II. Nothing Happened (Seriously, Nothing Happened)...! (1)
"One step slower and I'd have been screwed."
I slid the blood-soaked Changgun Sword back into its sheath and finally let myself breathe. If she'd summoned Aeja of Darkness — the one that shows up in the main story of Jujutsu Gwi-hwan — I would have lost. You might wonder how a dragon ends up with a name like Aeja, but it's the strongest shikigami of the Nine Dragons Nine Forms.
In the end, Yongso Yulha lost because she never saw me as a real rival. If she'd come at me aggressively, or called Aeja from the start, it would have been over. Whether that was arrogance toward the weak, or mercy toward the kid who'd once comforted her — she'd gone far too soft.
That guy's been watching since earlier.
I looked at the starlight that had flickered for an instant in the yellow sky and smirked. Even if he was the strongest alive, he wouldn't know I'd awakened my Innate Cursed Technique.
A moment later the sand and dust settled, and the result of the match was laid bare for all to see.
"The Yongso princess has been split in half!"
"The swordsman! I-is he insane? That's murder!"
"Her guts. So pretty.... The blood. I want to lick it...."
Screams of horror erupted throughout the spectator stands.
"It can't be. It's all right. I'll wait for you in prison for ten years — twenty, even. Or we could just run away to paradise together, Beom—"
Even Senior Sister Ran covered her mouth in dismay, apparently concluding that Yongso Yulha was dead.
She's not dead yet, you know? Remember the principal's explanation properly.
Valhalla Field, created by Botan — the Literary Star among the Seven Asterisms — was a recreation of Valhalla, the heaven of warriors from Norse myth. It was a virtual combat simulation field. Since these were mock battles, even fatal wounds or death inside the field would heal as if they'd never happened. There was a reason it got abused for the death game in the main story of Jujutsu Gwi-hwan. This being its first operation, most students didn't know any of that, which is why there hadn't been any fights to the death!
Round Four: The Yongso Clan versus the Namgung Clan — victory goes to the Namgung Clan!
Wounds will recover immediately. Students, please remain calm.
When AI Hesed declared my victory, a faint red light swirled around the princess and then dissipated. That should do it. I left the stage without looking back. I couldn't let them see my face.
"The swordsman. Is he actually strong? When he enrolled I figured he'd drop out any day."
"Dummy. It's the Namgung training that's impressive. A non-sorcerer reaching that level with nothing but a sword."
"But Summoning Type jujutsu is easy to counter if you go after the caster, right? Wasn't it just luck that a sandstorm happened to kick up?"
"Still. Maybe we should look at him again."
As the reevaluation buzzed through the crowd, I couldn't stop the corner of my mouth from twitching. This is what a K-extra looks like.
The buzz didn't last, though. Having poured every last ounce of strength into the fight with the princess, I got cut down in a single second in the following round — by the designated fanservice character from Jujutsu Gwi-hwan, no less.
They... split the sky....
It bears repeating, but I am a bottom-rank student at State-Run Seonggwan Academy. My written scores come out reasonably well thanks to my knowledge of the original story and Senior Sister Ran's thorough private tutoring. I make up the rest of my credits through field practice — hunting Nephilim or taking commissions outside the academy.
The problem is the practical skills classes. They mainly cover Universal Cursed Techniques derived from cultural superstitions and folklore, not the individually manifested supernatural powers known as Innate Cursed Techniques. Since my cursed energy is even lower than an ordinary person's under normal circumstances, you can consider me permanently locked at dead last.
It goes something like this.
"Turtle, turtle, stick out your head."
"If you don't, I'll roast you and eat you."
⟨ Gujiga ⟩
I recited the Gujiga, but the baby blue turtle hiding in its shell gave no reply. Left with no choice, I gave it a few taps, and it stuck its neck out. Those bright, sparkling eyes were pretty cute.
......So what?
"Student Kim Beom, what intent did you read from the turtle?"
The strict divination professor approached me as I stared blankly at the turtle in the tank.
"Uh.... It's in a bad mood because it's about to get roasted? It resents humans?"
I said it with a noncommittal smile. Anyone would get pissed if you woke them from a nice sleep and threatened to roast and eat them. If the turtle had feelings, it definitely would have thought this was unfair.
"Good grief.... Gujiga divination is the most basic form of fortune-telling there is. You ought to be grateful for the Literary Star's mercy in not expelling non-sorcerers from the academy."
As the professor sniped at me, snickers erupted here and there.
Ah. So this guy's a jujutsu supremacist too.
In the world of Jujutsu Gwi-hwan, sorcerers who use Innate Cursed Techniques make up about one percent of the total population. Well — as that one percent protecting ordinary people from Nephilim and wicked curses, I guess they're entitled to get high on their own supply.
"Hold on. I heard the turtle's voice."
A stubborn streak flared up in me, and I stopped the professor who'd been needling me.
"Oh-ho. And what did it say?"
"Your teeny-tiny turtle, Professor — even when it sticks its head out, it gets buried in the fat. Sounds miserable."
This time, stifled giggles quietly spilled through the room. At first the divination professor stood there blankly, not getting it — then his face flushed red and purple.
"You can forget about getting any credits. You think I'll tiptoe around you like the other professors just because you're the Sword King's disciple? Huh?"
I shrugged. You were going to do that anyway, so why the sudden performance?
Guess I'll have to grind barrier dungeons and hunt Nephilim like hell again.
Even assembling a three-person party — the minimum for entering a barrier dungeon — was a chore. If I could go in alone, wouldn't it be easy to trigger Beomseong Iltu? That's something you'd only say if you didn't understand the habits of Nephilim, beasts born of jujutsu.
Nephilim, humanity's enemies, typically evolve from Type I through Type IV. The weak ones travel in packs, so triggering it in the first place is hard, and the boss-class territorial Nephilim sit at the very depths of the dungeon — which means you need comrades to fight alongside you until you get there.
I'd love to have a regular party too. The fact that I'm a non-sorcerer has spread way too far around the academy.
Even the principal knew, after all. I'd hoped that beating the Yongso princess might get me a "You. Become my comrade" offer. But thanks to the aftermath of getting comically wrecked in the next demonstration duel, the evaluation stopped at "He just got lucky" or "Wasn't the princess just weak?"
After school. I was slinging my bag over my shoulder, about to leave the classroom, when someone put a hand on my shoulder.
"Aah. That joke earlier was pretty funny. I wanted to take a picture of Professor Bok's rotten expression."
A boy with his hair tied back in a ponytail struck up a conversation, all friendly. A face I'd never seen before. Between that and the cinnamon stick clenched in his mouth like a cigarette, he looked a bit of a slacker.
"You... who are you again?"
"Ehh. That hurts. Come on, we're both Great Clan family."
"I'm just a disciple. Senior Sister Ran is the one with the Great Clan bloodline."
"Well, anyway, let's get along. Swordsman. We're in the same class."
The boy laughed heartily and offered a handshake.
"Gamram Minseong of the Gamram Clan. I was impressed watching you take down the Yongso princess the other day!"
The Gamram Clan was, of course, one of the Twelve Great Clans of the jujutsu world. Since they belonged to a different faction from the Namgung, I'd barely ever crossed paths with them.
"You put on a great show in the first round, so it was a shame watching you get completely wrecked after."
"......Ugh."
"Honestly, I kinda wanted to get wrecked too. Felt good, right?"
Barely holding back a snicker, he thumped my back with his palm. This guy had a surprisingly heavy hand.
"No way in hell. I thought I was going to die of embarrassment."
"So I guess the only one for you is that pretty Namgung big sis, huh. Is it true you two are like that?"
Minseong asked, lowering his voice so others wouldn't hear. Senior Sister Ran and I had just been through thick and thin together since we were kids. Before I could set the record straight, a terrifying chill crept up from behind.
"What the hell is that, that's disgusting!! Cut the vulgar talk, will you?"
Eyes with a faintly upturned tilt narrowed to a needle's point. I didn't know this girl's name, but I knew her clan. That indigo hair was a trait of the Damcheong Clan, one of the Twelve Great Clans.
Both clans die out without heirs by the time of the main story of Jujutsu Gwi-hwan, don't they?
The reason was never given, though. What business did they have with me?
"Ohhh. There she is. My Lady. I've brought the swordsman, as requested!"
"Ugh, don't get cocky, you moron. This is Kim Beom??!"
Minseong nodded, and the girl placed a hand over her modest chest in greeting.
"Nice to meet you. Damcheong Ruri, Class 1-A. Kim Beom, I heard you're struggling with credits."
"Looks like I'm about to struggle even more."
"Hah—. Relax. We'll specially accept a non-sorcerer into our party. You ought to be grateful!"
Ruri pointed at me with a fingertip, brimming with confidence. My eyes went wide. Don't tell me. Don't tell me this was the scout offer I'd been dreaming of.
"We've got a barrier dungeon we want to clear. We couldn't find talent for the longest time, and then we saw you fighting the princess. She talks like that, but I think she likes you."
"Whaaat—!? That's not it at all."
As Minseong continued, Ruri raised her voice.
A barrier dungeon, huh.
A barrier dungeon is what you call terrain that's been transformed by cursed energy seeping into the ley lines. A snow mountain rising overnight, or a bizarre forest appearing out of nowhere — that's everyday stuff in Jujutsu Gwi-hwan. And because Nephilim sprout up in droves in those contaminated places, they're sealed behind barriers under ordinary circumstances. The only people allowed inside are authorized sorcerers.
"So where are you trying to clear?"
"Swordsman. You ever heard of the Blue Jade Forest?"
The Blue Jade Forest.
There were only eight of them in the entire world — Type V Nephilim that had surpassed the limits of evolution. And this was the nesting ground of one of them.