Hunting Begins
Avinash, despite being frustrated, says, "Now what do I have to do? Wait, status."
Nothing happened.
After a long attempt, a few options appeared:
Settings
Resume
Sound
Music
Exit
Avinash was considering exiting when suddenly he remembered the moment when Karan had brutally beaten him. Remembering this, he changed his mind.
Avinash was ready to restart the game, although he was quite annoyed that he always had to operate it through voice commands, which felt awkward. If there were people around him, they would definitely think he was crazy.
Avinash began to observe his surroundings, which looked like the interior of an ancient Japanese house. He had only seen traditional Japanese homes on TV, and seeing it now left him astonished.
As he was closely examining his surroundings, he noticed an old scroll lying in front of him. It read:
Act 1
Survive
"Some people are chasing you to kill you. You are running to escape them, but you have no options left. Either you die or eliminate them."
Targets:
1. Stay alive.
2. Eliminate all enemies.
3. Complete within 2 days.
Tutorial
Avinash noticed an arrow floating in the air, pointing toward the door. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw a shooting target with a green zone marked right in front of it.
Avinash muttered to himself, "It seems like this is a tutorial. Am I inside the game right now? No, that can't be possible. To my knowledge, no F-rank ability can do all this. This must mean only my consciousness is here."
Avinash walked into the green zone and noticed a cross mark on the target in front of him. He couldn't figure out what to do next.
He had played similar games before, but in those, skill slots would be displayed on the screen to use any skills.
Avinash hesitated for a moment and then said, "Skill activate."
But nothing happened. Silence surrounded him.
Avinash thought, "I have to shoot at the target. But with what? I don't have a bow or arrow, nor do I have shurikens like a ninja."
Suddenly, a ninja shuriken appeared in Avinash's hand out of nowhere and immediately strike on the ground.
Seeing this, he understood what he needed to do. Avinash pointed his hand toward the target and said, "Shuriken attack."
With a swift motion, the shuriken hit the target. Avinash, delighted, exclaimed, "That was great! But these voice commands are really annoying. I wish there was character information..."
No sooner had he said this than another scroll appeared in front of him, floating in the air, with the following details:
Name: Raiden
Life: 1
Main Weapon: Sword
Skills:
Shuriken Throwing:
Expert in attacking with shurikens. Your aim is sharp and precise. Capable of attacking within a 50-meter range. (Type: Active, Cooldown: None)
Double Jump:
Using your internal energy, you create a powerful air effect with your feet that helps you jump a second time. (Type: Passive, Cooldown: None)
Speed Dash:
Using internal energy, you can propel yourself forward with a burst of wind, covering up to 10 meters. (Cooldown: 0.5 seconds)
Substitute:
You can merge with your surroundings and take the form of an object to deceive enemies for up to 1 minute. (Cooldown: 30 seconds)
After reading everything carefully, Avinash said, "I should have done this earlier."
He then began completing the tutorial:
Jumping over the house and performing a double jump.
Attacking a dummy with a sword ten times.
Hiding by transforming into a bush.
Using the dash skill.
After doing all this, Avinash felt like he had become a real ninja. He was especially pleased with the ability to attack anywhere with a shuriken using just hand gestures and commands.
Avinash noticed another arrow pointing him to leave the house. As he followed it and stepped outside, a group of people came running toward him.
They were armed, and one of them fired an old gun. Avinash narrowly dodged the bullet using his dash skill.
Had he not used the dash, it would have been nearly impossible to save his head from the bullet. Avinash realized that the tutorial was over, and now the real danger had begun.
He understood that if he didn't escape now, he would surely die at their hands. He didn't know whether dying in the game meant dying in real life, but he wasn't willing to take any chances. So, he started running as fast as he could.
One of the men shouted, "Why is he running like an amateur? Is he really the ninja assassin?"
Another man replied, "Shut up! Does it matter whether he is or isn't? We just have to kill him. And anyway, if he's just an ordinary guy, it's even better for us. The hunt will be more fun!"
Avinash was running as fast as he could, saying to himself, "Run, Avinash, run! Or you're not going to make it."
He glanced back and saw the pursuers closing in rapidly. Realizing that he would be caught if he continued running at this pace, he began using his dash skill repeatedly, creating a significant gap between himself and the enemies.
One of the men chasing him shouted, "He's just running fast! Shoot him quickly!"
The gunman stopped to reload his weapon. It was an old gun that could fire only one shot at a time and took considerable time to reload. This caused him to fall behind the group. As he reloaded, he yelled, "Everyone, clear the way!" His companions moved aside from his line of sight.
The gunman stood still, aiming carefully.
When Avinash glanced back, his heart sank. The dash skill was on cooldown, and though the cooldown was brief, it was more than enough time for the gunman to aim and fire a deadly shot.
Avinash immediately stopped, shouting, "Shuriken attack!"
The shuriken flew forward with great speed, but Avinash's aim was poor due to his panic, and he missed the target. However, the distraction was enough to delay the gunman, who hesitated and missed his chance to fire.
Taking advantage of this, Avinash began using the dash skill vertically to make it harder for them to aim. As he ran, he threw shurikens behind him intermittently. Luckily, only one of the pursuers had a gun; the second carried a club, and the third wielded a sword.
One of the chasers muttered, "Boss, if this keeps up, he'll reach the forest."
The leader, with a cruel smile, replied, "It doesn't matter. He won't escape us now. He's already trapped."
As Avinash pushed through bushes, he suddenly skidded to a halt. He had reached the edge of a cliff. Looking across, he estimated the gap to be at least 180 meters wide. Even with his dash or double jump, there was no way he could cross it.
Avinash wanted to turn back, but men with clubs and swords had already blocked his way. The three pursuers arrived moments later, panting heavily.
Avinash realized he had been lured here deliberately to prevent his escape. To make matters worse, there were no trees nearby to use as cover or to confuse his enemies.
He muttered to himself, "This is it. I'm really in deep trouble now. Why are these NPC bastards so clever? And how the hell did they know I'd come here?"
One of the men stepped forward. He was the leader, a muscular figure with a scar across his nose. He said, "So, you're the infamous Raiden, the deadly ninja assassin whose very name sends shivers down people's spines.
What a shame that you're about to die like this, at our hands."
Avinash looked around desperately, but there was no way to escape. More men emerged from the bushes, bringing the total to fifteen. The situation worsened as he noticed three of them were armed with crossbows.