Talery system

  Host: Ryuji Hoshino

  Bloodline: Human

  Loaded entries: Soul Dev [Red], Yin-Yang Eyes [Gold], Presence cealment [Gold],Tranquility [Gold], Reverse Cursed Teique [Gold], Motrag Physique [Gold], Third Dimension, Dreamwalker [Gold], Physical Strengthening [Gold], Cursed Speech [Gold], Iron Fist [Purple].

  Points: 62120.

  Success! Twolderies appeared on the character tempte.

  Moreover, Ryuji noticed something odd as he looked down at the refle of his fa a nearby puddle.

  He could see faint, intricate lines f around his mouth marks of the Cursed Speech teique. Not just his lips, but his tongue as well carried the same pattern. These were the signs that indicated his new ability had successfully maed.

  Ryuji smirked and looked around, spotting a retively sturdy tree in the distance.

  Then, with a casual tone, he muttered:

  "Shatter!"

  The spell activated, and the thick trunk of the tree trembled violently. In a matter of seds, it exploded into splinters, disiing into nothing but dust.

  "Cough!"

  Ryuji felt a slight backsh, but the Reversal Teique kicked in immediately, healing the minor strain as if nothing had happened.

  Ryuji grihinking about all the mischievous possibilities of Cursed Speech. He could imagine disrupting enemies in all kinds of ways like anding someone in the middle of ting a spell to hiccup, or f someoo cramp up right before they could plete a Domain Expansion.

  "Damn, this ability really is terrifying."

  He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. The Cursed Speech could turn any battle into a chaotic mess for his enemies.

  Satisfied with his new power, Ryuji wiped the remaining smirk off his fad observed the water again. The marks on his mouth had vanished. It seemed like they only appeared when the Cursed Speech was in use. He could talk normally in his everyday life without w about actally triggering the curse.

  "Now, there's just ohi."

  Ryuji reached into his pocket and pulled out a cursed item the finger of Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses. It was ed in cloth, but upon uning it, Ryuji revealed a dried, severed finger.

  "Even just one finger has enough cursed energy to be cssified as special-grade? This guy really was on another level."

  As expected from the stro sorcerer a thousand years ago.

  "I wonder… it be destroyed?"

  Ryuji sidered. He knew Sukuna's personality well enough from watg the anime a cruel, bloodthirsty monster who treated human lives as nothing more than tools to be crushed. The thought of allowing Sukuna to fully resurred roam free didn't sit well with Ryuji.

  It wasn't like he had any grand desire to py the hero or save the world, but if Sukuo rise and start killing people indiscriminately, it would only be a matter of time before someone close to him his friends, his women got caught in the crossfire. And that was something Ryuji wouldn't tolerate.

  "Time to test something."

  "Third Dimension!"

  With his eyes narrowed in tration, the spa Ryuji's palm began to . He directed the spatial distortion toward the severed finger, aiming to crush it out of existence.

  But despite his efforts, the finger remained intact, unscathed by the twisting space around it.

  Ryuji let out a low chuckle. "Strohan I expected, huh?"

  Destroying Sukuna's finger wasn't going to be easy not with ventional methods, at least. If even Third Dimension couldn't affect it, then there was no way a normal sorcerer would have any ce of destroying it.

  "Alright, fine. If I 't destroy it, I'll just hide it."

  Ryuji activated Third Dimension, creating a portal to his personal dimensioossed the finger inside, sealing it away in a pce where no one could find it.

  "Good luck getting that back, Sukuna."

  Satisfied, Ryuji hummed a little tune as he left the se. (T/N: Before you guys start asking why he didn't absorb the finger, his ability is called Soul Dev for a reason)

  ---

  Somewhere in a dark, twisted dimension…

  The air was thick with the stench of decay, and the ground was littered with bones. At the ter of it all, seated on a throne of skeletal remains, was a t figure Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses.

  His eyes, which had been half-closed in a state of idle boredom, suddenly snapped open. A sly smile crept across his face.

  "Iing… One of my fingers has disappeared."

  Though he was still sealed, Sukuna had always been able to sehe location of every one of his fingers. But just now, that e had been severed.

  "Whoever did this… they didn't destroy it. That much is clear."

  Sukuna's grin widened, his sharp teeth gleaming in the dim, crimson light of his domain.

  "Ah, how delightful. I'm looking forward to meeting this fool. Perhaps the new era won't be so dull after all."

  Even though losing a finger meant slightly weakening his future resurre, Sukuna wasn't angry. In fact, he was amused. The notion that someone ying with his power oed him further.

  "More. I want more of these little games."

  His anticipation for the future grew. The thought of his eventual resurre, and the chaos he would on the modern world, brought Sukuna nothing but joy.

  ---

  Ryuji had arrived at Hiratsuka Shizuka's pce, eager to see her after a long day.

  inally, he had po visit Miko first, but she had called to let him know that she'd be staying at her mother's house tonight. It seemed she o spend some time with her family after being away for so long.

  Ryuji didn't mind. This gave him the perfect ce to stop by Shizuka's pce.

  As soon as she heard Ryuji's voice, Shizuka rushed out of the kit. At first, she looked excited, but then her expression shifted to a mock pout.

  "Oh, so you finally remembered me, huh?"

  "How could I fet my favorite girl?" Ryuji grinned, walking over to her in a warm hug.

  "You didn't answer my messages all day. You knoorried I was?" Shizuka tried to sound upset, but her tone softened as Ryuji's arms enveloped her.

  "It wasn't on purpose. I was dealing with a special-grade curse spirit, and things got a little hectic."

  Shizuka's worried expression deepened. "A special-grade curse? Are you okay?"

  "Rex, your man is invincible." Ryuji ughed, giving her a reassuring pat on the back.

  Shizuka sighed, but couldn't help smiling at his fidence. "Alright, alright. But don't scare me like that again."

  Ryuji she air, deteg a strange st. "Wait… what's that smell?"

  "Oh!" Shizuka's eyes widened. "I was making fish soup!" She quickly pulled away from Ryuji and dashed bato the kit.

  Ryuji blinked. "shizuka knows how to cook?"

  ---

  When Shizuka brought the food out to the table, Ryuji was left speechless.

  The dishes were… questioo say the least. Everything was either overcooked or had a strange color, especially the fish soup. It urple something he had never seen before.

  "Are y to poison me?" Ryuji asked with a teasing smile, though there was genuine in his voice.

  "Hey! This is my first time cooking, okay?" Shizuka huffed, clearly annoyed by his rea. She had tried so hard, following the recipe to the letter. How had everything gone s?

  "Maybe it just looks bad but tastes good?" she suggested, though even she didn't sound vinced.

  Ryuji raised an eyebrow. "You try it, then."

  Shizuka hesitated, then picked up a spoon. But before she could even take a bite, the smell hit her nose full force.

  "Okay, yeah, let's just order takeout." She put the spoon down i, realizing she had no talent for cooking.

  Ryuji burst into ughter, and Shizuka's face flushed in embarrassment.

  ---

  Elsewhere…

  After Maki and Inumaki returo Jujutsu High School, they were greeted by the familiar voice of Gojo Satoru.

  "Yo! You guys look like you survived without a scratch!"

  "Salmon!" Inumaki replied with a nod.

  Maki, oher hand, didn't share Gojo's enthusiasm. "The cursed spirit we were sent to handle was supposed to be first-grade, but it turned out to be a special-grade. How did that happen? Are the curse specialists getting sloppy?"

  It wasn't the first time an error in intelligence had led to dangerous situations, and many young sorcerers had died because of such mistakes.

  Gojo waved off her s. "Rex, didn't I send back-up? You're fine now."

  "Hmph!" Maki crossed her arms, still irritated. "Sure, but that guy, Ryuji, he took care of the special-grade curse spirit like it was nothing. If he hadn't shown up, we'd probably be dead."

  Gojo grinned, clearly eained by the versation. "Oh, so you got to see Ryuji in a? Impressive, right?"

  Maki frowned. "Impressive? He killed a special-grade curse spirit in seds! How is that not more ing to you?"

  Standing nearby, Panda's ears perked up at Maki's words. "Wait… what? Did you just say he killed a special-grade curse spirit instantly?"

  "That's right, Panda." Maki firmed, her voice still ced with frustration. "I've never seen anything like it. The curse didn't stand a ce."

  Panda blinked in shock. "I've never heard of anyone doing that so easily, not even most special-grade sorcerers." He turo Gojo, his fusion clear. "Who is this Ryuji guy?"

  Gojed nontly. "Just a alent."

  Maki rolled her eyes. "Sure, sure, whatever you say. But seriously, I've never seen anything like it."

  Before Panda could ask any more questions, a group of first-grade sorcerers ehe se. Leading them was Masamichi Yaga, the principal of Jujutsu High School. Alongside him were well-known sorcerers Nanami Kento, Mei Mei, and Kusakabe Atsuya.

  The arrival of the first-grade sorcerers made Maki pause. "Principal Yaga? Nanami? Mei Mei? Kusakabe? What are you all doing here?"

  Nanami, always the stoie, adjusted his gsses and spoke in his usual monotone. "We were called for a meeting regarding the ret increase in cursed spirits. There's been an upti special-grade activity tely."

  Gojo leaned back zily, grinning. "Yup, we've been seeing some ypes of cursed spirits, especially these urban legends that regur people see."

  "Urban legends?" Maki raised an eyebrow.

  Gojo nodded. "Yeah, it's a new breed of cursed spirits. The weird thing is, they seem to blend with the ordinary world in ways we haven't seen before. People without cursed energy see them, and they're being more on. You guys already entered ooday, that special-grade curse you fought was an urban legend mixed with a traditional cursed spirit."

  Panda let out a low growl of . "If ordinary people see them now, that ges things. What's causing this shift?"

  Mei Mei, who had been silent up until now, stepped forward, her cold eyes narrowing slightly. "It's hard to say. But if this trend tinues, it won't be long before the entire world bees aware of the existence of cursed spirits."

  Gojo, ever the optimist, shrugged. "Well, we'll cross that bridge whe to it. For now, we just have to deal with what's in front of us."

  Maki scowled. "Easier said than done. If even first-grade cursed spirits are being special-grade, we're going to have a serious problem on our hands soon."

  Kusakabe, always oo pin, sighed loudly. "This is a mess. I'm not paid enough to deal with this kind of chaos."

  Nanami, being the pragmatie, crossed his arms. "Regardless, we o be prepared. We'll o work more closely together to deal with these emerging threats. The world of sorcery is ging, and we 't afford to fall behind."

  Gojo cpped his hands together, his grin never wavering. "Sounds like a pn! But don't worry too much, I've got this covered."

  Maki shot him an annoyed gre. "Yeah, because you're so reliable."

  Gojo's smile only widened. "Of course, I am! After all, I'm the stro!"