Chapter 7 : Ninja School
Spring turned to autumn, and before he knew it, another year had passed. After nearly two years of daily tasks, Haruto had not only become more loved and recognized by the villagers, but his strength had also greatly improved.
Over the course of these two years, Haruto had gained about [-] points of ninja-level experience, which he distributed evenly across a dozen or more basic attributes. Each attribute received roughly half a bar of experience. While he hadn't yet reached the level of a full ninja, his stats were solid and much stronger than before.
Particularly, his physique and agility had come close to the level of a ninja through persistent training.
It was time to take on a dungeon. There were three novice dungeons available. Udon, Moegi, and Konohamaru would each drop an experience book for either the transformation technique or the substitution technique. Obviously, only the substitution technique was more practical, so Haruto decided to challenge Konohamaru.
As he entered the dungeon, he found Konohamaru standing across from him, eyeing him with disdain.
"Let's see how badly you get beat today," Konohamaru said with a smug grin.
The battle began. Even without knowing any ninjutsu, Haruto's superior attributes gave him the upper hand. He pressured Konohamaru relentlessly.
But Konohamaru wasn't easily defeated. He continuously used various tricks and the substitution technique to narrowly escape every dangerous situation. Watching how calm and calculated Konohamaru was, Haruto broke into a cold sweat. Is this even fair? The real Konohamaru was never this competent.
After a prolonged and fierce fight, Haruto was finally about to win. But just as he was preparing the final blow, Konohamaru suddenly lunged into Haruto's kunai, taking the hit. In the process, Konohamaru's own kunai grazed Haruto's neck.
"Damn it."
Startled by the sensation of near-death, Haruto touched his neck and cursed at the dungeon. "You've got to be kidding me. There's no way the real Konohamaru would be this skilled. If even Konohamaru's like this, then the other ninja villages wouldn't stand a chance."