My Newest Progression Fiction!

I've written a progressive fiction series! I will be posting this story on RoyalRoad.com

Game Breaker 

By Michael Hinton 

Chapter 1 – You Always Wanted to Be a Hero

Welcome to the Great Adventure, Devin Stringer! You have been chosen to embark upon this heroic quest to save humanity. Remember, it’s all up to you. No pressure! 

Initializing …. Initialization Complete! You were enhanced to Silver level! 

Your race is Terran Human (Stage III). This race has a greatly increased chance of gaining higher rarity Boosts and gains more achievements and better rewards than any other race. Possible rarities are common, uncommon, rare, very rare, and exceptional. This race begins without access to Magical Spheres and is limited to a maximum of two spheres. 

This race comes with three Boosts. These will be selected randomly from among Boosts for which you are eligible. 

Rolling for racial Boost (1/3). Roll complete! You gain the Boost ‘Language Starter Kit.’ 

Rolling for racial Boost (2/3). Roll complete! You gain the Boost ‘Kwaku’s Compass.’ Grats! This is a Rare Boost! 

Achievement Unlocked! Lucky Guy – Rare Boosts are ... you guessed it ... rare! Reward: You receive an extra random Boost of Rare level. 

 Rolling for extra random Boost. Roll complete! You gain the Advancement Boost ‘Skill Hound.’ Congratulations! Grats! This is a Rare Boost! 

 Returning to racial Boosts … Rolling for racial Boost (3/3). Roll complete! You gain the Boost ‘Basic Interface.’ Congratulations! This is an Exceptional Boost! 

 Achievement Unlocked! Lucky, Lucky Guy – Exceptional Boosts are as rare as lottery winners. Nobody gets them during character creation. Nobody except you, apparently. Reward: Your generated class will be improved by one rarity level. 

 Rolling for class. Roll complete! You have rolled an Exceptional level combat class – Rule Bender!

 Achievement Unlocked! Lucky, Lucky, Lucky Guy – We had to come up with a whole new reward for this. And a new rarity level. You lucky bastard. 

Reward: Your generated class will be improved to Unique! 

 Your class is improved to Game Breaker! Congratulations! This is a Unique combat class! That’s right, you’re ‘that guy.’ You roll so well it seems like cheating. GM’s hate you, but you don’t care because you just keep winning. This is a unique class that relies on Agility-based combat while focusing on unorthodox strategies, tactics … and, of course, luck. Your chances of rolling rare-and-higher-level Boosts are greatly increased. Because luck is like money – the more you have, the easier it is to get. 

This class receives the following abilities – Tactician, Strategist, Identify Opponent, Spot Weakness, Improve Weapon, and Improvise Weapon. This class is proficient in clubs, short swords, small blades, and small thrown weapons. This class is eligible to gain special luck Boosts of Rare or higher level. The class comes with 5 Boosts. These will be selected randomly from among Boosts for which you are eligible. 

Achievement Unlocked! A Unique Individual – You gained a unique class. That means nobody else has this class, and nobody else will get it. At least not while you’re alive. 

Reward: You will begin with a special luck Boost of Rare or higher level. This Boost will be selected randomly after other class Boosts. 

Generating Boost … Complete! Devin gains the Boost ‘Ninja.’ 

Generating Boost … Complete! Devin gains the Boost ‘Increase Agility +5.’ 

Generating Boost … Complete! Devin gains the Boost ‘Increase Deftness +5.’ 

Generating Boost … Complete! Devin gains the Boost ‘Steel Knuckles.’ Grats! This is a Rare Boost! Generating Boost … Complete! Devin gains the Boost ‘Tough Skin.’ 

Generating bonus luck Boost … Complete! Devin gains the Boost ‘Victorious Transmutation.’ Congratulations! This is, and I can’t believe this is happening, an Exceptional Boost! 

Achievement Unlocked! You've Got to Be Kidding – Imagine a guy buying a winning lottery ticket and winning a million dollars. When he cashes in, he buys a million more lottery tickets, and each one wins a million dollars. That guy is jealous of you. 

Reward: You receive another special luck Boost of Unique rarity! 

Generating bonus luck Boost … Complete! Devin gains the Boost ‘Ghost in the Machine.’ Congratulations! This is a Unique luck Boost available only to the Unique Game Breaker class. That means it’s available only to you. Uniquely. You are now officially the luckiest man alive. You are a luck snowball rolling down a luck hill. 

Your enhancement is complete. Welcome to the world of Senarci! 

“Yahhh!” Devin Stringer came to his senses with a kick and a jerk. His body tingled all over like he’d spent the last hour in a hot tub. 

He lay on the ground in a large building. Light leaked in from above him, casting shadows that loomed around like monsters ready to strike. 

What caught his attention was the smell. He’d grown up in a small town in Arkansas and knew what a farm smelled like. 

He tried to remember what he’d done the night before. He’d been running with his raid group through the Redeemer’s Castle, and … nothing after that, except for the crazy dream he’d just had. First, he’d been fighting off shadows, then some kind of bizarre character creation screen.

The light grew brighter. The shapes resolved into hay bales and an iron plow. He was in a barn. Above him, sunlight streamed through a few windows near the roof. A mule gazed at him from a rickety stall. 

Devin let out a breath. It’d been a nightmare after all. That still left the question of how he’d gotten into a freaking barn, but at least he hadn’t lost his mind. 

He got to his feet and rubbed his eyes. He looked around for his glasses, then realized he could see fine. 

Better than fine. He could pick out every hair on the mule’s body and see the splinters in the barn wall opposite him. When he focused, he could pick out individual sounds – water dripping, the sighing of the wind, birds calling in a distant forest. His sense of smell was working in overdrive, too. It wasn’t only that smells were strong - he could separate the smell of manure from the scent of the wood, the tang of iron, the smell of rope and hay. 

“OK, that’s weird,” he said. 

Devin felt a tingle right below his forehead, and something flashed in the corner of his vision. He looked around. The image moved with him as he turned his head. It looked like a capital ‘A’. 

He focused on it. It expanded into a dark, translucent screen that filled the lower left quarter of his vision. White words flowed onto the screen as if they were being typed. 

 Achievement Unlocked! First Things First – Well, here you are. You survived enhancement. Good work. 

Reward: You’re alive. 

“What the hell?” he yelled. A dog barked outside. Devin barely heard it. He was too busy staring at the floating text. He closed his eyes, shook his head, opened them, and looked around again. Everything was the same. 

He noticed a tiny x in the top corner. He focused on it and the box disappeared. Another flashing icon appeared. 

“The hell with this,” he said. He shoved the barn door. Something cracked and thudded to the ground and the door swung open. 

The rising sun was touching the skyline over the trees. An axe was buried in a stump next to a pile of firewood stacked along one side of the barn. A shovel stuck out of a pile of manure. A small farmhouse stood nearby. Further out was an outbuilding that looked abandoned. Its walls were half-collapsed, and a tree was growing through the broken roof. The rest of the area was fields of tall alfalfa grass bordered by trees. Devin could see birds and leaves in the tree branches from hundreds of meters away and could pick out the birds’ individual songs. He recognized a few species, but others he’d never seen before. 

 A wooden bar lay broken on the ground in front of him. One of the iron settings was bent where it’d been twisted before the bar snapped. He blinked at the sight. He’d barely pushed the door. 

A mangy Weimaraner trotted around the side of the barn. It stopped a few meters away and faced him, hackles up and teeth bared. The dog let out a series of barks before settling into a deep growl. 

“Good boy,” Devin said. “It’s OK. Good boy …” 

The door to the farmhouse banged open and three large men stomped out of the building. They were dressed in dirty tunics and pants with canvas overalls. They were shorter than Devin’s two meters, but they were built like tanks. Their features were so similar they had to be a father and his sons. Behind them stood a woman holding a baby. A little girl clung to her skirts. 

Devin raised his hand and dusted off his best Arkansas accent. “Hey, fellas. Sorry to disturb you. I seem to have gotten a bit lost.” 

“Irma, take the kids back in the house,” the oldest man said. He reached out and grabbed a pitchfork that leaned against the house. His biceps bulged as he held it up. 

Devin eased backwards. “I’ll be going now. There’s been some kind of …” 

“Why’s he dressed like that, Paw?” the older son said. He looked like he was in his 20s despite graying hair. “Where’s he from?” 

Devin looked down at himself. It was what he’d been wearing during his raid. His shirt was a gag gift from a long-time client, a mid-ranking government lawyer. It was a bright orange muscle shirt with ‘Welcome to the Gun Show’ emblazoned across the front. He never wore it out of the house. His pants were yoga pants, and he wore thick socks with no shoes. 

“He’s a runaway,” Paw said. “Grab the mutt, Lee.” 

 The younger boy grabbed the dog’s collar. Paw tossed the pitchfork to his other son and picked up an iron hoe. The two men advanced on Devin while Lee stayed back. 

“There’s no need for this, sir,” Devin said. He considered running, but he was afraid they’d sic the dog on him. “This is all a mistake.” 

“You been stealing food?” the older son said. “The law says we can kill runaway if they steal food, right Paw?” 

“Yep,” Paw said. He spat on the ground. “The constable will want to talk to him, though. Might even be a reward.” 

“The reward might be dead or alive though, right, Paw?” the older son said. 

“Maybe,” Paw said. “Maybe not. I hate to risk it, though. Jeff down the road turned in a runaway a few winters ago and they gave him a brand-new plow.” 

“Excuse me,” Devin said. “If you’re willing to take me alive, I’m fine with that. I’m sure I can explain this to the authorities.”

“You hear that Paw?” Lee said. “He’s going to explain it to the authorities. We can get us a new plow without having to fight.” 

“He looks dangerous,” the older son said. “I think we should kill him to be safe.” 

“Quiet, Bryce,” Paw said. “We’ll take him to town. Lee, get the mule saddled. We’ll …”

 A noise like an avalanche filled the air. The farmers whirled around. Devin looked over their heads to see the roof of the outbuilding split apart as the tree stood up. A face formed about three meters up on the trunk and blinked. It stretched its limbs. 

“Is that supposed to happen?” Devin said. Then he was shoved aside as the mule bolted out of the barn door and barreled into him on a mad dash towards the forest. The weight of the animal should have sent Devin flying with several broken bones, but it didn’t even knock him over. 

Another tingle in his skull, and a new icon appeared. It was a tiny capital A. Without thinking, he focused on it. 

Achievement Unlocked! Balanced – Despite not having a stability Boost, you kept your feet while being run over by a creature larger than you. You’re even more stubborn than a mule! Try to stay out of the way next time. 

Reward: 1 Matter shard. 

“What the hell is happening?” Devin yelled. He spent the next few seconds trying to close the new text window. The ‘x’ was tiny, and he had to concentrate on the right spot. 

The tree locked eyes onto him and roared. Devin’s teeth felt like they were going to shake out of his head. 

Bryce and Lee fell to the ground. Paw kept his feet and staggered into the farmhouse. His movement caught the tree’s attention. It stepped over the wall of the outbuilding and roared again. It was a ton of solid wood and branches, and it flowed towards the farmhouse on a mass of roots that moved like the legs of a centipede. 

“Are you just going to stand there?” It sounded like a refined British man. 

Devin whipped his head around. The Weimaraner stood about a meter away from him. It held the pitchfork in its mouth like a stick toy. 

“What?” Devin said. “What?” 

The tree roared again. The farmhouse shook. It swung one of its branches and cleaved off the roof like a scythe. 

“You always wanted to be a hero, didn’t you?” the dog said. It didn’t seem to have any trouble talking around the pitchfork. “Here’s your chance.”