*Jason POV*
*Location: Outside Brockton Bay, Massachusetts*
*Date: January 12th, 2009*
Sooooo...most people think being kidnapped from another dimension into the grimdark reality of Worm can be pretty jarring, and they would be right. Well, minus the travel itself, it was pretty seamless, almost like being on an elevator, nothing painless or well, anything about it, one minute I was rereading One Piece chapter 1, just waiting for the next release, and the next minute I found myself floating over the forest floor adn well I like to think I comically blinked a few times before hitting the ground but I probably only yelped and fell flat on my face.
So I freaked out, letting out a loud shriek of terror as I found myself in the middle of the forest with my wallet, probably no longer usable debit/credit cards, and about $55 cash, alongside my ID and Social Security, which I am glad was still there. The only problem was, I was in the middle of the forest, and I began ruffling through my hair in frustration, and the fact that I was by no means prepared for this, I mean, for crying out lou,d I was wearing sweatpants and a white shirt, I mean I was goign to bed after finishing the manga but I guess that idea went right out the widnow.
Considering the fact that back home it was about 9:30 PM and right now the sun was in the middle of the sky! So well, besides the rude awakening, I guess I was somewhere, well, either so far away from home that it's basically daylight, although I don't really know if that's how it works, or another dimension, which is based on the fact that my iPhone 14 wasn't getting any signal, like at all.
Although that bit is more based on speculation than anything else, I just might be in a dead zone, so once I stopped freaking out, I began walking east, mostly due to picking it at random. Honestly speaking, no matter what direction you went, if you were lost, odds were checking Google Maps for your current location wouldn't help, especially if you don't have any signal, which I already checked, just a glitchy mess which only further validated my alternate dimension theory, seeing as how nothing I tried seemed to work.
So I just walked, ignoring all the pain and hunger that came with humanity's oldest enemy, time. That and the fact that I walked for literally hours, I think, and seeing as how the sun was setting, I was starting to think I needed to find or make some shelter soon, and I was already pretty out of it from the fact that before all this, I was about to go to bed.
That's when I saw it, distant city lights, and I swear to any god that was listening that I nearly cried as I began running towards it, happy as a newborn puppy. Eventually, I found a road and began following it to the city, which turned out to be bigger than I thought. I mean, it was massive, but it...it looked like a shithole, I mean, sure, I was happy to find some civilization, but I feel like I would've heard about a city like this, unless I was truly in another world or universe or dimension or something like that.
Eventually, I was able to see one of those classic welcome signs...which read "Welcome to Brockton Bay", well, the official sign anyway, seeing as how it was covered in various pieces of graffiti, none of which should be said in polite company. That's also the moment I realized I was indeed in another reality, but one I actually thought was fiction, and well, let's be honest, we all hoped it was in some way or another.
The grimdark reality of Worm, not as bad as Warhammer 40k, aka a truly hopeless future, and reality in general, regardless of your species, except if you were an Ork or Tryanid, yeah, it was basically happy sialign for those two. Either way, that wasn't the case here, as it was a reality filled with superheroes, villains, beings called endbringers, and a depressed alien entity that lost its partner and a whole slew of other things that I couldn't remember.
I mean, I read a couple of wikis once and some chapters, but I couldn't finish seeing as how I preferred much more lighthearted stories. So I never really read through it all, only bits and pieces, that and fanfiction, but only really that, so the fact that I was now in what I thought was a fictional location, and that's also when I discovered 'it', or rather that it showed itself to me.
[Hello Jason Maxwell, and welcome to the Gacha System and to the Universe of Worm]
[The reason we chose you for this is that you have always had a dream of being a Performer, and now you have the chance]
[Alongside this, we are also subject to the power of gacha, and you popped up, so here you are with phenomenal cosmic power at your fingertips]
[As a welcome gift, we have given you a golden ability ticket and three silver tickets. You may choose which of these categories to use them on: abilities, items, traits, skills, familiars, and random, so please enjoy and leave a positive impact on this world if it so pleases you]
[Roll Golden or Silver ticket?]
So seeing that and knowing my current situation, maybe a good idea to get this all out of the way before actually entering the city. Not wanting to be seen in public, even if I wasn't in the city proper, I moved toward the trees and hid myself.
"Alright, roll Golden Ability ticket, hopefully it's a good one."
[Rolling...Rolling...Rolling]
[Scales]
|Uncommon Ability|
Allows you to grow scales over your body that are very resistant to damage and can serve as flexible armour over your skin. Its toughness scales with your physical stats.
Well...that was interesting, I mean, sure not the most useful immediate ability, but it could be useful in the future once I...well, actually become stronger as right now I was the equivalent of a thin noodle.
[Would you like to equip Scales in the power slot?]
[Y/N?]
I clicked yes, and a screen popped up showing five blanks, and slowly Scales was written into one of them.
[1. Scales]
[2. Blank]
[3. Blank]
[4. Blank]
[5. Blank]
"Alright, roll a Silver Skill ticket."
{Hopefully, it'll be a fighting or useful skill for surviving in this city, seeing as how I was in college studying game design and was by no means a fighter of any kind.}
[Rolling...Rolling...Rolling]
[Novice Blade Weapon Mastery]
|Common Skill|
You are reasonably talented in handling bladed weapons such as swords and knives. You know how to hold the sword and keep the sharp pointed toward the enemy, as well as being able to align the edge of your cuts and poke the stabby end into people.
Well, that's neat, certainly not really fitting for a future performer, well, neither is Scales' ability, but you make do with what you have and don't cry about it.
"Roll a Silver Trait Ticket next if you could, Gacha system."
[Rolling...Rolling...Rolling]
[Relentless Stamina]
|Elite Trait|
Your stamina is ridiculous, even as a regular human, you could run a marathon and not be winded, you also recover from exhaustion really fast, and it takes a lot to get you exhausted.
Well, now that is amazing, both in the short term and in the long term, and I could already feel myself bursting with energy even if I still felt tired...well, mostly sleepy, but I felt like I could run a lap around the whole city. Looking over the other options, I smiled as, while this one wouldn't be the most tactical, it would be the most fun.
"System roll a Silver Familiar Ticket, kind of feel like getting a pet."
[Wyvern]
|Uncommon Familiar|
A large sky-dwelling reptile with fire breath, they are often referred to as lesser dragons, a wyvern can easily swallow a man whole and roast an entire battalion with its fire breath. This Wyvern is female and can produce eggs to reproduce.
Almost immediately, a gigantic two-winged red wyvern appeared in front of me, toppling down a few trees as it let out a magnificent roar. I will not lie and say I didn't smile and laugh with giddiness as I saw this magnificent being, I mean, sure it wasn't a dragon, but it sure as shit was amazing still, and she looked down at me with what I could swear was a smile on its face as it rubbed my face. Honestly speaking, it was adorable, the damn thing was dog-like, and a system prompt popped up.
[Would you like to name the familiar?]
Which was a good question, I mean, at first I thought of Leo, but seeing as how the Wyvern was a female, I needed a different name, a strong name that was also draconic. Then I had a far better idea.
"How about Hestia, a goddess from Greek mythology who was the goddess of the hearth and home, with a strong connection to fire."
[Would you like to store familiar 'Hestia'?]
Sighing, I nodded yes, and she disappeared in a blue light as the system stored her wherever it needed to. Sure, I was sad that I couldn't properly bond with her, but Hestia would just stand out in a big city like this, maybe when I had myself a little more established and cash, lots and lots of cash to build my own little stage, get the people used to her and not be afraid of her presence int he city when she goes out to fight because if I was being honest, I knew enough about worm to know about the ABB and E88 both racist, with the latter being literal Nazi's...so that was fun.
Scratching my head, I got out of the forest and well ignored all the damage I just intentionally caused and walked away like nothing happened.
"Well, not like anyone's watching...right?"
I said, unsure of quite literally every major faction in the universe, and that all I knew was this place, this place was...was basically the devourer of happiness and light. Well, the world in general, anyway, and I would have a hell of a time becoming a true performer here, ready to try and live my dream once more.