Monk

"You've got to be kidding me, system bro."

[This system does not have an emotional module installed.]

"What kind of joke is this? I have to beat Sukuna just to get my first reward?"

Dai Li was stunned. Without any cheats to back him up, how could he possibly take on a special grade?

"I've got it! It must be one of those stat-point systems. Whatever it is, explain what you do."

[Automated system procedure: You have drawn the special prize and earned the opportunity to fight Sukuna. After you confront Sukuna directly, the mission will be completed regardless of victory or defeat.]

[During this process, no assistance will be provided beyond awakening your cursed technique. Only the basic function of viewing the host's status panel will be available.]

[Mission deadline: indefinite.]

[Notice: At minimum, you must fight the fully incarnated Ryomen Sukuna with the power of twenty fingers.]

"Oh, so that's how you're playing it, you host-torturing bastard."

"Doesn't matter! Even without the system's help, I'll reach the pinnacle of special grade!"

Dai Li was, after all, the sort of person who could start an online thread, get chased down by hundreds of angry comments, and trade insults with every last one of them. His mental resilience was impressive; he didn't waste a second agonizing over it.

Even learning that he had no cheats didn't bother him. He was surely gifted enough to make it anyway, and his swagger returned.

"Let's get out of here first. The sun's almost down."

Dai Li's cursed energy was almost depleted, and he was only at the level of a grade 4 sorcerer to begin with. If he actually encountered a cursed spirit, running would be his only option.

I don't even know what year or month it is. Surely Satoru Gojo hasn't already been sealed?

Dragging his exhausted body, Dai Li trudged toward the house ahead. There was only one detached home in sight.

If the system really had only transported him here, he was probably undocumented. Going to Jujutsu High might be his only way to get registered, since he was still fairly young.

"Forget it. No point worrying over nothing. Let's take care of myself first."

Dai Li sighed helplessly. Moving at a snail's pace, one step and then another, he had finally reached the front door.

"Hopefully the people here are friendly."

Knock, knock, knock. Dai Li knocked on the door, planning to explain that he had accidentally fallen into a rice paddy while cycling and gotten covered in mud.

Someone inside quickly came over after hearing the knocking.

"Hello, can I help you?" A middle-aged woman opened the door.

"Hello. I was cycling past here and accidentally fell into a rice paddy. Could I rest in your house for a little while?"

Dai Li spoke fluent Japanese.

Yes, he was speaking Japanese, and what he heard was Japanese too. His system only had a function for checking his own status panel.

Dai Li had studied Japanese as his foreign language in both high school and college. He had been a little delusional in high school, obsessed with Japanese anime and manga. He had learned Japanese because, back then, he had been convinced he would become a chosen hero, and when a goddess summoned him, she wouldn't even need to give him a translation ability.

Everyone else: needed translation magic to communicate.

Dai Li: communicated without any language barrier.

It was just so... you know what I mean.

"Of course. Helping others earns blessings for us too. Come in, young man. You're soaked through." The woman was very welcoming. She seemed to have a faith of her own.

"Thank you for your help."

Dai Li felt lucky to have met such a warm, kind woman.

"You must be freezing. Go take a bath first. I'll bring you some of my husband's clothes to wear afterward."

"Okay, thank you."

Dai Li was a little overwhelmed by this stranger's kindness. It was the first time a stranger had ever offered him such heartwarming help, and he was deeply moved.

After bathing, Dai Li put on the fresh clothes and saw the woman bring out a pot of soup.

"This pork miso soup was already cooking earlier. Have some while it's hot. My husband will be home soon."

Dai Li knew what she meant by "pork miso soup": something like miso soup with pork and daikon.

"I can't thank you enough!"

Dai Li gulped down a huge mouthful of soup. As his first meal in this world, it really left him nothing to complain about.

"Young man, the slopes around the rice paddies here are slippery. It's easy to fall in. My husband once fell in while riding his bike too, but he insisted on saving face and claimed it felt like someone had pulled him from the right. Such a stubborn old man."

The woman teased her husband in front of a stranger without a second thought.

"So you're a foreigner! What do you think? This is a lovely place, isn't it?" The woman covered her mouth as she laughed.

Dai Li was quite talkative too. After all, this was his first proper conversation with a Japanese person, and it felt rather novel.

"Yes, I think this is a wonderful place. I'm lucky to have met someone as kind as you."

Dai Li offered a few polite pleasantries, even though he hadn't been anywhere beyond the immediate vicinity of the rice paddy.

Knock, knock, knock.

A sound came from outside the entryway.

"I'm home. Oh? We have a guest today?"

The door opened, and a middle-aged man with a receding hairline stepped inside, spotting Dai Li immediately.

"You didn't tell me, dear. I haven't even prepared any shochu."

"Don't try using this as an excuse to drink. You know what your health is like."

"This young man accidentally fell into a rice paddy, so I served him some soup first. You don't mind, do you?"

"Now you're just teasing me. I couldn't be happier. I'm sure the honored Monk would be pleased to hear it too."

The old married couple got along wonderfully. Seeing their easy relationship helped Dai Li relax a little and reminded him of the atmosphere back home.

Yeah, it feels like ages since I last felt this relaxed. I've barely gone home since leaving to study in another city. I wonder how everyone's doing...

"Young man, you're welcome to stay a few more days if you like. This house looks big, but it's all empty inside."

"No, no, I couldn't impose. I'm already grateful that you're letting me stay for one night. I couldn't possibly ask to stay longer."

Besides being polite, Dai Li had things of his own to do. He genuinely didn't want to linger here.

"I see." The older man's gaze wandered casually, and he looked a little disappointed.

"But thank you both so much for your help. Could you tell me your names? I'll definitely come back to thank you someday."

Touched by their kindness, Dai Li resolved to return someday and properly express his gratitude.

"You're being far too formal. We don't even know your name yet."

"My name is Dai Li. Dai is my surname, and Li is my given name."

"Just call me Mrs. Sawada. You can call him Uncle Sawada."

Mrs. Sawada smiled gently, though "Uncle" Sawada seemed a little dissatisfied with his new title.

Just then, Dai Li suddenly noticed something clinging to the right side of Uncle Sawada's back, gripping it tightly.

Dai Li got up and walked over for a closer look, immediately realizing what was wrong.

It was a cursed spirit, but clearly one of the weakest. It probably didn't even have a grade and couldn't truly harm a human.

Perhaps all this cursed spirit could do was make the right side of Uncle Sawada's back feel a little heavy and occasionally tug at him.

Dai Li hadn't recovered much cursed energy yet, but he figured he had more than enough to exorcise a low-level cursed spirit.

Besides repaying their kindness, he wanted to try exorcising a cursed spirit himself. This was the first one he had encountered.

Still, it was his first time seeing such an inhuman, grotesque creature, and Dai Li was a little scared-though only about as scared as a person facing a cockroach.

Whew. There's a first time for everything. This is one of the weakest cursed spirits. By the grading system, even grade 4 sorcerers can easily exorcise low-level spirits like this. There's nothing to be afraid of.

Dai Li immediately rose and went behind the man, coating his palm in cursed energy and forming his hand into a chopping blade.

The cursed spirit died in a single strike. He exorcised it under the Sawada couple's astonished gazes.

"Mr. Sawada, does your back feel much lighter now?"

Dai Li sat down and asked.

"Huh? It really does. Could it be that you can use magic just like the honored Monk?"

The Sawada couple exchanged shocked looks.

"Haha, well, I know a little. Just a tiny bit." Dai Li even pinched his thumb and index finger together to demonstrate.

Hold on, what's this Monk they keep talking about? They clearly mean some jujutsu sorcerer. This could be bad.

But what if it really is an ordinary jujutsu sorcerer? Maybe a temple abbot who comes down to exorcise cursed spirits for regular people. From what the Sawadas said, this Monk must have helped them before.

"It's all right, dear. The honored Monk is visiting again today, after all. We told him about it before, remember?"

"That's right. Perhaps the honored Monk will see how gifted you are and take you as a disciple, young man. Hahaha."

The Sawada couple laughed, but Dai Li's anxiety had reached its peak. He couldn't gamble on whether their visitor was a jujutsu sorcerer or a curse user, so he prepared himself for the worst.

If the visitor really is a curse user, and he's grade 2-no, even grade 1-do I stand a chance?

I do! I'm a jujutsu sorcerer who can borrow on credit! Worst case, I'll stake my soul and take him down with me!

Dai Li was beginning to understand why Megumi Fushiguro was always trying to self-destruct. He was simply too weak. Only the weak had to bear this kind of pressure.

Despite telling himself that, he was still tempted to back out. But it seemed there was no time left.

An extraordinarily powerful cursed spirit suddenly appeared outside the door. Even though Dai Li had never seen a cursed spirit of any other grade, he could tell immediately-it was a special grade cursed spirit. The gulf between them was like heaven and earth.

A special grade cursed spirit could flatten this place in a single breath. There wouldn't even be a scrap of him left!

Overcome by fear, Dai Li suddenly shouted:

"Why is there a special grade cursed spirit here!? At this time! In this place!"

Fear surged through Dai Li like a tide. He failed to notice the astonishment in the Sawada couple's eyes, and his heart felt as though it had leaped into his throat.

But at that very moment, the door was suddenly pushed open.

"Long time no see, Mr. and Mrs. Yamada."