Extracting Traits

"So fast?"

Shinichi's heart skipped a beat. The [Swordsmanship Apprentice] trait had not formed overnight.

After joining the dojo, it had taken months of casually mentioning his training and showing off his progress while talking to people at the orphanage, blacksmith's shop, and restaurant before that perception had gradually solidified.

But how long had it been since [Ninja Academy Student]?

It had formed the moment he finished enrolling.

Shinichi's thoughts raced.

The key difference might have been the people recognizing him.

A crowd had gathered outside the school gates today—parents, teachers, and new students. The numbers were already considerable.

But more importantly, there was the "weight" of certain individuals among them.

Kakashi had been there.

His father, Hatake Sakumo—the White Fang of Konoha, famed throughout the Shinobi World—had also been present.

And even...

Shinichi recalled that when he had quickly swept his gaze over the Hatake father and son at the school, the White Fang of Konoha, who had been observing him, had suddenly glanced upward.

That was right. The Third Hokage, the ninja who habitually used the Telescope Technique to look down over Konoha, was very likely watching the developments on the first day of school as well.

The awareness and attention of those figures standing at the pinnacle of Konoha or the Shinobi World, even if only for a fleeting moment and without much thought, carried influence far beyond that of ordinary people!

The speed at which a trait formed was indeed closely tied to the "strength and status of those who recognized it."

Shinichi's gaze settled on the two occupation traits coexisting on his panel: [Swordsmanship Apprentice] and [Ninja Academy Student].

Just as Shinichi had previously guessed, before an occupation trait could form through "recognition," it first needed to be "acknowledged" and "accepted" by a certain system, tradition, or authority.

Yamashita Shuji, the teacher who had taught him swordsmanship, had settled in Konoha during its earliest days. However, he came from the Land of Iron and was a formal samurai, representing the even more ancient traditions of "samurai" and "swordsmanship."

Gaining his approval and beginning formal training under him was equivalent to receiving official endorsement as a Swordsman within that system.

Meanwhile, the Konoha Ninja Academy was the orthodox, official starting point for nurturing ninja, recognized by the entire village and even the whole Shinobi World. The moment he completed enrollment and officially entered the academy, he had been incorporated into the lowest level of the vast occupational system known as "ninja," receiving the most basic official identity certification.

"Then why not blacksmiths and cooks?"

A new doubt arose in Shinichi's mind. Blacksmithing and cooking were also stable occupational systems with established inheritances, and they had existed far longer than ninja.

Could it be that the inherited system had to involve extraordinary power, or the application of Chakra, in order to form a corresponding occupation?

But as far as he knew, there really were Artisan Ninja and Cooking Ninja in the Shinobi World who used Chakra for forging and cooking.

"Was it because I didn't receive recognition from the proper authority? Or could it be..."

His eyes narrowed slightly as he grasped the key difference. His thoughts were gradually becoming clearer, but Shinichi did not dwell on it. There were more practical matters at hand.

Perhaps the answer would reveal itself once he entered Konoha Hospital and formally began studying pharmacology, medicine, and Medical Ninjutsu.

He left the school gates, hoisted that conspicuous boulder onto his back again, and began running around Konoha under its weight. His heavy footsteps pounded the ground once more, drawing curious and astonished looks from passersby.

"I need to level up as soon as possible."

As he ran, his mind swept over the row of white traits on his Personal Panel: [Diligent (White)] and [Robust (White)]. They were the results of years of careful cultivation, as well as the foundation for leveraging greater power in the future. Every sweat-drenched effort and every time he surpassed his limits under the eyes of others reinforced and strengthened those impressions.

An hour later, the exhausted Shinichi returned to his new residence.

A week ago, he had already moved out of the orphanage and rented this somewhat rundown little apartment.

Moving out was not merely for convenience in his actions. It also meant that the stage on which he built his persona had officially expanded—from the area around the orphanage to the surroundings of the Ninja Academy, and perhaps even all of Konoha.

He shut the door, cutting himself off from outside eyes. Leaning against the wall, he slowly steadied his breathing. The calm expression he had deliberately maintained finally relaxed, revealing his true exhaustion, though his eyes remained bright.

He entered the cramped kitchen. Years of helping out in the orphanage kitchen, followed by a solid year of working at a restaurant, had given him respectable cooking skills.

He handled the ingredients with practiced efficiency, and before long, the fragrance of a simple meal filled the room.

Sitting at the table with a bowl in hand, Shinichi ate quickly. Yet his body seemed to instinctively know how to absorb every bit of calories and nutrition from the food more fully and efficiently.

The meal was brief, but some of his depleted strength unexpectedly returned, and even his mental fatigue eased considerably.

[Foodie (White): You possess extraordinary passion for and discernment of food. You can absorb nutrients from food more efficiently and gain a small amount of extra satisfaction and energy recovery from it.]

That night, after returning from another round of training, Shinichi carefully washed up and changed into clean clothes before turning his attention back to the Personal Panel deep within his consciousness.

His gaze fell upon the [Draw Attempts] section.

[Draw Attempts: 1 (White)]

In addition to granting cultivation bonuses related to an occupation, the formation of an occupation trait also rewarded one completely random opportunity to draw a talent trait without relying on external recognition.

Two months ago, when the [Swordsmanship Apprentice] trait had condensed, he had received his first draw attempt and obtained the Calmness trait from it.

[Calmness (White): When facing danger, battle, or unexpected situations, you can more easily calm down, allowing you to think of countermeasures without being disturbed by outside influences.]

Shinichi's feelings about that result had been somewhat complicated. The trait's value itself was beyond question. Remaining composed and thinking clearly in a crisis was an extremely important quality for a ninja.

But he believed he could have generated that trait himself by building the right persona.

It was simply that he had too little time. Earlier on, in order to generate traits such as [Diligent], [Robust], [Tenacious], and [Agile] as quickly as possible, he had no choice but to do things that seemed erratic, even worrying, to others.

[Tenacious] in particular. In order to generate that trait as quickly as possible, he had even chosen to get beaten at a street corner, all so more people could see it and leave with an impression. Such overly erratic behavior naturally did not fit a calm persona.

And now, the second draw attempt had arrived, brought by this morning's [Ninja Academy Student].

"What will I draw this time?"

Shinichi took a deep breath and calmed his slightly quickened heartbeat, focusing his mind on the faintly glowing words, "1 (White)."

There were no dazzling effects, nor was there any lengthy wait.

It was as though the faintest ripple had merely passed through his field of vision, and the text on the panel had already changed.

[Draw Attempts: 0 (White)]

And in the talent trait section, immediately after [Calmness (White)], a new line of text quietly emerged amid white light.