It all started with the Hextech Augment that appeared in front of Atsushi.
[Grade 4 Cursed Spirit killed.
32 EXP absorbed.
14 gold obtained.
Current EXP: 713.
Current gold: 316.
Level increased to Lv.3.
1 Attribute Point obtained.
427 EXP required to reach the next level.]
[Please choose your Hextech Augment.]
[1.
Recursion, Gold]
[All abilities that consume cursed energy gain 60 Ability Haste, reducing their cooldowns by approximately 37.5%.]
[2.
Lightning Strikes, Gold]
[All of your attacks gain 25% Attack Speed.
The bonus provided by this Hextech Augment multiplies with all other sources of increased Attack Speed.]
[3.
Prismatic Mutation, Gold]
[After selecting this option, you will receive one random Prismatic-tier Hextech Augment to replace this one.]
Looking at the three translucent options that appeared in the air after he leveled up, Atsushi only thought about it for 0.00000001 seconds before decisively choosing the third option.
Even though the rational part of his mind told him that now that he had transmigrated, he was no longer a player sitting safely behind a computer screen and controlling everything.
He was the character inside the game.
But he simply loved [Prismatic Mutation] too much.
In League of Legends’ Hextech ARAM mode, Hextech Augments were divided into Silver, Gold, and Prismatic tiers.
And Prismatic Augments were on a completely different level from Gold Augments in terms of power.
Because of that, [Prismatic Mutation] had an absurdly higher pick rate and win rate than almost every other Gold-tier Augment.
In other words, in more than 90% of matches, [Prismatic Mutation] was an Augment you could pick without even thinking about it.
Only around 10% of the time would [Prismatic Mutation] result in a completely negative outcome.
The problem was that in those rare cases where [Prismatic Mutation] completely screwed him over, Atsushi, as a player, could simply surrender and queue up again.
But now that he had actually transmigrated, there was obviously no restarting his life.
[Prismatic Mutation, Gold, has transformed into Glass Cannon, Prismatic.]
“How…
How did it come to this…?”
Staring at the brand-new Hextech icon on the interface, a symbol made of shattered, multicolored glass, Atsushi’s pupils contracted sharply.
The next second, the effects of the Hextech Augment took hold.
Without warning, a cold, heavy sensation spread outward from his chest, as though an invisible hand had reached deep inside him and stripped away part of his vitality.
The change was most obvious in Atsushi’s blood.
Although using Blood Manipulation had already left him somewhat dizzy from blood loss, the boost in cursed energy he had just gained from leveling up had made his body feel full of renewed energy.
Now, not only had that vitality completely disappeared.
Even the dizziness from his anemia had gotten worse!
“Of course I’m dizzy!
My maximum health just got cut by a full thirty percent!”
“Who uses Blood Manipulation while starting out chronically anemic?!”
“Hey, system!
Can I undo that?!
I want to pick another Augment!”
Atsushi raised his head as he spoke, hoping for some kind of reaction from the system floating before him.
The only response he received was cold silence.
“You’re seriously not going to answer me?!
Aren’t these systems supposed to come with some cute AI assistant or a smug little gremlin who never shuts up?
Why did I get the emotionally unavailable version?”
Dizzy from blood loss, Atsushi dropped to one knee and couldn’t help complaining.
“Health is a pretty abstract concept, and the system doesn’t actually show me a numerical HP value, but there’s no question about it.
Now that I’m stuck at seventy percent of my original maximum health, it’ll be much harder for me to bring out the full potential of Blood Manipulation…”
A dejected look appeared on Atsushi’s face.
“Am I screwed…?”
That dejection lasted exactly 0.00000001 seconds!
“If Glass Cannon reducing my maximum health directly affects how much I can use Blood Manipulation, then every Hextech Augment that increases or decreases health should affect my technique too.”
A spark of realization flashed in Atsushi’s eyes.
“Blood Manipulation naturally uses blood as the medium for cursed energy.
In a way, it’s basically turning my health bar into another resource bar.”
“Use HP to boost my cursed energy…”
An idea suddenly occurred to Atsushi.
“I get it.
Health into cursed energy, cursed energy back into health…
If the effects interact properly, I might be able to create a feedback loop.”
That was right.
Hextech ARAM’s Augments and League of Legends equipment contained plenty of effects that interacted with both health and mana.
At that moment, a certain phrase surfaced in Atsushi’s mind.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
With that thought, Atsushi slammed his fist into the ground.
Although the cursed energy inside him was still extremely weak, the true damage granted by the Hextech Augment [Glass Cannon] bypassed the ground’s natural resistance and left a crack in the solid pavement.
Looking at the crack beneath him, Atsushi fell into thought.
“True damage, huh…
Maybe getting [Glass Cannon] wasn’t necessarily a bad thing after all.”
Atsushi simply wasn’t the type to stay discouraged for long.
So the disappointment that had appeared on his face quickly faded.
In its place was a look of renewed determination.
“The next Hextech Augment comes at Level 7…
For now, I’ll put another point into Total Cursed Energy.
The amount of cursed energy you have is one of the clearest indicators of the difference in strength between sorcerers.
Even if my technique isn’t especially efficient yet, or my cursed energy control isn’t perfect, I can work with that.”
“At the very least, I don’t want to end up like some Grade 2 sorcerer who runs out of cursed energy at the worst possible moment and can’t even handle a Grade 2 cursed spirit…”
Thinking to himself, Atsushi once again placed the Attribute Point he had gained from leveling up into Total Cursed Energy.
Looking at the brightly displayed [Total Cursed Energy Lv.2] tag on his system interface, Atsushi nodded in satisfaction.
“Good.
Now, I should find a few more cursed spirits.”
After kneeling on the ground for roughly ten minutes, Atsushi’s anemia eased slightly, and he turned his gaze toward the distance again.
From the moment he obtained Blood Manipulation as his Innate Technique and gained the basic ability to use cursed energy, Atsushi had also become capable of seeing cursed energy residuals.
They were essentially traces left behind by cursed spirits.
Low-level cursed spirits didn’t possess advanced skills like concealing their residuals, so Atsushi could safely track the traces left by Grade 3 and Grade 4 cursed spirits.
At least, that should have been the case.
Assuming those cursed spirits hadn’t been deliberately left there as bait to lure someone into a trap…
As Atsushi stepped deeper into the alley and saw cursed spirits continuously emerging around him, their numbers swelling far beyond anything natural, his footsteps froze.
“You’re not even a sorcerer from Jujutsu High, yet you’ve killed quite a few of the low-level cursed spirits I use for patrols.”
A man dressed in loose Buddhist robes stepped out from among the cursed spirits.
His narrow eyes curved into pleased slits.
His smooth black hair was tied halfway back behind his head, while a single strand hanging over his forehead swayed slightly with his smile.
“Kill him.”
The man smiled as he spoke to a grasshopper-shaped cursed spirit beside him.
“Got it!
I’m really smart!”
The moment it received the order, the cursed spirit, which resembled an upright grasshopper, spread all four of its arms.
Foul-smelling saliva sprayed from its mouth as it launched itself forward with explosive force, charging straight at Atsushi.
“A cursed spirit that can talk…
That’s bad!”
Just as every instinct in Atsushi’s body warned him of danger, a system notification appeared.
[Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, Ko-Guy.]
The instant he saw the name, Atsushi’s pupils widened.
At the same time, one thought hit him with absolute certainty.
“If it gets into close range, I’m dead.”
The warning flashed through Atsushi’s mind.
Use Convergence to compress the blood, then fire it with Piercing Blood.
The initial velocity of my Piercing Blood can reach the speed of sound, so it’ll definitely hit!
No, there isn’t enough time for Convergence.
He’s too fast!
I have to fire Piercing Blood directly!
Thoughts raced through Atsushi’s mind, and the instant he reached a decision, he brought his hands together and reacted to the grasshopper cursed spirit rushing toward him.
In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, an Innate Technique was an ability engraved into a sorcerer’s brain from birth.
With the exception of a very small number of unusual techniques, sorcerers naturally understood how to use their cursed techniques after they manifested.
Atsushi’s Blood Manipulation worked the same way.
Normally, he would first use Convergence to compress his blood, allowing cursed energy reinforcement to give it tremendous kinetic force, then fire it with Piercing Blood.
That was one of Blood Manipulation’s most lethal attacks.
But with no time to prepare, Atsushi couldn’t follow the normal process and compress the blood first.
He could only force it directly out of his blood vessels and fire it as a rushing stream with Piercing Blood.
“Blood Manipulation?”
The man commanding the cursed spirits, dressed in Buddhist robes, opened his eyes slightly in surprise when he saw the Piercing Blood shoot from Atsushi’s palm.
“But it’s far too crude.
He didn’t even use Convergence.
And cursed energy this weak could never…”
The man in Buddhist robes seemed extremely familiar with Blood Manipulation.
Watching Atsushi prepare to clash with the grasshopper cursed spirit, a trace of disappointment appeared on his face, as though he had already decided Atsushi would lose.
Just as the man had expected, Atsushi’s Piercing Blood contained very little cursed energy reinforcement.
Piercing Blood should have been launched at the speed of sound.
But in the grasshopper cursed spirit’s eyes, Atsushi’s attack appeared both slow and weak, almost as if it were drifting toward it.
Cursed spirits were different from humans.
They were beings born from cursed energy and were extraordinarily sensitive to it.
“Hahaha!
You think an attack this weak is going to hurt me?
Do you think I’m stupid?!”
Shouting this, the grasshopper cursed spirit lowered its head, preparing to use the hard exoskeleton covering its skull to smash straight through Atsushi’s Piercing Blood.
Atsushi was still recovering from firing the technique.
As long as the Piercing Blood was knocked aside, the grasshopper cursed spirit would reach him and bite his head clean off.
The grasshopper cursed spirit was certain of it.
“Splurt.”
Purple cursed spirit blood sprayed through the air.
The grasshopper cursed spirit made a confused sound.
“What was that?
What happened?
Why does my head feel so cold?”
Shouting in confusion, the grasshopper cursed spirit wildly reached toward Atsushi.
But as the entire world began spinning around it, it suddenly realized that it had lost all sense of direction.
There was only one reason.
Atsushi’s Piercing Blood, fired without even using Convergence to charge it, had blown a massive hole straight through its head.
(To be continued.)