The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron - Chapter 2287: Chapter 2,178, awkward test (second watch)

The Apocalypse descended as the world turned into a game. And while everyone panicked, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something wrong with my eyes.[Logging into the Game Master’s Account!]And my ‘oh-so-average’ destiny, changed into ‘is this a cheat life?’ Kind of destiny.[Would you like to Create a Skill? GM Points will be consumed!]While others struggled to kill a single goblin, I was searching for stronger monsters. While they were happy with getting even a random weak skill, I was customizing what kind of skills I needed.Even my Talents and Gifts can be customised. The only limit was my imagination.Heck, even the hidden quests that people would trigger randomly were present in front of me even before the scenario began.It wasn’t fair by any means. But isn’t that how life is already?[Would you like to make changes to the quests in the next scenario? GM Points will be consumed!]Is this how an apocalypse is supposed to be? I don’t know. I just tried following the script in front of everyone while trying out my cheat in hindsight. Don't get me wrong with the ‘pig eating tiger’ kind of thing. I just don’t like attention. I would rather stay with two trusted friends than with 10 fake ones.[Would you like to Initiate a Custom quest for the Players? GM Points will be consumed!]And for the players who were bullying the ‘weak’ me. One may even wonder how they ended up losing half of their stats and skills in a randomly triggered impossible type of quest.Fate can be truly scary, you know?One must always be careful of it.

Suddenly, the mysterious book I received turned out to describe my own life?Once I chose to change my destiny, the life within the book changed as well.In the book, I encountered insincerity, spent ten years behind bars, and witnessed viruses laying Siege...Cancer, bus plunging off cliffs, plane crashes, senile dementia ... even the end of days – a variety of deaths; was this fate's punishment for the rebels?No one is a hero; it is just that this disaster-ridden fate forcibly made me into a warrior charging into battle.Those who killed me over and over will ultimately make me stronger!Through numerous life simulations, I amassed wealth from the financial markets, rescued innocent girls from felons, and acquired advanced technology from the future...Although I always encounter various disasters and accidents, I still strive to flutter the butterfly's wings, changing my original fate little by little.After countless simulations, the world too embarked on a completely different path.However, where did this autobiography come from?Behind it all, what kind of unknown conspiracy is lurking...[A literary man's laid-back daily life of unlimited simulations to save the world]

Warning This fiction contains:

Graphic Violence Profanity Sensitive Content

Summary – Level 1:

Delve is an isekai litrpg that follows an average guy who just happened to wake up in a forest one day. He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel.

Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing.

Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one.

Did I mention that there will be math?

Summary – Level 2:

Okay, but what are you in for, really?

Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme.

...

What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure?

Yes!

Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap–

Now!

Okay, okay!

The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we?

Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no?

Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not.

POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place.

Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare.

Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships.

There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture.

The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving.

The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story!