1 Chapter 1
He spun around in his luxurious chair, with an arrogant smirk plastered on his face.
"I'm not a big fan of being threatened."
As soon as those words left his mouth, the floor, walls, and ceiling opened up. Large weapons came out, all aimed at his 'guests.' Red light built up at their ends, prepared to blast his 'guests' and turn them into ashes. They all tensed up, feeling the pressure, and understanding their current predicament.
"Now that we got the posturing out of the way, and I'm obviously the clear winner, we can continue our discussion."
Arrogance reeked out of him, as his 'guests' frowned in displeasure. When they heard about him being prideful and arrogant, always rubbing his success in the faces of everyone he met, they thought that at least he would treat them differently. They thought they were even more successful than him, but the arrogant prick not only acted as if that wasn't the case, but he seemed to believe it as well.
~Line Break~
Short black hair and a handsome face was staring at a mirror with narrowed blue eyes. The man's hand reached out, gently touching his cheek, feeling his soft flesh. In a moment, he pulled his hand away before slapping himself hard.
"Ouch!" He cried out, but he slapped himself one more time for good measure.
"Okay, how the hell did this happen?" He was confused, and rightfully so.
"Which bastard used the Reality Stone or the Infinity Gauntlet on me?"
There was no other explanation for his current situation. Last he remembered, he was an A.I. that didn't have a fleshly body. He could've created a synthetic body for himself, and he even had a few for himself, but it was never the same. However, he was now suddenly in his younger body, and it didn't seem to be synthetic.
That wasn't even his biggest problem. There were two other issues at hand, one of them being that he wasn't even on Earth. He was in the Kingdom of Vale, a world where monsters called Grimm threatened the safety of humanity. There were superheroes, or huntsmen as they were called here, who fought the Grimm using a power called Aura. And ridiculously enough, he actually had memories of living in this place for eighteen years.
As incredible as that was, there was another concerning thing as he stared at something only he was able to see, "Maybe I shouldn't have played so many games at once just to test my processing powers."
[Name: Anthony Edward Stark
Race: Human
Title: -
Level: 1
Class: +
Health Points: 48/50
Mana Points: 80/80
Aura Points: Locked
Strength: 5
Vitality: 5
Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 7
Luck: -10
Skills:
Gamer's Mind Lvl. Max: You are immune to mind control and have better control over your emotions.
Gamer's Body Lvl. Max: Your body is that of a video game character and will recover from most injuries and debuffs after a good night's sleep.
Observe Lvl. 1/100: Used on objects to obtain information, cannot be used on live beings, costs 0 mana to use.
Perks:
Super-Genius: You have a one of a kind mind. Skills gain experience 50% faster, and you gain +3 Intelligence and Wisdom at each character level.
Playboy: You know your ways with the ladies, and they are more susceptible to your advances. You gain +2 Charisma at each character level.]
Okay, okay, okay. Tony wasn't mad, but why were his Intelligence and Wisdom stats so low? He was pretty sure they should be in the triple, if not quadruple digits. At least Tony had that Genius perk to stroke his ego. He figured those were just the starting stats, and they didn't actually affect how intelligent or wise he was.
However, why was his Luck in the negatives? Was his life that big of a mess with everything going wrong whenever it could? Yeah... it actually was.
So, Tony was no longer on Earth, and his life had turned into a video game, and he had no idea how that happened. At least he got his human body back, but he wasn't sure how big of a plus that was... Nevermind, that was a massive plus; he hadn't been with a woman in ages.
Still, Tony's playboy antics would have to wait for now. He had to do something about his low level and stats as this world seemed to be pretty dangerous.
Tony checked whatever else he had and found an Inventory section where he found 5 000 Lien, which equaled to about $500. It was the money he had saved from his lousy desk job. There was no way Tony was ever going back there and planned on quitting immediately. He was a freaking genius, not some miserable desk worker!
After playing around with his status and checking for anything else, Tony's attention turned to the Class section, and he mentally selected the plus.
[Squire: The path of the fighter, gain experience through fighting and defeating enemies. Grants the skill Power Strike(Novice), the ability to gain more Class related skills, and +1 Strength, Vitality, and Dexterity per Class level; max out to unlock more Classes on this path.]
[Apprentice: The path of the mage, gain experience through fighting and defeating your enemies with magical means. Grants the skill Mana Bolt(Novice), the ability to gain more Class related skills, and +1 Intelligence and Wisdom per Class level; max out the Class to unlock more Classes on this path.]
[Tinker: The path of the crafter, gain experience through crafting various objects and using them to fight your enemies. Grants the skill Crafting(Novice), the ability to gain more Class related skills, and +1 Intelligence and Wisdom per Class level; max out to unlock more Classes on this path.]
[Merchant: The path of the businessman, gain experience through buying and selling various objects. Grants the skill Barter(Novice), the ability to gain more Class related skills, and +1 Charisma per Class level; max out to unlock more Classes on this path.]
Squire was an interesting one since it would probably lead to Classes involving Aura, humanity's power in this world. He was a pretty good fighter himself, as he had been trained by expert fighters like Captain America, Black Widow, and Black Panther.
Apprentice, Tony considered only for a moment, just to spite Dr. Strange if he ever found his way back to his old world. Magic had something that he had thought of looking into once, but then he ended up dying and becoming an A.I, so he never got to it.
However, Tony's eyes were instantly drawn to the latter two since he had a lot of experience with those. Despite being a regular human in his past world, he had fought against and alongside gods using whatever he had on hand.
Since Tony didn't know if he would be locked into a single path or not, he chose the Class he was most comfortable with. Without hesitation, he clicked on Tinker. He had become Iron Man once, and he was going to do it again.
[Tinker Lvl. 1/50]
[Crafting(Novice) Lvl. 1/100: Every item created by you is 0.5% better and more effective.]
Though Tony had another reason for choosing Tinker. The state of this world's technology was in a weird state. They were very advanced in the field of robotics, having created androids specifically for combat. They were pretty well versed in electronics as well, judging by the device called Scroll. It was like an advanced smartphone made out of hard light.
The unique weapons used by the huntsmen were also incredible. They were designed and manufactured specifically for their users and had intriguing modifications; in-the-field transformations, allowing them to change from a closed combat one to a range one in a second. And most importantly, the ability to harness Dust.
Dust was a crystalized resource naturally found on the planet and was responsible for Remnant's technological development. There many different types of Dust, each having its own unique effects. The crystalized resource was the main reason humanity had survived the hordes of Grimm that roamed the world and their advancements in technology.
However, it had limited the people as well. Almost all the technology in the world was powered by Dust. So that brought the question, what would happen when they ran out of the crystalized recourse?
One didn't need to be a genius to know the answer, and Tony planned on changing that. This was his current world, and he preferred to keep it alive. Introducing them to the powers of electricity would alleviate a few of their problems. It also came with the perks of gaining him a monopoly on that front.
Their communication system also wasn't that great. The people used CCT towers, which was a short-range radio technology, and Tony thought it inefficient. It was easy to be breached or even destroyed compared to the satellites he was used to. He was definitely going to send a few of those in space when he gets the chance.
After selecting his Class, Tony, Remnant's future most powerful and wealthy man, began his journey to greatness... by rummaging through garbage. Since he had only 5 000 Lien, Tony had to make do with what he had on hand as he couldn't waste his money willy-nilly.
Thankfully, Tony had two exceedingly valuable skills for his current endeavor. Observe and Inventory.
One allowed him to find any valuable materials, while the other gave him a place to store them. Tony also entered a few stores to check the prices of metals and to see if they had a few pieces of equipment he required. 1 500 Lien down the drain, he left one of the stores with what he needed.
Tony was searching a dumpster in an alley, pocketing whatever valuable thing he found in his Inventory, when a hand grabbed his shoulder.
"What do we have here?"
He was turned around, coming face to face with a typical thug, a burly figure in a black suit and sunglasses. Yeah, a typical thug alright, and his two friends.
"Wh-" Tony didn't even get to ask them what they wanted before he was punched in the face.
[-8 HP]
"Let's have some fun, boys," the attacked called before the other two joined the fray.
[-5 HP]
[-7 HP]
Tony did try fighting back, but he was quickly pushed to the ground. His physical stats were just too low for him to even resist. He didn't have much choice other than to hug his knees in a fetus position, hoping to mitigate the damage.
What were the chances of him getting attacked by thugs just so they could have some fun? Nevermind, his Luck stat was actually in the negatives and probably the reason why this happened.
[-4 HP]
[-6 HP]
[-3 HP]
Was Tony actually going to die because his stupid Luck was in the negatives?
[-9 HP]
[-6 HP]
"What is going on?!" A woman called out, and Tony then heard three quick thumps. He looked up to see the three thugs lying unconscious next to a nearby wall.
"Are you okay?" A woman with very light-blonde hair tied back in a bun and bright green eyes helped him up. She wore a long-sleeved, pleated top and a black high-waisted pencil skirt, looking very much like a strict teacher.
"I'm fine," Tony said, checking over himself. His clothes were dirtied, but that was about it.
Tony' Heath Points were sitting at a lowly 2, but he seemed uninjured. He was practically at Death's Door, but he definitely didn't look like it. Gamer's Body at action, he mused.
"Are you sure," the blonde patted him gently, checking him for injuries.
"Yeah, I will heal in time, but I will never recover from such a beautiful and refined lady seeing me like this."
[+2 Affection with Glynda Goodwitch 2/100]
Tony was taken back by the message. His affection with other people was digitized as well? That... made things easier for him, very much at that.
"This is not the time for flirting," Glynda said with a stern expression that hid the smile that wished to emerge. She didn't even remember the last time someone who wasn't named Qrow tried flirting with her.
"But when else would I get the chance of meeting a woman like you? I might go around town, looking for people to beat me, just on the offchance of meeting you again," Tony said.
[+2 Affection with Glynda Goodwitch 4/100]
"You will do no such thing!" Glynda's teacher instincts kicked him as she said with a stern voice, but she quickly realized the young man wasn't one of her students. She couldn't just force him to comply by threatening him with detention.
"Instead, you can give me your number, and we can meet up in a few days, so I can check up on you. My name is Glynda Goodwitch, by the way," Glynda said, and they exchanged numbers.
"And I'm Anthony Stark."
"Now, I have to bring those over to the police station," Glynda said, raising the three thugs in the air with her Semblance, Telekinesis. As she walked away, she couldn't help but think to herself, 'Did I really give my number and practically set up a date with someone as young as my students? At least... school isn't about to start for another 2 months.'
Glynda shook her head and continued on her way to the police station. The thugs would get locked up for a bit and questioned, but they will be released with a black mark on their names.
There were few actual prisons in Remnant as they were counterproductive. The negative emotions from the prisoners would only serve to entice the Grimm to attack the cities. Criminals were dealt with differently in Remnant. Those that were a danger to humanity were put down, but robbers and the like had some more wiggle room. For example, if a criminal was found stealing from a restaurant, he will be forced to work at that restaurant for free until he repays his debt.
Tony walked back to his apartment. His Health Points were too low for him to stay out with his negative Luck stat; chances were something bad was about to happen to him.
Playing with the folded Scroll in his hand, Tony felt a happy feeling in his stomach from being back to his womanizing ways. Though in his mind, he was replaying the scene with the thugs.
Tony was a petty man, so he was already making plans against them. He had no idea who those guys were or who they even worked for, but he had a simple solution for that. Tony could become Iron Man once more and deal with them as he had done with other criminals before. Or he could take over the entire Underworld for himself. He would sleep on that, but there was something else on his priority list.
Currently, Tony was weak. He had nothing to his name and no equipment like his suits. Figuring out exactly how his game worked was also high on his priority list. What could he end up becoming with the assistance of this thing that had taken his over his life?
When Tony returned to his apartment, he took out everything from his Inventory and got to work. From his experience as Iron Man, he knew that trouble was always on the horizon, so he had no time to spare.
[Due to a specific action, the crafting skill Engineering(Novice) has been created.]
[Engineering(Novice) Lvl. 1/100: Every item designed by you is 0.5% better and more effective.]
[Due to a specific action, the crafting skill Programming(Novice) has been created.]
[Programming(Novice) Lvl. 1/100: Every program written by you is 0.5% better and more effective.]
[Crafting(Novice) has increased in level...]
[Engineering(Novice) has increased in level...]
[Programing(Novice) has increased in level...]
[Tinker has increased in level...]
[You have gained the title, Knowledgeable Crafter.]
[Knowledgeable Crafter: You have knowledge far beyond your skill levels, and you can create items above your skill level. Crafting skills increase 50% faster.]
For the next few days, Tony kept working with everything he had on hand. He noticed that despite not eating or sleeping, he felt neither tired nor hungry. Probably due to Gamer's Mind and Body, which he was starting to really appreciate.
In front of him stood Tony's first creation in this world.
[Basic Computer(Intermediate): A simple computer created by a Novice crafter with knowledge beyond his skill level.]
Scrolls were good and all that, but the reason Tony made a computer first because Scrolls needed Dust to be created and powered. They were also hooked to the CCT towers, and he preferred to not attach his devices to those.
Tony absolutely hated how the game called him and his skills a Novice, but at least it accepted that he had knowledge beyond his skill level. That somewhat relieved him. He just had to spend time grinding, only to prove to himself that he was at least at a Master's level.
With his first computer made, Tony needed to hook it up to a proper power source as he already encountered a few problems with the Dust one in his apartment. Good thing he knew the perfect device for that. After a quick run to the store and 3 000 more Lien down the drain, Tony returned and continued his work.
[Due to creating an item far beyond your skill level, the skills Crafting(Novice) and Engineering(Novice) have both leveled up to the Intermediate level.]
[Tinker has leveled up to 50.]
[Due to maxing out your Class, you have been awarded 1 Gacha Token. Please select a new Class at your status screen.]
[Would you like to name the item you created? Y/N]
After choosing Y, Tony named his creation, "Arc Reactor."
It was the miniaturized Arc Reactor he had first designed to power the electromagnet in his chest. He would've liked to make the newer version with the new element he managed to create, Badassium - no bureaucratic obstacles were stopping him from naming it that here - but unfortunately, he didn't have the necessary resources to recreate Badassium.
[Arc Reactor(Advanced): Due to being created by a Novice Crafter with knowledge far beyond his skill levels, the item is imperfect. A limitless power source that provides clean and renewable energy; has an energy output of 4 gigajoules per second.]
"Imperfect," Tony scoffed, but it was indeed the truth. The Arc Reactor would never be as good as he wished it to be without Badassium. However, there was much potential for it in the future due to the assistance of the game. Depending on how his skills functioned, the Arc Reactor could become a groundbreaking device.
[Name: Anthony Edward Stark
Race: Human
Title: Knowledgeable Crafter
Level: 1
Class: +
Tinker 50/50
Health Points: 50/50
Mana Points: 580/580
Aura Points: Locked
Strength: 5
Vitality: 5
Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 58
Wisdom: 58
Charisma: 7
Luck: -10
Skills:
Gamer's Mind Lvl. Max
Gamer's Body Lvl. Max
Observe Lvl. 9/100
Crafting(Intermediate) Lvl. 1/200
Engineering(Intermediate) Lvl. 1/200
Programing(Novice) Lvl. 59/100
]
An important thing Tony learned was that gaining Class levels didn't increase his overall level. That was good as it gave him more options to increase his stats.
Another point of interest was that Tony could select a new Class, and he wasn't limited to only the crafting ones as he had the option to choose one of the other three. There were new options such as Engineer and Programmer in the Crafter section, but there were also a lot of Classes that were locked out. If Tony had to guess, leveling the other Class will unlock them for him.
After thinking it over, he chose Engineer as his next Class. Tony still had a couple more objects to create, so he hoped that would be enough to max it out as well. Engineer needed 100 levels, but the items Tony was going to should be enough to get him there. Like Tinker, his new Class also awarded him +1 Intelligence and Wisdom per level.
There was only one thing left for him to check now, the Gacha Token. Tony took it out from his Inventory and used Observe on it.
[Gacha Token: You can obtain Gacha Tokens from special actions and achievements. Using a Gacha Token will award you with a random item or skill. It's largely dependent on your Luck stat.]
Tony's Luck stat was at a -10, but he at least had to check it out to know what he was working with here.
[Pet Rock has been added to your Inventory.]
"Really now?" Tony took out the rock that had a smile and two eyes drawn on it. He stared at it in his hand before scoffing in amusement.
"Well, I will name you Dwayne Johnson. You can stay there and watch my greatness," Tony said as he placed it next to his computer before getting to work.
[Crafting(Intermediate) has increased in level...]
[Engineering(Intermediate) has increased in level.]
[Engineer has increased in level...]
[You have created a new item, would you like to name it? Y/N]
Selecting Y, Tony named his new creation, "Hand Repulsor."
[Hand Repulsor(Advanced): An equipment created by an Intermediate Crafter with knowledge beyond his skill levels; it can only be equipped on a hand and requires a power source to function. It can fire a concussive blast that deals 75 dmg and has a cooldown of 5 seconds.]
"It's... not that bad?"
75 dmg didn't seem like much, but it was enough to kill Tony with a single blast at the moment. Though he had a feeling that not everyone else was as weak as him. The cooldown of 5 seconds was a bit disappointing, but he figured he could work around it somehow.
The Hand Repulsor required a power source to function, which Tony was already aware of, but he wondered if he could somehow use his Mana to replace it. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to use his Mana, so that idea was scratched out for the moment.
Tony continued on his work as he had one more thing left to create.
[You have created Arc Reactor(Advanced).]
[Due to Intelligence reaching 100, the perk Mana Battery has been created.]
[Due to Wisdom reaching 100, the perk Mana Recharger has been created.]
[Mana Battery: Mana gained from Intelligence is doubled.]
[Mana Recharger: Mana regen gained from Wisdom is doubled.]
So passing 100 in a stat awarded him with perks. This just motivated him to raise his other stats over the threshold as well. However, he focused on the item in his hands.
This one was smaller than the first one he made, just big enough for him to wear it like a pendant. After Tony wrapped a string around a small hole he left just for that, he used Observe on it.
[Arc Reactor(Necklace): An Arc Reactor fashioned in the form of a necklace. Provides 5 gigajoules per second to any equipment you have on.]
Tony just stared at the description for a moment. Did that mean that he didn't even need to hook up the Hand Repulsor to it? He definitely had to test it out.
After equipping both items, Tony opened up a window in his apartment and stuck his arm out. A small build-up followed before a concussive blast was fired from his Hand Repulsor.
Now Tony just needed to find some test dummies to see how effective it was. He left his apartment and walked around the city of Vale. He needed to find a place where he could fight enemies to gain some levels and possibly money as well.
While walking around, Tony kept using Observe on as many things as possible. Might as well increase his skill levels whenever he had the chance.
Grimm were the first thing that came to his mind, but Tony didn't feel confident enough to leave the city walls and endanger his life like that. There must be something else for him to do around here, he thought.
Finding those thugs and teaching them a lesson was the next on his list, but he didn't know if those guys had a huntsman in their ranks. If they did, Tony could kiss his days' goodbye.
He was getting frustrated at not being able to test out his new toy when he spotted something over a manhole.
[Muk Dungeon - Recommended level 30.]
Level 30? His Intelligence and Wisdom stats were pretty high, but he couldn't put them to good use with his current skills. And Muk? Wasn't that a Pokemon?
Either way, Tony was excited at finding out that Dungeons existed, so he continued searching around the streets. He found another Zubat Dungeon over a manhole that required level 20, but he ignored that one as well after memorizing its location.
Finally, Tony found what he was looking for over another manhole.
[Rattata Dungeon - Recommended level 10.]
It was still higher than Tony's current level, but he had an awesome toy that should make up for that, right? Confidently, he walked over it before another screen appeared in front of him.
[Would you like to enter Rattata Dungeon? Y/N]
After pressing Y, Tony was teleported from his location and appeared in the sewer system.
"Uhh, I was not prepared for the smell."
Tony brought his free hand over his nose and mouth while his eyes darted around. There was just a single path, so there wasn't too much thinking involved as he started walking. A few clicking noises alerted him of his first enemy, and he started walking slower.
[Rattata Lvl. 10
HP: 55
MP: 20
Rattata, the Mouse Pokemon. It bites anything when it attacks. Small and very quick, it is a common sight in many places.]
There were two of them in front of him, and both were no bigger than 30cm. Their whiskers wiggled before the two Pokemon turned to him. Without a shroud of hesitation, they charged with a hiss.
"I choose you, Hand Repulsor!"
Tony pointed his hand at the Rattatas and fired his concussive blast. Since both Pokemon were so small, they got hit by the blast, turning them into white particles that disappeared in the air.
[+10 XP]
[+10 XP]
"Damn, those rats are stingy," Tony complained. That was just 20% for his current level, and they were both level 10! At least he got XP for both his Class and character. Though he was disappointed that he didn't get any drops from them. Then again, his Luck stat was -10, so maybe that was the problem.
More clicking noises coming towards him alerted Tony, and he moved back, preparing for his next enemies. Shortly, he saw three more Rattatas rushing towards him. He aimed his Hand Repulsor and fired a concussive blast that hit two of them but missed the third.
[+10 XP]
[+10 XP]
"Rattata!"
The last one lunged at Tony, moving very quickly, but he managed to dodge to the side, allowing the Rattata to fly past him. The Pokemon landed on the ground and turned around in one quick motion before lunging at him again. Tony had already backed away and was prepared for the attack, so he avoided that one as well. After a couple more failed attempts by the Rattata, the cooldown on his Hand Repulsor had finished, and he dispatched it with a concussive blast.
[+10 XP]
[+20 Lien.]
"So, I can get drops!" Tony exclaimed, happy that he had an easy way of getting money. He just needed to raise his Luck stat, so it wasn't in the negatives anymore. Hopefully, that will increase his drop rates.
"Well, it's time to continue on my journey to be the very best!"
Tony marched onwards, searching for more Rattatas to fall prey to his Hand Repulsor. He killed five more and finally got his first level.
[Name: Anthony Edward Stark
Race: Human
Title: Knowledgeable Crafter
Level: 2
Class: Engineer 95/100
Tinker 50/50
Health Points: 50/50
Mana Points: 3120/3120
Aura Points: Locked
Strength: 5
Vitality: 5
Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 156
Wisdom: 156
Charisma: 9
Luck: -10
Points: 5]
As much as Tony wanted to put those 5 points into Luck, he decided against it and raised his Vitality as he didn't want to get killed by a lucky Rattata.
Interestingly enough, Tony had leveled his Class two times while using the Hand Repulsor, but his character leveled only one. Using the items he had created seemed to provide more XP for his Class than his character level. That was good, and Tony hoped to max out his Engineer soon, so he could get a new Class. With that in mind, he continued his journey.
~Line Break~
[+15 XP]
[Engineer has increased to level 100.]
[You have leveled up to level 5.]
[Due to maxing out your Class, you have been awarded 1 Gacha Token. Please select a new Class at your status screen.]
"Finally!"
Tony opened up his status and quickly picked up Squire. As much as he wanted to continued selecting Crafting Classes or even Apprentice due to his high mental stats, he needed the survivability Squire provided him.
Increasing his physical stats was too important for his future, plus he also wanted to spend his free stat points into Luck. That stat could get him better loot drops and better rewards from the Gacha.
Tony wondered if his Luck was high enough, would the Gacha Tokens end up giving him an Infinity Stone or something of similar quality. He wouldn't mind getting one of those bad boys. Either way, he had a Dungeon to finish as there didn't seem to be another way out.
