Chapter 02

In an abandoned house in the Ginza district, adrenaline pumped through my veins as I jumped from the railing of the second-floor stairs. My feet, infused with cursed energy, landed on the aged wooden floor with a faint creak, propelling me at high speed.

The floorboards creaked under the impact, echoing through the empty corridors of the old building. My rapid breath mixed with the sound of my quick footsteps, and the darkness around me seemed to come alive as my heightened senses perceived every detail around me.

Just above the stairs, a dark and menacing figure advanced toward me, moving on all fours with an almost supernatural agility. Its jaws salivated eagerly, revealing sharp fangs in a terrifying countenance.

There was no time to hesitate. The battle was inevitable, and my heart raced even faster with the proximity of the confrontation.

With a terrifying roar, the figure leaped towards me, but I was prepared.

"Now," I shouted as a signal.

A small figure hidden in the clock on the wall jumped with fists extended.

Those fists showed no mercy to their opponent; it was a promise of mass destruction for anyone who dared to cross their path.

*Puff*

The small red creature's fists landed on that aberration, but it didn't even seem to care and kicked him away as it walked.

"Gribs," I yelled, seeing my contracted creature flying away and hitting the wall.

That seemed to work as the aberration got distracted by my lament and looked in the direction of the fallen Gribs to understand what was happening.

I smiled and drew a dagger from my waist.

Three thin and spiral cuts were made, and my image appeared behind the monstrosity before it split into three distinct parts.

That was my first battle against a Grade 3 spirit.

I wasted no time and activated the Karmic Redemption technique to absorb all the cursed energy from that corpse.

Since my reincarnation, I've never spent Karmic energy; I've been accumulating it to see what the limit is.

Approaching the small fallen creature, I directed Positive energy towards my palm, and it glowed with a golden light. It proved to be instantaneous as the wounds of the little red-eyed being began to close instantly.

Intriguingly, my golden energy could heal humans and curses, disregarding the poisonous effect on the latter.

"Gribe-Gribe."

"I know," I chuckled at his comment before adding, "You managed to distract him for 0.3 seconds. A little more force, and you would have taken him down all by yourself."

"Gribe-Gribe," he said, looking upset.

"I'm not teasing you. He probably felt something like a bee sting or a baby's slap," I smiled at him before declaring, "Mark my words, little guy, in a few more months, and you'll outshine Sukuna."

"Gribe."

"Gribe, the King of Curses," I laughed as I walked the streets with the little red-eyed being by my side.

Gribe doesn't know what it means to be a King of Curses, let alone who Sukuna is, but he vowed to take him down if their paths crossed. Hearing his master taunting him made him feel the need to become stronger.

Gribe's small hands, cuter than plush toys, clenched in his newfound determination to become the strongest.

*Ring* Ring*

"Huh?" My phone rang, and I picked it up with annoyance, "It's that woman again. Annoying."

"Gribe?"

We were now in a small diner where we decided to make a quick stop on our way home.

"Forget it. It's a lunatic who won't leave me alone," I replied to the curious little red curse.

Diligently, I noted all my recent test days in a small book I took out from inside my jacket.

"Here you go, sir. A 'Café Latte,' our specialty," the waitress smiled at me, and I thanked her.

I returned my attention to the little book and pondered my powers.

The limitation of being able to only heal and bestow luck on others left me limited in personal growth.

Therefore, measures needed to be taken to ensure my safety in this chaotic world.

Those who know Jujutsu deeply know how dangerous this world can be. Seriously, countless characters have died in the midst of all this chaos, and if things continue as they unfold in the manga... This world may not have a safe oasis.

Being weak is the same as being at the mercy of luck.

It's a shame I died before being able to see the end of the story; my knowledge of the future is incomplete in this way.

Back at the apartment complex, I was checking my social media while walking, almost near the door of my apartment, when a female voice interrupted me.

"Tsk. Are you following me again?" A woman who appeared to be in her thirties, with heavy makeup and average features, looked at me with clear disgust. "Stay away from me, you pervert."

"Miss Ayu, my apartment is next to yours, in case you haven't noticed," I said in a monotone voice.

Gribes, who is on my shoulder, looked at the woman with hostility, but being an ordinary human, Ayu didn't perceive the supernatural creature.

Besides being inherently petty, Ayu's main reason for hostility towards me comes from a huge misunderstanding. In my search for Grade 4 curses, I accidentally invaded her apartment, and it was during that event that I found Gribes.

Gribes was a nearly harmless curse that perched on vain Ayu's shoulder, fueling her vanity instincts. She was so obsessed with her own beauty that she would glance at the mirror every five minutes.

And I'm not exaggerating about her need to look in the mirror every five minutes; I theorized that Gribes was born or drawn to her because of that intense negative emotion of vanity.

Unfortunately, she didn't quite understand my intentions of removing Gribes from her, and I ended up creating a hostile relationship with my unsympathetic neighbor.

"These sexist men. They can't see a beautiful woman without acting like wild animals," she said with a clenched fist in fury, but when she looked around, she couldn't find me anywhere...

An even bigger mark of anger could be seen on her feminist face when she realized that I simply entered my apartment without giving her any moment to speak.

"How troublesome," I shook my head in disgust.

"It's okay, Gribes," I lifted the little humanoid eye and placed it on the coffee table in the living room. "I hope what I'm about to try works."

"Gribe?" He looked at me confused.

"I'm going to test something with my powers that I haven't tried before. Don't worry, at most, you might lose an arm or two," I reassured him to the best of my abilities.

The little Gribes tried to escape my grip, and I exclaimed, "Hey, what's the problem? The worst that could happen is you losing your life. What's your pride as a man? I mean... You're not a man, but what's your pride as a curse? Dying is part of the circle of life."

Gribes pointed a finger at me, and I instantly understood.

"Me? I can't do this to myself," I wiped fake tears at the corner of my eyes. "I am condemned to try this on someone else. You, Gribes, my friend... Your sacrifice will not be in vain."

"Gribe."

"How absurd! How dare you speak like that to your master?" I scolded the little rebellious boy, raising an eyebrow. "Don't be a crybaby. I guarantee you'll be fine."

I extended the palm of my hand towards the little boy, whose eyes were teary, and focused the Karmic energy I had accumulated over the past two years.

For those who don't understand my abilities, in the world of Jujutsu, there are two main forms of energy: cursed energy and positive energy.

My innate ability, Karmic Redemption, has the power to split cursed energy into two parts: positive energy and a previously unknown type of energy in this world.

Karmic energy is not mentioned in the story, unlike positive energy, which can be used for healing. Karmic energy allows me to manipulate small events of luck and bless someone with that same luck.

Over the past two years, I hunted many Grade 4 curses and amassed a huge reserve of Karmic Energy without using it.

Focusing on Gribes' being, I began pouring a large amount of Karmic Energy over him, attempting to manipulate his luck.

Despite using tons of Karmic energy, my goal seemed to be fruitless. A feeling of dizziness hit me as I wasn't accustomed to using such a large amount of this energy.

I clenched my teeth in frustration as 3/4 of the energy had already been depleted, and no change was felt in Gribes, who seemed to not comprehend what I was doing.

A great pain and sorrow overwhelmed me as I saw years of accumulation going to waste.

Just as I was about to give up and halt the process, something caught my attention. Gribes suddenly stiffened, a faint silvery light shimmered around him, and the apartment's electrical energy began to experience interference, causing complaints from other residents.

The silvery glow grew weaker and disappeared along with the depletion of my energy. I was intrigued by what had happened. Could it have worked?

Upon evaluating Gribes, I noticed that he apparently remained the same, both in appearance and cursed energy.

However, something unexpected occurred in my mind. "Oh? Interesting," I spoke in disbelief at the new information and stood up to check.

I picked up Gribes on my shoulder and took him to the large mirror in Ayu's bedroom, my neighbor.

"But what ~" Before Harpia could utter her curses, I put her into a deep slumber with a simple gesture.

Looking at the mirror in her room, I placed my hands on it, and a faint light emitted before its surface turned fluid. With a confident smile, I successfully stepped through the mirror.

Gribes hadn't gained cursed energy or ranked up, but he had acquired a rare luck, an innate cursed technique called Mirror of Samsara.

I admired the parallel dimension we found ourselves in, with its purple hues and kaleidoscopic colors. Countless pieces of mirrors floated, and our figures could be seen in the curious space.

Mirror of Samsara has two main abilities:

1. The ability to enter the mirror world through any reflective surface.

2. Reflecting abilities for those who share a destiny.

Due to the master-slave contract I had with Gribes, I also awakened the talent of the Mirror of Samsara, as we shared a common destiny.

Now I could use this technique even when distant from Gribes, as long as he didn't die. I gained a new power that made me smile unconsciously, which significantly altered my plans.

I could already imagine the limitless potential of this technique.