Chapter 1: Answers...
A/N: Greetings ladies and gentleman, TheBlackDuelist here just showcasing a new series he's been working on for quite some time. He has heard many complaints about the story known as "The Gamer" and its lack of progressive plot development and snail pacing so he's here to address those matters in an AU fan fiction known as "The Gamer – Restart".
To sum it up, this story takes place in the same universe as the canon web comic but will eventually branch off completely and turn into its own unique story that he has in mind. You'll notice some noticeable differences here and there regarding certain events but he'll let you discover those on your own.
Please be patient with this story, TheBlackDuelist knows at first glance it just seems as a copy and paste of canon but he needed to lay the groundwork before he branches off.
Now of course, the biggest detail you'll soon discover is that Jee-Han will not be in possession of the "Gamer's Mind" passive ability. TheBlackDuelist always found that it was a wasted opportunity for the author to limit Jee-Han's potential character development because of it and so we'll get to see how Jee-Han handles the dangers of the Abyss without having his emotions suppressed (Overlord anyone lol?).
Anyway, that's all for now. This first arc is what TheBlackDuelist calls the "Zombie Legion" arc.
TheBlackDuelist hopes you all enjoy the story and if you like it, drop a review and let him know what you think. Let's get started!
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The Gamer – Restart
Chapter 1
Everyone has a goal.
Isn't it natural for every person to have something in life they want to achieve? Aren't we taught from a young age to strive to be the best that we can be? That's normal, right?
If someone were to tell you that they have no goals in life, would you laugh at that person? You'd be surprised at how many people would since they've been taught otherwise. Speaking of which, who was the one that decided that everyone must have goals in life? It wasn't something humans were born with and yet, it's something we are constantly striving for.
What about if instead of having a goal in life, people just wanted to play games all day? Of course, it must sound silly to most people who are functioning members of society. The idea must sound absolutely ludicrous to them, laughable even.
But not to him.
Not to Han Jee-Han, a sophomore high school student.
That kind of life would perfectly be acceptable in his mind. A life where you don't have to worry about getting good grades in class, getting a high paying job, or even finding your suitable partner to marry. None of that would matter to him, games are much more important than that.
If only life were that simple he thought, if only life could be like that he wanted. Such a life would be his greatest fantasy, his greatest joy. However, it just wasn't meant to be.
Staring at a clear blue sky that dawned over a vastly populated city, Han Jee-Han frowned with his elbow supporting on the desk, supporting his head that rested on his hand. He slightly turned his head and scanned his classroom, eyeing all of the other students having their own private conversations.
Usually, he wouldn't spare any of them a second glance, bare short of the cute girls in his class, but lately he couldn't stop the increasing urge to glance at them. As for the reason?
He looked at a male student in the back.
«Level 3 Gang Soo-Jin»
Then, he looked at a girl near the entrance.
«Level 2 Hong Hyuk-Gi»
Finally, he looked at a boy at the front of the class.
«Level 3 Yi Yo-Gang»
There's your answer.
Somehow, these things began appearing on every person he came across from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to bed. Naturally, he thought himself to be in some ridiculous dream that must have no doubt sprouted from his desire to be a game character.
These thoughts were quickly banished when he punched himself straight in the jaw and realized that he was experiencing pain.
You can't experience pain in a dream, that's common sense right?
But how else could you explain something as physically impossible as this? His mother had always warned him that playing too many games would have its consequences, but surely this couldn't have been what she meant.
He sighed again.
"Yo"
Suddenly, Jee-Han felt a firm but warm sensation on his shoulder and recognized it as the hand of his best friend since childhood, Shin Sun-Il.
He was standing behind him with his usual friendly smile that seemed to light up the room as his spiky lime hair covered his right eye. Once again, his eyes were shut and Jee-Han absently wondered how the hell he could see anyone like that but decided it was best not to question.
"You look distressed, what's on your mind?" Sun-Il's voice was clear and confident, as expected of the Chunbumoon's heir.
Jee-Han couldn't help but look above his best friend's head and notice the statistics that were being displayed.
«Chunbumoon's Heir»
Level 25 Shin Sun-Il
From what Jee-Han knew, Sun-Il had been a practitioner of the Korean Traditional Martial Arts, Taekyeon and Tae Kwon Do for almost a decade. Jee-Han could never really tell the difference between them so he classified them both as "The Art of whopping some serious ass". He's also won a few gold medals here and there, basically giving him a free ride to college with paid tuition as a bonus, the lucky bastard.
"If he wasn't my best friend, I'd curse him till my dying breath" Jee-Han contemplated as he sighed again and turned away, confusing Sun-Il.
Sun-Il looked at his friend and didn't know what was wrong with him. Recently, he had been acting weirder than usual and for some strange reason always kept staring at people alot longer than what one would call comfortable. It was beginning to creep him out.
As Jee-Han looked at the window again and saw his reflection, his own game statistics popped up above his head as well.
«The Gamer»
Level 4 Han Jee-Han
Jee-Han still didn't know how his life became a game or if he was in some sort of crazy deep dream. However, all he knew was that he needed answers and he needed them now.
[6:30 PM, the Han Family Residence]
Cooking in a spacious kitchen, Han Jung-Sook (also identified as "The Gamer's mamma") was chopping some carrots and humming happily. Even though her husband was still on his ridiculously lengthy business trip, her vibrant cheerfulness never wavered for a second.
Having already made peace with it, she focused her attention on the new soap operas that began airing this week that were simply amazing. She didn't think much of them at first but the allure of the growing plot revolving around a waitress's brother's serial killer's marriage scandal was surprisingly tasteful.
She hastily looked around the kitchen for some tofu to begin preparing the next meal but noticed an absence of it.
"Jee-Han, go buy some Tofu!"
There was no answer and Jung-Sook knew he had heard him but she wasn't worried. It would be a cold day in hell before her son ignored her.
Upstairs, Jee-Han per usual around this time was burying himself into a mountain of homework. He heard his mother calling for him and purposely ignored her. It wasn't to be rude, he'd always obey what they told him to do if it made sense to him. However, there was no need for her to call him. The reason? Because soon, he'd know about it one way or the other.
DING!
«A Quest has been created!»
"Just on time..." He inwardly sighed at another pointless quest he had been given. Ever since he had obtained this new "Gaming" power, quests like these would pop up everywhere...and he meant everywhere.
Jee-Han quickly identified it as what RPG's refer to as [Alerts] that appear once the requirement of taking a quest is fulfilled. He clicked on the arrow sign per usual, prompting the notification to rattle a bit and then morph into a more detailed message.
«Quest Alert: Mom's Errand: Buy Tofu!»
The Gamer's mother wants Tofu to use in dinner. Bring her the tofu she wants quickly!
Time limit: 1 hour.
Completion award: Exp 500 + Increased closeness with mother.
Completion failure: Mother's nagging + Decreased trust from mother.
Yes or No?
"Son of a..." Jee-Han's eyebrows twitched as he was hoping for a more important quest but it turned out to just be another one of his mom's errands. He was getting sick of this.
He sighed and clicked "Yes", initiating the quest. He got up from his chair and walked downstairs, ignoring his mother calling for him a second time as he grabbed his wallet from his jacket.
"Is Tofu all you need?" He asked.
"Yeah, I need the tofu before the stew loses its flavor so hurry up" She replied without even turning to face him.
Jee-Han opened his front door and slipped into his running shoes.
"Alright, I'll be back soon"
He left his house and began walking to the grocery store that was only a couple of miles away. As he was walking, he began to mull over about the first time he had "leveled up" and how he hastily dumped his points in STR, aka Strength.
Logically speaking, what good is strength in modern society? A person has no need for strength if they're going to be managing a company or a business.
A sigh escaped Jee-Han's mouth once again as he realized how stupid he had been. Leveling up was hard enough so carelessly spending those stat points was clearly a foolish decision.
Speaking of leveling up, Jee-Han had spent most of his free time thinking of ways to increase his level. Since he was stuck with this "Gaming" ability, he might as well make the most out of it and what better way to exploit it than to increase his experience points. At least, that's what he thought.
He ran some tests, such as working out with some dumbbells and also doing math equations repeatedly which netted him a few experience points, but at the rate he was going, it would take weeks to level up again.
Suddenly, he remembered seeing Sun-Il's Level 25 status earlier. How did he manage to level up so much? Was it because of his training? It made sense, he's been stuck in that dojo of his for years so it's understandable that he's above the average human. But still, Jee-Han couldn't help but feel jealous.
He bought the tofu his mother had asked for and made his way back home. He took off his shoes and left the white shopping bag on the table.
"Thanks Hun, I'll have dinner prepared in a few minutes" His mother still hadn't moved from her chopping position.
"Whatever"
He made his way back upstairs and sat back down into his chair before jumping back a little when another notification popped up.
«You completed the Quest "Mom's Errand: Buy Tofu!"»
You've gained 500 experience + Increased closeness with Mother
"Well, at least that gave me some experience points. I just wish there was a way to get points faster..." He considered before diving back into his mountain of homework.
"I swear to god, the next time I level up I'm putting all my points into INT. I bet I can become as smart as those geniuses that get perfect scores".
He absently wondered if some of them had the same abilities as him and dumped their points into INT before directing his focus back to the homework.
[Half and Hour Later]
Stretching his body, Jee-Han got up from his chair and let out a satisfied moan as he just finished the last of his homework. He hopped onto his computer and booted up World of War craft with a sly grin on his face.
"Heh, I wonder if I increase my INT then I'll be able to play this game better and blow everyone else out of the water?" He snickered.
As Jee-Han played one of his favorite games, he couldn't stop thinking about where this ability had come from and why it was given to him in the first place. Surely he couldn't have been the only person in the world to receive this bizarre power? As awesome as that would be, Jee-Han had to be realistic.
Not to mention, the biggest question he was facing at the moment was why on earth couldn't he see his mother's level or title? He could see everyone else's perfectly fine and yet, his mom Jung-Sook was a complete mystery as she only had question marks above her head.
Could she possibly be an impostor? This thought didn't last long as Jee-Han remembered the sweet taste of her cooking and knew no one else could replicate his mother's finesse.
It was incredibly frustrating; his ultimate goal was to just live life like a game and now that he obtained something similar to it he had no idea what to do next.
"I just wish I had some answers..."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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