Ryuu moved through the endless hallway of the northern wing.
It was a tunnel of gray stone where the air always smelled of dampness and old wood.
The echo of his own footsteps against the polished floor broke the mansion's deathly silence.
Behind him lay the heaviness of one expecting punishment. His feet moved now with surgical lightness.
Upon reaching the end of the corridor, he crossed the threshold of the double black oak doors.
The Grand Dining Hall of the Oboro Clan opened before him. A field of black marble under the hiss of torches.
Expensive yet bitter incense weighed in the atmosphere.
At the head of the table, the Patriarch sat in absolute silence. Takeshi, to his right, clenched his hand over his chopsticks with barely contained hatred.
His mother and grandmother completed the table, figures of ice wrapped in dark silks.
Ryuu took his usual spot at the far end.
Before him awaited a steaming bowl of miso soup and a plate of white rice with raw fish.
"Today, the service is different," Grandmother said. Her voice sounded like sandpaper.
"Ryuu has proven his body is no longer made of glass. At eight years old, it is time for his blood to learn the true Oboro heritage."
Pale wisps of steam rose from the soup. A scarlet flicker crossed Ryuu's vision as he brought the bowl close.
He recalled the dusty scrolls he had skimmed in Jiro's library. That poison was *Dull Death*, an extract of cave mushrooms and snake bile that the clan used to "tan" the digestive systems of its heirs. Normally, this rite began at age nine, after a year of basic physical training. By giving it to him a year early, his family sought to test him, coldly measuring the limits of his new resilience.
Ryuu didn't hesitate. He lifted the bowl with steady fingers.
[Passive Skill: Pain Nullification (Passive - Level 1) - Operating]
The first sip went down his throat like liquid lava, salty and searing.
The system processed the agony signal instantly, filtering it before it reached his consciousness.
A dull, distant report replaced the actual pain. His internal organs suffered mechanical corrosion, but his back remained straight.
He kept his face impassive before his family.
The Patriarch remained in absolute silence, observing the boy's impassivity with eyes that revealed no emotion whatsoever.
He took another sip. Then a bite of the fish, steeped in the acidic extract.
His stomach twisted in a violent spasm. Mana began to react, driven by instinct.
*System. Initiate internal Tissue Recomposition. Prioritize the liver and stomach lining.*
[Warning: Mana consumption detected for cellular regeneration. MP dropping.]
His organs tore and welded back together under the pressure of the poison.
It was a cycle of destruction and creation hidden under a silent dinner.
"Takeshi," the Patriarch said suddenly. "Have you resolved the 'tricks' your brother showed you yet?"
Takeshi tensed visibly.
"Father, my sword has never been faster. Those tricks are useless against true technique."
"We shall see," Father replied, turning his glacial gaze back to Ryuu. "Tomorrow, you will train in the main dojo with the main branch instructors."
Ryuu finished the soup. The wooden bowl tapped softly against the table.
His insides were a knot of fire. Cold sweat soaked his clothes, but his face was a block of granite.
[Mission Accomplished: The Trial of the Table][You have resisted a full dose of Dull Death before the prescribed age.]
[Reward: 50 System Points (SP)][Constitution +1][Skill Acquired: Toxin Resistance (Low) - Level 1]
[Milestone Reached: Oboro Heritage Initiation][System Shop Unlocked]
Ryuu stood up and performed a perfect bow.
"With your permission," he said. His voice sounded steady, ignoring the nausea that threatened to tear his lungs.
He gasped, his chest rising and falling erratically. Vision blurred for a second.
"System..." he whispered. "Stats."
[MP: 12/150][HP: 55/95]
He had survived, but the internal damage was real. The *Dull Death* was still in his system, slowly neutralized by his new resistance.
"Those people..." Ryuu smiled at the darkness, an icy smile of rage. "They are monsters."
He walked toward his room. The pain in his stomach subsided, replaced by a sense of dense heat.
His body was changing again. The poison was becoming part of his foundation, reinforcing his internal fluids.
He sat on his tatami and closed his eyes.
[Notification: SP Milestones reached.][System Shop Unlocked]
Ryuu felt his pulse quicken. An electric tingle ran down the back of his neck. Pure anticipation throbbed in his temples, eclipsing the ghost of the poison. This was the missing piece. His true advantage in this world of monsters.
"System," he whispered, with an urgency he couldn't hide. "Open the shop."
[System Shop Open][Total Balance: 135 SP]
A cascade of bluish light flooded his mind, unfolding translucent menus that only he could see. Ryuu scanned the list with hunger. Every skill, every item, was a step further from death and a step closer to absolute power.
He needed mobility. The training with the main branch would be a carnage if he remained static. He needed to be unreachable.
[Skill Detected: Shadow Steps (Rank F)][Description: Allows the user to move between shadows with increased speed, making their footsteps nearly silent.][Cost: 100 SP]
Ryuu gritted his teeth. The cost was high, almost all his balance accumulated with blood and poison, but the value was incalculable.
"Purchase," he ordered. His voice vibrated with a mixture of triumph and ambition.
[Purchase Successful. Remaining balance: 35 SP][Integrating Skill: Shadow Steps (Level 1)...]
A sensation of coldness spread through his legs, as if his feet had been submerged in midnight water. His ankle tendons felt more elastic, almost ethereal.
"Tomorrow in the main dojo," he muttered. "Takeshi and the instructors will want to see what I'm made of."
He clenched his fists.
"Tomorrow they'll see I'm no longer the child they can just trample."
He dove into deep meditation, using the few mana points he had left to accelerate the final cleanup of his system. He spent the night in a trance-like state, feeling his skeletal structure vibrate slightly, adjusting to the increased density of his muscles. The poison had acted as a catalyst, forcing mana to penetrate into the deepest layers of his cells.
When the first rays of dawn filtered through the cracks in his door, Ryuu opened his eyes.
[Pain Nullification has leveled up to Level 2.][Enhanced Effect: You can now filter specific types of pain while maintaining the tactile feedback necessary for combat.]
A crucial notification. Now he could nullify the paralyzing pain of a serious wound without losing the sensitivity in his fingers to handle a weapon.
He stood up. His movements were more fluid, more economical. Not a milligram of effort was wasted in each step.
He went out into the garden. Ryuu didn't go to the dojo immediately. He detoured toward the bamboo forest. He needed to test his foundation before facing the clan masters.
He stopped in front of a thick bamboo stalk, the diameter of his own leg. He didn't use a sword. Only his bare hands.
He adopted the isometric tension stance he had learned. The air around his arms seemed to distort slightly as mana flowed toward his knuckles.
"I am not glass," he whispered.
He threw a direct, short, explosive punch.
*CRACK!*
The bamboo didn't bend. It shattered at the point of impact, a crack running down the trunk to the root. Ryuu withdrew his fist. His knuckles were intact, only slightly reddened.
Ryuu exhaled, relaxing his fist. But he didn't stop there.
"Shadow Steps," he whispered.
His feet were wrapped in a faint veil of darkness. He took a step forward, and the world seemed to shrink. In a blink, Ryuu moved from shadow to shadow under the tall bamboo stalks, his figure blurring like a ghost through the foliage. There was no sound of footsteps, only the subtle rustle of the wind.
He stopped ten meters from his original position, barely out of breath.
[Passive Skill: Shadow Steps (Level 1) - Registered]
Ryuu smiled toward the main dojo, which loomed in the distance. His body was now a complete weapon: destructive force and ghostly speed. The winter selection was no longer a survival test; it was his hunting ground.