“Progress…” Arata Hoshino scratched his head.
“To be honest, it’s pretty difficult.”
“Oh?” Yuki Tsukumo raised an eyebrow.
She walked over to a bench at the edge of the training field, sat down, and crossed her legs.
“Talk to me.”
Arata sat down beside her.
He pulled a lollipop out of his pocket, thought for a moment, and then stuffed it back in.
“Star Rage’s core is applying an imaginary, limitless mass to oneself or a shikigami.
But my problem is…
I don’t have a shikigami.”
“And so?”
“If I can only apply imaginary mass to myself, I have to fight at close range.
I’m wondering if I can apply that imaginary mass to something else.” Arata looked at his own hands.
“For example, the blood in my body.
If I apply imaginary mass to a portion of the blood and then use Blood Manipulation to launch it as an attack, then when facing Cursed Spirits with high defense, those Blood Manipulation moves won’t be useless anymore.
If it works, the power of Piercing Blood could even increase exponentially.”
Yuki stared at him for a few seconds before suddenly laughing.
“An interesting line of thought.
But I don’t know Blood Manipulation, so I can’t offer you much guidance there.”
Arata took a deep breath, then stood ten meters away from a training post.
He pressed his palms together, aiming at the target.
Blood seeped from his body, converging toward his palms.
But unlike before, as the blood gathered, Arata began attempting to attach the concept of “imaginary mass” to a portion of it.
The sensation was subtle.
It felt like trying to force an invisible boulder into a moving liquid.
As the blood gathered in his palms, it became visibly heavy–so heavy that Arata’s hands began to tremble slightly.
“Oh?” Yuki raised an eyebrow, the smile on her face fading slightly.
Arata gritted his teeth, continuing to stack mass into the sphere of blood.
He didn’t know where the limit was; he only knew that the blood in his palms was now incredibly heavy.
*That should be enough.*
“Piercing Blood!”
The moment the blood arrow left his hand, a thunderous *BOOM* erupted, and the training post exploded.
It wasn’t sliced or pierced; it simply disintegrated, bursting into countless fragments from the center outward.
Even the ground behind the post was plowed into a long, deep trench.
Debris flew and dust filled the air; the training field looked like it had been hit by a small bomb.
Arata stared wide-eyed at the scene.
Before he could even feel happy, a massive recoil surged through his arms and into his entire body.
The impact was so strong that it knocked him backward off his feet, and his back slammed heavily onto the ground.
“Cough…
why is it always my back that suffers…” Arata lay in the rubble, watching the clouds drift by, his chest heaving.
Yuki walked over and looked down at him, her signature smile playing on her lips.
“It was a success–though the form wasn’t very pretty.”
Arata didn’t move, just panted for a few seconds before speaking.
“At least it worked, right?”
Yuki reached out and pulled him up.
The post was completely gone, replaced by a shocking crater in the ground.
“The power was greater than I imagined.” Arata rubbed his numb shoulder.
“Principal Yaga won’t make me pay for this, will he?”
Yuki didn’t answer.
She stared at the crater for a few seconds, then turned her gaze back to Arata, her smile deepening.
“Techniques are mostly innate, and the ways they can be used are usually fixed.” Yuki patted the dust off her clothes.
“But you’re different.
You’re likely the only person in the world who can possess multiple techniques.
To think of combining Star Rage with Blood Manipulation–it’s hard to say you’re not a genius.”
The chaos on the training field quickly attracted someone.
The first to arrive was a young man wearing a black knit cap and all-black casual wear.
His face was filled with shock at the sight.
“Hoshino-kun, did you…
demolish the training field?”
Arata recognized the newcomer immediately–his outfit was too distinctive.
Takuma Ino, a 21-year-old Grade 2 Sorcerer.
His knit cap was both his trademark and the necessary “face-covering medium” to activate his technique.
He idolized Kento Nanami, aiming to reach Grade 1 through Nanami’s recommendation, and even wanted Nanami’s old watch.
He was essentially Nanami’s biggest fanboy.
Arata climbed up and brushed the dust off himself.
“Testing a new move.
It got a bit out of control.”
“A bit?” Ino looked at the three-meter diameter crater and the trench that spanned the entire field.
He was silent for two seconds.
“This is ‘a bit’?”
“Alright, since you’re fine, I’ll be going.” Yuki waved a hand and turned to walk away.
After a few steps, she looked back.
“By the way, let me give you a heads-up.”
“What?”
“The movement of Cursed Spirits has been strange lately.” Yuki’s tone turned unusually serious.
“The frequency of activity is rising everywhere, and there are some…
unnatural signs.
Gojo has likely noticed it too.
Be careful.”
Arata paused, then nodded.
“Understood.
Thank you, Miss Yuki.”
After Yuki left, Takuma Ino remained, staring at the crater as if looking at something impossible.
“Does that move…
have a name?”
Arata thought for a moment.
“Haven’t decided.
How about ‘Blood Star Cannon’?”
“Too edgy.”
“Then what do you think it should be called?”
Ino was silent for two seconds before decisively changing the subject.
“Um, Nanami-san sent me to tell you that there’s a mission next week that requires your assistance.”
“What mission?
And why next week?”
“A suspected Grade 1 Cursed Spirit appeared in Saitama Prefecture.
It needs a sorcerer at Semi-Grade 1 or higher to handle it.” Ino paused.
“Originally, Nanami-san was going to go alone, but he felt it would be safer to bring you along.”
“Why does every mission have to include me now?
And shouldn’t Nanami-san be at work?
Fine, just call me when the time comes.” Arata nodded, then looked back at the deep pit.
He scratched his head.
“This…
about Principal Yaga…”
“Explain it yourself.” Ino turned and bolted.
“I’m leaving.
Bye!”
“Hey!”
Ino was already long gone.
Arata stood there, looking at the trench cutting through the entire training field, and sighed.
“Great.
Another self-reflection report to write.”
Masamichi Yaga stared at the trench for a long time in silence.
“So,” Yaga finally spoke, his voice low as if coming from underground.
“You were testing a new technique.”
“Yes, Principal.”
“And you blew up the training field like this?”
“Uh…
it got a little bit out of control.” Arata scratched his head.
“But don’t worry, I’ll definitely be careful next time.”
Yaga went silent for a few more seconds and sighed.
“The repair costs will be deducted from your stipend next month.”
“Huh?”
“Any objections?”
“No.” Arata shook his head decisively.
“None at all.”
Yaga turned to leave.
After a few steps, he looked back.
“Next week’s mission with Nanami–be serious.
He’s your senior; don’t cause him trouble.”
“Understood.”
Watching Yaga’s back disappear into the school building, Arata finally let out a sigh of relief.
[Total Bonus Chapters Achieved: 0]
[Ptreon.cm/Prince_of_LanLi for 50 adv chs.
20% discount right now.
Throw spirit stones to this humble one *dogeza*.]