Kei was simply imagining the scene where the enemy, after having their traits reset, looked utterly confused. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curve upward.
However, this Trait Reset possessed a gambler's risk element.
If the enemy's red trait was reset to purple, blue, green, white, gray, or black, that would be fine. But what if their purple trait was reset straight into a red one?
Now, that would be a real joke!
You couldn't exactly expect an enemy who was ready to fight to the death just a moment ago to suddenly kneel down in gratitude upon realizing they had become stronger.
"This thing..." Kei scratched his cheek.
After some hesitation, he decided to exclude this ability from his combat arsenal.
He wasn't really a gambler. Doing something that made his heart race and might cause sudden death at any moment—better to avoid it. For now, he would just use it to reset white traits and see if he could turn trash into treasure. Or he could just keep it as an emergency measure in case his friends or family were troubled by a black trait in the future.
Setting aside the Trait Reset for now, he turned his attention to another new feature: the Concept Trait Extraction.
In the past, he had drawn quite a few strange traits.
For example, Danzō's [Brainstorm Overdrive], the long-buried [Fragile Yet Tenacious], and the recently acquired [Nothing to His Name] and [Expired Milk].
Were these considered concept traits? If so, this reward's value might have just dropped several levels.
System, extract concept trait!
- Universal Luck E (White)]
[Universal Luck E (White):
When activated by the host, if anyone within the perception range initiates a 1V1 challenge and it is accepted, all fate-related traits of both parties will be nullified. Their luck will temporarily drop to the lowest level, and the probability of miscalculations, last-minute bursts of power, lucky events, passive triggers, and reinforcements will be greatly reduced. Meanwhile, the probability of injury will increase, and the probability of death will slightly rise.]
"I swear... this is just pure 1V1 macho mode!" Kei stared at the glaringly white trait, momentarily unsure how to feel.
It lowered both combatants' luck to the absolute minimum.
While it could weaken the enemy, he would also be dragged down to the same level.
Against someone like Jiraiya, who had a fate-related trait, it might be extremely effective. But against a normal enemy? It seemed completely useless.
In fact, it might even introduce many unpredictable factors due to bad luck.
"Hmm... I can activate or deactivate it freely, and it doesn't just affect me—it affects everyone within my perception range?"
Kei rubbed his chin, debating whether he should reset this trait and see what he could get. This was the first time he had encountered a trait that worked like an active skill, allowing manual activation and deactivation.
The activation conditions were a bit strict, but if used well, it could serve as a hidden trump card.
Moreover, if he reset this trait, the new one should be from the same series but potentially at a higher level, right?
He didn't need much. Even if he just got a green trait that made the enemy unlucky while boosting his own luck, the value in battle would be immeasurable. After all, they always said Lancers were cursed with Luck E. Just think about how those Lancers ended up...
The more Kei thought about it, the more he felt there was potential here. Without hesitation, he gave the system an order in his mind.
System, reset [Universal Luck E].
- Battle of Misfortune (Black)]
[Battle of Misfortune (Black):
When activated by the host, if anyone within the perception range initiates a 1V1 challenge, the opponent will be forced to accept. All fate-related traits of both parties will be nullified, and both will be affected by the statuses Under a Cloud of Bad Luck and Cursed Misfortune. This significantly increases the probability of mistakes, illnesses, misfortune, and unexpected accidents, while also greatly raising the chances of injury and death.]
"...Damn." Kei fell silent for a moment, carefully studying the detailed explanations of Under a Cloud of Bad Luck and Cursed Misfortune before giving his final evaluation.
Simply put, these two statuses covered every possible misfortune he could think of—and even the ones he couldn't.
As long as Battle of Misfortune activated a 1V1 duel, even drinking water would make someone choke, raising a foot would lead to a leg cramp, they'd get diarrhea before the fight even started, and the moment they clashed, their pants would already be stained yellow!
This wasn't a battle—it was just a contest to see who could survive the longest!
"Forcing the opponent to accept the challenge... Isn't that a bit too cruel?!" Kei's face showed the same deadpan expression as an old man watching a phone on the subway.
But deep inside, he was already scheming.
Next time he encountered an enemy he couldn't defeat, should he let Jiraiya go in first for a Battle of Misfortune?
He himself couldn't handle it. But Jiraiya, a veteran of many wars, should be able to hold out! Even if things went south, at worst, he'd just deactivate the trait in time to save Jiraiya.
Then he could send Minato in next. Or maybe even Chōza—at least he had good endurance and wouldn't die easily under normal circumstances. After a few rounds of this, even an Ōtsutsuki would have no choice but to kneel before him.
"... Wait, is that all?"
Kei scratched his cheek, realizing that trait reset chances were quite precious and should be used sparingly.
[Battle of Misfortune] might be a bit rough on his friends. If he used it too often, all his childhood buddies might end up cutting ties with him. But in a life-or-death situation, it could turn the tides of battle in an instant.
The greater cause of protecting the shinobi world and ensuring humanity's peace ultimately won out.
With a noble mindset of sacrificing his friends for the happiness of all ninjas, he decisively activated the trait.
Looking at his system interface, where the only black trait stood out, he nodded in satisfaction.
Dark as it was, as long as it worked, all good!
"Looks like I'll need to make more friends in the future. Otherwise, I might run out of people to use this on," Kei muttered under his breath.
He decided that once he returned, he'd start networking with the younger generation of ninjas and strengthen his bonds.
Of course, not just the younger ones.
Obito seemed pretty decent. Now that Madara was taken care of, shouldn't Obito be grateful to him?
Right, and those village elders who kept preaching about the Will of Fire—when trouble actually came knocking, they couldn't just stand by and watch, could they? With how stubbornly they clung to life, they should be able to endure a few rounds.
He had elders, juniors, and friends in between.
Kei nodded in satisfaction and turned to the remaining trait extraction chances.
This Concept Trait Extraction turned out better than expected.
Now, he just hoped the regular trait extraction could give him a little surprise.
System, use all remaining trait extractions!