Chapter 171
"Phew..."
As the pure energy entered his body, Kiriya felt a rush of pleasure he had not experienced in quite some time.
His ocular power, which had remained stagnant for so long, finally moved again.
Progress increased by two percent.
"Just as I thought. I need proper meals like special-grade curses now. Those scraps of low-level spirits can’t satisfy these eyes anymore."
Kiriya covered one eye, savoring the wonderful sensation of his Sharingan growing stronger. He was delighted, but also a little frustrated.
Special-grade curses were excellent prey.
Unfortunately, they were far too rare.
After searching Tokyo for so long, he had only encountered four.
’Jogo, Hanami, Mahito, Dagon... where the hell are you?’
Kiriya found himself desperately missing the four special-grade curses known as the Disaster Curses in the original story.
They were enormously powerful and possessed vast reserves of cursed energy.
They were also intelligent, which generally meant their spiritual energy was far purer than that of ordinary curses.
If Kiriya could exorcise them, the increase in his ocular power would undoubtedly surpass everything he had absorbed so far.
He might even awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan in one leap.
Unfortunately, Mahito had not been born yet.
Even if Kiriya wanted to hunt him, there was currently nothing to find.
Jogo, Hanami, and Dagon already existed, but they were hiding far too well.
Kiriya had searched throughout Tokyo and used every available part of Jujutsu High’s intelligence network, yet he had found no trace of any of them.
There was nothing he could do.
’Am I really going to get stuck at ninety-two percent?’
The thought left him deeply dissatisfied.
"Kiriya-san, thank you for your hard work."
A voice pulled him from his thoughts.
Kiriya looked up and found Ijichi bowing at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
He waved helplessly.
"It was nothing. You don’t need to make such a big deal out of it."
"No, I do."
Ijichi remained bowed, his voice completely serious.
"It may have been easy for you, but your actions saved the lives of many sorcerers who might otherwise have been sent here. That is an enormous kindness."
"Please allow me to express my gratitude."
"All right. Whatever makes you happy."
Kiriya scratched his head.
"If you really want to thank me, find me a few more special-grade curses. I’ve been waiting so long that I’m starting to lose hope."
"Special-grade curses..."
Ijichi’s mouth twitched.
He barely maintained his professional expression.
Special grades were not vegetables growing by the roadside. It was not as though he could simply pick up a few whenever Kiriya wanted them.
Finding one depended largely on luck.
He obviously could not say that aloud, especially after Kiriya had just solved such a dangerous problem for them.
"I understand. I’ll instruct the Windows to search as thoroughly as possible."
"Great. Do your best."
Kiriya yawned and waved.
"I’ll be going, then. Remember to call me if you find anything troublesome."
He paused.
"Anything below Grade 1 isn’t worth bothering me over anymore."
"Understood!"
Ijichi straightened and answered loudly.
By the time he raised his head again, Kiriya had already disappeared.
"Spatial movement... what a convenient ability."
A trace of envy entered Ijichi’s eyes, but his reason quickly suppressed it.
As an adult, he understood that some things were reasonable to hope for, while others were better left unimagined.
Dwelling on impossible desires only created unnecessary burdens.
The thought disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Ijichi turned toward the nearby support staff and began organizing the cleanup.
...
Kiriya returned to Jujutsu High through the Flying Thunder God Technique and immediately found Maki in the middle of another brutal training session.
Because of her Heavenly Restriction, Maki had possessed physical talent far beyond that of ordinary people since birth.
Unfortunately, since she was a twin, her Heavenly Restriction was incomplete.
Her physical ability was still nowhere near the level of Toji Fushiguro, the original monster born without cursed energy.
Even so, Maki’s body was exceptional not only among people her age, but among sorcerers as a whole.
That gave her a natural advantage while preparing to learn the Eight Gates.
On the first day, she had collapsed like a dying dog.
After Kiriya treated her with Everflowing Vitality, however, she returned the next morning full of energy and ready to continue.
As the intensity of her conditioning increased, the potential hidden within her body was gradually drawn out.
Only two months had passed, yet her physical abilities had improved dramatically.
Maki had become addicted to the feeling of growing stronger day by day.
She trained more fiercely, repeatedly increased her workload, and had already doubled the weight of her training equipment.
Despite that, she could still swing her spear with enough force to make the air roar.
Panda and Inumaki watched from nearby, their eyes twitching.
"Is Maki still human?" Panda muttered. "Could that curse have possessed her without us noticing?"
His head and backside seemed to ache at the memory of all the violence Maki had inflicted upon him.
"Bonito flakes."
Inumaki shook his head.
In his opinion, Maki had already left ordinary humanity behind.
Recently, he had been visiting Shoko Ieiri’s clinic far more often.
Maki constantly wanted someone to spar against. Once Kiriya finished training her, Panda and Inumaki were next in line.
The result was always the same.
They were beaten senseless.
"She’s doing all right."
Kiriya shrugged.
’You think this is beyond human?’
’If you saw a complete Heavenly Restriction body, your jaws would hit the ground.’
"Oh, Kiriya! Thank goodness you’re here!"
Panda turned at the sound of his voice and immediately brightened.
He leapt toward Kiriya and hooked an arm around his shoulders.
"Please take your woman away. I can’t endure this anymore! If she keeps training like this, I’m going to become a pile of ruined stuffing."
Whoosh!
Before Kiriya could answer, a sharp sound tore through the air.
He reached out and caught the incoming object.
It was Maki’s training spear.
Panda slowly looked at the gleaming spearhead, then toward Maki’s smile, which did not reach her eyes.
He immediately released Kiriya and hid behind him with both paws over his head.
"Kiriya, we’re best friends. You can’t abandon me!"
"..."
Kiriya silently stepped aside.
Panda stared at him in despair.
A moment later, Maki grabbed Panda and dragged him toward the training field.
His claws carved two long trenches through the dirt as he desperately tried to resist.
"Give me a moment. I’ll be with you soon."
Maki looked back at Kiriya with a bright, charming smile.
"Spicy cod roe."
Inumaki swallowed nervously.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A short while later, Panda lay facedown on the ground like a corpse.
Maki walked over looking refreshed and took Kiriya’s hand.
"Come on. We have something important to do."
Kiriya had no objection and allowed her to lead him away.
Panda weakly raised one trembling paw as he watched them leave.
"Good luck, Kiriya. Wear that woman out completely. Don’t let her come back and torment me again."
Whoosh!
The spear flew back and buried itself in the ground only a hair from Panda’s face.
Cold sweat poured from his body.
Inumaki shook his head.
Panda never learned.
No matter how many times he suffered, he simply could not keep his mouth shut!