Geto and Friends

Adam continued to stare at the horizon for a moment before looking back at the window.

The image of a black-haired man was still plastered on the screen, but what caught his eyes the most was the word "special-grade" on the description.

As the name suggests, jujutsu sorcerers under this classification are considered anomalies whose immense strength puts their destructive capabilities on a nation-wide scale, to simply immeasurable. Their individual power is so great that conventional weaponry are considered ineffective against them, acting as a war deterrent on par with a nuclear bomb; hence the reason for touting them with such aplomb—a special-grade, in effect, was a one-man army.

Although curse spirit manipulation seems diametrically-opposed to this concept at first glance, it does not have a ceiling to its potential nor a discernable limit as is often the case exhibited by similar techniques of such nature. No intermediary is required and the quality of vagabond cursed spirits are often greater compared to that of summoned shikigami.

To put it mildly, a special-grade signifies the power to overthrow a nation, which is well-within the means of this ability by amassing an army of powerful curses.

However...

'It has one fatal flaw,' Adam thought as he got up to his feet. 'The strength of curse manipulation lies in number, something that I don't possess right now.'

Indeed, curse manipulation was not an ability that was inherently powerful like other techniques of the same grade, and a lot of preparation has to be done beforehand in order to reach that point.

As the situation stands right now, it was basically no better than him carrying an empty gun.

When he thought about it, his face gradually became serious. 'Strictly speaking, I can still use cursed energy to strengthen my body. However, it will still be a problem if I encounter someone with a vision...'

Realizing the situation he was in, he began to stroke his chin as he contemplated deeply, focusing on how to tackle the problem. "Yoriichi's template also just ran out of duration, so I can't rely on breathing techniques anymore to fight back. Hmm... What to do, what to do."

At that moment, a particular sound entered his ears:

Ding!

Still immersed in his thoughts, a new prompt appeared on the screen alongside a mail icon with a red ping on its corner.

"Huh...?" Adam muttered involuntarily upon seeing the sudden notification. His curiosity was immediately piqued. "Is this a new task?"

Tapping the window once to verify the content, a new one quickly replaced it.

[Main Quest]

[Difficulty: SSR]

[Bringing about the change in eternity through the worse of all curses.]

[Objectives: Consume the Three Great Lingering Spirits of Inazuma | Fight the Raiden Shogun, and win | Abolish the Sakoku Decree (optional)]

[Rewards: ■■■■■■ ■■■■]

Just as he suspected, it was about a new quest.

"SSR...?" Adam spoke warily as he read the entire message. Counting the last one he completed, this was the first time the system ever assigned such difficulty, let alone issuing a main quest which he has never even heard of before. "It's being secretive about the reward as well."

Even more importantly than that, his understanding of the system by now leads him to believe that it only provides rewards commensurate with the difficulty of a quest, and vice versa. He could roughly take a guess that it was not going to be easy by any means despite having no idea about the reward. In fact, it was all the more reason why he was so apprehensive.

Moreover, this world was much more dangerous than what it appeared to be when viewed on superficial lenses. Numerous conspiracies are constantly brewing beneath the surface, taking into account the presence of multiple factions vying for power, each with their own schemes and agenda in mind.

To say that it was going to be fret with danger was a gross understatement. Not to mention the fact that it was telling him to fight and win against the literal god of thunder.

Fortunately, the quest's first objective coincided with his initial expectation. That alone was the reason why he could assess the situation more calmly.

"Alright," Adam made up his mind. "Time for a training arc!"

Right. The obvious solution was to power up; a lot.

To do that, he has already figured out just the thing.

Question: What would the hilichurls be if not cursed souls that were condemned by the gods? Supposing that this statement is true, then what happens if one were to consume them using curse manipulation?

"Time to find out."

—Adam's famous last words.

* * *

Exorcism.

Absorption.

The journey to the remains of the giant serpent was eventful insofar that it became monotonous.

Exorcism. Absorption. Adam kept repeating these tasks along the way, gradually forming a small group into a long line of procession trailing behind his back, extending all the way as far as eye can see. From a distance, his company looked like a pilgrimage, and up close they would think he was being paraded by an army of hilichurls.

Exorcism. Absorption. Each time the cycle repeats, his face visibly darkened as he moved from one place to the next, making sure there were no tables left unturned. What started as a short detour eventually became an unending nightmare he wanted to wake up from.

"Hah..." Adam could not help but let out a depressed sigh. Currently, he looked worse for wear despite having proven his assumption. The reason being was quite simple. "These hilichurls tastes like shit."