AN: I'm planning on a more slice-of-life feel to this story with a slower progression than other The Gamer fan-fictions. There will likely be a time-skip sometime after chapter 10-15 to get her out of high school, but at the start Jane will be spending time in her village plotting her (mis)use of her new ability.

It's going to be a slower ride, but I think you'll enjoy it if you stick with it. I just don't see the point having an outrageous person in a real-world setting to draw attention to themselves prematurely. Jane's a plotter who likes her anonymity until she is unsurmountable.

Chapter 1: Jane's Being Played?

Like anyone who's fallen asleep while reading at a desk, Jane found herself awakening to sharp pains in her neck and paper sticking to her face from drool. "Ugh!" She groaned out as she awkwardly sat up and started to stretch with her eyes still squished shut.

As Jane opened her eyes, she sat still. Puzzled and thinking she was still asleep, blinked once to bring her vision into focus. And again for good measure to make sure what she was seeing wasn't some trick of eye matter and the light. Nope, still there, she thought.

Roughly a meter in front of her was what looked like a system notification prompt.

[table=white]System Notification:Congratulations! Through your ingenuity and scheming, you have accomplished what few have ever done: becoming a widely accepted deity. Belief transcends medium and through harnessing the electronic and mental energy of 2.7 billion NPCs and 798 million players in Landless Wonders, you have become a candidate for uplifting.

The Council is curious to see how far you can go, so we have decided to grant your desire of merging the physical and game world concepts. You have been granted modified access to the Universe System with the access role of Player. We look forward to watching you.

Do note, discussion of The Council and Universe System, while not prohibited, will result in your immediate reincarnation as a slug.[/table]

Her first thought was, 2.7 billion NPCs? Wow, go away for a couple of months and there's a massive explosion in birth rates. I guess those new continents finally formed. Her second thought was, Slug? Eww!

It wasn't until after she shrieked at the thought of being a slug a few times that she finally looked back at the prompt and registered the significance. "Wait a second here, what Universe System--"

Jane's words were promptly followed by her suddenly experiencing vertigo as the world closed in around her. With a squishing sound and the world darkening, she noticed a new prompt immediately under the first.

[table=white]System Notification:For discussion of the Universe System, you have been penalized 1 hour as a slug as a warning. Future occurrences will result in no further warnings.

For now, immerse yourself in an experience that Tibetan Monks could only dream of, the simple life of a slug. To aid in your immersion, the System has randomly selected a playlist of flute and bell music.[/table]

Really! I was only asking a question you crazy system. Ugh, at least it's only for an hour. I won't be late for school. Jane sulked in her head. She spent fifteen minutes getting lost in her own shirt before she found a sleeve to crawl out of. The remaining hour she sat in the middle of her room hoping she wouldn't topple over once she enlarged.

Nursing a bruised hip as she got off the floor, she muttered to herself. "This has got to be the craziest dream or most interesting turn of events I've ever experienced." She looked in front of her and noticed that the original prompt was still present, while the warning was gone.

Looking at the notification of her being uplifted, she reached out to touch it. Her hand met resistance. She leaned further until it held all of her weight. Seems real, she thought. "This could be a problem, though, if I keep getting notifications if I trigger something. After all, if it's a game emulation then it will happen eventually. And I don't want to be a slug if someone runs into it."

Bending down, she picked up her discarded clothes and tossed them at the system notification. They passed through and fell back to the floor. "So it only affects me. Good to know." Jane said as she sat down on her bed. "But how to I get information without risking life as a slug?"

She decided to try calling out commands as if she was still playing Landless Wonder. "Help". A new prompt immediately popped up.

[table=white]Help:Welcome to System Help. For your modified access to the Universe System, you are allowed access to the following areas:

Help

Inventory (Not accessible)

Knowledge Base (Not accessible)

Player Information

Skills

You may access any of these areas by directing voice or thought to the Universe System. To close these areas, please will them shut by directing a thought to the Universe System. To explore further information, please touch the desired item in a menu and will it to expand.[/table]

"Oh, that's handy. At least I won't need to look like an idiot talking to myself...like now." Jane grimaced. Then she noticed two areas restricted. She wasn't too concerned with Inventory, but Knowledge Base would be essential.

Tapping on the words, she willed the system to tell her more about it. Even if she can't access, it's the help menu. Surely it will tell her something.

[table=white]System Notification:The Knowledge Base contains no items. You are the only Player. Would you like to make a request?

[Yes / No][/table]

Jane immediately pressed 'Yes'.

On the floor in front of her, Jane saw a glowing light appear and leave piece of paper behind. She leaned forward and picked it up. It looked a standard Customer Satisfaction form a business would leave on a counter. The kind that never got taken seriously.

Jane lowered her head and sighed.

Like all good customers with nowhere else to turn, she filled it out. She doubted she'd get another chance for answers. At least not without drawing attention from The Council, and it'd likely never be a direct conversation.

She thought for several minutes. She finally finished and placed the paper back on the floor. It disappeared the same way it arrived, in a pool of light. She did noticed one thing, however. The '(Not accessible) text in the Help menu was gone beside Knowledge Base. She closed the menu and opened up the new menu.

The answers to her questions were surprisingly there.

[table=white]Knowledge Base:

Will there be other Players?

You are a test. In a different dimension, we may have others should suitable candidates appear. However, you are going to be the only one using this to prevent cross-contamination while we gather data.

What is the Universe System?

A tool used to help manage the Universe. Every Administrator has a certain level of access. It helps standardize the management of areas of a world on up to an entire Universe.

How close to a game is this? Do I respawn if I die?

Some modifications to a standard supernatural profile access were made to allow your powers to emulate that of a player in a game. You get prompts and numerical representations of your growth, as well as system assistance. Others must train without this depending on their talents. Since they don't respawn, neither do you.

What are all the areas of the System that I have access to and why do some that are listed appear restricted?

Those listed are what you have access to. Restricted areas will be unlocked when you meet requirements.

Why a slug? Couldn't you just prevent me from discussing The Council and the Universe System?

The punishment follows intent. You have free will, so even if you were unable to discuss those items you might find another way to tell others if you desired had the punishment been initiated differently. The common public should never know about the System. It would hinder the management of the Universe and likely result in catastrophic loss of life in the pursuit of learning more about the System.

[/table]

Jane was impressed that her answers were taken seriously. Likely to prevent me from doing what was mentioned in the last question. She thought. Some of the questions Jane got the obvious answers. Others implied a wider scope to the world she thought she knew. So there really are supernatural things in the world. If I have the lowest access, at least lower than a continental world administrator, then that means there are other people walking around with special abilities.

Jane let that thought sink in. "Oh!" She cried out. Other people will be able to tell I'm not normal, too! This thought chilled her. The Knowledge Base implied that aside from Administrators, people of her level of access will not be able to see what she does. And likely Administrators will never encounter her unless something major happened. This means that unless she deliberately did something suspicious she could walk around unnoticed while noticing the other supernaturals.

Which brought up another question, Just why did they allow supernaturals? Why not let everyone on the world have abilities? She figured that some lowly administrator got bored. This was likely the reason for people thinking magic existed in the past.

Without giving it much further thought, Jane checked out her Player Information menu after closing the Knowledge Base. She also willed it to list the detailed information about each item listed so she could understand what she was working with

[table=white]Player Information:Name: Jane BlackthorneClass: PlayerHP: 80MP: 160Title: NoneAffiliation: NoneStats:Strength: 8Vitality: 8Dexterity: 8Intelligence: 16Wisdom: 18Luck: 12 (+10 System Access Bonus)[/table]

Detailed Descriptions of Player Information Enclosed in Spoiler to Prevent Spam:

Spoiler :

[table=white]Class:A person's chosen Path in life.[/table]

[table=white]Title:Personal achievement that the person is either proud or ashamed of.[/table]

[table=white]Affiliation:Personal attachment to a supernatural organization.[/table]

[table=white]Strength:Strength defines muscle definition and bulk of the body, and force the body's muscles can exert in continuous and short bursts.

Note: Strength and Dexterity both determine the body's physique. The more strength one has, the bulkier the body becomes. Inversely, the more dexterity one has, the more lithe the body becomes.[/table]

[table=white]Vitality:Vitality determines the body's physical conditioning. While strength plays a role in determining the limits of a muscle's strength, vitality determines its resilience.

Note: HP is determined at a 1:10 ratio of vitality's level. Vitality plays a factor in reducing physical damage.[/table]

[table=white]Dexterity:Dexterity determines how coordinated one is with their body's muscle movements, how efficient and effective they are able to exert the body's muscle strength, and how well depth perception is applied to the afore-mentioned activities.

Note: Strength and Dexterity both determine the body's physique. The more strength one has, the bulkier the body becomes. Inversely, the more dexterity one has, the more lithe the body becomes.[/table]

[table=white]Intelligence:Intelligence determines mental capacity for complex thought. As one's intelligence increases, greater numbers of mental calculations and reasoning can be performed in parallel.

Note: Intelligence determines MP in a 1:10 ratio of Intelligence's level.[/table]

[table=white]Wisdom:Wisdom allows one to make more effective use of their intelligence and accumulated knowledge. Reasoning and analysis of facts becomes clearer. The greater one's wisdom is, the more mental resilience they possess.

Note: Wisdom plays a factor in spell damage and resistance.[/table]

[table=white]Luck:Luck is one of the universes great mysteries. It plays a role in everything in life and determines how well one is meshed with the flow of life.

Note: The higher one's level in luck, the greater one's synchronization with the universe. Forgotten keys will find their way into your hand, broken pavement will be missed. Stat points can not be placed in Luck.[/table]

Jane was stunned. She wondered how long she had been under surveillance. This level of detailed explanation can only result from someone researching games and deciding how to apply it to an already existing system. Though, it wasn't likely all for her. Some administrator somewhere had to enjoy games. She wouldn't be surprised if there was some comic of someone having their life changed and turned into a game, like she experienced now.

She didn't notice stamina, which was good. She didn't want to have to deal with readjusting to paying attention to that depleting on her. It would also likely be very exploitable for her if she did have a stamina bar. She could stay awake indefinitely and then eat something to be fully refreshed.

The title and affiliation aspect of this menu was intriguing. It also hinted that there were underground organizations of supernaturals. It was an obvious logical leap. If there were secret societies of normal people, there were also those for supernaturals. And likely, some normal people were affiliated with supernatural ones as well. Titles and Affiliations would help her weed these people out without her having to interact with them. A person's class would likely play some role in this as well.

Speaking of this, she thought. Jane got up and went to the mirror. Above her head were three lines of text.

Jane Blackthorne > >

>

>

"That's convenient." Jane mused aloud. "If only it showed up information that was there. Since I don't have a title or affiliation, it could really clutter my vision if that showed for everyone." The two notices next to her name quickly disappeared.

"Wow! Thank you...never mind. You're not going to trick me again!"

Looking back at her Player Information, she frowned at the 8 points she had in Strength, Vitality, and Dexterity. She knew she had been rather sedentary. Mainly to prevent notice. The lady called her Mother would start paying attention if she became active. There was likely no chance at avoiding her notice now if she were to start working on her stat points.

"She has been trying to get me to go with her on runs and to the gym for years,. I guess she'll finally win." Jane said gloomily.

Intelligence and Wisdom she decided she could work on by reading through her course material and going to the library to use their self-help section. Anything challenging should work. She would also start looking into those memory games and puzzles. Sudoku and other strategy-based puzzle games had to work those stats.

"Luck..." She muttered. "Luck will work itself out. If it's a representation of how I am woven into the fabric of the universe, then it'll raise as I work on my stats and become more efficient." She nodded, satisfied with her reasoning.

[table=white]Wisdom +1

Luck +1[/table]

She glared at the notification and flicked it away. "Funny."

Shaking her head, Jane pulled up the last menu, Skills. She didn't see anything. "Looks like I'm starting with a blank slate."

Noticing the time, Jane decided to focus on this turn of events after school. She had things to do.