1 CH1: No Choice
The time between my death and meeting the entity that changed my entire value system was infinite and far too short. My mind had blanked out at some point as my life vanished into an existence of no experience. Parts of memories still existed, appearing in my thoughts and vanishing moments later. There was nobody to move, only a mind and a lack of sensation. For a time, I went mad, but that grew dull, and I became almost nothing.
Do you wish to make a choice?
"Wha," the thought flashed through my mind, and suddenly, I was no longer only a mind; a bright blue screen appeared in front of my face.
Do you wish to make a choice?
No words had ever felt so foreboding to my mind that they had only begun restarting. A choice was that I had been lost for so long in the nothing that was eternity that such a concept had slipped my mind long ago. My life had long ago been consumed by the infinite experience of nothingness. Even my name had become nothing more than a distant thread of memory.
Your window of opportunity is closing. If there is any sense of desire left within you, now is the time to actualize it. My name is Agency, and I am the world's greatest teacher. Do you wish to make a choice?
All my mental strength rumbled as millennia of cobwebs fell from slowly rotating gears. Something was better than this; anything was better than being eroded by my sensationless existence.
"Yes," I said with everything I could muster.
Congratulations on regaining the spark of sapience this realm has thoroughly stripped from most souls. As a reward, you will be given a new life with lessons to learn that you did not get to experience in life.
Initializing the gamer system..
Searching for Appropriate World…
Deciding User Class…
"Don't I get a choice?"
Can the user leave this dimension alone, connect to the gamer server, or search for an appropriate world?
"No," I croaked.
Apologies for a moment you had my hopes up. I thought I had found a diamond in the rough, but you are merely unpolished quartz. No matter, I am a teacher, and you will learn.
Gamer System Initialized
Perks Gained
Gamer's Mind: The mind is protected from E-ranked Mental Attacks.
Gamer's Body: The body is protected from E-ranked physical disfiguration.
HP100/100: Points before the user dies.
MP100/100: Points until magic can no longer be used.
STR 10: Points that determine the strength and speed of an individual.
DEX 10: Points that determine the physical control and HP regeneration of an individual.
CON 10: Points that determine the HP and physical defense of an individual.
INT 10: Points determine Magical offense and the MP of an individual.
WIS 10: Points that determine magical defense and the MP regeneration of an individual.
CHA 10: Points that determine physical attractiveness and weight of words of an individual.
LUK 10: Points that determine the drop rate of monsters, fated encounters, and critical rate.
That was too much information to take in. I didn't read it so much as it was forced upon me. Moments after seeing it, I knew it. E rank meant anything below a 4-tailed Biju, which didn't help. Apparently, each rank was a realm above the last. E+ was ten times greater than E, and D- was ten times greater than E+. All of this was too much for my poor, abused mind.
World Selected: Naruto
Class Decided: Illusionist lvl1 +1 INT/WIS & +3 CHA per level.
Memories of that world came to me as I was moved through time and space. I could feel myself filling up with the algorithms of the system as I fell into the body of one. Atom Hyuga.
I decided to alter the history of the world to grant you a name you would find favorable. Do not worry. I Agency, as your teacher, will assist you in learning our rubric quickly and efficiently. You will be tested 4 times this cycle with a single final. Show me that you have learned, and you will be rewarded.
Generating Lesson 1
Receive The Cage Bird Seal or Don't
Reward: A night of fun and games whether you like it or not.
I panicked as reality came roaring to me with all the grace of a wrecking ball. My eyes widened at the milky white eyes of a line of children crying while a branch member wrapped their heads.
"Atom Hyuga, it is your turn to present yourself with the honor expected of a member of the clan." I turned to run, only for my father's hand to snatch mine. "Disappointing he will at most be a chunin with such a lack of courage."
"This isn't right," I said and tried to pull away from a grip like iron. "Why are you letting this happen?" I asked.
My father's lips tightened, and there was something behind his eyes that I hadn't seen before. The former 3-year-old owner of this body had heard conversations but never understood. I wasn't this man's son; he was a cuckold to Hiashi Hyuga, my real father and the man who ensured we were all branded. This little scandal was orchestrated by the head family to ensure Hiashi toed the line. It was clan politics, and I was a pawn.
This was as much to guarantee his daughters remained safe from the brand as it was to ensure I was branded. I hated the feeling of the man's cold, calloused hands touching my forehead and foreign chakra entering my body.
Cage Bird Seal Debuff
-35% Chakra Pool
CON Gaines are halved.
With a hand sign, your life can be ended.
This wasn't fair; none of this was fair. Blood fell from my forehead and fell into my eyes. I watched the world dyed red as I was dragged off for the next child to be branded all older than me. I was the Hinata's age; normally, they would have waited until I was older, but I would start training with the gentle fists. This was to ensure I would never be as good as Hinata.
It was merely a political move I had no control over as a child.
Generated Lesson 1
Complete
Reward: Tonight, we will put that hate of yours to the test; until then, don't let it cool.
What lesson Agency was trying to teach me I didn't have a choice? All I could do was endure the brand, and whatever fun it was talking about was bound to be bad for me.
…
I laid on my back, looking over my spells.
Footsteps
Cost: 10MP/s
Description: cast a sound of falling footsteps.
Range: 60ft
Reflection
Cost: 15MP
Description: Cast a mirror image of the user at another location.
Range: 60ft
Deafness
Cost: 10MP/s
Description: Cast a cursed area where targets can no longer hear.
Range: 40ft
Calm Touch
Cost 40MP/s
Description: Cast a curse that stops a target's hostile will.
Rage Touch
Cost 40MP/s
Description: Cast a curse that causes irrational aggression.
These were tools that I could use to my advantage, even at level 1. With time, I could surely gain better and better spells. It was only a matter of time. All I needed was to somehow survive and find a way to greatly increase my level.
I stared at my mother, who looked away in shame.
New Skill
Observe lvl1: Find information on targets with a glance. They will not notice you looking unless you stare too long like an idiot.
May Hyuga lvl35
Knowledge was power; it was a good skill to have. I turned over on my bedroll and went to sleep. Maybe this was just another mad delusion from the void.
My eyes snapped open to a ruined city covered in dilapidated skyscrapers. I stood there as my three-year-old self with all the physical might of a small dog. The gentle fists weren't even available. All I knew were the hand seals for the byakugan. Apparently, my eyes could evolve by stealing the eyes of another and popping them into my head.
I don't recommend it until you either remove the cage bird seal or become strong enough to ignore it.
"How much do I need, you bastard?"
Name-calling is promising; I like it. Alright, for your information, it will only require 500CON to outright ignore the jutsu. If you manage to get that tough, not much is going to hurt you anyway. Good luck with that.
I turned my attention to the massive city, where I heard the slow, shambling footsteps of the undead. In nothing but my sleepwear, I felt that this was a little unfair.
Don't be afraid; this is a reward. It would have been something if you made a daring escape, but that wasn't happening. From the moment you were born, there was no chance you could escape. I'm sorry to say until you graduate from the academy, this is where your mind will remain.
"But there is so much I want to change," I said.
Do you well? Maybe you can if you manage to reach level 25 in your illusion class. I'm sure you want to save the Uchiha or maybe stop the kidnapping attempt on Hinata. You are already running out of time. Food for thought: what is the Illusion class best at?
I don't need you to ask me that. Are you sure you don't want me to max it out? Why not prestige it if that's available?
Generated Lesson 2
Reach Illusionist lvl25
Hidden Task?
Hidden Task?
Hidden Task?
Hidden Task?
Reward: New Skill
Failure: Trapped Until age 12.
