Chapter 20 - From Jujutsu Kaisen

[Rare Skill Card Revealed!]

[The Skill Card "Blood Manipulation (from Jujutsu Kaisen)" has been obtained!]

["Blood Manipulation" has been added to your inventory.]

The anxious smile on my face gradually disappeared. Honestly, I was hoping to get something like Bankai, or at worst, Demon Slayer's Breath of the Sun, but what I got was a Jujutsu Kaisen skill.

[Skill: Blood Manipulation (from Jujutsu Kaisen)

Description:

Inherited by members of the Kamo family, Blood Manipulation is a technique that allows its users to control and manipulate their own blood in different ways, from hardening it to heating or cooling it.

Classification: Rare.

Assimilation: Not started.]

I frowned, confused. In theory, it wasn't a bad skill, but unlike the skills I had obtained so far, I had no knowledge of this skill, so I was discouraged.

Eventually, I would receive a skill or item from a work I didn't know. After all, this system covered the entire multiverse, but it was a bit disheartening not to know anything about the skill I had just received when I needed it.

"I'm glad it was an anime skill, but unfortunately I only watched a few episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen before I ended up in the hospital and never left..."

The part about "manipulating one's own blood" caught my attention. This would be very useful on certain occasions, considering that I could make the effects of something wear off faster, or simply warm my body when I was cold, but something told me I was thinking small.

"After all, this is a rare skill, so it must be powerful in its own way. Since I don't know it and have no one to consult at the moment, I'd like to test something for comparison... System, how long would it take me to assimilate the blood manipulation skill?"

[Seven days.]

"Ouch, that's already a lot longer than it took for One for All, and longer than it took for Sharingan. That means that this skill is quite powerful and I'm just not able to understand it. Okay, I think I want to try it. System, add the Blood Manipulation skill to the deck."

[Warning! The user still has little Cursed Energy, using Jujutsu techniques may quickly exhaust you and leave you incapacitated for a few minutes after use.]

"Shit... This is a problem. How can I go into battle without testing my new skill first? That would be like trying to shoot without checking to see if the magazine is in the gun."

My concern was acute. I was in a universe surrounded by villains and superheroes, so any mistake could endanger my life or that of someone completely innocent.

"System, is there a way to increase my cursed energy so that I can use this skill without running out so quickly?"

I remembered the explanation about Jujutsu techniques and Cursed Energy from the beginning of the anime, and as far as I could remember, people were born with an innate amount of Cursed Energy, but they could increase it through training.

[There is a way to increase your Cursed Energy in the shop.]

Hope appeared in my eyes for a moment. "Great! What is it?"

[Cursed Energy Increase Pill - 3,000 card points.

This pill permanently increases the user's spiritual energy by 50%.]

My glimmer of hope vanished as quickly as it appeared. "3,000? Tsk!" I clucked my tongue in frustration. "Damn it, I don't even have that many points yet. Why the hell are you giving me a skill I can't even use properly? Useless, completely useless." Frustrated, I threw aside all the system windows in front of me and crossed my arms.

Well, that was my complicated relationship with the system at first. But I didn't think it was that useless, not least because seconds later I sighed and whispered:

"System, I'm sorry... What are the cheapest clothes you have for me? I just want something that doesn't make me look like I just escaped from the hospital." At that moment, I looked at the white clothes I was wearing.

After dressing up in a black sweatshirt, generic jeans, and black sneakers, I was even a little happy with the system for charging me "only" 45 CPs.

"Well, at least they look decent," I muttered as I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. "Well, I have to go. Gwen's waiting for me."

As I left the bathroom, I walked over to the window Gwen had used to get out and opened it. I leaned out of the window and observed the distance between the floor I was on and the ground. It was at least 30 meters. A short laugh escaped my lips, and I turned away from the window.

"I'm not ready for a superhero landing yet. I'd better do what normal people do and take the elevator," I concluded.

Before I left the room, I looked both ways down the hall to make sure no one was there. Unfortunately, there was a nurse, but she was too busy checking a file of charts to notice me. So I managed to find a way to the elevator, and after that I easily made my way down to the first floor, and then exited through the normal entrance as if I were just someone visiting a relative.

There was an alleyway at the side of the hospital and I figured that would be the best place to meet Gwen without the chance of anyone seeing us. I hoped he thought the same.

As I looked around, trying to find Gwen, I heard a soft thump behind me. Just as I was about to turn around to see what was making the noise, I heard her voice.

"Took you long enough, huh? Were you helping an old woman with a cane down the stairs?"

I turned to face her, smiling out of the corner of my mouth. "Haha! Very funny to joke with someone who's injured. The truth is, it was just hard to find decent clothes in the closets."

Gwen laughed. "You look better."

"That's because I stole some morphine on the way to the elevator," I replied in a serious tone to see her reaction.

"The funny thing is, I don't really know if this is a joke or not."

"I'll leave you in doubt for now. But where are we going?"

"The Empire State Building. And you don't even have to tell me, I know that place is probably the most heavily guarded building in the city after the Shield office and the Baxter Building, but Murdock's law office is there and guess what, there's an archive section. Even if we don't find Foggy's whereabouts, we might find something else."

"All right, if that's your plan, we'll do it your way. Now, how do we get there, the Empire State Building is on the other side of the city?"

At that moment Gwen stretched out her arms as if for a hug, but I knew it meant something else.

"No, no, no. Last time I almost threw up, and you threw me on top of a building." I said, turning away from her.

"Oh, come on Dream Knight! You survived the last time, and this is faster. Besides, it's not that far. We'll be there before you know it."

I sighed, resigned. I had no other choice. Getting in through the Empire State Building's terrace was much better than trying to get in through the main entrance with all those cameras and guards.

"All right, all right. But if I throw up on you, it's your fault."

"Fair enough." She said and threw a net in the air. Then she landed on my side, wrapped an arm around my waist to make sure, and pulled us up.

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