[Ding! Randomly plundered trait: Speed of 100 km/h (Purple)]
"This trait… is actually kind of useful."
At first, Takumi had been sure this thing was complete trash. His own speed already far surpassed a mere hundred kilometers per hour. If he really went all out, he could get close to relativistic speed—who would care about some measly 100 km/h?
But after actually fusing the trait, Takumi realized he'd underestimated it. Just 100 km/h by itself would never be enough to warrant a purple rarity. The reason it could be purple was because it was closer to a conceptual kind of ability.
[Able to run at a speed of 100 km/h in any location.]
That "any location" really was literal. Takumi discovered that he could even run along a cell phone signal, and his running speed would be: the speed at which information was being transmitted + 100 kilometers per hour.
That "100 km/h" wasn't fixed; it could be stacked on top of whatever medium he was using.
If he used light as his road, then his speed would become: the speed of light + 100 km/h.
"If it weren't for Turbo Granny's arrogant personality and how she kept underestimating people, if she actually tried to run… I really might not have been able to catch her."
Takumi suddenly felt a bit grateful. With slightly worse luck, he really might not have been able to grab Turbo Granny at all.
Smiling, he glanced at the Hundred-Ghosts Compendium. On its newly opened two pages, the images of Turbo Granny and the earthbound spirit crab slowly emerged.
Right now, they'd only had a trace of cursed energy absorbed; it would take time for them to recover.
"Mm… as cursed spirit materials go, Turbo Granny is pretty damn good. That conceptual-level 100 km/h can be transplanted onto other cursed spirits. As for this earthbound spirit crab… that's basically just a bonus."
Muttering to himself, Takumi skimmed the earthbound spirit crab's info a few more times, then sighed and shut the Compendium.
The earthbound spirit crab was an aggregate of multiple cursed spirits.
This tunnel had been the scene of a serial girl-murder case. Countless girls had been violated, dismembered, then dumped here. Their resentments had fused together and turned into this earthbound spirit crab.
As for Turbo Granny coming here, she'd originally just wanted to comfort these girls' grudges.
"But no matter how you spin it, resentment is still resentment—and when it comes time to kill, it doesn't hold back."
Takumi felt a little pity, but there was no regret or guilt. The original killers had long since died. These lingering grudges would only ever go on hurting more people.
Then his gaze shifted to Yuki, lying there on the ground like a flattened frog.
"You're that badly hurt?"
"What do you think? How would you feel after taking a couple of those crab-claw smashes?"
"No problem. Attacks like that don't even scratch me."
"…"
Watching him say that so seriously, Yuki felt a breath catch in her throat. Her face turned red, and she still couldn't get a word out.
After half a day, she finally muttered, "I don't have skin as thick as you. My whole body hurts, okay!"
"All right, all right, I know. I was just messing with you." With a chuckle, Takumi teased her once more and raised his hand, letting a soft light spill out.
"[Heal]."
The next moment, all of Yuki's injuries vanished, her stamina and cursed energy fully restored. In their place, her pain and memories surged over like a tide, flowing into Takumi. Her pain was absorbed by the Boosted Gear, while her memories were neatly organized and taken in by Takumi.
"[Imitation]."
Imprinting Yuki's technique [Star Rage] into his memory, he instantly learned the technique himself.
"Perfect." The corners of Takumi's lips lifted, his mood clearly excellent.
This technique was so good—easily the type with a ridiculously high ceiling. Yuki's problem was purely that her overall level wasn't enough; she simply couldn't push the technique to its limit.
"If I push my physical limit to the max, then stack this technique on top… smashing a planet isn't just a dream."
Just simulating that scene in his head was enough to make him grin from ear to ear. Forcibly giving himself attack power that leaped an entire major tier—this technique was truly absurd. Just the thought was enough to make his grip gentler as he pulled Yuki up.
This curvy blonde onee-san really was his angel.
"What's with that look… You're making it seem like I helped you." Noticing the shift in his gaze, Yuki's cheeks flushed as she grumbled.
Then she suddenly hugged him tight and sighed. "You little brat, you're way too broken. You're so much younger than me, but you're already this strong. You're really making me lose confidence here!!"
The way she looked at him was full of mixed feelings. Her title as one of the four currently active special-grade sorcerers might as well be dogshit.
Judging by her own sense of things, if she really went all-out and fought Takumi for real, she'd probably be gone in a single exchange.
That kind of insane gap really had blown Yuki's worldview wide open. She'd thought she was already standing at the top of the world—only to realize she'd just gotten off the lift at the foothills.
With a weaker mentality, she really would have cried.
Sensing that emotional drop in her, Takumi naturally gave her butt a practiced squeeze. "Want to get stronger? I can help you with that."
"Huh? What do you mean!?" She had barely registered the pervy hand when his words completely hijacked her attention.
Then she saw Takumi condense a golden chess piece, setting it in front of her.
"This is… what?" Staring blankly at the piece, Yuki listened as Takumi smiled and explained:
"Divine Envoy Chess Piece. Fuse it, and you'll become stronger."
Yuki accepted the piece and hesitated for a few seconds, then lifted her head to meet Takumi's eyes.
She asked bluntly, "Then what's the binding?"
In the jujutsu world, bindings were a real power—sacrificing or limiting yourself in exchange for greater strength.
As a special-grade sorcerer, Yuki knew perfectly well that getting something meant giving something up.
"The binding is: you'll become mine. My personal property. That's the price. Your call, Yuki~"
Takumi tilted her chin up, stating the cost with zero attempt to sugarcoat it. Then he let go and looked up toward the sky.
Lost in thought, Yuki subconsciously followed his gaze.
All she saw was a dim, dark sky.
"It's already this dark out, huh… So, what are you looking at?"
"Getting ready—and saying hi to the person who's about to show up."
His tone was casual, but in the next second, a black dot appeared in the sky.
Within just a few breaths, a white-haired man in a black uniform and blindfold descended in front of the two of them.
"Well now~~ Didn't expect to just happen to pass by and catch such a big scene. Looks like I've run into someone very interesting~"
With a confident, teasing voice, the white-haired man straightened up, giving Takumi an appraising once-over.
....
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