"Earth Dragon Beast, go catch a hedgehog for me!"
After sending the thought, Shangguan Mo returned to his home. Half an hour later, in his courtyard, a circular wooden plank was gently pushed aside. The Earth Dragon Beast expertly used its mouthpart to suction the plank and set it aside, then fully emerged from the tunnel. Seeing the spiky, curled-up ball wrapped in its tail, Shangguan Mo nodded with satisfaction.
[Iron] + [Hedgehog] = ???[Compatibility] 70%[Material: Iron, Quality (White)][Creature: Hedgehog, Rank (E)][Synthesis Success Rate] 90%[Chakra Required] 100[Synthesize?]
[Confirm Synthesis]
A 90% success rate. Shangguan Mo nodded; this confirmed his line of thinking was correct. As the synthesis began, he felt something inside his body being almost completely drained. The iron chunk in his left hand vanished, and the hedgehog at his feet was enveloped in a cold, silver light, as if it were evolving.
Curiously, he reached out to touch the silver-gray light, and a message appeared.
[Synthesizing, Please Wait...]
A few seconds later, the silver light faded, revealing a transformed hedgehog. Its originally gray-black skin now had a metallic sheen, and its body was a size larger. The spines on its back stood erect, reflecting the silvery moonlight with a sharp glint.
[Summoning Beast · Iron Hedgehog]
Rank: E
Species: Carnivorous Mammal (Erinaceinae)
Attribute: Metal Affinity
Ability: Myriad Arrow Volley (The Iron Hedgehog's body has been metallically enhanced. The spines on its back are as hard as iron and can be launched like projectiles. The spines regenerate extremely quickly, allowing for continuous, unending volleys of attacks, like a shower of ten thousand arrows.)
System Evaluation: When it comes to shooting its shot, this system proclaims it the strongest!
"Not bad, not bad. It's an attack skill, just as I hoped!" Shangguan Mo was very satisfied. Then his gaze shifted down.
"What the hell?"
Seeing the final system evaluation made his head spin. This system was quite the comedian.
The next day, at the Ninja Academy training grounds.
Wooden shuriken flew towards Shangguan Mo from all directions. Faced with a barrage that nearly filled his entire vision, his expression remained unchanged. He slightly bent his knees, the kunai in his right hand moving in a rapid blur, deflecting every single shuriken.
"That guy Shangguan Mo has gotten stronger again!" "Tell me about it. He was specially recruited, after all..."
The surrounding students began to whisper amongst themselves. Just then, their instructor's gratified voice rang out. "He deflected every single shuriken! Shangguan Mo gets a perfect score for this practical exercise!"
He then looked at the calm and collected Shangguan Mo. "Don't get arrogant. Keep it up, you hear me!"
Shangguan Mo gave a faint nod, but he had a strange feeling. "That sounds familiar. It's just like what teachers in my past life would say to the good students..."
While it looked easy, deflecting all those shuriken was no simple feat. He hadn't heard of any other third- or even fourth-year student getting a perfect score in shurikenjutsu practice.
After all the students had completed the exercise, their instructor dismissed them early for the first time. But he left them with a final instruction. "Tomorrow, there will be a school-wide assessment. I won't announce the content beforehand. Just perform as you normally would!"
Only Shangguan Mo noticed the complex emotion that flashed across the instructor's face. "Why such a sudden assessment? Has something happened in the village?" A gray fog of unease settled in his heart. He had a premonition that tomorrow's assessment would be anything but ordinary.
The next morning. Ninja Academy, Third-Year Classroom.
"Good morning, Mo-kun." The moment he sat down, he heard the gentle voice of his deskmate, Li. "Morning," Shangguan Mo replied with a smile and a nod. Over the past six months, he had learned that Li's parents had passed away long ago. Like him, she was an orphan.
"Mo-kun, do you know why there's such a sudden assessment?" Li suddenly asked. Shangguan Mo shook his head. "I'm not sure either. Something probably happened in the village, but it's not something we students would know about." "Well, no matter what, the assessment should be no problem for you, Mo-kun."
Whether it was written exams or practical skills, Shangguan Mo's grades had become increasingly outstanding, and he was now among the top of his class. Li, on the other hand, was a rather shy and inconspicuous girl. Her scores in theory, throwing, and physical tests were all average, keeping her in the middle of the pack.
"You'll do fine too!" Shangguan Mo said, offering some encouragement.
Soon, their instructor came and led all the third-year students outside. The school's training ground was packed and buzzing with noise. Nearly two hundred students were gathered in their class groups, all discussing the strange assessment. Such a large gathering of the entire school was a rare sight, and the young students were a mix of nervous and excited.
Only Shangguan Mo was frowning. "This is wrong! Very wrong!"
The Yugakure leader, a kind-faced middle-aged man who normally never showed up at the school, was also present, surrounded respectfully by the academy's teachers. Before long, the teachers had organized the students for the assessment order, and many unfamiliar ninja with clipboards appeared. The assessment was a series of one-on-one spars, class by class.
And Shangguan Mo's opponent was none other than his deskmate, Li. The equipment provided was still just wooden kunai and shuriken, unsharpened and rounded. In the hands of students, they were unlikely to cause any real harm.
"Be gentle with me, Mo-kun!" Li said with a playful smile. Being matched against one of the top students in the class, she was surprisingly relaxed about it.
The student spars were quick, most ending in a minute or two. Some of the first and second years even embarrassed their classes. One pair of first-graders just ended up pulling each other's hair.
"Let go of me!" "No, you let go first!" "Okay, let's count to three and let go together!" "One!" "Hahahahahaha..."
The entire school erupted in laughter, including the kind-faced leader. Only the first-year instructor wasn't laughing... This was utterly humiliating! "What are you two doing!" he roared, his face ashen.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (110 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (210 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (210 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (100 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (90 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (250 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (100 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (80 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(70 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (50 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it.