Ch.1 - Beginning of a New Era
1570 Words
Rds POV
RDS x 3
?: Hey bud.
?: Hey.
?: Hop up.
?: WAKE YA BUTT UP, TIME TO GO TO WORK, GLITCH!
RDS: WHTDAJDHDJCKAODNKEI
?: That got ya up.
A 2 ringed circle appeared in front of me, with 3 triangles on it's outside, symmetrically arranged.
(A/N: I didn't do the Arc proper justice, and the cover has been replaced, so I remade him in Pixel Studio. He used to be on the cover, but that was meant to be a place holder until I could figure out something better.)
RDS: Who are you? You sound just like I do.
?: True, and that's because I am your other half.
RDS: Wait, WHAT?
?: Jk. I'm an extension of your soul that took physical form.
RDS: You never said who.
?: Whoops.
The mysterious circle winks.
Arc: I'm the Arc of the RDS, your signature sidekick!
(The Arc has joined your party at Level 1)
RDS: A replication of myself, that's my sidekick, who was waiting for me to get here? Sweet.
Arc:
RDS: We should get out of the Forest of Magic, though...
Arc: How'd you know?
RDS: I've played more than enough Touhou to know.
?: FOOD!
(Rumia, Youkai of the Dusk, Lv. 5)
Arc: Ah crap, she found us. I hoped that I'd be able to pick you up without getting noticed. Stand back, this might get ugly.
RDS: Hecks Nah. You're the closest thing I have to a brother and you think I'm just gonna watch? I'm fighting with ya.
She rushes toward me, and twin aura gauntlets materialize on my hands.
Arc: Sure you're ready?
RDS: and Let's-A-Go!
*Battle Start*
I wind up a punch and hit Rumia square in the head, pushing her back.
(62 damage)
(Critical Hit!)
Arc: Less than a second in and you're already hitting crits? Dang.
RDS: Hitting weak spots works.*points finger at Rumia* Best to not get me angry, or the hunter might become the hunted.
Rumia: As you scare me at all, now give me your flesh!*Charges with an ax*
Pretty predictable. Wild youkai aren't known for battle strats. But it's impressive she can hold that ax though, let alone swing it.
RDS: No thanks.
RDS sidesteps, and the s***h goes to the ground instead.
(Attack Missed) Now we punish.
The Arc gets out a Mario & Luigi style hammer and brings it down on Rumia's...barrier.
(120 Shield Damage)
RDS: Lame.
(Shield Break)
RDS: Not so lame.
Rumia:*Dizzy from the shield break *You're no fun... Uguu...
RDS: Neither are you. Arc, she's all yours.
Arc: Got it.
Arc pulls out a Homerun Bat, and F-Smashes her.
(69 damage and massive knockback)
Rumia: *Sent flying into a tree* Grrrrrr!
Other two: crap, she hit something.
Rumia warps behind me and slashes my arm.
(30 damage)
Rumia: Yes, bloooood... NOW LET ME EAT YOU!
RDS: That hurt like heck- AND NEVER! (Enraged)*Grabs her and slams her to the ground with such force that it makes a small crater*(50 damage) You *Knee* (20) stupid *Kick * (20) GLITCH! *Regrab* Now FLAKE OFF! *spin throw*
Rumia hits another tree for 50 damage.
Arc: Dang, this man's no pushover when angry...
Rumia: Aww, you're fighting back? That only makes you tastier.*Warps behind me again, but I read this time and kick her in the chest*
Rumia: WHAT?! HOW?!
RDS: Back in my world, that's what we called a hard read. I'll end this. Ether...
RDS gathers energy and takes a deep breath.
RDS: Blast!
RDS fires a ball of energy, dealing another 150 damage and crashing Rumia into some trees. The force of the impact knocks them over.
Rumia: *Tired* Uggghh... You're too strong... Not worth it... I'll be back!
Rumia flies off and the gauntlets dissipate.
(Victory!)
(RDS XP: 1832/100)
(Grew to Level 5)
Me: Looks like I level quickly.
(Max HP increased from 134 to 4288)
(Health Regen increased from 0.1% to 3.2%)
(Might increased from 5 to 80)
(Magic increased from 10 to 160)
(Agility increased from 10 to 160)
(INT increased from 20 to 320)
(RNG increased from 5 to 80)
(1up!)
RDS: And my stats are already multiplying like crazy.
Arc: Looks like she dropped that ax and some cash. But why would she even have any?
(Got Lesser Battleaxe)
(Got 250 Yen)
RDS: An ax won't get us anywhere in Gensokyo. Might as well sell it.
Arc: Forget the ax for now. Those are some serious stat gains.
RDS: That's exponential growth for you.
?: Now what do we have here?
Arc: Hi, Yukari.
Yukari:*Steps out of the gap* Greetings, Arc of the RDS. I'm surprised you noticed that quickly.
(Youkai of Boundaries, Yukari Yakumo, Level ???)
RDS: (Dang! Her level's so high the system's scan can't read it! It's likely in the hundreds...)
Yukari extends a hand to me.
Yukari: You must be the true RDS. Welcome to Gensokyo, a place where human and youkai can live in harmony.*Glances at the downed trees Rumia crashed into* Well, most of them can.
I shake Yukari's hand.
Me: Thanks for the warm welcome, Yukari.
Yukari: You're welcome. Oh, and take these.
(Received Infinite Item Box)
{It's an item box that harbors infinite items.}
Me: A block that gives me gear and power-ups when I hit it? Totally haven't seen that before. And looking at that meter on it, it's got a recharge.
Yukari: Correct. You can use it anywhere between 50 and 100 charge.
RDS: And what's this other thing?
Yukari: A little present for the protags. Open it.
Arc pops the cork and a little light ball comes out. It does a few spins around the RDS and his client.
RDS: Aww... hey, little guy! Who are ya?
It buzzes its wings.
Arc: A pixie? Adorable! What do ya do?
It buzzes again.
RDS: You control the camera? So you're basically the readers' manifestation! Cool. Actually cool.
It nods.
Yukari: Good luck getting to the village before nightfall. You'll need it. Until we meet again~
Me and Arc: Yukari wai-
Instead of leaving, Yukari hesitates for a moment.
Yukari: Hmm?
RDS: A few questions. How'd you know we were here?
Yukari: I can see everything in Gensokyo. And now a question for you. How exactly did you pull off that combo, let alone ignore the wound while doing so?
Arc: And *turns to RDS* deal that much damage?
RDS: *sweatdrop* Huh... I think I might have weaponized my rage. I did use to have anger issues...
Yukari: Oh. That's a unique case. Even more so because you're an outsider. *thinks* I can tell that will come in handy for you, but save it for when the time is right. I'll ask Reimu to bandage your wound when you get there.
Arc: Wait! Why can't you just heal him?
Yukari: Would be too easy for you.
RDS: And how would I even fight with Gensokyo rules? I don't have spell cards! In fact, I can barely use magic at all!
Yukari: Ah, you are very capable of using magic. Your magic potency is actually stronger than your physical form. And outsiders don't use spell card rules, silly.
RDS: Ah, good. Bye, Yukari.
*Yukari leaves through the gap*
Me: To Reimu it is.
Arc: Yeah, and we better start moving.
Me: Alright, lemme save first. Also, I get how you can summon weapons, but how'd I get that staff?
Arc: Plothole.
(Would you like to save your game?)
|(Yes)|
(No)
(Game Saved.)
Arc: Saving works by recording your position in the Infiniverse, and you can warp there outside of battle. You can have up to 3 saves at once, and saving again overwrites the oldest save. Your items and level are not locked in a save, so you don't have to worry about losing levels.
Me: And if we somehow die?
Arc: For me, I usually respawn after anywhere between 30 seconds to 2 minutes, but in certain situations, I'll reform instantly. For you, however, it's more complicated. You did see a counter when you woke up, right?
RDS: Yea. I'm guessing that's my life counter or something.
Arc: Right on. When you run out of HP, you fall unconscious or die. While that would be it for normal people, you simply lose a life. From then, you have three options: Get back up on the spot with full health, magic, and stamina, reset time to slightly before the encounter, so you can rework your decisions with prior knowledge, or give up. That last one is chosen automatically if you're out of lives. If you're unconscious, you also have the option to simply wait for you to regain input.
RDS: What does the last one do?
Arc: You'll go to the continue screen. If you decide to continue, you'll get back up at a checkpoint in a dungeon, and the nearest safe place in an overworld. If you game-over in a boss fight, you'll reset to right before the fight. Say no and the system will offer you to reload a save. But no matter what option you choose, you'll always have 3 lives or more after continuing. And before you ask, yes, you have infinite continues. Other player characters don't, but you can actually give the infinite continues to other people in the form of Phoenix Crystals.
Me: So the saves are like recall points, places you can retreat to if you mess up, while also being fast travel.
Arc: You got it.
RDS: One more thing. Is there some way to get infinite lives?
Arc: Probs, but we'll have to see. Now let's move.
And so our heroes began the journey to the Human Village.
End of Chapter
A/N: Only 3 parts in (the first real part too), there's references to other games, a life/continue system, and the 4th wall already got smacked with the ban hammer. Why, Arc, why?
Arc: I HEARD THAT!
A/N: Ah crud. Peace out, I gotta go pacify the Arc before he does something stupid. And before I forget, here's the stat overlay.
Might - Attack and Defense
Magic - Magic Attack and Magic Defense
Agility - Speed, Evade, and Stamina
INT/Intelligence - Overall smarts( Abilities cost less AP to learn/upgrade, level faster, higher crit chance, better reads, better negotiating, and other skill related things) and Accuracy. It also buffs Charisma, which is an invisible stat in itself.
RNG - Luck(self-explanatory.)
Wait on the RDS to build up speed for the next chapter.
- Writer
