One day later, Sora had completely cleansed the Hollow poison from the bodies of the expeditionary force Shinigami.
In front of the camp, Ashido and the expeditionary force stood before the seven from the academy. Akane Saitō also stood by Sora's side. They had completed their respective missions and were now preparing to return to the Soul Society.
Ashido handed some things to Sora. "Professor Katori, these are some spoils of war we collected in the past. They are all things left behind by 'Adjuchas'-class Menos."
Sora had expressed some interest in bringing back a few souvenirs from the Forest of Menos, and Ashido had immediately prepared them for him.
After hunting powerful Hollows, the expeditionary force would also keep some of their remains as trophies.
The items Ashido gave Sora were all from 'Adjuchas'-class Menos.
Sora looked them over; there were many things.
There were horns similar to a ram's, as well as Hollow bone masks, bones, and animal-shaped pelts.
"Thank you. These are all things well worth collecting," Sora said, accepting Ashido's gift.
Of course, he didn't want these for a collection, but to research Hollows. 'Adjuchas'-class Menos were rarely seen in the Soul Society or the World of the Living; they were a specialty of the Forest of Menos, so to speak.
"Be careful on your way back. Professor Katori, when I return, I will be sure to visit and thank you properly," Ashido said with great sincerity. If not for Sora's help, the life or death of the expeditionary force would have been uncertain.
"Alright. We'll be on our way. Captain Ashido, you must also be careful here in the Forest of Menos," Sora said with a nod.
The Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force still had to remain here. This incident had been reported to the Soul Society, which was taking it very seriously and had decided to dispatch some researchers to help the force upgrade their reishi protective barrier, so the camp could defend against Hollow invasions around the clock.
Just as Sora was about to step into the Senkaimon, he saw Ashido raise his hand. Then, all the Shinigami of the expeditionary force bent at the waist, bowing to him in respect.
"Professor Katori, thank you for your help!"
The voices of the Shinigami echoed like a tidal wave through the Forest of Menos.
Sora smiled, waved his hand, and stepped into the Senkaimon.
...
The group encountered no reishi turbulence on their way back and returned safely to the Soul Society.
"Phew—the Dangai wasn't that dangerous after all."
After landing safely, Kensei and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
Akane Saitō explained, "Reishi turbulence is a common occurrence in the Dangai, but turbulence of the intensity we encountered before is relatively rare."
"For it to be your first time in the Dangai and to encounter such turbulence, it's understandable that there were some oversights. It will get better after a few more trips."
"Once you get used to the environment there, you'll be able to distinguish the intensity of the turbulence and make the correct judgment in time."
Akane did not give them a bad evaluation for being affected by the turbulence.
They had already proven their strength to her in the Forest of Menos.
Akane gave all six of them an "Excellent" grade.
Sora did the same, allowing all six to pass the exam smoothly.
He glanced at the information on his panel. The feedback rewards for his four disciples' exams had also arrived:
[Disciple Kana Azashiro has completed the graduation exam with an "Excellent" rating. Reward settlement.]
[Received: 30,000 General Experience for basic abilities.]
[Random Skill Proficiency Level +1.]
...
All four disciples received an "Excellent" rating, earning Sora a total of 120,000 general experience points and 4 random skill proficiency upgrades.
The skills upgraded were two Kidō spells. Both "Kurohitsugi" and "Ittō Kasō" were raised to the Mastered level.
After a high-level Kidō reached the Mastered level, it could be released with 'Incantation Abandonment.'
Sora also discovered that the rewards for the early graduation exam were 10,000 more general experience points than for the regular graduation internship exam.
Sora did not plan to continue raising his spiritual pressure for the time being. After reaching level 90, the experience required for leveling up was immense, and these points wouldn't provide much of a boost.
He chose to invest the general experience he received this time into Kidō.
This was because he had two ability traits that would also be upgraded after his Kidō level reached a certain point.
[Incantation Abandonment (Beginner): When casting Kidō, you can omit the incantation for beginner-level Kidō (Hadō and Bakudō #1-30). Omitting the incantation will weaken the Kidō's power. The Kidō's proficiency level must reach Proficient to use this technique. (After the Kidō level reaches 80, this trait will be upgraded to Intermediate.)]
After Sora's Kidō level had reached 70, a new line of text had appeared after the [Incantation Abandonment (Beginner)] trait, indicating that continuing to raise his Kidō level would upgrade the trait.
The same was true for the [Post-Release Incantation (Beginner)] trait.
After his Kidō level reached 80, the bonuses from these two traits would undergo a qualitative change.
Therefore, Sora planned to raise his Kidō level first. He invested the general experience, raising his Kidō level from 70 to 77.
By the time Sora finished processing the feedback rewards, they had returned to the 3rd Division.
They saw the vice-captain, Chiyari Iba, in the courtyard.
"Vice-Captain Iba, our mission is complete," Akane Saitō said.
"Thank you for your hard work. I never thought a simple supply transport mission would run into so much trouble. If Professor Katori hadn't been there, the consequences would have been unthinkable!" Chiyari lamented.
The Soul Society had already learned of the events in the Forest of Menos through cross-dimensional communication, so she was aware of the accident.
The news from the expeditionary force had sent shockwaves through the Seireitei. It was decided that researchers would be dispatched to help the expeditionary force improve their reishi shield facilities to prevent a similar infiltration in the future.
At the same time, this incident had also informed some captains and vice-captains that Katori Sora already possessed captain-level strength.
As the person in charge of managing the supplies for this mission, Chiyari was naturally aware of the inside details.
She smiled faintly and continued, "I heard that the Head-Captain is already discussing with the other captains about making you a captain, Professor Katori!"
Sora scratched his face. This accident had exposed his captain-level strength, which was actually a bit earlier than he would have liked.
After all, Kirio Hikifune had not yet been promoted to the Royal Guard. If he became a captain at this time, it certainly wouldn't be as the captain of the 12th Division.
Once he became the captain of another division, it would be difficult to switch.
Captains could not be transferred without a special reason. He would have to present a convincing argument to the other captains.
In that case, he wouldn't be able to inherit the laboratory left behind in the 12th Division by Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru.
It seemed he would have to find a way to negotiate with Yamamoto and delay his appointment as captain.
---
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