Kyro didn't summon immediately.
He studied.
For the first time in months, he wasn't looking at combat entities.
He was looking at modifiers.
Like something close person upgrades that while help him fight on even ground with ninjas and samurai..
__
He begins following the river until he comes across ridge and decided to check real quick.. After a few minutes of searching he found a cave...
The cave sat in a rocky ridge overlooking a dead trade road, abandoned since the war shifted north and no civilian would show up here and no patrol markers. No fresh..
Good enough.
The dragon,now nearly the size of a large wolf, curled near the entrance, smoke curling lazily from its nostrils as it watched the tree line.
Miku hovered weakly beside Kyro's shoulder.
"You're doing that scary quiet thing with the eyebrows again…"
Kyro ignored her for now and opened the system.
System Shop – Special Modifiers
One listing pulsed brighter than the rest.
Mid-Tier Physical Enhancement Serum
Cost: 120 SP
Permanent Biological Rewrite
Risk: Severe Pain During Assimilation
Compatibility: High (Current Body Conditioning Adequate)
He scrolled further.
Summon Enhancement Serum – Minor → Mid Evolution
Cost: 70 SP.
Applicable: Low-tier bound summons only
His total:
312 SP
He did the math once.
Then again.
No hesitation this time.
First Purchase
–120 SP
Remaining: 192 SP
A reinforced vial materialized in his hand, thick crimson liquid, heavy, warm.
Miku swallowed nervously.
"Is it going to hurt?" she asked
"Yeah but don't worry, I'll be OK... ."
He drank it without ceremony not thinking too much...
The pain hit instantly.
His muscles spasmed violently as fibers thickened beyond human density. Bones groaned under pressure..
His heartbeat slowed, then thundered like a war drum.
The dragon stood instantly, sensing danger, flame flickering between its teeth.
Kyro collapsed to one knee, teeth grinding so hard his jaw cracked and snapped audibly before healing seconds later.
His skin flushed red.
Veins darkened.
Then silence followed..
His breathing stabilized a few seconds later.
He then stood up slowly, getting used to the new power.
The cave floor cracked beneath his bare feet,
He looked down at his hand and flexed.
The air shifted.
Status Update
Base Strength: ~50 Tons (Lifting Force)
Sprint Speed: Up to 200 km/h (Short Burst)
Durability: Extreme (Non-Chakra Reinforced)
Regeneration: Serious injuries heal in ~48 hours
Stamina: Vastly Increased
Kyro exhaled slowly.
This wasn't peak human anymore.
This was something else.
The dragon tilted its head, then bumped his leg approvingly.
Miku stared.
"…You're terrifying in comparison to most ninja, I can feel it from here."
He smiled a little.
Second Purchase – For Miku
Kyro opened the system again.
–70 SP
Remaining: 122 SP
A smaller vial appeared—iridescent silver light swirling inside.
Miku blinked.
"W-Wait, that's for me?!"
"Yes, I want you to be able to keep up with me in the future."
She hesitated.
"W...Will I faint?".
Kyro laughs at her
"Probably. "
She puffed her cheeks.
"…OK, Okay."
She hugged the vial dramatically and drank it in one go, seconds later,
Light burst outward, radiant and beautiful.
Her tiny wings dissolved into particles of light, then reformed larger, more intricate, shimmering with layered translucence.
Her body grew from palm-sized to nearly forearm length.
Her hair brightened into a soft silver-blue glow.
When the light faded,
She hovered steadily.
No wobbling and immediate exhaustion.
System text appeared.
Miku – Evolution Complete
Tier: Mid-Level Illusion Fairy
Bond Strength: Increased
Enhancements Gained
1. Illusion Duration Increased
Sustained illusions up to 90 minutes
No immediate hibernation threshold at 20 minutes
2. Multi-Target Illusions
Can affect up to 5 jonin targets simultaneously (minor distortions)
3. Sensory Manipulation Upgrade
Not just visual distortion
Can now alter:
Sound perception
Temperature sensation
Spatial orientation (mild vertigo induction)
4. Emergency Cloaking Field
Can create a 30-second full stealth veil for Kyro and allies
High energy cost, long cooldown
5. Fairy Regeneration
Fainting no longer forces 3-day hibernation
Severe overuse results in 12-hour dormancy instead
6. Shared Ability Boost
Kyro can now borrow:
Short-range illusion casting
Emotional suppression field (dampens fear signals)
Minor mirage duplication
Miku blinked at her own glowing hands.
"…I feel taller."
She twirled midair experimentally.
Then stopped and looked at Kyro.
"…I won't slow you down anymore."
Kyro reached up and gently tapped her forehead with a finger.
"You never did, so don't think like that.. Ok."
She froze, then flushed bright pink.
"Ok"
The dragon watched all of this with growing interest.
It cutely trotted over, wings slightly spread.
Kyro already knew what it wanted.
He opened the shop.
Searched:
Dragon Enhancement Serum
The listing appeared.
And the number beneath it was brutal.
Cost: 600 SP
Kyro stared in embarrassment .
He had:
122 SP Remaining
Not even close.
The dragon saw this then huffed a small plume of smoke acting sassy .
Kyro crouched down in front of it.
"Not yet my boy, I make you stronger in the future."
The dragon blinked slowly, he was intelligent but it understands only growth and instinct.
But it bumped its forehead against his shoulder anyway.
A silent agreement to wait until his master makes it stronger or until it grows by itself..
When Kyro stepped outside the cave, something fundamental had changed.
He moved differently.
A 50-ton baseline body hidden under a sound-dampening cloak.
A mid-tier illusion fairy hovering invisibly in layered light distortion.
A growing red dragon whose fire no longer sputtered but burned as hot as c rank fire ball.
Cloud thought they were hunting a rogue summoner.
They had no idea they were now tracking something that no longer needed to run.
Meanwhile
In the underground market, whispers intensified.
"Reports say he's gotten stronger."
...
"Stronger how?"
..
"Caravan guards crushed. Literally."
..
"Cloud's increasing the bounty."
And in a dim back room, someone very patient began gathering maps.
Because once a rogue grows beyond mid-tier,
They either become an asset.
Or a target worth eliminating personally.
The canyon tavern went quiet when the broker finished speaking.
"He's no longer just a rogue. He's an investment problem."
A thin hand slid a sealed scroll across the table.
"Then hire someone who solves problems."
A name was written in precise ink:
Saki Musashi
High-level ronin.
Specialist in anti-shinobi combat.
Known for dismantling chakra users without using high level chakra himself.
Two swords.
One designed to disrupt rhythm.
One designed to end it.
He had walked out of three hidden villages alive and that was saying something about his skill..
He accepted the scroll without asking the price.
"Summoner?" he asked calmly.
"Yeah, with a strange summon."
Musashi adjusted the wrapping on his blades.
"Good, I need to stretch as it's been a while."
He preferred opponents who relied on advantages.
They were easier to remove.
And he began tracking Kyro.
Days later.
Kyro stood barefoot on stone, shirt discarded, muscles moving under his dark skin with controlled power.
He clenched his fist.
The cave wall exploded inward with a contained shockwave.
Not wild but measured.
He inhaled.
Borrowed draconic lungs expanded, heat pooling in his chest, then let out a small stream of fire hitting the corner of the cave with a fwoosh..
"Not bad" he thought
The young red dragon was larger now, nearly shoulder-high to Kyro—snorted impatiently, he's growing speed had naturally increased, especially after eating a few dead bodies they found earlier.
"You're leaking flames again," Miku said, hovering midair, hands on her hips.
Kyro exhaled.
A more controlled stream of fire rolled from his mouth again and struck a marked stone target twenty meters away.
It melted in seconds
The dragon chirped approvingly.
Then immediately headbutted Kyro's leg when he didn't praise it.
"I know," Kyro muttered. "You're better at it than ."
The dragon puffed smug smoke.
Playful and Proud but very
grumpy when ignored.
They sparred next.
Kyro borrowed it's durability.
The dragon lunged.
Kyro caught it mid-charge and redirected its momentum, testing how easily he could handle several tons of living muscle.
Easily.
Too easily.
He frowned.
"Strength without control was just noise" he thought.
Miku layered mild distortions around them, visual lag, sound delay, forcing Kyro to adapt to the effect mid combat.
"Imagine someone cutting your senses, like those illusion specialists," she said.
He nodded as he continues training with his summons..
Days passed like this only stopping to hunt for food and rest..
Then he remembered the rumor he'd heard weeks ago:
A fortified bandit stronghold in the ravine east of the dead trade road.
Former mercenaries.
Heavy crossbows.
Stone walls.
If he was going to test 50 tons,
That was the place.
A few hours later...
The bandit fortress sat in a natural bowl of rock, wooden palisades reinforced with scavenged iron plates.
Watchtowers at four corners.
Thirty men at minimum.
Armed.
Organized.
Kyro observed from the tree line.
Just disciplined criminals no Chakra users on trained ninja levels..
He nodded once then signaled the dragon.
The dragon vanished from beside him, stored, then re-summoned inside the ravine's shadowed rear slope.
"Perimeter," Kyro ordered quietly.
"make sure Nothing escapes."
The dragon's eyes gleamed.
It loved this part as it got to snack on people.
Tactical Assault
Phase One — Disruption.
Miku layered false sounds along the west wall, footsteps, whispered commands.
Guards shifted.
Crossbows rotated towards the disturbance..
Kyro moved east.
Silent.
Sound-dampening cloak swallowing impact noise even at inhuman speed.
He reached the palisade.
Placed one hand against reinforced timber.
Exhaled.
Pushed.
The wall didn't shatter.
It folded.
Wood splintered inward like paper under a hydraulic press.
Bandits turned.
Too late.
Phase Two — Shock.
Kyro entered at controlled speed, fast enough to blur, slow enough not to overextend.
A charging bandit swung an axe.
Kyro caught the handle mid-swing and squeezed.
The metal warped.
He pivoted and threw the man through a watchtower support beam.
Structure compromised.
Phase Three — Isolation.
Miku projected duplicates of Kyro at three positions, forcing the bandits to split formation.
Panic spread.
"HE'S A DEMON—!"
"NO, HE'S A SHINOBI—!"
"No fucking shinobi hits like that!"
Then out of nowhere...
The dragon emerged at the rear gate, wings flaring wide, unleashing a controlled cone of flame that blocked the only viable escape path.
Not wild burning.
Precision.
Anyone who ran toward it fell.
The dragon didn't roar.
It hunted.
Systematic.
Cutting off exits.
Within four minutes, the stronghold was collapsing.
Leadership attempted to rally.
Kyro ended that attempt by lifting the reinforced iron gate, three tons of scrap, and hurling it through the command balcony like throwing a stone.
Seconds later..
Silence began to settle.
Smoke drifted.
The last cluster of bandits dropped weapons.
Then...
A new sound.
Wooden sandals on stone.
Calm.
Measured.
Not hurried.
A lone figure stepped through the broken western entrance.
Wide-brimmed ronin hat.
Travel-worn kimono.
Two swords.
The air changed.
Not chakra.
Presence.
One remaining bandit stared, face draining of color.
"…That's… that's him…"
Another whispered, voice shaking:
"Saki Musashi…"
Weapons clattered to the ground.
One man actually bowed instinctively.
Kyro turned slowly.
The dragon hissed, wings rising.
Miku's glow dimmed instinctively..
Musashi surveyed the battlefield once.
Burning structures.
Collapsed towers.
Bandits broken.
Then his eyes settled on Kyro.
"You've grown little boy," he said calmly.
He stepped forward, unafraid of the dragon's flames.
"I was told you were promising."
He rested one hand lightly on the hilt of his longer blade.
"I prefer to verify for myself whether or not it's true.. ."
The surviving bandits backed away, caught between terror of the summoner
And reverence for the ronin who hunted shinobi.
The wind shifted.
Ash drifted between them.
Kyro flexed his fingers once.
Fifty tons of restrained force humming under skin.
The dragon growled low.
Miku whispered:
"…He's different, I have bad feelings when looking at him..."
Musashi tilted his head slightly.
"Send the strange dragon away," he said politely. "Or don't. It won't matter to me ."
And the battlefield, already ruined, prepared to become something far more dangerous.