In a shabby little room in a run-down alley, several young men sat at a few ancient computers, their faces alight with excitement as their fingers hammered away at the keyboards.
"Nice, Seventh! That last hit was perfectly timed. If you hadn't had the presence of mind to turn around and hit the boss with one last Fire Dragon Bullet, we'd have been done for!"
The tall, thin young man slapped the keyboard with his left hand, spat out the cigarette butt he'd been holding in his mouth, and praised the chubby little guy beside him with unrestrained excitement.
Hearing their usually domineering leader praise him for the first time, the timid, soft-spoken chubby guy—always the weakest member of the team—was overcome with surprise.
"N-no big deal, Boss. We only won because we all worked together. If everyone hadn't weakened the boss, I wouldn't have had the chance to land that final blow. So you deserve the most credit, Boss!"
Amid the chubby guy's flattery, the tall young man nodded with satisfaction, baring his yellow teeth and giving him a look that said, "At least you know your place."
"All right, that's enough gaming for today. Let's pack up and shut everything down. I'm treating everyone to a meal to celebrate taking down this super boss!"
At the mention of their leader picking up the bill, the other young men's eyes lit up. They jumped to their feet and hurried out of the room.
"Yeah! Let's go drink!"
"The boss is treating us? That only happens once in a blue moon. I'm grabbing the best seat!"
"Heh heh heh, if the boss is paying, I won't hold back!"
"Oh, Seventh, don't leave yet. You're last out, so lock the door when you come. We'll sort out the boss's drops when we get back. Don't worry, I won't shortchange you."
Watching his underlings rush out, their leader—known as the Boss—turned back to give the chubby guy, who was bringing up the rear, a final instruction. Then, satisfied, he strode out of the room.
The chubby guy had been smiling broadly, but at his leader's words, his expression froze. It eventually twisted into a bitter, helpless smile. He slumped back down in front of his old computer.
His eyes were vacant, his expression bitter and helpless. He stared blankly at the computer screen...
The chubby little guy was named Zhen Danxiao—a homophone of "really timid." He was a coward, timid as a mouse, and lived up to his pitifully appropriate name.
Because of that, Zhen Danxiao had been bullied by others for years. It was enough to bring tears to his eyes...
The man Zhen Danxiao called Boss was named Li Zhugan. He was just as his name suggested, as thin as a bamboo pole. Arrogant and conceited, he loved having others flatter him, feeding his baseless vanity.
Now, Li Zhugan and Zhen Danxiao, along with five others, made up a team playing one of the hottest games around.
The renowned multinational corporation Macedon had developed a ninja game based on the hit anime from a certain island nation, Naruto.
By the third day of its public beta, it had already become a nationwide sensation, rocketing to the top of the online game charts.
The game had now been running for three whole years. Every kind of ninjutsu had long since become commonplace, and even the mysterious Kekkei Genkai could be obtained with just a few extra coins.
Yet the game still ran, and its players remained endlessly enthusiastic, because it featured three incredibly powerful super bosses!!!
Final Boss—Kaguya Otsutsuki
Major Boss—Otsutsuki Hagoromo
Minor Boss—Otsutsuki Hamura
These super bosses were based on the strongest characters in the island nation's anime Naruto, and they were almost impossibly difficult to defeat.
The game had been running for three years. Most players had obtained various Kekkei Genkai by one means or another, yet their attempts against these three bosses still ended in disaster.
But no matter how difficult a game was, someone would beat it eventually, wouldn't they?
And that day, in this tiny room, something happened that would shake the entire gaming world!
A handful of young men, a few battered old computers, and a room as tiny and bare as could be—amid such decrepit surroundings,
the Minor Boss Otsutsuki Hamura, one of the three super bosses said to be impossible to defeat, had been killed!!!
The chubby little guy, Zhen Danxiao, stared blankly at the old computer screen. A flicker suddenly stirred in his vacant eyes, and gradually, bloodshot red spread across them.
"Ding! System announcement: The 'I Am the Overlord' team has successfully killed the Minor Boss Otsutsuki Hamura, becoming the first team to defeat one of the three super bosses!"
"Ding! System announcement: As the first team to defeat the Minor Boss Otsutsuki Hamura, the 'I Am the Overlord' team is awarded 1,000,000 gold coins. Each team member will also receive one Kekkei Tōta. We hope other teams will keep striving and achieve even greater success!"
"Ding! System announcement: 'Western Chu Little Overlord Zhen Danxiao' has successfully killed the Minor Boss Otsutsuki Hamura. As the first ninja to kill one of the three super bosses, he is awarded 200,000 gold coins and one S-rank forbidden technique attack scroll!"
"Ding! Game prompt: 'Western Chu Little Overlord Zhen Danxiao' has killed the Minor Boss Otsutsuki Hamura and obtained a Kaguya Otsutsuki Bloodline class change scroll. Pick it up?"
Staring at the endless stream of messages popping up on the game screen, Zhen Danxiao's eyes filled with bloodshot veins. His chubby face flushed red, and his expression burned with barely contained excitement.
The system's unbelievably generous rewards were one thing...
The Kaguya Otsutsuki Bloodline class change scroll dropped by Otsutsuki Hamura was enough on its own to drive the entire gaming world wild!
As the final boss of the game, Kaguya Otsutsuki's bloodline class change scroll was beyond precious.
No, "precious" wasn't the right word. It was supreme, unique—a one-of-a-kind treasure!
Of course, this bloodline class change scroll was extraordinarily valuable. But its value came with a drop rate so miserly it was enough to make anyone despair.
The official website stated in no uncertain terms that all three bloodline class change scrolls in the Otsutsuki lineage were one-of-a-kind items, unique in all the world.
The drop rate for the mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki's bloodline class change scroll, was one in a hundred million.
The drop rate for her sons, Otsutsuki Hagoromo and Otsutsuki Hamura, was one in ten million.
Those despairingly low odds had convinced every player that these three bloodline class change scrolls were nothing more than legends—items no one would ever be able to obtain!!!
A wild grin spread across his face, and the shock was so immense that his mind went blank.
He stared at the computer screen, panting heavily. Zhen Danxiao still couldn't believe that, against one-in-a-hundred-million odds, he had actually hit the jackpot!
His right hand trembled as he reached for the mouse. Fighting his nerves, Zhen Danxiao finally gripped it and clicked "Confirm" under the "Pick it up?" prompt.
"Bzzzt."
The next second, the 23333 computer screen went black. Still smiling and tense with excitement, Zhen Danxiao didn't have time to react before his vision went dark, and he sank into eternal...