Gaining a System and Ruminations

The Gamer System

In a semi-small dorm room of a semi-decent college was the most normal-looking boy/man you would ever see. Well, other than the fact that he was a few years younger than his peers, and he was in the middle of a playthrough of a heavily modded Skyrim. He installed over 400 mods. He put more time into installing mods than actual hours in the game. The young white male was around 5' 10", with an average face you wouldn't pick out of a crowd. With his long brown hair and a set of reading glasses that block blue light, he looked rather nerdy, not even considering he was playing Skyrim. Then, something odd appeared in the space in front of his dark brown eyes.

[Name: Damien Thanatos Borson

Job: The Gamer

Level: LV 5

Title: Young Genius

HP: 100/100

MP: 100/100

STR: 10 (Muscle Strength)

VIT: 10 (HP, HP Regen, and Resistance)

DEX: 10 (Increases reaction time and the ability to make Precise Movements)

INT: 10 (Processing Power and MP)

WIS: 10 (Problem Solving and MP Regen)

LUK: 10 (Greater Probability of encountering Lucky Events, either good or bad)

Elemental Affinities:

N/A

Points: 20

Money: $0]

"Huh, neat."

He then continued playing Skyrim as if nothing happened. He continued to do this while neglecting the homework he told himself he would get done today, but alas, today was not that day. He stayed true to his job title and carried on.

[Notifications: 1]

"Haaaaaa, that was fun. Now then…*Typing* The Gamer Wiki."

*A few minutes later*

[WIS: +1]

Hmm, I don't know why Gaia or whatever higher power decided to give me this, but I'll make

use of it…after I finish my Skyrim playthrough.

*Many days later*

"FUUUUUUCK!"

I scream my heart out in righteous anger at the image that lies before me. I meant to make this character a sword and shield-wielding tank but somehow I ended up here…again.

A character in full Nightingale armor along with the Nightingale Bow. The "Mighty" Alduin was done in by one iron arrow while in sneak mode. Opening the skill menu brought forth an image full of stars and constellations. One could see the sneak skill was level one hundred, and below it was an image of a metal dragon sigil with the number 40 by it that signifies how many times the skill had been leveled to completion. On the top of the screen, his character's level was 102.

"Dammit, I can't go a single playthrough without maxing all my skills at least twice."

I'm really tired, strangely, it's not a physical tiredness. I haven't felt the need for sleep in days. I know why, it's just a very strange feeling.

*Ping*

I looked at my phone, only to see that it wasn't what made the noise. It was a system notification. I thought someone actually texted me there for a second, phew, crisis averted. I don't have to pretend to not have seen the text. Well, then, let's see what the almighty gamer system has to say.

[Notifications: 2]

1) Would you like to start the tutorial? Yes or No?

2) Your body is in desperate need of food and water. Your skills as a gamer grant you all the abilities of a video game character, you still must eat and drink to sustain your body. For more information, enter the tutorial.

"Eehhhhhh, and I thought I could have all the same perks as the OG gamer. Oh well."

I get up from my comfy gaming chair for the first time in what seems to be forever and head towards my dorm closet to get a bottle of water. Gamer or not, I still don't trust the tap water here. Grabbing the bottle from my closet/pantry, I attempt to open it before I'm stopped by a prompt.

[Would you like to consume the item: Water Bottle? Yes or No?]

I stopped for a moment at this. Could it be that I have just gained the ability all avid gamers wish to have? The ability to skip the time it takes to eat and drink instead of gaming!? Imagine all the cheese wheels I could eat in a single second!

*Gulp*

I stare at the bottle.

[You have obtained the skill: Observe LV 1]

[Description: A staple skill for all gamers. You can observe objects and people to a higher degree than others. Unable to see the information of anyone 20+ levels above you.]

[Water Bottle: H20, along with carbon, is considered the foundation for all organic life.]

Huh, I was wondering when this would pop up. Supposedly, Gaia gives The Gamer the ability to see the names and levels of objects and people. I don't know if it will be the same for me, however.

*Click*

I clicked yes and the bottle disappeared from my hand.

[Daily water intake: 1 of 6 bottles]

[Daily Macronutrients: Carbs: 0, Fats: 0, Proteins: 0, Other: 0]

"Holy shit!"

It's every gym bro's dream to have your macros automatically calculated! This is a dream come true, I can become a real-life GIGA-CHAD. Man, I haven't been to the gym in a few weeks, I really miss it, but that can be taken care of later. I need to figure out what else is different about my version of the gamer system. Opening the skill tab, I see five skills.

[Gamer's Body LV Max

Description: Allows the gamer to live real life like a game. Sleeping in a bed regenerates HP,

MP, and removes most status effects.

(Survival Mode Active, this cannot be changed on your current world.)]

Ahh, I see now. This is why food and water is still required. It's a shame it can't be changed. Wait, "current world", does this imply I will be on other worlds in the future, and why can't I deactivate survival mode on this planet?

[WIS: +1]

Whatever, it's not like I can find the answer to these questions currently.

[Gamer's Mind LV Max

Description: The ability to remain calm in stressful situations. Grants immunity to mental illnesses, intense emotions, and mental attacks.]

[Observe Lv 1]

[Grinding LV 30

Description: You have the patience and willpower to single-mindedly grind skills and abilities. The greater the level, the faster you can level skills requiring repeated actions.]

Oh cool, I guess I got that skill while grinding in Skyrim. Kind of ironic that the highest level skill I have achieved on my own is related to grinding other skills. Now then, one last thing to do.

[You have started the tutorial.]

As soon as I clicked the yes button in my notifications, the world around me began to pixelate like the planet itself was updating its graphics drivers. As the landscape continued to change, trees started to appear, and moss-like grass grew on my toes as I had no shoes on. The wind briskly whistled past my face, and patches of snow spread about every which way. Not too far away from me, a brick road was laid out in front of me, and even further away from that was an ominous-looking cave that was basically screaming "Loot Me!" at the top of its lungs.

Before that, however, I must explore. It's my gamer's instinct, I must loot everything in my vicinity before I go into an obvious boss fight. Looking around for a bit, I accidentally stepped in some snow with my bare feet and felt the unforgiving cold of winter attack me. I also found a cool-looking stick, so I put it in my inventory. It just pixelated and showed up as an icon. When I thought of it in my hand again, it appeared in the same fashion. As I continued my search for loot, I found a chest buried under the dead, crunchy leaves.

My gamer instinct once again activated, but after playing Dark Souls, I don't trust anything so easy to find. Not missing a beat, I took out my trusty stick and gave it a healthy thwack. Just for good measure, I hit it again, religiously following the double-tap rule. Even then, I very carefully open the chest, and I find a bronze-colored buckler with brown leather straps.

[Bronze Buckler

Description: A small shield good for blocking and parrying blows.

Durability: 100/100]

"Ooo, a good find for sure. Let's see if there's any other goodies around here." *Smiles in gamer*

I didn't see any particular time limit for the tutorial, so I continued to loot and forage for more cool sticks. There were no more cool sticks unfortunately nor were there any collectibles in the area. Well, most games don't have collectibles in the starting area, but that's beside the point.

After a few hours, I came across what seemed to be the boundary of the tutorial world. Following the wall, I circled the entire thing in about 2 hours, observing everything on the way around.

[Observe LV 7]

Now back at the cave, I decided to finally enter with my buckler and my cool stick equipped. On the menu showing all of my equipped items, was a silhouette of my body surrounded by multiple boxes. It showed the clothes I was wearing, the buckler on my left arm, and the stick in my right hand. I entered the cave with no fear whatsoever. It became muggy and wet the moment I stepped into the cave.

[Quest: Complete The Tutorial Dungeon

Objectives:

-Kill all of the Drauger(Non-lore accurate) within

-Loot all of the chests

-Kill the Weakened Draugr Deathlorda(Non-lore accurate)

-Bonus: Complete the dungeon without taking damage from enemies

Reward: The skills ID Create and ID Escape

Bonus Reward: Randomly Generated Skill Book]

Hmm, Okay, this isn't going to be as easy as I thought. Seeing as this dungeon looks like a classic Skyrim crypt, I'm up against some of the starting enemies in the game. Thank Gaia they are not lore accurate, otherwise, I would be very screwed. I also have to avoid any traps on the way as well. What's my best plan of action at the moment? I can't just go in and expect to succeed with minimal effort. First off, let's put those extra points to use.

[Name: Damien Thanatos Borson

Job: The Gamer

Level: LV 5

Title: Young Genius

HP: 150/150

MP: 150/150

STR: 15 (Muscle Strength)

VIT: 15 (HP, HP Regen, and Resistance)

DEX: 20 (Decreases Reaction time and the ability to make Precise Movements)

INT: 10 (Processing Power and MP)

WIS: 10 (Problem Solving and MP Regen)

LUK: 10 (Greater Probability of encountering Lucky Events, either good or bad)

Elemental Affinities:

N/A

Points: 0

Money: $0]

Putting points in strength is pretty obvious, Vitality is purely in case I can't dodge, and lastly, Dexterity will not only help me dodge attacks but also make better use of my weapons. Well, I say weapons, but I mean my cool stick. Let's do this!

[You have Obtained the skill: Sneak]

[Sneak LV 1

Description: This signifies your skill in the art of not being found. Stick to the shadows and move quietly to avoid detection.]

What? Don't look at me like that! I did it on instinct. It is a Skyrim dungeon after all.

I stayed crouched down low until my legs started hurting, so I stood up and used the toe-to-heel sneaking method instead.

[Sneak LV 3]

That makes sense.

As I continue to explore, the smell of putrid death assaults my nose. Nasty creatures, really. In my exploration, I happened upon a dilapidated stone staircase leading into a room with stone carved out of the walls that held corpses. Most of them were wrapped up in some type of cloth, but there were a few that were holding weapons. Swords, Greatswords, and one with a hammer. Luckily they had no armor. With my level in sneak, I won't be able to make more than one sneak attack, so I need to choose the most deadly target. Well, as I currently am, dodging fast, precise attacks is not in the cards for me. My first target is the draugr with the sword. The other two require a wind-up to attack with so I am confident in dodging those.

Slowly, I make my way down the stairs, making sure to not wake my sleeping enemies. As I near my first victim, I find myself anxious but also oddly calm. With my stick in both hands above my head, I swing it like a spear with all of my strength, hoping to puncture its head. It stabbed cleanly through its eye socket and out the back of its head.

[Sneak LV 4]

The Drauger opened one eye, the stick still deep in its skull.

"Raaaaaaakkkkkkk!" it belched.

The other two also slowly clambered to their feet, eyes homing in on their foe. Before they could start their assault, Damien, being the weak human that he is, executed his strategy.

"Negeruuundaiiiooooooooo!"

I'm not dealing with that! Plan A, the sneak attack… has failed. Now for plan B.

Continuing down the hallway at top speed, the drauger…

"Raaaaaa!" *Ting!* *Bang*

They were hot on my tail, swinging their dilapidated weapons wildly. Luckily, they weren't dexterous, otherwise…well, you get the idea.

"Huff huff, I can't do this for much longer. Where the hell are they when I need them?!"

Taking a sharp turn, I came to an abrupt stop, I almost died at that moment, but I couldn't help but smile. The draugr was only a few steps behind me. Using my heightened strength and Dexterity I moved to the side at the perfect moment. At that moment, I also stuck out my leg to trip at least one of the bastards. Not having time to slow down, two of Draugr clumsily fell forward…exactly where a pit of spikes happened to be. The Iron gate covering the pit opened and swallowed them both.

*Shlick!*

They were stabbed through and died on the spot.

[Level Up!]

Ironically, the third and final draugr, the one with my cool stick still in its skull, was lagging behind due to a shifted center of balance.

"Grrrrrr…" it growled, holding its sword with the practiced ease of a drunken teenager.

I also took something of a stance, protecting my upper body with my bronze buckler. We stared one another down for what felt like minutes. As comical as its current appearance was with a stick flopping around with each movement of its head, it was still a danger to my life.

*Bang!* It suddenly swung first. Narrowly blocking it, I kicked it away with as much force as I could.

*Crunch!* Its torso caved in a bit while taking a few steps back. I positioned myself against one of the cave walls for my next move. Charging full force, it swung its sword down in a predictable manner. Acting as if I was going for the block, I drop to the floor. Its sword quickly follows but I redirected it to my left side, taking a chunk of my arm with it. The drauger fell forward hitting the wall face first, pushing my cool stick through the skull and popping out on the other side.

I sat up, my forehead grazing its nonexistent balls, and picked up my stick. It fits comfortably in my hand. Before it could get up…

*Smack!**Smack!**Smack!**Smack!*

Mercilessly, without hesitation, I continued to smack it until its skull was mixed with the dirt below.

"Just in case…"

*smack*

[Loot:

-Fragile Sword

-Small bag of money

-Rotten Flesh]

Continuing on, I looked around every corner and in every crevice for more loot. Eventually, I found a large iron door, an obvious boss room. Looking down at my previously injured arm, I take a seat on the damp dirt floor of the cave.

"...This is insane…"

"Why am I even doing this? What's the point? The OG gamer got his hands on god-like power, but what use is that to me?"

"I don't get it, It's kind of cringe to do a whole soliloquy before a boss battle, but I don't even know why I'm here… Okay, first, let's go over what I DO know."

First, I was chosen by some higher power to be given the Nigh-all-powerful Gamer System. It sounds great on paper, but nothing comes without a cost, will I have to do its bidding in the form of quests to keep this power? Will I be a slave to its every whim? These questions can be answered with time, and I'll be taking advantage of the opportunity that's been given to me.

Second, how will my goals change taking the system into consideration? Originally, I was just going to go into an engineering field of some kind, not that I have the details ironed out. Now I can make magical artifacts that well exceed any feat of engineering I could accomplish in the next hundred years. I mean, I could revolutionize humanity with creations of unimaginable proportions, I already have 5 ideas that could change society as we know it…but what's the point? I just don't care enough about money or glory. I basically have an infinite money glitch now, so what's the point of doing any of that?

Third, with this power of limitless potential, there must be a reason it was given to me. A threat to me or the world itself. With every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction. This is the law of nature.

"Haaa, dammit, this is so cliche, but my current goal is surviving whatever calamity is coming(I say 'is' because there is no doubt in my mind). I need to be prepared for that. I don't really have anyone to protect, so I at least dodged that cliche… Anyway, let's go gain some EXP for my survival…and maybe do some cool shit along the way."

Getting up with a face-splitting grin on my face, I mentally prepare for the boss battle.