Makoto immediately realized that while Sakiko hadn’t yet conceived the idea of forming Ave Mujica, she’d clearly been desperate to claw her way out of rock bottom for a long time.
Without that desire, she probably wouldn’t have been pulled into the Main God Space in the first place.
The two reached an agreement and looked into each other’s eyes.
It almost felt as though both could see the words “Trust Increased” floating above the other’s head.
“What do we do next?” Sakiko asked.
Makoto considered it briefly.
“We’re going to make contact with important characters, but that doesn’t mean we’re strong enough to influence the overall battle.
We need to understand our limits.” “The Shibuya Incident can roughly be divided into five stages.” “First, Gojo Satoru is sealed.
Second, the outer barrier is broken.
Third, the heroes and villains split into separate battles.” “Fourth, fifteen-finger Ryomen Sukuna fights Jogo and devastates Shibuya.
Finally, Kenjaku appears and sets the stage for the next major conflict.” “We can only escape once the outermost barrier is broken.” “As long as we act before Sukuna fights Jogo, the risks we encounter should still be relatively manageable.” “So for now, we’ll farm rewards while trying to contact the protagonists and confirm exactly where we are in the timeline.” “Once the barrier breaks, we’ll decide our next move.” Sakiko nodded and began regulating her emotions.
After that, Makoto used the flow and density of Cursed Energy to guide Sakiko in ambushing Grade 3 and Grade 4 Cursed Spirits.
Sakiko took nearly every finishing blow.
A Grade 4 Cursed Spirit rewarded 10 Mission Points, while a Grade 3 rewarded 100.
Makoto automatically received 22% of whatever Sakiko earned.
He wasn’t doing this because he wanted to spoil her.
He needed to preserve the continuity of his lie.
If Makoto took a kill himself and failed to receive the same reward Sakiko did, she might realize he’d been lying.
Compared with a few Mission Points, maintaining her trust was far more valuable.
More importantly, Makoto wanted to seize every opportunity to improve his abilities.
“What is this?” After the two killed another Grade 4 Cursed Spirit, a shattered purple crystal dropped onto the ground.
Sakiko instinctively reached for it, but Makoto immediately stopped her.
“Careful.
Never touch something unknown without checking it first.” This was Jujutsu Kaisen, a world filled with curses.
Who knew whether some insignificant-looking object might carry a dangerous cursed effect?
Sakiko immediately pulled her hand back.
At that moment, system text slowly appeared above the crystal, visible to both of them.
[Cursed Energy Crystal Fragment: Can be consumed to rapidly restore Cursed Energy or slightly increase the user’s maximum Cursed Energy.] Makoto’s eyes lit up.
Before he could say anything, Sakiko spoke first.
“You should use it.
From now on, anything like this belongs to you.” “Are you sure?” “It’s an item that suits you and can increase your strength.
Of course you should use it,” Sakiko answered firmly.
Makoto didn’t refuse again.
He picked up the Cursed Energy Crystal Fragment and crushed it in his hand.
A stream of Cursed Energy immediately flowed into his body, raising his maximum Cursed Energy by roughly 10 points.
That was already an impressive increase.
For an ordinary person, it was enough Cursed Energy to reach the level of a Grade 4 Jujutsu Sorcerer.
But for Makoto, who was already at Grade 3, the improvement wasn’t particularly noticeable.
“How was it?” Sakiko asked expectantly.
Makoto broke into an excited smile.
“It increased my maximum Cursed Energy by about a hundred points.” [Ding!
Making Fake Become Real has activated.] [Lie detected: “It increased my maximum Cursed Energy by about a hundred points.”] […] [Manifestation result: Your maximum Cursed Energy has increased by 22 points.] Feeling the density of Cursed Energy inside him increase by nearly half, Makoto became incredibly grateful that he’d chosen to maintain the consistency of his lies.
He had no idea how many Mission Points this kind of improvement would normally cost.
He only knew one thing.
‘My strength is about to start rising very quickly.’ If the Cursed Energy level of a Grade 3 Jujutsu Sorcerer was around 50, then a Semi-Grade 2 would need roughly 100, while a Grade 2 would require at least 300.
For Jujutsu Sorcerers, maximum Cursed Energy was largely determined at birth and could barely be increased through training.
Makoto, however, was currently breaking through that innate ceiling.
Then another thought struck him.
‘Wait.
Could I trade these things to Jujutsu Sorcerers who are trapped by their natural limits?’ “You said you already possess the Cursed Energy of a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer,” Sakiko said curiously.
“Then how far are you from the next level, a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer?” Makoto instinctively prepared to activate Making Fake Become Real again.
This time, he stopped himself.
If he made the gap sound smaller, Sakiko might start thinking his current body was already capable of challenging Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
His original claim of possessing Grade 1 Cursed Energy was already difficult enough to maintain.
The only reason Sakiko still believed it was because she’d never witnessed the true combat ability of Grade 1 Sorcerers like Nanami Kento or Todo Aoi.
So Makoto told the truth.
“There’s an enormous gulf between Grade 1 and Special Grade.
It isn’t something you can cross simply by increasing your Cursed Energy.” “You need to develop your Cursed Technique to an extreme level.” “There have even been periods in Jujutsu Kaisen’s history where a century passed without a single Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer appearing.” “Grade 1 Sorcerers, on the other hand, exist in every generation.” Sakiko nodded.
A thoughtful gleam passed through her eyes as she clearly suppressed whatever ideas had begun forming in her mind.
“We should stick to fighting Grade 3 and Grade 4 Cursed Spirits.” “Starting from Grade 2, Cursed Spirits may be capable of using Cursed Energy Reinforcement on themselves.” “I can still handle attacks from them, but you can’t fight something like that head-on.” Makoto gave her a perfectly reasonable explanation, finally putting Sakiko at ease.
The two soon killed another Cursed Spirit.
This time, no crystal appeared.
Sakiko frowned.
“I wonder what the Drop Rate for these Cursed Energy Crystals is.
Is there any way to increase it?” Makoto’s thoughts immediately stirred.
“I’d guess it’s around thirty or forty percent.
If we’re lucky, they might keep dropping one after another.” [Ding!
Making Fake Become Real has activated.] [Lie detected: “I’d guess it’s around thirty or forty percent.
If we’re lucky, they might keep dropping one after another.”] […] [Manifestation result: Cursed Energy Crystal Drop Rate increased from 5% to 11%.
Drop Rate is affected by Luck Value.] Sakiko frowned slightly.
“But how are we supposed to increase our Luck Value…?” She suddenly noticed Makoto staring at her.
“Wait.
Why are you looking at me like that?!” Sakiko instinctively wrapped both arms across her chest and took a step backward.
Her reaction wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
For the first time, Makoto’s gaze seemed intensely curious about everything from her head to her toes.
That look sent a strange flutter through Sakiko’s heart.
Makoto spread his hands with an innocent smile.
“I was just thinking.
Your ability has so many different effects, so maybe one of your emotions could increase our luck.” “How could that possibly happen?!” Sakiko immediately protested.
Makoto smiled.
“But I have a feeling that when those rainbow-colored lights appear around you, they might actually increase our luck.” …