Konoha had a single library, shared by everyone. However, depending on your privilege one would be allowed access to books, scrolls, etc. And the privilege was dependent on rank.
A civilian could only get some topic or subject-specific books or story books. An academy student wasn't allowed anything above D-rank jutsu scrolls and history books. A Genin and Chunin were allowed up to B-rank scrolls and a few A-rank scrolls. And above that, any scroll or book was accessible.
But, there were a few 'restricted' books or scrolls, that were anonymous and could not be owned by anyone; not even the council. So, the library protected them. Except for council heads, Hokage, and Anbu head, no one was allowed to use them.
One of those scrolls was 'Shiki Fujin', used by the 4th Hokage, to seal the nine-tailed beast.
Naruto gave his ID to the library guard, who inspected it for longer than a normal inspection. And Naruto was aware of it. Rather,...a lot aware.
He felt it even when talking to Tuechi and Ayame, but whenever he spoke or met someone, he would get some unusual thoughts.
'Am I annoying them?'
'Am I being rude?'
'Did it sound idiotic just now?'
'Is this right?'
And every time the thoughts came, Sakura's words rang in his ears; 'He never understands me!'
His hands tightened their grip on the ID when it was returned, verified. He exhaled, deeply. Naruto brushed off the thoughts and unsettling feelings. After all, he never liked thinking about anything, and always did what he felt like.
As he entered, the few whispers in the Library quietened and almost every eye turned to him. Eyes that judged him, mouths that cursed, and a few hearts that accepted him, all observed him; head to toe.
Naruto squirmed in his place before darting off to the Genin section. Even though he was still not officially a Genin, until the test was finished, every academy graduate was allowed to visit the Genin section.
But, because the Genin section had many higher level Jutsu or material, not many academy graduates visited the Library. Learning them was gonna be difficult and time-consuming, which wasn't ideal for them. And it was late too, around 8 pm. And that was an advantage for Naruto, he thought. Since it would be embarrassing to meet them,...in a library. Naruto and anything related to studies never went hand in hand. If anyone saw him reading books, instead of praise, there would be mockery.
So, he hurriedly took a book and was ready to occupy a seat. But the System informed him.
[ You can take many books because you won't have to read them personally. All you have to do is flip through them and I will scan the books. ]
Naruto didn't quite get what the System meant, but he was elated. It meant he could get this over with quickly!
He grabbed around 10 books. The receptionist was surprised by the pile of books but clicked his tongue when she saw Naruto. 'Why is he making me file 10 books when he won't even read one single page? Now I will have to keep them back too.' She stamped a paper with Naruto's name, which meant that he sort of had his own little page on the register. Any new book he would read later will be input on that page, till it was filled. But the register was huge and could store 200-300 book names on it easily.
Naruto sat in the farthest corner and placed the books down one by one, side by side. And he hurriedly started to flip the pages. It was already 8 pm, so he had only 2 hours before sleeping. He would have to leave half an hour early since the Library was far from his apartment.
Naruto looked around as his hands kept flipping the pages by 4-5 seconds gap for each page. The library was as quiet as dead. He felt like his head was ringing continuously with such dead silence. Naruto didn't sit well with silence,...literally.
But due to his {Calm Mind}, Naruto was able to hold on. To distract himself from the hushed room, he focused on the System.
'Inventory' he thought and the white screen appeared in front of him. It had only been one night and day since this thing was attached to him, but it oddly felt familiar.
The inventory had two sparkling boxes, filled with blue color. He imagined selecting the first one and the screen changed to a narrow screen, which gave him options.
[ Training Quest - Getting warmed up!
Time Limit - 12 hours
Status - Complete!
You have gained the following reward:
1. Status Recovery
2. 3 stat point
3. Random Box ]
Naruto's eyes widened and he almost jumped from his seat. But he composed himself and kept flipping the pages.
'Status Recovery!' It was evident what that meant, just from its name. 'Why didn't you tell me about this before!?' because he was unaware of this reward, Naruto had suffered hell after completing all exercises. If he had used this reward then, the fatigue he had accumulated would have vanished.
But now it was no use because he had recovered significantly. So, he had a doubt. However, it seemed that the System was attentive to him while also scanning the books.
[ You had been informed about the reward right after completing the quest. Since you did not ask for information about the rewards, I did not say so. Also, about your doubt,...yes. You can do 'that'. ]
And then, the System was quiet again.
However, Naruto had the answer to his doubt, which would be incredibly helpful for him, tomorrow.
'What are these stat points?' Naruto thought, still flipping the pages. The random box was pretty simple to understand. It meant he would be getting anything random from it. But what type would it be, he had no idea.
[ The stat points can be added to any attribute of your. For example, adding a point to wisdom will increase it to 4, making your mind relax in unsettling or tedious situations. It also directly relates to {Calm Mind}, so you will be able to stay calm and reason with the situations, easily.
As for the random box, you can gain anything. More stat points, skills, and items. However, items from your daily Warm-up quest are not powerful or special. They are comparably common and modest. ]
Naruto scratched his head, confused about the Random box. He did get the gist of it, but he was trying to understand what skills and these items meant. 'Will I be able to get Ramen from it?' Naruto pondered, but with no response from System, he was left with no conclusion.
'Fine, I will know it when I open the box. First, let's allot the points!' Naruto was curious. Would simply allotting these 'points' which he couldn't even see, really help him get better? Was it even possible, to get powerful by...just adding numbers?
To get answers to his doubts, he allotted the stat points. Now, his strength was 1 and stamina 2, making them (11) and (22) respectively.
He did not feel any different, but he surely felt a weird sensation in his body as soon as he allotted the points. 'It's like, I have lost weight.' He thought. Because of all that intense exercise in a day, he was walking around the village, feeling as if he was carrying tons of weight. But an increase in strength and stamina reduced that strain.
Naruto immediately closed the screen and opened the inventory again. He was feeling excited and tingly. Opening the box meant he would be getting something. And whatever it was, at his level, it was going to be beneficial.
He thought of selecting the box and then opening it. The screen now showed a box, which opened up, revealing a dazzling light. Soon, the light dimmed and a shape appeared.
Naruto read the name of that item.
[ {Healing Potion}
Upon consumption, the Player's body and mind will recover from any fatigue and minor injuries. Will not work if health is below 10% ]
Naruto saw the round bottle with red liquid inside it. The description's later part did not make sense to him. '10% health?' He wondered.
[ By considering your overall stamina, strength, and physical attributes, health is determined. Less than 10% of health generally refers to a dying state, where critical medical attention is needed. Health potions do not offer such effects and therefore are useless below 10% of health. ]
Naruto sighed. Whatever the system said was complicated for him. But he could somewhat understand. To avoid getting injured where his health will be in low percentage, he would have to get stronger. He understood that much.
Naruto then focused on the next thing in the inventory. The random item reward from System Activation. Without further ado, he selected it.
The screen popped up in front of him. He caught a glimpse, but then he felt his head swinging down as a hand slapped his neck.
"Ugh..." Naruto groaned and rubbed his neck. Before he could see the person, their voice made it simple to recognize the person.
"XYZ" Naruto muttered.
[ XYZ? ]
The boy standing in front of Naruto was his classmate. He had brown hair, a round face, and average looks. His clothes were simple enough to blend into the crowd. A brown T-shirt and black shorts. Beside the boy were other lackeys, his 'friends'.
Naruto was annoyed. Angered. But he still didn't feel like lashing back at them, which was the usual response from him. And it wasn't just because of the {Calm Mind}. Sure, it did its part, but the reason was entirely different. XYZ had not passed the Academy Graduation exam. It was the first time, that Naruto was not the dead last.
"What are you doing idiot? Are you reading the book or checking the page quality? Are you thinking of making pages or something?" XYZ laughed followed by his lackeys.
[ What are these lame jokes? No,...they aren't even jokes. It's a pathetic try to crack one. ]
Naruto did his best to control his chuckle. XYZ and his lackeys were still laughing. Naruto looked at the clock behind them. It was already late, so he had to leave. And he was done with around 7 books, so he decided to stop.
He picked up the books and started leaving for the receptionist. But XYZ pushed him and the books fell on the floor. The receptionist was alerted immediately as if she had sniffed the books falling.
Naruto sat down and picked up the books. XYZ was annoyed. He wasn't getting any reaction from the blonde. If this had been any other time, he would have felt nothing. But today, he was an academy student, while Naruto was a Genin. That was a huge attack on his ego.
"Tsk,...academy brats" Naruto muttered, low enough to be a whisper, loud enough to be heard. He walked past XYZ and the lackeys. But XYZ felt a gaze. When he looked back, he saw an uncanny and horrendous smile on Naruto's face. One that emitted scorn and insult. XYZ stumbled as his lackeys supported him. And soon, they faded into the background.
"Don't play with the books." The receptionist rebuked as she took the book and checked for any damage.
"I didn't. They pushed me and the books fell." Naruto replied and as he expected, the receptionist didn't believe him.
"Yeah yeah..." She gave Naruto the register to sign the books he was done with. When he signed 7 of them, she almost chuckled.
'Did he only read the names?' she thought as she took the books away.
Naruto stood in the street, the screen open in front of him. A smile spread across his face. "Tomorrow's test is going to be fun" he walked away slowly, his body still feeling the stress of excessive training.