What can a person do in this situation?
You are all alone in the middle of the forest and surrounded by only god knows how many people that were here to kill you.
Sure they lack the proper armor sets, but the little pieces that they DID have, protected their heads and vital organs well!
So being an amateur with a bow that had 44 arrows certainly won't change things very much.
The rusted blade that was roughly 3 feet long won't bring out that much potential of its wielder due to the lack of skills in the area.
So it'd be like swinging a stick that could possibly BREAK during a single exchange.
Sure our protagonist managed to kill someone, but that was due to a sneak attack that stabbed through the victim's head and leather helmet without hitting anything metallic.
Akira sure as hell didn't want to test its durability as that would be asking for them to discover her location should her target struggle.
How much more if it was blocked?
They'd surround Akira and finish her off before even getting the chance to do anything!
So, she decided to use a different approach. In her little bag, there were a little over a dozen pebbles that were the size of two thumbs, and a few herbs with some interesting effects. If used properly, they can possibly stun her enemies or...
...act as a good distraction.
But that would depend on whether these men were all trained, newbies, idiots, or even worse OTHER players!
Thus, while remaining in the trees, she moved towards the nearest man wielding a Kanabou, a metal stick with simple armor covering his upper torso, and an ordinary Kabuto.
The man spoke out loud to his nearby friends.
"How long do you think that Iga dog will last?"
A large and much fatter man replied while taking off his Kasa, a straw hat, and wiping off some of his sweat with his hand. On his hip was a kusarigama that was stained with blood.
"I have no idea, but I just want to eat something! killing that woman and her daughter didn't really help to distract me from my hunger. I sure hope that the Chunin leader will do something soon."
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Ranks of rappais.
Trainees
genins
chunins
jonins
there is one more rank, but only those that made a name for themselves can be categorized into this rank.
(the title)Kage
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Akira's eyes sharpened upon hearing that before readying her weapons and pebbles and then turning towards the fat man.
A skinny pale-faced man wearing a bloodied kimono rested the shaft of the bamboo spear with a bronze tip on his shoulder before joining in the conversation.
"Hagiri, you were too heavy-handed on those two women from earlier-"
Hearing this made Akira hesitate since there was a person that seemed kind, but she quickly changed her mind upon hearing the next half of the sentence!
"-I couldn't even get to strangle the daughter long enough before she bled to death! Do you know how awkward it is to walk around with a damned boner!?"
Hearing their words, Akira quickly came to realize something...
...these bastards, they were players!
"Damn it, Nick! Why can't you stay in character!? I want to finish this task and join the Koga clan!"
The man holding the Kanabou spoke angrily towards the spear user, only for the person to shrug.
"Dude, it's pronounced as 'kouka,' and what do you expect me to say? I don't know the term that was used for my current problem!"
This caused the two men to start arguing as they butt their heads at each other.
Due to how much freedom a player had in this game, you can do anything.
Still, at the same time, you'll have to deal with the consequences on your own according to the rules and regulations of whatever timeline you are sent to, so if you happened to get killed, that only served to stop the problem temporarily.
The same faction that killed you will still remember you.
Until you either delete the character or settle the problem one way or another, the faction will continuously hunt you down!
With them acting as their authentic selves, they hid nothing about their recent actions from being trainees to the number of people that they had killed and stolen from.
It was games like these that brought out the inner demons of people.
The large man spoke as his stomach growled.
"What are you guys talking about? I'm hungry..."
The other two stopped their argument and then looked at him before sighing.
The Kanabou user pats his back before promising him.
"Hang in there, buddy. We'll get you some food soon enough~. Once we catch the target, the higher-ups should reward us with some of those riceballs that you liked so much!"
The spear user added this sentence at the Kanabou user's expense!
"No worries, Hagiri. Once we receive the reward, you can always ask Jubei to share his food with you~."
...Was that large guy an NPC, unlike the other two?
Regardless, Akira would need to kill them all as since there was a Chunin more than likely that she won't be able to escape, and with them being keen on killing me despite not being an Iga Rappai.
She wasn't even a trainee, so this would not end well!
With the bow in one hand and a pebble in the other, she began her plan with a single rock throw and a wooden bottle carrying an unknown debuff effect.
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The sound of the nearby bush rustling slightly caused the fastest person to react as a chain struck the bush heavily!
Hagiri was a very simple-minded man.
Not only did he follow the commands given to him by the letter, but his reflexes surpassed both of his companions by more than two times.
Not even a second after, He glared at the bush.
Hagiri made a twisting motion with his sickle as the chain that was connected to it caused the bush to 'explode.'
A muffled pop was heard, and a small amount of dust soon piled up.
He used one of the basic results that could be gained from training with blunt mid-range weapons!
The technique had no real name, as it was mostly the man's excellent control over his weapon.
The two people with him coughed due to inhaling some of the dust that formed.
While it didn't hinder their sight, it caused quite the irritation for their breathing AND their eyes!
"Damn it, Hagiri! At least warn us or something before doing that!"
The spear user complained, his eyes turning red from all the dust particles that entered them.
The Kanabou user swung his weapon around him.
Sure, it helped clear up the dust, but due to his lack of skills with the weapon in hand, all he did was cause all of the dust to come flying toward him~.
Causing both of his companions to laugh at this as the man had made a mess of himself!
"That's what you get from trying to be cool, Jubei! HAHAHA!"
Hagiri only laughed for a moment before scanning the area, unlike the other two.
He was still tense as someone watched them.
He had no clue where since the large man hadn't reached that level of training yet.
However, it was still possible for him to sense it when someone looked at him.
Sadly for him, his two companions didn't notice his tension, nor were they being vigilant, were they that confident, or were they idiots?
Hagiri did not know, but since they were part of the same group, he would do his best to keep them alive.
Especially when they are the first people to treat him like a human!
*Tak*
Was the sound that echoed out as they all turned in the direction from where the noise came before another disturbing sound came from the spear user.
The two turned to see what had happened, only to find out that there was an arrow stuck in his chest before he fell to the ground.
"It Hurts! IT FUCKING HURTS!"
The spear user screamed in pain before his body started to spasm, and all of his veins bulged out.
Froth formed at the edges of his lips, and his eyes turned white.
He easily got up, much to Jubei's surprise, and attempted to approach his friend in worry, but Hagiri yelled out while trying to reach out to him.
"Get away from him!"
Jubei looked at the large man in confusion, but the sudden sharp pain in his neck made his body turn rigid.
It suddenly became hard for him to breathe.
A thick taste of 'iron' filled in taste buds, and his body refused to follow the commands of his brain, it was then that he suddenly felt the delayed pain and lightness that came with it.
In one swift move, Nick had stabbed his spear through the side of his neck before severing his head from the rest of his body with a twist!
The Spear user panted heavily like a wild beast.
Some of his drool dripped to the ground as Hagiri reluctantly readied himself, frustrated at his own weakness, Angry at the hidden enemy.
Still, none of that mattered now as he recognized the symptoms of his currently mindless friend.
He was under the effects of a berserker concoction that the Iga often used to spread chaos in the ranks of their enemies, meaning that according to the stories told to him by the elders of the clan, the Iga had managed to train yet another poison master despite their efforts in killing that branch a few decades ago!
Meanwhile, the person, who caused this misunderstanding, was pretty excited.
It was just some random Herbs that she knew would affect the enemy negatively.
NEVER did she expect to concoct a berserk flask in her desperation accidentally!
While she'd love to make more, there was only one problem.
Akira didn't remember what herbs she used... teehee~.
What? the girl was desperate at the time!
She left the berserk spearman to hold off the big guy before looking for her next target.
However, her actions attracted too much attention, and someone appeared behind her with a gleaming blade.
"You are too dangerous to leave alive...!"
The person didn't even give her a chance before a blade stabbed through her back and exited out of her chest on the left side.
The attacker went for a killing blow from the get-go!