Writing Prompt Murder Game

[Scribbler]

You accidentally kill someone. Suddenly a status screen pops up in front of you stating you gained exp and are now level 2. Turns out, in this world, everyone who's killed a person gains exp, levels, and skill points. What do you invest your points in? Now that you're level 2 you can see the names and levels of everyone above their head. One day, you see someone who is level 5. The trouble is they see you too. And they do not look friendly.

Got this from reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/bp1fwy

 

[mrsimple]

This sounds fun.

Addition: This actually reminds me of a pretend game that me and my mom used to play. We'd guess how many points we'd earn by running people over. Ya know, stupid pedestrians who thought they owned the road. (If ya ever drive through DC, ya know what I mean.) But back on the game, the bigger and more mature they were, the more points.

 

[lnv]

You accidentally kill someone. Suddenly a status screen pops up in front of you stating you gained exp and are now level 2. Turns out, in this world, everyone who's killed a person gains exp, levels, and skill points. What do you invest your points in? Now that you're level 2 you can see the names and levels of everyone above their head. One day, you see someone who is level 5. The trouble is they see you too. And they do not look friendly.

Got this from reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/bp1fwy

Isn't it obvious? Abilities to hide/run away. Regardless of if you plan to participate in the game or not, you always want things on your own terms and head on clashes are stupid. So the most ideal way is abilities that will prevent you from being killed. So agi and stealth skills?

If you plan to participate, it varies by what method you plan to go by.

killing everyone - stealth and agi skills will help you murder people without being caught by anyone.
killing only other players - stealth and agi skills prevents the chance of being ambushed and you can kill them indirectly.

If you don't plan to participate, stealth skills will help you stay alive for the longest, albeit you probably want to move to a place with little people because it is a matter of time till others out level you and out skill you.

As for how to handle a level 5, if you are still level 2. Well IF I was stupid enough to just be walking around and neither level up and being such an idiot to be easily seen, then I'd have to make it not worth their time. Aka, run away and either try to lose them, lure them to a trap or a method where we would both die if we continue fighting.

 

[Scribbler]

Isn't it obvious? Abilities to hide/run away. Regardless of if you plan to participate in the game or not, you always want things on your own terms and head on clashes are stupid. So the most ideal way is abilities that will prevent you from being killed. So agi and stealth skills?

If you plan to participate, it varies by what method you plan to go by.

killing everyone - stealth and agi skills will help you murder people without being caught by anyone.
killing only other players - stealth and agi skills prevents the chance of being ambushed and you can kill them indirectly.

If you don't plan to participate, stealth skills will help you stay alive for the longest, albeit you probably want to move to a place with little people because it is a matter of time till others out level you and out skill you.

As for how to handle a level 5, if you are still level 2. Well IF I was stupid enough to just be walking around and neither level up and being such an idiot to be easily seen, then I'd have to make it not worth their time. Aka, run away and either try to lose them, lure them to a trap or a method where we would both die if we continue fighting.

Wouldn't it be so cool if once you got to a certain level it was basically impossible to level up by killing regular people since they're level 1! And so that's why higher level people kill other killers. And what if important people like government officials and scientists or Olympians give bonus exp!?

The protagonist would definitely need a plot reason to not move away. Like he's too poor or there's this girl he really likes.

 

[JustHANO]

Stay up writing a needlessly long story or go to sleep? Welp don't want to have nightmares about this so...

 

[lnv]

Wouldn't it be so cool if once you got to a certain level it was basically impossible to level up by killing regular people since they're level 1! And so that's why higher level people killer other killers. And what if important people like government officials and scientists or Olympians give bonus exp!?

The protagonist would definitely need a plot reason to not move away. Like he's too poor or there's this girl he really likes.

Well, if that is the case, it all depends on how sane you are. Because if people stop giving EXP once you reach a certain level cause they are level 1. Then the insane answer is simple if you think about it...

Make people kill each other, and artificially make more higher levels, then kill them. It won't happen at first, but withing a year or 2, you might have EXP farms, kind of like in Reincarnator. (It also gets around this paradigm by pretty much pointing out quality > quantity, so those who level up using farms are limiting their future potential, of course it won't stop people from doing it completely, but it would prevent the MC from being totally disadvantaged against someone who owns a farm)

As for MC not moving away due to a girl he likes, he can take her with him. If MC lacks morals, easiest way is to have her accidentally kill someone and be in "the same situation". Maybe sick/coma mother who MC feels highly in debt too? And gaining levels means they might find a way to cure her, but MC doesn't want to kill innocent people so they target other killers and other players?

 

[Scribbler]

Well, if that is the case, it all depends on how sane you are. Because if people stop giving EXP once you reach a certain level cause they are level 1. Then the insane answer is simple if you think about it...

Make people kill each other, and artificially make more higher levels, then kill them. It won't happen at first, but withing a year or 2, you might have EXP farms, kind of like in Reincarnator. (It also gets around this paradigm by pretty much pointing out quality > quantity, so those who level up using farms are limiting their future potential, of course it won't stop people from doing it completely, but it would prevent the MC from being totally disadvantaged against someone who owns a farm)

As for MC not moving away due to a girl he likes, he can take her with him. If MC lacks morals, easiest way is to have her accidentally kill someone and be in "the same situation". Maybe sick/coma mother who MC feels highly in debt too? And gaining levels means they might find a way to cure her, but MC doesn't want to kill innocent people so they target other killers and other players?

You sick, insane, ingenious ********. I didn't even think about that. What if another MC was introduced, one who escaped one of those farms!

Oh my god. So many of the things your're saying. Yes to all of them! Okay, how about the girl is like a childhood friend of the MC and they grew distant as the years went by. And then they reconnect randomly one day, so they're not at the stage of boyfriend girlfriend, but the MC is sure that he likes her when thinking about his previous relationship which was with a total psycho. Oh my god! What if they ex yandere girlfriend returns and is a player in the game and wants to kill the childhood friend!?!?!? Okay, that's an idea for a future arc. But first thing the MC will have to do is deal with the introductory arc to the world of murder game. What if there were secret underground guilds of killers!? And someone tries to recruit the MC to their guild? Oh, and human cockfights happen because rich people want to farm exp!!! I have to write this.

 

[JustHANO]

So would police gain exp if they have to kill a criminal? Seems like a interesting route as well. Some father figure to mc has levels because he's a cop and confronts mc about his levels.

 

[lnv]

You sick, insane, ingenious ********. I didn't even think about that. What if another MC was introduced, one who escaped one of those farms!

If you are going to go that route, how would they escape from a farm? Any farm owner with even half a brain would install remote kill switches and maybe have them addicted to a drug. They would also lack combat ability. Since you level up simply from killing, you can just have people in the farm kill each other without them even knowing they killed someone. Like a machine. (I personally handle EXP that it is not just by killing that you get EXP but by how much effort is put into it. So if someone holds down a monster and you kill it, you'll barely get any EXP). While this method would solve some of the problems, it still won't solve how the MC would escape. So either the farm owner is totally incompetent, doesn't use drugs and just has a kill switch which malfunctions? Or they develop a skill like poison resistance or something which helps with the poison based kill switch and the drugs.

Oh my god. So many of the things your're saying. Yes to all of them! Okay, how about the girl is like a childhood friend of the MC and they grew distant as the years went by. And then they reconnect randomly one day, so they're not at the stage of boyfriend girlfriend, but the MC is sure that he likes her when thinking about his previous relationship which was with a total psycho. Oh my god! What if they ex yandere girlfriend returns and is a player in the game and wants to kill the childhood friend!?!?!? Okay, that's an idea for a future arc. But first thing the MC will have to do is deal with the introductory arc to the world of murder game. What if there were secret underground guilds of killers!? And someone tries to recruit the MC to their guild? Oh, and human cockfights happen because rich people want to farm exp!!! I have to write this.

I don't think any guild would bother inviting people unless they have something that is worth their effort(or high level). But having people fight in arenas for cash but is secretly a farm for the rich is a decent method to go about things. You can still do the guild invitation, again either MC has to have some special skill that is worth for them to raise him, or it would be after he gets high enough level.

As for the relationships aspect, well first you have to decide on where the MC stands morally, and if he will retain said morals through the story or will they change. Depending on how the MC's morals stands would depend on how he would approach his girlfriend. Keep in mind that when people gain strength, power also corrupts.

 

[JustHANO]

What if this is how real life works but we just don't know because we haven't killed anyone

 

[JustHANO]

The idea is there, I'm awful at first person stories. Also "It description proclaimed I could notice important yet small things that normally go unnoticed and that when I noticed" is the best worst sentence I've ever come up with lmao.

Spoiler: LVL 2

I shouldn’t have been driving that night. I shouldn’t have lived, but I did. The other guy, not so much. I’m lucky my car can still move, hell, I’m lucky I can still move. Yet all I can think about is how I’ll explain this to Dad .

He’s going to kill me, probably literally.

I sneak into our gortest apartment. I didn’t have the key but I knew if you jiggled the handled just right, it’ll come unlocked. I drunkenly stumble into my room, impressed I didn’t wake my Dad on the couch. My blurred vision made ever step a leap of fate, but all ended well.

I somehow slept well that night.

I woke up for school, hoping my father would already have left. I turn to the side of the bed and give my mother a kiss. I wipe the dust from my lips and slide the frame back in place. Once I cleared my eyes of the morning sand, I notice something strange.

Words clouded my visions and no matter which way I looked, they followed.

:LVL 2
:Skills-

:Level up. Choose a skill.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~

I’ve always thought of life like a RPG. Some play for fun, enjoying the early game rather than grinding the late game. Some grind and enjoy the riches for their valuable time. I never thought life would actually have levels.

The skills were primarily combat focus. I drop the point in a skill called Notice The Unnoticed. It description proclaimed I could notice important yet small things that normally go unnoticed and that when I noticed… I probably got this menu from the crash last night. The act of taking someone life gave me a level up.

No wonder why there are serial killers. With the amount of people they kill, no wonder they’re so hard to catch. They must be loaded with levels.

I was never really an edgy teen, but for some reason I think I’ve become one. The feeling of murdering someone and being rewarded for it could drive someone to the dark side. It was already having it effects on it. On my way to school I was thinking of the fasting ways to level up.

School shooting, but you’re sure to get caught in the end.

Random murders, but the cops have a pretty good track record in the field.

I arrived at class with an evil look on my face. I decided one of my classmates would be my first victim. From class clown to murder. Just the idea of playing life like a game threw all rationality out the window. I want to level up.

I quickly notice something wrong. Across the classroom, the group of ghetto kids were loudly conversing before the teacher arrived. Jerm, the figurative leader of their social group, glared my way and for good reason. I saw it above his head, so he probably saw it above mines. His read, “LVL 5”. I try not to look his direction, but my skill helps me notice his glare out the corner of my eye.

He was the shark and I was the new fish in the tank. I didn’t think people levels would be openly on display like this. If it’s anything like the games, the higher the level, the more xp you’ll gain from killing it. So I think I just found my target.

Unbelievably, Lynn walked in and she was level 3. She tried to act normal, but I was able to recognize that split moment when she saw my level. She was the new student, a few weeks old. Always had that “too cool for you” aura around her.

Going off what i know, Jerm probably won’t try to kill me knowing he hasn’t killed her yet.

Who knew highschool would have so many murderers.

During lunch I was pulled out the hall into the science room by Lynn. She stood with her arms crossed and looked me up and down. We were alone, so I knew what it was about.

“Level 3 huh? Nice.”

“Repent.”

“What?”

“When you get out off school today, go to church and repent. It’ll reset your skill points. After that forget about everything you’ve seen.”

“What if I don’t want to. What if I want to level up. It must be fun, I mean you and Jerm are doing it.”

“You think I want these levels? What are you, level 2 0/100 xp?”

“Maybe.” I was, but I wanted to see her point before I told her.

“That the level of all accidental murderers.” Lynn proclaimed.

“Really now? You’re only level 3, how much harder can that be.”

“You know how many people I’ve killed or who those people were? There’s a reason why I’m an orphan and there’s a reason why my parents murders haven’t been found. There’s a reason why I had to do what I did. For you level 2’s, there are never any reasons.”

I could tell that the conversation was over. I walked for the door.

“Repent before you discover something you don’t want to know. And don’t worry about Jerm, I’ll deal with him.”

I decided to walk around the city until night, pondering what she had told me. Turns out there’s a lot of level 2’s out there, not much else. To think she murdered her family to get level 3. That’s at least 2 people, and assuming it’s more than one kill to reach level 3, that 3 family members. She claims there are reasons, but I couldn’t think of one.

I get home and jiggle the knob, hoping to not wake my Dad. It wasn’t long before the door flew open, my Dad standing over me. I reframed from looking at him, to not start a fight. He was drunk, I could smell it on his breath. He stumble back to recliner and reaches for his bottle which isn’t there.

“Boy, get me enough beer from the fridge. Do us both a favor and don’t give me any back talk.”

I barely understood him through the slurs. I open the fridge and grabbed two bottles from the case, sneaking the other under my shirt. I go to hand him the bottle, then i saw it. Above his head.

LVL 2.

Rage rushed through my body. It took every bit of strength I had to hold back. I don’t know why I assumed the worst, I just did. I grinded my teeth to hold back any wild urges that would try to come up.

“Dad, I’m old enough. Tell me. What really happened to Mom.”

He looked at me and balled his hands into a fist. He begun to get up from his chair, but kept slipping down before giving up. He let out a sigh and a few sad whimpers before he spoke,

“God takes the good one and leave people like me behind. That’s what happened to your Mom. Now don’t ever ask me that again.”

I decided to avoid my father after that and repent. It took a few days for the words to go away. Jerm stopped coming to school and Lynn stopped looking my way. I’m not sure what came over me when I first got the power, but now I understand. You shouldn’t kill to level up. It’s not a reward. It’s a curse. A mark of impending death.

 

[Scribbler]

The idea is there, I'm awful at first person stories. Also "It description proclaimed I could notice important yet small things that normally go unnoticed and that when I noticed" is the best worst sentence I've ever come up with lmao.

Spoiler: LVL 2

I shouldn’t have been driving that night. I shouldn’t have lived, but I did. The other guy, not so much. I’m lucky my car can still move, hell, I’m lucky I can still move. Yet all I can think about is how I’ll explain this to dad.

He’s going to kill me, probably literally.

I sneak into our gortest apartment. I didn’t have the key but I knew if you jiggled the handled just right, it’ll come unlocked. I drunkenly stumble into my room, impressed I didn’t wake my dad on the couch. My blurred vision made ever step a leap of fate, but all ended well.

I somehow slept well that night.

I woke up for school, hoping my father would already have left. I turn to the side of the bed and give my mother a kiss. I wipe the dust from my lips and slide the frame back in place. Once I cleared my eyes of the morning sand, I notice something strange.

Words clouded my visions and no matter which way I looked, they followed.

:LVL 2
:Skills-

:Level up. Choose a skill.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~

I’ve always thought of life like a RPG. Some play for fun, enjoying the early game rather than grinding the late game. Some grind and enjoy the riches for their valuable time. I never thought life would actually have levels.

The skills were primarily combat focus. I drop the point in a skill called Notice The Unnoticed. It description proclaimed I could notice important yet small things that normally go unnoticed and that when I noticed… I probably got this menu from the crash last night. The act of taking someone life gave me a level up.

No wonder why there are serial killers. With the amount of people they kill, no wonder they’re so hard to catch. They must be loaded with levels.

I was never really an edgy teen, but for some reason I think I’ve become one. The feeling of murdering someone and being rewarded for it could drive someone to the dark side. It was already having it effects on it. On my way to school I was thinking of the fasting ways to level up.

School shooting, but you’re sure to get caught in the end.

Random murders, but the cops have a pretty good track record in the field.

I arrived at class with an evil look on my face. I decided one of my classmates would be my first victim. From class clown to murder. Just the idea of playing life like a game threw all rationality out the window. I want to level up.

I quickly notice something wrong. Across the classroom, the group of ghetto kids were loudly conversing before the teacher arrived. Jerm, the figurative leader of their social group, glared my way and for good reason. I saw it above his head, so he probably saw it above mines. His read, “LVL 5”. I try not to look his direction, but my skill helps me notice his glare out the corner of my eye.

He was the shark and I was the new fish in the tank. I didn’t think people levels would be openly on display like this. If it’s anything like the games, the higher the level, the more xp you’ll gain from killing it. So I think I just found my target.

Unbelievably, Lynn walked in and she was level 3. She tried to act normal, but I was able to recognize that split moment when she saw my level. She was the new student, a few weeks old. Always had that “too cool for you” aura around her.

Going off what i know, Jerm probably won’t try to kill me knowing he hasn’t killed her yet.

Who knew highschool would have so many murderers.

During lunch I was pulled out the hall into the science room by Lynn. She stood with her arms crossed and looked me up and down. We were alone, so I knew what it was about.

“Level 3 huh? Nice.”

“Repent.”

“What?”

“When you get out off school today, go to church and repent. It’ll reset your skill points. After that forget about everything you’ve seen.”

“What if I don’t want to. What if I want to level up. It must be fun, I mean you and Jerm are doing it.”

“You think I want these levels? What are you, level 2 0/100 xp?”

“Maybe.” I was, but I wanted to see her point before I told her.

“That the level of all accidental murderers.” Lynn proclaimed.

“Really now? You’re only level 3, how much harder can that be.”

“You know how many people I’ve killed or who those people were? There’s a reason why I’m an orphan and there’s a reason why my parents murders haven’t been found. There’s a reason why I had to do what I did. For you level 2’s, there are never any reasons.”

I could tell that the conversation was over. I walked for the door.

“Repent before you discover something you don’t want to know. And don’t worry about Jerm, I’ll deal with him.”

I decided to walk around the city until night, pondering what she had told me. Turns out there’s a lot of level 2’s out there, not much else. To think she murdered her family to get level 3. That’s at least 2 people, and assuming it’s more than one kill to reach level 3, that 3 family members. She claims there are reasons, but I couldn’t think of one.

I get home and jiggle the knob, hoping to not wake my dad. It wasn’t long before the door flew open, my dad standing over me. I reframed from looking at him, to not start a fight. He was drunk, I could smell it on his breath. He stumble back to recliner and reaches for his bottle which isn’t there.

“Boy, get me enough beer from the fridge. Do us both a favor and don’t give me any back talk.”

I barely understood him through the slurs. I open the fridge and grabbed two bottles from the case, sneaking the other under my shirt. I go to hand him the bottle, then i saw it. Above his head.

LVL 2.

Rage rushed through my body. It took every bit of strength I had to hold back. I don’t know why I assumed the worst, I just did. I grinded my teeth to hold back any wild urges that would try to come up.

“Dad, I’m old enough. Tell me. What really happened to Mom.”

He looked at me and balled his hands into a fist. He begun to get up from his chair, but kept slipping down before giving up. He let out a sigh and a few sad whimpers before he spoke,

“God takes the good one and leave people like me behind. That’s what happened to your Mom. Now don’t ever ask me that again.”

I decided to avoid my father after that and repent. It took a few days for the words to go away. Jerm stopped coming to school and Lynn stopped looking my way. I’m not sure what came over me when I first got the power, but now I understand. You shouldn’t kill to level up. It’s not a reward. It’s a curse. A mark of impending death.

Going to a church to reset skill points is genius! Exactly like Dragon Quest!

 

[bananapink]

You accidentally kill someone. Suddenly a status screen pops up in front of you stating you gained exp and are now level 2. Turns out, in this world, everyone who's killed a person gains exp, levels, and skill points. What do you invest your points in? Now that you're level 2 you can see the names and levels of everyone above their head. One day, you see someone who is level 5. The trouble is they see you too. And they do not look friendly.

Got this from reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/bp1fwy

Hmm, like a battle royal kinda thing where the last one standing becomes the strongest. This is cool, but it has to be set in a place where there are no laws or guilds that will not prohibit killing other characters.

 

[Llamadragon]

Carrion crows lined up on the fences. Hundreds of them. Pitch-black, silent. Eyes on the two forces, on their two sides of the battlefield.

They weirded Jonas out. They way they stared. Like harbingers. Omens. Never averting their gazes even when he stared right back.
”There’s no way that’s natural..” he muttered, his hand clenching a little tighter around his spear. ”The birds.”
”Perhaps, it seemeth that way to you, newling. Since it be your first battle with us.” Lúmilen replied calmly. ”But this does be what crows do - stalk battlefields, like flies areth drawn to the shits of bovines. They hath appeared for our past battles, and shall surely appear again, shall we have the luck and glory to live to such a future fight. Now, fasten your eyes upon our enemies, mortal, lest your corpse shalleth be among the ones the crows shalleth dine on this eve.”
Jonas rolled his eyes, some of his tension downright ruined by Lúmilens flowery speech. How stereotypically elf could you get?

The crows kept watching. Jonas took Lúmilens advice - he and the rest of the troops he fought with, stared at the shadows that took their positions across the field. Orcs, dark elves, goblins, the tribes of the beastmen. The legions of the Dark Lord. Their sworn enemies. Out of the two forces, only one could emerge victorious. Only one could emerge alive. The others - the others would ride to the heavens above, in the bellies of the crows.
A guttural roar howled, growled, screamed from the forces of the Dark Lord. The forces of Light answered with their own valiant battlecry, and then, the time had come. The two armies rushed towards the middle of the field, weapons raised for battle.

Swords fell. Daggers fell. Men fell. Elves fell. Orcs fell. Beastmen fell. Jonas had slain several foes, and the ground was littered with bodies, making it hard to run. He parried the blow of an orcs axe and cut back his enemy with his spear, sending the green creature to the ground where it remained unmoving. He felt the eyes of the crows on his back, eering him out, spurring him on.

———
Flap flap flap flap flap. Another crow landed on the fence. ”Hey guys, what’s going on here?” It said to its fellow birds.
”Oh, hey Jack, you’re just in time to watch the end of the show. Ah, missed the chance to place bets, though. The odds are three to five, in favor of the Forces of Light.”
Jack narrowed his eyes at the scene of battle, where the Army of the Demon Lord fought against the Forces of Light. ”The forces of what? What’s with these bunch of weirdoes? What are we watching?”
”Oh yeah, I forgot you just moved in. They’re LARP:ers. They meet up here once a month and this seasons plot is pretty good! The kids love it, so the whole murder shows up for it and hold betting games on who wins their silly mock battles.”

 

[Eukro]

She was late for work as she ran out and jumped in to her minivan and pulled out of the driveway. Her music was cranked up as she needed to have some good tunes to help wake herself up. Starting a shift at four A.M. was always a hard way to start the day, but the pay was good. Mary Sue looked at herself in the mirror to make sure that she had no lipstick on her teeth. The day before she didn't notice it until she was ready to leave for the day and didn't want to live with that embarrassment ever again.

Suddenly the van hit something under the right tires. She thought she must have run over a rock. She stopped the van and got out, the hazard lights blinking away. Mary Sue saw a homeless man bleeding in the streets, she was so scared she couldn't even force herself to check on him when she heard a strange music play and saw a bright gold number pop up over the body, '+25'.

An annoying yellow dot was continuously flashing at the corner of her vision with an exclamation point. Mary Sue called the police and waited at her car in tears. The police, Fire department and an ambulance arrived at scene a few minutes later. She noticed that everyone had I green, 'Level 1' above their heads except one of the policeman and one of the firemen who both had 'Level 2'. The fireman walked up and asked, "How many points was he worth?"

Mary Sue blinked at him and asked, "Points?"

He nodded and then the Policeman who was also level 2 walked up and whistled before saying, "He must have been a war vet. At least a twenty pointer."

Mary Sue thought a moment and said, "The gold number? It said +25."

The two of them shook there heads and laughed. The Policeman said, "You should see a blinking yellow dot in the corner of your vision. If you lay down tonight and think about a skill you want to improve or have, it will be there when you wake up. I stupidly used mine on guitar playing. It worked, but I still had to learn all the songs. I gave up even though I have the skill now." He laughed.

The fireman laughed and said, "My skill was worse, I used mine on cooking. I make great food, but its like your guitar playing, I still have to learn recipes. I felt wronged."

"Can we get rid of it?" Mary Sue asked.

The two of them laughed and then the policeman said, "Welcome to the real world. You'll be shocked to find out just who have levels. Anyone important has at least level two."

Later that day as Mary Sue was buying groceries she saw a giant man with his body covered in tattoos staring at her like she was fresh meat. As he walked up she noticed that he was level 5, she was deathly afraid he was coming over to kill her but then he said in a deep gravely voice, "Wow, I've never seen a level 10 secretary before. Cool. What's your skill? I took tattoo art."

 

[Llamadragon]

There are three steps of emotions after accidentally killing someone.

The first is chock. The second is shame. And finally, there’s the deep, instinctual karmic fear that justice is going to demand life for a life - that everything has a price, even accidental things, and all debts must be paid. That, because you took a life, you yourself will die, or worse - someone you care about will die, and it will be your fault. It’s a real twisted kind of shame, when you feel it should have been you.

It was five days after the accident, and the first day I was back at school. Somehow, the whole thing had never spread. The incident was reported to the police, but here, no one knew. No one had found out. No one stared at me with accusation in their eyes, even though I’d deserve it.

No one, that is, except for some of the other people with levels.

It surprised me that so many kids my age were killers, and most of them weren’t the ones I would’ve guessed. There was that mild, shy girl who always read books, she was level three. This cheerleader, that ever-smiling guy. What truly startled me was the level 7 school nurse. But they all looked at me with curiosity, or fear, or sympathy, brief glances and then they left me alone.
The level 5’s did not. There were three of them, three siblings, two guys and a girl that always stuck together. The young woman noticed me first, nudged her brothers, and they proceeded to stare me down through the rest of the lunch break. She looked at me with a barely concealed smile that didn’t bode well for me, and her two male companions just wore blank faces. I decided to stay away from them. I felt like prey in their eyes and I knew they couldn’t have gotten to level 5 by pure accident. I soon realized that those three were actively avoided by everybody else with levels, so I decided to take the hint. They approached me after lunch that day, but I had invested my ”skill points” into stealth and got away unnoticed.

But I wasn’t the only one with a stealth skill. A few days later I was sitting on a bench by myself, watching people go by for a while. School had ended and people gradually left until it was empty and it was just me and the book I was pretending to read. Then, I don’t know how she got there, but I suddenly became aware that that lvl 5 girl was sitting on the other end of the bench. At first, my heart sank and I got terrified. But then, I figured - it was only fair. If I got killed to feed her levels, who the hell was I to say I didn’t deserve it? That this wasn’t justice?
”Look, dude..” she said after a brief moment of silence. ”There’s no easy path to get over the guilt. But, do you want to talk about it?”

 

[Scribbler]

She was late for work as she ran out and jumped in to her minivan and pulled out of the driveway. Her music was cranked up as she needed to have some good tunes to help wake herself up. Starting a shift at four A.M. was always a hard way to start the day, but the pay was good. Mary Sue looked at herself in the mirror to make sure that she had no lipstick on her teeth. The day before she didn't notice it until she was ready to leave for the day and didn't want to live with that embarrassment ever again.

Suddenly the van hit something under the right tires. She thought she must have run over a rock. She stopped the van and got out, the hazard lights blinking away. Mary Sue saw a homeless man bleeding in the streets, she was so scared she couldn't even force herself to check on him when she heard a strange music play and saw a bright gold number pop up over the body, '+25'.

An annoying yellow dot was continuously flashing at the corner of her vision with an exclamation point. Mary Sue called the police and waited at her car in tears. The police, Fire department and an ambulance arrived at scene a few minutes later. She noticed that everyone had I green, 'Level 1' above their heads except one of the policeman and one of the firemen who both had 'Level 2'. The fireman walked up and asked, "How many points was he worth?"

Mary Sue blinked at him and asked, "Points?"

He nodded and then the Policeman who was also level 2 walked up and whistled before saying, "He must have been a war vet. At least a twenty pointer."

Mary Sue thought a moment and said, "The gold number? It said +25."

The two of them shook there heads and laughed. The Policeman said, "You should see a blinking yellow dot in the corner of your vision. If you lay down tonight and think about a skill you want to improve or have, it will be there when you wake up. I stupidly used mine on guitar playing. It worked, but I still had to learn all the songs. I gave up even though I have the skill now." He laughed.

The fireman laughed and said, "My skill was worse, I used mine on cooking. I make great food, but its like your guitar playing, I still have to learn recipes. I felt wronged."

"Can we get rid of it?" Mary Sue asked.

The two of them laughed and then the policeman said, "Welcome to the real world. You'll be shocked to find out just who have levels. Anyone important has at least level two."

Later that day as Mary Sue was buying groceries she saw a giant man with his body covered in tattoos staring at her like she was fresh meat. As he walked up she noticed that he was level 5, she was deathly afraid he was coming over to kill her but then he said in a deep gravely voice, "Wow, I've never seen a level 10 secretary before. Cool. What's your skill? I took tattoo art."

Loved it

 

[Scribbler]

I was walking down a street when I heard a scuffle going on in an alleyway. One man was leaning against a wall, the other towered over him, and shouted, "give me your wallet already! Or things will get nasty." The mugger waved around his knife near the cowering man's face.
I know I should have pretended I didn't see anything and walked away. But I couldn't.
"Leave him alone."
The mugger turned to me with a sneer on his face. "Who the hell do you think you are? Scram!"
The other guy saw this as his chance and tried to run away.
The guy with the knife caught him by his arm, pulled him back and stabbed him in his chest. He doubled back and stared at the knife protruding from himself in disbelief and collapsed on the ground.
"Look what you did! You killed him!"
"You're insane! You stabbed him! Not me!"
"I just wanted his wallet. If it weren't for you we woulda had ourselves a nice transaction, but no, you had to butt in."
"Liar!"
Suddenly, a semi-transparent screen appeared in front of me. It said +100 exp, level two. The hell is that?
I looked back at the mugger. I could see the words level 5 above his head. I must be going crazy!
I pressed the X on the top right of the screen and it disappeared.
"Haha, " laughed the mugger. He was getting closer to me. His knife still held up. Not good.
He slashed at me. I jumped back.
I felt a burning sensation flash across my chest. My shirt had been torn and I was bleeding.
He lunged forward and I stepped to the side, allowing me to lunge for the knife in his hand.
We fought for the knife for what seemed like an eternity.
In the end he got it and rammed it in my stomach.
Standing over me who was lying lifeless on the ground, the mugger said, "Should've minded your own business, fool."
He walked away.
Is this how I'm going to die, in such a meaningless way? I haven't done anything with my life yet. Please, please, I don't want to die.
Another semi-transparent screen appeared in front of me. It said please choose your skill and had a list under it.

• Strength +1
• Speed +1
• Intelligence +1
• Looks +1
• Stealth +1
• Piano +1
• Aim +1
• Regeneration +1
• Soccer +1
• Spanish +1
• ???

I'm bleeding out.
I lifted me shaking hand and clicked on regeneration.

I woke up to find that the wounds were completely closed. Still a scar, though. And my shirt was stained and ripped pretty bad. I'm going to kill that bastard.

 

[NiQuinn]

There was no shaking of hands, no agitated heart palpitations, and no quickening of breath in abject terror. He just killed a man and all he had to show for it was a calmness at odds with the battle he was having in his head. Intellectually, he knew he did something bad. Though it was an accident, it didn't change the fact that a man died because of him. Yet, there was no panic.

Was it because of this?

Passive Skill: Poker Face
Keeps the player cool-headed and clear-minded at all times.

This was ludicrous. It couldn't be real but the status windows in front of him suggested otherwise. This was too much information too soon after the accident. He may have been clear-headed but, intellectually, he knew that running away from the unintended crime was bad. Still, something pushed him to leave as soon as possible and that something wasn't guilt. It was the cold reasoning that he had to hide away and sort things out after seeing that status screen pop out. An uncharacteristic act that made him question his behavior but his body moved before his mind could catch up.

Now, a good few hours later, he was still staring at his status windows. One had his skill set, the other had his profile, and the last was an item box. It was the first window that his eyes were stuck on. The first time he read the skills written on it, he couldn't help but frown in disbelief. Was this a cosmic joke?

Written in grayed out letters were skills titled as Black Jack, Russian Roulette, Burn Card, Hit, Fixed Card, Slot Machine, and a few more - all related to gambling.

He cursed. His father damned his family with his gambling debts and now he had skills centered around it?

What the f-!

Besides, was it normal to have all future skills appear at the start of a game? Being that they were grayed out must have meant that he couldn't use them yet. That belief was solidified when one of the many skills written there was glowing in a gaudy gold.

Die of Good Fortune
A life preserving skill. The higher the number rolled, the better one's chances of survival will be. Effects vary according to Lady Luck's will.
Cooldown: 168 hours

What BS was this? So, even if he rolled high, the outcome was unpredictable and could be anything as long as it preserved his life?

What the flying f-!

And how long was 168 hours? He had to carefully count it out and finally realized it was 7 days. Damn it! Gambling skills and he was bad at math. Might as well just drop dead now!

Again, his eyes went back to his skill set window and belatedly realized there were no mana points as was normal in a game. Instead, all his skills had cooldowns ranging from hours to months. Was this normal?

Curious about the only skill he had active, he pressed on it in the skill window wanting to see if anything would happen. Nothing did which irritated him. No way in hell was he shouting out Die of Good Fortune like some kid high on sugar.

He thought of other ways to activate said skill but nothing worked. Think of it inside his head, nothing. Whisper the name of the skill. Nothing happened.

It took him a few other tries until he suddenly remembered a gambling gesture. Dubious about it, he looked around for a flat surface. The closest from him, besides the floor, was a tree. Approaching it with slight trepidation, he then tapped it once like how a gambler would on a poker table for a check on the money pot. Of course, he did so while thinking of the specific skill in question.

Finally, success. A die appeared out of thin air where his hand tapped on the wood. It happened so suddenly that he almost failed in catching the small cube. Thankfully, he caught it just in time and carefully studied it.

It was a plain black die with the embossed dots in stark white. Well, except for the side where the singular dot for 1 was in red. An inch on all sides and smooth like glass.

Before he could study it more, he heard a noise not too far from where he was. It was nearing 3 in the morning and he was in a quiet part downtown. He had been jumpy since the accidental killing he did earlier and coming across a stranger was the last thing he wanted right now.

It didn't take him long to find what made the noise. In fact, it was a who. The man made no attempt to hide the fact that he was heading towards his direction. What alarmed him was the fact that this stranger had words hovering over his head.

Level 5 <Glutton>

The moniker made no sense since the stranger looked gaunt and borderline emaciated. But, that wasn't important. What was important was the Level 5. His own status window said he was only Level 2 and that only happened after he accidentally killed someone. Did that mean this man killed someone too?

"Gambler, is it?"

He was confused at the question posed by Glutton. His confusion must have shown since the man grinned at him and pointed up on his head. "Level 2 Gambler, it says. Gotta say, kid. You're outta luck."

Without even a warning, the stranger lunged at him and, being that he was still quite jumpy and all, he was able to dodge. Albeit, quite clumsily. A sting on his right side caused him to look down and he grew even more alarmed at the clean slice through his shirt showing bloodied skin. Looking up at Glutton, he saw that the man had a shoddy chef's knife on his grasp.

"What are you doing!? I don't even know you!"

As a reply to that, the stranger just laughed and lunged at him again. At this point, he would have been a complete idiot if he wasn't able to conclude the connection he had with this psycho. They both had levels on their names. Then, that must have meant they were both participants to this insane game.

There was no room to think beyond that point. It took everything he had to run away from this man called Glutton. The psycho seemed to relish the chase. Too bad for him that his mindless running lead them to go even further to an isolated location where an abandoned warehouse was found. Surely, in this place, he could find a place he could hide in.

But, alas, before he could even get far, Glutton caught up to him and managed to give him a shallow stab to the back of his shoulder. The pain was excruciating but Glutton's laughter caused goosebumps to rise on his skin.

"Guess why I'm called Glutton?" Not even waiting for a reply from him, he continued, "It's because I'll eat whatever my knife touches."

Nope. I didn't need to know that.

Pushing his mind to ignore the pain, he managed to nudge Glutton aside and tried to escape but failed when Glutton caught on to the scruff of his shirt and pulled at him roughly causing him to choke in surprise.

It was at that moment that he felt himself drop something. All this time his hands were clenched as he tried his best to run away and he had forgotten about the die in his grasp. As he fought to get free from Glutton, a notification suddenly popped out of nowhere.

There, in golden letters, were the words:

You just rolled a 6. Congratulations!

Without warning, the wall of a decrepit building beside them collapsed and fell on the unsuspecting Glutton. The man didn't even have time to cry out in surprise. Smoke and debris scattered but not one bit of it touched him during the whole thing. Immediately, he thought of his skill set window and it popped up as if summoned. He looked for the skill he just used and sure enough, there was a change.

Die of Good Fortune
A life preserving skill. The higher the number rolled, the better one's chances of survival will be. Effects vary according to Lady Luck's will.
Cooldown: 167:59:51:61

Before he could study it more, his legs collapsed and he fell to his knees. Looking at the rubble before him, he could see no sign of Glutton as the man was buried under all that debris. His hands shook, his heart was beating fast, and he was gasping for breath. However, it was not due to having killed another person in the span of a few hours. It was due to exhaustion from running away from the psychotic Glutton.

Taking a deep breath, he finally regained his composure somewhat and realized he overlooked something. It seemed as if he leveled up twice from what just happened. Popping open his status window, he quickly put all his stat points on Luck before he could even plan out a proper balance for himself. Well, if he really had Gambler as a moniker, then that meant luck was important, wasn't it? That didn't mean he'd play the game though. Twice, he was led to participate out of his control. Where was the fairness in that? Besides, he didn't have it in him to kill people willy nilly.

As he was thinking that, there was a greyed out skill at the bottom of his skill set window that he just noticed. It had a Cooldown of 8760 hours and it was called Jackpot.

Goddess Fortuna smiles down on you. Activate this skill set to acquire luck, abundance, or a change of fate. Rewards vary. Transferrable.

His skills proved unreliable but could hold an extreme of both luck or misfortune. It was a skill set that was dictated by certain randomness that one needed to have faith to rely on. Still, there was an advantage because of its great rewards.

A change of fate. Transferrable.

Did that mean he could change the fate of his brother?

Dry laughter escaped his throat. Now he knew why all of his skills were shown so early on in his unwilling participation in this twisted game. It was bait. If there was a chance he could save his brother, then he had no choice but to step into this with gusto.

Lady Luck, you sure have some twisted sense of humor.


---
A/N: Undedited! His skills seem OP. -_- Not very good with gaming stories. Still, this one-shot was fun.

 

[Scribbler]

There was no shaking of hands, no agitated heart palpitations, and no quickening of breath in abject terror. He just killed a man and all he had to show for it was a calmness at odds with the battle he was having in his head. Intellectually, he knew he did something bad. Though it was an accident, it didn't change the fact that a man died because of him. Yet, there was no panic.

Was it because of this?

Passive Skill: Poker Face
Keeps the player cool-headed and clear-minded at all times.

This was ludicrous. It couldn't be real but the status windows in front of him suggested otherwise. This was too much information too soon after the accident. He may have been clear-headed but, intellectually, he knew that running away from the unintended crime was bad. Still, something pushed him to leave as soon as possible and that something wasn't guilt. It was the cold reasoning that he had to hide away and sort things out after seeing that status screen pop out. An uncharacteristic act that made him question his behavior but his body moved before his mind could catch up.

Now, a good few hours later, he was still staring at his status windows. One had his skill set, the other had his profile, and the last was an item box. It was the first window that his eyes were stuck on. The first time he read the skills written on it, he couldn't help but frown in disbelief. Was this a cosmic joke?

Written in grayed out letters were skills titled as Black Jack, Russian Roulette, Burn Card, Hit, Fixed Card, Slot Machine, and a few more - all related to gambling.

He cursed. His father damned his family with his gambling debts and now he had skills centered around it?

What the f-!

Besides, was it normal to have all future skills appear at the start of a game? Being that they were grayed out must have meant that he couldn't use them yet. That belief was solidified when one of the many skills written there was glowing in a gaudy gold.

Die of Good Fortune
A life preserving skill. The higher the number rolled, the better one's chances of survival will be. Effects vary according to Lady Luck's will.
Cooldown: 168 hours

What BS was this? So, even if he rolled high, the outcome was unpredictable and could be anything as long as it preserved his life?

What the flying f-!

And how long was 168 hours? He had to carefully count it out and finally realized it was 7 days. Damn it! Gambling skills and he was bad at math. Might as well just drop dead now!

Again, his eyes went back to his skill set window and belatedly realized there were no mana points as was normal in a game. Instead, all his skills had cooldowns ranging from hours to months. Was this normal?

Curious about the only skill he had active, he pressed on it in the skill window wanting to see if anything would happen. Nothing did which irritated him. No way in hell was he shouting out Die of Good Fortune like some kid high on sugar.

He thought of other ways to activate said skill but nothing worked. Think of it inside his head, nothing. Whisper the name of the skill. Nothing happened.

It took him a few other tries until he suddenly remembered a gambling gesture. Dubious about it, he looked around for a flat surface. The closest from him, besides the floor, was a tree. Approaching it with slight trepidation, he then tapped it once like how a gambler would on a poker table for a check on the money pot. Of course, he did so while thinking of the specific skill in question.

Finally, success. A die appeared out of thin air where his hand tapped on the wood. It happened so suddenly that he almost failed in catching the small cube. Thankfully, he caught it just in time and carefully studied it.

It was a plain black die with the embossed dots in stark white. Well, except for the side where the singular dot for 1 was in red. An inch on all sides and smooth like glass.

Before he could study it more, he heard a noise not too far from where he was. It was nearing 3 in the morning and he was in a quiet part downtown. He had been jumpy since the accidental killing he did earlier and coming across a stranger was the last thing he wanted right now.

It didn't take him long to find what made the noise. In fact, it was a who. The man made no attempt to hide the fact that he was heading towards his direction. What alarmed him was the fact that this stranger had words hovering over his head.

Level 5 <Glutton>

The moniker made no sense since the stranger looked gaunt and borderline emaciated. But, that wasn't important. What was important was the Level 5. His own status window said he was only Level 2 and that only happened after he accidentally killed someone. Did that mean this man killed someone too?

"Gambler, is it?"

He was confused at the question posed by Glutton. His confusion must have shown since the man grinned at him and pointed up on his head. "Level 2 Gambler, it says. Gotta say, kid. You're outta luck."

Without even a warning, the stranger lunged at him and, being that he was still quite jumpy and all, he was able to dodge. Albeit, quite clumsily. A sting on his right side caused him to look down and he grew even more alarmed at the clean slice through his shirt showing bloodied skin. Looking up at Glutton, he saw that the man had a shoddy chef's knife on his grasp.

"What are you doing!? I don't even know you!"

As a reply to that, the stranger just laughed and lunged at him again. At this point, he would have been a complete idiot if he wasn't able to conclude the connection he had with this psycho. They both had levels on their names. Then, that must have meant they were both participants to this insane game.

There was no room to think beyond that point. It took everything he had to run away from this man called Glutton. The psycho seemed to relish the chase. Too bad for him that his mindless running lead them to go even further to an isolated location where an abandoned warehouse was found. Surely, in this place, he could find a place he could hide in.

But, alas, before he could even get far, Glutton caught up to him and managed to give him a shallow stab to the back of his shoulder. The pain was excruciating but Glutton's laughter caused goosebumps to rise on his skin.

"Guess why I'm called Glutton?" Not even waiting for a reply from him, he continued, "It's because I'll eat whatever my knife touches."

Nope. I didn't need to know that.

Pushing his mind to ignore the pain, he managed to nudge Glutton aside and tried to escape but failed when Glutton caught on to the scruff of his shirt and pulled at him roughly causing him to choke in surprise.

It was at that moment that he felt himself drop something. All this time his hands were clenched as he tried his best to run away and he had forgotten about the die in his grasp. As he fought to get free from Glutton, a notification suddenly popped out of nowhere.

There, in golden letters, were the words:

You just rolled a 6. Congratulations!

Without warning, the wall of a decrepit building beside them collapsed and fell on the unsuspecting Glutton. The man didn't even have time to cry out in surprise. Smoke and debris scattered but not one bit of it touched him during the whole thing. Immediately, he thought of his skill set window and it popped up as if summoned. He looked for the skill he just used and sure enough, there was a change.

Die of Good Fortune
A life preserving skill. The higher the number rolled, the better one's chances of survival will be. Effects vary according to Lady Luck's will.
Cooldown: 167:59:51:61

Before he could study it more, his legs collapsed and he fell to his knees. Looking at the rubble before him, he could see no sign of Glutton as the man was buried under all that debris. His hands shook, his heart was beating fast, and he was gasping for breath. However, it was not due to having killed another person in the span of a few hours. It was due to exhaustion from running away from the psychotic Glutton.

Taking a deep breath, he finally regained his composure somewhat and realized he overlooked something. It seemed as if he leveled up twice from what just happened. Popping open his status window, he quickly put all his stat points on Luck before he could even plan out a proper balance for himself. Well, if he really had Gambler as a moniker, then that meant luck was important, wasn't it? That didn't mean he'd play the game though. Twice, he was led to participate out of his control. Where was the fairness in that? Besides, he didn't have it in him to kill people willy nilly.

As he was thinking that, there was a greyed out skill at the bottom of his skill set window that he just noticed. It had a Cooldown of 8760 hours and it was called Jackpot.

Goddess Fortuna smiles down on you. Activate this skill set to acquire luck, abundance, or a change of fate. Rewards vary. Transferrable.

His skills proved unreliable but could hold an extreme of both luck or misfortune. It was a skill set that was dictated by certain randomness that one needed to have faith to rely on. Still, there was an advantage because of its great rewards.

A change of fate. Transferrable.

Did that mean he could change the fate of his brother?

Dry laughter escaped his throat. Now he knew why all of his skills were shown so early on in his unwilling participation in this twisted game. It was bait. If there was a chance he could save his brother, then he had no choice but to step into this with gusto.

Lady Luck, you sure have some twisted sense of humor.


---
A/N: Undedited! His skills seem OP. -_- Not very good with gaming stories. Still, this one-shot was fun.

I love the idea of non-traditional classes