{Training ground, Konoha Academy, Konohagakure}
{1st day of Class}
{3rd Person POV}
...
Ren looked at his level with a frown on his face, the requirements to level up changed drastically, from level 5-10 the increase in the amount of EXP he needed to level up was just 100 per level. But that requirement clearly changed now when he leveled up from 10 to 11.
...
[Status Window]
[Name: Ren ]
[Title: Academy Student]
[Level: 11 Next Level: 1301/2000]
[Chakra: 210/210]
[STR: 13]
[VIT: 14]
[END: 13]
[DEX: 30]
[INT: 15]
[CHA: 21]
[Control: 24%]
Money: 2130 Ryo
Attribute Points: 30
...
'The EXP required to level up changed from 1000 to 2000, if it goes at the same pace then to get to level 20 from 19 I would need 10,000 EXP. And if the pattern continues then the EXP requirement would have an increment of 10,000 for each level...'
Ren didn't know a whole lot about his new powers, the thought of sharing this knowledge with someone in the hope of figuring it out didn't even enter his mind. Growing up alone taught him many things, the most important one was that the world wasn't fair, no one would give two shits about a random Orphan, and he would just end up being used, kidnapped, and sold to the highest bidder.
'I think these quests were a one-time thing, hopefully, they were not a one-time thing. if I could get access to these quests at weekend tests every week then I won't feel the shortage of EXP...'
There were a lot of ifs in Ren's thoughts, he froze for a second as he closed the block floating in front of him. Somewhere along the way his thinking had got muddled, have experienced the thrill of getting stronger without having to work hard blinded him for a moment.
'Stop being an idiot, just the fact that I could restore my muscles every day after a good sleep is enough, I need to stop focusing on EXP and losing my sense of direction.'
"Seriously why are you here if you graduated, there is another exam after the graduation exam isn't there?" Shikamaru's voice once again disrupted Ren's thoughts.
This time though he welcomed the distraction, while he wasn't the most social person among his peers, he hasn't been talking to anyone for the past couple of weeks. Getting lost in his thoughts has become a habit that he needed to break out of.
"You still have one year left, why are you stressing out," Ren asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What a drag..." Shikamaru hissed/spoke as he closed his eyes and leaned against the tree. Ren was sure the Nara would pop out again with some comments after analyzing everything that happened today one more time.
He mentally opened his Inventory and put his weights back on, feeling the familiar pressure settling on his ankles, Ren relaxed for a moment as the spar continued. He watched with interest as Naruto exhausted a civilian to surrender.
'He is extremely resilient to punches and could even take a blow to dis out a retaliation. His stamina is almost endless, but his strength is low.'
Uzumaki Naruto was an interesting case to Ren, he was a walking anomaly, from his stats to his behavior, everything he did was controlled chaos.
'His form is off, making the weight behind his punches be less than what he should be capable of looking at his stats, he looks like an idiot, and shouts like an idiot... but his stance has a structure that just feels...'
Ren shook his head as the spar ended, Naruto started jumping around at his victory causing heated grumbling to go through the class like a wave. Iruka shouted at Naruto to calm down before he looked through the list once again.
The spars continued in the same fashion for another half an hour, "Alright!! Lunch Break!" Iruka shouted and the class immediately dissolved into small groups. Ren used his shoulders to push himself off the tree and he started walking away towards the classroom.
"The final exam wasn't based on strength right?" Shikamaru chimed again as he pushed himself to walk beside Ren. Choji followed behind the two seemingly content at just munching on his chips.
"No," Ren simply replied, it was an easy guess, at least from his point of view. He felt like he deserved to become a genin two weeks ago, but then again he was conflicted about what would be better, being a genin or gaining access to this new power of his.
...
The lunch lasted for almost an hour, Shikamaru simply went to sleep after eating just half of his prepared meal leaving it to Choji to finish. Ren wouldn't deny that he didn't feel envy looking at the perfectly cooked rice and gravy, but he simply chewed on his rice and then leaned on the warm grass to rest for a bit too.
Their group was the last to go back to class, Ren wasn't a lazy brat like Shikamaru but he felt he deserved to be tardy after rushing to the Academy 3 hours early in the morning.
'Thankfully there is just one more lecture and then we can go, going back to repeat a year just feels like a waste of time but it's not like I have a choice.'
Ignoring the debate of being a genin in the reserve force and the regular force that was popping up in his brain, he sat down in the last seat once again. The seat was left empty thankfully so he didn't have to deal with searching for a new quiet spot. But then again he felt his peace and quiet would be threatened as he saw the blond Yamanaka sitting right beside him.
"Hi, I'm Ino Yamanaka..." Ino greeted as soon as Ren sat down, there was a bright gleam in her eyes as she looked at Ren, feeling unfamiliar with the current situation he nodded as he spoke out briefly, "Ren..."
The gleam in Ino's eyes increased so Ren could only turn to Shikamaru and give him a questioning look, he shouldn't have though, because the answer he received was something he could have filled in himself.
"What a Drag..."
...
-------------------------------------
AN- Enter Ino Yamanaka!