Hiroki lay languidly in the cloud-soft bedding, his body feeling boneless. The chamber was utterly silent, even time itself seeming to be absorbed by the luxurious bed, flowing with abnormal slowness.
He stared at the ceiling, its patterns traced by threads of spiritual power, while his thoughts galloped like unbridled horses through Soul Society's jungle of authority and might, finally halting at the somber, stifling scenes of Kuchiki Ginrei's funeral.
That woman Yoruichi… had probably slipped off to who-knew-where by now.
Hiroki clicked his tongue unconsciously; the memory fragments left him forced to admit one fact—Shihōin Yoruichi's constitution was ridiculously good!
After an intense "discussion of serious matters" she had left light-footed and radiant, leaving him—a man with Second Class Spiritual Pressure and theoretically more vigorous vitality—lying alone to recuperate.
In the past he had clung to the creed of "steady growth, low-key point-hoarding," content to be a puppet-master lurking beneath the surface.
Such a behind-the-scenes style had flair and had indeed spared him countless troubles.
But at its root it stemmed more from a lack of confidence in his own strength.
Second Class Spiritual Pressure? It sounded impressive, yet Hiroki knew too well his pitiful skill panels—Hand-to-hand combat B, Shunpo C, Kido and Zanjutsu D.
Put against those third-rank captains who had immersed themselves in the four fundamentals for decades or centuries, his technique was, to put it bluntly, only good for getting beaten.
His combat style could be summed up in two words: "ultimate-move spam."
Either rely on the sagittarius gold cloth's "Golden Arrow," or the one-shot finisher "Taixu Divine Sword."
As for the gold cloth's built-in atomic Lightning Plasma… his problem lay in the "fist" part of Lightning Plasma.
He had tested it; with a mere Hand-to-hand combat B he couldn't truly channel that vast stream of light-speed particles, let alone control it with finesse.
By his estimate he would need Hand-to-hand combat S to draw out the move's full theoretical might.
As for training? Forget it.
Just imagining the grueling process made his scalp tingle.
The thought of hard practice was snuffed out by fear of hardship; lying-flat philosophy won.
By contrast, the Sagittarius "Golden Arrow" was a gift from the heavens: simple, brutal, pour nearly all your energy into it, lock on with a thought, draw, release.
Everything else was left to the sacred arrow's causality-tracking property.
However fast or tricky the target, once locked on it gets pierced!
A clear battle plan formed in an instant: first, a Golden Arrow to gravely weaken the foe;
if the enemy still stood, follow with an all-out Taixu Divine Sword to finish the job.
Yet this two-step kill came with pros (huge power) and cons (huge cost) in equal measure.
Which meant Hiroki could not act lightly.
He needed a strong "normal-state skill,"
something potent yet not instantly draining, able to clear mobs, look impressive, deter riff-raff, and if necessary stall tough foes—ideally without requiring grinding.
His gaze naturally fell on his weakest link: Kido.
System, he called silently with his mind, what's the price for Kido?
A cold, emotionless mechanical voice answered at once: Querying.
After a brief pause the merchandise list appeared:
A-rank Kido Mastery – 100 000 points. Effect: no incantation, no delay, full-power instant Hado 1-40 and Bakudo 1-39. Raises base Kido comprehension to elite Seat Officer level.
S-rank Kido Mastery – 500 000 points. Effect: no incantation, no delay, full-power instant Hado 1-70 and Bakudo 1-69. Greatly raises comprehension to seasoned Vice-Captain/standard Captain-level.
SS-rank Kido Mastery – 1 000 000 points. Effect: no incantation, no delay, full-power instant Hado 1-90 and Bakudo 1-89. Comprehension and micro-control reach top Captain-level.
SSS-rank Kido Mastery – 2 000 000 points. Effect: no incantation, no delay, full-power instant all known Hado (1-99), Bakudo (1-99), and forbidden spells. Comprehension, micro-control, and creative potential reach ultimate grandmaster realm—highest tier currently available.
Two million? Hiroki eyed the two-odd million points on his system panel, a familiar sense of being precisely calculated washing over him.
This dog of a system had to have counted every last coin in his pocket, pricing just high enough to swallow it all!
Still, complaints aside,
compare it with Spiritual Pressure: SSS Kido cost two million, while First Class Spiritual Pressure cost ten million.
Kido's value-for-money suddenly looked… acceptable?
Especially when he pictured Aizen instantly casting Kurohitsugi number ninety on Sōkyoku Hill and stunning everyone present—Hiroki's own desire to look cool flared up.
Once the spark caught, it raged like wildfire. Points were made to be spent; capital for showing off was part of one's strength!
I'm doing it! he resolved, still lazing stickily on the bed. Give me the top tier, SSS Kido—one step, no future upgrades needed.
Command confirmed. Deducting two million points. Loading SSS Kido Authority: all Hado (1-99), Bakudo (1-99), and related forbidden knowledge… infusing Kido comprehension and instant-cast modules… initiating creative-potential protocol…
BZZZT—!!!
It felt like countless invisible needles stabbing into his brain at once!
In an instant a vast, chaotic torrent of information flooded him.
No longer mere memory fragments, but an entire systematic, rigorous knowledge structure rooted in the laws of Kido.
From the basic principle of Hado 1: Thrust to the space-rending destructiveness of Hado 99: Goryūtenmetsu;
from the micro-structure of Bakudo 1: Restrain to the conceptual absolute lock of Bakudo 99: Seal—countless runes, incantations, spiritual circuits, the essence of chantless casting, energy micro-control techniques…
Like a runaway Big Bang, it detonated inside the core of his consciousness.
"Ugh..." Hiroki couldn't stifle a muffled groan.
Even protected by his formidable mental resilience and Second Class Spiritual Pressure, the torrent of knowledge slammed into him, beading his forehead with cold sweat, pulsing at his temples, filling his brain with leaden weight until thought itself felt impossible.
He had to slap the sides of his head—hard, almost brutally—hoping to ease the splitting pain.
This wasn't an 'enlightenment'; it was a skull-shatter!
He didn't know how long it lasted—perhaps a single breath, perhaps an entire hour—before the tearing surge finally ebbed.
The swelling faded, replaced by a strange new sensation, as though he could reach out and touch the very grain of the world.
The reishi drifting in the air had never felt so distinct; if he wished, he could pinch and weave them into devastating spells.
'So this... is the realm of SSS-class Kido?' Hiroki murmured.
The agony evaporated, replaced by a towering sense of superiority—everything was within his grasp.
Almost unconsciously he pictured himself lifting a hand and, in an instant, unleashing Goryūtenmetsu to level a mountain.
The swagger didn't last.
As understanding of the new knowledge deepened, the smugness on his face froze, turning... complicated and rather painful.
He could keenly sense that, for all its might, this seemingly supreme SSS authority had its ceiling locked away by an invisible barrier.
The strongest destructive Hado, Hado No. 99: Goryūtenmetsu, could rip space and flatten hills, yet compared to Old Man Yama's Jōkaku Enjō it was still qualitatively lacking.
Set beside Aizen's spiritual-pressure shockwave after evolving with the Hōgyoku, it felt even more inadequate.
It might beat the ultimate Cero, the Gran Rey Cero, but against real apex monsters—say, Aizen or Old Man Yama—one Goryūtenmetsu would amount to little more than a scratch, or at best buy a few seconds.
No wonder it was cheap... Hiroki ranted in his head.
This SSS-class Kido felt more like a one-off 'super-toolkit' of respectable but sealed potential.
A huge, overwhelming sense of being scammed welled up.
'System... um... this SSS-class Kido feels a bit... underpowered. Can I... return it?'
'Ding! Per Article 7, Section 333, Clause 1 of the Cross-Plane Non-Corporeal Merchandise Final Interpretation Regulations: any service-type authority package chosen and redeemed by the host of his own free will, and possessing no native functional defect—such as skill-grant or knowledge-implant rights—shall not be returned once redemption is complete!!! Repeat: no returns!!!'
'Sigh...' Hiroki exhaled a long breath steeped in the bitterness of harvested leeks. 'But this Kido... it really is kind of weak...' he complained helplessly.
It gave him capital to show off, but trying to slug it out in a real top-tier fight? Dubious at best.
Right then the System's icy mechanical voice chimed again, timing its bait perfectly:
'Hint: host has mastered all known Kido under current authority. To surpass existing limits, activate exclusive Skill Deduction (Kido Expansion · Forbidden Chapter Completion).'
'Effect: consume designated points; System core will run high-dimensional simulations based on host's authority and spiritual traits, attempting to break past the existing No. 99 ceiling and obtain new theoretical forbidden spells numbered 100 and above. Each deduction costs 1 million points, yielding an expected 5–10 new Kido templates (varying power, differing properties) complete with construction principles, reishi models, and instant-cast interfaces.'
'...Hado above No. 100?!' Hiroki's heart lurched.
It sounded like a tailor-made patch. Granted, the current SSS Kido was 'weak', but if stronger successors existed... the thought alone dulled the pain of being fleeced.
'How many points per attempt?' he asked, fighting to sound calm.
'Each deduction consumes 1 million points.'
'Damn!'
He hadn't recovered from the 2 million just gouged out, and now every pull cost another million—with only an 'expected' 5–10 templates? Whether anything useful or mighty appeared was pure luck.
He glanced at the pitiful remainder on his system panel.
The fortune hauled back from the Sanctuary had melted like snow after redeeming the SSS-class Kido; barely a hundred-thousand-odd points remained—stone-broke.
'Sigh...' An even longer, deeper sigh, steeped in countless grievances, drifted from Hiroki's lips.
Still, Hiroki was Hiroki—self-consolation (or Ah-Q spirit) was his forte. He shifted into a more comfortable sprawl, sinking back into the expensive down.
A thought flipped:
After all... he now held SSS-class authority. Back on Sōkyoku Hill Aizen Sōsuke had shown off so spectacularly, and even then had only 'instant-cast' Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi in public.
Hiroki racked his brain; he seemed to recall that in the original story Aizen's instant version had only a third of full power?
The details were hazy, but it didn't matter!
What mattered was that now Shihōin Hiroki could also instant-cast—and—
it was the full-power, no-holds-barred Hado No. 99: Goryūtenmetsu!
A genuine, undiluted ultimate move!
At that thought, the gloom of 'being conned' miraculously lifted.
Showing off was all about impact.
Who cared about actual combat strength? When the occasion demanded, he need only lift a hand with studied indifference and intone:
'Hado No. 99: Goryūtenmetsu.'
Five sky-blotting dragons of pure destructive energy would roar, tear space, and devastate everything ahead while enemies and onlookers gasped in awe... Wasn't that very spectacle one of the pinnacles Hiroki had long pursued?
Reaching this conclusion, Hiroki felt every bone soften back into languid comfort.
The bed seemed softer, warmer.
He shifted into an even lazier pose, one arm behind his head, the other draped across the costly silk robe at his waist.