Ren ignored the noise and kept walking the outer edge. A Grade 3 curse, shaped like a bloated centipede, dropped from a branch right above his head.
Ren didn't even look up. He side-stepped, drew his sword in a single fluid motion, and sliced upward. The Grade 1 steel cut cleanly through the hard shell. The curse split in two and dissolved into purple ash before it hit the dirt.
[+5 System Points.]
A tiny blue notification blinked in the corner of his eye. He swiped it away. Five points meant nothing right now.
Nightfall clicked shut in its scabbard. Ren picked up the pace, boots completely silent against the forest floor. Weak energy signatures scattered across the dense woods didn't matter; his focus stayed locked on the horizon above the trees.
...
A massive boom shook the ground. Trees snapped and cracked in the distance. A thick cloud of brown dust rose high above the green canopy, marking exactly where Yuji and Todo were tearing the forest apart.
Ren sat on a wide, mossy rock. He leaned back, resting his elbows on his knees, completely ignoring the chaos echoing a mile away.
He tapped a slow, steady rhythm against Nightfall's dark scabbard. Hunting weak curses for five points a kill was a massive waste of calories.
He let out a long yawn, watching a flock of birds scatter from the shaking trees.
...
The Observation Room
A black crow circled high above the forest, its eyes locked dead on the guy sitting on the rock.
Inside the dark viewing room, the wall of monitors flickered with live feeds. Most of the screens showed brutal fights. Maki spinning her polearm. Megumi trading heavy blows. Yuji getting slammed through a tree root.
Then there was monitor four.
Gojo Satoru leaned forward in his leather chair. He pulled his blindfold down an inch, staring hard at the screen.
"What is he doing?" Gojo complained, pointing a long finger at the glass. "Why is he just sitting there? I told him to go wild."
Utahime crossed her arms, glaring at the same screen. "That is your secret weapon? The transfer student from Antarctica?"
"He usually hits things!" Gojo whined. He grabbed a piece of popcorn and chucked it at the monitor. "Ren! Get up! Go aura farm!"
Mei Mei sat near the front, resting her chin on her intertwined fingers. She smiled, her eyes tracking Ren's completely relaxed posture. "He has an interesting sense of timing. Or he simply lacks motivation. I could motivate him, for the right price."
"He's not for sale, Mei Mei," Gojo grumbled, sliding down in his chair until he was practically horizontal. "He's supposed to be ruining the Kyoto team's day."
Principal Gakuganji sat rigid in the corner, both hands clamped heavily over his wooden cane. He glared at monitor four with pure disgust.
"Your Tokyo branch is a disgrace, Satoru," Gakuganji rasped.
"He's pacing himself," Gojo fired back instantly, though he sounded deeply annoyed.
Utahime rolled her eyes. "He's taking a nap, Satoru."
On the screen, Ren reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a small mint, unwrapped it, tossed it into his mouth, and looked up at the sky.
Gojo groaned loudly, throwing his hands over his face. "Unbelievable. I'm docking his allowance."
...
Back in the forest, Ren crunched the mint between his teeth.
The sharp burst of peppermint had just hit the back of his throat when the wind suddenly died. The echoing crashes from Yuji's fight faded out, swallowed by an unnatural, heavy silence.
Then, the blue sky vanished.
A massive, ink-black dome washed over the forest canopy, casting the woods in deep shadow.
The veil was up. The invasion had officially started, right on schedule.
Ren slid off the mossy rock. He reached over his shoulder, his fingers brushing the hilt of his Grade 1 katana.
Crack.
Bark exploded from the tree trunk right next to his head.
Ren turned.
Mai Zen'in stood at the edge of the clearing. She looked terrible. Her uniform jacket was torn at the shoulder and caked in thick mud. A dark purple bruise was already swelling on her cheekline. Maki had clearly already found her twin sister and finished their fight.
Despite looking like she could barely stand, Mai raised her revolver. Her hands shook slightly, but she aimed right at his chest.
"What are you doing?" Ren asked. He kept his voice completely flat.
She didn't answer. She pulled the trigger.
Ren didn't even draw his sword. He just shifted his weight and stepped to the left. The rubber bullet zipped harmlessly past his ear. He didn't wait for her to cock the hammer again. He kicked off the dirt, crossing the thirty feet between them in a fraction of a second.
Mai's eyes went wide. She tried to step back and re-aim, but she was way too slow.
Ren grabbed her wrist and twisted it sharply downward. Mai let out a short yelp of pain. The heavy revolver slipped from her fingers and hit the grass.
Without breaking momentum, Ren swept her leg, dropping her hard onto the forest floor. He immediately planted his knee between her shoulder blades and pinned her right arm firmly behind her back.
The whole fight took two seconds.
"Get off me!" Mai yelled. She thrashed against the dirt, trying to throw him off.
Ren didn't budge. His physical density easily absorbed her struggling without giving an inch.
"You just shot at me," Ren said, keeping his grip steady. "You look like you already lost a fight. Why are you tracking me down?"
Mai stopped thrashing. She lay flat against the ground, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She turned her head, glaring up at the black barrier blocking out the sun.
"What is this?" she spat, completely ignoring his question. "What is this stupid veil? Did Satoru change the rules?"
Ren released his grip and stood up.
He didn't offer Mai a hand. He just looked up at the pitch-black sky blocking out the sun.
"This isn't the event," Ren said flatly. "It's a real attack. Stay here or run."
He turned his back on her and started walking toward the edge of the barrier. His target was Juzo Kumiya. The bald curse user was a solid Grade 1 threat, which meant a high payout from the System.