Chapter 4 (The Mist Is Calling)

Alright now that the sudden vampire crisis is over I can move on. All that is left for my skill set is the Erun Template. I did not get endgame Erun but I was able to get his Template from the beginning of the story. So he did not offer a lot of skills but his cheat was at least good.

[Dimesional Trade Book MAX]

You gain access to the Dimensional trade network. Throughout the multiverse, you are one of the many many traders on the network but don't let that fool you. You can find yourself trading a rabbit for a god damn fighter jet if you are savvy enough. The potential is endless all you have to do is reach for it.

Since your skill is MAX you enjoy VIP access.

Since your skill is MAX your book is sealed inside of you so no others can steal it.

Since your skill is MAX you receive a sign-in function.

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A bright blue flame emerged from my eyes as I looked over the trading network. It was exactly what I expected with various traders pushing out their goods and trying to find certain items.

All my VIP perks are in effect and I can fiddle around with that later.

I am disappointed that like Erun I have to make my way up from the bottom. I was currently in the Tier 0 world network even if I may not be on a Tier 0 world.

The worlds in this network are very low fantasy. They have magic and various abilities that could put them at Captain America levels but nothing too impressive.

I saw Eddard Stark trading undead so that should tell you what a tier 0 world is like.

Did not expect to see the guy selling undead but it looked like the trading network really helped that guy out so good for him. I could at least expect trades with that guy to be fair then again this is the multiverse.

Maybe this Ned is the big baddy of his world, he is selling undead after all.

I signed in and got 10 coins. The market did not accept anything but these coins but you could sell goods to receive them. You could even trade these coins for a variety of currencies.

However, most of the paper currencies would be useless outside of the world they were designed for.

With the Cashback function and my automatic discount, I could generate coins rather easily. I just had to trade over and over again and undersell the competition. It was what Erun did in the Manhwa but I did not really need to do that.

Sure, leveling up my tier access would open up the multiverse for trading would be good but that would mean spending time trading. Instead of trading constantly I could train a Skill or kill enemies to level up.

I could understand why Erun would invest so heavily into the platform, especially with his cheats but it was unneeded for me. The trade network was more of a bonus for me.

I took a cursory look over the goods available and felt like slapping myself for a moment. Using the 10 coins I got from signing in I bought a nice outfit that would not be nearly as eye-catching.

It was not anything special just a burgundy top and black pants but it had pockets. That alone made those pants far superior to the spandex suit I was wearing.

I was a little upset that I wasted my charge on this gaudy bright red coat but I had to deal with it. I was not going to get rid of it as I spent some time empowering it.

It would be a waste and would make further upgrades harder. 

I changed with a sigh. I would still draw attention to my outfit but at least people would only think I liked the color red. As opposed to thinking that I had a superhero fetish.

The surrounding forest still felt really fucking creepy but I had been postponing leaving this place long enough.

I could be in the world with nothing or I could just be in a particularly quiet forest. There really was only one way to find out.

I may not be overwhelmingly powerful but the troll himself had a decent skill set. I could not access the dumb shit from the Kaleidoscope like Infinite Mana as my control was spotty at the moment but he had a decent grasp on magic.

I could also boost the Mana I did have by borrowing some Mana from my parallel selves just not too much. Other than that I had to hope that my vampiric physique would pull me through the rest of this.

Running away was always an option even if I did not want to do so.

I walked through the forest trying to keep alert. It was a bit difficult with the heavy fog in the air but not impossible.

My enhanced senses pulled through well enough I also casted enough spells to boost my perception.

I could only hope that the rest of this journey would be as peaceful as it was right now.

As if spitting in the face of that statement the forest around me seemed to shake as a loud sound rang out. It was not something I was used to hearing but the sound of an explosion was pretty easy to recognize. The fog in the air started to travel in the direction that the explosion came from.

Well, that is one way to tell me where people are. I looked over at the billowing smoke in the air with a hesitant look on my face. Whatever is going on there involved fighting.

I could keep my nose clean and just leave this area. I may have outrageous abilities right now but I was a regular Joe not so long ago.

As if reading my hesitation a screen popped up in front of me.

[Quest Received: The Mist Is Calling.]

You found yourself in a strange and confusing place. It is entirely your fault this time but that was never going to stop you. You may not know anything about this place but a battle is going on right in front of you. All you need to do is put your neck on the line and you will get all the answers you need.

Reward: 500 XP, The knowledge of where you are, The ability to nut up for once.

Punishment: Potential displacement of organs, Further mockery from the System.

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[Do you wish to accept this quest?]

I looked over the quest with an absent look as the forest continued to shake from the battle. Again I could ignore this and just run away from whatever is going on. The reward was not even that impressive.

A paltry sum of experience and knowledge I could gain from somewhere else. I was going to ignore the mockery as that was just something common at this point.

It was certainly not worth it but I accepted the quest with a dull look and started walking towards the battle. I was a regular joe. I was the type of person who avoided confrontation because it was easier.

I was the type of person to dream of something beyond what I had.

Now I was given the opportunity to touch those dreams. To be something far beyond the norm. The Gamer is someone who can grow endlessly. I could huddle myself in a corner of the multiverse and train until I felt safe.

That could work but it would not change the person that I was and it would not even be the most effective method. So I needed to face this strange and unreal world.

I wanted everything this world could provide so I needed to pursue that. So I needed to be determined.

As I walked towards the battle a strange sort of calmness over came me but I was expecting this. The Gamer's Mind allowed the user to face battle calmly and that was exactly what I was doing now. 

I felt more confident in my chances now that my worries were lessened. It was not like this was a do or die situation. I could run whenever I wished so why not at least try?

As I finally broke the coverage of the forest around me I entered a clearing. In the middle of the clearing stood a woman with a stoic look on her face. She was holding a strange sort of knife in her hand and she stood protectively over a smaller figure that looked like her.

There were bodies littered around the place but it was not just the woman here.

A man stood in front of her with a cocky smile on his face and a long sword in his hand. There were five or so smaller figures behind him. They honestly did not look that much older than my current body.

Which would be concerning if I did not recognize the woman standing in the center.

That was Mei Terumi. She looked strange from this perspective instead of a screen but there was no denying that was her. She was not dressed in her iconic outfit but she was dressed as most shinobi were. Instead of the green vest that Konoha wore she had a grey vest.

It was not a good outfit on her but Mei was someone that could pull off anything.

Her current dire expression was taking away from some of her beauty. I knew she would survive this as she was not a Kage yet but judging from the bodies around here she was not happy about losing her family.

Her clan was probably being targeted and the various redheads were dead on the ground.

She could probably take care of most chumps easily but she was currently protecting someone. From what I know about her she used a lot of AOE moves so she could not go all out right now.

[Congradualations you completed the quest The Mist Is Calling.]

Finally, I seemed to gather some attention as I entered the clearing. The man tenseed slightly but relaxed at seeing a child even if said child was pretty relaxed.

Mei had a sour look on her face and she probably assumed I was more backup for these guys.

I kind of paused at seeing everyone looking at me. The tension in the air was clear and the battle was going to break out at any moment but for now, everything paused.

"Will you look at that are you another lamb to the slaughter?" The man questioned with that same cocky grin on his face. Hearing the question the sour look on Mei's face disappeared but she did not offer anything else.

I guess she was too concentrated on protecting the young child near her.

I looked over at the group of Mist Shinobi. I knew that the Blood Mist was a thing and that Mei probably had a reason for joining the rebellion but I did not see this coming.

I suppose not all of her family was taken out as there were only a couple red-heads laying dead here. I'd expect her family to be much larger than this considering Shinobi Clans and all that but maybe I was wrong.

The various child soldiers around here started to circle around me as the cocky man turned back to Mei. He clearly had priorities here and he left the Genin to take care of me. I could not really begrudge him for that.

Mei was certainly a threat and one he knew far more intimately. I still felt kind of insulted when literal children were assigned my death.

I was going to ignore the fact that I was a child for now. Well, I was looking forward to testing my abilities so some Genin should work out just fine.

I had a pretty decent stat block from the Templates but I was unsure if those raw stats would be able to handle literal ninja.

It was a good thing that Kischru knew more than just the Kaleidoscope. He was known as the Wizard Marshal for a reason. I felt my body flood with power as I reinforced myself.

"Well, this is not how I saw my day going. But I'm glad I am wearing red at least." I let out lightly as I blurred into motion.

In the blink of an eye, I was before one of the Genin. The poor child soldier could not even blink before my hand clasped around his heart and I tore it out.

Red blood sprayed out of him as I held his heart with an odd look on my face. I turned to the rest of the children who were still recovering from my sudden speed.

Well, I can at least take care of the small fry.

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Suddenly being part vampire and the Gamer Mind being in force is not helping our poor MC. He is going to regret being so callous here but that's what happens when you rush into things.