Chapter 12

(A/N: Levels of techniques are bound to the card, not the slot. However, there will be heavy restrictions for swapping out techniques)

Hiro and I regarded each other silently for a moment before he spoke, "I am Hiro, I'll be teaching you about barriers. Tell me what information you already know about barriers so I can supplement your knowledge before we begin," He said, his whole demeanor changing when he spoke.

I nodded appreciatively, seeing his clear dedication to barriers as well as teaching. I could see it clearly in his eyes, a burning passion to show others that it wasn't cursed techniques that kept jujutsu society running but barriers. I immediately guessed, due to him being a barrier master, that he had no innate technique, but I wasn't going to be rude and ask right off the bat. I put all thoughts about his messy appearance were forgotten as I began to tell him what I knew with my fairly limited understanding of barriers.

"Well, I know that there are a few types of barriers, with curtains being the most basic and common. Domains can only be expanded inside of a barrier that the user creates. They are important to the whole of jujutsu society to keep it hidden as well as keep cursed spirits confined to Japan instead of the entire world. I also know that Master Tengen is the most skilled barrier user in the world," I said with a shrug, knowing that there were a lot of gaps in my knowledge, but, to be fair, I had never been too interested in barriers as a fan of the series.

"I'm surprised that someone so young knows about Master Tengen," he said with a hand on his chin, "But, I guess direct descendants get more lessons than us outer branches,"

I sighed, glad that I hadn't just let something slip that I shouldn't of, and continued to listen to his explanation, "You are right about there being multiple types of barriers, but I'll talk about the two that will be applicable to you. Unless you think you'll pursue barriers further than just a baseline understanding of casting Curtains and learning the fundamentals for a Domain Expansion?" he said, raising an eyebrow in question.

I paused for a moment, thinking about if I wanted to bother too much with barriers, then once I decided, I responded, "I imagine that in the future, I will try to push my knowledge of barriers further than just the basics, so could you tell me everything?" I asked simply.

He nodded, "I'm glad to hear you say so. Many sorcerers see barriers and barrier users as weak and fairly unimportant since they can't aid in combat. They only see its value in concealment and the possibility of achieving a Domain Expansion, nothing more. What they don't realize is that a truly skilled barrier master will never need to fight up close when they can seal and starve their opponents to death," He smiled as he clasped his hands together, gathering cursed energy into a barrier around us, "More important than all its other properties, barrier are fun,"

As he spoke, the barrier spread out and formed into hundreds of hexagon-shaped panels all around us. I looked around in wonder as the panels fully formed around us, leaving us in an empty white room. Then, I saw Hiro make a gesture that caused the panels to ripple and change. Soon, we weren't standing in an empty white room but in a bowling alley with many other patrons than us, all bowling, snacking, and chatting. I couldn't keep my jaw from dropping as I saw the detailed barrier form around us. 'Where was this guy in the main series,' I thought, my knowledge of characters still intact enough to know he was never introduced in the series.

"This is what is called an Empty Barrier," He said, grinning at my look of stupefaction, "It's called that because everything in the barrier can be shaped to the user's liking. The only drawback is that none of it is truly real, but you can still interact with everything in the environment. If I created a sword in this barrier and stabbed you, nothing would happen, but as long as it's not used as a weapon..." Hiro walked forward, letting his words hand as he grabbed a bowling ball and bowled a strike on his first try.

"Wow," was all I was able to say as I understood why people would dedicate their entire lives to this art.

"There are two more barrier types for more skilled barrier users, of which I, unfortunately, can't use either. They are Pure Barriers and Bon Barriers. Tengen is the only one capable of using these two types of barriers, but it is the Pure Barriers that raise the precision of barrier techniques cast by other barrier users," He said with a wide grin, "Since neither of these two techniques is applicable for either of us to use, I will focus on the last type of barrier, Simple Barriers. They simply conceal, contain, or deny entry to others within the barrier."

"So Curtains, Simple Barriers, and Empty Barriers are what I should be aiming to master?" I asked curiously as Hiro shifted the space around us so that we stood in the middle of an empty meadow with a small stream snaking through one side.

"Yes, If you can master the first two, at least then a Domain will be doable, but if you can master Empty Barriers, then a Domain Expansion should be much easier to achieve." He said simply, "Let's begin,"

I immediately agreed and walked over closer to the stream alongside Hiro as he gave me some final advice, "Practicing in here will allow me to guide your barriers construction with my own gently, but most of the work will still be yours to do. My best advice is to start by envisioning a simple circle that keeps all sound from escaping,"

I nodded my understanding as I began to practice. Now, to say that I wasn't confident would be a lie, but I also wasn't thinking that I would get it on my first try. Despite telling myself that, I was still disappointed to see my attempts fail one after another. I had finally encountered my first skill that wasn't a walk in the park to obtain. Despite the heightened difficulty, I wasn't one to be put off by a bit of a challenge, so I redoubled my efforts and continued. I could see out of the corner of my eye Hiro nodding approvingly as I never let my failure get me down.

Just as we were about to call it a day, I finally got a barrier that was close to fully forming. Just as it was about to shatter as all the rest had, Hiro gently guided one of the hexagon panels of his Empty Barrier to plug my incomplete one. His panel allowed my cursed energy to use it as a platform and seal the rest of my barrier before it collapsed. As I heard a ring, I fell to my knees and pumped my fists into the air with a loud bellow of triumph. I briefly looked up to read the notification that had popped up in front of me.

[New Active Skill - Barrier Techniques (Lv. 1): +2% Strength, 2% Speed, +1% Efficiency, -0.9% Cost]

I was snapped out of my thoughts as Hiro offered me a hand up, "Nice job, I knew you had it in you. I am surprised by the speed in which you got it down, but your barrier was pretty shakey, so you will still need some practice before moving to Simple Domains and more advanced techniques,"

Instead of answering, I used my new skill for the first time and created a perfect soundproof barrier. Now it was his turn to pick his jaw up off the floor as he stared at me with his eyes open comically wide like we were in the world of One Piece or something. He tried to form words but had none, so he eventually just fell into stunned silence. All he did was clap his hands together, which caused the barrier around us to dissipate like mist being burned off by the noonday sun.

"We'll meet back here tomorrow, yeah?" I asked with a shit-eating grin on my face as he nodded and walked off, still in a bit of a daze.

'Ahh, the perks of having a system,' I thought as I walked back home and into my room. I had covered the hole in my floor with a wooden plank, but once I returned, I removed the plank and began slashing away at the ground beneath the house. Despite all my other training, I knew that it was important to keep up training my techniques so that I could unlock more soon. After all, the soon I unlock all my technique slots, the sooner I can get all my techniques to max level.