On the other side, Masaru received the document beforehand along with scrolls of techniques, and felt it was his chance to prove himself as a genius with both wit and backing.
"Train and practice. I don't want any of you to embarrass me or my liege even further..."
After bestowing the resources, Tadao and his group of lackeys kneeled one by one and swore loyalty, even promising to defeat their foes.
'It should be smooth sailing from now on. Yoichi and his group might know the upcoming trials, trying to squeeze in practice time in the mine.'
'Utterly foolish! This is why nobility was reigning at the top! If we can't beat them with quality, quantity it is!'
Masaru confidently smiled as his party began practicing earnestly, currently performing with time ticking in.
...
After 3 days, Yoichi and his group began practicing while Masaru also trained his group, involuntarily agreeing to a ceasefire.
At this time, Yoichi earned 10 points in his proficiency in Martial Arts, almost done with the Entry Level.
However, what shocked him was a prompt that meant his time in this world was exactly one month.
[Monthly Supply!]
[Reward: +1 Silver Ticket]
Seeing the surprising panel, Yoichi was overjoyed. The mystical tickets revealed their information and requirements for acquisition.
'So each month, I'll have a Silver Ticket? Ah! That's why each resource in the Silver Roulette was always 30 portions! This is good! Perhaps the Gold Ticket required a year to be acquired? But I need Gold Tickets now!'
[Name: Yoichi]
[Title: Martial Arts Inheritor]
[Realm: Initiation(Unranked)]
[Prismatics: (Incinerator), (Battle Instinct), (Second Heart)]
[Golds: (Old Skin), (Self Healing Constitution)]
[Status: Healthy, Confused, Afflicted by the Curse Seal: Brain Implantation Technique(Flawed), Afflicted by Shepherd of the Innocent Lambs]
[Goredrinker: 30/100]
[Technique: Heavenly Demon Scripture](-)
—[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Entry) 85/100]
[Tickets: 2 Prismatic, 2 Gold, 1 Silver]
Unfortunately, after countless times looking for the hidden mechanics in the status screen, nothing changed aside from the number of Silver Tickets.
"As expected, powerful abilities were behind the Gold and Prismatic Tickets. Oh well, I should make sure it was worth it."
After mumbling, Yoichi materialized a Prismatic Ticket and ripped it in half, pulling him into the Prismatic Roulette with a thrill on his face.
[Drawing...]
'Please, give me something useful!'
[Congratulations on winning (Detective At Work)]
[Detective At Work] (Prismatic)
—Increased perception by 20%. Gathering clues, information, and analytical skills will be much faster.
In an instant, Yoichi felt his surroundings slow down for a second as the wide depth of view was surreal and dream-like. The details in the stones and ores in the mine felt artistic while his mind was clearer and faster than usual.
The constant slamming of pickaxes, the curved lines of the ore deposits, and even the intricate details on Sabito's face became much easier to understand as if the Sharingan was activated in public.
"Is there a problem? You have been staring for quite a while now." Sabito raised an eyebrow, feeling peculiar about Yoichi's odd gaze on him.
"No, nothing..." Yoichi quickly shifted his eyes to the job.
'I need to familiarize myself with this sensory overload... This is too much! All in all, it was a utility-type passive and works very well.'
Detective at Work and its myriad advantages were a good addition to his arsenal. Although a bit worse than Sharingan's insightfulness, it was much more useful and effective in his other 4 senses.
With a focused mind, Yoichi could hear whispers at 20 meters with only 2 - 3 decibels even in high-frequency settings such as the rain and high-ambient noises of manual mining.
Moreover, the scent distance changed to 30 meters as the odor of the sweat of the laborious children felt strong, assaulting his olfactory system from far away.
Similarly, his tactile sense became more sensitive as the texture and edges of a circular handle pickaxe were so detailed in his touch while his receptors felt like an animal due to sensing little vibrations near him.
'I feel more and more like an alien rather than a human at this point.'
This is due to the added perception that was charging in his brain, overwhelming him with useless yet elaborated information.
"Do you need some rest, Underdog? You are looking quite unwell in our eyes." Genji joked.
"Still using that title as a joke? I'm fine. Let's move on and get on with this task before practicing once more."
"As you wish." Genji shrugged his shoulder while Sabito and Hikari went back to work.
Due to his renowned feats, Yoichi was hailed as "Underdog" for his fragile yet powerful body. This title soon spread all over the children like a virus as his bravery and low-profile traits were admirable in the eyes of the kids.
'Fucking hell! Even the taste was magnified, I could perceive another salty flavor unlike the salt seasoning!'
After working, Yoichi and his group ate their regular meal as he felt his palate had turned upside down.
In his frustration, he took a bite and swallowed the food constantly, attracting countless gazes on him including his friends.
"Can you slow down a bit, Yoichi-kun? It's not good for you to eat faster, it will gonna upset your stomach."
"It's fine, don't worry about it. I just need to drink some water and it will be totally okay." After hearing Hikari's concern, Yoichi went to get water and rinsed the weird flavor from his mouth.
"I need to go back early. See you!" Rushing back into the sleeping quarters, Yoichi departed without being berated by the stationed guards.
"What's wrong with him?" Sabito asked.
"Who knows... Maybe he is that diligent in practice. Let's finish this quickly and train with him, our time is quite tight." Genji commented.
Therefore, Yoichi began his training without any disturbances near him.
「Heavenly Demon Posture EXP +1」
「Heavenly Demon Posture EXP +1」
「Heavenly Demon Posture EXP +1」
...
In the sky-high tower.
"Are the preparations ready?" A man asked, sitting in his chair with an imposing attitude.
"Yes, Hanzō-sama. The others inside and outside Amegakure have been notified in advance." A man kneeled with reverence and responded politely.
"When is the equipment for the laboratory coming, Dr. Shigeno?" Nodding with approval, Hanzō glanced at the man with a white coat.
"Unfortunately, the valuable machinery was being held by Konoha. I deeply apologize for the inconvenience it caused, Hanzō-sama." Dr. Shigeno bowed in submission.
"No worries, it wasn't your fault," Hanzō waved his arm, "Only Danzo and his overarching ambition could be the main suspect of this situation."
"Tell him that I require the thing for taking blood from these children. Once I get the results, I can send him beneficial data." Hanzō continued.
"I understand, sir!" A man replied.
"Good! Now, be vigilant and finish the task accordingly. You may all leave!"
With an authoritative tone, Hanzō dismissed the people and ended the meeting.
________________
(Current Progress)
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Entry) 85/100]
[+1 Silver Ticket]
____________
One or two more chapters and it will be done! It wasn't as suspenseful as everyone thought. In fact, it was so bad on my part as an author trying to deliver each word yet there's not even a hint of dread in the chapters. And I am so sorry for that hehehe.
I'm still improving and so bad at English so bear with me.
Thanks for reading the chapters and collecting the novel. See ya! XDD!