[Welcome to Save The Multiverse: The Game!]
[First, please choose your na-
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[User has chosen 'Aa1' as their name!]
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"So much time loss…" A dejected voice muttered, belonging to a disembodied soul floating within a large black void.
[Next, please choose your starting wor-]
[User has chosen 'Default Starting World!']
[Next, please choose your perks!]
[You will have 10000 starting points based on your actions in your previous life! You can spend these points to buy perks, or save them to upgrade your character in the game! You can buy more perks at any-]
[Here is the list of Per-]
[User has chosen: _ perks!]
[Next, please choose your race-]
[User has chosen 'Default Race']
[Next, please ch-
[User has chose-]
[Next, plea-]
[User has-]
[The pre-game creation has been completed! Your tutorial guide will now appear!]
In the pitch-black void, there was finally the appearance of light. A huge, shining ball of pure-white light appeared, lighting up the voidscape as a beautiful blonde-haired woman appeared from it. She had a gorgeous face, flowing blonde hair that went down to her rear, and two bright white light-filled wings sticking out of her back.
"Welcome to the Game, Hero! I am your Goddess guide: Luminos, Queen of the Stars! You probably have a lot of questions right now, like why you're here, how you died, how the game works, or-"
The woman stumbled forward, choking on her words as she started to stutter, "W-Where are you going?!"
The disembodied soul, which was now in the form of a tall and lean man, was walking in the complete opposite direction as he headed for a large green swirling portal that had appeared behind him.
"C-Come back!"
The man was suddenly teleported backward, being dragged back to his starting position in a flash of light as the goddess raised her hands. She could see his face now, which was handsome with a strong jaw and short black hair.
"An unskippable cutscene?" Aa1 muttered, frowning as he turned around and looked at Luminos.
"Why did-" Luminos started, but was interrupted immediately.
"Next."
"W-What? What do-"
"Next."
"Why are you-"
"Next."
"S-Stop interrupt-"
"Next."
"STOP SAYING NEXT!" Luminos finally finished a sentence, glaring at Aa1 as he repeatedly cut her off, "What are you doing?!"
"Skipping your dialogue," Aa1 said as if it was obvious, "Is the tutorial optional? I'm wasting a lot of time here."
"What do you mean by wasting time? I'm here to explain the game to you so you don't die- WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" Luminos screamed again as Aa1 turned around, promptly walking toward the portal again.
"It's called a cutscene skip," Aa1 nodded sagely, tensing his legs as he prepared to perform the frame-perfect technique, "By getting outside of the cutscene zone faster than the game can process, I can continue making progress while the cutscene is active."
"W-What?" Luminos was stunned for a second, staring at him blankly from the idiocy that just came from his mouth, "It's not that type of game- YOU'RE JUST RUNNING!"
Instead of doing an advanced technique, Aa1 just started running toward the portal. However, despite the simplicity of the strategy, it was successful as he reached the glowing portal before Luminos got over her shock and teleported him back.
He hopped through the large portal, appearing on the other side, and took in his surroundings. He was in a large forest-like area, which had a small dirt path in front of him.
"Stop running away! Let me explain what's going on first!" Luminos came barreling out of the portal behind him, "If you don't prepare, you're just going to die- WHERE ARE YOU GOING NOW?!"
Aa1 had started sprinting forward, running in a straight line on the dirt path without sparing her a glance.
[Agility Training Started!]
Continue doing agility-related exercises to gain AGI!
Progress: [1%]
Aa1 didn't even spare the new text box a glance, just continuing forward.
"How are you going to know what to do if you won't listen to me?!" Luminos huffed, shooting forward as she flew next to him.
"This is the right direction," Aa1 said as if it was obvious, "I was placed facing this way when I spawned in, so this is where I'm supposed to go. If it wasn't, then this game would be poorly designed, which is an acceptable reason for time loss."
In Aa1's eyes, the game being flawed didn't reflect on his speedrunning abilities, which meant he couldn't be caught up on it. Some things were out of your control, and you just had to accept it.
As a text box appeared in the air in front of him, his thoughts were confirmed to be true.
[Quest Alert!]
Save Issei Hyoudou!
If Issei Hyoudou is killed and reincarnated, then you will not be able to take over as the main character of this world!
Conditions:
Prevent the Fallen Angel Raynare from killing Issei Hyoudou!
Rewards:
+10 Attribute Points!
+100 XP!
+100 Coins!
Failure:
Don't become the main character!
Aa1 didn't even bother reading the entire quest, just glancing over the condition as he nodded.
"W-Well, you're right, but that doesn't mean you should just run off!" Luminos huffed, still floating next to him as he jogged, "I'm your guide! You need to listen to me, or you'll definitely die! At least look at your stats or- where the hell are you going now?!"
Aa1 had suddenly turned his running direction to the side as a large fountain came into view, which he easily recognized as the place where Raynare killed Issei. He started running through the tree and bush-filled area on the side of the dirt path, ignoring the branches in his way as he didn't even bother to go around them.
"The quest is back there, y'know?! Are you scared because you're just a normal human and you have to beat a fallen angel?" Luminos asked, a slightly smug tone in her voice at the end, "That's why you need to listen to me! There's a whole stat-gaining system in this game, so you can- you're going shopping?"
Luminos watched blankly as Aa1 jumped out of the forest, the air shifting as he left the barrier surrounding the forest. He sprinted across a road without a care for any cars hitting him as he headed towards a shop on the side of the road.
"What could you possibly be buying?" Luminos muttered, floating next to him as he burst into the small store and started looking around. He quickly locked in on an item hanging on a wall and ran up to it.
"Welcome to Bill's Sport's Goods, what can I help you- w-wait! Thief! Call the police!" The clerk behind the counter started to greet him, then shouted panickedly as Aa1 ripped a baseball bat off the wall and ran back to the door.
"She's paying," Aa1 said bluntly as he nodded at Luminos.
"He can't see me, idiot! I'm a goddess!"
"C-Come back here!" The store clerk started out after him, dialing the police on his phone as he ran after Aa1, but he was quickly left behind as Aa1 ran optimally, leaning forward and taking long strides as he sprinted.
"You're going to fight the fallen angel with a baseball bat?" Luminos asked blandly as she flew at his side, watching as he sprinted back towards the fountain, "That won't work! You need to train first! Your body's stats are set at a base of 5, so you're just an average guy right now!"
"Correct. I'll train while I wait so I'm not wasting time," Aa1 nodded sagely, pausing as he approached the fountain. He dove into a nearby bush, waiting for Raynare and Issei's arrival as he started doing pushups.
[Strength Training Started!]
Continue doing strength-related exercises to gain STR!
Progress: [1%]
"Finally taking my advice, huh?" Luminos grinned smugly, holding up her finger as she started to explain, "The stat system in this game rewards hard work! By doing an exercise that relates to each stat, you'll be able to gain more stats in that area! If you just think the word 'stats,' you'll be able to see your whole character sheet!"
Luminos pointed at Aa1 at the end, smiling brightly. Then, that smile slowly dropped as he didn't even react to her words, instead just continuing to do push-ups emotionlessly. His body rose and fell quickly, moving like a blur as he did them so fast.
"Y-You should take a break and check your stats, y'know?" Luminos tried again, sweating lightly as Aa1 reached 100 pushups without stopping, "You're probably getting tired, right? Your STR is that of an average human male, so 100 is too much!"
"The limiting factor of strength in the human body is injury," Aa1 answered bluntly, not even glancing up at her as he continued, "Without proper rest, after working a muscle further than your body can handle, you'll risk injuries. However, I am gaining STR progress regardless of muscular fatigue, so I can keep going forever."
"W-What?!" Luminos spat out at his explanation, "T-That's not how this game works! If you do too many, you'll still get injured!"
"Correct, but that injury will not stop my progression," Aa1 said emotionlessly, continuing to fall up and down as he did pushups, "Even if my muscles reach total exhaustion or my arm breaks, I will continue to gain progress. This is a game, so I just have to replenish my HP to heal the injury instead of rehabbing for months, so the injury-skip is optimal."
"I-Injury skip?" Luminos asked blankly, staring at him with wide eyes, "A-Are you insane? You can't just do pushups with a broken arm! That'll hurt like hell!"
Aa1 didn't stop even as his arms started to shake, muscular exhaustion reaching him. Instead, he got an empty, far-away look in his eyes as he stared at the floor below. It was as if he was remembering something that had happened long ago - a deep, deep trauma engraved in his very soul.
As Luminos saw his empty, sad gaze, she inhaled sharply, her heart twisting in her chest. For a moment, she realized that Aa1 must've been pushing himself for a reason. In the past, perhaps he hadn't been strong enough to save a loved one. Maybe he was too weak to protect himself, or a friend, or a lover, and as a result, would do whatever it took to become stronger. For a split second, Luminos stared at the man with a new appreciation-
"Nothing can compare to the pain of time loss."
Luminos' heart-renching view of Aa1 crumbled in an instant, and she face-faulted.
"Y-You're fucking insane! Why'd I get an insane one?!" She just spat out at Aa1's emotional and deep confession, "J-Just stop!"
"No. I am prepping STR for a future quest, as I believe the opponent will have high endurance." Aa1 didn't miss a beat.
"Y-You can't just… ugh!" Luminos huffed, giving up as she watched him continue to train for a moment, then pointed upward with a shout, "Look, they're here! Now stop!"
"Good coms," Aa1 nodded, pushing himself up one last time and then getting into a crouching position as he grabbed his baseball bat.
"I-I still don't think this is a good idea," Luminos tried again, "Even if you did just train up a bunch of STR, she's a fallen angel! You can't beat her with a baseball bat! You should've taken more time to prepare before triggering this event!"
"Preparation is time loss," Aa1 said bluntly, and Luminos' face-faulted again.
The duo watched from the bush as Raynare gave her confession to Issei, ending it with 'will you die for me?'
Then, she floated up into the air, her normal sundress becoming a dominatrix-esque outfit in a glow of light. She raised her hand, a purple light spear in it, as she aimed it down at Issei.
"Alright! This is your time!" Luminos shouted, pointing her finger forward at Raynare, "Since it would suck if you died on the first quest, I'll give you a buff free of charge, alright? But just this once!"
Luminos continued pointing forward dramatically as Aa1… did nothing.
"Y-Yumma, what are you doing?" Issei asked, his eyes wide with shock.
"I'm not Yumma, stupid human! I'm the Great Raynare!" Raynare shouted, pointing the light spear at Issei.
"W-What are you doing, idiot?! Go save him!" Luminos shouted, pushing on Aa1's back as he continued to hide behind the bush, "Did you get stage fright or something?!"
"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being born with that Sacred Gear!" Raynare shouted as Aa1 still didn't move, flinging her spear down at Issei. It shot through the boy's chest, impaling him in a rather gruesome scene.
"Y-Yumma… why…" Issei trailed off as he fell forward, falling flat onto his chest as the spear cut through his heart.
"Oh, now you've done it! Do you know how much harder this game gets if you fail the first quest?!" Luminos hissed behind Aa1, glaring down at him, "You were talking about being optimal, but you're just a coward?!"
"Be quiet. This strat saves a lot of time," Aa1 just shot back, and then he finally stood up. He jumped over the bush in front of him, optimally sprinting toward Issei as Luminos' face shifted into a grin.
"That's more like it! I don't know why you waited, but I'll help you out! You'll need it against a fallen! STR BUFF!" Luminos raised her palms as she shouted dramatically, causing a glow to surround Aa1 as he ran into the small clearing.
"Another human? If you entered this barrier, you must have something unique about you," Overhead, Raynare grinned at Aa1's arrival. "Then, I'll send you to hell with your friend!"
"Now, go defeat that fallen- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"H-Help… me…" Issei started, staring up at Aa1 as he ran toward him, "P-Please, hel-ARG!"
Luminos watched in horror as Aa1 ran forward, but instead of raising his bat at Raynare, he sprinted straight to Issei. He raised the bat above his head, then slammed it down directly on the boy's skull.
"This is the optimal way to kill someone with what I have available," Aa1 replied simply, raising his hands again as he started to slam the baseball bat down on Issei's head over and over again.
"W-WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Luminos shouted in shock, "You need to kill the fallen, not him! Can't you read?!"
"P-Ple-guh! W-Why ar-GAH! S-Sto-GUHH!" Issei spat out as his head was repeatedly pounded by a baseball bat.
"W-What are you doing?" Raynare was also confused, staring down blankly as Aa1 beat the life out of Issei - literally. Blood started to pool around Issei from his actions, and Aa1 finally stopped back with a satisfied nod as Issei stopped twitching.
Then, he simply turned around and started sprinting out of the forest again.
"W-What the hell was that?! You just killed him!" Luminos said incredulously.
"I stopped the fallen from killing Issei Hyoudou," Aa1 said simply, and Luminos stared at him with even bigger eyes.
"Are you okay in the-"
[Quest Complete!]
Save Issei Hyoudou!
If Issei Hyoudou is killed and reincarnated, then you will not be able to take over as the main character of this world!
Conditions:
Prevent the Fallen Angel Raynare from killing Issei Hyoudou!
Rewards:
+10 Attribute Points!
+100 XP!
+100 Coins!
"W-What the hell do you mean 'quest complete?!'" Luminos shouted as the notification box appeared, "All you did was kill him!"
"Yes, so the fallen did not kill Issei Hyoudou," Aa1 said bluntly as he continued to sprint away from Issei's corpse, "Because I did."
Luminos' eyes went as wide as saucers as she realized what he meant.
"You… You're insane!"
"Thank you. I have years of experience." Aa1 nodded appreciatively, thinking she meant in the 'you're insanely good at this' kind of way.
"N-Not in a good way, moron! How did you even think of something like that?!" Luminos shouted, staring incredulously at Aa1.
"It was a pretty simple solution to see. Being able to cheese the requirements of quests isn't difficult if the game is poorly designed," Aa1 said simply, causing Luminos to huff at the insult to the game.
"And what are you going to do about her?!" Luminos hissed, gesturing behind her. Aa1 glanced over his shoulder, taking in the sight of Raynare flying far above him with a light spear in her hands.
"I-I don't know what the hell you just did, but get back here, human!" She shouted down, her eyes narrowing at Aa1, "If you witnessed what just happened… then you have to die!"
She finished her statement by chucking her light spear forward, causing it to zip through the air like a bullet. Aa1 casually stepped to the side in response, letting it stab into the ground next to him. As he did, a quest appeared in the corner of his vision.
[Quest Alert!]
Defeat Raynare
The fallen angel Raynare is furious that you thwarted her plan to kill Issei Hyoudou! If she kills you, it's Game Over!
Conditions:
Don't die to Raynare
Subdue or Kill Raynare
Rewards:
+10 Attribute Points!
+100 XP!
+100 Coins!
Failure:
Game Over
"It seems… I'll have to use that," Aa1 narrowed his eyes, and Luminos' eyes went wide as his face became deathly serious, "My strongest move."
"I-I knew it! You wouldn't have been chosen for no reason!" A shaky smile slowly appeared on Luminos' face, which soon shifted into a large grin. "You must have some technique you've been hiding, right? A normal human wouldn't really be chosen to save the entire multiverse, even if they do have a gamer system! There's something special about you!"
"Of course," Aa1 just nodded, his eyes becoming sharp as he paused, turned around, and looked up at Raynare, "I have the perfect technique for a situation like this."
"Yes!" Luminos cheered, floating up as she watched with bated breath, "Show her what you can do, hero!"
"Did you realize that running was futile, human? Good! Come and accept your death!" Raynare grinned widely, blasting forward with another light spear as she shot down at Aa1, growing closer by the second, "Die!"
However, right as she was only a few feet away from Aa1, he… stepped to the side and hid behind a tree.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Luminos yelled as her eyes popped out of her head, watching as Aa1 hid behind the tree, causing Raynare to land next to him and swipe out with her light spear.
However, as she did, Aa1 stepped to the side again, moving around the tree as Raynare hit nothing but air. The fallen angel stabbed forward again, but Aa1 just stepped around the tree again, keeping it between him and the light spear.
"Optimized movement," Aa1 said simply, playing ring around the rosie around the tree as Raynare continued to try and fail to stab him. "Most people make unnecessary movements, as they just move how their body naturally wants to. By putting more thought into how you move, you can move more optimally and efficiently than others."
"T-That's not how moving works! She's a fallen angel!" Luminos stuttered, staring in shock as Raynare continued to fail to impale Aa1, "She's a supernatural being, and you've barely trained your AGI by running around a bit! She's way faster than you!"
"Yes, but I'm moving optimally."
"You can't just move optimally! It doesn't work like that!"
"Of course it does. I'm doing it right now," Aa1 responded blandly, not even breathing heavily as Raynare stabbed at him again and he side-stepped the blow. "How do you think track athletes become faster? They simply train their technique to run more optimally."
"W-Who the hell are you talking to?! You crazy bastard!" Raynare hissed, finally swiping her light spear through the middle of the tree and slicing it in half. The tree tumbled over, falling back towards Aa1, who casually lunged to the side - rolling behind another one of the many trees in the park-forest mixture.
"Damn you!" Raynare huffed, starting to run out of breath as she stabbed through the middle of the second tree but missed Aa1 completely, "How are you so slippery?!"
"I just explained it, and it'd only result in time loss if I explained it again," Aa1 said bluntly, continuing to dodge as Raynare lunged and swiped at him fruitlessly, "If I said too much and gave you an advantage, then it would take longer to defeat you."
"Y-You damn… human… the Great Raynare… will…" Raynare's words started to become a bit shaky, as after trying and failing to stab Aa1 so many times, she was exhausted, "How… how is a mere human… keeping up with me?!"
"I'm confused too," Luminos deadpanned as she floated overhead, looking at Aa1 questioningly, "Even if you really are doing this 'optimal movement' bullshit, you're still just a human! How is she tiring out before you?!"
"She's not. My body is exhausted, but I can ignore the pain without any consequences," Aa1 answered easily, stepping to the side as Raynare stabbed into the spot where he had been standing again, "Humans can never reach their bodies' true limit, because they would sustain long-term damage before they got there. Their bodies send signals to their brain to prevent them from seriously injuring themselves, but my brain is optimal, and I know I can heal this by just replenishing my HP."
Aa1 finished by pointing at his face casually, and Luminos' eyes went wide as she saw blood literally dripping out of both his nose and ear.
"Y-You're insane! This is so not healthy!"
"Doesn't matter. Restoring my HP will heal it." Aa1 just shrugged as Raynare finally became exhausted, falling to her knees as she was panting, "Oh, and I'm breathing optimally, so I lose stamina at a reduced rate."
"That's not a function of the game," Luminos deadpanned, but she couldn't help but be impressed as Raynare kneeled in front of Aa1, exhausted and defeated.
"It's a function of life," Aa1 countered, "Another factor is adrenaline. In a situation like this, she's exerting more effort because she's stressed, angry, and trying to kill me."
"B-But then you should be too! Because she's trying to kill you!" Luminos counter-countered, "There's no way you don't feel adrenaline when you're inches away from being impaled!"
"Eh?" Aa1 muttered, looking at Luminos with an empty, genuinely confused look, "I've done a thousand speedruns, and it's just a game. Why would something this simple excite me?"
"Y-You're insane!" Luminos spat out again as Aa1 blatantly said he wasn't the slightest bit afraid of the spear-wielding fallen, "Are you really a human?!"
"I don't know. I clicked 'default race.'" Aa1 just pissed off Luminos more as he shrugged, standing over Raynare as he looked down at the fallen.
[Quest Complete!]
Defeat Raynare
The fallen angel Raynare is furious that you thwarted her plan to kill Issei Hyoudou! If she kills you, it's Game Over!
Conditions:
Don't die to Raynare
Subdue or Kill Raynare
Rewards:
+10 Attribute Points!
+100 XP!
+100 Coins!
"Nice," Aa1 nodded, promptly turning around and sprinting away from the kneeling fallen angel.
"W-Wait… stop… running from… the great… Raynare!" Raynare called out weakly, but couldn't even climb to her feet as she stared at his back.
"I agree! You defeated her!" Luminos huffed as she flew after him, "Why are you just leaving her there?"
"I don't gain anything from killing her," Aa1 said bluntly, "Just wasted time."
Luminos blinked, being somewhat impressed by how dedicated Aa1 was to saving time. A normal person would've been upset that Raynare tried to kill them, and with the fallen angel exhausted and helpless, would've finished them off. Instead, Aa1 was focused solely on saving time.
"T-The great Raynare… won't forget… this humiliation!" Raynare shouted after him as Aa1 got out of earshot, and Luminos was sure this wouldn't be their last meeting in this world.
"I hope you don't regret that," She just hummed, but Aa1 wasn't paying attention to her words, instead looking at the new quest in front of him.
[Quest Alert!]
Save Rias Gremory from her engagement with Riser Phenex!
The main heroine of this world is trapped in a loveless engagement, and with Issei out of the picture, only you can save her! Defeat Riser Phenex, save Rias Gremory, and take her for yourself!
Conditions:
Subdue or Kill Riser Phenex
Directly cause Rias Gremory's engagement or marriage with Riser Phenex to be canceled
Become engaged or married to Rias Gremory
Rewards:
+50 Attribute Points!
+500 XP!
+500 Coins!
The love of Rias Gremory!
Failure:
The game's difficulty will increase drastically!
"Going to slow down now?" Luminos asked smugly, looking down her nose at Aa1, "This isn't a simple quest like the last one! If you want to complete it, you need to prepare, train, and have a plan- WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"
Aa1 was already sprinting away, heading towards the city again as he left Raynare behind.
"I'll finish it before the day's over," He said simply.
"N-No you won't! You literally can't!" Luminos huffed incredulously, "This one is way more complex than the other ones! You have to meet Riser, convince him to fight you with Rias' marriage on the line, and get Rias to agree to marry you!"
"There is nothing that can't be optimized, " Aa1 said simply, his eyes deadly serious as he continued to run forward, "Even seduction."
"S-Seriously?!"
Luminos was about to find out firsthand just how broken the power of a speedrunner was - after all, there was nothing in the world that couldn't be optimized. Nothing.
Even stealing Rias Gremory's heart, or killing an immortal Phenex.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN: Just an idea I had and wrote a bit ago. I might continue it, or I might not. If you want it to be continued, feel free to let me know here, or on Patreon.com/Koyon !