NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3: Capitulo tres
"Did you just...- Let's ignore that."
Gabriel's voice continued, "As I said, you'll need to use those abilities to truly understand them." And then, just like that, the hologram flickered out.
Sukuna rubbed his head in frustration, exhaling sharply, "Well… let's get going. Time to train my cursed technique and learn how to throw hands." He rolled his shoulders, "Step one: get strong enough with my cursed technique to jam pistol triggers, so guns are essentially useless. Step two: Because my cursed technique would be dealing with guns, I need to learn how to punch and not get hit." With this in mind, he wandered into the main street and found a quiet alleyway, the kind no one bothered to glance at twice, and of course, he decided to enter with hopes of practicing the entire day.
...
...
...
The few passersby who walked by saw something unusual but not worth their time-- a young boy practicing shadow boxing. To the average person, it was just another kid trying to imitate his favorite martial artist or fighter. Still, if anyone had decided to look closely, they might have noticed his punches slicing through the air with frightening precision or the faint shimmer of cursed energy spreading along his fingertips.
The hours passed, and daylight stopped shining upon the city. The sun made its way so the moon could play, surrendering the city to the oppressive darkness of the night.
Under a hallway of shadows, a young boy rested beside your everyday graffiti-covered wall, with his spiky hair reflecting the faint light of a flickering streetlamp as he flexed some cheap gloves he probably found in the trash.
Four thugs loitered at the far end, laughing at bad jokes and walking like nothing mattered. They barely noticed him at first, but as he approached, their eyes turned to him one by one.
feeling intimidated, the smallest of the group barked, stepping forward with his chest puffed out, "Who do you--"
*SLAM!*
Before he could finish, Sukuna's fist drove into his face like a wrecking ball; the impact quickly sent the thug crumpling to the ground in an unconscious puddle. Not letting anyone else react, he grabbed the nearest thug by his collar and slammed a straight punch into his liver. The man's knees buckled as he doubled over, vomiting gastric acid and bile onto the ground.
The thug furthest away from his group, yanking as fast as he could a gun out of his pants, yelled "YOU LITTLE-"
*SHWING*
"ARRRRRRRGH!!!" His harrowing scream pierced the place as the gun clattered to the ground, and he clawed at his face in agony. Sukuna used dismantle on the eyes of his target, but because of his poor ability control, he cut the eyes so incorrectly that the amount of pain was maximized.
Sukuna turned to the last thug, who was dead frozen. With a cold smirk, Sukuna raised his hand again, "Dismantle." The slash aimed for the whole throat, yet the attack only managed to cleave halfway through the man's neck, leaving him to choke on his blood.
The thug gurgled, with tears streaming down his face as his body spasmed against the hard pavement. Sukuna stood there, smelling the nauseating metallic stench of blood filling his nose while watching the crimson puddle spread across the ground.
He expected to feel disgust or guilt-- something that a normal human should feel. But instead, he felt nothing. His expression was blank, his gaze distant; he didn't know how to feel about this, "Well... I guess Sukuna's mentality is 'great...'"
...
With nothing else to do, he decided to steal anything valuable or useful from the thugs, "That makes seven left…" But before he could take another step, the system chimed in.
"Those weren't thugs."
Sukuna froze, repeating with an annoyed voice, "What do you mean... those aren't thugs...?"
The system responded, "Those were young adults who wanted to be thugs and were on their way to becoming one, but because they just got started, they didn't count; only one of them actually counted.
Sukuna took a deep breath and sighed, "You are quite petty... You know that? It doesn't matter, I'll just-" His body flattered and almost tripped; instinctively, he supported himself with the wall and mumbled, "Why do I feel so dizzy...?"
Already expecting this event, the system continued, "You spent 1/4 of your cursed energy trying to cut that guy's throat, and because you were so fixed on it, you used much more energy than needed to overcharge the attack."
"Wait, do I also have to increase my energy reserves with the gacha?!"
Yes
...
... (minutes later)
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A panicked voice said on the ground, "You wouldn't hit a wom-"
"Equal rights, Equal lefts." Sukuna's knuckles connected with the thug's skull, splattering a mashed mess of brain onto the wall.
He had been patiently hunting thugs, searching for those that looked like easy prey, ruthlessly playing dirty tricks upon them; he threw dirt to their eyes, waited for unseen angels to strike in the nuts and incapacitate everyone; he even made himself pass for a beggar. This girl was the last one to complete the mission and right now he was gathering the bodies, making it look like a gang fight, "Guns are really annoying. I had to do a no-hit run because I lack cursed energy reinforcement or just a good dismantle."
Finally, the system chimed again. "Mission complete!!! Three new missions are available. Your actions will influence future missions. (The money was saved on the inventory.)"
Sukuna glanced at the glowing menu that appeared before him.
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Anti-hero
A hero is a noble person, someone who fights for justice. But you were stripped away of all those qualities, and by sheer coincidence of fate, it just happens that the villain is in your way.
Kill or defeat 50 thugs and save one person
(Will lock true to yourself)
Rewards: 1 Silver gacha spin, two bronze gacha spins.
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True to yourself
Sukuna's body is the embodiment of evil. To have an easier time with your body and personality, you can continue to follow his pre-walked path.
Join a crime organization and kill five innocent bystanders.
(Will lock Anti-hero)
2 silver gacha spin, 1 broze gacha spin.
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A new face in New York.
Get yourself enough reputation so thugs start recognizing you; first, let's start with a name.
1 Bronze Gacha spin
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Sukuna stared at the options, then raised his voice, "System... ARE YOU FUCKING DUMBASS?"
"!!!"
He continued, jabbing a finger in the air, "My ultimate goal is to survive the Thanos snap. After that, I'll just live however I damn well please. Why the fuck would I want to be a villain?!"
Silence hung in the air as Sukuna straightened his posture, brushing the dust off his sleeves and striking a bizarre pose, "No matter. Because I, Ryomen Sukuna, have a dream. And that dream… is to open the Malevolent Barbershop!"