Don't Own the DXD or whatever other nonsense I eventually add in this fic, Only The Oc
'thought'
"Speech"
"Tvs, Radios, and Text via book or newspaper... when those are around..."
"So, this is Magnolia." I gesture around as I walk. "Magnolia here has around two hundred thousand Npcs, each with their own personalized AI and unique traits."
"So, anyone can give us a quest?" A voice in the pack following me questions.
"Technically, yes." I nod. "You see, Domain of Magic has three core ways to get a quest. The first is your classic, walk up to a guy who has a problem. An extension of that classic quest style is a guild's job board, which could have you sent across Fiore for a quest. The next, is an 'event quest' which automatically gets accepted for anyone close by, say for instance a dragon is attacking a small village. Every nearby player will get a quest to defend the village from the dragon. Then, the final option, is something called the 'personal quest' which is basically the actual storyline of Domain of Magic. You unlock a new part of the personal quest every ten levels you get. Basically when you get a personal quest, you can create a miniaturized instance dungeon where certain events take place. At that point, the game becomes less MMO and more singleplayer, but you can bring your party along with you."
"You shouldn't worry about personal quests in the beta. The first couple of them are tied into whatever you choose for your character's backstory. Say for instance you make a street rat, you may be forced to find the source of the disappearances from your old orphanage."
"Do the rewards change?" A second voice asks.
"Yes, they do. In addition there may be hidden bonus objectives within these personal quests which grant you further rewards." I answer.
"What's the strongest magic in the game?" Another voice continues.
"Ah. That's subjective." I grin. "Even the most basic and boring sounding magic can be brought up to a level where they can compete with magics that can stop time or rewrite reality. The main limit is the user's imagination."
"What was that magic you used at the start?" Another voice questions.
"Ah, that was a mix between basic plant magic- purely for aesthetic- and Archive Magic, which is basically 'internet magic'. It is primarily support in nature, allowing you to create minimaps, monitor the status of your party members, and expand your party from four members up to a maximum of forty. It also has some other benefits here and there. Such as adding a quest list to your menu. It also has some basic attack and defense options. You can create popups that explode or large windows that act like barriers. But it's overall benefit is support."
"Oh. And speaking of support and creating your own parties, you may also create your own guilds. You are not limited to the guilds already present in this world you can make your own treasure hunting guilds, crafting guilds, merchant guilds, mercenary guilds, the title of your guild decides what sort of quests you are given at your own job board."
"Keep in mind, that in the future, you are able to change what type of guild you are for a small fee." I state as I begin walking backwards, hands folded behind my head. "But as a guild, you'll need a guildhall. This can be literally any building, mind you."
I gesture around again. "Every single building in Magonlia here is either a shop, restaurant, guild, or someplace you yourself can purchase as your very own player homes."
"Why would we want homes? That sounds expensive."
"Well, they're fully customizable in addition to you being able to use them as your guild house- just keep in mind that your guild will have a cap on how many members can join it depending on the size and quality of your guild house- plus, you'll probably want a place to store all the items you aren't using at the moment. Requip magic isn't all powerful and it has its own size and weight limits. Eventually, even if you have it, you'll reach a point where you can't take anymore and will have to offload your junk. You can also get your own crafting stations built in and all that, so they're quite useful."
"Also I should mention that you can sleep in this game. As for why you would want to do that, maybe you've got a quest that will take twelve hours to activate. But, you just so happen to only have one hour of time left on your Eden device. You can sleep, causing your real body to sleep and pause the timer that boots you out of the game after four hours. But I should note, you'll just waste your time here in Domain of magic during this beta. sleeping here will run down your allotted play time, so maybe leave for a few hours if you are feeling tired."
"You also get a nifty little sleep buff that grows much stronger if you sleep in your own home. But, once more, sleep in eden is worth roughly a fourth of the time it says you will pass. As in this dream-like state, time is passing four times as fast. "
I let out a low click, cupping my chin. "Bit of an oversight on my part. Domain of Magic will probably really fuck up people's sleep schedules. Ah well. I've come this far. My only hope is that the players-"
I turn towards the people following me, shooting them a half-lidded stare. "-show a little restraint."
"Ah, we've come to one of the my potential talking points." I state while gesturing to the side. "Welcome to Book land. A place where you can buy books. Now, you might be wondering why I am mentioning it... well, In that store are about two hundred unique books. Each and every one of them readable front to back, and they're not just mere filler of assorted words and smatters of a hand of a keyboard. Each and every book tells a story tightly woven into the very lore of this world. You might find a book that mentions historical events, or books that are purely fantasy. But the main takeaway is that these books can be used to pass the time... and this is just a small bookstore. There's a library in Magnolia with thousands of books... and don't even get me started on the capital of Fiore which as a library with tens of thousands of unique books."
"Now, you might ask yourself, 'what's the point'? Well, besides the fact that you could very easily find a hidden gem of a book here in the libraries of Fiore, some books might be quest books. However, there are no quest markers for book quests, even with Archive magic. If a book has a riddle, you must figure it out on your own. If the book subtly gives the location of a place, you need to first figure out if what it is saying is even worth the time to look into, and secondly figure out that one sole location in this truly massive land around us."
"Another thing is that you shouldn't expect to find any spell books inside typical mundane libraries, they would have been long-since confiscated, bought, or stolen. You might find some books on magical theory, though."
"Well, how do we get caster magic, then?" A person asks.
"There are many ways. Most magic shops have at least one spell tome in the back, but they're typically for more basic magics like your fire, ice, earth, water, electricity, wind. That sort of thing. You'll have better luck at the larger magic shops, though. Plus, you can get books from quests, or can find them in a magic guild's personal library... or, instead of study, you can just try and wing it. But let me just say. Do not expect to get much of anything out of winging it."
"What are the limits in the game?" Another voice asks.
"What do you mean by limits... as in... what you can do? There's really no limit here. Oh. Wait. There's a filter that stops sexual contact. That's a big no no. mainly the unwanted kind, but Domain of magic is not R rated anyways. But after that? You can basically do whatever you want. However. You should keep in mind, actions have consequences, and most C rank mages- the worst of the worst- are about level twenty five or so. The nonmagical average rune knight- which is basically magic police mixed with an army- is about level eight or so. And keep in mind an army of these guys can be deployed to stomp you out."
"But, as for technological limits... there are none! You want to make a panzer tank? By all means. There's no crafting recipe for it in the game, and you have to make each and every little fragment of it by beating metal over an anvil, but there's literally nothing stopping you aside from the resource cost and the time to do so. You might even be able to streamline the process a bit with magic."
"If you want to make Nuclear bombs? Go for it. I'll be forced to roll back the servers a little bit after they detonate, but the big mushroom cloud would be pretty to look at."
I continue leading the group, answering questions here and there, some about the inspiration for Domain of Magic.
My answer, of course, was a mish-mash of mythology and anime.
"And here is another important Location in Magnolia. The humble magic shop. There are others in the town, but this is the largest... and, just down the street is the highest-class restaurant in Magnolia. Their food buffs are quite potent, they just don't last that long."
"How do we earn money quickly?" I a voice behind me questions.
"A good question." I begin slowly. "There are a myriad of ways for you to gain money, the fastest way, would be to complete missions for a magic guild. But, to enter a magic guild, you must be able to use magic. So you'll need to purchase a ring or something from the magic store... or you would if you didn't have your preorder bonus. But, keep in mind, some missions are quite dangerous, probably not something level ones like yourself can accomplish. You could also get a job at an inn or something as well if you want something safer as you save up to buy your first magic item."
"Are there any classes in Domain of Magic?" A second asks.
"Nope. No classes. The closest thing would probably be your primary magic. You'll be called a 'fire wizard' by the npcs if you practice fire magic, 'ice wizard' for ice, heck, you might even get a special epithet if you become famous enough, like Erza's title of 'Fairy Queen' despite the fact she uses exclusively telekinesis and requip magic."
This time, Rias speaks up. "What are your plans after Domain of Magic is released?"
"Good question." I mutter. "Hm. Well, first, I'll be continuing to update Domain of Magic. For the first month there will be an event every week. The first week, will be times two item drop rate. Week two, is times two level experience, week three is times two skill experience."
"Week four is where it gets special... a festival in the capital of Fiore. It should be a lot of fun, plus, if you manage to collect all of the limited edition statuettes that are available across the fair grounds... perhaps you might get sent something in real life? Perhaps a unique title to go along with your 'beta tester' ones? Hm. I wonder."
"After continuing to update Domain of Magic... I'm unsure. This has been my life goal for the past... sixteen years or so. My partner wanted to try her hands at a Vr Legend of Zelda. I was personally more a fan of Vr Pokemon, but Nintendo is just such a little bitch when it comes to their Ips. So not much progress has been made on either front. Tis a shame, but we'll probably pick them up later after every gaming company ever goes bankrupt because I singlehandedly crippled the gaming industry."
"Oops."
"Hey Overseer. Put fixing that on the to-do list. I could probably whip up some sort of creator kit or something. Always helps to have competition so we don't get lazy. Though, I suppose it'd be alright to bask in our current success for a little while."
"Anywaaaays, the number one guild in Fiore, Fairy Tail is right there." I gesture to the large building overseeing a truly massive lake. "And, as an apology for taking up your precious time, here, have a coupon for ten thousand jewel off your next purchase! Regardless of store!"
With a wave of my hand, dozens of screens appear in front of the group following me. It has dwindled to about thirty at this point, but, oh well.
With dull flashes slips of paper appear in their hands.
The numerous people look to the coupon then begin to funnel into the magic store.
Only a few remain.
Rias, her apparent niece, oh. And her.
I shoot the black haired magical girl a half-lidded stare.
Magical Girl Levia-tan {Lv 1}
"Ah, Levi-chan. It has been about five months since you told me to my face that this was nothing more than a 'basic and boring' game." I lazily drawl.
"WHAT?!" Rias shrieks.
"Are you ready to eat your words?" I question.
"Eh. I've seen better." The magical girl dismisses.
"BULLSHIT!" Rias snaps.
"Funny. That's what I thought when I saw your show." I shoot back.
Serafall lets out a small gurgle as she clutches her chest.
"Oh wow." Rias mutters seemingly shocked at how I'd manage to so easily deal psychic damage to the woman with just a few words.
"I mean really, how utterly predictable can you be? There's no stakes. No loss. Your two part special cliffhangers are obvious at best, creatively bankrupt at worst." I continue utterly destroying the woman.
She lets out a small gurgle as she lays there on the stone road, practically in the yamcha position from sheer agony.
I crouch down next to the magical girl. "I mean, really, have Levia-tan lose her powers for a season or something. Maybe have them get placed in some random kid that Levia-tan has to teach over the course of the season into being a true magical girl, only for her to get her powers back in the season finale when said kid is about to lose. Like, do anything to spice up the boring 'Levi-tan faces bad guy, Levi-tan beats bad guy. Upskirt upskirt.' That the past ten seasons have been."
She twitches slightly but doesn't reply.
I slowly stand back up and walk away slowly, arms folded behind my head.
Serafall sits up, eyes narrowed. "I demand a duel!"
"..."
"Why should I duel you?" I question.
"I'll give you a favor if you win!" The girl shouts.
"And let me guess, you want a favor if you win?" I hum.
"Yes!" She nods resolutely.
"Alright, sounds fun." I roll my eyes, a small smirk appearing on my lips.
With a wave of my hand I begin to tweak some settings. My level is reset to level one, my stats lower to one in everything.
"I have just set my level to one... and lowered all of my stats to one."
With a wave of my hand, I show my status sheet to Serafall.
"Are you looking down on me?" She frowns.
"Yes." I nod once with a small smirk. "Yes, I am."
"Duel Request: Magical Girl Levia-tan." I call out blandly, causing a window to appear in front of the girl.
She pushes a button on the screen, causing a dull outline to surround us in a radius, a timer appears above our heads.
10.
9.
8.
I cross my arms and wait.
Serafall's eyes narrow as they flick from the clock to my face.
"FIGHT!"
The girl lunges forwards at high speeds.
However. There's a reason as to why I'm being so arrogant in front of a five hundred year old woman who has seen countless wars and battles... several, actually.
Firstly, she is unused to her body's current strength. Her real body is so powerful a little hop for her could likely carry her up to the rooftop of a building. She hasn't had enough time to really adjust to the 'lag' between her game body and real body.
The next, it has been years since she has been in a true 'life or death' battle. She likely has no real opportunity to stretch her wings as she used to. I, on the other hand, fight people far stronger than me on the regular- in game- who have had their fighting styles crafted from a mish-mash of dozens of the world's greatest martial artists.
Oh... another reason.
I proceed to immediately balance breaker.
Now, I said that I tried to limit a sacred gear's effect on my game for balance purposes... and I did.
Counter argument to that, though: I made the game. I can do whatever the fuck I want. The game doesn't show any effect of my balance breaker, what's the problem with using what I have to make my chances at winning just a little bit higher.
Her first strike goes for my temple, but I very easily manage to get just out of its path, even as it adjusts to follow me.
She looks vaguely surprised that her first strike missed, but she doesn't have long to be surprised as I promptly uppercut her.
Her feet are lifted off the ground for a moment as I follow through with a brutal stomach punch.
With just those two strikes, her heath dips to ninety percent.
I weave between her flurry of attacks as I continue to land crushing blow after crushing blow.
She's frankly lucky my strength and agility are at one right now, otherwise she'd already be defeated.
Her health sits at around fifty percent, while whatever glancing blows she landed on me causes my own to sit at around eighty four percent.
"I should mention..." I begin explaining as the girl takes this moment to launch an offensive, betting that I'll be too distracted to really do much. "The second your health drops below thirty percent... I win."
My hand chops into her ribs as I guide a kick just over my head.
My foot sweeps her leg as I grab her ankle, causing her to flip wildly through the air as I hurl her.
She collides with a metal lamp post, narrowing rolling to the side to avoid my follow up kick that would have smashed into her face.
She rolls to her feet just in time to get a knee to the face for her efforts.
"You could always give up and save yourself the embarrassment." I taunt as I slip my hands into my pockets, her health now at around thirty nine percent.
She wipes her face, digital blood beginning to drip from her digital nose.
She rises to her full height, letting out a long breath.
My next three attacks are narrowly avoided. 'Fuck. She's adapting'.
I duck a roundhouse kick, but I don't expect her to promptly backflip after her attack misses, striking down at me with a downward kick.
I narrowly avoid it by stepping to the side, blueprint world really saved me there.
Her attacks are growing faster, more ferocious, my health chips down more and more. But, as I reach fifty percent, her own health had been whittled down to thirty-one percent.
Her last attack is dead on, but it allows me to land a final blow that just kicks her past thirty percent.
"Victory! Guide!"
"I probably would have finished that a bit earlier if I didn't set all my stats to one." I announce blandly as I grin.
"What do you want?" The woman frowns at me, seemingly a little peeved that she actually lost.
But. I can see it in her eyes. Greed.
She wants me on her peerage more than ever.
I might consider it the second they give reincarnated devils more rights.
Oh.
And when the three factions make peace.
"Who would want a favor from a woman with no taste like you?" I arrogantly smirk, causing her to let out a small annoyed growl.
"So rude! Guide-tan!" She pouts. "Why are you so mean?!"
"Why are you so old?" I question.
She lets out another gurgling sound, head snapping back as if I had just shot her point blank in the forehead.
A dark chuckle leaves my lips as I watch her squirm and writhe.
I pause. "Though... Favors... hm. That gives me a good idea."
With a wave of my hand, a screen opens before me. "Let's see here..."
I tap away at the keyboard that appears in front of me.
"So. What are you two still doing here?" I question, eyes briefly flicking over to the Gremory girls.
The pink haired one points at me dramatically. "I want you as my minion!"
"Hm. Hm." I mutely hum as I look back to the screen.
I give the text a brief overlook, then nod once.
'this'll do'.
The screen closes, then a moment later another appears.
Quest Recieved:
Gamemaster's challenge:
Welcome to Domain of Magic, the very first TRUE Vrmmo experience. I am glad to see all of you here today within this beta-testing period. Now. A lot of Domain of Magic's systems are disabled more or less, thus, I'd like to do something fun. A challenge! In 500 hours, A Level 20 Wyvern will attack Magnolia. The MVP of this faux raid shall be able to request of me one thing within reason.
Objective:
Slay the weakened Wyvern: [ ]
Reward: Some exp, 50,000 Jewel.
This'll be fun to watch.
The two Gremory girls look to the screen, then slowly over to me.
Milim seems to be the first to break. "Come on, Ria-Tan! We've got to get stronger!"
Oh god. She's like Serafall.
"D-DON'T SAY MY NAME!" The redhead exclaims.
"Heheh." Milim replies. "If you didn't want people to know who you are, maybe you should have changed your appearance a little!"
"Like you are one to talk!" Rias exclaims.
"No! I added a little beauty mark... see!" The pink haired girl replies while pointing towards her face. "See!"
Gonna be honest... I didn't even notice it.
"Nobody's going to notice that!" Rias shouts.
"Yes! That means nobody will notice its me!" Milim grins as she grabs Rias' hand and tugs her towards the magic shop nearby, leaving me alone with Serafall.
"Why are you so mean..." Serafall whispers finally recovering from my utter brutalization of her feelings.. "You're going to make me cry Creator-tan."
"It'd be pretty pathetic if that was all that was required to make you cry." I callously troll.
"You do know I can beat you up in real life, right?" The girl pouts.
"Oh, I'm aware. But here? Good fucking luck." I snort. "You got comfortable with your strength... and now... you look upon these lands I have cultivated and realize..."
"..."
"Fuck. I don't really have a good 'gotcha' monologue yet."
She stares at me.
"Hey. Don't you fucking look at me like that." I scoff.
"Join my peerage."
"How about you give reincarnated devils more rights and maybe I'll fucking consider it?" I deadpan with a raised eyebrow.
"Come ooooon... don't you want to live longer?" The woman whines.
"If I want to live longer, I'll just create like... a male clone of you and stuff my soul in it... just, like... purely to spite you."
"Can you?!" She gasps.
"Fucking- I was being sarcastic! Why do you look so enticed by the- ah. You were getting turned on... I forgot about your incest fetish." I sigh while shaking my head. "Have you used the secret program yet?'
The girl drools. "It is taking every fiber of my being to drag myself away from licking every part of my precious So-clone-tan's body."
"..."
"..."
"You've got Issues. Bye." With that, I use the admin console to set my magical capacity to a really big number and turn invisible.
The beta is underway! And Suzutsu seems to really enjoy bullying Serafall. Heh. Deserved.