Joufe opened his eyes inside a bright-white void. He felt weightless, and his head was spinning. Gradually, he managed to remember bits and pieces of where he'd been before. Who he was. A racing truck coming to meet him. The pain of breaking bones before smothering darkness.

He was dead, wasn't he? He smiled bitterly at the thought. How he'd wished to be able to escape his life, before. Only for things to end like this. A fitting end to a miserable life, he supposed.

But wait, if the end already happened, then what the hell is this place?

The implications sat heavily in his mind as he floated. He'd never been particularly religious, but now he wished he'd paid more attention to church as a kid.

After a couple minutes sitting in complete silence, he managed to croak out a question.

"Where am I?"

To his surprise, he received an answer. Immediately after, a string of bold letters materialized over his field of vision.

[Welcome, New Gamer]

You are inside The Lobby, a Gateway to many worlds.

This made no sense to him. He read and reread the text several times, but could not make heads or tails of it.

"New Gamer?" He echoed.

[One who has just received the Gaming System]

[Would you like a tutorial on how to utilize it?]

[Y/N]

Blinking, he reached out and tapped his finger in the affirmative.

The Gaming System is granted to all Gamers.

Gamers are souls chosen after death to get an extra life in another world.

The System offers many benefits to its Users, mainly through the usage of Stats, Skills, and Perks.

He couldn't believe it. He could remember playing RPG's as a child, and if what these letters were telling him was true, then he'd basically turned into a videogame character.

"Stats?" He questioned in anticipation.

[ Stats: Quantifiers to the extent to your ability in different fields ]

They are divided into the following six characteristics.

[ Vitality : Determines Endurance, Stamina, and Health Points [HP].

[ Strength : Determines Physical Power.

[ Intelligence : Determines ability to Gather and Retain Information. Determines Mana Power.

[ Charisma : Determines Social Awareness, Charm.

[ Wisdom : Determines ability to Utilize Information. Determines Mana Pool [MP].

[ Luck : Determines Luck. Determines Critical Hit Chance. Determines Dodge Chance.

[These are your Stats]

Vit: 4

Str: 3

Int: 6

Char: 1

Wis: 4

Lck: 0

[Perks: Linguist

He absorbed the information the System fed him. Seeing his own current stats drew a disappointing sigh from him. Oi, what was with him? Sure he had no way of knowing what had been the norm back on earth, but those were seriously pitiful numbers.

Well, no matter. His fists clenched tightly. That he could see them as a number now meant he could better improve them later, he decided. If what this System had said was true, then he was heading towards a second life. Maybe a better life.

He'd be sure to never waste a single moment of it. He swore it on his soul. He would never be chained down to a miserable job again. He'd hang out with people that he genuinely liked to be around, eat what was tasty and not whatever cooked fast. He'd find someone to love, do what he wanted, and above all—Damn it, above all else—He'd enjoy himself this second time around!

"T-To a better life!" He exclaimed loudly, shutting his eyes as he came near sobbing. Now that he thought about the possibilities ahead of him, his heart swelled in hope. Giddy excitement flooded him. He almost felt silly, childish. Yes! How long had it been since he'd last felt like this?! Whatever power-that-be had granted him this gift–he'd never forget this debt!

When he opened them again, he found the System's bold black letters once again staring him in the face.

[Would you like to learn about Perks next?]

[Y/N]

Nodding emotionally, grinning bashfully, he pressed his finger to the "Yes".

[Perks: Special Abilities granted upon a level-up. May also be granted upon clearing special Achievements. Different Perks cost different amounts of Perk Points]

"Perk Points?"

You currently have 3 Perk Points.

Joufe remained silent for a moment.

"Can I afford any Perks?"

Here are the Perks currently available yo you:

[Harem Maker] [Circus Clown] [Gender Control] [Enhanced Senses] [Magic Beast] [Shadow Step] [Scarlet Eyes] [Loved By Mana] [Deep Lungs] [Rubber Man] [Little You] [Hormone Manipulation] [Antique Expert] [Night Vision] [Saiyan Blood] [Snake Charmer] [Heavy Fists] [Dodgeball King] [One For All] [Quick Feet] [Malicious Aura] [Heart Ripper] [Knife Maker] [Big Jump]...

A long, long list materialized over the teen, and his eyes soon glazed over it. He had no idea what most of it meant, or how it was supposed to even help him. One of them, further down the list and buried under a myriad of other weird perks caught his eye, however.

"[Gamer's Mind]?" He asked.

[Gamer's Mind, lvl MAX]

[SPECIAL PERK] [SPECIAL CONDITION]

An ability signature to the Gaming System. Preserves the user's mental state, allowing them to experience life as if in a game. Allows the user to think calmly and logically through any situation, and protects them from foreign control and negative mental status conditions.

[SPECIAL CONDITION: USER can only pick choose this skill while in the LOBBY]

[COST: 3 Perk Points]

[ Purchase Perk? Y/N ]

Joufe frowned. So pricey. And yet, it seemed like it was really special. A perk one could only choose while in the Lobby. This weird space he was floating in right now. If he did not purchase this, he'd never ever get the chance to do it. Was it useful to him..?

His fists clenched momentarily as impressions from his past life assaulted him. It wasn't hard to bring the worst moments of his life into the surface. Experiencing humilliation. Getting rejected by a girl. Deep shame, and deep irrational anger. That feeling that had always plagued him, that terrible sensation of being inferior to everybody else. Always on edge, never a moment of relief.

On impulse, his finger shot towards the "Yes".

This was going to be his new life. He was going to enjoy it, damn it. He didn't need to tackle with his own mind anymore. Through his stats, he could perfect his body. This new ability would perfect his mind.

A chime sounded and he felt a slight electrical shock.

[You have purchased Gamer's Mind lvl MAX]

Perk Points are now 0.

He nodded. Right. What else?

"Can you tell me about skills?"

[Skills: Abilities created through effort or the acquisition of knowledge on the User's part]

Skills are reset as the User transfers to another world.

So useless at the moment. What else could he ask..?

"Can I level up?"

Levels are obtained after exp thresholds are met.

So he could. The problem lay in the how.

"How do I gain exp?"

Exp is obtained through the completion of Quests, or through the absorption of Life Energy. Exp may also be awarded after completing Achievements.

"Achievements?"

[Achievements: Secret parameters that may reward the User upon completion.]

Weird. Something to potentially shoot for, he supposed, but he had no way of knowing where to start.

And speaking of starting...

"How do I get transferred to another world?" He asked tentatively.

[ To begin User Transfer, please press START after selecting a World ]

Worlds are separated into Derivative and Original.

Derivative Worlds are based on fictional works that existed inside the user's Home World, with slight-to-major changes depending on the specific universe.

Original Worlds are unique and have the most diversity. Can be particularly dangerous. Using the System to learn about them before Starting is recommended.

Regardless, User should specify time and location before Jumping.

For User convenience, System has prepared 100 worlds of each. Another selection may be requested, though this will take time.

[Derivative Worlds:

[One Piece, Eiichiro Oda] [My Hero Academia, Kohei Horijoshi] [ Berserk, Kentaro Miura] [Worm, John MCcrae/Wildbow] [Pokemon, Nintendo] [Highschool DxD, Ichei Ishibumi] [Hunter x Hunter, Yoshihiro Togashi] ...

[Original Worlds:

[Magna -Diff Rating A] [Sorttum -Diff Rating E] [Frantesti -Diff Rating SS]...

Two lists appeared at the forefront of his vision, and they seemed to drag on for eternity. If he'd understood right, he could dismiss them and get new ones, as well. But there was no need for that. His eyes stayed glued to the Derivative section as he weighed his options. Original Worlds didn't merit a glance. He'd take the advantage of being familiar with the world he was jumping into.

One Piece? Did he really want a superpower to come at the expense of swimming? Inside the Grand Line? No thanks.

Worm? What, and either get blitzed by someone like Lung or become a part of the Simurgh's scheme? Too chaotic.

Fighting demons seemed like a chore, and so did being a hero, and so did facing Saitama, so one by one a sizable list of worlds were crossed off his list of potential candidates.

And then his eyes fell on Yoshihiro Togashi's masterpiece. Hunter X Hunter.

'One of the best manga I ever read' considered Joufe. A fun and engaging read. Characters that were smart and life-like. Rare fantastical creatures that defied the imagination. Though, beyond that...

A vast world full of danger and adventure, though not grim and hopeless like some of the others. One with a baseline of near-human, although superhumans topped the strength hierarchy of the universe. He wouldn't be in too much danger, unless danger seeked him out. Not that that was too big of a problem. Thinking about it, with his Gaming System in place, he could reach the types of Hisoka and Chrollo, after enough time spent training. Given his stats didn't cap at some low number, that was.

But it seemed as good a world as any. He'd have the opportunity of living the peaceful, happy life he'd always yearned for.

Right. He might as well do this then. Excitement coursed through him, and he steadied himself with a couple of deep breaths.

"Select Hunter X Hunter, Yoshihiro Togashi," he decisively announced to empty air.

"Start.

The system was quick to respond, and he inmediately felt like his body was on fire.

[AS USER DID NOT SPECIFY LOCATION AND TIME, DROPPING LOCATION WILL BE RANDOMIZED]

[BONUS 10 ALLOCATABLE STATS GRANTED FOR RANDOMNIZATION]

[GAME...STARTING...]

His body felt like it was being torn, and his mind being washed with static. The pain assaulting him was unbearable, and through gritting teeth he could feel himself losing consciousness.

Despite this, Joufe hung on to the words of the System.

Randomization? That's really bad, I didn't know I could choose! What if I get dropped into the middle of the ocean? Or, hell, into the Dark Continent?! Damn it, stupid me. Of course I could choose, the system mentioned it in passing, what am I going to do now? What if-

The tension quickly left his body. The white brilliance of the Lobby seemed to flare, and he could feel his consciousness getting smothered in the brilliant white. With every second, he grew heavier.

The fight quickly seeping out of him, his last thought before blacking out was one of something he'd seldom felt in his past life: hope.

It's fine...I'm sure I'll be able to live a peaceful second life regardless...

: So there's that. What'd you guys think? I'm an avid The Gamer Fic consumer, and I always wanted to try my hand at making my own. I've also always loved HxH, and the lack of fics the series had always bothered me. Thus, this story was born. I hope I don't dissapoint my fellow Hunterchads!!I'm posting this same story on Wattpad under the same username, so be sure to look for me there!