Naruto : Crimson wood

"Another 100 energy points!"

Renji Takahashi grinned.

But this time, he wasn't in a rush to exchange them for new techniques.

After all, what could he really get with just 100 energy points?

His Sharingan upgrades required thousands of points—completely out of reach for now.

As for Wood Release, sure, there were some lower-tier techniques he could grab, but... what was the point? He already had a balanced set of offensive and defensive Wood Release abilities. They were enough for now.

It was better to save his points and plan ahead.

"Looks like the Mystic Shop unlocked. Let's check it out."

Though, knowing this system, Renji suspected it might be just as tricky as the Lottery Wheel.

"Open Mystic Shop."

A holographic double-layered shelf materialized in front of him, displaying a handful of rare items:

Flying Thunder God Technique: 50,000 energy points

Wood Release: Wooden Titan Technique: 10,000 energy points

Mangekyō Sharingan (Susanoo): 30,000 energy points

Multi Shadow Clone Technique: 5,000 energy points

Genjutsu: Shackling Illusion: 800 energy points

Spiritualism Technique: 800 energy points

Only eight items.

So this was the Mystic Shop?

Basically, just a more straightforward version of the lottery—you could buy whatever you wanted directly without gambling.

The only problem: the prices were insane.

While Renji was trying to figure out what made this shop so "mystic," he noticed a message at the top:

"Draw your exclusive discount!"

Wait... a discount?!

Renji's eyes lit up. He quickly activated it.

A spinning wheel appeared, marked with options ranging from Free, 90% Off, 50% Off, all the way down to No Discount.

"Free, free, free… come on, baby…"

Renji stared at it like his life depended on it.

The wheel slowed, inching past the 20% Off, 10% Off, crawling toward Free...

And stopped on... 90% Off.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the item prices slashed across the board:

Flying Thunder God Technique: 5,000 energy points

Wood Release: Wooden Titan Technique: 1,000 energy points

Mangekyō Sharingan (Susanoo): 3,000 energy points

Multi Shadow Clone Technique: 500 energy points

Genjutsu: Shackling Illusion: 80 energy points

Spiritualism Technique: 80 energy points

"Holy crap!" Renji shouted aloud in excitement.

A few students nearby jumped, startled by his outburst.

"Renji, is something wrong?"

Professor Shizuka Sumiya adjusted her glasses and gave him a curious look.

"Ah... nothing, nothing! A mosquito bit me!" Renji laughed awkwardly.

Ignoring the stares, he refocused on the Mystic Shop.

90% off!

But even with the discount, most of the items were still way beyond his current balance.

With only 100 energy points, his only real options were the Shackling Illusion Technique and the Spiritualism Technique, both priced at 80 points after the discount.

So... which one?

Why did the system always put him in these frustrating choices?

Couldn't it be a little more generous and give him 160 points so he could buy both?

But no—he was stuck with 100.

Then he noticed another message below the discount:

"Your discount is valid for 14 days, 13 hours, and 57 minutes."

Renji's eyes brightened.

He still had half a month to earn enough energy points to buy more items from the shop!

That was something to look forward to.

But first... what should he buy now?

The Shackling Illusion was a useful Genjutsu—an upgrade to his Sharingan's current illusions.

But the Spiritualism Technique... that was summoning!

At first, he figured it was pointless without powerful summons like tailed beasts.

But then—he had a realization.

Who said he needed legendary creatures?

Azure Forest was packed with wild monsters. If he could tame one of them through Spiritualism, wouldn't that be even more practical?

Much better than another illusion technique.

Decision made.

"Exchange for Spiritualism Technique."

[Spiritualism Technique acquired. A summoning scroll has been granted.]

[Note: Each scroll can only bind one summon. Additional scrolls cost 20 energy points each.]

A pop-up even helpfully showed the purchase link for more scrolls.

"Wait, what?! I have to buy a new scroll for every summon?!"

Renji almost cursed out loud.

So much for building an army of monsters. At 20 points per scroll, he'd barely afford two or three summons anytime soon.

The system giveth and the system taketh away.

A few minutes ago, he was ready to praise this Mystic Shop. Now, it was back to being a black-hearted scammer.

"Renji, what are you spacing out for?"

Shun Hayashi poked him, bringing him back to reality.

"Huh? Oh... we're back at school already?"

"Yeah."

The group broke up and headed to their classrooms.

Renji and his classmates returned to Special Class 3, the Auxiliary Class.

Professor Shizuka Sumiya followed them in.

Instructor's Praise

"Congratulations, everyone," she said warmly. "Today, you've taken your first step toward becoming true ability users."

"Whether you were brave or frightened, you each faced a real monster and survived.

That experience is now part of who you are—and it will become your daily life from now on."

Her voice softened, but her next words carried weight.

"There are two students who deserve special praise today."

She glanced toward the front row.

"First, Yuna Hoshizaki. She demonstrated excellent control over her basic Water abilities."

Clap clap clap.

The class gave Yuna a round of applause.

"And second—Renji Takahashi."

Her gaze turned toward Renji, sitting in the back by the window.

A rare look of approval flickered in her eyes.

"Many of you may not realize it, but today, Renji showed us that the Wood Element is not a useless ability. In fact, his Wood Release rivaled Earth techniques in defensive power."

The classroom buzzed with whispers.

Clearly, Renji's performance had shattered a lot of people's preconceptions.

But Professor Sumiya's smile faded slightly.

"Don't get cocky."

She adjusted her glasses and spoke more sternly.

"Tomorrow, you'll go through one more practical training session. Then, the day after tomorrow, you'll be sent out with the Academy's Executive Department... to begin your first real missions—hunting monsters in the wild."

The room fell silent.

This wasn't training anymore.

This was the real world.

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