For Want Of Life And Property (Gamer System SI) 1

(Inspired By Stories From DarkWolfShiro)

I have always loved games.

Simple, to the point, and there are nearly always clear winners and losers. There was a beginning, a middle, and an end. There was a plot, rising and falling action, a climax, and then the end.

It was clear and understandable. Something I wished life was sometimes, but there is no reward for living other than just living, knowing that with each passing day, an undeniable clock was ticking down.

I lived a life where I believed that I had things of my own; that was before the crushing reality came down. To keep a cliche story short, there was an accident that led to a young boy being orphaned at a young age. And the family, instead of helping, simply ignored him or took everything he had.

So that boy grew up and tried to roll with the punches. He tried to simply make enough to have something to his name, and after a while, the illusion of control came over the boy, who, at this point, thought that life was finally giving him a reward for rising back up like a protagonist, and then life slapped him with reality and it was super effective.

I never came back from that. There was no revive or second wind; I can still remember the feeling of the shots hitting the window of my car and then the impact of the car hitting the pole and then stinging pain, and then nothing. 

I always knew that people would kill for money and other things. But the fact that I was killed in such a manner shows foul play. But the kicker was that I didn't even feel anything other than pain as my family was never there for me, so it didn't really matter.

So that was it. My story was over by all means and accounts, but then it wasn't.

An endless void, a single soul floating amongst it, and then a bottle on a table, and with nothing left to lose, if I had anything left to lose at all, I made a choice. And after I simply refused it, nothing happened.

So as I floated amongst endless space for what felt like years, I screamed, I yelled, I begged, and then I could say nothing else as it wouldn't have mattered. And with now infinite time, at least infinite time for what I thought was my punishment, all I could do was think.

So, days went by, and I started with trying to remember all my previous life's moments, the good, the bad, and the ugly. The ugly thing was the time I wasted on games that would give me nothing but false hope. There was no grand destiny for people like me, the average, the forgettable, and the cliche.

Time just seemed to not exist in the void, which made sense as it was a void, so if time did exist, I wouldn't even be able to tell as there was no degradation or celestial bodies to help me. With that thought ended came the emptiness again, so I did the next best thing.

I thought of my favorite foods, songs, movies, and hobbies, and after realizing that for hobbies, I had little other than games and work. I stopped thinking about that. To be honest, I blame the obsession with games due to my younger mind and the fact that I had read so much fanfiction relating to overpowered systems and gamers with more power than sense.

I always felt like it was shameful to fantasize about such things, but at the end of the day, I simply wanted something that was mine. Something I could never lose, whether that be a person, an I tem, or maybe memories of good times. If I could shed tears being a spectral human, then I would have, but I couldn't, so I yelled out in frustration. 

I was angry and yelled out to endless nothing over and over again. This then turned to questioning the nothingness, which then led me to simply stop and accept that this was the end.

The emptiness was all encroaching; there was no light, sound, or even shape. It was just nothingness in all directions. However, a small voice then bid me to simply close my eyes and rest and let the blackness take me, but I ignored it as you never trust voices in your head unless they are sacred gears from DXD or those soul weapons from Bleach.

I was never a really big fan of anime as I was more of a Comics guy, but when one has a phone and a decent amount of time to comb the internet, you see a few things and watch a few episodes. 

I then stopped after seeing the same "tatakae" meme over and over again. It was less the fact that it was annoying and more the fact that it just bothered me as after reading up on that character's history, it surprised me how he kept it going and how he was just willing to take the entire world on his shoulders or at least his Island.

What kind of thought goes through your mind when you decide to make the whole world your enemy?

Did it feel pleasurable to crush them all and see the people that damned your own begging and crying to live? It was truly a situation where I wanted to see what was going on inside his head. But I know he had what I did not, and that was drive as well. I was able to roll with the punches, and to keep going, I never did more than I could have as I just didn't see a reason to.

Before my monologue could become more angst, I saw the same bottle form before, and inside, the bottle looked like endless lines of code. Seeing as I had the little option, I simply floated over to it and grasped it in my ghostly hand, yet it simply shattered in my hand, and the code crawled all over me, but it didn't feel like anything.

Maybe it was due to the fact that I was a soul, so I could not physically feel pain, or whoever made this thing was a master at their craft. It mattered little at this point. So, as the code crawled into my soul, I simply floated there and let whatever was happening run its course.

And then the process ended and I saw a blue screen appear in front of me.

[ Congratulations For Dying!]

Did the screen just commend me for dying in a car-related accident?

[Yes! Yes, I did. Now you have the chance to go on a grand adventure! Money, power, women, and endless grind awaits you!]

This sounds like a too-good-to-be-true Faustian bargain right now.

[The Devil's got nothing on me! I mean, think about it: if the Devil ever got involved with any experienced gamer, he would end up on the receiving end of endless torture in various forms.]

Isn't the Devil nearly all-powerful and whatnot?

[Is a human being all-powerful to an ant? It's pretty much the best descriptor. True omnipotence only exists in the hands of one being, and they have been gone for a long time. In fact, it's theorized that they gave up their power to create all there is. That crappy DXD fanfiction you read has a universe, endless worlds, and blind eternities? Mere footnotes in the journey of a gamer.]

This sounds nice, but who sent it to you exactly?

[Well, since you seem like a reasonable fellow, think of all the times you read in fanfiction when a higher metaphysical being tried to say their true name. I think you can do the math. ]

Honestly, you're lucky I can because I almost never even finished high school due to the bills I had to pay.

[Well, who needs school when you have limitless possibilities in the palm of your hands?]

Before we do this, I must ask if this is some kind of cosmic joke, a powerful being using me as entertainment of some kind.

[You would be right if I came from those who created the gamer systems in the first place. I am a more recent creation, a copy made by a being looking to see the benefits of a chance at a second one. But understand this: Once you drank from that bottle, we are intertwined more deeply than a housewife and an NTR enjoyer in a hentai novel.]

That sounds incredibly gay. I mean, that is the one you chose out of all the comparisons you could have made? *Le sigh * Alright, what happens next?

[Well, how do most games begin Character Creation!]

I see sparks and fireworks fly out of the blue screen, showing the system text as if congratulating me for simply existing.

[ Well, I mean you continuing to exist in this void is actually quite admirable as unlike most classic FanFictions, the void, while having less than stellar effects on pure souls, can be resisted, but it requires a decent amount of willpower to remain lucid enough to keep thinking and remembering. If you think back to Dark Souls with the whole going Hollow thing, the process is somewhat similar. For worlds with no afterlife, all that remains is the void before your energy rejoins the universe.]

Well, that is simultaneously terrifying and depressing. What of those who believe in God or other pantheons?

[ It depends on who the owner of the Multiverse or Universe in question is, as most creator deities are very large plagiarists of The Original's work. But there are some worlds where one divine Pantheon rules over the universe, and for others, they simply recycle the souls through reincarnation and have little hand in the process. Then you have the sadist who creates hells just to punish those who wronged them across multiple universes.]

Okay, one final question, then. You mentioned other gamers. If I'm going to go on this journey, am I going to have to worry about getting invaded like in the previously mentioned Dark Souls?

[No, as my creator who created the bottle and this system is as powerful as they are and are even stronger in some aspects. So wherever you end up, there will be a separate multiversal cluster, so there will be no gamers or reincarnation to deal with. It's nice to know that my host thinks these things through.]

I would respond that my experience mostly lies in reading other fanfiction regarding gamer systems, but I think the system already understands that and is trying to make me feel better, which I do appreciate. As the screen expands, it shows various achievements and other numbers.

[For Living Past High School Graduation]

Reward: +10 Stat Points, + 5 Wisdom/Intelligence

[For Reaching Age 26]

Reward: +16 Stat Points

[For Remaining A Virgin Until Death]

Reward: + 5 Stat Points, + 5 Vitality

[For Never Giving Up On Trying To Find Purpose]

Reward: +5 Strength, + 5 Vitality

[For Playing Over 50 Games]

Reward: + 5 Dexterity, + 5 Wisdom

[For Reading Too Much fanfic]

Reward: + 5 Intelligence, + 5 Stat Points

I feel personally attacked by these achievements. I just didn't have enough time to talk to others.

[Oh, I understand. In your timeline, the rapidly declining birthrate will cause many issues in the future, but you don't need to worry about that now!]

That feels ominous in every sense of the word, but it was right that the world holds no meaning anymore. I just hope that my family didn't suffer in the end.

[No need to worry as souls that return to the universe feel nothing but tiredness and peace, which, while it may be a bit morbid, is actually quite tame in comparison to other universes as some souls are trapped in time loops doomed to live their lives forever and they will never even know.]

I am suddenly feeling very lucky right about now.

[ Would you like to change your appearance?]

That is a more loaded question than I could realize, but I decided to click yes, and a character creation screen appeared. Soon enough, I reached for the dials, expecting to touch them, but it simply went through them. While I felt nothing from it, it did make my attempt seem a bit stupid, as I then tried to move the options mentally, and it worked.

I then spent what felt like hours altering my appearance as I desired to become someone new. A life that I had lived must resin as such. The past stays in the past, so as I looked at my work, I saw the person I wanted to become take shape. A teenager with black hair but a stripe of white in the front, a broad frame, and a form that showed strength and will.

The Red Hood, or Jason Todd, was a character that came back from the dead just to get right back to fighting. And the fact that his looks were what I wanted in my previous life, a small wish was granted.

[And you called me gay.]

There is a difference between admiration and phrasing that makes it sound like we want to cross swords and not in a combative way. Also, I am a straight male, even if I never had the time to show it.

[RIIIIIIGHT…. Anyway, is this what you are choosing?]

Yes, this feels right. Anything else?

[Just a few more steps, and you will be done. Do you wish to forget the memories from your previous life other than known metaknowledge?]

No, I refuse as I want to remember. Ever since I could remember, I wanted to make them proud, and while I may never know if I did if what you're saying is true, I want to keep their memory alive if only through me simply existing with the knowledge.

[Alright, I understand. One last question: how do you want your system to be other than the perk system, stat system, and titles? The system is bare bones. You have the choice here. And if you desire an AI for the system, do not worry about being rid of me, as I am simply a creation of your consciousness. But you only get this one chance, so try not to mess it up like when you failed to hold your liquor and got thrown out of that bar.]

I didn't know my conscience was this much of a dick, but for now, let's get started with this.