Now That It Had Come to This

When the notification panel popped up, Long Xi almost thought the loan system was about to screw him over again.

But this time, it wasn't taking money.

It was payday!

And a pretty damn generous payday at that!

[Episode One story rewards available]

[Deep Study Card ×1]

[Cursed Energy Efficiency Boost Card ×1]

[Moderate physical enhancement ×1]

[Moderate cursed energy enhancement ×1]

[Claim rewards?]

Long Xi selected claim almost without hesitation.

He would save the study card for later, though.

The later he used something like that, the more he would get out of it. Same logic as hoarding experience books in a game.

But he clicked to use all the others right away.

The next second, a wave of heat burst from his chest.

An incredibly pleasant sensation came rushing over him!

It was like spending three days at the finest hot spring resort, washing away every last trace of exhaustion.

Or like turning from a human into a vampire! This was the greatest high!!!

It was probably the same rush as eating three Chocliz ice cream bars, chugging a huge bottle of Sprite, then going for a run even after someone told him his lips had turned purple.

He'd triggered his second wind!

Even the flow of his cursed energy had changed.

Before, it had been like a stuck faucet, squeezing out one drop at a time.

Now it finally felt like a proper pipe.

There was even a hint of being able to turn the tap however he pleased.

Long Xi had barely flexed his wrist when Satoru Gojo tilted his head.

He said nothing.

The smile on his face, mostly hidden behind his blindfold, simply deepened a little.

Of course the Six Eyes had seen it.

Every last detail.

In the few seconds Gojo had been speaking, this problem student, who had looked ready to fall apart moments earlier, had gained a noticeable boost in physical strength, total cursed energy, and operating efficiency.

Without any training or sudden epiphany, he had instantly become several times stronger?

What would they call that in an online game?

Leveling up on the spot?

This had gone beyond a pleasant surprise.

It was like ripping open a gacha screen to find a living, breathing limited-edition character standing inside, or the shock the yellow-skinned faction would feel if the Tyranids joined their side!

"You got stronger again."

Gojo spoke lightly, a lollipop between his lips.

"How strange. A jujutsu sorcerer like you... your cursed technique must be a modern type!"

"I had a student with a situation a lot like yours, though his power-ups were even scarier."

Long Xi coughed.

Who was Gojo talking about?

Of course he knew: Kinji Hakari, Jujutsu Society's one and only gambling addict, and the ultimate femboy developer.

There were a few similarities between Hakari's ability and his own. Hakari's ability was like playing the lottery. If he hit the jackpot seventy or eighty times in a row, he might actually be able to solo Sukuna.

He was pretty much the biggest cheat around, aside from a certain guy named Gao Yu.

Now, though, Long Xi had to be added to that list.

Rather than address the subject directly, Long Xi simply shrugged.

"Call it... post-battle benefits?"

"Isn't that just how cursed techniques work?"

"How convenient."

Gojo smiled and didn't press him.

Megumi Fushiguro stood beside them, his expression growing even more wooden.

In this one night, he had watched Itadori eat a finger, seen Sukuna emerge, and witnessed an unidentified Chinese man with no legal documentation ram a spear into Sukuna. Now he had to watch that same man level up on the spot.

Megumi felt he needed a copy of Still Trying My Best to Understand Problem Children Today. It would probably be a little better than Don't Let Your Communication Skills Hold You Back, which he'd bought from a Chinese streamer.

Yuji Itadori had an entirely different reaction.

"Huh? You can do that?" He pointed at Long Xi, his face full of wonder. "Isn't that cheating?"

Long Xi was perfectly honest.

"I never turned the cheats off. Doesn't count as turning them on if they were never off."

"..."

That shut Itadori up instantly.

Gojo laughed.

"Good. Points for honesty."

The night wind poured through the shattered wall, and their surroundings finally took on the hollow stillness of an aftermath.

It was time to wrap things up.

Gojo dealt with Itadori's situation first.

With Sukuna's incarnation, the rules dictated that Yuji Itadori should have been executed immediately. But he could still suppress Sukuna. A vessel like that might not appear even once in several hundred years.

Gojo explained it very directly.

"Basically, you're sentenced to death now."

Yuji Itadori: "..."

Long Xi added from the side, "But it's the deferred-execution version. Work first, firing squad later."

"No social insurance or housing fund, either. If you develop any mental health issues here, the higher-ups might just kick you to the curb."

Yuji Itadori: "That's even scarier!"

Gojo raised a hand in a peace sign.

"But there is a way forward. Eat all twenty of Sukuna's fingers, then we'll deal with everything in one go. That's the simplest option."

"You mean you want me to keep eating those things that look like ancient dried-out mummies?"

"Yep."

"That's straight-up hell!"

Listening to this, Long Xi wanted to light a candle for Itadori-not just out of concern for his stomach acid, but for the hygiene involved, too.

No matter how you looked at it, something that had lived for at least five hundred years had absolutely nothing to do with hygiene anymore.

Other seventeen-year-olds worried about college, clubs, and what they wanted to become.

At seventeen, Itadori had to worry about how many installments he would need to swallow the King of Curses in.

The pressure was on another level. By comparison, probably only some poor soul paying off both a mortgage and a car loan in twelve installments could compete.

Even Tomato's webnovels wouldn't dare give someone a main storyline like that.

Even people making original characters wouldn't put their babies through this much misery.

Only the Jujutsu Higher-Ups would probably use such a kill-the-goose-for-its-eggs approach. From a certain perspective, it was practically burning through their karmic merit.

Unexpectedly, Itadori didn't agonize over it for long.

He raised his head, and his first question was whether his two upperclassmen would survive.

Megumi answered yes.

Then Itadori's expression turned into one that said if that was the case, there was no problem. Although Long Xi had already known what he was like, he still couldn't help marveling inwardly.

Passionate, stubborn, the nicest of nice guys, the saintliest of saints-someone who genuinely took "don't let other people die" to heart.

Not a hypocrite. A genuinely good person.

The sort he'd rarely encountered even in his previous life. Itadori had only just learned that his future was a dead end, yet his first concern was still the "ordinary people" caught up in tonight's events.

Stop thinking about it!

If I keep letting my imagination run wild, I'll end up at that mysterious farmhouse!!!

A certain someone might not attract women, but his appeal to men was clearly terrifying.

Gojo watched from the side, that same flippant smile still on his lips, but his words had already paved the way for Itadori.

"Then let's go. You're joining Jujutsu High."

He pointed at Long Xi next.

"You too."

"I'll take you both as a bundle. Saves on shipping."

Long Xi raised an eyebrow. Though he had expected this, he still feigned surprise as he spoke.

"Even someone with no papers like me can enroll?"

"If I say you can, you can."

Gojo wagged a finger.

"Jujutsu Society is rotten in plenty of ways, but when it comes to 'the strongest makes the rules,' they're pretty good at following through."

Megumi opened his mouth, but ultimately held his tongue.

He could tell Gojo was in an exceptionally good mood today.

Trying to talk him out of anything now would be pointless.

So... now that it had come to this... they might as well eat first...