Because this was inside Rika Orimoto's Domain Expansion, Satoru Gojo did not activate Infinity. He took the hit solidly, did not cry out, and even let out an annoying sound. "Isn't this great? Running a dungeon should feel like this. You spend all day in the lab or the ward. Don't you get bored? Tell me, how long has it been since you exercised properly?"
"None of your business. If I go work out, will you do my work for me?"
Satoru Gojo rolled his eyes. "If I cover for you, who covers for me?"
In terms of workload and importance, these two had long occupied the top spots. Just the fact that Shoko Ieiri could use Reverse Cursed Technique and still had such heavy dark circles said enough about her schedule.
"Isn't there Akira?" he asked.
"He's still a student. At least wait until he graduates from Tokyo Jujutsu High. Youth shouldn't be wasted."
"You really dote on students, just like Makoto."
"Aren't you the same? Who's the one who always does psychological counseling after missions?"
They fell silent and looked at each other. It was because they shared the same ideals that they had ended up walking this path together.
"Where are the mages? Stop slacking. Control, DPS, focus fire. Burn down the boss, the next wave is coming."
Akira shouted himself hoarse as the commander. Letting teammates slack off was absolutely unacceptable.
"Coming, coming. Watch my triple combo."
Satoru Gojo raised his brows and instantly switched into veteran gamer mode. He used Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue and followed with Hollow Technique · Hollow Purple at one percent weakened output.
This was not a personal show for Satoru Gojo. Too little damage was bad, but too much was also bad, since it could cause aggro to shift. The main tank Maki Zenin had not fully returned to the field yet.
Hollow Technique was still a technique stronger at a point than a line or area. Its piercing damage was high, but splash damage was lacking, so others had to make up for it. Gardevoir opened with a meditation plus psychic blast combo, followed by the double waves from Yuta Okkotsu and Darkrai.
Because of his massive reserves of Cursed Energy, Yuta Okkotsu could directly release raw energy impact. Darkrai used Quick Attack, weaving rapidly through the shadows.
"Done!" Satoru Gojo said, making his signature thumbs-up with the fingers that had just fired Hollow Technique.
"Senior Akira, the third wave is here."
The support and scout Megumi Fushiguro reported, while Divine Dogs and Rabbit Escape, two highly mobile Shikigami, spread out around him.
"Formation C, control focused. Main controller, give us a big one."
"Salmon."
Toge Inumaki had not acted until now because he was waiting for this moment. Holding a loudspeaker, he shouted with all his strength.
"Fall down!"
"Is the main tank healed up yet?"
"Yes, yes," Shoko Ieiri answered, complaining with her mouth while her hands never slowed.
"You're actually having a lot of fun, aren't you?" Satoru Gojo said with a grin as he returned from the front.
"Who knows," she replied, brushing back her hair. "Go say that to your precious son."
"Megumi," Satoru Gojo called sweetly, turning toward Megumi Fushiguro. "Having fun?"
"Go back," Megumi Fushiguro snapped, his face instantly sour. "We're in combat."
"Then after the fight, can we…"
Akira ignored Satoru Gojo's nonsense and shouted, "Swap. Main tank, with me."
"Coming."
Maki Zenin's relaxed body snapped taut in an instant, shifting from complete stillness to motion. Relying on her greatest strengths, her tough physique and coordination with Akira, she pushed forward with him.
One tanked physical damage, the other relied on a so-called super Makoto rookie template to tank magic damage. They looked miserable, but the actual damage taken was not that high.
"Good, this is the rhythm. Aggro is stable, DPS keep it up. Finish this wave and we eat big."
Cheers erupted from the team.
Of course, finishing did not mean clearing the dungeon. It only meant achieving the current strategic goal.
There were too many mysteries in the Nightmare dungeon tied to Rika Orimoto. Its difficulty matched the status of the Queen of Curses herself, and even Satoru Gojo found it troublesome. How could it be cleared so easily?
If it were not like this, why would Akira have dragged in a super healer like Shoko Ieiri? Naturally, this was done with Yuta Okkotsu's consent. As for Megumi Fushiguro, the timing was perfect to let him adapt to fighting Cursed Spirit and to team combat.
As a commander, Akira was very practical. He did not aim too high, advancing step by step to refine the team and himself, gathering dungeon intel before attempting a full clear when the time was right. Since the dungeon was exclusive, there was no rush to claim a first clear.
"Good, mission accomplished. Anyone who wants to withdraw can do so. If you still have energy, you can stay and test the fourth wave."
"Then let me go first. It's rare to have a place where I can really move freely. Of course I'm going to fight until I'm satisfied."
Satoru Gojo stretched, having controlled his output the entire time.
Since the Nightmare dungeon appeared, he had been coming to the school more often. It was both protection and self-training. Maybe Akira's words had triggered a sense of crisis, because Satoru Gojo had begun deliberately setting limits for himself.
No Infinity barrier. No Cursed Technique. No Domain Expansion. No Six Eyes.
He had fought as a sniper in the rear and brawled on the front lines, showing hand-to-hand skills usually overshadowed by Jujutsu. Compared to his jujutsu they were weaker, but among Jujutsu Sorcerer they were not bad at all. He had experienced Black Flash before, and under the coordination of Six Eyes, his control of Cursed Energy far surpassed others, lowering the threshold to trigger Black Flash.
Azure Cursed Energy flashed with black light as space twisted, erasing everything it touched.
"Yes!" Satoru Gojo raised his fist high, full of pride. "Did you see that? I landed Black Flash."
Akira did not respond, only saying, "Anyone with strength left, go with Teacher Satoru Gojo and try to seize the chance."
"Yes!"
The students had all heard Akira's experience sharing. They knew about the zone state after Black Flash, and they knew it could lift the whole team. Even if it could not pull others directly into a Black Flash Domain Expansion, any extra chance was valuable.
"Charge!"
"Before learning simple Domain Expansion, learning Black Flash first isn't bad."
"Master Black Flash and smash the school in Kyoto."
With Satoru Gojo as a crooked example above and Akira as a steady but bold backbone, everyone's style had gone off the rails. They did not look like students at all, more like a band of bold raiders. Normal students would not casually talk about top-tier and near top-tier techniques like daily conversation.
"Ten Shadows Technique isn't that amazing."
"Cursed Speech is such a pain. Hard to learn, too many limits, not useful at all."
"Triple-core Makoto isn't as strong as you think."
"Managing Cursed Energy carefully is a hassle too."
"Do you know how tiring it is to command and fight at the same time? I'm still too weak."
Just listening to this made Shoko Ieiri uncomfortable. "Can you act a bit more like students?"