness since his hands were getting a bit-tired from constantly tying up people.
[Animate Rope Restraint, Active Level: 1
Type: Alteration
Rank: Novice [Tier: 2]
By focusing your magical power into any rope, chain, leather wrappings or other restraining items, you can tie up an enemy without physically performing the action.
The spell is made for many lazy mages but be warned that this spell drains the restraining items durability over time.
Restrains the target and places the [Snare] debuff upon them.
Requirements: Any physical restraining item. Warning! Magical spells such as 'Mystic Bindings' don't count.
Duration: The duration lasts for as long as the item's durability.
Cost: 41 MP]
[Mystic Bindings, Active Level: 1
Type: Conjuration
Rank: Novice [Tier: 3]
By focusing your magic, you can summon mystical restraints to hogtie your enemies and keep them in place.
Restrains the target and places the [Snare] debuff on them.
Duration: 10 Minutes
Cost: 70 MP]
"I'm positive that this is my second highest costing magical spell and it's only a tier three." Neo said before he cast the [Animate Rope Restraint] spell on some of the rope he took out of his inventory and used it to tie up the knocked-out Sparks before taking out and chugging one of the MP potions he had in his inventory after slightly moving his helmet up so he could drink it.
The potion tasted like blueberries.
The most important thing in the room, however, wasn't the people or the wooden dummies dressed up as well-known superheroes. The important thing was the yellow key card on a table which would allow him entrance into the other hallway.
"I guess this is my one-way ticket to the boss chamber." Neo joked before finally realizing just how monotone and bland his voice sounded. It concealed his identity well, but it made it nearly impossible to make a joke.
After making his way back to the starting point of the dungeon, he swiped the key card for the doorway on the left and heard gears and mechanisms whirling to life before the door made an audible clicking sound and cracked open.
[Warning! You are about to enter the boss's room! Once you enter you cannot leave until you defeat the boss! Do you wish to enter? Y/N?]
Neo couldn't help but swallow the lump in his throat before he entered the room and saw how truly large it was. The room could fit a few cars if the Order wanted to place cars in here and scattered throughout the room was more wooden dummies of not only heroes but also villains and even political figures while a person stood in the center of the room with their back turned from Neo and was staring at a massive map placed on the wall in front of them with various locations marked off with several 'X' symbols.
This person wasn't wearing the traditional robes of the order and instead they wore what looked like a white cloak over some tactical body armor that leaned a bit more into the high-tech side of things, which clued Neo into swapping his badly damaged police baton for his bone club.
"Welcome to my web. Said the spider to the fly." The person said before they turned around and showed that they weren't only a pale looking woman given her shape, but that she was also wearing a high-tech looking helmet and sheathed to her left side is a long sword in a leather scabbard while she has a circular gold looking shield strapped to her left forearm.
"Spiders clear out lesser insects for the environment and don't wear anything gold that clashes with the pure white theme you have going on." Neo replied while the woman chuckled behind her white and gold helmet. That was the outfit and tactical armor. A lot of gold and a lot of white with the Order symbol emblazoned across her chest.
Agent Purity, Level: 15
Fifth Knight of the Order/Knight of Valor
Neo tightly gripped his club in both hands as he steadied his breathing for the upcoming battle.
"To make it to me, you've had to have knocked out those weaklings I was put in charge of. Not much effort since they are nothing, but Sparks compared the mighty flame of our Order."
"It's nice to see you acting so superior to your fellow clansmen. But I plan on stopping your group's gross plans for Gotham. It might be a cesspool but its my cesspool." Neo clapped back before the woman drew her sword.
"I don't think I've ever met a 'hero' like you before and that must mean that you're new. You picked a horrible target to start off with. So, why don't you tell me your name before I slice your head off your shoulders?" Purity asked with an arrogant tone of voice.
"The name's Dragonborn and I'm the guy who's going to stop the Order's plans for Gotham." Neo said defiantly while Purity engaged by charging at Neo and drawing her sword in a vertical slashing motion with impressive speed that caught Neo off guard as he used his bone club to block the attack that sent him down onto his back.
Neo rolled out of the way of several slashes from Purity before he activated his [Oak Flesh] spell and gained additional armor to protect himself as he quickly scrambled to his feet and using his club again to block another sword attack before Neo was spartan kicked in the stomach by Purity's right foot which once again had him reeling.
'Damn, this chick is strong.' Neo thought before he went on the attack with a swing of his own club that he enhanced with his [Power Strike] spell. Purity raised her shield to block the blow and barely flinched from the attack that collided with her shield before she swung her sword once more and this time, she cut clear through Neo's bone club.
Half of the mystical weapon was now on the ground with the other half still in his hands. Neo couldn't help but go wide-eyed at that before being knocked down by a shield bash hitting the front of his face when he momentarily looked down at his weapon. Purity's foot was planted firmly on his helmet clad head while she rested her sword over his shoulder and Neo could only assume that she had a smug look underneath her helmet.
"Surely you can do better than that. I expected more, but then again, it's not like we should have expected much from a throw-back creature like you."
The taunt angered Neo who quickly raised his right hand and fired his [Firebolt] spell, hitting Purity in the chest and knocking her off him, allowing him to get up and rush down his opponent.
Neo didn't hesitate to activate [Power Strike] in both hands which wasn't an easy feat, but it worked as he delivered magic enhanced strikes to Purity before she could regain her footing as she was barely able to protect herself with her shield.
Neo delivered the combination of strikes to what felt like a brick wall due to her armor before he stopped with a [Power Strike] enhanced kick to Purity sending her tumbling to the ground.
"[Mystic Bindings]" Neo cast his spell summoning purple tendrils of what looked like ribbons from his hands that quickly encased Purity, much to her shock.
"What the fuck kind of cantrip is this?" Purity asked before attempting to break out as her body started glowing with magical energy, but Neo didn't let up and trusted that his [Non-Lethal Takedown] skill could mitigate the damage of his spells as he blasted Purity with several [Earthen Fist] spells repeatedly before stopping and seeing the dust cloud that he had created.
For a moment there was a foreboding silence that clung to the air while Neo swallowed a lump in his throat. Seconds felt like hours before the smoke cleared in one swift moment as Purity stood with her sword in hand that cleaved away the smoke.
Her sword glowed a bright blue color while her body armor looked damaged and showed parts of her fair skin while the helmet was broken in half and revealed her left blue eye, strands of blonde hair and blood running down her face.
"You damn throw-back. You drew first blood. You stained my face and now I will break you." Purity seethed before swinging her blade and sending vertical and horizontal blades of arching magical power at Neo who focused on dodging the attacks as best he could, while keeping up his [Oak Flesh] skill to prevent the full damage from the attacks that grazed his body and armor.
After evading the last blow, Neo ducked underneath a sword slash from Purity before delivering a strong uppercut to the woman with as much strength as he could muster along with the help of his [Power Strike] spell.
Purity was sent into the air before crashing down on the ground. Neo didn't wait for her to get up this time and quickly bolted to Purity before kicking her sword away from her and once again restrained her with the [Mystic Bindings] spell before kicking her and making her turn face down onto the ground before delivering a final magic enhanced strike to the back of her head and caused her to stop struggling.
Neo was concerned that he might have accidentally killed her but thankfully, he saw a game screen that showed that she was still alive.
[You have defeated the boss 'Agent Purity' by knocking her out rather than killing her. Due to this, you only get half the experience points awarded from this boss fight.]
You have gained 600 XP!
[The skill [Power Strike] has leveled up! Level: 4-8!]
[The skill [Oak Flesh] has reached MAX level and evolved into [Iron Flesh] with the level reset to one!]
[The skill [Blunt Weapon Mastery] has leveled up! Level: 15-18!]
[You have unlocked the [Dual Casting] spell!]
[The skill [Alteration Magic] has leveled up! Level: 9-11!]
[The skill [Earthen Fist] has leveled up! Level: 1-5!]
[The skill [Pain Resistance] has leveled up! Level: 3-5!]
[The skill [Non-Lethal Takedown] has leveled up! Level: 7-10!]
[The skill [Lesser Draconic Aura] has leveled up! Level: 1-2!]
[You have successfully cleared the [Sanctum of Purity] dungeon and earned one of three rewards to choose from.
1: 1x Random Skill Book
2: Cloak of Purification
3: Bo Staff of Judgment]
Neo simply took a deep breath while looking at the numerous game screens that appeared before his eyes and while looking at the rewards he could choose from, he decided to take the Bo staff.
Granted he would make a note to buy some throw away blunt weapons, but having a magic Bo Staff would do nothing but compliment his current fighting style. Also, he noticed that he didn't level up his unarmed fighting skill, which means that he would likely have to grind a bit more for it to gain more levels, but that would be a problem for later.
[The 'Bo Staff of Judgement' has been placed in your Inventory.]
"Now, let's take a look at what you guys are up to." Neo said before walking to the end of the room and seeing the door to another part of this dungeon. The door was unlocked and led to a meeting room with a large circular desk surrounded by empty chairs and on the desk were several documents regarding the Order and the specific plans they had in store for Gotham and its heroes and villains alike.
Neo made sure to loot every single note before he made his way out of the dungeon. And when he did, he quickly stored his armor away and headed home. This dungeon run was far too exhausting mentally. Before he got home, he bought a burner cell phone from a nearby store and made an anonymous call to the police about a gang squatting at the abandoned arcade.
Afterwards, he stored the phone in his inventory for safe keeping and after an hour or so, he got alerted by his game system about a brand-new development.
[You have become [Hated] by the [Order Faction] and will be attacked on sight and hunted by them. However, they only know you as a new vigilante calling himself Dragonborn and as such have no idea about who you are.
That means you have successfully created an alternate identity from yourself and developed a new superhero persona known as Dragonborn.]
"I guess that means that the cops put those bastards in jail." Neo sighed with relief that the GCPD actually listened to him and gathered up the criminals. And Neo or Dragonborn you could say, had left a few unimportant notes back in the dungeon so the cops had a reason to lock up the bastards.
Neo kept the super important ones though.
"I guess now I can take a nap or something and move this evolution thing along." Neo said to himself since he was mentally exhausted, and a nap sounded wonderful right now.
END!
Narrator: Another issue has been completed and our hero is slowly but surely making waves and has now taken the proper steps in defeating the Order. Stay tuned for the next issue of Heroic Adventures Game of the Year edition.
A/N: Yeah, this chapter is short and I am using game updates to fix my story mistakes…I am aware that I am not painting myself as competent or efficient but I hope that I am coming off as adaptive and persistent. Till next time.
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