Update

Like I'm not stupid or anything but this was one of those moments when I shouldn't have been trying to complicate the matter but rather simplify it instead. I honestly couldn't be blamed either as due to my having to reverse engineer literally everything about cursed tool crafting I was bound to at some point miss a facet that was considered basic like this. As far as I know i had missed a bunch of them already that if I had known would have made my life a bazillion times easier.-

To add insult to injury here I found that five properties weren't the limit to this new structured imbuing I figured out but rather six was. Yes a fucking hexagram was the structure I could use to keep all the properties at standard strength. Oddly however a heptagram and octagram didn't work or my limit would have raised to eight properties and THAT would have pissed me off to no end. For whatever reason using a structured shape like this only increased my total amount by fifty percent which was annoying to discover but within reason.-

Add on that property fusion thing I discovered in the process of figuring this out and I could put three really powerful properties on something or six normal but more diverse ones. The sheer versatility this allowed me was mind boggling to even think about. It also dawned on me that I could try putting the technique and restrictions in a structured manner as well to see if it did anything, spoilers it did. Until now I had just been throwing the restriction onto whatever I made before adding the technique, it was kinda chaotic. Add in a geometric structure however and it went from chaos to order and changed the whole thing.-

Surprisingly however the structure wasn't a two dimensional one but rather three dimensional. It was like a gem sort of that was formed out of restriction while the technique was a bright radiance in the core that made the whole thing shine.

'Like a magic stone!' I realized in shock.

An outside of plain material containing the extraordinary within it. That was how a magic stone functioned. The material of the magic stones wasn't anything all that special really yet it holds the essence of the monsters within it, the mana. I had long realized that I could fill an empty magic stone with cursed energy but now I knew the significance of that fact.-

Cursed tool creation suddenly made so much more sense, the level of power and how symbolism seemed to play a role. Cursed tools weren't just power slapped onto a thing but literal manifestations of the restrictions and technique held within it. Low level cursed tools were simple shapes like caltrops or dice but complex and powerful tools were people, places, whole worlds or concepts shaped by and imbued into an object through cursed energy.-

That was it, the connection between monsters and myself. The reason I was able to absorb the smoke they turned into after I harvested their stones. My technique [hell's forge] metaphorically turned my body into a furnace that used the concepts of the monsters , the smoke, as fuel. That was why I felt the monsters in the dungeon reminded me of cursed spirits, they were VERY similar in principle. That worried me however as if this was true then didn't that mean that at some point a variant monster would become sapient? If a cursed spirit was allowed to grow without restriction in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen they eventually developed their own personality and identity, so does this apply to monsters too?-

"Ah fuck it this is way above my paygrade! I'll deal with that if it ever comes up but for now it's time to upgrade!" I said with a wide grin as I sought out hestia.

Name: Alexander Drake

Race: Cursed Human

Level:2

Strength:209(G)-> 524(D)

Endurance:225(G)-> 658(C)

Agility:208(G)-> 515(D)

Dexterity:209(G)-> 521(D)

Magic:562(D)-> 957(S)

Spells: Hell's forge(Innate technique): Can use anything from a living being and reshape or refine it per ones will.(Incantation: Hell's forge)(Extensions: Hell fire, cursed tool creation)

Skills: Heavenly restriction: In exchange for the ability to wield mana and magic one gains access to cursed energy and cursed techniques.

Blessing of black: Permanently increases cursed energy efficiency, amount and control. Magic will always start at G rank after leveling up.

Vessel of Sin: Hells forgemaster carries the burden of all mortal sin and is tasked to purify it from the souls of the dead. Strengthens soul over time. Permanent increase to crafting with cursed energy. Permanent decrease to all stats for each innocent soul killed and increase for each sinful soul killed. Grants skill: Soul gaze.

Soul gaze: See the souls of all things and their sins.

Developmental Skills: Curse-smith(I)->(H)

"HA I knew it!" I said with a wide grin as I looked over my new status sheet.

"Your stats went up a bunch but it's been over a month since your last update so that makes sense. But how did you raise your developmental skill so fast?" Hestia asked curiously.

"That was the final thing I was working on before I got updated, I had a gut feeling that I needed to raise the amount of properties I could put on an item. I listened to my gut and i'm willing to bet that it was because I was already getting close to reaching the first checkpoint for the skill to rank up and needed that last little push." I said happy that my gastric impulse led me right.

"Congratulations Alex!" Bell cheered happy for me.

"We should celebrate at the hostess!" I said with a wide smile and they didn't need any more convincing than that.

A while later and we arrived at the hostess and cheerfully found our seats.

"You all seem rather merry, did something good happen?" Syr asked curiously.

"Yeah I raised my DS from I to H rank and we came to celebrate. It's not a super impressive achievement or anything but it is an important one because it means I'm making progress." I said with a grin.

"Congratulations then, but goodness that is rather fast!" she said genuinely surprised but happy for me.

"I was thinking a fish special this time, with a mug of spiced mead to wash it down." I said putting in my order.

Everyone else in our group ordered as well and we just sort of chilled out casually chatting while we waited. We got our food and dug in with gusto while I savored the contradictory flavors of sweetness and heat from my mead. It paired well with the fish special that had rich flavor from the whole fried fish and mushroom gravy.