I can't believe myself… I can't believe I just did that… Why am I such an idiot… I just hurt my pet… My general… My friend… I'm an idiot. Sock is still down. Even after an entire minute he is still wobbly from the effects... He must have been hurt more because of his sensitive hearing.

Some of my other pets have also felt the effects, if they were closer to the blast it would have been as bad as it was for Sock… I still feel awful… I can't believe I was so afraid of losing that I would do something so stupid. Darkclaw was already awake from being knocked unconscious. He was up before the fight even ended. He'll walk away with no permanent injuries… I'm not so sure that Sock is as lucky as him. Sock has recovered enough for me to apologize.

“I'm… I'm so sorry Sock… I didn't mean… I just… I'm sorry.”

“It's fine master. You should do whatever it takes to win a fight… That is a very good way to win fights though.”

“I… I guess… It is just, the collateral damage is too much to use in every circumstance.”

“An attack that bypasses all defenses. It is the perfect countermeasure to any tank… I have to ask though. Why did you want to win that badly?”

“It's just… I should be stronger as the leader. I should win more fights than I lose… Which… I haven't been doing. I just don't want to be seen as weak, I'm the leader of an army… I can't be seen as weak, especially in front of people I care about.”

“Are you stupid? Master. We've seen you tear a raid boss in half with a single attack. Just by being around you, we've all been made stronger. You do amazing things, impossible things every single day. I doubt anyone thinks of you as a weakling. That isn't even your biggest asset. You have this innate ability to gain allies which no one else has… Just please. Give us a heads up if your going to use that attack against enemies, so we don't get hurt by it.”

I feel like even more of an idiot. Since Gobber has left, I haven't been relying on anyone else since he's left my side to raise a family... I shouldn't try to do everything by myself. I have so many amazing generals to help me and I've been putting all the pressure on myself. Instead of being the strongest, I should rely on people who are best for the job. Sock might make a better leader for the bulk of the army than myself.

I begin to train again… There isn't much left to do besides that. Even with the help of my allies, I should still keep getting stronger. I need to keep getting stronger. I continue to run… Until I complete my dexterity of wind trials…

Elemental strengthening complete

Dragon bloodline skill upgraded Elemental alignment--> Elemental attunement- All elemental breath attacks are strengthened while in dragon form

I ask the tree how much time is left.

“You've been in here for 8 days and 12 hours.”

WHAT!? HOW!? I can't believe it is barely a week into training… The time inside here almost seems to go slower than normal. Perhaps I should have only went with a week… My pets aren't taking the enclosure as well as me. Sock is… Pokodo and Darkclaw are doing far worse than the rest. Pokodo is used to walking around the fortress and talking with everyone. It seems that she has started talking to herself.

Darkclaw is far more aggressive than normal. He's acted crazy a few times and he has destroyed some of the food we were going to eat. Besides the few samples of chocolate, cookies and candies I put aside for testing. He opened all the rations and stole all the chocolate and cookies inside. Leaving the candies because they weren't sweet…

I have no doubts that if we were forced to stay inside for more than two weeks. Darkclaw would have just ruined our chances at surviving. Thankfully, I picked a short amount of time. Even if one of them goes crazy now. They won't have to wait much longer to finally get fresh air. I know now that Darkclaw and Pokodo can't use this tree ever again. It would be too risky.

Another 2 days pass with no more problems, I continue training than go to sleep. I am woken up by shouting. Darkclaw is slamming himself off the door and screaming.

“LET ME OUT! I WANT OUT OF HERE! PLEASE!!!”

He is doing everything in his power to destroy the door. Slamming into it, using his dragons breath, clawing at it. Nothing seems to make any dents in the door. Sock is trying to calm him down but Darkclaw will not listen to him. I knew this might happen, Darkclaw is having a panic attack with less than five days of time left.

I walk over to him. He notices me for an instant, then goes back to beating on the door. He might be too panicked to care that I am his master. I speak to him.

“Darkclaw, please calm down. We only have 5 more days to g-.”

“FOUR DAYS! I CAN'T WAIT FOUR DAYS! I WANT OUT NOW!”

“We can't get out until the time is up. If you break the door we might be stuck in here forever.”

“I DON'T CARE! I WANT OUT NOW!”

He is beating on the door so hard his hands have started bleeding. He could become a threat to himself and us if I don't take him down right now. I connect with Purple via the booby trap phrase. I make a request for him to hit Darkclaw with as many numbing needles as he can shoot once I hit him with my own poison.

I start filling my mouth up with us much poison as I can. Even filling up my tooth just in case I need more than I can fit into my mouth. I start mixing in the hallucinogenic poison as well, far less than the numbing poison to be used as a makeshift anesthetic. I have to make sure I don't hit his eyes with this poison. He might go permanently blind if I'm not careful… How will I make him take it though? Lust speaks up.

“Kiss him and force it down his throat… I know that sounds sexual but it is the only way to make sure it doesn't cause any permanent damage.”

This conversation is a telepathic one not being spoken out loud. My mouth is obviously full, so the telepathic connection is another good thing to have. I can use breath attacks while continuing to give orders to my other generals. I speak up next.

“Purple connect me with Sock.”

A second later after we're connected I get him up with the plan.

“Sock I'm going to need you to hold him for me while I give him some poison to calm him down some. You need to hold his head steady and try to open his mouth so I can administer it.”

We all get to work. Sock jumps on the dragon and grabs his head. Darkclaw tries to fly but Sock pins his wings with his legs. Purple starts hitting him with the numbing darts. It barely shows any effect on him. It is enough to let Sock overpower him and hold his head steady. I approach the front of Darkclaw just as he opens his mouth for a breath attack. I spit as much as I can into his mouth before he can launch an attack.

Darkclaw begins to shake and then falls down. Sock gets off of him but Darkclaw is still awake. I ask a few questions now.

“How are you feeling?”

Darkclaw responds. “I feel… Pretty amazing… Who are you?”

I doubt this will last more than a few hours but at least he's calm enough to not be a threat for a few hours, enough for me to finish my sleep. When I wake up, I see that most of my pets are sleeping. Including Darkclaw, who looks far more peaceful now than he has the last few days. I hope a few good hours of sleep will calm him down…

I'll make some more anesthetic just in case he tries to go berserk again. Smaller doses might be enough to calm him without knocking him out. We have a little under four days left of this… I'll definitely have to put anyone else who wants to try longer amounts through this two week trial period. Just to make sure they wont go crazy from being locked up for so long.

Being locked in for an entire year… I could see myself lasting before I tried today… I doubt I would be able to do it as I am right now. I would need something seriously entertaining to tide my time over. I don't have anything I can practice for an entire year without mastering it. Even training every day, I feel I would eventually burn out before a year is up.

Darkclaw is the first to wake up. He approaches me… Calmly. He apologized about going crazy. I give him a few vials of my makeshift anesthetic, just in case he gets those feelings again… I see him take one later that day.

I take the claw and tooth off each of my generals. I'll need help to enchant these teeth with void storage, so I'll wait until I'm out of here to give teeth to my enchanting crew. I know that more of my men have become enchanters. Some of the demon tribe had asked me to teach them some jobs. Even when they're not fighting, they can be useful and outfit our army better. Darkclaw's feathers have started regrowing back. So that means I have a renewable resource for a very light, flexible, and durable material.

We manage to get through the remaining days. I spend every minute I'm awake training my classes up.

Level 10 Ninja skill gained Taijutsu- Gain chi based skills that will help your unarmed fighting (Increases the speed at which you can learn martial arts at) (must learn the skills from a teacher)

Level 10 Samurai skill gained Mana strike- Add mana to a strike from your weapon

Level 10 Barbarian skill gained Rage shield- A portion of the damage you take is absorbed by your rage, capped at 20% damage reduction for 20% maximum rage

That samurai skill seems very strong. It allows me to add my mana into my attacks with weapons as well. The doors open. My pets rush out the door. All of them, Darkclaw slamming into the walls of the staircase trying to exit quickly. I slowly walk behind them. Leaving the time tree it feels… As if far more time has passed than has actually occurred. The inside of the castle mimic still appears the same. It is hard to imagine that I am now 13 days older than everyone else who time has passed for normally.

It is now the beginning of the next day. I still feel exhausted from training, I should have given myself a day or two of rest before exiting. I still have so much to do before I make my sneak attack against the pirates. After I train for a few more days, I'll go over the plans with the shogun and my generals. For now, I need to learn some taijutsu from Nami. I also need to form a contract still. I was interrupted by the pirates before I could.

I head to the training area where Nami would normally be. I don't see her though… I head to check on the shogun and Nami is inside speaking with him. I eavesdrop on their conversation.

“So that is how I learned the monk class… I'm sorry I had to teach ninjutsu skills because I had assumed he couldn't teach me something so quickly… I'm so sorry elder.”

“What are you talking about Nami? You traded an entire class passed what you could have possibly learned for a few skills. I think our village came out far ahead in that deal… Isn't that right Kite.”

“...Sorry… I was just… Umm… Eavesdropping… I couldn't think of a convincing lie...”

“Come in, I believe you're here to try and form a contract. Let me tell you right now, some people can't form contracts.”

He pulls out a scroll. It is covered in letters and symbols. I go through the rules and how I activate it. Nami speaks.

“You have to use your blood to form the contract. Go ahead and bite your thumb until you bleed.”

“Can't I just use a knife?”

“I guess… It's just… Biting your thumb looks cooler.”

“I'll stick with a knife then. I don't want my finger to get infected.”

I pull out my heirloom sword and form it big enough to use. I cut a small portion of my thumb and apply it to the contracts signature. Very quickly the paper starts to glow brightly, in a short time the paper turns into a snake. I can hear the snake inside my head.

“Hello human. It seems your wishing to form a contract? Well there are certain rules you'll have to follow. We'll go over them out right now.”

The next 30 minutes is spent hammering out the details of the deal. It seems that in order for me to get approval for the contract, I need to do certain things. With the snake, I'll be able to eat larger portions of each meal and go longer without eating. Allowing me to store food in my body for longer. I have to double my meat consumption because of this. It seems that if it is cold outside I'll be forced to sleep for twice as long and my regen will be limited until I warm up. Which shouldn't be a problem, I agree to the terms of the contract.

Ninjutsu passive skill learned Warm blooded- Regen increases while in warm environments

Ninjutsu skill learned Shadow snake- Form a snake made of shadows that can stealthily knock out a single foe (10 minute cooldown) time opponents are knocked unconscious vary depending on opponents size

Taijutsu passive skill learned Serpent strikes- Your unarmed strikes aimed at joints and pressure points now have the chance of paralyzing the opponent temporarily

Druid skill learned Snake form- Able to transform into a snake (increase to poison production)

*Poof* With that the snake contract disappears.

Nami begins to speak. “It seems you've unlocked a very common contract animal. I sort of expected something… More… I'll teach you some taijutsu as a request from the shogun. After speaking with the him, it seems you will be given special treatment so long as you help the other ninjas learn another class. Come with me.”

“Before that, can I try forming another contract?”