CHAPTER 1 - Ready Player One
A/N: I want to start by saying I'm not discouraging you to read this fic, however, if you are expecting a well thought out story with character arcs, world building, etc, don't. If you are expecting those things read my other story, The Apprentice. I spend literal months on each chapter and go through several versions, delicately crafting the story and pouring effort into it.
If you want to read me dicking around and making up shit as I go along, read this. This story is and always will be me fucking around and doing whatever I think is funny in the spur of the moment. Make a note that my sense of humour entirely consists of shitty puns and bad Dad jokes. I'm not going to re-read and re-read each chapter, or spend months on them. It's purely for shits and giggles.
The concept of "The Gamer" is not original nor do I claim it to be. I know it is extremely unoriginal but I wanted to do something purely for fun and I could only find one "Gamer" fic of Infinite Stratos.
Let's have some dumb fun and cheap laughs.
TLDR; Don't expect this story to be a "diamond in the ruff", because the whole point is that it isn't.
"..." - Various people talking.
'...' - Ichika thinking/talking to The Admin, mentally.
'...' - The Admin talks to Ichika mentally.
[...] - An alert from the game.
[Greetings, Ichika Orimura]
…
Ichika started with tired, yet widened, eyes at the glowing blue text box that had appeared in front of him. Just floating in the air.
[Would you like to play The Game?]
[YES] [NO]
Ichika had been kidnapped. He had been tortured for the past few hours and was beyond exhausted. Surely this was a hallucination. Perhaps a result of his young mind having begun to break.
Another glowing box appeared below the previous ones.
[*This will assist in your escape, as well as your desire to grow stronger*]
Ichika didn't know what was happening. After a few moments of debating, he decided that he would do anything to escape. He knew his sister would forfeit her match to come save him, and he couldn't allow that to happen.
He attempted to reach out to select [YES], only to be reminded that he was tied down to a metal chair.
The text in the box vanished. Words began to appear one letter at a time as if being typed into the box slowly.
[Note: The Game can be interacted with both verbally and mentally]
[WARNING. By becoming "The Gamer" you will become alike to a video game character. All base stats (Bar HP) will begin at 1.]
[The Game is locked to Hardcore mode. IF YOUR HP HITS 0 YOU WILL DIE. You will be given the opportunity to RESTART in another world or END GAME. Would you still like to continue?]
[THIS ACTION CANNOT BE UNDONE!]
[YES] [NO]
'Yes' Ichika thought.
All of the boxes disappeared. For a few moments nothing happened.
[BOOTING SYSTEM…]
[...DONE…]
[READY PLAYER ONE]
[Welcome, Ichika Orimura]
[Would you like a tutorial?]
[YES] [NO]
'Ah… ya?'
+1 has been given to WIS. (Congrats on not being a dumbass and skipping the tutorial for what is now your life.)
[TUTORIAL]
[You have been selected, and chosen, to receive the power known throughout the multiverse as "The power of The Gamer". These powers are, in all sense of the word, limitless… in potential. However, as in all video games, the player must start from level 1 with base stats, which can be quite dangerous. All of your stats (Bar HP) are 1, so be very careful. But fear not! You can level up through gaining experience points.]
[Though not the one controlling The Game, The Admin is the one tasked with monitoring the player and ensuring help is given when/if needed, as well as having some influence over The Game. You may speak to The Admin mentally or verbally, though mentally is recommended.]
[If you wish to look at your stats, inventory, etc, you may say/think the command "MENU", if you wish to only access a submenu in particular, you may do so by the same means. Note: The Game is interactive with the player, therefore it is not specifically necessary to say/think the exact command, as The Game can read the players mind, so long as the intent of an action is said/thought, the corresponding menu will open.]
[Even though you were tortured for hours, you have just begun The Game, thus your health is now full.]
[Just like any other game, The Game will have patches and/or updates.]
[That is all for now. Goodbye PLAYER ONE, and good luck.]
Doing as the tutorial suggested, and seeing as he needed help, Ichika called for The Admin.
'Admin…?" Nothing
'...ADMIN!" Ichika heard a crash in his mind.
"What?! Dude I was trying to- Woooooow… you look like shit."
'Help me, please'
"You read the tutorial right. Don't get me wrong, I'm here to help, it's in my job description. But I'm not gonna hold your hand."
'Please, just-' "I'm not trying to be a dick. We are a team, I have no problem helping us get out. But It is actually more beneficial to let you come to the conclusion of what to do next"
'That doesn't make any sense! How can you help me by not doing-' "Dude! Dude. Calm down. Look- I know that we're in a bad situation here. I know you are in a lot of pain and I know you want to get out of here ASAP. If you figure out what to do next, and consider how early game we are, I would guess that you could get a point in INT… or maybe WIS… so long as you figure this out yourself. Okay? It's my job to help you, I may not take much seriously, but trust me it is in my best interest to keep you alive. Now… think… review the information given to you and take the next step."
'...'
'...'
'...Menu!' "That's my guy."
[MENU]
[STATS]
[SKILLS]
[QUESTS]
[SETTINGS]
[INVENTORY]
"Your captors stripped you naked, so your inventory is literally entirely empty. And your stats are all 1, except WIS, so not much to look at there."
'Hmmm…Skills!'
[SKILLS]
[A Gamer's Body] - [MAX LVL] - [Passive] - If the user sleeps for a minimum of 6 hours, all HP and MP will be restored. Since all physical damage to the body is taken out of HP, the user will never gain any scars. User will die if HP hits 0. Damage to the body is instantly healed if HP is restored. Note: Any scarring from events before this skill was activated will remain on the player's body.
[A Gamer's Mind] - [MAX LVL] - [Passive] - Allows user to instantly digest any information through Skill Books. Grants user a constant peaceful state of mind, automatically calms the user if users emotions get out of control. User is completely immune to physiological status and/or effects. Note: Any psychological damage from events before this skill was activated will remain on the player's body.
[QUEST ALERT - "ESCAPE"]
[You have been kidnapped and tortured in hopes of forcing your sister to forfeit her match. Escape before she is contacted.]
[Rewards: 50xp. You look pretty damn cool. (I mean how many 10 year olds can escape being kidnapped).] [1000 ¥]
[Penalty: Chifuyu will forfeit her match. Chifuyu will be forced to teach in Germany for the next 3 years. Make an enemy of ?.]
[BONUS QUEST - "PACIFIST" - Escape without killing any of the guards]
[Rewards: 20xp] [500 ¥]
[Time limit: 20 minutes]
[ACCEPT] [DECLINE]
[*All Penalties will be enacted if quest is declined]
That didn't leave Ichika many options. The text disappeared almost as soon as it appeared, considering he had already made up his mind.
A small box appeared in the bottom left of his vision, starting a countdown.
[19:59]
'Hmm… what now' Ichika thought to himself.
"You have nothing to work with. First you need to get yourself out of these chains. Can you find anything around the room to work with?"
Ichika forced his head up, looking around the room and stretching his neck to look further behind him.
He was sitting on a metal chair, which his legs and arms were tied to.
He was in what looked like an old rundown warehouse. It was much larger than an average room and there were large crates all around the room.
[Skill Created: Observe]
[Description: A basic skill for any player. Allows users to gain and interpret information from their surroundings, be it things or people. More information is given as skill levels go up.]
[Level: 1 - Exp: 1/10]
After looking around for a while, he saw a piece of broken glass in the corner of the room. With a lot of effort he began scooting/hopping over to it. The chair was very heavy, but he eventually got over to the corner.
+2 has been given to END due to tiring yourself through physical effort.
HP has increased from 5 to 15.
"Nice."
Each of Ichika's arms were tied to the sides of the chair. His legs were tied to the legs of the chair. Meaning he couldn't reach down to pick up the piece of glass. After a few failed attempts to reach for it, he settled on making himself fall over towards the piece.
"Ah!" Ichika let out a yelp of pain as he fell face first on the cold floor. Blood oozed from his nose.
-2 HP
Current HP: 13/15
"You need to be more careful. That HP meter hits 0 and that's it."
Ichika reached for the piece of glass, but it was slightly out of reach.
"Stop straining yourself. You're tense. Relax your body, that should give you the extra flexibility you need."
Ichika stopped reaching for the glass. He slowly breathed in and out, then slowly reached for the glass, and was surprised when his hand gripped the end.
+1 has been given to AGI, you'll be a contortionist in no time.
[ITEM OBTAINED]
[Shard of Glass]
[Description: ...I mean… it's a shard of glass]
Ichika gripped the small shard tightly in his hand, and began to move it back and forth, cutting at the rope binding said hand.
-2 HP
[Status: Bleeding Slowly]
[Effect: -1 HP every 10 minutes]
[Ailment: Properly treat the wound]
Current HP: 11/15
Ichika grimaced at the HP meter.
After a few minutes, the shard and Ichika's hand were both covered in blood, but he had cut himself free of his bindings.
+1 Added to INT. You found an intelligent solution to your problem.
Ichika glanced at his Quest Timer.
[11:26]
'Dammit'
"You should be fine, but you have to move fast, ok?"
'Got it'
Ichika looked at the large door to the warehouse.
'There are probably guards on the other side.'
"You could look for another exit?" Admin suggested.
Ichika took a 360 degree look around the large room. Above a pile of crates, he could see an air vent.
"That's so… cliche."
Ichika darted to the crates, ducking into the small aisle two sets of crates made. He shuffled to the middle of the claustrophobic aisle, where there was a small enough crate for him to get a grip on.
He grunted and pulled himself up, his feet sliding down the crates as he tried to gain footing. He stretched his arm out and latched onto another crate, eventually his feet found the top of the first crate he had grabbed.
+1 has been added to STR from putting excess physical strain on muscles.
He got to the top of the pile of crates and glanced back to the clock.
[7:37]
'Damn. I took too long climbing the crates.' Ichika scolded himself.
He looked at the vent. The opening was sitting slightly above the set of crates to his left.
'Think I can make the jump?'
"Why didn't you just climb that crate pile to begin with?"
'... too late now'
"... yes… I think you can make it"
Ichika backed up to the edge of the pile he was standing on. He was dead tired, but he poured all of the energy he had into moving as fast as he could, then jumped over the gap, landing loudly on the crates.
Panting, he walked up to the vent. With a few well placed kicks, the vent gave way, and he crawled in the ventilation shaft.
He had gotten back to his home rather quickly.
His kidnappers had taken his phone so he had to use the emergency cellphone Tabane had given him. It only contacted her, but by doing so she was able to tell Chifuyu what had happened.
Tabane ensured Ichika Chifuyu was on her way.
The Television was still showing reruns of the Mondo Grosso matches. Chifuyu had won, though her match only lasted mere minutes.
Ichika was sitting in his room. Mulling over everything that had happened that day, trying to come to terms with everything that had happened.
Chifuyu would probably be mad at him for not immediately going to a hospital, but he felt fine. When he started the game, it refilled his health. He still felt exhausted from being tortured, but the pain felt controlled.
He decided to investigate the new power he held.
'Status'
[STATUS]
[Ichika Orimura]
Age: 10
Title(s): The Gamer, Player One
Level: 1
Exp: 0/10
HP: 11/15 (Health points. Calculated by END *5)
RGN: 5/hour (Calculated by AGI *5/hour)
MP: 10/10 (Mana points. Calculated by INT *5)
RGN: 10/hour (Calculated by WIS * 5/hour)
STR: 2
(Controls how strong you are. Increasing this will increase damage given.)
END: 3
(Controls physical endurance and stamina. Increasing this will increase max HP.)
AGI: 1
(Controls your reflexes, agility, flexibility, coordination. Increases HP regeneration.)
INT: 2
(Controls your ability to process and store information. Increases max MP.)
WIS: 2
(Controls sensibility, perceptiveness, willpower, and how well you can make decisions. Increases MP regeneration.)
LUK: 1
(The most versatile quality. Can affect anything. Mainly affects quantity and quality of drops, outstanding successes or failures, critical hits.) *The only trait that cannot be improved through training*
Points: 0
Money: 0 ¥ / 0 $
A new notification appeared.
[You have Quest rewards waiting.]
[Would you like to claim?]
[YES] [NO]
"Yes." He stated aloud.
[QUEST ALERT]
[QUEST COMPLETED - "ESCAPE"]
[Rewards - 50xp] [10,000 ¥]
[BONUS QUEST COMPLETED - "PACIFIST"]
[Rewards: 20xp] [5,000 ¥]
[Level 1 - 10/10xp] [LEVEL UP]
[Level 2 - 25/25xp] [LEVEL UP]
[Level 3 35/50xp]
[STATS]
[Ichika Orimura]
Age: 10
Title(s): The Gamer/Player One
Level: 3
Exp: 35/50
HP: 25/25
RGN: 3/hour
MP: 20/20
RGN: 4/hour
STR: 4
END: 5
AGI: 3
INT: 4
WIS: 4
LUK: 3
Points: 10
Money: 15,000 ¥ / 139.22 $
'Hmm….'
"Deducting the points you previously earned, it seems you gain 1 point in every attribute per level."
'And I get 5 bonus points to put wherever, every level.'
"Luck is the only skill you cannot train, If you choose to use those points, that is where you should put them."
'... no. I know games, especially RPGS. It's really easy to level up at first, but it gets harder every time. Sure levels 1-10 will be a breeze, but level 99-100 will be a bajillion times harder than all those levels combined. I need to save those bonus points for later.'
+1 WIS for making a wise decision.
"Keep making decisions like that and we won't have to worry about points."
'What now?'
"Dude are you a gamer or not? It's the start of a new RPG. IT'S GRINDING TIME BABYYYY!"
A/N:
I wrote this at 3 a.m.
My diploma is getting mailed to me. Graduation and Prom were cancelled. Luckily I'm an introvert so idgaf. I do feel bad for my friend though as she is the valedictorian.
Last season of Clone Wars was the shit. Rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix. The last episodes of Rick and Morty were some of the best ones yet.
My 13 year old dog passed away and my home's water went out. I'm on vacation with my family now, but our electricity went out a few days back.
….So ya. Life this past month has been quite the roller coaster.
What did you think? Wrote this from 1 to about 3ish in the morning a while back. I'm not spending long on this at all and don't plan to. I re-read it once and published it and only spent a total of maybe 3 hours on it. It's just for fun. I'm not making it one of the options for a future story, since it isn't a real story it's just me goofing around.
Next chapter of The Apprentice will be out soon.
Did you like it? No? Leave it as a review. I want a nickname for The Admin. Suggestions?
I value constructive criticism, but if you are just a dick about it, my response will be indifference.
ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ
This is AceOfSpades, signing off.