Growth Summary and Long-Awaited Relaxation

"Phew."

Toho Tetsu let out a long breath and withdrew the cursed energy reinforcing his body, still somewhat dissatisfied.

When he had fought that semi-grade one cursed spirit with its strange cursed technique, he had gone all out, pouring all his cursed energy into reinforcing his body. He had indeed gained explosive speed and immense strength at the time.

But he had also noticed what seemed to be slight muscle strains. The cursed energy reinforcement had likely been too intense for his body to bear.

Although his body seemed far stronger than it had been in his previous life—perhaps another benefit the mysterious online friend had sent along with that enormous amount of cursed energy—physical training could not be rushed. It could only be built up over time.

So ever since then, he had deliberately kept training his body, but... his progress so far had been fairly average.

Watching him, Utahime Iori beside him rarely made a sarcastic remark.

"You really are diligent. Don't you have anything else to do? Every day, you're either on a mission or training."

Because until the assessment ended, she and Mei Mei had both been Toho Tetsu's supervisors, so even after he became capable of taking missions on his own, the two of them would still usually accompany him in turns or together.

She had watched a certain someone's behavior over this period, moved and exasperated by his unwavering persistence.

But Toho Tetsu merely smiled at her words.

After everything that had happened before, how could he dare to slack off?

And his cursed technique could not be improved through subjective effort, so all he could do now was train and strengthen himself constantly, gaining as much power as possible to better deal with whatever came in the future.

"If we're talking about hard work, you're no less dedicated yourself, are you?"

Mei Mei, standing on the other side, joined the conversation, looking at Utahime with some curiosity.

"I heard from some Assistant Supervisors that you two have been going to the library together a lot lately, researching and studying something. Sometimes you don't even want to leave at night, and the librarian has to chase you out."

At that, Utahime and Toho Tetsu instinctively exchanged looks. Then, they both saw a trace of delight in each other's eyes.

What they had been busy with recently was researching the possibility of making barrier techniques offensive. The reason they had been spending so much time in the library was to search for relevant theoretical knowledge and plan out methods of using barrier techniques.

More importantly, they had achieved results.

Those results had originated from an idea proposed by Toho Tetsu.

Most Sorcerers generally used cursed energy by wrapping it around their bodies or attaching it to something and throwing it.

The latter could count as a form of ranged attack, but its damage was too limited and its consumption too high. It was far inferior to attacking directly with cursed energy.

As everyone knew, cursed energy could not be directly used for ranged attacks because it decayed and became uncontrollable once it left the body. Aside from those with special cursed techniques or exceptional talent, almost no one could use cursed energy for direct long-range attacks.

But what if they changed their perspective?

Since cursed energy became uncontrollable and decayed after leaving the body, they could use barrier techniques to impose multiple layers of restraint, condense and compress the cursed energy, then add several layers of acceleration barriers to launch the condensed mass of cursed energy at extreme speed in a short amount of time. Finally, they could cover it with an outer layer of barrier that controlled its direction, ensuring a certain degree of destructive power within a set range.

The overall concept was similar to... an electromagnetic railgun?

Though the idea was excellent, their best result so far had only been Utahime barely managing to fire a chaotic stream of cursed energy at a target five meters away.

The damage had not been great—perhaps not even half as much as she could inflict by directly attacking a training dummy after reinforcing her body—but it undoubtedly proved that they were heading in the right direction.

The reason they could not yet achieve their envisioned effect was simply that their mastery of barrier techniques was not high enough, or rather, their precise control over cursed energy was not refined enough.

As long as they continued studying and improving their barrier techniques, they would eventually realize this idea.

However, because of their agreement not to tell anyone about it until it was complete, Utahime guiltily turned her head away.

"I'm just teaching this brat some basic barrier technique knowledge, and helping him review some common knowledge about jujutsu. I noticed he's already forgotten quite a bit recently, so he needs to catch up properly!"

"Uh, that's true."

Seeing Utahime's obvious attempt to hide something, then meeting Mei Mei's amused gaze, Toho Tetsu felt somewhat helpless.

He knew that explanation would not fool her, but he also knew Mei Mei was not the type to dig until she reached the bottom of things. More likely, she would take the excuse at face value and stop asking.

Sure enough, Mei Mei merely shook her head.

"Fine, let's say that's the case. Still, your performance lately has been quite good. Not only have you handled and arranged missions well, but even your control at the scene has been perfect. You're already comparable to most grade two Sorcerers."

Halfway through, she sounded somewhat regretful.

"It's just a shame that your observation period isn't over yet. Otherwise, I don't think the higher-ups would hesitate to grant you a grade two Sorcerer evaluation."

Toho Tetsu did not really care much about this so-called ranking evaluation. After all, a title on the surface proved nothing. Improving his strength was what truly mattered.

But Mei Mei seemed to see through his thoughts and deliberately reminded him.

"Don't underestimate a Sorcerer's grade. It affects your compensation. The benefits and monthly pay of a grade three Sorcerer are significantly different from those of a grade two Sorcerer, not to mention the gap between grade two and grade one."

Halfway through, her words took on a faintly meaningful tone.

"And only after you receive an official evaluation will Jujutsu High not refuse if I invite you to take missions with me."

At that, Toho Tetsu paused slightly. He had heard about Mei Mei from some Assistant Supervisors before.

She generally did not team up with others, preferring to act alone. On the rare occasions she did form a team, it was only with Utahime, or for large joint missions involving many people.

Some believed she was cold and disliked interacting with outsiders, but he knew she merely found unprofessional, troublesome people tiresome because they wasted too much of her time.

On the contrary, she seemed to appreciate him somewhat. During the breaks between the occasional missions or training sessions, she had mentioned wanting to form a long-term partnership with him in the future.

Perhaps because of that, he had also unlocked 50% of Black Bird Manipulation. That was another gain he had made during this period.

Although he could not reveal the effects of his cursed technique at this stage, acquiring a new ability was always worth being happy about.

And it also meant that Mei Mei had truly begun to regard him as a friend. To him, that was a better reward than the cursed technique itself.

Just as he was about to say something, a somewhat familiar voice sounded from not far away.

"You three are still here?"

When they turned their heads, Yaga Masamichi had already stepped into the training grounds. They quickly put away the relaxed demeanor they had while chatting.

In the past, this man had personally assigned them missions several times, so they wondered whether a new mission had arrived.

Seeing their reactions, Yaga Masamichi spoke without much thought.

"I came to notify Toho Tetsu of something."

Hearing that, Toho Tetsu and Utahime instinctively exchanged glances, while a hint of speculation appeared in Mei Mei's eyes.

Sure enough, his next sentence revealed the purpose of his visit.

"Your evaluation and review have concluded. Jujutsu High has decided that you passed the assessment. In a few days, when the other new students arrive, you can officially begin your studies and become a formal student of Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High."

Only then did Toho Tetsu finally let out a breath of relief.

Though he had not believed Jujutsu High would casually decide to deal with or seal him away, only now that the matter was settled did he finally feel at ease.

Utahime beside him did not hide her happiness at all. The joy on her face was practically overflowing.

Even Mei Mei, whose expression rarely changed much, smiled slightly. Perhaps she was happy he had passed the evaluation, or perhaps she was happy that her future partner was finally secured.

No one knew.

Seeing how the three had grown close over this period, Yaga Masamichi felt quite gratified. Then he continued with a reminder.

"Although you have passed your evaluation, I personally suggest that you avoid leaving campus alone for long periods or too often."

Halfway through, he paused as though weighing his words, but in the end, he still said what he meant.

"After all, there are still quite a few people who are highly suspicious of you."

Hearing words that sounded like a warning but actually carried concern, Toho Tetsu nodded.

"I understand. Thank you, Principal Yaga."

Having finished his business, Yaga waved his hand and turned to leave. Only after he had completely disappeared from sight did Utahime happily say,

"Congratulations. Now you really are my junior."

Mei Mei nodded as well.

"Now that you've passed the evaluation and review and become an official student, you'll probably receive your own rank before long too."

Toho Tetsu was in quite a good mood as well. For the first time, he suggested taking a break.

"It really is good news. How about we celebrate a little?"

At that, Utahime's eyes instantly lit up.

"Of course we should celebrate! We've been busy with missions and training everywhere lately, and we've barely had time to go shopping properly. Since we're free now, let's go eat something nice and have some fun while we're at it."

Though she was not particularly interested in such things, Mei Mei nodded when she saw the other two were eager.

"That is indeed a good suggestion."

Since both of them agreed, Toho Tetsu contacted an Assistant Supervisor who was currently free.

After paying a certain amount for transportation and fare, the three got out of the car in the heart of downtown Tokyo more than ten minutes later.

On the way over, Utahime enthusiastically introduced where they could find delicious food and where there were interesting things to see.

Though the other two were not particularly materialistic, they did not reject her enthusiasm or spoil the mood. Instead, they accompanied her to those places.

As they passed a certain shop, Toho Tetsu deliberately stopped. Under the curious gazes of the two women, he walked over to the proprietress. After chatting with her with a smile for a few moments, he handed her several banknotes.

Watching the two of them chatting happily in the distance, Utahime, who had been happily tasting her food, suddenly felt strangely uncomfortable. Her brows furrowed unconsciously.

Mei Mei, who had keenly noticed this, felt a trace of amusement in her heart, but she said thoughtfully,

"I remember Toho has been busy with missions and training lately. When did he get to know her?"

At that, the girl's grip around her dessert instantly tightened. When Toho Tetsu finished his conversation and returned to their side, she deliberately shot him a glare and warned him in an inexplicably strange tone.

"Listen, brat... as a Sorcerer, you'd better keep some distance from ordinary people. Otherwise, things might not end well for you."

Hearing those odd words, Toho Tetsu froze for a moment before looking confused.

"What are you talking about, senpai? I was only returning the money I borrowed from her for those crepes last time."

"Huh?"

Utahime froze at that, then realized what he was referring to. She immediately turned her head away and said in a somewhat stiff voice,

"So... so it was about that day."

Looking at her like this, Toho Tetsu more or less had a guess, but he merely pretended to be confused.

"Yes. What did you think it was, senpai?"

"I... I thought it was about that day too! All right, let's go!"

Watching her turn around and pull Mei Mei, who wore a subtle smile, forward, he found it somewhat amusing, but he still followed after them.

Just then, a girl happened to step out from the convenience store nearby.

She held a pack of freshly bought Mild Seven in her hand. Just as she was about to tear open the packaging, her peripheral vision caught sight of the three figures walking away.

After thinking for a moment, she looked uncertain.

"The one on the left wearing shrine maiden robes... she looks kind of familiar?"

Though she had some impression of that figure, she could not remember where she had seen her. She could only shake her head and walk in the opposite direction.

She would officially enroll in a few days. Maybe she would see some new faces then?

Thinking that, she lit a flame and walked into the night.