JJK: Red Priest Pathway

A moment of dungeons and dragons!

Cursed energy, also known as the mana of the "Jujutsu Kaisen" world, has an interesting and intricate principle of use. I've mentioned before that it arises from negative emotions such as sorrow, anger, and hatred. However, in that case, the fact that the volume of my Cursed energy increases each time I move to a new sequence would go against the laws of this world. In that case, what is happening?

I like my grandfather's explanation: when Sorcerers use Cursed energy, they need to consider two main indices — the Maximum Power of Cursed energy and the Total Reservoir of Cursed energy.

Maximum Power — influences how much Cursed energy a Sorcerer can use during a battle. Also, this parameter determines the maximum strength of attacks and techniques applied. It depends on how much Cursed energy the Sorcerer can spend on a technique, calculating its final power.

Total Reservoir — functions as the "pool" of Cursed energy in the Sorcerer's body, from which they draw it for simple manipulations and techniques.

It's important that during a battle, Maximum Power is dynamic, as this index depends on the negative emotions experienced by the Sorcerer and the level of mastery in controlling Cursed energy. In other words, the stronger the negative emotions felt by the Sorcerer, the more Cursed energy is released. The better the Sorcerer controls the flow of Cursed energy, the greater the "output." That's why, from the very beginning of their training, Sorcerers learn to control the flow of Cursed energy and their emotions because the stronger the anger or hatred experienced during a battle, the harder it is to control Cursed Energy.

In the case of the Total Reservoir, it is a constant, determined even before the mage's birth, by their soul. An unchanging indicator that affects the ability to sustain a battle for an extended period.

By the way, this is precisely why Satoru Gojo is a monster in the world of Sorcerers. Thanks to his innate gift, the "Six Eyes," he can control any amount of Cursed energy. So, in the case of the Strongest, Maximum Power is the Total reservoir of Cursed energy.

So, what's the point of all this?

"Strange," crossing his arms on his chest and resting his chin on his hand, Satoru stared in surprise at the void between us. "It seemed like you managed to master the Domain Expansion, but at the last moment... as if something prevented you from doing it."

I sat on the side of the teacher and drank cool mineral water, trying to quench my thirst. It was mid-August, and as they say, "August in Japan is the tenth circle of hell" — you won't die, but you'll have plenty of time to suffer and think about what sins you've committed. Interestingly, even with my resistance to fire and heat, I didn't feel well. And all because it wasn't that hot only about thirty degrees, but the damn humidity brought by monsoons from the Pacific Ocean turned Tokyo's concrete kingdom into the capital of all saunas.

"Do you have any ideas why?" I asked Satoru, shaking the last drops of liquid salvation from the bottle.

"And how did your old man teach you to achieve such a level of Cursed energy control at sixteen?" The Strongest spoke, still floating in his thoughts.

Well, the old man had nothing to do with it; I would even say more, in terms of Cursed energy control, he was quite mediocre. My "talent" in this area was related to Spiritual energy, which allowed me to feel my Cursed energy much better and clearer. In a sense, it's now my third hand — that's how well I can interact with the flow of Cursed energy.

"In any case, Domain Expansion is the apex of Jujutsu Sorcery, so it's not surprising that you can't master it."

"Is it normal, though, when I can create a barrier forming a closed space and then manifest Domain Expansion using my technique, but in the end, when everything seems ready, Domain Expansion itself, as if of its own accord, just dissipates?"

"I don't know," the teacher shrugged. "It's Jujutsu Sorcery; anything is possible."

"Are you sure you're a teacher?" My skepticism and irritation were eager to burst out of me and strangle this impudent man.

For the third consecutive month, I've been grappling with this issue, or rather, banging my head against the impenetrable wall of irrationality. According to all the laws of this world, I should have already mastered Domain Expansion, as it wasn't about my skill or talent. However, for some reason, I still can't do it. I have a hunch, but I can't confirm it, no matter how hard I try. Therefore, I've decided to turn to someone who has already reached the pinnacle of their technique.

"Listen, in a sense, everything happening in the modern world is ridiculously foolish. In ancient times, people didn't know about astronomy and didn't think that the stars in the sky were millions of kilometers away. There's a saying that ignorance breeds bravery. Its true meaning might be slightly different, but there's a grain of truth in it. When people gain knowledge, they realize the limit of 'recklessness.' No matter how high they jump, they can't reach the stars and can't extinguish the sun," Satoru said, glancing at the school. "If possible, you should always challenge yourself. Magic is a power based on the values of rationality, but Jujutsu doesn't stop even before irrationality."

"Should this somehow help me master Domain Expansion?" I asked, surprised that Satoru, for the first time in a long while, behaved seriously... I don't want to judge him, but I'll say that he acted like a real teacher.

"No."

What did I expect?

Although, if my suspicions are correct, the advice of the Strongest might indeed help. Irrationality, huh... Well, Satoru almost died mastering his Limitless Cursed Technique, so maybe I should break my neck and drive a knife into my skull?

"In any case, you won't be able to master Domain Expansion before the 'Exchange with Kyoto School,'" scratching his brow, Satoru continued. "How much time is left?"

"Two days," a stern female voice sounded behind us.

"Bingo!" Satoru exclaimed, abruptly standing up and turning halfway around, making a pistol gesture with both hands. "You're as punctual as always, Maki."

"No, you're just completely irresponsible in such matters," for the six months that Maki spent in the constant presence of the Strongest, she ceased to mince words around him.

"Heard that? Even your student doesn't respect you," he threw a sharp remark towards Satoru.

"This applies to you too, "Fiery Disaster"," Maki said, tapping the ground with her spear, driving it about twenty centimeters deep. She crossed her arms over her chest. "More like a fiery fool. I called you this morning and asked you to come to class."

"Yes."

"Did you come?"

"No."

"Hit him," she said discontentedly, turning to the teacher.

"Even your classmate doesn't like you," Satoru replied with a slight smirk.

"Hey, guys!" A bass voice came from behind Maki, and its owner appeared before us a couple of seconds later. "I thought we were going to have a super-secret briefing in class, but just as I was about to step over the school threshold, the teacher called and said everything was being moved to the stadium."

Energetic Panda trotted up to our group, followed by Toge walking at a measured pace.

"Salmon," Toge nodded briefly.

"Yeah, yeah, we met him on the way to the stadium," Panda added after a short pause, looking at me. "Didn't expect you to come on time."

I irritably smiled at this giant. I was late only once, but he's been reminding me of it for over a month now... By the way, I had a serious alibi — a white-haired woman who didn't let me out of the trap called the bed.

At that moment, I felt the approach of a huge amount of Cursed energy. Okkotsu Yuta, over the last four months that we've known each other, this guy has pleasantly surprised me more than once. Despite going through his adaptation period and just starting to build his identity as a Sorcerer, I already had a clear impression of this person: in the future, he will be one of the strongest and most formidable defenders of humanity... Good guys are always scary when angry, right?

"Excuse me, guys, did I come late?" Yuta asked, bowing slightly.

"Not at all," the teacher replied, waving his hand from side to side.

"Did you grow again?" Panda noticed and, standing shoulder to shoulder with Yuta, began to measure the difference in their height. "You've gained a couple of centimeters."

"He grew not only in body but also in soul," Satoru, pleased, smiled cheerfully. "Only Sukehiro will be able to compete seriously with Yuta…"

I think I won't be able to compete seriously with Yuta. Even without my ability to copy Cursed Techniques, this guy was already strong enough to team up with Rika and knock out a couple of painful moans. This was precisely one of the reasons why I wanted to master Domain Expansion, as the acting process stalled at ninety-nine percent, and getting stronger was necessary.

"So, now that we're all here, let's start our pre-match preparation!"

"Ooo, secret tactics?" Panda asked, clearly excited. "Panda is all ears."

"Unfortunately, we'll start with bad news," Satoru began, pacing from side to side.