Essentially all of the various stories I've had kicking around my computer and have been slowly working on in order to make a really good story before publishing it.
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Draco's Various Stories
- Thread starter DracoStar12
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Story 1: Remnant: The JRPG - Chapter 1
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DracoStar12
Your first time is always over so quickly, isn't it?
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2025
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Chapter 1: New Game Start
Dying sucks. Strong statement to start with and one that's obvious, I know but dying factually does suck. It can suck even more depending on how you exactly die. I've heard all sorts of things about dying. News and media can get creative sometimes. Especially from a show about various ways of dying that have actually happened in real life, not something a kid should be watching but I digress, and know a lot from some personal experience. Not to mention it's something one does not generally think about until they are confronted with it. Of course I have a great amount of personal experience right now because well… I am dying. In some shitty alleyway. After saving someone from being robbed. A cliche Hero Story, I know. Guy sees a crime going down and tries to stop it. Hell I can hear the ambulance but well… they're gonna be late, I know it. Stab wound is particularly deep. I can faintly tell the person I saved is nearby me. You know today was such a nice day too before all of this. Sun was shining, it was a particularly warm day even during this dreadful winter that was going on. Makes the cold feeling that was creeping in even worse frankly. I feel the person shaking me, bringing back some of my focus. Could feel my thoughts getting a bit scattered at a point so it helped. Think my head may have gotten a bad hit when I got slammed into the ground while trying to wrestle away the knife.
"H-Hey! Stay with me man!"
"...I'm not gonna make it. I can already feel myself slipping away at this point."
"T-The ambulance is almost here, we just need to keep applying pressure."
"Listen. There's too much blood lost, the wound is practically impossible to patch. Goddamn serrated knife… heh, would be a Geneva Convention Violation if this was a war."
Faintly, I can see the person look at me with slight anger from my attitude. Can't exactly blame them, my head feels a little fuzzy at this point. Think it's because of the pain. Might be due to the blood-loss. Good chance I did get a concussion. Any one of those things kinda makes sense individually. Though if I'll be frank, it's hard to really focus on much else aside from slowly dying and how my head is swimming a bit. Yet I still try and fight through it. Partially because I do actually still wanna live. Partially because even if I am gonna die? I'm going to at least try and get one last affair in order.
"Why the hell are you being so calm about dying!?!?"
"Shock mostly… hey… I'm… Ash Lowell. F-Find my family… tell them I loved them and my last words are… Memories are the only things that last forever."
I say this as I put my hand onto their shoulder. Honestly I can barely move, my body feels so heavy yet I also feel so weak. For a moment, I feel myself fade before focusing again. That stab really put me at death's footsteps. I can tell they're earnestly trying to keep me alive. I appreciate it but I need them to hopefully do that. It's a lot to ask a stranger but… well, I have to get the message to them somehow. Can't reach for my phone, think it broke during the fight. Knew I should have gotten a case for it. Eh well not like I can regret being cheap about something right now.
"I… please… please hold on."
"Just please do that… okay?"
"O-Okay… I will. I definitely will."
At least I can die knowing that my family will know I loved them till the very end. Not to mention I got to give a pretty nice quote. I feel… so tired… and so cold. My vision blurs as I feel it going dark. I think I'll just… close my eyes for a while. Huh, I can feel myself… drifting away. Generally there's supposed to be a light I'm supposed to see and walk into. Yet it doesn't feel like there's going to be one. I will admit one thing, it's… surprisingly peaceful. No sound, no emotion, just silence. After a few moments, something shifts. I feel a cold wind on my body as it blows in my ears. I can feel my body have a certain solidness once again… yet it also feels lighter then before. Slowly opening my eyes, I see that… there was an endless sky before me. Looking down I see I'm standing at the edge of a tower. Immediately I react as any person would. Jumping back from the edge in shock.
"The hell?!?!" I say, my voice sounding foreign to me for a moment
This… this isn't normal. This isn't in any sort of thing I've read about. This feels like the beginning to some sort of webtoon story or something. Looking down at myself, my body is now made of bright orange light. Sort of reminds me of… what the Novakids look like from Starbound except it was more translucent and wispy. Weird thing to be reminded of, I guess but that does feel similar. I feel like I should be freaking out right now but I do feel a… weird sense of calmness? Thinking about it, where exactly am I? This isn't anywhere in any sort of mythology I can recognize. Not unless this is from something I haven't researched too much into which is… a distinct possibility I guess. Does that mean I'll have to fight something? Because if so, damn is that going to be a massive pain in the ass.
"Calm yourself of those thoughts. You are in a safe place." I hear a voice say
I whip around, eyes searching for the source. Finally looking behind me, I see a mysterious tall man in a dark blue cloak. Most of his face is hidden in the shadows of his hood except for his mouth. Currently, he was standing from what I presume is either the entrance into the Tower or the entrance leading from the roof of this Tower. Looking him over, I try to get any sense of if he's from a particular mythological group or not. Wherever I am, it sure as hell doesn't look like the world I just left behind. That much is clearly obvious to me, especially now.
"I will state that I am not related to the Gods of your world." The man says in a knowing voice
"...You can read my thoughts?" I ask carefully
"Indeed I can… and as you know. You're dead." The man states
I stare at him with a distinct sense of blank emotion before promptly getting annoyed. A jaded frustration rising up within me. Normally, I don't mind people stating the obvious but considering just a few moments ago I was dying of a stab wound? I'm not exactly impressed at someone bringing that information up when I have no idea what's going on.
"No shit sherlock. How about instead of saying the obvious, you tell me where the hell I am?" I snap
"A realm of my own making. One that will get used to a… few things I plan on giving you." The man explains
"...Cool cool, so you're offering me something? Because I know damn well from that tone you're offering me something." I respond with
"An understandable assumption… tell me… would you like to live a new life in a new world?" The man asks
That's… an interesting offer to say the least. On one hand? Epic adventures in a world filled with magic. On the other hand? High chances for death. I've read a few novels and seen a few anime about this sort of thing. Not to mention the fact that I was a relatively normal young adult at one point. Was one year off of turning twenty-one and being able to drink. Which kinda sucks that I never got that chance to try a beer. Not to mention I wasn't exactly what you'd call athletic. So I might be screwed in this next life. Especially if I end up in someone else's body because boy howdy do I not have any skills from my previous life that could help. After a few more moments of mulling this over, I slowly nod.
"Okay… that's a bit of a shock but uh… why? Why bring me back, of all people, back from the dead to live in a new world?" I question tentatively
"Simple. You have a strong heart. A heroic one even." The figure says, smiling softly
"Tempted to make a My Hero Academia Reference but there's some parts of that series I don't like… tangent, that's a tangent. So my heroic heart is what qualified me?" I ask with a soft snort
"Among other things. Yes." The figure spoke in a steady tone
"...Do I get powers?" I ask after a brief pause
"Indeed you do. Of course you will have to use them to do one particular thing." The man says
Knew there would be a catch to having these powers. If he asks me to genocide an entire world, I'm turning him down. I might not exactly be the most pleasant person sometimes but I'm not gonna kill an entire world because someone offered to bring me back to life. No amount of superpowers will ever make me cross that line. I'd rather take torment in hell over that… then again, being in hell does suck. Eh in either case I'd be in hell, so that's a moot point really. Doing my best to squint at the man, seriously it's really hard to do that when you technically don't have eyes, I look at him with suspicion.
"You're not planning on making me do anything evil with those powers right?" I ask
"I do not plan on making you do anything genocidal. That is up to your discretion really." The man responds with an enigmatic smile
"Right… mind-reading thing. Forgot about that. Okay so if we're not doing anything evil without my choice. What's the thing I have to do? Marry a hundred girls? Kill a God? Create a universe?" I ask blandly
"Actually you just have to kill one great evil. Typical Heroic journey sort of thing, don't you agree?" The man asks with some amusement
"...What are the powers and who am I gonna be killing? I get the feeling there's some info here you're not telling me outright." I say, suspicion arising within me
The man slowly nods before bringing up his hand, appearing over his hand is a… floating menu. One straight out of a video game. Wait, am I being given The Gamer Ability? Awesome- wait no, don't assume yet. If I've learned anything from… reading a few fanfics, Gamer Abilities can either be piss-easy to deal with for a great power fantasy or brutal to the point of feeling bad for the character. It isn't an instant win button and generally it allows for some people to get super strong and have harems. Not interested in Harems personally but that's not exactly the point. Point is: cool superpower could come at a great cost that I'm not exactly ready to deal with.
"So… that menu. That's related to The Gamer Ability right-" "Yes it is related to The Gamer Ability as you have deduced. And do not worry, the difficulty will not be as harsh as you fear."
Neat. That answers that question. So that begs the other question that hasn't been answered. After all, I did ask two things. And the other thing is who am I going to have to face? After all, this could be one of those situations where I am thrown into a piece of media I know. Which is both great and not great. Great because I have foreknowledge to work with, not great because that foreknowledge could easily become useless or just outright be useless.
"For someone who thinks of themselves quite simple. You do tend to think a lot about your decisions before making them." The man says, a smirk tugging at his lips
"Piss off, I'm trying to weigh my options. Now answer my other question on who I'm facing." I say, trying to keep some patience
"Salem. The leader of the Grimm and a Dark Witch you could say." The man says as a smirk grows on his face
"...Hell yeah! I can get a gunblade! Well… if I survive the beginning at least. Still uh… is there… anything else I should worry about?" I ask, immediately realizing I should get back on topic
"Only about what you'll look like. Of course before I send you down there. I will give you some time to get used to having a smaller body and then-"
"Wait, smaller body?" I interrupt with
"Yes, you'll be much younger than you were before. It's the best chance for you to change as many things within the timeline as possible." The man explains
"...Goddammit. Okay, I can deal with that. Not the worst thing to happen, could be. Not sure… eh I'll figure it out." I say with a huff
At least he's giving me a chance to get used to the difference in size. Going from one height to another can mess people up from what I've read. Not to mention some fanfics play around with that concept and I may as well take the win here. The man briefly disappeared before a blank model appeared before me, looking similar to a mannequin. Then a series of options straight out of a character creator appeared in my vision. Well, this'll be a fun thing to do. May as well stick to my old looks at best as possible. I have ash blonde hair, steel blue eyes, and fair skin. Noticing the race option, I look through the selection. Lots of Faunus options… I'll just go with Wolf Faunus since that's fairly generic. And finally, I'll take the name from my last life since it fits the color theme anyway.
Ash Lowell
Nodding, I press the confirm button. Making the model disappear. After a moment I feel… smaller, shorter even. Looking down I see a small version of my hand. Yep, seems like it was instant. I miss being tall already. Soon after, the man reappeared in a burst of blue energy. He nods at me as he has to tilt his head to look. Well at least he isn't being smug with the height difference. I can take solace in that fact.
"Now. I will give you some time to run around, exercise, get used to being in this body. Afterward, you'll be sent down into the world of Remnant. Do not worry about the lack of combat experience… you will understand your abilities soon enough." The man said
"Good to know. So what's your name exactly? Because I feel like since you know my name, I may as well know yours… I get the feeling that calling you 'Mr. Freaky Cloaked Dude' would not exactly entertain you." I say
"Oho, I find that quite endearing actually… but yes, I suppose giving you my name shall suffice. I am Chrono." The man says
"Alrighty… Chrono. I'll keep that in mind. Let's get to training, yeah?" I ask
Soon after, I'm guided down into the Tower with the walls being smooth and featureless, lit by an eerie, otherworldly glow. We eventually arrived into a room that is… essentially one of those parkour training rooms. There were ropes, wooden beams, raps, and concrete walls practically made for wall-running across. With a soft sigh, I ready myself before running around the area. Running, jumping, leaping, and rolling across all sorts of areas. Took me a few tries in some regards but after a bit, I managed to get used to being in a smaller body. After a few hours of running, I collapsed onto the floor. Breathing somewhat heavily. Don't have the Gamer Ability yet so stamina is pretty limited as is. Then again I wouldn't be surprised if I was given some form of enhanced stamina just in this room so I have as much time as possible to get used to being like this… oh God I'm gonna have to spend years like this. I mean having the Gamer Ability will help a lot but still, it's gonna be a pain growing up. At least puberty won't be as bad thanks to Gamer's Mind. Soon after, Chrono walked over to me.
"I see you have finished running around. Must admit, you lasted longer than I thought. I figured even with the enhanced stamina, you'd need to take at least one break." He says
"I tend to impress… in weird ways." I pant out
"Regardless… sleep. When you wake next… you will be in that world. Landing will be bumpy however." Chrono says, their voice infused with power
Suddenly I feel entirely too exhausted to stay away… my eyes slowly slide close as I fall asleep. Remnant, here I come- wait what was that last part about a bumpy landing?
Suddenly I'm awoken by landing on the ground with a loud thud. After a moment, I drag myself from the ground and wipe the dirt off of my face. Looking around, I see I am… in front of Raven's old house. In a forest… somewhere on Patch… annnnddd it's almost evening. Great. Just great. Slowly getting up, I brush myself off with a grumble. Thank you, Chrono, for MAKING ME LAND LIKE THAT YOU ASSHOLE! THAT FUCKING HURT! Ugh. Some people. Right, well… guess I should open my status. I hum before deciding to do the Sword Art Online menu opening gesture. A menu opens up soon after. Being a weeb for the win! Then again SAO isn't exactly my favorite anime… eh, whatever, I'll take what I can get. I open my status menu first and foremost by selecting the option called… well… Status. The menu reconfigures itself showing a chibi version of me in ragged clothing with my name and stats underneath it.
[{Status}]
[Name: Ash Lowell]
[Class(es): N/A]
[Race: Faunus - Wolf]
[HP (Health Points): 105/105]
[AP (Aura Points): 0/0 {LOCKED}]
[MP (Magic Points): 105/105]
[STR (Strength): 5]
[END (Endurance): 5]
[SPD (Speed): 5]
[INT (Intelligence): 5]
[WIS (Wisdom): 5]
[CHR (Charisma): 5]
[LCK (Luck): 5]
Well… that's quite the interesting thing there. I'll have to get my Aura unlocked later. Let's see… what other things are here? Inventory? Nothing there which is definitely expected. Settings? Apparently there's a BGM Mode. That is useful but I think I'll turn that on later when I'm a bit more prepared. Skills? I haven't developed any so no point looking there. Perks. There we go. Good place to start. Especially considering the fact that I might have some traits I didn't notice. Opening it up, the list is fairly simple and mostly what I'd expect.
[{Perks}]
[Gamer's Mind (Max LVL): Allows you to see through tricks and remain calm in most situations {Warning: In cases of severely distressing moments, PTSD can override this Perk. Same with intense moments of emotion}]
[Gamer's Body (Max LVL): Allows for restoration of HP, MP, and AP during rest {Pain Inhibitors will deactivate after a certain point in progression}]
[Enhanced Senses (Max LVL): You can hear footsteps from even a mile away… car alarms are very annoying as a downside]
[Night Vision (Max LVL): Don't need Goggles to see during a moonless night]
Aside from some of the somewhat weird descriptions. It's odd that Gamer's Mind has some downgrades alongside Gamer's Body. Then I realized… it's to make sure I don't lose myself because of the power I have. Very easily I could forget that I am a person to an extent due to having nullified pain and a constant sense of calm even during distressing situations. While yes I'd have emotions, Gamer's Mind could easily quash them but allowing some moments where my mind doesn't need to focus too much on logic could be a boon in its own right… or this could just be a weird downgrade to mess with me. Who's to say? Either way, I wasn't going to let it stop me. I'd adapt, like I always did. For now, though, I needed to figure out my next move. Remnant was waiting. Suddenly a new menu pops up in front of me.
[Class System Activated]
[{Please choose two Classes from the following list}]
It then expands into a large list of options. Honestly I didn't even know some of these were classes on their own to begin with. Then again there's a vast array of media I didn't even look into, so it's probably not that surprising. Humming slightly. I decided to take two of my favorite Magical classes from a particular Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy V. The Red Mage and the Spellblade. Red Mage because being able to use damaging magic and healing magic this early would be pretty big. Even in its original game it fell off pretty quickly due to the fact that it can only learn spells up to a certain tier. Hell it was particularly bad in Final Fantasy 1. Spellblade because enchanting my weapons with Elements without the use of Dust is incredibly useful. It'll save money in the long-run and I could easily pass it off as a Semblance in case I don't ever get one. In the event that I can't pass it off, I can bullshit my way around that. In the end, lying is probably gonna become pretty common for a while. Not ideal but I know better than to just be honest all of the time.
[Classes have been chosen]
[|Quest completed|]
[{The Basics}]
[-Explanation: You have gained the power of the Gamer Ability. May as well see what you can do first and foremost before doing anything like saving the world.]
[Rewards: 45 Stat Points, Basic Skills, Bonus Item Pack, Special Ability Package]
Those are some nice rewards for completing a random tutorial. Don't mind if I take those for myself hehe~. I'll have to take a look at those other rewards later. I take a moment to assign my stat points in the proper areas. Increasing my HP and MP up to a nice one hundred fifteen and one hundred ten respectively. If I've learned anything it's that having a high HP stat can be pretty useful, especially in Souls-like games. Then again glass cannon builds are viable… wait what am I thinking? That's a bad idea in this situation. Because I can actually die and I do not think I'll be given another chance simply because I died due to focusing on Strength rather than survival. I'm gonna have to hardcore resist that temptation for quite a while. I decided to take a quick look over my current stat spread.
[STR: 10]
[END: 15]
[SPD: 12]
[INT: 10]
[WIS: 10]
[CHR: 15]
[LCK: 8]
Luck doesn't need to be super high at the moment since I am just starting out. Don't think I'll be getting very many drop items I can use at the start anyway. Not to mention the fact that having a fairly good Charisma and Endurance stat will carry me in quite a few situations. Charisma because talking to people is important and Endurance because getting stabbed once was already painful enough. Would like to survive that if possible this time around. In the end, I think I might have a pretty balanced build in all of my other stats aside from Endurance and Charisma. I then hear the sound of wagon wheels creaking behind me, turning around immediately I see… oh shit.
"Uh… hey, who are you?" A young Yang Xiao-Long asks me
Dying sucks. Strong statement to start with and one that's obvious, I know but dying factually does suck. It can suck even more depending on how you exactly die. I've heard all sorts of things about dying. News and media can get creative sometimes. Especially from a show about various ways of dying that have actually happened in real life, not something a kid should be watching but I digress, and know a lot from some personal experience. Not to mention it's something one does not generally think about until they are confronted with it. Of course I have a great amount of personal experience right now because well… I am dying. In some shitty alleyway. After saving someone from being robbed. A cliche Hero Story, I know. Guy sees a crime going down and tries to stop it. Hell I can hear the ambulance but well… they're gonna be late, I know it. Stab wound is particularly deep. I can faintly tell the person I saved is nearby me. You know today was such a nice day too before all of this. Sun was shining, it was a particularly warm day even during this dreadful winter that was going on. Makes the cold feeling that was creeping in even worse frankly. I feel the person shaking me, bringing back some of my focus. Could feel my thoughts getting a bit scattered at a point so it helped. Think my head may have gotten a bad hit when I got slammed into the ground while trying to wrestle away the knife.
"H-Hey! Stay with me man!"
"...I'm not gonna make it. I can already feel myself slipping away at this point."
"T-The ambulance is almost here, we just need to keep applying pressure."
"Listen. There's too much blood lost, the wound is practically impossible to patch. Goddamn serrated knife… heh, would be a Geneva Convention Violation if this was a war."
Faintly, I can see the person look at me with slight anger from my attitude. Can't exactly blame them, my head feels a little fuzzy at this point. Think it's because of the pain. Might be due to the blood-loss. Good chance I did get a concussion. Any one of those things kinda makes sense individually. Though if I'll be frank, it's hard to really focus on much else aside from slowly dying and how my head is swimming a bit. Yet I still try and fight through it. Partially because I do actually still wanna live. Partially because even if I am gonna die? I'm going to at least try and get one last affair in order.
"Why the hell are you being so calm about dying!?!?"
"Shock mostly… hey… I'm… Ash Lowell. F-Find my family… tell them I loved them and my last words are… Memories are the only things that last forever."
I say this as I put my hand onto their shoulder. Honestly I can barely move, my body feels so heavy yet I also feel so weak. For a moment, I feel myself fade before focusing again. That stab really put me at death's footsteps. I can tell they're earnestly trying to keep me alive. I appreciate it but I need them to hopefully do that. It's a lot to ask a stranger but… well, I have to get the message to them somehow. Can't reach for my phone, think it broke during the fight. Knew I should have gotten a case for it. Eh well not like I can regret being cheap about something right now.
"I… please… please hold on."
"Just please do that… okay?"
"O-Okay… I will. I definitely will."
At least I can die knowing that my family will know I loved them till the very end. Not to mention I got to give a pretty nice quote. I feel… so tired… and so cold. My vision blurs as I feel it going dark. I think I'll just… close my eyes for a while. Huh, I can feel myself… drifting away. Generally there's supposed to be a light I'm supposed to see and walk into. Yet it doesn't feel like there's going to be one. I will admit one thing, it's… surprisingly peaceful. No sound, no emotion, just silence. After a few moments, something shifts. I feel a cold wind on my body as it blows in my ears. I can feel my body have a certain solidness once again… yet it also feels lighter then before. Slowly opening my eyes, I see that… there was an endless sky before me. Looking down I see I'm standing at the edge of a tower. Immediately I react as any person would. Jumping back from the edge in shock.
"The hell?!?!" I say, my voice sounding foreign to me for a moment
This… this isn't normal. This isn't in any sort of thing I've read about. This feels like the beginning to some sort of webtoon story or something. Looking down at myself, my body is now made of bright orange light. Sort of reminds me of… what the Novakids look like from Starbound except it was more translucent and wispy. Weird thing to be reminded of, I guess but that does feel similar. I feel like I should be freaking out right now but I do feel a… weird sense of calmness? Thinking about it, where exactly am I? This isn't anywhere in any sort of mythology I can recognize. Not unless this is from something I haven't researched too much into which is… a distinct possibility I guess. Does that mean I'll have to fight something? Because if so, damn is that going to be a massive pain in the ass.
"Calm yourself of those thoughts. You are in a safe place." I hear a voice say
I whip around, eyes searching for the source. Finally looking behind me, I see a mysterious tall man in a dark blue cloak. Most of his face is hidden in the shadows of his hood except for his mouth. Currently, he was standing from what I presume is either the entrance into the Tower or the entrance leading from the roof of this Tower. Looking him over, I try to get any sense of if he's from a particular mythological group or not. Wherever I am, it sure as hell doesn't look like the world I just left behind. That much is clearly obvious to me, especially now.
"I will state that I am not related to the Gods of your world." The man says in a knowing voice
"...You can read my thoughts?" I ask carefully
"Indeed I can… and as you know. You're dead." The man states
I stare at him with a distinct sense of blank emotion before promptly getting annoyed. A jaded frustration rising up within me. Normally, I don't mind people stating the obvious but considering just a few moments ago I was dying of a stab wound? I'm not exactly impressed at someone bringing that information up when I have no idea what's going on.
"No shit sherlock. How about instead of saying the obvious, you tell me where the hell I am?" I snap
"A realm of my own making. One that will get used to a… few things I plan on giving you." The man explains
"...Cool cool, so you're offering me something? Because I know damn well from that tone you're offering me something." I respond with
"An understandable assumption… tell me… would you like to live a new life in a new world?" The man asks
That's… an interesting offer to say the least. On one hand? Epic adventures in a world filled with magic. On the other hand? High chances for death. I've read a few novels and seen a few anime about this sort of thing. Not to mention the fact that I was a relatively normal young adult at one point. Was one year off of turning twenty-one and being able to drink. Which kinda sucks that I never got that chance to try a beer. Not to mention I wasn't exactly what you'd call athletic. So I might be screwed in this next life. Especially if I end up in someone else's body because boy howdy do I not have any skills from my previous life that could help. After a few more moments of mulling this over, I slowly nod.
"Okay… that's a bit of a shock but uh… why? Why bring me back, of all people, back from the dead to live in a new world?" I question tentatively
"Simple. You have a strong heart. A heroic one even." The figure says, smiling softly
"Tempted to make a My Hero Academia Reference but there's some parts of that series I don't like… tangent, that's a tangent. So my heroic heart is what qualified me?" I ask with a soft snort
"Among other things. Yes." The figure spoke in a steady tone
"...Do I get powers?" I ask after a brief pause
"Indeed you do. Of course you will have to use them to do one particular thing." The man says
Knew there would be a catch to having these powers. If he asks me to genocide an entire world, I'm turning him down. I might not exactly be the most pleasant person sometimes but I'm not gonna kill an entire world because someone offered to bring me back to life. No amount of superpowers will ever make me cross that line. I'd rather take torment in hell over that… then again, being in hell does suck. Eh in either case I'd be in hell, so that's a moot point really. Doing my best to squint at the man, seriously it's really hard to do that when you technically don't have eyes, I look at him with suspicion.
"You're not planning on making me do anything evil with those powers right?" I ask
"I do not plan on making you do anything genocidal. That is up to your discretion really." The man responds with an enigmatic smile
"Right… mind-reading thing. Forgot about that. Okay so if we're not doing anything evil without my choice. What's the thing I have to do? Marry a hundred girls? Kill a God? Create a universe?" I ask blandly
"Actually you just have to kill one great evil. Typical Heroic journey sort of thing, don't you agree?" The man asks with some amusement
"...What are the powers and who am I gonna be killing? I get the feeling there's some info here you're not telling me outright." I say, suspicion arising within me
The man slowly nods before bringing up his hand, appearing over his hand is a… floating menu. One straight out of a video game. Wait, am I being given The Gamer Ability? Awesome- wait no, don't assume yet. If I've learned anything from… reading a few fanfics, Gamer Abilities can either be piss-easy to deal with for a great power fantasy or brutal to the point of feeling bad for the character. It isn't an instant win button and generally it allows for some people to get super strong and have harems. Not interested in Harems personally but that's not exactly the point. Point is: cool superpower could come at a great cost that I'm not exactly ready to deal with.
"So… that menu. That's related to The Gamer Ability right-" "Yes it is related to The Gamer Ability as you have deduced. And do not worry, the difficulty will not be as harsh as you fear."
Neat. That answers that question. So that begs the other question that hasn't been answered. After all, I did ask two things. And the other thing is who am I going to have to face? After all, this could be one of those situations where I am thrown into a piece of media I know. Which is both great and not great. Great because I have foreknowledge to work with, not great because that foreknowledge could easily become useless or just outright be useless.
"For someone who thinks of themselves quite simple. You do tend to think a lot about your decisions before making them." The man says, a smirk tugging at his lips
"Piss off, I'm trying to weigh my options. Now answer my other question on who I'm facing." I say, trying to keep some patience
"Salem. The leader of the Grimm and a Dark Witch you could say." The man says as a smirk grows on his face
"...Hell yeah! I can get a gunblade! Well… if I survive the beginning at least. Still uh… is there… anything else I should worry about?" I ask, immediately realizing I should get back on topic
"Only about what you'll look like. Of course before I send you down there. I will give you some time to get used to having a smaller body and then-"
"Wait, smaller body?" I interrupt with
"Yes, you'll be much younger than you were before. It's the best chance for you to change as many things within the timeline as possible." The man explains
"...Goddammit. Okay, I can deal with that. Not the worst thing to happen, could be. Not sure… eh I'll figure it out." I say with a huff
At least he's giving me a chance to get used to the difference in size. Going from one height to another can mess people up from what I've read. Not to mention some fanfics play around with that concept and I may as well take the win here. The man briefly disappeared before a blank model appeared before me, looking similar to a mannequin. Then a series of options straight out of a character creator appeared in my vision. Well, this'll be a fun thing to do. May as well stick to my old looks at best as possible. I have ash blonde hair, steel blue eyes, and fair skin. Noticing the race option, I look through the selection. Lots of Faunus options… I'll just go with Wolf Faunus since that's fairly generic. And finally, I'll take the name from my last life since it fits the color theme anyway.
Ash Lowell
Nodding, I press the confirm button. Making the model disappear. After a moment I feel… smaller, shorter even. Looking down I see a small version of my hand. Yep, seems like it was instant. I miss being tall already. Soon after, the man reappeared in a burst of blue energy. He nods at me as he has to tilt his head to look. Well at least he isn't being smug with the height difference. I can take solace in that fact.
"Now. I will give you some time to run around, exercise, get used to being in this body. Afterward, you'll be sent down into the world of Remnant. Do not worry about the lack of combat experience… you will understand your abilities soon enough." The man said
"Good to know. So what's your name exactly? Because I feel like since you know my name, I may as well know yours… I get the feeling that calling you 'Mr. Freaky Cloaked Dude' would not exactly entertain you." I say
"Oho, I find that quite endearing actually… but yes, I suppose giving you my name shall suffice. I am Chrono." The man says
"Alrighty… Chrono. I'll keep that in mind. Let's get to training, yeah?" I ask
Soon after, I'm guided down into the Tower with the walls being smooth and featureless, lit by an eerie, otherworldly glow. We eventually arrived into a room that is… essentially one of those parkour training rooms. There were ropes, wooden beams, raps, and concrete walls practically made for wall-running across. With a soft sigh, I ready myself before running around the area. Running, jumping, leaping, and rolling across all sorts of areas. Took me a few tries in some regards but after a bit, I managed to get used to being in a smaller body. After a few hours of running, I collapsed onto the floor. Breathing somewhat heavily. Don't have the Gamer Ability yet so stamina is pretty limited as is. Then again I wouldn't be surprised if I was given some form of enhanced stamina just in this room so I have as much time as possible to get used to being like this… oh God I'm gonna have to spend years like this. I mean having the Gamer Ability will help a lot but still, it's gonna be a pain growing up. At least puberty won't be as bad thanks to Gamer's Mind. Soon after, Chrono walked over to me.
"I see you have finished running around. Must admit, you lasted longer than I thought. I figured even with the enhanced stamina, you'd need to take at least one break." He says
"I tend to impress… in weird ways." I pant out
"Regardless… sleep. When you wake next… you will be in that world. Landing will be bumpy however." Chrono says, their voice infused with power
Suddenly I feel entirely too exhausted to stay away… my eyes slowly slide close as I fall asleep. Remnant, here I come- wait what was that last part about a bumpy landing?
Suddenly I'm awoken by landing on the ground with a loud thud. After a moment, I drag myself from the ground and wipe the dirt off of my face. Looking around, I see I am… in front of Raven's old house. In a forest… somewhere on Patch… annnnddd it's almost evening. Great. Just great. Slowly getting up, I brush myself off with a grumble. Thank you, Chrono, for MAKING ME LAND LIKE THAT YOU ASSHOLE! THAT FUCKING HURT! Ugh. Some people. Right, well… guess I should open my status. I hum before deciding to do the Sword Art Online menu opening gesture. A menu opens up soon after. Being a weeb for the win! Then again SAO isn't exactly my favorite anime… eh, whatever, I'll take what I can get. I open my status menu first and foremost by selecting the option called… well… Status. The menu reconfigures itself showing a chibi version of me in ragged clothing with my name and stats underneath it.
[{Status}]
[Name: Ash Lowell]
[Class(es): N/A]
[Race: Faunus - Wolf]
[HP (Health Points): 105/105]
[AP (Aura Points): 0/0 {LOCKED}]
[MP (Magic Points): 105/105]
[STR (Strength): 5]
[END (Endurance): 5]
[SPD (Speed): 5]
[INT (Intelligence): 5]
[WIS (Wisdom): 5]
[CHR (Charisma): 5]
[LCK (Luck): 5]
Well… that's quite the interesting thing there. I'll have to get my Aura unlocked later. Let's see… what other things are here? Inventory? Nothing there which is definitely expected. Settings? Apparently there's a BGM Mode. That is useful but I think I'll turn that on later when I'm a bit more prepared. Skills? I haven't developed any so no point looking there. Perks. There we go. Good place to start. Especially considering the fact that I might have some traits I didn't notice. Opening it up, the list is fairly simple and mostly what I'd expect.
[{Perks}]
[Gamer's Mind (Max LVL): Allows you to see through tricks and remain calm in most situations {Warning: In cases of severely distressing moments, PTSD can override this Perk. Same with intense moments of emotion}]
[Gamer's Body (Max LVL): Allows for restoration of HP, MP, and AP during rest {Pain Inhibitors will deactivate after a certain point in progression}]
[Enhanced Senses (Max LVL): You can hear footsteps from even a mile away… car alarms are very annoying as a downside]
[Night Vision (Max LVL): Don't need Goggles to see during a moonless night]
Aside from some of the somewhat weird descriptions. It's odd that Gamer's Mind has some downgrades alongside Gamer's Body. Then I realized… it's to make sure I don't lose myself because of the power I have. Very easily I could forget that I am a person to an extent due to having nullified pain and a constant sense of calm even during distressing situations. While yes I'd have emotions, Gamer's Mind could easily quash them but allowing some moments where my mind doesn't need to focus too much on logic could be a boon in its own right… or this could just be a weird downgrade to mess with me. Who's to say? Either way, I wasn't going to let it stop me. I'd adapt, like I always did. For now, though, I needed to figure out my next move. Remnant was waiting. Suddenly a new menu pops up in front of me.
[Class System Activated]
[{Please choose two Classes from the following list}]
It then expands into a large list of options. Honestly I didn't even know some of these were classes on their own to begin with. Then again there's a vast array of media I didn't even look into, so it's probably not that surprising. Humming slightly. I decided to take two of my favorite Magical classes from a particular Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy V. The Red Mage and the Spellblade. Red Mage because being able to use damaging magic and healing magic this early would be pretty big. Even in its original game it fell off pretty quickly due to the fact that it can only learn spells up to a certain tier. Hell it was particularly bad in Final Fantasy 1. Spellblade because enchanting my weapons with Elements without the use of Dust is incredibly useful. It'll save money in the long-run and I could easily pass it off as a Semblance in case I don't ever get one. In the event that I can't pass it off, I can bullshit my way around that. In the end, lying is probably gonna become pretty common for a while. Not ideal but I know better than to just be honest all of the time.
[Classes have been chosen]
[|Quest completed|]
[{The Basics}]
[-Explanation: You have gained the power of the Gamer Ability. May as well see what you can do first and foremost before doing anything like saving the world.]
[Rewards: 45 Stat Points, Basic Skills, Bonus Item Pack, Special Ability Package]
[STR: 10]
[END: 15]
[SPD: 12]
[INT: 10]
[WIS: 10]
[CHR: 15]
[LCK: 8]
Luck doesn't need to be super high at the moment since I am just starting out. Don't think I'll be getting very many drop items I can use at the start anyway. Not to mention the fact that having a fairly good Charisma and Endurance stat will carry me in quite a few situations. Charisma because talking to people is important and Endurance because getting stabbed once was already painful enough. Would like to survive that if possible this time around. In the end, I think I might have a pretty balanced build in all of my other stats aside from Endurance and Charisma. I then hear the sound of wagon wheels creaking behind me, turning around immediately I see… oh shit.
"Uh… hey, who are you?" A young Yang Xiao-Long asks me