NOVEL WEB Chapter 4: Chapter 4 - Spin
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
– Seneca
...
Having a Kekkei Genkai was an unexpected addition to my range of options in this new life. Yet, the former Aiden Aburame didn't seem to be very good at controlling this power or even his own chakra.
Considered untalented in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, Aiden only excelled in basic school subjects such as math, philosophy, and the like.
So, my first big mission in this world was to change the way people outside, and especially my clan, saw me.
After classes ended, I stayed in the bathroom and waited for most of the students to leave. I'd rather avoid the bullies for now than face them without a plan.
As I sat on the toilet seat inside one of the toilet cubicles, one of those holographic screens appeared to me. This screen was unlike any other I had seen in the Valley between Life and Death. In the center of this screen, there was a large, colorful wheel with a key underneath it that read [Spin].
Discovering what this is was as easy as adding one and one.
'It's the Essence Gacha System I've chosen.'
In the many sections into which the wheel divided itself, the colors also changed. The game's common rarity color pattern helped me. I knew, with near certainty, what each color meant based on how often they repeated.
White was a normal prize. Green was abnormal. Blue was probably rare. Purple, epic. And gold was legendary.
Underneath [Spin], there was something that was written in almost imperceptible letters, as if on purpose to make me spend something I didn't even know what it was yet.
[Cost per Spin: 10 GP.]
"GP... That must be the acronym for Gacha Points. So, the cost of trying my luck is 10. There are many more white and green spaces than blue, purple, and gold ones. So, it's easy to assume that my chance of getting something of high quality is low. Maybe less than 30%, anyway."
"Every time I spin, I'm guaranteed to win something. Since this thing said that what I can win in this system involves the whole omniverse - at least that's how I interpreted it - even if I win a normal prize, it could be something good."
I didn't regret my choice of system. The decision I made was definitely the best in the short and long term.
"Before I spend 10 GP, I need to know how many GP I have."
A pop-up appeared between me and Gacha's wheel when I thought about it.
[GP balance: 100 GP].
A broad smile appeared on my face. If I had 100 GP, I could spin the wheel at least ten times already.
A little excited by this, I raised my right hand and, with my index finger I clicked on [SPIN].
The environment changed completely when I did this. The wheel glowed brightly and started playing loud slot machine music while the wheel was spinning fast.
Spinning... Spinning...
The wheel spun so fast that the profusion of colors somehow became a rainbow until it slowed down and finally stopped. To my surprise, the arrow pointed to a blue space.
The roulette wheel was put in the background because suddenly a blue sphere took over the holographic screen. Underneath the sphere, it read [Open Gacha Ball].
"Come on... let it be something good."
I clicked the button, and the sphere opened to the side like a pokeball, revealing what I had won.
[You've won a BLUE (Rare) prize!]
[Prize: Levitation Cloak (Marvel Universe - Doctor Strange)
Description: The mystical cloak that allows the wearer to fly and can act on its own in dangerous situations. Although it has its own "personality", the cape adapts to the wearer and defends them like a loyal ally.
Rating: Blue.]
[Do you want to spin again? Your balance is now 90 GP.]
My smile only got wider. A rare prize the very first time, and it was Doctor Strange's cape!
Excited, I spun five more times. The results were a little more normal.
1 - Temporary Invisibility Potion (Minecraft)
2 - Longclaw Sword (Game of Thrones Universe)
3 - Basic Survival Kit (Fallout Universe)
4 - Xena's Chakram (Xena: Warrior Princess)
5 - Regeneration Potion (Minecraft)
All great prizes, but nothing too overpowering.
The potions would be useful for specific occasions; the Survival Kit with water, a lighter, and a small manual for surviving in desolate lands, not so much.
The only things I wasn't sure if they were any good were the Longclaw Sword, because I have watched a little Game of Thrones, and the Chakram. Fortunately, the system gave me a description of the item when I clicked on it.
[Prize: Longclaw Sword (Game of Thrones Universe)
Description: The bastard sword made of Valyrian steel. It has a sharp edge, a lightweight design, and high effectiveness against magical creatures.
Rating: Blue.]
[Prize: Xena's Chakram (Xena: Warrior Princess)
Description: A throwable circular disk that returns to the bearer. Highly effective in ranged combat, with impressive accuracy and damage.
Rating: Green.]
"Good. Two good weapons, but... no skills?"
I couldn't tell if I had been lucky or unlucky in these six rounds. I had won more Blue and Green "rating" prizes than White ones, but not winning any skills complicated things.
"Before I spend my remaining points, maybe I should understand how I can get these GPs..."
When I said this out loud, a new capsule appeared in front of me. This capsule was black, so it differed from all the others.
Hesitantly, I reached out and opened the capsule. Instead of a message, something appeared before me. It looked like a small book, about the size of a Japanese light novel.
I picked up the book and saw that the cover read something.
"Instruction Manual on the Gacha System." I read it aloud.
After reading a few pages of this manual, I better understood how this system worked.
The roulette wheel of luck was available all the time. It wasn't something that appeared at a certain time or place. I could always access it. Except for one thing: a daily limit.
The most number of times I could spin this wheel was ten times a day. In other words, I could only spend 100 GPs a day on it. If I exceeded this limit, the roulette wheel wouldn't appear again until after midnight.
However, I didn't have to wait for it to reset every day if I had enough money. There were two other types of roulette wheels that I could access.
One of them was called Weekly Roulette. On this wheel, I had a better chance of winning high-rarity prizes, such as Epic and Legendary. But, the cost per spin was 100 GP.
The other type of roulette I could access was Panorama Roulette, which had the same daily limit as normal roulette. Choosing the panorama let me select the universe, and all roulette prizes came from that universe. The downside was that the cost for this was double that of the standard roulette, i.e., 20 GPs.
Now, leaving behind the part about spending GP, I focused on studying the ways to get it.
I earned 5 GPs every day, and I could always buy 1 GP for 100 Ryos.
For comparison, 1 Ryo, the currency of the Naruto Universe, was worth almost a tenth of a dollar. Doing the basic math, for each spin of the normal roulette wheel, I would need to pay out 1000 Ryos. It seemed expensive, but a Genin's pay is usually between 5,000 and 5,500 Ryos per mission.
The limit of Gacha Points I could buy was 300 GPs. Enough to spin the daily roulette wheel 30 times. Obviously, this was not enough when you consider I could win something as useless as a Fallout Survival Kit.
All things considered, the limits imposed by the system would be the biggest problem in the long run. I assumed the limits would increase as I used the system and spent Gacha Points, like with credit cards. But that wasn't guaranteed.
Massaging my temples, I decided to read the rest of the Gacha System Manual later. At the moment, I had a sunny, rich world outside the bathroom to explore. So that's what I did.
I walked out of the bathroom and, soon after, out of the Ninja Academy building. When I put my foot forward, I stepped onto a dry dirt floor. I raised my head and saw a stone path leading to a tree with a swing. I smiled at the corners of my mouth.
Through Aiden's memories, I could tell for sure that the events of classic Naruto hadn't happened yet. In fact, not even the Kurama Incident or the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
Considering that Torune Aburame was almost an adult in Naruto Shippuden and he was only about 5 years old just now, the Third Shinobi World War hadn't happened either.
So, I possibly wasn't far off in age compared to Kakashi, Might Guy, Itachi and others.1
The big events of the anime would still take a long time, I guess. Well, it was a relief not to have to worry about how close the Fourth Shinobi World War, Kaguya and the Otsutsuki were.
I ignored the swaying tree and walked out of the inner walls of the Ninja Academy, coming across a huge courtyard.
The Ninja Academy was in a complex of important buildings in Konohagakure, where there was also the administrative building, where the Hokage's office was, and the Jounin Waiting Station.
The largest building was the administrative one. But it looked small next to the giant faces carved into a mountain behind it. The Hokage Monument was more impressive in person than it looked in the anime. I don't know if it was because I was a teenager again and thus smaller, but the faces of the first three Hokages were all very large.
It was at that moment that I realized that everything I was experiencing was as real as my memories of the other world. I no longer saw this world as an anime, but as my real life.
I adjusted the high collar of my jacket. It hid my back up to my chin. Then, I put my hands in my pockets and walked out of the complex.
The Aburame' territory was in a secluded, forested area of the village. It allowed us more contact with nature and insects, and greater discretion. This was our clan's way of life.
As I wanted to test this new body, I rushed home. I discovered in this way that this body, even though it was much younger, was much healthier, stronger, more agile, and more resistant than my previous one.
When I arrived in the Aburame' territory, I found a place with classic old Japanese houses. There was a river nearby, so I could still hear the running water even though I couldn't see it. I passed through the tall wooden gates and came across many houses within our territory. It worked like the Uchihas' territory, where each family unit of the clan had the right to its own house.
As the son of Shibi Aburame, I lived in the largest house in the territory at the end of the main street.
As I walked to my house, I noticed that some members of my clan were looking at me. I couldn't see their eyes through their glasses, but I could feel the stares.
When I looked back at them, they looked away and pretended to be doing other things.
I couldn't imagine the Aburame being gossipy. So, I assumed my bad reputation at the Ninja Academy wasn't limited to my classmates.