By the time the two of them reached the outskirts of the back mountain, it was already nine in the morning.
Normally, the sunlight should have been bright and warm at that hour, yet the mountain behind Jujutsu High was filled with a faint chill that left people feeling strangely uneasy.
Perhaps it was due to the natural geography of the area, or perhaps because this was where the residual Cursed Energy left behind by everyone at Jujutsu High accumulated.
The trees grew unusually thick and lush, blocking out much of the warm sunlight.
Even the shadows they cast seemed to carry an eerie, sinister atmosphere.
Tōru Azuma and Mei Mei walked through the forest, one ahead of the other.
Every now and then, Tōru’s gaze swept toward either side.
He wasn’t looking at the trees, but at the things moving within their shadows.
“The back mountain is a training area specifically designated by Jujutsu High.
The outer perimeter is sealed by a Barrier, and the interior is cleared out regularly, so Grade 1 and Special Grade Cursed Spirits can’t develop here.
Everything that remains is left for students to practice on.”
Noticing where he was looking, Mei Mei explained.
“What you’re seeing are remnants formed from condensed Cursed Energy.
They have no physical form and no ability to attack.
They can’t even really be called Cursed Spirits.”
Before long, she stopped and looked toward the branch of a large tree not far ahead.
“See it?
Our first target.”
Perched on the branch was a Cursed Spirit no larger than a fist, with insect-like wings and a grotesquely twisted head.
Tōru Azuma recognized it immediately.
“A Fly Head.”
“That’s right.
They’re at the very bottom of the Cursed Spirit hierarchy.
Individually, they pose almost no threat to humans, but that doesn’t mean they can simply be ignored.
Do you know why?”
Realizing that Mei Mei was testing him, Tōru answered without hesitation.
“First, they can be used to test whether an ordinary person can see Cursed Spirits.
Second, if someone could control enough of them at once, they could potentially obscure vision and interfere with a Jujutsu Sorcerer’s perception.”
Mei Mei nodded.
“Exactly.
Even grains of sand can pile into a tower.
Fly Heads normally appear in swarms.
Each one possesses only a tiny amount of Cursed Energy, but once enough of them gather together, they can interfere with a sorcerer’s judgment.”
Tōru Azuma was naturally familiar with that.
In the original story, Toji Fushiguro had released a massive swarm of Fly Heads from the Inventory Cursed Spirit to interfere with Satoru Gojo’s perception.
He had then stabbed him through the throat and followed up with a barrage of attacks, leaving him on the verge of death.
Thinking about that, Tōru rested a hand on Fudōmaru.
“So, should I exorcise it?”
“Of course not.
It isn’t our training target.
It’s only a single stray Fly Head, so there’s no practical value in fighting it.
What we’re looking for are Grade 4 Cursed Spirits.”
Mei Mei shook her head and continued leading him deeper into the forest.
As they passed the Fly Head, Tōru Azuma glanced at it.
It seemed to sense the faint Cursed Energy leaking from his body and immediately took flight in alarm, fleeing into the trees.
After they ventured deeper into the forest, a suitable training target finally appeared.
A Cursed Spirit was slowly squirming across a clearing.
Its body looked as though it had been formed from rotting wood, while its overall shape resembled a slime roughly half the height of an adult.
The moment it heard their footsteps, it turned a strange, head-like organ toward them before slowly sliding in their direction.
Neither of them paid much attention to its approach.
It moved sluggishly and seemed to act entirely on instinct, which was more than enough to identify it as a Grade 4 Cursed Spirit.
At most, a Grade 4 Cursed Spirit could cause discomfort or pain through its attacks.
An ordinary person carrying a wooden stick might even be able to drive one away.
To a Jujutsu Sorcerer, they posed virtually no threat at all.
But that wasn’t what Mei Mei intended to teach him.
“Utahime told me that your control over Cursed Energy has already reached a basic level.
So now, we’ll begin the real training.”
“First, reinforce your body with the smallest possible amount of Cursed Energy.
Form a thin layer over the surface of your body purely for defense.”
Tōru Azuma didn’t ask any questions.
He simply followed her instructions.
Soon, a faint layer of pale blue Cursed Energy covered his body.
Looking at the almost invisible yet remarkably stable layer of Cursed Energy, Mei Mei nodded.
“When fighting lower-grade Cursed Spirits, learning to control how much Cursed Energy you use is extremely important.
Use too much and you’re simply wasting it.
Use too little, and it may not provide enough defense.”
With that, she turned her attention toward the Cursed Spirit slowly crawling toward them.
“More important than defense is learning how to dodge.
Some attacks from Cursed Spirits may hide unexpected dangers, and Cursed Energy reinforcement won’t necessarily protect you from everything.”
“So what you need to do next is predict its attacks and evade them.”
Tōru Azuma stepped forward to meet the Cursed Spirit.
Sensing his approach, the creature slowly pushed a tentacle-like limb made of twisted branches out from its body and lazily extended it toward him.
Watching such a sluggish attack, Tōru couldn’t help wondering whether there was any point in using something like this as a sparring partner.
Then, in the next instant, the tentacle abruptly accelerated.
Perhaps because his progress over the past few days had been so smooth, he had allowed himself to relax slightly.
He had forgotten the tension he’d felt during his first battle at the subway station.
Although he managed to dodge at the last possible moment, the tentacle still grazed his clothes.
Thanks to his Cursed Energy reinforcement, the attack caused no damage at all, but Tōru was still surprised.
This Cursed Spirit…
could actually change up the timing of its attacks?
“Most lower-grade Cursed Spirits act almost entirely on instinct.
Because of that, they can sometimes behave in ways that are difficult to predict.
That’s the first lesson you need to learn.
No matter what kind of opponent you’re facing, never let your guard down.”
Listening to Mei Mei’s cool, elegant voice, Tōru took a deep breath and focused on the Cursed Spirit again.
After experiencing its attack once, he never allowed it to touch him again.
Once Mei Mei saw that he had grasped the basics of predicting attacks and planning his movements, she gave him his next instruction.
“Now use your perception to locate the Cursed Spirit’s core.
Your eyes can mislead your judgment, but your perception won’t.
Find its core, then reinforce your fist with the smallest amount of Cursed Energy necessary and destroy it.”
After what had just happened, Tōru no longer allowed himself to become distracted or lost in thought.
He immediately extended his Cursed Energy and began sensing the core of the Cursed Spirit in front of him.
Before long, a point of light appeared in the middle of its body.
Once he identified the core’s location, he didn’t hesitate.
He increased the Cursed Energy around his fist only slightly, then struck the core with speed and precision.
With a sharp impact, the Cursed Spirit’s body suddenly stiffened.
A moment later, it slowly dissolved into the air, becoming a faint mist that disappeared among the trees of Jujutsu High’s back mountain.
Watching the clean, decisive strike, Mei Mei gave him her approval.
“Not bad.
But Grade 4 Cursed Spirits are only a warm-up.
What comes next is the real objective of today’s training.”
As she spoke, she continued forward.
Before long, the two stopped behind another patch of dense undergrowth.
“Sense ahead.
What’s there?”
Tōru Azuma closed his eyes and expanded his Cursed Energy, using it just as he had when searching for the previous Cursed Spirit’s core to scan a small portion of the forest ahead.
It was similar to that of the Cursed Spirit from before, but far denser and more concentrated.
“There’s a Cursed Spirit ahead.
Its presence is much stronger than the last one, so it should be Grade 3.”
“How did you determine that?”
“Unlike the Cursed Spirit from before, which wandered around without any purpose, this one moves with a consistent pattern and rhythm.
That means it has at least a rudimentary level of awareness and thought, which is one of the most obvious characteristics of a Grade 3 Cursed Spirit.”
After listening to his analysis, Mei Mei nodded.
“Good.
Now use what I taught you earlier and exorcise it.”
“Remember, there’s a noticeable difference in physical ability and combat strength between Grade 4 and Grade 3 Cursed Spirits.
You’ll have to decide for yourself how much Cursed Energy reinforcement you need.”
Tōru Azuma adjusted his breathing, parted the undergrowth, and walked forward.
Beyond it was a Cursed Spirit resembling a rotting stray dog.
Unlike an ordinary dog, however, its body had swollen to several times its normal size, and the presence it gave off was far more dangerous.
Apparently hearing his footsteps, it stared at him with blood-red eyes, scraping its claws nervously against the ground as it bared its sharp fangs.
The way lower-grade Cursed Spirits attacked was usually related to their appearance.
A Cursed Spirit with abnormally thick arms would generally attack with its hands.
One with unusually sharp nails would most likely attack with its claws.
It wasn’t completely reliable, but their appearance could usually provide some clues, enough to make an initial judgment and prepare accordingly.
For example, a Cursed Spirit shaped like a wild dog would most likely rely on biting and pouncing.
As Tōru mentally reviewed the principles Mei Mei had taught him, he drew Fudōmaru and slowly advanced.
The dog-like Cursed Spirit seemed to sense danger.
It immediately opened its mouth and growled, its hind legs tensing as though gathering strength.
Tōru could already perceive the core within its body.
Strangely, it wasn’t located near the heart.
It was in the throat.
The moment he came within five meters, the Cursed Spirit finally lost patience.
With a snarl, it launched itself off the ground and lunged at him.
Tōru didn’t immediately counterattack.
Instead, he simply stepped aside and avoided the lunge, carefully observing how the Cursed Spirit reacted after missing its target.
Once he had confirmed its attack pattern and the direction of its movements, Tōru slowly exhaled.
Only then did he begin channeling Cursed Energy into Fudōmaru.
When the Cursed Spirit lunged again, Tōru shifted his body to the left.
A brilliant flash of cold steel cut through the air.
A sharp sound rang out, like something hard being sliced apart.
The Cursed Spirit that had just lunged at him crashed to the ground behind his back.
Its body had been cut open directly through the throat.
With a series of faint cracking sounds, it began breaking apart and dissolving, just like the Grade 4 Cursed Spirit before it.
Clean.
Decisive.
One strike, one kill.
Watching his performance, a certain idea in Mei Mei’s mind became even firmer.
For now, however, she simply walked toward him.
“Well done.
You’ve already developed a good grasp of judging a Cursed Spirit’s attack patterns and controlling the amount of Cursed Energy you use for reinforcement.
What you need next is experience, and the only way to make up for that is through plenty of actual combat.
Are you ready?”
Tōru Azuma slid Fudōmaru back into its scabbard, his gaze remaining calm.
“I’m ready.”
Mei Mei studied him for a long moment.
The corner of her mouth rose almost imperceptibly.
Then she turned around and led him farther into the depths of the mountain forest.