Curse Return: Demon Void Girl Doesn't Want to Be a Weakling

After leaving the park, Mashiro didn't linger and went into Shibuya Station.

Sendai is 300 kilometers to the northeast, less than two hours away by Shinkansen. But the price of a ticket at 10,000 yen is too high.

"I'm broke." Standing in front of the ticket machine, looking at the scrolling ticket prices, she clicked her tongue softly. "I need to make money."

She counted the cash in her wallet. After deducting the money she had set aside for tonight's accommodation and food, she couldn't even afford half a Shinkansen ticket. Night buses were cheaper, but they still cost several thousand yen, and they departed much earlier.

"The most urgent tasks are to obtain mobile funds and improve my spell power, reaching level two or even level one as soon as possible," she pressed her waist, where Cong Yu sat quietly in her scabbard. "Only then can I have the ability to utter insightful remarks when I come into contact with the core level."

When you're not strong enough, what you say isn't insightful quotes, but rather empty boasting.

Only the strong have the right to utter famous quotes.

Mashiro stepped out of the station and began to sense the surrounding magical energy again.

The density of cursed spirits in Shibuya is still very high, but after the battles last night and this morning, she has lost interest in level three cursed spirits.

It's too inefficient, absorbs too little magical power, and the benefits of adaptation are also limited.

"We need to find someone at level two or above, or... take on commissions, but there are no channels. Contacting college graduates or the supernatural is too risky now."

She touched the business card of Hiromi Nichiba in her pocket, sighed, and said, "I can't just go to Nichiba to borrow money right after finishing the riddle-solving task, can I?"

Borrowing money is a sign of weakness!

Since there's no hope for the commission for the time being, let's continue hunting.

She rushed northwards where the cursed energy was stronger. Time was of the essence; the exact moment Itadori swallowed the finger wouldn't change, and she had to reach Sendai before then, at least to intervene shortly after the incident.

Before that, she needed more magical power, a stronger body, and most importantly—

Travel expenses.

......

At 3 p.m., Mashiro stood in front of an abandoned apartment building. The building was on the list of buildings to be demolished. The residents had long since moved out, the windows were broken, and the walls were mottled.

Mashiro released her senses, but was slightly taken aback.

There was not just one cursed spirit in the building, but at least three level-two cursed spirits, their auras intertwined and wary of each other.

"Living in groups?" She was somewhat surprised. Most cursed spirits are solitary and rarely gather in groups unless they have a top-level leader.

But it doesn't matter, she needs magical power, and they happen to have it.

More importantly, three level-two units, representing three different attack methods, can enrich the sample database she can adapt to.

There are risks, of course, but she's confident she won't die even if she takes on three level 2 monsters now.

It's just a little more painful, but she's gotten used to it these past two days, or rather, she's adapted to it.

Mashiro gripped the hilt of Murasame's sword and stepped into the dimly lit stairwell. She made no attempt to conceal her footsteps; her magical energy emanated from her body, serving as both a probe and a provocation.

Almost the instant she stepped into the third-floor corridor, the balance was broken, and the three cursed spirits revealed their true forms.

She glanced at them and saw a vengeful spirit, a woman from the gap, and a shadow dog.

They attacked almost simultaneously, each with a different method of attack. Shiro slightly turned her body, allowing the vengeful spirit's penetrating attack to graze her left chest instead of her heart, but the icy, bone-chilling pain that pierced her internal organs still made her groan.

She raised her right arm to block the woman's invisible slash, but her arm was cut open by an invisible blade. The tearing pain came, and blood splattered. If she hadn't leaned back in time, her right arm would probably have been severed.

Before she could even turn around, she was attacked from below, and several deep, bone-revealing scratches appeared on her back, the blood instantly soaking the fabric of her clothes.

It hurts, it hurts a lot.

Why can't she adapt to the pain? Is it because the pain is useful to her?

But she had also grown accustomed to this pain. If she were to lose her strong will because of it, it would be no different from death.

"Again!" Mashiro shouted, ignoring her wounds, and picked up Murami to fight again, the Dharma Wheel above her head spinning wildly.

Each time their attack hits, its power diminishes.

Adapt, adapt, adapt.

When the vengeful spirit pierced her chest again, but she only felt a slight chill, she knew that she had adapted.

Excuse me.

As Cong Yu was drawn from its sheath, a silver light flashed across the Wraith-Bound Spirit. Before it could even let out a scream, it turned into black smoke and was absorbed by the sword.

Mashiro felt her internal curse power surge suddenly.

"Very well." She turned to the remaining two, "There's nothing you can do, just lie down and wait to die."

The woman with the gap seemed to sense the danger, and opened her twisted mouth, unleashing an invisible spatial rift that slashed towards Mashiro.

Mashiro raised her left arm and took the hit head-on.

"Sizzle—"

The skin was cut open, and bright red blood flowed out, but the wound was at least half as shallow as the last one.

That's all there is to it.

Mashiro chuckled. With a keen understanding of the situation, she grasped the trajectory, intensity, and composition of the magical power involved in the spatial cutting.

"I see." She murmured, twirling the knife in her hand. "The cutting of space is essentially applying traction to the breakpoint of the cursed power at specific coordinates..."

She accelerated and sprinted forward.

The Gap Woman frantically unleashed rifts, creating countless spatial cuts that filled the narrow passageway.

The enemy fears me, I am driven mad.

Mashiro weaved through the cracks, her movements initially stiff, but as she dodged more and more of them, her body became able to predict their trajectory and easily avoid them.

She could even use her magical power to gently touch the weakest point of the crack, causing it to collapse prematurely.

"The more I adapt, the more I understand. I can even imitate other people's techniques!" Mashiro exclaimed with elation. "I never thought I could do this!"

This is an ability that Makuro doesn't have in the original work. It can only adapt to the methods of dealing with the spells, but Mashiro, who can understand the spells, can use the spells that he has adapted to!

"I've gotten used to it." She stopped in front of the woman in the gap, the Dharma wheel above her head ceasing its rotation. "I accept your spell."

Then, space was cut, the woman's head flew up, and her body dissipated.

Cong Yu absorbed another portion of the curse power.

Finally, there was the Shadow Dog. This cursed spirit tried to escape, but Mashiro didn't give it the chance.

She had become accustomed to the rhythm of the shadow's movement, and the moment it emerged from the shadow in the corner, Cong Yu's knife tip was already waiting there.

"Don't spoil my fun, is it over already?" Murasaki pierced through its head, and Mashiro laughed arrogantly.

Three plumes of black smoke rose, and the corridor returned to silence.

Mashiro leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. She had at least twenty wounds on her body, varying in depth, with the most severe ones still bleeding.

But she could feel that the curse power within her body was almost twice as strong as before.

"Level two... it should be almost there," she estimated. "Moreover, it has developed preliminary resistance to spirit attacks, spatial cutting, and shadow movement."

As she gradually builds a basic database and absorbs more and more samples, she can deal with her enemies more easily.

She rested for five minutes until the bleeding from her wound had mostly stopped before dragging her tired body out of the apartment building.

As the sun sets, the sky gradually darkens.

Mashiro glanced at the time; it was 5 p.m. She needed food, rest, and to treat her injuries. Although they could heal on their own, the blood loss and pain were real.

She went into a convenience store, bought bandages, disinfectant, and the largest bento box, and sat on a park bench to begin treating her wound.

The stinging sensation during disinfection made her gasp, but she kept moving her hands. The bandage wasn't very neat, but it was secure enough.

After doing all that, she opened the bento box and began to eat heartily.

"If I don't earn any money today, I'll only have enough left for the last night's accommodation." She thought to herself as she ate, then pouted, "Ugh, how can I earn any money?"

Mashiro didn't have much of a knack for making money in her previous life, and in this world, at the age of twelve, she couldn't even find a part-time job!

Fortunately, she has a strong ability to withstand pressure, which she has cultivated through daily online interactions with netizens.

"Thank you guys. If I could still argue with you, I'd definitely swear even harder." Mashiro hesitated, thinking about her current state, "Wouldn't that be too much of a reward for them?"

Stop overthinking!

After finishing her bento, just as she was about to continue dealing with the cursed spirits and look for any unlucky souls who had been attacked by them, an unexpected figure entered her field of vision.

"That's... Nanami?"