Arata left the academy but did not head straight back to the clan grounds. Instead, he leaned quietly against the cherry blossom tree by the school gate and waited. This should have been the last time he and Sister Izumi went home together after school.
"Mission Panel."
The boy lowered his eyes and murmured the command. If the instant mission had not suddenly appeared earlier, he would not have wanted to expose too much of his power in front of outsiders.
As soon as he spoke, a translucent pale-blue panel appeared out of thin air, displaying four collapsed sections: Daily, Instant, Stage, and Summon.
[Daily] Endless Blade Swings (Cannot accumulate; resets daily) Mission Description: Every swing of the blade is meant to shed less blood in actual combat. Completion Condition: Swing a blade ten thousand times. (1000/10000) Mission Reward: Low-grade Constitution Pill *1 Mission Status: Incomplete Thousand-Day Completion Reward: Intermediate Constitution Pill *1 (784/1000 days) --------- Endless Running (Cannot accumulate; resets daily) Mission Description: Faster, just a little faster! Then you will not have to watch your companions die helplessly before your eyes! Completion Condition: Run ten kilometers while carrying ten kilograms. (10/10 km) Mission Reward: Low-grade Speed Pill *1 Mission Status: Completed Thousand-Day Completion Reward: Intermediate Speed Pill *1 (995/1000 days) --------- Endless Ninjutsu (Cannot accumulate; resets daily) Mission Description: Only by constantly squeezing out your own potential can you avoid running out of chakra in battle. Completion Condition: Cast C-rank or higher ninjutsu twenty times. (2/20) Mission Reward: Low-grade Chakra Pill *1 Mission Status: Incomplete Thousand-Day Completion Reward: Intermediate Chakra Pill *1 (642/1000 days) --------- Endless Meditation (Cannot accumulate; resets daily) Mission Description: State of mind is the foundation of facing an enemy. Completion Condition: Meditate without distraction for five hours. (0/5 hours) Mission Reward: Skill Point Fragment *1 Mission Status: Incomplete Ten-Thousand-Day Completion Reward: Skill Points *3 (1426/10000 days) Ps: 100 Skill Point Fragments can be combined into one Universal Skill Point. --------- Endless Shuriken Practice (Cannot accumulate; resets daily) Mission Description: [Instant] Dominate This Class · Crush Ino-Shika-Cho Mission Description: Akimichi Hishi, Yamanaka Reki, and Nara Mori are the elite among this class of ninja academy students. Use them to prove your strength! Completion Condition: Defeat all three head-on. Mission Reward: Low-grade Contract Talisman *1, Skill Point *1 Mission Status: Completed Ps: A Low-grade Contract Talisman can randomly summon any demon up to the Mountain and Wild Strange Creature rank and forge an unbreakable contract with it. [Stage] Make a Name · Advance to Genin Mission Description: Constantly advancing and gaining more resources and opportunities for experience is the fastest path to growth. Completion Condition: Pass the genin examination of any faction among the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Mission Reward: Low-grade Contract Talisman *1, Skill Point *1 Mission Status: Completed [Summon] Fearless Armor: Terracotta Warrior Demon Description: Originally a burial terracotta warrior in a tomb, he ultimately chose to leave his deceased master and seek others who deserved his protection. Rank: Mountain and Wild Strange Creature Summoning Materials: Bloodstained Armor *1, Bloodstained Blade *1, Low-grade Summoning Talisman *1 [I will protect you forever, until death.] ----------- Maiden Before Buddha: Juzu Demon Description: A spirit born from prayer beads, a demon girl who lived in a temple. Having listened to monks chanting scriptures for a long time, she possessed a measure of Buddha nature and was innocent and adorable. Rank: Mountain and Wild Strange Creature Summoning Materials: Prayer Beads consecrated by a high monk *1, Low-grade Summoning Talisman *1 [Does Buddha like sweet things or sour things?] ----------- Heart-Peering Demon: Hyakume Demon Description: A mysterious girl from the Plain of Twilight who had made an unspeakable deal with a powerful demon. She possessed an obsession with beautiful eyes beyond that of ordinary people and would stop at nothing to claim them for herself. She could also read the memories of those whose eyes she had taken. Rank: Domain Lord Summoning Materials: A pair of eyes possessing special ocular techniques, Intermediate Summoning Talisman *1 [Hey, what secrets are hidden in your eyes? Hehehe.]
The basic rewards from daily missions were the foundation that had allowed him to rise from obscurity, surpass his peers, and even challenge stronger opponents.
As for talismans, demons, and skill points, they were his greatest trump cards. Yet those cards were still too weak for him to even reveal them.
At present, Arata's talismans fell into two categories: [Summoning Talismans] and [Contract Talismans]. Based on the power of Onmyoji Arts contained within them, they were also divided into high, intermediate, and low grades.
Both could summon demons at random. The difference was that a [Summoning Talisman] randomly summoned a demon no stronger than the talisman's grade according to the power it contained, allowing him to borrow that demon's power once. If he wanted to form a contract, he needed to earn the other's recognition. Of course, there was also the possibility that after borrowing its power, the summoned demon would simply eat him as payment.
Second, by triggering summoning missions and gathering the corresponding summoning materials, he could summon a designated demon.
A [Contract Talisman], meanwhile, directly forged a contract. The summoned demon would be bound by it and never betray him unless the summoner died.
However, there was still a restriction. To gain a demon's wholehearted assistance, he naturally had to earn its recognition as well.
Including the rewards from becoming a genin and completing the instant mission, Arata now possessed twelve talismans: five contracts and seven summons, all low-grade.
The demons he could summon all originated from a single scroll within his sea of consciousness—the Scroll of the Hundred Demons.
They were great demons from Heian-kyo, each possessing different powers, different personalities, and different stories. Truly borrowing their strength and commanding them would not be simple.
At a thought, the Hundred Ghost Scroll slowly unfurled. One indistinct silhouette after another appeared upon it—some savage, some bizarre, some peaceful, some breathtakingly beautiful. Though their features could not be seen clearly, they shared one thing in common: all gazed toward the front of the procession, as though their leader stood there.
Based on individual strength, demons were roughly divided into six ranks: ordinary minor demons, Mountain and Wild Strange Creature, Terror Nightmare, Domain Lord, Mythic Legend Rank, and Lord of a Hundred Demons.
Arata's gaze casually swept across the middle-front section of the Scroll of the Hundred Demons. Amid countless hazy outlines stood a slender girl in plain white robes.
She was his first, and currently his only, Shikigami—Yuki-onna.
Yet even now, he still did not know her true name and could only forcibly borrow her power through [Demon Bind].
Speaking of Demon Bind, he had to mention another item within his sea of consciousness—the Yin-Yang Record.
If the Scroll of the Hundred Demons was a picture scroll cataloging every demon, then the latter was a tome recording all Onmyoji Arts and demon abilities in the world!
Moreover, learning powerful skills from it was no easier than forging a contract with a legendary great demon.
Over the past five years, he had only gained two abilities from it: [Demon Bind] and [Clear Mirror, Still Water].
The former allowed him to borrow the power of demons bound to him by contract. That was how his Ice Release Kekkei Genkai had come about.
The latter was an aura. It released his presence to the utmost limit, making enemies weaker than himself feel fear from the depths of their hearts and instinctively want to ignore the existence of this source of danger.
However, with the skill points he had just obtained, he could finally learn the third skill he had coveted for so long.
After opening the Yin-Yang Record with practiced ease, Arata directly selected the young demon with a huge character for "Fear" as his background.
Nura Rikuo, third head of the Nura Clan.
The Lord of Demons and Monsters who commanded the hundred demons of Kanto. Both [Demon Bind] and [Clear Mirror, Still Water] were his abilities.
"This time, I choose Mirror Flower, Water Moon."
[Mirror Flower, Water Moon]: The unique ability of the great demon Nurarihyon. His figure was like a flower reflected in a mirror or the moon in water. When passing someone by, he left behind only an afterimage, making his true location difficult to grasp. When the afterimage was shattered, it transformed into a demon's fearsome strike, temporarily enhancing his strength and speed.
The steep price of five skill points drained every skill point Arata had saved.
Still, it was more than worth it. For a ninja who specialized in assassination, Nurarihyon's ability was an absolutely perfect fit.
Next, he could freely study the abilities of other demons and Onmyoji. Even someone as composed as Arata could not help the burning excitement in his eyes as he looked toward the figures standing within the Yin-Yang Record.
Seimei, Kagura, Sesshomaru, Kurosaki Ichigo.
The quiet murmur slipped from his lips.
Before you continue