“It’s so quiet.” Amid the silence, Shirogane Kei could not help murmuring softly.
They had been walking through the colony for some time.
Although they had yet to find Mutsumi, surprisingly, they had not encountered another attack.
As night fell, they occasionally crossed paths with cursed spirits too stupid to avoid them, but those were nothing more than roadside trash.
Not a single other player had appeared.
The surroundings were so quiet that it felt as though they had sunk to the bottom of the sea.
“It’s only the first day.” “Most modern awakened sorcerers probably haven’t learned how to use their techniques yet, while the ancient sorcerers are likely remaining cautious.” “Over the next few days, the ancient sorcerers will begin moving and hunting other players.
Once that happens, this colony will become chaotic.” Konoe Mayoru offered what he believed was a reasonable analysis.
Sakiko appeared somewhat doubtful.
Cursed spirits aside, ancient sorcerers might not necessarily be so vicious.
The Culling Game’s rules encouraged killing, but that was all.
There was no explicit rule stating that a player would die unless they killed someone.
Would ancient sorcerers truly begin massacring people under those circumstances?
“They probably will.” Mayoru answered casually.
“I’m not saying every ancient sorcerer is evil, but their morals are generally different from those of modern people.” “Especially those born during periods of war.
To them, killing someone weaker is as ordinary as eating or drinking.
They won’t feel any guilt.” “Once they begin killing players, it’ll create a chain of suspicion.” “Eventually, even modern awakened sorcerers and existing jujutsu sorcerers will be dragged into it.” Hearing that, Sakiko’s mood grew heavier.
Mayoru had already prepared himself for such a possibility and begun planning how to gather points.
Killing ordinary people was out of the question.
Therefore, he would have to hunt sorcerers who intended to kill him.
There would probably be plenty of those in the future, but each sorcerer was worth only five points.
That was far too little.
The best solution would be to gather one hundred points and add a rule allowing players to transfer points, but reaching one hundred would take too long.
While Mayoru considered the issue, he suddenly sensed cursed energy descending from above.
A brilliant light crashed into the nearby harbor and instantly flattened several shipping containers.
Its battle intent was completely undisguised.
A young man with two rounded tufts of hair and an iron staff stared coldly toward them.
“The strong sorcerer…
Konoe Mayoru.” “Where are you?!” His clear voice carried a savage edge.
Mayoru could never have mistaken that appearance.
It was the jujutsu professor himself, Kashimo Hajime—the strongest sorcerer from four hundred years ago.
Of course, the title of strongest remained somewhat questionable.
It was more accurate to say that Kashimo had spent his entire life without encountering a worthy opponent.
Only after growing old and losing much of his strength did he hear about an extraordinarily powerful sorcerer from the Date Domain in Mutsu, whose cursed-energy output was supposedly unprecedented.
Regardless, Kashimo was unquestionably the strongest player inside this colony.
And now, without any warning, he had appeared before Mayoru.
After only a moment’s thought, Mayoru understood what had happened.
The strongest player had suddenly arrived while calling his name.
There was no way this was a coincidence.
Kenjaku must have arranged it.
That bastard refused to fight Mayoru himself, so he had incited someone else to gather information for him.
Still, Kenjaku was certainly showing him a great deal of respect.
He had immediately sent the colony’s strongest player.
“Honestly…” Mayoru slowly rose to his feet.
He patted the stunned Kei and Sakiko on their shoulders, completely unaware that a smile had appeared on his own face.
“Could you stop getting my hopes up so much?!” Including his battles against the ancient sorcerer and the special-grade cursed spirit, this would be his third fight.
Despite the intensity of his previous battles, his blood began boiling with excitement once again.
Had he awakened some strange obsession with being the strongest and fighting alone after arriving in this land of Sukuna battles?
Probably not.
Even now, Mayoru did not consider himself the kind of person who needed to fight simply because he believed himself strong.
Still…
Becoming stronger was enjoyable.
And fighting truly was fascinating.
Mayoru made sure Kei and Sakiko remained within his field of vision.
If they encountered danger, he would be able to intervene, while the distance was still great enough to prevent the battle from reaching them.
Then he stepped forward and faced Kashimo Hajime.
“I wouldn’t call myself particularly strong yet.” “But if you’re looking for someone, I’m probably the one you came to find.” Moonlight broke through the clouds.
Standing atop the flattened containers, Kashimo looked down at Mayoru and frowned.
Weak.
That was his first impression.
Just as Mayoru had suspected, Kashimo had come because of Kenjaku.
As the Culling Game’s administrator, Kenjaku had deliberately placed Kashimo inside Tokyo No.
2 Colony to crush the other players.
Naturally, he possessed a way to contact him.
Kashimo recalled what had happened earlier.
“Bored, aren’t you?” Amid shattered corpses, a man in Buddhist robes with stitches across his forehead had slowly appeared.
“At your level, finding a worthwhile opponent is difficult even in the modern era.” “I know what you’re thinking.
You’re complaining that I placed you among nothing but insignificant weaklings.” “But don’t be impatient.” “You may not know this, but several of the modern awakened sorcerers possess considerable potential.” “One of them, in particular, is unquestionably strong.” “He awakened his technique less than a day ago, yet it is truly terrifying.” “Even you might be completely unable to deal with him.” It was obviously provocation.
Kashimo knew that, but he did not care.
He only desired powerful opponents and battle.
After reincarnating, what he wanted most was to fight Sukuna.
Still, anyone Kenjaku personally acknowledged as strong should at least offer some entertainment.
That was why Kashimo had come.
But now…
‘What is this?’ ‘His cursed-energy reserves aren’t impressive, and his usage is pathetic.’ In truth, Mayoru’s control was no longer unbearably crude.
At the very least, no one would immediately mistake him for a complete beginner.
However, such improvement was naturally beneath the notice of someone as powerful as Kashimo.
For a moment, Kashimo suspected Kenjaku had deceived him.
‘Did that bastard send me after some worthless weakling because he didn’t want to fight me himself?’ ‘If so, he truly deserves to die.’ ‘Still, it doesn’t matter.’ ‘Whether this man is strong or insignificant, I’ll know after tasting his strength myself.’ With that thought, Kashimo pointed his iron staff toward Mayoru and spoke coldly.
“I have no interest in wasting words.” “You’d better pray that you’re strong enough.” “Otherwise, you’ll die, sorcerer.” …