Bitjagang: Gambling and Greed

Uchiha Ryoichi and the others began surrounding the Senju clansmen protecting Senju Itama, while Uchiha Gin hung back at the side.

A battle of this scale was still far beyond his level. He had no desire to become the transmigrator with the shortest survival time.

After sweeping his gaze across the unfamiliar faces of several Senju clansmen, Uchiha Gin finally fixed his eyes on Senju Itama in the middle.

He watched the child from afar, recalling that this was the kid who had died rather tragically in the story.

Isn't this that famous scene from the original? Senju Itama gets surrounded and killed by five Uchiha.

Suddenly, the loading sound from a game he had played in his previous life rang out in Uchiha Gin's mind. Everything around him entered Time Stop, and the savage expressions on both sides of the battlefield froze in that instant.

"Ding! The host has encountered a story character. The system is activating Advance Server mode ahead of schedule. Complete the Prerequisite Quests to unlock the system's hidden functions early."

At that moment, Uchiha Gin nearly cried. Heaven did not disappoint those who tried; all those transmigration novels had not deceived him after all.

Filled with excitement, Uchiha Gin tried to summon the system in his mind. At the thought, an extremely outdated-looking dialogue box popped up before his eyes.

"Accept Prerequisite Quest?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

Uchiha Gin frantically clicked yes in his mind.

"Quest activated: Rescue Senju Itama from Uchiha FengHuo and the others. Reward: Points ×10. If Senju Itama dies, the quest fails."

The moment he saw the quest, Uchiha Gin's blood rushed to his head. Save that brat? Dream on! "What are Points for?"

After calming himself down, he curiously asked about the use of Points.

"Complete one D-Rank Mission each day to accumulate 1 Point. Once enough Points have been accumulated, the shop can be smashed open. Afterward, a random Golden Orb will drop from the shop every day."

"Smash open the shop? Golden Orb?"

Uchiha Gin stared speechlessly at the system's explanation. Wasn't this content from a game in his previous life?

"What does activating ahead of schedule mean?"

He was also curious why the system had said it was activating Advance Server mode ahead of schedule. What exactly did that mean?

"Because the system has not yet been fully activated, the shop module is still loading. Points acquired in the Advance Server will accumulate until the system officially activates."

"So farming Points now is useless?"

Since the system's functions had not fully activated, whether he completed the quest did not seem particularly important.

If he rashly accepted the quest and tried to save Senju Itama, Uchiha FengHuo and the others might simply take him down. Even if they did not kill him on the spot, they would break his legs and drag him before Uchiha Tajima to await punishment.

"Can I choose not to accept it?"

Uchiha Gin asked tentatively.

"The host has already accepted the quest and cannot abandon it. Otherwise, it will be deemed a quest failure, and the host will be erased on the spot."

Erased???

What version of a system were you? What year was this? "?????? When did I accept it?"

Uchiha Gin was full of question marks.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

Suddenly, the system replayed the scene of him frantically clicking yes at the very beginning.

Damn it, he had been tricked by this ArcheAge System.

Who would choose no when first encountering a cheat ability?

But before he could ask another question, the system sent him another prompt.

"Beginner's Great Gift is being distributed. Accept?"

Uchiha Gin desperately wanted to choose no, but the system had already tricked him into accepting the quest. He might as well take the Great Gift for free.

"Beginner's Great Gift ×1 acquired. Open?"

Since he was already here, he might as well make the best of it. Casting aside his unhappy thoughts, Uchiha Gin clicked "yes" in his mind.

"Congratulations, host! Heartsteel Chest ×1 and Purple Orb ×1 acquired."

?????? So Points smashed open the shop, huh?

Heartsteel Chest, huh? Purple Orb, huh?

Was the logo of this system a penguin holding a golden spatula? A gray chest floated to the left of Uchiha Gin, looking exactly like the Heart of Steel Heart Energy chest from a game in his previous life.

A purple orb floated on the right. A huge, shining "?" glowed at its center.

Uchiha Gin was numb. Looking at the rewards before him, he now deeply doubted whether this system was reliable. What if it kept producing scam products from ArcheAge?

But given the situation, he could only accept it. With a tap of his Left Hand, a description appeared above the Heartsteel Chest:

Defeat opponents: The host can obtain Heart Energy by defeating opponents.

Lose battles: Losing battles grants even more Heart Energy.

Heart Energy conversion: After every four days of battle, the host can convert Heart Energy into powerful rewards.

(Heart Energy can only be accumulated from battle once per day. It can evolve.)

Wasn't this plainly the Heart of Steel Bonds trait, and the three-Heartsteel version at that?

"Still, starting with three Heartsteel counts as a high roll."

Although the Heartsteel Chest was temporarily useless, no one could resist such temptation.

If there was Steel, play Steel. If there was no Steel, force Steel!

After examining the chest, Uchiha Gin turned his attention to the Purple Orb on the right and muttered under his breath.

"Spirits above, Buddha bless me, please work your magic—give me something!!!!!!"

As his right hand slammed down, the Purple Orb burst with dazzling light. When the radiance faded, Uchiha Gin found nothing in the air. The Purple Orb had vanished, yet nothing had been left on the ground.

"Magic Orbs can be empty too???"

Just as Uchiha Gin was about to curse the damn system—give him his money back, he was done playing—a notification suddenly sounded in his mind.

"Ding! Backyard Daily Random Skill Refresh ×1 acquired. Learn?"

What did Backyard Daily Random Skill Refresh mean? Filled with confusion, Uchiha Gin clicked yes.

Backyard Daily Random Skill Refresh: Every day, a random skill refreshes in the host's backyard. The skill manifests through a refreshed NPC casting it. The host cannot control it, but the skill cannot kill the host. After the skill ends, there is a certain chance for the skill or its fragments to drop. Gather enough fragments to learn the skill.

This skill could not exactly be called powerful; it could be said to be utterly useless right now. He did not even have a fixed place to live. Where was it supposed to refresh?

Learn it? Forget a backyard—whether he could even survive long enough to buy a house was uncertain. These two things were completely useless in the current situation. To stay alive, he could only find another way to complete this damned quest.

As the beginner rewards were claimed, time around him seemed to begin moving again. He had spent a long time in the system, yet only an instant had passed outside.

The system's appearance gave Uchiha Gin, whose goal was to lie low and survive until Konoha Founding, greater confidence.

"But first, I have to complete the quest in front of me. If I get erased, everything else is meaningless."

Although the things provided by this ArcheAge System were of no help at the moment, Uchiha Gin still decided to risk everything to complete the quest. After activating this stupid system, he and Senju Itama were temporarily tied to the same rope.

Nearby, Uchiha FengHuo was already overwhelming Senju Koji. The outcome would likely be decided soon.

Uchiha Ryoichi and the others were also gradually wearing down the three Senju clansmen. Since the three men had to protect Senju Itama behind them, they could only passively endure the assault.

At that moment, one of the Senju clansmen noticed a gap in the encirclement formed by Uchiha Ryoichi and the other two. He clapped his hands together and unleashed Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall.

In an instant, a thick earthen wall rose before them, blocking Uchiha Ryoichi and the others' view. Seizing the opportunity, another Senju clansman used Strength of a Hundred to shove Senju Itama out of the encirclement, telling him to run.

Sent flying dozens of meters away, Senju Itama instantly understood his clansman's decision. While airborne, he pushed off and ran toward the gap without looking back.

But by terrible luck, that was exactly where Uchiha Gin, who had been slacking off at the side from the beginning, was standing.

Seeing the target escape, Uchiha Ryoichi was about to give chase when the Senju clansman who had cast Earth Style stopped him.

He could only helplessly watch the other side flee. Then he noticed that Uchiha Gin seemed to be in the direction Senju Itama was running, and he was overjoyed.

"Gin! The target is running your way! Move!"

Hearing this, the Senju clansman's eyes nearly split with rage. He had not expected another Uchiha Clan member to be lying in ambush. In his panic, he erupted with immense strength and punched at the distracted Uchiha Ryoichi. The fist, carrying terrifying force, shot straight toward his chest.

At the last possible instant, Uchiha Ryoichi spun around, revealing the massive Windmill Shuriken on his back. With a bang, the Senju clansman's fist struck the enormous shuriken.

Uchiha Ryoichi was merely sent flying and was not seriously injured. He turned and slashed at the Senju clansman again, and the two resumed their fierce battle.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Gin stared at Senju Itama running toward him with a massive headache.

What was he supposed to do now? Asking online. Urgent.