The Trial; The Special-Grade Sorcerer Assessment / Evading Domains-Unsolvable Quantumization

After joining the Jujutsu World and gaining access to its intelligence network, An Xiu and Seele immediately began their journey of purging Cursed Spirits.

It was not only to earn system points and turn the Jujutsu World into their own backyard as soon as possible, but also to earn real-world money.

After all, the identity the system had given An Xiu in this world was genuinely short on cash, while Seele was completely penniless.

In the Jujutsu World, purging Cursed Spirits came with compensation. Sorcerers needed to make a living too. Not every sorcerer came from a major clan with a family to support them, free from worries about survival. Most low- and mid-level sorcerers actually made their living by purging Cursed Spirits.

However, compared to independent sorcerers, sorcerers under the management of the Jujutsu World's higher-ups would periodically be assigned unpaid "mandatory" missions.

But An Xiu and Seele certainly did not have that problem. Though they had nominally joined the Jujutsu World, they had essentially just found themselves a useful tool to provide intelligence and send them money. They had no intention of obeying any orders from the Jujutsu World, and naturally, the Jujutsu World would not make fools of themselves by assigning them mandatory missions.

Those had been the terms agreed upon from the very beginning.

Without orders from those overbearing Jujutsu World higher-ups, An Xiu and Seele were actually even freer than independent sorcerers like Meimei.

After all, independent sorcerers had to wait for someone to come to them if they wanted to accept commissions and earn money. An Xiu and Seele were different. They were practically forcing a sale: as long as they purged a Cursed Spirit listed in the Jujutsu World's intelligence, the Director's Council had to pay them. According to their previous agreement, the Jujutsu World also had to provide An Xiu and Seele with Cursed Spirit intelligence unconditionally.

In other words, the Jujutsu World had effectively assigned every Cursed Spirit extermination mission to An Xiu and Seele as a commission, without any time limit. Whenever the two completed one, the Jujutsu World had to transfer the payment immediately. As for jobs An Xiu and Seele had no interest in, found unprofitable, or simply did not intend to complete, the Jujutsu World could not force them to take them and could only handle those missions themselves.

Although the higher-ups of the Jujutsu World were somewhat dissatisfied with this arrangement, considering Seele's record, they ultimately chose to endure it.

And so, several days passed.

That day, in a park in Tokyo.

It was noon. An Xiu sat leisurely on a bench, basking in the sun, with a dessert at his side that he sampled from time to time.

Then, a figure suddenly appeared behind An Xiu and walked toward him.

"Yo, you really are taking it easy. Sitting in a park, enjoying the sunshine while eating dessert and all that."

Gojo Satoru, dressed in his familiar attire, walked over and sat on the other end of the bench, sounding as though he were grumbling sentimentally.

"I can't even remember the last time I got to sit in a park and eat dessert. Or maybe that has never happened at all? I am pretty busy most of the time, after all."

"Then being the strongest in the Jujutsu World sounds pretty miserable. No, wait. You should be the former strongest now."

An Xiu spoke calmly.

"Since you say you're so busy, may I ask what brings the ever-busy Mr. Gojo Satoru here this time?"

"It's about the Special Grade assessment."

Gojo Satoru took out a piece of intelligence from his clothes and handed it to An Xiu beside him.

"I originally planned to give it directly to Miss Seele, but she seems even busier than I am these past few days. Normally, no one can find her at all, so I could only come notify you instead, An Xiu."

"Alright, I understand."

An Xiu gave the assessment information a quick look. It was more or less a matter of going to a designated location somewhere in Tokyo and purging a powerful Cursed Spirit. If she succeeded, she would pass the assessment.

With Seele's strength, this was nothing more than a formality. All he had to do was wait for Seele to return from purging Cursed Spirits that night and tell her about it.

As for why Seele was out purging Cursed Spirits while An Xiu was sitting in a park eating dessert and soaking up the sun, it was mainly because An Xiu had discovered that he could still receive Point rewards even without accompanying Seele.

The reason An Xiu had previously stayed by Seele's side while she purged Cursed Spirits was mainly to fulfill the condition of Seele killing Cursed Spirits in order to protect him. That allowed the system to judge it as him living off a woman and award him points.

But over the past few days, An Xiu had discovered that as long as Seele's subjective motivation while purging Cursed Spirits was to help him earn system points, the system's conditions could still be met and reward him points even if he was not there.

After all, how was having a girl earn money to support him not living off a woman?

So, after discovering this, An Xiu immediately began spending every day eating, drinking, and having fun, living a carefree life as a freeloader entirely supported by Seele's earnings.

During the day, he used the money Seele earned to wander around and enjoy himself. At night, he went home, held the soft and fragrant Seele in his arms, and slept peacefully. The next day, he woke leisurely to the girl's soft calls and gentle care.

What was wrong with a life like this? This life was absolutely wonderful. If someone had the means to live such a decadent life, they ought to indulge in it without restraint!

After An Xiu saw off Gojo Satoru, who had come to notify him, elsewhere, inside an unknown apartment building.

"A new Special Grade who defeated the strongest, and an unknown curse whose strength may even exceed Gojo Satoru's..."

A black-haired man with a lock of bangs hanging over his forehead, narrow eyes, and a stitch running across his forehead stood before an apartment door, contemplating the intelligence he had received.

A moment later, Choso—or rather, Choso—entered the apartment before him, and the scenery instantly changed.

Sunshine, a beach, and the sea. Such scenery clearly could not exist inside an apartment building. This was a special domain unfolded by a powerful Cursed Spirit.

"What's wrong, Geto Suguru? You were out for quite a while this time, and you even stood outside the door for a moment. Did something happen?"

A pale young man whose body was covered in stitches stepped forward and asked Choso.

"It's nothing. It just seems that the Jujutsu World is about to gain a new Special Grade."

"And... this is a new Special Grade who defeated the former strongest."

Choso answered.

"Hmph, so what? Whether it's that Gojo Satoru you mentioned before or this new Special Grade, if they dare obstruct our plans, I'll destroy every last one of them."

Not far away, a clearly inhuman, short, one-eyed Cursed Spirit with a volcano-like head spoke disdainfully.

Clearly, aside from Choso, everyone present, including the young man conversing with him, was not human.

PS: The second chapter will probably be updated around seven to eight tonight.

Choso's Test, Special Grade Sorcerer Assessment

The Disaster Cursed Spirits were four Special Grade cursed spirits born from cursed energy formed by humanity's four most widespread and greatest fears.

Leaking Pot, born from humanity's fear of the earth, possessed the powerful ability to manipulate flames and high-temperature magma. It was the Cursed Spirit that had just expressed disdain for Special Grade sorcerers.

Although, due to Choso disguising himself as Geto Suguru, Leaking Pot possessed a certain degree of respect for Special Grade sorcerers' strength, it had not yet experienced the beating Gojo Satoru had given it in the original story. As such, it did not understand just how vast the gap between Special Grades could be.

The other person conversing with Choso, the white-haired young man covered in stitches, was the Cursed Spirit born from humanity's fear of humanity: Mahito.

Not far from the three of them stood Hanami, a tall and muscular Cursed Spirit covered in black patterns, born from humanity's fear of forests.

There was also Dagon, still not fully developed and resembling a red octopus overall, born from humanity's fear of the ocean.

Four Special Grade Disaster Cursed Spirits, plus Choso occupying Geto Suguru's body—five Special Grade combatants in total.

If the Jujutsu World learned of the situation here, it would surely be shaken to its core.

At that moment, Choso had no intention of responding to Leaking Pot's arrogant declaration. He merely stated his plan calmly.

"I have obtained information on the assessment site prepared for that new Special Grade. I intend to make some arrangements there and see whether I can probe out some information about her."

Because Gojo Satoru had never revealed the details of his battle with Seele and Dark Seele, neither the Jujutsu World's higher-ups nor Choso knew any detailed information about her techniques, even though they knew she possessed the ability to defeat Gojo Satoru.

Neither the Jujutsu World's higher-ups nor Choso knew anything about the abilities and effects of the girl who was about to become a new Special Grade, including the curse residing within her.

"Oh? Do you need us to make a move? How about we just kill that new Special Grade?"

Mahito, standing beside Choso, immediately showed great interest upon hearing that.

Unfortunately, Choso merely shook his head.

"It's only a simple test. It isn't worth alerting the Jujutsu World over a newly promoted Special Grade and causing them to notice us. Continue to be patient for a while longer."

What a joke. Going to ambush and kill a Special Grade capable of defeating the current Six Eyes, Gojo Satoru, while knowing nothing about her techniques or domain effects? Only idiots who did not understand Gojo Satoru's strength would come up with such a stupid idea.

Those Cursed Spirits might be foolish, but Choso was not. Before obtaining complete intelligence, he would not confront that newly promoted Special Grade head-on even if he were beaten to death.

Even this test had to be handled with extreme caution. He could not leave behind any flaw that might put him in a disadvantageous position.

Fortunately, as a curse user who had lived for an unknown number of years, Choso was confident that he could use the resources and foundations he had accumulated over the years to complete this plan.

The next day, on the outskirts of Tokyo, at an abandoned hospital that looked as though it had been there for many years.

Using the intelligence about the assessment location provided by the Jujutsu World, Seele appeared before the hospital's entrance.

According to the information, this abandoned hospital had suffered numerous serious medical accidents many years ago. Later investigations revealed that the hospital director and several surgeons had been involved in organ trafficking.

After it was shut down, the incident happened during the collapse of Japan's economic bubble. Through online circulation in recent years, combined with its own horrifying history, it had successfully become the basis for a widely spread urban legend.

According to the Jujutsu World's observations, the cursed energy gathering here had grown increasingly immense over the past few months. It was highly possible that a new Special Grade cursed spirit would be born from the public's fear.

This matter should originally have been handled by Gojo Satoru, but the Jujutsu World's higher-ups had now handed it directly to Seele as an assessment.

Summoning the scythe in her hand, Seele slowly entered the hospital through the main entrance.

After being abandoned for so many years, the hospital had long since fallen into complete disrepair. Rotten walls and dust were everywhere, while cobwebs and moss filled the dark corners.

Fortunately, Seele had come during the day. If it had been nighttime, the moment she stepped inside, she would likely have been swallowed by darkness so thick she could not see her own hand.

"The cursed energy... seems to be gathering upstairs."

Seele did not care about the hospital's environment, nor was she worried about being ambushed.

After all, a mere wild Special Grade cursed spirit could not pose any threat to Seele.

By observing the flow of cursed energy around her, Seele quickly locked onto the target. Her figure flashed, and she instantly appeared outside one of the hospital's operating rooms.

The long-rotted door naturally could not stop Seele. With a light push of her hand, the entire door fell over, kicking up clouds of dust.

Even with her vision obscured, Seele could sense that the moment she stepped into the operating room, the cursed energy around her suddenly became violent.

"Ahhhhh--!!!"

A thick arm suddenly shot out from the depths of the operating room and slammed down at the spot where Seele stood.

Seele had already noticed the attack, so she naturally retreated. The next second, a massive figure smashed through the operating room wall and entered the hallway.

It was an exceptionally grotesque Cursed Spirit. Its body seemed to have been formed by the forced pileup and entanglement of more than a dozen human bodies. It had five heads, seven pairs of limbs, and thirteen exposed hearts that beat without pause.

The arm that had attacked Seele was one of the seven pairs of limbs belonging to the creature before her.

That appearance corresponded exactly to the information provided by the Jujutsu World: the five people who had died in this hospital's medical accidents, the director and six doctors involved in organ trafficking, and the thirteen victims whose organs had been removed.

Judging by the cursed energy radiating from this Cursed Spirit's body, it was indeed a Special Grade cursed spirit.

"Ahhhhh--!!!"

The instant it saw Seele, the Special Grade cursed spirit became even more frenzied. Its five heads continuously emitted hollow, piercing howls as its seven pairs of limbs moved in unison, charging at Seele in a bizarre posture.

Boom!!!

Under the Special Grade cursed spirit's charge, the already decayed walls around them began collapsing in large sections. For a moment, the entire hospital building looked as though it might collapse at any time.

However, facing the Cursed Spirit's rampaging charge, Seele merely raised her scythe and focused.

The next second, Seele's figure flashed. She appeared behind the Cursed Spirit as though she had teleported, and the Special Grade cursed spirit that had been charging forward with unstoppable momentum was instantly torn in two by an overwhelming force. Purple blood splashed across the surrounding walls.

Ordinarily, after suffering such severe damage, a normal Cursed Spirit would have died on the spot even if it possessed self-healing abilities. However, when Seele turned to look, she discovered that the cursed energy reaction from the creature before her had not disappeared. Instead, its body, which had been cut in half, fused back together and rose from the ground.

At the same time, one of the thirteen exposed hearts on the Cursed Spirit's body stopped beating.

Avoiding the Domain, Unsolvable Quantization

"Is this this Cursed Spirit's ability?"

Watching the scene before her, Seele immediately concluded that this was likely the Special Grade cursed spirit's ability.

It could resurrect through the hearts on its body. There were thirteen hearts in total, which meant that the Cursed Spirit before her could resurrect thirteen times.

Furthermore, considering the background from which this Cursed Spirit had been born, perhaps it also possessed the ability to seize others' organs to replenish its hearts?

It was an impressive ability, but it was not troublesome for Seele at all. In the end, she merely had to kill it a few more times.

An ability like this, which did not directly increase its strength, could not offer any chance of turning defeat into victory when facing someone like Seele, whose power completely overwhelmed it in every aspect.

However, just as Seele was about to attack again, she noticed that several of the Cursed Spirit's arms had suddenly formed a peculiar hand sign.

That pose was...

Buzz!

A peculiar fluctuation of cursed energy spread outward from the Cursed Spirit, enveloping the surroundings.

The next second, the scenery before Seele suddenly changed.

The abandoned hospital had turned into a world made of blood-red flesh walls. Dense internal organs covered those fleshy walls, giving off a nauseating stench.

"Ahhhhh--!!!"

The Cursed Spirit at the very center of this world let out an excited howl. All five of its heads looked toward Seele with malicious intent.