ALL NOVEL Chapter 4: System Mission
Itachi's eyes shot open at the sound of a system notification ringing in his ears. Outside the tree's crevice, the morning sunshine had already appeared.
Itachi quickly got up and left his shelter; the sunlight blared on his skin. He rubbed his eyes and casually summoned the system interface.
[Ding! System mission: Kill 1 emerald-eyed wolf]
Progress: 0/1
Reward: +50 Attribute Points, +1000 Experience Points, + Skill {Hawk Eye}
Accept or Decline?]
Without a second thought, Itachi accepted the mission. If he completed it successfully, the attribute points would greatly boost his strength. He estimated that he was on the outskirts of this jungle-like area; occasionally, he would hear the loud roars of ferocious beasts much deeper within.
The roars alone instilled in him a sense of urgency to become stronger. Otherwise, he would definitely die within a week. There was no guarantee those beasts wouldn't venture into his territory. He had to make preparations!
"Accept!" Itachi resolutely muttered.
[Ding! Host has accepted the mission! Due to the difficulty level and this being your first ever mission, the system has granted you a special token from the past to aid you.]
A blue light shimmered in front of Itachi, and on the ground lay a very familiar item. Bending down, he picked it up, feeling the cold metallic touch of the sharp, deadly edge.
Indeed, it was the weapon most commonly used by shinobi—the kunai.
Testing the kunai in his hand, Itachi couldn't help but be amazed. "The kunai in the shinobi world can't compare to this. The materials used are different. Just by the feel, it's at least ten times sharper and sturdier than any I've used before. The items produced by this peculiar system are definitely in a class of their own."
Pushing those thoughts aside, Itachi tightly gripped the kunai, tensed his abdominal muscles, pulled his shoulders and arm back, and threw it as fast and hard as he could toward a nearby tree.
BOOM!
Cawww!
The crows perched on the branches scattered, flapping their wings in a flurry of panic, not daring to imagine what would happen if they had been on the receiving end of that menacing weapon.
Itachi walked toward the tree to inspect the kunai; it had made a dent almost halfway into the trunk.
"This kunai is indeed superior. Making a dent this deep with my current strength shouldn't be possible."
This was good news. Once he obtained the attribute points and further enhanced his strength, the force and speed with which he could throw the kunai would be unprecedented.
He felt that once he broke through the limits of mortal strength, his power would take a sharp incline.
Holding the kunai, Itachi looked at the system interface to check the mission rewards.
[Skill: Hawk Eye]
"I wonder what powers this Hawk Eye will give me," Itachi murmured, his curiosity piqued as he eyed the prize. He attempted to ask the system for more details about the skill, but received no response. Itachi concluded that he would learn more only after completing the mission.
Closing the system interface, he analyzed his surroundings and made a plan for the day; there were only so many hours of daylight left.
"This massive tree is bound to attract beasts seeking shelter. This will be my temporary home for now, but I can't allow any of them to get close. I'll start by laying traps to secure the perimeter, and then I'll venture out for food and water." Muttering to himself, Itachi got to work without wasting a single moment.
As an Anbu captain at a young age, Itachi was well-versed in setting traps. He had killed countless enemies with paper bombs and other insidious devices. Though he didn't have access to paper bombs here, he could still create a plethora of makeshift killing traps.
There was another reason he wanted to set these traps: attribute points. Killing these beasts would not only secure his shelter but also provide valuable experience points. It was like killing two birds with one stone.
After several hours, the area around the tree looked exactly the same, but Itachi was drenched in sweat.
He had laid numerous deadly traps hidden around his surroundings, meticulously camouflaged to make it seem as if nothing was wrong. Even a human with intelligence might fall victim to these traps, unable to see the hidden dangers.
Just a meter in front of where Itachi stood, a seemingly harmless patch of leaves covered a three-meter-deep pit with sharp spikes below. Any beast that walked across it would be instantly impaled.
A variety of these traps surrounded Itachi's shelter, and only he knew how to avoid them. He had also placed several snares using the surrounding vegetation, intended mostly to catch smaller prey for food.
"These traps and snares should be enough for now. I'll go out to explore and see if I can find any water and smaller prey to catch."
He could only wait now, hoping that at least one of the traps would be activated by the time he returned.
Without a change in expression, Itachi grabbed his kunai and ventured out. He instructed the crows to stay behind this time, leaving them a small pile of worms before disappearing into the dense vegetation.
*
Walking through the lush foliage, Itachi had already torn a piece of his clothing to cover his head from the sun's heat. The scorching sun overhead was nearly unbearable.
He focused on every sound in his surroundings, hoping to catch sight of a small prey animal like a rabbit, which would be enough to sustain him for the next two days.
Hunger and thirst gnawed at him as he crept forward, knowing that he had to solve the issue of sustenance before he could focus on advancing his levels.
Eventually, he heard the sound of flowing water, followed by waves lapping against the shore. Following the sound, he arrived at a nearby river that stretched as far as he could see.
The water was crystal clear, almost heavenly in its purity—a stark contrast to the wild surroundings. Almost too good to be true.
Itachi crouched and inspected the water carefully. Finding nothing amiss, he scooped a handful and drank deeply, savoring the refreshing taste after a day of thirst.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a rodent-like creature cautiously approaching the river to drink.
The creature looked plump, clearly well-fed and thriving. With his stomach growling, Itachi watched it closely, making sure it didn't escape his line of sight.
Carefully steadying himself, Itachi tightened his grip on the kunai. The rodent finally reached the water's edge, blissfully unaware of the threat looming nearby.
With a flash, Itachi threw the kunai with pinpoint accuracy.
[+20 EXP]
[LVL 1: 20/100 EXP]
Before the rodent could even comphrend what was going on, a sharp knife had pierced its stomach and went right through.
A large gapping hole appeared, with light steps Itachi walked towards the kunai and wiped the blood off it. Not sparing the dead creature even a glance.
With an expressionless face, he looked at the system dashboard. " Not bad, 20 experience points for just this, 5 more of these and ill level up " Itachi thought to himself.
Picking up the dead rodent, he threw it on his shoulder but before he walked away he suddenly thought of an idea.
This river side was a gold mine, who knew how many creatures came here to drink water daily. All creatures and beasts within a radius of a kilometer would come here.
It was the perfect opportunity to set traps! And a massive amount aswell!
This was practically a golden ticket for leveling up and gaining attribute points. There was still a while left till night fell. He had enough time to turn this area of the river side into a death trap.
Itachi was normally fairly stoic and not many things could excite him, but just the mere thought of hundreds or thousands of experience points racking up for free made his heart flutter.
He was about to advance without doing anything, gaining levels in his sleep! He desperetly wanted to reach a higher strength and explore deeper in these plains. Only then could he find a true answer if humans or intelligent life forms occupied this planet.
Only then could he create a foothold in this world and finally have the chance to live for himself, The trauma's of the past still haunted him in his dreams.
Regardless of how good Itachi was at keeping his emotions under check, he was still very much bleeding internally from his past life. It would take some time before this changed.
But then all of a sudden…
Rustle rustle rustle
Breaking Itachi out of his inner thoughts, he heard a soft rustling in the vegetation behind him. The sound of bugs and birds completely stopped…
The area around him became a zone of utter deathly silence.
Only the light sound of waves crashing could be heard.
This only meant one thing, a large predator had appeared! And it was approaching Itachi!
Killing Intent burst from Itachi's eyes but he still chose not to turn around, slowly baiting whatever was behind to show itself.
His ears twitched and he finally heard light footsteps approaching behind him. Clearly having left the cover of the vegetation.
A few beads of sweat trickled down Itachis forehead, the pressure emanating from whatever was approaching him left a heavy feeling in his body.
Sensing this familiar pressure Itachi couldnt help but come to a realisation.
" You've been following me from the start havent you? I was wondering when you would show up."
With a knowing look, Itachi suddenly turned around! The killing intent in his eyes reaching a blazing momentum!
Kill!