Life's Just A Game Now

Life isn't easy.

That's what I learned ever since I entered the years where I started to be attracted to women. Before even finding a good woman, you need to be able to get women in general first. That's the hard part of life.

I mean, not for me obviously, I'm decent looking, I am in good shape from all the sport I do, and I have a good career ahead of me. I'm at the 'finding a good woman' part.

There are worse problems in life, but as someone from one of the wealthiest country in the world, none of them directly affect me, and I have no intention nor resources to dedicate myself to helping others. Might be selfish, and I won't even hide behind the 'everybody does it' excuse, but that's how it is. In an age where everyone is trying to virtue signal to appeal to minorities, not putting yourself in the spotlight is the best way to not get into problems, faking a concern for others your whole life to get cookie points can only get you so far.

Now, where was I? Ah yes, I was on my way to a girl's apartment. At 22, I am nearly done with my studies and ready to enter the working world. Walking through the busy streets of my city, I finally arrived at my destination. I wasn't that excited about this; it would be just a one-night stand; she wasn't anything worth dating. We wouldn't be seeing each other after this night, and she just wasn't aware of it yet.

The moment, I climbed the few stairs to get to her apartment's door, I tripped. I couldn't help but think I was unlucky. Consider the recent rainy weather, the stairs were wet, and my clothes would get dirty. The next second, I felt a ground, but not what I expected. It wasn't wet, and it wasn't even hard. I opened my eyes and saw.

Nothing. Nothing was there, just blackness. I heard many groans somewhat resonating around me. That's when the panic hit me.

I couldn't smell anything, and even if the sense of smell was pretty weak in humans, my brain simply couldn't interpret the complete lack of smell any other way than 'danger'.

I looked at myself since I was still on the, technically, ground, it wasn't too hard. I had no clothes on, and my body was somewhat hazy. The proportions were kind of right, but I looked more like the souls from certain games, a mix of white and blue in a shadowy humanoid form. The distinct lack of everything around me only increased my fear. I looked out for whatever groaned around me and saw dozens of soul-like people, just like me.

Am I dead? Did those stairs kill me?

The number of questions in my mind kept increased, but I wasn't willing to speak, considering there were about a hundred people just looking awkwardly at each other. Finally, someone decided to act and asked, with evident confusion and fear in his voice, what was happening. Nobody answered, which only made him more frightened. He got into a panic attack and simply tried desperately to get answers from people that knew as much as himself.

Since he was somewhat close to me, he looked at me dead in the eyes, although I didn't know how I was able to tell that, considering our forms.

" Hey, you! You know something right! Spill it out! M-my children's are waiting for me! " he continued his rant while I kept my mouth shut, somewhat confused why he targeted me, as it was evident that I knew nothing.

" Look, man, nobody knows what is happening here, calm down, you're just annoying. " said the man to my right. While the volume in the place increased as people started to panic and talked or screamed to each other, the loudest one was still the first, and the people that stayed calm, even though confused, were annoyed by his lack of composure.

The screaming men stopped his rant and looked at the one that decided to step up and try to shut him up. He then jumped at him and tried to hit him while accusing him of kidnapping him. I reflexively wanted to hold him down, but the three of us and the people watching the scene unveil realized we were passing through each other. We couldn't interact in the slightest, at least by touch.

This only confirmed the theory, that at least everyone thought of once, that we were dead. And the one realizing that had varying reactions. Some broke down in tears, some were angry, and some were trying to confess their sins, though I could tell that they weren't necessarily religious.

Suddenly a game-looking screen appeared in front of me. Then a voice resonated in my head, though I only realized it after I looked around and saw that nobody was talking with this voice. Everyone got the same treatment as the cries, shouts, and so on stopped altogether in the room.

[ Welcome, participants, to the 148th edition of the Ancient Game! Power, Riches and Women? Everything is at your reach within this game! You have been selected to play in the most entertaining game in the history of creation! Choose your starting attributes, explore different worlds, fight to the death the other participants and be the last one standing! Infinite treasures and rewards await you at the top! ]

I had to pause to understand what was just said. I skipped past the unfair fact that none of us chose to participate in a death game and that only one would remain, and tried to calm down. But the voice or announcer in my head didn't even let me finish.

[ The rules are simple! Every participant is given 100 points and can browse through the universal shop to buy attributes to a maximum of 5 attributes! Those attributes contain bloodlines, legendary equipment, systems, magics and other miscellaneous things and items that would prove extremely important in your fights! After choosing those five attributes, you will be transported in a new body fitting for your choice in a random world, but there's more! Only one bloodline can be bought from the shop, and there is a lot of attributes and worlds that participants cannot attain to keep the game fair! ]

This time, instead of the cheerful voice, a monotonous voice rang inside my head.

[ Would you like to access the universal shop? ]

I mentally said yes, and another game-like panel opened up in front of my eyes. I first tried to test if others could see mine as well, but considering I noticed those close to me swiping their fingers in the air, I considered myself safe.

The shop was immense. There were too many items to browse through it simply; you had to search for specific things. But when I realized what kind of items were sold, I nearly jumped from joy. The stuff sold in the shop were from every fiction created in our world. When that fact was completely understood, I quickly searched for the Saiyan bloodline, obviously by the fear that if one bought an item, it would be impossible for others to obtain it.

[ The Saiyan Bloodline cannot be obtained. ]

Well, there goes my easy access to power. Now that I think about it, it was apparent, it was simply too overpowering, and it wouldn't be a contest of training and planning, it would be merely a contest of whoever can choose these kinds of bloodlines the fastest.

Browsing through the different worlds, I realized the Dragon Ball Multiverse was also locked out. I sighed as I had to think of another plan.

My focus was on races and bloodlines since these would dictate how high could I go without external help, and a diabolical plan quickly formed in my head with my limited knowledge of fiction in general. I searched for multiple things in quick succession and simply smiled when I realized that I could go even higher than I initially thought.

[ Add-on: Nord ( Human Race ) from The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Cost: 10 points. ]

[ Bloodline: Hanma ( Human Race ) from Baki. Cost: 25 points. ]

[ Item: Peerage Set from Highschool DxD. Cost: 20 points. ]

Changing myself to a Nord from Skyrim was not considered a bloodline. This was an actual hack, in my opinion, so I quickly selected those three attributes. Any human race from Skyrim was close to humans, but at the same time, they could become much more robust than us. Nords were also naturally more muscular and tougher than us, so this was a pleasant bonus if we only look at it from this angle.

I wasn't sure about this, but those other points would be incredible if true. Nords were the ones that could use Thu'um the most in Tamriel, due to their ancestry, I didn't know if it would be possible for me to do the same eventually, but the possibility was worth taking the attribute. Also, every species in Skyrim could naturally use Aura, which was their projected life-force, similar to ki in that regard. That was how warriors could destroy mages that had spells that could level entire cities. This affinity would come in handy if I were transported into a world that did not have these kinds of powers. The Battle Cry and Resist Frost racial abilities were also a big plus in this choice.

The Hanma bloodline was quite straightforward; it was the closest you could get to a continually evolving body in terms of the human race, or at least that I could think of. The feats from Baki's father were simply mindblowing, and within a supernatural world, I was sure I would eventually be able to surpass him with my body.

The Peerage Set from Highschool DxD was another way for me to fuck with the system. It would grant me an additional bloodline that would be quite strong with training, not as intense as the Hamna bloodline, but still, nothing to scoff at. The most important part of the Devil Bloodline was that they were magic freaks and could use magic just with their imagination. That would grant me an extreme affinity with magic without having to spend another attribute. Plus I got the information that the people in my peerage would be able to travel with me to fight against other participants. I was sure other items could grant allies to participants, but I wasn't sure about another item that would give both bloodline and partners.

The downside to it would be that I would be weak against light and holy magic, but it was worth the risks.

I still had two attributes to choose, and my first reflex was to look for systems. Considering the Gamer System cost 100 points, I expected them to be quite expensive and didn't know if I would be able to buy one. My problem was that I had a lot of potential, but it was still not enough since I lacked time, I needed another way to increase my power in a short amount of time, and systems were the best way to do that. Browsing my way through the various systems, I finally found an excellent one that would help me with both my problems.

[ Levelling System from The Death Mage Who Doesn't Want A Fourth Time. Cost: 30 points ]

The system wasn't that expensive because the biggest problem was that it technically required EXP to increase your power no matter what, and without that the growth was limited. The thing is that since my other wishes were from different worlds where it was possible to increase your power without it, it would merely negate the downside. It would also resolve my other problem, which was even more significant than the first one, defence.

I wasn't talking about Physical Defense, my bloodlines were enough for that, especially the Hanma Bloodline, but mental defence. I noticed a vast number of abilities, bloodlines and items that revolved around mental or soul manipulation, and I had little way of defending myself from them. This system would allow me to take jobs related to mental or soul manipulation if I exposed myself to it. It wouldn't be reliable, but it would be a good start. The Devil Bloodline would undoubtedly help me with mental protection, but I still had nothing about soul protection.

I had one attribute slot and 15 points left.

I didn't have enough for anything compelling, and could only look for something like a strong item. Anything related to the soul was costly, especially bloodlines and magics. I didn't need any soul attacks, just protection, but both went hand in hand so I could only hope to find a decent solution for my problem as I continued to browse through the shop.

My eyes stopped on an ability, and I smiled. Since I went for the most potential and no direct strength, why not maximize that aspect?

[ Aura from RWBY. Cost: 15 points. ]

Perfect. Aura wasn't too strong compared to my other choices from what I've seen in the show, but then again, we didn't know the end of it, and with it, I could maybe get a semblance, another power that would add on to my already extensive list. This would allow me to get various soul related jobs from my system and protect my soul eventually.

With it, I paid for the five attributes and exited the shop, smiling at my choices. I wasn't too optimistic. Still, the Gamer System, for example, would completely negate all of my decisions with enough time, even if I had a system myself. There were similar choices in the shop that would have incredible late-game potential and that I couldn't afford to let train too long, even if my build was also heavily invested in late-game potential. On the opposite side, there were incredible powers that would give enormous immediate power to their wielders, but with close to no room for growth. Those I would have to avoid meeting at first.

There was also the case where some would be born in worlds that would give them merely another way to get more power. If I could choose the world I was reborn into, I would want either Highschool DxD or RWBY, so I could get Aura or get reincarnated as a devil without spending an attribute.

When I looked around, I realized that I took more time than most participants, who now were looking at each other warily. There were no tears or anger now, only the realization that only one would be able to get out of there alive, though I could see some that were excited about it.