---
Thwip!
Thwip!
Thwip!
Thwip!
Harper timed it perfectly. Four shuriken flew out of his hand, screaming toward the approaching "Kenta's Fanatic."
Two of them hit dead center.
But the other two were deflected. The Fanatic raised his kunai with terrifying speed, knocking them out of the air.
-94 HP
-63 HP
[Blocked]
[Blocked]
The [Intermediate Kunai Mastery] skill gave the mob a chance to parry ranged attacks. Harper got unlucky this time; half his damage was negated.
The Fanatic roared and charged at Harper.
Since Harper had positioned himself carefully outside the aggro range of the two "Followers" further down the hall, they didn't react. It was a 1v1.
Harper didn't panic. He calmly drew another four shuriken. Using the time it took for the mob to close the gap, he threw again.
-63 HP
-63 HP
-63 HP
[Blocked]
Better. Only one blocked this time, but no critical hits. Still, Harper was satisfied. The mob's HP was dropping.
But now the Fanatic was close. He stopped a few meters away and raised his hand—revealing four shuriken of his own.
Harper's heart jumped.
Crap.
Even though Harper had [Intermediate Kunai Mastery] to parry, this guy had 110 Attack Power. With Harper's current HP pool, two bad hits would put him in the danger zone. He couldn't risk face-tanking that kind of damage.
Harper wove a hand sign.
"Please let this guy be straight," Harper prayed silently.
[Basic Sexy Jutsu]!
POOF!
Smoke exploded. A bikini-clad beauty appeared.
Harper gambled and won.
The Fanatic froze in his tracks. His eyes bulged out, hearts popping in them.
Ding!
[System]: Charm Effect Applied (2 seconds).
[System]: Bleeding Effect Applied.
-5 HP
-5 HP
Seizing the 2-second window of hard CC, Harper activated [Stealth] and dashed forward.
He appeared behind the frozen Fanatic, his kunai gleaming as he slashed across the throat.
Defense Ignored!
Fatal Blow!
Stealth Crit!
-144 HP!
Instant kill.
Ding!
[System]: Killed Kenta's Fanatic (Elite). Base XP: 2500. Dungeon Bonus (+30%): 3250 XP.
The XP was decent, but there was no loot drop.
"Cheapskate," Harper grumbled, picking up the few Silver Coins on the ground. "Dressed like a ninja but poor as a beggar."
Still, the money added up.
Now, he had to deal with the two "Followers" at the end of the hall.
Compared to the Fanatic, these guys had lower Attack and Defense, but way more HP.
Harper wove a different sign.
[Clone Jutsu]!
Poof!
An illusory clone appeared next to him. Unlike Shadow Clones, this was just an illusion with no attack power, possessing 30% of his stats. Its only purpose was distraction.
Harper sent the clone walking down the hallway while he activated [Stealth] and crept along the wall.
The moment the clone entered their aggro range, both Followers shouted and charged.
Harper immediately commanded the clone to turn around and run away.
The two Followers chased it, running in a line.
Harper, hiding in stealth, waited for them to pass. He slipped in behind the second Follower and launched a surprise attack.
Slash!
Defense Ignored!
Fatal Blow!
Stealth Crit!
Bleed Effect!
He carved a massive chunk—nearly 50%—out of the rear Follower's HP bar in one hit.
The Follower spun around to attack, but Harper was already weaving signs.
[Substitution Jutsu]!
Poof!
He swapped places with a log, dodging the counterattack and reappearing at a safe distance. Instantly, he threw four shuriken.
Thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip!
-94 HP (Critical!)
-94 HP (Critical!)
-94 HP (Critical!)
-63 HP
Three crits! The RNG gods were smiling on him.
The Follower's health bar vanished.
Harper didn't hesitate. He dashed in, took one hit to the chest to trade damage, and finished him off with a kunai slash.
Meanwhile, the other Follower finally caught up to the clone. He slashed it, only for the clone to vanish into a puff of smoke.
Realizing he'd been duped, he roared in anger and turned around—just in time to see his partner die.
He charged at Harper, furious.
Harper calmly popped two [Blue Food Pills] to regenerate his Chakra.
While the mob was closing the distance, Harper quickly ran around picking up his shuriken.
The [Smoke Ninja Shuriken] were Silver-tier items. He only had 10 of them. If they stayed on the ground too long, the system would despawn them. Losing even one would make his heart bleed.
Now it was a 1v1.
Against a single Follower, Harper was untouchable. Even with their high stats, without a partner to flank him, the mob was just a punching bag.
He finished the fight easily.
Still no gear. Just 10 Silver Coins.
"The drop rates in this game are criminal," Harper sighed.
If he hadn't been getting "Server First" kills and bonus loot from hidden quests, he would be just as poor as everyone else—wearing rags and swinging a rusty knife.
Ding!
[System]: Killed Kenta's Follower. Base XP: 2500. Dungeon Bonus (+30%): 3250 XP.
At least the XP was good.
Harper continued deeper into the dungeon. He stuck to his strategy: use [Clone Jutsu] to pull mobs, isolate them, and ambush them one by one. He tried to never fight more than two at a time.
There were a few close calls, but between [Sexy Jutsu] and [Substitution Jutsu], he managed to survive.
Two hours later, he had cleared most of the cave.
He had farmed a nice pile of Silver Coins and finally got two gear drops.
[Follower's Tunic]
Requirement: Level 7
Type: Cloth Armor
Defense: 13
Stats: Constitution +2
[Follower's Cloth Boots]
Requirement: Level 6
Type: Cloth Armor
Defense: 10
Stats: Agility +1
"Stats are kinda trash," Harper muttered, inspecting the items. "My current gear is way better. Guess I'll sell them when I get out. Need to restock my potions anyway."