I was thinking about the system as I waited. Unlocking Chakra had cost me 500SS, which is a daily quest for 250 days. Which, now that I thought about it, made sense. A normal kid spent 6 years in the academy. I had taken a shortcut through the system. After all, a good system upgraded a physique like mine, working out for a year, will be equivalent to a 6-year-old's practice of several years. So basically, daily quests improvement was fast, but the major boosts would be the achievements. I also realized that the physique points invested show explosive growth over the next 1 week instead of instantly upgrading it. I was now a healthy regular gym guy.
But I still wasn't at Genin level, neither in physique nor in chakra, especially since I didn't know any jutsu. My thoughts were interrupted when the examiner came in. There were 5 other people present, and I was the youngest. Most of the others were in their late teens.
The test was simple. We were given 10 chakra papers, and we had to make at least 2 successful tags. If we make more, we could take them home. The 6-hour timer started, and we all got to work while the examiner took out a book to read. I guess he wasn't really worried about cheating, since the method was common knowledge, and even if someone looked into others, he couldn't really copy.
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6 hours later.
I made the last stroke and then wiped the sweat from my forehead. I was tired, hungry, and exhausted. And I just realised that I was also thirsty. I just hadn't noticed before. I looked down to see 4 tags. I had lucked out. By focusing on quality over quantity, I had used only 8 tags. But had successfully created 4 working tags.
The examiner stood up from his seat and began inspecting the tags, and took the ones he deemed acceptable. Marking the number in his notebook. One guy failed on the spot with only one tag, while one guy had made 6 acceptable ones. Only 3 of mine were accepted. While the rest had two each. The second phase was practical application. For which we went outside to a courtyard, and the examiners sealed the chakra into the tags and then used them. Bang Bang Bang they sounded. All of them had similar blast ranges and damage. The examiners nodded and left us in a room to wait for the documents to be processed.
"Hey, I've seen you around before." A lean guy remarked. "You live around Arata's restaurant. Right?" I looked up to see a thin and tall, seriously tall guy staring at me. I hadn't noticed much about him in the exam room, but while standing, the guy was nearly 7 feet. His brown hair was in a style similar to Orochimaru's in the anime. And he had a very forgettable face. "Yeah, I live there," I answered. He gave a friendly smile, "I'm Handa Itsuki. I've seen you at Arata's." "Yeah, it's cheap and good. Although it lacks a bit in variety."
"Well, it is for working-class people like us. We don't need much to survive."
"True."
"Well, let's meet sometime to exchange a bit of knowledge there, I usually go there for evening meals."
"Sure, Handa-san."
"Then I'll see you there…" Handa paused, and I remembered that I never gave him my name. "Kurosawa Ren, but please call me Ren, nobody calls me by my last name."
Handa smiled. "Sure, Ren-san." Just then, the Official came in with the papers and certificates.
I couldn't stop smiling with the identity token in my hand. I was finally a full-fledged citizen with a job. For the past few days, since I had come to this world, I had suffered a lot and focused more on my next meal survival than anything else. Now I finally had a place to rest my head and a skill to get food.
As I walked back, I ran into Handa again. Apparently, he and I had the same idea to sell the tags we had made. We walked around and asked to see who would buy from us. Most shopkeepers gave rates around 550 as we were completely new, and 600 if we signed a contract for regular supply. We slowly got to the shop where I had bought the sheath for my sword.
"Hey, boss, you said that if I came to you, then you would give me a good deal. I even brought a friend. Will you give me at least 700?" This guy had given off a good impression before. "Oh, so you seriously did try it." The man smiled. "Sure, sure, the Explosion tags are always in short supply. I usually don't do this, but you did bring your friend. I can do 650."
I began to speak, but the shopkeeper, seeing my action, spoke directly. "Fixed price, kid. 750 is for exclusive contract guys." I didn't push anymore. 650 was the best we had gotten. I looked at Handa, and he nodded.
"Fine, Agreed."
"In that case, just show me your identity tokens and, since this is our first transaction, your official certificates." We obliged. The shopkeeper examined them and, according to protocol. showed us his seller's license that read Murata Sadao.
I sold my 4 tags, plus the one extra from the exam, and 4 from my loot. For a total of 5850 Ryo. Then I bought the chakra Paper and ink, and brushes. We didn't take a contract, but still parted cordially. "Pleasure doing business, Murata-san."
"Pleasure's all mine, Ren-san."
Walking back, Handa and I decided to celebrate at a nearby restaurant. Arata was good for daily food, but not really for special occasions.
Handa lived 4 streets over. So after telling each other our addresses, we parted ways. I took a detour for groceries, I couldn't keep eating out forever, now could I? Then finally I returned to my home sweet home.
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Over the next few days, I got into a pattern. Make tags, work out. I was collecting money. I decisively moved out of my first home at the 1-month mark. It was quite nice, but I was thinking of the future. When I practiced Jutsus, I couldn't do it inside a room. I needed space. So I looked around and found a house with a large open verandah near the edge of the slums facing the forest. I first rented it with the owner promising to sell it to me for a fixed amount down the line. I got it for cheap too. The last owners were murdered in and the civilians thought it was haunted.
Now it was time to think big. With my basic needs secured, I needed to think of a way to progress. After all, I still remembered that my biggest gain so far was through the trial of combat and killing. And with the things coming, I will need strength to survive. A lot of strength.
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The next day, I visited the mission counter in the Hokage Building. The only ones i could take were D-Ranks. And there weren't many that paid anywhere near to what I would make with tags. But I needed to record 20 D ranks to take on C ranks. I chose not to take one and returned.
As I was walking back, I noticed a little kid of 8 sprawled in an alley.