Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 34: A New Goal, the National Champion!

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: A New Goal, the National Champion!

"The Yuzuru Hanyu of Kyudo?" Tsubokawa Takahiro paused his chopsticks while eating noodles.

"Oh! Not bad! I’m even starting to look forward to seeing you stand on the national championship stage wearing a Hakama."

Goto Iwao started to get excited.

"Haha, you must invite me to take some photos for you then."

"National championship?"

Uesugi Sakura looked at the two of them, "Is there prize money?"

"There sure is, but I don’t know the exact amount. It should be quite a lot, and there’s also a pure silver trophy," Goto Iwao said.

Tsubokawa Takahiro pushed his glasses frame with his middle finger: "Hmm, the national competition awards are presented by the Emperor, and it’s broadcast live on TV. If you make it to that stage at your age, you’ll definitely get famous."

Uesugi Sakura found it interesting. It didn’t really matter what the award was, but the achievement of reaching the national peak, the prize money must be considerable.

"What about Sword Dao?" Uesugi Sakura suddenly thought about his Sword Dao skills and the unused [Legend of Miyamoto Musashi].

"For Sword Dao, you can’t participate in the national championship. They recently set a rule that you have to be over 20 years old to participate. You’re even a year younger than us, only 16. We’ll talk about it after college," Goto Iwao said while taking another bite of his pork cutlet rice.

"Sword Dao does have a high school competition, mainly targeted at national high school and university students. You can give this competition a try, it holds significant weight," Tsubokawa Takahiro looked at Uesugi Sakura, "But why are you asking? Are you thinking of learning Sword Dao as well?"

Uesugi Sakura bit into the delicious sushi, swallowed it, and said calmly:

"A high school student mastering both Sword Dao and Kyudo, don’t you think that sounds really interesting?"

"Is it possible?" The two exchanged glances and spoke in unison.

"Why not?" Uesugi Sakura calmly retorted.

"Haha," Goto Iwao laughed and waved his hand, "How is something like that possible? Just mastering Kyudo alone could take a lifetime."

"Our school’s so-called ’genius high school student’ Shuhei, with his Sixth Rank in Kyudo, only made it to the national top ten. Let alone also practicing Sword Dao. I’ve never heard of such a person."

"National top ten? That’s impressive, doesn’t that make him famous?" Uesugi Sakura recalled the scene when he drew the bow that day, feeling indeed smooth.

"You didn’t know?"

Uesugi Sakura shook his head, he really didn’t know. He thought Shuhei was just a senior in the Kyudo Club, though his presence left a lasting impression at first glance.

"Goto, Uesugi didn’t really talk last semester. Besides coming to the cafeteria to eat, he just stayed in the classroom reading, so it’s normal not to know these things."

"Yes, very true," Goto Iwao nodded, then turned to Uesugi Sakura, "Last year, senior Shuhei participated in the national Kyudo competition and got sixth place individually."

"And this was among all those old veterans. Isn’t that impressive? And because of it, the school waived all his tuition fees and awarded him a huge scholarship."

Tsubokawa Takahiro, who also knew about this, whispered an addition to the information: "I heard that if senior Shuhei’s grades hadn’t fallen due to devoting himself to Kyudo, one of the two guaranteed spots the school had for Todai admission would have gone to him."

Interesting,

the tuition waiver, scholarships, prize money, and guaranteed admission spots enticed Uesugi Sakura.

Not to mention,

Kamigoe High School’s tuition is really expensive, 1.8 million yen the first year and increasing by 200,000 yen each subsequent year. It’s a heavy burden for any family, unaffordable for ordinary families.

When he first enrolled, Uesugi Sakura had good grades and got a waiver for his first year, but the second and third years would depend on rankings by grades and deviations to get some tuition reducations.

Although Uesugi Sakura was confident he’d score top in this month’s exam, he wanted a full tuition waiver to ease the family’s burden a bit more.

To achieve that goal, he’d have to make a huge contribution to the school.

Securing first place in the national leagues of either Kyudo or Sword Dao is indeed an excellent target.

And, owing to having a system, this was not difficult for him.

Contemplating this, Uesugi Sakura made a decision—claim first place in this year’s national championship and use the prize money and scholarship to enrich his little treasure chest!

[Beep... Beep...]

[Goal detected of a salted fish, you’ve triggered a mainline mission to become tunafish, do you want to accept?]

Engrossed in his lunchbox, Uesugi Sakura opened the task interface that suddenly appeared in front of him.

[Mission Difficulty: Fourth Level++]

[Mission Objective: Secure first place in both the National Sword Dao High School Championship and the National Kyudo Championship]

[Mission Duration: Two Years]

[Mission Limitations: None]

[Mission Rewards: All attribute skill levels +1, Random Advanced Skills ×2, Advanced Rare Life Skill ×1, Attribute Points ×100]

Oh?

Uesugi Sakura became very interested upon seeing this main mission.

This time, the rewards are not like before—drawn randomly twice in succession. They are clearly stipulated and specified before posting this main mission.

attribute points, all attribute levels +1, and those random skills, he was looking forward to seeing what he could get.

With his ability to extract proficiency, he figured that he could complete this mission leisurely within two years, so why not accept?

Most importantly, there’s prize money.

But before that, he still needed to do some intelligence work, as he had no knowledge currently.

"Goto, what level is the Sixth Rank of Kyudo?" Uesugi Sakura asked.

"Hmm? What level?" Goto Iwao had finished all the pork in his bowl, with only vegetables and rice left, "If you’re asking me, I’m not really sure either. It should be pretty impressive, since you can make it to the national top ten."

"I remember the Kyudo Club president said there are nine ranks in Kyudo, so logically, a Sixth Rank should be middle to upper level."

"Ahem,"

Tsubokawa Takahiro, having finished his udon, coughed and spoke to the two, "A Ninth Rank is rare nationwide, considered top among top, a rank occupied by very senior and respected individuals only.

"Also, the only Ninth Rank swordsman I’ve ever seen was on a black-and-white TV."

"Based on previous years’ Sword Dao championships, winning players are mostly in the Sixth Rank, the lowest being Fifth Rank, and the highest only Seventh Rank, showing that a Sixth Rank is already a rank achieved by very accomplished seniors."

While speaking, Tsubokawa Takahiro pushed his glasses frame.

"So that’s why media dubbed Shuhei as ’genius high school student’."

After hearing this, Goto Iwao smiled and teased Uesugi Sakura sitting across, "Uesugi, you’re not seriously interested in these things, are you? Planning to win the National Kyudo Championship?"

"It’s tough, very tough." Tsubokawa Takahiro nodded at him seriously.

"No, it’s not that,"

Uesugi Sakura put down his chopsticks, looked earnestly at the two, "My goal is to win first place in both the Kyudo and Sword Dao national leagues."