AN: 'Guest' who is my first reviewer; You wouldn't happen to be JakeWJElliott2 would you, cause 'A Rogue's Guide to Gaming' is the only Gamer fic I can think of that starts in The Walking Dead. Unfortunately I couldn't count you in the vote because you gave so many choices instead of just one or two. Let me know in a PM if I got your identity right!
thorison1080: I don't plan on him starting out super OP right away. He'll get there, but it's going to take serous work!
Killblade373: Don't worry, I don't plan to go that route at all. At most, he'll get two girls per world. Some worlds he won't fall for anyone at all. As much as I absolutely love his stories, I'm not going 'The Dark Wolf Shiro' route for this.
Slaggedfire: What can I say? I love magic! To be fair though, once Mage (Sorcerer) is maxed out he's going to move on to the non magic classes for 2 or 3 classes.
Thel310: Don't worry, like I told Killblade373 above, It's not going to be like that. There will be legit character/relationship development. No 'dating sim' mechanics what-so-ever.
Votes: Yugioh! 2, Hazbin Hotel 1
Not as many votes as I was hoping for, but it's a world I'm familiar enough with to be confident in it. Let's see what happens!
A Brand New World
"I've decided to go with... [Yu-Gi-Oh!] for my first world. What are my options for starting out?" I asked. Knowing your options is only smart after all.
[There are many, master. As your first world, it will serve as your tutorial so the world can be tailored to fit your wants and needs. If you want to change something, just let me know and I'll make the change. As long as it's within the rules set for me.]
"And what are those rules, Tiamat?" I have a lot of changes I'd like to make.
[Nothing that can give you an unfair advantage. Also, the changes you can make are dependent on your power compared to the power of whoever the higher being or beings are in that world.]
"Can you give me an example?"
[Take the world of Percy Jackson for example: Currently, you are a level one [Mage] with no divine power. Your power doesn't compare to a god or goddess. As such, the only changes you would be able to make to that world upon [Drop-In] would be purely 'cosmetic'. You could decide, 'I want to genderswap everyone and all the demigods and mortals of the story would indeed be swapped.]
[On the other end of that spectrum, we'll use the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. There is no 'higher power' so to speak. There is the human realm and the spirit realm, with the Avatar being the bridge, but no true 'God' or Pantheon to speak of. Thus, if you were to drop in that world with a level of oh... say, 20(ish?), then you could decide 'I want to take Aang's place as the protagonist' and I would be able to make that change.]
"Huh... good to know. So how extensive could I make the changes in [Yu-Gi-Oh!] right now?"
[With no higher power to overcome, I could place you anywhere in the timeline in any role.]
Taking a moment to think, I can't help but want to take the place of one of my three favorite characters. I could take the place of Yugi Moto, Seto Kaiba, or Maximillion Pegasus. "Just to be clear, once I enter the world, I won't be able to travel to another until I complete a specific goal given to me by your creator. I won't know what that goal is until I actually enter that world. And I can repeat worlds from scratch or from an alternate timeline?"
[Correct]
"First I'd like to drop in taking the place of Maximillion Pegasus if you can put me in just before he meets Shadi and receives the Millennium Eye. Is that doable?"
[Of course, master. Any other changes?]
I can't help the evil(ish) grin that spreads across my face. "Oh, I'm only getting started my dear! Second, can you change the history of that world to have Ancient Egypt ruled by two pharaoh's?"
[I can... I must admit, I'm having a hard time figuring out where you are going with this.]
"In a large portion of Egypt's history, the country was divided into provinces that were ruled by an 'Upper Pharaoh and a Lower Pharaoh. Now, I admit, I know next to nothing about that era other than that it was a thing, but it gave me an idea." My mind is racing with possibilities.
"Make the Upper Pharaoh in the Era of the Millennium Items still be Atem. He and Yugi are still the protagonist. However, make the Lower Pharaoh Atem's twin. Give Yugi a twin as well. Make an eighth Millennium Item to fit into lore and give it to Yugi's twin. You choose their name and backstory. The twin will play a supporting role like any of Yugi's friends. Can you do that?"
[I can. I still don't quite see where you are going with this.]
"Patience my dear companion. Third, I'm going to 'invent' Duel Monsters to be like the card game in my world is. It's too hard to keep up with all the bullshit that gets pulled in the anime and manga. Because of that, I'm going to need all of Max's memories when I drop in."
[Done]
"Fourth, the Shadow Realm. I want you to change the way it works if you can. I want it so that you cannot invoke the shadow realm unless you physically possess a Millennium Item or the reincarnated soul of an important figure. No 'Marik pulling Yugi into the Shadow Realm with a possessed servent. I'm stacking the odds more in the hero's favor." Mostly because I plan on completely derailing cannon. Depending on what my drop-in goal ends up being...
[I can do that, but it stretches the limit of what I can do at your current power level. At most, I can make on more minor change.]
"That's fine. I only had one minor thing left. When I create Duel Monsters, can I make it so that the cards invoke the soul of the monster while in the Shadow Realm? For example. I'm Max, and I'm playing against Yugi in the Shadow Realm. He summons his faithful Dark Magician. Instead of just summoning the monster with semi-realism/sentience like in the show, can the design of the card pull their actual soul with full sentience into the duel? As in if the duel was at a lull, one could have a legit conversation with the Dark Magician?"
[Yes. But that's the last of what I can do at your current level.]
"That's quite alright, Tiamat. I'm very happy with the changes made. An idea just occurred to me. Since I'm going to be the creator of Duel Monsters, can I make a card based on you?"
[. . . I'd be honored, master. I- I don't know what to say...]
I can't help the proud smile that crosses my face at making an A.I. speechless like that. "Anything else I need to do before being dropped in?"
[Possibly. Would you like to customize your appearance for this world? Keep in mind that the point you are dropping in to. It'll only be about two years after Cecelia died at the age of 17. You'll be 19.]
"Keep his appearance for that world, but make the hair a shiny silver instead of lavender. And make the eyes bright green. So bright, they almost shine in the dark."
[Done. Are you ready master? Once you drop in, you will be locked in that world for a number of years unless you unlock your HUB world early.]
"I'm ready."
[Please open the [Menu] upon entering the world. Commencing [Drop-In] procedure in...]
[3]
[2]
[1]
{0} Yu-Gi-Oh! {0}
5 YEARS BEFORE CANON
[You have slept in a bed. HP and RP has been restored. All non-permanent(*) conditions have been removed.]
"Huh, so that's what that's like." Blinking the sleep away I sit up and take a look around. It seems I'm in a rather nice hotel room. White walls, nice landscape paintings, large bed. Very large bed. Who needs a bed that big for only one person? The carpet is a nice burgundy. Soft too. The drapes are closed on the window. Maybe I shou-
PainPainPAINPAINPAINPAIN
Aaaaand it's gone. What was that!? Oh. OH! Memories!
It seems I do have good old Max's memories after all. Or should I say, my memories. Name's not Max though. Tiamat didn't mention that the world history would be changed for my name to still be Annatar. Cool though. Annatar Pegasus.
'Tiamat, do thought commands work?' I thought to my A.I., testing a theory. A semi-transparent blue screen appeared just below eye level. Cool, it won't block my vision when a screen appears.
[Yes, master. The System was set up this way for ease of access while in a crowd.]
Good to know. I don't have to worry about looking crazy. Let's see, what has Pegasus already accomplished up until this point. Met, married and lost Cecelia; check. Became obsessed with bringing her back; check. Found evidence of ancient magic originating in Egypt; check. Delved into various tombs; check. 3 to be exact. Set to visit a fourth today; check. Founded Industrial Illusions already; check.
Wait... waaaaht? Duel Monsters hasn't been invented yet, but Industrial Illusions already exists? What does it- oh. I see. Good planning ahead Max. He founded the company as a game company making various children's games. He's traveling around researching cultures of the past to make more fun yet educational children's games. Or at least that's the cover story in his search for the various magics of the world. [Menu]
The world around me froze in gray-scale. Huh, seems my main menu pauses the world. Can I-? Nope. Seems I'm frozen too. Only my eyes can move.
Menu
Character
Skills
Feats
Traits
Inventory
Grimoire
Quests
Bestiary
Codex
Reputation
Shop
Hub
Titles
[This is your main menu. As you can see, some options are currently unavailable. They will be unlocked over time or when certain conditions are fulfilled. Please browse the menu at your leisure master. When you are ready, please open your [Quests] page.]
'Character'
Character Sheet
Name: Annatar Maximillion Pegasus
Race: Human
Gender:Male
Age: 19
Title: The Gamer
Class: Mage (Sorcerer) [LOCKED]
Level: 1 (0/300) : 1
HP: 100
HP Regen: 11 Per minute
RP: 120
RP Regen: 11 per minute
STR 10
DEX 10
CON 10
INT 12
WIS 11
CHA 11
LUK 10
Stat Points: 7
Perk Points: 0
Huh, so Maximillion is my middle name. Interesting. Human male, 19 years of age. Looks good, looks good. Class... 'Tiamat, why is my class locked?'
[You do not have a way to access magic in your current form. It will be unlocked once you have a way to access magic.]
'Okay, thank you. Skills.' A notification popped up on top of the Skills page.
[Notification: Due to your [Drop-In] as Maximillion Pegasus, you have gained two skills. [Artist] and [Rules of the Trade] have been added to your skills list.]
Skills
[Observe] (Passive/Active)- Passively allows you to see the declared name, declared title and level of those around you. Only displays the name and title they are currently and actively using until further knowledge of the target is learned. Level displayed will only show the target's level if it is no higher than 20 levels above yours.
[Artist] (Passive) LV100/100 – You are a master with the brush/pencil/pen/etc... Your artwork is comparable to the greats. DaVinci, van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, these are the names you are compared to.
[Rules of the Trade] (Passive) LV85/100 – You are a damn good businessman. Any deal you attempt will have much higher chance of success. Success Chance increased [(Skill LVL) (Cha 2)]% (Max 95%) .
Okay. Combine [Observe] with the Millennium Eye when I get it and that is going to be absolutely OP! And HOLY SHIT that [Artist] level! I guess that makes sense though, seeing as Pegasus drew the original art work for every card he made. 'Feats'.
Feats
[Gamer's Body] – Your body is treated as that of a game character's. You no longer need food or sleep to live and take overall damage to your HP. This means that you are both more and less vulnerable than others. How this is, is up to you to find out.
[Gamer's Mind] – Your mind is protected from outside influence. This ability can be toggled at will, even mid-influence.
[Gamer's Soul] – You possess the soul of a character. When crossing into new worlds, your status/abilities will automatically reconfigure where necessary in order to fit the world you are in.
Okay, looks good so far. [Gamer's Soul] didn't trigger, so I guess nothing needed to change for this world. Makes sense. 'Quests'.
[PING]
[2 New Quests Added]
[Quest: This World of Mine!]
[Quest: Meeting with Destiny]
Quests
World Objectives (1)
[This World of Mine!] - You have been dropped into the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! As Maximillion Pegasus. You must complete this world to move on.
Objective 1: Create Duel Monsters in your image and host Duelist Kingdom
Objective 2: Create the God Cards to ensure Battle City happens.
Objective 3: Host a second Duelist Kingdom with the grand prize as a custom card to the specifications of the winner.
Optional Objective: If Yugi wins, guide him to create a card to break the Seal of Orichalcos.
Reward 1: 50,000 EXP
Reward 2: World Travel Unlocked
Reward 3: Shop Unlocked
Optional Reward 1: 15,000 EXP
Optional Reward 2: [Key of the Ancients] x1
Main Quests (1)
[Meeting with Destiny] – You have a scheduled expedition into a recently discovered ancient tomb.
Objective 1: Go to the tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh
Objective 2: Meet Shadi
Reward 1: 100 EXP
Reward 2: Millennium Eye
Side Quests (0)
Character Quests (0)
Upgrade Quests (0)
Dungeon Quests (0)
System Quests (0)
Damn... there goes my plans to collect all the Millennium Items. If those canon events need to happen, then the heroes need the puzzle at the very least. Tiamat did warn me that some worlds I'd be a hero and some worlds I'd be a villain. Looks like I have to play an anti-hero at the very least in this one. 'Tiamat, What alignment am I set to by default for this world?'
[This world is true Neutral with room to change. You may take any alignment in this world.]
'Thank you.' I guess that means I can play a hero or a villain in this one. Makes sense if this is supposed to be my tutorial world so to speak. But damn... a five year tutorial? Better than the 17 year tutorial of the real world I guess... 'Close Menu'. The world bled from gray-scale back to full-color.
"If I open straight into a menu tab like the [Character] screen, can I do so without pausing the world?"
[You can, if that is what you wish. The interface for [The System] can be fully customized.]
Alright, time to set out then!
AN: Hope you enjoy it so far! So, I'm going to open the next poll ahead of time.
POLL: Where should I send Annatar for his second world!? Vote in the reviews or via PM, whichever works for you.
I don't think I've ever seen a [The Gamer] fic take place in Yu-Gi-Oh! before. If you have, let me know so I can check it out so I can make sure mine isn't even REMOTELY similar.