2,327[ - Author's_Foreword - ]
Hello dear reader. Thank you for coming to view this little piece of fan fiction. You may call me Eostian Scribe, and I will be your fan fic writer for today. A pleasure.
Before we get to the story I wish a chance for a foreword to explain what I am aiming for. As you may have guessed by the title this will be a harem based story, focusing on an OC. It will be Gamer based with my own spin on the concept. Other OC females will also be present and not part of the main harem.
Adult themes will be incoming. This will include; citrus content (Lime and Lemon), combat, violence of various levels, death, rape, references to rape and so on. If any of this bothers you this may not be the fan fic you want to read.
On the other hand, how did you end up opening a Kuroinu fan fic in that case?
I would ask for the reader (IE you) to give some constructive criticism for the story and myself, after all that's how I can learn of some flaws in my writing and writing style. I only ask you deliver it politely; cussing me out will likely make me ignore your points, even if they were accurate. I am not perfect, my writing is not perfect so little pointers are always welcome. Grammar Nazis are not.
The story will be considered somewhat AU and will have backstory added by myself. There's also a bit of confusion of which of the characters is assigned to which of the fortresses so I'll base mine on what I know. If that ends up being wrong, oh well.
The first four chapters will be posted together. Chapter one will be the set up; giving us a brief intro to our main character and a bit behind this version of The Gamer.
Chapter two will be info on the 'Game' our character is being dropped into. This chapter will be designed to be skippable save the end as I'm not sure everyone wants the info dump, but I hope enough of you will enjoy what's there. It will include stat details, available classes and so on.
Chapter three will be our main character making his new, well, character and I plan on him having his first encounter in that chapter as well. We'll see how it goes.
Chapter four will be him arriving at his new home and adjusting to his new life.
Finally, I plan on cross-posting between fanfiction-dot-net and AO3 and taking advantage of AO3's ability to link images to add to the experience. The story will not be different between the two versions otherwise.
[Edited In - August 12th of 2021: Due to a fair amount of demand on the AO3 end of things I have made a reference image gallery for all of the OCs used in this story. I have a image for each female character aside from a bare few (Sue Sue Susan, Saxon Noxdecus, Lady Blackjack as examples) that I added at the end of each of chapter of that version. As such I will add a gallery with the link in at each chapter's end for view, plus the start of the Ao3 version. Do note, none of the images contain nudity but a few are a little NSFW. You have been warned. Sadly, ff-dot-net doesn't allow such links to show up. The gallery is on Imgur, with the last part of the html code being 6cj7Yy4.]
[Edited In - June 18th of 2023: Due to the Imgur Gallery acting up a new gallery was made and can be found at eostianscribe (D-O-T) neo(NoSpace)cities (dot org) /Main. Yes, FFDotNet makes links hard.]
And now... It begins.
[ - Prologue – Part I: Ready Player One - ]
If someone were to look at the scene it would be called surreal. Golden pillars carved in a Greek style but with glowing silver runes moving up and down them held up a domed roof, built into a circle to form the building; styled like an old Greek temple. There was no walls beyond the pillars, and if one were to look out it would be as if one looked out into the cosmos; a night sky filled with stars, nebulae and meteors burning a trail along it's path. A moon slowly orbited, glowing a bright silver but with no visible sun to be seen.
Inside was a series of furniture and tables. All seemed to be of a Greek styling with rich blue cloths covering the seats or table tops. In the middle was a wide, carved well filled with dark blue water that seemed to be filled with stars, as if it were a window to the night sky itself. Before the well was a woman, her arms crossed under her chest as she tapped a foot, a frown on her face. Her clothing was a tight, white toga that stopped just past her mid-thigh that didn't cover a single large breast, a golden plate covering the exposed mammary. A gold belt was wrapped about her waist, and a golden set of sandals were set to her feet. Bracelets, rings and earrings of gold adorned her body. Flowing red locks fell to her knees in waves behind her, bright green eyes watching on. A sigh passed her lips as she watched on.
Hovering over the well was a collection of what would seem to be tiny silver marbles, hovering like a map of stars. In fact what they were wasn't stars; they were worlds. Each one a universe, each with a world central to it. The thousands of worlds displayed before her was a part of a 'cluster'; a series of related worlds with the same base history, people and places upon it. There were countless clusters in the world.
The Naruto Cluster. The Pokémon Cluster. The Dragonball Cluster. The DC Cluster. The Hero Academia Cluster. The Marvel Cluster. All named for something central. Some with millions of worlds in their cluster.
In that regard she was lucky. Her cluster was small by contrast. On the other hand...
She frowned deeper. Each world was displaying an image to her. And each one displaying one thing.
Rape.
Women raped by monsters like orcs, trolls and goblins. Raped by men that were monsters in their own right. Raped by men they once trusted or were even raised by. Raped by men that would otherwise never considered rape. Raped with no concern to their pleasure or well being, just to sate lust.
Men who refused to lower themselves to such debauchery were dealt with as well. Exile if they were lucky. Maiming, slain or sent to be worked to death if they were not. It was a cluster of worlds where good men and women suffered by those who found strength in cruelty.
The woman watching the well was called Anncastel (Ann to her friends), and she was a goddess. To be specific the Goddess of Women, Freedom and Lust. One of the thousands of gods watching over the worlds, overseeing them and at times nudging them. She was one of many working under the God of Gods; he who was called the God of Worlds, the God of Creation and even the King of All Gods.
Just God to many mortals.
And he assigned her to watch over this damned cluster in particular. Her head turned to look at the source of the name of this cluster highlighted in the image attached to one world; a man with a heavy, dark sword in hand, his masculine, chiselled features showing as he posed with his blade pointed forwards. Behind him were other men with weapons drawn and various orcs, orges and more all ready for battle.
This was the Kuroinu Cluster. And in all but a handful of the worlds was the same story told over and over; Vult and his Black Dogs would rise up, conquer the lands set before them and create an empire of rape, destruction and desecration. And for the past centuries she could do nothing but watch, the God of Gods not allowing her to interfere enough to help the people of those worlds enough to dislodge the Black Dogs rule. But now?
Now she had a plan.
Emerging nearby in a flash of light was a second figure. He was slightly shorter then she was; brown hair slicked back into a mullet. By contrast to the Goddess' Greek style outfit his was more modern to human standards; a set of well made blue jeans with gold trim stitched into it, a white shirt with a golden stitched emblem of an NES controller clutched in a fist on the front. A set of gold rimmed glasses sat on his face, red sneakers trimmed with gold on each foot. "I hope you have it." The goddess spoke, turning her head to her counterpart.
Benterra (Ben to his friends), God of Gaming, Dreamers and Masturbation. A former mortal who had, by some form of luck, rose to the ranks of the gods. He smiled, adjusting his glasses. "Yup. All set for you."
She turned about fully as he held out a single object. To a casual observer it would seem to be a 'D20' a die with twenty sides. The piece was solid gold with silver numbers etched to it, each edge glowing a gentle sky blue. In reality it was a container for a series of complex spells that Benterra had adjusted in a way not unlike computer code. She took the die and turned it over in her hand before smiling. "It'll work as you said?"
"I gave it a test, yeah. Worked out the bulk of the bugs, but it'll work as you wanted it to." He said, adjusting his pants while trying (And failing) not to stare at her breasts. She didn't notice, looking over the object.
The Gods have always had need of entertainment; eternity is a long time to be bored. Games to play were made, but this new one was rising more and more.
The Gamer.
It started simply enough, one god (She forgot who) gave someone in a world a power to see and interact with the world as one would as a character in a 'video game' or a 'Roleplaying Game'. At first it was a novelty but soon other gods took note. Finding amusement they created their own Gamers, based off the first. And then more made their own. Soon it became a hobby for some. Then a competition; how well one god's chosen mortal turned Gamer would do. What limitations did they have, or challenges to overcome?
Some competed to see who's champions could make the biggest changes in their world. Others who would achieve the most. Others who could do the best with the most limited starts.
God (The Big God) allowed it in the denser clusters; after all allowing the gods to play with a handful of worlds in clusters of millions was not a major issue. They needed their fun, after all. However he was more strict on the smaller ones, like the Kuroinu Cluster.
But he'd finally relented. And now she could play too. But not for fun, but for keeps.
Other gods used the power of the Gamer as a means to entertain themselves. A hobby. A competition. A game. For her, however, it was something more.
It was a means to save worlds in her cluster. A means to change everything.
"Of course you have to put in the right kinda guy. That set up is made for an Insert after all." Anncastel nodded as Benterra spoke. 'Insert' became a bit of jargon for the ones in this new little hobby; inserting a person from the Standard Cluster into a new world.
"That's fine. I can find someone of worth, I am sure. It'll take a little time, but compared to the centuries I've waited for this chance it's nothing." Anncastel spoke, smiling wider. "With this I can save the Kuroinu Cluster!"
[-]
I felt very odd when I came to. As if I was lighter then air; floating on water or in space yet standing on my feet. And then I opened my eyes...
And I saw the universe. Well, that was the best description of what I was looking at. I looked around and it was as if I was standing in space, yet I felt as if I was standing on something solid. Then I looked down and...
Not only was whatever I was standing on invisible but my body was light. As in a soft, white light making it look ghostly. I jumped and looked at my arms, now made of the same white light. I felt like I was so panicked and scared that it somehow overflowed on the 'Panic Scale' and stopped at zero because I was calmly trying to figure out what was going on.
A dream? Something ended up in my food and I'm having a weird reaction?
Truck-kun?
I frowned... And I felt the memories coming back, my shoulders slumping.
Right. Now I recalled what happened. I was on a date with a nice girl; third date and getting really serious. As in 'maybe get lucky' serious... and then her crazy ex-boyfriend showed up. We both tried to deescalate the situation but he wasn't having it. We got into a fistfight in the end and while I took a few licks I knocked him on his ass. That should have been the end of it as I led her away, taking her off to a quiet little cafe to eat. She seemed to have been very happy at me standing up for her, and as we left...
Crazy ex-boyfriend is waiting there with a revolver pointed at my chest.
I don't even recall being shot... Well... Shit... I was only twenty-eight at the time, just starting to hit the stride of my life. And it ended like that. Fuck.
I imagine she's traumatized. As for him, I hope he dies in a shoot-out with the cops or something. Asshole.
"So, I guess this is... Purgatory? I mean I don't see a waiting line for the Pearly Gates." My voice was oddly echo-y in the... Void? Cosmos? Place I was waiting at. I sighed as I looked about. Now what?
And then I heard a ping as a weird box popped up before me. And by 'box' I mean a like a window on a computer screen with a bar moving slowly from left to right.
[Loading Virtual Assistant]
[Loading Data & Interface]
[Loading Soul/World Interaction]
I blinked. What? Why did a loading screen appear right before my face?
[Loading Data/Soul Interface]
[Loading Soul/Mental Interface]
[Loading Reincarnation Interface]
Maybe I wasn't dead and having the weirdest dream ever?
[Loading Complete. Welcome. I am sorry to report to you that you are dead. Despite what you may be thinking this is not a dream. You are not in a coma. You died from a bullet to the heart.]
…
"Fuck."
[Indeed.]
[However you are now given a choice as to what happens next.]
"Ex...Excuse me?" I blinked, pointing to the screen. "I have a choice after I die?"
[Yes. One of two choices. The first is to allow your soul to move along the way of souls. To be judged and deemed fit for heaven, hell or reincarnation. The second is to partake in another form of reincarnation that is wholly unique and different.]
[Also, you will not risk being turned into something like an ant if rebirth is what was in store for you.]
[Would you like to know more?]
I blinked. I had to wonder how much of this was... Well, real, but I figured no matter what it was best to go with the flow. "Yes... Um, wait, you are who exactly?"
[I am less a 'who' and more of a 'what'. I am the Operational, Logistical, Interactive, Virtual Intelligent Assistant. You may call me 'Olivia'. I can be considered a magic-based program made by the higher beings for a purpose of assisting those like you.]
"You mean like... Gods?"
[Indeed.]
"...Holy shit."
[That is an appropriate response. Allow me to explain the details.]
[You are aware of the Fan Fiction genre known as 'The Gamer' I assume? The Divine have also began to employ this genre, applying it to worlds as a hobby of sorts; to watch those set into their worlds. You are allowed to be whatever you wish in the world you are brought to. You can set yourself on the path to become a Hero of Legend, an Overlord of Darkness, a Mercenary for Coin or even a Merchant of Trade. Your only limits are what this Gamer System, the RPG-X3 System, allows for choices and abilities, your morality, your ability to overcome challenges set before you and what you can acquire along the way.]
[You will have the ability to pick what new body you inhabit, your past, parentage, class and more. You will be able to interact with the world as if you were a Video Game Character. The world you will be sent to is a pre-existing one, but some of your choices will effect how it operates, and even past events thanks to the RPG-X3 System setting up the world. These choices will still be limited, but they are yours to make.]
I'll be able to alter the world and how it's past went? "This system can effect the world that much?" I let off, blinking at Olivia.
[Indeed.]
[Normal magic would be incapable of this, but RPG-X3 operates on Divine Magic. The far greater potency of it allows for such changes.]
[Do not fret about the changes. None of them will change the world to an unrecognizable level, to those familiar with this world.]
[Speaking of, this world is what one would call Medieval/Fantasy. You will be able to use sword and/or spell based on your choices. Do you have any questions?]
"Well..." I began biting my lip. "What kind of culture does this place have? Anything unique I should know about it?" The more I knew before dropping in the better, I thought.
[Compared to similar historical periods you would know of women are roughly men's equals socially in this world. How much more or less varies on where you are. Regardless of your choices women are more sexually open; but not easy but true 'prudes' are rarer. Some women will be willing to initiate sex, more so when romanced to the right point. Culturally the bulk of the world can be considered European in terms of aesthetics and culture, but varies in some ways including the previously mentioned gender status.]
I tilted my head at the last half of that bit. "Why do you mention their sexuality like that?"
[No reason.]
I felt like there was something I wasn't being told here...
[Monsters such as Orcs, Orges, Goblins and Trolls, often labeled as Aberrants, are in this world and are a threat to most humans and lean towards more evil, darker tendencies.]
[Of course other humans can pose a threat; there will always be evil humans in any world.]
I winced and set a hand to my chest. I think I was shot there anyway Olivia said that at least.
[In addition, you should be forewarned that an event of great import will be coming in your future. You will need to be prepared.]
[That will require combat.]
I sucked in a breath. "Always a catch, huh? If I die while there?"
[Then you die.]
[You will then be sent on to your ultimate fate; heaven, hell or reincarnation.]
[Do you accept to play?]
[⸜∕ Yes]-[X No]
I took in a breath. I needed a moment to think.
On one hand I was being asked to step into a world vastly different then my own, becoming something vastly different then what I was and to do things that were vastly different then I've ever done. I was a bit of a gamer, sure, and this sounded like a power fantasy come true...
But could I do that? Could I rise up? What person didn't want to be the shining knight, the defender of the realm, the one who was glorified? True heroes existed and I could be one of them...
But such an ideal was difficult, and often costly, to reach... It was easy easy to try and reach that ideal only to fall short and stumble to something darker. To be a villain in a knight's armor.
Or perhaps I could fall short, but no fall further, becoming a more practical sort of hero. Not a knight in shining armor, but dented armor? True heroes were rare after all...
What I did know, however, was that if I said no I'd never know what I could have been. I would just... Move along. The same if I died again. I sucked in a breath.
What did I have to lose?
What did I have to gain?
I reached up and pressed 'Yes'.
[Excellent]
[From here out you can contact me and ask questions mentally. Think of a command directed to me and I'll be aware of it. Send me a thought now.]
"Um, okay..." I let off, thinking for a moment. [Show me a sexy woman.]
In response an image appeared in a new window of what looked like Taylor Swift, in the nude, after a boob job, belly dancing. "Wow."
[Mental link confirmed.]
[Would you like to read the Game Basics before Character Customization?]
[⸜∕ Yes]-[X No]
Wasn't a question for me; I hit yes.
As annoying as tutorials and pop-ups explaining mechanics could be I needed to know what was coming my way. The more I knew the better, even if it was a bit boring.
[Acknowledged.]
[Basics will be available after intro.]
Intro?
[Beginning Opening Cut Scene]
A cut scene!?
Everything promptly fades to black for a moment. I can't even see myself. It doesn't take long to hear the sound of music, a guitar starting to play a soft melody, as if leading up to something. Then I see see something come up to the 'scree' for lack of a better term.
The first being a pair of D20 dice rolling across a wooden table over an old, open scroll with words in the Papyrus font. The screen tilted and faded the table and page out, leaving the dice and the words as they changed from black to white.
Critical Reroll presents...
That faded as what seemed to be a planet came into view before... Being picked up by a set of hands. In scale terms, the planet looked like the size of a baseball as a blonde haired woman in a white dress lifted it to eye level, the image turning before the woman faded into a white silhouette was shown to me from the side, hands holding up the world, now pure white, both set into a white trimmed box, filled with a night sky with words under it.
A Divine Interventions Production
I wasn't sure if they were making light of the situation I was in, this was some kind of in joke or they were just dedicated to the whole 'Gamer' thing. The screen darkened before it swapped to something new.
A view of a forest, the 'camera' flying over the tree tops, almost hitting the tip of a tree. Soon a voice sounded, a deep, male voice that sounded full of wisdom. "The land of Eostia... Set upon the continent of Sererus it is a shining jewel of the land." Soon the camera lifted up and the image changed to some sort of map, pulling up to show it off. The map was paper based, mountains on the east and north-west, some body of water (Lake? Ocean?) at the north-west over the mountains. There were a few odd words in what looked like German scattered about, but what drew my attention was the images of seven castles in a slight half circle on the map; the outer most ones seemingly in the center with the rest dipping down in a curve. "Made of seven great kingdoms and founded by the Seven Legendary Shield Maidens, Eostia has been a land of prosperity, opportunity and hope since the start."
The camera then dove into the map and switched to a view of a village from a distance. It was a European style village, by my estimate anyway. Wooden and brick buildings, thatched roofs, tilted roofs and more could be seen. "It's people known for their kindness and hard working nature." The camera passed a tree and it was a cut to a zoomed in image of the village and...
What?
Everyone acted like you'd expect. People haggling in a market, kids running about, and people going where they needed. That was all normal and fine...
But the women were... Umm... How do I put this?
Half dressed.
Almost every skirt was cut short; a woman passing the camera showcased her panties and it was only at hip level. Another woman's dress' front was cut in a V-neck so deep it was passed the belly button. Another woman, an older teen I think, wore a leotard with a V-neck that nearly hit the crotch and was coupled with thigh high boots.
What is this place? Only a nun was fully dressed! And that dress was a bit tight still! What?
It took me a moment to notice the hair colors too; the usual blonde, brunette and redhead was there, but so was blue, green, cherry red, pink and more. It was like a half dressed fantasy based anime convention.
"And they wish to know naught but peace." The voiced carried on as the camera moved about. No one, man or woman, acted like this was odd. Men leered a bit, but even that seemed to be ignored. I was stunned...
And then a building seemed to explode.
The camera switched to what I presumed was a dark elf given the pointed ears and brown skin. He wore some outfit that seemed to be leather, pointing a sword out as large, bestial men stormed passed him. "The Dark Elves and their Aberrant army have come from the north, at the orders of the Queen of Garan, Olga Discordia to wage war."One moved to grab and pin a woman down, the camera turning to focus on his face as he yanked his hand back, cloth from the woman's clothing coming with it. He sneered and leaned in...
"But this realm is not without her defenders..."
Only to be blasted back by some golden light. The camera panned about and showed.
ARE YOU JOKING WITH ME!?
It was a high elf type of woman; fair skin, blonde hair that brushed the ground, curvy with big breasts green eyes and... Something that tried to pass as a dress. I... I...
It looked like a bikini top, a few straps of cloth that wrapped about the thighs somehow, and a... strap that dropped from the center of the top over her groin like a loincloth. But it was clear she wasn't wearing any panties of any sort! Holy! Shit!
She gathered more of that light into her hand and fired it off. The camera panned to track it as it slammed into another beast (Orc? Looked like a pig-man anyway) and punched a hole in it as an axe head hit the ground in front of the camera before dragging forwards. Soon you could see it's wielder... A child looking person with long, brown hair a matching short, bushy tail(?) and wearing a cloak, a thong and boots.
Not even a shirt!
The camera turned and showed her nipples were covered by round pasties with a Celtic style trim as she swung an axe as tall as she was and cut a beastman (Ogre?) four times her size in half with his torso coming off.
Holy shit!
She blocked an attack from another before cutting into his chest, another sneaking behind her...
Before an arrow punched through his head and slammed into another orc's chest! The camera then panned to another woman and, surprise, she was half dressed. A leather strap over her busty chest with fur draped over her breast like a curtain; an open one that showed off her cleavage. A fur loincloth held up by a belt was around her groin, but as she hopped off the wagon she was perched on the camera shifted and showed off her ass before the cloth could fully drop.
No panties.
She drew the bow she held as she loaded an arrow (showing off a sexy face and wild brown hair) and fired it off, nailing another orc. As that orc fell a batch of four goblins passed it. They moved to rush the bow-woman only to have a fireball smash their formation in the center, blasting them away.
The new focus was a woman in a silk looking halter top over a small set of breasts; black with gold trim, and a matching loincloth... Both semi-transparent. With nothing under them. Her hair was black and cropped to a pixie cut. She held a staff with a red gem at the end that gathered fire before she launched it into a the face of an orc, blowing it's head off.
Moving past the camera into view was a short, stout and curvy woman with a broadsword almost as long as she was tall, and a shield... And a blue bikini. There was a metal piece around her hips, shoulder pauldrons and thigh high boots with greaves. Her hair was pulled back in a bun, blue in color.
Was I being sent to a porno world!?
The woman tackled an orc shield first before disemboweling him with her blade, turning to cut the head off of a goblin and when an orc stepped up to her she made her sword glow gold before cutting vertically and-
She cut it in half! Head to groin!
What was I getting into!?
A goblin tried to jump on her back but it was smashed in the side of the head by a fist. The next woman was bald, wearing a belt over her flat chest, her body muscled and toned. If I had to give an example, I'd point to Street Fighter's Cammy as a body reference. Her lower half was covered by a set of yellow panties and a red sash about her hips. As goblin after goblin leapt at her she swatted them away with fast kicks and punches, like she stepped out of a Kung-Fu flick. When an ogre lifted a club and rushed her she stepped into him and punched it in the gut so hard it's insides blasted out it's back; spine, organs and all.
God damn...
The last one looked like a Miqo'te from Final Fantasy Fourteen, minus the facial markings. C-Cup breasts, white hair, cat ears and tail and tanned skin. A mace in one hand, shield in the other and a white leotard that while thong backed covered more then the rest, even with the diamond shaped boob window. She moved past the bald woman and started to bash goblins with the mace before lifting it up, sending a burst of magic outwards, blowing them all away. She seemed ready to take the next attack before a fireball blasted her away.
The camera moved to show off another dark elf, this one a woman with nearly pitch black, ankle length hair, massive breasts and wearing a cloak... Oh, and a g-string, thigh high boots and two... panels on her torso that moved from her hip to over her breasts and had to be glued on somehow. She channeled more fire into her own staff, a dark, metal looking thing with a U-shape at the top nestling the red gem that collected the fire (And a halo around the U's base that wasn't connected to the staff, somehow! Magic?) before blasting it at the mace woman only for a golden shield to appear before her. The dark elf looked up and the camera shifted to the high elf from before in the dress that was trying (And failing) to be a dress.
The village seemed to cut out to a background of blue fire behind the Elven woman. "Celestine Lucross; reincarnation of the Goddess and High Queen of all Eostia stands opposite her foe." The camera panned to a side view of this woman, Celestine I guessed, as an image of the half-dressed dark elf was slid in opposite her, her half of the screen bathed in red fire. "As the forces of Celetine and Olga clash over the centuries many tales of bravery have happened..." The image shifted again, a silhouette of Celestine floating back before silhouettes of the other woman from before floated in, three to each side. "The High Queen calls allies to her side in honor of the Legendary Shield Maidens." The other six silhouettes then shifted, as if to show off different women; each with a different body type and... clothing as they were showed off. "Seven skilled and powerful female combatants who have become known as the Seven Shield Princesses. And now, in this current age a new player steps in to turn the tide of the history..."
The screen went black then, fully dark as the voice said one last thing. "You."
Finally in a fancy sort of medieval font a golden title appeared as the 'screen' started to turn white.
Eostia: Harem Quest
The Roleplaying Game
…
What have I gotten myself into?
[ - Author's_Note - ]
Thank you for reading the first chapter of this story. As I mentioned at the start, I'll be posting the first four chapters together. Still, feel free to reply to this chapter if you want to tell me something about it you liked or disliked.
Thank you!
~~Eostian Scribe