Possibly my favorite chapter so far, please enjoy! But before that, lets respond to some reviews.

Zackman2k23: In jujutsu kaisen, in order to save everyone, you need to be overpowered.

No thank you, i can't read a fic where the MC refuses to use everything at his disposal like a fucking moron.

That sucks, sad to see you go! Of course, he is slightly right in the regard of needing to be strong to save everyone; but if you look at it from a story standpoint, it wouldn't be very fun if I had someone with the strength of Yuta blasting through every obstacle of canon without difficulty. That's why Adam isn't going to be overpowered early; strong, yes, but not overpowered. His lack of stat usage also plays into a form of character development, but I guess some of yall don't like this type of development, and would rather have problems occur during canon rather than before.

Now that was a bit wordy, but I hope I got my point across. Adam won't be overpowered early, and these fights that he's participating in serve dual purpose of also showing off his intellect rather than having him blast people away with a CE gun or something.

That's about it, please enjoy!

Adam's eyes barely had enough time to blink before he was being kicked into a concrete barrel. The soles of his boots couldn't stand the momentum, quickly giving way to dirt and sand as Adam was sent tumbling head first towards said metal appliance.

The spirit wasn't about to let the boy perfectly recover however, and dashed forward with the speed of a freshly launched bullet. With its leg poised back to kick, it wasn't able to react when Adam stabbed his spear's head into the ground, creating a large dirt explosion to erupt from the ground. Briefly thrown off balance, the spirit used its grounded leg to hop backwards in order to escape the rubble.

With a yell of effort, Adam's spear was launched towards the spirit at high speeds, cursed tendrils wrapped tightly around its handle in order to maintain control. The spirit easily dodged, tilting its head to the left as the golden tipped spear tore through the wind before it was suddenly pulled back towards its origin point.

'I'd been thinking about trying this for a while, so I guess there's no better time than now!' Adam spun around with finesse, not bothering to grasp the handle of his weapon as he shot it back out like a ball on a string.

Due to its prior actions, the spirit couldn't maneuver its body out of the way of the returning weapon. With a loud screech of annoyance, it put its hands in a cross guard as the tip of Adam's spear hit it's forearms, blasting it back through the air like a rocket. "I stole the idea from some Chinese weapon called the meteor hammer. Since I don't catch my spear to stop the momentum, it's constantly building up force with every swing. So basically, the longer you dodge it, the more it's going to hurt when it finally hits." Adam explained, tugging his hand backwards in order to retrieve the now grounded weapon. 'There's a big weakness though, I can't protect myself in short range without wasting all of the built up force.'

A large crash echoed across the veil's interior as the spirit finally hit the ground. Several moments later, the cursed spirit sprung from its self made crater with a sneer. "Strong weapon." It muttered, just barely in ear shot.

"Wow, no compliments for the wielder?" Adam joked, throwing his spear above his head and beginning to spin it like a lasso. Small winds kicked up around him, his position serving as the eye of the storm.

"Wielder is weak." With broken Japanese, the spirit began to walk forward, waving its arms around like it was shaking the pain from them; Globs of blood shot out from the small divots that had been formed on its forearms. Slowly, the blood drops that were once splattering across the dirt began to lessen in frequency, until the wounds were eventually fully healed. "See? All fixed." As if to taunt the boy, the spirit spun in place like a dancer, showing off its entire body.

"Not for long." When it returned to facing the boy, it was met by a golden tipped spearhead flying towards its forehead. The spirit tilted its body backwards, completely evading the attack as it began to make its way back towards the boy in a wide arc.

In the blink of an eye, the spirit's position shifted. A cloud of dust was kicked up as it began its mad dash towards its opponent, ducking under a sweeping attack from the spear.

Adam watched the spirit's eyes gain a venomous tint as it closed in. 'Fuck!' With his panic clear as day on his face, Adam rolled his wrist to shorten the length of the strings, bringing his weapon closer to him. The spirit ducked again, throwing out a kick towards the boy's legs. Adam hopped upwards, shooting his spear towards the spirit for the 4th time.

Without an ounce of hesitation, the spirit put both of its arms up in order to block the sweeping strike. A normally bone crushing strike merely rattled its bones cartoonishly as it grabbed onto the handle of the spear and tugged.

Adam was dragged out of the air with the force of a speeding car, straight into close quarters with his opponent. In an instant, his strings vanished as the spirit poured its own energy into the weapon. It made for a stabbing attack, trying to puncture Adam using the pommel of his own weapon, only for the boy to quickly grab onto it and push down, launching him upwards and the weapon towards the ground.

The spirit didn't pay attention to the weapon as it left its palm. Using its right hand it snatched Adam's ankle out of the air, pulling him downwards so its left could grasp tightly onto his shirt. With a quiet grunt, it slammed the boy's back into the ground, letting go of his shirt right before impact. A loud scream of pain escaped the boy's throat before he was lifted in the air by his leg again and slammed onto his stomach when the spirit tore its arm through the air. This pattern followed for several more moments before Adam regained his senses and planted both of his hands on the ground; with a quick tug, his left leg slammed onto the spirit's opposite shoulder, causing it to falter slightly. Despite the pain, the spirit merely picked the boy up again and threw him away, making sure his neck was the first point of contact with the concrete wall.

A soft crack echoed through the battlefield as Adam's body fell to the floor, back slumped against the wall. His form remained like a puppet with its strings attached, the only sign of life being the heavy wheezes escaping his windpipe.

Soft, faint blue trail marks that would be considered by anyone as residuals traced out from the boy's body and towards some of the surrounding concrete supports. "See? Weak wielder." The curse muttered in its usual distorted voice. A laugh that could only be described as feral escaped its throat as it began to walk towards the boy's body.

No matter how many he defeated, more continued to come. 'It's beginning to get exhausting keeping this many shikigami summoned at once.' Fushigoro felt a bead of sweat trickle down his chin and drop to the ground below. His shikigami were far too strong to be injured in the slightest by an attack from mere wild animals, but the number of them was enough to push even Nue back. 'I've killed enough of them for at least two of these forests to be emptied of wildlife, how the hell are there still more approaching!?' With a mental command, Fushigoro ordered his shikigami to protect him at all costs while he tries to figure out the cause of the horde.

Fatigue clouded his mind, shutting down all other thoughts and his connection to the outside world. He was so tired he could barely keep track of one thought, let alone the numerous theories that were once floating around his head. Even with his eyes open, he still felt like he had them closed.

The tiny specks of cursed energy that lay within every shikigami covered his mental senses in a thick layer of fog; but there was still one thing that existed beyond them. Like a lighthouse guiding ships through the fog, there existed a single strong light that was gradually dimming. He'd missed it before because it was so strong it was all he could sense, but with so much power being potentially diverted into the animals, it only made sense that its location was now able to be discerned.

With a heaving breath, Fushigoro dispelled his divine dogs. They sank back into the darkest depths of his shadow as he stood up to his full height. "Nue! 11 o'clock, around 400 meters out! There should be a talisman or something on a tree. I need you to zap it for me!" The bird's thunderous wings flapped in a final goodbye before it departed the scene. 'I don't have enough cursed energy to resummon Shiro and Kuro while also allowing Nue to use its thunder once again. Should I…?' Fushigoro raised his clenched hands in front of him, one by his right side while the other was in front of him. 'No. I can't. Adam might get caught up in the ritual.' His fists slowly unclenched as the spirit's shikigami neared.

"Come at me then!" Fushigoro yelled, pulling his hands once again into fists as he dipped low in order to face the animals rushing towards him. He felt a large mass approach his back and rolled to the side, allowing the deer to charge straight through his previous position.

A loud grunt escaped the boy's throat as he pushed himself back to his feet, using the momentum to punch an owl out of the way. Following through with his punch, he left the ground in time to dodge a wolf's tackle. Dirt was kicked up into the air due to its decayed claws tearing through the ground, causing Fushigoro to drop his guard in order to shield his eyes. The moment he did, another bird tore its claws through his uniform, gouging out a small trench of flesh from his forearms. Another animal bit into his leg, trapping him in place long enough for the same deer as before to slam its head into his stomach.

Breaking through the blanket of exhaustion covering his body, every nerve in under his skin flared with pain as he tumbled to the ground. With a loud cry of pain, several milliliters of blood shot out of his mouth in a quick stream of crimson. Focusing his mind, Fushigoro tore open his eyes regardless of the threat of dust, just in time for him to roll out of the way of a raccoon leaping onto him.

For a final time, a decayed wolf leapt towards him. Fushigoro kicked his foot up, trying to keep it from his vitals, only for it to explode into ash as it met the sole of his shoe. It was mere moments before everything else in the clearing followed behind. A loud screech of affirmation echoed in the boy's ears before his shikigami dissipated back into its abyssal form.

Fushigoro stayed laying on his back for several moments, gulping down large amounts of oxygen in order to return a modicum of strength to his muscles. With a final grunt of exertion, he hopped onto his feet and began walking back to the construction site.

Outside of the veil, Gojo had his blindfold pulled down. His gemstone colored eyes watching the tar colored barrier like a hawk, seeing things only he could. "Is there something wrong, Gojo?" The white haired man glanced to his right, where Ijichi stood.

His usual straight combed hair was slightly frazzled due to the static electricity created from the speed at which he cleaned his car. 'He could probably become a grade 2 sorcerer if he had that kind of motivation to fight curses.' Gojo idly thought, outwardly humming in affirmation in response to Ijichi's question.

"Megumi's been fighting off a horde of shikigami in the forest, they seem to be spawning from a talisman of some kind, probably an important possession of the spirit." By focusing his vision, he could probably get a grasp of what the object truly was, but he kept his attention split between his two students.

"What about Adam?" Ijichi asked shakily, knowing that the only reason Gojo would leave out one of his student's is if the worst had occurred. He'd studied the case himself, and he didn't believe it was something Adam and Fushigoro couldn't handle. "I thought it was a grade 2 spirit…"

Gojo narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing that Fushigoro's fight was going to come to an end soon. Nue's presence was like the light from a bug zapper, and it was clear its sparks were reaching close to the origin of the curse's shikigami forces. "I thought so too…"

"What do you mean? Is it not..?" Ijichi's faces was slowly growing more panicked as Gojo stood still, surveying the fight. Gojo jolted as he saw a sharp snap come from Adam's figure as it slumped against a wall.

"Ijichi, get ready to open the veil." Gojo ordered, voice dead serious. 'The energy coming from the talisman, its–!'

The curse froze. From the forest, a blaze of bright green cursed energy shot out like a rocket, colliding with the vengeful cursed spirit before soaking into its skin. "Ah, the other boy." It raised a decayed hand to its chest, the palm resting just over what would be its heart. "My children." It quietly sighed, the hand over its heart turning into a fist as its head tilted towards the forest.

"Oi." It's head snapped back towards the white haired boy they'd thought they'd defeated. A subtle red glow radiated from their eyes as their head raised. The hands that were once slumped to the ground motionless were gripped into tight fists, a blue glow covering them up to the wrist. "Don't forget who you're fighting, cursed spirit."

"Huh?"

It was like an explosion, particles of light and air giving way to the one who beckoned them. Those residuals, those marks that anybody, even one who relied on instincts, would ignore as mere traces of presence, were brought together in harmony. You'd be forgiven if you thought they were simple tracks from a sorcerer who didn't have control over their cursed energy, but you'd also be mistaken.

Within tightly clasped hands, dozens of meticulously and well hidden threads were woven together. Like a high class fiber cable, they were intertwined and bonded together as tightly as fate's red string.

If he'd been even a second later, his neck would've snapped upon impact with the concrete. If he'd used even a speck more cursed energy, the cursed spirit would've caught onto his plans. If he'd played it safe and gone for his sword, he would've missed this chance.

"We've talked about this a little bit in the past, but today we'll be doing more of a deep dive into phenomena that can occur while using cursed energy." Standing at the front of the classroom they occupied, Gojo slapped his ruler against the blackboard with a smirk.

"He really likes doing that, doesn't he?" Adam muttered, twirling his pencil in his hand while Fushigoro sat on the chair next to him. The black haired boy subtly nodded in response, to which Adam replied with a smirk and an addition to his previous question. "Do you think it gives him a power trip?"

"Like a warden with unruly inmates?" Fushigoro wondered quietly.

"Yeah, yeah, exactly like that!" Adam laughed at the thought. Gojo however, was not as amused as he slapped his ruler against the board several more times.

"Don't ignore me!" He squawked, slapping the board a final time for good measure to try and stop Adam's giggling. Fushigoro stayed quiet, but anybody could see the clear smile he had on his face, much to his teacher's annoyance. Despite his annoyance though, Gojo couldn't stop smiling.

He'd missed these sorts of times, the ones where he could laugh and have fun rather than worry about special grade threats like his ex best friend. With an annoyed smile, he put down his ruler and began drawing out a diagram.

The sounds of chalk hitting charcoal covered porcelain brought the two boys from their laughing fit. Even during times of peace like they were in now, lessons like this were not to be ignored. Despite there not being an overarching threat on the horizon, jujutsu sorcerers still had to fight for their lives daily, so information like this should be studied and memorized diligently. "Some people, similar to those with heavenly restrictions, carry special properties in regards to their cursed energy." Gojo lifted up one of his hands, pushing enough cursed energy from his body to surround it in a faint blue aura. "This is how it usually looks and acts, not dissimilar to a gaseous liquid. In special cases though, a person's cursed energy carries attributes along with it; we even have a special case like this among our student ensemble in the form of Hakari Kinji. If I had to put how his energy feels into words compared to normal cursed energy, I'd describe it like…getting hit with a bat covered in barbed wire. A normal bat being how normal cursed energy feels."

"That sounds dangerous as hell." Adam whispered, drawing a diagram of a bat in his notebook. "Did you bring him in today to show us?" Usually if Gojo was going to make a special mention of someone, he'd pick them up voluntarily or otherwise, and show them off.

"Nope! He got suspended after rightfully punching a higher up in the face." Gojo replied with a smug grin. Both Fushigoro and Adam sighed at the smile on their teacher's face. It was one that meant he was proud of whoever or whatever he was talking about. "Anyway, if you were to face someone with an ability like this, you'd need to use a ton of cursed energy to defend against them, so it's better to just avoid or dodge attacks."

"Can cursed spirits also be 'born' with things like this?" Adam asked, not looking up from his notebook while asking his question. Fushigoro, who'd already gone out of his way to study beforehand, simply stayed focused on his teacher.

"Yes! It's actually quite common amongst special grade curses. Usually special grade curses that have them are connected to something, like rivers or perfumes. I once fought a spirit that was able to put you to sleep with just their cursed energy!" Gojo smiled at the fond memory, remembering how Utahime had face planted rather shamefully, with her rear in the air; she could not catch a break. "Back on topic, we'll be moving onto another phenomena now, one you may encounter sometime soon or never."

"Sometime soon or never?" Adam echoed, his mind displaying a miniature figure of him spinning a slot machine over and over until he got a jackpot.

"Some people say it's luck based, some say it's skill based, but I think most of the jujutsu community agree that it's a mix of both." Gojo explained, scratching another diagram onto the blackboard. "When a sorcerer, or a curse, applies cursed energy into their strike within 0.000001 seconds of impact, something extremely odd occurs."

'When cursed energy is applied within 0.000001 seconds of a strike landing, something extremely odd occurs.' Two points of contact, cursed tendrils acting as elastic bands. A concrete support beam and the wall of a destroyed building, objects both far past the cursed spirit's position. It's the same way a slingshot works, only with a human acting as the ammunition.

With his foot raised to strike, something just felt right within Adam's body. A drumming feeling, deep in his soul, one that told him that the way he was going right now was the best path.

All primal instincts within the curse told it to dodge this next attack, but that was simply not a possibility, for the enemy was already in front of them, soles of boots poised to hit the stomach. The aura that had coated the boy's attacks every time before once again appeared, but in this one instance it was different.

'Their cursed energy flashes black, and the power behind their strike is multiplied by a factor of 2.5x.' A full strength, last ditch, desperate surprise attack at the cost of his body. If he were to miss, it would mean certain death. The tendrils disappeared, fading back into his body like they'd never existed to begin with. His arms were raised, going past his head as his body formed the shape of a needle.

At the point of contact, a crescendo of energy formed by negative emotions occurred, and the energy sparked black. "Black flash!" It's been described by numerous sorcerers in the past, that feeling of satisfaction and power when you land a black flash, but no words can compare to the true feeling behind one. If Adam was later asked to put it into words, he'd describe it as simply divine, like he'd reached a point behind human understanding.

For the first time, the cursed spirit was truly injured. Almost half a bucket's worth of blood flooded from the spirit's throat and onto Adam's pant legs as his feet ruptured the spirit's organs. It was like being hit by a truck, the force behind the attack was strong enough to send the spirit rocketing across the battlefield in the form of a tumbling cloud of dust.

Adam's boots hit the ground with a loud scrunch, the pebbles below his feet rolling away as if being carried by a divine wind. The once soft, controlled hue of azure that covered his body had darkened in both color and ferocity.

The effect of one strike, one simple, surprising attack led the course of the battle on an entirely different path. It was at that moment that Adam reached 120% of his potential.

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