Yoshino opened his wardrobe, trying to pick an outfit he liked. But how should he put it?
He didn't really have any choice!
Aside from his school uniforms, Yoshino only had two casual outfits—simple white T-shirts paired with knee-length shorts.
Yoshino had never cared much about his own appearance.
Carrying his clothes, he headed to the bathroom. The first thing on his to-do list was to shower after four or five days of neglect.
His body was starting to smell and felt sticky. Yoshino sniffed himself and mumbled,
"It feels like I've been swallowed up all over again!"
Peeling off the old clothes he had worn for days, Yoshino looked at his naked reflection in the mirror. He could only describe it with one word:
Terrible!
Too skinny!
Skinny as if he were an addict!
His body was littered with bruises from head to toe, a testament to the bullying he endured at school. One large bruise in the shape of a hand covered his waist.
"Good thing I didn't break any bones! Why was that curse so strong? I thought high school curses were supposed to be average!"
This bruise was from a few days ago when a curse had struck him with its enormous hand, landing a direct blow.
Yoshino's bangs were long, reaching past his nose. He thought he should probably cut them tomorrow.
After showering, Yoshino felt refreshed. He grabbed a towel to dry his hair as he walked into the kitchen.
"Mom, you and onions really don't get along," Yoshino muttered, seeing his mom struggling with some onions.
"You think so too? I'm working hard to become someone incompatible with onions!" His mom beamed at his rare attempt at conversation.
"I hope so! Do you need any help?" Yoshino glanced at the dining table, already filled with the dishes his mom had prepared.
"Let's see... Could you take out the trash? I've already sorted it for you!"
"Sure!" Yoshino grabbed two black trash bags and headed out.
"Be quick! Lunch is almost ready! Don't be late, or you'll get it from me!" His mom smiled as she watched him leave.
Carrying the trash bags, Yoshino walked down the stairs to the usual path he took daily. It felt strangely familiar yet unfamiliar.
"So this is the trash spot, huh?" Yoshino placed the bags where they belonged and turned to head back.
But halfway home, he ran into a group of delinquent kids hiding behind a utility pole, smoking.
Yoshino tried to ignore them, but two of them approached him, blowing smoke in his face and asking,
"Hey, can you buy us some beers from the convenience store over there?"
Yoshino frowned. He hated the smell of smoke, especially when someone deliberately blew it in his face. He held back the urge to teach them a lesson, knowing full well he couldn't win against the two in front and the one watching from behind.
These punks wanted him to buy them alcohol, but he wasn't even old enough to do that!
Now that he thought about it, he was only 15. It would still be more than a year before he showed up in the main storyline.
"Not interested!" Yoshino brushed past them and kept walking.
"Come on, big bro, help us out!" One of them stepped in front of him, speaking in a cocky tone.
"But I'm not much older than you! And you guys aren't even old enough to drink this stuff!" Yoshino took a deep breath and said calmly.
"Tsk! So you're just a student! I thought you'd be more helpful!" The one behind spat on the ground and sneered.
Yoshino pushed aside the one blocking his way and continued on. He was starting to feel hungry. Why hadn't he been this hungry the past few days?
"Hey! At least leave some money as a toll fee!" One of the punks grabbed Yoshino by the collar, yanking him back.
"Look at me! I don't even have a cent on me!" Yoshino scoffed, spreading his arms.
The punk released his grip, but as Yoshino walked away, he noticed the guy winding up to punch him from behind.
Yoshino's body tensed; he could feel the attack coming.
Reacting instinctively, he spun around, dodging the punch as it grazed his left side. Seizing the opportunity, Yoshino grabbed the thug's arm.
Without hesitation, Yoshino swept his leg, throwing the punk to the ground with a loud crash.
"Bam!" The guy hit the pavement hard, the sound echoing through the air.
Unconsciously, Yoshino had used a Judo throw, a Nage Waza technique, to take him down.
"What the hell are you doing?!" The other two rushed forward.
Yoshino planted a hard kick into the downed thug's stomach, ensuring he couldn't get up, and charged at the remaining two.
They swung punches at his face, but Yoshino sidestepped them with ease.
Closing the distance, Yoshino wrapped his arms around their necks, locking them in a tight grip like a steel clamp.
"You little punk… ack… do you even… khh… know who we are…?"
Their faces turned red as they struggled to break free, but Yoshino's grip was unrelenting.
Even though he was only 15, Yoshino stood a full head taller than these delinquents, already reaching 1.7 meters in height.
He held them up like wet laundry hung out to dry.
"P-please… let us… go… can't… breathe…"
When they finally begged for mercy, Yoshino released them. They collapsed onto the ground, clutching their necks, red marks left by his grip.
Gross. Their drool had gotten all over his sleeves.
Yoshino glanced at his reddened, scuffed hands and shook his head. If he were like Kishibe, he could've snapped their necks with just a bit of pressure.
"Though… beating people up too much is probably illegal," Yoshino mused.
He needed more training.
"Did I just bully some kids? They do look younger than me, after all."
Rubbing his chin, Yoshino left the delinquents writhing on the ground and quickly returned home for lunch.
One thing Yoshino realized was how calm he felt while fighting.
The old Yoshino wouldn't have dared to hurt anyone, but now, he could strike without a second thought.
Setting that aside, Yoshino arrived home, chatting and eating lunch with his mom happily.
He even volunteered to do the dishes—something he had never bothered to do before.
His sudden change in behavior worried his mom, but she was also glad to see him becoming more confident.
After tidying up the kitchen, Yoshino returned to his room, rummaging around based on faint memories, searching for something.
He rummaged through his wardrobe, his comic book cabinet, and even the lower drawers of his study desk.
"Phew! So this is everything, huh? I can't believe I bought all this stuff back then, only to leave it gathering dust!"
The items Yoshino dug out included a small 5kg dumbbell set, a hand grip strength trainer, and a skipping rope for exercise.
He had purchased these workout tools ages ago, inspired by his obsession with action-packed manga, trying to emulate the characters' training routines.
But Yoshino had quit on the very first day. After just one training session, every muscle in his body ached terribly. Unable to endure the pain, he stopped, and the equipment was left abandoned.
"All right! Let's see what I can do with these innate effects now! Wait… something seems to have changed!"
[ Fixed Innates: Satiated, Weak ]
[ Remaining Innate Points: 1 ]
"Some of the innate traits have disappeared?" Yoshino was surprised as he reviewed his innate effects once again.
He still didn't fully understand how the innates worked, but it seemed like an achievement system.
For instance, after eating a full meal, the innate effect "Hunger" had been replaced by "Satiated."
Some negative innates had vanished and were replaced by more positive ones:
[ Satiated: Increases focus and enhances work efficiency by 10% ]
[ Weak: Reduces the strength of each active attack by 15%, decreases stamina by 10%, increases evasion by 3%, boosts escape speed by 2%, and raises damage resistance by 30% ]
"Hmm… The 'Satiated' effect will help a lot during training. As for 'Weak,' it's useful but not by much."
Yoshino stroked his chin, contemplating the functionality of points.
Holding his finger over the point section for a few seconds, an auxiliary screen popped up:
[ Do you want to use points to purchase a new innate? Yes/No? ]
[ Developmental Innate: Kishibe + ]
Just as Yoshino suspected, he could use points to enhance the progress of his developmental innate or purchase new ones.
He tapped on [ Yes ] to test it.
[ You need at least 5 points to purchase the cheapest innate ]
"So I can't buy a new innate just yet," Yoshino nodded, closing the screen.
He decided against using his points to enhance the progress of his innate, at least for now.
Based on his observation, Yoshino figured he could increase the progress of the Kishibe innate through combat rather than using his sole point.
Finally, Yoshino began to grasp how his system worked. It allowed him to accumulate points by killing curses and use them to purchase new innate effects or upgrade the progress of existing developmental ones.
Putting that aside for now, Yoshino started his preparations for physical training.
As a complete novice stepping into the world of jujutsu sorcerers, Yoshino had no one to teach him how to manipulate the cursed energy within his body.
Moreover, given the small amount of cursed energy he had, Yoshino doubted he could rely on it in combat for now.
That's why physical training became his top priority.