After the meal, the cheerful moments inevitably came to an end. These days of laughter and camaraderie would later become precious memories, small fragments of time that mattered more than they seemed.
Folken's eyes scanned the interface of the game system. Only one main task remained: survive until the end of Shippuden.
As he scrubbed the few remaining white plates, he claimed the reward for this rookie task.
[Random Reward Acquisition Complete]
[Saiyan Physique] (Claimed)
[All Beginner Benefits Have Been Distributed; Player Free to Operate]
The instant he accepted the reward, Folken felt a sudden transformation in his body. His normally calm blood burned hot and restless, tingling sharply throughout his limbs.
Crack.
He squeezed a white plate too hard while scrubbing, shattering it completely in his hands.
Folken sucked in a breath. Thankfully, he wasn't handling anything… adult-oriented when this triggered, or else the consequences would have been catastrophic.
Shaken but unhurt, he didn't dare stride forcefully home, nor sleep on the sofa. Instead, he decided to take a late-night walk to "digest" this new power, the time already near eight or nine in the evening.
He arrived at a public training field outside the village. Even doing push-ups in place left faint handprint-like cracks in the earth. Folken, wary of being noticed, added a slight layer of chakra to avoid leaving "fingerprints."
Two hours of intense training later, he felt no fatigue. Instead, his entire body buzzed with clarity and energy.
Is this what it feels like to have a Saiyan body?
Having finally adapted to the sudden influx of physical power, he intended to return home and rest. But then he realized something and rushed to a large tree. He planted chakra in his feet and tightened his control.
Crack, crack.
The ground beneath him fractured under the uncontrolled force of his heightened chakra.
Exactly as expected! With his Saiyan Physique, not only had the quantity of chakra increased, but its quality had improved as well. Before, his chakra quality and quantity had been mismatched. Now he had to fully adapt to this new strength.
Otherwise, using chakra on tomorrow's mission could give him away.
The next morning, Uchiha Mikoto and Nonou greeted Mite Dai as he arrived at the Hokage Tower.
"Uncle Dai, same outfit again? You've been wearing that so much I'm getting used to it," Mikoto teased lightly. For a proud Uchiha, this was actually a friendly comment.
"Haha! This is the uniform of youth. I will never take it off!" Dai replied, giving a thumbs-up and flashing his bright teeth.
"But Sensei Folken is late for the first time. Did you forget to set your alarm while moving into your new house?" Nonou's mischievous gaze hinted at a prank already forming in her mind.
While the three discussed checking Folken's new home, he dragged his exhausted body, arriving punctually at the Hokage Tower entrance.
"Good morning, everyone."
"Sensei Folken, you're really late!" Mikoto complained. "We almost went to your house to see if you bought anything… questionable."
Folken rolled his eyes. Are you my mother? He reminded himself that he was already eighteen in this reality, twenty-eight in the modern world. Add them together, and he was practically fifty!
He didn't respond to Mikoto, his tired gaze framed by faint dark circles under his eyes. Nonou noticed but didn't comment, following behind him along with the oblivious Dai.
Nearly a month of D-rank missions had passed since the formation of Class Eleven. Mikoto and Nonou now knew nearly every cat and dog in the village by sight and location.
Dai, however, maintained his boundless energy, approaching every mission with unflagging enthusiasm.
"Sensei, can we skip missions tomorrow? At least teach us something about training, not just D-rank tasks," Mikoto asked. She respected Folken's ability as a D-rank veteran but couldn't help wanting more than repetitive low-level missions.
Folken, lost in thought, hadn't heard her. He calculated their current funds, down from over 4.91 million ryō to around 500,000 ryō. Retirement and long-term security still seemed impossible.
"Sensei, are you listening?" Nonou tugged at his sleeve, bringing him back to reality. He realized he had overshot his route while escorting Mikoto and Nonou home.
"The team's cohesion is sufficient. Tomorrow, I'll give you a survival drill. I'll notify Dai. Time: 10:00 a.m., Training Ground 118. That's all," Folken said casually, heading toward Dai's house. Behind him, Mikoto and Nonou froze in disbelief.
Is this the same teacher who had them doing endless D-rank tasks?
At Dai's apartment, Folken paced below, pondering. Dai's wife, Rin, noticed him from the second-floor window. Concerned for her husband's student, she patted Dai's shoulder, signaling something was up.
Dai, after some thought, decided to contribute half of his recent savings about 30,000 ryō in small bills packed into a folder, and rushed downstairs.
Folken had decided against promoting himself to Chunin, needing a solid excuse to avoid becoming an obedient village operative.
"Folken!" Dai gasped, panting as he handed the thick folder to him.
"Dai, I was just about to " Folken began.
"No need. I know already!" Dai interrupted, placing the folder into Folken's arms. "Are you getting married tomorrow? That's too fast! When did you find a girlfriend? Consider this my wedding gift! Not much, but it's from the heart…"
Mikoto and Nonou's faces turned pale. They were used to going on missions with Folken, yet he somehow managed multiple responsibilities flawlessly.
Folken sighed, pushing Dai's hand away gently. Dai froze. Previously, Folken's strength hadn't seemed so strong. Now, it felt effortless.
"I'm not married. Single as a dog."
"I'm telling you tomorrow at 10 a.m., be at Training Ground 118 for Class Eleven's survival drill."