36 Chapter 35: Ramen and Politics (2)
[Third Person's Point of View]
Satoru explained, "A millennium ago, Japan experienced its Golden Age of Jujutsu during the Heian Era, leading to the emergence of The Ten Celestial Houses. Among them were two powerful and ancient Houses that had existed since the beginning of Jujutsu."
"The Fujiwara Clan and the Sugawara Clan were the last two Houses of the Unorthodox faction, and also leaders of the Ten Houses as a whole. However, it had been thousands of years since their destruction, which started the imbalance of power within both factions."
"But how did this happen? Weren't they supposed to be the oldest and most powerful clans?" August vaguely remembered reading about them in the manga, but he wasn't sure of the actual history behind their downfall.
"Yes, but it was a strange twist of fate that both of the clans, powerful as they were, ended up being defeated by a single sorcerer known by the locals as the Disgraced One or Daten, but later became infamous as the undisputed King of Curses, one of only three Transcendent Grade Sorcerers ever recorded in history - Ryōmen Sukuna."
'Ah!' It suddenly clicked in his mind as he remembered reading about this lore in the manga. The story of Takako Uro from Fujiwara's Northern Elite forces and Angel from Sugawara Clan, two powerful ancient sorcerers who appeared during the culling game arc.
August suddenly exclaimed, "The Sun, Moon, and Stars Squad and the Five Empty Generals were all killed by one person?!" Gojo nodded in agreement. The records of this event can also be found in the History of Jujutsu book Satoru gave him.
'But strangely they never mentioned the culprit. As if they were trying to erase the records of Sukuna from existence...'
"Yes. The massacre of 8 Special Grades of the then-strongest Clan in the world shifted the power balance greatly. The Orthodox clans became the most dominant faction, which is why your existence threatens the whole structure of The Eight Great General Houses."
"Me?! Why?", August was perplexed at Satoru's statement. Why was he suddenly their top target?
"Throughout the last thousand years, the orthodox factions have lost out the power struggle to their counterpart only once. When users of Limitless and Six Eyes from the Gojo Clan and Ten Shadows from the Zenin Clan reach their full potential, they become nigh-unbeatable. 400 years ago, the presence of both of these users heavily suppressed the Orthodox faction and they haven't forgotten that humiliation."
Gojo's words made sense and August had a very good idea where this was leading up to.
"As a Transcendent Grade, I am expected to stay neutral in all political matters, leading to the current stalemate between the two factions. However, I have the current inheritor of Ten Shadows under my tutelage. And unlike me, he doesn't have any obligations to remain neutral. This fact terrifies the living daylight out of the opposing factions. But then you come into play."
Satoru pointed his finger at him and continued.
"Your Innate Technique represents a reality they can only dream of. As someone at the pinnacle of Elements, you will be envied, coveted, resented, and worshipped by them. With your technique, they will never be suppressed again. So when news about your technique spreads out next week, they will come after you. Not openly because of me, but they will use any underhanded tactics to gain control over you."
"Hmm...wait! Why next week?" He had already figured out this scenario halfway through Satoru's explanation, but the information about his technique wasn't supposed to leak out until his Special-Grade evaluation in a month.
A sheepish expression appeared on Satoru's face as he laughed awkwardly, "You need to take a Grade One examination before your Special Grade evaluation. That's next week."
"..."
"Oops! I forgot to mention. Teehee!"
Gojo would rank top 5 among the most punchable faces ever. He was sure.
Taking a deep breath to calm his growing irritation, he asked, "So what do I have to do? What are the requirements for the Grade One examination?"
"I've never had to take one myself so I'm not sure of all the specifics. But from what I have heard from Suguru, they will make you exorcise a bunch of cursed spirits."
'That sounds surprisingly easy.' He nodded, "But who is Suguru?"
A nostalgic look crossed Satoru's face, tinged with sadness. "He was my one and only best friend."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"Eh? Why"
August feigned confusion with this one, "Well, you said he 'was' your best friend, so I assumed he..."
"Nah. That bastard is still alive and well. It's just that we can't really see each other anymore. After all, he's the most wanted curse user in Japan."
"But that's a story for another time. Just be careful. Oh and also be wary of the Unorthodox clans. For them, you represent a potential future threat."
*
Following a lively lunch, August sprawled out on the couch in the living room of his apartment. The third season of Haikyuu! played on the television, but his thoughts were lingering on his future to-do list.
One of the top items on his agenda was exploring the distinction between Magical and Cursed energy, as well as experimenting with Soul Magic. He also needed to reach Sequence-6 as soon as possible...
[Ding! New Mission Added!]
A notification from his system pulled him back to reality, drawing his attention to the floating text in front of him.
"New Mission?" He was confused. He hardly ever opened the [Missions] tab because he was familiar with all of the listed missions and had never seen a new one appear before.
'Open Mission Panel'
[Missions]
[Lists]
[Mission 1: Sequence 8: Unwinged Angel (Coldblooded) (Completed)
Time Limit - 1 month.
Rewards- MidNight's Ring of Energy Concealment.]
[Mission 2: Sequence 7: Serial Killer (Completed)
Time Limit - 6 months.
Rewards- Customisable Dimensional Storage Spell.]
[Mission 3: Ascend to Sequence 6: Devil
Time Limit - ???
Rewards- ???]
.
.
.
[Mission 9: Ascend to Sequence 0: Abyss
Time Limit - ???
Rewards- ???]
The contents were exactly as he recalled them. The system only revealed the time and reward for completing a mission after it had been completed. He had once asked about the time limit and was told that if he finished the mission within the allotted time, he would receive the promised rewards; otherwise, he would get nothing at all.
But there was no penalty associated with it.
As he scrolled down the list, he came across a shiny new mission, labelled with the tag - 'Time Limited'.
[Mission X: Try out your new skill - Demonic Ritual (New!) (Time Limited!)
Time Limit - 10 minutes
Penalty - You will miss out on an important clue regarding your transmigration.
Rewards- ???]
"Yes. And die in the process. No, thank you very much." He retorted to the system with a mix of indignation and disgust. While uncovering information about his transmigration was important, it wasn't worth risking the attention of a 'depraved' Outer God for.
[Ding! Noted]
[Ding! Clause 4000 activated!]
[Ding! Response Loading]
[The system aims to provide a smooth ascendence experience to the user. All the skills provided by the system won't bring any external harm to the user. The system itself blocks any malicious attempt on the user that can be linked to any of its skills.]
[Ding! Skill - Demonic Ritual deemed safe to use. The system guarantees the user's safety]
Violet eyes darted back and forth as August fell in deep contemplation about the new mission.
His powers originated from the system, which in turn came from the old weathered tome that killed the original Augustus. But everything he achieved since wouldn't have been possible without the system.
"Trust it or not....that's the question." After comparing the pros and the cons for another minute, he decided to give it a go.
August had 7 more sequences to ascend before he became an Outer God. If he started to distrust his system so early in his journey, he would never make it till the end.
"Fine. I'll do it!"
Information on how to draw an abyssal devil summoning circle flooded his mind; a passive effect of his Demonic Ritual Skill.
A piece of chalk drew white concentric circles on its own on the floor of the living room. A star and a horned goat were added in the middle of the circle along with a trident and a few illegible words on its side to complete the summoning circle.
[Image Here]
He stood before the circle and observed the ticking timer on the mission panel with only 4 minutes remaining.
People had second thoughts all the time, and he was no different. Although the system assured him his safety, a portion of him was still hesitant.
"Argh, Here goes nothing!" Like a person taking a blind leap, he channelled his magical energy into the summoning circle, causing the runes etched within it to glow with an ominous red light.
The pair of black horns rose from the summoning circle, curving upwards like two wicked blades. As they broke through the surface, the head and body of a red-skinned creature emerged, its skin glistening under the red light of the circle. A pair of dark wings sprouted from its back, and a long, forked tail twisted behind it.
A classic devil.
His body was ethereal, but solid at the same time, a blatant contradiction to physics.
"You called, Sire?" The devil emerged from the drawn circle and bowed respectfully before him.
But before he could answer, a sharp, piercing pain tore through his head. "Arghhh!"
[Pain Nullification]
He attempted to nullify the pain using his innate technique, but to his extreme shock - it didn't work!
"Sire!" The devil quickly rushed in panic to catch August's collapsing body as he fell unconscious.
*******************************
Author-san here!!!
Guess who slumped on the chapter goals. Urghh. Anyway, 220 votes goal for this chapter and I'll post the next chapter tomorrow!
So, go and VOTE!
But, if you want to read the next chapter, and two weeks' worth right now~, go visit my Patreon account. (New chapter up in a few hours)
[Link: Patreon.com/Midwintersnow] ['P' lowercase ofc]
See y'all.
