Disclaimer:
I don't own anything used here - including but not limited to the characters, the ideas for their powers, the events that occur and more. All ideas belong to their respective owners in the real world.
Even the OC name that I am using for the self insert was obtained by using ChatGPT, so you can tell how creative I am.
I don't earn anything from writing this story and everything that is written is purely fictional. Any coincidences with real life people, events or other things are purely coincidences and don't have any hidden meaning.
I have been on this site reading stories for more than 5 years by now, so if you recognize any events or ideas from other fanfics, most likely they are from that fic. Please don't send reviews saying I am stealing ideas from this or that author.
I am writing this fic because after spending so much time reading I wanted to try my hand at writing as well. And now that I have started this fic, my respect for those who write has increased tremendously. Especially fanfic writers who share really good stories with everyone here when they don't have to.
This story will go like I want it to, so you can consider it wish fulfillment. If you like what you are reading, then just favourite or follow or give a nice review. If you don't like what you read, just ignore this fic. No need to spend any thoughts on something you don't like, right? This site has plenty of crazy good stories that can occupy your minds and time much better.
Now, I really like how some authors mention right in the beginning about how their MC will act and what to expect. This way those who don't like the idea of such characters can drop the story without wasting time. So I will give a small idea about my MC and a little bit about the story as well.
As the title must have informed you, the story is set in the world of Campione! and the MC will have the powers of The Gamer. I have included the background of High School DxD as well, just to give me more events and characters to play with because otherwise the gods and godslayers will stand at the top with no other being strong enough to even catch their attention.
The MC will have a rough idea about the events of DxD, but he will be clueless about Campione. But the MC will not like the cast of DxD, so he won't be in the middle of those events. So, no going to Kuoh Town or becoming buddy-buddy with the devils. Instead, he will be at Sobu High, the place where the anime My Teen Romantic Comedy is Wrong as I Expected, also known as Oregairu, plays out.
The MC will be overpowered. He will be ruthless to those he deems as enemies and not hesitate to kill. He will not be a saint that jumps to help anyone he sees, nor will he be one of those guys who let any pretty girl walk all over him.
He will also be indifferent to those unrelated to him and if there is a chance of people dying and it benefitting him, then he will not interfere. He will also try to mostly keep a low profile and not flaunt his power more than necessary. Above all he will want a stable and peaceful life, and stirring up trouble is directly opposite to that.
But that doesn't mean he is afraid of trouble. Any troublemakers will be erased without hesitation.
The MC will have more than one love interest and one of them is already mentioned in the characters. The background of Campione is a harem one and the MC is someone who stands at the top of the world. Of course he will be interested in having more than one girl.
Also, whenever I need to use a character for any purpose and I don't find any who fit the role from Campione or Oregairu, I will use characters based on existing ones from a different anime. They will just be people with same names who live in the world of this fic and you can find where I got them easily by searching on the internet. I won't be modifying any names and stealing credit, so do check the works where I get the ideas from.
Lastly, if you decide you like this fic, go to my profile and see the stories I have favourite and follow and check them out. Hopefully if more people like them, the authors might update more frequently and those which haven't had an update in years might resume again.
Again, I do not own anything in this fic. All rights and credits go to their respective owners and I do not earn any profit from this.
Chapter 1
The first thing he saw on opening his eyes was a game screen.
Congratulations on becoming The Gamer! For more information think 'Menu'.
That's right. It was a rather plain looking game screen. It had a soft blue background with black text. What is more significant is that the screen was floating in midair. If he just squinted a little bit, he could even see through it.
There was a white ceiling behind it, so that meant he was lying down. He idly noted that the ceiling was different from that of his room and was not one he recognizes. He had just woken up and was feeling a bit lethargic for some unknown reason, so that might be why he wasn't panicking yet.
His blinked, but the screen was still there. After some more blinking, it became obvious the screen would not go away, so he tried to rub his eyes.
Emphasis on tried. To his shock, he could not bring his arm up to his face. In fact, now that he was trying to move, he had difficulty even turning his head and the feeling of something being not right became more pronounced.
At that his mind was quickly cleared of any remnants of sleep. Pushing down his growing unease, he tried to get up. He failed again.
In fact, he couldn't even roll over in a new position, and now that he was completely alert, he was shocked to find that he couldn't even feel his body properly. Everything felt sluggish, like he was still half asleep or something.
Or maybe it was sleep paralysis?
Whatever it was, it was obvious his situation was not good. So him panicking due to this was not surprising.
Then he heard some voices and a giant appeared in his vision. His shock overcame previous anxiety and fear when he was actually lifted up.
Someone actually lifted him like a small object! Before he could think what was about to happen to him or who this giant was, he finally noticed the problem.
It was not that there was a giant before him, but that he is no longer as tall as before. He is no longer a teenager, and judging by the situation, he can only come to one conclusion now - he has been turned into a baby.
Another point to that conclusion is that currently he was not wearing any clothes. Instead, he was covered in some sort of blanket.
He started becoming agitated again, because this was not much better than a giant holding him. The one who was holding him sensed this and started gently swaying him. The voices around him grew in intensity and he could see some other people around the one who was holding him.
They were all watching him, with some of the smaller ones crowding around - little kids, if he focused a bit he could make out small kids looking excited about something, which is probably him - trying to get a good look at him. But he could not understand a single word said. No one was speaking English.
Now completely panicked, he started crying.
xxx
He was embarrassed to admit it took him a few hours to calm down. But in his defense, going from a teenager to a defenseless baby who couldn't even turn his head fully is something to really panic about.
And it's not like something drastic or strange had happened to clue him into what was happening. Before he found himself in his current position, he went to sleep as usual. And the next time he woke up, he is in a completely unknown place, no longer how he used to be and with zero clue of the why and how regarding everything.
Fortunately, as a baby no one expected anything from him apart from sleeping or eating, so he at least didn't have to worry about attracting undue attention.
Or worse, suspicion.
After he finished crying, someone fed him - thankfully with a nipple bottle - and then left him in a crib. He wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings, but judging by how the lights were being turned off and the room was growing dark, it was safe to say it was night time. And those around him were going to sleep.
He stayed still for a few minutes, but everything was still very much real.
'Okay. So I am not dreaming.' He thought nervously. 'I need to... I need to look at that screen!' He recalled the fact there were words floating before him earlier, before he had freaked out.
Looking into them is the obvious option considering he has no other clue. But it seems like that has to be postponed because he suddenly realized just how tired he was.
Although he wanted to get on with the screen and what was written there, eventually he could not fight his exhaustion. One moment he was still thinking about whether to sleep or not, and the next he was already asleep.
Fortunately he woke up early, way before anyone else was up and about. The room was still dark and everything was silent, so he had time to think about his situation.
'So it was not a dream.' He was calmer than earlier, though not by much. 'I have really reincarnated.'
With some time to digest the situation, now he was not as scared as before. Instead, disbelief became the major emotion he was feeling.
Though his disbelief did not last long because his body made its need for food known. And instead of merely feeling hungry, he felt very uncomfortable. It was like he had skipped dinner or something, that is how hungry he felt.
He started fidgeting around and almost resumed crying like he did last night. Fortunately someone noticed his discomfort while he was trying to not cry. This someone then swiftly picked him up.
The person holding him was a middle aged woman with brown hair and eyes. She gently rocked him and said something to calm him down while bringing him somewhere for feeding.
Again, he did not understand a word of what she was saying, so he could not infer anything. Only the fact that wherever he was, he didn't know the language. Though since this included every place where people did not speak English, that list was still too long.
Being fed and then cleaned almost made him cry again, but this time out of sheer embarrassment. But unfortunately these things could not be done by him no matter how unwilling he was, so he had to bear it. To distract himself from the unfortunate aspects of his situation, he focused on his surroundings, trying to ignore everything else.
The first thing he noticed is that he could see everything properly. Heck, his vision was better than it was in his previous life.
'Is this normal?' He wondered about it a little and recalled something about babies not being able to see clearly for some time after their birth.
Or something along those lines. He was only 16 years old in his previous life, so its not like he is some walking encyclopedia with random knowledge stuffed in his head. But even he can guess that the way he can think clearly should not be normal, right? No way is the brain of a newborn child capable of such coherent thoughts.
Due to this, the thought of this being a different world from his original one crossed his mind. Because what else could it be? He had reincarnated and could see some game screen before falling asleep, so it is logical to assume his situation is similar to what is seen in anime and light novels.
Him being lost in his thoughts helped him tide over the indignity of needing to get cleaned. After he was placed again in his crib, the woman said something after seeing how well behaved he was being the whole time.
Although he did not understand what was said, he could detect some satisfaction from the way the words were delivered. It was not hard to infer that, considering how much effort babies require. That is easy to guess.
Then she turned and looked somewhere he could not see. She said something and received a reply from a new voice in the same language.
There was a third person in the room whom he hadn't noticed before this. When the first woman put him back in the crib, she settled him so he could see the other person now. Or more likely so that person could keep an eye on him more easily.
'That's right. I am a baby now, a newborn even.' Realization came to him quickly. 'Of course I won't be left alone. Someone has to keep an eye on me constantly.'
Fortunately, it looked like the young woman was not completely free. So instead of just watching him, she took out some notebooks and started working on them. She would occasionally glance in his direction, but other than that she was focused on her work.
He watched her for a few seconds more and then closed his eyes. Taking a few deep breaths, he calmed down slowly. To his embarrassment, the gentle swaying of his crib helped a lot.
In fact, it helped more than was really needed. Now he was feeling a bit sleepy again.
'This is no time to doze off! I need to take stock of my situation.'
With that thought, some of the earlier anxiety came back and pushed away his drowziness. He quickly turned to look into the only lead he had on his situation before he dozes off by mistake.
With a thought from him, the screen from before sprang up. He peered at the woman working away discreetly and was relieved when she did not react in anyway.
The screen was impossible to miss with the way it hovered in air and its colours definitely did not blend in with the room he was in. So one would have to be blind to miss it unless it was in their blind spot.
It was definitely not in the blind spot of that woman because she could see him perfectly, so she should have been able to see the screen too since it was just above him.
This meant that no one else aside from him can see it. Or, even if there are some requirements for other people to be able to see it, the one in the room does not fulfill it.
He tried to dismiss the screen and it disappeared. He thought about seeing it again and it reappeared again. He then closed his eyes and was delighted when he could still see it.
The words were as clear as if they were before his eyes and that too in high definition. All he had to do was just think about it.
It was a good thing he could 'see' the screen with his eyes closed. It would be weird if an infant's eyes roam around like he is reading or tracking something, an easy way to indicate something is not right with him.
There is a high chance he is in a different world, whether it might be a fantasy one like in any light novel or even one of those light novels itself. If those around are superstitious and notice his anomaly, then he will be in trouble.
And if this world has supernatural elements, then the trouble might be even more. It would be his death again if someone thinks he is possessed or something like that.
Now back to the notification. He looked at it some more and found it was something very familiar to him. Although he hadn't read the original manhua, he had read many, many fanfics about different anime, games, novels and such featuring aspects of The Gamer.
He had always liked an overpowered character story and what is better than a protagonist who can treat life as a game and become stronger continuously and without limits?
'Oh please be as amazing as possible. I really don't want to be stuck somewhere dangerous without a cheat.'
He prayed to whoever or whatever was responsible for reincarnating him. Luckily, his prayers were heard and when he opened the Menu, he smiled widely.
Well, as widely as was possible for the current him.
Following the instructions, he thought 'Menu' and a new screen popped up.
Menu
Status
Inventory
Dungeons
Shop
For ease of keeping track and ensuring he does not miss anything, he decided to go in the order they were displayed in and so chose the first option. Just like how it was previously, it seemed everything could be opened by simply thinking about it.
There was no need to physically touch the screen. It makes sense once you think that it actually exists only in his mind.
And it also makes him seem not quite right in the head, having such things in his head. Though the thought did not even cross his mind then. He was more focused on the new screen before him.
The only way he can describe it was a dream come true.
Displayed before him was a status page which would not look out of place in a game. It showed all the information about him and reading it made his day.
Status
Name: Kyosuke Sachi
Titles: The Gamer
Race: Human
Age: 2 Days
Level: 1
HP: 10/10
MP: 30/30
SP: 10/10
Stats:-
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Vitality: 2
Endurance: 1
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 10
Magic: 7
Luck: 15
Stat Points: 0
Credits: 0
Skills:
[Gamer's Body], [Gamer's Mind], [Observe]
Equipment: None
This was the full extent of the Status screen. He could also open any of the things mentioned on it for a detailed explanation, which was exactly what he did next.
He really liked what he was seeing.
HP meant Health Points, MP meant Magic Points or Magic Power and SP meant Stamina Points.
Strength determined his physical power. Things like how hard he could hit with a punch or kick and how much weight he could lift.
Agility determined his reaction speed and how dexterous he was. How much in control of his body he was and how good he was at doing delicate work requiring precision.
Vitality primarily determined his HP and its recovery rate. It also governed how soon he could recover from illinesses and injuries.
Endurance determined his stamina and is the main Stat which contributes to Stamina Points.
Strength and Endurance also contributed to HP, just not as much as Vitality. Similarly, Strength and Vitality contributed to SP, though not as much as Endurance.
Intelligence determined how fast and easily he could process new information. Whether he could remember something, for how long he could remember it and how easily he could recall it without mistakes.
Wisdom determined whether he could make correct decisions based on the information he had. The 'correct' here is not used in the context of right or wrong in any sense of morality. Instead it refers to the objective he has in mind while working towards a decision.
Magic determined MP and its recovery rate. Though Intelligence and Wisdom also contributed to MP, just a bit less than Magic.
Luck determined how lucky he was. It determined whether any events would be beneficial for him or not. It also affected the drop rate for equipment and other materials in the Dungeons.
First, he breathed out in relief when he saw his Race was still Human. That was one thing he did not have to worry about.
He then looked at his Stats, but lacking any reference he did not know whether they were high or not. But at least his Intelligence and Wisdom were not in single digits.
This also explained why he could think so clearly despite having the brain of a baby. Starting from zero as a baby is one thing, but if his new abilities had regressed his mental Stats to match that of a baby and he had acted like one and displayed abnormal signs because of seeing things that others could not would have made things needlessly difficult.
Thankfully that had not happened, so he was quite relieved.
This is the first time he experienced the perks of his body being that of a game character's. He did not follow the same rules as the rest of the world.
Kyosuke had an inkling of this being a major point in his advantage, but it is after a few years that he will realize just how much of a game changer it really was and not just a simple novelty.
After the Stats, it was time to look over the Skills he had. There were 3 Skills already present and they did not have any relation to his proficiency in anything, both past and present lives included. After all these are the iconic Skills of The Gamer and what will allow him to become stronger easily.
[Observe] gave him basic information about any target, whether living or non-living. It did not use any MP and so was undetectable by anyone. No one, no matter how high their Level is, can detect its use.
[Gamer's Body] turned his body into a game character's and so he can live like one. He can continuously grow stronger without limits and his body will heal from injuries completely with enough time and without leaving any scar tissue or sequelae.
He can also learn whatever magic or ability he wants, since he is not restricted to any biological limits either. It doesn't matter if the ability in question belongs to a different power system or is limited to those of a particular race, Kyosuke can learn it all and use his MP to cast them.
Or rather, he can learn a Skill that will have the same effect as any power.
[Gamer's Mind] allowed him to think calmly in most situations. It also protected him from outright mind control, though he can still suffer from status effects such as Madness, Fear etc. But although he could suffer from Status Effects, they would still show on his Status. This meant that as long as he is prepared enough, he can snap out of them.
After all, when there is a warning flashing before one's eyes about their mental state that they know is true, it shouldn't be too hard to snap out of it, right?
And lastly, but most importantly, [Gamer's Mind] also protected his secret of reincarnation, so he didn't have to fear that getting out.
These three were already maxed out in levels, so they cannot be improved. But that is completely fine. They were already overpowered as it is.
The Equipment tab was empty since he was currently swaddled in normal clothes.
After looking over everything in Status, he moved on to Inventory.
It was simple enough. A display showing many boxes where he could store anything. There was no limit to the amount of things or size. As long as something was a whole, it could be stored there.
He briefly wondered how amazing it would be if he could store and bring out mobile bases at will. Dropping a fortress on an enemy would be both comical and impressive.
Since Kyosuke did not have anything he could store in the Inventory and check it out practically, he did not think much on it and quickly moved on.
After the Inventory, there was the Dungeon option. Opening it, there were a variety of Dungeons with all sorts of monsters imaginable. From the weakest and common monsters found in various media like zombies, skeletons and slimes to crazy powerful monsters like demons, dragons and much, much more, all were available across a myriad of Dungeons.
These Dungeons were categorized based on the types of monsters present in them and their levels, so there is no need for him to go in blind. In them, Kyosuke can get real combat experience, earn Experience Points, farm for weapons and equipment and earn Credits.
These Credits could then be used to buy anything from the Shop, the last option on the Menu. And what a Shop it was. A glance and he was starstruck will all the things available. There were all sorts of Skills, equipment, items, materials and even companion gems to summon people and characters.
Most importantly, they covered everything from all sorts of fictional media he knew and did not know about.
'Jackpot!' After he was finished learning about his new powers, Kyosuke was ecstatic beyond words. This is exactly what he needed - a cheat with a clear way to become overpowered.
Even though he was only Level 1, it was temporary. He just has to do what a game character does and increase it. And this process should not be too hard either, considering this cheat he now has. It is a life saver too, since he was an ordinary boy in his previous life.
So from now on, he just has to work hard in a low key fashion. There was no telling what dangers lurked in this new and unknown world, so he had plenty of motivation. Besides, he has read many light novels and watched many anime, so at least he has some idea of what to do.
At least he isn't completely cluless on the future, which is a big point in his favour.
xxx
As time passed, Kyosuke found more information on his situation.
The first thing he found was the country he now lives in - Japan. Thankfully it is modern day Japan, around the 2000's and not some feudal era. The orphanage is located in a city named Chiba, which is near Tokyo.
After a few days had passed, he got the [Japanese Proficiency] Skill just by listening to the people around him talk. It was the first Skill he had obtained aside from the basic three and it allowed him to gather information on his immediate surroundings.
It also showed how amazing [Gamer's Body] was, that he could learn a new language just by listening to it without understanding a single word and with zero instruction. In his previous life he had tried to learn some German but had given up after sometime. So seeing how easily he learnt a new language now, which was even more difficult than German really made him sigh.
Even though he was quite lazy, this new rate of learning was completely overpowered. Just what he likes.
It also lit a fire inside him to be better this time. Doubly so when he found that he is an orphan now.
More accurately, he was abandoned at the orphanage. The staff were polite enough to not refer to him as such and the only reason he knew this is because some of them lamented on how unlucky he was to be abandoned just after birth.
Also, he figured out that he is most probably in an anime world because the people around are ridiculously good looking for ordinary staff at an orphanage. Seriously, he wouldn't be surprised if they were models or something.
It might not be odd if only one of them was handsome or beautiful, but all of them? That just meant that this is the average level of this world in terms of looks and it is him who has a different sense of beauty when compared to other people.
Apart from the modern world anime setting, he also figured out that magic is real here. Everyone had some amount of magic power, no matter how negligible it might be. [Observe] made it child's play get the exact numbers, even though he did not have any idea of what constituted reserves large enough that the person in question is a mage.
But even so, he at least knows that everyone has some magic power. And if even civilians have magic power, then obviously there should be people out there who can harness it and actually use it. This sent Kyosuke into a brainstorming session on what to do from this point on.
He made mental notes on his situation and thought over everything carefully. Seeing as he couldn't really do anything else due to being incapable of even turning around in his crib, he had a lot of time to think.
Firstly, he had no idea what world he was in, exactly. Or even if this world was one on which he has any prior knowledge. So keeping a low profile and exercising caution are a must.
So that means he cannot just test how he can manipulate MP without any thought. Not to forget that he is defenseless in his current state. Any wrong move and he will be in deep trouble and completely helpless against whoever comes for him.
For all he knows, a mage might be living just beside the orphanage and Kyosuke would paint a huge target on his back by doing something which no other infant should be capable of.
But keeping a low profile and being cautious bring on a problem of their own. One that he only found out after a few days.
'So what can I learn now? I need to start on something, otherwise I will go crazy like this!' Kyosuke was getting bored with nothing to do and it was morphing into irritation now.
As someone who spent all his time doing something, whether it be studying, surfing the internet, watching anime or even eating some delicious food, he was about to go stir crazy being stuck as a baby. He was stuck with only his thoughts for company, could not move at all and the only thing he could eat was bland baby food which felt tasteless.
He was going stir crazy and so he shifted his attention to the only thing he can possibly do - magic. He convinced himself that as long as he is careful, then there is no harm in starting out early.
So the next question is, what magic can he learn?
He was under constant watch, so any magic which has obvious signs is out. Unfortunately this stumped him right at the start, which is not a good sign no matter what you are doing.
He grew frustrated very quickly, but tried hard not to show it. He is not alone after all and standing out in Japan, anime or not, is not a good thing for the current him. But this thought did not help any and only made his mood worse.
If he has to spend years staying idle like this and not do anything, he will go crazy, of that he has no doubt. Especially when the Shop has such amazing Skills he can only look at but not buy-
The Shop.
If he could move, he would have bolted upright. As it is, his eyes widened as much as they could when he had his epiphany.
'The Shop! How can I forget about that?' He quickly brought it up and opened the filter directly.
He hadn't paid it much attention earlier, but on a closer look the filter that can be applied is very comprehensive. One might even say too comprehensive, or even overly complicated.
Firstly, he could filter the items based on their category, such as Skills, items, equipment, consumables and such. But this is just the most basic one.
Then he can apply a filter based on a number of criteria such as price, power or rarity. The reverse is also true and he can apply them in any order, it does not matter.
Then, these main categories can also be further divided based on aspects such as offense, defense, healing and so on. In all, there was a number of ways to navigate the Shop.
It was necessary too, since it would be impossible to find what he desires if he had to manually enter anything or, in the worst case scenario, just scroll down to find what he wants.
Kyosuke's eyes sought the magic section under the Skills category. His mood did a complete shift from the previous gloom when he found just what he needed.
All the Skills had a small introduction he could see. This described what the Skill in question can do in simple words. There were no instructions whatsoever, but that doesn't matters.
The type of simple introductions in the Shop would not help anyone else in learning them, except him.
'Lets see. What magic can I do which will not show any outward effect? It has to be subtle and be useful. Wasting time on some useless Skill is idiotic when I don't even know what type of enemies I will face in the future.'
It is years before he can enter the Dungeons and start earning Credits. But although he cannot buy anything, it does not mean he cannot learn anything either.
[Gamer's Body] should let him pick up Skills at an unbelievable rate. All he needs is a vague direction of what to do and the rest will be covered in time - which he has plenty of.
xxx
The first Skill Kyosuke learned was [Meditation]. It was something which almost every fictional media has. A character learns to meditate to sense their power, the power of the world or something.
As can be deduced, he is not very clear on all the applications of this Skill, but at least it is a start. And it also helped in engaging his mind and distracting him from his immediate woes.
Fortunately his decision proved to be the correct one. [Meditation] quickly showed its usefulness when it allowed him to sense his MP. It's description said it can be used to recover MP at a faster rate, but Kyosuke could not test it.
His MP Recovery Rate was miniscule. But the MP he used up with active and even aggressive use of [Meditation] was even less than that. So there was no way for him to effectively see this aspect of the Skill in action.
After [Meditation] came [Magic Sensing]. It allowed him to sense magic in other people and even objects.
On their own these Skills were not that amazing. Even combined they were not that useful for the current him and he had only learned them out of desperation.
If he had some other options, then Kyosuke wouldn't have hesitated in choosing them. But still, these Skills proved one thing, one very important thing.
What Kyosuke is doing is not a waste and even if not very impressive, he can still do magic. So with the fruits of his labour present before his eyes and described in clear words and numbers, Kyosuke threw himself into practicing them diligently.
From there he was on a roll and in the future he would always tell his wives that he was glad that [Meditation] was the first Skill he focused on so much as to derive other Skills from it.
His third Skill was [Occlumency], a Mind Art from the Harry Potter franchise. It was mainly used as a defense against Legilimency, the magic which allowed one to read the thoughts of an unprotected mind.
[Occlumency] also helped in organizing the mind. Kyosuke's mind became sharper and clearer and he could recall things he had long forgotten about. After a lot of effort and levelling up, he could visit any memory and notice details he might have missed in the moment.
And for a bonus this also increased two of his Stats - Magic and Intelligence. And to think it all began with something as mundane as meditation.
When Kyosuke could finally walk on his own and could get some crayons and paper, he started drawing different things with both of his hands, at the same time.
This gave him the Skill [Ambidextrous] and after some more diligent work [Parallel Processing].
He was floored when he obtained that Skill. It was insane how easily he got it considering the sheer scope of this Skill and the potential it had. Simply put, because of this Skill he could now do multiple things at once without bungling any of them.
And this applied to independent tasks too. Each task would be performed at the same level as if he was focused on that single one only. No one could tell that it was done while Kyosuke was working on something else simultaneously.
It was easy to see how useful this would be when he finally starts learning magic. Being able to cast multiple spells in the time it takes his enemy to cast one is going to give him an absolute advantage against those on the same level.
Against those stronger or with greater numbers, he can match them no problem if just by virtue of trying to overwhelm them with quantity.
[Parallel Processing] cemented the fact he had overpowered abilities. He knew that beforehand, but knowing is different from seeing. What's more, he could feel and experience the progress he made. And that, more than anything, is not something that could be conveyed in words.
At least he could not do it.
This made him addicted to the feeling of becoming stronger and when some more experimenting gave him [Thought Acceleration], the power to speed up his thoughts and consequently cast magic at an unmatched speed in the future, Kyosuke was hooked on [Mind Magic] as a whole.
xxx
Kyosuke entered the Dungeon for the first time when he was 5. Over the years, he had shown to be a quiet and well behaved kid. And because he was not annoying, he was moved into a room with some other kids a few years older than him and who were equally as quiet as him.
That is to say, he now roomed with the nerds of the orphanage. This turned out to be very beneficial for Kyosuke. They minded their own business and were too busy trying to make something of themselves to bother him.
Kyosuke was rather surprised how serious they were at such a young age. But on second thought it kind of made sense. All of them had no family to turn to in times of need. Although the staff at the orphanage were polite, they were equally as distant.
They were professionals, but that could never substitute for a real family and the warmth and companionship which one provided.
Although he was more focused on becoming stronger, deep down this situation did affect Kyosuke as well. He already had a family before, so their absence was noticeable. Though the loss lessened as time passed and he immersed himself more and more into his new life.
On a side note, Kyosuke looks exactly like he did in his previous life. He still has the same brown eyes, black hair and ordinary face as before. That is to say, he looked completely unremarkable compared to those who have looks straight from an anime.
He is quite glad for this fact. At least he feels comfortable in his own body and never feels as if he is looking at a stranger when standing before a mirror. The fact this helps in making him blend into the background more easily is only a bonus in his opinion.
His roommates were also unremarkable. Kyosuke is polite but distant with them, as he cannot really connect with little kids no matter how mature they may seem at a glance. And really, he does not want to connect with little kids as friends either.
After noting his roommates habits and routine, Kyosuke entered the Dungeons in the middle of the night, at a time when none of them would be up.
His first choice was the [Empty Dungeon]. It is a copy of the real world with no living beings present inside. So that means no monsters, no humans, not even insects or animals.
It was honestly quite creepy how silent it was. He could hear the sound of his own breaths and being the only source of it, all his actions felt louder than they should have been.
It took a while for Kyosuke to get used to it.
Nonetheless it is the perfect place to practice magic in a safe environment with zero chances of being disturbed. What's more, he could go wild inside and test how his spells would affect his surroundings in the real world, like whether he is strong enough to punch a tree, destroy concrete or even bring down a small building after much effort and by hacking away at its pillars.
The first could be done quite easily by him after a few days of repeated actions, but the latter two required more time. Though he did succeed in them within a week, so it could not be said that it took a lot of time.
Kyosuke also tested entering and exiting the Dungeon multiple times and from different locations and positions. This allowed him to figure out some of the rules regarding that process.
Firstly, whenever he exits a Dungeon, he will come out at the same location where he entered it. Though his stance will be the same as that at the moment of exit, so he has to be mindful about that. It wouldn't do to be caught in some awkward position.
This also means that he cannot just enter the [Empty Dungeon] and escape to any corner of the world. If he is driven to the point where he has to escape into the Dungeons, then he will have to become powerful enough to crush the threat responsible before he can even think of returning.
Secondly, time passes in the Dungeons at the same rate as in the real world. So this means he cannot stay in there without any regards to the duration. If he stays there too long and his absence is noticed, then he will draw unwanted attention.
Still, Kyosuke was very satisfied with all this. In fact, he was more than satisfied. He had pushed his [Mind Magic] to the limits possible without any formal instructions, whether written or oral.
The [Empty Dungeon] gave him a place to start on other magic, so he did exactly that. As he had spent a lot of time planning it all, he did not waste time and quickly learned the basics needed for him to enter the other Dungeons and start farming Experience Points and Credits.
He was very thorough in his preparations. In his previous life, he was a completely ordinary person. In this life, although he had a very high level in [Mind Magic], it was not enough for a fight of any kind.
From this point on, he would be fighting monsters. They would be aiming to kill and Kyosuke was not arrogant enough to think he will handle everything calmly. He knew he had zero combat training and no matter how many times he simulates an encounter in his mind, it is just that - a simulation.
Real situations are more complex. Just to begin with, he has to consider his emotions when facing a monster for the first time. He knows zero spells specifically made for offense and defense, so he will panic.
He can admit that without shame and so he worked to rectify that first. It wouldn't do to die due to carelessness in the beginning and waste such a wonderful opportunity.
But that is not to say he spent excessive time preparing. Its not like he is going to jump into fighting monsters way above his level from the get go.
His next destination has skeletons and zombies, the weakest monsters in any game. And the ones he will be facing initially will be the weakest among their kind, so being too cautious is also not good.
Excessive caution is similar to excessive fear in the way they will both hold him back. Besides, after all these years he has a pretty good idea of how overpowered [Gamer's Body] really is, so he doesn't have to scurry around like an ant, afraid of being noticed by some giant and getting crushed.
So he spent his time in the [Empty Dungeon] working on [Telekinesis], [Mana Bullet] and [Mana Shield]. The latter two were the most basic spells for offense and defense and really, they were the only ones he had confidence in learning without any formal instructions.
And [Telekinesis] offered some much needed versatility to him. It was also more subtle than the rest, so it would be useful where the rest might be inconvenient to use.
After he was proficient enough in them, that is to say he could comfortably use them along with [Parallel Processing] and [Thought Acceleration] to achieve results way above his age and level, he was off to his first Dungeon with actual monsters present - [Ruined City].
xxx
The first Dungeon, [Ruined City], was based on a desolate city. The buildings were dilapidated with cracks running across the majority of them. Many even looked on the verge of falling apart with how large some of those cracks were. It looked like one good hit will topple them over.
The roads were broken and torn up everywhere. Some places had craters, indicating a large object had impacted them. While others looked like they were teared up by something having large and sharp claws and with the strength to crush concrete.
Most buildings had broken windows and all that glass was strewn around, waiting for a passerby to step on and suffer painful wounds.
When the wind blew, it would result in some noises that can only form in a place like this. Accompanying that, some unstable parts of buildings would sway dangerously and look one good push away from collapsing.
The whole city was clearly weather beaten and completely abandoned. There were scratches and indents visible everywhere as if wild beasts had marked their territories. Only, these were not mere beasts but actual monsters.
These monsters were the only denizens in the Dungeon apart from Kyosuke. They were stronger than regular animals, at least regular animals were not strong enough to tear concrete and smash through buldings. Or gouge it out like it was soft like clay.
They roamed around in varying groups, from lone stragglers to large groups of a dozen or so of the same type. Since they were just skeletons and zombies, there were no roars or such sounds which could be used to know about their movements from a safe distance.
At least in the beginner area there was no monster which felt the need to announce its presence for all to hear. Though in the depths where the levels are the highest, it is a different story.
But this being a beginner Dungeon, the areas were demarcated clearly according to level. So at least there was no danger of coming across one of them for no reason.
Kyosuke arrived at the start point which was a [Safe Zone]. All Dungeons will have at least this [Safe Zone], so he didn't have to worry about getting attacked the moment he enters a Dungeon.
He looked around a bit and found he was in a park. The swings and slides were rusted and the grass was overgrown. Because he was too short, currently he is only 5 years old after all, it reached his waist.
And that was at the minimum. He could see some spots where the grass was higher than him.
Kyosuke was speechless when he experienced that. He hadn't thought how his short height will affect him, which in hindsight should have been quite obvious.
"This is going to be more difficult than I thought." He muttered and eyed the place with a critical look.
He also became a bit worried. He wasn't planning on getting close to any monster, but if he could not even travel around without hinderance then this is going to require even more patience and caution than he had initially estimated.
His steps were slow when he walked to the boundary of the [Safe Zone]. The exit of the park was the boundary. Beyond it is where he will find the monsters of this Dungeon.
Leaving the park, Kyosuke arrived in a regular neighbourhood, the kind that can be found in any anime. The houses around are neither small nor big, about two stories in height. They have a small backyard and are surrounded by a medium height wall.
In his opinion, they are quite cozy. Who knows, when he gets his own place, he might even keep it like this.
Kyosuke walked around slowly and steadily. He tried to not make any loud noises and kept [Magic Sense] on constantly.
Nothing happened for about 10 minutes, but Kyosuke can be very patient if he wants to be. And at least this Dungeon is not completely silent like the [Empty Dungeon], so there is no discomfort in walking around.
The moment he neared his first monster, Kyosuke instantly sensed it. There is no way he could have missed it, what with its magic power being very different to what he is used to.
The easiest way to explain [Magic Sense] is to compare it to seeing something with human eyes. Just like how a light source is obvious to any regular human, the same way anyone with magic power is obvious to Kyosuke.
The brighter the source, or greater the intensity, the more magic power the target has. Apart from that, each human also gives off a different feeling. For low levels of magic it is hard to notice, so Kyosuke did not realize it before.
It is only after increasing the level of the Skill that he became capable of differentiating people based on their magic power, no matter how small their reserves.
The monster's magic power felt different from a human's. This distinction was also large enough that anyone with a bit of proficiency in sensing can tell them apart, let alone the current him.
After sensing it, Kyosuke became more conscious of where he was stepping to avoid alerting his enemy to his presence.
As he turned the corner and kept walking towards the monster, slowly but surely caution was joined by excitement. This is going to be his first fight, so of course he will be excited.
When he reached the final corner beyond which the target was staying still, he stopped.
'Heh, this is it.' He flexed his hands and took a few deep breaths, steadying himself. Then he inched closer to the bend while sticking to the wall.
Peering around, Kyosuke saw it - the first monster.
Standing in the middle of the road was a Skeleton. [Observe] showed it was Level 1 and Kyosuke estimated it was a regular human's. It had two arms, two legs and a normal skull with two sockets and one mouth, with no other signs to indicate it might be of a different race's.
Kyosuke activated [Thought Acceleration] subconsciously the moment he saw it and so had all the time in the world to observe it. It was mostly a dull grey in color, with some dark stains visible on the bones not covered by the armour it was wearing.
The armour in question was thin and tattered and made the skeleton look like it was dressed in rags. Kyosuke guessed it might be made of leather, but it looked incapable of defending against slightly cold weather, let alone any type of magic.
It held a sword in its left hand and that too looked on the verge of breaking apart. It was a simple sword, a dull grey in color. There were brown patches scattered across it intermittently, most probably from rust.
Kyosuke continued watching it for a few minutes, but the skeleton did not show any signs of noticing him. It continued staying in that single spot in the middle of the road, looking away from Kyosuke and towards a wall. It did not move even an inch and could have passed for a mannequin if it looked just a bit fake.
Seeing as it was not going to do anything, Kyosuke made the first move. He looked a few feet above the skeleton and focused. A blue orb manifested there out of thin air and without any prior warning.
The skeleton sensed that and looked up at the [Mana Bullet]. It lifted its sword and slashed at the spell once, twice then thrice. When it became obvious it would not reach the spell, it stopped and finally moved from its original position.
It started retreating away from the spell, which happened to be in Kyosuke's direction. Before it could reach near enough to sense him, Kyosuke willed the spell to attack.
The bullet was made from magic power, so its speed theoretically did not have any limit. It would go as fast as Kyosuke could direct it and a week of practice had made it fast enough to handle this mob.
The skeleton raised its sword to intercept it, but the spell was faster. The monster's swing was only halfway done when it was struck in the ribcage with a loud crack!
Kyosuke watched as the skeleton broke into pieces which fell on the ground. After a second they vanished completely, only leaving behind the loot.
Ding! You have killed a Level 1 [Common Skeleton Warrior]. You have earned 10 Experience Points and 1 Credit. You have obtained [Ordinary Bone] x1 and [Rusted Sword] x1.
Ding! Would you like to enable the Auto Pickup function?
Kyosuke was only taken aback by the ease with which he won for a second. Since he had prepared a lot for this moment and knew that the common monsters would not be a problem, he snapped out of his surprise quickly. Instead, he was far more focused on the notifications which had popped up.
The moment he looked at them, a wide grin appeared on his face. After 5 years, his Experience Points and Credit had finally moved from 0. By now it had become painful to look at those two, so when they increased in amount, Kyosuke almost laughed out loud.
'Finally, finally! Now its time to increase my level and Credits and then shop.'
He looked at the Shop option involuntarily and felt his mouth water at all the Skills he had bookmarked over the years. His eyes were almost red with excitement and longing when he remembered that he had obtained some loot just now.
So he looked at the second notification. After reading it, he looked at the stuff lying in the middle of road at the position where the skeleton had died.
'Turn it on.' It is a no brainer as to what should be done in such a scenario.
Going around picking up stuff will get old and tedious fast. Not to mention if he kills a monster from a long range then he will have to travel to the loot's position to pick it up.
And as he is planning to be a mage, he will be handling most enemies from a distance only.
Finally, Kyosuke was hesitant to directly touch something like [Ordinary Bone] so soon. They looked like human bones and seeing them for the first time made him a bit queasy.
Ding! Auto Pickup has been enabled. All items dropped by monsters killed or quests completed will be directly deposited in the Inventory now.
After the notification sounded in his ears, the loot lying on the ground disappeared, and with that his Inventory received its first items.
[Ordinary Bone] and [Rusted Sword] did not need any description, their names aptly explained what type of material they were. Kyosuke gave their description and Stats a once over and did not hesitate.
He directly sold them to the Shop.
This is a feature of the Shop he caould finally make use of now. Anything can be sold to the Shop. The price is also fair, that is, the same price for which the item in question is sold in the Shop.
There is only one condition on selling things to the Shop - only stuff obtained in the Dungeons can be sold.
Anything originating in the original world cannot be sold. The same is true for any product crafted by Kyosuke. If he uses even a single material from the real world as an ingredient, then the Shop will not buy the final product.
Also, if it is something he has bought from the Shop, then he cannot sell it back. Like, he cannot buy a weapon, use it and when he has accumulated enough Credits, sell it and buy a new weapon with the combined balance.
Things are not that cheating and easy. Kyosuke also thought it fair enough, since if there are such loopholes, then he will not even need to grind for Credits much since he will never technically spend any of it.
The fact he can directly sell the trash obtained for some amount already satisfies him. Besides, if he gets lucky and obtains some expensive item in the Dungeons, then he can sell it. This way, even if the item in question is not suitable for him or has some crazy requirements or restrictions, he can still turn it into useful items he can immediately use.
After appreciating his increased Experience Points and Credits, he resumed walking. With a greedy and hungry glint in his eyes, he turned around the corner and briskly made his way to the next monster.
For the next 2 hours, Kyosuke carefully went through the section of the city with the monsters who were at the bottom of the hierarchy. Apart from earning Credits and Experience Points, he also tested his Skills in real combat and earned valuable experience.
No matter how good one is at theory, there are many things that can only be learnt properly after attempting them. Things like managing MP and SP can only be learnt when facing monsters whose actions are not under his control.
How to move around undetected and carefully, how to avoid being surrounded by enemies and not attract them in the first place, how to be mindful of the environment so as to not be at a disadvantage and even use it to his advantage, how a Skill would act if he uses more or less MP, how it would react with different monsters - all this and more he slowly picked up while actually fighting and gathering field experience.
Also, he cannot forget about the [Treasure Chests]. Since this is a Dungeon, there will be treasure chests, of course. In random places in the Dungeon, Kyosuke found perfectly preserved [Treasure Chests] which looked completely out of place with the aesthetic of their surroundings.
The treasure, along with the loot from the monsters, consisted of common things which were nothing out of the ordinary in the context of this Dungeon. There were weapons, armour and materials like bones, fangs of both the magical and non-magical variety. Then there was the gold, silver and even stone and wood he found from either [Treasure Chests] or just picked up from the Dungeon.
Yes, materials can be harvested from various places in the Dungeons. Killing monsters for loot and opening [Treasure Chests] are not the only ways to gather materials.
This prompted Kyosuke to go on a frenzy and he started dismantling whatever he could for materials. Though [Ruined City] did not have any particularly noteworthy resource spots, he still went through the path he travelled with a fine toothed comb. There is no need to pass up easy Credits, not when he is just starting out.
The most valuable things he found in there were the potions - HP, SP and MP Potions were enough and helped in recovering Health Points, Stamina Points and Mana Points respectively.
He kept the potions for now, in case they were ever needed in an emergency. The rest of the stuff he sold without hesitation, because what was the point of hoarding these things?
If they were rare materials then he would keep them without hesitation, but for stuff he has no need for and which is effectively useless, he would use them to decrease the time it will take for him to learn those amazing Skills he has been eyeing for years now.
He has no need for things like wood and stone, he will not use all those weapons and equipment which are either completely common or look on the verge of falling apart, and he cannot sell the gold, silver or the few gems he comes across in the real world. So selling all that was a wise choice, otherwise it would only clutter up his Inventory.
Another good thing he came across was a [Skill Book]. He just had to pick it up and there would be a notification telling him about the Skill. It would contain its name and a description about its effects and stats. Then at the bottom was the question of whether he wants to learn it or not.
He obviously learnt it. On his first day, he only found one - [Power Strike]. A simple Skill which enhanced a physical attack depending on the amount of MP used to activate it.
"Amazing."
Activating the Skill, Kyosuke could feel himself becoming stronger. Although it was focused mainly on his right hand, the rest of his body was also strengthened accordingly so he can use the strength granted without any drawback.
He looked at his hand and then at the wall beside him.
"Should I do it or not?"
He gulped in sudden nervousness. He really wants to try the Skill out. Really.
But if he gets hurt, then how will he heal himself? Since he has no relevant Skill, he will have to use a HP Potion, of which he only has 5 after 2 hours of grinding.
After much hesitation, he decided to not test it by punching a wall or something. At least not like this.
It was in this state of wavering of doing or not that he came across a building which was way more damaged than any he had seen earlier.
He looked at the cracked and chipped walls and the sunken ground near it. The building was even tilting a little due to the unstable foundation. For some reason it made Kyosuke think about the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Except this was a tower he could bring down. Naturally, Kyosuke grew contemplative over whether to destroy it or not. He could sense quite a few skeletons inside and the building was quite large too, a full 12 stories packed with Experience Point packets.
'Oh what the hell. I should at least do this before I leave.'
There wasn't much time left for him to spend in the Dungeon. He still needed to get enough sleep after this to function without any problem for the next day.
Acting on some occasional whims will not harm him, right? Plus he needs to be aware of his power so he can be more responsible outside the Dungeons. And it's not like the monsters around are a threat anyway. He can escape safely with his current Skills and in the worst case directly exit the Dungeon, forfeiting any progress made in clearing the map.
It wouldn't affect him adversely in any manner.
And that is how he convinced himself before he started hacking away at the ground using [Telekinesis]. The ground shook a little as dirt and large lumps of earth were thrown away, enlarging the inclination at a steady rate.
While he was doing this, he wasn't standing around like an idiot. Instead he retreated away a good distance. Finally, after around 5 minutes of effort, he could see the building sway precariously.
Kyosuke had a grin as he raised one hand and channeled as much MP as he could without increasing the difficulty of his immediate escape.
The amount of MP he sent into [Mana Bullet] this time was so much that every skeleton for about 500 meters could sense him. The spell struck the hole he had dug near the base of the building with a loud explosion, throwing broken chunks of the building's walls and earth flying.
Then it fell down with a loud groan of something being pushed beyond it's limits and then loud popping sounds could be heard as things broke. Kyosuke watched with wide eyes as the building crashed into one directly across from it and that resulted in the second one also falling.
Glass was smashed, large pieces went flying and a huge dust coud was thrown up. It was a huge commotion, just as large as the one time he did the same in the [Empty Dungeon]. It was like a scene straight from a movie, except it was real and he was the one who had caused it.
The good news is that after this he was bombarded with multiple notifications telling him about the monsters he killed and the loot he obtained from that stunt. Many skeletons were caught up in the impact and the aftermath, so he obtained a lot of loot, Experience Points and Credits.
The bad news is that he had to quickly escape the vicinity. The commotion had attracted many monsters and not all were the cannon fodder he was currently fighting.
"This is amazing!"
Seeing a few skeletons in the way, Kyosuke did not slow down. Using [Telekinesis], he lifted them up into the air and flung them into those who had sensed him and were making a beeline for him from a different direction.
He kept running to the [Safe Zone] with a manic grin and kept laughing out loud, even as he kept using the skeletons he encountered as makeshift weapons and tossing them into his pursuers.
"Hahaha! Amazing indeed! Nothing can stop me now!"
When he entered the [Safe Zone], he turned around and watched as the horde of monsters stopped exactly at the point the zone started. Kyosuke squinted but did not see any signs of any physical barrier there.
From his perspective, there was nothing there which stopped the monsters from coming at him. Whatever was stopping them, only the monsters could sense it. They did not try to attack Kyosuke and just stood there, watching him.
They also completely blocked the way out. At least on the ground. Though Kyosuke is sure if there were flying zombies among the horde he had attracted, they would be pressed up against the [Safe Zone]'s boundary in the air as well.
"Hoh, interesting. So they cannot enter even a bit beyond the boundary." He suddenly thought of something and threw a [Mana Bullet] into the horde.
He was only mildly surprised when his attack was stopped just a moment before striking the first monster. It dissipated into nothing and had zero effect.
"So the zone will not allow me to attack them either." He mused out loud. "It will be too one-sided if I can just lure them and then attack from a safe place, so this makes sense."
He did not like it, but he could not deny that this was unexpected. Anyways, it's not a big deal. The monsters will most probably leave by the time he comes the next day, so there is no need to worry about them blocking the way out.
If they are still there, however, then he can simply reset his progress and the problem will be solved.
'Exit Dungeon.'
The Dungeons reset every time he exits them, unless he specifically saves his progress. Another great feature about them in his opinion.
He can grind the same monsters again and again by using this feature and choose to clear the Dungeon on his own pace. There is no need to clear it all in one go and he is not even restrained by any time limit.
When Kyosuke returned to his room, he was initially still full of energy. He quietly went to the bathroom to clean up and by the time he was in his bed, ready to sleep, he felt the day's activities catching up to him.
He felt exhausted, but it was a satisfactory kind, similar to one felt after a good workout at a gym.
He had walked and run the most today in this life. Same for casting Skills. He had never used so many while physically exerting himself at the same time like this.
It would be strange if he wasn't tired. But even so, or because he was like this, that he went to sleep way more content than ever.
He was very satisfied with his progress and all the facets of his power he was finally making use of.
And the best part in all this was definitely seeing exactly how stronger he was becoming in clear numbers. When there is proof of what you are doing is succeeding right in front of you, and that too in clear numbers with no chance of any errors, who will complain about hard or annoying work?
'Hehe, now I just need to keep this up and this life will be better than anything I could have imagined.'
Kyosuke went to sleep with vague ideas of grandeur, satisfied with his situation and determined to reach heights only possible in his dreams of previous life. Just a day in the Dungeon had improved him by a large margin, showing that real combat is the way to go.
The speed of improvement threw his practice in the [Empty Dungeon] way behind, so from now on he will be entering the Dungeons everyday without missing a beat.