Chapter 9: Cursed Child (Part 1)

"Hey guys, did you hear? They say there's a new student in our class..." Panda addressed his classmates as they walked along the tree-lined path. "He stuffed four of his classmates into a box."

"He killed them?" Maki asked casually, walking alongside with her spear slung over her shoulder.

"Tuna mayo," Toge remarked with a slight yawn.

"No, they were just injured," Panda replied, shaking his beastly head in denial.

"Well, if he decides to act up, we'll just teach him a lesson," Maki chuckled.

I found it really amusing to see this side of the girl. In the last month and a half, as Maki swallowed dust and blood, not only her strength but also her character had hardened. Whether it was a defense mechanism or just a way to relieve stress, the "failure" of the Zenin clan had become much more straightforward, assertive, and determined. But most of all, ruthless. On the one hand, these qualities allowed her to progress rapidly, as she applied them first to herself and then to others. The other side of the coin was that Panda and Toge now suffered more from her strong hand. Although, knowing these guys, it might be for the better.

"Katsubosi," Toge nodded briefly.

"And what do you think, Sukehiro?" Panda asked, tapping me on the shoulder with his paw.

"I'm thinking about why sometimes, when I fall asleep, my brain goes 'We're falling!' and then 'Oh, never mind. And I'm lying there in bed and I feel like I'm already asleep, but I don't really want to sleep anymore," I could only say to the panda, knowing exactly who our new classmate was.

Maki snorted irritated, Panda chuckled and scratched his ear and Toge just adjusted his collar.

Honestly, what interested me more at the moment was another agenda for the day. I looked at the neon-blue board:

Name: Yami Sukehiro

Path: Red Priest - Low Sequence 7: Pyromancer

Actor Process: 75%

Abilities: [Enhanced Physical Stats - High Rank], [Heightened Senses - High Rank], [Trap Mastery - High Rank], [Survival Knowledge - High Rank], [Spirituality - High Rank], [Danger Sense - High Rank], [Provocation - High Rank]

New Abilities: [Pyrokinesis - High Rank], [Fire Spells - Medium Rank], [Fire Resistance - Medium Rank]

It had been a little over seven months since I moved to the seventh sequence, and my "Actor Process" scale was already three-quarters full. Remembering my previous sequences and how long it had taken me to progress, I was pleasantly surprised at the speed of my progress.

If it continued like this, I could move on to the next Sequence within the next three to four months, about four times faster than before.

I thought there were two reasons for this: first, it was much easier to play the role of a Pyromancer in this world than that of a Provocateur, especially combined with the fact that after transitioning to the seventh sequence, I unintentionally gained complete freedom to act as I pleased. This played a significant role in my rapid mastery of the Seventh Sequence. Second, as soon as I became a Pyromancer, I developed a strange connection with something unknown. I still couldn't put my finger on what it was, but my intuition, honed by years of battles and mastering the Beyond Path, suggested that it wasn't something bad. At least for now, this thing was helping me to increase the volume of Spiritual Energy.

But the oddities didn't stop there. This "fateful" connection brought me an unexpected and very interesting benefit - Ritual Magic. Obviously, it was something out of this world, because the system on which it was based was very different from the one in this world.

Ritual Magic itself involved a wide range of long, complicated magical rituals. Much depended on both my sequence and the numerous necessary accessories, reagents, and rituals that aided the performer. For example, to perform a divination, I would need to choose the date and time, prepare the appropriate materials, and strictly follow the format and process of Ritual Magic. I would also have to use strange, unfamiliar prayers that were deeply ingrained in my mind. And considering that this power came from another world, I might accidentally summon some chthonic creature or evil god.

Anyway, there was nothing I could do about it. I could only become stronger and solve problems as they arose.

And getting stronger was something I was pretty good at. Seventy-five percent of the "actor process" was not just for show. In the last month and a half, not only Maki and those two idiots became stronger, but I also gained "mass". Of course, not as much as in the transition from one sequence to another, but still. Thanks to my elder, I learned to control every muscle in my body with incredible precision, so I could easily determine how much stronger I had become. And, dare I say it, had I become more handsome? At least Maki often gave me a significant look...

But most importantly, in the last month and a half, I finally found one of the main elements of my plan, namely...

"Sukēhiro!" Panda called to me. "Are you coming in or are you just going to keep staring at the sanctuary?"

"Coming in," I couldn't help but smile, looking at this big guy and understanding perfectly well that he couldn't wait to meet the new comrade. Maybe this guy was the most human of all of us... It's funny how this world is set up.

***

"Time to introduce the new transfer student!" Satoru shouted playfully, flashing the peace sign. "Everyone, get ready!"

Looking at my classmates, it was obvious how much they "shared" the teacher's enthusiasm. Even the usually talkative Panda decided to ignore Satoru's clownish behavior.

"Come in!" Satoru called, taking a quick look at the door.

"He's in no hurry," Panda remarked after a short pause.

"Looks like he has a hard time," Maki said with a hint of irritation in her voice as she walked with her spear in her hand.

"Tuna," Toge agreed.

And my new comrade of special rank was indeed a bit different from the sorcerers.

"Well, never mind," Satoru sighed, then called again, looking at the door. "Come on, get in!"

Again there was a short pause, but this time the door opened slowly and a typical sixteen-year-old boy came in. Average height, disheveled black hair, dark circles under his eyes - a regular high school student preparing for exams.

However, despite his mediocre appearance, this guy made all of my classmates tense up as if they were in the middle of a battlefield, which wasn't too far from the truth.

"I'm Okkotsu Yuta," the guy said as he introduced himself while standing near the blackboard. "Nice to meet you."

But instead of the usual greetings, he was greeted by three fully armed sorcerers and a spear that cut through the air a few centimeters from Yuta's face, piercing the wall behind him.

"Is this some kind of test?" Yuta asked with a shaky voice, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"Hey, man, you are cursed," Maki spoke sternly. "This is a place where we study curses, not breed them."

"In Japan, the number of people who go missing or disappear under mysterious circumstances is more than ten thousand a year. In most cases, it's because of curses," Satoru leaned against the wall and began to calmly explain the basics of shamanism. "The only way to resist curses is to use cursed energy. Here, we study curses in order to destroy them... Welcome to the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, Okkotsu Yuta."

And even though there was silence after these words, the lively guys continued to communicate, just nonverbally. I could clearly see from their facial expressions how Yuta irritably asked Satoru, "Why didn't you tell me before?"; Maki, Toge and Panda nervously muttered something like, "Is he really just finding out now?"; and Satoru, as usual, casually waved his hand and apologized for such an embarrassing situation.

"You should let him go as soon as possible," I said first, still sitting at my desk and carefully watching the creature flying behind Yuta with Spiritual Sight.

The next moment, two large hands materialized from the wall behind the guy. One of them gripped the blade of the spear tightly, making an unpleasant crunching sound, while the other swung towards Maki and the company.

"DON'T DARE TO MOCK..." a creaky, unpleasant voice came from behind Yuta.

"Stop! Rika!" Yuta tried to stop all this, but to no avail.

"YUTAAAAA!"

In the next moment, the hand of this curse should have already covered the boys, but in that short moment, I found myself between them. I wasn't arrogant, so as soon as I felt Rika getting angry, I strengthened my body with cursed energy and rushed forward.

Even though I knew that my classmates would suffer nothing more than the bruises they were used to, I was still incredibly curious about the strength of a true special-grade sorcerer!

From my point of view, I still wasn't up to the special rank. Of course, I had astonishing physical strength, at the level of a second-tier sorcerer who strengthens his body with Cursed Energy. The volume of that cursed energy was at the level of a first-class sorcerer, and my spiritual energy enhanced my cursed techniques, which were incredibly destructive. But I still felt that I was missing something. Maybe I thought that because I was comparing myself to a special grade like Satoru Gojo? But just to understand the difference, I rushed into battle.

My strengthened fist hit the palm of the curse. There was a clap in the room, indicating that the sound barrier had been broken, and then all the furniture was turned upside down. Another second and Yuta and I were flying in different directions. I smashed through several walls until I finally stopped and landed on the porch in front of the school building.

I clenched my trembling hand into a fist.

"So this is what a special rank is like..." I muttered and looked up to see Rika hugging Yuta.

"Hey guys, there's no need to start your acquaintance with a fight. This isn't a fight club," Satoru intervened, putting his arm around Yuta's shoulder.