I dressed up and got out of the room, heading for the Danger Room. I needed to figure out new ways to use my abilities. Blue, Red, Infinity, and Infinite Void were cool, yes. Strong, definitely, but they were limited.
Space was most certainly not limited to just pushing and pulling things. Even without inventing new techniques, there were certainly more ways of using the current ability, but apparently someone was too overconfident to think of that.
I had gotten these templates, and I sure as hell wouldn't let them go to waste while I stayed waiting for the new templates.
"Aw, c'mon. Don't you think you're being too harsh, Jin-kun?"
Gojo said, and I could almost imagine a chibi version of him floating in front of me with that sickening grin on his face.
Oh, wait. That's also my face, I thought.
"Jin-kun... there wasn't really a need to get stronger when you could kill the strongest Special Grade cursed spirits in minutes, or most of the time, seconds."
I cursed inwardly. In a way, he was right.
If Kenjaku, that scheming freak, didn't exist, then Sukuna wouldn't have...
My thoughts were cut short as something came to mind.
"Hey, Gojo... Sukuna. Why was Special Grade the peak of the ranking when there are monsters like you two in that ranking?"
"Who even thought up such a grading system? From my view, there should be at least five more grades before Special Grade, where people like you stand."
Gojo's voice sounded again, but this time he was unusually serious.
"Hey, Jin-kun."
"You know how cursed spirits are born from negative emotions?"
"Well, yeah. I know that."
"Well, the negative emotion even a Grade 4 jujutsu sorcerer produces is almost ten times that of a normal human due to the active cursed energy."
"Oh, I never thought of it that way."
"But how does that connect?"
"Let me finish, Jin-kun."
"Even that ten times increase could spike to anywhere between 50 to 80 times when they die during a mission, and that is just the bottom of the rung."
"Now imagine the spike for Grade 3, Grade 2, and Grade 1. Although Grade 1 sorcerers barely have their emotions affected by cursed spirits at that level of power."
"Now, all that cursed energy is the reason cursed spirits are so numerous, and considering the fact that Lord Tengen's barrier makes the cursed energy concentration in Japan much higher, cursed spirits at Special Grade strength spawn continuously. More than what you think you have seen."
I stayed quiet for a moment, thinking about what he had said.
"So you're saying the grading system is partly there because of the amount of cursed energy being produced?"
"Exactly."
"See, the thing about the grading system is that it isn't just about measuring how strong a sorcerer is."
"Then what is it?"
"It's also about measuring what kind of cursed spirit a sorcerer is expected to deal with."
"Grade 4 is the lowest, and Grade 1 is basically the highest normal grade. There are also Semi-Grade 2 and Semi-Grade 1, which are basically steps between the normal grades."
"And then there's Special Grade."
"Special Grade isn't really just the next step after Grade 1. It's more like the point where the normal grading system stops being useful."
"Because the difference between a Grade 1 and a Special Grade isn't small."
Gojo paused.
"It's massive."
"Someone like a Grade 1 could be incredibly strong, but there are still limits to what they're expected to handle. A Special Grade is someone whose strength or abilities are so abnormal that trying to measure them using the normal grades doesn't really work."
"So basically, Special Grade means 'this guy is bullshit, stop trying to measure him normally.'"
There was a moment of silence.
"Pretty much."
"Huh."
"But that's also where your idea about having more grades comes in."
"If, let's say, there were Grade 1 to Grade 9, and above Grade 1 is Special Grade, then there is a difference in the way a Grade 9 sorcerer would look at a Special Grade compared to how a Grade 4 would look at it."
"They are both at the bottom, but that grading barrier makes it so that the negative emotions released from a jujutsu sorcerer at the bottom would be less."
"It still causes some deaths, but that way the differences between ranks is much more solidified than with more ranks."
"Think about it this way."
"A Grade 3 being killed by a Grade 2 will already expect his death, only hoping to hold it off for a stronger sorcerer to kill it off and prevent more deaths of civilians."
"But if the numbers were much more, a Grade 12 would think facing a Grade 11 would only be harder and be pushing his limits, not outright suicide compared to the reaction of a Grade 4."
"The larger numbers make the sorcerers think that, 'This person is only ranked higher than me because of this or that.'"
"But when there are so few rankings, there are less people willing to take more risks, most of the time only those that just became jujutsu sorcerers."
"That's the important part."
"The grading system gives people an expectation of what they're supposed to be capable of handling."
"If a Grade 4 is sent against something that's considered Grade 4, they know they're dealing with something around their level."
"If a Grade 2 is sent against a Grade 2 curse, they know they're supposed to be able to fight it."
"But if a Grade 4 sees a Special Grade curse, they don't think, 'Oh, it's just one rank above me.'"
"They think, 'I'm going to die.'"
"And that's what you want."
"Because the moment they start thinking they can take it, they might try."
"And if they die, well..."
"More negative emotions."
"Exactly."
"So the fewer grades there are, the more obvious the difference between them becomes."
"A Grade 3 knows a Grade 2 is stronger. A Grade 2 knows a Grade 1 is stronger. And everyone below Special Grade knows that Special Grade is on another level entirely."
"At least, that's how it's supposed to work."
"Of course, there are exceptions."
"People like me."
"Or you."
"I see."
"Basically, the system is intentionally simple because making it more complicated doesn't necessarily make it better."
"But doesn't that mean two people in Special Grade can still have completely different levels of strength?"
"Yep."
"Then isn't that a terrible grading system?"
"Yep."
"Why are you agreeing with me?!"
"Because you're right."
Gojo laughed.
"The system was never perfect, Jin-kun. It was just the system they came up with to organize something that really isn't that easy to organize."
"And when you have people like me, Yuta, Geto, and the others, trying to put everyone under the same label starts getting a little ridiculous."
"So you're telling me that Special Grade is basically the system giving up?"
"I wouldn't say giving up."
Gojo paused.
"I'd say admitting defeat."
I could almost hear the grin on his face again.
"Same thing."
"Anyway, that's it. Nothing I can do about it when I'm already dead."
"Yeah, true. It's not like I can go there now, can I?"
"Yeah, right," Gojo said.
"Anyway, how long have we been here? For how long?"
"About an hour, I think."
"How the hell have we been talking for an hour already?"
"I don't know."
"Don't ask me."
"Anyway, I need to go eat."
"Haven't had breakfast yet."
"Oh, you aren't practicing again?"
"I will after I have eaten."
"I'm not like you leeches that don't need to eat actual food."
Jin stood up and headed out of the Danger Room and towards the cafeteria, placing his thoughts about the grading system of a faraway world at the back of his mind.
And moved the thought of what today's menu was to the front of his mind.
"I hope there's pasta today."
"God, I miss pasta."