3 A Path To A Better Future

[Hello user, I am 'System,' you are probably confused about the past couple of events that have happened in your life, but I will no explain everything to you, and then we can move onto the more important things.] The words appeared on the screen of the device as Naruto looked at it curiously. She tapped the screen once again, as the words proceeded to disappear and a new message showed up on the screen. [System has already amalgamated with the user's soul, which means that we will be together until your soul dissipates.] Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at this. 'If souls exist, does that mean ghosts do too? Can dead people come back to life!' She shivered at her own thoughts.

[Now on to the more important things, I am a special training tool created by an existence that stood at the top of one of the few tier-one deity worlds that exist. And any deity cultivators would kill to have me, meaning that telling anyone that you own me is unsafe for you.] The words that appeared on the screen greatly confused her. What is a cultivator? And what is this 'tier-one deity world' that system talked about? Naruto clicked at the screen once again hoping for answers.

[Host currently resides on a tier-four mortal world, which is pathetic to even begin cultivation. But because this world appears to have never actually had a cultivator in it before, the world energy in the atmosphere has gathered over a very long period of time, letting it be the equivalent of a tier-one mortal world. But even the difference between a tier-one mortal world and a tier-five deity world is that between heaven and earth. So the difference between a tier-four mortal world and a tier-one diety realm is so large that it cannot even be mentioned in words. The host also does not have to worry about stray deity cultivators trying to enter this world, as almost every world under that of being a tier-three deity is protected by the laws of the universe, making it practically impossible to even think about entering it unless they have connections with the world.] Naruto slowly digested this information. She skeptically looked at the device, were there actually more humans out there in the universe? Maybe she would believe this device if it showed how powerful it was, after all, it claimed to be made by a cultivator that stood at the peak of worlds.

But, she also had one very important question. "System, how has the world energy built up? Don't ninjas constantly use chakra?" She asked, before seeing the screen clear the previous message and send out another string of letters.

[User's 'chakra' is not world energy. Chakra is the product of a God Tree, something usually planted in tier-one mortal worlds to provide deity-wood for special weapons and for God Tree Fruits that can cleanse the body of impurities and provide a large boost to cultivation, letting some mortals that have almost no talent in cultivation to break through to the diety realm. It appears that a Deity Cultivator sent it down to a lower-tier world, to see what would happen if it was not cut down and left to its own devices. The God Tree planted on this world eventually gained consciousness and started to generate chakra by sucking in the world energy of the atmosphere. But it appears that the God Tree has disappeared from this world, where it went I do not know.] Naruto blankly stared at the screen. 'How amazing,' she thought. Before panicking, because if the God Tree disappeared it meant that one of the powerful deity cultivators this system mentioned must have had a way to access the world she lived in. Clicking the screen, she anxiously awaited the next message that would show up.

[As a support item, my creator made me to gift me to a disciple he hoped to gain one day. But before he could get a disciple, he was ambushed by many other top-tier deity cultivators who believed he had become too powerful, killing him and sending his soul into the reincarnation cycle while I was sent down into a low-tier mortal world. I hope that one day you can help me avenge my creator, but that is a goal that will have to wait, as you are merely a puny mortal currently. When you found me in what will most likely be the greatest stroke of your life, as you would have most likely died in that abandoned building or a while later if not for me. Now, as for my capabilities, I can do essentially anything as long as I am provided with enough GP. I can also work as portable storage, similar to the storage rings found in tier-one mortal worlds and any deity worlds. ] Naruto looked at the machine with a dumb look. 'Does this thing think I'm stupid, I feel like it's mocking me,' she thought. She tapped the screen once more for a better explanation.

[GP is earned from playing through the game that is on the device, and with GP, I can do just about anything. From learning and providing you with techniques to enhancing your body, or buying different medicines, elixirs, equipment, and pills to make you stronger. To get started, please tap the Play icon at the bottom of the screen.] Naruto merely nodded and saw the flashing red icon at the bottom of the screen that had the letters 'Play' in bold font inside of it. Tapping her finger on it, she suddenly got a headache as she felt most of the chakra inside of her swiftly flowing out of her body.

The screen suddenly rapidly twisted, before it showed a large room with a large cavern-like opening in it that showed a long, dark hallway. In the middle of this room was a humanoid creature that seemed to be shining a bright blue. As she was looking at this room and the humanoid figure in confusion, a text bubble appeared at the top of the screen.

[This is a room in your mindscape, which is the place you were trapped in previously during your coma. When integrating with you, I made this room in your mindscape into a large dungeon then locked it up tight, so that only an avatar can enter. With this avatar, you will fight the monsters created in this dungeon that I make with the world energy on this planet. Your avatar is essentially a full clone of yourself, but with no mind. So you will have to link with it to control it. It is also directly linked to your body, so as you improve your body and fighting techniques, the avatar will become stronger, meaning that you can kill stronger monsters and earn more GP. Fighting and killing them will gift you a certain amount of GP, or game points. You will also be able to collect some items from these monsters that can be brought into the real world. Which is really just world energy but simplified into something a human could understand. With this energy, I can do things to help you become stronger. It's quite simple, to begin, please tap the link button where the play button previously was. This will allow you to control your avatar. Giving you the benefit of constantly fighting in life or death battles with no risk to your life.] Naruto tapped the Link button shining at the bottom of the screen before she suddenly felt every one of her senses double. She could suddenly see two things at once, the dark hallways and the screen that showed the avatar in the dark hallway. She tried walking forwards, but the avatar in the dungeon merely stumbled forwards awkwardly, while her real self toppled over the chair she was in. The screen on the device suddenly flashed with another text bubble.

[You will struggle with this at first, but it can be helped if you upgrade your mental capacity with the GP you earn. As you continuously do this, eventually you will be able to input multiple avatars into the dungeon. Enhancing your mental capacity will allow you to have multiple trains of thought, and therefore control the two bodies. Or learn things at a much faster pace. I should also explain the energy you are currently using. chakra and world energy are interchangeable, mainly because chakra was made by absorbing world energy, and because it was made using a God Tree, chakra is almost equivalent in strength to a tier-one mortal world's world energy. But it is much less potent, being only capable of temporarily strengthening the human body and unleashing special kinds of attacks powered with it.] The screen text bubble explained. Naruto nodded as she was finally grasping the true strength of the item before her. She decided to fully concentrate on the avatar and felt her whole concentration shift to it. Her body in the real world suddenly slumped forwards, as if it was a puppet that had its strings cut.

Meanwhile, in her mindscape, Naruto was slowly moving forwards with her avatar. She knew she was very weak, being merely six years old and having no proper training. But she could feel that she was much stronger, due to finally being properly nourished and having access to her chakra. But she was still very wary of anything in this dungeon, even if it was just creatures made with world energy and she had no chance of dying.

She had fully entered the dark hallway now, having limited visibility as the only thing lighting the way were torches that eerily hung on the walls of the cavern, giving off just enough light to see, but not enough to truly feel comfortable.

Her soft footsteps rang in her ears, as her whole body slowly tensed up. She could feel it, like there was a hungry beast just hanging there, ready to devour her. She felt like just beyond the darkness was a large number of monsters just staring at her, just out of reach so that she couldn't see them.

All of the sudden, Naruto's instincts screamed at her, as she quickly rolled forwards in a panic. She heard a loud ringing sound, like that of a blunt object being slammed down in the spot, she was just standing.

Coming out of her roll, she glanced back to see one of the most hideous things she had ever seen in her life. Its skin was a murky green, with small bumps littering it and wrinkles everywhere. Its head was bald, with beady red eyes that shone with barely reserved primal urges. And its mouth had formed into a sickening grin that seemed to cause a sense of disgust in anyone who looked at it. Its clothes were in tatters, barely covering anything, and its body was very disproportionate, with a large potbelly and small, fragile limbs. It carried what looked like a wooden club, which it had used to smash down on the spot she had just been in an attempt to kill her avatar.

[This is a goblin,] Naruto heard the dull voice of the system resound through the dungeon. But looking at the goblin's disgusting face, which showed no sign of a reaction, it seemed that only she could hear it. [It is a disgusting, pathetic creature that has only a tiny bit of intelligence. It is found on tier-five mortal worlds, and it preys on weak humans to capture and feed on or use to breed. It is this disgusting nature and the fact that their kind grows and reproduces so fast that allows a tribe of these to easily number in the thousands and chase creatures in large groups. They are very weak on their own, but because of your lacking strength and the fact that it was created using world energy makes it much stronger than its flesh and blood counterpart. The one you are currently facing is a worker goblin, the weakest of the bunch and the runts. They also do all the manual labor, as they are not strong enough to hunt. After that are the soldier goblins, the goblins who do the hunting and fighting for their tribe. And then some goblins that learn to harness the pathetic world energy of a tier-five mortal world. They advance to become either a hobgoblin, which is just being stronger physically, or goblin shamans. These goblins are capable of using world energy quite similarly to the ninjutsu used on this planet, just on a smaller scale.] Naruto felt even more repulsed by this thing now that she knew its nature. She was also quite relieved that something weak like this was her first opponent.

She uncertainty watched its movements, as the thing also looked back at her with its beady red eyes. She realized that it had a weak point in its arms and legs, because of how fragile they are. Deciding to follow through with this train of thought, she pushed off the ground strongly and quickly approached the goblin.

Nearing it, Naruto watched as the monster swiftly reacted by bringing down its blunt weapon towards her head. Narrowly evading it by twisting her foot to the side, she felt the wind pressure from the club as its blunt side was sent swishing through the air. She quickly grabbed the elbow and bicep of the monster, before pulling as hard as she could on the elbow joint while pushing the rest of the bicep inwards.

A snapping sound resounded out as the goblin's arm snapped and the club it was holding dropped, Naruto quickly retreated, but not before the goblin could give her a solid punch to the stomach with its other arm. Naruto felt this pain in her stomach as she backed away from it, holding her stomach slightly she realized just how strong this thing was, even with its tiny limbs.

As its arm hung limply by its side, the goblin gave Naruto a ferocious glare, as it let its animal-like instincts come over it. The beast screamed in primal rage, its voice similar to that of a nail on a chalkboard, making Naruto cringe and cover her ears. In its rage, it barreled towards her, arm outstretched and ready to beat her down for the pain its felt.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as she watched the approaching creature. Right as it swung at her, she quickly ducked under the fist and wrapped her arms around its waist, tackling it to the ground and stunning it. After knocking the creature down, Naruto quickly folded her legs around its fragile arm and pinned it down. Following this, she wrapped her arms around the neck of the creature and started strongly pulling. The monster fiercely struggled under her grasp, but she merely pushed through and kept holding it down with brute strength. Before applying even more strength to the hold she had on its neck.

She heard loud snapping noise as the goblin finally hung unresponsive in her grasp. Crawling away from its corpse she started gagging as she thought about what had just occurred. She hadn't realized it in her adrenaline rush, but she had just killed something. And knowing it was just merely a fragment of energy or the disgusting things its race didn't make it any better.

She expected to throw up, but nothing came out of her mouth. And she finally remembered that this body was merely an avatar made with her chakra, not real at all. She looked back at the goblin's corpse before it suddenly started to fade away and turn into a stream of light that flew towards her. The blank voice of the system then proceeded to ring out through the dark space.

[Tier-Five Mortal Monster 'Worker Goblin' has been slain. Collecting 1 GP. Obtained 1 'Low-Quality Wooden Club.] A screen suddenly appeared in front of her, similar to that of the phones that her real body had. It had a diagram of her body, with slots next to her hands, feet, legs, chest, and head. There were also slots in each of her hands, which she guessed were the weapons. Along with four other slots, including a necklace, two rings, and a pair of earrings. There was an interface to the right that had many tabs, including 'Inventory,' 'Dungeon Map,' and 'GP Shop.' Tapping the inventory tab, she saw a single item inside of it, the wooden club she had looted from the goblin Along with a number at the top besides what looked like a coin, with the number one next to it, symbolizing the amount of GP she had. Equipping the club, she watched as it slowly materialized in her hands. Waving it around a bit, she found that it was a little heavy, but much better than just using her fists.

"System, can you appear in my vision like this in the real world or is this only available in the mindscape," Naruto asked, thinking it would be more convenient than always carrying around a phone.

[This option is available, just be careful to not be caught randomly tapping the air and looking like an idiot.] Its monotone voice answered. Naruto felt her eye twitch, she felt like it made fun of her a lot and that she should probably get used to this sarcastic behavior.

"System, how much does the mental upgrade cost so I can run both bodies at the same time?" Naruto questioned, as it would be much easier to constantly have her running through dungeons while doing things with her material body.

[All prices are in GP Shop, but for the specific upgrade host is looking for, it will cost around 10GP to be able to use both the avatar and real body without constantly stumbling.] Naruto heard it explain, a slight frown marring her face at this. 'But I still have a month before I have to enter the Academy, and seeing how many books were on the table, I should be able to finish it in a week if I put all my effort into it. And as long as I avoid fighting these goblins in groups, I should be fine.' She thought in her head.

With this goal in mind, Naruto slowly walked onwards in the dark tunnel, she clutched the wooden club in her hands tightly. Her icy blue eyes glinting with murderous intent in the darkness of the cavern.