Becoming a Player

Miyagi Prefecture, Sendai City.

The once-prosperous streets were now shrouded in a massive dark-red barrier, the air saturated with dense fluctuations of cursed energy.

"This is the Sendai Colony, one of the four bloodiest colonies in the Culling Game."

Shiyue Shuo stood at the edge of the barrier, staring at the rippling screen before him as he took a deep breath. He glanced down at his watch. The hands were slowly approaching noon.

"Ready?"

Yuta Okkotsu stood beside him, his voice calm. His loose white Jujutsu High uniform fluttered lightly in the wind, and a black hilt protruded from the katana case on his back.

"Of course. If I don't join in on something this exciting, I'll feel like this whole trip through time was a waste." Shiyue Shuo grinned. Though his head was still wrapped in bandages, his eyes held a resolute gleam.

The two stepped into the barrier.

Buzz!

The instant he passed through the screen, a cold, emotionless electronic voice rang out in his mind:

[Player: Shiyue Shuo. Score: 0. Entry into the colony confirmed.]

Shiyue Shuo rolled his wrist. The moment he entered the barrier, he could feel countless malicious gazes falling upon him from the ruins in every direction. The Sendai Colony was currently divided among four dominant forces. To those ancient sorcerers, any newly arrived player was nothing more than a walking score.

"The air here... the concentration of cursed energy is absurdly high. Even I can feel it," Shiyue Shuo said quietly.

"After all, a large number of ancient incarnated sorcerers have gathered here." Yuta Okkotsu walked ahead of him. His pace was unhurried, yet he exuded an unshakable pressure. "Shuo, your ability may be unusual, but here, the precision of a technique's output determines your chances of survival. Don't rush to unleash everything. First, learn to sense the 'rhythm' of your opponent's technique."

Yuta seemed somewhat aloof and spoke little, but every so often, he would pause without drawing attention to it and explain the flow of lingering cursed energy in the area to Shiyue Shuo.

"Cursed energy is concentrated emotion. Ancient sorcerers tended to refine it into some ultimate 'concept.'" Yuta Okkotsu pointed at a building in the distance that had been cut apart with perfect precision. "Look at that cut. Not a trace of excess energy leaked out. That level of control is what we need to learn."

Shiyue Shuo nodded. He closed his eyes, and the talisman wheel in his mind was spinning wildly.

Ever since he had saved Mai in the Forbidden Vault three days ago, his control over his domain had undergone a qualitative leap. If activating Twelvefold Zodiac had once meant forcibly controlling the wildly surging power of the talismans, then now, he could at least begin to sort through those tangled threads of authority.

"I can't stay limited to three anymore." Shiyue Shuo sensed the shining totems in his mind.

The extreme precision required to save Mai had allowed him to touch the threshold of overlapping talismans. During that life-or-death instant of control, the Horse Talisman had continuously repaired his brain while the domain kept expanding it. Now, he could steadily wield the power of six talismans at once without his consciousness collapsing.

Though he still could not activate all twelve authorities at once, the combination of six talismans was already enough to let him walk sideways through this hell.

"He's here." Yuta Okkotsu suddenly stopped and looked toward an overpass diagonally ahead.

An old man sat cross-legged at one end of the bridge. He looked incredibly ancient, his bare upper body covered in dark bluish-green tattoos. Two enormous shikigami—like gigantic long-necked birds—circled around him along a set path, tracing invisible "tracks."

Player: Dhruv Lakdawalla.

"That's his technique. He uses the paths of his shikigami as the boundaries of his domain." Yuta Okkotsu drew the katana from his back. "This kind of ancient domain logic has a limited guaranteed-hit range, but it's extremely domineering."

"Leave this old man to me." Shiyue Shuo stepped forward. "Yuta, deal with the trash lurking around us. Don't let them interrupt me while I test my new move."

Yuta Okkotsu glanced at Shiyue Shuo. He did not object, merely nodded before vanishing into the shadows in a flash.

Roar—!

Dhruv opened his eyes. There was no emotion in them, only the indifference of one who looked upon the living. With a slight hook of his shriveled fingers, the two giant shikigami let out piercing shrieks and dove down.

Shiyue Shuo did not dodge.

Domain Expansion—Twelvefold Zodiac: Eternal Coordinates.

Buzz!

Six talismans lit up in sequence behind Shiyue Shuo.

"[Ox] strength, [Rabbit] speed, [Dragon] explosion, [Monkey] transformation, [Dog] immortality, [Horse] restoration."

Boom!

Six completely different authorities were forcibly kneaded together at that instant. Faint golden dragon scales emerged across Shiyue Shuo's skin, and in the blink of an eye, his figure became hundreds upon thousands of afterimages that could not be captured.

The instant Dhruv's shikigami paths touched the dark-golden domain, they let out miserable wails and were instantly melted apart by the searing heat overflowing from the [Dragon] Talisman.

"Old man, times have changed."

Shiyue Shuo's voice rang beside Dhruv's ear.

This speed had surpassed mere "fast." It was the ultimate velocity of the [Rabbit]. Before Dhruv could even turn his head, Shiyue Shuo's heavy fist, covered in golden dragon scales, had already slammed into his chest.

That punch carried the extreme brute force of the [Ox] Talisman, along with the high-energy explosion condensed at its tip by the [Dragon] Talisman.

Boom!

Dhruv's aged body shot away like a cannonball, instantly smashing through three office buildings. A mist of blood burst through the air. The ancient defense he had once taken pride in was as fragile as scrap paper before the violent infusion of six authorities.

"Not dead yet?" Shiyue Shuo flashed forward again.

Dhruv, sprawled amid the rubble, tried to summon his final shikigami to self-destruct.

Shiyue Shuo's eyes locked onto him. A beam of flame capable of melting through steel plates pierced Dhruv's body with perfect accuracy, blasting him hard against a broken wall.

"Cough... Urgh!" Dhruv spat out a mouthful of blood. For the first time, terror appeared in his clouded eyes. "This power... doesn't contain a trace of cursed energy... What kind of monster are you?"

"Don't fall for me."

Shiyue Shuo raised his hand. The crimson light of the [Dragon] Talisman condensed into an extremely tiny point in his palm before suddenly piercing through Dhruv's heart.

[Player: Dhruv Lakdawalla. Death confirmed.]

[Player: Shiyue Shuo. Score gained: 5.]

With Dhruv's death, the massive shikigami that had been circling high above instantly collapsed into remnants of cursed energy that scattered across the sky.

Shiyue Shuo dismissed his domain, and his body swayed sharply. Even though he could now steadily control six talismans, outputting power on this level still left his mind washed over by waves of exhaustion.

"Not bad." At some point, Yuta Okkotsu had returned to the edge of the battlefield. Several black-clothed sorcerers lay dead beneath his feet, while not a single drop of blood stained his katana.

Yuta Okkotsu walked over to Shiyue Shuo and patted his shoulder. A gentle flow of cursed energy passed through him, easing the pressure in Shiyue Shuo's mind.

That outwardly cold but inwardly warm gesture gave Shiyue Shuo an oddly comforting feeling.

"There's also someone called Ryu Ishigori." Yuta Okkotsu looked toward another part of the city, where violent rumbling continued without pause. "He's the man with the highest output in this colony. Shuo, the next opponent will be far stronger than that old man."

"Then let's go meet him." Shiyue Shuo straightened his back. "We've got points now. Next, we're going to stir these waters up even more."

The two passed through smoke-filled streets and headed toward the center of Sendai City.

In the shadows of the city, swarms of black insects crawled frantically. That was the territory of another Special Grade cursed spirit—Kurourushi.

"Feel that?" Yuta Okkotsu stopped.

"Yeah." Shiyue Shuo looked at the revolting cockroaches beneath his feet. "More of these disgusting things. Let's exorcise it already."

"Okay." Yuta Okkotsu slowly drew his katana.

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