[The host has slain a Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit with the efficiency of Projection Cursed Technique reduced by 50%. The system will issue your reward.]
Before entering the Curtain, Dai Li had used a Cursed Technique Extension of Life and Binding-earning rewards by making a binding vow that reduced his own technique's efficiency in battle. Dai Li called it "Life and Binding: Tempering." This was the Cursed Technique Extension the system had mentioned before.
[Projection Cursed Technique efficiency increased by 0.3%.]
"Huh? That's way too little. It's dropped below 0.5% this time. Looks like becoming an invincible master by grinding nothing but Grade 1 and Semi-Grade 1 cursed spirits isn't going to happen."
"But at least the rewards for total cursed energy, cursed energy efficiency, technique efficiency, and cursed energy control are calculated separately. Raising each of those individually still adds up to a pretty big improvement."
Over the past two months, besides training his cursed energy control with cursed corpses every day, Dai Li had also gone on frequent missions. He still had to collect the reward from his daily use of Life and Binding: Tempering.
"System, show me my current status panel."
[Your status panel has been retrieved.] [Name: Dai Li] [Overall jujutsu sorcerer strength: Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer] [Total cursed energy level: Grade 1] [Overall physical ability: Grade 3] [Cursed Techniques: Life and Binding, Projection Cursed Technique]
"Thanks to the cursed energy rewards from Life and Binding: Tempering, I have 20% more cursed energy now than when I first took out that loan, but nothing on the panel has changed. Does it only change once I reach Special Grade?"
"But that's going to be tricky. I can borrow a short-term boost to my cursed energy, but I don't seem to have anything I can put up as collateral for a permanent increase to Special Grade."
"The gains from killing Grade 1 or Semi-Grade 1 spirits have already hit a bottleneck, but beating a special grade cursed spirit with my total cursed energy cut by 50% would be seriously tough. So I really do have to rely on obtaining special grade cursed objects, like that Sukuna's Finger from before."
After establishing Life and Binding: Tempering, Dai Li could no longer use his loan technique. Forcing it to activate would break the binding vow and restore his cursed energy to its normal level, but he would receive no reward.
There was still plenty of time before Sukuna was unsealed anyway, so he was in no hurry. Right now, he had a more pressing concern-
"Is there a restroom around here?"
When nature called, it called. Once he went outside, he would probably get straight into Ijichi's car and return to Jujutsu High. This high school ought to have a restroom, anyway.
"Found it."
Dai Li found the restroom at the end of the corridor. It was a little rundown, but still usable, with separate stalls inside.
"Huh? The door's locked?"
Knock, knock, knock-
Dai Li tried knocking three times.
"Anyone in there?"
No one answered from inside the stall. The place was as deserted as ever. This already dilapidated school had been abandoned two months ago after several incidents.
A cursed spirit? No, there's no trace of a curse inside. The lock's probably just broken. They were planning to abandon the place, after all. No one would bother fixing a restroom lock.
Dai Li gave it no further thought. He turned toward the stall on the right, easily twisted the handle, and went inside to relieve himself.
"I wonder how Okkotsu's doing. He should have let Rika out to fully manifest by now."
Dai Li pulled up his pants. Since he had finished his own mission long ago, he planned to head over to where Satoru Gojo was and see just how powerful Rika Orimoto was in her complete form.
"There's still water in the faucet? Lucky."
Dai Li had just twisted the faucet shut. Droplets ran off his fingertips, and the sound of running water still lingered in the restroom.
But then the restroom's sensor light abruptly flickered twice. The temperature plunged, and the damp tiled walls radiated a bone-piercing chill.
"I'm... here. Who... is it?"
The door of the third stall, farthest inside, creaked softly and slowly swung inward.
The voice came from a petite, humanoid cursed spirit. She wore an old sailor uniform with a dark red pleated skirt. Her neatly cut black hair hung in front of her shoulders, her face was so pale it had a bluish tinge, and a strange, stiff smile sat at the corners of her mouth.
"Holy fucking shit, a ghost!"
She stared at Dai Li with hollow black eye sockets. Pitch-black cursed energy churned around her and spread through the doorway, instantly covering the floor tiles in cold, damp black marks.
"Wait, this looks like a cursed spirit. Is she... using Domain Expansion?!"
An immense surge of cursed malice filled the deathly silent restroom. The red-clad cursed spirit's bluish-white lips curled into an eerie smile, and cursed energy as thick as ink exploded outward from her.
The stark white light and tiles vanished in an instant. Dai Li suddenly found himself in a narrow corridor with no end in sight. Identical restroom stalls lined both sides in dense rows. Dark, damp water stains seeped continuously through the gaps in the doors, and the air reeked of mold and cold, bloody resentment.
"Damn it, she expanded her domain way too fast. I didn't have any time to escape."
Dai Li now understood his situation clearly-he was inside the innate domain of a special grade imaginary vengeful spirit.
Muffled knocking sounded from every direction at once, repeating in sets of three. Each knock made the cursed energy inside his body faintly tingle.
The instant the third knock fell, each corresponding door swung open, abruptly firing a pitch-black spike of cursed energy straight at Dai Li.
"Begin projection!"
As the dense barrage of cursed energy spikes shot toward him from every direction, laden with resentment, Dai Li roused his cursed energy and immediately activated Projection Cursed Technique.
Red cursed energy rapidly flared around him, and dozens of heavy round shields materialized out of thin air. Each shield contained a curse that resisted cursed energy, all reproduced from cursed energy itself.
They formed a staggered, enclosed ring of defenses, shielding Dai Li securely at its center.
The pitch-black cursed energy spikes struck the shields one after another, unleashing an unbroken series of reverberations.
Dull explosions rolled together, every strike carrying the domain's unique corrosive force. Fine cracks instantly spread across the shields, and their bodies of cursed energy shuddered violently.
"A sure-hit attack inside the domain? My projected cursed tools can't block it."
Seeing that the shields were about to shatter, Dai Li stopped spending cursed energy to maintain them. He ground the tip of his foot against the damp tiles and lunged low along the stall wall. Several spikes skimmed past his shoulders and back.
The pitch-black cursed energy scraped his skin with a stinging pain. The spikes slammed into the floor behind him, burning several pits that belched black smoke.
Dodging is useless. With the domain's sure-hit effect, these cursed energy spikes can appear anywhere, anytime, to attack me. And the best way to counter a domain is to expand one of my own.
Even in this situation, Dai Li remained calm. He needed to think of a way out.
My understanding of barrier techniques is shallow. Expanding my own domain outright is definitely impossible. Even if I borrowed the ability to do it, the price would be enormous.
Luckily, I begged Satoru Gojo to teach me that move earlier. It's perfect for this situation. I never actually managed to learn it, but understanding how it works should be enough.
Life and Binding activated-
"In exchange for being unable to learn Hollow Wicker Basket, let me immediately learn Falling Blossom Emotion!"
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