If there was one thing I never expected to see after death, it was a Game Menu. I mean, come on, reality actually being a game? That... was a bit difficult to believe, if I was being honest - but what I was seeing in front of me disproved that.
Welcome to The Game! Please select your next destination.
Naruto – Unlocked
Bleach – Locked
Attack on Titan – Locked
My Hero Academia – Locked
…
There was a very, very long list in front of me. Naruto being the only one of the list which was unlocked, at least as far as I could see. I felt a bit cautious selecting it, as it was the world of godlike Uchiha's, crazy Chakra beasts, and absurdly broken Kekkei Genkai… but it was the only option I could pick. So I held my breath... and I touched it. Immediately, several new screens popped up filling my entire vision, and annoyingly enough… all of them were Character Customization screens. I'd never really liked designing characters, but since this would be my own self, I decided I'd at least give it a shot. After all, it would be my body in a new life, right? Might as well make it look bad ass!
It felt as though time passed by, like it was stuck in quick sand. Slowly but surely, menu by menu, screen by screen. Surprisingly, it was actually kind of fun designing my new body; I definitely gave it some room to grow, making my body pretty damn tall and menacing. It looks like a carbon copy of the great Madara Uchiha, the man who was so strong he curb stomped the entire verse until Naruto showed up with his hacks. Damn, main characters and their hacks, are just ridiculous. I finished off the hair with a satisfied grin. I was basically his identical twin, save for the Sharingan. But... that would be solved soon enough, I guess. However, for now, I looked skeptically at the new screen in front of me; It was a list of Kekkei Genkai... and their cost. I could not afford the Uchiha Bloodline at the moment, I only had 50 BP; I assumed that meant Bloodline Points but I wasn't sure.
]
Uchiha - 100BP
Senju - 100BP
Uzumaki - 75BP
Hyuuga - 75BP
...
]
I felt slightly depressed as I looked at my point total at the bottom; 50. I only had fifty of these damn points, and I needed just double that to achieve the Uchiha bloodline. I muttered a few curses in indignation before I scrolled all the way to the bottom of the list. There were a few that interested me, mainly the Yuki Ice Release, the Iburi Clan's 'perfected' Smoke Release, and the Hozuki Clan's Water Release. All three of these cost 7 points each, and were at the very bottom. I thought it over for a little while. I definitely wanted to get the Yuki Clan's Ice Release, as it was absurdly underpriced, and the perfected version of the Iburi Clan's smoke release... sounded absurdly broken for what it was.
However, I steeled my will. I would not buy a bloodline until I have saved enough to get the Uchiha one; obviously, it was the perfect choice for a perfect human like my body. Long spiked hair, a height that would tower over most of the people in the Elemental Nations, and a face feared by the strongest in the world. I would need the next step, as well - I would need to achieve the eyes that made the world cower in fear.
]
Chakra Beast - Chakra Beast gives a starting bonus of 500 Chakra Points, as well as 50 Chakra Point Regeneration / Minute. Grants 50 CP per level, 5 CP Regeneration / Minute per level. - 2 TP
Ninjutsu Specialist - Ninjutsu comes as easy as breathing to you. 100% Efficiency in learning, leveling, and teaching Ninjutsu. 10 CP per level. - 2 TP
Genjutsu Specialist - Genjutsu comes as easy as breathing to you. 100% Efficiency in learning, leveling, and teaching Genjutsu. Chakra Control is greatly enhanced. - 2 TP
Taijutsu Specialist - Taijutsu comes as easy as breathing to you. 100% Efficiency in learning, leveling, and teaching Taijutsu. 5 STR, DEX, VIT per level. 50 Health per level. - 2 TP
Fuinjutsu Specialist - Fuinjutsu comes as easy as breathing to you. 100% Efficiency in learning, leveling, and teaching Fuinjutsu. Calligraphy Skill lv10. Basic Fuinjutsu Blueprints. - 2 TP
Iryonin - Iryoninjutsu is a skill few learn, and even fewer master. 100% Efficiency in learning, leveling, and teaching Iryoninjutsu. Basic Iryoninjutsu Skills. Chakra Control is greatly enhanced. - 2 TP
Fire Bug - Fire is a beautiful thing, it has grace, elegance, and power. 100% Efficiency in learning, leveling, and teaching Fire Ninjutsu. Basic Fire Ninjutsu. 10 CP per level. - 1 TP
Earth Bug - Earth is a beautiful thing, it is the ultimate defense, and can be the strongest spear. 100% Efficiency in learning, leveling, and teaching Earth Ninjutsu. Basic Earth Ninjutsu. 10 CP per level. - 1 TP
Wind Bug - Wind is a primary force of nature, and is extremely versatile. 100% Efficiency in learning, leveling, and teaching Wind Ninjutsu. Basic Wind Ninjutsu. 10 CP per level. - 1 TP
Water Bug - Water is excellent for assassination, and is great at capturing. 100% Efficiency in learning, leveling, and teaching Water Ninjutsu. Basic Water Ninjutsu. 10 CP per level. - 1 TP
Lightning Bug - Lightning is fast, and strong. It bends to few, but those it does wield great strength. 100% Efficiency in learning, leveling, and teaching Lightning Ninjutsu. Basic Lightning Ninjutsu. 10 CP per level. - 1 TP
]
There were many great 'Perks,' and after reading all of their descriptions... they were all extremely powerful. I only had 10 TP, although I have no idea what that abbreviates for, I made my choices rather quickly. Chakra Beast, Ninjutsu Specialist, Genjutsu Specialist, Taijutsu Specialist, as well as Fire Bug and Lightning Bug. This way I would become extremely strong, and would have very few weak points. I would become a beast throughout every point of strength, just like who I modeled my body after. It would be a shame to do his legacy dirty by being bested in Taijutsu or Ninjutsu. If I was beaten in Genjutsu, I felt as though... he would rise from the grave and kill me himself. God of Shinobi, the man who fought all five Kage at once and toyed with them. I craved to be as strong - no, I craved to beat his strength by 10 fold.
I groaned, my eyes taking a few seconds to adjust to the light, as I looked around. I felt my heartbeat quickened as I realized my situation; I was most certainty in Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist. If someone were to ask how I knew, I'd declare them the greatest idiot the Elemental Nations had ever seen. After all, who I saw sitting in front of me, was none other than a child Zabuza Momochi, one of the future Seven Legendary Swordsmen of the Mist. He was a strong opponent, surely, even in the academy. But I would not yet put him in my sights, my goalpost was far beyond a simple swordsman.
However, now I had to pay attention to the class. A teacher had walked in and he looked bland, as though he was merely a detail in the background of a mediocre painting. His hair brown, his eyes colored the same, and his stance relaxed. I would have to learn from this absolute nobody? I began to fear the Academy would be a waste of time; perhaps I should just abandon this farce and train in the wild. I was already destined to be great, what with my talents and body, and the fact I was halfway to the Sharingan. I rolled my eyes as he began calling names and I tuned him out, feeling it much more important to check my statistics page.
Kakeru xxxxx
Academy Student of Kirigakure 5% EXP
LV 1
HP - 337 HPR - 10/Min CP - 450 CPR - 55/Min
STR - 15 VIT - 15 DEX - 15
INT - 15 WIS- 15 LUK - 15
Katon: Endan! LV 1 -
One of the most basic Fire Ninjutsu, Katon: Endan! (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!) is the weaker version of the more renowned Katon: Gokakyuu!
Raito: Raikou Boruto! LV 1 - One of the most basic Lightning Ninjutsu, Raiton: Raiko Boruto! (Lightning Style: Lightning Bolt!) is a weak bolt of lightning shot toward the enemy, giving a slight paralysis.
Genjutsu: Shuriken Barrage! LV 1 - A basic Genjutsu which tricks the target into believing they were just hit by a barrage of shuriken. Due to the Illusory Truth Effect, their body believes it as reality strongly enough it does real damage.
Kirigakure Taijutsu LV 1 - The most basic style of Taijutsu taught in Kirigakure. Shares similarities with Konohagakure Taijutsu, Iwagakure Taijutsu, Kumogakure Taijutsu, and Sunagakure Taijutsu.
Shurikenjutsu LV 1 - The most basic skill essential to all good Shinobi, Shurikenjutsu affects the aim of Kunai, Shuriken, Senbon, and all other thrown weaponry.
-PERKS x-
Chakra Beast: 50 CP/Lv, 5 CPR/Lv.
Fire Bug: 100% Efficiency learning, leveling, teaching Fire Ninjutsu.
Lightning Bug: 100% Efficiency learning, leveling, teaching Lightning Ninjutsu.
Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu Specialist [COMBINED PERK: 150% Efficiency learning, leveling, teaching Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, or Genjutsu. 5 All Stats/Lv.
Jack of All Trades: Damage relating to combined perks are increased by 50%.
System Rating: Baseline Academy Student Level, who happens to know some weak Jutsu.
I stared at my stats, despairing. I was so, so beyond utterly fucked if I were to fight anyone here right now, and as I glanced around, it was confirmed. Every person in this class was level 20 or above, Zabuza himself leading the pack at 24. I was unsurprised he was the highest level, as he was obviously the most skilled. However, I also realized that level meant absolutely nothing if my system rating was to be believed. It determined I was a baseline academy student, and if everyone in my academy was above baseline, I would be shocked. I knew I would still lose if I did fight anyone though. It was a predetermined fate. All of my skills were at level one, and my stats completely average. I gave it some thought before coming to an idea - I'd read many manga and fanfictions of powers similar to this. Couldn't I just...
Skill [Observe] has been gained!
Zabuza Momochi
Academy Student of Kirigakure 5% EXP
LV 27
HP - 950 HPR -25/Min CP - 630 CPR - 50/Min
STR - 31 VIT - 35 DEX - 40
INT - 25 WIS - 28 LUK - 30
System Rating: High Academy Student Level
I began to think. He wasn't... actually all that stronger than I was. Sure, I mean, he has double my strength and over double my DEX and VIT, but those should be easy enough to grind. I believed, genuinely, within a week I would be able to crush him to a pulp. Zabuza, my friend, you just became my immediate goalpost; at first I determined it useless to declare you as such, demeaning to myself even, but I did need someone to keep grinding towards. And you're it. I would flatten you into the ground.
Quest: Kill Zabuza Momochi and Pass the Academy Exams.
Zabuza Momochi was originally the only person to pass these exams in Cannon. So, you must kill him and take his place.
Time Limit: 1 Month
15,000 EXP
25,000 RYO
Chunin Jutsu Scrolls
5BP
Hidden Rewards:
I wasn't as surprised to see the quest, as I was the rewards of it. It offered BP, which could be exchanged for bloodlines. Is it possible... I would be able to redeem more bloodlines while I was alive? Or, would I have to die first to use them? I shook my head as I refocused back on class, watching as our Sensei, Tenchi, showed us the 'Academy Three.' The Kawarimi, Clone, and the Henge Jutsu. I gained all three skills after watching him execute the Jutsu, waving the notifications away. He then began to ramble about the history of the village and I tuned him out again.
This would be a long, long day.
It took a lot longer than I was anticipating for the class to end. Tenchi-Sensei, that was what he demanded we call him, finally dismissed the class after several hours of extraordinarily boring history, I left the class in a daze. I got up from the seat, obviously it had to be in the back left of the class near a window - perhaps it was my idolization for those cringy, edgy characters that made me choose that spot. Leaving the academy was slightly confusing, as I had quite literally just spawned in the classroom with no other memories, which still left me slightly disoriented.
Walking back to the one place in the village that had been planted in my knowledge, my apartment though I have no idea who paid for it, I felt a shift in the air. The sky seemed to glisten for a second as the world went dark as night approached at an insane speed. I stopped in my tracks; had I just been placed in a Genjutsu? I was unsure. Who would attack an academy student for no purpose? The answer became clear after nearly a minute of me standing still, analyzing everything around me without moving a muscle. A zombie appeared from the other side of a building I had been standing in front of, some sort of restaurant if I read the Kanji right. I let out a small sigh of relief as I understood the situation.
I was in, what the Original Gamer called, an Instant Dungeon. And a zombie one at that; I was guessing it was based on my level as the Zombie was extremely slow and decrepit, the damn thing probably had maybe 30 health at best with how ghastly he looked. I slowly approached the zombie, and let loose a pitiful combo attack with Kirigakure Taijutsu. However, it worked. The zombie basically fell apart at the seams with a four blows. I looked at the damage indicator, which showed my damage calculation.
[(1515)x2-0]50% = 90 DMG
Kirigakure Taijutsu zero up times from that, however a notifier popped up showing its details had a capped level at 30. I smiled and looked around, seeing a few more Zombies across the street now that I had moved up, there were a few on each street save for the one I had been in. Slowly, thoroughly, I had cleared a whole street and was greeted with a single level up message. 5 Stat Points, and a 1 to each stat. It was... a slightly odd level scheme, but I was not complaining. Just gaining a single level had taken less than five minutes in this Dungeon, so I continued over to the next street and began to weave handsigns.
Katon: Endan!
A small fireball, pitiful really, flew from my mouth and exploded into a flame which burned the zombie to a crisp. I looked at the notifier again, ignoring the damage notifier. All I needed to know was the zombie had died. A few more Jutsu later, and another street cleared, my Fire Jutsu had leveled as well. The Jutsu descriptor just said that it had grown in size and base damage, nothing about chakra cost. Interesting, I suppose. However, I was only halfway to my next level even though I had killed the same number of Zombies this time as I had last time. Would EXP requirements double every level? Troublesome.
I worked my way through another street, this time using solely the Lightning Style Jutsu, Lightning Bolt. It took the same amount of Zombies as it took to level both the Taijutsu, and Fireball, but I was still a single exp off of leveling. So onto the next street I went; this time I would be using Genjutsu to kill them. I believed it should do enough damage, the skill even said itself it would do damage - and these Zombies were practically melting off their bones. I stared into it's glazed over, blinded eyes; the Genjutsu took affect immediately.
I could see the Zombies body being struck about as if many Shuriken had impaled it from each angle it was struck. This time, however, I was definitely interested in the Damage notifier. [(2121)x2-0]50%=63 It had dealt 63 damage; the exact same as my Jutsu, but far less obvious. I wondered what the subtracted numeral was; perhaps it was their own intelligence, or wisdom stat. But for right now, it didn't matter. It still killed these creepy walkers. So I cast it on every damn Zombie in the street before turning my attention to the notifiers I had so handily ignored. Both a level up message and a skill level up message.
These were seriously helpful; I knew exactly when and how I had gotten stronger. I wasn't stuck with guesswork. I pulled up my Stat Sheet; all of my stats now numbered at 27, and all my abilities were level 2.
Kakeru xxxxx
Academy Student of Kirigakure 5% EXP
LV 3
HP - 1968 HPR - 10/Min CP - 1558 CPR - 60/Min
STR - 27 VIT - 27 DEX - 27
INT - 27 WIS- 27 LUK - 27
Katon: Endan! LV 2 -
One of the most basic Fire Ninjutsu, Katon: Endan! (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!) is the weaker version of the more renowned Katon: Gokakyuu!
Raito: Raikou Boruto! LV 2 - One of the most basic Lightning Ninjutsu, Raiton: Raiko Boruto! (Lightning Style: Lightning Bolt!) is a weak bolt of lightning shot toward the enemy, giving a slight paralysis.
Genjutsu: Shuriken Barrage! LV 2 - A basic Genjutsu which tricks the target into believing they were just hit by a barrage of shuriken. Due to the Illusory Truth Effect, their body believes it as reality strongly enough it does real damage.
Kirigakure Taijutsu LV 2 - The most basic style of Taijutsu taught in Kirigakure. Shares similarities with Konohagakure Taijutsu, Iwagakure Taijutsu, Kumogakure Taijutsu, and Sunagakure Taijutsu.
Shurikenjutsu LV 1 - The most basic skill essential to all good Shinobi, Shurikenjutsu affects the aim of Kunai, Shuriken, Senbon, and all other thrown weaponry.
-PERKS x-
If I kept this up, I would easily eclipse anyone in my class. It wouldn't even be a challenge. However, like before, my EXP requirement... doubled. This would definitely be an issue. However, there were still enough streets to level up once more, although it was definitely not exactly necessary. I had 10 more stat points saved up, which meant the only person in my class I couldn't beat at this point was likely Zabuza himself. For now, I just wanted to practice my skills. I went down another road brandishing several Shuriken, one in my dominant hand and two in my non-dominant hand. I threw one and it embedded itself sturdily in the Zombies skull, but did not kill. That was... surprising. Perhaps it was not even worth it to level Shurikenjutsu, as at higher levels it was useless anyway. I nodded, affirming myself. It was entirely worthless to practice Shurikenjutsu. Instead, I once more dashed in and began clobbering at the Zombies with an unpracticed frenzy.
It took the entire street to level the skill again, which was surprising. That meant that the exp cost had not increased in the slightest. Perhaps I was misunderstanding things; so I cleared another street. This time, the skill was only 3/4 full. I clobbered another Zombies skull as it raised noticeably. I see; I had forgotten about my combined perk. The Nin-Tai-Gen Specialist perk increased EXP gain for related skills by 50% - everything clicked. The added 50% damage was because I was using Nin, Tai, and Genjutsu related combat skills. That was why the Shuriken didn't kill it. It simply didn't have enough power, of which I assumed was 50 for a Zombie Health baseline. Everything was beginning to make sense.
I darted down another street, butchering a few zombies as my Taijutsu became noticeably smoother. I was now 1/10th the way to the max level of this skill. I assumed it was equivalent to a skill who had a level cap of 100, and a current level of 10. I was unsure though, and to be honest it did not matter at all. I butchered another row, now halfway to a level up and a single row away from level four in Taijutsu. I resigned myself to battle two more rows; what harm could it do? I was just getting stronger. I turned the corner to the next row in which would be forced to fall victim; they would become my prey. However, I stopped myself from moving just after I saw what was in there. I cast observe, holding my breath in.
Emaciated Genin Zombie
Recommended Level: Baseline Genin
Specialty: CQC, Tanking
HP: 2,500
It felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped on my head. I was completely unable to beat this; I needed to think. No bloodline, and no Jutsu that did enough damage to kill that thing without running low on Chakra. I refused, no more than that, to run low either. What if I ran into more of these?
I began to think about it logically; what was the best method I had at my disposal to force a win with as little chakra as possible? I couldn't use Raiton or Katon, and Taijutsu would definitely be out - that Genin almost certainly had me beat in that department. All that was left was… Genjutsu. I almost wanted to hit myself out of stupidity. Of course - the solution was right in front of me. I was destined, although perhaps not in this life, to be an Uchiha. Why the hell had I not thought of their specialty, Genjutsu!?
I cast the only Genjutsu I knew which cost 30 CP per use; Genjutsu: Shuriken Barrage! He seemed confused for a second before returning back to his place, never noticing me. Perhaps his intelligence was too low to fully make sense of what was going on? Either way, I didn't care. This would work. I glanced at the damage notifier.
{[{27x27)x2]50%}-10 = 152
Oh, yeah. This would work well. I needed to cast it 17 times to fully kill the Genin, which equated to about… 510 Chakra. That was just under 1/3rd of my Total reserves, so I know that it'll work. I thus began to spam the Genjutsu on the Genin. He got hit from every angle imaginable by these fakeout Shuriken, leaving no trace on his body save for a decline in health. By the last one, he was lashing out violently expressing anger.
I paid it no mind and cast the last one. Instantly a surge of EXP rushed into both my level and my Genjutsu skill. I gained an entire row of zombies worth of EXP - and my Genjutsu leveled to 4. I was unsure if it really did anything besides making it less noticeable, or harder to break out of, or whether it simply made me more technically skilled in using it like Taijutsu. All of my skills seemed to work like this, whereas instead of giving an increase in damage specifically, I instead became more skilled in using it.
Interesting. Although now I had the rest of this row to complete, it would be a breeze. I would be training my Genjutsu from now on - It had the most immediate potential out of the bunch of skills. The rest of the row was cleared easily and my level rested now on a solid 4, my Genjutsu leveled to five.
Kakeru xxxxx
Academy Student of Kirigakure 5% EXP
LV 4
HP - 3930 HPR - 10/Min CP - 2312 CPR - 60/Min
STR - 34 VIT - 34 DEX - 34
INT - 34 WIS- 34 LUK - 34
Spare Points: 15
Genjutsu: Shuriken Barrage LV5
Kirigakure Taijutsu LV4
Katon: Endan LV2
Raiton: Raikou Boruto LV2