It’s been awhile since I last AU dumped, so here you go:

An AU in which the cast of Dangan Ronpa gets stuck in an SAO-style VR game that kills people.

Notes on the mechanics of the video game before we start:

1. Unlike SAO, there are different species/races and classes to choose from. The races are your standard fantasy races: human, fae (elf, fairy, or druid), dwarf, merperson, troll (frost or wood), and shape-shifter. The classes are also pretty standard: swordsperson, warrior/gladiator, cleric/bard, mage/sorcerer/sorceress, sniper/archer, and rogue. Each player has a total of 90 race-class pairs to choose from.

2. Instead of needing to use a skill to upgrade it, when you beat bosses and-or level up (you gain experience by fighting and crafting- and yes, cooking counts as a craft), you get a thing called a “skill point.” Skill points can be spent in your menu on different skills. Each class and race comes with a set of advantages and disadvantages, so you have to strategize when it comes to spending your skill points. Skill points can not be refunded and put towards other skills once they’ve already been spent.

3.Regarding ultimate attacks, in this version of SAO, once you max out a skill (it can be any combat-related skill – you can’t ultimate your cooking skill; that would be stupid -, from a healing spell to a sword attack!) you will be given three or so different ultimates related to the maxed out skill to choose from. However, once you pick an ultimate, your ultimate will be considered a different skill from the skill it’s related to. This means you have to strategize when it comes to spending your skill points even more, because your ultimate gets better separately.

4. Also, health isn’t a skill. Your max health depends on your race/class pair and your level, not skill points put towards health. That would be stupid.

5. Also, the menu isn’t gesture-controlled, because this is nerve gear why tf would you need gestures. Other players can’t see your menu, aside from your health bar and screen name.

6. Post-locking people in the game, while your avatar is now your actual appearance, your physical capabilities IRL are not your capabilities in-game. Chiaki would never be able to swing around weapons that ridiculously huge IRL, but because her in-game strength stat is high, she can do so within the virtual world.

7. The level cap is level 250.

8. The guild cap is 100 players.

9. When fighting in a party or with a guild, each player gets the same amount of experience. The experience amount each player get does not change if you’re playing alone. If you beat a boss by yourself, let’s say you get 100 XP or something. If you beat the same boss in a guild, everyone in the guild that’s fighting each gets 100 XP. This is to encourage teamwork.

10. The no crystal zones don’t exist, because those are stupid.

11. The bosses and minibosses respawn after they’re beaten so other players can beat them, but you only need to beat a boss once to unlock the next floor to all players.

Most, if not all, of the main cast is aged up for various reasons. They’re roughly college age.

Hajime Hinata and Chiaki Nanami are best friends in real life. They were also both beta testers for the new VR mmorpg “Ruin Spirits Online.” This is why they’re both pretty OP.

Hajime’s in-game self is a human swordsman named Izuru Kamukura. The avatar looks just like Izuru Kamukura from canon, surprise, surprise. His primary weapon is a sword, and his ultimate is “Truth Blade,” a sword slash that no magic can block, but armor and shields can take the edge off.

Chiaki’s in-game self is a dwarven warrior named Usami. The avatar looks like a buff, dwarf Usami. Her primary weapon is a giant battle axe, and her ultimate is “Game Over,” a giant axe slash that, when the skill’s upgraded enough, opens a hole to the center of the Earth down the field, killing anyone who falls into it. However, regardless of skill or whatever, it’s dodgeable. Chiaki, being Chiaki, is one of the best players in the game, and probably the best tank.

On the first day of RSO being online, a terrorist group known as “Ultimate Despair” hacks into the servers and creates a glitch that makes players die when their avatars do. Then, they trap all 30,000,000 or so players inside the game, and tell them they’ll be freed when someone makes it to the top of the ruined Castle Mut, which has 200 floors, each with its own bosses and dungeons. The group also decides to make all the players’ avatars look like their IRL selves, just to screw with them and spread some more needless despair.

Izuru and Usami obviously decide to party up, both knowing they’re on the same level, make a great team, and trust each other.

However, while they have a DPS and tank, they don’t have a healer.

One of the big guilds that pops up is “The Future Foundation,” which consists of class 78 from canon. The leader of the guild is this AU’s Makoto Naegi, a human mage known as a-hoe-gay. It was supposed to be a joke character while he got the hang of the game.

Nagito Komaeda plays an elven cleric named Trash. His ultimate is “Hope Blast,” which heals all party members and boosts their defense and attack stats for a short period of time. He tried to join TFF, but because of the intense, burning hatred between him and Junko Enoshima, he ends up not. Instead, he parties up with Izuru and Usami after meeting them, becoming the healer of their group.

Much later on, a-hoe-gay approaches Izuru, Usami, and Trash for help. Apparently Kuma-Chan (Junko) and Mono-Chan (Mukuro Ikusaba) split from TFF and formed a player-killing guild – “Ultimate Despair,” intentionally named after the terrorist group that caused this – and TFF is kinda losing control of the situation. They came to the trio, because Izuru and Usami are really good players, Usami being one of the best players, and with Trash watching their backs, most people want to be on their good sides. The trio then calls up everyone they’ve met and befriended so far (class 77-B from canon), and they all join up with TFF to take down UD.

I know literally nothing about DRV3, so I’m going to leave that group’s involvement to you guys.