A loser's mindset

Starting from F, rather than reruns?

Looking at the D+ in the system's reward section, Long Xi rubbed his chin thoughtfully and began to get a sense of how it worked.

If that was the case, then while he was streaming, provided he got the audience fired up and had enough viewers...

He might be able to claim and use a new ability within a minute, just as his opponent had gotten used to his current one.

In other words, he could grow stronger very quickly...

And scare his opponent to death in the process. That would give him even more room to develop.

Watching the reward on the screen gradually shift from D+ to C, Long Xi didn't feel happy. Instead, he frowned in frustration.

His presence must have slightly sped up the plot, giving him a little time to think.

But the Grade 2 cursed spirit that had nearly exorcised a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer was about to come elbowing its way over. Whether to claim his reward now became a real dilemma.

If he claimed it now, D+ was only one tier above the lowest rank. Without even thinking about it, he knew it would most likely be some relatively weak boost, like a physical enhancement.

That wouldn't do much in his current situation...

But going from D+ to C was a major breakthrough. In novels, an increase of even one quality tier meant you could beat the previous tier into the ground.

Still, with his current strength, if that Grade 2 cursed spirit accidentally caught him in its attack when it came over...

Then two furries and two pretty boys would come looking for him. So the bigger concern was still that Grade 2 cursed spirit...

Long Ze leaned against the wall beside him, his thoughtful gaze returning to Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro.

Neither of them had noticed the danger. After all, all those thoughts had passed through his head in a single instant.

"Then... next..."

"Whoosh-!!!"

Before Megumi Fushiguro could speak, a foul stench of rotting flesh and rust coiled around their necks like an icy venomous snake.

Every hair on Megumi Fushiguro's body stood on end. Both Divine Dogs at his feet bristled and lunged toward the shadow overhead, but against a Grade 2 cursed spirit, they were still too slow.

"Fushiguro-!"

Before that final syllable was out, Megumi Fushiguro poured everything into his cursed energy and shoved Itadori toward safety. Using the recoil to retreat, he roared!

"Run!!!"

Before his voice faded, the ceiling overhead exploded!

Rubble and dust rained down. Megumi Fushiguro twisted aside to dodge the gaping maw, but a disgusting green arm slashed a deep wound into his arm. Black cursed poison spread rapidly from the cut.

Yuji Itadori and the two upperclassmen they had just rescued were knocked aside by the Divine Dogs lunging over in time, narrowly escaping the fatal blow.

Everything happened in an instant, too fast for anyone else to react.

Long Xi, who had already sensed it coming, moved almost the very second the cursed spirit appeared.

Cursed energy compressed furiously at his fingertips. Several bullets, far denser than his previous ones, screamed through the air and struck the cursed spirit's eyeball, which was coated in murky slime.

They punched several large holes into it and inflicted considerable damage, but they also enraged the monster. All they bought Megumi Fushiguro was half a second to catch his breath.

"Damn it-Nue!!"

Megumi Fushiguro pressed his back hard against the cold wall. Blood dripped from his arm onto the floor, spreading into a small dark stain at his feet.

Gritting his teeth, he raised his hands to form a sign, hoping to summon his flying shikigami and put some distance between them.

But the cursed spirit gave him no chance to finish!

Its immense body, comparable to an adult Asian elephant, charged at him on a gust of foul air. The wall cracked under its impact, unable to bear the force.

The earlier strike had looked like a mere graze, but the cursed spirit's potent poison was already numbing his nerves. The cursed energy gathered at his fingertips instantly scattered.

Both Divine Dogs let out a mournful whine and dissolved into black smoke.

He couldn't even maintain his most basic shikigami now. All he could do was watch as the reeking monster opened its enormous, fang-filled maw at him.

"Hrrgh-aaah-!"

The cursed spirit let out a piercing roar, giving Yuji Itadori no chance to rush over and help.

Its thick arm scooped Megumi Fushiguro up. With a violent slam of its massive body, the entire wall collapsed.

Amid flying bricks and steel reinforcement bars, it burst straight through the school building's outer wall with Megumi Fushiguro trapped in its grip, plunging toward the ground below.

[Megumi Fushiguro: Kids, do you know what I'm about to say?]

[Megumi Fushiguro: Kids, I'm launching a nuke!]

[Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer vs. Grade 2 cursed spirit! You know what that means?]

[Huh? How'd you die?!]

The screen was full of people here for the laughs, their comments flashing endlessly, but Long Xi no longer had time to gather with his kindred spirits back home and chat about life's finer pleasures.

This situation really could get someone killed...

Especially with Yuji Itadori clinging to the railing, eyes red, ready to jump down while howling, "Give Fushiguro back!" That die-together devotion practically filled the screen with pink bubbles of bromance.

Long Xi stood beside him, rubbing his chin and clicking his tongue as his heart pounded.

Honestly, he wanted to rush down and lend a hand too. But even an idiot could tell that if he jumped with those short little legs, Newton's unreasonable cursed technique, [Universal Gravitation], would pin him down on the spot. Then he'd hit the ground with a splat and end up with at least a minor fracture.

There was no horse here for him to ride, nor any steel balls for him to use. Falling down and ending up cosplaying Johnny would be a bad idea.

More importantly, suddenly heading down now could lead to one of two outcomes.

First, he might change the original plot and prevent Yuji Itadori from eating the finger.

Second, that freshly revived big shot might treat him like some roadside nobody and casually kill him.

If I really cause the first one, a perfectly good Jujutsu Kaisen might turn into some wildly rewritten New Three Kingdoms. Now that would be a real spectacle.

Still, they had fought side by side, which made them teammates of sorts. Just standing around watching felt a little lousy.

Long Xi's gaze drifted slowly to the system panel. Looking at the glaring C-rank indicator and the playback reward button glowing almost hot enough to burn, he slowly curled his lips into a wicked grin.

His system could indeed make him a Special Grade Sorcerer through long-term accumulation, without his having to risk death at all.

But that wasn't the path he should choose...

I've come to this world and gotten something like a system, only to trail behind the protagonist as background scenery or some supporting male lead?

That's a loser's mindset!

Admittedly, when he first arrived in this world, all he had really wanted was to carve out a place for himself.

He would befriend the members of the main cast he liked and save some of the pitiful characters from the original story.

But...

The low-level cursed spirits he had just killed, and the Grade 2 cursed spirit that had dragged Megumi Fushiguro outside, were all telling him the same thing.

This world was dangerous... If he kept his old mindset, things probably wouldn't go the way he wanted.

And... once the system's reward arrived, he really, really wanted to see what would happen when he faced Sukuna!

Just what kind of expression would that guy make?!