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World Chat wasn't free. Each broadcast cost at least 50 Gold Coins.
The currency exchange rate in Naruto World was based on a decimal system: 100 Copper made 1 Silver, and 100 Silver made 1 Gold.
If Harper tried to scrape together 50 Gold just by grinding low-level mobs, he'd be old and gray before he sent a single message.
But Harper wasn't just any player. He was the Lead Bug Tester. An insider. The guy with the keys to the kingdom. If he just ground levels like a regular noob, he'd be wasting his potential.
Suddenly, flashes of white light began to pop off all over the Hidden Leaf Village.
"The Open Beta has started."
Harper could see silhouettes flickering into existence in the distance. A massive wave of new players was already sprinting toward the gate.
He turned his back on the crowd and headed deeper into the forest. He casually slaughtered two more boars on his way, pushing further into the wilderness.
Just as he predicted, the boar zone was soon flooded with players. As time ticked by, it turned into a mosh pit.
Kill-stealing became rampant. The second a boar spawned, four or five guys would rush it with their kunai. The squeals of dying pigs were practically continuous.
By this time, Harper had already bypassed the Level 1 Wolves and the Level 2 Snakes, stopping only when he reached the Level 4 Bandit zone.
Going any deeper would mean facing aggressive mobs that attacked on sight. He was brave, not suicidal.
A narrow, winding path cut through the forest from north to south. Wandering along the path and in the brush were humanoid mobs.
[Bandit]
Level: 4
Attack: 30
Defense: 10
HP: 300
Description: A low-level humanoid mob found near the starter village.
Harper glanced at them but didn't stop. His target wasn't the grunts—it was the first Field Boss of the starter zone: the Bandit Leader.
He scanned the area until he spotted a bandit that looked different from the rest. This guy was wearing a forehead protector and strutting around like he owned the place.
[Bandit Leader] (Bronze Rank Boss)
Level: 6
Attack: 90
Defense: 30
HP: 1000
Skills: [Basic Kunai Mastery], [Basic Shuriken Mastery]
Description: The leader of the local bandits. He robs merchants and travelers and hits like a truck.
Harper clicked his tongue. 90 Attack Power. That meant the boss could two-shot him. Fighting him head-on with his current stats was basically suicide.
He took a breath and opened his Skill Menu.
Even though he "had" every skill, the ones he could actually learn at Level 1 were limited.
[Basic Kunai Mastery]: Increases accuracy with Kunai. (Grandmaster rank cannot be dodged). Increases Kunai damage by 5%. Increases Kunai Crit Rate by 1%.
[Basic Shuriken Mastery]: Allows the user to throw 2 Shuriken at once. Increases accuracy. Increases Shuriken damage by 5%. Increases Shuriken Crit Rate by 1%.
[Basic Invisibility Cloak]: Enter stealth mode. Movement speed reduced by 50%. Effect ends upon using an item or attacking. First attack from stealth has 100% Crit Rate. (Ineffective against targets 3 levels higher than user).
His eyes, however, lingered on a skill that unlocked at Level 2.
[Craft Basic Paper Bomb]: Craft one Basic Paper Bomb.
Paper Bombs were basically the hand grenades of the Naruto universe. In the game, they were nerfed to prevent players from cheesing bosses. The system had a hard cap: a single target could only take damage from Paper Bombs 5 times per hour.
If they hadn't added that rule, some rich player would just pull a Konan, drop a billion bombs, and one-shot the final boss.
But even with the nerf, Paper Bombs were insanely expensive in Naruto World. More importantly, the crafting skill itself came from a "Unique Quest." That meant only one player on the entire server could ever learn how to make them.
"This is my ticket to the big leagues," Harper grinned. He could practically see the piles of gold coins raining down.
"Gotta level up fast."
Harper used his measly 30 XP to activate [Basic Kunai Mastery], [Basic Shuriken Mastery], and [Basic Invisibility Cloak].
Once the skills were set, he wove the hand signs. His body faded into transparency. Gripping his kunai, he crept up behind a lone bandit.
The bandit was looking around blankly, completely unaware that death was standing right behind him.
Harper slashed his kunai across the bandit's throat.
Defense Ignored!
Fatal Blow!
Stealth Crit!
Bleed Effect Triggered!
Four status messages popped up at once.
-30 HP (Critical!)
The massive damage number floated up, followed by a steady stream of -2 HP ticks from the bleed effect.
The bandit roared in pain, spotting Harper appearing out of thin air. He shouted and swung his own kunai.
Harper tried to dodge, but the level gap was too wide. The bandit's blade clipped his arm.
-30 HP
Harper didn't stick around to argue. He turned and bolted.
The bandit paused for a second, probably confused by how quickly this guy was running away.
That split second was all Harper needed to create a gap.
He spun around and whipped a shuriken at the bandit.
-10 HP
-10 HP
The bandit screamed in rage and charged.
But Harper used his movement to kite him, keeping just out of reach while peppering him with shuriken to whittle him down.
By the time his 10 shuriken were gone, the bandit's bleed effect had worn off, but his HP bar was nearly empty.
Harper stopped running. He turned and charged straight at the bandit.
He grit his teeth, tanked two hits to the chest, and delivered the killing blow.
Ding!
[System]: Killed Bandit. Base XP: 50. Level Gap Bonus (+3 Levels): 30%. Total XP: 65.
Harper did the math. Killing a bandit gave 6 times the XP of a boar and took about 5 times as long. Overall, it was a net gain.
He looked at the loot sparkling on the ground.
"Looks like this is profitable."
[Copper Coins] x10
[Rusted Kunai] Attack: 2-4
[Rusted Shuriken] x10 Attack: 2-4
[Red Food Pill] x5 Restores 30 HP over time.
"Damage is double the starter gear." Harper grinned, equipping the rusted weapons immediately.
He popped [Basic Invisibility Cloak] again and crept toward the next bandit.
Using his "Stealth + Kite" hit-and-run tactic, Harper dropped bandit after bandit. He didn't get any more equipment drops, but his XP bar was filling up way faster than the poor souls fighting over pigs back at the village.
Two hours later, a brilliant white light enveloped him.
He had leveled up.