Wondrous Items

Kiyoshi stopped in his tracks. "...Who told you that?"

"Your mom went to the market this afternoon and ran into some parents. They were all talking about a kid from the Uchiha Clan who got onstage, announced he was going to stand at the top, then told everyone to call him Bro Hao."

Kazuhiko put down his report, a hint of a smile on his lips. "When your mom told me, I thought I'd misheard. Aren't you usually terrified of drawing attention?"

...It was a system mission. The thought circled through his head, but he didn't say it aloud.

All he could say was, "...Yeah."

Kazuhiko didn't press him and went back to reading his report. Kiyoshi hurried into his room.

He closed the door, leaned against it, and let out a long breath.

His parents didn't know about the system, and he couldn't let them find out.

He went to sit on the edge of his bed and looked down at the black iron bracelet on his wrist.

The words "Don't panic" on the inside gleamed dimly under the light. The lettering was a little crooked, the edges of the strokes uneven, with the roughness of a hand-carved inscription.

He tried twisting it. The bracelet turned halfway around his wrist without catching. Then he pushed it toward his hand, and it slid off easily, landing in his palm.

He froze. That easy?

He fastened the bracelet around his wrist again. With a soft click, it tightened automatically to a perfect fit, neither squeezing nor wobbling. The metal felt slightly cool against his skin.

"It comes off." He paused, then twisted it again. It really did come off. "That makes things easier."

After a moment's thought, he took it off again and summoned the panel with his mind. A translucent screen floated before him, its numbers sitting quietly in place.

[Equipment multiplier: 1.0 (base 1.0)]

With the bracelet off his wrist, its equipment multiplier wasn't active. He fastened it back on, and the number on the panel changed.

[Equipment multiplier: 1.2 (base 1.0 + Jiahao Bracelet · Black Iron +0.2)]

He stared at the line for two seconds, confirming the rule: equipment only worked while worn. Take it off, and its effects disappeared, just like in a game.

He closed the panel, took off the bracelet, and weighed it in his hand. It wasn't heavy, roughly the weight of three or four coins, but it felt solid.

Should I wear it to school tomorrow?

The bracelet was a real, physical object. Anyone could spot it on his wrist. If someone asked, he could probably pass it off as an accessory. Still, after thinking it over, he tucked it into his trouser pocket.

Whether he wore it was up to him. He could put it on when he needed it and keep it tucked away otherwise, saving himself trouble.

He closed his eyes and silently called, System.

No response.

He called again. Still nothing. His fingers clenched unconsciously, then relaxed.

He tried once more, using his mind to "touch" the switch. The screen slowly appeared, its data still there.

He breathed a sigh of relief and tried a few questions. "How do I trigger Embarrassment Wall?" No response. "What exactly does Embarrassment Wall do?" Still nothing. He frowned and tried something else. "What are the draw rules?"

A line of small text appeared on the panel:

[Show-off pool: spend face value to draw show-off-oriented items.] [Comeback pool: spend awkwardness value to draw practical items. The comeback pool starts at R rank minimum.]

Then nothing.

Kiyoshi stared at the text for a while. So this thing wasn't conscious. It was a preset program. Ask with the right keywords, and it gave information. Get them wrong, and it played dead. It wouldn't chat, wouldn't make snarky remarks, and wouldn't pop up to save him when he was about to die.

Fine. Play dead, then.

He fastened the bracelet around his wrist again. No one could see him anyway. Then he tried taking the items out of the system's storage space.

At a thought, the items appeared out of thin air on his bed, bringing an indescribable scent with them, like the smell of pages in an old bookstore mixed with a hint of cold metal.

Instinct Soldier Pill ×3: brown pills the size of his little fingertip, wrapped in paper. They smelled slightly bitter, like old medicinal herbs in the corner of a traditional medicine shop.

Mentality Band ×1: a strip of black cloth. It felt a little thicker than ordinary fabric, but there was nothing else remarkable about it.

Colorful Soldier Pill ×1: the same size as the Instinct Soldier Pills, but rainbow-colored and gleaming under the light.

It looked dubious at first glance. When he turned it in his hand, its colors shifted, like the cheap candy sold outside elementary schools.

Echo Kunai ×1: it looked like an ordinary kunai, except for a small character meaning "echo" carved into its handle. The crooked strokes looked like they'd been carved by the same person who'd put "Don't panic" on the bracelet.

Automatic Page-Turning Pen ×1: it looked like an ordinary pen, but there was a small button on its barrel that gave a slight springy rebound when pressed.

He picked up the kunai and weighed it in his hand. He threw it at the wall. It sank into the wood with a soft thunk, and then...

"Aaaaaaaah..."

Kiyoshi nearly leaped off the bed. He frantically pulled the kunai out of the wall, and the echo cut off abruptly.

His heart pounded, his fingers still trembling as he strained to hear any movement outside.

"Kiyoshi? What are you smashing in there?" Misa's voice came from down the hall, and her footsteps stopped outside his door.

Kiyoshi's mind went blank. He quickly shoved the kunai into the system's storage space, his voice strained. "N-nothing! Something fell on the floor!"

There were two seconds of silence outside. "All right. Just don't damage the wall."

"Got it..."

The footsteps receded. Kiyoshi let out a long breath and glanced down at the panel, discovering a new line of small text:

[Host detected on the verge of social ruin, but his mother did not witness the actual incident. Awkwardness value settlement not triggered.]

"...So this system can watch the fun, too?" His mouth twitched. His back felt soaked with sweat.

He tucked the Echo Kunai back into the system's storage space, then picked up the Automatic Page-Turning Pen and pressed its button. Blue light flashed at the tip, and a page turned.

...It really is an Automatic Page-Turning Pen.

He put down the pen and sighed. Out of the ten-draw pull, the bracelet, soldier pills, band, and Embarrassment Wall were useful. Everything else was flashy nonsense.

He picked up an Instinct Soldier Pill and rolled it between his fingertips. The instructions said taking it would make him perform spontaneous movements involuntarily, with a chance of improving his physique. He hesitated, then put it back.

If he took it now and started bouncing around his room, he wouldn't be able to explain it if his parents caught him. It could wait until the weekend.

He returned everything to the system's storage space, leaving only the bracelet on his wrist. Then, after a moment's thought, he summoned the panel again and stared at the "Equipment multiplier" field.

[Equipment multiplier: 1.2 (base 1.0 + Jiahao Bracelet · Black Iron +0.2)]

"The stronger the person whose recognition you earn, the greater the rewards"-that was what the system had said earlier. If I put on the Jiahao act in front of someone at Kage Level... He swallowed.

Then he remembered he wasn't even a Genin yet. Putting on the Jiahao act in front of someone at Kage Level was more likely to get him beaten to death on the spot. He closed the panel.

Misa's voice came from outside the window. "Kiyoshi, dinner!"

"Coming." He stood up, brushed off his clothes, and left his room. The living room's light bulb gave off a yellowish glow, its shade coated in dust, bathing the whole room in warmth.

At the table, Misa served miso soup, grilled fish, and pickles. Kazuhiko sat opposite him, chopsticks already in hand, but waited for him to sit before eating. It was an unwritten family rule: everyone had to be there before the meal began.

After a few seconds of silence, Misa spoke. "Kiyoshi, about school today... Was there really nothing else?"

Kiyoshi's hand paused as he reached for food. "...What else?"

"I heard that when you got onstage, you said you were 'born to stand at the top'?"

Kiyoshi's chopsticks stopped in midair. "...Who told you that?"

"I ran into several parents from your class while shopping at the market." Misa smiled, fine lines gathering at the corners of her eyes. "They all said that kid from the Uchiha Clan was something else, talking about the top the moment he opened his mouth."

Kiyoshi felt his face burning. Beside him, Kazuhiko set down his bowl and leisurely twisted the knife. "I also heard something about doing everyone a favor by letting them call you Bro Hao?"

Kiyoshi wanted to bury his face in his bowl.

"Bro Hao." Misa rolled the words around in her mouth, then smiled. "Jiahao-that was the name we wanted to give you when you were little, wasn't it? You kept crying back then, so I thought you didn't like it!"

"Mom..."

"Ha ha ha ha!" Kazuhiko finally lost it and slapped the table as he laughed. "You're usually such a quiet, well-behaved kid. What possessed you to pull that the moment you got onstage?"

Kiyoshi shoveled rice into his mouth without expression. He reached for a piece of food and needed two tries to pick it up. His hand was shaking, and he hadn't even noticed.

His toes curled into a tight knot inside his shoes again.

"Still, it's a good thing." Misa smiled gently. "At least everyone knows who you are now. Making an impression on your first day isn't a bad thing."

Kazuhiko nodded. "Mm. Better than your dad. Six months after I joined the logistics department, people still got my name wrong."

He picked up a piece of grilled fish and casually added, "Last week, a Chunin came to collect supplies and kept calling me 'Yamada.' I had to correct him three times before he remembered."

Kiyoshi looked up at his father. Kazuhiko belonged to a branch of the Uchiha Clan and worked as an ordinary clerk in Konoha's logistics department. His daily work consisted of counting supplies and checking reports.

Compared with the clan's elite warriors who went into battle, his dad was just an ordinary man. But on the night of the massacre, ordinary people would die too. He lowered his head, put a piece of grilled fish into his mouth, and chewed for a long time before swallowing.

After dinner, he helped clear the dishes, then returned to his room.

Closing the door, he sat on the edge of the bed and looked outside. Night had fallen. Moonlight streamed through the window, drawing a silver-white line across the floor, while the window frame's shadow slanted over the tatami. Nearby, a tiny insect that had flown in at some point circled in the moonlight.

Then he summoned the panel and checked his accumulated values. Awkwardness value: 500. Face value: 300. The next draw would cost 1,000. He closed the panel and lay back on the bed.

He had theory class again tomorrow. He stared for a long time at the water stain in the corner of the ceiling. It looked like a crouching cat.

Chakra extraction... A formula he'd memorized hundreds of times. But this would be his first time actually trying it. He closed his eyes and ran through the process.

Combining physical energy and mental energy, with the proportions varying from person to person...

I'll deal with it tomorrow. As for wearing the bracelet, I'll decide then.

He rolled over. The bracelet felt pretty cool against his forehead...