Exceptional people often became remembered. That was a fact shown throughout history.
I was anything but. An exception, that is.
In fact, if I were to describe myself as a food dish, I would say I was a box of cheap, instant white rice. It filled the stomach, sure, but ultimately? It has nothing of substance.
Because I couldn't be a footnote in a history book, famous or infamous, even if I tried. Just another faceless mass in the crowd. Just a name on an unmaintained gravestone that someone's eyes would sweep over a couple decades after my death, not even a thought in their head.
That was me.
Nothing. Nobody. Less than the air somebody breathed, because at least that was used to keep someone alive and documented.
But I didn't want to just be exceptional. I wanted to be more than a subject taught in class.
I wanted to change the world.
How? In what way? I didn't know or care. Which probably wasn't the best plan to achieve such a vague and grandiose goal…
… but I suppose nobody really planned to change the world, did they? Unless they were delusional. Luckily, if nothing else, I had that in spades.
And then, for some reason, out of all people, my delusional ass was rewarded.
I only needed to do one thing.
Actually get serious for once in my life, and…
… lock the hell in.
*****
The Chaos Gacha is Online.
You have received 3 Random Bronze Gacha Tickets.
Once all the Tickets have been spent, your new life will begin.
It didn't give me any further answer. And honestly? I didn't think I particularly needed or deserved one.
I mean, I was the one who accepted an offer from the weird floating text that suddenly appeared in front of my face. If anything, I probably deserved worse.
That exact behavior was what got me in such debt due to student loans. But if I didn't take or grasp at any chance that appeared before me, I couldn't exactly become somebody. Could I?
Even if that somebody was exceptionally poor and homeless. Maybe I could be the first hobo to change the world?
'Nice justification for being a dumbass, me.' I sighed.
"Ah, whatever. Use 'em."
Rolling…
A Trash Ability!
[Trash - Match] [Class: Emitter]
Allows you to light a small flame on your fingers, barely qualifies to be a lighter.
'I don't think trash is good,' I thought. 'But considering trash is a step above anything I could do before, I'll take it.'
Rolling…
A Common Item!
[Common - Cookie Jar] [Type: Item]
Cookie Clicker - One of the flagship products of "The Bakery", a glass jar that contains a practically limitless supply of perfectly warm and fresh chocolate chip cookies, endlessly produced by the compressed universe contained inside the jar, optimised solely for cookie production. Note: DO NOT BREAK THE JAR. Note2: DO NOT BREAK THE JAR; THE BAKERY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF BREAKING THE JAR.
"A VIP ticket straight to diabetes. Why didn't you give me this in my first life? I could've gotten here sooner!"
As long as death was actually a valid way to get here. Aside from accepting some shady floating text that may very well have been early onset schizophrenia kicking in.
Rolling…
A Common Skill!
[Common - Novice Acting] [Type: Skill]
You are a novice actor, you know how to portray yourself in the ways you want to be seen and hide your real emotions but it is not difficult for experienced people to see through your acting. You will however improve much faster than other people if you choose to train yourself.
'Now I know how to act smart!' Exactly what I needed if I was going to be in any position of power.
"Alright, well, now what?"
You have received 1 Silver Advantage Gacha Ticket.
"That's very kind of you."
Rolling…
Common Trait - [Strong]
You were always pretty strong, granting you slightly increased strength, allowing you to exert more force with your body.
Or
Uncommon Trait - [Renown]
You are quite well known, aren't you? The news of your exploits and accomplishments travel fast. And the effect on your reputation is slightly increased. If you saved a village even the king may learn about it and decide to reward you. Your reputation is always well known if possible.
'Strength.' It was a no-brainer.
"Now, is it time for my new life?" I asked.
Would you like to roll for Curses?
I paused. "Curses?"
For every Curse you receive, you get Tickets, higher rarity Tickets the worse the Curse is.
"That sounds fun! Why didn't you say that earlier!?"
Because why make anything easier for myself? The greater the challenges, the greater I'd become!
'At least, that's how it works for anime protagonists.' Was using fictional characters as life advice a good idea?
No. Did I care? No.
Rolling…
13!
13 = [Experience Required] [Severity - Medium]
Even skills apparently need prior experience these days. Any skill you get is instead converted into talents in said subject and requires you to train to achieve the full potential of your talent. Resolve: No resolve, one and done deal.
You have received 1 Gold Gacha Ticket.
I blinked. "Wow, that's actually perfect!"
Honestly, I probably would've had a serious case of imposter syndrome if I didn't get this. Just getting skills without having to work for it… I didn't like that one bit.
I would wonder for the rest of my life if I was actually exceptional, or just lucky. Not that some exceptional people in history weren't lucky, but…
It probably didn't make any sense. But it made sense to me, and that was all that mattered.
Roll for more Curses?
Y/N
"Are you joking!?" I spammed that shit like it was some clicker game.
Rolling…
4!
4 = [Four Eyes] [Severity - Minor]
You have naturally bad eyesight, causing you to need glasses to be able to see properly. Thankfully, the curse comes with a single pair of prescription glasses. Resolve: Get your eyes fixed by either someone with at least Adept level Medicine or a Biokinetic ability, or heal your condition through magical means.
Not anything I was unused to.
Rolling…
13!
13 = [Torment] [Severity - Medium]
You have really low pain tolerance, even lower than that of the average person. Making it very hard to perform when injured, basically acting as the opposite of Battle Continuation. Resolve: Attain Adept Disciple or higher, or acquire an ability or trait that increases your pain tolerance or nullifies it.
I could handle some pain, right? I guess it depended on the amount, really.
Rolling…
17!
17 = [Sloth] [Severity - Major]
Lethargy is your life. All energy and regular regeneration speeds are halved. All Restock Timers and Cooldowns are doubled. You need twice the amount of speed you would normally need. Resolve: Gain 3 rare rank or higher energy or agility booting traits.
That was a bit troubling. I had always been an active person, so experiencing this would probably be strange.
Rolling…
15!
15 = [Elemental Hatred] [Severity - Major]
You did something to piss off the elementals in your past life. All Elemental attacks deal double damage against you, and you cannot increase your elemental defences while this trait is active.
Resolve: Acquire at least 3 traits rare or above that increase an elemental affinity, or acquire Expert or above conceptualisation.
Hopefully I didn't end up anywhere where elements were a major source of attacks.
Foreshadowing is a literary device that—
Shut up and get back to rolling!
Rolling…
6!
6 = [Lil'] [Severity - Minor]
You are a Lil' thing. Which means you are pretty short and look way younger than you should look; people might mistake you for being way younger than you are. Good luck getting people to take you seriously in a professional setting or trying to buy alcohol. The curse does not affect your physical strength. Resolve: Get your body altered by a biokinetic effect that is rare rank or above.
"Why would I want to get rid of that? Being underestimated is the best!"
Plus, being of average height was boring. Maybe being shorter would be more fun?
I continued to roll more Curses.
Rolling…
18!
18 = [Empty Hands] [Severity - Severe]
You are absolutely incapable of using weapons of any kind. The moment you try to or unknowingly wield any object or outside entity as a means to deal damage or as what you perceive as a weapon, it will be violently rejected. Armor or protective gear does not count towards empty hands. Resolve: Acquire 3 or more rare ranked or above traits or skills related to weapons and handling weapons.
Alright. That one did suck a bit. Weapons were cool.
Rolling…
12!
12 = [Cursed Remix] [Severity - Medium]
The world you are going to is different from the one you remember, not so much that the flow of fate is completely changed, but enough to make your life harder. Maybe some people have different parents, more monster varieties exist, some people aren't dead, some people are, who knows? There might be more beneficial changes for you, but they are definitely more than balanced out by the bad. Resolve: No resolve, one and done deal
'Different than I remember?' Did that mean I was going to be going to a fictional world?
Yes
Interesting.
Continue Rolling?
"You know it!"
I was just two more away from having ten Curses!
Rolling…
9!
9 = [Weakness of Metal [Severity - Medium]
"From the moment I understood the weakness of metal, it disgusted me. I craved the ever-changing nature of flesh." Your body naturally and violently rejects any augmentations and implants you try to add to it. Even adding a metal tooth would cause your flesh and body to reject it violently. Resolve: Acquire 3 or more augment items from the gacha, or acquire 3 or more traits that contradict the curse.
That was fine. I liked having an actual flesh and blood body.
Rolling…
4!
4 = [Orphan] [Severity - Minor]
Your parents were killed in a car crash. Doesn't matter who they were, they just were. At least the parents who were supposed to raise you anyway. Resolve: One and done deal.
The previous two were pretty boring. Not like I was planning on augmenting myself, and having parents again seemed like more trouble than it was worth.
Again?
"Uh… ah, fuck it, sure."
Rolling…
18!
18 = [Mortal Enemy] [Severity - Severe]
Someone REALLY strong is REALLY mad at you. The moment you awaken in your world, someone at least Epic Familiar in strength or a target closest to that level is going to be imbued with absolute hatred towards you and will stop at nothing to tear you apart. Resolve: Kill or neutralise your mortal enemy.
If I defeated whoever that person is, didn't this automatically mean I'd become famous?
Are you sure you want to continue?
"Hit me."
Rolling…
11!
11 = [Weak to Weakness] [Severity - Medium]
You are weak to having weaknesses. Any weaknesses or vulnerabilities you have are made worse. If you were 50% weak to fire, you are now 100% weak to fire. If you are a vampire who gets burnt by sunlight, now whatever part that is exposed gets vaporised. Resolve: Acquire 3 or more traits that raise some kind of resistance.
Okay, now I really hoped I didn't go anywhere with any kind of elemental magic. But, despite that...
"One more!"
Rolling…
3!
3 = [Neat Freak] [Severity - Minor]
You are bound by compulsion to be neat, making you very uncomfortable when you are dirty and slightly decreasing your energy recovery and output when you are dirty. Resolve: Achieve Adept level Discipline or a trait that increases your mental resilience.
Maybe this would actually help me become a more organized person? Was this really a Curse?
You are impossible to put down, aren't you?
I'd hope so.
You should be taking this more seriously.
'I'm taking this plenty serious. Now get back to rolling!'
Rolling…
2!
2 = [Loner] [Severity - Minor]
You have the aura of a loner around you, making you often left out. It is more difficult to get people to pay attention to you, and it is harder for you to get recognised for your actions. Your parents probably forgot you at the store too often. Resolve: Perform a feat that gets a large range of attention on you, such as publicly defeating a well-known enemy.
The jokes on you, 'cause apparently I didn't have any parents!
…?
"Was that exasperation? You're not supposed to feel things, just gimme more rolls!"
Rolling…
2!
2 = [Alcoholism] [Severity - Minor]
Not even the supernatural kind, you just like drinking a lot, and when you don't get to drink alcohol, you experience withdrawal. Resolve: Get sober, you bum.
That actually felt personalized even though I wasn't an alcoholic. Was the Gacha actually judging me?
'Well, I guess I am one now.'
I didn't even need to ask as the Gacha started rolling again. And the thought of it judging me flew out the window as I appreciated how well it knew me!
Rolling…
5!
5 = [Edgy] [Severity - Minor]
You have an aura of brooding and darkness around you, while it may draw the Chuuni crowd towards you, you will tend to portray yourself in edgy ways, despite not trying to. Resolve: Achieve Intermediate or above in communication skill or get a trait that sufficiently conflicts with edgy like Sunshine Charm or Hero.
I supposed that made sense. What was edgier than alcoholism?
Rolling…
9!
9 = [Perverted Aura] |Severity - Medium]
You have an aura of perversion and deviancy around you, making people generally assume your intentions to be such. Even if you are a kind-hearted celibate saint, people might assume you have lewd ulterior motives for your actions. Resolve: Achieve Adept or above level Communication or Persuasion. Or abstain from carnal activities for a month. Or achieve 5 rare rank or higher tickets through sexual interactions.
Not that bad. I've been a virgin my entire life. Women only slow my sword drawing speed, or whatever nonsense it was that cultivator mcs said.
Rolling…
7!
7 = [Menacing] [Severity - Medium]
Whether you intend to or not, you generally come across as a very intimidating and scary individual, like a thug or a criminal. Most regular people would rather not be close to you, and trained people may be on guard against you at first meeting. Resolve: Acquire Adept level communication or above OR acquire a trait that contradicts your curse.
Maybe it would synergize with edgy? Actually, how would it work with Lil? Lil wasn't a trait, but a Curse? I was getting confused, and fast.
"I guess you didn't really expect somebody to take so many curses, huh?"
No.
"Anyways, at this point, it kinda feels like I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel. So one more, and then I'll stop."
Rolling…
15!
15 = [Hemophobia] [Severity - Major]
You really don't like blood; seeing blood makes you nauseous and irrationally afraid. It will be hard to get over this. Resolve: Achieve Expert level Discipline or an elite or higher trait that increases your mental resilience.
"Ooh, that's fun! Maybe one—"
You have received 7 Random Gold Gacha Tickets.
You have received 7 Advantage Gold Gacha Tickets.
You have received 3 Choice Gold Gacha Tickets.
You have received 2 Random Platinum Gacha Tickets.
I rubbed my hands together like the greedy fucking fly I was, completely forgetting how the Gacha practically railroaded me into this, all because it dangled a new shiny thing in front of my face. I chose the Choice Gold Gacha Tickets first.
Choice allows you to pick the category. The categories are, Abilities, Traits, Skills, Items, and Familiars.
I instantly crossed off Items and Familiars. Not because I had any kind of intelligence or critical thinking and realized even if I got a weapon, I couldn't use it. No. They just sounded boring to me.
"Hm… you know what? Let's just go with all traits." Passives for the win.
Rolling…
An Elite Trait!
[Elite - Truthspeaker] [Type: Trait]
Whenever you say the truth people will believe your words, although you can change the wording of what you say, you must still believe it to be true yourself.
"..." For the first time, I was actually disappointed in the Gacha. This was a trait that was most definitely never going to be used.
Rolling…
An Elite Trait!
[Elite - Chaos Response] [Type: Trait]
Your existence is chaos as defined by the chaos gacha, automatically causing feedback to whatever tries to peek into your existence. Future seeing gets scrambled and incoherent, abilities that try to read into you will malfunction and trying to read your mind will cause them a great headache at minimum.
Another disappointment.
Rolling…
A Rare Trait!
[Rare - Devils advocate] [Type: Trait]
People try to justify your actions instinctually, even when you act in a way completely opposite to their moral compass, you must have had a reason. You always have the benefit of the doubt.
"Okay, whatever. Seven random Gold Gacha Tickets is a go."
Rolling…
An Uncommon Ability!
[Uncommon - Bloody Carthus] [Class: Recovery]
You can sacrifice your health to recover your energy instantly, the more energy you recover the more damage you take from Bloody Carthus.
Could be useful. For training especially.
Rolling…
An Uncommon Item!
[Uncommon - Asauchi] [Type: Item]
Bleach - Asauchi is a Zanpakuto, a spiritual armament in the form of a weapon that befits its user. The strength of this armament scales with the power of its user. Asauchi is a dormant, unnamed Zanpakuto that grows along with the user. If the user is able to unlock the Shikai of the blade, it will attain its own unique ability according to the nature of its user, equal to or weaker in power than a rare rank ability. And if they are able to unlock its Bankai, that ability will be upgraded to equal an Epic rank ability.
And back to uselessness. This was seriously killing all of my endorphins.
Rolling…
An Uncommon Ability!
[Uncommon - Share Sense] [Class: Thinker]
Allows you to link your senses with other people and vice versa, allowing you to see the world from their perspective and them from yours. You need to touch the target to activate this ability and they must be willing. Linking up with too many people may get disorientating.
Useful. But probably not something I would use that much.
Rolling…
A Rare Trait!
[Rare - Blessed Child] [Type: Trait]
Gods really favor you, it's easier to garner favor and affection from divine beings. Blessing-type abilities are slightly stronger.
Nice if wherever I'm going has Gods. I've read mythology, those guys can be really capricious dicks.
Rolling…
An Elite Ability!
[Elite - Size Manipulation] [Class: Changer, Manipulation, Alter]
Allows you to manipulate the size, and by extension mass, of a target you are touching. Every time you double or halve the size of an object the cost of increasing or decreasing the size of the target is doubled. After a set amount of time the changes revert.
Another ability I would probably never use. It's just not… me, if that made any sense?
Two more Gold Randoms to go.
Rolling…
An Elite Trait!
[Elite - Disney Princess] [Type - Trait]
All animals naturally adore you and are friendly toward you, even supernatural animals quickly take a liking to you.
Can't say I ever wanted to be in a disney movie. Especially the newer ones. And to be honest, I didn't particularly care for animals much. Useful nonetheless.
Rolling…
A Rare Trait!
[Rare - Heavy Weapons Guy] [Type: Trait]
"I am a heavy weapons guy". The heavier the object you wield, the stronger you get in proportion to it, and you do not suffer penalties for wielding weapons heavier than you should be able to comfortably swing around.
Useless. Now, all I have left are…
'Seven Advantage Gacha Tickets!?'
This was going to take forever.
Then you shouldn't have gotten so many curses, should you?
"Just roll the platinum."
Rolling…
An Elite Ability!
[Elite - Dead Bone Pulse] [Class: Changer, Alter, Manipulation]
Naruto - A Kekkei Genkai that allows the user to grow bones and bone constructs on and out of their body. In addition, the user can manipulate the shape of their bones and reinforce them by increasing their density. They can also manipulate their own skeleton to increase their defence.
I grinned. Now this was more my style! Okay, one more!
Rolling…
A Rare Item!
[Rare - Special Tattoo Kit] [Type: Item]
A tattoo kit that allows the user to create and inscribe special magical tattoos onto people and imbue them with a variety of effects according to their abilities. Only one tattoo may be applied to one individual at a time. Effects applied by the tattoos can only be equal to a Common Rarity Trait in potency or lower.
And back to disappointment. I was never going to use this. Now for the seven advantage Tickets.
Rolling…
Epic Ability - [Heavenly Restriction] [Class: Enhancer]
Jujutsu Kaisen - While this ability is active, you cannot use energy or mana in any way, in exchange your physical abilities are increased by how much energy you have and you are immune to spells being directly cast on your life buffs, curses, etc. you are also unable to be detected by any magical means or targeted directly by abilities as your body lacks energy/mana.
Or
Elite Item - [Lifeblood Seeds]
Hollow Knight - A bunch of seed packets containing clusters of Lifeblood, or Plasmium, a sentient sort of Blue Fluid that can grow into plants that produce more of it in practically any fertile environment. Ingesting Lifeblood temporarily grants increased vitality to whoever consumes it and can be used as a very potent medicine. But beware, Lifeblood can be addicting and ingesting too much over a period of time may lead to it taking control over the body like a parasite, but if one has the proper constitution, it may turn into a symbiotic relationship with the lifeblood granting the host regeneration and sustenance. And if not carefully cultivated, it can spread rapidly.
Either punching things really hard, but losing the ability to use whatever power system I end up with, or… farming on easy mode. But the regeneration and sustenance sounded pretty nice. As long as I could become symbiotic with it.
'But Epic is better than Elite, right…?'
I chose Lifeblood Seeds. All I needed to do was be careful. Something I was good at. Sometimes.
Rolling…
Rare Item - [Grow Your Own Golem Kit]
Or
Rare Ability - [Shadow Eyes] [Class: Thinker, Master]
Allows you to conjure small eye-shaped shadow familiars that can act autonomously and observe targets, they possess no combat ability but have potent hiding abilities. They can also relay the information they observe to their conjurer.
They were both pretty boring, but I took the ability.
Rolling…
Rare Item - [Tundra Key]
An ornate key that, when turned in a sufficiently large space, creates a portal leading into a pocket dimension that is 5 km x 5 km x 5 km in size that contains a frozen tundra inside. It is perpetually cold and often has snowstorms and blizzards, though it does contain some earth life inside, and the northern lights can be observed. The gate that leads outside the dimension is always open and leads to where the entrance was last opened.
Or
Rare Trait - [Tepes]
You are a descendant of the legendary Tepes bloodline, the original vampires, or something like that. As a Tepes all Vampirism, Unholy and Hemokinetic abilities are more potent and all undead and vampires are more respectful towards you.
I chose the trait.
Rolling...
Rare Ability - [Glass Manipulation]
Allows you to telekinetically control glass and glass-based objects inside of your sensory range.
Or
Epic Item - [Sword Birth]
DxD - A sacred gear created by god. It allows the user to conjure constructs of demonic swords with varying properties depending on the user's capabilities and skill. Swords that absorb flame or ones that are exceptionally sharp are just a few of the many examples. The user cannot create a sword that does something they themselves cannot do.
"..." I was really feeling the pain of taking all those curses.
Karma.
"I don't remember asking for your opinion. Ugh… Glass Manipulation it is."
I had three more chances to get something actually useful.
Rolling…
Rare Ability - [Space Ripper Stingy Eyes]
JoJo - No, you cannot change the name. Allows you to shoot out pressurized energy from your eyes that can cut steel and stone like it's made of foam even at base human level.
Or
Rare Ability - [Alteration]
Fate - Allows you to alter the shape and structure of an object you are touching, such as making it sharper, more blunt, and increasing its length. You could turn a sword into a polearm while still keeping all of its abilities.
I chose Alteration, despite its uselessness. Because no way in hell was I going to have something called Space Ripper Stingy Eyes.
If this ended in my death, so be it.
Two more.
Rolling…
Rare Ability - [Soul Bet]
JoJo - Take some inspiration from the Fae. If you get people to wager their souls in a bet with you, you can claim your prize, extracting their souls from their bodies and granting you possession of it. To work the opponent must internally acknowledge their own defeat.
Or
Rare Ability - [Suggestion]
Allows you to send a mental suggestion to your target to subtly make them do what you want them to do by making them perceive it as their idea to manipulate them or condition them.
I took Suggestion. Mostly because I didn't particularly fancy taking someone's soul, or betting my own. If that was how that worked. It didn't say I had to bet my soul. Never watched JoJo.
One more.
Rolling…
Rare Ability - [Abyss Skin]
Cover your skin in Abyss, while providing no offensive benefits it has potent defensive capability, dissipating energy it comes into contact with including kinetic and heat energy but vulnerable to sudden powerful attacks that can bypass its absorption.
Or
Uncommon Ability - [Earth Spikes]
Allows you to create, control and launch spikes made from earth and rock. You can also make these spikes energy from the ground in your sensory range.
I took Abyss Skin.
If you think, Status Sheet, you can mentally open it.
For some reason, it sounded excited.
Name: N/A
Race: Human
Ability Slots: (0/3)
Abilities: [Shadow Eyes], [Size Manipulation], [Dead Bone Pulse], [Share Sense], [Match], [Bloody Carthus], [Glass Manipulation], [Alteration], [Suggestion], [Abyss Skin],
Skills: [Novice Acting],
Traits: [Strong], [Disney Princess], [Blessed Child], [Heavy Weapons Guy], [Devils Advocate], [Chaos Response], [Truthspeaker], [Tepes],
Familiars: N/A
Items: [Cookie Jar], [Asauchi], [Lifeblood Seeds], [Special Tattoo Kit],
Curses: [Hemophobia], [Lil'], [Menacing], [Perverted Aura], [Orphan], [Neat Freak], [Empty Hands], [Sloth], [Torment], [Four Eyes], [Experience Required], [Elemental Hatred], [Cursed Remix], [Weakness of Metal], [Mortal Enemy], [Loner], [Edgy], [Alcoholism], [Weak to Weakness],
Oh. That's why.
I covered my face with my palms.
I was so fucked.
What was I thinking!?
'I… I wasn't.' All I saw was Gacha and the potential for greatness, and I just…
… I couldn't stop myself.
This was why I had never gambled or played any Gacha games before. I just knew it! I just knew this would happen!
"Fuck."
'No, wait. Look on the bright side, with so many rolls, I had to have gotten something to resolve at least one or two of my curses, right?' I ignored all the copium I was huffing and rechecked the resolve conditions od every Curse, and...
… no. Not. A. Single. One.
None of them were resolved.
Initialization Complete.
Welcome to - [Naruto] - Naoki Yoshida.
And as if to mock me, it said I was going to a death world. Specifically, a death world where weapons and elements were the primary way of fighting.
My last thought was…
Nothing. I didn't have a last thought.
Everything went black.
*****Author Note*****
Yup. Another fanfic. Sorry.
Anyways, as you can see, this main character, Naoki, he's... well, he's a bit different from my other mcs. You'll see more of this later on.
On the other hand, on a scale of 1 to 10, how fucked do you think he is?
Honestly, I didn't expect this chapter to go the way it did. At all. The guy just grew a mind of his own.
And what do you think of his luck? Was he lucky? Unlucky?