"Whatever you want."
"As long as you can afford the 'price'."
Lynn's voice echoed through the empty old school building.
Maki Zen'in stood in the doorway, her sharp eyes fixed on Lynn.
She was no fool.
Growing up in a jujutsu clan filled with malice, she understood the cruelty of "equivalent exchange" better than anyone.
"You talk big."
Maki sneered, carrying her naginata into the room and unceremoniously pulling up a chair to sit.
Her long legs crossed, her aura imposing.
"Do you know who I am?"
"The disgrace of the Zen'in clan."
"No Cursed Technique, can't see curses, a piece of trash even worse than that Inumaki guy who only speaks in rice ball ingredients."
Maki pointed mockingly at her own glasses.
"Without these, you're just a blurry mosaic to me right now."
"So, what kind of price do you think a 'bad asset' like me can afford?"
Lynn didn't speak.
He just smiled and pushed up his glasses.
As a transmigrator familiar with the plot, he knew the real reason for Maki's "weakness"—he understood it even better than she did.
It was that roughly average amount of Cursed Energy.
For a Jujutsu Sorcerer, that amount of energy couldn't even kill a fly.
But for Maki, it was the heaviest shackle.
Because of it, Maki couldn't completely break free from the constraints of Cursed Energy like Toji Fushiguro, preventing her body from evolving to its peak.
Stuck in the middle, neither here nor there.
"Maki."
Lynn adjusted his glasses, his eyes holding a trace of pity, but also a hint of greed.
"The Zen'in clan really are all blind."
"Hah?" Maki frowned, murderous intent flaring. "You want to die?"
"Easy."
Lynn walked up to Maki.
"You're weak not because you lack Cursed Energy."
"Quite the opposite."
"It's because your body still retains that tiny bit of... garbage-like Cursed Energy."
Maki's pupils constricted.
"What... did you say?"
"Heavenly Restriction is the ultimate binding vow of exchanging 'Cursed Energy' for 'physical prowess'."
Lynn's voice was like a devil's whisper.
"That man, Toji Fushiguro, was a complete 'zero'. So he gained a body capable of tearing Special Grades apart with his bare hands."
"But you, you're a '0.5'."
"Just because of that damn 0.5, your physical potential is locked."
"Do you want to become stronger?"
"Do you want to become a monster like that man, making all Jujutsu Sorcerers tremble?"
Maki's breathing quickened.
Her heart pounded violently.
No one had ever told her this.
Her clan only mocked her for having no Cursed Energy, but no one had ever told her that the insignificant amount she did have was the root of her suffering.
"You can... fix it?"
Maki's voice was dry.
"Of course."
Lynn smirked inwardly.
Actually, there was no item in the System Store explicitly named "Heavenly Restriction Purification Potion."
This kind of deep modification involving the soul, bloodline, and karma couldn't be achieved with ordinary goods.
But this wasn't a problem for Exchange No. 8.
Because aside from "reselling," the system had a second transaction mode—[Contract Execution].
This mode didn't require physical goods, but had to take place within the exchange.
Lynn would draft a "Service Contract," and once the buyer signed and paid the price, the exchange would act as the "Executor," directly mobilizing the power of Rules to forcibly interfere with reality and complete the contract.
Like the current "Stripping of Cursed Energy."
The system would act like a precision centrifuge, enforcing the rule of "separation."
This was convenient for Lynn, but the issue was that the profit was far less than the first transaction mode.
In this mode, he only earned points equivalent to the value of the item provided by the customer, and the system would reclaim the item and deduct a service fee.
In the first mode, he got to keep both the item and the points.
Lynn turned and took out a transparent glass jar covered in runes from behind the counter.
"Although I don't have ready-made medicine, I can perform 'surgery' on you."
"I can use the Rules to help you strip that residual Cursed Energy from your body... bit by bit."
"With every bit removed, your body will evolve a fraction."
"Until you become a complete 'Zero'."
"Really?!" Maki shot up, knocking her chair over.
"However..."
Lynn changed his tone, holding up a finger.
"This evolution defies common sense. Your body needs to adapt."
"Just like deep-sea fish can't be pulled to the surface instantly."
"We can't drain it all at once."
"We have to do it in sessions, bit by bit."
Lynn looked at Maki, flashing a professional smile.
"So? Want to try this 'Heavenly Tyrant Cultivation Package'?"
"I'll do it!"
Maki didn't hesitate.
As long as she could get stronger, as long as she could step on those who looked down on her.
She would agree even if it meant being flayed alive.
"The price?"
Maki stared hard at Lynn. "I don't have money right now. But I can take missions..."
"No, no, no. Talking about money is vulgar."
Lynn shook his head.
He pulled a prepared parchment contract from the drawer.
What flowed on it wasn't ink, but the Law of the System.
"What I'm interested in is your 'future'."
"Maki, you're aiming to take control of the Zen'in clan in the future, right?"
"Of course."
"Then it's simple."
Lynn pointed to the clauses on the contract.
"This treatment fee, you can owe me for now."
"When you become the head of the clan and open the Zen'in clan's Cursed Warehouse full of treasures..."
"I want priority selection rights."
"Two Cursed Tools in total."
Maki paused.
Then, the corner of her mouth hooked into an arrogant smirk.
"Hah! You really think I can go that far?"
"Naturally."
"Deal!"
Maki grabbed the pen and signed her name fiercely on the contract.
"As long as I become the head, forget three, I'll give you half the warehouse!"
"If it's those old geezers' treasury... I'd be happy to help you empty it."
[Ding! Contract Established.]
[Transaction Mode: Contract Execution (Rule Interference).]
[Execution Content: Targeted stripping of trace Cursed Energy from Maki Zen'in.]
[Payment Price: Transfer of future assets from Maki Zen'in.]
"Then, let's begin the first treatment."
Lynn gestured for Maki to sit.
"It might hurt a bit. After all, we're cutting a bond of the soul."
"Cut the crap, do it." Maki closed her eyes.
Lynn extended his hand, palm facing Maki's back.
He willed it.
"System, execute contract."
[Executing...]
Hum—
Maki's body shuddered violently.
This wasn't Jujutsu, nor was it any specific energy.
It was a higher-tier "Rule."
She felt as if an invisible hand ignored her physical defenses, reached directly into the depths of her soul, and forcibly pulled something deep-rooted out.
Agony.
It was the agony of having nerves extracted.
"Ugh..."
Maki clenched her teeth, cold sweat instantly soaking her uniform, but she didn't make a sound.
In Lynn's vision.
Wisps of black, murky aura were forcibly drawn out of Maki's body.
They desperately tried to drill back in, but suppressed by the system's Rules, they could only obediently gather in the glass jar in Lynn's hand.
This was the dominance of [Contract Execution].
Once signed, the Rule was mandatory.
[Trace Cursed Energy Retrieved (Phase 1).]
[System Calculating...]
[Service Revenue: 22,000 Points.]
[One-time Rule Execution Cost deducted: 7,000 Points.]
[Net Profit: 15,000 Points.]
"Nice."
Lynn looked at his surging balance, feeling great.
Five minutes later.
"Done."
Lynn withdrew his hand, sealed the jar full of black gas, and tossed it into the drawer.
Maki collapsed onto the chair, utterly drained, gasping for air.
"Is that... it?"
She was a bit dazed.
Although her body was exhausted, like she had run dozens of miles.
But...
The world had changed.
Maki slowly opened her eyes.
She instinctively went to push up her glasses, only to realize they had fallen on the floor long ago.
But.
She could see clearly.
She saw the dust floating in the air.
She saw the pattern of the spiderweb in the corner of the old school building.
She heard the sound of a leaf falling hundreds of meters away outside the window.
"This..."
Maki looked at her hands in disbelief.
She clenched her fist.
That sense of power was more than ten times clearer than before.
That feeling of her body no longer being heavy, like she had broken free from a quagmire, the lightness.
"This is the first session."
Lynn handed a towel to the still-shocked Maki.
"We only stripped about one-tenth."
"Your body needs to adapt to this evolution."
"Come find me for the next session when you can perfectly control your current strength."
Maki took the towel and wiped her face roughly.
She snatched up the naginata from the floor.
A casual swing.
Whoosh—!!
The naginata tore through the air, creating a sharp sonic boom.
It was so fast not even an afterimage could be seen.
"Is this... the world of the Heavenly Tyrant?"
A flame burned in Maki's eyes like never before.
And this was only one-tenth?
If it was all stripped clean...
She couldn't even imagine how strong she would become.
"Lynn."
Maki said the name seriously for the first time.
She shouldered her naginata and turned to the door, her back looking incredibly imposing.
"Thanks."
"I will definitely get those items from the warehouse for you."
"Even if I have to kill my way through the entire Zen'in clan."