Chapter 36: Gains?

In a rather large and nearly unfurnished room, a young man who appeared to be no older than twenty was in a coma on the large white bed at the center of the space.

His body, full of visible scars, trembled slightly as his muscles were soaked in cold sweat. It was clear that he was having a very bad dream. Just when it seemed like he would be in a coma for much longer, his eyes suddenly opened, revealing an unnatural and almost magical color that captivated anyone who looked into them.

His eyes were so black that both his iris and sclera seemed to glow, and next to him, the most striking object was his sword, which no one but Gojo had touched before leaving it by the young sorcerer's side. Now, he was recognized as the second strongest in the world.

The first thing he perceived upon regaining consciousness was pain attacking him from all directions. His head felt like it was about to explode, and part of his body was numb.

Like anyone in such a state, his first instinct was to move, but something seemed to be preventing him from doing so.

In the next moment, Hisagi began quickly healing his muscle wounds using his exorbitant spiritual energy.

Though he still couldn't move, it was now only a matter of time before his body regained mobility.

"It seems the battle went well..." Hisagi thought that they had won the battle, and judging by his stats, it was more than evident that he had come out on top.

[... Name: Shuhei Hisagi

General Attributes:

Strength: 7 [256/1300]

Speed: 7 [1150/1300]

Endurance: 7 [808/1300]

Spirit: 8 [1309/1700]

Combat Skills:

Zanjutsu (Sword Art): 3 [49/300]

Hakuda (Hand-to-Hand Combat): 5 [250/1300]

Hoho (Speed): 6 [790/1100]

Kidou (Magic): 4 [0/900]

Zanpakuto:

Name: Ryujin Jakka (All Things of this World, Turn to Ash)Type: The Oldest Fire Sword

Shikai Abilities: 3

Jokaku Enjo: 6 [0/100] – (Fortress of Flames)Taimatsu: 6 [0/900] – (Torch)Ennetsu Jigoku: 6 [0/600] – (Flames of Hell)

Shikai Level: 9 [18/3900]

Bankai:

Name: Zanka no TachiDescription: Intense Flames with a Fiery AuraBankai Level: 0 (Sealed)

Cursed Power Level:

Level: 2 [300/500]

Items:

Hollows and Cursed Spirits Hook: [3 single-use items]'Bakudo • Way of Binding' Book (A book with 99 Kidou techniques. These cannot be learned with soul points, only through the apprentice's hard work.)

General State:

Souls Sent to Eternal Rest: [9901]Cursed Spirits Eliminated: [1984]Soul Points: [11336]

...]*

Hisagi's eyes gleamed upon seeing all those points. Gazing at the rewards, all the pain in his body ceased to matter.

Battles made him stronger, so analyzing the details of that fight, he began leveling up all his stats, which were far below average.

He increased his magic, his cursed energy—which was also a crucial reservoir of power—and focused on leveling up his Shikai. Even though his flames were powerful, he realized they were not yet strong enough, so he also worked on leveling that up.

Currently, his strength was already at an incredibly powerful level, but after today's upgrades, he would be even stronger. He was confident that if he returned to the battle from that night, he wouldn't suffer any injuries.

The sudden rush of power was immensely satisfying, like a drug, and at this moment, Hisagi felt a confidence he had never experienced before.

However, not everything was perfect. Despite leveling up so much, Hisagi still couldn't use his Bankai, which he had been eagerly anticipating.

"I guess that's asking for too much..." Hisagi muttered with a faint smile.

Looking deeper into his final stats, he reflected more seriously on the outcome of the last fight, which had nearly left him dead.

He knew there was still much to improve and that he was far from being invincible.

...

"I thought you'd never wake up."

Hisagi, who was sitting in silence while holding his sword, turned his head toward the source of the voice and saw the green knight girl with glasses. "Maki, believe me, it's not a bad surprise to see someone who appreciates me after I wake up."

"You were close to dying, you know that?" Maki brought a tray of food. She, as always, wore her school uniform, and although she seemed calm, she was genuinely surprised to see her companion awake.

When the battle that had mobilized all the nearby Jujutsu forces occurred, she knew that Hisagi had managed to hold off several special-class cursed spirits and otherworldly beings.

Later, she learned that Hisagi was actually a special-class sorcerer, which was quite surprising, but when he was brought back to the sorcery school, his body bore horrible injuries, indicating the mortal danger he had been in.

"Is that for me?" Hisagi looked at the tray of hot food that Maki was holding and guessed that it had been her routine to bring him food since he had been in a coma.

Either that, or she had simply come to eat silently in this enormous room that was not his dorm.

"Oh, I guess you're really hungry." Maki handed the tray of food to Hisagi without asking if he could eat on his own.

"Thanks for the meal." Hisagi extended his bandaged hands and received the tray of hot food.

He didn't speak much as he ate, and Maki wasn't much of a talker either, so he had to initiate a conversation to clear his doubts about the current state of the sorcerer association.

Knowing that his fight had been truly massive, it was likely he would have to give some statements.

But just as Hisagi was about to speak, Maki, with an unnatural smile, said, "There's a new boy in our class."

After speaking, she took the initiative to pour Hisagi a glass of water.

Hisagi followed her movements, wondering if she was doing all this because they were companions or for some other, more ambiguous reason.

It had to be said that she was beautiful, her body at her age had been trained to the fullest, and few could notice it due to the modest uniform she always wore. However, Hisagi's attention wasn't on her figure, but on the weapon she carried.

Currently, Hisagi was aware that Maki relied entirely on her weapon, and he knew that without it, she was vulnerable to any enemy attack. Due to her limited cursed power, Maki depended on cursed weapons to exorcise, but there was another way she could gain power.

Spiritual energy!

Unlike cursed energy, Maki had large amounts of spiritual energy, so if he could teach her some spells, she could become stronger.

"Did you hear me? Someone new is in our class." Maki became irritated by Hisagi's silence as he stared at her, lost in thought.

"Oh, tell me more." Hisagi, for now, set aside those thoughts, focused on his intention not to lose these companions, who had become more than just acquaintances after what Panda had done for him.