The Ga Library expanded before Zeph like a digital storefront, hundreds of titles arranged in neat categories with gleaming icons and player count statistics.
[Featured Gas]
[Competitive Ranked]
[Casual Play]
[Training Modes]
But before he could dive into ga selection, a new prompt materialized.
[First-ti player detected]
[Character customization required before accessing multiplayer features]
[Proceed to Character Creation?]
[YES] [NO]
Zeph selected YES, and the white space transford.
He was standing in what looked like a high-tech dressing room—mirrors on three sides, holographic interface panels floating at comfortable reading height, and a full-body avatar of himself rotating slowly in the center.
The avatar was a perfect replica. Every detail matched his real body exactly. Height, build, facial features, even the slight asymtry in his eyebrows that he’d never noticed until seeing himself rendered in 360-degree rotation.
’Okay. Character customization. Let’s see what options we’re working with.’
The interface offered surprising depth:
[Physical Appearance]
[Combat Animations]
[Voice Settings]
[Emote Library]
[Display Na Format]
Zeph navigated to Physical Appearance first, curiosity overriding his usual efficiency-focused approach.
The customization options were extensive. He could adjust height, build, facial features, hair style and color, eye color, skin tone—essentially rebuild himself from scratch if he wanted.
’Most people probably make themselves look cooler. Taller, more muscular, conventionally attractive features.’
He looked at his default appearance. 6’9", lean and wiry, storm-gray eyes, silver-streaked black hair, gaunt features that were slowly filling out.
’I look like soone who’s survived things most people couldn’t imagine.’
’Which is accurate, but not exactly the aesthetic most gars go for.’
His eyes drifted to the userna displayed above the avatar’s head.
DIRTYGRANDPA
A slow, slightly manic grin spread across his face.
’You know what? If I’m going to be DirtyGrandpa, I might as well commit to the bit.’
He opened the age appearance slider.
Currently set to match his real age—16, which displayed as "Young Adult" in the system.
He dragged it all the way to the right.
Age Appearance: Elderly
His avatar transford.
The lean, wiry fra gained the slight stoop of age. His face developed wrinkles—laugh lines around the eyes, creases on the forehead, the kind of weathering that suggested decades of experience. His silver-streaked black hair turned completely silver-white and grew longer, wilder, like he’d stopped caring about grooming soti in his seventies.
But the storm-gray eyes remained sharp, calculating, dangerously intelligent.
The effect was... actually kind of terrifying.
An old man who moved like a predator. Soone who’d survived long enough to beco elderly in a world where that was a genuine achievent.
’This is perfect. This is absolutely perfect.’
Zeph added a few more touches. Extended the wild hair slightly. Added a poorly-trimd beard that looked like it had been maintained with a combat knife instead of proper grooming tools. Adjusted the posture to be just slightly hunched, like soone perpetually ready to dodge.
The final result looked like a grandpa who’d probably killed more people than most professional hunters.
’DirtyGrandpa indeed.’
He saved the appearance settings and moved to Combat Animations.
This section controlled how his character moved during fights—weapon stance, dodge patterns, strike animations, even idle posture.
[Select Combat Style]
[Styles Available: Aggressive | Defensive | Balanced | Custom]
Zeph selected Custom and spent the next twenty minutes fine-tuning every detail.
His dodge animation beca a smooth, minimal-movent sidestep—the kind of efficient motion that suggested practiced survival instincts rather than flashy acrobatics.
His attack animations prioritized speed over power, quick strikes that targeted vulnerable points instead of dramatic overhead swings.
His idle stance was loose, relaxed, weight slightly forward—ready to explode into motion at any mont but appearing casual until then.
’This is how I actually fight. This is what three years in the ruins taught . Efficiency. Lethality. No wasted movent.’
He saved the custom combat style and moved to Voice Settings.
[Voice Modulation: Adjust pitch, tone, and accent]
’Do I want to sound like an old man to match the appearance?’
He tested it, lowering the pitch slightly and adding a gravelly quality.
The result was... actually pretty intimidating. Like soone who’d smoked through several apocalypses and lived to complain about it.
’Yeah. This works. Lean into the character. Make DirtyGrandpa morable.’
He finalized the voice settings and reviewed his creation.
An elderly man with wild silver-white hair, a poorly-trimd beard, sharp gray eyes, and a combat-ready posture that suggested extre danger despite the appearance of age. Moved like a trained killer. Sounded like soone who’d seen everything and was thoroughly unimpressed.
Above his head, in cheerful blue text: DIRTYGRANDPA
’I am going to absolutely terrorize the ranked ladder with this.’
Zeph confird his character customization and the interface shifted.
-----
[Character Appearance Saved]
[Proceeding to Build Configuration...]
A new screen materialized, and Zeph’s attention sharpened imdiately.
[BUILD SYSTEM]
[Select your preferred gaplay mode:]
Two options appeared, each with detailed descriptions.
[AUTHENTIC BUILD]
Uses your real System stats, skills, and abilities. Your in-ga character will have the exact sa capabilities as your physical body, as verified through System integration. All progression, upgrades, and skill acquisitions must happen in the real world first.
Advantages:
- No additional cost
- Perfect skill translation
- Eligible for Master tier competition
- Authentic player prestige
- Real combat experience directly applicable
Disadvantages:
- Limited by your actual level and stats
- Cannot experint with different builds
- Must physically acquire new skills to use them in-ga
-----
[MODIFIED BUILD]
Purchase stat allocations and skills using credits. Build your ideal character regardless of your real-world capabilities. Experint with different playstyles, min-max to your heart’s content, and customize your virtual identity.
Cost:
- Base stat package (100 total points): 5,000 credits
- Individual stat points: 100 credits each
- F-rank skills: 500 credits
- E-rank skills: 1,500 credits
- D-rank skills: 5,000 credits
- C-rank skills: 15,000 credits
- B-rank skills: 50,000 credits
- A-rank skills: 150,000 credits
Advantages:
- Unlimited build customization
- Test different playstyles
- Access skills you don’t physically possess
- No real-world risk required
Disadvantages:
- Expensive
- Cannot compete in Master tier (reserved for Authentic players)
- Skills are "borrowed" rather than truly mastered
- Zero skill translation to real combat
-----
[Please select: AUTHENTIC or MODIFIED]
Zeph didn’t even hesitate.
[AUTHENTIC]
The choice was obvious for multiple reasons.
First, he had 461 credits to his na. Building even a basic Modified character would cost minimum 10,000 credits for anything remotely competitive. He literally couldn’t afford it.
Second, his entire goal was to train with his actual skills and abilities. The VR environnt offered a consequence-free space to test his A-rank skills, practice his techniques, and develop muscle mory without risking actual injury or death.
Third, and most importantly: Master tier and above was Authentic-only.
The big tournants, the serious prize money, the professional scene—all of it required Authentic builds. Modified players were relegated to separate brackets with smaller prizes and less prestige.
If he wanted to compete at the highest level, Authentic was the only path.
The system confird his selection.
[AUTHENTIC BUILD selected]
[Integrating with System profile...]
[Loading character stats...]
His status window appeared again, but this ti formatted for the VR gaming interface.
```
[DIRTYGRANDPA - AUTHENTIC BUILD]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Level: 35
Class: Warrior
▼ COMBAT STATS
STR: 120 [Rank: B]
AGI: 156 [Rank: A]
VIT: 220 [Rank: A]
INT: 9 [Rank: C]
WIS: 7 [Rank: D]
▼ AVAILABLE SKILLS
• Cleaving Montum (A-rank)
• Predator’s Advance (A-rank)
• Iron Skin (A-rank)
• Wind Blade (A-rank)
• Temporal Fracture (S-rank) [COOLDOWN: 6 days, 23 hours]
▼ TECHNIQUES
• Iron Woodsman’s Foundation [63% Mastery - Expert]
• Foundation Breath [15% Mastery - Novice]
▼ TITLE EFFECTS
• Sole Survivor: All stats doubled
▼ BUILD ANALYSIS
Estimated Tier: High Gold / Low Platinum
Specialty: High-mobility glass cannon
Strengths: Speed, burst damage, adaptation
Weaknesses: Extended fights, crowd control, mana efficiency
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
```
Zeph stared at the build analysis.
’High Gold to Low Platinum estimation? That’s... actually pretty good for a Level 35.’
Most players his level would be sitting in Silver tier, maybe low Gold if they were particularly skilled. The fact that his combination of stats and A-rank skills pushed him into Platinum estimation ant he had a legitimate competitive build.
’And that’s before factoring in actual player skill. The system is analyzing raw stats and abilities, not tactical thinking or ga knowledge.’
’If I can translate my gaming experience from my previous life, I should be able to punch above that estimation.’
A new prompt appeared.
[Training Mode available]
[Would you like to complete the tutorial and practice with your abilities before entering ranked play?]
[YES] [NO]
Zeph selected YES imdiately.
’I’ve skills upgraded to A-rank and haven’t tested any of them in actual combat. Training mode first. Learn what I’m working with. Then ranked.’
The white space transford into a training ground—a vast arena with target dummies, obstacle courses, combat simulation zones, and practice equipnt arranged in organized sections.
[Welco to Training Mode]
[This is a consequence-free environnt for testing abilities and developing skills]
[Features available:]
- Target Practice
- Combat Simulations
- Skill Rotation Testing
- Movent Drills
- Cooldown Managent Training
[Ti in Training Mode does not affect real-world cooldowns]
That last line was important. Zeph’s Temporal Fracture was on cooldown for almost 7 more days in reality. But here in training mode, he could test it freely without limitation.
’Perfect. Let’s see what I’m actually capable of now.’
He started with the basics—movent drills to get used to how his stats translated into VR performance.
The mont he activated Predator’s Advance, his perception shifted.
The world didn’t slow down—that would be inaccurate. Instead, he sped up dramatically, his effective AGI jumping from 156 to 312 for the skill’s duration.
He crossed the hundred-ter training ground in under two seconds, his movents so fast they left afterimages.
’Holy shit. I knew the math said doubling my speed would be significant, but experiencing it is sothing else entirely.’
He tested Cleaving Montum next, attacking a practice dummy with his equipped axe.
First strike: Normal damage.
Second strike: 20% bonus.
Third strike: 40% bonus.
Fourth strike: 60% bonus.
Fifth strike: 80% bonus.
Sixth strike: 100% bonus.
The final hit cleaved completely through the reinforced dummy, splitting it in half.
’The damage scaling is exponential. If I can maintain aggression and keep stacking, I beco progressively more lethal. But if I get interrupted or have to disengage, the stacks drop and I start over.’
’High risk, high reward. Fits my playstyle perfectly.’
Iron Skin was harder to test without actual incoming damage, but the training mode provided combat simulations.
He fought a virtual opponent calibrated to C-rank strength. Without Iron Skin active, the hits staggered him, dealing noticeable damage. With Iron Skin active, the sa strikes felt like minor impacts, their damage reduced by half.
’50% damage reduction is massive. Combined with my 220 VIT, I’m way more durable than my "glass cannon" reputation suggests.’
’Though "glass cannon" was always more about my combat philosophy than actual fragility.’
He spent two hours in training mode, testing combinations, practicing skill rotations, learning the feel of his upgraded abilities.
Cleaving Montum into Predator’s Advance created a terrifying assassination combo—stack damage on weaker targets, then activate hyperspeed to close on priority enemies and delete them with maximum stacks.
Wind Blade at A-rank was useful for harassnt and poking at range, and strong enough to be a primary damage source.
Adaptive Resilience was harder to test in controlled environnt, but he noticed it activating against repeated damage types, gradually reducing their effectiveness.
Temporal Fracture... he saved for last.
When he activated it, the world fractured.
Not taphorically. The arena literally split into overlapping realities, multiple versions of the sa mont existing simultaneously. He could see the paths not taken, the attacks that hadn’t happened yet, the openings that would exist in the future.
For three seconds, he had perfect information and could rewrite his actions.
’This is still the most broken skill I’ve ever seen. No wonder it has a 7-day cooldown.’
After extensive testing, Zeph felt confident he understood his capabilities.
He was fast. Dangerously fast with Predator’s Advance active.
He hit hard and got harder to kill the longer fights went.
He could adapt to repeated threats.
And once per week, he could cheat ti itself.
’This build is viable for competitive play. The question is: how does it translate to actual ranked matches against real players?’
He exited training mode and returned to the main hub.
Ti to learn about the ranked system.
-----
[Ranked Competitive Play]
[Placent System Overview:]
The interface displayed a comprehensive breakdown.
TIER STRUCTURE:
```
Master (Top 500 players globally)
Diamond (Top 2%)
Platinum (Top 10%)
Gold (Top 25%)
Silver (Top 50%)
Bronze (Everyone else)
Unranked (Incomplete placents)
```
PLACENT MATCHES:
All new players must complete 10 placent matches to receive initial tier assignnt. These matches are calibrated to test your skill level across various scenarios:
- Match 1-3: Basic skill assessnt (Bronze-Silver opponents)
- Match 4-6: Interdiate evaluation (Silver-Gold opponents)
- Match 7-8: Advanced testing (Gold-Platinum opponents)
- Match 9-10: Peak performance check (Platinum opponents if previous matches indicate potential)
*Your performance across all 10 matches determines starting tier. Possible to place anywhere from Bronze to low Diamond based on results.*
TIER REQUIRENTS:
Bronze → Silver: Win 50 gas OR maintain 55% win rate for 20 gas
Silver → Gold: Win 75 gas OR maintain 60% win rate for 30 gas
Gold → Platinum: Win 100 gas OR maintain 65% win rate for 40 gas
Platinum → Diamond: Win 150 gas OR maintain 70% win rate for 50 gas
Diamond → Master: Must be Top 500 globally AND maintain 75% win rate for 100 gas
TOURNANT ELIGIBILITY:
Regional Qualifiers: Gold tier minimum
Continental Championships: Platinum tier minimum
Global Finals: Diamond tier minimum
Master Invitational: Master tier only
SEASON STRUCTURE:
Each competitive season lasts 90 days. At season end, ranks soft-reset (drop one full tier, maintain MMR). Current season ends in 28 days.
Zeph absorbed all the information, his strategic mind already calculating optimal paths.
’I need to place at minimum Gold tier to be eligible for the upcoming regional qualifiers. Those are in 30 days according to the forum posts I read yesterday.’
’28 days left in current season. 10 placent matches. If I win most of them, I should place Gold or possibly low Platinum.’
’Then I need to maintain that rank and potentially climb higher before the season ends and I get soft-reset down a tier.’
’Tight tiline, but doable if my skills translate as well as I think they will.’
He checked the current ti in VR.
[Session Duration: 2 hours, 43 minutes]
[Real-world ti elapsed: 2 hours, 43 minutes]
’No ti dilation in VR. Makes sense—people would abuse that for extra practice ti.’
’I’ve spent almost three hours testing my abilities. I should probably eat sothing in the real world, then co back and start placents tonight.’
’Or...’
He looked at the [Begin Placent Matches] button.
’I could start them tomorrow. Fresh mind, well-rested, fully prepared.’
’Give myself ti to research the current ta, watch so high-level gaplay, understand common strategies.’
’Yeah. That’s the smart play. Tomorrow. First placent match tomorrow after proper preparation.’
Zeph logged out, and his consciousness snapped back to reality.
-----
He was lying on his mattress in his apartnt, VR headset still on his face, late afternoon sunlight filtering through his window.
His body felt slightly stiff from lying still for nearly three hours, but his mind was racing with excitent.
’This is going to work. This is actually going to work.’
’DirtyGrandpa is going to climb the ranked ladder, qualify for tournants, and make enough credits to never worry about rent again.’
’And I’m going to have fun doing it.’
He pulled off the headset and set it carefully on his makeshift table.
His Primordial Architect interface updated in his vision.
’Generated almost 800 PP while testing skills in VR. Not as fast as focused breathing ditation, but still accumulating passively.’
’Tomorrow I’ll start placents. Tonight, I research the ta and prepare properly.’
’Goal: Place Gold tier minimum. Platinum if possible.’
’Ti until season end: 28 days.’
’Ti until regional qualifiers: 30 days.’
’Ti until DirtyGrandpa becos a household na: Unknown, but inevitable.’
Zeph stood up, stretched his absurdly tall fra, and smiled.
For the first ti since awakening, he had a path forward that didn’t involve constant violence and escalating danger.
Just gas. Skill. Strategy.
The things he’d always been best at.
’Tomorrow, the ranked grind begins.’
User Comments
0 comments from readers