Grinding with Gore

(POV: Blaze)

The flickering image on the screen finally faded, leaving behind a tense silence in the office.

I leaned back on the chair, the normal smirk still plastered on my face… but inside, however, I was distraught.

I rubbed my temples with a sigh, my usual face slightly breaking down into an expression of unease.

I was a man who'd seen battles both within the academy and beyond, yet the… unique… display of power had worried even me.

Beside me stood the Vice-Principal—Silvas—his face stoic, his gaze locked onto the figure of the boy in the recording being taken away by the medical team.

Johan, the promising new student, was a ragdoll on the floor, a whimper escaping his lips as the healers carried him away.

The cracks in his ribs, visible even through the screen, seemed to send a sense of guilt through us.

"Black Flash, huh," said the person standing to my other side, who was quite a well-known teacher—Mean, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "A catchy name, like naming a water spell 'blue'."

His face was impassive, as if feeling nothing as he looked at the recording replay once more.

Silvas shot him an annoyed look. It seemed that he was fed up with his antics.

He turned back to me, his gaze filled with worry, yet a deep intrigue. "Principal, any word from the healers?"

I shook my head, opening a drawer and taking out a bundle of papers, placing them on the table next to the monitor.

"Not yet," I said, spreading each sheet on the wooden table… each one showed either a picture of a scan of Johan's body, or the results they got from it. "Shattered ribs… internal bleeding…"

Mean showed no change in expression, looking at everything as if it were a game. Silvas however, sighed in exasperation, his eyes scanning the documents one by one.

I paused for a moment, thinking deeply of something else the healers had told me.

"He healed too quickly," I said, my voice grave as my gaze met theirs. "Almost twice as fast as others would."

Mean raised an eyebrow at this, interest creeping into his eyes. "Why do you think so?"

I ignored his question for the moment, continuing. "However, his body seemed to be 'rejecting' the healing spell."

This statement worried Silvas, his hands slightly fidgeting… an old habit.

The air in the room grew thick with tension. This wasn't just a simple spar gone wrong. This was a hint of something far more dangerous.

"It could be anything," Mean said after a long pause, his voice seemed to be more excited than before. "Something special to Johan… or maybe… something Sukuna's attack had done." He paused once more, his gaze falling onto the monitor playing the recording. "Maybe some inconsistencies with the healers… or… anything."

"True," I muttered, my eyes falling upon the sheets placed on the table, the x-ray scans of Johan's body.

What I felt from Johan in the entrance ceremony… the familiar feeling… let's hope it's anything but that.

Because if it indeed is that, then I would have to execute him.

The room was taken over by a heavy silence… Mean and Silvas exchanging a troubled glance.

This year would be more troublesome than even the last.

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(POV: Ryomen Sukuna)

(Around 2 weeks later…)

It was a nice day, the sky was party cloudy, the soft rays of the sun falling gently on the green grass of the ground, painting a beautiful picture.

This comfort, however, was completely opposite to what I was doing… training without break.

I sat cross-legged on the grass, staining it with my sweat as I tried to perform reverse cursed technique.

There was a small cut on my hand, only a few drops of blood oozing out, which I was trying to heal.

My eyes were shut tightly, my other hand curled up into a fist as I tried to form positive energy inside my body.

I had a little understanding of reverse cursed technique from the show… but seeing it and performing it were two completely different things.

My fist trembled as I finally opened my eyes with a loud gasp… taking a breath I didn't know I was holding, a few drops of sweat falling down my cheeks as I supported my head with my hands, my elbows on my knees.

"System," I muttered, breathless as a blue, translucent screen appeared to my left.

[Cursed Energy Proficiency: 39.2%]

My lips slowly curled up into a small smile… I was close.

Reverse Cursed Technique was unlocked at 40%... something that would help me partially overcome the issue of this weak physique.

I pushed myself up from the floor, a groan escaping my lips as I stretched my limbs, exhausted from the continuous sitting.

I decided to stand here for a little while, simply basking in the sunlight, relaxing.

"The dungeon, huh?" My voice was barely a whisper, making sure no one hears me.

The next event… the main characters stuck in a wrongly ranked dungeon during an exercise… the start of the string of 'anomalous' events.

As I was thinking about this, my gaze landed on a group of four, walking along the edges of the ground, talking with each other… the main cast.

Alexia caught sight of me first, her face blooming into a huge smile as she waved at me enthusiastically.

I waved back with a little smile.

The others turned to me too, reacting in different ways, Johan seemed to have a little smirk, which Ryogaku and Anny simply nodded.

I continued to stare at them as they walked away, Alexia glancing at me one final time before turning away.

I had made sure to maintain a good relationship with them, after all, they'll be the most important in the future… I wouldn't want to antagonize them just yet.

I was successful in removing Alexia's fear of me, though it took quite a while of being with her.

I sighed, turning my head up to stare at the sky.

I was getting quite a lot of stares from the students, which I ignored, obviously. After all, it is the peasants' job to look up at the king.

I sighed, closing my eyes.

Increasing proficiency was getting much harder, and the effects were clearly visible now.

"RCT," I muttered, my voice drowning in the sounds of chatter from far away. "2 days…"

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(2 Days later…)

I was sitting in my room, on the floor, training like I did always… but I could feel that I was really close, my body slightly trembling as I almost succeeded in forming positive energy… but keep failing.

It felt like if I would go even a knife's edge further… I would get it.

I tried again, a drop of blood oozing out of the would on my hand, slowly moving down to my index finger, leaving a red trail behind it.

The drop hung on to the edge of my finger, as if not wanting to fall off.

But unfortunately, it couldn't hold on, and disconnected from my finger, falling towards the floor at a pace which felt… too slow.

My teeth were grit, almost drawing blood from my gums as my body trembled. I involuntarily held my breath, my muscles tensing.

The drop made contact with the floor with a drip. Just then, my body convulsed, my eyes suddenly opening as I gasped for breath, my hands holding my head as I resisted the urge to scream.

Suddenly, I realized something… I released my head, putting my right hand in front of my face.

The cut was gone.

My tense muscles relaxed, my chest rising and falling rhythmically.

A beep resounded in my ears, a screen appearing to my right.

[Reverse Cursed Technique Unlocked]

My lips curled up into a smile, my eyes half-closed in exhaustion as I fell back, my back hitting the wall.

I sighed audibly, my breathing still ragged from the exertion as I stared at the wall, feeling the drop of positive energy circulating inside me.

In a few minutes, I slowly got up, going towards the kitchen and picking up a knife.

"Time for testing," I muttered, making a small cut on my hand with the knife, an uncomfortable, stinging sensation reaching my mind.

I placed the knife on the side as I focused on the wound, trying to replicate the feeling of using Reverse Cursed Technique.

To my surprise… it was easy. Once I knew the feeling, it was like instinct to perform the technique.

The wound started to heal… I could see the cut slowly closing, and new skin forming on top of it.

All this happened in the span of 10 seconds.

"Slow," I muttered, not disappointed at all.

It was only a matter of training now.

My lips curled up into a smile… not the one I showed in public, but a devious, maniacal grin.

"Next goal," I muttered, my grin unwavering as I turned to a metal cabinet, which was reflecting my uncanny expression. "Is to pull out my heart."

A stunt like the original Sukuna… how fun is that?

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(POV: Blaze)

It was a nice evening, the beautiful, orange sunlight filtering in through the windows, falling on the furniture, creating a peaceful environment within my office.

I, however, was quite worried. I sighed as I rubbed my eyes, placing a bunch of papers I was reading on the table.

I leaned back on my chair, closing my eyes as I rested my head on the backrest.

"Sukuna…" I said, my voice echoing off the walls of the room. "What are you doing?"

I've assigned some people to observe Sukuna as long as he is outside his room… I needed to know more about him, but I still respect his privacy.

However, the answers that I got only left me with more questions.

He merely sits on the training grounds all day, from when classes end to dinner time.

He does absolutely nothing, but he still sweats buckets, as if he was doing a recklessly intense cardio session.

Sukuna… Sukuna… Sukuna.

The name echoed in my mind, an enigma with contradictions everywhere.

His attack, Black Flash… so helpfully named, that he had displayed during a spar… his eerie aura that seemed to push people away.

What was the secret to this?

I couldn't understand… he didn't seem to be training at all… did he reach these heights with talent alone?

A drop of sweat trickled down my forehead at the thought… such monstrous talent… was it even human?

"No…" I muttered, shaking my head.

It just wasn't possible… there must be something else… some secret that he is withholding, and I'll figure it out.

The first clue to figuring him out is…

My eyes opened, my gaze landing on a certain sheet among the bunch.

The laundry staff spoke of bloodied clothes given to them.

A smile tugged at the corner of my lips. The top scorers respected him, they recognized his raw power under his nonchalant appearance.

But the rest of the student body? They steered clear, making way for him, whispering only after he is gone.

The blood. Here, my brow furrowed. The ones I put to follow him confirmed no injuries on him.

The students were unharmed, no missing persons reports filed. Was it animal blood then, spilled during some weird training method?

Probably not… and that leaves out only one possibility… he has the ability to heal.

Healing is not too rare of a skill… with enough mana control, one can heal even life-threatening injuries.

However, having such healing skills in the first year of his academy life… is quite abnormal.

I extended my hand, reaching for a coffee mug kept on the edge of the table, picking it up and taking a sip… it was empty.

I put the coffee mug down, the force slightly rattling the table as my lips curled up into a smile.

He might be more talented…

My fingers tapped on the table rhythmically, almost like agitated music.

He might be more talented than even Ren.