Shinobi:The RPG

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I dropped to the floor and sat on the ground.

Think I should try using the 'wait' command?

Nah. I don't want to miss the bell by accident. Okay. Ummmmmm…darn.

So, skill points? Dump them in one spot or shift them around? Speech needs help. But maxing Taijutsu as fast as I can…agh. It's the same arguments I keep sifting in my head. Not going to get anything done.

You know what, whatever. Let's try the Rasengan. How'd it go again?

So, I held out my hand, started to pool chakra, to spin the air into a ball, then another ball going the other way then I felt a sting as the chakra in my hand disappeared. Waving away the pain in my hand, I read the inevitable message that I knew was coming.

Chakra Control Check Failed: 42/80.

80?!? Then how did Naruto…? He used a shadow clone to give himself a boost. Derp.

Then the bell rang. My chakra was slowly replenishing at any rate, so I wasn't worried as I shouldered my bag again and ran to step in line.

We were lead back into the classroom we first started in, with Okawa-sensei standing at the blackboard. "Welcome back, class. So, now, we're going to talk about Chakra. Can I have a volunteer to describe what chakra is."

My hand shot straight up because I have 10 INT. This will be a breeze.

"Yes, Shimoda?"

Nice.

"Chakra is a mix of physical and spiritual energies, generated by Chakra Coils," I rattled off. "It is what fuels all Jutsu and is the foundation of everything Shinobi do."

"Very good," Okawa nodded.

Cha-ching! 100 EXP. That leaves me with 355 more until I, finally, hit level 2.

Luckily I was able to keep my victory dance in my head and Okawa continued to go on with a lecture about all of the ways chakra could be used and how seals were the basis of shaping and molding chakra, and how we use those in conjunction with moving the chakra to where it needed to go.

Fascinating stuff. I know that in my old world there were lots of people who believed in similar practices, though the effect was nowhere near as pronounced as it is here; it was more thought of as a spiritual pursuit anyway.

But this also brought to mind something I've usually considered. When I was growing up, I used to play Neverwinter Nights and Dungeons and Dragons. I always, always rolled a sorcerer and built him around one, simple, thing: Metamagic.

I hate casting animations.

They take too long, announce your presence to the enemy and if you're paralyzed you can't do anything. Specializing in Taijutsu can go a long way in helping me avoid little things like interruptions, especially if I obtain some sort of 'evasive' style but I'm not sure such a style exists in the game world and it doesn't actually solve the problem that's really starting to irk me: I will end up with casting animations. Or, hand seals. I might also have to at least say the name of my jutsu if the world is as similar to the one from the Anime.

…wow, that line of thinking is bizarre. I'm in a cartoon. A violent bloody cartoon about a crapsack world. But still a cartoon.

Anyway. I do have a list of perks in my book, so I should really take a look at what I have available to me. Shame I don't have a walkthrough to get the best perks, but no use crying over what-ifs. Though, the question of what if springs another thought. Are there any jutsu that didn't require hand seals?

Besides the Rasengan…which is far and away one of the best jutsu in the world, which I take as a sign that I'm on the right track…there was Tsunade's megaton-punch thing. Which was gathering your chakra up and releasing it at the time of impact. Didn't seem to be any hand seals involved.

Huh. Well, that jutsu fits into two of my tagged skills; Taijutsu and Chakra control. Probably be a reasonably high requirement for both, but it's something to shoot for. I wonder if I can just figure it out like I did tree-walking and presumably, the Rasengan if that failed Chakra Control check is anything to go on, or if I need to be taught by Tsunade herself. Hmmm…

By the way, speaking of tree walking, what would have happened if I failed that check? Put too little in it, I just fall off. Put too much, the tree explodes…wait. I just thought about this! And it's the perfect cover story! I learn Tsunade's megaton punch and if someone asks me about it, I could just say I thought about weaponizing the side effects of putting too much chakra in a tree-walking jutsu! Perfect!

"Shimoda!"

"Huh?" I sprang to attention as the room shook and lightning struck outside the windows.

"Care to answer the question?"

"…I'm terribly sorry, Sensei, I dosed off," He looked mad. "Please repeat the question?"

Cha-ching!

Speech Check Success: 24/20.

Whew! Enhanced speech is already saving my butt! With 10 EXP to boot.

"Do you know what seals we use in our jutsu," He asked levelly.

Cha-ching!

Intelligence Check Success: 10/9.

50 EXP. Awesome.

"There's Ram, Boar, Tiger, Bird, Rat, Monkey, Dragon, Ox, Snake, Hare, Horse, and Ox," I recited from memory.

"…that's very good, Shimoda," Okawa said, somewhat surprised. The class, dull though it is, becomes somewhat interesting when Okawa demonstrates a chakra-control exercise to stick a leaf to his finger and make it dance across his hand.

I wonder if he can make it do that can-can. I probably could.

"Students!" Sensei Okawa called over the sound of the bell. "Your homework is to practice the leaf exercise and you will be required to demonstrate it when you come in tomorrow."

So I'm required to make a leaf do the can-can? Awesome! I will train my leaf to be the best can-can dancing leaf in the entire elemental countries! The fact that it will be the only can-can dancing leaf in the entire elemental countries is superfluous and unimportant!

Also, 295 EXP until level-up. Sweet.

I stood up and left the building, feeling Okawa's eye still looking at me. Part of me would appreciate it if he had a preference for dishonesty, but that would be bad for everyone else in the long run. He already seemed to be willing to let me off easily, especially since he caught me lying.

…that is bad. Lying is bad and I should feel bad and…no, lying's a fact of life of the Elemental Countries. I need to accept it and make the best of-oh who am I kidding. This place is king crapsack world on crapsack mountain.

I'm just glad I didn't land in 40K. This place has NOTHING on that nutty universe.

Quest Updated: The First Step.

Completed: Attend your first day of school.

Return to the orphanage.

On my way, mystical dialogue boxes!

Wait…I'm not Deadpool. I need my own gimmick.

So I quickly made my way back to the Orphanage and opened the door. I had expected Naruto would be waiting for me with baited breath. What I got was a look at nothing.

"Ummm...Naruto?" I called after.

"He stepped out," The Matron replied, stepping around a corner. "How was your first day at the academy?"

"Awesome!" I said, gushing like the eight-year-old I supposedly was. "We got to fight each other and throw kunai and I got every question right and-"

"Okay, okay," The Matron smiled, patting me on the head. "I'm glad you had a good day. Go ahead and wash up for dinner."

…stupid level 1 charisma. I really need to fix that one of these days. Whatever. Wonder where Naruto went off to. Hope he's okay.

I heard a door slam to the right.

"What was that?" I asked the Matron, who had turned around to head to the kitchen.

"I don't know," She said over her shoulder at me.

Quest Update: The First Step

Completed: Return to the orphanage.

Investigate the noise.

"I'll be right there," I said, turning to go check it out.

I turned a corner and there, at the door to the orphanages cellar, were two of my fellow orphans; Santo Naora and Ashida Rikyu. They were students too, apparently. They had slammed it shut and were holding the door shut with their backs as they braced themselves with their legs against the opposite wall.

"So, what's up?" I asked.

They looked at me, looking rather panicked.

"Nothing!" Naora said.

"Yeah, go mind your own business!" Rikyu added.

Okay, I may have 1 charisma but there's more than one way to skin a cat.

"Okay, Obasaan just asked me to wash up," I replied. "Sorry to bother you."

I walked past them, clearly going to the washroom. I shut the door and turned on the sink. Then I opened the door as quietly as I could.

Sneak Check Success: 17/15.

10 EXP.

Perception Check Success: 5/5.

+20 EXP.

Ooh, another one I might need to upgrade at some point in the future. That was close.

"How long until you think they'll go away?" Naora asked Rikyu.

"I don't know," he replied in a whisper. "I've didn't think rats could get that big."

"Why did you even feed them soldier pills?" Naora asked. She sounded like she was close to crying.

Oh crap.

See, I'm scared of rats. Not in the 'I was traumatized when a rat yelled at me then ran away when I was a kid' sort of scared, but in the 'I know those things have iron in their teeth, will eat through anything, are incredibly smart and can develop an insatiable taste for human blood upon getting a taste'. If they've mutated to be even more dangerous, and if that mutation was any sort of permanent, then kids were going to die unless something is done about them now. Especially the babies in the nursery, who were very vulnerable and that could start a horrible chain reaction.

"It was your idea!" Rikyu returned hotly. "So you get to tell Obaasan!"

"You're the one who said it was a good idea," Naora snapped back. "…we should get out of here. Daisuke's already been by here and if we're still here, we'll look suspicious."

"So then what do we do?" Rikyu asked, sounding pretty scared.

"Hope the soldier pills wear off?" Naora offered weakly.

Ooh, good point. The rats are still a problem, though.

"We'll tell Obaasan about the rats after dinner," Naora nodded, some semblance of calm restored. "We can be sure the pills will have worn off about then. Then she can clean them up and no-one will be the wiser!"

Hmmm…if they fed them whole soldier pills, to a body of their size and density, I don't think they'll wear off for a while. Possibly not for another few hours if not clear until tomorrow.

They stood up and ran off toward the kitchen and I shut off the water.

Quest Updated: The First Step

Completed: Investigate the Noise

Clear the cellar of soldier-rats.

'Soldier-rats'? I guess it's more creative than simply 'giant rats'.

I opened the door to the basement, the darkness not being inviting at all. Then at the bottom of the steps, I saw a pair of glistening eyes.

Oh no. You are not getting upstairs. I swiftly closed the door behind me and leapt down the stairs. It squealed at me, revealing those darkened teeth that frankly freaked me out, but it wasn't fast enough to dodge the two feet which stomped down on its head, breaking its neck instantly.

+5 EXP.

I heard squeals and I turned around, seeing rats feasting on the various stores of food down here. Yeah, none of that's edible anymore. It wasn't that dark in here, though that's because of the torches lit and mounted on the walls.

The rats rushed forward. Two of them went for my legs but I jumped and tried to stomp on one again, though the rat simply dodged and bit me in the calf why?!?

-15 HP.

I slammed a one-handed haymaker down on its head and it still wasn't dead.

One jumped and clawed at my arm, pain shooting out from the scratches in my skin and blood started to trickle, I punched that one back down to the ground and kicked it in the face.

-10 HP.

+5 EXP.

Nice. But how many are left-AHHOW!

The back of my knee got slashed open, putting me on my knee in shock, and the rat then tackled me in the back, sending me back to the ground. Suddenly, I was getting double teamed and sliced up.

-10 HP.

-15 HP.

-10 HP.

Yeah. I'm in deep $#$@ here.

I spun on my back, putting an elbow to a rat's face and bashing it away from me with the entirety of my forearm. I leapt back up, but the rat that was slicing up my back was now clinging to my back with razor claws and a chunk of my shoulder in its mouth for good measure.

-1HP.

-1HP.

-1HP…

My health was depleting continuously because the rat on my back was applying a damage over time with his bite and it was super painful! GEEZE!

I jumped up and fell on my back, once, twice until the DOT stopped and the rat dropped limply from my back.

+5 EXP

It was worth more than that you piece of crap game system.

This was bad. I was down to 129 HP from the DOT plus all the other attacks. I'm fairly sure my arm was close to being crippled, which was really bad in of itself. Not only that, but my quest journal hadn't updated yet, meaning there's another rat around here somewhere.

I was breathing haggardly and blood seeped from the wounds I had acquired. Where's the rat? Where's the rat?

Seriously, where?

Enemies don't usually use stealth like this.

Not in any of the RPG's I used to play.

A squeal had me looking up to see themissingratdivingformyfaceohCRAP!

It started to slice and claw at my face and I was beating it with my fists to get it off.

-20HP.

-25HP.

-25HP.

FREAKING EXTRA HEADSHOT DAMAGE!

Then I forced it off through excessive use of force. It tried to bite me on the nose but he was flung off with as much gusto as I could muster. Blood leaked in my eyes making me strain to keep them open through the sting.

Then the game graced me with another message.

Your head has been crippled! Use a medical jutsu or sleep in a bed to heal the damage!

Well, good to know using a bed still heals me.

In my swimming vision, I was having a bad time trying to pick out the rat from the shadows, which seemed to be blurring into one another, with the torchlight.

Oh crap.

Oh crap oh crap oh crap.

This is very bad.

Then, I saw it.

Rushing toward me, I saw the distinct blur of the rat rushing for my legs.

Luck, don't fail me now!

The kick to its head connected, sending it sprawling.

+5EXP.

Quest Updated: The First Step

Completed: Clear the cellar of soldier-rats

Talk to Matron Kumiko.

Whoopee.

Well, I guess…ooh, this vision thing is annoying. Okay, well, the Matron, Obasaan or Kumiko or whatever I'm supposed to call her is going to want proof so…where are those corpses?

With more than a little disgust, I grabbed each rat corpse by the tail and held them in my fist like a perverse bushel. I slowly ascended the steps because I didn't want to fall and endanger the 59 hit points I had left.

I got to the top and opened the door.

"Daisuke, what happened?!?"

I wiped my eyes with my forearm and saw the Matron looking down at me in shock and worry. Behind her were Naora and Rikyu who were white as sheets and staring at me. Or the bushel of enlarged rodents. Maybe a little of both.

"Oh, I found out that someone fed the rats in the cellar some Soldier Pills," I explained, hoisting the bushel for them to see. "I went in and wiped 'em out for you."

"I…yes, I can see that!" the Matron was, naturally, very worried for my health. Awww. She does care! "We need to get you to the hospital immediately."

I'm not even going to argue. Trying to convince her of the truthfulness of being okay with just a nights-sleep is a completely futile exercise with my stats. "Good idea, Obaachan."

Quest Update: The First Step

Completed: Talk to Matron Kumiko

Sleep at the hospital.

Well, that was straight forward.

Well, Kumiko simply scooped me up in her arms and rushed me with NINJA SPEED to Konoha General. One look at my wounds, and I was admitted straight to the ER where they doped me up on pain killers, which I appreciated.

I didn't say a word. Didn't really have to with my legal guardian taking care of all my stuff. I got my wounds cleaned up pretty quickly and put into a room. When I was put into a bed, I decided that it was time to go to sleep. For about about…five hours.

When I woke up, it was 10:29, so the old sleep function from Fallout still worked.

Quest Completed: The First Step

+300 EXP.

NICE.

Bum-bum-bum-Bum!

You leveled up!

Level Achieved: 2

Down below that was a list of my skills.

For Tsunade's Megaton Punch, I dumped all twenty skill points into Chakra Control. That jutsu was going to be so incredibly useful, plus the idea of getting Rasengan which was good enough to become Naruto's Signature Technique except for the clones. That brought Chakra Control up to 62. Nice.

Next was Perks.

On that list were the perks Intensive Training, Taijutsu Enthusiast, Swift Learner and Wall Crawler.

Intensive training let me raise any one of my S.P.E.C.I.A.L points by one. This could easily fix my charisma problem, which has been…really bad, but at the same time, I've gotten used to not getting much social attention. It's not like I'm dying for social contact and there are other things that are more pertinent to my early game survival. So, increasing my charisma is on my to-do list, but it falls behind increasing luck.

Taijutsu Enthusiast was an interesting one. It increased my damage and magnitude of special moves by 10%. So my strikes would do more damage and my grapples and suplexs would be more effective at throwing people. Excellent perk.

Swift Learner made it so that I gained 10% more EXP whenever I gained EXP. I always passed by it on the rationalization that there was enough EXP to get to max level even if you penalized me %10 EXP per EXP gain. Now, I might get it to make things faster. Then again, I'm also a year away from the plot, when all the major crap happens so I think I can hold off. For now.

Wall Crawler makes my Tree-walking Jutsu 15% more powerful, which would be exactly what it says on the tin: I am now 15% harder to dislodge from vertical and upside-down surfaces.

Hmmm…I'm torn. I really want to bring Luck to 10 to give me that sweet 10% critical hit chance. That's actually what happened earlier with the target practice, now that I think about it. I hit a critical on the target, causing the kunai to get stuck. A guaranteed attack with extra damage is nothing to sneeze at. Then there's Taijutsu Enthusiast which is amazing for combat. Swift Learner is on probation for now and I don't feel the need to get Wall Crawler at this moment.

Ummmm…well, Luck made me friends with Naruto, as cliché as that is. That's amazing. So I know it works wonders when it wants too. But Taijutsu Enthusiast was an amazing perk, more consistently reliable, too. Hmmm…

Honestly, Luck seems to be pulling double duty in providing amazing benefits and compensating for my biggest weakness. So, yeah. I picked intensive training, then increased my Luck to 10.

The game was paused during level-up, which is darn nice for convenience. As the world faded back into color, I noted that it was, indeed, nighttime. I wasn't hurting anymore and my hit points were at full. My vision wasn't swimming so my head was obviously fixed up. Pretty sure it's because I decided to take a nap, though Ninja doctors are nothing to sneeze at. Maybe it's a mix of both.

Well, questions for later. Right now, I'm going to feel amazing with the knowledge that I just completed my first quest. As well as understand that any attempt to leave early will result in being detained by irate nursing staff. So, back to sleep for me. This time, I'm sleeping until morning.