Might Guy had extreme enthusiasm but struggled greatly learning the shooting mechanics having to restart multiple times. If not for the helper, he may have been stuck.
As he progressed to the timed trial, he saw Kakashi's score and was fired up.
"YOSH! AS EXPECTED OF MY ETERNAL RIVAL! IF I CANNOT BEAT YOUR TIME I'LL GO THROUGH THIS COURSE ONE HUNDRED TIMES HOPPING ON ONE LEG!" He got a little too enthusiastic and jumped down. He died and started over.
+++
Asuma faired a bit better and got through the training without too much trouble. His lips twitched when he saw the difficulty options and naturally chose ANBU. He was a Jonin so he thought it was fitting. The feeling of not being able to sense his chakra was very disturbing at first, but he grew to deal with it.
He started up a mission.
+++
Kurenai knew that this was no genjutsu based on her own expertise. There was no illusion in the world that could completely cut off your own sense of chakra within your body, so she grew deeply immersed in this new reality perhaps even gaining some inspiration for creating her own illusions.
She went through the course a few times to familiarize herself with the new combat methods and started her own mission.
+++
Anko was having a blast.
She was a complete natural at using firearms and came close to Kakashi's time which filled her with pride. Even Yugao was beaten out by her which she was going to rub in her face.
Starting a mission at ANBU difficulty, her vision darkened.
+++
It was quite surprising to see how well Anko adjusted to the new fighting style. Kakashi was a genius so it made sense why he could adapt so quickly, but Marashi was pleasantly surprised by this development. More enjoyment means more playtime which equals more points.
They were all high-level combatants and while Anko was a step below in terms of being a Tokubetsu Jonin, she more than made up for it in her natural talent. It also helped that their strength and physical capabilities would not help them as they were more or less equal inside the game. The only real advantage was being taller for a larger wingspan and reach, but that also had disadvantages since you were a bigger target.
Everyone knows that smaller characters have tinier hitboxes which is an advantage.
An hour flew by as their time expired saving their progress, when they were kicked out of VR.
"How was it?" Marashi sipped on some Mountain Dew.
"Fucking great, Mara-kun!" Anko had a feral grin as the adrenaline still flowed through her whole body.
"Language," Kurenai sighed in exasperation, "It was great. Marashi." She was still captivated by the experience.
"It was fun." Asuma was about to light up a cigarette before he was elbowed in his ribs by the genjutsu mistress grumbling as he put it away.
"YOSH! I SHOWED THEM MY FLAMES OF YOUTH ON THE BATTLEFIELD!" Guy exclaimed as he was quite happy that he didn't have seasickness while in the game.
They all sweatdropped at his proclamation.
"What is the Gamer Benefits, though?" Asuma questioned.
"It helps with developing combat instincts and experience even if it's a different medium. That's why there's a pain modifier." He also didn't disclose the true nature of its real capabilities. The technology is already out of this world, but if it could help increase your chakra reserves and shinobi prowess, who would believe that? Seeing is believing, so he'll wait until they notice something.
The bearded Jonin nodded.
"Maybe I'll bring my team then. Kids like games don't they? It'd get Shikamaru off his ass, hopefully." He wasn't too optimistic, but he had hope that it could work as a different form of training that Shikamaru would at least participate in.
The other Jonin senseis grew contemplative at that and thought it would be a good idea.
"GREAT IDEA, ASUMA! I'LL BRING MY TEAM TOO!" Might Guy had a shining grin.
"It seems Kakashi's team already got a bit of a head start," Kurenai noted as she saw their names on the record list on the course.
Might Guy wasn't able to beat his rival's score, but noticing that his time was running out, he wanted to go further into the game. He held himself accountable though, so next time he'd fulfill his pledge.
"Whatever, I don't got brats to babysit, so I'll pull ahead of all of you." Anko grinned and noticed the drink that he was sipping on. "What's that, Mara-kun?" Her gaze was on his drink.
The others had noticed it but didn't think too much about it, but on close inspection, it was nothing they'd seen before.
"Mountain Dew. You can get some at the Snack Machine over there." Marashi directed them to the vending machine to the side.
They all went over at the strange device and figured out how it worked. Inserting money, Kurenai saw a bottle dispensed. Opening it, she took a sip. It was a bit intense, but the taste was good.
"This is nice." She took another drink.
The others grew interested and each bought one.
"YOSH! I CAN FEEL MY FLAMES BURN BRIGHTER!" Might Guy shouted with even more vigor.
Marashi shook his head in amusement. A Might Guy hopped up on sugar is a terrifying thought. What had he just released to this world?
Following their example, Asuma and Anko tried it as well and enjoyed the drink too.
"This is like liquid dango." Anko practically chugged it down before buying 5 more and storing them in a storage scroll.
Marashi didn't mind as it generated more sales.
"When do you close, Marashi?" Asuma asked hoping to play some more.
"In about an hour." The time was about 9:30 at night so he didn't mind staying up for a bit longer.
They nodded and went to pay for another hour.
He decided to tell them about the added benefits of the Game Card especially the play time rewards and bulk purchase benefits.
The senseis grew contemplative and since they were already here, buying in bulk for their students seemed like a good idea.
"Can we get more cards to give to our students?" Kurenai asked and the two other senseis nodded at her question.
"Yes, but Hinata already has one as she played with her father and sister, Kurenai-san." He made sure to inform her since the cards only linked to one person at a time, meaning that they could only have one.
Kurenai was shocked as she knew just how bad their relationship was, in terms of Hinata and her father, but she was happy for her student.
The Jonin shinobi had incredulous expressions as while they didn't know the intricacies of the father-daughter relationship, they knew Hiashi's temperament. Imagining him sitting down to play games was foreign in their minds.
Anko, while not a sensei, didn't do much other than her work at the Interrogation & Intelligence Department alongside an occasional mission here and there, so playing sounded like fun, especially since she had her liquid dango.
Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy each bought 48 hours of playtime for themselves and their students while Anko bought 24 hours. This was a gargantuan transaction. His largest to date.
From this transaction, he had gained about 71,000ryo which was insane. His total points were about 168,000. More than enough for some PCs and such.
"Thank you for the patronage. You three saved 3600ryo which would've been 7 hours of playtime. As for Anko-san, you saved 1800ryo so almost 4 hours." Marashi informed them as they smiled. The feeling of saving money is universally satisfying.
"Call me Anko-chan, Mara-kun. Why so distant?" She teased.
Kurenai wanted to hit her over the head while Asuma wanted to use his student's go-to phrase.
"Sure, Anko-chan." Marashi shrugged not feeling that it was a big deal. The woman in question nodded in satisfaction.
"You guys wanna try Co-op?" Asuma wished he had a cigarette right now.
"I'M AFRAID THAT I CANNOT. I FAILED TO BEAT MY RIVAL'S RECORD SO I MUST COMPLETE THE COURSE ON ONE LEG ONE HUNDRED TIMES! YOUTH!" Guy dashed to a PC and started playing.
They all had sweatdrops once again.
"I'll play." Kurenai nodded as did Anko.
"You wanna join too, Mara-kun?" The fishnetted woman grinned.
Marashi pondered it for a moment and he had nothing better to do.
"Sure." He got up as they all played.
During the game, they all deferred to Marashi considering that he should know the game best, and were impressed by his leadership and tactics. The owner didn't let that boost his ego considering they'd most likely be better than him if they had enough time and experience playing these games.
They were also shocked when he pulled out a Mountain Dew from nowhere during the mission and drank it. Asking about it, Marashi told them they just had to think about it appearing in their hand. It did. The mysticism of this entire store was insane in their minds. The benefits still apply to their real bodies while drinking or eating while in the game.
Might Guy naturally fulfilled his promise but ultimately failed to beat Kakashi's score with his self-imposed handicap.
They all left after the hour bidding goodbye to the owner.
Once Marashi was alone, he pulled up his Upgrades tab.
[10 PCs]
50,000CCP
He directly bought it and the room glowed as more PCs appeared.
The store was now full with a total of 25 PCs. He wondered how he was going to get more, but he noticed another upgrade available.
[20 PCs]
100,000CCP
Marashi had enough points but he wondered how they'd even fit. The system didn't stop him from buying it.
He could always use more PCs since teams are now coming in plus those kids at the academy along with Hayate's group, so he bought the upgrade.
What he saw shocked him. The store grew larger as more PCs filled the room.
The owner went outside to check on the shop and saw that nothing changed. Going back in, the room was larger than the actual store!
Spatial manipulation fuckery probably.
Now that he had 45 PCs in his cafe, he was no longer worried about space as his savings plummeted to a total of 17,900CCP.
Doing the quick math in his head, if every PC was on, then he wouldn't even have enough points to power them all. Luckily, he could use his ryo for that as they didn't get converted. The economy is safe.
The manual when he first got the system, said that he could instead be billed for the month if he didn't have enough points or he could donate it to various forms of charity like veteran shinobi losing their ability to serve, orphanages, or the academy.
What a nice system! The best he'd ever read about in fiction from his previous life. How would that power the system? He has no fucking clue, but it's a nice alternative if he gets to gungho about spending points.
With that incentive, he went to the Snacks tab and saw the next option.
[Doritos]
10,000CCP
He bought it and a glow emanated from the Snack Machine.
Marashi made his way over and saw that there were different kinds. Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch. That was it.
'No Spicy Nacho?' His day was ruined.
Cool Ranch was his second favorite tied with Nacho Cheese. He can't pick one over the other.
Out of curiosity, he looked at the next snack.
[Hot Cheetos]
25,000CCP
Now we're cooking. Favorite snack hands down. He had to get it at some point.
He closed up shop and went upstairs.
Taking a shower, and doing his bathroom routine, he went to bed.
Excited for the next day.
Why?
With so many people now, he was going to unlock Multiplayer on COD.
-+=[CCS]-+=
We're so back.
Hope you enjoyed!