“Is that actually allowed?”
Kashimo looked down at the floating shikigami, his eyes sharp with anticipation.
Kogane paused, hovering in place for a brief second as its internal logic verified the request against the foundational parameters of the barrier.
It gave a quick, bobbing nod.
“That is correct, Player Kashimo.
Adding a rule to permit travel between colonies does not conflict with the existing rules framework.”
Kashimo’s lips curved into a faint grin.
“How many points do I have right now?”
“You currently possess 76 points, Player Kashimo.
You are 24 points short of the 100-point threshold required to submit a new rule.
Defeating five sorcerers will provide the remaining points.”
“Five sorcerers,” Kashimo repeated softly.
His head turned slowly toward Julian.
The electric intensity in his glare made the temperature on the rooftop feel like it dropped five degrees.
“Are you a sorcerer?”
Julian flinched, instinctively taking two fast steps back.
“Hey!
Kashimo, don’t get any wild ideas!
I just handed you a goldmine of intelligence.
You’re not seriously about to farm me for five points, are you?”
“Just checking,” Kashimo muttered, turning his eyes back toward the street line below.
His tone held no shame whatsoever.
He had no intention of striking Julian down just yet.
A five-point payout wouldn’t cover the full 24-point gap anyway, and Julian’s knowledge of the other colonies remained useful.
Had he been sitting on 95 points, the outcome might have been different.
Seeing that Kashimo had lowered his stance, Julian let out a breath and relaxed.
Thanks to his infinite resurrection loop, the fear of dying held no real weight over him.
Still, his internal evaluations suggested that longer survival times yielded better payout rewards at the end of each run.
Staying alive as long as possible was simply good strategy.
Julian leaned against the rooftop railing, watching Kashimo’s posture.
“So you’re really heading straight to Sendai Colony?”
“Is there a reason I shouldn’t?” Kashimo asked, not bothering to turn around.
“Well…
no,” Julian scratched his chin. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“Except those four monsters in Sendai are high-tier sorcerers with fully realized Domain Expansions.
Are you sure you want to walk into that blind?”
He tilted his head slightly, studying the ancient fighter.
“You don’t have a Domain Expansion of your own, right?
If they drop a Domain on you, all you’ve got is Hollow Wicker Basket.
Doesn’t that put you at a massive disadvantage?”
Domain Expansion was the absolute peak of jujutsu mastery—an ultimate technique that granted the user absolute environmental superiority and a guaranteed-hit effect.
In modern sorcery, fighting a Domain user without a Domain of your own was almost universally considered a death sentence.
Even Satoru Gojo himself had once noted that the most reliable counter to a Domain was deploying one’s own.
Kashimo glanced sideways at Julian.
He hadn’t expected this kid to know the inner workings of his arsenal, down to his reliance on anti-domain techniques.
Yet, he didn’t address the strategic concern.
Instead, his eyes narrowed as he locked onto Julian’s face.
Julian caught the look and offered a sheepish grin.
“Uh…
Kashimo?
Why are you staring at me like that?”
Kashimo remained silent for three long seconds.
“I don’t possess a Domain Expansion,” Kashimo stated plainly, his voice dropping into a cold, flat register.
His innate technique was an absolute, single-use ability that consumed his physical body upon activation.
In his past life, he had never possessed the operational context required to refine a Domain Expansion.
There was zero hesitation in his eyes.
Zero doubt.
“I don’t need a Domain Expansion,” Kashimo added, his hands tightening around the iron staff until the metal creaked.
“I am strong enough without one.”
Julian raised both hands placatingly, deciding not to push the issue any further.
“Right.
Absolutely.
They’re the ones who should be worried.”
Two and a half hours later, near the center of Tokyo Colony No.
2. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
Having set his sights on Sendai, Kashimo had immediately initiated his point harvest.
Curious to see whether the ancient powerhouse could actually hold his own against the Sendai heavyweights, Julian had tagged along behind him at a safe distance.
Kashimo offered no objections, occasionally glancing back to ensure his primary source of information hadn’t wandered off.
A brief clash echoed through an intersection as Kashimo dispatched another local sorcerer with terrifying efficiency.
By mid-day, the street had quieted down.
Julian jogged over from a nearby storefront, carrying a small plastic basket he had salvaged from a abandoned convenience store.
Even sorcerers required basic sustenance.
With the Culling Game set to run indefinitely, going without food was an amateur mistake.
“Nice work as usual, Kashimo!” Julian called out, pulling a piece of fruit from his basket and offering it forward.
“It’s noon.
You should eat something.
I even sliced up a mango for you.”
Julian’s expression was open and cheerful, but Kashimo stared at the grid-sliced mango in Julian’s hand with an inexplicably cold look.
“Keep it,” Kashimo said, turning his head away.
“I don’t eat sweets.”
“Suit yourself,” Julian shrugged, pulling the fruit back and taking a large bite.
“What’s the tally up to now?”
“Ninety-one points,” Kashimo replied without needing to summon his shikigami.
He tracked his own numbers with absolute precision.
“Two more sorcerers will settle it.”
Julian paused mid-chew, taking two careful steps backward.
“Ninety-one?
Wow, that was fast.
You keep at it, then.
I think I’ll go scout ahead so I don’t get in your way.”
Kashimo glanced at him with mild disdain, seeing straight through Julian’s sudden desire to create distance.
The kid was simply terrified of becoming the final five points needed to close the gap.
Before Julian could slip behind a nearby pillar, Kashimo’s voice cut through the quiet street.
“Hey.”
Julian stopped in his tracks, turning back carefully.
“Yeah?”
Kashimo leaned against his iron staff, his sharp eyes pinning Julian to the spot.
“Why did you join the Culling Game in the first place?”