The Games we Play

by Sunny Milk

Arc 1: Chapter 1: Every Game Needs a Good Tutorial!

It's not every day when you have to question everything you knew up until now.

As consciousness returned to my once-sleeping form, I reflexively clutched my aching head in a futile attempt to ease the mind-splitting migraine that had made itself known to me. Strangely, this pain vanished just as fast as it came, much to my relief...

What was not to my relief, however, was that I immediately noticed that something was deeply wrong about the situation I had found myself in.

To start, I could feel clothing hugged tightly against my body, clothing that I did not wear to bed that night. My entire body was laid down on what I could only guess to be soil of some kind, soft and slightly moist.

What caught my attention the most however was a light blue panel suspended in the air like magic, floating above me with text reading:

Integration of Unique Skill(s), Gamer's Mind and Gamer's Body is complete. Would you like to begin the Tutorial?

Beneath this line of text were two buttons, yes to confirm and no to deny.

There's no fucking way this isn't a dream right? I mean, you don't see random floating panes of glass asking you questions in reality, do you? Finishing with my musing, I lifted my right hand out to touch the 'yes' button on the panel, flinching slightly as it made contact.

The panel vanished from sight and was replaced by another bearing different text, and a gentle voice echoed within my mind.

User. Now that your body and mind have acclimated to new heights, I believe an explanation of your new capabilities is in order. But first, introductions are in order. I am Stele, a fragment of your subconscious given form by one of your new abilities, Gamer's Mind. I shall assist you, my host, in understanding and overcoming any situation yet to come. Now if you would, please utter the word "status" out loud so that I may help you.

My mind nearly went blank from the onslaught of new information, or at least, that's what I'd usually be saying. Strangely, every word that was spoken into my mind just, made sense to me, as if it followed any logical sense! Then again, this is a dream, right? Dreams didn't have to make sense.

As if she(?) could hear my thoughts, she interrupted my musing.

I assure you, User, this is no dream and to answer what I know you're thinking, I only have access to your surface-level thoughts. Now, would you please say "status" for me?

I sigh in defeat. I decide to get up off of the ground and in doing so, get a full view of my surroundings. I had woken up in a large clearing in some kind of forest, though I didn't recognise any of the tree species, which threw me off a little.

I open my mouth, but nothing come out for a moment as I hesitate. I shake my head, before uttering that one word.

"Status."

This time, a grey panel popped into existence in front of me, displaying yet more text.

Name:Aria Lee
Class: The Gamer
Title:None
Race:Human
Level: 3(0.00%)
HP:123 ((VIT x 10) + Level) (12HP/Min)
MP:233 ((INT x 10) + Level)(19MP/Min)
STR:12
VIT:12
DEX:17
INT: 23
WIS: 19
LUK: 10
Skills:
[Gamer's Mind (Passive) LV MAX]
This Skill allows the user to stay collected and analytical under any pressure as if life was nothing more than a game with no stakes and protects against psychological effects, magical or otherwise.
[Gamer's Body (Passive) LV MAX]
Allows the user to live like a character from a game. Food restores HP and drinks restore MP, wounds, regardless of severity will heal with enough time, and pain quickly subsides once a wound is healed.

Before I could voice my opinion on this new development, Stele's voice cut me off.
As you can see, "status" allows you to see information about yourself and your capabilities, as well as your current HP and MP. Although we both already know how attributes generally work, I shall still go over them.

STR is a measure of how physically strong you are and affects how much weight you can carry and the attack power of melee strikes. STR affects the size of your muscles, and how toned they are to some extent, although not to the same degree as DEX.

VIT is a measure of how much Life Force any given thing has, and affects the chances of resisting some debuffs and is also mainly responsible for how much HP someone has. VIT does not have a physical trait associated with it.

DEX is a measure of how mobile and nimble your body is and affects how fast you can regularly move and the damage you inflict with ranged weapons such as bows. DEX shows how toned and defined your muscles are. The more DEX, the more this trait is noticeable.

INT is a measure of how easy it is for your mind to process complicated problems, as well as spatial awareness. INT is also a measure of how potent one's Magic is, and how much Mana one has. INT does not have a physical trait associated with it, but at higher levels can cause Mana to radiate off of you passively, making you more intimidating due to the sheer amount of power leaking off of you.

WIS is a measure of how good one's memory is, as well as how perceptive they are of their surroundings. WIS also slows down the ageing process, and at higher levels can even completely halt ageing altogether.

LUK is a measure of how favoured you are by the universe and increases the chances of outcomes that favour you, as well as the rarity of items found in Instant Dungeons. LUK has no physical trait.

With these 6 attributes, you will continue to grow in this new world, and face the dangers that may lie inside of it.

...Hold on, did you say new world? Am I not on Earth anymore?
Stele paused for a moment, before answering.
We are not. I'm not sure what this new world is, but we aren't on Earth anymore. Please do not panic however, although it is faint I can sense sapient life nearby. I believe we should introduce ourselves and find shelter there.

And before I could express any form of retort, I was interrupted once again, by two screens.

Tutorial Quest Complete
As a reward for completing the Tutorial,
two Skills will be given to you.

Rewards:
I.D Create(Active) Level 1(0.00%)
Instant Dungeon Create allows the user to project a temporary pocket world called an "Illusion Barrier" that overlaps and is a copy of the real one. Higher Level I.Ds can have monsters inside them.
I.D Escape(Active) Level 1(0.00%)
I.D Escape allows someone to leave an I.D provided that all requirements are met.

I suddenly wasn't mad with all the constant interruptions.

Those two skills were very useful as far as I could tell. I could use I.D Create to effectively disappear and be completely safe within an empty Illusion Barrier, and come back to the real world whenever I want!

I nearly lept for joy after that revelation, if it wasn't for the other text box that was floating in front of me.

Quest: Meet the Locals
Stele believes that locating the other sapients is the best option for survival,
given that you don't have any experience living out in a forest.

Accept Quest?

Stele, I don't think that's a good idea. They might just attack us on sight, and we don't know how powerful they'll be... then again, I could use I.D Create if things get hairy. But say that we don't get attacked, how will we even understand them? And you haven’t even told me where to go! I questioned incredulously.

One of the many features of our ability allows us to automatically translate other languages into our own! It's rather convenient.
As for where to go, turn to your left and keep walking in that direction, it'll lead you straight out of the forest.

...Alright, I'll do the Quest. I just hope we'll don't run into any trouble.
I tap the "yes" button with a finger, and the text box disappears like the rest. I turn my body to my left and take my first step in this new world.

---

I wasn't sure how long exactly I had walked, but I was elated once I had finally breached the dark canopy of that unnerving forest. Everything about it made my hairs stand and goosebumps break out all over my arms. The very forest itself seemed to just ooze malice, I could practically feel it in its humid air. I was glad that I didn't have the misfortune of encountering any creatures that may have lived there, that was for sure.

The first thing that I saw was a town. Although I couldn't make out the details of the architecture from this distance, it looked like a medieval village and somewhat reminded me of how houses looked in the Shiganshima District in Attack on Titan.

It didn't take me long to reach the outskirts of the town, and I immediately took notice of what I assumed to be decorations for some kind of event across residential buildings.

I wonder what they're celebrating? I idly mused.

I do not know either, but I detect a being of significant power nearby, be on your guard. I wonder, may the decorations have something to do with that great power?

Let's just hope that they'll be friendly, if in doubt I can always just use I.D Create to get out of there.

I continued walking deeper into the town and strangely, I hadn't encountered any of the inhabitants yet. While I hadn't seen any of them, I could vaguely hear someone's voice. I headed towards the voice, and it became clearer and clearer the closer I got. The voice was feminine and had an air of authority behind it, I could tell its speech was measured and precise even if I couldn't understand what was being said this far away.

I turned a couple of corners, now moving at the speed of a light jog until I got close enough to the voice to hear what she was saying.

"I, Princess Celestia hereby decree that the Unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship, she must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville!"

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The villagers were sapient, technicolour ponies! Hell, some of them had wings and others had horns too. Though, other than the pony named Princess Celestia -which I gathered from her speech and name hovering above her head- none of them seemed to have a set of both wings and horns.

Suddenly, another text box appeared in front of me.

A Unique Skill has been created via continuous and focused observation
Observe(Active) Level 1(0.00%)
Displays information about the target, more information is given the higher the level of this skill

And yet another useful skill has been added to my collection!

After I had finished reading the text, the box vanished, and what I saw sent a chill down my spine.

Princess Celestia was looking right at me, making eye contact with me.

In a flash, I quickly hid behind the corner I came from, hoping that she didn't actually notice me. I held my hand up to my ear to listen out for anyone approaching. I felt my heart sink in my chest as I heard her voice once again.

"My Little Ponies, it appears that we have a newcomer," the crowd turned in the direction that Celestia was gazing in. "Do not be afraid, little one, we will not harm you."

Hesitantly, I took a shaky step out of my hiding place. The ponies in the crowd began to whisper among each other as I approached, though I couldn't hear what was said, not that it was my priority at this moment. Celestia and I's eyes were locked on to each other as I advanced, mutually eyeing each other up in curiosity. Celestia unfurled her wings and took flight over the gathered ponies, who cried out in a cacophony of "oohs" and "ahhhs" as their crowned Princess soared above them, landing a few meters away from me. She gave me a friendly smile, before speaking.

"And who may you be, young one? And, what are you exactly? I don't believe I've seen anypony of your kind before."
Seeing her up close for the first time was... breathtaking. She stood about a head taller than me, much taller than the rest of the ponies present. Her mane seemed to be in constant motion as if suspended in flowing water, no doubt due to the overwhelming amount of sheer mana she possessed. Even at this distance, I could feel the pressure her mere presence exerted on the air around her, making my hair stand on end. Her royal regalia complemented her pure white coat and beautiful magenta irises. Even though she was a completely different species from me, there was no doubt that she was beautiful.

I took in a deep breath to calm my nerves, before answering her Highness.
"M-My name is Aria, Aria Lee, your Highness. I'm not from around here, I don't even think I'm in the same world as I was before... I'm a human, you see."

Her face shifted into this unreadable expression, as she raised a singular eyebrow. "You're a 'human', and say you're from a different world? How interesting. If what you are saying is true we have much to discuss, young one, although I fear that the streets are not an appropriate place for such a talk. Accompany me, and my faithful student Twilight to her new place of residence here in Ponyvile, if you would."

I simply nodded and mumbled, "yes, Princess Celestia."

Today is going to be a long day, isn't it?

Author's Note:

16/09/22: I fixed some minor grammatical mistakes I made when I first wrote this chapter

Comments

[Fluttercry12]

Well good so far thank u

[Poparakelis]

Good introduction

[Sunny Milk]

11363861
Thanks :p

[GleamingKyler111]

VIT is a measure of how much Life Force any given thing has, and affects the chances of resisting some debunks and is also mainly responsible for how much HP someone has. VIT does not have a physical trait associated with it.

I don't think resisting debunks is a good thing...

[Sunny Milk]

11383716
Fixed.

[Aiwhisper]

Love ‘The Gamer’ will be interesting to see how you mix it.