"Thump"
The four steel plates of the airtight container fell to the ground simultaneously, kicking up dust, with one plate still connected to the top slamming down twice.
The four-meter-tall, massive, yellowish-brown body was covered in fish-scale-like plating. Its mouth, possessing long tusks like a wild boar, was fixed inside a muzzle made of special alloy, preventing it from even roaring, leaving it only to pant heavily.
All four of its thick arms and legs were bound by chains drawn with strange symbols. The Cursed Energy contained within them prevented it from moving and limited it to only slightly manipulating its own Cursed Energy.
"Wait? How could this be." When his classmate Nanami Kento's "exam question" officially appeared before Yu Haibara, his surprise was beyond words.
"A Grade 2 Cursed Spirit?!"
Yu Haibara had only been boasting in front of Kenmyo Isayama; in reality, facing a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, he would just become food.
But why was Nanami Kento, also a first-year student, so outstanding that his final exam question immediately ramped up the difficulty?
Kenmyo Isayama leaned against the railing. Since he had to wait here anyway, watching the entertainment wouldn't be a loss. However, a mere Grade 2 Cursed Spirit was only destined to be a time-waster.
The only thing that slightly interested Kenmyo Isayama was the silver-white metallic device, shaped like a collar, tightly wrapped around the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit's neck.
That thing occasionally flashed with bursts of purple electric light—"Zzzt," "Zzzt"—looking incredibly cool.
Using Cursed Energy to restrain a Cursed Spirit was nothing special; Kenmei's Psychic Energy could achieve an even greater effect.
But that was actually a purely mechanical product? That was truly rare.
The English label [SINGULARITY] was written in small letters on the metal casing. Every time the electric light flashed, the Cursed Spirit would let out a miserable cry, and then automatically suppress its unconscious Cursed Energy leakage, keeping it firmly at the Grade 3 Cursed Spirit level.
The last time Kenmyo Isayama felt such pure mechanical shock was when he saw those unknown soldiers using thermal weapons to annihilate a Grade 3 Cursed Spirit. Now, some unknown company had even developed a tool to restrict a Cursed Spirit's output.
Kenmyo Isayama felt that if technology continued to advance, Suguru Geto and the rest of the Jujutsu Sorcerer would eventually become obsolete.
The regional broadcast interrupted Kenmyo Isayama's thoughts. Staff members were reminding the candidates, announcing a ten-second countdown until the start of the exam.
Kenmyo Isayama found Yu Haibara's reaction hilarious. He wasn't the one taking the test, yet he was swallowing nervously, and sweat was dripping from his forehead.
This child was clearly more nervous than Nanami Kento below.
Turning his gaze to Miss Mei, who was standing quietly nearby with her arms crossed, Kenmyo Isayama raised an eyebrow.
"Girls these days are using such wild weapons?"
She took out a massive object, roughly 1.8 meters long and wrapped in bandages, and placed it next to the railing. A faint cold glint was visible through the gaps in the bandages; this appeared to be a Cursed Tool of no low grade.
When the countdown reached the final five seconds, the "candidate" Nanami Kento also took out his weapon—a short knife resembling a dagger. Although it couldn't compare to the Cursed Tool Mei Mei had next to Kenmyo Isayama, it was still a decent Cursed Tool.
"You can do it, Nanami!"
Hearing Yu Haibara's encouragement, Nanami Kento, who had initially looked very serious and annoyed by the trouble, slightly curved his lips upward.
"Then I suppose I'll get slightly serious."
"Three, two, one, exam start!"
Following that announcement, all restraints on the Cursed Spirit, including the muzzle over its mouth, were automatically removed, except for the collar around its neck.
The heavy chains and restrictors fell to the ground. The sudden feeling of lightness even made the already unintelligent Cursed Spirit pause for a second, immediately followed by a burst of rage, letting out a deafening roar at the human before it.
Having been captured and tormented for the past few days, it had built up a belly full of unvented fury, and it intended to devour the small fry whole.
A crisp sound of metal breaking rang out. Ignoring the stinging, corrosive pain in its hand, the Cursed Spirit violently ripped a chain that had previously bound it from the ground, grasped it, and lashed it fiercely toward Nanami Kento.
Several trees, each as thick as a person, were snapped in half instantly along the way. The clear, sharp sound of the chain cutting through the air contained no lingering echo, only the purest sense of tearing.
The screech of the air being whipped was heard clearly even by Kenmyo Isayama, who was far away. The savage Cursed Spirit intended to whip Nanami Kento into a pulp.
Facing this fierce attack, Nanami Kento naturally could not meet it head-on. The Cursed Energy accumulated beneath his feet instantly erupted, allowing him to retreat to a nearby tree in a highly unscientific posture to evade the attack.
"The chain in the Cursed Spirit's hand is a threat. It will be difficult to kill it without dealing with that first."
Seeing the small fry evade its attack, the Cursed Spirit grew even angrier and swung the chain again toward the tree where Nanami Kento had landed.
"The methods currently considered for eliminating this Cursed Spirit are as follows."
Without surprise, that tree was shattered again. Facing the Cursed Spirit's relentless pursuit, Nanami Kento merely kept moving to a different tree—there were plenty of trees here, after all.
First: Wait until the Cursed Spirit is exhausted, then deliver a fatal blow.
However, this was unrealistic. The Grade 2 Cursed Spirit opposite him had several times his total Cursed Energy, and Nanami Kento would be the one to exhaust himself first.
Second: Shatter its chain and body simultaneously with a single strike.
This was the only option.
Just as the Cursed Spirit was about to swing the iron chain, its beast eyes suddenly narrowed. The small fry had vanished from its sight. As it was about to look around, it spotted Nanami Kento currently dashing toward it.
When the distance to the Cursed Spirit was less than three meters, Nanami Kento didn't hesitate for a moment. He instantly leaped up like a nimble cat, leaving the ground and twisting his body in mid-air.
Cursed Energy release, Cursed Technique activation!
Suddenly, Nanami Kento's Cursed Energy surged throughout his body. In particular, a significant amount of pale green Cursed Energy gathered on the surface of his fist, beginning to flash with dazzling light.
[Ten Strokes Cursed Method—Waraku Waraku!]
A heavy punch slammed into the Cursed Spirit's body. Pale green flames instantly ignited, and an incredibly dazzling pale light covered the entire forest. The chain and the Cursed Spirit's torso were shattered under the power of this fledgling student.
Kenmyo Isayama smiled. Jujutsu Sorcerer? Clearly, he was a Beat-sut Sorcerer.
Nanami Kento's attack was an Expanding Cursed Technique that injected Cursed Energy into the target of destruction, a wide-area attack intended for mutual destruction.
But the problem was that Nanami Kento's Cursed Technique was not yet very refined, and the attack power was far from sufficient.
Instead of killing the Cursed Spirit in one blow, he incidentally shattered the very last restraint on its body.
Nanami Kento was still immersed in the joy of "victory," but the next second, he felt an extremely terrifying chill rise from the bottom of his heart.
His vision was completely submerged by the rampant, dark, malevolent light. The blood-soaked Cursed Spirit, now completely free of restraints, erupted with an incredibly savage aura truly befitting a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit.
"This is bad!"
Mei Mei was truly worthy of being a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer; she instantly realized that the Cursed Spirit had gone completely berserk and the situation on the field had become extremely dangerous.
A Grade 2 Cursed Spirit that had broken free of its restraints was not something a first-year student could handle.
She immediately prepared to pick up her Cursed Tool and simultaneously channel her Cursed Energy, but unexpectedly, the injury she had sustained last time flared up again under this forced exertion of Cursed Energy.
Mei Mei's brain pulsed with sharp pain; dizziness and nausea struck simultaneously, causing the Cursed Tool she had just picked up to slip from her grasp.
"If you're injured, you should rest properly. Why push yourself?"
But at that moment, a helpless voice sounded near Mei Mei's ear.
"Oh, and by the way, let me borrow your Cursed Tool for a moment."