Chapter 6: A New Summoning Beast
"Earth Dragon, go catch a hedgehog for me."
After sending the command through his mind, Kael returned to his house to wait.
Half an hour later.
In the small courtyard outside his room, a circular wooden plank was gently pushed aside from below. The Earth Dragon skillfully used its mouthpart to suction the plank and set it aside, then fully emerged from its tunnel. Kael nodded in satisfaction when he saw a spiny, curled-up ball attached to its rear.
[Iron]+[Hedgehog]= ???
[Compatibility]70%
[Material: Iron, Quality (Common)]
[Creature: Hedgehog, Rank (E)]
[Synthesis Success Rate]90%
[Chakra Required]100
[Synthesize?]
Ninety percent success rate. Kael nodded. This confirmed his theory was correct.
[Confirm Synthesis]
As the synthesis began, Kael felt a significant portion of his energy drain away in an instant. The iron nugget in his left hand vanished, and the hedgehog at his feet was enveloped in a cold, silvery light, as if it were evolving.
Curious, Kael reached out to touch the silver glow, and a notification appeared.
[Synthesizing, please wait...]
A few seconds later, the light faded, revealing a dramatically changed hedgehog. Its once gray-black skin now had a shimmering metallic sheen, and its body was a size larger. The quills on its back stood on end, reflecting the moonlight with a sharp, dangerous glint.
[Summoning Beast: Ironclad Hedgehog]
Rank: E
Species: Carnivorous Mammal (Erinaceinae)
Attribute: Metal Affinity
Ability: A Thousand Arrows (The Ironclad Hedgehog's entire body has been metallically enhanced. The quills on its back are as hard as iron and can be launched like projectiles. The quills regenerate extremely quickly, allowing for continuous, unending volleys of attacks, like a thousand arrows firing at once.)
System Evaluation: In terms of "shooting" prowess, the System calls this one the undisputed champion!
"Not bad, not bad. It really is an attack skill," Kael said, very pleased. Then his eyes drifted down.
"What the hell?"
The System's final evaluation made his eye twitch. This System was quite the character.
The next day, on the Ninja Academy's training grounds.
Wooden shuriken flew toward Kael from all directions.
Faced with a barrage that filled his entire field of vision, Kael's expression remained calm. He crouched slightly, and the kunai in his right hand became a blur, expertly deflecting every single shuriken that came near him.
"That guy Kael got stronger again!"
"I know, right? What do you expect from a special admission student..."
The students gathered in a circle around him began to whisper among themselves. Just then, their instructor's voice rang out, filled with pride.
"He deflected every single shuriken. Kael gets a perfect score on this practical exercise!"
He then looked at Kael, who stood there looking completely unfazed. "Don't get cocky. Keep up the good work, you hear me?"
Kael gave a slight nod, but a strange feeling washed over him. This sounds so familiar... It's just like what the teachers in my past life used to say to the good kids in class.
Though he made it look easy, deflecting all those shuriken was no simple task. He had never heard of any third-year, or even fourth-year, student getting a perfect score on the shuriken practical.
After all the students had completed the exercise, their instructor dismissed them early for the first time. But before they left, he gave them one last instruction.
"Tomorrow, there will be a school-wide assessment. I won't announce the details yet. Just perform as you normally would."
No one but Kael noticed the complex emotion that flickered across the instructor's face.
Why the sudden assessment? Did something happen in the village? A gray fog of uncertainty formed in Kael's mind. He had a feeling that tomorrow's assessment would have an extraordinary meaning.
The next morning.
Ninja Academy, third-year classroom.
"Good morning, Kael-kun."
Kael had just taken his seat when he heard the gentle voice of his deskmate, Rei.
"Morning," Kael replied with a smile and a nod. Over the last six months, he had learned that Rei's parents had passed away long ago, making her an orphan, just like him.
"Kael-kun, do you know why there's such a sudden assessment?" Rei asked suddenly.
Kael shook his head slightly. "I'm not sure. Something probably happened in the village, but it's not something students like us would be told."
"Yeah. Well, no matter what it is, I'm sure it won't be a problem for you, Kael-kun."
Whether it was written exams or practical skills, Kael's scores had been steadily improving until he was now one of the top students in the class. Rei, on the other hand, was a shy and less conspicuous student. Her scores on theory, throwing, and physical tests were all average, keeping her firmly in the middle of the class rankings.
"You'll do fine too," Kael said, offering a word of encouragement.
Soon, their instructor arrived and led all the third-year students outside. The academy's training grounds were already packed and buzzing with noise. Nearly two hundred students were chattering amongst themselves, gathered in their class groups, all discussing the mysterious assessment. Such a large gathering of the entire school was a rare sight, and the young students' faces were a mixture of nervousness and excitement.
Only Kael frowned. Something's wrong. Very wrong.
He watched as a kind-faced, middle-aged man was surrounded by the academy's instructors, who treated him with great respect. He couldn't understand it. It was one thing for all the students to be here, but the leader of the Hidden Hot Water Village, a man who almost never showed his face at the academy, was also present.
Before long, the instructors organized the students for the assessment. A number of unfamiliar shinobi holding clipboards also appeared. The assessment would be one-on-one battles within each class. Two of the unfamiliar shinobi with clipboards stood by each class's designated area, seemingly ready to record something.
Kael's opponent just so happened to be his deskmate—Rei.
For the combat assessment, they were still only given wooden kunai and shuriken. The weapons weren't sharpened and had rounded edges, making it nearly impossible for students to seriously injure one another. At worst, a hit would sting a little.
"Kael-kun, please be gentle with me!" Rei said with a playful smile. She seemed to be taking her match against one of the class's top students in stride.
The student battles were over quickly, most lasting only a minute or two. Some of the first and second-year students provided a fair bit of comic relief. In one of the first-year matches, the two opponents were just pulling each other's hair.
"Let go of me!"
"You let go first!"
"Okay, let's both let go on the count of three, alright?"
"One!"
"Bwahahahaha!"
The entire school erupted in laughter. Even the kind-faced village leader couldn't help but chuckle. The only one not laughing was the first-year instructor. This was beyond embarrassing.
"What are you two doing?!" the first-year instructor roared, his face turning beet-red.