A/N: Hello again. So the vetting process was successful and now my novel appears on my profile "Can I Magic Please". If you enjoy my other stories, definitely check it out. Its about magic, different races and several other stuff. Plus it would help me in my dream of winning the WSA 2026.
Thank you very much. And enjoy the chapter :)
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The morning air was cool.
A black vehicle sat parked outside the gates of Tokyo Jujutsu High, its engine idling quietly.
Beside it stood Kiyotaka Ijichi, posture stiff as always, glasses catching the morning light.
And next to him—
"Ah, youth."
Satoru Gojo stretched dramatically toward the sky.
"The smell of education. The sound of birds. The overwhelming burden of raising the next generation…"
Ijichi adjusted his glasses.
"…Gojo-san, you've only been standing here for three minutes."
"Exactly," Gojo replied solemnly. "And already my responsibilities weigh heavily upon me."
Footsteps approached.
Maki emerged from the pathway leading down from the dormitories, her cursed tool case strapped across her back.
Gojo immediately waved both hands.
"Makiiii!"
Maki stopped in front of them.
"Morning," she said first toward Ijichi.
Ijichi nodded politely.
"Good morning."
Then her eyes shifted toward Gojo.
"…Why was I called out here this early?"
Gojo grinned.
"I'll tell you in a sec."
"That usually means something annoying."
"It usually does!"
Maki sighed.
Of course it did.
Another set of footsteps approached.
Slow.
Lazy.
A yawn echoed through the air.
Oden walked out through the school gates, uniform slightly messy, white blindfold still wrapped over his eyes.
A small snake lazily rested around his shoulders.
He looked half asleep.
"…Morning."
Gojo beamed.
"Oden-kun!"
Oden lifted a hand slightly.
"Morning, sensei."
Maki's eye twitched immediately.
"…Why is he here?"
Gojo clapped his hands together excitedly.
"Excellent question!"
He pointed dramatically at both of them.
"You two are going on a mission together!"
Silence.
Then—
"…What?"
Maki's voice dropped dangerously low.
Gojo nodded enthusiastically.
"Mhm!"
"No."
"Yes."
"I said no."
"And I ignored you."
Maki stared at him in disbelief.
"You're seriously pairing me with him?"
Oden yawned again.
"I don't want to go with her either."
Maki immediately snapped toward him.
"Nobody asked you!"
Oden tilted his head.
"Why are you angry all the time anyway?"
"Because you exist."
"…Rude."
Maki folded her arms.
"Find someone else."
Gojo wagged a finger.
"Can't."
"Why not?"
"Because," Gojo said casually, "there's no one else I trust more for this."
Maki blinked.
The sincerity of that statement caught her slightly off guard.
"…What?"
Gojo shoved his hands into his pockets.
"It's a simple mission," he explained. "Mostly basic curse extermination and field fundamentals."
He gestured toward Oden.
"This guy knows how to fight."
"Obviously," Oden muttered.
"But," Gojo continued, "he knows almost nothing about proper sorcery procedures."
Oden frowned slightly.
"…There are procedures?"
"There are many procedures."
"That sounds terrible."
Gojo ignored him.
"So," he continued cheerfully, "I need someone reliable to teach him."
Maki pointed at him.
"Why don't you do it?"
Gojo gasped dramatically.
"Maki… I'm hurt."
"You'll survive."
"I'm busy."
"With what?"
Gojo immediately looked away.
"…Adult things."
"That means nothing."
"It means everything."
Maki rubbed her forehead.
Already exhausted.
"…Unbelievable."
Beside her, Oden shrugged.
"I really don't care who teaches me."
Then he added:
"Though I still think she looks like a fake Shimura Ginpachi."
Silence.
Maki slowly turned toward him.
"…What did you just call me?"
Oden pointed vaguely toward her glasses.
"You know. The angry teacher guy."
"That's not even the right reference!"
"Oh."
A pause.
"My bad. Fake Shinpachi then."
Veins appeared on Maki's forehead.
"You—"
"And you're loud," Oden added.
"I'm going to kill him," Maki said flatly.
Ijichi, standing nearby, visibly began sweating.
"…Gojo-san," he said carefully, "is this really going to be alright?"
Gojo gave him a thumbs up.
"It'll be fine!"
"They seem to genuinely hate each other."
"That's how strong friendships start."
"That is absolutely not true."
Meanwhile—
"You wanna fight?" Maki demanded.
Oden looked confused.
"…Before breakfast?"
"I don't care if it's before breakfast!"
"Scary."
Maki took a step forward.
Oden took one back.
Not out of fear.
Just caution.
"She's actually insane," he muttered toward Gojo.
Gojo nodded thoughtfully.
"A little."
"I can still hear you!"
Gojo suddenly clapped loudly.
"Okay! Enough attempted murder before 9 AM!"
Both of them glared at each other one last time.
Then looked away simultaneously.
Gojo smiled proudly.
"See? Teamwork already."
"Shut up," Maki and Oden said at the exact same time.
A beat passed.
The two immediately looked irritated that they'd synchronized.
Gojo nearly burst out laughing.
Ijichi adjusted his glasses nervously.
"…I'll prepare the vehicle."
"Excellent!" Gojo said.
Ijichi opened the passenger door carefully.
Though judging by the murderous atmosphere behind him—
He wasn't entirely sure the car would survive the trip.
---
The vehicle rolled to a stop in front of an abandoned school building.
Old fences.
Cracked windows.
A rusted gate hanging slightly open.
The entire place felt… wrong.
Not overtly dangerous.
Just stale.
Like the building had been left behind by the world itself.
Ijichi stepped out first, adjusting his glasses as the others followed.
"This is the location," he explained professionally. "Multiple reports of disappearances and unusual sightings were submitted over the past two weeks."
Oden looked up at the building.
"…Looks depressing."
"That's usually how these places look," Maki replied.
Ijichi nodded.
"The cursed energy concentration is relatively low. Based on estimates, this should only be a low-grade infestation."
Maki stretched her shoulders lightly.
"So cleanup duty."
"Essentially."
Oden shoved his hands into his pockets.
"So this isn't serious?"
Ijichi shook his head.
"No. This mission is primarily for educational purposes."
Oden looked offended.
"…I came all the way out here for schoolwork?"
"Yes."
"That's evil."
Maki smirked slightly.
"Cry about it."
Oden clicked his tongue.
Ijichi stepped forward toward the entrance.
"Before we enter, I'll cast the veil."
Oden blinked.
"…The what?"
Maki looked at him.
"You seriously don't know what a veil is?"
"No."
"…How are you even a sorcerer?"
Oden pointed at himself confidently.
"Talent."
Maki looked physically pained hearing that answer.
"A veil," she explained reluctantly, "is a barrier technique. It isolates an area from normal civilians."
"Why?"
"So regular people don't wander into curse fights and die."
"…Oh."
Oden paused.
"That's actually smart."
"Obviously."
Ijichi stepped forward quietly.
He brought his hands together.
The atmosphere shifted slightly.
Then he began the chant.
"From the darkness of black,"
Cursed energy spread outward like invisible fabric.
"A curtain is drawn."
The air distorted.
"Herein, all who enter shall remain unseen."
A ripple expanded across the school grounds.
Then—
Silence.
The veil settled.
Oden's eyes widened slightly beneath the blindfold.
"…Whoa."
The entire area suddenly felt disconnected from the outside world.
Quieter.
Heavier.
Maki walked past him toward the entrance.
"Come on."
The inside of the school smelled like dust and mold.
Broken desks littered the hallways.
Faded papers still hung on classroom walls.
Oden looked around curiously.
"So curses just like creepy places or something?"
"Negative emotions gather here," Maki explained. "Fear. Stress. Death. Places abandoned by people tend to attract cursed energy."
As she spoke—
Three distorted figures crawled from the darkness ahead.
Low-grade curses.
Malformed.
Animalistic.
One screeched and lunged immediately.
Maki didn't even pause.
She stepped forward—
CRACK.
Her cursed tool smashed straight through its skull.
The second curse tried to flank her.
She spun.
The staff swept horizontally—
BOOM.
Its torso exploded into black sludge.
The third attempted to flee.
Maki hurled her weapon without hesitation.
It pierced directly through the curse and pinned it to the wall before it dissolved.
Silence returned.
Oden blinked.
"…That's it?"
Maki walked forward calmly to retrieve her weapon.
"Low-tier curses usually travel in groups."
"Why?"
"Instinct," she replied. "Weak curses gather together because individually they're pathetic."
Oden nodded slowly.
"…Sounds familiar."
Maki narrowed her eyes.
"Was that aimed at me?"
"No."
A beat.
"…Maybe."
"Fight me."
They continued deeper into the school.
Oden glanced around lazily.
"So why'd they give us something this easy?"
Maki answered without looking at him.
"Because I'm Grade 4."
"…What does that mean?"
Maki stopped walking.
Slowly turned.
"You don't know what grades are either?"
Oden shrugged.
"No one explained anything."
Maki rubbed her forehead.
"How did someone like you even survive this long…"
She exhaled.
Then explained.
"Jujutsu society ranks both sorcerers and curses by danger level."
She held up fingers as she listed them.
"Grade 4. Grade 3. Grade 2. Grade 1."
A pause.
"And then Special Grade."
Oden listened quietly.
"Grade 4 curses are weak. Even wooden bats can deal with them sometimes."
"Sounds insulting."
"It is."
She continued.
"Grade 3 requires proper cursed energy use. Grade 2 is considered dangerous for average sorcerers."
"And Grade 1?"
Maki's expression sharpened slightly.
"The elite."
Oden tilted his head.
"…Then Special Grade?"
A small silence settled.
"Monsters," Maki answered flatly.
Oden blinked.
"…Oh."
Maki folded her arms.
"As a Grade 4 sorcerer, I can't officially take missions above Grade 3."
Oden immediately looked at her.
"…Wait."
A grin slowly appeared on his face.
"You're bottom rank?"
Maki's eyebrow twitched.
"…Watch your mouth."
"You're basically last place."
"I will genuinely beat you to death."
Oden pointed at her confidently.
"I just got here and I'm already better than you."
"That's not how that works!"
"It literally is."
Maki took a deep breath.
"…What grade even are you?"
Oden shrugged.
"No idea."
Maki looked at him like she wanted to strangle him.
"Give me your student card."
"My what?"
"Your Jujutsu ID."
"Oh."
Oden reached into his pocket casually and handed it over.
Maki snatched it immediately.
Then looked down.
And froze.
Silence.
A very long silence.
Oden tilted his head.
"…Why do you look constipated?"
Maki stared at the card.
Then stared harder.
Then looked up slowly.
"…Special Grade?"
Oden blinked.
"…That sounds important."
Maki looked ready to explode.
"You've been here for FIVE MINUTES!"
"I know."
"I've been a sorcerer for almost a year!"
"…Skill issue?"
Veins bulged visibly on Maki's forehead.
Oden pointed at himself proudly.
"So technically…"
He grinned.
"I'm more gifted than you."
Maki's cursed energy flared violently.
"I'm going to kill you."
---
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