2 Leaving the House
Looking at the absurd skill that he had acquired, Shuichi's excitement broke all limitations.
He wanted to scream out in happiness but controlled himself.
Instead, he quickly opened up the status once again.
{[Status]} [Skill Tree] [Inventory]
[Name: Zenin Shuichi
Level: 1
Class: Sorcerer
Cursed Technique: None
Innate Skill: Cursed Technique Creation; Corrupted Mind]
Shuichi clicked the screen, trying to see if he could physically interact with it.
Although his finger passed directly through the screen, there was a change on the screen.
'It seems that although I can't interact with it physically, any attempt at it will result in the effect that I want to achieve regardless.'
[Cursed Technique Manipulation(0/3)
Level: 1
-Cursed Techniques can be created according to the wishes of the user.
-The created techniques will be corrected with respect to the rules of the world.
-Any created technique will be directly applied to the user.
-You can create a maximum of 3 cursed techniques.
-The number of cursed techniques that. an be created will increase as the skill level increases.]
'That's... That is overpowered.' After reading the entire thing, that was the only conclusion Shuichi could arrive to. No more words were needed for it.
'This is simply rule breaking. The entire jujutsu world would be in chaos if the news of such an ability gets out.' Thinking that, Shuichi decided to not attract too much attention until at least he was strong enough.
But it was at this moment that he also noticed a critical flaw in the ability.
'But won't having too many cursed techniques shatter my mind?'
That would be the best outcome. Cursed techniques were ingraved into one's soul through the medium of cursed energy. It was the basis of cursed techniques. Or so he had learned through jujutsu books.
And meddling with cursed techniques, creating them in Shuichi's case would mean to ingrave things onto his soul.
Having too many of them could lead to problems that would be beyond his imagination.
'...' Shuichi was silent for a while, thinking of possible solutions.
'Wait, can't I just create a cursed technique that allows for a lot of cursed techniques to be owned by me?'
That was indeed plausible.
And so, feeling good about himself, Shuichi opened up the description of the next skill 'Corrputed Mind'.
Although the name sounded ominous, Shuichi wasn't sure if the effect of the skill was so.
[Corrupted Mind
Level: 1
-Allows for the possession of multiple cursed techniques.
-Makes the mind more susceptible to cursed energy.
-Allows for faster learning and adaptation of the mind.
-The bounds of morality are dimmed out.]
'...Well that takes care of that.' Shuichi thought.
The second skill had taken care of the only thing that could go wrong with the Cursed Technique Creation. Now, he would not need to worry about having too many techniques, his mind would not be overloaded and would not decide to spontaneously explode.
'Though the last option does make me slightly worried.'
The bounds of morality are dimmed out.
Shuichi was not stupid. Though he could be slightly dumb at times, he was not an idiot. He knew the kind of world he had ended up in.
Jujutsu Sorcerers were not the merriest bunch and they were certainly not people that you could expect to be moral.
The concept of morality and good and evil for sorcerers was dimmed out. For those that hold power above everyone else, their own wish is the only thing that is 'Good' and what stops them from fulfilling that wish, is 'Evil'.
Naturally, that applied to Shuichi too. Or at least the previous Shuichi. He was someone that wanted the approval and the respect of the Zenin family above anything else. And he was willing to go any length for that.
His mindset was molded by the Zenin clan and that made him extremely numb to any practice of killing and other stuff. Though he had never truly committed any acts that could be described as 'bad' by the normal folk, it did not mean that he was not able to.
But the current Shuichi was different. He was a normal man not too long ago, and had a normal and moral mindset. Although he had received the memories of his predecessor, having his memories and actually being able to mold his mindset like that were two different things.
In one way, he was actually thankful for the way the skill functioned. But he was still skeptical about the overall effect it would bring.
'Oh well, no use contemplating it. I can't change it anyway.'
Then he opened up the last option that was left to be seen, the Skill tree.
[Status] {[Skill Tree]} [Inventory]
[Ability Tree]
[Normal Tree]
Seeing the two options, he clicked on the Normal tree first.
As he clicked on it, the screen before him changed, and in front of him appeared a series of squares with various letters written on them. All of the squares were connected with thin lines. The squares in the front were green while the ones that came later down the line were greyed out.
Shuichi looked at the ones that were green.
They were [Cooking(57)], [Cleaning(21)], [Training(139)] and finally [CQC(201)].
Every single one of those had a number behind them, which Shuichi assumed symbolized their proficiency level.
Nodding in understanding, he opened up the Ability tree.
The ability tree had only one box that led to a multitude of others.
The green box was titled [Cursed Energy Manipulation(25)], and it led to another active green box titled [Cursed Energy Reinforcement(11)].
For now, Shuichi did not know the levels of proficiency, so he did not think too hard about them. He was just glad they even displayed the level of his skills.
With that, Shuichi began to pack up his things to leave the place.
Honestly speaking, he wanted to try out his cursed technique creation as soon as possible and create the most overpowered cursed technique he could think of, but he knew that doing so in the middle of Zenin territory would not be a good idea.
Cursed techniques themselves were inherited at birth. That was the reason that they were sometimes referred to as innate techniques.
It was virtually and literally impossible to awaken a technique with a time delay. There was no such thing as a late awakening in the jujutsu world. If one was born with the technique, then he had it. If one was born without a technique, then he would have to live like that for the rest of his life.
And let's just say that making an exception to one of the most unshakable rules in the jujutsu world, right in the middle of one of the big three jujutsu families was not a stunt Shuichi was willing to do.
He was pretty sure that there would be no way for anyone to know, even if he created a technique, but would he risk it?
Of course not!
Cursed techniques can affect the sorcerer in more than one ways. From the nature of their cursed energy, to their aura and even the way they carry themselves can change depending upon the type of cursed technique they have.
And for an experienced sorcerer, of which Zenin clan had no shortage of, it would not be too hard to notice such changes.
Keeping that in mind, Shuichi quietly began packing up. He took all the necessities with him. Mainly clothes and money that he had stored up, but also the books on the basics of cursed energy and jujutsu in general, along with the books on the techniques passed into the big families. Just in case he needed some inspiration when making his techniques.
And with his bag all packed, he was finally ready to leave the Zenin clan for good and start a new life outside. A new life of infinite possibilities, like a typical overpowered protagonist.
Shuichi was an honest person. Someone that followed his desires. And truth be told, all he wanted to do was to spend his new life at the top of the world and live in peace.
Maybe also get a beautiful wife along the way, that could be a plus point. After all, what good would an op life be if he didn't have a beautiful lady to spend it with?
He didn't want a harem. In his previous life, Shuichi was a devout follower of the no harem sect. They taught him the profound way of having only a single waifu and providing all of your love to her only.
As such, he despised harems.
'Well then, I should get going already.' Shuichi thought and was on his way to the outside.
As he looked at the different corridors and the expansive gardens of the mansion, he could not help but be overwhelmed by a bit of nostalgia. A strange feeling considering he didn't have any connection with this place at all.
'Probably the memories of the old Shuichi resurfacing.'
As he made his way to the main entrance of the mansion, he saw a young man, roughly my age, standing in the middle of the corridor, his arms crossed in front of his chest and a haughty and arrogant smile on his face.
He had sharp brown eyes and his hair was a light blonde that changed to a light black at the end of his hair. His facial expression told me the only thing that I had to know about this guy.
He was someone that saw the world to be under his feet.
'I just had to run into this guy.' He thought as he approached him with a small tranquil smile on his lips.
"Well well, if it isn't Shuichi. The failure and the reject of the clan." He said with the same haughty smile and a mocking tone.
"Naoya." Shuichi nodded in greeting, even though a bit reluctantly.
Honestly speaking, he wanted to just ignore this guy with a god-complex and get out of this house and create his cursed technique, but it seemed that he would be making things a lot more difficult.
Naoya Zenin. According to Shuichi's memories, this guy was the most haughty and arrogant person that he knew. Being born with a projection technique, the same that was held by the current head, along with having plentiful cursed energy reserves, he was considered a born prodigy and not without reason.
Naoya Zenin was supposedly the next clan head, and as such, he was always praised by the people around him. Naturally, such an attitude by the one's surrounding him led him to have an arrogant personality and he belittled anyone that he did not consider as an 'equal'. Though he never considers anyone an 'equal' so that's that.
"I'm honored that you took the time to see me out Naoya." Shuichi lied as naturally as he breathed.
"Hah?! Why would I need to see 'you' out of all people? Do you think you're some big shot sorcerer that needs me to attend to them?" He asked.
'Okay, not even a single sentence into the conversation and he's already beginning to piss me off.' Shuichi thought but did not let it show on his face.
In the Zenin family, it was not rare for people to die from the hands of family members. As such, he had no intention of making trouble with Naoya. All he hoped for was to get out of here as soon as possible.
"Then why are you here blocking my way, may I ask. Surely I'm not worth your precious time that you could have otherwise spent training or improving yourself." He said
"I do not need to improve myself" He said, "I am already perfect as is. I came here to see the kind of pathetic face that you would make when you would walk out of the door." He added with a smile.
Then his eyes darted across my face, as if looking for something.
"But the despair and desperation that I thought would be on your face aren't there. It almost feels like you're enjoying being kicked out of the clan like this." He narrowed his eyes as he asked.
"Maybe I'm just optimistic, looking forward to a new life." He answered. Although he wanted no trouble, he had enough leeway to speak as freely as this. Though someone like Naoya might just take offense to this so he wasn't sure.
Naoya continued to look at him for some time before he began to walk towards him.
Seeing this, Shuichi prepared himself for a fight. Well, more like a one sided beat down since if Naoya really wanted to harm Shuichi, as he was right now, there was no way to resist any of his attacks.
But contrary to what Shuichi had been expecting, Naoya only passed him without saying anything.
For a moment, he stood there without saying anything, baffled.
'What just happened?' He thought.
He had been expecting for some great battle of wits between the two, with him trying to not get into conflicts and Naoya trying to get him to fight. But it seemed that his mind had been too corrupted by anime.
There was no heated war of words in which both the characters tried to outsmart each other. The moment Naoya lost his interest, he left.
It was something that Shuichi was honestly happy about, but it was... how to say... underwhelming?
'Oh well, it is what it is.' Shuichi shrugged and walked off towards the exit.
And with a single step outside the door of the mansion, Shuichi knew that his new life was now truly going to begin.
