Next thing I know, I am standing in a place that looks deceptively familiar to the place where I just was. And without my Sharingan, I would've been fooled into believing that I hadn't moved at all. However, just a quick look around tells me otherwise. I realize very quickly that there were no names anymore. The God-Tree doesn't pulse with life either. It just looks like your normal, everyday tree. I mean, aside from the size, of course. "Creepy," I tell myself out loud in order to have any sound at all. Frankly, that was probably the creepiest part. There're no birds. No insects. No wind. It is as if my skill killed the entire world, only leaving me alive. The very air felt dead and wrong. I breathe in. I breathe out. I check my HP.
8/60 HP
No poison. At least none I could feel. After taking my surroundings in a bit, a new rectangle makes itself known.
Instant Dungeon initiation completed
Choose the level you wish to challenge the dungeon at.
0: No enemies
1: Undead
I think for a bit. ID Create would have swapped into ID Escape, so if I wanted to change the level, I'd need to back in and back out. It's also impossible for me to create layers of instant dungeons. Makes me wonder if I could use Shadow Clones to create multiple instant dungeons or if that is going to fail. With a grimace, I push that thought aside and concentrate on the current situation. If I now choose no enemies, I'd be safe, yes, but I'd also have no way to gain experience. What even was the difference between picking no enemies and this place anyway? No one is here but me! Was that just to make the rectangle go away?
Quest failed: (Sugar) Daddy
Failed? I groan. Well, of course I'd fail the mission if the only adult around was murderous royalty. I curse and punch the ground before immediately realizing that it was a lot harder than my toddler hand.
-1 HP
Go figure, I'm a toddler, not like I can level the earth I'm standing on with a single punch. I did notice something, however: On the ground, directly under my feet, there is a glowing, red symbol. Wait, I know this symbol. "Naori?" I ask no one in particular. If it weren't for [Gamer's Mind], I'd probably be rather confused right now. This was the design of her Mangekyo Sharingan. The eyes of a character that wasn't even born yet. Chances are she'll never be born in the first place, what with me now being here. Upon second glance and with a bit of thinking, I realize that it was not really hers. It was similar though. Swap black to red and the other way around and you'd have a spitting image of her Mangekyo Sharingan.
Considering my Progenitor Of Hate Perk, there was only one explanation for a Mangekyo Sharingan to be here, especially so soon after Kaguya's arrival: This was mine. "Observe", I say, triggering the skill of the same name.
Instant Dungeon Entry Point
Observe leveled up!
I raise my hands in the air in triumph before immediately trying it again.
Instant Dungeon Entry Point
The entry point of an instant dungeon.
I sigh, something which has almost become second nature to me by this point. Honestly, what did I expect? Still, this thing has to have some sort of function, right? After all, why bother marking it otherwise? I dwell on this a bit, but am forced to let it go. There's no way in hell I'd wanna brute force this. I l lie down on the ground to sleep. It did say I would regenerate upon sleeping, and with 7 HP left sleep sounds pretty good. The ground is hard, but so smooth. So unnaturally smooth. The last thing I remember before letting death's little brother take me is the dungeon's sun in all its pale glory.
You slept and regenerated!
In the morning, I am greeted by a rectangle in my face. Upon viewing it, I check my HP to see the result.
60/60 HP
I have to say, having full health again? It feels pretty amazing. Actually, now that I think about it, I never had full HP before. With that out of the way, I pay attention to the second rectangle.
New quest unlocked!
First Blood
Kill.
On success: +200 XP, [?]!
On failure: You will succeed in this quest. Sooner or later.
Look, I'm well aware that I just failed my first mission, but come on, cheer up rectangle friend! Not gonna lie, I was leaning towards just lying here until I get a few years on myself before training, but those 200 XP might go a long way. Not like I know how much XP I need for a level up. That, plus there's a mystery prize. I am excited for the mystery prize. It was so tempting. I spend some time considering my options. Ultimately, I could always back out and re-enter immediately, no? At least I hope so. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? Right. I select the Undead option. The moment I do, the Instant Dungeon Entry Point lets out a pulse of energy. And, like it did when I first invoked ID Create, the world changes.
The lack of smell was immediately replaced by the smell of blood. The still wind starts howling. The sun in the sky vanishes and is replaced by a moon so blood-red that I almost expected that same fluid to drip down from it onto the earth every time the celestial object pulses. That is the only way I could describe the strange object in the sky. A bloody, pulsating moon. Slowly, a weird feeling builds up inside of me before it is suppressed by Gamer's Mind. The message it sends me is clear as day, even if the bad feeling is suppressed.
You shouldn't have done this.
I fire up the Observe skill again, verbally activating it. It is then I notice the first of the undead shambling towards me. Its movements are slow. One would be forgiven to think the steps it takes tactical and thoughtful if it weren't for the occasional stumble along with the knowledge that there was no mind guiding its movements. I see its chakra, but it was so much different from what little knowledge of chakra I could call my own. There is something missing, and I don't know what it is. It comes closer. With every move it trails a foul liquid from a wound I cannot see, the only evidence of it being the stains it leaves in its wake. I get ready to strike, my body reacting to the danger, adapting to it, as if it knew that I would need to be able to move like I used to back home if I wanted to have any chance of staying alive in this dungeon. It comes closer. Its body is armor. Its limbs are covered in hooks. I wonder if that liquid is poisonous. It comes from a being like this, it cannot be healthy, can it? One final time, it inches closer. I strike to kill. Or can you not call it killing if it is already dead?
+5 XP
Squish. I am honestly surprised by how easy this was. I mean, yes, the beetle was just the size of my palm, hell, not even that, but I kinda imagined that it would somehow put up a fight. Then again, it isn't like me to complain about free stuff.
Quest Completed!
Reward: +200 XP, [Inventory]!
Level Up!
Inventory detected. Enable auto-loot?
Looking at the rectangle, I almost jump with joy. Can you blame me? I just leveled up and got an Inventory! I stroke my non-existent beard. Another The Gamer related skill. Makes me wonder how far I can go with this. I might as well check it out. "Skills," I say before looking through the list. I quickly find it, sandwiched between ID Escape and Mangekyo Blindness Immunity.
Lv 2 Inventory (-)
This skill is a sub-skill of the [The Gamer] skill. Grants (Level*Level) slots in and from which you can store and retrieve items with a thought. This skill's level is automatically equal to your character level. Has three different modes: No auto-loot, auto-loot, system-only-auto-loot. Certain objects may be salvaged depending on level. The higher the level of [Inventory], the better the returns of salvaging an object.
Huh, neat. "Set to system-only-auto-loot," I say, curious as to what that'll do.
System-loot enabled. Automatically loots all system-related items and Ryo.
+5 Ryo
Yeah, that feels about right. I look around and still see nothing approach me before looking at my Inventory. Ryo, it seems, takes up a slot, but stacks up. I don't know how far it stacks though. I try to salvage it, but the system won't let me. That's fair. After all, it did say that only certain objects may be salvaged, and Ryo just doesn't seem to be one of those objects. At least not for now. Talking about the here and now, if the inhabitants of this place may excuse me, there's level up mattes that need attending to.
Status Points: 6
Six points? That's a lot! Maybe. Not like I know what the average is. I wonder what exactly influences how many points I get. I put two in Vitality, two in Strength, one in Chakra and one in Luck.
Str: 6
Vit: 6
Crk: 6
Lck: 1
My reasoning is that, honestly, I just want to get my physicals up to baseline human level, which I have not yet reached, and figure that a bit of Luck and bonus Chakra couldn't hurt. I could feel my body becoming more powerful. I walk around for a bit to adjust myself. My movement became no more fluid, I guess that speed and agility are both providence of Dex, but I was very happy with my choices. It doesn't matter that I'm tiny, who needs age if you can just adjust your stats. Of course, I was still no match for an adult, I could feel that rather easily, but it was still a 50% increase to two physical stats, a small upgrade to my Chakra and whatever the hell luck does. As for my HP and CP, can't hurt to take a look.
60/90 HP
25/30 CP
So the formula for HP seems to be Vitality times fifteen for me, Vitality times thirty for anyone else. For CP, it's Chakra times five and times ten for anyone else. Also, increasing my Vitality or Chakra doesn't heal me up to full. Nice to know. Better find stuff like that out now than when I am in combat. I was not aware yet that this very thought would jinx it. Looking around, my Chakra Sight suddenly identifies up three signatures in the distance which seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Did they just spawn in? They seem to be toddlers as well, but they were evidently undead. I trigger Observe.
Remnant of the Kaguya Clan
Lv 1
One of the many children that did not survive Kirigakure's purge of their clan. They now seek revenge on the living. Their bones are as hard as steel, but they lack proper motor control.
I'd like to believe that I would've pitied them in any other situation, but honestly, I'd probably have done the same thing I do now: I run. They pursue. They show no trace of fear or hesitation as they run towards me on all fours, though it is more like their tiny legs are dragged after them as they dash forward on the huge scythe-blades of bone that have entirely replaced their forearms. The sounds they make, as if the screams of children weren't bad enough, have been warped as well, with their voices being so high-pitched that it wouldn't have surprised me at all if my ears spontaneously decided to start bleeding. I change direction a few times and am now running towards the big tree, but they somehow manage to hang on. No, not only hang on: They are gaining on me! I reach the tree and start climbing. Their scythe-forearms dig into the wood the moment they reach the tree, trying to follow. They fall off more than once, but they learn quickly, and slowly they catch up to me. The microwave sound appears.
New Skill:
Lv 1 Climbing (90%)
Passively increases your climbing ability, increasing your speed, ability to find good holds and bettering your instincts regarding the task. Passively grants +1% Str per level. Passively increases climbing speed by 10%. Passively decreases chance to fall of while climbing by 10%.
That helps at least a bit. I manage to get up on a big branch and realize that they'll be here soon as well. I have to make my stand here. On the plus side, they are kinda stupid and can't surround me on this branch. On the downside, if they somehow manage to make me fall off or hit me with their bone blades, I am doomed. The first one arrives. I didn't notice at first, but this one lacks its lower jaw. At least I won't have to watch out for bites. I'd hate to be turned into a zombie, and while there's no guarantee it works this way or it bypasses Gamer's Body, I'd rather not risk it. It looks at me for a bit, or at least I think it does, hard to tell when your opponent doesn't even seem to possess proper eyes anymore. They are all weird and melted. The two of us stare each other down for a moment with the second one just now managing to take hold of the branch I'm on. Or at least I stare it down, since I am the one with proper eyes. Then, with a loud screech, the first one charges. "Figured you would try that," I say and grin before kicking against the side of its head.
-10 HP
I can feel a weird, malformed rib piercing through my foot. I know it'll disappear as soon as I pull it out thanks to Gamer's Body, but it's still an attack I'd rather not take a second time. Fortunately, the damage I took was worth it as I hear the impact of the undead's body.
+20 XP, +15 Ryo
Fall damage. Nice to see it working in my favor for once. The second one now stands ready to charge. Lacking a proper mind. It charges me, I kick it off. The third one goes down the same way.
+20 XP, +15 Ryo
+20 XP, +15 Ryo
I sit down. Honestly, I am fairly happy that this place isn't as hostile as I thought it would be.
New quest unlocked!
One Man's Trash...
Salvage an item.
On success: +350 XP, +1 Skill Scroll!
On failure: No repercussions on failure.
Skill scroll? What's a skill scroll? I open up the shop to search for it. The shop, by the way, is filled to the brim with crazy stuff. Especially the jutsu section. If I ever unlock Magnet Release, I gotta get my hands on the Magnet Clone Jutsu, which magnetizes the target and causes it to attract or repulse objects selectively according to my will. Combine that with some poison and needles and you got yourself a distraction that can turn your enemy into the target of enemy-seeking poison needles. I pry my eyes away from all the potential awesome locked in this section and go to items. Kunai, senbon, shuriken, swords, storage scrolls, but no Skill Scroll. It is only then I make an important connection. I move back to the bloodline section and move to the Mangekyo Sharingan and then down to my own ability, The Gamer. It is there I find what I was looking for:
+X Skill Scroll
A scroll that can be salvaged in the Inventory to obtain +X Levels to a Skill of your choice. Cannot be used on a Skill that does not use Experience. Cannot be used on a Skill that has already reached the maximum possible level. Warning: Certain Skills cannot gain Experience by continued use and require a +X Skill Scroll to level up.
Cost: X Status Points
There it is. Sounds pretty amazing to be honest. I mean, it might not be useful for lower level skills you are better off training normally, but if you have one of those Skills that cannot gain XP normally it'd be amazing. Or if you have high-level skills which would take a decade to train. What kind of amazing things could I learn and do with a cheat like that, I wonder? I take my head out of the clouds. Time to find something recyclable! I climb down the tree.
Climbing leveled up!
Neat. After finally standing on solid ground again, I look around for a bit. Sadly, there's nothing around I could potentially use. There're rocks and stuff, but trying to salvage them does not work. However, it wasn't an outright denial like with Ryo. Instead, it told me that my Inventory level was too low. It did say it depends on level, so I guess I should've seen that coming. The squished beetle gives me the same message. The only thing I haven't tried yet would be the corpses of the three undead I kicked down from the tree. Trying it out on them does bring up a window, but the result was not very useful.
Salvaging failed.
So there was a failure chance. Nice to know. Would've preferred to know that in advance, but what can you do?
Quest Completed!
Reward: +350 XP, +1 Skill Scroll!
Level Up!
New quest unlocked!
Mysterious Markings
Investigate the Instant Dungeon Entry Point.
On success: Gacha Token, [?]!
On failure: Zombie Outbreak.
I wasn't sure what to feel right now. On one hand, I do not even want to think about a zombie outbreak. On the other, the whole level up thing was nice. Perhaps fortunately, Gamer's Mind flat out halted both the displeasure and the happiness, so I'm fairly calm right now.
I think for a bit, then I salvage the Skill Scroll and put the bonus skill level into Observe. I was supposed to investigate the Entry Point, and Observe was the only skill I had that was directly able to aid an investigation. I use Observe on the two other corpses.
Kaguya Clansman Corpse
Lv 1
Corpse of a dead member of the not yet created Kaguya clan made by the Instant Dungeon. Due to being a creation of the Instant Dungeon, salvaging it is pointless.
I guess that works out? Not sure if this is an improvement over Observe's previous level. I probably should have used Observe on them before using the scroll. You know, so I could directly compare the results. That chance was missed, I guess. Not like I can change that now. Moving over to the Entry Point, I throw Observe online yet again. I immediately regret my decision as I can feel the symbol burning itself into my mind.
Observe leveled up!
Observe leveled up!
I clutch my head. That is a lot of level ups. Is the Entry Point that complex of a thing?
Instant Dungeon Entry Point
The entry point of an instant dungeon. When a change is made to the dungeon, the wave of change starts from this point and moves away from it, warping everything it comes across as appropriate. Once a level is selected, hazards are created as appropriate to the level selected and the strength of the challenger and can then no longer be changed. Visitors of the dungeon without the ID: Escape skill may leave by touching it.
Quest Completed!
Reward: Gacha Token, New Perk "Advanced Observer"!
Appropriate to the strength of the challenger, huh? So there's so little traffic around here because I'm still a toddler. You know what? I'll take it! Better than getting attacked by more monsters than I could handle and dying.
I had no need to check what the Perk did. It became immediately apparent. How? Well, the fact that I looked away from it and back at it again without the symbol's name vanishing made it pretty obvious. I could even mentally focus on it to get the full description back. My assumption is that Advanced Observer allowed me to use Observe passively. Potentially at a CP cost, but since the ability is a passive that is interlinked with Gamer's Mind, and thus my Mangekyo Sharingan, that cost would be set off by my Progenitor Of Hate Perk. It does cover my base Sharingan cost as long as I have the Mangekyo Sharingan active as well, after all, otherwise the Sharingan alone would have knocked me out already thanks to my Civilian-Born perk.
For making an accurate observation regarding your "Progenitor Of Hate" Perk, you gain +1 Int
Looks like I was right. Otherwise, why would my ability reward me with a stat up? Since we're already on the topic of stat ups, I take a look at my points.
Status Points: 6
They stayed the same. Still six. I wonder how far I am from physically reaching the stats of a baseline adult of my old world. Part of me feels bad for not having just dumped all into Strength. That would've allowed me to now have a ten in two of my physical stats. I guess I'll just get Dexterity to a solid ten and then split the other two between my physical stats.
Str: 7
Dex: 10 (+2) = 12
Vit: 7
I move around a bit once more. This time, I was faster, my movements were smoother and I felt all around like I had more control over my body. As a matter of fact, I felt almost like I had too much control. I blink. Could it be that I'm already there? My movements continue for a bit as I want to make absolutely sure. I think I did it. At least my Dexterity had reached the point where it exceeds what I used to be capable of back home. The tipping point is probably around ten then. Due to my Sharingan, I am unable to actually make a proper assessment of this, but ten is what I'll be aiming for. I would have that by the time I hit level four! Just how powerful are people around here anyway?
Part of me is scared of the answer. Let's be real here for a moment: There is no way in hell for me to beat the Sage of Six Paths. Not him, not his brother, sure as hell not his mother. His kids will probably be able to curb-stomp me as well. The kids of both brothers if we consider the freaking Tenseigan being a thing. And if Black Zetsu finds me I'm boned as well. Nothing else to do but train and hope that those titans won't decide that I'm in their way, it seems. I slap myself. There's no time for me to wallow in self-pity.
Maybe I got all of this wrong? Maybe they are actually all super chill people. I'm sure the Sage of Six Paths is a nice guy. At least he seemed that way from what I remember. Of course, I am "Of Alien Origin", so there's no telling what will happen if he notices that I have CP without his aid. In the worst case scenario he thinks I'm one of his mother's family members, causing him to try to kill me the moment he gets the chance. He'd succeed too. On the other hand, this would be an opportunity to get the chakra of THE Sage of Six Paths. I can use that to unlock the Six Paths Sage Mode if I have Sage Mode unlocked. Can you imagine that kinda boost to my abilities? It'd be amazing. Or I could get his brother's chakra. Hell, I'll probably be there when the old man splits the Juubi into the Bijuu. I could get a sample right of all their chakra right then and there...
It's decided. I'll risk it. I'll go out there and try to do the whole ninshū-business for a bit. Of course, I'll have to fully empty my chakra stocks before I do and hope that Gamer's Body won't have me just keel over from Chakra Exhaustion.
First things first though. Opening the shop, I go to the Gacha. I have one Token. Deep breaths. Let's hope I get lucky.
"Here we go."
Author's Notes:
So, today I found out that horizontal lines are a thing. They are super useful for making a clear distinction between things. Such as a story and the Author's Notes. Such as these. Anyway, I'm not sure if the second chapter is the right place to say, or write, more appropriately, this, but I hope you enjoy my first story. If you spot grammar mistakes (as English is, unfortunately evidently, not my native tongue), feel free to point them out.
EDIT: I just noticed the question in the reviews. The answer to it is, yes, it is planned that he will ultimately end up being there, however, it will take a good while until we reach that point in the story. It also somewhat depends on how many time-skips I end up including in the story.