Darkness. There was nothing but darkness surrounding me. I started freaking out, was I dead? Where am I? Who am I? Why don't I remember anything!?
"Hello?"
There was no response, I tried to move around before stopping abruptly.
Ping!
The sound rung through my body, as if something was passing through me. However, I got little time to think about this feeling as light exploded out through the darkness, blinding me. Suddenly, I was floating in a place completely opposite to the one I was just in.
It was nothing but blinding white… except for a strange box hovering in front of me, constantly following my vision. I tried to smack it away but my hand went straight through!
I took a closer look at the box and saw it said something.
You have been placed in the limbo between universes! Please decide your chosen universe!
I didn't understand what I was seeing, pick my chosen universe? I looked at the options underneath and saw there were three options. But…they were all gibberish! They didn't say anything at all! Just a bunch of letters glitching out! I looked around and decided I had no other choice. I could either stay here forever in this 'limbo' or select one of the glitched out options at random. Screw it. I picked the top option.
Ping!
You have picked andhaowbdijd! Your name, age, gender and clan has already been decided! Please select a village:
Lightning
Water
Earth
Fire
Wind
I blinked, unsure of what was happening. I thought about which would be a good village to pick, even though I had no background knowledge of any of them. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I reached out and picked fire on a whim.
You have selected: Fire! Here is your status page, you will begin once finished reading:
Name: Hashi
Title: The Bridge
Age: 8
Gender: Male
Clan: Unknown (orphan)
Alliance: Village Hidden in the Leaves
LVL: 1 (0/200)
HP: 50/50
SP: 25/25
CP: 25/25
CC: 25%
STR: 3
VIT: 2
DEX: 2
INT: 5
CHA: 4
CC: 3
LUC: 1
Points: 0
Money: 0R
An Orphan born in Konoha, born just 2 days before the Kyuubi attack, Hashi was always a child sitting in the background, in the shadow of his peers. His past and present seems dull, however his future could hold infinite possibilities. All of which is reliant on Hashi, and Hashi alone.
The moment I finished reading the text, the box abruptly disappeared and I started rushing downward towards seemingly nowhere. However, after what felt like forever, the white started slowly dissipating, being replaced with blue around me. I looked around and saw clouds before me and I was rushing towards them faster than physically possible. I was in the sky!
"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"
I screamed the entire way down, not exactly brave or courageous of me but I was currently falling without a parachute, ten kilometres high!
I fell through the clouds and saw the world before me rush forward at such a speed it was over in an instant. I flew towards a building and thoughts started rushing through my head about how I was going to crash through the roof and most certainly give the building a nice, new red paint job. I flailed wildly to slow my fall, but obviously, to no avail. I braced for impact, preparing myself for death. Wow, I've only been alive for like 10 minutes and I'm already going to die, that's depressing. The building rushed towards me, it could only be a hundred metres away now. I scrunched my eyes shut and accepted my fate. I waited… and waited… and waited.
But the pain never came. I opened my eyes to find I was lying in a bed with sheets strewn all over the place. I looked up to find a surprising lack of a hole in the roof. I lied back down for another five minutes, taking in all the horror that just occurred. However, before I could succumb to the sweet embrace of sleep I was jolted up by a woman in her 40's, yelling at someone to get up. I slowly creaked out of bed, still shaken by the ordeal, and took this time to explore my surroundings. I was in a wooden bedroom with floorboards half cleaned and a relatively empty room, devoid of personality.
There was a bed, a desk and a closet, nothing else. Wow, my room's boring. I got dressed and walked out of the room into a cafeteria of sorts. I looked around and saw a bunch of children only a few adults. I must be in an orphanage. I looked at the one visible adult in the building, the lady who woke me up. There was a name and some text above her head similar to the box in limbo; it read:
Ko Hogo, Matron of the Orphanage of Konoha
Lvl: 9
Rep: 14
I gawked at the newfound information. What is this power I've got? Can I see the basic information of a person? Pretty lame if you ask me.
"Hashi? Hashi, are you ok?"
I was snapped out of my thoughts from her question.
"No, I'm fine, just daydreaming."
I hurriedly rushed away, embarrassed.
This wasn't normal, I could remember nothing about who I was yet I can still tell that random words floating above someone's head isn't normal.
I walked into line behind a bunch of kids, I presume to get food and then it dawned on me. I was a kid! I was no taller than all the little pipsqueaks around me, I knew for a fact I didn't used to be a kid, I don't know how, it just doesn't seem right. Seriously, why am I so calm about this! I'm an eight-year-old boy yet I know I should be like 20 years older!
This makes no sense at all!
I quickly calmed down, I don't know why, I just did. I grabbed food and sat down. I began slowly eating my breakfast, taking in all that's occurred.
"You better hurry up or you'll be late for your first day at the academy Hashi."
I looked up and saw Ko smiling down at me. Wait, academy? What sort of world is this?
Ping!
Quest Alert!
Find and Join the Academy on Time!
Because you're an orphan you don't have a big shot in life right now, so when an opportunity presents itself you better take it!
Reach the academy before 9 AM!
Rewards;
Ninja Training
+20 EXP
Failure;
Better luck next year!
Do you accept?
Y/N?
Oh God, where do I even find the academy? Whatever, I'll be fine. I quickly pressed 'yes' and the screen vanished. Ok, this is new. This certainly makes my newfound 'power' much more interesting. Am I in a game or something? I pressed yes and got back to my breakfast.
I quickly gulped down my breakfast and stole a glance at the clock before running out. It was 7:30, ok I had time to find it. It'll be a piece of cake!
One Hour and 30 Minutes Later
What the fuck!?
Why was it so hard to find the damn place, I swear my legs were going to fall off by the time I ran inside, right as the bell rings. I was running around the village that entire time! Shit, I hate running.
As I sat at a desk, panting, I looked up and saw a box hovering in front of me. I looked around, it seemed no one else could see it. I took a closer look at the box.
Your VIT has gone up by 2 for one and a half hours of strenuous running!
I blinked and looked at my status, sure enough;
STR: 3
VIT: 4
DEX: 2
INT: 5
CHA: 4
CC: 3
LUC: 1
Well, sure enough my VIT went up by two points. I guess that's ok. The rest of my stats were ok, but INT was obviously my best.
I listened into the conversations surrounding me, mostly just excited chatter about what was to come. To be honest, I was excited to figure this universe out.
Ping!
Repeated action has caused a new skill to form!
Eavesdropping, Lvl: 1 (0%)
Your ability to listen in on another's conversation without them noticing. This is an extremely important skill of a ninja to retrieve information.
Range: 4 metres (100% accuracy)
-25% accuracy for every additional metre
I blinked, 'well this is new'. So, I guess I was right about the game idea. This is very interesting indeed.
Wait, does that mean I have other skills. I was curious and spent the rest of my time trying to figure it out. Eventually, I figured out how to open it by saying 'skill list'. Suddenly, a box appeared before me, making me jump back in surprise. I studied the text in the box. It was a menu list of my skills I had. Apparently, I already had two, not including the one I just got;
Gamer's Mind, Lvl: MAX
Allows the user to calmly think things through and keep a peaceful state of mind, even in times of stress. This also allows an immunity to psychological status effects.
Gamer's Body, Lvl: MAX
Grants the user a body that allows the user to live in the world of a game and uses the status' the user possesses.
Ok, these are both understandable. So that's why I wasn't freaking out more earlier. And I guess the Gamer's Body means that my body will work according to my HP, SP and CP bars I have.
I thought of other menus I could have.
"Menu?" It came out as a question.
A box opened, well lucky me.
Hashi, (The Bridge)
Lvl: 1 (0/200)
So, this was my name and level. I guess that bracket shows my title and my experience. But, the Bridge? I don't know what that's supposed to mean or do, or why I have it. I'll find out later.
HP: 50/50
SP: 25/25
CP: 25/25
Control: 25%
Allegiance: Village Hidden in the Leaves
Ok, so I guess this isn't too bad for an eight-year-old. HP probably means health points and SP would mean stamina points. But CP and Control alludes me. I am curious as to what they are. Maybe it has to do with whatever universe I'm in, meaning, chances are it'll be explained in this class.
Ping!
Your INT has gone up by 1 for thinking logically!
Sweet, let's check those stats.
STR: 3
VIT: 4
DEX: 2
INT: 6
CHA: 4
CC: 3
LUC: 1
Ok, not too bad, not too bad. But still, CHA and CC is unknown. What does it mean? Hm, I'll figure it out.
I wanted to try one more thing.
"Titles."
The Bridge: Owned for an unknown reason, it gives a +10% boost to all stats while speaking with 2 select people at once. They also receive this boost.
I closed the box and looked at the other kids around me. Most were about level 5-8, however some of the kids, who seemed to stand out, were around level 10. One, named Sasuke Uchiha, I took immediate interest in, being the highest of the lot at level 14.
"Alright class, listen up."
Ping!
Quest Completed!
Find and Join the Academy on Time!
Because you're an orphan you don't have a big shot in life right now, so when an opportunity presents itself you better take it!
Reach the academy before 9 AM!
Rewards;
Ninja Training
+20 EXP
I blinked and opened my menu. Sure enough, I had gained 20 experience points. Only 180 to go! Oh Christ…
I dismissed the box and looked at the man at the front of the room.
"This is the academy, you all will study here for the next few years before becoming fully-fledged ninja and going out on missions of your own. That all depends on how well you do, however. Many of you may not pass, but I believe all of you have what it takes."
I looked at the name above his head;
Iruka Umino, Chuunin Teacher
Lvl- 29
REP- 5
Wow, the guy already likes me? Sweet.
"Wait!"
Everyone's attention was quickly drawn to the door of the classroom where a boy with spiky yellow hair and dressed in orange clothes came crashing in. He jumped to his feet and through up his fists.
"Yes! I made it!"
BONK!
The book Iruka was holding came crashing down on the boy's head.
"No you didn't!"
A chuckle escaped my lips at the strange boy. He was certainly another to talk to. I looked at the tag above his head;
Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchuuriki
Lvl: 6
REP- 0
So, the class went on. I quickly learned that this was a world of ninja. A world where people have a special energy called chakra and that they can do amazing things with this energy. It was truly awesome. So that must be what CHA is. Chakra. But what about CC and control?
"Not only is a large amount of chakra necessary to become strong, but great chakra control is needed to. If no control is applied to your attacks, about one quarter, give or take, of the chakra you use will go to the attack, the rest will be wasted. So, unless you want to get tired quickly, chakra control is essential."
Well, that answers my question. Guess they both mean chakra control.
As I continued listening, I learned the life of a ninja is a path full of killing and murdering. Jesus, what am I getting in to? Sure, breathing fire and controlling water is cool and all, but honestly, it seems to be a big trade-off.
I quickly was dragged off into my thoughts, was this really just a game? If so, this game is way to fucking real! Honestly, this feels like real life! This begs the questions, who, or what am I?!
I don't know, all I know is that I need answers and the only way I'll got these answers will probably be by following the 'storyline' of the game. Maybe then I'll learn my purpose. But to do that I need to stay alive, and to do that I need to get stronger, much stronger. Damn, I'm scared shitless but so excited at the same time!
A bell rung somewhere in the school, signifying lunch time. All the kids filed out of the room, one by one and began to eat outside.
A/N
Hello again! If you're reading this after reading the original, welcome back and welcome if you're new! There's no major changes in this chapter, so not to worry. However, there'll be a few more observable changes in the chapters to come.
Don't forget to review!