Chapter 61: The Death Soul Camp Goes Viral
Although the Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand tried their best to conceal it, the conditions for activating the family token were soon widely known throughout the Ninja Novice Village.
"Sarina's Heart? A silver-grade material worth twenty thousand reward points?"
When the Dawn Organization publicly announced their purchase of token activation materials, every player's heart skipped a beat.
Twenty thousand reward points—enough to outfit an entire green-tier gear set—and all it required was a single heart material?
"Brothers, follow me to the Death Soul Camp and farm hearts. One run and we'll be rich!"
"Dream on. That material only drops in the Hell-level instance. You think you can survive in there? You probably can't even afford the entry ticket!"
Despite knowing how brutal the Hell-level instance was, players were still eager to raid the Death Soul Camp.
The temptation of rare, expensive loot was enough to drive them to take the risk.
With just a 200-point ticket, there was a chance to obtain a silver-grade heart worth 20,000 reward points.
A hundredfold return.
Enough to send most players into a frenzy!
Of course, besides the silver-grade heart material, the Hell-level dungeon also offered plenty of other high-value rewards.
Every successful run netted 1,000 reward points in pure profit, along with experience and proficiency capsules—essential for leveling up. After clearing the instance, players could draw a loot card, and unless their luck was atrocious, the Hell-level dungeon was guaranteed to drop at least one piece of purple-tier equipment.
The catch: you had to beat it.
Fail, and even the entry fee was lost.
"Level 18 Berserker looking for a Death Soul Camp team. Got two purple skills—absolutely worth it!"
"Static party, looking for a healer. No ticket required!"
"Level 19 Demolition Engineer looking for a stable team. I've got a level 15 purple-tier skill."
The dungeon entrance to Death Soul Camp was located just outside a valley in the center of the Death Soul Mountains—a swirling portal of glowing specks forming a dazzling gate through space and time.
Pass through the portal, and you would come face to face with the slain Soul Mage.
Countless players gathered here, searching for suitable teammates.
Inside the dungeon, the entire valley was swarming with a dense army of spectral soldiers, forming what looked like an impenetrable fortress.
Atop a watchtower, two ghostly archers scanned the area, eliminating anything that moved.
Clack.
A shadowy figure emerged from the darkness, swiftly swinging a blade and taking down both ghostly archers before they could react.
"Nice work!"
Asuma leapt from the shadows, fists clenched tightly.
Close behind him were the squad leaders from the Konoha forces.
Naruto Uzumaki beamed with excitement. "As expected of you, Captain Hayate Gekkō!"
Ever since Kabuto Yakushi defected, Naruto had been heartbroken—who would've thought that someone he considered a close comrade was actually a spy?
Eventually, the vacant Rogue slot was filled by Hayate Gekkō, a Special Jonin from the same village.
Sasuke murmured unhappily, "Idiot, don't alert the monsters in the camp."
The Hell-level dungeon didn't leave much margin for error. Any disturbance would alert the mobs. While it wasn't as difficult as when they had actually hunted the Soul Mage, it wasn't much easier, either.
He glanced at Asuma, his eyes conflicted.
Since the attack by enemy village ninjas, he had noticed that he was being subtly monitored by the ANBU.
Though already at Jonin level, Sasuke could easily detect the hostility radiating from these people. If he made a wrong move, they would likely strike without hesitation.
He was the victim—why was he the one under surveillance?
A growing sense of dissatisfaction with the village simmered in his heart.
Sasuke never felt a strong sense of belonging to the village in the first place. Raised on the pride of the Uchiha Clan, family honor meant everything. Now, treated like a prisoner, he couldn't stand it.
"Incoming!"
Neji's face remained expressionless as he suddenly spoke.
A patrol of spectral knights emerged from the camp, followed by ghostly spearmen wielding long lances.
Anyone who approached within fifty meters would be detected by the spectral knights.
This wasn't their first time inside a Hell-level dungeon. They all knew the rules.
Ever since the disappearance of the Hyuga Main Branch, Neji had become increasingly silent.
Only he knew the truth:
He had traded the corpse of a Main Branch Hyuga for a rare item at the game store. That young man with the Byakugan bloodline had become a green-tier bracelet around his wrist.
If this ever got out, he wouldn't just be jailed—he'd be executed by the Hyuga Clan in the cruelest way possible.
He had seen it happen: players who had once been death-row inmates imprisoned by the Ninja Village, only to be released when they became players.
He had made countless sacrifices for the village. Why couldn't he escape the fate of being part of the Branch Family?
Neji didn't have an answer. All he knew was—he wanted out of Konoha.
The battle began.
The patrol was ambushed and fought back fiercely, but the elite Konoha squad gradually wiped them out.
But that was only the beginning.
More and more undead enemies poured in, and they had to chug mana and stamina potions just to push toward the boss.
They had cleared this Hell-level instance four times—and only succeeded twice.
"Flame Talisman Slash!"
Sasuke launched himself forward, one foot stomping hard on the ground as he shot out like an arrow.
His fingers pressed together—not forming seals, but instead brushing against the blade of the sword in his right hand.
Originally jet-black, the blade flared up with fire the moment he touched it.
This was his in-game class—Level 18 Cursed Swordmaster.
A hybrid class combining swordsmanship and spellcasting, capable of both powerful melee strikes and formidable ranged attacks.
Originating from an ancient world filled with spirit energy akin to natural qi, mortals there refined their bodies and called themselves Qi Practitioners.
The Cursed Swordmaster was a Qi Practitioner who had taken both sword and spell to their extremes—casting spells with a flick of the wrist, while using deadly swordplay to repel foes. Capable of both long-range and melee domination, they stood in an almost invincible realm of balance.
Passive Skill: [Sword Heart], which boosts sword technique damage.
Bonus Skill: [Flame Talisman], which adds intense fire damage.
His sword, gripped tightly, was the purple-tier weapon [Fang of the Flame Beast], capable of delivering over 300 points of fire burst damage in a single strike.
He slashed.
A sweeping arc.
The skeletal guards protecting Sarina were instantly wiped out.
"Now!"
Neji's veins bulged at his temples. With his Byakugan, he pierced through the skeletal wall and locked onto Sarina.
Spirit Tiger Strike!
With a lunging punch, dark spirit energy condensed into a ferocious black tiger and pounced at Sarina at lightning speed.
It charged along the path Sasuke had carved, roaring as it struck her directly.
Black energy tore into her, draining her health in chunks visible to the naked eye.
Exploding Flame Fists.
Asuma's fists blazed through the air, sparks flying as rings of fire swirled outward in waves.
Hayate Gekkō used his skills to slip past obstacles and launch a sneak attack.
"Despicable humans!"
A screech rang out.
The Soul Mage's body dissipated, leaving behind a scatter of glowing loot.
Most of it was white or green-tier gear, with only a few flashes of purple among them.
"No silver-grade heart material," Asuma said, visibly disappointed.
Naruto and Hayate Gekkō looked equally downcast.
They had been hoping to farm a silver heart to save for later—waiting for the in-game merchant to finally enable token purchases.
Meanwhile, Neji and Sasuke, both from prestigious clans but with no love left for the village, were smiling as they eyed the purple-tier loot.
Silver materials, no matter how valuable, wouldn't be theirs in the end.
But purple-tier equipment?
That was distributed based on performance—what they earned, they kept.
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