Chapter 3: A Way Forward!
[Simulation Cooldown - 1:23:59:12]
'The rating increased but so did the cooldown timer... so is the cooldown related to the grade or the strength achieved In the simulation because the days I spent alive in this simulation were way less than last time.'
Hiroshi thought as he analysed the information about the system in front of him. Since he never got a manual or any guide to this weird power, it was his habit to speculate and try to figure stuff out constantly.
'Still, why did I die in the simulation, surely there should be a cause of death right? I mean I had the physical strength of a normal chunin so unless Garra got me there should be no way I died so suddenly.'
Hiroshi pondered for a bit before he focused his gaze on the reward screen, among the four choices only two were viable since he did not learn a new ability or ninjutsu in this simulation nor had he practised his existing arsenal it made the other two options obsolete.
'So stats or points, on one hand, would be good for my safety to have some more strength, 2500 points should at least help me somewhat in shoring up my foundations which in the end would increase my future gains through simulations and training...'
There were two paths in front of Hiroshi, one of immediate growth and the other an investment in his long-term strength. And seeing that a conspiracy regarding his life would happen according to the simulations, Hiroshi was conflicted in choosing the stats.
'Still, 2500 points...ugh'
The screen in front of him was still there, earlier during the simulation Hiroshi was planning to quit the team but if he does that then he won't know if anything would change, maybe the Aburame clan had internally decided to get rid of him as his existence in itself was a blight to their name, before he was still a kid but now he has been a shinobi for over 2 years and as he habitually leaves the village to do missions it would be easily acceptable for him to suffer some accidents.
Hiroshi tried to will the screen away but it remained in his vision, although it wasn't blocking his whole vision, postponing this decision for a long time didn't seem feasible. Finally, Hiroshi decided to get the simulation points, although gaining immediate strength would be good he just thought of an excuse that would probably work out even if the Aburame clan is targeting him.
[C- grade Reward (Chunin) - 2500 Simulation Points]
He clicked on the last option and the screen finally disappeared from in front of him, Hiroshi then quickly opened his 'Status' and slowly read through all the changes in his system stats screen.
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[Physical Stats]
[Balance : D+] {Upgrade Cost: 1000 points}
[Coordination : D-] {Upgrade Cost: 250 points}
[Reflexes : D+] {Upgrade Cost: 1000 points}
[Physique: D-] {Upgrade Cost: 250 points}
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[Mental Stats]
[Vision : D+] {Upgrade Cost: 1000 points}
[Spatial Awareness : D-] {Upgrade Cost: 250 points}
[Comprehension : E+] {Upgrade Cost: 100 points}
[Memory : D-] {Upgrade Cost: 250 points}
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'Tch- that's more expensive than I thought, is there so much difference between grades?' Hiroshi thought as he looked at the upgrade costs. Looking at his current points he could probably only upgrade 4 of these stats and only break through the limits of D-grade for two of them.
'So what first, maybe I should try to upgrade my vision first, it should give me an accurate idea of how much improvement these stats provide me'
Hiroshi jumped on a nearby tree and started running along it until he stood on the canopy. He carefully looked at the surroundings and memorised how much information he could see 100m away from him before he focused on the panel and clicked on the upgrade button in front of his Vision stat.
Ding~
Hiroshi heard the customary sound of a notification as a new window appeared in front of him but at the moment his attention was on something else entirely, the tree far away was now a lot clearer than before, the difference was noticeable and when he tried to look far away, he noticed he could focus on things farther away easily.
'Wow, okay so maybe I need to give a little more credit to these stats- wait I got a trait for this?'
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[Vision : D+ -> C-]
[Vision Bottleneck broken, you can now track low-chunin level movements.]
[Trait Gained: Night Vision(Green): You can now see clearly in the dark.]
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'Okaaaaaayyy? So did I get this because {Vision} is the first stat to break through to C-Grade or because of the stat breakthrough, wait my slow progress makes a little more sense now?'
Forgetting the screen for a moment Hiroshi looked around to get himself used to his new eyesight, although there was a significant improvement in the amount of information he had to process it didn't feel overwhelming like he thought it would.
'Okay, now what? maybe reflexes, that's what was keeping me back in the last simulation wasn't it?'
Hiroshi pondered for a moment, his weakness was painfully obvious now, in the elemental nations bloodlines matter, so the progeny of shinobi's had a higher chance of a greater peak ceiling than a civilian ninja. Although Hiroshi was lucky in this regard, he was equally unlucky in being born an Aburame, the clan famous for their symbiotic relationship with the insects they harbour from birth.
Therefore the Aburame clan were famous for their weaker bodies, their techniques and abilities mainly revolved around the strength of their hive. Hiroshi pulled up the sleeves of his trench coat, there were small holes visible on his skin all over his arm, he always hated these holes, although there weren't many such nodes on his body, these were remnants of the marks left by the first few Kikaichū that were given to him by the clan when he wasn't lucid. There were rumours that there were several special Kikaichū in the clan which can, later on, helps circumvent the poor reflexes when an Aburame reaches his physical limits, but Hiroshi has found his own way forward now.
Hiroshi looked at the 1500 coins remaining which weren't enough to upgrade vision as the upgrade option wasn't there so he clicked and upgraded his Reflexes.
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[Reflexes : D+ -> C-]
[Reflexes bottleneck broken, you can now react to attacks at low-chunin level speed.]
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'No trait gained, so it's only available to the first stat to break through a major boundary unless it's randomly based on luck...'
Hiroshi adjusted his trenchcoat before leaving, his thoughts revolving around how he is going to get stronger in the next 3 months before the chunin exams begin as he started walking to the administration office.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone