"Finally, it's over."
Eiji's fatigue couldn't hide the joy in his heart.
Before the battle, Eiji had repeatedly practiced with the Shadow of the Spirit Foundation.
Finally, Eiji arrived at a conclusion: it took 6-7 seconds from summoning the Shadow of the Spirit Foundation to releasing its Noble Phantasm.
This meant that for those 6 to 7 seconds, he had to ensure Mahoraga wouldn't interfere with him and the Shadow of the Spirit Foundation releasing its Noble Phantasm.
This gave Eiji a huge headache.
Even the strongest Qiongqi couldn't hold off Mahoraga for 7 seconds under its fierce assault; 3 seconds was uncertain at best.
After all, for those 7 seconds, Qiongqi couldn't retreat an inch to cover Eiji and Altoria.
After repeated deductions and practice, Eiji prepared this taming plan.
A group attack, the kind where victory meant a desperate fight to the death.
If one Summoned Spirit or Shadow Servant could hold out for 1 second by sacrificing itself, Eiji could extend that time to 2 or 3 seconds through coordinated efforts among the spirits, all to buy enough time.
For the first 3 seconds, Eiji had planned to break Mahoraga's balance with a sneak attack, then have the Giant Elephant and two Shadow Servants exhaust themselves to prevent Mahoraga from regaining its balance, thus buying enough time.
This did indeed cause Mahoraga some trouble, but only a little, far from Eiji's expectations.
Next, within those 7 seconds, Eiji managed to secure the time at the cost of 2 light injuries to himself and Caster, 3 heavily injured Summoned Spirits, and 2 Shadow Servants lost.
Although it was brutal, it at least achieved the two goals set before the battle.
First, to prevent Mahoraga from interfering with the summoning and Noble Phantasm release of the Shadow of the Spirit Foundation.
Second, to have Mahoraga within Altoria's maximum range when the Noble Phantasm was released.
Altoria would find the angle for the Noble Phantasm attack herself; the key was not to exceed the range.
Honestly, if Caster hadn't managed to obstruct Mahoraga in the last half-second, Eiji would have had to go himself.
He would have used a sacrificial attack to tie it down for the last half-second, then had the Shadow Servant Archer pull him away from Mahoraga.
However, this might have also meant losing the Archer Chess Piece, because if someone had to tie down Mahoraga until the very last moment of the Noble Phantasm's release, then Archer would have been Eiji's remaining option. But Eiji couldn't guarantee that the system's Chess Pieces wouldn't be destroyed by Altoria's Noble Phantasm.
If Eiji had gambled everything on this attempt and failed to tame it, his only option would have been to wait a decade or two, invest in the polar bears, and then visit their weapons experiments.
Fortunately, Eiji succeeded.
Dragging his exhausted body, Eiji sat on Qiongqi's back and left the mountain.
Although the battle hadn't been long, it had placed a tremendous burden on Eiji's body.
It was like someone who never exercised or worked out for the first time going to the gym and training intensely.
Such an action would overwhelm the body, resulting in mild soreness or, in severe cases, muscle strains.
That's how Eiji felt now.
Despite Eiji's robust physique, he had been constantly pushing his Cursed Energy to its limits to tame Mahoraga.
Finding a remote spot, Eiji canceled Qiongqi's summon, letting it return to rest, and then released a large number of Rabbit Escapes to maintain vigilance.
After resting for a while, Eiji's condition recovered significantly.
His physical injuries healed thanks to the Reverse Cursed Technique.
The mental fatigue from overexerting his Cursed Energy also subsided.
With his condition improved, Eiji didn't rush home. Instead, he eagerly summoned Mahoraga.
He was like a child who had finally gotten a long-desired toy.
Eiji circled Mahoraga, touching it here and there, examining it, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Next is the most important part: ability testing."
Eiji raised his hand, and a thin bolt of lightning shot out, striking Mahoraga.
This was Nue's lightning.
Users of the Ten Shadows Technique could utilize the abilities of their own shikigami. In the original work, when Sukuna fought Satoru Gojo, he used Full Elephant's water-controlling ability, referencing Blood Manipulation Technique, to create a Ten Shadows Technique version of "Piercing Blood."
Eiji didn't know why Megumi Fushiguro didn't do this. Was it because his Cursed Energy was insufficient?
After all, Megumi Fushiguro always gave the impression of being low on mana.
Suddenly, an idea popped into Eiji's mind.
Could it be that this usage was something Gege Akutami only thought of later?
Lost in thought, Eiji frowned because Mahoraga's solution was too simple, so simple it left Eiji speechless.
Reinforce defenses with Cursed Energy.
"Mahoraga, why did you defend against the lightning like that?"
The next moment, Mahoraga gave Eiji an answer that made him want to laugh and cry.
The attack was too weak, posing no threat; a simple defensive measure was sufficient.
Eiji shook his head helplessly. Mahoraga was his Summoned Spirit, his partner, and Eiji didn't want to harm it unless absolutely necessary.
This was also why the attack Eiji had just released was so weak.
All he wanted to know was how Mahoraga would adapt to and counter Nue's lightning, not to actually harm Mahoraga.
"Then what if I amplified the lightning attack from just now by 100 times?"
Mahoraga fell into thought.
Soon, a new solution appeared in Eiji's mind.
Modify the surface of the body with Cursed Energy to form a special insulating fatty layer on the skin. At the same time, fill the surrounding area with Cursed Energy, causing the blocked lightning to disperse in all directions.
"This feels so familiar."
Eiji stroked his chin.
"I remember now, this is like an electric eel."
Eiji slapped his forehead.
When he was a child, he was curious why electric eels could electrocute other fish but not themselves. Later, he asked someone and got an answer very similar to this.
"What if it's 1000 times stronger?"
Mahoraga provided the answer.
Modify itself to adapt to lightning to a certain extent, while channeling most of the lightning into the ground.
"A lightning rod?"
Soon, another solution appeared in Eiji's mind.
"A Faraday cage?"
A Faraday cage is a metal enclosure that prevents electromagnetic fields from entering or escaping.
Eiji knew about this because a relative of his in his previous life was struck by lightning while driving, but the relative was unharmed.
After returning to the village, he told everyone about it, thinking he was protected by heaven.
Later, an expedition team came to the village for research, and a doctor in the team told him it was a Faraday cage.
The lightning was blocked by the metal exterior of the car. As long as the windows weren't opened and he didn't touch anything, he would be fine.
Thus, the unsolved mystery of the village was solved.
"Try it out for me."
Curious, Eiji asked Mahoraga to experiment with the method it had proposed.
Soon, Mahoraga's form underwent a slight change.
It seemed to have gotten a little fatter.
Eiji reached out and touched it.
When he had touched it earlier, Mahoraga's body felt like solid muscle, but now the feel had changed considerably.
Mahoraga's skin had become smoother.
Eiji raised his hand, gathered power, and unleashed lightning.
This time, it wasn't a casual swing like before, producing an attack similar to an arc of electricity, but a carefully prepared lightning strike with extremely high destructive power.
Blinding lightning struck Mahoraga's body, yet Mahoraga's body showed no change whatsoever.
The lightning that struck Mahoraga began to spread out around it.
Mahoraga was unharmed.
"Interesting."
"If the enemy were a giant elephant, how would you adapt and defeat it?"
Eiji continued to ask.
Because he had just fought a giant elephant, Mahoraga had data on it recorded, so Eiji didn't need to summon the giant elephant to fight Mahoraga this time.
After some time, Mahoraga's body changed again.
Mahoraga became more angular, its muscles like rock.
Its hands also became sharper.
"I see, there's more than one solution, and they can even be combined."
Mahoraga provided its answer through its actions.
Strengthening its own body to overpower the giant elephant in close combat.
This was the fastest way to adapt to the situation and escape the giant elephant's entanglement.
Enhancing its sensory abilities to calmly deal with the giant elephant's tail attacks.
This was the simplest and most direct way to adapt to the giant elephant's attacks by changing itself.
Without the snake tail's restraint, the giant elephant would be too clumsy and would be toyed to death by Mahoraga.
Eiji remembered Mahoraga's attack just now, which severed the elephant's trunk and snake tail. So that was the result of enhanced perception.
Capture and decipher the trajectory of the snake tail's attack, and sever it.
Soon, Eiji discovered something interesting.
It was Mahoraga's answer for "defeating" the giant elephant.
The first method was to change the output of the cursed technique, allowing his cursed energy to adhere to the giant elephant's wounds to suppress its regeneration.
The second method was to strengthen the piercing power of the Demon-Quelling Blade with lightning.
By striking a vital point, the giant elephant would be eliminated before it could use the Reverse Cursed Technique.
Yes, Mahoraga used Nue's lightning.
At the same time, Eiji also noticed that Mahoraga had canceled the changes made to its body to counter the lightning after it set the giant elephant as its hypothetical enemy.
"Mahoraga can use my abilities."
However, remembering that Mahoraga also used Sukuna's slash in the manga, it wasn't surprising.
With this, Eiji had a sufficient understanding of Mahoraga's abilities.
The strongest Shikigami, capable of analyzing an enemy's attack to gain resistance and effective ways to strike them.
When Mahoraga was first summoned, it was like a hero without equipment.
Afterward, Mahoraga would change itself to adapt to the attacks it received.
This felt like playing a game with a tank character that had a special mechanism. If the opponent dealt high physical damage, you'd equip armor; if they dealt high magic damage, you'd equip magic resistance.
Once the opponent's attacks became less effective, Mahoraga would find ways to deal effective damage to the enemy based on their situation.
It could tank and attack, completely countering cursed spirits. As long as it had enough time, it could counter almost anything.
Eiji discovered that although Mahoraga's adaptability had a limit, this limit could be raised.
Under Eiji's command, Mahoraga began to actively analyze and master the giant elephant's water control cursed technique.
The smile on Eiji's face grew wider.
After adapting to the abilities of the Ten Shadows Technique, Mahoraga provided more adaptive and defeating methods with the giant elephant as the enemy.
It felt like those heroes in games who could grow by stacking buffs. Mahoraga could continuously record, analyze, and input the attacks it received into its database.
The more cursed techniques and countermeasures stored in its database, the faster it would adapt to new enemies in the future and the more ways it would have to defeat them.
"It's a god-tier Shikigami that can be raised."
Eiji looked at Mahoraga with satisfaction.
A Shikigami that started at a high level, could continue to grow stronger, and allowed its master to experience the joy of nurturing it was simply perfect.
-----------
Translation by: randomtranslator.com
Read 2500+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: randomtranslator.com