Chapter 2: System Tutorial From Hell
Three hours after teleporting away from an unconscious mugger, I was huddled in the doorway of a closed pawn shop, trying to stay out of the rain. My arm throbbed where the knife had cut me, blood slowly seeping through my sleeve.
"System," I muttered. "How do I access the inventory you supposedly unlocked?"
[INVENTORY ACCESSED]
Blue light flickered and a translucent menu appeared before me, looking like it was ripped straight out of Skyrim. Empty squares arranged in neat rows. Nothing in them, not even a bandaid.
"Seriously?" I sighed, reaching out. My fingers passed through the hologram before lowering to my sleeve. I tore a strip from the bottom of my shirt, wincing as I tied it around the wound. Just enough to slow the bleeding.
As I finished my makeshift bandage, I took stock of my situation.
Just a "Gamer Multiverse Gacha System" that had turned my life into some kind of twisted isekai fanfiction.
"System, what else can you show me?" I asked, feeling ridiculous talking to thin air.
[MAIN MENU]
[1. INVENTORY]
[2. ABILITIES]
[3. DAILY QUESTS]
[4. MULTIVERSE MAP]
[5. GACHA PULLS AVAILABLE: 0]
I tapped on "Abilities" first.
[ABILITIES] [• BLINK (DISHONORED)] [USES REMAINING: UNLIMITED] [COOLDOWN: 5 SECONDS] [RANGE: 15 METERS (LINE OF SIGHT REQUIRED)]
At least the teleporting was useful. Next, I checked "Daily Quests."
[DAILY QUESTS] [• FIND SHELTER (REWARD: 1x GACHA TICKET)] [• COMPLETE 100 PUSH-UPS (REWARD: PHYSICAL ENDURANCE INCREASE)] [• DEFEAT 5 CRIMINALS (REWARD: 1x UPGRADE TICKET)]
"You want me to fight more criminals?" I hissed. "Are you insane?"
The system, predictably, didn't respond.
Finally, I checked the "Multiverse Map," hoping it might show me a way home. Instead, I got a stylized map showing a blinking dot labeled "YOU ARE HERE" in the center of what looked like a complex web of interconnected worlds. Most were grayed out with "LOCKED" floating above them. The only one highlighted was labeled "DC: YOUNG JUSTICE - EARTH 16."
"Fantastic," I muttered. "At least I know which continuity I'm in."
Young Justice meant I wasn't in the most lethal version of the DC universe, but it was still a world with Darkseid, alien invasions, and The Light planning global domination. Not exactly a vacation destination.
I shivered as the temperature dropped and my arm throbbed. Finding shelter had to be my priority. The forty bucks wouldn't get me a hotel room, and abandoned warehouses in Gotham were either occupied by gangs or used as elaborate death traps by the likes of Joker and Scarecrow.
"Think, Azlan," I whispered to myself. "You survived a civil war. You can survive one night in Gotham."
As I contemplated my options, the pawn shop's neon sign flickered, catching my attention. I peered through the barred windows. Lots of random junk, but more importantly—an access stairway to what looked like an apartment above the shop.
With a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, I blinked to the roof and found a maintenance access door. Locked, of course. I examined it carefully. The lock was old, and the hinges looked rusty. I channeled my inner Batman and pulled out my wallet, extracting a credit card that wouldn't work in this universe anyway.
After ten minutes of jimmying, my fingers numb from cold, I heard a satisfying click. The door creaked open to reveal a small maintenance room with access to the building's upper level. Dusty, abandoned, but dry and relatively secure. Empty shelves lined the walls, and what looked like an old janitor's cot sat in the corner.
"Not the Ritz," I muttered, "but it'll do."
[DAILY QUEST COMPLETED: FIND SHELTER] [REWARD: 1x GACHA TICKET ACQUIRED]
The notification popped up as I closed and secured the door behind me. A ticket materialized in my inventory—a glowing golden slip with pixelated designs on it.
"So I get one pull now?" I asked, feeling a flutter of excitement despite myself.
[GACHA PULLS AVAILABLE: 1] [BONUS PULL AVAILABLE FOR NEW USERS] [WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE YOUR PULLS?]
"A bonus pull? Like those 'first-time user' bonuses in mobile games?" I almost laughed. "Sure, why not. Let's use the bonus pull first."
The ethereal slot machine appeared again. With a deep breath, I pulled the lever, watching as the reels spun in a blur of color.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE OBTAINED: "TOAD'S POCKET HANDKERCHIEF" - MARIO PARTY 5]
A small white handkerchief with mushroom patterns materialized in my hand. I stared at it, waiting for it to dissolve and grant me some amazing power.
It didn't. It just sat there. A handkerchief.
"What's this supposed to do?" I asked, turning it over in my hands.
[ITEM DESCRIPTION: A FANCY HANDKERCHIEF OWNED BY TOAD. MAKES YOU FEEL SLIGHTLY MORE DAPPER WHEN WORN. NO SPECIAL ABILITIES.]
"Are you kidding me?" I groaned, stuffing the useless handkerchief into my real pocket. "You could have at least given me a blanket!"
The system offered no apology. Just a prompt for my second pull—the one I'd earned.
"Fine," I muttered. "Let's hope this one's better."
I pulled the lever again.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE OBTAINED: "SPRINT BOOTS" - MEGA MAN X]
This time, a pair of red and white boots with yellow accents appeared. When I touched them, they dissolved into light particles that sank into my feet. Instantly, I felt lighter, like I could run for miles without tiring.
[ABILITY ACQUIRED: DASH (MEGA MAN X)] [USES REMAINING: UNLIMITED] [EFFECT: 3X NORMAL RUNNING SPEED. ABILITY TO RUN UP WALLS FOR SHORT DISTANCES.]
"Now that's more like it, now I'm only a 4th rate hero," I said, taking a few experimental steps around the small room. Each step felt springy, full of potential energy.
[COMBINING 10 GACHA TICKETS CREATES 1 HIGHER QUALITY TICKET] [DAILY GACHA PULL REGENERATES AT MIDNIGHT LOCAL TIME] [COMPLETING QUESTS GRANTS ADDITIONAL TICKETS AND REWARDS]
The system's tutorial messages continued to flash before my eyes, explaining the mechanics of this strange new reality I'd found myself in.
"So I get one pull per day, and I need to do these quests to get more tickets," I summarized. "And if I save up ten, I can get a better ticket for better pulls?"
[CORRECT] [WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY YOUR BETTER LUCK TOMORROW? COMPLETE THE "DEFEAT 5 CRIMINALS" QUEST FOR A PREMIUM UPGRADE TICKET]
I snorted. "Nice try. Dangling the premium ticket like a drug dealer offering the first hit free."
Now that I was dry and had secured shelter, I turned my attention to the next pressing matter—figuring out exactly when I was in the Young Justice timeline.
I rummaged through some old newspapers piled in the corner. Most were too faded to read, but one headline caught my eye:
"SUPERMAN SAVES METROPOLIS FROM REACTOR MELTDOWN"
The date on the paper: June 25, 2009.
If I remembered correctly, the Cadmus incident—when Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad discovered Superboy and formed the team—happened on July 4, 2010. Which meant I was about a year before the main Young Justice storyline began.
"A whole year," I muttered, slumping down onto the dusty cot. "What am I supposed to do for a whole year? And more importantly, how do I get home?"
[MULTIVERSE MAP FEATURE UNLOCKED] [DIMENSION TRAVEL REQUIRES SPECIAL TICKETS] [TEMP ACCESS TICKETS AVAILABLE THROUGH SPECIAL GACHA PULLS]
I perked up at that. Special tickets? Dimension travel? Could that be my way home?
Checking the map again, I noticed a small node labeled "REAL WORLD" at the very edge of the web. It was marked with a padlock icon and "DIFFICULTY: EXTREME" beneath it.
"Of course it's not that easy," I grumbled.
My stomach growled, reminding me that I had more immediate concerns than interdimensional travel. I still had forty dollars—enough for a few meals while I figured out my next steps.
Getting out of Gotham seemed like a priority. This was possibly the worst city in the DC universe to be stranded in, especially with no official identity. Central City or even Metropolis would be safer. But traveling required ID, which I didn't have.
I could try to fake one, but in a world with Batman and his paranoid surveillance, that seemed risky. Joining a gang for protection crossed my mind for about half a second before I remembered that Gotham gangs were run by psychopaths who'd kill you for looking at them wrong.
"One hundred push-ups," I muttered, looking at my remaining daily quest. "Might as well get started."
I dropped to the floor and began. After twenty, my arms were already shaking. My sixteen-year-old body wasn't as strong as my adult one had been. But I persevered, taking breaks when needed.
As I exercised, I tried to make sense of everything. The system, the gacha pulls, being in Young Justice a year before the main storyline. Was this all some elaborate cosmic joke? Or was there a purpose to it?
"Fifty-one... fifty-two..." I counted, sweat dripping from my forehead.
One thing was certain—I needed to be careful about altering the timeline too much. Butterfly effect and all that. My knowledge of future events could be useful, but it could also be dangerous if I changed things and made them worse.
"Seventy-six... seventy-seven..."
The pain in my muscles was becoming intense, but I pushed through it.
"Ninety-eight... ninety-nine... one hundred!"
I collapsed onto my back, gasping for breath.
[DAILY QUEST COMPLETED: COMPLETE 100 PUSH-UPS] [REWARD: PHYSICAL ENDURANCE PERMANENTLY ADDED]
I felt a warm glow spread through my muscles. The exhaustion remained, but there was a new underlying strength I hadn't had before.
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY FOR THE UPGRADE TICKET? JUST 5 CRIMINALS STANDING BETWEEN YOU AND PREMIUM REWARDS]
"Nice try," I said, wiping sweat from my brow. "But I'm not going vigilante just yet."
As I lay there, staring at the ceiling, I considered my options. I needed money. I needed proper identification. I needed information.
And maybe, just maybe, I needed to embrace this ridiculous system if I wanted to find a way home.
Because one thing was becoming clear—this wasn't a dream I was going to wake up from. This was my reality now. At least until I could find a way back.
"System," I said, sitting up with new resolve. "Tell me more about these dimension travel tickets."
[SPECIAL ELDEN RING TICKET: ALLOWS 30-DAY ACCESS TO ELDEN RING UNIVERSE] [SPECIAL HALO TICKET: ALLOWS 30-DAY ACCESS TO HALO UNIVERSE] [SPECIAL FINAL FANTASY TICKET: ALLOWS 30-DAY ACCESS TO FINAL FANTASY UNIVERSE] [AND MANY MORE...] [AVAILABLE THROUGH RARE GACHA PULLS OR BY COMBINING 10 PREMIUM UPGRADE TICKETS]
So that was it. I needed to play the system's game, earn tickets, and eventually get one of these special dimension tickets. Maybe then I could find a way home.
Or at least survive long enough in this world to figure out another solution.
"Alright, System," I said, getting to my feet. "You win for now. But I'm coming home eventually—gacha hell or not."
As if in response, a new notification appeared:
[SPECIAL EVENT QUEST AVAILABLE: OBSERVE GOTHAM ACADEMY SCHOLARSHIP CEREMONY] [REWARD: 3x GACHA TICKETS] [CONTAINS FURTHER QUESTLINES]
"Gotham Academy?" I frowned. "Why would I care about some rich kid school event?"
But three gacha tickets was a significant reward. And "further questlines" meant this might lead somewhere useful.
With a sigh, I checked the time and location details. Tomorrow at noon. Apparently, this system tutorial from hell wasn't over yet.
I spent the next hour searching the maintenance room more thoroughly, finding an old dusty half-empty bottle of water that didn't look too suspect. My arm had stopped bleeding, but it still hurt. I'd need to find a way to properly clean and dress it tomorrow.
As I settled onto the cot, wrapping the musty blanket around myself, I stared at the Multiverse Map floating in front of me one more time. So many worlds, so many possibilities. And somewhere out there, my real life was waiting.
"I'll find a way back," I whispered, as the map faded and the blue light dimmed. "No matter what it takes."
But first, I had a scholarship ceremony to crash.
Just what I always wanted to do in a superhero universe—go back to high school.
[A/N: Things should start ramping up soon....]