You know, life has taught me a number of things so that I can live a normal, healthy life after I finally decide on something to do for the rest of my life.

However, waking up in a dark void in a chair staring at another black-haired guy across a table is definitely NOT what they taught me for. And definitely caused some panic inside of me once I realized what situation I'm in right now.

Luckily, the situation was in that bizarre situation of being similar enough to be panicked, but not familiar enough to start crying.

So, I, as calmly as I could, asked the person in front of me, "So, uh, hey, why am I here?"

The person across from me simply smiled, "Why, you've been selected, congratulations."

Selected for what? Some entrance exam for yet another school? Death? A lifetime supply of McDonalds?

I tilt my head a bit, "Selected for what? I kind of have a life to go back to, you know."

Seriously, I just entered college and this is what I'm greeted with…

"Oh, you don't know?" the strange person asked, his voice filled with slight wonder as he picked up a clipboard from… where, exactly?

"Ah," He pointed to somewhere on the clipboard, "You died in your sleep. Pretty good way to go, huh? Didn't even realize it happened."

Unfortunately, life did not prepare me for dying at the crisp age of 19.

"I'm WHAT?!" I shouted out, trying to look over myself to find any sign of any obvious death happening to me.

As a quick inspection turns out, absolutely nothing outwardly wrong with me! How could I be dead?!

He looked back at the clipboard, "Well, do you remember all those random chest pains you sometimes got when walking?"

…Those? "I thought that was normal?"

He shook his head, "Yeah, no, you had some health issues and for some reason that gave you a heart attack and killed you in your sleep."

I'm going to kill that doctor when I eventually find a way to raise myself from the dead.

I sighed, my head bowed in resignation, "Okay, fine, cool, I'm dead."

I tried to let go of all my emotions, but…

It's hard, to just… Ugh.

"Nope, don't cry, then it's going to take too long!" The guy disinterestedly said before waving his hand and…

Wow, I am completely emotionally fine now.

"Okay, magic, cool, wow." I tried to voice my thoughts, "I, uh, okay. What?"

Seriously, what's going on when am I going to get an explanation for anything?

The guy laughed, "Okay, enough of that, my name is Shapeshifter, and you've been randomly chosen for our gamer program!"

The what program?

Shapeshifter smiled, "So, before I continue, any questions about your previous life?"

Wow, whiplash, okay. Maybe just focus on that question first…

I didn't really have any good ones, considering the whiplash from that to this, but since I had the opportunity, I scrounged my brain to ask something like… My country!

When I got the internet for the first time, for some reason I decided to go all in on politics. I mean, America was basically the most powerful country in the world from what I could understand, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, politicians, but aside from that, being an American patriot is basically never going to go wrong, and hey, if there's something to fixate on, being a huge nationalist is probably something reliable for a young teenager to fixate on while they're young!

Well, I'm more of a left wing nationalism guy because right-wing nationalism is literally Hitler, and I don't like Hitler.

Uh, that aside, I asked, "Okay, uh, is my country fine? Or like, will it be good in the future?"

Shapeshifter went back to his clipboard, "Let's see here… You're from… America… OOOHHH BOY!"

That sudden shift in attitude made me jump a little as I worriedly asked, "Wait, what's wrong?"

Shapeshifter just had a shit-eating grin as he looked up at me, "Well, do you consider yourself a democrat or republican?"

I blinked, "Uh, democrat."

He just nodded, looking rather satisfied, "Sweet, because there's a civil war between the fascist republicans and communist democrats in 2 months."

"WHAT?! THOSE GOD DAMN SHIT-EATING TRUMP-BOOT-LICKING MOTHER FUCKING TRAITORS! OF COURSE THEY REALIZE THEY HAVE NO CHANCE OF WINNING AND TRY TO TAKE THE ENTIRE COUNTRY DOWN WITH THEM TO SATE THEIR EGOS! IF THERE IS A GOD THEN I HOPE THEY ALL GO TO HELL- Wait, communist democrats?"

Shapeshifter looked down at the clipboard as he read off of it like a bored secretary, "Yep, your America is like… One of the worst I've ever seen."

"We're not communist!" I angrily shouted, my blood pressure increasing way beyond the levels it should be, "Communism is completely incompatible with the American lifestyle! You're reading some insane bullshit on that clipboard!"

"That's not what Biden's bedroom is saying." Shapeshifter shot back, shrugging, "Oh, Trump's inner thoughts are so exciting here too! 'I love Adolf Hitler…' man, what a hit classic!"

Okay, I could buy that, BUT DEFINITELY NOT US BEING COMMUNIST!

Shapeshifter acted as if he didn't hear my inner thoughts, "Well, your country is about to be kicked off the international stage, how fun. You know, in most universes, U.S politics are pretty tame. Maybe you have one side going far left or right, but to this extent? Man! You sure got the short end of the world stick."

My eye twitched, "So you're telling me we really did live in the worst timeline."

"Yep."

"Is there a universe where this didn't happen?"

"It's kind of the standard, really."

"Is there a universe where Trump or Biden are actually good people?"

"That's actually the norm."

"So you're telling me I got screwed over because the universe said so."

"Yeah."

"I chose the worst life to be an American nationalist in."

"You did."

I let go of a long, resigned sigh.

What a mess.

"Can I be revived to go fight in the civil war?" I asked nicely, "You know, just to… Have closure, I guess?"

Shapeshifter looked back at the clipboard (Seriously, what's written on there?) and looked back up at me, "I mean, yeah, I can just pick up your soul later."

"Wait, really? I can just go back to being alive?" I incredulously asked, not actually expecting my request to be accepted.

He nodded, "Yeah, I mean, I literally am a god."

I mentally celebrated at the christians being wrong as I smiled, "Okay, then, send me back! I'm going to go kill some fascists!"

"I died on the first fucking day."

Shapeshifter, for his part, didn't say anything about my blunder at first.

Mostly because he was laughing himself to death.

"HAHAHAHA YOU REALLY DO LIVE IN THE WORST TIMELINE HAHAHA!" Shapeshifter was shitting himself laughing, "HEHEHEHHAHAA, OKAY, OKAY, CALM DOWN ME, I STILL… Haha… Okay I think I calmed down enough… Pfft, first day.."

I tried to stay calm as possible, but even I couldn't stop the bitterness in my voice as I said, "Yeah, yeah, shut up."

He looked back at his clipboard, "Not even a single kill, haha! Oh man, I need to stop reading this and get on with my thing!"

I sighed, "Yeah, what even is your thing? I vaguely recall you saying something about a program?"

He nodded absently, "Right, right."

Shapeshifter cleared his throat, making me realize…

Yeah, why does he look different now? I swore he had black hair the last time I saw him, but now he's a blondie and his body type is totally wack from when I last saw him…

But I didn't get a chance to question him though, as he launched into a sales pitch, "Well, you, my friend, have been randomly selected to join our gamer program! Basically, you get to reincarnate with some extra cool abilities!"

I blinked, "Well, you moron, why didn't you start with that?"

Seriously, did I really need to die TWICE for this?

He smiled as if he did nothing wrong, "I ask questions beforehand to allow situations like the one you just had right now to occur."

Yeah, I live in the worst timeline.

He cleared his throat again, "Anyways, so basically, you know how RPGs work?"

"Rocket launchers?"

"No, the game genre."

Shit, gun nut issues, "Uh, oh, yeah, I know them."

"Yeah, so you're going to become an RPG character."

"That's… I mean, that's actually pretty dope." I admit, I mean, give magic to a magicless guy and that's always going to be really cool, "So, uh, how do I do that?"

Shapeshifter twirled his hand around, "Tada!"

You have obtained the gamer system.

Please choose a race.

[Human - It's you! - No changes.]

[3 random races - Pick this option, and you'll get 3 options to choose from, but the human option will be locked.]

Huh, that's pretty cool.

"So, do I just… Pick one of them?" I asked Shapeshifter, looking at him from the side of my menu that's pretty freaking big.

He nods, "Yeah, you just think of the option you want."

Okay, then…

Hm, I was a human, and that got me killed, so…

Sure, I'll try something else.

You have chosen a random race, please select one.

[Piglin - Oink, oink. - Heavy resistance to fire, and increased power rank growth.]

[Half Slime Hybrid - Wait, a second - Your original race and slime combined. Resistance to physical attacks and most illnesses. Reduced physical strength.]

[Pikachu - Cute Mascot - Increased electric damage. Evolution into Raichu. Large number of natural skills.]

This… Sure is a selection.

Okay, one by one.

The piglin is from minecraft, and I hate those bastards.

The half slime thing does sound pretty cool. The fact that I would be made out of jello would also make me immune to heart attacks is also a big sell.

And pikachu… I'm not willing to lower myself for that.

So, logically, the best option is probably the half slime option.

You have become half slime.

Design your appearance.

All of a sudden, a second me appeared next to me, and a myriad of different buttons came up next to it.

"Ooh!" Shapeshifter closed his book (What?), "This is the part where I get to judge your sense of fashion! This thing does clothing as well, so design yourself carefully!"

"Oh, thanks for the heads up, then." I said before focusing on myself.

Now, I look fine, so maybe I just want to touch up a few things here and there…

"By the way, you can choose a new name, so imagine that as well, you don't have to just still be what's your name… Oh, you're a Michael?" Shapeshifter absentmindedly said while still reading a book, "How awfully generic."

I ignored Shapeshifter's jab as I looked back at myself.

…Well, if I could change my name and my appearance…

Say, I have an imaginary self-insert called Fuse, I might as well just turn myself into him now that I have the chance. He was literally just an alien, but being half-slime is kind of alien as well, right?

After an embarrassingly short amount of time, I had my OC in front of me.

Tan skin, red eyes, black gloves, a cool kind of desert banditish kind of outfit and a cool mask and hood to hide my face to hide my inevitable embarrassment I'm going to internally have when I'm eventually this guy.

Also, my slime color is going to be orange, mostly because it's my favorite color.

Shapeshifter nodded in what I assumed to be approval, "Well, at least you have a set style instead of just giving yourself a basic shirt or something like some other people I've seen."

"Thank you!" I thanked him, feeling a little better about my choices already.

"I didn't say it was a good style." He amends.

"Screw you!" I insulted him, feeling a little worse about my choices already.

Please choose your class.

[Warrior]

[Mage]

[Rogue]

[Ranger]

[Support]

[Other]

Okay, whatever, ignoring him now, I need to choose my class…

Well, I was just going on about mage stuff, but I think rogues are pretty badass.

So, mage or rogue?

"Hey, Shapeshifter, can I get another class later?" I asked in hopes of clarifying my answer.

Because if the answer is yes, I might want to choose a mage because it's a new thing I wouldn't normally have.

If not, then I want a gun.

"Obviously, yeah you can add other classes to yourself later." He said, eating instant ramen

I blinked at him, "Seriously, where are you getting all of these things from?"

"Trade secret."

I groaned, "Of course. This is why I'm an atheist. By the way, do you know which class gives me a gun straight away?"

Still eating ramen, he answers, "Uh, ranger, mercenary is probably your best choice."

I thanked him as I went to look at that option.

Ranger classes

…

[Mercenary - A type of ranger who uses a mixture of guns with no rhyme or reason. Also reasonably adept at melee combat. A jack of all trades, master of none.]

Oh, I also get melee stuff too? I'm not personally a big melee fan, but I can get behind a sword every now and then. Yeah, I like this!

You have chosen the mercenary class. Starter weapons will be distributed when you enter your world.

Please choose a profession.

…

"You're going to have to explain this one to me."

"It's basically a hobby. Some of them are useful, some of them aren't, but maybe you enjoy the experience."

"Yeah I think I got it."

So, a hobby, huh?

Scrolling through a list, I notice some familiar stuff like cooking, or engineering, but then I focus on one thing I was interested in for a while but never got around to it.

But first, "Hey, if I ruin my clothes, do I have to fix that myself?"

"Yeah," Shapeshifter said, then his face turned amused, "I think I saw some people make some ridiculously gaudy outfits, have them ruined, and then change into more basic attire later. That was pretty funny."

Yeah, life isn't going to catch me lacking.

I'm going to become a stylist.

[Stylist - a profession that uses materials to create items for stylish attire or decoration, or anything, really.]

I really wanted to try out cosplaying, but I didn't get around to it, so this should be fun!

So, I chose that option. No doubt that it will help me in looking good and…

Wait, what the hell am I doing in the first place as a 'gamer'?

"Say, actually, what's my goal as one of these gamer people?" I asked shapeshifter, who was reading something on his phone.

He shrugged noncommittally, "Enjoy life. There's no set goal other than to not die. If you want to spend your entire life indoors in whatever world you end up in, you can do that. If you want to become god, you can do that too."

…Wow.

Okay.

Mentally unpacking that.

I can become god.

Really rubbing it into the face of the christians now, huh.

And now that I've mentally unpacked that…

"...It's a sandbox?"

He nods, "Basically, yeah. I think some other gamers we sent down there also made a society or something somewhere. If you find them, you can go ask for tips or something on how to spend your time if you ever get bored."

Okay, that doesn't make things any better, because I hate sandbox games.

What's the point of anything if there's no end goal? And none of that 'oh, it's the journey' stuff, it's dumb, idiotic, and I won't stand for it.

I can deal with a vague end goal like 'make America better' or 'become a god' but literally doing anything you want? Disgusting.

My hate and vitriol aside, I look at what I have to do next.

Roll for perks [Optional]

[Half-Slime Hybrid] [Mercenary] [Stylist] [Generic]

"So this is-" Shapeshifter started to explain, picking up on the cue that I have no idea what any of this is.

I pointed my finger at him, interrupting him, "No! No, wait. I think I got this."

Perk. That's like… A thing that I can't describe, but know what it is.

"It's basically like a buff thing that we can get, right?"

He looked at me incredulously, then nodded, "Yeah, there are also curses in there."

God damn it, of course.

Being somewhat satisfied with being half right, I shrug and just take one of each.

[Aquaphobia - Due to your species of slime dissolving in water, your kind has grown to fear water. Unfortunately for you, this fear is innate despite your half human side negating this weakness.]

[Soul Binding - Allows you to bind items to your soul, allowing them to grow in strength as you grow in strength, always returning back to you and never being broken. However, items stronger than your current ranking, when soul binded, will bring them down with you.]

[Masked Figure - You have an urge to keep your face hidden at all times unless if it's around people close to you. If someone sees you with your mask off, you will retreat immediately unless if it's a dire situation.]

[Consigliere - Upgrades (Observe) to allow you to see into somebody's jobs/classes/abilities/etc.]

How convenient that they all come in the order that I pressed them in.

So, let's see here…

Aquaphobia is weird, how could I be afraid of what I'm literally made out of? So that's definitely a curse.

Soul binding is definitely not what I'd think of when I think of mercenaries. Is that something that all ranger classes get, then?

"Yeah, it's a generic class thing." chipped in Shapeshifter, as he was reading something in a newspaper.

Thank you, mind-reading god.

Masked figure is… Well, I was already planning on wearing a mask anyway for style. I guess that just means I'm more mysterious? And how does that fit into stylist anyways? That's just weird.

And consigliere makes no sense to me because I don't know what observe does. I look over to Shapeshifter and he's not even paying attention to me anymore, so I guess I have to figure that one out on my own.

…So, I'd say that was a pretty good haul.

Let me do it a few more times. Starting with… mercenary.

[Hired Gun - Your bullets will be more effective if you get paid for killing your target.]

Oh, that's… Nice? What the hell does more effective actually mean, though? Does it pierce through anything?

Well, at least it sounds nice.

So, uh, another try at the slime one.

[Conduit - You act as a conduit for power, allowing other's power to flow through you.]

…I don't know how that works, but magic, I guess. Maybe it's a good thing?

Uh, I think I'll just move on to generic.

[Soul Taker - When you kill someone, their soul will enter your ability, allowing you to do several things with it.]

…So I steal souls now. "Hey, Shapeshifter, what the heck do I do with souls?"

He shrugged, "Eat 'em, put them into something else. I dunno, it's up to you."

Truly a great orator and explainer. He definitely has my vote.

Well, I guess if that's good, I'll just try generic again.

[Devourer Of Gods - All gods naturally fear you. Any attacks from gods from any world will be unable to instantly kill you, and if attacked by a god, you will be able to pull its physical form into your world, allowing you to harm it. Additionally, you deal a heavily increased amount of damage to gods.]

My eyes move to Shapeshifter.

His eyes met mine, a large grin on his face, "Do you want to try to fight me? I would want to try to fight me."

My eyes moved away from Shapeshifter as I declined his offer, "Maybe another day."

He went back to his newspaper, frowning, "Shame."

Yeah, this thing seems cool and all, but… When the heck am I going to fight actual gods? Seems kind of like a far off thing.

Maybe later I'll be super glad that I got this perk, but right now, I guess the idea of fighting gods is still firmly in the 'not happening' part of my brain.

And well, heck, if I got those 2 things from the generic section, then I'll do it again!

[Fortune cookies - Every once in a while, you'll get little fortune cookies that will give a vague statement about your future.]

…Well, I guess it's not a curse.

Suddenly, a fortune cookie appeared in front of me.

"Wow, that thing works quickly." remarked Shapeshifter who was playing basketball off to the side.

I incredulously looked at him before shaking my head as I opened my fortune cookie.

' Do not count those left behind. They are the inevitable casualties of our progress.'

I blinked.

Wow, that sounds ominous as fuck.

Shapeshifter looked over my shoulder, "Wow, that sounds ominous as fuck."

"Any ideas what this could mean?" I asked the guy who could probably instantly tell me what it is.

He shrugged, "Who do you think I am, God?"

I looked at him oddly, "Aren't you a god?"

He nodded his head, "Yeah, A god, not THE god. I'm not omniscient."

I groaned, of course I get the one guy who can't tell the future.

"Wait, THE god?" I asked, my brain hurting, "You guys have a god too?"

He shrugs, "I mean, I dunno. I still don't know why I'm forced to do this stuff."

Wow, okay. That's… Shit, are the christians still right? Did the bible talk about this type of thing happening?

…I think I'll ignore it for now.

Welp, I'll just… put this fortune in my pocket or something and maybe it'll carry over. And then I can think about it later.

"Eat the cookie too!"

I eat the cookie.

It tasted… Better than actual fortune cookies. I guess this really is the afterlife.

I think I'll stop rolling for perks now. This feels… Too much of a warning sign to continue.

Please choose your name.

Oh, this is easy! Fuse.

Your name is now Fuse.

You are now ready to enter your world.

Shapeshifter clapped, "Nice, nice. Anyways, let's get you all situated into that body now."

Suddenly, I was no longer sitting on a chair, instead, I was standing up where the character that I made was standing.

And my previous body no longer existed.

That's… Chilling. And also really really weird.

"You good?" he asked, nothing really showing on his face this time.

I moved around a bit, getting used to my new body.

And I nodded, "Yeah, this feels fine."

He smiles, "Great! Now, I just have one last thing to ask you."

Ah, damn it, of course, "...What?"

"Who do you want me to turn into?" He asked, "Like, anything or anyone in the world, dead or alive, who should I turn into next?"

I blinked.

Ahh…

That's why he looked different from before! So somebody probably just asked him after they were finished while I was revived to become him!

Okay, in that case…

Well, you know what, screw it, "Become Joe Biden."

He scoffed, "Yeah, I thought you were going to say something about a president. Well, you won't be able to see it, but have fun!"

He waved goodbye, as I waved back, thinking I was about to black out again.

And then the floor disappeared on me as I started falling.

"FUUUUUCK YOOOOU!" I shouted as I screamed like a little baby at the sudden fall as I suddenly realize I have a fear of falling.

Or as my brain would politely put it.

IHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHISIHATETHIS

As I was spiraling into a depth of fear and rage, my surroundings were swirling in a ray of different colors, all rising up as I fell down.

I was able to appreciate the beauty for only a moment as I went back to screaming after my throat went sore.

Then, suddenly, that beauty all turned blood red.

The walls of red collapsed into me, causing me an immense amount of pain all over my body, forcing me to scream even further as something crawled into my body.

Without warning, I was suddenly pushed off course, and I was pushed into the red walls of my descent.

A faint voice whispered into my ear.

Let my ambition raze all it lays its eyes upon.

I could only barely hold onto those words as I passed out from the pain.

?

She looked at the figure who suddenly fell onto the bed in her bedroom, moments before she was going to exit the room to go to work.

At first, she was heavily on guard, seeing as no ordinary person could just suddenly warp into the Palace of Alcazarzary, but on closer inspection, it seemed he was… Unconscious.

She sighed and dropped her guard, seeing that he was unconscious, and decided that it would likely be better to keep an eye on this instead of continuing with her daily operations, and told her butler to tell the convoy to go on without her and that she would arrive on foot to Sumeru City later.

For now, Lord Sangemah Bay now had to contend with a mysterious arrival on her hallowed grounds as she carried his heavy body into a nearby room to wait until he woke up.

Hopefully, this hold up would somehow turn into a lucrative business opportunity…

AN:

I return, and this time, I bring you yet another PvP gamer fic!

But this time, I decided to say screw it and make it multiversal.

Because hey, if I can't handle 1 world, might as well make it multiple, right?

Anyways, I have all of the enemy players and worlds I want to go to decided, and I have some vague sense of where this story will go.

Well, like most people, I have the start pretty well done, and I have the ending pretty well done, but I have no idea how to connect those two.

So hey, if I succeed in my ambitions of making this fic last to the end, you get a pretty cool fic.

If I fail, I guess I'll just upload my plan and hope you can imagine the journey.

I won't spoil where Fuse is heading to in the future, but I will say that the starting world is Genshin Impact, set in Sumeru.

I was debating whether or not I was gonna make it Inazuma, but honestly, I really like Nahida even though Raiden is still my main in Genshin.

Also, since it's in Sumeru, most Genshin fics don't get there since you have to get through the other 3 regions first if you want to start in Mondstadt.

Therefore, I am the first gamer fic that starts in Sumeru.

Probably.

Maybe.

Anyways, I'm trying this cool thing called pre-writing my chapters, so by the time you read this, ideally the next 4 or 5 chapters will be done and I can keep pace and write a chapter every week or 2.

Probably every 2 weeks. I'm a lazy person.

Also, for future reference, I am writing this at 2:08 AM, without internet, working on google docs which thankfully has an offline mode.

Long live his majesty, Bill Gates! Or whoever owns google at this point idk the internet doesn't work and I don't feel like trying to get it to work until tomorrow.

Anyways, goodnight.

[I still think author notes are cool.]

[The ending of this chapter only makes sense if we get to the last 5ish chapters of the fic, so don't think too hard about it for now. Only come back to it if you read this in the future and the fic is like, 34/? Or something.]

[Bold assumption from me to assume we're going to get to 34 chapters lmao.]

[Also yeah I wrote 1.4K words before the actual gamer system just for that 'I died on the first fucking day' joke and IT WAS VERY WORTH IT.]

(It's been like 3 months and all I have are 4 chapters lmao I definitely need the 2 weeks in-between chapters.)

(I'll keep the old ANs that I wrote when I wrote the chapter.)

[Update: I have a discord server now if you wanted to personally yell at me. ZPrVHumQJv is the invite code.]