Latest Update:August 25th, 2020
Summary: I always wanted a good challenge. Facing that challenge in a world with some sort of magic? Awesome. The world being one I am intimately familiar with? Double awesome. Having no problem changing the 'future'? Priceless.
Everything was going fine! I was going to be a damned rogue and was already twisting things around to make my supposed afterlife a smoother one - where I could do whatever the fuck I want and no one could tell me diddly-squat, or even think to because I was so straight and 'pure' in their eyes - by whatever means necessary.
But then I have to go and buy a perk that fucking ruins everything.
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17726618?view_full_work=true
Word count:194k
Chapters:28
Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter Text
Dying is never fucking easy.
People write whole poems on the idea of death, romanticizing it and the effect it has on others, and readers like me, once upon a time, gobbled it up like impressionable sheep.
No, death is never easy to accept, or perpetrate, even.
So, fancy this; after blacking out from an attempt that was supposedly successful, my eyes open back up again.
[Welcome to Ninpo Online! You have begun a New Game!]
I blinked at the screen oddly. This sounded a lot like one of those gamer fanfictions I read. Hm.
I waved the screen off and looked around, taking the room in. I was in somewhat of a rustic place – mainly defined by the fact that there was not a lot of metal in the furnishings. The frame of the bed I was on was made of wood. The bedsheet was a little rough. There was a wardrobe on my right side that had no shiny bits or modern handles whatsoever. The window had no glass, just wooden frames and what looked like some form of stiff card in place of glass, completely blocking the view of outside.
Was I… in a poor house?
PING!
[Tutorial Quest Alert!
A New World
You have woken up in an odd place that you don't recall being in ever before. Explore and find out where you are.
Objectives :
Find out where you are.
Find out what's special about you.
Reward :
100xp]
I blinked. Okay, this part of the afterlife was freaky. Is this because I loved the Gamer manhwa? How exciting. The white quest window had two symbols at the bottom – a blue one with a circle inscribed perfectly in it, and a red one with a cross. Or… at least I think it was supposed to be red, currently it was pink, as if it was faded. So, I can't deny this quest?
I tapped the accept button with a yawn.
I shoved the sheets aside, rising off the bed (which did not creak, thank god), and turned around to make it again. One of the few good things my parents had taught me was cleaning up after myself, and mum had yelled it into my head with such strictness I doubted I'd be able to forget it anytime soon.
I sighed as I stood and stretched, then eyed myself the best I could. I was wearing a generic white night-suit. And oddly, I looked a bit… younger? Yeah, several scars I had accumulated over my life were gone, too!
Frantically, I looked around for a mirror, thanking whichever god was currently in charge of my life that there actually was one, attached to a small dressed on the opposite side of the small room. I came to stand in front of it and gasped with shock.
I looked like I was eight! I was a really chubby child, kind of ugly too, before all the home remedies, that gave me a strong sense of insecurity. I reached out and touched the glass, both sad and happy. I never really did end up liking my face. After all the things I said and did over my childhood and adolescence, even when people complimented my face, I eventually came to dislike it.
I started when the world around me greyed out and another white box popped up in front of me.
[Please enter your name:]
I entered in my usual gaming alias without complaint.
[Are you sure your name is Legion?]
Duh.
[Import existing appearance
Create character]
I suppose this is the character creation screen. So, I'm in a generic RPG for my afterlife? Nice!
My fingers hit the [Create Character] option without a second thought.
No options came up after that box dismissed itself though, so I spent a minute just frowning at myself in the mirror before I finally frustratedly sighed and wished I could just turn my hair white already.
I startled back in surprise when just that happened.
Now knowing that the damn 'game' responded to my thoughts, I got to work. Thank god I was, at least, still male. Pale skin, heterochronic eyes, a sharp, yet subtle up-tilt to my nose, full pale lips, and healthy medium-length hair. Oddly I couldn't shape my body how I wanted, but after trying for a while I decided that I was done.
[Are you sure you choose this appearance?]
Hell yes!
[Please select your starting stats:
Constitution - 0
Health - 0
Agility - 0
Intelligence - 0
Luck - 0
Wisdom - 0
Points:25]
This was a tough cookie. I didn't usually prefer rogue characters, in fact, I disliked them. Hard hitters were for casual players, duh. And while I loved magic, something in my gut was telling me that being a mage here was going to be too easy. No, I spent my entire life being a wizard and playing the game on easy mode, and I'd rather do something challenging in my afterlife that does not involve emotional turmoil and altering my usual playing habits to fit a whole other archetype should pose a hurdle enough to keep me entertained.
Hmm… then let's see…
[Are you sure that these will be your staring stats:
Constitution - 2
Strength - 2
Agility - 7
Intelligence - 4
Luck - 6
Wisdom - 4]
As far as I understood it, Constitution and Strength were warrior attributes, Wisdom and Intelligence were mage attributes, and Agility and Luck were rogue attributes. So, I made the last ones my highest, and the mage ones my second priority.
A little magic when one was in a pinch never hurt, right?
As soon as I hit the [Accept] symbol on that screen, I felt my body… change. I grew a little shorter, and a little thinner too. Hm, I suppose the system accommodates for my states with direct changes in my appearance.
The world around me filled with color again, and I decided to finally leave the nest, so t speak. Hand on the doorknob, the first bit of apprehension began trickling in. Swallowing saliva, I quickly opened the door before I had time to talk myself into staying in the character creation menu forever.
All at once, sounds began trickling in. Something inside me seized with fear when I heard shouts and cries. Children were running around like crazy, and there were loud sounds of explosions coming from outside.
"Children! You must return to your rooms!" a woman's voice desperately yelled, and my eyes snapped over to a kind-faced lady, who was currently blocking what seemed to be the main door. "The ninja outside will handle the monster. Please calm down!"
My heart hastened. With both excitement and fear. Ninja. Monster.
I knew of only one damned world that fit the bill.
Ignoring the struggling woman and other adults trying to calm some terrified children down, I ran to the nearest window and threw it open.
And I don't know whether I was happy or not about being proven right.
It was far more massive that what I had ever given it credit for. Konoha, that is. My eyes were drawn to Mount Rushmo- Ahem! The Hokage Monument was huge, to say nothing of the 'village' that was spread out before it… how does one even consider this village, by the way? It's got to be the size of a small city, at least!
And then, a massive village-wide flare of blue shined bright in my eyes.
"Everyone, attack it with all you've got!" That… that was the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen! I was born a few years before the Kyuubi attack! It's the day of Naruto's birth.
Holy shit.
I… My afterlife was in the Naruto Universe?!
A collective scream snapped me out of my conflicting thoughts, and then dozens of fireballs, water waves, and earthen boulders flew at the monstrous nine-tailed fox, forcing it to stumble back from the onslaught.
"Gundan-kun! Get away from there!"
I ignored the voice. My name was Legion-
Wait a minute. 'Gundan'? As in 'corps' or 'army corps'?
My name got fucking translated.
A gentle but firm hand pulled me away from the window with ease, and then slammed them shut. "This is not what a five-year-old should be doing a day after his birthday." She said, trying to smile, but I could tell she was downright terrified. "You'd best get into your room, dear, and shut the doors and windows. I'll bring along some warm soup soon, okay?"
Damn. Holy hell.
She was trying to behave as if this were a normal night. Where she herself should be panicking and shit, she's being calm for all of us to be calm, too.
And honestly, it was working. But… wait.
It shouldn't have to work. I should have been calm through this entre ordeal.
What the hell was up with my [Gamer's Mind]? Why was it not working?
She gently opened my door and nudged me in. "Sit down. I'll have Kana up with some soup, okay?" she smiled awkwardly, then left, but the door was open.
I shivered as another roar and the sound of a massive explosion rent the air.
"Skills!"
Nothing.
"Abilities? Spells? Talents?! C'mon, you damn piece of crap, work!" I cursed, waving my arms around in frantic worry.
In all my flailing, my right hand eventually managed to trace a path directly from up downwards in front of me, and a line of icons appeared.
"Wait… that interface… Sword Art Online? What the hell? I hope I don't have limited skill slots or something like that."
I examined the icons in front of me with a critical eye. The first one was shaped like those creepy msn head and upper torso thingies – I tapped it to see what it was.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 5
Title: Orphan
Next Level: 100xp
HP - 120
CP - 140
CON - 2
STR - 2
AGL - 7
INT - 4
LCK - 6
WIS - 4
Perks:
Skills:
Active Effects: Tainted Chakra Exposure]
So, my [Gamer's Mind] wasn't working because I didn't have it? Why? And what was [Tainted Chakra Exposure]?
The effect seemed to get highlighted in grey and a new window opened in front of it.
[Active Effect: Debilitation: Tainted Chakra Exposure
Due to massive concentrations of senjutsu-tainted chakra in the air, you are unable to draw on or focus your chakra properly.
-50% to all damage
-50% to recovery rates]
Damnit! The Kyuubi's chakra in the air was seriously bad news! Well, it was throwing BIjuudamas around like party favors but…
Eh.
Also, I needed 100xp to level up, which I should get immediately after finishing this quest. Yippy-fucking-do, man.
Okay, so what's the net icon? I clicked on the arrow in the top let corner to got back to the icon list, and clicked the next one, with the icon of a toy sword.
[Skills List]
And it was blank. Zero, zilch, nada. This was… odd.
PING!
[Due to continuous exposure to tainted chakra, you have created a new skill!
Chakra Resistance (Passive) Lv2 (6.82%)
Your body recalls being exposed to tainted chakra, and its attempts in fighting against it. Against normal chakra, these defenses are more effective.
-2% damage from all chakra-imbued attacks.
-50% skill effectiveness against tainted chakra.]
Sweet! A new skill for simply remaining standing around the Kyuubi? No wonder children born shortly before or after the Kyuubi attack were so exceptional!
I looked carefully at the screen, thankful to see there was nothing like 'equip skill' or something. This meant only the interface skin was from Sword Art Online, not the entire system. Thank god.
Besides the single one though, there were no other skills, so I backed out again and clicked on the next icon, this one looking like a briefcase.
[Inventory]
This screen was split into two – one smaller one that showed a rough silhouette of what had to be my body on the left, and the actual inventory screen on my right. Currently, I had equipped on [Standard Orphanage Night-Jacket], and [Standard Orphanage Night-Pants], that offered no resistances or bonuses. Hm.
The latter was totally empty, only showing rows after rows of ten slate gray squares. Just to check, I lifted one of the two pillows from next to me and carefully brought it near to the screen. It was gently pulled in, and then the first square turned lighter, with an image of a pillow on it. Okay, so at least this worked how I remembered it to. I highlighted the box.
[Weathered Pillow x 1
A pillow that has been used for a long time. Other than comfort, it offers no other bonuses.]
Okay. Cool.
I backed out and selected the next icon, this one looked like a simple addition sign.
[Perks
Gamer's Body – Your body behaves as if it were in a game and reacts accordingly.
Cost: 1 PP.
Gamer's Mind – Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through.
Cost: 1 PP.]
The rest had their characters all replaced with question marks. Okay, so apparently, I had to purchase the two perks that make my ability useful. But… how do I gain perk points?
No window or anything of the sort opened up, so I reluctantly backed out. Another explosion rocked the land, but even though I almost fell sideways on the bed from the vibrations, there was no immediate doom that followed, so I surmised it must have been far away.
I clicked on the last icon, one with a grey gear cog as its thumbnail.
[Settings
Difficulty
Cheats]
My mind blanked out. I don't think the Gamer Manhwa had this kind of menu, but I assume that since my interface is different, even my entire system might be different too. I tapped on [Difficulty] first, but the screen that popped up just had a giant question mark on its front. So, with a sigh, I returned and selected [Cheats].
[Cheats
WARNING!
Once cheat(s) have been activated, all checkpoints will vanish. Player death will result in returning to Character Creation screen.
God mode - Off
All skills instantly maxed - Off
Level 999 - Off
Stats 999 - Off
One Hit Kill - Off]
Tempting. So, god-damned tempting! Action Replay and Cheat Engine were my best buds when I played solo RPGs, so I could practically feel my fingers twitching to just turn all of them on.
But… no. I wanted a challenge in my afterlife. Using these hacks would just result in an easy playthrough. Maybe for New Game+ though… wait… was there such a thing?
Eh. Screw it. I closed the screen without activating anything.
PING!
[Quest Complete!
Tutorial: A New World:
You have woken up in an odd place that you don't recall being in ever before. Explore and find out where you are.
Completed Objectives :
Find out where you are.
Find out what's special about you.
Completed Bonus Objectives:
Explore the entire player menu.
Reward :
100xp + 1x Poorly-stitched Kimono (Black)]
Okay, not bad. I really hope I had other clothes than that kimono lying around, though. I clicked on the blue accept/continue icon and was instantly met with another screen.
PING!
[You have levelled up! You are now Level 6!
+ 5 stat points
+ 1 perk point]
Oh, so that's it! Every time I level up, I get one perk point, along with the standard five stat points. I quickly exited the screen, navigated to my perk menu, and purchased [Gamer's Mind]. It resulted in another screen popping up.
[Perk Purchased!
Due to purchasing a perk, a new skill has been added!
Gamer's Mind (Passive) Lv MAX (100%)
Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through.
Cannot be affected by negative mental debilitations.]
Cool. That's that. I now have a total of two skills. Now for the stat points… the rather vast number of fanfics I have read on the subject always advise saving the stuff for later. So… I guess I should, too?
I sighed and closed the screens. Since [Gamer's Mind] was active, the distant roars and explosions weren't really bothering me anymore. So, I cast another gaze around my room, and then instantly got an idea.
I got the pillow out of my inventory and carefully popped a single stitch, pulling out a feather, then tossing the pillow back on the bed because it was honestly no use to me. I then closed my eyes and tried to feel for some energy or something in the pit of my stomach… and was instantly awarded with a tingly feeling. I tried to… move(?) the feeling towards my forehead, where I let the feather gently settle.
It took a couple of seconds for the screen that I wanted to pop up.
PING!
[Due to carrying out a special action, a skill has been created!
Chakra Control (Passive) Lv 1 (2.00%)
Allows stricter control over chakra flow, allowing the user to lower the cost for jutsu. Additionally, it also allows for finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body.
-1% CP cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (10 CP/sec)]
Okay… so apparently, [Chakra Control] here is a skill, not a stat like I assumed it would be. And also, [Leaf Balancing] is not a skill on its own, but a part of the aforementioned one. That means If I try walk walking, it would end up being a part of the [Chakra Control] skill.
Okay… so let's get grinding.
Thus, while my new village was getting ravaged by a child of an ancient superman and people died left and right, while lives ended and new lives begun, while some grew stronger in resolve and others gave in to hatred…
I practiced my chakra control in my room until I was too drowsy to continue, falling into a distinctly dream-free sleep.
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17726618?view_full_work=true