Prologue

Note: I wrote a lot. So I don't know the amount of erroneous terminology or grammar, so if you see something, comment it and I will correct it.

...

On a full moon night, I wandered through a peaceful neighborhood illuminated by street lamps placed at regular intervals.

The silvery glow of the full moon reflected off the ground, creating a magical contrast with the yellow lights of the street lamps.

As I walked through the neighborhood, the night whispered softly, and the cool breeze instilled a serenity that transported me to a world of calm.

My warm black hoodie was my faithful ally, sheltering me from the gusts of wind and cold on that balmy night.

And on that same black hoodie, located on the left side of my chest, a button with a swirl was attached.

That could go unnoticed, but it represented a part of my identity and the important burden that it implied.

Subsequently, I stopped in front of an alley where any light, whether from street lamps or the moon, barely managed to penetrate.

"This should be the place," I muttered as I pulled out my smartphone and confirmed the location with the information provided.

Sigh. 

Then, I proceeded to take deep breaths in order to calm myself for what was to come next.

Taking deep breaths helped me focus and reduce anxiety, thus, achieving mental clarity.

"Good." Once calm, I didn't delay any longer in accomplishing the task I had been given. 

In the end, calmness favors rational decision making rather than impulsive reactions.

I walked into the alley. 

In it, my shadow, elongated by the whitish moonlight, took on a life of its own for a few moments.

The elongated forms twisted and stretched, as if a shadowy and mysterious entity was trying to free itself from its earthly prison.

The rigid contours transformed into a chaotic and distorted dance, thus playing hide-and-seek with the lunar light.

To the eyes of any witness, it would undoubtedly appear strange. It was as if reality itself had been twisted for a brief moment.

Still, it would detract from it given the rapidity and brevity of the change.

Anyway. At the end of this path, my target awaited: A curse or cursed Spirit. 

Entities that took the strangest biological forms spawned by the negative emotions of humans.

As I advanced down the dark alley, the gloom grew thicker, and the whispers of the wind took on an almost sinister tone.

My smartphone illuminated the path with its dim light, revealing the ominous textures of the peeling walls.

The combination of shadows and flashes of light from nearby street lamps created a visual play that would have made for a horror movie scene.

'... I never imagined my life would take such an absurd turn.'

Indeed, as a wise woman once advised, life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get.

In other words, life is unpredictable, just like when you pick a bonbon out of a box without knowing its flavor.

"A simple wooden bat should be enough..." As she recalled the words uttered by the window, 

Clang!

"!"

I heard a sudden clang caused by a trash can falling to the ground, which startled me!

Adortionally, before I could even discern what caused it, a shadow rushed towards my position!

It all happened suddenly, leaving me with no chance to react, due to my own inexperience.

Moreover, the conjunction of the silence of the alley and the absence of light caused not only my inaction but also my startle. 

As if a screamer suddenly appeared in a video game; I was really lacking a lot of experience. 

Fortunately, I was not alone.

―○●○―

I died due to a car accident.

At least, it seemed that way to me at first, until a boundless world of white was presented to me.

Nevertheless. 

At the heart of it all, where the other colors faded away, leaving only white, was a podium with a red button.

So, inevitably, the button stood out. And very much so. Of course, I tried scrolling in various directions. 

However, no matter where I went, it was always the same: back to the same place where I woke up.

Like a pilgrim lost in a winding maze full of mirrors with no clear direction to follow.

By then, I was completely bewildered and slightly frightened; what is unknown always causes some insecurity.

So not wanting to wait any longer for something to happen, anything, I decided to head for the podium with the red button!

When I got there, I retraced my steps, as well as the rest of the space, and shook my head, reaffirming my resolution.

So, I pressed the button.

What happened next was something that reminded me of my student years when I spent my time reading modern fantasy.

A golden interface, reminiscent of a slot machine, started up, spinning three boxes at breakneck speed.

Inevitably, both caution and a bit of curiosity mingled within my heart at this occurrence.

I sensed and at the same time anticipated what would follow the moment the interface boxes stopped.

Was this what the gambling people were experiencing?

But, I couldn't help but feel like a fool who was still unable to overcome his childish dreams of adolescence.

"I do have a big imagination," I scoffed at my nonsensical ramblings. It would all become clear when that sort of slot machine would stop.

Reading too many reincarnation and transmigration stories, both good and third rate, had taken its toll on me.

On the other hand, fear crawled through my body as I imagined that this situation was just the prelude to some kind of biblical hell.

I did not consider myself someone particularly sinful, but my life did not follow what was preached in the Christian bible with totality.

... Somehow, a person closer to being an atheist than a believer like me also ended up fearing for the possibility of hell.

But how long had it been since my finger pressed the red button on the podium? This I did not know. 

Maybe 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour or more. 

However, one thing was certain: just enough time had passed for the three boxes to stop and the result to be revealed.

< Jujutsu Kaisen > 

< Freshman at the Jujutsu High School in Tokyo >

< Legacy of Sung Jinwoo / Ashborn >

My brow furrowed deeply with incomprehension and doubt. 

Various concepts that were of special familiarity to me, as well as those that were not, appeared on the interface.

"What the—!"

Abruptly. 

A light filled with varied colors like a rainbow began to shine too brightly from the golden interface!

Then...!

Nothing.

I completely lost consciousness as I was swallowed by the light after feeling a throbbing pain and a kind of tingling on my skin.

―○●○―

Coming back to the present.

I experienced as if my heart stopped, and for a brief moment, I held my breath as my pupils constricted.

Nevertheless. My shadow, previously unperturbed in the darkness of the narrow alley, twisted and shook violently.

Swish!

Then, a blade as black as night, shrouded in a subtle, dark misty aura, extended and lunged with great force toward the assailant!

Stab!

Squish!

The sound of flesh being torn erupted in the sinister alleyway and a purple liquid splashed and spread in the vicinity.

In the sheet that spread from the shadows, a sort of deformed rat, and of considerable size, could be seen impaled.

The gloom highlighted the horrors of its matted and blood-stained fur, in addition to its sinister and very strange appearance.

The most terrifying thing about that rat was its single bloodshot eye, staring lifelessly directly at me.

"Gulp." 

A sight that chilled the blood; I swallowed saliva.

Then, a sense of phantom danger coursed through my nervous system despite everything telling me otherwise. 

In any case. It all started and ended so fast that I was temporarily paralyzed and dumbfounded in my speechless place.

For a moment, I thought I was going to fall to the ground due to the weakness in my legs I was feeling.

If it wasn't for my shadow, a breed of undead monster whose origin was far from being related to this world, 

I wouldn't have come out of that curse attack unscathed!

Not to mention that I was a bit lucky, allowing the fight or confrontation to end in one fell swoop.

"Huff..."

Many were the disjointed and meaningless things to which I could not find answers of some degree of validity since my arrival here.

Therefore, for now I resigned myself to accept everything until I was presented with the option and opportunity to resolve my various doubts.

Now, I did not long for this experience, far from it. My ultimate aspiration was for peace and comfort.

And in this place full of turbulence, along with the new identity I would adopt, that peace and comfort would be the last thing I could hope for.

Although there was an undeniable feeling inside me of relief at having the ability to be able to protect myself against these monsters.

However, I was still extremely weak. For that reason I had to increase my experience, knowledge and become stronger and stronger.

Not only so that I could find the answers I needed, but also to ensure my survival.

Everything would be easier for me if I didn't have a family to return to and a long list of responsibilities to take on...

By then, my shadow had been restored to its original state and except for the trash can on the ground, no trace of the curse remained.

'... I'm still far from the next level. I have to increase my efforts to avoid stagnating!' I thought.

Usually, I would have decided to add a new member to my army (I only had one shadow in total), but this time I chose another path.

With many things under consideration, I decided to go down one of three possible paths:

The first, if I exorcised a curse, I would lose the option or possibility of getting a new shadow in my undead army.

In return, my experience bar and that of the shadow I use to kill the enemy would fill up and we would be closer to leveling up.

And when my experience bar is full, 

I will level up and my physical abilities will improve and my production of cursed energy will increase!

Given these factors and my brief time in this world, I would be ranked as a grade four sorcerer in strength and grade.

The second. If I did not exorcise the curse within a limited time frame and at a distance of 1 meter, I could generate a new shadow.

Not to mention that the shadow created, would not be as strong as the original material. Luckily, the disparity was not much. But there it was.

Now, there were a few ways to reduce the disparity without the need to level up.

One of those ways was a Pact. A method which I had yet to use so far, I should mention.

Of course, the creation of such a shadow was not so simple. It was subject to certain annoying rules and conditions. 

So, the main one of these rules and conditions, was that the power difference between me and my target could not be too much.

However, every rank in which a sorcerer and curse was classified, was a whole world of divergence. 

It was so much so, that a first rank sorcerer could easily defeat a second rank Cursed Spirit. 

In short, it was far from simple and was a concept to be taken with tongs and treated with expertise or care.

Also, had it not been for the various knowledge with some expertise that came with this new identity, I would have had problems.

Such as, for example, cursed energy control. Of course, it was not at the level of an expert; it was very improvable.

However, it was clearly better than nothing. 

At the same time. 

Because I inherited that kind of knowledge and very little experience about his life, I had no problems with identity dissociation.

Otherwise, I might face difficulties in maintaining my own personality while receiving the experiences of the individual whose body I had taken over.

In any case. Yes, I lived the typical transmigration experience. I fulfilled A, B and C, including the change of body, memory and identity.

By the way, you may have noticed that the focus of my reflections so far has always been a Cursed Spirit, for...

... It is only natural, given that none of the shadows under my command or control have been born from the death of a fellow sorcerer.

Therefore, I do not know what the fruit would be in applying my power to them. Now, I have not completely given up on the idea.

Curse Users. 

Evil sorcerers who have committed various immoral and perverse acts; With them, as guinea pigs, I wouldn't feel so bad...

That's right. It would not have been of particular interest to me to turn a sorcerer into a shadow in my army were it not for a concept known as cursed technique.

I recalled one of the early lessons of a certain white-haired teacher with a black blindfold over his eyes.

Generally speaking, cursed technique alludes to the use or manipulation of cursed energy through a certain technique. 

Likewise, the better I control my emotions, and therefore my cursed energy, the better I will be able to handle future dangers.

In my case, the power I obtained from the space of a white infinity was transformed to fit into this world of sorcery or Jujutsu.

This gave the effect that, like several others, I was now a user of a cursed technique that uses cursed energy to function.

On the plus side, the only costs of my cursed technique were the restoration of the shadow after its total disappearance.

A state that was very difficult to reach due to the unheard of regenerative abilities my undead were possessed of.

In fact, until this moment, I had never encountered a situation where one of my shadows would come to be totally destroyed.

By the way. 

The energy needed for that comes from the shadow's reserve and can be recovered over time or speed up the process by using my own cursed energy.

But the most unpleasant thing about such regeneration, was how little cost it implied for the shadow; it was maximum performance at a minimum price.

No doubt, quite a bargain I must say.

Also, the other expenditure of cursed energy, would be when a curse was transformed into a shadow of my personal army.

Cursed energy originates from negative human emotions such as hatred or anger that naturally flow through the body. 

And it is the essence or core that makes up curses.

To top it off, it is the only power that can hurt a curse! Tch. I clicked my tongue in annoyance and frustration.

So it doesn't matter if you use a nuke, a curse will survive like a cockroach if you don't use the cursed power!

Additionally, the techniques are usually quite diverse and tend to be unique to the user or their family or clan. 

That means that they can be inherited by descent or, usually, unique and exclusive to the individual in question.

Finally, the third and last way to get stronger: Missions. 

If you know or have come to play an MMORPG, this concept will not be foreign to you. But like many things, nothing is as simple as it seems. 

Missions will only be generated if they are issued by an organization with a certain level of reputation and prestige in the Sorcerer world.

In this case, the Jujutsu High School in Tokyo is a mainstay in both education and mission assignments for the sorcerer community.

'Oh, and it serves as a base of operations for many graduate sorcerers.' Which was possible because the sorceres were few in number.

Well, my arrival not only in this parallel world, but also in the world of Jujutsu was not long ago. I was just starting out.

So, I still had plenty of time to experiment.

As such, I had exorcised the curse and made way for the people in this residential area to not be endangered by it.

Ring~ 

After taking one last look at the alley, I started walking towards the exit. At that, the melodic ringing of my smartphone sounded.

"Fushiguro?"