Power Fantasy

by Scottie Futch

  He checked his housewarming gift then blinked. “Item pending overarching plotline acceptance?”

  Now he was curious about what that would be once more. Scott checked the final tab on the monitor then began to read what was shown. It was a short blurb that explained certain possibilities.

  Overarching Plotlines

  Overarching plotlines are long term seasonal storylines that change the nature of how the game that is your life will be played for a time. These changes will afford you certain opportunities while reducing or removing other opportunities.

  Overarching plotlines must be attended to one at a time. You cannot start a new plotline until the original is complete. However, you only need to include one world in each plotline. Any additional worlds entered into the plotline will conform to the overall plot whenever you are in that world.

  If this is confusing, think of it as the seasonal plot of an anime or the storyline of a game. You must complete your chosen season one prior to engaging season two.

  Available Overarching Plotlines:

  - Warlord of the Dead

  - Slice of Life Apocalypse Harem

  - Lightbringer

  Scott fiddled through the plotline information and nodded. Warlord of the Dead was a plotline that would set him up to face challenges that would lead to him being the boss of his own post-apocalyptic tribe. Basically, a ruthless bastard who runs shit.

  Slice of Life Apocalypse Harem would see him receive missions and undertake events that would lead to him developing a comedic slice of life harem storyline. It sounded fun, but it was a little lacking given the issues with that world.

  The third option, Lightbringer, immediately caught his attention. The system had no doubt shown it last because it was the one that he would gravitate toward the most.

  Lightbringer

  You have awakened to a strange reality. The world is filled with the walking corpses of the living dead. However, you have an edge. You are essentially immortal and can travel to different worlds to find help for a beleaguered and terrified humanity.

  The Lightbringer plotline will see you quickly access other worlds to acquire magic, technology, and waifus which can be used to help quell the apocalypse and help humanity avoid extinction in this world.

  Will you become a light in the darkness for humanity?

  Yes | No

  Lightbringer was the one that appealed to him most, because it was in line with what he wanted to do in the first place. The first two would basically marry him to the Zombie University world-setting for months, if not years. Lightbringer would set him free.

  Scott smiled to himself. It seemed the choice pretty much made itself.

  The words which appeared on screen next were simple, but the change to the room was profound. A light shined forth from the monitor strongly enough to temporarily blind Scott. He drew back, his eyes closed. When he opened them, he discovered that he was no longer in the white and black loading area.

  Chapter Nine

  Scott stood on a dirt path in what appeared to be a forest. Wide disbelieving eyes beheld the wonders of an unknown wilderness. Though, those wonders appeared rather mundane once he began to adjust to the idea of being transported so suddenly to yet another place he had never been to before.

  “The hell?” he asked, confused.

  Lightbringer: Episode One – Surviving Nowhere

  The Story So Far…

  Having awakened to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse in an all too familiar world not his own, Scott Ambrose has fought desperately to survive. His only hope for himself and for the world he had entered? The promise that he made to himself that first day. “I will bring light to this ever-darkening world. There is something I can do to stop this madness. I know it!”

  Sensing that he would find what he needed, not in the world he had come to but in another, he set out on a long and winding road. His first stop was a strange forest in the middle of Nowhere, a world that rested in one of the places between realms. A true product of the Shattered Earth… What the system would call ‘A Hub world.’

  It was in this place that he would be able to stockpile what he needed from the other worlds in the Realms of the Shattered Earth, but he knew it to be a place of danger and intrigue for other people and powerful beasts lived there.

  His first mission was…

  “The hell is all this?” he asked as he read through what appeared to be a backstory. It was no doubt the plotline he was part of now, but he did not remember saying those specific words. He had thought something similar, however…

  Mission Update

  You have entered the world of Nowhere. It follows no specific storyline you are aware of from your former life.

  This world-setting includes the following genres and tropes in its construction: Anime, Xianxia Cultivation, Harem, Comedy, High Fantasy, Barbarian Fantasy, Limited System Mechanics.

  The technology is based on spiritual laws, but in some ways is reminiscent of modern Earth. Strength is not measured solely by personal power, but by the might of those who follow a master.

  Your first mission has the following objectives:

  - Locate a suitable place set up a camp and build one.

  - Train until you have achieved level one hundred, or you have been here for [30] days.

  - Acquire the points necessary to unlock a parody world [Cost: 10,000 world points]

  - Unlock a new parody world.

  You may leave this world at dawn each day when you achieve a new auto save. However, time flows differently once you have left one world and entered another. The time in the world you currently inhabit will flow normally. All over worlds connected to you will move forward at a rate of one minute per day spent in another world. Upon return to a world, your autosave will occur once more and time will continue as normal in that world.

  Consider Nowhere to be a place to train and challenge yourself without the consideration for an in-world plot. You are currently far from civilization and should not meet anyone sapient at this time. There are magical beasts in the forest, however. They are noted for producing materials akin to a soul gem.

  “I see, so that’s how we’re going to play it?” asked Scott. Setting up a plotline that involved going to other worlds gave him a hub world to access. Not a cool parody world, like Zombie University, but one where the events to come were completely unknown to him. There would be time to train and ways to earn points while the timeline continued at a snail’s pace back with the others.

  “Can’t leave until tomorrow anyway. Might as well try to find a place to set up a camp,” said Scott. Just to be certain, he set up a quick save.

  “Wonder where this path leads?” He had nothing else to guide him, so he decided to follow the dirt path.

  As he walked along, he took stock of his equipment. He had none, save for the simple clothes that he currently wore. A white shirt, jeans, and his shoes.

  “At least they dressed me before plopping me down here,” he said lightly.

  Wilderness survival for a month did not sound appealing to him, but if it helped to build his level and skills, he was all for it. As Scott wandered along the road, he got a sense for how big this step was for him.

  “Another world… the third world I have been in if you count home,” he said softly to himself. Sure, it looked like any old growth forest he had seen but it was filled with the air of another world and the forest canopy covered the sight of an alien sky.

  The path that he followed soon led him around a bend and right to a watery grotto near a cliff. A small waterfall crashed down upon green rocks, but it barely disturbed the far edges of the crystal-clear pool of water.

  Colorful fish darted around within the confines of that pool, providing the first possibility of food for his training. Nearby he found various berries and an alien fruit that looked to be a cross between an orange and a peach.

  Curious to see what would happen, he updating his quick save then plucked one of the weird fruits
from the tree. Nothing attacked him, so he attempted to use his identification skill on it as to his senses it had a soft blue item aura which denoted it as a reasonably rare item.

  Sweet Oraunga

  A magical fruit loved by gods and mortals alike. This fruit is a rarity on the continent, and a prize to be fought over.

  - Restore [400] energy points

  - Restores [250] Hit Points

  Uses: 1

  “Well! That certainly takes care of healing!” Scott smiled at the fruit in his hand. There were only six more of them on the tree, but he could see that they were of much higher quality when compared to snack food from the other world.

  He used his fingernail to cut through the skin of the fruit and took a bite. He had to know if it would poison him, though from the blurb he doubted that it would.

  It was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted in his life. “Damn, it’s like liquid candy…”

  It wasn’t a bad sweetness, the kind that might make someone gag, but it was not as bitter as he had expected something with an orange peel to be. This was sweeter than even the sweet varieties of oranges he had known, and even sweeter than a peach!

  He finished his meal and waited for a while. There were no terrible stomach cramps, or status effects, to take heed of and after a while he decided that this must be a good sign. He itemized the scraps in his hand then checked his status.

  “Eighty item points for a fruit peel and one seed?” Scott immediately eyed the other fruits on the tree. He snatched one down and itemized it. Once it dispersed, he checked his status once more and grinned. Two hundred points, get!

  He had no reason to itemize them further as he could use them as an emergency heal. However, now he knew that this world had items that would actually be worth something!

  The next thing that he did was to check the berries. They proved to be common blueberries. Tasty, but only worth approximately one point per handful. The bushes were loaded with them, however. He doubted they would last even a week, much less a month, if they were his primary food source. Still, they would add variety to his diet.

  As he walked around the area, he discovered a few points of interest. There was a resource spot for mining attached to the cliff. The pool of water was a designated fishing area. Of course, the most notable thing of all was the dead body on top of the cliff. Rather, the bones of someone who had died horribly here.

  While that did not bode well for this location as a camping spot, it did seem that whatever happened here had happened a long time ago. There were several things scattered around the former campsite that were of note, so he identified them all.

  Bones of a Lost Soul

  This unknown individual died long ago, there seems to be no way to be certain of how he died but the rusty knife blade sticking between his ribs is an indication that someone did not like him.

  He was no necromancer, and honestly there was no way to know whether this guy was a poor innocent schmuck or a bandit who got what he deserved. So, he itemized the bones. In doing so, something quite interesting happened.

  Sapient Remains Itemization

  You have itemized the remains of a sapient individual. Unlike the zombies that you fought before, this creature was fully self-aware. As such, some of their knowledge rested with their bones.

  Would you like to learn the following skills for [3450] skill points? While these skills are normally not this expensive, the degradation of the corpse will cause the price to increase due to the need to extract the data from a sub-prime resource. The knowledge acquired will also be minimal and will require more effort to develop in comparison to a properly gained skill.

  - Wilderness survival

  - Camping

  - Mining

  - Negotiation

  - Thievery

  “Holy shit! New skills!” This place was already a treasure trove. Now it was an absolute godsend!

  The overarching plotline concept did say that he would be led toward events and potential outcomes that would allow him to focus on his goal more concretely. He wanted to train, get stronger, and bring back stuff to help those poor bastards in the zombie apocalypse.

  While the bones only gave him a few item points, the knowledge he acquired was priceless. Scott had gone camping with his father frequently as a child, but it had been over a decade since he had even been in the woods overnight, much less had to start a fire without a lighter or matches.

  Wilderness survival provided several types of knowledge. He now knew how to start fires with flint and steel. He would allow him to have a better chance to discern a poisonous item from one that’s not poisonous. It also taught basic forms of fishing, hunting, animal skinning, and how to navigate in the woods.

  The other skills were a bit more self-explanatory. They would help him utilize basic knowledge and techniques to aid in those sorts of endeavors.

  Thievery included picking locks and pockets, spotting traps, and moving quietly. Not as good as a dedicated skill for each, but definitely better than nothing.

  Negotiation might be the grand prize, however. While it mostly would help him focus when it came time to make deals and trades, he could also use it automatically for system stores. The cost to set up a store wouldn’t change, but he could attempt to negotiate a lower price for individual item sales. Though a failed negotiation would cause prices to rise in every system store for at least twenty-four hours. Apparently, there was an RNG factor to it that improved his odds as his mind attribute increased and the skill increased in level.

  There were various items scattered around the area. Most were well beyond repair, but there were a few things worthy of note. He found a rusty mining pickaxe, some damaged rope, an equally rusty locked box, a few bits of metal considered to be lockpicks, and a rusty knife.

  Converting those things into system items required only a little over four hundred item points, though the knife and pickaxe required over six hundred equipment points. The surprising bit was the locked box, which could not be converted until it was unlocked.

  Nothing better to do at the moment, Scott now took his slightly less rusty lockpicks and set to work on the box. He had no dedicated skill for it, but the thievery skill granted him some basic knowledge. The lock itself proved to be simple. So simple in fact that it made no sense that it was left behind in the first place. Did the guy get robbed here, or did he just get killed and left here without anyone taking his stuff? He would never know the actual story, so he focused on what he could do now.

  Of his five new lockpicks, he broke two while he wiggled them around inside the lock. The third attempt, however, led to the box popping open. Inside he found a small bag of gold and silver coins, and a pair of boots that he did not need. They did not even have a grey aura, and time had not been kind to them.

  “Alright, now to see what the fuss was about with this box,” said Scott.

  He attempted to convert the box once more, and a new message window appeared. “I see, so it’s like the backpack…”

  Scott once tried to convert his backpack but found the price to be obscene. One thousand world points to convert it, but it would not tell him what would happen if he did. At the time he wanted to hold onto his points since they were vital to opening new stores. Now he was flush with cash, so to speak. It was time to see what converting a container would do for him.

  He splurged the one thousand points required, and the container began to shine brightly despite the early morning sun.

  Small Inventory Storage Box

  You have unlocked a storage box. You may store items in this box, and they will be available to you from any other storage container that you unlock. The item location is fixed.

  Size: Small

  Capacity: 20 lbs.

  “Hmm… How does this work?” He tried to put his lock picks inside the box, and they disappeared. He fiddled with the box for a moment and a little screen appeared before his eyes. It was an inventory screen with a little icon in one slot that represented th
e lockpicks.

  Scott tapped the icon and the lockpicks appeared inside the box, though they were oversized. He reached in and took them out only to see them immediately return to normal size.

  “I see… It really is an inventory storage system,” he said.

  Curious to see if there was anything else useful about it, he then tried slipping his pickaxe inside. Despite the fact that the box was barely large enough to hold a pair of boots, the pickaxe slid inside and then disappeared. The pickaxe appeared as an icon on the little inventory screen. He tapped the icon and a smaller version of the pickaxe appeared in the box. Upon pulling it out, it returned to normal size.

  “I get it. The total weight it can hold is twenty pounds, but size doesn’t matter because the item will be scaled to fit into the box,” said Scott.

  “I wonder if I can access what’s stored here if I convert a backpack,” he said thoughtfully. That would solve the issue of moving things around between worlds. Possibly, the more containers he added to his inventory system the more space he would have. Barring that, maybe he could only link containers with a similar size category? It would be interesting to find out.