"You? Need my help? If you can take my soul from being taken by the Grim Reaper, you should be able to handle whatever problem you have, right?"
Simon looks at the being in front of him. Simon calls him a Random Omnipotent Being, or Rob for short. Rob releases a sigh and says.
"If only it were that easy, Simon. Because of my power and nature, I cannot enter a single planet or solar system without causing much trouble. When I appear in a solar system, I will be changing the supernatural nature of the entire solar system at best or destroying the entire solar system at worst."
"Right. That would be bad."
"And I agree. Because of this, I need a champion or an agent. Think of Silver Surfer, but instead of announcing a planet that they will be eaten, you will save it. Well, at least some of them."
"Some of them?"
"Sometimes, you need to cut the dying branch, or the sickness in that branch will spread."
Ah. So it is that kind of world. Simon nods his head and says.
"So, what do you want me to do? What kind of world will I arrive at? Will you help me?"
"To answer all those questions, I need to ask a question first. Do you know Nier: Automata?"
"The Sexy Android Booty game? Yeah, I know that one."
It's been a while since he played that game, but he still remembers the ending. All of them are sad, and he hates it. He doesn't mind angst or sad entertainment, but he usually wants something happy or something that makes him smile.
He already has a bad life! Why would he want something sad when playing a game?! He wants those androids to smile, dammit!
"And you will be the one making them smile."
Simon snaps from his thoughts and looks at Rob.
"You read my mind?"
"What? I cannot help it. You project your mind with that passionate speech. Anyway, I want you to help those Androids. Well, that is the side effect of the main mission."
"What do you mean?"
"Your main mission is to destroy the Machine Network."
"And by destroying the Machine Network, I will destroy all the machine lifeforms and the Red Girls. With them gone, the Androids will have an easier life."
"Bingo."
Simon nods his head in understanding and says.
"Then what about my last question?"
"I am getting there. I will be helping you. However, I cannot give you ultimate power or something. Do you know CYOA?"
"What kind? Card game? Or the Book?"
"The computer interactive kind."
"Ah, the one used to make novels or fanfic."
"That's the one, yes. I will take one of them and give it to you. I already picked the location, difficulty, and such. Don't worry. I will give you an 'Easy' difficulty so you can pick something that lets you survive and complete the mission."
With a wave of his hand, Rob summons a hologram that shows him the CYOA. Simon blinks a little at the title of the CYOA and says.
"Worm? Are you an entity from that world?"
"Hmmm? Ah, no. Don't worry. The shard I will give you will not act like the shard in the Worm Universe. However, it does act as an engine and needs juice to perform the supernatural power it can do."
"Ah, is that the reason why there is an option to pick a Shardless source of power?"
"That's right."
"What's the difference? Why do you put a price on picking the Shardless option?"
"For one? Shardless power can grow. Shard-based power is static. You get the power at its full potential, but cannot grow."
"And the shardless power is the opposite, huh?"
"Most of them? Yes. However, a few powers start at their full power and stop growing after reaching a certain threshold. Second? Shard-based power is cheaper because it requires fuel to use, but you can mitigate it with a certain combination of perks and power."
"Right."
Simon read through the list and noticed something interesting and disturbing at once.
"What with this World Modification section?"
"Ah, that. You will be sent to one of the many worlds, and depending on your choice, you will get bonus points. There is a reason why I chose CYOA for this, you know? There are a lot of worlds, and the dangers also vary."
"Is it the same as the one in the Drawback section?"
"Depends on the drawback. If the drawback affects the world? Yes."
"Does that include the [Wanted] Drawback?"
"Yes. Soon after you arrive, a week at best, the machine network will know about you. So, I decided to give you a bonus for it."
"I see. Thank you."
"It is my pleasure. This is the least I can do for your help, Simon."
Simon nods his head and looks at the hologram in front of him. He thinks for a few seconds and decides to go to the Canon World instead of the AU one. Because of what Rob picked, he will get 105 SP and 115 CP. That is a lot. At least as far as his eyes can see.
However, he already has a general idea in mind. Because of the world he will arrive in, he decides to pick some technology related to physical enchantment as the side power. The first thing he picks is the [Character] section. He decides to pick the [Sel-Insert] section and appear in the Nier: Automata world as it is to gain 5 SP and 5 CP.
As for power source, Simon decides to pick the Shardless Power Source for 10 SP and 10 CP.
The reason? He doesn't want his power to be unusable in the middle of a fight because it is running out of juice. He knows that it will take a long time, but he just wants to make sure. He doesn't want to be like Eidolon from Worm and gets weaker each day because his shard runs out of juice.
Just like he planned, he immediately went to the (Technology and Artifice Powers) section. After scrolling and reading for an hour, he has a combination that he thought would make his life easier.
The first one is a power called [Inspired Inventor]. It cost him 60 SP. It is expensive, but it is very powerful. It makes him a Tinker-12. What is a Tinker? It is a power classification that makes him into a scientist who can create futuristic and alien tech. Each day, he will have ten charges, which can be spent to improve or create his Tinker abilities within a specific specialization or theme. A single charge would make him a good tinker within an area and equal to around 4 SP points.
4 SP might not sound much, but it is rather powerful in this CYOA. For example, for 4 SP, he can get a Heroic Bloodline from the DxD universe. What does this do? If he picks Herakles, he will gain his durability and strength. It will not be like him, but he will gain superhuman strength and durability by existing alone.
For 4 SP, he can gain the ORION ARM tech tree. Do you know how massive that is? Orion's Arm is Space Opera fiction, but it is grounded in Hard Science. It will not be as powerful as Sci-Fi, but it is still powerful because, in the end, it is still a Space-based fiction.
However, to support this, I also decided to pick other powers. The first is called [|Resource| (Technological Transdimensional Turbulence)]. What does this power do? It changes all the material he has and turns it into a universal material called |Resource|. In turn, he can use that |Resource| to create a new material. With this, Simon does not need to worry about the lack of rare materials to make a certain tech. Lastly, he has a pocket dimension that can hold infinite |Resource|. Sadly, it can only hold |Resource| and nothing else.
The next one is called [Shipment (Technological Transdimensional Turbulence)], and this power sends a shipment of raw resources, such as unprocessed ores, fluids, and gases, that he needs once per day. The rarer, exotic, powerful, and/or dangerous the resource is, the less he will receive.
This power also upgrades the previous power. Now the shipment is not a certain material but rather |Resource|, and it directly sends it to the pocket dimension. Not only that, the conversion rate of his previous power also improved. Previously, it took quadruple the amount of |Resource| to create the thing you change into |Resource|, but now? Now, it only takes double the amount. Lastly, the upgrade also gives him an alert system. It feels like a burst of energy coursing through his body before disappearing.
These three alone are already perfect for me, but he still has 28 SP left. He decides to start scrolling once again. After another hour had passed, Simon found something interesting in the [Object of Power] section.
It is called [Base Builder 9000], which lets him become a Factorio Player. That thing can store all the material around Simon and turn them into its basic component, which he can use to create all the things he wants.
The item also allows him to build and craft any blueprint inside its programming. It already comes with a vast amount of blueprints from Modern Earth. That means it can build a house, apartment, bunker, or craft firearms, ammunition, or artillery.
He can also add more blueprints, and with his [Inspired Inventor], he can add a lot of blueprints, and this thing can make it in an instant.
The [Base Builder 9000] also has a pocket dimension to store all the material it absorbs, but it has a limit of an average warehouse. It can contain a lot of things, but it cannot contain a two-story house.
He immediately picked it for 10 SP, leaving him with 18 SP.
Now, he needs to worry about Maso. It is a particle that is very lethal to humans, and he needs something to make him immune to it. He goes to the [Physical Powers] section and searches for something that is worth less than 18 SP.
It does not take Simon long to find something he needs. It is called [Blood of the Gods]. It makes him into a Nascent God and makes him immune to curses, diseases, poisons, illnesses,
and negative magical effects. Only something on the divine level can affect him, and he doesn't think that Maso reaches that level. At least he hopes it is not.
It cost him 15 SP, leaving him with 3 SP.
Simon keeps looking through the power section and buys three more powers. It put him in the negative, but it is not a problem.
The first is called [Believe in The Me Who Believes in You!]. With this power, he can inspire the people who hear him. He wants to give hope to the androids, and this power is the perfect thing.
The second is called [Loyalty Insurance], which makes all of his creations loyal to him and prevents any mind-control or possession from taking over them. It is perfect against the Logic Virus that the machine network uses.
The last one is called [Black Box]. This one is simple. It prevents anything he made from being reverse-engineered. It will use a passive reality-warping effect that prevents it from happening. Either it will explode when someone tries, or just turn to dust before they can get anything. It depends on the people who did it. His enemies? It will explode and kill or at least injure the people who try to do that. The neutral party? Turn to dust. Allies? The same as before.
With that done, he started to pick the perk and skill sections. He decides only to pick the important one and leave the rest so that he can convert the CP into SP.
After a few minutes, he picks four perks: [Blank], [Mental Barrier], [Invictus], and [Humanity].
The first one is the perk that prevents anyone from seeing his past and future. Not only that, he is also immune to being scanned by someone he does not allow. This is perfect for letting the android know that he is human and blocking any attempt by the Machine Network to scan him. He knows that they will notice him when he arrives, but they cannot get the details. Other than hacking into YoRHa's system, which is something he will fix.
The second one is the perk that gives him immunity to all things that affect his mind, emotions, and senses. It will prevent any spells and even drugs from affecting him—simple but powerful perk.
The third one is making his will unbreakable and immeasurable. Why this? Well, he knows that he will perform countless hours or days doing mind-numbing tasks to complete the job, ensuring he gets through it without a problem.
The last one is ensuring he will stay human, no matter the powers, perks, or upgrades he will take and perform on his body. This will negate the change in my body from the [Blood of the Gods] power.
Now, he has 4 SP and 25 CP left after exchanging 50 CP and turning them into 25 SP to pay the debt.
Simon hums a little, scrolls the CYOA once again, and decides to buy more. He converts more CP into SP to buy [Jacob's Limbs (Type-Moon)] and [Battle Continuation (Type-Moon)].
The first one is one of the oldest martial arts in the Type-Moon universe. A very effective martial art that grants more power the more inhuman the opponent and machine lifeform is, and the creator is also inhuman.
This martial art will be very effective and destructive against the machine lifeform.
The last one is something that he picks to make sure he survives in a tense situation where his body is full of injuries. He knows that he will be a baby god, but there is nothing wrong with picking power that lets him survive in battle.
That leaves him with 1 CP left, and he decides to pick [Stealth] in the skill section, spending all of his points. When he is done, he presses the complete button, and Rob says.
"You are done? Let's see… Oh! Interesting! I can see the theme, and I am glad you do not put all your points into making you powerful. Instead, think of the future. With this, I am convinced you will survive and thrive."
With a snap of his finger, the hologram shines, and the light enters Simon's body. Before he can say something, Simon's body also starts to shine, and he can hear Rob say something.
"Good luck, Simon. Make sure to have some fun, okay? You are on a mission, but I don't want it to be a burden that affects your spiritual health."
"I will."
With one last nod, Rob sends him away.
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[Link to the CYOA: https://cyoa.ltouroumov.ch/viewer/]
The build: (Copy the ID and paste it inside the Import Build box)
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