Bab 17: Ligma
Seven days had passed.
"Is she really in this city? I heard she's incredibly strong. Are we seriously going in?" a nervous sorcerer murmured, scratching his head anxiously.
"Yes, she's here, and that's exactly why we're here—to jump her, you idiot," responded another sorcerer with a stern expression. "Don't forget, we have Ligma with us."
Ligma, a towering and imposing figure with a hoe in his hand, passed through the group silently, his presence alone intimidating. He uttered only one word: "Hurry."
............…
Meanwhile, Rin was taking a much-needed break from her rigorous training, enjoying a meal in a fancy restaurant. The ambiance was refined, with soft music playing in the background and the gentle clinking of cutlery adding to the serene atmosphere. Takumi, ever the persistent admirer, was seated across from her, ensuring that every dish she desired was promptly delivered to their table. His eyes sparkled with delight as he watched her savor each bite.
Surprisingly, Rin found herself less annoyed with Takumi's presence than before. She had begun to find his relentless pursuit and unwavering determination quite interesting, even amusing.
As she savored a particularly delicious bite, she glanced at Takumi, who was watching her with an eager smile. "You know, Takumi, you're not as insufferable as I initially thought," she admitted with a smirk, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
Takumi beamed at her comment, his entire face lighting up. "I'm glad to hear that, Rin. My goal is to make sure you're happy."
Rin rolled her eyes but couldn't hide a small smile. "So, what's the catch? Why are you so determined to stick around me?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
Takumi shrugged nonchalantly, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Maybe I just enjoy your company and feel safe around you, without thinking about my brother trying to kill me. Or maybe I like the challenge of trying to win you over."
Rin laughed softly, a genuine laugh that seemed to surprise even herself. "Good luck with that," she said, her tone teasing.
Their light-hearted conversation was abruptly interrupted by the sound of the restaurant door being flung open with a loud bang. A group of sorcerers, led by the intimidating figure of Ligma, stormed in with determined looks on their faces. The atmosphere in the restaurant shifted instantly, the peaceful ambiance giving way to a tense and charged silence.
"That's her," the nervous sorcerer whispered urgently to the serious one, pointing directly at Rin, his eyes wide with fear and anticipation.
Takumi noticed the sudden shift in the atmosphere and leaned closer to Rin, his voice low and urgent. "I think we might have some uninvited guests," he murmured, his eyes darting towards the intruders.
Before Rin could react, Ligma, sensing the formidable cursed energy emanating from her, made a swift decision. He swiftly put his hoe on his back, made a hand sign, and chanted, "Domain Expansion: Verdant Haven."
In an instant, the restaurant transformed dramatically. The luxurious interior melted away, replaced by a lush, expansive farm landscape. Rows of thriving crops stretched out in all directions, blooming fruit trees dotted the landscape, and vibrant flowers swayed gently in the breeze. The air was thick with the fresh, earthy scent of soil and plants, and a gentle sun cast a warm, inviting glow over everything.
The restaurant patrons and sorcerers, including Takumi, were suddenly caught within the domain's confines. Their fine clothes were replaced with simple farmer's attire—overalls, straw hats, and worn boots. They found themselves standing in fields, each assigned a patch of land. Farming tools like shovels, hoes, and watering cans appeared at their sides.
Ligma voice echoed in the domain, providing instructions. "Welcome to Verdant Haven. Each of you has been given a plot of land. Your task is to cultivate it and grow the most abundant crop you can. Failure to do so will result in the emergence of roots from the ground, which will ensnare and immobilize you. These roots are indestructible and will cause you to wither aka death if you do not provide your crops with sufficient care. Time progresses rapidly here, so act quickly."
The patrons, mostly wealthy and unaccustomed to physical labor, looked around in bewilderment and distress. They were used to luxury, not the harsh realities of farming. The sorcerers, too, found themselves at a loss, except for Ligma, who was quite at ease in the domain. His experience with such techniques gave him an advantage, and he moved with practiced ease as he began to tend to his own plot.
Takumi, standing beside Rin, looked around with a mix of confusion and determination. "This is... unexpected," he said, his voice filled with disbelief. "What is this???"
Rin, assessing the surreal transformation of the restaurant into a farm, mused to herself, "A non-lethal domain, huh? Plus, he's not skilled enough with his domain to exclude his comrades from the effect. plus I can't open my own domain either for some reason."
She turned to Ligma with a smirk, "Well, did you think I have no clue about farming? It's just about following the rules, and it's easy." She paused, remembering Takumi was with her and realizing she didn't want her wallet to suffer due to his incompetence. Her smirk grew as she added, "But considering you seem to be completely clueless about farming, I might need to speed things up. I'd hate to see my wallet die because of your incompetence."
Takumi's face flushed with frustration. "I didn't exactly plan on spending my day learning to farm," he muttered, awkwardly handling a shovel. His attempts were clumsy, his movements inefficient as he tried to get accustomed to the tools and the unfamiliar taskignoring that rin called him a wallet.
Meanwhile, a heated argument was unfolding among the sorcerers outside the domain.
"Ligma, what are you doing? Opening your domain like this, dragging us into this mess!" one sorcerer yelled, his face contorted with anger.
Ligma remained calm, his eyes betraying a hint of irritation. "She's way stronger than we initially interpreted," he said, his voice measured and cool.
Another sorcerer, looking increasingly concerned, interjected, "What if she can farm?"
Ligma dismissed their fears with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry. I have a plan. Plus, you don't need to farm. Just wait and see."
......................
Back inside the domain, Rin's efforts were paying off. Her modern knowledge of farming had given her an edge. While most struggled, she efficiently grew a crop of radishes. The domain allowed for any seed to appear upon request, and Rin, familiar with the basics of farming from her modern era, knew radishes were one of the fastest vegetables to grow. It was a clever choice given the constraints of the domain.
Bling Bling
Rin's clothes were magically restored to her, and she smiled triumphantly as she looked at Ligma, still laboriously working on his plot. The irony wasn't lost on her—she had managed to complete her task faster than him, despite his background as a farmer-turned-sorcerer.
However, Ligma wasn't one to be easily discouraged. With a snap of his fingers, he activated his backup plan. The domain's owner, with a flicker of determination, deactivated the domain's farming requirements for everyone in exchange for placing a significant debuff on Rin.
Rin felt a sudden, sharp decrease in her power. It was as if half of her strength had been siphoned away. Her eyes narrowed in frustration as she felt the oppressive weight of the debuff.
"You can do this too?" she growled, feeling the sting of the debuff's effect. Her strength had been reduced by 50%, leaving her feeling vulnerable and irritated.
The domain quickly shattered after Ligma activated that technique, and he was now in a state where it was difficult to control his cursed technique.
"Oh my god, we are saved!" a civilian who had been caught in the domain cried in happiness.
"I cannot believe we were forced to farm," someone rich from the fancy restaurant responded, spitting on the ground.
"'Farming simulator' ahh domain," a waitress from the restaurant said with an emotionless face.
"Even with 50% of my cursed energy, I can still open my domain, but I could kill Takumi..." Rin thought to herself as she looked at Ligma.
"Well, I will be in much more dangerous situations than this. Let's just think of it as a hardcore mode fight," Rin thought to herself, smiling.
Rin pointed her finger at Ligma, calling him out. "You have a quite good plan, but if you think you can take me down simply like this, you are highly mistaken," she declared, striking the same confident pose Gojo used when encountering the disaster curses in Shibuya at the beginning of the fight.
Ligma, unfazed, responded with a smirk. "Just don't run away after saying those words."
Rin's eyes glinted with determination. "Running away? That's not my style." Rin lied shamelessly with a straight face, as the first thing she thought about now is how to run away as quickly as possible when things turn bad.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone