70 The Capital (1)
As Team Ten approached the Western gates of the Capital, they slowly began to see more and more travellers on the road going to and from the city. Being that the Capital was one of the busiest and wealthiest municipalities in the world, it wasn't a surprise for anyone that there would be all sorts of travellers on the road. They ranged from luxurious carriages surrounded by a platoon of bodyguards, shinobi or otherwise, to farmers transporting their goods and produce to sell in the city.
Of course, the distinctively wealthier of the travellers did not have to wait in line to enter the city like all the other commoners. They simply went straight up to the city guards, bypassing the cumbersome identity verification and questioning from the guards to enter the city directly without much fuss. Others had to wait in line and had to receive permission from the checkpoint authorities after undergoing verification and scrutiny before they could enter the city proper.
Though the procedure was inconvenient, the line wasn't exactly slow moving due to the large amount of guards posted at the gates which helped speed up checkpoint verification and entry approval. Shinji mentally remarked that it was surprisingly efficient given the lack of modern conveniences like passport scanners or a computerized database for reference like he had in his previous world.
Most of the city guards were wearing red uniforms, with the kanji for fire emblazoned on their right chest and an armband that signalled their occupation. A couple of them, however, were equipped with armour atop their uniforms. Presumably they were the squad leaders given how they were standing with authority at the back while their subordinates did all the work.
Entry into the Capital city was tightly controlled, and not just anyone could enter. Vagrants and the destitute were denied entry, as well as foreign agents without official permit like shinobi from other villages were not allowed in as well. In the Capital city where a majority of the nation's Kizoku and the one and only Daimyo resided, it was no surprise they had such secure gates.
Without much fuss, our entourage went through the identity verification process. For us Konoha shinobi, the identification card assigned to us when we graduated the Academy also served as our passports whenever we had to travel, at least officially anyways. Yoshiro produced his own travel papers, even including a few ryo notes stuffed between sheets of paper as a 'tip', which the customs officer quietly accepted with saying anything.
He whispered to us that though it wasn't necessary, greasing the wheels with small amounts ensured smooth entry into the city without being hassled. Furthermore, if he could build a good relationship with the city guards with such a small investment then it would be money well spent, he reasoned.
After being waved in and crossing the city threshold proper, our C-rank mission to escort Yoshiro to the Capital city was concluded.
With the carriage parked to one side, Yoshiro got off the carriage and looked like he could finally breathe properly after being in constant anxiety for the whole day. "Finally in the Capital. What a relief!"
Hinata chuckled at his antics before throwing a glance at me and quietening down. Did I look scary or something?
Asuma took out the mission scroll and unfurled it. "The mission has concluded. Signatures here and here to verify."
Yoshiro took the offered scroll and pen, "Ah of course, of course."
But before he penned down his signature, he paused to ask, "But I'm still so confused, who would want to kill me?"
Asuma furrowed his brows, "I can't be sure. I could try to find out for you, but that's a separate mission altogether my friend."
"Come on old friend, are you really going to leave me to die?" The client tried to bargain.
The Sarutobi shook his head, "You know that's not how it works, Yoshiro. You hired us for one mission, and that was to escort you to the Capital. We've done that. Anything else, you have to apply for another mission request at the Konoha Branch Office."
From what I could remember, the Konoha Branch Office Asuma was referring to is an office that accepted mission requests in the Capital city, since it was unreasonable to demand Kizoku members to travel all the way to Konoha to employ our services. It also acted as an embassy of sorts that mediated any conflicts between Konohagakure and the Daimyo's court.
"But something like that will be well in the range of a B-ranked mission! That's too expensive! I don't have that kind of liquid capital, not right now!" Yoshiro protested, waving his hands around animatedly.
Asuma grudgingly sighed, "Look, I can put in a word for you at the Branch Office, but I can't guarantee anything. But at least you'll be safe while in the Capital. Security here is tight, especially with that guy over there watching over the city." He gestured at the castle, but I wasn't sure who he was referring to.
Yoshiro looked slightly comforted and sullenly signed the mission scroll, his signature as ostentatious as his fashion sense, confirming a successful mission completion and relinquishing us from our duties.
The jounin retrieved the mission scroll and shook Yoshiro's offered hand, "I wish you the best, Yoshiro. Stay safe."
The client, though unhappy that we didn't volunteer our services to help investigate his assassination attempt, was overall still satisfied with our performance. Not only did Asuma prevent him from dying via poison, even us genin played our part in thwarting further attacks. There was no avenue for him to complain about.
[Quest [To the Capital] Completed!]
Successfully escort Kurokawa Yoshiro to the Capital!
Ensure no harm comes to Yoshiro before he arrives at the Capital (√)
Defeat the assassins (8/8)
Yoshiro zero damage taken (√)
Find out who sent the assassins (X)
[Rewards:]
+20000 EXP
(Hidden) New Item: Assassin's Dagger
(Hidden) New Perk: [Silver Tongue]
(Hidden) New Skill: Indoctrination (X)
[You have levelled up!]
[You have levelled up!]
[Assassin's Deadly Dagger – Grade: Rare]
A blade crafted for the sole purpose of killing silently and stealthily.
Durability: 130/130
Damage: C
DEX +30
Item Skill: [Sneak Attack] – Passive
Damage dealt to an unsuspecting enemy when hidden upgrades damage grade from C to S.
[Silver Tongue]: Permanently increases CHA and REP gain by 25%
Putting aside the scary sounding skill that I missed out on, the new perk I received looked to be pretty interesting. Though CHA was still a stat which effects have yet to be deciphered by me, I would never say no to a perk that would enhance it by a percentage increase. That meant the effect of the perk would scale according to my growth in the future.
As for the Assassin's Deadly Dagger, a damage upgrade from C to S was a massive increase. The mechanics of the Gamer System when it came to doing damage was always rather vague. The quantifiable amount of damage dealt factored in numerous factors such as amount of strength put into the attack, the enemy's physical durability and of course the weapon's damage grade.
As far as I could tell, the damage grade acted as a sort of force multiplier. I have yet to figure out the hard numbers behind each damage grade, but if I had to give a rough gauge it would look something like:
Damage E: 1.1x, Damage D: 1.2x, Damage C: 1.4x, Damage B: 1.8x, Damage A: 2.6x, Damage S: 3.2x
Hence, a weapon's damage grade jumping from C to S roughly meant more than doubling the force multiplier.
"Are you going back to Konoha now?" Yoshiro asked.
Asuma turned back to our team, who upon hearing of a vacation a few minutes back was now looking at him with expectant eyes. "Nah, we'll stay for a couple days. I want to show them around the Capital and introduce them to some people I know."
"In that case, how about staying at my place? It's not the fanciest house but it would definitely be cheaper than renting a room in the city." Yoshiro generously offered, though I could see from the glint in his eyes that he also wanted free shinobi security services for as long as we stayed in the city. It was a fair trade off in my opinion.
Asuma rubbed the back of his head, "We wouldn't want to impose…"
"Nonsense, I won't take no for an answer!" Yoshiro insisted. "It's the least I could do for the people who saved my life."
"Technically I saved your life four times now," Asuma corrected to which Yoshiro mirthfully rolled his eyes at, "but alright, if that's the case we will have to accept then won't we?"
As Asuma and Yoshiro continued chatting, I took the opportunity to pull up my status screen.
Name: Shinji Ikari
Age: 12
Level: 28
Next Level: 1350/20300
HP: 8580/8580
CP: 8800/8800
STR: 120 (+5)
VIT: 121 (+7)
DEX: 125 (+13)
INT: 132
CHA: 27 (+10) (+25%) = 43
Points – 60
Ryo – 288,623
Perks:
[Lesser Chakra Sensitivity]
[Lesser Muscularity]
[Lesser Agility]
[Lesser Physicality]
[Heightened Senses]
[Bull's Strength]
[Quicken Thoughts]
[Poison Resistance]
[Natural Fire Affinity]
[Natural Wind Affinity]
[Monstrous Talent]
[Teamwork Makes the Dream Work]
[Silver Tongue]
Titles:
[Life Saver]
[Uchiha Clan Member]
[Konoha Genin]
[Rookie of the Year]
[Asuma's Disciple]
I withheld a whistle in appreciation at my accumulated stats. As a result of the month-long training period since I graduated from the academy under Asuma's tutelage, my stats and skills skyrocketed. Furthermore, quite a number of D-ranked missions turned quests provided Points as hidden or bonus rewards as well, so I was able to save up quite a number of stat points as well.
In addition to the three perks, [Heightened Senses], [Bull's Strength], [Quicken Thoughts] I received when my DEX, STR and INT reached 100 respectively, I had also acquired [Poison Resistance] when my VIT reached 100. Its effects were simple but effective – resistance to the effects of most poisons. Since it was only resistance rather than immunity, I was still vulnerable to the toxicity of poisons and venoms, the only thing would be that my body could endure for a longer time before succumbing to its effects. I assumed that my next VIT perk would probably be [Poison Immunity] or similar.
