Rewrite
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"Gojo, what do you mean I'm not going with you?" Julian asked, his voice filled with shock. "I've still got loads to learn from you! The adventure isn't over yet!"
"Julian… it's over," I said quietly.
He continued to bombard me with questions, why, how, what next, but what he didn't realize was that his journey had already come to an end. He'd completed his goal. He'd found the closure he was looking for.
"Your life is yours, not mine," I said, meeting his eyes. "I don't control what you do, Julian. You've achieved your goal, and along the way, you've grown stronger. That's all you needed from me."
"But…" he started, his voice trembling.
"We can meet again someday," I said, forcing a small smile. "But for now, it's time to say goodbye."
He looked like he wanted to argue again, but I didn't let him. "I refuse to travel with someone who doesn't have a goal," I added, waving back as I turned to leave. "Oh, and that's your share of the money, two hundred gold coins." I pointed toward the shelf where the pouch lay waiting.
Julian just stood there, frozen in place. After a long silence, he finally murmured, almost to himself, "See you another day then…"
Walking through the streets, the glorious moon shone down on the city, casting a silver glow over the landscape. Bernard was right, this place really was one of the most beautiful regions in the Central Lands, not that I've been to many others.
I sighed. My life was about to get a whole lot harder, all because of that demon. During the battle, when I revealed the upside-down cross, I saw something strange, a faint trace of mana being transferred and resonating with another source.
At first, I thought it was a connection to his main body, like the demon was some kind of operator. But when I tried to intercept the flow, I heard something.
"Gojo Satoru… He's a monster… Monster… Monster…"
That could only mean one thing, the cross wasn't just for body-switching, it was also a means of communication.
Which meant the demons now knew about me. That made everything infinitely more complicated. Usually, I wouldn't care this much, but after hearing what that demon said, I couldn't sit still.
"Pure scum," I muttered. It was fair to assume that most demons were the same.
Though I still had a few problems to deal with in this world mainly how I use mana. I might have a great understanding of it, but that doesn't mean I have the number of spells to match. My grasp of this world's systems is still basic at best. I'll need more reliable companions eventually.
The only reason I left Julian behind was because, honestly, I didn't feel like training an eleven-year-old on a journey like this.
"But the most important thing," I muttered with a grin, "is to make sure I'm having the time of my life. Fun."
"Hopefully he becomes a great mage and fighter," I sighed, walking down the street.
My first stop will be the City of Strahl. I'll need a priest and since it's called the royal capital, I'm sure there'll be plenty of interesting things happening there.
Still, I'll have to keep an eye out for demons. If most of them are anything like Bernard, defeating them could be a hassle… but who cares? I'm Gojo Satoru.
"But hey, a little caution won't hurt," I said as I strolled through the street. They probably won't go to extreme measures, but I'm not getting trapped in something like the Prison Realm again.
So, I'll sleep with one eye open and watch carefully who I recruit.
I spotted a man driving a cart headed toward the royal capital and waved him down.
"Hey, I'm trying to get to Strahl," I called out.
He gave me a quick look before asking, "Can ya pay?"
I flashed a wide smile and pulled out my pouch, jingling the 250 gold coins inside.
"Can ya drive?" I mocked back, giving a thumbs-up.
He smirked. "Hop on the cart. My horses can go all day and night."
"Good to hear," I said, climbing aboard.
Now, if they do have some kind of magical artifact that could seal or obliterate me… well, there's not much I could do. But that's fine. I live for the thrill of it.
My main focus for this journey is simple, find reliable companions and learn more about magic. Magic in this world is absurdly versatile, and the more I study it, the more possibilities I see. Over time, I've managed to come up with a few tricks of my own.
The first was interference. Thanks to the Six Eyes, I can see the flow of mana at a subatomic level. every pulse, every strand, every fluctuation. To me, it's as easy as watching ripples on the surface of water. All I have to do is create a faint layer of my own mana on top of another spell, and the corruption spreads from there. Simple, elegant, and completely devastating.
The second discovery was how to counter magic entirely. Instead of taking control of a spell, I just erase it. Technically, I could do that with cursed energy, but the amount required makes it inefficient. So, I figured out a better method, disrupt the natural flow of mana itself until the magic collapses.
The third was communication. By transforming my mana into a specific wavelength something like radio waves, I can send thoughts directly. One-sided telepathy, you could say. That idea came to me after analyzing Bernard's magic.
And finally, I learned how to create materials and elements using mana. With my understanding of atomic structure and, of course, my unparalleled genius, I can produce almost anything. Fire, water, earth, wind… even metals like copper or iron. It's not perfect yet, but the possibilities are endless.
Still, there's one thing I haven't touched, space and time magic.If I can master that, then no one in this world will ever come close to me.
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Early Chapters on my discord: discord.gg/QRSjC6pNF4
Power Stone Goals (Changed):
350 - 1 bonus chapter
450 - 2 bonus chapters
This counts as a bonus chapter since I had to re-write it. Enjoy