Chapter 3: Everything Unfolding
As the horde of undead in front of him began walking towards him, Naruto was starting to wish he knew a few crowd control techniques, or at least an exploding seal tag. His thought on the matter was cut short, as a couple of axes were sent flying at him. One fell short, while the other went for his head that he only managed to bat away at the last second with his pipe.
"Ok, you can't hit what you can't see," Naruto tossed down a smoke bomb that screened the area white before making a strategic retreat to a better and more secluded vantage point. Naruto considered himself lucky that the zombies still needed to rely on their eyes to find him instead of smell. Or, at least, he so hoped. As he reached a decent vantage point, Naruto stuck to the shadows as best he could as he looked down upon the street.
"Ok, let's see here … seven. Nope. Nine zombies," Naruto counted and spotted two new enemies amongst them, "Observe."
Mob Zombie – Lv 4
HP: 175
CP: 0
STR: 23
VIT: 7
END: 15
DEX: 5
INT: 0
WIS: 0
CHA: 4
LUK: 0 (You're dead. Your luck sucks.)
Defense: 8
Specialization:
None
Special Perks:
None
Perks:
Undead Being: [Ignore Pain], Immune to poisons, mental attacks, and negative psychological afflictions, +30% tolerance towards bladed weapons and Taijutsu
Flaws:
Walking Corpse: LUK, INT, WIS are non-existent, CP is always zero regardless of END, -30% tolerance towards blunt weapons, fire weapons, and fire skills
Burning Agony: Regardless of victim's perks all fire skills/weapons have a 75% chance of causing [Hysteria] status effect unto holder when suffering from [Burning] status effect, [Burning] status effect last 15 seconds longer and gains additional 3% HP loss per 3 seconds, Chances of landing Critical Hits increased by 30%, DEF decreases by 15
Description: A hate filled zombie who wields a dangerous weapon. While only slightly stronger and a greater threat than their civilian counterparts, encountering them in groups is dangerous for beginners who lack the necessary techniques and tools.
EXP Earned: 75 + [10%] = 82.5 EXP
Drops: Zombie Rib, Ryo [90-170], ?
Ninja Zombie – Lv 5
HP: 250
CP: 0
STR: 28
VIT: 10
END: 20
DEX: 11
INT: 0
WIS: 0
CHA: 8
LUK: 0 (You're dead. Your luck sucks.)
Defense: 14
Specialization:
None
Special Perks:
None
Perks:
Undead Ninja: [Ignore Pain], Immune to poisons, mental attacks, and negative psychological afflictions, +45% tolerance towards bladed weapons and Taijutsu, +10% increase towards movement speed, +5 DEF
Flaws:
Walking Ninja Corpse: LUK, INT, WIS are non-existent, CP is always zero regardless of END, -20% tolerance towards blunt weapons, fire weapons, and fire skills
Burning Agony: Regardless of victim's perks all fire skills/weapons have a 75% chance of causing [Hysteria] status effect unto holder when suffering from [Burning] status effect, [Burning] status effect last 15 seconds longer and gains additional 3% HP loss per 3 seconds, Chances of landing Critical Hits increased by 30%, DEF decreases by 15
Description: A former ninja turned zombie. Due to having a more conditioned body in its passed life it is much more agile and stronger than a regular zombie. While not an intelligent being its greater instincts make it more dangerous than other zombies. Be mindful of its hands, as they have transformed into sharp claws that can not only seriously harm you but also potentially cause an infection. Encountering them in groups is dangerous for ill prepared beginners
EXP Earned: 115 + [10%] = 126.5 EXP
Drops: Zombie Rib, Ryo [115-220], ?
"Oh, man that ain't good," he muttered.
The Ninja Zombie in question had reddish decomposing skin compared to the other zombies gray, green, and blue skin tones and like the description said it had wicked claws for hands; a nasty, yellowish, syrupy ooze like substance trailing off of them like rain from a rooftop. What made it even more horrifying was seeing it eat another undead by ripping its head off and then munching on the brain. The others didn't seem all that bothered by the act or maybe they just didn't really understand what was going on.
[Cannibalism]
A skill used by stronger level zombies, which allow them to regain up to thirty-five percent of their total health over a period of ten seconds and grant them the temporary buff [Ghoul].
[Ghoul]
A unique buff for the undead that temporarily boost their END, STR and VIT by five and increases their movement speed by an additional ten percent for half an hour.
"Thank god video games and graphic have desensitized me," even then he still felt a little queasy; video games and pictures were one thing, this was semi-real life.
"Too many to hit head on. Time to split em up," sure they were slow but the Ninja Zombie was quicker and physically stronger compared to the rest; it could probably give him trouble.
Naruto counted himself lucky that there was only one of them at the moment. As none knew his current whereabouts, Naruto decided to take this moment to recover some HP as quickly as possible. No sooner had he recovered what was lost, Naruto noticed that some of the zombies were beginning to head in his direction.
"Okay, best get rid of the small fry first," he decided; experience and his increase in INT coming into play on the decision. The group was still too large and to close to the Ninja Zombie so for now his method would essentially be hit and run tactics.
While he'd usually go in guns blazing and hope for the best and ask questions later, with little to no techniques or proper equipment the stealth tactic was all he could do at the moment. And after what just happened to him moments ago, Naruto wasn't tempted to experience that ordeal again. He wanted to leave this place alive. Naruto didn't know if his Gamer ability allowed him to come back to life or restart from a certain point but he wasn't too keen on finding out.
"Wait a minute," Naruto stopped at that and quickly began scanning through his [Help Guide] as quickly as possible.
|Zero HP|
One of the worst things that can happen to an individual is zero health, as most of the time this results in their death, unless saved by certain techniques and items. However, there are circumstances where death does not occur or can be averted. The following is list of those circumstances:
· Friendly spars that reduce your HP to zero will only render one unconscious until they are healed.
· Zero HP in Creation Dungeons will only result in you re-spawning with penalties in a safe zone.
· Zero HP in Natural Dungeons only allow for one respawn with penalties each time you enter them.
However, penalties regarding total loss of HP – unless saved by an item or skill – will occur. Penalties include EXP earned in dungeon before death being completely lost (EXP that resulted in level up will not), twenty-five percent total money loss, twenty-five percent decrease in equipment durability, and temporary debuff [Resurrection Sickness]. Increasing IDC Skill level can reduce penalties and improve respawn ability.
Special Note: Unless saved, Zero HP in Event Dungeons and non-friendly bouts outside of Creation and Natural dungeons will result in death.
|Resurrection Sickness|
A temporary debuff one suffers upon being re-spawned that decreases their attributes by seventy-five percent and all damage caused by them by seventy-five percent for ten minutes.
Naruto was floored, "I can die in dungeons and come back from it!" even if it was limited in some areas this skill was really OP. And boy did he love it.
"Graarghhh!"
"Huh? Oh, right, zombies," Naruto remembered. Grabbing some nearby broken stones, Naruto began to strategically throw them in certain directions to separate them into smaller more manageable groups.
Luckily their lack of intelligence made it easy to get their attention and split them off from each other. As he prepared to make his way downwards to the nearest zombie Naruto noticed the black cat from earlier was now in front of him. For whatever reason Naruto felt himself become unease with the feline and his use of Observe only furthered the feeling.
Wailing Black Cat – Lv 5
HP: 100
CP: 50
STR: 5
VIT: 4
END: 2
DEX: 60
INT: 3
WIS: 7
CHA: 5
LUK: 15
Defense: 4
Specialization:
None
Special Perks:
None
Perks:
Feline Grace: Movement Speed Increased by 35%, Evasion Increased by 35% in and out of combat
Jinxer: Debuffs chance on foes Increased by 75%, Debuff duration on foes Increased by 50%, Chance of double Debuff effects Increased by 35%, Debuff [Cursed Luck] always lands
Stalker: Movement Speed for [Stealth] Increased by 35%, [Stealth] Effectiveness Increased by 35%, Power and Chances for Critical Hits Increased by 35%
Description: An innocent looking and nothing out of the ordinary black cat … is what most people would think. Whenever these felines come across adventurers they immediately begin to wail as loudly as they can, discombobulating and stunning them temporarily. They do this so they can get the attention of nearby enemies before making a quick escape with their incredible speed. Should their victim live these creatures will continue trailing them until the cats themselves are killed or vice versa. Due to their speed, killing them is no easy feat.
Exp Earned: 85 EXP * 10% = 93.5EXP
"… Oh, shit," Naruto cursed his bipolar luck.
"Mweoooaaaarr!" as the cat began wailing Naruto immediately found himself dazed and unable to move. By the time he was able to come to his senses and regain control of his body he could see the feline jumping from rooftop to rooftop before disappearing somewhere in the alleys.
|WARNING! WARNING! YOU'RE SUFFERING FROM TEMPORARY DEBUFFS!|
Black Cat Curse: -15% Accuracy, Tracking, Sensing, Awareness, -5 DEF, Critical Hits damage increased by 35% (Temp. 7:30 Min Remaining)
Cursed Luck: Your LUK is cursed and will only bring you misfortune; the higher the stat the greater chance of misfortune. (Temp. 7:30 Min Remaining)
"Oh, mother-fu… Ok, new plan. Deal with zombies, find cat, then kill cat… slowly," it went without saying that Naruto was not a cat person at the moment. As it was the zombies were now making their way towards him and from the looks of it he could see that the cat's wailing had attracted more of them.
Naruto cursed the fact that he would now have to deal with the zombies directly till he found another hiding spot. Dealing with the first two zombies he encountered as quickly as he could, Naruto was forced to leave the drops behind as more and more appeared, the entire situation reminding him of a classic horror movie scene. Not wanting to become overwhelmed by the sheer number, Naruto retreated to the rooftops, but didn't get far as he found himself face to face with a Zombie Ninja.
"I'm gonna murder that cat," Naruto growled and dodged the zombie swipe directed at him. The swiftness was one would not normally see on a corpse. Lashing out with his pipe, Naruto grunted as one of the undead ninja's swipe knocked it aside like childs play. The force behind it was incredible and much greater than his and the unexpectedness of it cost him. Swipe after swipe landed home before one had enough force to send him off edge and crashing into next building window.
|WARNING! CHEST ARMOR IS NOW BELOW 25% DURABILITY!|
Naruto groaned as he righted himself. Looking down he saw multiple rips and tears in his shirt, but he wasn't all that surprised considering his shirt wasn't meant for combat.
Crash!
Naruto refocused his attention in front of him as his previous opponent showed up for round two. Naruto dodged just in time as the ninja zombie jumped towards him, arms up high and then brought down and breaking the rotting floor board beneath him in the process. The large hole left Naruto wide eyed, "If that hit me my health would have taken a serious blow."
Grabbing a handful of shuriken, Naruto quickly threw them at the zombies head. Two missed, one struck home but did minimal damage, and another just nicked it. Cursing, Naruto went to deploy a smoke pellet but the small ball slipped from his fingers and fell into zombie-made hole.
"Oh, I'm tossing that cat through a wood chipper," Naruto promised himself and cursing his debuffs.
However, the pellet still went off and smoke began to rise up from the hole like a geyser. Naruto took advantage the situation and managed to land a hard blow on the back of the distracted zombie's head. The strength behind the blow wasn't enough to send the stronger zombie flying like the others but it did make it stagger and fall to the ground. Blow after blow was rained on the walking dead ninja before it finally dissipated into nothingness.
"Okay. That takes care of that guy," Naruto wiped the sweat from his brow and checked to see if there were any other zombies. To his relief there were none and this allowed Naruto to collect his reward: a sole [Zombie's Rib].
"Ok, seriously, what the hell I'm I gonna do with a rib bone? Sell it?" using [Observe] on the item, Naruto discovered that it could be used as an ingredient for various recipes; none of which he knew of yet.
Deciding he'd look into recipes later, the young blond soon found himself starring at two Ninja Zombies that came crashing through the broken window. Both of them buffed up with [Ghoul], "Oh, shit. Not good!"
His luck truly wasn't with him at the moment as he barely managed to block a thrown hand-axe that came out of the lingering smokescreen. Grabbing the new weapon, the blond ninja in training hurled the repurposed wood chopping tool at his nearest enemy. The action would have caused his classmates to laugh to their hearts content: Naruto missed his target by a sizeable margin. Even the ninja zombies – for reasons unknown – had a deadpan look.
Naruto could only stare with an embarrassed look before he shouted out in a flustered manner, "Oh, screw you guys! I was never taught to throw axes!"
Whipping his pipe at their legs, Naruto successfully managed to knock down one zombie, while the other, despite losing health, managed to remain stationary. The upright undead retaliated with a swift swipe that Naruto blocked with his pipe but buckled underneath the superior strength.
"Unholy shit," Naruto didn't know if he'd be able to handle another blow even if it was blocked. Ducking in between the zombie's legs, Naruto managed to evade another blow. But the blond was pushed back and pummelled through the floorboard by the second zombie.
"Oww," he groaned. Fortune finally smiled on him, however, as the smokescreen below had yet to evaporate. Hiding himself in the shadows nearby, Naruto waited for the first zombie to appear before he struck with Shadow Strike to the head and kept on swinging until it died.
|Congratulations! Your [Basic Blunt Weapons Mastery Skill] has levelled up!|
|Basic Blunt Weapons Mastery. Lv 2. 17% to Next Lv| Skill Modifier: STR [D] Mastering Speed: B| A skill that allows you to use and learn basic bludgeon related techniques and fighting style as well as use certain bludgeon weapons. Upgrading the skill's rank will allow you to learn more advanced techniques and fighting styles.
• Passively increases the power of blunt weapons by 12% + (STR *.5) = 19%
• Passively increases the striking speed of blunt weapons by 2% + (STR *.5) = 9%
• Passively increases the critical hit rate of blunt weapons by 2% + (STR *.5) = 9%
|Congratulation! You've learned the [Ryoku Boku (Power Strike)] skill!|
|Ryoku Boku (Power Strike). Lv 1. 0% to Next Lv| Skill Modifier: STR [D], END [E] Mastering Speed: C|. A basic but useful skill that coats a weapon with a small amount of chakra and allows the user to strike the target with greater force. CP Usage: 50|
• Increases power of weapons by 31% + (STR *.5) + (END *.25) = 62%
• Increases critical hit rate of weapons by 11% + (STR *.5) + (END *.25) = 42%
"Payback time!" Naruto cackled and used his new technique on the remaining zombie. The blond had a satisfied look on his face as it fell flat on its ass and saw several rotten teeth fly off.
"Ryoku Boku (Power Strike)!" he shouted once more. He harshly brought down the pipe on the zombie's head over and over until it joined its offed comrade. Looking around and seeing no other zombies present, Naruto allowed himself the opportunity to relax and grabbed the small wad of cash before him.
Hearing some groaning, Naruto ducked into a nearby room and was fortunate to see that no zombies were present. Grabbing a nearby dresser, Naruto pushed it up against the door as quickly and quietly as possible.
"Hopefully they're mindless enough not to bother opening doors," Naruto hoped – though then again, he realised, they could just as easily smash right through – and took the time to heal himself with the food he brought. Eating as quietly as possible and waiting out the time for his debuffs to go away, Naruto tensed every so often whenever he heard a nearby groan or the irregular shuffle of feet.
Fortune smiled on him when the timer finally reached zero and he saw his body flash. The curses were gone, "Okay, now to see if there's anything here to help me," if video games taught him anything it was that furniture were a gold mine for potential goods.
Except for some [Tattered Rags], the drawers on the dresser came out empty. Underneath the bed was bubkes. The closet, however, did provide him with two things of use: [Duct Tape Roll] and [Basic First-Aid Kit].
Basic First-Aid Kit – Common Quality
Item Type: Recovery
Durability: One-Time Use
Description: A basic healing kit that is used in treating wounds and preventing blood loss.
Buffs/Perks: Gain the Temporary Buff [Bandaged: Lv 1]
[Bandaged: Lv 1]
+25% HP Recovery, Cures and increases Tolerance for [Bleeding], and [Poisoned] by 25% for 1 Hour, HP Regen increased by +10% for 1 Hour
[Duct Tape Roll] Common Quality
Item Type: Enhancement
Durability: 10 Uses
Description: An adhesive roll used to combine items together for multiple purposes.
Buffs/Perks: +10% Accuracy (when used on weapon handle), +1 DEF (when used on armour), Can combine certain items together.
"Okay, so first aid, tape and old rags. Not exactly the kind of loot I was hoping for but whatever," Naruto shrugged and then got to work.
Grabbing the necessary items, Naruto put some tape at one end of his pipe for better grip and then combined the rags and tape – which took some effort with how easily the rags came apart – at the other. Once done he was done, Naruto gazed at his creation with a smile – even if it was far from being the best weapon in the world.
Enhanced Discarded Pipe – Common Quality
Item Type: Blunt Weapon
Item Modifier Rank: STR [E]
Durability 33/40
A discarded pipe commonly used for plumbing or other forms of waterworks. Though there's nothing extraordinary about this item it's surprisingly durable and has since been enhanced as a combat tool. Has decent length and is fairly balanced. The bundle of rags at the end can be set aflame to add additional damage.
Attack Power: 13–17 + (Modifier) = 16.5–20.5
Bonus Stats: +10% Accuracy, [Conditional Firebrand: Basic Rank]
Usage Requirement: 10 STR
|Congratulation! A special skill has been created due to a special act! Due to your item combination you've learned the [Crafting] skill!|
|Crafting. Lv 1. 17% to Next Lv| Skill Modifier: WIS [D], INT [D] Mastering Speed: D|. A skill that allows you to create new items if you have the right materials, creativity, knowhow, and a bit of luck. Once your skill level is high enough you can substitute materials required in recipes with chakra, though this decreases the overall success rate depending on the item's rank. Any items used/lost in the success/failure of a created item will be lost unless a special skill or item is used. Note: Your current level doesn't allow you to substitute lacking materials with chakra and even the most basic of creations will have a low success rate.
• Success rate for original creations 1% + (WIS *.5) + (INT *.5) +/- (Resulting Item Quality Rank %) +/– (Item Quality Max/Min Skill Level Requirement met/not met)
• Success rate for recipe creations 31% + (WIS *.5) + (INT *.5) +/- (Resulting Item Quality Rank %) +/– (Item Quality Max/Min Skill Level Requirement met/not met)
Poor Quality: +30% [Skill Level 1–25]
Common Quality: 15% [Skill Level 26–40]
Uncommon Quality: 0% [Skill Level 41–50]
Rare Quality: -15% [Skill Level 51–60]
Very Rare Quality: -30 [Skill Level 61–75]
Epic Quality: -45% [Skill Level 76–90]
Legendary: -65% Quality: [100–Max]
Note: Success rate increases by 1% every five levels when a skill level requirement is high enough
Note: Success rate decreases by 1% every five levels when skill level requirement is not high enough
"Sweet," Naruto couldn't help himself. The [Conditional Firebrand: Basic] perk on his weapon was a plus considering it gave it a twenty-five percent chance of putting [Burning] on them. And with zombies having a nasty as hell flaw for fire it made it all the sweeter. The only downside being it only lasted an hour and needed to be lit on fire.
"Ah, well. Beggars can't be choosers," it was better than nothing all things considered. Glancing up at his HP, Naruto was happy to see he had recovered more than enough to be comfortable and slowly peeked out the door. Seeing the all clear, Naruto left the room and tried to reduce the amount of noise as much as possible.
Upon seeing a broken window that was wide enough for him to through, Naruto once more looked around for any foes and was fortunate enough that no zombies were near.
That was the good news.
The bad news: the cat was back.
Too far away for him to reach it in time, Naruto summed up his situation in two words, "Ah, shit."
The Black Cat on the other hand had an unsettling smirk and a glint in its eye that was equally unsettling. Naruto knew he was screwed and knew what was coming next; he prepared for the worst.
""Mweooarggghhhhkkkkkk!"
"… What. The. Hell?" of all the things Naruto expected to happen, seeing the cat's head being enveloped by a series of curved fangs and its body being crushed by the coils of a green-skinned, brown spotted, yellow-eyed constrictor was the nowhere on the list. With a sudden jerk the cat's neck was snapped and it evaporated into a series of lights.
Trying to make a dash for it out the window, Naruto barely touched the ground before he was swiftly dragged back inside and felt himself bound so tightly he believed his eyes would pop.
Before he could wonder what was going on, Naruto heard the sound of shoes creaking across the wooden floor. Thinking it was a zombie, Naruto struggled as best he could but his efforts were for naught.
"I wouldn't bother, gaki. Once Midori's got you in his coils you're fucked," maybe it was the slow lack of oxygen flowing to his brain, but Naruto swore that sounded very familiar. As he looked up, Naruto was very surprised by the familiar sight.
Fortunately for him the snake eased up on its constricting, which allowed him to shout, "Anko! What the hell are you doing–"
"Oh, shu-shu-shush," the woman silenced him with a finger. But Naruto wasn't put at ease by the action.
"Actually, I'd like to tell you a little story first before we go there," her voice sounded sweet but experience taught him otherwise. Somehow and for whatever reason, she was mad at him.
"To start, I got up and went to work and found out a rookie interrogator-in-training decided to play in the big leagues and surprise, surprise, fucked up badly. Probing at a guy I'd been trying to crack for weeks and set my work back for who knows how long. Later on I had a huge craving for dango and decided to go to my favourite spot. And you know what I learned when I got there? It was closed for the week. Next, I stepped in dog shit, and got pissed on by some Inuzuka brat's ninken, which ruined my favourite coat!"
Naruto winced at the last one. He himself had been the victim of such an occurrence, "Well, at least Kiba's gonna die after me."
"– and then when I go looking for ya to prank the little shit, I see you go into some alley, stood behind you to see how long it would take for you to notice me. Just as I was about to scare the living hell atta ya, and here's the part I love, I SOMEHOW GET TRANSPORTED INTO A POST APACOLYPTIC WORLD WITH ZOMBIES BY SOME WET BEHIND THE EARS ACADEMY STUDENT WHO I'VE BEEN TRYING TO FIND FOR THE LAST HALF HOUR! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON! "
"Uh… well… it's …uh, kinda complicated," Naruto said, which ended up being the wrong thing to say, "AHHHHH!"
No sooner had his words left his lips was he suddenly pulled up by the scruff if his torn shirt towards the mad – and that was in both sense of the word – purple haired kunoichi.
"Don't test me, gaki." Anko almost snarled. "I'm stuck here, been attacked by zombies, stalked by some fucking cat that calls more of them, haven't had strange in the last couple of months, and worst of all I haven't had my dango in the last week! MOMMA NEEDS HER FIX!"
Naruto whimpered at the woman's crazed expression. If looks could kill Naruto knew he'd be dead countless times already and in many unique ways.
"So this can go down two ways, gaki. Either you spill your guts, or I spill them for you cover them in hot sauce and spices, make you eat them, before feeding you to Midori over here," she patted the constrictor lovingly. If snakes could purr, Naruto knew it would be doing it right now judging by the look of content on its face.
Not wanting his guts spilled, as well as the other frighteningly detailed acts, Naruto was about to tell her the whole story before he came to his senses, "Hey, wait a minute! You can't kill me," he grinned.
"Kid, I work in Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Division. The ways I come up with to kill ya would make the worst movie killers look like saints," she explained.
Naruto understood the analogy instantaneously and his smirk was gone. But the still managed to look Anko in the eye and say, "Look, I don't know how you got here but I'm pretty sure that's cuz of me. You're stuck here with no way out, I'm you're only hope of getting out of here," he bluffed.
"…Shit. Fine, I won't kill you," Naruto smirked, "I'll just break one bone every minute we're here instead. And to make sure you're not going anywhere. Midori!"
Once more the blond found himself tightly wrapped an inescapable hold, "The moment I touched you I ended up here and I'm guessing if you try to leave I'm going along for the ride. You sure you don't wanna start talking, gaki?" she smiled oh so innocently.
Left with no other choice, Naruto told her every last detail about his ability and what it gave him, "And that's the whole story," he finished.
"…" Anko and Midori for their parts remained impassive and Naruto didn't know if that was good or bad.
"…"
"… Gaki, are you high or something? I mean I know you're a ninja in training and legally you become an adult when you get the headband but right now you shouldn't …"
"I'm not on drugs!" they had been taught the significance of drugs and alcohol in the academy, along with a few other embarrassing and gross things, but idea of touching the stuff never occurred to Naruto.
"He's telling the truth, Anko-san," the green constrictor hissed.
"Really?" Midori merely nodded at her summoner.
Naruto was left agape at the action, "…The snake can talk!"
"Seriously? What the hell kind of academy student doesn't know about summons? The fuck's the academy teaching these brats nowadays?"Anko hopefully thought it was just Naruto because if this was Konoha's future soldiers they were royally fucked with a rusty kunai.
"Yes, the snake can talk," Anko sighed before straightening herself out, "A video game bloodline. That's… Okay even with the weird shit I've seen all my life that's just nuts."
"Welcome to my life," Naruto told her. "I find it's easier just to go along with it. Less of a headache that way."
"Well, that's one way to look at it," she muttered, absently throwing a kunai that exploded into a group of nearby zombies that neared the window, "This may just be my opinion but this ability makes me think this may be a unique – very, very, unique by the way – Space-Time Bloodline Limit," even then it was a weak theory.
Space-Time Ninjutsu as far as she knew didn't have reality warping capabilities, but then again she wasn't an expert on the matter, "That or I'm drunk or this is just one very messed up dream," it wouldn't make sense since she didn't drink last night, as far as she could remember, but it still made more sense than this.
Naruto had to wonder if all seasoned ninja had this kind of mentality or if Anko was the exception. Either way it sure made things easier for him. Who was he to fight good fortune when it came his way?
"Gotta admit this is certainly one for the books," part of her was still thinking she was dreaming or had drunk too much but everything was way too vivid, "Soooo… what do we do now?"
Anko wouldn't freely admit it but she was out of her comfort zone at the moment. Give her tools and a warm body and she'd fuck it up without batting an eyelash; Anko had no idea what to do in this scenario. The foes she met were weak and slow as hell, a single punch or two from her was enough to turn them into particles of light and her Katon ninjutsu was basically a one hit kill.
"Well, I came here to level up," Naruto told her as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"You mean you're not scared or hesitant about killing them?" Anko was surprised really at the ease of which he spoke of it. Even prodigies, most of them, had difficulties killing other beings for the first time, especially humans.
"Nope. I mean sure it's weird but they're not really alive," Naruto tried to explain as best he could. "Also that cat pissed me off and I killed a few rats before this."
"Gotta love desensitization," Anko nodded, "Then again, the Academy Rite also helps."
"…The academy what now?" Naruto had no idea what she was talking about.
The woman blinked once, twice, thrice before she finally spoke, "… You didn't undergo the Rite!?" Anko nearly shouted before a horrid thought occurred, "Didn't any of you go through it!?"
"Uh…no?" was his hesitant response.
Anko was left doing the best impression of a fish Naruto had ever seen. "It seems the academy standards have greatly gone down, Anko-san," Midori hissed.
"Under-fucking-statement of the year, Midori," Anko groused at her summon. "Note to self: talk to Hokage-sama about this."
"Long story short, the Rite's a twofold test that's used to weed out those who couldn't stomach what it took to be a ninja. The first half you gotta take the life of an animal at the academy. It wouldn't do Konoha any good if we had ninja who couldn't kill."
"And the other half?"
Anko merely looked at him in a manner that said 'use your brain'. It then quickly dawned on him, "A human! We gotta kill a human!"
"Duh! We're ninja. We kill people for a living, gaki. If you can't handle that then ya might as well stop what you're doing," Anko didn't bother to mention that those they killed in the second half were criminals or bandits. Nor did she mention the fact that a select number of those who didn't pass had an opportunity to still be useful in Konoha in one of the non-combatant divisions such as the medics, sensory, barrier, or cryptologists divisions. Problem was one needed a certain amount of talent and intelligence and pass a series of tests to be accepted.
"Technically speaking, you shouldn't be in your last year, gaki," Anko informed him, "though it may be a case that the Academy standards and curriculum changed for the worst. What exactly are the requirements to graduate?"
"Uh…Oh, the written test for one. Then there's the accuracy and physical exam, and finally the basic academy three exam," he finished.
"Okay, so the basic stuff, I get it. And," she motioned him to continue.
"… And what?" Naruto flinched, as Anko howled a stream of curses he never heard of.
"What the actual bloody fuck!" Anko could understand the written test; a ninja needed brains, not just brawn like the Legendary Stupid Brothers. The accuracy and physical exam were equally important as one didn't want a ninja who was physically weak and accidentally struck their own comrades or innocent bystanders, especially the client.
Having the academy three were a no brainer, but just knowing the basic academy ninjutsu wasn't enough for one to become a ninja. When she had graduated years ago, and she graduated much earlier, Anko had to demonstrate proficient use of three C-rank techniques with at least one of them being lethal when used against another.
Sure, it was up to the Jonin instructor to mentor their wards but they weren't there to babysit them either. The academy graduates were basically blades that had yet to be refined and tempered, it was the job of the Jounin to make sure this happened to them before they got into real life situations. If this was the current standards things really weren't looking good for Konoha.
Many had heard how Kiri had changed the standards that made them be known as the Bloody Mist but even then the standards were still high and demanding. Heck in Kumo it was a prerequisite that all Genin be proficient in the use of kenjutsu before graduation and the chakra flow technique.
"Note to self: Kick Umino's ass," the academy instructor had some serious explaining to do in her mind. Even if it wasn't his fault she still needed someone to vent on and she couldn't very well kick the Hokage's ass. "The man can kill me before I have time to blink."
Speaking of which.
"Duck," Anko called out before sending Midori towards a zombie behind Naruto, the constrictor quickly wrapping around the undead and crushing it's head with her jaw.
"That tasssted vile," the serpent gagged. Though she had nothing in her mouth she could still taste the rotten flesh on her ultrasensitive tongue. "Never make me do that again!" the summon hissed at the purple haired kunoichi.
"Didn't tell you to bite it, Midori … " Anko blinked before she walked over and picked up a bill of ryo.
"Whaa–You know what, I'm not gonna bother. Zombies dropping money isn't the weirdest thing I should expect from what I've been seeing… Plus I have more spending money for dango!" Ankor grinned and Naruto could honestly say he was a little disturbed by it.
"You mean you didn't notice it before?" Naruto asked.
"Too busy looking for you to really notice. So, you mentioned something about levelling up? What's that about?" she asked after a pause.
"Grinding mostly," at her confused look, he elaborated, "It means killing a bunch of enemies to level up quickly. Every zombie I kill gives me experience points; I get enough of em and I level up, which increases my stats and gives me AP," Naruto explained.
Anko nodded at the explanation; having no experience with video games or the lingo of it all, "So by levelling up you get stronger. I killed a bunch of em so will that do anything to me?" she wondered.
"Don't know if the same rules apply to you as they do to me. But if it's like video games I played I doubt it. Your level is very high compared to them; you may just be getting loot or the amount of EXP is very low. Like, you'd have to kill over a thousand of em to get close enough to level up," Naruto explained.
"Make sense", Anko thought… sorta, "So how do we find out?" Naruto was about to shrug, as he didn't have an answer, but a pop up appeared before him.
|Party Formation|
Party forming is a great way for adventurers to level up and acquire loot without fearing for their safety. Having a group has many benefits such as being able to defeat more enemies and allowing you to defeat much stronger foes you otherwise couldn't face. However, forming a party is not without its downsides. As a result of you no longer being in as much danger you will not be pushing yourself the experience you gain will be reduced. Groups of four will allow you to fight without any penalties on the experience you gain from enemies. Groups of five and upwards will reduce the total experience gained by five percent per additional member for a total of seventy-five percent. In addition, while having higher-level members offers greater security, any experience made by said members whose level is twenty levels higher than others, despite the contribution of lower level individuals, will be reduced by seventy-five percent.
To form a party you must either think or say the words 'Invite [insert person's last and first name]' and have the recipient accept.
"So all I have to do is think or say Invite Mitarashi Anko?" Naruto thought.
"Whoa! What the hell!" Naruto looked up and saw a floating text box in front of Anko. "What is this? What's going on?"
Well, that was easy, he thought, "It's an invite box. All you gotta do is accept and we're in a party. "
"Okay, yes! ... Nothing happened?" Anko frowned at the floating text box.
"I think you have to press it for it to work," Naruto guessed. His assumption was proven true; as no sooner had Anko pressed [YES] did the box disappear. Furthermore, Naruto noticed he could now view her Status Window despite her level.
Status Window
Name: Mitarashi Anko
Job: Tokubetsu Jonin
Relationship: Neutral
Level: 50? Next Level: 8876/120,900?
HP: 3075?
CP: 2525?
STR: 66?
VIT: 123?
END: 101?
DEX: 118?
INT: 115?
WIS: 99?
CHA: 101?
LUK: 54
Defense: 50
Specialization:
Torture and Interrogation Ninja
Special Perks:
Gamer's Companion: You can view and live your life like a video game. You can now acquire AP and SPP (Must be in party with the Gamer)
Perks:
Gifted Ninja: +10% Effectiveness, Power and EXP towards all skills, +10% EXP earned on missions and defeated foes, +1 Additional Attribute Point per Lv
Serpentine Grace: +2 DEX per Lv, +25% Speed increase towards [Taijutsu Skill], [Evasion Skill], [Counter Skill], +25% Power towards Critical Hits
Heightened Tolerance [Poison]: Immune to Basic, Intermediate and Expert Lv Poisons, Tolerance towards Master Lv Poisons increased by 75%, Tolerance towards Grand Master Lv Poisons increased by 50%, Tolerance towards Legendary Lv Poisons increased by 25%
Titles:
T&I Expert: +2 CHA per Lv,+85% Effectiveness and EXP towards [T&I Skill], +85% Effectiveness and EXP towards [Intimidation Skill]
Toxicology Expert: +60% Effectiveness, Power, and EXP towards [Poisons], +60% EXP towards [Toxicology Skill]
Snake Mistress of Konoha: -25% Reputation gain towards [Konoha Populace] below Neutral, -25% Effectiveness, Power, and EXP towards [Combination Techniques Skill] with [Konoha Populace] below Neutral
Tokubetsu Jonin: +25% EXP towards quests and enemies slain (only for character level up), Gain 25 AP a year you hold this title
Flaws/Debuffs:
Sealed Cursed Seal of Heaven: -30% Effectiveness, Power, and EXP towards skills, -30% towards base attributes, -30% EXP towards quests and enemies slain, Reduces bonuses from Perks, Titles and Special Perks by 30%, ?, (Can be removed)
Description: Not much is known about Mitarashi Anko's past, as she tends to keep to herself and only opens up to those she truly trusts. Hailed as a skilled ninja at a very young age, Anko later went on to become one of Konoha's top torture and interrogation specialists and an accomplished tracker, accomplishing tasks where others, other than the Inuzuka, failed. Due to her tutelage, Anko is one of Konoha's best toxicologists, having used and created many unique poisons both in the field and during interrogations. Her love of dango is quite well known and feared in certain circles, some say surpassing even Uzumaki Naruto's love for ramen.
Attribute Points: 0
Special Perk Points: 0
"I think I saw things I probably shouldn't have," fortunately for Naruto the woman in question was distracted long enough not to notice it.
"Okay, this is really weird," the T&I specialist mused and began to fiddle with a few things, "What's this AP and SPP?"
"Attribute Points and Special Perk Points," Naruto informed her and explained their function.
"Damn. With an ability like this your skill as a ninja would shoot through the roof and then some in no time," Anko surmised. "So if I kill enough of these undead bastards, I can level up?"
"Yep! But your level's pretty high already so trying to level here won't be quick for you compared to me," here he showed her the experience bar and how much she needed to level up. Furthermore, Naruto added, "And once all of them are gone, we're gonna have to wait twenty-four hours before they come back."
"Well, that blows. I already killed a bunch of em before I found you. Screw it. The ryo you earn will have to do."
"Come again," Naruto deadpanned.
"You heard me, gaki. You brought me here against my will so you owe me. Half of what you earn is mine as recompense… that means as punishment," she elaborated.
"Half! Are you kidding me?!" the amount of ryo he could earn here could be close to ten thousand, "You can earn more than enough if you kill em yourself. You one-off them like they're nothing."
"True," Anko wouldn't deny that, "But out of both of us, you have the most to gain by killing em. I kill em and I barely put a dent in the experience I get."
Naruto frowned at the woman's logic. However, there was no way Naruto was giving away half that, "How about I owe you a ten pranks?" Naruto bargained; he failed instantaneously.
"Nope," Anko shot down his offer barely a second later.
"Twenty pranks?" was he counter offer; Anko didn't even bat an eyelash this time. Thinking on the spot, Naruto offered once more, "Five pranks and two thousand ryo?" he hoped.
Anko said nothing for nearly thirty seconds before she gave her own counter offer, "Seven pranks and three-thousand ryo."
Naruto countered once again, "Seven pranks, two-thousand ryo."
Anko frowned, "Don't insult me, gaki. Five pranks and thirty-five hundred ryo."
Naruto wanted to curse. Bartering was something he was relatively new at, while Anko clearly knew what she was doing. Not wanting to tempt fate and have the price to go up once more, Naruto finally relented and accepted Anko's latest offer.
"Deal," Anko merely grinned like a cat at her win; Naruto ignored the pop-up regarding his [Bargaining Skill] increasing to level two.
"Pleasure doing business with ya, gaki," Naruto glared; Anko stuck her tongue out like a child. Midori shook her head at the childish antics of humans.
Deciding to he focus on the task at hand, Anko said, "Well, now that that's settled, go kill some zombies. Midori, stay close and watch the kid," though he didn't say anything Naruto was actually touched that Anko was thinking of his well-being.
"Don't coddle him but make sure his ass stays out of the fire," Anko told her familiar, "We're screwed if he dies on us."
Naruto realized he'd have to downsize his comment on the caring part. And he decided not to bother telling her about the fact he could die but still come back from it.
(Sometime Later)
Smashing his pipe into the back of another Ninja Zombie's head, Naruto was satisfied to see its head catch fire and watch it flail around like a headless chicken. The action only served is purposes when it barrelled into a group of undead, knocking them down and causing them to catch fire, too.
Grabbing a poor quality shuriken he got from a previous Ninja Zombie, Naruto attached a [Poor-Grade Exploding Tags], a rare drop from the same zombie, and threw it at the group. Poor Grades Exploding Tags were the weakest of the exploding tags, as while they were still functional the formulas used to make them were horrible. At the bare minimum, they only dealt one-hundred and fifteen damage. The tag was used more for controlled demolition work, and was a threat only when used in large numbers and only on the weakest of foes.
Case and point: the group exploded and was scattered pretty much everywhere. Those that managed to survive either lost limbs or died when they crashed into a surface. A good and decisive blow to the head ended them quickly and Naruto proceeded to collect the dropped loot.
Off to the side, Naruto saw Anko's summon watching from the shadows. Any zombie or cat dumb enough to try and attack the deadly serpent more or less ended up dead almost instantaneously. Naruto couldn't help but shudder, the summon used every part of its body as a weapon: from its maw filled with sharp venomous teeth to its tail that asphyxiated or skewered her foes as if it was a spear.
"Thank kami she's on my side," Naruto knew that if she were his enemy he'd be dead, or worse eaten alive.
"Ok, that makes seventy-two zombies and two cats," Naruto huffed a bit before whipping the sweat off his face. The blond had to admit he was getting a decent workout going through actual combat instead of what he usually did. He had little time to rest as another horde of undead waddled and limped their way towards him.
Off to the shadows and out of Naruto's sight, Anko spoke to her familiar, "How's the brat doing?" she asked.
"The boy has good instincts. His tactical thinking is unorthodox but I can't deny its effectiveness at times. But his need to mind his surroundings requires improvement," more than once did Midori see Naruto stumble or fail to notice an enemy before they got a decent blow.
"He also has a bad habit of letting his emotions get the better of him and I noticed that it gets him into trouble when he could have easily beaten dealt with his foes. His fighting style is instinctive but poorly structured. All in all, he has potential but needs a tune up, desperately," was Midori's assessment.
Anko sighed but nodded in agreement. Naruto did have potential but he was a shaping up to be a piss poor ninja in the making if things continued as they were. The woman could only wonder how the other students at the academy fared, too.
Her thoughts on the matter didn't linger that long as an unholy and soulless scream resonated from everywhere. Anko winced but didn't need to block the sound as it quickly ended.
"What the hell was that?" Anko wondered and had a gut feeling. It was a gut feeling that was developed after years of experience.
"The undead… they're amassing two blocks away from here," Midori informed. As a snake summon the serpent could sense and see in ways ordinary snakes couldn't. The zombies lacked chakra but had something else that allowed her to track them. And right now she could see that they were also joining in at the same location. But that wasn't the oddest thing.
"They're… fusing?" Midori sounded confused while Anko looked confused.
That confusion turned into worry as an incredibly large bellow rang and caused the walls and nearby structures to vibrate.
|WARNING! WARNING! DUNGEON BOSS REQUIREMENTS MET! DUNGEON BOSS HAS NOW APPEARED!|
"Oh, that can't be good," Anko's suspicions were proven right moments later when a dark grayish being that towered over the buildings appeared.
Boss: Legion Zombie– Lv. 34
HP: ?
CP: ?
STR: ?
VIT: ?
END: ?
DEX: ?
INT: ?
WIS: ?
CHA: ?
LUK: ?
Defense: ?
Special Perks:
? : ?
Perks:
? : ?
Titles:
? : ?
Flaws/Debuffs:
? : ?
Description: Whenever zombies of the dungeon feel threatened due to mass hunting they met at a nearby location in large numbers and merge into this unholy twenty-five foot tall creature. The result is creating a conglomerate of hundreds of zombies hence the name "Legion". Unlike regular zombies this abomination has slight intelligence thanks to the collective minds of those used to "birth" it, but even then it's not that impressive. Its huge body grants it an enormous amount of strength and health, allowing it to smash buildings with relative ease, and crush its foes with minimum blows. However, its large intimating size is also its greatest weakness as it makes it an easy target to strike and it cannot move very fast.
Exp Earn: ?
Drops: ?, ?, ?
Here it is y'all. Sorry for the delay. Had a health scare that was potentially serious but thank you whatever god or deity exist cuz my tests came back and all looks like it to be good news! Anyway, enjoy!