Fantasy Realm — Naruto: Blood-Mist

Samir, Samantha, and Tierra step forward again now that Samuel and his followers have left.

"I'll take care of this part," Samantha says. "The others will chime in only when appropriate."

"Let me first tell you a few of the general priorities every newbie in the Realm should follow. Forget crazy things like Pets or Supporters. You might have seen some posers showing them off like trophies—but trust me, no actual newbie has them. They require dedication, hard work, risks, and, most of all, luck to acquire. Focus on yourself. Get to know people. Learn how this Realm works and what you should prioritize."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The room falls silent. Roughly a third of the audience turns to look in Alex's direction.

"Speak for yourself, underachiever," Alex mutters, unsure whether to feel insulted or flattered by the attention.

My plan is to build up a reputation. Now that Glimmerwhisk's backing me, I want to be known. With her as my 'owner,' I can go wild. If people know me, that opens many doors. Still… this is irritating. Did she target me, or was that just a coincidence?

"She's not wrong, you know," Tereza says, grinning.

"I'd tend to agree. I haven't even gotten a remote shot at recruiting a pet or a follower myself. Alex, you are lucky. I'd even say the system is very biased," Rishi says with a calm face, the smallest hint of jealousy visible in his eyes.

It's not my fault that my LUK is high!

"Well, everyone, you can stop staring at him now," Samantha says. "Like anywhere else in life, there are always exceptions. You might see some players who defy the norms—but they've taken risks and had extreme luck. I can't pretend I'm not curious myself, to be honest."

Her eyes flick toward Alex, then shift between Menchi and Jewel, who returns the stare with all of her eyes, angrily gazing at her.

"We might as well ask our VIP," she adds, gesturing to a support staff member.

One of them rushes to Alex and hands him a small, cube-like object that appears to act as a voice amplifier.

"Heh. Do you expect me to hand out a free guide on how to get Pets and Supporters? Anyone who claims to know an easy way is a scammer. Reminds me of those guys who say they can beat the stock market reliably—just send them a few hundred bucks and they'll teach you how."

"So… nothing to share? That is a shame for the other players; they must be disappointed," Samantha says in a fake tone, her voice seemingly filled with disappointment.

"I'm just talented and unique. Get good! That said, I do have some insights. If anyone wants to trade information, feel free to contact me after the event. Isn't that how your guild works as well?" Alex says with a smile.

"Heh. Fair enough. Worth a try," Samantha replies, not seeming particularly surprised.

"Now, back to business. The most important thing to invest in early is skills. Up to level 5, they're relatively cheap and the most reliable way to improve. Next is gear—specifically Purple-ranked items. Many of you already know how item tiers work: Gray and White gear have no special effects. Green, Blue, and Purple gear have one, two, or three effects respectively. After that, higher ranks may offer unique abilities. But for now, focus on those three core tiers—anything beyond that should not be of any interest to you."

This kind of stuff… all of it's useless to us. We already know all this. And we're not going to join any of these guilds. This is a waste of time. We should just leave. If we do, though, I want to leave in a way that makes them remember us.

Alex looks at Rishi and Tereza. Both nod, visibly unimpressed. Rishi's expression holds a clear hint of disdain.

Might as well make our exit worth it. Screw these pretentious scam guilds.

"Heh… so now she's just lying. Poor newbies," Alex mutters. The assistant with the amplifier is still close—his voice echoing through the hall.

"Oh? What exactly wasn't true, Mr. Celebrity? How may I address you?" Samantha asks smoothly.

"My name? Just a rookie. Barely worth mentioning. Call me Alex."

"Of course you are, dear rookie. So how, exactly, did I lie, Mr. Kerber? That's a rather rude accusation."

Fucking bitch knows exactly who I am and plays dumb. I knew it.

The entire room catches on to the tension. All eyes are on Samantha and Alex.

"Ever heard of lying by omission? If I tell you about three things, vaguely hint at a fourth, but deliberately withhold a fifth that I know about—then I'm lying. Am I not?"

"I see. So, according to your logic, this whole presentation is a lie since we're only giving the basics. These are things that are easy to figure out. You just dropped a piece of advanced information that will only confuse new players—and even some experienced ones. I wonder if your goblin backer has been slipping you details. That should be against the rules, you know."

"Goblin backer? She's just a friend," Alex says with a grin.

"And here's another tip, rookies. Never deal with goblins. They'll trick you, rob you blind, and bleed you dry. Then, when you've lost everything, you'll end up like our young friend here. No longer free—just a slave, without any say in his own future."

She smiles politely, but the venom behind her words is unmistakable.

"I'm just into dominant women. I can do whatever I want. Also life is so simple when you don't need to think anymore. You can just enjoy the ride. But hey, believe what you like. So—is this presentation over? Or do you have more life-saving wisdom to bestow upon us lowly Peasants?" Alex responds, his grin unwavering.

Princess Jewel is not a Peasant!!!

It was a figure of speech! Let them think exactly what they want. I'm fine with that. Let them believe I'm just some poor, bound fool. That'll keep them from realizing what I'm actually up to.

"Ah, of course. My mistake. You're not her property—you just like wearing magical collars, huh? Moving on, everyone."

Samantha playfully adjusts her sarcastic tone and continues her explanation, with a seemingly happy expression.

"As I mentioned—skills are the most valuable investment, followed by purple-grade gear. Your first goal should be building up a base of Blue and Purple equipment, ideally starting with Light quality. The number of effects matters more than the strength of individual bonuses."

My Deep Blue [Strength Ring (+3)] gave me double the STR just from upgrading from Light Blue to Deep Blue. How is it smart to accept two weak effects? What she's saying might work in theory, but in practice? This kind of logic leads to no-risk, low-reward mediocrity. Useless.

Her smile widens as she continues:

"The thing you should avoid at any cost is falling into the trap of wanting to rank up your items. It costs a lot of FC and is not worth doing so. Also, you should never turn your precious items into shards! Do you know why? They can't be traded. Investing into shards is essentially throwing away your possessions. Turn your items into FC. If you ever require shards, you can simply buy items yourself. Our Merchant-Alliance offers the absolute best exchange rates. Please feel free to sell your unneeded White and Green items directly to us. Of course, we also buy everything else. If you ever require shards, we'll remember those who sold to us before and even offer superior rates."

Yeah, and I bet they skim off at least 5% for every exchange operation—for their 'trouble'. This is like controlling the shard market. Everyone buys and sells through them, making them rich. It's almost like the house in a large casino. They always win. They just have to wait for people to bring their money. No risk, no uncertainty. Are they actually serious? What is this all about?!

A few people in the audience chatter with each. Alex carefully studies the reaction and to his surprise most people seem to accept her explanation, with only a few players actually displaying even the tiniest hint of doubt in their expressions.

I guess ranking up items is indeed very expensive, and you'll only get around a 20% increase in stats. If you still have garbage items equipped or outright miss a few pieces, she may very well be right, but these tips are only for the average player. I think I can forget almost anything she told us.

Ranking up a single Light Gold item is a huge investment, but don't they see that this is the inevitable conclusion if you want to further improve? I guess if I weren't so lucky and had that much success, I would maybe agree.

I can't help but see this as a scheme only to enrich themselves.

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