Half a month flew by in the blink of an eye.
Unaware of the undercurrents brewing in the shadows, Reiger and his group finally welcomed the exchange event with the sister school from Capital City.
On this day, seven first and second-year students gathered at the school gate of the Tokyo Prefectural Curse High School.
As soon as they arrived, Kugisaki Nobara, who had packed her suitcase, carried a pile of belongings, and let out an earth-shattering scream.
"The exchange event is being held at our school?!"
Kugisaki Nobara was dumbfounded.
In contrast, Reiger and the others standing in front of her, aside from their uniforms and the necessary curse tools, hadnât brought anything else.
"Huh? Didnât I mention it?" Panda Ba blinked wide-eyed and said, "Every yearâs exchange event is held at last yearâs winnerâs school, and last yearâs winner was our Tokyo school."
With that said, this yearâs Capital City sister school exchange event was naturally held at the Tokyo Prefectural Curse High School, so there was no need to go anywhere.
"W-What?! How could it be?!"
Kugisaki Nobaraâs luggage fell to the ground, and she knelt in disappointment, turning gray and muttering to herself.
"I thought I could go to Capital City this time... I even stayed up late making a travel guide last night... Boo hoo hoo..."
The big star Kugisaki Nobaraâs dream was shattered.
"This isnât my fault, is it?" Panda scratched his head and innocently asked Fushiguro Megumi next to him, "Itâs not that I didnât want to say it beforehand; I thought Teacher Gojo would tell you all."
Pandaâs words conjured up the image of Gojo Satoruâs nonchalant smiling face in Reiger, Itadori Yuji, and Fushiguro Megumiâs minds.
"He must have forgotten, right?"
"Definitely forgot."
"Mm-hmm, definitely forgot."
Reiger, Fushiguro Megumi, and Itadori Yuji spoke in unison without a second thought.
"That damned irresponsible teacher! Iâm going to curse him!"
Kugisaki Nobara was furious, almost pulling out her hammer and straw doll.
"Calm down, Kugisaki!"
Itadori Yuji quickly held back the impulsive girl.
"Sigh..." Fushiguro Megumi sighed, turning to Zenin Maki and the others, saying, "Sorry, seniors, Teacher Gojo didnât tell us anything. Could you please explain how the exchange event works?"
Reiger also looked at the second-year students.
The story of the exchange event seemed to have appeared in the original work, but Reiger couldnât remember it well.
So he couldnât recall how exactly this Capital City sister school exchange event would take place.
"I think something happens later, right?"
Reiger only vaguely remembered this.
With this in mind, Reiger paid more attention, planning to listen carefully.
"Actually, weâre not too sure either."
Under the gaze of Reiger and the others, Panda confessed.
"How could that be?" Itadori Yuji said in surprise, "Didnât the seniors participate in last yearâs Capital City sister school exchange event?"
This question made Zenin Maki and the others exchange glances.
"Who told you we participated in the Capital City sister school exchange event?"
Zenin Maki frowned and asked.
"Him."
Without hesitation, Itadori Yuji pointed at Fushiguro Megumi.
Fushiguro Megumiâs mouth twitched immediately.
This bastard, getting used to selling out a classmate, huh?
"Thatâs just what I heard." Fushiguro Megumi explained, "Didnât Okkotsu-senpai participate in the Capital City sister school exchange event and defeat everyone from the Capital City school by himself, winning the competition?"
"That was Yuta, not us." Zenin Maki pouted and said, "Last year, only Yuta was dragged there to make up the numbers; we didnât participate."
"Is that so?" Itadori Yuji asked again in confusion, "Wasnât it said that the seniors from third-year got into trouble last year and were suspended, so the first-years had to participate in the exchange event?"
"When the exchange event was held last year, third-years hadnât gotten into trouble." Zenin Maki snorted coldly and said, "I donât know where you heard that from."
Itadori Yuji immediately pointed at Fushiguro Megumi again, making Fushiguro Megumi want to beat him up.
"Well, Fushiguro hadnât enrolled yet, so the information he got was probably not quite accurate, right?" Panda offered Fushiguro Megumi a way out, saying, "Like Maki said, during last yearâs exchange event, the third-years hadnât been suspended. Except for Yuta, who participated because heâs a special case, no one from our first-year attended the exchange event."
"Salmon."
Inumaki Toge nodded on the side, agreeing with Pandaâs statement.
"But we did hear about what form the exchange event will take." Panda seemed to remember something and said, "Though itâs not very detailed, it seems the exchange event is held in two stages each year."
"One round will be a team battle."
"One round will be an individual battle."
"The specific events are decided by the principals of the two schools, with one competition each day."
"Which means the exchange event will take place over two days in total."
At these words, Kugisaki Nobara immediately stood up with a slurp.
"So, itâs really going to be a fight, huh?" Kugisaki Nobaraâs expression became noticeably more serious, "It might be a bit late to say this, but is it really okay?"
"If the use of sorcery is restricted, thatâs one thing, but in an exchange event at the Curse High School, not using sorcery is impossible, right?"
"And if sorcery is allowed, things could go wrong, and people could get killed, right?"
After all, sorcery is a very dangerous power. Itâs one thing to use it against Curse Spirits, but against humans, a little loss of control and getting injured is the least of it; losing a life would be no small matter.
"Thereâs no need to worry about that," Zenin Maki said, resting a metal pole on her shoulder, hand on her hip, "During the exchange event, there will be highly skilled reverse technique Curse Mages on standby 24/7. Even if you lose an arm or a leg, they can reattach it for you."
"Since itâs called an exchange event, naturally, itâs to let the Curse Mages compete with each other using sorcery to find their weaknesses. Getting injured here is not unacceptable."
"In short, as long as itâs not intentional murder, anything is allowed within the rules."
Zenin Maki displayed a dangerous smile on her face.
"If youâre afraid, you can still run back to the dormitory now."
This statement didnât even provoke the hot-tempered Kugisaki Nobara.
"Whoâs afraid? Shouldnât it be them whoâs scared?" Kugisaki Nobara pouted, pointing at Reiger, who hadnât spoken, "With this guy around, I really canât imagine the Capital City school winning."
Instantly, everyone turned their eyes to Reiger, falling into silence.
Half a monthâs time meant that everyone had been beaten up by Reiger for half a month.
Every day, they would collectively challenge Reiger, engaging him in combat, yet until yesterday, they hadnât been able to land a single hit on him.
Even though he didnât use the Limitless Sorcery and barely any other techniques, only occasionally summoning a familiar using the Shadow Techniques, they hadnât managed to land a single effective attack.
This situation didnât improve even after Itadori Yuji joined.
Itadori Yuji recalled the practical training with Reiger and couldnât help but shiver.
Heaven knows how many times he, always at the forefront, got beaten by Reiger?
He thought that after being able to use sorcery, his already strong martial arts got even stronger and he didnât need to fear anyone in close combat, but as soon as he returned on the first day, this thought was smashed by Reigerâs relentless iron fists.
With physical abilities surpassing even Zenin Maki and nearly at the top of the Curse High School, facing Reiger, whose normal capability level compared to Lv.9, it was like a son meeting his dad, directly taught a lesson by Reiger.
To put it bluntly, if Reiger didnât hold back, he wouldnât even need to use the Shadow Techniques; he could defeat Itadori Yuji and his group of six with just physical skills.
In this half month, everyone, including Zenin Maki, felt this clearly, and no one doubted Reigerâs strength or his special grade evaluation.
Even the competitive Kugisaki Nobara had to concede in front of Reiger.
How could anyone imagine the Capital City schoolâs victory scenario?
In responseâ
"Really arrogant, arenât you, Tokyo school?"
An unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out, changing the atmosphere on the scene.
"Weâd like to see if youâre truly as arrogant as you claim."
Upon hearing this voice, everyone present, including Reiger, instantly looked toward the source of the voice.
It was from the staircase leading outside the school building.
At this moment, several figures were slowly ascending those stairs.
There were both men and women, tall and short, some with strong builds, others slender, and even a robot.
Some wore the uniforms of the Curse High School, while others dressed in their own clothes, and some walked bare-chested, displaying unique and individual characteristics.
The person who had just sarcastically spoken was one of these people.
"Long time no see, Maki."
This was a girl who, upon arriving, ignored everyone else and directed her gaze straight at Zenin Maki.
The girl had short, dark green hair and wore a loose high school uniform, with the pants gathered into a lantern style. She looked very similar, if not identical, to Zenin Maki, but unlike the stoic Maki, this girlâs expression was full of sarcasm, clearly enjoying her mischievousness.
"Mai..."
Zenin Maki eyed the girl, squinting slightly.
Seeing this, Reiger roughly understood.
This girl should be Zenin Makiâs twin sister.
The group she belonged to came from the Kyoto Prefectural Curse High School.
They were the participants from the Capital City school in the exchange event.