Dex stepped out into a dimly lit alley, the faint stench of garbage and rot already filling his nose. He glanced around cautiously before muttering, "Alright, first things first… let's figure out where we are."
He tapped at his watch a few times and spoke firmly. "Alright, watch, where are we?"
Nothing happened.
Dex frowned, frustration flashing across his face. "Damnit… that's right. He said I had to say a special phrase. What is it though?" He rubbed his temple, trying to recall Tet's words, then his eyes widened as realization hit. "Oh… that jerk."
Leaning toward the watch, he said clearly, "Computer."
The watch lit up and replied in a crisp, mechanical tone, "Yes, Dexter."
Dex let out a sigh of relief. "Where am I?"
The watch responded calmly, "You are in Raccoon City. Updating your quest log now."
Dex stiffened as his watch screen shifted, displaying a glowing quest log:
---
Main Mission: Survive the Events of Resident Evil 2 and 3 Remake
Reward: 1 level and 2 weapons of your choosing
Sub Mission 1: Save Brad Vickers, Robert and Emma Kendo, Katherine Warren, and the survivors on the train
Reward: $5000, New Perk – Good Samaritan
Sub Mission 2: Kill 50 Zombies
Reward: $500, New Perk – Stars, New Weapon – Hot Dagger
Sub Mission 3: Kill Nemesis, Mr. X, and William Birkin
Reward: $10,000 and 1 extra level
---
Staring at the display, Dex's mouth went dry. The only thing he could manage to say was, "Oh… fuck me." His voice cracked with disbelief as he raked a hand through his messy hair. "The main mission alone is going to be tough, but the third sub mission? That's way beyond me."
He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to take a slow, steadying breath. When he opened them, his gaze was sharper. "It's okay… it didn't say the sub missions are mandatory. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
He flicked through the watch's menus until he landed on the status page.
---
Name: Dexter M. Cutler
Health: 100
Level: 1
Strength: 2
Perception: 6
Endurance: 3
Charisma: 2
Intelligence: 7
Agility: 3
Luck: 8
Perks: None
Skills: None
Abilities: None
Characters:None
---
Dex grimaced at the sight. "Well… it sucks that I don't have skills or abilities, but I don't have any context for the rest." He frowned thoughtfully, then asked, "Computer, explain how the power scaling for stats works, please."
The watch answered smoothly, "Yes, Dexter. A score of 5 would be average, while 10 would be above average. A score of 20 is considered peak human. Anything beyond that is superhuman. After all stats reach 100, you will have left humanity behind and become a low-class deity. Keep in mind some perks and abilities will permanently increase stats."
Dex's lips curled into a half-smile, a spark of excitement cutting through his nerves. "That's… pretty cool, I guess. How long till the plot begins?"
The watch gave a faint warning beep. "It is unadvised to continue treating this like a game, Dexter. There is no defined plot. Your mere presence alone has already altered the events of this world. But to answer your question… the outbreak will begin in six hours, leaving you with just enough time to prepare."
Dex's expression hardened, determination flashing in his brown eyes. Six hours wasn't long.
Dex crossed his arms and muttered thoughtfully, "If I remember correctly, the actual outbreak lasted for about eight days… so that's a lot of time to grind familiarity, depending on who my character is." He smirked with anticipation and added, "Speaking of, I think it's time to draw my first character."
He quickly navigated through the watch's menus until he reached the character screen. Across the glowing display, bold letters appeared: One Random Draw Available.
Dex's eyes narrowed with focus. "Alright…" He tapped the draw button. Immediately, a notice popped up, warning: This will be your only character until familiarity is maxed out.
Dex clenched his fists, a flicker of nervous energy flashing across his face. "Here goes nothing… please give me someone good." With a deep breath, he pressed accept.
Instantly, golden light enveloped his body, swirling around him like a cocoon. When it finally faded, Dex blinked and said cautiously, "Did it work?" But the moment he heard his own voice—high, light, and undeniably cute—his expression twisted into pure alarm.
"Wait… what the—?!"
Panic rising, Dex bolted out of the alley, his footsteps echoing against the concrete. He spotted a dusty windowpane and rushed to it, pressing his palms against the glass.
The reflection staring back at him wasn't his own. Instead, he saw a sixteen-year-old girl with slightly tan olive skin and striking amber eyes. A beauty mark sat beneath her left eye, and long black hair, tied into twin pigtails with bright red ribbons, framed her face. She wore a blue sailor uniform with a white collar and red tie, a pleated skirt with gray stripes, black stockings, and brown shoes. Reinforced black fingerless gloves covered her hands. Across her back, secured with brown leather straps, was an enormous odachi with a white hilt, gold guard, and golden ring pommel resting inside a vibrant red scabbard.
Dex's—no, her—jaw dropped. "…Okay, I should have expected the possibility of being a girl. I mean, he didn't specify that there were only male characters." She groaned, dragging her hand down her face in exasperation. "What I actually have a problem with… is who I think this is. Let's check real quick."
She flipped open the character page on the watch, heart pounding in her chest. The display read:
Character: Saki
Origin: Oneechanbara Origins
Her eyes widened and her stomach dropped. "Oh fuck me… all I can do is pray that the real Saki never, ever finds out about this, or she'll definitely kill me. And if she doesn't… Aya might." She let out a weary sigh before muttering, "Oh well… let's check out the current stats and see if there's been a change."
Saki navigated to the status screen:
---
Name: Saki (Dexter)
Health:1100
Strength: 22
Perception: 16
Endurance: 33
Charisma: 12
Intelligence: 28
Agility:33
Luck: 12
Perks: None
Skills: Tsubaki Style Mortal Combat (Locked), Saki Style Swordsmanship, Parkour, Energy Manipulation (Locked)
Abilities: Enhanced Strength (Locked), Enhanced Speed (Locked), Enhanced Endurance (Locked), Accelerated Perception (Locked),Berserk Form (Locked), Xtatic Form (Locked)
Familiarity: 000%
---
Staring at the numbers, Saki frowned deeply. "I know Saki's stats should be higher than this… it must be because of my familiarity level."
She glanced down at her watch and asked, "Computer, how do I raise familiarity?"
The watch answered in its calm, mechanical voice, "You can raise the percentage of familiarity by performing actions that align with your character. For example, Saki is a zombie hunter. The elimination of undead is one possible way to gain familiarity."
Saki nodded slowly, determination setting into her features. "Makes sense. So, I just have to do things Saki would do. Sounds simple enough." She reached back and unfastened her odachi, storing it carefully in her inventory.
As she was about to close the menu, a small detail caught her eye. Sitting in one of the inventory slots was two $100 bills.
Her lips curved into a sly smile. "Next… a quick shopping spree."
Saki walked into the nearest supermarket, grabbing a cart and quickly weaving through the aisles. She loaded it with non-perishable food items, camping stoves, mini butane gas canisters, bottled water, a few pots, dishes and cutlery, a tent, sleeping bags, canteens, lighters, waterproof matches, and finally, a compound bow with arrows. On impulse, she tossed in a ridiculous amount of snacks as well.
At the checkout, the store clerk stared at the mountain of gear with wide, baffled eyes. Saki smiled faintly but didn't offer an explanation, paying in cash before ducking out of sight and quietly storing everything into her inventory.
Surprisingly, after buying all of that, she still had over twenty bucks left. With her stomach growling, she decided to drop into a local diner. Sliding into a booth, she ordered a burger and fries. As she ate, she rested her chin on her hand and checked her watch, thinking through her situation.
"Okay, three hours till nightfall. I'll have about eight days to hunt until the plot begins. I can't save Brad, Kendo, and his daughter until then… I think Emma was infected the day before, so I'll just have to hover around his shop and eliminate any undead that get close. As for the mayor's daughter—I have no idea when she died. I guess I'll just have to get her to the train before she meets Irons."
She paused, frowning as she bit into her burger. "And finally, the train. The only way to save that is to stop Jill from getting on it… or to somehow lure Nemesis away personally. But how? Maybe if I present myself as a greater threat than Jill, he'll focus on me first. Then there's his damn regeneration—even acid didn't kill him in the game. In the end, Jill had to use that massive railgun, which might as well have been a plasma cannon, honestly. Maybe…"
Saki sighed, pushing her fries around her plate. "…Oh well. I'll just have to experiment and figure it out."
She finished her meal, left a decent tip for the waitress, and walked out into the fading sunlight. With two hours left, she found a rooftop to train on. She drew the compound bow and lined up her first shot—only to watch the arrow veer wildly off target. She grit her teeth, frustration flickering across her face, and kept at it.
For the first half hour, her shots barely landed where she wanted them. But after a solid hour of practice, sweat beading along her brow, she was able to consistently hit the bullseye. Her breathing steadied, and her expression sharpened with growing confidence.
This wasn't just about practicing archery—it was also an experiment. She wanted to know if she could pick up skills through training and learning the old-fashioned way.
With thirty minutes left until the outbreak, her watch suddenly chimed with a notification.
New Skill Acquired
Archery: Improved marksmanship and damage with a bow and arrow. While holding a bow, Perception and Strength increase by 5 points.
Saki's eyes lit up. She smiled, pulling another arrow from her quiver and firing. This time, not only was her accuracy flawless, but the arrow ripped through her makeshift target and buried itself into the concrete wall behind it.
Her grin widened, satisfaction glowing across her face. "Sweet. This means I can acquire skills the old-fashioned way and don't have to rely on quests or levels."
She retrieved her arrows, took a long drink of water, and sat on the edge of the roof. The city sprawled before her as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with streaks of orange and purple. She leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees, counting down the minutes until chaos began.