Chapter 78: Mission Scrolls
Sasuke thought to himself, a malicious grin forming on his face.
In reality, you used the blood debt of slaughtering your entire clan to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. I couldn't defeat your Susanoo.
But in the game, as a level 19 Cursed Swordmaster, killing you, a mere beginner in the game, would be a piece of cake, right?
"Orochimaru?"
Kakashi and Asuma both looked serious, surprised that the former member of Konoha's Legendary Three Ninjas had also become a player.
Naruto Uzumaki asked reluctantly, "Is there really no other way?"
It wasn't just because he liked Sakura.
He also cared deeply about the bonds of Team 7. Though Naruto was carefree, he had an incredibly strong and keen intuition.
Since Sakura wasn't a player, the gap between him, Sasuke, and her grew wider, and even their conversations had become strained and awkward.
That was why he had suggested going out to dinner with Kakashi-sensei, trying to ease the slowly drifting apart relationship.
"Of course there is."
"Since I am a game merchant, I obviously sell game items. Just like special characters in the game, you might get a surprise if you meet them."
Fang Yi extended his hand, and suddenly, a large cloth bag appeared in the air, to the astonishment of everyone present.
All eyes, including those of the non-players like Kakashi and Kurenai, were drawn to the screen panel that appeared with the bag.
[Game Merchant's Bag]
When opened, it didn't contain a wide variety of items, just two lonely objects.
*[Mission Scroll] 10, *[Trial Token] 10
Fang Yi explained, "Mission Scrolls can only be purchased by players. Once bought, they trigger Fate Tasks in the real world. There are five chances, and upon completing them, rewards are given. The price is 1,000 reward points."
"The Trial Tokens can be purchased by anyone. Non-players who complete the trials will be granted game access. They cost 5,000 reward points."
Game invitations can't be sold, but trial access can.
By paying out of pocket for trial dungeon runs, Fang Yi didn't lose anything if they failed, but could earn reward points.
If successful, he'd gain a new player on the roster.
A profitable deal.
As for the Mission Scrolls, they were a way for Fang Yi to strengthen the connection between the game and reality.
"Once players taste the rewards from the Mission Scrolls, they'll be bound to tasks in the real world, and the ninja villages' control over them will be infinitely weakened,"
Fang Yi thought to himself.
This had only just occurred to him after seeing Naruto Uzumaki earlier.
Sasuke Uchiha, who had entered the Reincarnation Game much later, already had five pieces of soul-certified purple gear and could freely equip them in the real world.
Although the Uchiha legacy played a part,
Naruto had an undeniable advantage when it came to spending money.
The world of ninjas had always favored Naruto's fate.
Though he had a troubled childhood, his wealth and luck had been virtually divine.
It was like winning the lottery every time he bought a ticket.
Even in the Reincarnation Game, Fang Yi had never intentionally blocked the world's consciousness from assisting Naruto in this way.
That's why Naruto often had the best equipment and rare materials drop, a direct result of the ninja world's favoring him.
Every time Naruto obtained such loot, Fang Yi would extract some of that original power for himself.
In a way, the consciousness of the ninja world was trading luck for Naruto's equipment drops.
However,
despite Naruto's incredible luck in obtaining equipment and rare materials, most of these were used to subsidize the Konoha forces with the Hokage's permission.
In an environment where Konoha's funds were minimal, the village could still manage, partly due to Naruto's contributions.
But all the credit was given to Sarutobi Hiruzen, and despite Asuma's efforts, the higher-ups, including Danzo and other senior advisors, intentionally downplayed Naruto's accomplishments.
Thus,
Naruto had only a handful of soul-certified gear up to now.
"This kind of control the ninja villages have is useful, but it's not the outcome I'm looking for."
Fang Yi thought to himself.
For him, the players needed to be under his influence. To do that, he needed to increase the Reincarnation Game's impact on the real world, and the Mission Scrolls were his first step in that plan.
Naruto said eagerly, "The Trial Token will let Sakura become a player."
Then, seeing the steep price, his face fell.
Compared to when they first entered the game,
they could now hunt higher-level corrupted monsters. The Blood-soaked Wasteland was almost conquered, and the rewards dropped were far more abundant.
However,
most players still had empty pockets and couldn't save up enough reward points.
Repairing gear, dungeon entry fees, skill upgrades, soul certification fees, revival costs, and potion costs—
As their levels grew, so did the expenses.
Repairing level 1 gear only cost a few reward points.
But now, Naruto's level 15 gear cost hundreds of reward points to repair. If they didn't fix it in time and durability dropped to zero, the gear would break.
When gear was broken, it lost all stats and had no effect.
Once the gear broke, players not only had to pay for repairs but also had to buy a Furnace Scroll to restore it to its original state.
That meant most players had no choice but to purchase special items from the game store to prevent gear from breaking during battle.
[Portable Repair Hammer (White)]: Price 10 reward points.
Once bought, the hammer would automatically deduct points from the player's inventory and repair dropped gear durability at any time.
The most ridiculous part was
the hammer could only repair one piece of equipment at a time. So, to repair an entire set, you'd need eleven hammers.
And the hammers had durability too. Once their durability reached zero, the hammer would disappear, forcing players to buy new ones.
And then, of course, there were different quality levels of hammers.
The white hammer could only repair white-tier gear. Purple gear required the purchase of a purple hammer, which cost 100 reward points.
This was just one part of the many ways reward points were consumed in the Reincarnation Game.
It was no surprise that Naruto's reward points had dwindled to just three digits in his backpack.
"I…"
Naruto clenched his teeth, considering selling two pieces of equipment to make up for the points.
Sasuke, who hadn't paid attention to Sakura, glanced at Naruto's distressed expression, sighing inwardly. He spoke up, "We're Team 7. If we need to raise the money, we do it together. It's not just for Sakura. Kakashi-sensei should become a player too."
His thoughts were clear:
Solo players, no matter how much they hunt or how many resources they get, would face increasingly difficult challenges with the new family system.
The Hokage's stance on the Reincarnation Game was still ambiguous, and Konoha's various clans were each working for their own gain.
With their newfound power, the clans were no longer content to sit idle. They started privately seizing Konoha's resources to expand their own power.
This posture was even worse than the Uchiha's.
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