Chapter 47: Initiation Rite
People walked all around the enclosure of walls in a systematic order. Security was numerous and the cursed energy even more so.
Shuichi got off the airport of Hokkaido, a bag on his shoulders and a suitcase at his side. His face was adorned with jet black shades that hid his eyes completely. A wide smile was etched on his face as he looked around at the people all over the airport.
Now where is that guy that's supposed to pick me up... Shuichi mused as he turned his head around.
Not finding anyone, he decided to head somewhat out of the airport to see.
Going outside, he managed to find the one that was supposed to pick up foreign and mainland sorcerers.
It was a man with ruggedly handsome features and a neatly trimmed beard. He HD a wide moustache and wore a traditional Haori. In his hand, he held a banner with the words, 'Zenin Shuichi'.
After getting acquainted with him, Shuichi was seated into a car and they headed off to the main compound of the Ainu Flame School.
The Great Harae ritual is always held at the Ainu Flame School, because the two of the three 'sacred treasures' of Hokkaido are situated there, being the Thousand Faced Tower and the Blessed Torii Gate.
The third and last sacred treasure, which was the Demonic Bone Sea was located in the premises of the Onmyōdō School.
If I remember correctly, the Flame School has 3 grade 1 sorcerers and 1 special grade 1 sorcerer. What was their names again? Shuichi thought, furrowing his brows a bit.
Then, he remembered.
Special grade sorcerer, Takamekasuchi Homura- Enlightened Heart of Lightning. Someone whose books had proven to be deeply beneficial to Shuichi right after his transmigration.
Grade 1 sorcerer, Enatsu Gabimaru- Book of Kamuy.
Grade 1 sorcerer, Masakado Abenanka- Song of Blaze. A woman that was one of the descendants of one of the Three great Onryo of Japan, Taira no Masakado. Which would make her Shuichi's distant relative.
And finally, Grade 1 sorcerer, Yamamoto Natsuhiko- Thousand Lights.
These four made the majority of power in the Flame School of jujutsu.
Shuichi slumped into the seat of the car, relaxing his body.
After about an hour, they finally reached their destination, deep in the mountains.
The actual location of the Flame School was on the top of a small plateau, extending multiple kilometers in every direction from the center.
At the base of the plateau, just like Tokyo jujutsu high, there was a large collection of torii gates leading up hundreds upon hundreds of stairs. The only difference was, there were altar shaped stone bowls at each side of the stairs, repeated every 10 steps.
Within the bowls, a small flame, akin to a flickering candle burned brightly. It premeated the surroundings with the smell of lavender and cherry.
A purifying rite at a smaller scale. It seems the name 'Flame School' has not been taken to sound cool. Flames in this case signify purification and cleansing. Shuichi nodded, taking in mind to later use the same thing in his own rituals to be conducted.
The man that picked him up left after dropping him at the foot of the plateau.
Shuichi walked up towards the main compound in silence, taking in the peculiarity of the torii gates of Hokkaido.
Its because of the Blessed Torii Gate. It buffs the effect of barriers and the symbolic representation of gates. That was the information Shuichi could derive from using his necklace.
Not long after, he finally reached the top of the stairs, where he found two shrine maidens standing in wait.
"Welcome, Zenin Shuichi-san. We are honored to be able to accommodate you for the ritual." One of the shrine maidens said.
"The Initiation rite of the Great Harae Ritual will be beginning at night. Until then, you can explore the school or acquaint yourself with the people. We will lead you to your lodging for now." The other spoke after.
Shuichi nodded his head and bowed a bit. "The honor is all mine."
One of the shrine maidens turned back.
"Please follow me." She said.
Shuichi didn't say anything. His stuff had supposedly already been delivered. And so, without any hiccups, he followed behind her.
As they walked further into the compound, he could not help but examine the architecture and the festive atmosphere that surrounded it.
The architecture was somewhat similar to the Tokyo school of jujutsu, yet it was not completely so.
First of all, there was an immediate saturation of the the colour red, yellow and orange. Next, there was a dominance of stylised pagodas, even more than there were in the mainland.
Due to the ritual, the entire compound seemed to be teetering with life. Every building and pagoda had a plethora of paper lines and figurines hanging from them and connecting them together. Some paper lines held various posters that depicted the ways of the ritual. Others held many Kanji symbols and traditional Ainu myths in the form of paintings.
People went about, dressed in Kimonos, haoris, robes and all sorts of symbolic, or better described, 'religious' clothing.
They all went about their ways, preparing for the initiation rite that would begin at night.
The shrine maiden led him to a 5 storey pagoda, the third floor of which was his lodging.
As he made himself comfortable, he bid the shrine maiden goodbye.
Status, He called out in his mind.
{[Status]} [Skill Tree] [Inventory]
[Name: Zenin Shuichi
Level: 21
Class: Jujutsu Sorcerer
Cursed Techniques: Cursed Heart; Hard to Kill; Hundred Armament Refining
Innate Skills: Cursed Technique Creation; Corrupted Mind
Skill Points: 118]
[Status] {[Skill Tree]} [Inventory]
[Ability Tree]
[Normal Tree]
[Ability Tree:
Cursed Energy Manipulation(3674)
-Cursed Energy Reinforcement(3466)
--Spiritual Protection(1200)
--Domain Amplification(0)
-Black Flash(140)
-Reverse Cursed Technique(720)
Barrier Mastery(1300)
-Rule Making(170)
CQC(30)
-Flow State(10)]
[Normal Tree:
Cooking(600)
Training(1220)
Crafting(1200)]
Shuichi had already spent 20 Skill Points to upgrade CQC from the normal tree to the ability tree. After which, having an epiphany, he decided to develop in the way of a particular martial art form he had read about.
The Fist of Flowing Water Crushing Rock. A martial arts form that existed from the manga, One Punch Man. In that verse, it had been extensively used by major figures, namely, Silverfang and Garou.
Obviously, Shuichi didn't know how to replicate the thing. Everything in one punch man was done through pure skill in martial arts, and here, he had to integrate cursed energy.
Nonetheless, knowing the underlying principle which was 'knowing and replicating the energy flows of the universe', he developed an entirely new branch in the ability tree- Flow State.
A martial arts form that allowed him to direct and redirect cursed energy blows, cursed energy currents and attacks. It was not comparable to it's opm counterpart and had major differences in operation, but it was better than not having it.
For now, Shuichi decided to wait until evening and went to rest.
~~~
"Hoh? How are you now, old man!? Have you finally been enlightened about my radiance and came to apologize for your previous rashness!?" Edward Horrowitz said, nay, yelled amidst the busy streets if the compound.
He stood in front of an all too familiar figure. It was a large old man with a neatly trimmed beard; draped in a dark silver robe and holding a Khakkhara in his right hand.
It was Takamekasuchi Homura, the special grade 1 sorcerer of the Ainu Flame School. And the old geezer that had failed to recognize his dazzling brilliance!
In front of him, Homura cringed at his words.
A vein grew atop his forehead as he gnashed his teeth in frustration.
"So..." He spoke in a dark tone, "You're here again this year..."
The empty hand beneath his robe trembled as it formed itself into a fist autonomously.
Sensing his frustration, Edward sweatdropped.
"W-Well! You don't need to sweat it old man! We should let bygones be bygones!" He quickly explained. "Instead, we should both focus on the coming event!"
Stopping for a moment, Homura huffed.
"I can't believe they would send you again this year..."
"Come on! Last year wasn't that bad!" Edward said.
"You tried to woo the shrine maiden while she was doing the initiation rite..."
"She was a beauty I tell you!"
"You stripped naked in front of the crowd to show your physique..."
"...You cannot convince me that my display wasn't well received!"
"You tried to jump into the ritual flame to showcase your durability..."
".....I don't remember doing that actually."
Homura huffed in frustration.
"If you pull stunts like that again this year-" His eyes turned sharp, gazing threateningky at Edward. He held up his left fist, "You'll wish you were dead!"
His figure towered over Edward, who quickly shrank back in fear.
"G-g-got it! You won't even see me! I'm invisible!" Edward yelled.
Homura looked behind him. The one escorting Edward was not the Shrine maiden, but one of the priests.
"Take him to the lodging. Don't let him disturb others guests or the ritual proceedings." He sighed.
The priest nodded. And then, they went about their way.
The evening sun casted an orange shade along the entire compound. The large red disc in the sky illuminated the sky with a deep red and yellow shade of colour, making way for an astounding scenery.
Edward tried to talk to the priest as they walked, yet the priest stayed quiet all the way, making Edward dissatisfied at their seriousness.
As they neared the pagoda that was supposed to be Edward's lodging, he saw someone walk out of the front gate.
It was a young teen of Japanese descent, with dark black hair and dark eyes. He had fair skin complexion and a lean physique. He wore a simple t shirt with loose cargo pants along with it. Even then, his muscular stature couldn't be hidden.
All in all, the teen was a fairly attractive young man.
Seeing this person, Edward judged that he was also a foreign sorcerer, most probably from the mainland and was here for the ritual proceedings.
With a smile, Edward approached the teen.
"Good Evening, young man! Myself Edward Horrowitz, a semi-first grade exorcist from London!"
Seeing this peculiar figure walk up and greet him, Shuichi turned in surprise.
Edward had dark hair and eyes much like Shuichi, however, he was an inch or two taller. He wore a standard red suit, matching the overall aesthetic of the Flame School.
He's fluent at Japanese. Thought Shuichi as he shook his hand.
"Zenin Shuichi, a first grade sorcerer, Japan." He introduced himself.
Edward smiled, "What~ A first grade? At such a young age?" He spoke in a sing song voice.
Shuichi didn't mind his weird tone of voice. All types of sorcerers ought to have some quirks of their own.
He put his hand into his pocket and took put his sorcerer ID.
Edward looked at it, his eyes widening a bit.
"Well, colour me surprised. It seems the times are changing." He said.
"They sure are." Shuichi smiled as he looked at him, his Records of Tenjin already taking in the information about him.
Maybe I'll learn a thing or two from some foreign sorcerers..
~~~
A/N: Tell me your thoughts. Also, throw some stones~~~
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