Priest Jaron approached the man once again.
"Liro, how is he?" he asked.
"I think we should kill him if he really activated our Lord's power," Liro replied coldly.
"What? Kill me?" Ken stared at them, shocked.
Jaron waved his hand dismissively. "No. He survived. That means we must try the ritual again—this time without killing him. If he truly survived the first one, it means he can use the power of our Lord."
Ken's eyes lit up. He realized something important—he had suddenly become more valuable than most people in this place.
Liro clearly didn't like Jaron's decision, but he had no authority to defy him.
"In that case," Liro said begrudgingly, "we should proceed with genjutsu—make him believe that only Jashin-sama's salvation can help him."
"Then proceed—just don't kill him," Jaron ordered.
Genjutsu? Ken swallowed hard.
In the ninja world, genjutsu was a terrifying technique—used for torture or brainwashing. Under genjutsu, a person couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion.
I don't want this! Ken screamed inwardly.
Sure, genjutsu could be broken if the victim was strong enough... but he was just a kid. He'd barely resisted it once before—and that was likely not enough now. His Low Resistance gave him a slight mental and physical boost (+2), but was that really enough?
Desperate, Ken glanced at his system. He noticed something—he could level up his War Orphan subclass, which would boost his Endurance stats + 2
But how?! He didn't know how to level it up.
He couldn't rely on luck. He was an NPC in the Naruto world, after all. Luck wasn't exactly on his side.
Still, there had to be a way to grow stronger. Then it hit him.
If I'm important now... they won't kill me easily, right?
"Take him," Jaron ordered.
Liro grabbed Ken and dragged him toward a chamber.
There, on the floor, lay a scroll.
Suddenly, a system window popped up:
<< Jashin Doctrine Manual >>
What is that?! Ken's eyes widened. This was the first time in a while that the system had shown a notification like this.
In a burst of desperation, he wriggled out of Liro's grip and dove toward the scroll.
Shit! he thought. He's going to hit me!
Liro raised his hand to strike, but—
"Hold it!" Jaron ordered, halting him instantly.
Ken sighed in relief. He was gambling everything on this moment.
He picked up the scroll: << Jashin Doctrine Manual >>
He unrolled it and began reading. A flood of unfamiliar, ancient words filled his vision. Yet, the system seemed to process them for him.
[You have completed a session of the Doctrine of Jashin.]
[Prayer has progressed by 5.0% (based on your INT)]
(+0.5% from Meditation)
Yes! Ken celebrated inwardly. It worked! I didn't understand the scroll, but the system does!
Jaron raised a brow. Ken wasn't educated—yet he was reading and reacting as though he understood. The priest was intrigued.
He gestured to allow Ken to keep going.
The room fell silent, save for the soft fluttering of the scroll.
[Prayer Progress Rate:]
20% (+2%)
60% (+6%)
Ken's reading pace picked up, and he straightened his posture with focus.
"What's going on?" Liro asked, staring at the boy's strange, meditative state.
"I think... he's learning. This is incredible! It's the first time in the history of Jashinism!" Jaron said, astonished.
"So he's a genius now?" Liro asked.
"More than that. If he learns ninjutsu, he could become our strongest weapon." Jaron's tone was both awe-struck and calculating.
"But for now... proceed with the genjutsu. Make him believe we're his family. Make him believe Jashin-sama is his only savior."
"Understood. I'm ready," Liro nodded.
Shit! Ken panicked and continued reading faster.
[Prayer Progress Rate: 100% (+10%)]
You have learned basic knowledge of Ritual, unlocking the Ritualist Skill Tree
[Ritualist (Novice)]
STR +10 | INT +3 | END +3
You have gained 2 Attribute Points and 1 Skill Point
You have acquired new skills:
[Ritualist (Novice)]
[Basic Prayer]
[Blood Ritual]
Warmth surged through Ken's body. He could now read the scroll clearly.
I can actually gain knowledge from scrolls? This is amazing! I really am the MC of this story!
Character Information Updated:
Name: Kaizen
Type: NPC (Countdown to Version 1.0 Launch: 5 Years)
Level: 2
Exp: 0
Main Class: Ritualist (Novice) Lv1 (0/1000)
Sub Class: War-Orphan Lv1 (0/50)
Health: 67/70 (Slightly Injured)
Stamina: 100/100
Chakra: 70/70
Chakra Nature: ?
Fame: 0
Reputation: 0
Unassigned Points: 0
Attributes:
STR: 2
DEX: 5
END: 7
INT: 7
WIS: 1
CHARM: 1
LUCK: 1
Abilities:
Low Resistance: +2 Physical & Mental Resistance
Remarks: F-rank (Weakling)
Still Weak MF
Skills:
[Basic Prayer] Lv1 (0/400)
[Blood Ritual] Lv1 (0/500)
Class Talents:
Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth: Basic Strengthening
Chakra Opening
Ding! Chakra is now available.
Ken paused, thinking things through.
Strength = Better melee damage and carrying capacity
Dexterity = Faster attacks and movement
Endurance = More HP and pain tolerance
Intelligence = Stronger skills
Wisdom = Faster skill mastery and more mind clarity
Charm = ??? (Useless?)
Chakra = Skill casting limit
But now came the problem—how could he gain EXP fast?
I can't kill anyone right now...
Then a wild idea hit him. What if I gain EXP through skill proficiency?
He glanced at a rusty knife on the table and walked toward it. Liro stepped forward, nervous.
"Relax," Jaron said, smiling with fascination.
Rusty Knife
Grade: White
Damage: 5–10
Ken picked it up—and without hesitation, slashed his own wrist.
Blood dripped to the ground.
Then, he cast [Basic Prayer].
A warm light glowed, and the wound began to close—slowly, painfully—but it worked. Only about 10% of the healing was complete.
Not nearly as fast as Hidan's—but it was something.
Jaron and Liro stared, stunned.
"How is this possible?" Liro muttered.
"It's the scroll," Jaron whispered, eyes wide. "I read it once, but Jashin-sama's gift didn't choose me. It chose him."
You healed your wounds using [Prayer]!
You gained 100 EXP.
Yes! It worked! Ken grinned. I really can gain EXP through skill use!
He continued casting Prayer again and again—slowly healing his old wounds, bruises, and even his black eye.
When he was finally done, Jaron gestured to Liro.
The genjutsu would begin now.
But Ken was ready.
Ding!
Ritualist (Novice) Lv1 > Lv2
+20 Chakra | +2 INT | +2 END
You gained +2 Attribute Points and +1 Skill Point
Finally. Now I can add to my resistance. Ken exhaled with relief.