A/N:
" " : Dialogue,
' ' : Thought,
"Italicized text" : Telepathy,
[ ] : System.
———————————————————
MC POV
[After calibration and studying the User's life, the system has finalized its model.]
[The Video Game Gacha System is now bound to the User.]
[Memory package has been detected. It is advised that the User assimilates it before using the rest of the system.]
Looking at the notification, I just accept it. After all, this body didn't just spawn out of nowhere for me to use. 'Assimilate memory package.' I say in my head, remembering that mental communication with the system is possible, and am soon assaulted by an influx of 15 years of memories.
My name is Nolan Anthony Simmons, and as it turns out, I've run away from home. Apparently, 5 years ago, my mom was killed by a stray bullet from when some of the smaller gangs were having a shootout on the streets. And my dad ended up turning to drugs and gambling to fill the void that her death caused.
I left because I had tried getting him out of that for the last few years now and failed woefully at it. So to make sure that whoever eventually comes to collect his debts, which he had begun piling up, wouldn't come for me as well, I ran away.
It's been four weeks since then, and I've gotten no contact from him whatsoever, or even seen some notification for a missing person's report. I've got a cell phone with me, which is mine, so the fact that he hasn't tried reaching out to me can only mean one of three things.
One, he's way too into his addiction that he doesn't care that I'm gone. Or two, the worse and more likely possibility, he's been taken by his debt collectors and is no longer in the world of the living. Or thirdly, he OD'd and died. Either way, his choices have caught up with him.
So far, I've been surviving on some of the savings I'd kept over the years, of which I took out 1,225 dollars. So far, I've already used about 400 dollars, leaving me with only a bit over 800 dollars.
And from what I can tell about the current state of the economy, that's more than enough for me to leave Gotham, and since my graduation from Gotham North six weeks ago, I've been preparing for that.
But before I attend to that, I think it's about time I start checking out my system.
[Video Game Gacha System]
[Status]
[Name: Nolan Anthony Simmons
Age: 15(29)
Strength: 3
Perception: 4
Endurance: 3
Charisma: 5
Intelligence: 7
Agility: 3
Luck: 6
[Maximum limit for regular humans is 10.]
[Gacha]
[Pull 1x] [Pull 10x (First Time Bonus! +5x!)]
[GP: 100]
[Abilities]:
[Empty.]
[Skills]:
[Engineering Mastery,
Language Mastery,
Coding Mastery,
Weapon Mastery,
Combat Mastery.]
[Inventory]:
[Empty.]
[Tap here to begin Tutorial.]
I tap the panel to start the tutorial, and the holographic display enlarges.
[Welcome to the tutorial, User.]
[Here, you'll be given basic knowledge on the system's functions.]
[The system's main function is to strengthen the User, and help the User thrive in their environment.]
[The Gacha function allows the User to pull a Card from a random video game from the User's past life, that the User can use to strengthen themselves or improve their lives.]
[Each card has its own rarity. The rarities are Banal, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Unique, Legendary, Mythical, Phantasmal, Origin and Divine.]
[The colours for each rarity are - Banal: Brown, Common: Grey, Uncommon: White, Rare: Green, Epic: Cyan, Unique: Dark Blue, Legendary: Purple, Mythical: Orange, Phantasmal: Red, Origin: Black, Divine: Gold.]
[There are four categories of cards: Character Cards, Item Cards, Ability Cards and Standard Cards.]
[Character Cards give the User a character from a random video game, which the User can choose to either assimilate or summon. Please note that subtle changes to the User's own character are possible.]
[Item Cards give the User a random item from a random video game, which the user can choose to use, store or exchange for GP.]
[Ability Cards give the User a random ability from a random video game, which the user can choose to assimilate, or bestow onto summoned characters. Please note that all summoned characters are loyal to the User but can be influenced against the User.]
[Standard Cards give the User items not bound to video games, but rather to the system itself. Standard Items do not have a suffix showing whatever game world they could have come from.]
[Each category has subcategories, which can be elaborated on, if the User encounters them.]
[Gacha Points or GP are required to make Gacha Pulls. The standard price for a single pull is 10GP.]
[You can earn GP by having significant encounters, defeating significant enemies, exchanging items and completing missions.]
[Please note that all assimilated Cards do so instantly.]
[Good luck, User.]
Quick and concise, huh. Good. Now then, let's go all out. I tap the panel to pull 10 cards, and an animation of multiple cards flying like butterflies plays, eventually revealing the cards.
[Character Card: Killua Zoldyck (JUMP Force)] - Epic
[Item Card: Cookie (Cookie Clicker)] - Banal
[Item Card: Nightingale Armor (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim)] - Rare
[Character Card: The Beheaded (Dead Cells)] - Epic
[Standard Card: $5000] - Common
[Item Card: High Frequency Blade (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance)] - Rare
[Ability Card: Domino (Dishonored 2)] - Epic
[Standard Card: Weakness Removal] - Legendary
[Ability Card: Transform (Pokémon)] - Rare
[Item Card: Durandal (Devil May Cry 4)] - Uncommon
[Item Card: Crowbar (Half-Life)] - Epic
[Item Card: Nettlebane (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim)] - Rare
[Item Card: Silver Ghost (Resident Evil 4)] - Uncommon
[Standard Card: Upgrade Orb (Intermediate)] - Legendary
[Item Card: Phoenix Down (Final Fantasy VII)] - Epic
Huh. This is good. No, this is great. Especially when looking at the fact that I'm in Gotham City. Although the place is fucked up, in comparison to most other places, the threat level of the villains here isn't that high, for the most part.
I've gotten a weapon that is basically Poison Ivy's Kryptonite, a sword that can only be wielded by a superhuman, a sword that can effectively cut through most materials, a suit that can make me stealthy, one of anime's most talented assassins, a nigh immortal homunculus, the ability to shape-shift, the ability to take out multiple with a single blow, one of gaming's greatest icons, a gun, some cash, a cookie, and a literal second chance at life. All this from a single gacha pull.
And even with that, the best things I got were Standard Cards. 'I wonder what they're like.' Thinking that, I take out the Weakness Removal and the Upgrade Orb Cards, then inspect them.
[Standard Card: Weakness Removal]:
[Removes all weaknesses from a Card]
Okay, pretty simple.
[Standard Card: Upgrade Orb (Intermediate)]:
[Upgrades the power and rarity of any Card by two levels.]
Now, this I can work with. But the question that stands now, is what Card I would use this on. I could upgrade the Killua Card and have a much stronger body as my base. I could also upgrade the Domino ability, allowing me to take down much more than just 4 people in one shot. And lastly, I could upgrade The Beheaded Card, but then, I wonder what that would even be like.
With Killua, making a plausible assumption for his development is easy, as long as we don't bring things like Nen restrictions and post-mortem Nen into the mix. With the Domino ability, it'll probably just be an increase in the number of enemies affected by the ability, which would also be quite useful in Gotham City.
But an upgraded Beheaded is an enigma. He's considerably strong, but at the end of the day, any increment in his strength requires the use of Scrolls, which do not exist here. I guess his skills are also pretty good, but with me assimilating him and Killua, as well as my own skills that I built using the Immersion Capsule when I played video games, they'll all be compounded, so there really isn't much reason to upgrade him.
Well, I guess the Killua Card is the better choice. While I could take down a lot of enemies with an upgraded Domino, a much stronger, faster and more skilled Killua is more attractive, and feels like the actual logical choice.
After making my decision, I apply the Upgrade Orb to the Killua Card, its color shifts from cyan to a deep purple. After the upgrade, I choose to inspect it.
[Character Card: Killua Zoldyck (JUMP Force)]:
[Former Heir to the Zoldyck family of assassins turned Hunter, Killua Zoldyck is a highly talented and skilled combatant and Nen user. This version has gone through even more rigorous training to become immensely stronger and more effective as a combatant, assassin, and Nen user.]
[Skills:
Bodily Control,
Combat Mastery,
Strategic Mastery,
Weapon Mastery,
Stealth Mastery,
Nen Mastery,
Acrobatics Mastery,
Darts Mastery.]
[Abilities:
Superhuman Physique,
Superhuman Endurance,
Superhuman Stamina,
Superhuman Perception,
Superhuman Strength,
Genius Intellect,
Superhuman Agility,
Superhuman Speed,
Superhuman Durability,
Electricity Resistance,
Toxin Immunity,
Regenerative Factor,
Nen Control,
Electric Nen.]
Although I can see the improvements, I can't be sure until I assimilate this Card, but that can wait for the time being. Now, I'll head back home and see how Dad's doing. Quickly heading out of the shelter, I hail a cab and ask the driver to take me home. The trip is uneventful and costs $28.30.
Upon walking into the building, I see my next-door neighbor. She's a girl about my age, who lives with her mom, who's handicapped to a wheelchair. She's got blond hair, which she normally keeps in a ponytail, and grey eyes. Her name's… Artemis Crock. Damn it, I'm in the Young Justice Universe, or as it's officially known, Earth-16.
[You have encountered Artemis Crock (Earth-16EW). Reward: 30GP.][1]
Yeah, shut up, you. Over the past 4 or so years, Artemis and her mom have lived here, with me and my dad as their next-door neighbors. We even went to Gotham North together, with me being a year ahead of her, which was owed to my intellect and hard work, which also helped ease the tuition fees. But she was always something of a sister to me.
"Hey, Arty." I call out to her. "Hmm. Nolan? You're back!" She says, then rushes me with a hug. "Oh my God, you look… Honestly, not so good." She says as she releases me from the hug. "Yeah? Why don't you try living on the street for a while. I've heard it builds character." I reply jokingly.
"No, thanks. "I'm going through enough character development as it is." She says with a small laugh, then suddenly goes somber. "Hey, Nolan. I'm sorry about your dad. He – " She says, but I stop her from continuing. "Arty, no matter what happens, do not apologize for his stupidity, ever." I tell her, remembering the exact reason I had left in the first place.
You see, a little over four weeks ago, some guys in suits came over to the apartment, and began hounding my dad over some payments that he was behind on. I didn't pay attention to what vice they provided him, but the words my dad said stuck with me.
"Listen, okay. I don't have any cash on me, and you guys have practically drained my account. So give me more time. If you want, you can take the kid and do whatever you want with him. Just don't cut me off. Please." He told those guys, begging with a sobbing voice.
Hell, the only reason they didn't take me is because they saw my dad as helplessly pathetic. If they wanted to, they could have kidnapped me, and my dad wouldn't have done shit about it.
"Nolan, your dad's dead." My thoughts come to a screeching halt as I hear that. "What?" My mouth says unconsciously. "He went into you guys' apartment about a week ago and no one saw him come out. Three days ago, in the morning, Mr. Krasinski went there to ask for rent, which he was already months behind on, but he didn't get any response. He eventually had to use the master key, and he saw your dad lying dead on the living room floor with a needle in his arm." Huh, so the fucker OD'd, and the building manager found him.
"We called the cops, and they came by, did their stuff, then said there were no signs of struggle or foul play." She says, her expression downcast. "So he finally went and did it, huh." She looked at me, her eyes sympathetic. "*Sigh.* Well, no point in crying over spilled milk, I guess." Her eyes widen in shock at my words.
"Arty, you may not know this, but I've tried a lot to help my dad. But as you can see, it didn't work out. So while it's sad that he's dead, don't expect me to mourn him. He made his choices and bore the consequences, and that's that." I say wistfully, and we stay in silence for a few minutes.
"So, did Sam take the keys away or what?" I ask her about the building manager. "No, he actually left them with us. If you want, I could give them to you." Good job looking out, Sam. "Yeah, thanks. That'll be helpful." I say, my voice tired.
"Okay, then. Come on up." She says, and we head up to the fifth apartment on the third floor. As we reach there, she gives me the keys, and I open the door. I look at the place that once used to be my home, the memories of my father's downward spiral playing out in my head.
"Thanks, Arty." I say as I walk in. "Hey, Nolan." She calls out from behind me. "If you need to talk, I'm here." I nod in response, then close and lock the door. With a sigh, I head to my room, which looking at it now, was likely ransacked by my dad. He was probably looking for my stash of money that I hid away.
Shaking my head, I walk over to my bed and let my body just drop onto it. As I dropped, drowsiness began creeping in, and soon I had for the first time in four weeks, fallen asleep without anxiety.
Chapter End.
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Word Count: 2,471
Thanks for reading!
[1] EW = Elseworld. This is DC's official name for their AUs, by the way.