"I'm not joking," Toge said in a cold voice, raising the iron bat. "If you're afraid of death, I'll be happy to kill you myself. There's nowhere for you to hide from me."
The three men froze, their faces pale with terror. Their eyes widened as they looked at Toge, whose calm smile didn't lessen the threat in his voice. They had already seen his strength and knew his words weren't an empty threat.
"No, no, we-we'll look for him! We'll do it!" Max said, his voice trembling with fear, while Kevin and Cole nodded their heads vigorously.
Toge gave a wide smile and put the iron bat aside. "Good. That's what I expected from you."
"But..." Kevin said hesitantly, "We... we don't even know what he looks like. How can we look for someone we don't know?"
Toge raised his hand and pointed to the sky. "His name is the Hero Killer, Stain. He's a tall, thin man who wears a dark red scarf and a white mask. He has an ability that allows him to paralyze his opponents by tasting their blood."
The men felt a shiver of fear once more at this description.
"Once you find him, don't ever try to get close to him. Keep a great distance between you and him, then come back and tell me his location. Is that understood?" Toge asked.
The three men nodded in unison. "Understood!"
"But... there's a more important question," Cole said in a low voice. "Why do you want him? Why are you asking us to look for the Hero Killer?"
In that moment, Toge's smile turned into a blank expression. He raised the iron bat again and pointed it at Cole's face.
"No need for extra questions. Either you do as I say, or you won't wake up to see the sun tomorrow."
Silence spread in the place.
"W-We'll go look for him now!" Max shouted, pulling his two companions to run away as fast as they could.
After the three men had left, Toge entered the house. He quietly closed the door behind him, then walked to his room. He sat on the bed and slowly closed his eyes, before trying to focus. He intended to try something he saw in the "Jujutsu Kaisen" anime: surrounding oneself with "Cursed Energy".
Since the characters in Jujutsu Kaisen could use it, shouldn't he be able to as well?
Toge began to focus on his internal energy, trying to release and control it. At first, nothing happened. He only felt some warmth in his body, but he didn't give up. He continued to try, imagining himself surrounded by a dark aura of energy.
Suddenly...
Toge felt a strange coldness spreading through his body. He slowly opened his eyes to see a dense black aura emerging from his body and completely enveloping him. It wasn't ordinary energy; it was "Cursed Energy."
As soon as the aura surrounded him, it suddenly vanished just as it had appeared. Pain instantly spread through Toge's body. He felt his veins swell painfully, as if they would burst at any moment. The pain was so intense that he couldn't even scream.
He had forgotten something fundamental. This body had never learned how to use Cursed Energy and wasn't ready to release it this way. It was like trying to run a race car with a bicycle engine.
Toge felt weak and exhausted before he collapsed, breathing with difficulty.
But he didn't give up. After he caught his breath, he sat up again. "I won't give up!" he whispered to himself.
He closed his eyes again, but this time, he tried with more caution. He pulled out a very small amount of Cursed Energy, much less than what he had tried to extract the first time.
As soon as he started pulling the energy, he felt the pain again. But this time, the pain was bearable. It was much less intense than the previous time, which made him able to endure the suffering.
Toge continued to try, pulling a small amount of Cursed Energy, then releasing it. He was trying to gradually expand his mana pathways to get used to the flow of this strange energy. He knew this was the key to controlling it.
Hours passed, and Toge was still sitting on his bed, repeating the same process. The pain was constant, but it became bearable with each attempt. He didn't stop until night fell and all his energy was depleted. Since the wall of his Cursed Energy was much lower than the amount of energy needed to use Cursed Speech, he tried with all his might to master it.
Toge fell onto the bed, breathing heavily. His body was exhausted, but he was happy. He had taken a big step toward achieving his goal.
In that moment, a system notification appeared in front of him, glowing with a faint blue light:
[Congratulations! The "Cursed Speech" skill has been upgraded and has reached level 15%!][Your Cursed Energy capacity has been increased from 100 to 150!]{Cursed Energy: 14/150}
Toge froze in place, his eyes widening in astonishment. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He thought the pain and effort he had put in over the past hours was just initial training, but he didn't expect this amazing result. He had managed to make a huge amount of progress in one night.
He looked at the notification again. An increase in Cursed Energy capacity from 100 to 150 wasn't just a number; it meant that he could now use his Cursed Speech ability six times a day instead of four. It also meant that the problem of vomiting blood that the original owner had suffered from would become rare.
He was about to scream with joy, but the pain that was sweeping through his body prevented him. However, he couldn't hide the wide smile that filled his face. His efforts had not been in vain. This notification was the proof he needed to believe that the path he had chosen was the right one.
But now, he needed to know something very important, and the only way to know it was through him.
"Hero Killer, Stain..." Toge muttered calmly.
End of Chapter