The System of the Dragon Flame: Fanfic Concept
Character Introduction
The Transmigrator: Elias "Eli" Vance (Original World Name).
* Original Persona: A cynical but highly intelligent college student and hardcore fantasy RPG enthusiast from Earth. He died in a mundane accident.
* New Persona: Elias de Valerius, a non-magical, average-looking student attending Red Fountain who quickly finds himself completely out of his depth.
* Goal: Survive in a world where literally everything can kill him, understand the System, and, reluctantly, become powerful enough to influence the plot and possibly get back home.
* Unique Twist: The System seems to be a strange hybrid of a video game interface and the latent Dragon Flame magic, which has been dormant or completely misallocated in this new body.
The "System" Mechanics
The System manifests as a shimmering blue holographic interface visible only to Elias, complete with classic RPG elements.
* [STATUS] Screen: Displays HP, MP (initially 0), Level (initially 1), and a list of Skills (initially none).
* [QUEST LOG]: Provides mandatory and optional quests that follow the plot of the Winx Club series, but with increasingly dangerous risks. Completing quests grants XP and System Points (SP).
* Example Quest: Main Quest: The First Meeting: Go to Magix, intercept Stella, and help her fight the trolls. Failure will result in game over.
* [SYSTEM SHOP]: Allows Elias to spend SP on items, information, or Abilities. This is the key to his power. Since he wasn't born a fairy or specialist, he has to buy his magic.
* Example Purchase: Skill: [Mana Control Lvl 1] (Cost: 100 SP); Skill: [Basic Plasma Bolt Lvl 1] (Cost: 250 SP); Item: [Low-Grade Healing Potion] (Cost: 50 SP).
* The Problem: The System gives massive XP for plot-critical actions, but it demands that he act like a canonical character or take on impossible burdens.
Story Excerpt: System Shock
Setting the Scene
Elias de Valerius (Level 1, MP 0/0) has just finished transmigrating. He is standing in his dreary Red Fountain dorm room, several weeks before Bloom is meant to arrive.
Elias stared blankly at the floating, cyan-blue text box in the corner of his vision. It hovered about two feet away, visible through the window, the wall, and the cheap, synthetic blanket on his bed.
[WELCOME, PLAYER ELIAS VANCE. INITIATING SYSTEM BOOT-UP...]
"No. No, no, no," Elias whispered, his heart hammering against his ribs like a panicked fist. The room—the one with the two single beds, the metal lockers, and the garish Red Fountain crest on the wall—swam around him.
A loud, celebratory tada-DAA! sound only he could hear echoed in the quiet dorm.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZED: DRAGON FLAME V. 1.0. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: SURVIVAL.]
[WARNING: HOST BODY IS NON-MAGICAL AND HAS NO LATENT ABILITIES. THIS ENVIRONMENT IS EXTREMELY HOSTILE. INITIALIZING TUTORIAL SEQUENCE.]
Elias swiped a hand through the holographic box. It didn't budge. "Listen, System. I don't know what you are, but I'm not 'Elias Vance' anymore. I'm 'Elias de Valerius,' apparently, and I know this world. It's called Magix, and it's a terrifying death trap dressed up as a children's cartoon."
[OBSERVATION: HOST HAS HIGH META-KNOWLEDGE. REWARDING BONUS SP.]
A new message flashed, this time in shimmering gold.
[+50 SYSTEM POINTS (SP) ACQUIRED!]
Elias slumped onto his bed, burying his face in his hands. Fifty points. Enough to buy... what? A piece of gum? He opened the [SHOP] window just to check.
Skill: [Mana Control Lvl 1]
* Allows the user to sense, draw, and utilize trace amounts of magical energy.
* Cost: 100 SP.
"Of course," he muttered bitterly. "I can't even afford the starter pack."
Suddenly, the cyan text box flashed blood-red, accompanied by a blaring, rhythmic siren.
[EMERGENCY ALERT! PLOT EVENT INITIATED! TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!]
A new window slammed open, taking up most of his vision.
[MAIN QUEST: THE FIRST SPARK]
Description: The runaway Fairy of the Sun and Moon, Stella, is fighting two massive trolls near the forest border of Magix. She is outnumbered and running out of power.
Objective: Get to the fight location and intervene. Stella must not fall unconscious before Bloom arrives to stabilize the situation.
Time Limit: 1 Hour, 34 Minutes.
Reward (Success): 500 XP, 250 SP, [Tutor Status Unlocked], Reputation +50 (Fairy of the Sun and Moon).
Penalty (Failure): GAME OVER.
Elias shot off the bed. "Game Over?! Are you serious?! I'm not even a Specialist! I don't have a laser gun or a hoverboard, and the trolls are going to punt me into the moon!"
He looked frantically at the countdown clock in the corner of the Quest box, its digits ticking down relentlessly. 1:33:51.
He had to move. If he failed this first plot point, the entire magical universe could collapse, and he'd be dead for good.
He slammed open the [SHOP] window one more time, his fingers flying in a desperate calculation. He had 50 SP. The Mana Control skill cost 100 SP. He was useless.
Then, his eyes caught a tiny, almost hidden button labeled [MISC. PURCHASES]. He tapped it. The screen refreshed, showing a small list of cheap, absurd items.
Item: [Pocket Sand (Fine Grade)]
* A handful of high-quality, irritating grit. Works on all biological eyes.
* Cost: 5 SP.
Elias let out a desperate, hysterical laugh. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
He immediately bought ten units.
[POCKET SAND (FINE GRADE) x10 ACQUIRED. SP REMAINING: 0.]
"Fine, System," he growled, already running for the door of the Red Fountain barracks. "If you want me to be a protagonist, you'll have to accept that I'm going to be the absolute worst one you've ever seen."
He sprinted out the door, the Quest Timer looming in his sight, heading directly for a battle he was mathematically certain to lose, armed only with a cynical attitude and ten doses of coarse-grained dirt.
This is where the real fun begins! Elias has his sand, his System, and a ticking clock. Let's see how he handles those trolls.
Bonus: Sand vs. Stone
The Sprint to Magix
Elias ran with the reckless abandon of a man who knew he was running toward his doom, but also toward the only path to survival. The Red Fountain training grounds blurred past him—the specialized obstacle courses, the laser-grids, the holographic combat training areas. He ignored the handful of actual Specialists-in-training who gave him odd looks; he was a nobody, a background extra, until the System decided he wasn't.
[TIME REMAINING: 1:28:05]
He reached the edge of the campus, where the paved road met the winding forest path leading to the city of Magix. He had to rely purely on his physical stamina, which, thankfully, the System's new host body (Elias de Valerius) seemed to possess in abundance, despite his non-magical status. Maybe being an extra at a school for heroes meant you at least had to pass basic P.E.
As he ran, he pulled up his inventory, feeling the familiar, smooth, glass-like texture of the holographic interface under his fingers.
[INVENTORY]
* Pocket Sand (Fine Grade): x10
* Red Fountain ID (Lvl 0): x1
He swiped the sand icon and dragged it to his "quick-slot" hotbar at the bottom of his vision. He needed to be able to deploy it instantly.
A terrifying roar echoed from the direction of the city, a sound like granite being ground to dust. Elias didn't need the System to tell him that was a Troll.
[DING!]
[NEW SIDE OBJECTIVE: EASE THE PATH]
* Description: The quickest route is through the old maintenance tunnel, but it's currently blocked by debris. Clear the path.
* Reward: +100 XP, +10 SP, [Basic First-Aid Kit]
* Penalty: None (But you lose valuable time.)
Elias saw the small landslide ahead. Boulders the size of small cars had crashed down.
"Forget that," he gasped, slowing just enough to leap over a fallen tree. "I don't have time to be a construction worker. I need a plot device!"
He took a sharp detour, taking a risk on a less-traveled, heavily overgrown path that, if his meta-knowledge was right, should dump him out right near the fountain where Stella was supposed to be fighting.
The Plot Device Arrives
He burst out of the trees and onto a wide, stone plaza. The air was thick with smoke and the acrid smell of ozone and burnt magic. In the center, a spectacular water fountain was smashed, and two massive, warty Trolls—at least ten feet tall, armed with crude clubs—were swinging wildly.
The target of their rage was the most important person in this universe right now: Stella, the Fairy of Solaria. She looked exactly as he remembered: stunning, golden hair, radiating orange energy, but clearly exhausted, sparks fizzling out around her.
"Come on, you ugly rock-faces!" Stella yelled, dodging a club swing that shattered a lamppost. "You're not even worth the dust on my boots!"
[STELLA HP: 15%] The System helpfully updated the target's status above her head. She was nearly done for.
Elias saw the moment it was going to happen. The second troll, the larger and uglier one, moved to flank her. Stella, focused on the first, didn't notice.
He had maybe three seconds. He wasn't a hero. He wasn't a Specialist. He was a guy with sand.
Elias took a running jump off a low wall, vaulting himself into the open, directly between Stella and the flanking troll.
"HEY! UGLY!" Elias screamed, channeling every ounce of theatrical flair he had.
The Troll stopped, its massive head turning to regard the skinny, out-of-place teenager who smelled distinctly of sweat and panic.
"Small... snack?" the Troll rumbled, its voice like grating stone.
"No, you big idiot! Look closely!"
Elias squeezed his eyes shut and, with a flick of his wrist that felt utterly ridiculous and totally cinematic, he flung a handful of his purchased Pocket Sand directly into the Troll's gigantic, rheumy eyes.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: POCKET SAND (FINE GRADE)]
* Effect: Stuns target for 3 seconds. Causes moderate disorientation.
* Target: Troll #2
* Result: CRITICAL HIT!
The effect was instantaneous and surprisingly effective. The Troll bellowed, dropping its club, its massive hands flying to its face.
"AARGH! EYES! BURN!"
Elias didn't stick around to appreciate the hit. He immediately tumbled into a roll, scrambling to get to his feet near a shattered flower planter, his adrenaline spiking.
"What in the name of Solaria was that?" Stella shrieked, momentarily forgetting her own fight. She took advantage of the distraction to blast the first troll with a weak, desperate solar flare.
"Doesn't matter! Keep fighting, you're almost done!" Elias yelled back.
[TIME REMAINING: 0:02:45]
He looked up. The giant Troll he'd blinded was now thrashing blindly, its club swinging wildly, creating a new, terrifying hazard. The first Troll, though scorched, was still advancing on Stella.
"I need more time..." Elias muttered, frantically looking around.
[DING! NEW OPTION AVAILABLE IN SHOP!]
* Item: [Pocket Sand (Coarse Grade)] (Higher quality, longer stun)
* Cost: 10 SP.
Useless! He had 0 SP!
He pulled out another handful of Fine Grade sand. This time, he didn't aim for the eyes. He aimed for the troll's chest, right where the rough stone of its skin met the softer muscle of its neck, hoping to distract it just long enough.
He didn't get the chance.
A new noise, sharp and fast, sliced through the air. Not a roar, not a shriek, but a sound like a small, highly compressed jet engine.
KZZZZZ-WOW!
A beam of pure, shimmering emerald-green energy slammed into the first Troll's chest, sending it staggering back toward the fountain.
Elias froze. He knew that sound. He knew that color. It wasn't Bloom. It was the other one.
[NEW ALLY DETECTED: UNIDENTIFIED FAIRIES (TOTAL: 2)]
Two figures descended from the sky. One, in a beautiful green and pink outfit, was the source of the blast. The other, her arm stretched out, pulling her close, was a girl with red hair, dressed in a simple, pastel blue t-shirt and jeans.
Bloom had arrived.
[QUEST LOG UPDATE: TIME LIMIT CANCELED. NEW OBJECTIVE: HOLD THE LINE.]
Elias almost wept with relief, but before he could catch his breath, the blinded Troll (Troll #2), still wildly swinging, connected its club with the brick wall right beside him.
CRACK!
The impact sent Elias flying, the air knocked out of his lungs. He hit the stone ground hard, a blinding flash of red momentarily filling his vision.
[HOST BODY DAMAGE DETECTED! HP: 10/100]
[WARNING: CRITICAL DAMAGE. HOST IS BLEEDING INTERNALLY.]
[INJURY DEBUFF APPLIED: -50% SPEED, -75% ACCURACY.]
Elias lay there, gasping, tasting iron. He was alive, for now, but broken.
The redhead, Bloom, saw him. Her blue eyes widened in shock. She ran straight toward him, passing the battle and kneeling beside him.
"You're hurt!" she cried, her voice ringing with genuine, raw concern.
Elias tried to speak but choked. He lifted a shaky hand and pointed past her, where Stella and the green fairy were now fighting the two lumbering trolls.
"The... sand..." he wheezed, pointing to the pocket of his pants where he kept his remaining supply.
Bloom, seeing the urgency in his eyes, didn't question it. She reached into his pocket and pulled out the handful of grit.
"What do I do?" she asked, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Throw it," Elias croaked, "in the big one's face... now!"
Bloom looked at the handful of coarse dirt in her hand, then at the titanic battle, then at the frantic, bleeding boy. And in that moment, she made the choice that would change everything. She stood up, aimed, and threw the magic-repelling Pocket Sand.
Elias closed his eyes, his consciousness slipping away.
[QUEST ACCOMPLISHED: THE FIRST SPARK. REWARDING...]
The golden text and the flood of numbers were the last things he saw before the world went black.