21 Talks and Choices
A/N: I wrote this chapter on phone. Apologies for any misspells.
Random quote of the day:
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear; and the oldest and strongest kind of fear, is the fear of the unknown."
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"…what?" Boss Ryouta blurted out upon hearing the absurd statement from Shuichi's mouth.
After being told about the wonderful powers that existed in the world along with the promise to actually have some of their own, he just outright stated that it was impossible to 'learn' Jujutsu.
Anyone would be surprised, if not extremely angry and resentful. Alas, Ryouta did not have that luxury. In front of strength there was nothing that could be done; he could only bow down and suffer in silence.
Seeing his baffled expression, Shuichi could not help but think of a popular meme back in his old world.
[We've been tricked, we've been backstabbed; and we've been quite possibly, bamboozled.]
Shuichi could not help but smile a bit, but seeing as to how this could reduce Ryouta's trust in him, which wasn't much in the first place, he quickly began to explain his reasoning.
"When I say that you can't learn Jujutsu is that it's literally impossible." Seeing Ryouta lean forward from his seat to pay more attention, Shuichi continued.
"Jujutsu as we know it is something that is innate. It's not something that can be learned or taught. The entire potential of a Jujutsu sorcerer stems out from their innate power. It's a completely different matter from the common power trope that manga or novels would have you believe."
Taking a short pause, he continued "In the Jujutsu society, talent rules all. The entire strength of a sorcerer is 80% talent and 20% of their own efforts. If you aren't born with an inherent ability or a technique, you simply cannot get one for the rest of your life; that is the central dogma that the Jujutsu world revolves around." He finished.
Of course he did not mention the fact that consuming old relics of the jujutsu world could trigger an awakening, because such a thing leads to death in 99.999999% cases. It is exceedingly rare for that to happen but it is not unheard of. And even then, such a transformation can only be triggered by a strong enough cursed object and might even lead to possession.
As such, it was a very dangerous thing to simply mention out loud.
"Jujutsu sorcerers use cursed energy, the negativity in the human mind; and a technique can be understood as something that uses that negativity to make a particular effect. But the same logic applies to cursed energy as well. If you can't see curses by birth, there is no hope for you to become a sorcerer." Of course there were also exceptions to this. One prime example being Toji Fushiguro, the man himself.
Thinking of everything that he had said and then thinking about there being an exception for every single thing, Shuichi felt like the Jujutsu world was so full of exceptions. He obviously was not included in the thing. He was an anomaly in his own, and his non sentient system screen was too much of a cheat to begin with.
He was an exception even among exceptions.
"Then... is there no way any of us could learn the art?" Ryouta asked with a rather meek voice.
Seeing this, Shuichi felt a Lizzie weird. Having a middle aged man talk in such way, that too when you're a teenager was... an experience to say the least.
"Well... yes and no." Shuichi paused for dramatic effect. "Curse energy isn't a very flexible energy source. It really pushes how a person sees the concept of magic systems as commonly portrayed, but while that is the case it is still just that. An energy source."
Nodding sagely, Shuichi continued.
"There are some ways in which a non sorcerer or a person that can't see cursed spirits even can become a sorcerer."
Shuichi lifted his hand and motioned one for the gang leader in front of him.
"The first one is the most... eccentric and the most dangerous, yet it also promises the most power if successful, symbolizing another unshakable rule in the jujutsu world, the rule of equivalent exchange. The greater the risks the greater the reward.
"The first way is for a person to experience near death situations and continuous trauma and negative feelings. An influx of negative feelings can increase the reserves of the person and perhaps even awaken something that is latent in the user."
This was something that Shichi, or rather his predecessor had personally experienced.
His predecessor was born with such low amounts of cursed energy that it was extremely and exceedingly pitiful in the Zenin clan.
His cursed energy reserves were even lower than that of an average human.
And precisely because of that, Shuichi suffered a lot in the clan. Whether it be extreme cases of bullying and physical trauma or being thrown into the disciplinary pit for half a minute, all of them finally allowed for a shift in his brain and led to him being able to curses and control cursed energy.
He had to say, it was an extremely crude and cruel method of doing things, especially for the weak willed. Yet is was also extremely practical.
As cursed energy stemmed out from negativity, why would it be weird for it to be awakened because of the extreme negative feelings of the host?
"So you mean to say that just by suffering through extreme negative emotions, people can awaken into jujutsu sorcerers?" Ryouta asked.
"Hmm... not exactly." He replied "Not anyone can just awaken. If that were the case then the jujutsu society would have an abundance of sorcerers considering the amount of negative emotions that get thrown around every day.
"No, the key lies in the person and the type of megative feelings they experience. If the inbound potential of the person is above average then the person would be able to see and interact with curses without too much hassle. If not... then even directly returning from death's door may not do anything.
"Some extreme cases of this can be when there is such a high level of negativity in the air and the hearts of an entire society that several people can touch and interact with a cursed spirit. Though such things are extremely improbable."
"I see" Ryouta replied, his eyes held a spacey look, presumably in deep though.
"Doesn't that mean that it's basically a gamble? There's no possibility that someone might awaken cursed energy, and even if they do, there's no guarantee that the person might awaken a technique or if the technique might be strong."
"It is indeed a gamble in the truest sense. But there's one thing that you're confusing here." Shuichi looked at him with a pointy gaze as if trying to look through his very soul.
"If you don't have a cursed technique there is no chance if ever awakening it. Normally people awaken it at 4 years if age. If not, it can still be considered as a late awakening as long as the person awakens until 10. But that's only if the person has one in the first place. If you don't have it, what's there to be awakened?"
Hearing his words, Ryouta quieted down and though for a some time.
After he was finally done he gazed back at him and asked for the next method to become a sorcerer.
Smiling a but, Shuichi lifted his hand again and gesticulated the number 2.
"The second method through which one can become a sorcerer is the usage of cursed tools."
"Cursed tools?"
"Objects that have been imbued with a powerful curse or any kind of curse in general. Even the most mundane things in daily life can be turned into a cursed tool by imbibing a curse into them." Shuichi explained.
"Moving on, using cursed tools like glasses with curse seeing properties and weapons with special features can allow one to see curses and exorcise them."
"Then isn't using a cursed tool a better option?"
"Not everyone with a cursed tool can become a qualified sorcerer. The one advantage sorcerers with cursed energy have is the ability to use reinforcement of their bodies. Cursed energy can elevate all physical capabilities to such tremendous heights that seem outright bizzare to think of.
"Not to mention the other factors like control over negative emotions, reaction speed, natural resistance towards curses and a plethora of other stuff that needs to be considered."
As Shuichi finished Ryouta held a look a realization.
With that, the talk continued for a whole lot more time, Ryouta asked for a lot of things he didn't quite get while Shuichi was happy to answer all of them. Though at one point it did start to get annoying to say the least.
Shuichi felt like some genius scientist trying to educate a monkey on quantum physics.
While the concept of cursed energy was not so difficult to understand that was only for the sorcerers. They had such a deep understanding of such things through practical usage that it felt like simple second nature to them.
Having to explain such things in detail to Ryouta, a normal person whose brain lacked the capacity to wrap his head around cursed energy, Shuichi would be lying if he said he did not find it annoying.
All in all, Ryouta had all of his questions answered. There was also the mention of the hospitalised gang members that Shuichi had beaten up.
Shuichi told him that he was merely trying out an experiment. An attempt, if you will. An attempt to see if the people would be able to awaken cursed energy through the pain that Shuichi had put them through.
As such, a meeting was arranged. Shuichi and Ryouta would go to meet them after 2 weeks of time. At that point they would have healed considerably and Shuichi would be able to ask questions and experiment without the injuries getting in the way.
And with that, Shuichi was off to his shop.
The house that he had asked for would be arranged in about 4 days, give or take.
And in the time that it would take for the gang members to heal, he thought of going to another city.
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Shuichi laid in the bed of his small temporary residence. His gaze was a bit spacey as he looked at the ceiling of the room. He seemed to be in deep thought as if contemplating the meaning of life, the universe and existence itself.
'Cursed Heart is working wonders for my body. I can easily punch through a concrete wall without any strengthening. And with reinforcement, I can withstand bullets.'
'Yet the cursed heart is also making things difficult for me. The cursed energy siphoning from the environment has come to bite me in the ass. The curses that are spawning aren't so strong anymore. I simple siphon off the energy too quickly. Although it increases my reserves steadily, it can't be compared to the increase I could get when I kill a second grade curse or even a semi grade 1.'
'Other than that, I also need to look in cursed artefact creation. Can't have myself be considered a lier now can I?'
Shuichi thought of the promise he made to Ryouta for his allegiance. He could have just forced then to obey with an iron fist, but that could have led to troublesome things happening down the road. The entirety of the Yakuza might have come after him. And although he is not afraid, such a massive movement would no doubt attract attention of some jujutsu sorcerers. Something that did not want at this moment.
Besides, he felt like it would be more interesting to do things this way. Consider it his own will.
Thinking of the future and everything that he wanted to do, Shuichi contemplated.
And after about 5 minutes of weighing the pros and cons, he opened up the status and started the [Cursed Technique Creation].
[Please design your Cursed Technique]
[Name of the technqiue:______]
[Description of the technique:
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With a smile on his face, Shuichi began designing his third technique; which would quite possibly be the last one for a long long time.
