DingDingDing Trrringgg! DingDingDingTrrrrring!
God, I always hated that alarm clock. Dad had it specially designed so it would be extra annoying, to the point where it was impossible to sleep through it. All I did was miss a few days of school, there was no reason to have me tortured every morning by that thing! I thought when I graduated, I would be able to destroy that thing forever... but when I woke up the next morning, there it was... staring at me nonexistent eyes.
My father had replaced it. Well, a member of the Stone family has values it needs to uphold and laziness isn't one of them. Or so my dad always said. He rose the Stone family to prominence all by himself. He was Mr. Perfect, the almighty game hero, Jameson who defied the gods themselves or however the story goes, I dont really care. I'm tired of having to live like a perfect son of the Stone family, for that purpose, I have derived a solution! I shall become a hikikomori! God I love the Japanese and their oh so useful terms and ideals.
No matter where I go the family name Stone will follow me, and so would my social chains... but not in video games! I video games, I could be free, forge my own destiny, and make my own name. And be rich of course. I may hate the obligations of being a Stone, but I damn sure love the money! Damn, its already 9:00! I rush over to my virtual reality capsule, which is pre-loaded with several popular games, but the one I select is Thera.
My father donated quite a bit to the company who made it, so of course I got a free game. They offered me all kinds of of bonuses, but I declined. I wanna play fair and square. When I dominate this game, it wont be because Im a Stone, becausee I'm rich, or because I had in-game help. It'll be because I'm Deion, because of who I am, and what I can do, not what I am and things I can buy. Maybe I'm a little too serious, it is just a game... well then again, I have decided to be a hikikomori gamer, so i suppose games ARE my life. I climb into the capsule, and start her up.
Welcome to Thera, what is your name?
"Deus" I said. Sounds kinda cool, and its close enough to my name to where I can use it comfortably.
The only race available right now is human, would you like to alter your appearance?
An image of myself popped up. Amongst my brothers and sisters, with my brown skin and long coarse hair, I'm the one who resembles my father the most. Thats probably why he iss so concerned with how I acted despite me being the third son, fourth born over all. Middle child usually gets ignored, and i think I would have preferred that. Nonetheless, I actually really like the way I look...mostly. "Increase my height by two inches and add 25 pounds of muscle, but leave everything else the same." I said. Unfortunately I didnt inherit the raw bulk my father was blessed with, in that regard alone, I take after my mother. Luckily, with this height boost Im 6 feet tall, so its fine.
Where would you like to start?
"Random!" I say, excitedly. This setup was pretty short compared to many others I've seen. Suddenly I'm enveloped in white light, accompanied by the sensation of falling. When it clears I'm standing in a dark alley in a big city. I quickly look around to make sure there arent any dangerous elements behind me, but there are only sleeping homeless people. I quietly sat down against a wall "Status Window" I whispered. I didnt want to wake the homeless, but I also didnt want to leave the semi-safety of the alley just yet.
DeusClassN/AFameN/AHealth100Stamina100Level1Perception10Luck10Strength10Agility10Wisdom10Intelligence10Dexterity10Vitality10Money0.1.50
Pretty average across the board. Wait where is my mana bar???? Ohhhhhh I get it, I dont even have magic, why would I need a mana bar?... Then again i dont know if I even want to become a magician or anything. I know how to fight with my hands, dad taught me, and constantly fighting my elder siblings, although I rarely win, has given me a fairly good experience level... but I dont know. I need to find out some options. Well, might as well sleep here, not tired, but theres no where else to go yet. As I fall asleep, a notification appears.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
New Title: Homeless
Fame +5
You are now accepted as part of the homeless community
10% bonus to scavenging, begging, and sleeping activities
When I woke up, some old guy was prodding me with his foot. By the way, That was a fairly good sleep, better than one would expect from sleeping against a wall. oh yeah... its cause Im a homeless now. That's so embarrassing... well at least its not my class, I don't know if we can change those, unlike titles. Well its day time now, I wonder what I should do now.
"How long are you going to ignore me you brat???" The old man who had been poking at me yelled. This is why I hate geezers. "Whats up man?" I ask. " Who are you? I dont know who you are, or where youre from, but these are my alleys kid, all of 92nd street L block, have been for decades! " The old man said with obvious pride. Why would you be so proud of a couple alleys on the block? Not even the whole city, not the whole street, a block, and ONLY the alleys of that block. I'm not even going to argue how stupid that is. "Ok sir, I'm Deus. Nice to meet you."
"Look here brat, if you wanna stay here, you have to go through initiation just like every one else!" The old man said. God why does this guy keep yelling? And he's kind of spitting when he talk and its landing on me. i'm getting tired of this guy quickly. Just when I'm about to respond, a notification appeared.
New Quest: Initiation
In order to gain acceptance from this neighborhood's homeless community, you must go through their initiation
For one week you must obey all requests and demands
Behave submissively
Surrender 25% of all food to the boss (this lowers to 10% when initiation period is over)
Quest difficulty: F
Quest rewards: Acceptance, Sleeping bag, Lighter
The old man continued, "For starters, how about you massage my lower back? its been acing since 3 days ago." the old man promptly laid down in front of me, turning his back towards me, now that we were on the same level, i realized his stench was quite palpable. I know its for a quest, but as my gaze wanders to the filthy underwear that was dangerously close to the lower back I was supposed to massage, I realize II just cant do it. "No" I say in a low voice.
Quest Denied
The old man turned towards me angrily and screamed, "WHAT???!!!" He began standing up, and I do the same, I noticed the glances of the other people in the homeless group. they looked worried. But I dont care. I am no ones bitch, not in the real world as Deion Stone, not as Deus in this one. "If youre not gonna play by my rules, then get out!" the old man yelled again. "Make me." I said
The old man displayed a feral grin and threw a wide hook at me. I block, but the impact throws me against the wall. He's a lot stronger tan he looks... but he's slow. He rushes in to finish the job with another hook, but I sidestep and he hits his fists on the wall. As he howls in pain, I close the distance I had made between us and threw three punches in rapid succession at his face. the impact made him unsteady, so I hit him with a solid front kick, and down he went. He tried to get up, but I put my foot on his chest and stepped down, hard.
"Youre done." I said. It wasnt a question or a suggestion. Wow, I sure am surprised at myself, never thought I could b this ruthless. Hahahaha it must be due to my father's classes on business. You want to see true ruthlessness, take those. Seeing my slight chuckle to myself, The old man kinda misunderstood. "Feeling cocky eh? hahaha takes me back. when I was your age, I did the same thing. Like hell I was doing that initiation shit." The old man gently nudged my foot off of him, and I could tell he was finished. After I let him up, the old man just walked away 'saying take good care of them'. He never looked back."Wait what?"
New Title: Boss of 92nd Street, L Block
x3 Level up
+200 fame
+100 reputation with homeless
+20 reputation with gangsters