章 8: Rewards

[Duel - C-rank Optional Mission

Biwa Funato, the genius of your class, has challenged you to a spar.

Task: Defeat Biwa (1 / 1)

Rewards: 500 EXP]

With a curved smile, Takeshi admired the blue screen in front of his eyes with pure joy.

[You have completed the C-rank mission [Duel]. You have earned 500 EXP as well as 20 reputation points in Kirigakure]

[You have levelled up]

[Your strength, agility, vitality and chakra rise by 1 point]

[Your chakra rises by 2 points]

[Combat log: Your proficiency in [Water Shuriken] rises by 2 points from extensive use, [Water clone] by 1 point]

Each level up came with a systematic and balanced increase in strength, agility and vitality, allowing him to grow stronger as a whole. In addition, he also earned 2 points of attribute which he could invest in any stat he wanted. Because he was specializing on ninjutsu and kenjutsu, both of which chakra was extremely important, he prioritized chakra, thus increasing his reserves and density of chakra.

[Name - Takeshi Ryu | Level 13 Academy Student [250 / 420 EXP]

Attributes:

Strength - 14 → 15 [D] | Agility - 15 → 16 [D] | Vitality - 15 → 16 [D] | Chakra - 36 → 39 [C]

Perk - Water Elemental Talent (Medium) [+], Swordsmanship Talent (Medium) [+]

Taijutsu - Hidden Mist Kenjutsu [D]

Ninjutsu - Water Eagle [C] (32) ; Water Shuriken [D] (90), Water Clone [D] (70), Water Shield [D] (55)

Items - Forging Land Black Katana [C]]

With his chakra reaching 39 points, Takeshi knew that he already qualified as an elite genin in terms of chakra reserves purely. But if you considered his mastery of ninjutsu and Kenjutu, he was already better than most shinobi in the fields already, to the point that he would not have any problem if he graduated early.

It was not the system that was overpowered, but a combination of pragmatic decisions and rigorous training. Talent definitely help, but at the end of the day, making the wrong investments of experience would have led to his defeat against Biwa. If he had slacked instead of training rigorously every day, he would have lost.

However, today, he had defeated the strongest student in the class. He had beaten Biwa, the rising swordsman star of his generation, an heir of one of the five major clans of Kirigakure and the genius student of his class. It was not just about taking down a symbol, it was more about getting the upperhand in a rivalry that was until now one-sided.

A new blue screen appeared, as quests often triggered new ones as part of a chain of events.

[Rivalry domination - [C] Rank Mission

You have defeated Biwa Funato, attracting a lot of attention. This victory, however, will turn into a fluke if you do not assert your strength.

Task - Beat Biwa 10 times in spars (1 / 10)

Rewards - 1000 EXP, New Talent]

Life in peaceful times really was the best. There was nothing more satisfying as growing stronger step by step.

Among the public, everyone looked at Takeshi with surprise and hints of admiration. Some of them came from regular backgrounds and looked at him with reverence, for he represented their ideals, hard work overshadowing talent, no back ground rising over the legacy of big clans.

Some of them were genuinely appreciative of the ninjutsu mastery he displayed like Gecko, the instructor with the eyepatch.

Then, there was Arya Yuki, who looked at him like a thorn, an anomaly that should have never existed.

And this did not escape Takeshi's eyes, who had seen the hostility of Arya rise as he grew stronger. However, Takeshi merely scoffed in response, glaring at her with a hint of killing intent.

'Become an obstacle, and I will get rid of you', Takeshi thought with extreme cold-bloodedness.