[Main Story Quest Complete. Reward: 1 Dimensional Weapon Draw. One-Hit Kill bonus triggered: Secondary Reward granted.]
In Kirito's mind, a massive projection of the Arsenal vault unfolded, an endless, dazzling repository of armaments filled his vision. Not just swords, spears, and guns, but war chariots, battleships, fighter jets, an entire multiverse of weapons from both cold and hot weapon eras. Everything imaginable.
Kirito casually swept his gaze across the vault. It was so vast it made him feel like an ant. But true to his easygoing nature, he didn't linger on the spectacle. After all, he only had one draw. Out of thousands upon thousands of weapons, he'd get just one.
There were so many he wanted, but with only one shot, there was no point hesitating. He might as well leave it to fate.
With that thought, Kirito activated the draw.
The gigantic Arsenal warehouse around him began to pixelate, dissolving into data. Soon, only weapons of the bladed kind remained, swords, knives, daggers, strewn across the virtual floor.
"So it's cold weapons this time…"
Kirito watched as the blades began to float upward, rising slowly into the air. Their points all turned downward before spinning, faster and faster, until they blurred into a radiant halo of whirling steel.
Ding!
A single weapon dropped at his feet. It was black, somewhere between a short sword and a long dagger.
[Assassin's Blade]
Kirito bent down and picked up the black blade. Given its size, it wasn't quite a dagger, nor was it quite a sword. He decided to call it a short blade.
[Attribute Boost: Increases user's Agility (20% + ?)]
[Weapon Affinity: All thrown weapon techniques elevated to Expert Rank]
[Passive Skill: Breath Concealment]
Suppresses the user's presence. In a stationary state, the user is virtually undetectable. In darkness, this skill grants full physical and sensory invisibility. When entering combat, the passive effect drops by 80%.
[Acquired Skill: Delusional Mirage]
Projects fragments of the user's mind, soul, and will into multiple autonomous shadow clones. Each clone operates with independent thought and personal specialization. The number of clones scales with the user's energy, up to a maximum of 80.
In short:
<> Attribute Boost increased Kirito's speed and movement.
<> Weapon Affinity meant his proficiency with kunai, shuriken, and other throwing weapons was now at a high mastery level.
<> Breath Concealment allowed him to hide himself entirely in both presence and perception, perfect for ambush.
<> And Delusional Mirage was… akin to Shadow Clones, but with key differences.
Unlike Shadow Clones, which vanish after being hit, the Delusional Mirage clones wouldn't disappear unless they were truly killed. Shadow Clones returned chakra and information to the user after vanishing, while Mirage clones fed back a portion of the actual damage taken.
Each Mirage clone also possessed independent thought and specialized roles, some excelled at close combat, others in assassination, some in ranged throwing techniques, and still others in behind-the-scenes planning and tactics.
That was the haul from Kirito's first weapon draw, complete with powerful skills and abilities.
He hadn't tested the gear yet, so he couldn't fully judge whether the draw had been good or bad. But it was what it was, no rerolls, no second chances.
Accepting reality, he proceeded to activate the bonus secondary reward granted by the One-Hit Kill condition.
Being a bonus, it wasn't nearly as impressive as the main reward. A black, skin-tight suit simply materialized in front of him.
As Kirito caught it in one hand, the system prompt appeared again:
[Base Combat Technique +1: Initiated. Skill Level: Basic. Can be improved through accumulated battle experience.]
[All system rewards delivered.]
Kirito's mind returned to the real world.
With a thought, the black short blade appeared in his hand, sleek and unadorned, without a single decorative mark. It looked deadly and efficient.
Then came the rest, daggers, hidden blades, throwing needles, short spears, bayonets, one after another, each assassination-style weapon materialized and dissolved in his palm as he cycled through them with curiosity.
A glint of understanding flashed in his eyes.
"So… the 'Assassin's Blade' isn't a single weapon, it's a whole category."
Thwip thwip thwip,
A series of blades launched out, embedding into the wall in the shape of a giant "Kill" (殺) character. Then, with a casual motion, the weapons disintegrated into shimmering motes of light and vanished.
"Can be summoned or recalled at will… this system is definitely convenient."
After playing around with his new gear for a while, Kirito felt his stamina plummeting. He frowned slightly.
"As expected of an assassin class… low stamina is a natural drawback."
Ordinarily, these lightweight weapons wouldn't have consumed so much energy, even after prolonged use. Clearly, the real drain came from the constant summoning and projection mechanic itself.
He moved on to testing his body's physical changes, and was startled by the results.
His flexibility had drastically improved: he could do perfect midair splits, handstand flips, and twist his joints far beyond normal limits. It felt like every bone in his body had become nimble and fluid.
His movement speed had doubled at least, and his jumping power had also taken a huge leap. All this, thanks to the agility stat boost.
Kirito let out a sharp punch, swept a low kick, threw an elbow, and followed with a rising knee. His strikes were crisp, fast, and powerful, the kind of solid hand-to-hand technique that whipped through the air with a roar.
If someone like Might Guy, Konoha's steel-fist taijutsu master, had seen this, he'd probably have praised it to the heavens.
But this was the Hyuga clan. A family that had practiced Gentle Fist for generations.
For a Hyuga clansman to be standing in the family compound practicing Iron Fist-style taijutsu… it was jarringly out of place.
Doing it alone, in secret, might've been fine, but unfortunately, Kirito was too engrossed in his training to notice.
A group from the Hyuga Main House was heading his way.