Chapter 123 - Unknown skill and New Title

Daichi quickly walked to the locked dungeon gate and inserted the key.

[You have reached the entrance to the dungeon - Hidden Mercenary Guild

Would you like to enter?] [Y/N]

"Yes yes. Let's get on with it."

The gates to the dungeon opened and Daichi entered without wasting time.

[The titles 'Dungeon Warrior' and 'Executioner' are now active.]

[All your stats are increased by 15% while inside the dungeon. All your stats will increase by 7% when fighting enemy ninjas.]

'When I was studying the history of the capital I came across a few mentions of a mercenary guild that operated here. They were prevalent before the time of ninja villages and their system… So this dungeon must be created based on that long forgotten guild.'

In front of him was a large district with dozens and dozens of houses and a small castle could be seen at the back. 'Still… It's a bit strange. I thought the level would be much higher but based on the color of the dungeon key the strongest opponent I would face here would only be 5 levels higher than me at most. Based on my stats alone there is no way I would lose.'

Daichi had been rigorously training everyday. He only slept the bare minimum and on the days when his grandfather wasn't home Daichi would even forgo sleep. But due to his great vitality and meditation techniques he would be able to perform his daily tasks without any problems.

He opened his status page and looked at the stats that had grown for the last several months due to his sheer hard work.

[Primary Stats]

Strength - 194

Vitality - 196

Dexterity - 147

Agility - 191

Intelligence - 141

Chakra - 288

Wisdom - 149

.

[Special Stats]

Sense - 98

Stamina - 179

Indomitable - 20

Charisma - 47

Persistence - 22

Dignity (LOCKED)

Luck (LOCKED)

All the stats that got a boost were due to Daichi's relentless hard work. On top of the weights he already had he would pick up giant rocks and complete several exercises. He would train until his body dropped to the ground. The increase in Strength, Vitality, Stamina and Agility stats were proof of that. Daichi's eyes then fell on the stat with the highest points.

'I would never be able to complete the quest of healing 10,000 patients without a large enough chakra reserve and stamina. It was as if the system was telling me to invest some points in the chakra stat. I put 50 points in the chakra stat and due to training in medical ninjutsu and lightning nature my CP was reduced to single digits every night, and this helped in increasing that stat even more. Tsunade has definitely noticed the increase in my reserves and kept pushing me. I had to heal at least 25 to 40 patients a day. Some of them would only have minor issues that would take a few minutes to heal but some would take almost an hour. And most days I would spend up to 15 hours at the hospital.'

Daichi looked at the dungeon with cautious eyes but he had a smile on his face.

'Thanks to the intensity of my training I was able to push myself. I had wondered if I would get another boost if my stats reached 200… But since my chakra stat didn't give any after reaching 200, I'm not hoping the others would. Maybe the next awakening is at 300 points. Whatever the case I need to increase my Sense stat to over a 100.'

[Quest Created - Destroy the Mercenary Guild.]

[Condition: Defeat the 300 enemies lurking through the district. ]

[Time limit : None. ]

.

[Rewards:]

35000 Exp.

Red Potion.

.

[Failure:]

Death.

[Accept (Y/N)]

'300 enemies huh!'. Daichi accepted the quest that was created and began to raid the dungeon.

—-

On the first couple days Daichi fought the dungeon ninjas in a pure frontal assault. He observed the enemies he fought and all of them were between level 40 and 46.

Daichi dodged a sword swing and attacked his opponent's hands with chakra scalpel. 'My stats and skills overwhelm them by a large margin. Even though we are nearly the same level, my power is on a different scale than theirs. Speed, Strength, Vitality, Recovery, Skills… I'm above them in all these.'

Daichi was using some of the offensive medical ninjutsu and improving their level. He then finished the fight with several small but precise and powerful fireballs.

[Enemy killed.]

+200 Exp.

+30 Exp.

Due to the strength difference, each dungeon kill only gave Daichi 200 to 300 exp. And even when the dungeon ninjas attacked Daichi in groups the result was an overwhelming defeat for the black clad ninjas.

On the third day Daichi decided to switch tactics. He looked at the skill that would become an important asset the moment he became a Genin and started going on missions.

[Stealth - Passive/Active(LV.1): This skill increases your ability to move undetected. It also gives you the ability to perform actions unobserved or undetected. This skill helps with pickpocketing, sneaking around and lockpicking. Damage dealt to targets also increases when stealth is active. Holding breath increases the effects by a small margin.

Note: This skill is divided into 5 grades. Current grade: Average.]

[Effects:]

[Removes footstep sounds.]

[+2% Chance of successfully lockpicking doors, safes and containers faster.]

[+2% Chance of pickpocketing an unsuspecting target. (A skilled pickpocketer is less likely to be caught and more likely to loot valuables from the target.)]

[+1% Chance of successfully moving unseen and unheard. (Highly skilled sneak can even hide in plain sight.)]

'Instead of brute forcing through this place I need to use this as a training exercise. This is an ideal dungeon for that. Since the level is so low I won't have to worry about getting ganged up by several powerful enemies. I have to train my stealth skill and level it up. And improve my sense stat and get it above 100. I'll increase the level of skills like chakra scalpel too.'

And so Daichi began using his stealth skill, shadowing his enemies and attacking them from their blind spot when they least expected it. But due to this tactic the speed of Daichi's hunt considerably slowed down.

In the beginning the dungeon ninjas would be able to sense Daichi easily but as the days passed by and the level of the stealth skill increased it became harder and harder for the enemies to find Daichi.

Daichi learned many things as he attacked the ninjas from the shadows. He learned how to blend into his surroundings, steal things from his enemies before they noticed him, control his intent when going for the killing strike and learned when to strike the enemy and how they would react.

Once the stealth skill passed Level 20 the grade of the skill changed from Average to Good. A new effect was also added when the skill reached level 21.

[Anyone 5 Levels below your level would not notice you when you're in active stealth unless you want them to.]

That wasn't all. For Daichi to successfully kill his foes, his senses had to work at peak efficiency. The moment his special stat sense had reached 100 points something strange happened.

[+1 SENSE]

[Your SENSE stat has reached 100 points. ]

[You have received an 'Unknown skill']

[Note: Information about the 'Unknown skill' will be revealed to the user only after a certain condition is met. And only after the specific condition is met can the skill be used.]

'What the? What kind of skill is this…? Why would it be unknown?'

Daichi was confused as he read the notifications. He looked at the existing skills related to his senses but didn't see any change. But he was certain about one thing.

'This skill definitely has something to do with sense. And if the system is setting a condition for the skill to appear. It must be something huge. An extraordinary skill that needs a certain trigger… It's too bad the system hasn't told me the condition required but…'

A wide smile appeared on Daichi's face. 'I can't help but get excited.'

The days slowly went by as Daichi fought in the dungeon. Daichi's goal was to efficiently finish off his enemy before they knew he was even there. Despite the difference in power it was a difficult task. But Daichi persevered.

He had to focus on his senses and find his opponent, track the ninja without having his presence discovered and wait for the perfect time to strike and then land a killing blow. It was an arduous task and it took him weeks to finish most of the enemies in the dungeon.

[You have leveled up.]

But with each kill he was slowly increasing his experience and he had another level up which brought him to level 45.

Daichi was currently hiding his presence, in the dark corner of a room and was looking at his next target with a critical gaze. The dungeon ninja was sitting in the middle of the room with both hands placed at his sides. It didn't seem as if the ninja sensed any enemy in the room. This enemy was of level 49. The highest level enemy he had seen so far.

Daichi controlled his breathing, and didn't let any emotions hinder him. He was as calm as he was when meditating. For Daichi it felt like an hour but only several minutes had passed.

The next instant Daichi was only a hair's length behind the enemy and slashed down. He cut his enemy's head off in a single clean swift move and during the entire instance there was no sound made other than the small sound of a sword swiftly severing a bone. It faded away just as quickly as it came. A fatal strike that took the enemy down in a single second.

The dungeon ninja turned into smoke before he realized what had even happened.

[Enemy killed.]

+500 Exp.

+75 Exp.

[Enemies killed: 284/300]

[You have killed 100 ninjas without letting them sense your presence.]

[You have acquired the title 'Assassin'.]

'Wow. A new title. Assassin huh. Alright!'

Daichi checked the details of the new title and was impressed.

[New title: Assassin: ]

[This title can only be triggered when you're in active stealth.]

[100% increase in potency when using Poisons. ]

[200% increase in Damage when using a dagger.]

[100% activation of 'Fated to Perish' when landing a critical strike on enemies of the same level or below.]

[75% activation of 'Fated to Perish' when landing a critical strike on enemies up to 5 levels above you.]

[50% activation of 'Fated to Perish' when landing a critical strike on enemies 6 to 10 levels above you.]

[10% activation of 'Fated to Perish' when landing a critical strike on enemies +10 levels above you.]

'Wow!... Fated to Perish… What's that?'

[Fated to Perish: A one shot death skill that kills the enemy in an instant. The activation of this attack when facing higher level ninjas depends on the user's condition, attack weapon, the enemy's condition, level and defensive and resistance skills.]

Daichi's eyes widened as he read the details.

'Oh man that's one hell of an attack. Would definitely come in handy in the future. All that time stalking and painstakingly waiting for the enemy to let the guard down… My efforts weren't in vain.'

Daichi had been hunting his enemies like this for the past several weeks. He sometimes had to hold back the urge to just fight like he normally does and punch and blast everything into pieces. But he resisted the temptations in the name of increasing his stealth skill. It was now at level 36.

But now after receiving the new title and looking at its effects he left the place with a happy smile and resumed his hunt.

There was no boss in this dungeon. It was just a mob of 40 to level 49 ninjas that roamed the place. Daichi quickly finished off his last enemy and completed the quest the very next day.

[Quest 'Destroy the Mercenary Guild' Completed.]

[Rewards:]

35000 Exp.

Red Potion.

[You have leveled up.]

[You have successfully defeated every enemy in this dungeon. You have been granted access to the return key.]

"Time to get the hell outta here."

After activating the return key at the dungeon entrance, Daichi vanished.