The Gamer of The Bloody Mist - 2
The Academy
Two months later
Time passed fast when you're having fun, so the last days before the start of the Academy were over in the blink of an eye. I had done nothing differently than usual, I practised, and trained, and practised again, I completely immersed myself in it. It was not as if there was something else to do in the slums, life was horrible here, and training made me forget that.
The crime rates were unbelievably high, it was hard to go outside and not witness a poor soul getting robbed of everything they had or a corpse just lying around. On the good side, bandits mostly left me alone because it was clear I was one of them, they could see my lack of wealth.
Life in the slums was not a human, and no Kage had done anything to change it. Weren't they supposed to do everything for the people? Not only for the clans, but what were the poor people going to do? One shinobi could probably kill the majority of the population of the slums and no one would complain.
Thankfully, the orphanage received a fair sum of money from the village, as orphans often became talented ninja, perfect for suicide missions, and the bandits did not dare steal from it or brutalize the staff, they did not want to cause the ire of someone they could not afford to. So the orphans generally did not lack of essential needs, like food or clothing. The clothes were basic, though, standard beige shirt and black pants, but it did the job, the even just about fit me, despite me growing at an unbelievable rate, I was already 4'5" (132 cm). If it continued like this, I would be a giant in the future.
The money I had, though, I got it by stealing, it was easier with my DEX stat, non-shinobi weren't really strong or aware of their surroundings. So, some unfortunate people lost a bit of their wealth, too bad for them. With that money, I bought a practice greatsword, some other weapons and books. Anything to make me stronger.
Ready for my first day into the Academy, I stood in front of that massive, frightening door, the sign of the next step in my future, noticing something I hadn't before, I small plaque with an inscription.
"Kill or be killed."
Concise and straight to the point, it represented this establishment well. It represented the village as a whole, there was no place, no time for pity or hesitation here. It truly was killed or be killed.
I tried to encompass all of the immense building in my gaze but found myself incapable too, the Academy was gargantuan, a behemoth of a building. I wondered what use they had for all of that space, there weren't that many students from what I knew.
I entered, following the rest of the pack of students and soon entered an auditorium, a huge hall with an elevation in the front of it, the rest was completely bare, the rocky walls and floor unwelcoming. If every room was as big as this, maybe there was a reason why the building was this immense.
Over the next minutes, it filled little by little, with other new students joining us. They were scared, nervous, anxious. I was not. I was confident, I was better than them. It might sound arrogant, but I was purely confident, I had a cheat, my system, they did not. I knew that some of them may have been training since they were very young, but then again, I had a cheat. I would be ashamed of myself if I was anything other than powerful.
Finally, after a few minutes of jittering and hushing amongst the two hundred and a half students, silence reigned. Then, loud footsteps resonated in the full room, filling the air with dread. Whoever produced those sounds must be massive, a giant of a man. We all stood up and bowed, proper decorum, before he, I assumed they were a he, even appeared.
He entered, standing at easily seven feet tall, towering over all of us. He was built like a refrigerator, I shit you not. His mere presence was obstructive, I suddenly felt weak, incapable, lesser as his gaze rapidly passed over us. I couldn't breathe properly, I only wanted to make myself small and forgotten. This was unacceptable, I wouldn't be beaten by something puny like this.
Wait!
KAI!
I tried to break out of a genjutsu, chasing any foreign chakra out of my system. It worked, I felt normal again, it must've been a weak genjutsu, I was not yet very experienced against better ones.
His gaze came over me once more, a predatory smile on his lips, and the feeling came back with it, stronger, all-powerful. My golden eyes clashed with his unnaturally shining emerald orbs. I was thankful for my END stat; otherwise I'm sure I would've fallen, like a lesser man. I did not.
It took all of my willpower to continue to stare at his eyes and break out of his spell again. My will returned and I breathed a sigh of relief, he didn't seem offended, merely amused.
He started to laugh, for no particular reason, the booming, menacing, cruel kind, it was not a kind laugh. Students started to fall on the ground, blood pouring out of their orifices, the genjutsu vanquishing them. He didn't reapply it to me.
Then...He stopped.
The tension disappeared from the air, evaporating, and they were free.
"Welcome to the Academy, it is always a pleasure to see the new faces each year…before they break! Ha! If you couldn't handle the small genjutsu, you're not gonna have fun the next few years but hey! It's not my problem," he started, in a deep, hoarse voice, mirth lacing it.
He stopped talking for a few seconds, his being overbearing despite his roguish appearance; he had short, spiky black hair and a long beard that was just starting to whiten, indicating his age.
"I am the Headmaster, Zankoku. I know I'm supposed to give an inspiring speech, but honestly it's not worth it, most of you will die in the next three years so…I only have a couple of tips to give to you all. First of all, castes don't matter here, if he can kick your ass, even if he's from a lower caste, he's superior to you. Because castes aren't gonna matter once you'll be killing each other. Outside the Academy, though, you do what you want, I don't give a fuck. Also, don't slack off, because your opponent will not, trust me, and I'd really be a shame if you died. What else…what else…." He paused again for a moment, letting his words sink in the mind of his audience.
"Ah, yes! There will be a tournament between all of the new students after, the higher you place, the better the class you will be in. After all, we won't waste precious resources on hopeless students, especially in those hard times. If you are judged good enough, maybe we'll even promote you a year. Although it's rare. And try not to kill anyone, but y'all know, accidents happen. And with that, let the games begin! Try to impress me, I'm bored. "
New Title: Academy Student (+10% Training Speed)
I examined my new title, it was exactly as it said, it would improve my training speed by ten percent, nothing more, nothing less. It had also equipped automatically and I couldn't turn it off, not that I would.
The next moments, two bell-ringing sounds were heard by only me as I received two new missions.
New Mission: Place as high as you can in the tournament!
Reward: Depends on mission rating (E to S)
New Mission: Graduate from the Academy…alive! And as fast as possible!
Reward: Depends on mission rating (E to S), Academy Student Title upgraded to Genin Title.
After the short, but disturbing speech of the Headmaster, we were led to another room, where we would sign our names on a paper and put in inside a jar. Zankoku arrived shortly after, passing his eyes over all of us one last time, thankfully not using any jutsu, but his mere glare was enough to make some of the weak ones cower. They wouldn't last long.
"Until the round of sixteen, nobody really caresses about the fights, so they will be simultaneous. See the board behind me for your opponents and where you will fight. You lose, you're out, as simple as that. Any questions? Good, because I don't take any. Now, start, I don't have the whole day."
I looked at the board, it was automatically filling itself with names, neat! I tried to find my name; I was in room C-17 against a Ganryu Jokuza, arena number 3. The winner would go against the winner of another fight. And so on, a classic tournament.
I understood why there was a tournament, if half of the students died each graduation, I would want to only train the ones that would have the most chances to survive. It was as the headmaster had said, why waste if you could not. Hence, I would do my best, I would win.
After searching for it a bit, I found room C-17 and entered, it was a medium-sized gym, there were eight fights that would be going on at a time. I quickly found my arena, my opponent was already there; he was a small and slim dark-haired boy, with slightly tanned skin, unusual in Kiri. He was also smaller than me. But I was unusually tall, eve amongst those older than me, so it wasn't really something noteworthy.
I joined him in the arena, which was only a circle written in chalk on the ground, with a diameter of four meters, a bored referee soon entering too.
"The rules are simple, the first out of the circle loses. I don't care how, just don't try to injury the other more than necessary. Start when I give the start signal," he explained, I liked those rules.
I took a stance, immediately noticing the experience of my opponent, or rather, the lack of it, his stance was hesitant, unsure, and weak. I could see a dozen openings with a glance. It was that bad. He was still better than the usual goon.
There was also the fact that I was also pretty good at taijutsu, I had practised it a lot and, for some reason, I improved as if I was in a video game, I could do the same move over and over again and I would mysteriously become better at the whole style. Hence, I was good at taijutsu, I had spent the major part of my last year doing only that, since I had mastered the three jutsu fairly quickly and I didn't like to throw shuriken and kunai. But I didn't have any weapons with me at the moment, I had left them in my room at the orphanage. Not that they were allowed.
I had found my taijutsu style at the library, it was an obscure one. The key point was being an unstoppable force and immovable object at the same time. But it worked really well for me, it was as if it was tailor-made for my needs and preferences.
I looked another time at my opponent, making a strategy in my head, I would need to truly defeat him, not just throw him out of the circle if I wanted the EXP from the system, and I wanted it. Why waste it if I could obtain it?
"Start!"
I rushed at him, no waiting a single second, I would finish this fast. Ganryu was taken aback, and reflectively attempted to punch me, aiming for my open belly. It was a surprisingly good punch, I guess he wasn't as worthless as I thought he was, but it was far from enough. I took his extended arm and flipped him, kneeing him in the stomach in the same, smooth move.
He ended up on the ground, in foetal position, groaning in pain. He didn't get up, so I dragged him out of the ring.
Genryu Jokuza defeated. 200 EXP
I may have seemed mean and cruel, but it was a needed wake up call, nobody would take pity on him here, he needed to get stronger else he would die. I wouldn't say I was doing him a favour, but he would benefit from this.
"Hakuro wins. Go to the area number 1 for your next match."
I obliged, I hoped it would be a bit more challenging or exciting than this one, my next opponent had won his first match after all, he would maybe be strong, but somehow, I doubted it.
After a few minutes of waiting for my next opponent's duel to finish, it was time for it. My adversary was worse for the wear, let's just say. His first fight had been difficult for him, he was bruised and still panting, I could read in his eyes that he had no illusions about winning against me.
We both took position inside the ring, waiting for the start signal. As soon as it was given, I charged at him, using the exact same strategy as the time before. It worked again, my opponent ended my curled up on the floor again. I received my EXP again. It was almost too easy.
My next few fights went like this, it was clear I was a cut above the rest, though my opponents got noticeably stronger each round. No one had given me a challenge. Yet
And then, it was time for the round of sixteen, we were called to the real sparring arena of the Academy.
We sixteen remaining contenders were called to go in it while the rest of the students were simply sitting in the stands, watching.
The arena itself was a big ring, many times bigger than the ones we were fighting in before, and half of it was a pool of water, I don't know how deep, but definitely deep enough to drown in. It was surrounded by a wall, with the stands to watch behind , elevated so that the watchers had a good view. It was probably able to hold half-a thousand people, it was that massive. There was also a booth, with the Headmaster and some teachers inside watching the best of what the year had to offer with attention.
The headmaster stood up, garnering everyone's attention to him.
"Welcome! Welcome to the finals of this grand tournament! Here are your champions, the bets are open! Let's see what the best of this year's crop is made of. The first fight will be…"-he drew names from a jar- "Hakuro Reikoku against Kyoho Fuefuki! Will the brute prevail, or will the stranger take its crown?" He announced like he was committing the biggest tournament in the five countries, way too hyped.
Well, seems I'm first…
I took position inside a small circle, where I would start the fight, my opponent doing the same thing. The water half was at my right, but despite being partly covered in water, the sparring ring was still huge, we would not lack space, even if some decided to play with jutsu.
The other contestants left, leaving only me, Kyoho and a referee in the arena.
"You both know the rules, try not to kill each other, no weapons, but jutsu are allowed. The first one that loses consciousness or that yields loses. Start!"
I didn't do as I did before, I observed him some more, he was taller than me by about three inches, and had a build similar to mine, broad shoulders, but he lacked the muscles. He was still too young, he didn't have a system like me, but he would be able to build up a lot of muscles relatively easily in the future. And he clearly knew what he was doing, he had experience and a fair share of talent. I could see that from his stance.
But I was better. Way better
I rushed toward him, leaving myself full of openings, I wanted to see what he would do.
He didn't disappoint, he also ran at me, noticeably slower but still at a respectable speed for a not yet Academy student. When we were close enough, he struck me in the ribs, I almost didn't feel it, I was tough. And his hit was light, more of a pre-emptive strike to test me.
I ignored the punch and extended my arms, grappling him, ignoring his pathetic attempt to dodge, he needed to work more on that. I then tried to crush him. Hey, it worked and my strength was vastly superior to almost everyone here, so…why not do this?
Still not paying any heed to his hits and attempts to disentangle himself, they were pitiable, I continued to squeeze on his neck with an arm and prevented him from doing anything funny with the other.
He tried to flip me around, utilizing his bigger form to overwhelm me, but the lack of air was making it's worth, I could feel him becoming slower, weaker, more sluggish in his attempts. Not wanting to kill or seriously injure him, I whispered in his ear, "Stop struggling and surrender, otherwise…" Leaving the unsaid threat hanging in the air, but still very clear.
He stopped, becoming limp in my arms.
"Winner Hakuro Reikoku!" The referee announced.
Defeated Kyoho Fuefuki. 250 EXP
Oh, this one gave a bit more EXP, nice…He still didn't seem that different from the others, but that was probably because I was simply on another level compared ninety-nine percent of the students here.
It was disappointing, I craved for a good fight. It seems I would have to wait a bit more for it.
I had noticed I had started to improve slower, I needed someone strong to reignite the flame.
Health: 971/1000
The next few fights were boring, it was clear there was still a big difference in skill between the students, even at this stage, but there were a couple of them that looked like fun to fight, though I couldn't know yet if they'd be a real challenge, there hadn't been a strong enough opponent for them yet.
"The round of sixteen is finished! If you are already satisfied, you ain't seen nothing. Now, for the first match of the round of eight…Hakuro Reikoku versus Miru Kuribama! I hope neither of you will disappoint!" The headmaster announced, his powerful voice easy to hear even from far away. I'm sure he was a commenter for gladiator arena of something in his past life.
I hopped back into the ring, my opponent, a small girl, doing the same. She had brown hair, pale skin and, despite her small size, had some muscle and obvious training.
I remembered her from her first fight, she had won pretty easily, but hadn't caught my radar more than that. I hadn't found her to be that impressive.
Once we were both inside our respective starting space, the referee gave the signal.
"Start!"
This time, I stayed on the defensive and let her attack me. She was fast, but not strong, she wouldn't be able to hurt me.
She wasn't.
I let her hit me as much as she wanted, only defending very passively, against the more sneaky and underhanded strikes, but her hits had little to no effect, I was simply too tough. She was exhausting herself and she seemed to realize that at one point.
It was then that I started to attack her, she may have been fast, but I also was, and I was strong. She was starting to slow down, so I pressed up, I didn't give her the chance to do anything.
In a last-ditch attempt to win, she decided to use her trump card and distanced herself from me, taking quite a serious hit in the process. She went through a rapid set of hand seals, like a well-oiled machine.
"Water release: Water Bullet Technique."
Of course, while she was doing this, I wasn't idle, I had rushed at her, but she was quick in finishing her jutsu.
She spat a stream of high-pressured water from her mouth, aiming for me. Since I was so close it was even more effective, it was on me in an instant, the jet inched closer and closer, I could feel the power behind it, I didn't want to be touched by it.
Alas, I had known she would try something like this, so I was ready.
My hand seals were a blur and in an instant, I was behind her. With a precise hit on the neck, she fell, unconscious.
"Winner: Hakuro Reikoku!"
Defeated Miru Kuribama. 300 EXP.
She gave me quite a bit of EXP, it was, I would never say no to it…but she was also a disappointment, though her jutsu was quite a surprise. If she had been a bit physically stronger, she may have had a chance…to last more than thirty seconds.
In an instant, the round of eight was finished, the other three fights generally closer than mine, but not by much, there was still a clear difference of power between the student, the line between genius and talent.
I had found a few of my future opponents that were talented, I did not know their names, but I knew how they fought, their appearance, their weaknesses.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for the round of four, the semi finals! I hope you are all ready, because we are getting into the truly interesting part. For the first fight, you guessed it, Hakuro Reikoku versus Kirisaki Abiwarma."
I entered my starting space, for some reason, I was always first to fight, though I didn't complain. It didn't bother me.
However, my opponent looked like he would definitely like to protest, he was pale as a sheet, though that may be his natural colour, he was almost as pale as his hair. He had white hair. Anyways, he was…average from what I had gathered so far. Nothing special. It looks like the finals would be the only interesting part, at least for me.
"Start!"
I didn't waste time, I'd end this swiftly.
I ran at a speed faster than anything I had shown so far and attempted to punch Gin. He had replaced himself. I turned around and didn't even bother to block the strike coming at me, it wasn't necessary.
Maybe I should've had, he packed more of a punch than it first seemed, this had actually hurt, for the first time of the day.
Instead, I struck back of my own, hitting him square in the stomach. I had put a fair amount of strength behind my strike; he had to fall back a bit and coughed up some blood, but didn't fall to the ground.
Interesting.
I was impressed.
While he was away from me, he did a jutsu, but contrarily to my previous opponent, he wasn't completely dumb.
"Water release: Hiding in Mist."
Thick mist enveloped the arena, blocking the view of everyone.
Fun fact about the DEX stat, it also improved my senses. And while my DEX wasn't that impressing, no one here was particularly stealthy yet.
Thus, a few seconds later, it dispersed, showing myself with an unconscious Gin in hand, a few more bruises on my arms, he had put up more of a fight and I expected.
"Winner: Hakuro Reikoku," the voiced announced, deadpan, almost bored.
Defeated Gin Abiwarma. 350 EXP
Level up!
+1 to every stat
+3 free stat points
You must assign your free stat points within twenty-four hours of receiving them or they will be randomly distributed.
Wait, what? Level up, already? That's a…pleasant surprise.
Status.
Hakuro Reikoku
Age: 6
Title: Academy Student
Level: 5
EXP: [0/3600]
Health: 1157/1250 Stamina: 875 Chakra: 700
STR: 13 END: 20 ENG: 14 DEX: 10
Talents:
Gamer's Mind.
Gamer's Body.
Water Affinity
As I always did, I put all of my points into END. It was really showing now, most unharmed hits from the other students simply did not affect me at all and it was getting hard for myself to become exhausted during a fight. Life was good.
The second fight was called shortly after, a tall girl going against a scrawny boy. It wasn't even close, the girl had decimated her opponent. It seems she had finally stopped playing around, she had shown some of her cards, including most of her jutsu arsenal, which included a fair lot of water release techniques, she probably was from a clan.
Anyways, it had been over pretty quickly, the girl was simply built differently from the boy.
After a short pause, the tournament resumed, it was the finals.
"It is now time for the finals! Our two contestants are…Hakuro Reikoku and…Misuno Meguna! Will the nameless orphan vanquish the clan heiress? We'll know in a moment… I look forward to this match, it will be interesting…Ha!" The headmaster shouted, he seemed genuinely hyped, maybe he really liked tournaments or simply disliked clans, I don't know.
He had just given important information, my opponent was a clan heiress, that would explain why she was this good. And now I looked forward to kick her ass even more… She was tall, had crimson hair, a slim build and was about eight years old.
We both entered the circle, ready to start at any time. She was leagues ahead of pretty much everyone else in taijutsu, it was evident from her stance only.
"Start!"
Waiting no more, I dashed toward her, she would have the advantage at a longer range. She seemed to have anticipated it, as soon as the fight started, she spat out a water wall.
The tall barrier stood in front of me, transparent, like an unconquerable obstacle. For most. Not for me.
Channelling a bit of chakra through my feet, I walked on it, despite the fact that it was horizontal, defying gravity and probably some laws of physics in the process. It was a bit like walking on water, but way harder, it was an exercise I had mastered long ago, in an attempt to improve my chakra control.
She opened her eyes wide as she saw me walk on her wall, but recovered pretty quickly. She calmly, but swiftly replaced herself, her timing perfect, just before I kicked her.
I turned around, only for the water wall to fall and three swift, powerful balls of water greeting me, water bullets. Reaction fast, I substituted myself closer to her, only to have to duck below a water whip. She wasn't taking any shit, but if it continued like this, she would soon exhaust herself. She had jutsu, but her chakra reserves were not infinite.
We continued to dance around the arena, she had slowed down a bit her consumption of jutsu, which meant I was now more aggressive, I knew I had better stamina than her, so it would only benefit me in the end.
Deciding to trade blows for once, I charged again, letting myself be it by the water whip, the sharp sting making me wince a bit, but I was closer and tackled her to the ground, using my raw strength advantage to the fullest. I tried to trap her under me.
The whip came again and wrapped around me, but I ignored it again in favour of pressuring her even more, she was now pushing more and more chakra through her whip, attempting to make it stronger than me. It wasn't working well.
Health: 1043/1250
With a mighty final push, she managed to throw me off for a single moment, using this opportunity to create some mist, then to replace herself far away, but she had wasted a lot of chakra in the process. I maybe could've prevented her, but I wanted to know what she would do.
"You're a tough nut, aren't you? Well, I didn't want to use this, but it seems I don't really have the choice…Water Release: Thousand Flying Needles of Death." She breathed out, half impressed, half regretful, in a patronizing manner.
She was winded, I could hear her panting, but the deed was done, she had done her jutsu while she used her remaining water whip to root me in place, the mist still obscuring my vision. Hundreds of tiny sharp needles of water fell from the sky, skewering me from every angle before I could react or detect them, those things were real fast. Even worse, I couldn't even properly see them because of the mist.
For a moment, I feared for my life, this was all because of my carelessness, I could've prevented that had I not decided to joke around. Guess I deserved it.
Curiosity killed the cat after all…
l was determined to push through it.
Fortunately, and to my eternal relief, it turns out she was extremely chakra exhausted before she had even cast this jutsu, she had pushed herself really fat during the whole fight, by pride, probably. Still, it meant that, while there were a lot of water needles, the power behind each and every one of them was very weak.
It still hurt like shit.
The mist cleared, only to reveal myself, on a knee, bleeding a bit from everywhere.
Health: 527/1250
This bitch…
Before I could go and finish her off, she decided to do the job for me and promptly fainted.
I stood up and glared at her fallen form, starting to walk in her direction.
After a moment of surprised and shocked silence, I had just taken a powerful jutsu and was still standing, the referee hesitantly spoke again.
"Winner: Hakuro Reikoku…"
Misuno Meguna defeated. 550 EXP
Cheers erupted amongst the students, most of them were happy to see the untouchable clan heiress fall from grace, even only once. Nearly all of the students were from lower castes, the majority of the population was from the lower castes, and the higher castes were generally jerks to everyone lower than them, hence this reaction. Nobody liked them.
"Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained!" He boomed, his smile, missing a few teeth, showing. "I certainly am, what an exhilarating duel…bravo. Bravo to both our contestants. And a round of applause for our winner, Hakuro Reikoku!"
Smirking, I took an exaggerated bow right next to Misuno, helping her on her feet next, I wasn't totally a dick. She looked pissed, bitter about her loss, but still shook my hand, recognizing my victory. She wasn't as bad as I had expected.
Mission Completed: Place as high as you can in the tournament!
Reward: Depends on mission rating: Rank S (first place)
1500 EXP, Water Release: Water Weapon Jutsu
Ever had knowledge implanted in your head? Yeah, me neither. Turns out, it wasn't a very pleasant experience, not at all. But it was a quick one at least, one second, I did not even know what the Water Weapon jutsu was, the next moment, I knew how to perform it. I had the instructions, though it'd probably take me a couple of takes before nailing it.
Nonetheless, it was a surprise, a very pleasant one, to receive another reward than EXP after completing the quest and this jutsu would probably be very useful in the future, it was very versatile.
Its use was, true to its name, to create weapons made of water. Of course, there was more than that, you could create swords, staves, kunais, senbon, etc. And the higher the mastery over the technique, the better the weapons would be, they would be sharper, sturdier, last longer, and so on.
It was a good technique.
After the tournament ended, in my victory, we were sent back into our homes while they made the classes, the Academy would only officially begin the next day.
As I left the building, I felt someone lightly tapping me on the shoulder.
"The Headmaster wants to talk to you, follow me."
Knowing I wouldn't get anything out of him, I simply followed him, reserving my question for the man who had requested me. After a few minutes in the maze that was this building, I arrived in front of the Headmaster's office.
As I was standing just outside of its closed door, the loud voice of the Headmaster resounded.
"Come on! Don't be shy, enter!"
I opened the door and subsequently entered the office, confused about why he had called me. Of course, the thought that he wanted to promote me a year had crossed my mind, but I was too young. And my showing at the tournament had not been that good.
Following his gesture, I took a seat in front of him, his gigantic from making me feel like an ant, he had that effect on people. He was unbelievably tall, it was unreal, even worse up close. His arm was as large as my whole body.
I got straight to the point.
"Why did you call me, Headmaster? I reckon it is not only because of my victory."
"Ah! You're right, though it is pleasant to see one of the nobles getting their asses kicked once in a while…as rare as it is. No, I have a proposition for you, are you interested in skipping a year? I could put you with the second-year tomorrow. Of course, you would be put in class 2-A, the best one. And nobody would know except us two, ha!" he offered me, quieter than I had ever heard him. I guess he could be quiet if he really wanted to.
"You do know that I am young and a poor orphan from the third cast, right? Anyways, I don't see why I would decline such generous offer," I accepted without hesitation, it was perfect for my goals.
"Ha! Yes, yes…I know about your status. But I don't care! Why should I? Ha! I normally don't offer to skip a year, but your case truly is special and you wouldn't strive in the first year, they mostly cover the basics, but you seem to know them very well, you were the only one to break out of the genjutsu…twice. I was impressed… You might have a bit more work to do, though I'm confident you will be up to the challenge."
"Thank you, Headmaster," I slightly bowed my head.
"Don't worry! And now, get out! I have a monster of paperwork to vanquish…what wouldn't I give to get rid of this position…" he murmured the last part under his breath.
I listened and returned to the orphanage, what a successful day…
Everything was coming along.
A/N: There were no OC amongst the students, the only OC here is the headmaster. You can search all of their first names in the wiki and they exist, though I mostly invented their last names. And God, I spent too long in the Wiki to find them all...
I don't plan to spend too long on the Academy arc, like one or two more chapters, as the real story begins right after.
Also, these fights may have been lackluster, but that was the intent, it was to justify him being promoted a year.
Hope you like it (:
