The expected flash of the Blink Dagger's teleportation didn't happen. There was no thrill of piercing through space, no sudden shift in perspective.
And of course there wasn't, because Hatani was still standing exactly where he started, looking like a complete idiot.
...Uh.
Is my posture wrong?
Even with no one around to see him, Hatani couldn't help but rub his nose in embarrassment.
System, did you sell me a knockoff?
He tried several more times, even going so far as to physically hurl the Blink Dagger like a Flying Raijin kunai, but the weapon remained utterly unresponsive. Hatani started to panic.
Excluding the 3,000 gold he'd dropped to unlock the Windranger template, this was his largest single purchase to date. He had even suppressed the urge to unlock Juggernaut just for this. If the Blink Dagger turned out to be a dud, the loss would be devastating.
However, as a cold, mute interface, the System naturally gave him zero feedback. It maintained a stoic "no refunds once you leave the counter" government-official vibe.
Realizing that no amount of cursing would get him a response—let alone a refund—Hatani had no choice but to figure it out himself.
He opened the shop interface again, pulled up the Blink Dagger, and began to read the description with a level of focus he had never applied in all his years of playing Dota 2.
"The dagger of a wind-swift assassin, legendary across this land."
Active: BlinkTeleport to a target point up to 1200 units away.If damage is taken from an enemy hero or Roshan, Blink Dagger cannot be used for 3.0 seconds.
After reading it word by word, Hatani was still at a loss.
"It can't be like those xianxia novels where I have to do some blood-bonding ritual, can it?"
After reading the description three more times without finding a single clue, Hatani looked at the dagger in his hand and muttered a self-deprecating joke.
"Wait, blood-bonding?"
He repeated the words, his eyes falling on the glowing white edge of the blade. A sudden impulse took hold.
"Screw it. It's just a drop of blood. It's not like I won't be biting my thumb every day once I learn Summoning Jutsu anyway."
Steeling his resolve, he ran his finger along the edge of the Blink Dagger. Blood flowed onto the blade, casting an eerie, crimson light across the steel.
"IceFrog bless me... please let this work."
He closed his eyes, cradling the dagger in both hands like a sacred relic. He was one step away from lighting incense and praying for divine intervention. With a racing heart, he opened his eyes, focused on the entrance of the tent, and willed himself to move.
The moment the thought formed, his body vanished. In the same heartbeat, he reappeared at the tent's flap.
It worked!
A surge of pure ecstasy hit him, nearly causing him to shout for joy.
He immediately tried to blink back to his original spot, but the ability failed again.
"Oh, right. Cooldown is 15 seconds. I almost forgot that minor detail."
He calmed himself and counted to fifteen in his head. When he tried again, he instantly vanished and reappeared back where he had started.
"Yes! Yes!"
Feeling the sensation of instant travel again, Hatani couldn't contain his excitement. He laughed out loud and looked down to admire his new toy.
However, he noticed a problem: the conspicuous white glow that had previously coated the blade was gone.
"Is it...?"
A possibility occurred to him. He began counting again. Sure enough, when he reached ten, the brilliant light—the kind that would immediately lock onto anyone's gaze—flickered back into existence.
"Heh, you're smarter than you look."
Hatani chuckled. He had been worried about how to accurately time the cooldown in a fight, but the visual cue solved everything.
"But man, that 'blood-bonding' requirement is such a cliché," he grumbled, looking at the small cut on his finger.
Then again, considering the System was a mashup of Dota 2 mechanics, a gacha hero-unlocking core straight out of Tencent or NetEase, and the predatory logic of an e-commerce platform, he found he could accept it.
"You always have a new trick up your sleeve."
While Hatani was testing his new gear, things were getting complicated in the main tent. Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his student and "grand-disciple," feeling a familiar headache coming on.
He had just started thinking that Jiraiya had finally matured after his recent defeat, but here he was, getting carried away again.
The Flying Raijin.
That was a kinjutsu created by his teacher, Tobirama Senju. Since the Second Hokage's passing, no one had been able to master it. It wasn't something you could just "pick up."
Now that they had finally found a prospect as promising as Minato, the logical path was to take it slow, build a rock-solid foundation, and minimize the risks.
Minato was young and hot-blooded; he could be excused for not knowing his own limits. But Jiraiya was the teacher! Instead of talking sense into the boy, he was leading the charge.
"The Scroll of Seals is a village treasure. I can't exactly carry it around on the battlefield," Hiruzen said, opting for a stalling tactic rather than an outright refusal. "Even if you want to see the Flying Raijin now, my hands are tied."
He paused, trying to sound like a concerned mentor.
"Minato, the Flying Raijin is an extremely dangerous forbidden jutsu. Learning it is no simple feat. Listen to my advice: wait a bit longer. Shore up your fundamentals first. If you start now, I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it."
Minato wavered for a moment, but the images of his own powerlessness in the field flashed through his mind, hardening his resolve.
Before he could speak, Jiraiya let out a loud, exaggerated roll of his eyes.
"Sensei, stop trying to scare the kid," Jiraiya said dismissively. "It's not like Orochimaru and I didn't study it back in the day. The danger isn't nearly as bad as you're making it out to be. We were just messing around with it and we came out fine, didn't we? As for the Scroll of Seals not being here—that's not a problem. When I was researching it back then, I transcribed all the Flying Raijin notes into my own private scroll. As long as you give the okay, I can take him back and start the lessons right now."
"Cough! HACK!"
Hiruzen nearly choked to death on his own pipe smoke.
He had always turned a blind eye to the fact that Jiraiya and Orochimaru had snooped through the forbidden scrolls in their youth. As long as no one officially reported it, he could pretend it never happened.
But this idiot! Not only was he ungrateful for his teacher's leniency, he was now shamelessly bragging about his past crimes in front of a junior!
Is he trying to give me a heart attack on purpose?