TSCJTTM CH7 Passing the Interview

Rudra mentally used his Skill Fusion Ability to fuse Cursed Technique: Fear Aura and Curse Absorption skill. The cost was barely a few hundred skill points, much less than what he had already accumulated even after spending that huge amount a few days ago.

The new Cursed Technique that formed was something that made Rudra ecstatic.

[Cursed Technique: Demonic Mouth Manifestation]

[Manifests a monstrous mouth like construct made of cursed energy that can expand or reduce its size based on User's will. The Demonic Mouth generates a terrifying aura from the moment it is summoned. This aura paralyzes Curses and slows down the flow of Cursed Energy in everyone targeted by User. The Demonic Mouth can also 'eat' Curses, transforming it into an evolution inducing essence that will help User, either by enhancing their stats, refilling their used energies, or even gaining new Cursed techniques or Skills.]

'Lets give this a whirl.' Rudra thought as he grinned at the dolls that were leaping towards him with their legs and fists prepared for attacks.

"Cursed Technique: Demonic Mouth Manifestation!!"

Instantaneously, cursed energy emerged from all over Rudra and manifested into a huge formless mouth, that sort of looked like a black worm made of slime, with huge sets of serrated teeth made of cursed energy. The other end of the Demonic mouth was attached to Rudra's shoulder, making it seem like he had grown another appendage.

The moment this Cursed Energy Construct manifested, the dolls leaping towards Rudra froze like a status and fell to the ground powerless. Yaga was surprised and extended his hand to control the dolls, but they were barely able to twitch and roll slightly in response.

"Demonic Mouth, Eat!!" Rudra commanded. Immediately the scary black worm like Demonic Mouth surged forward and enveloped the three dolls. Before Yaga could react, the cursed energy present in the dolls were all absorbed with out a trace, only leaving the scuffed up soft toys behind. The Demonic Mouth left them where they were and returned to hover above Rudra's shoulder.

"Hmm. That is impressive." Yaga nodded to Rudra as he raised his hand in front of his face while continuously clenching and relaxing it, "Is the hindrance in my cursed energy flow also related to your technique?"

"Yes." Rudra nodded, "My technique paralyzes Curses and slows down the flow of Cursed Energy in everyone targeted by it. The effect varies depending on the strength difference. I can't make curses that are too powerful, like Sukuna, be paralyzed for very long. But no one can completely evade the effects of my Cursed Technique, just reduce how long they are affected."

"Gojo, How much did it affect you?" Yaga asked.

"I need to spend 10% more effort and energy to maintain my technique." Gojo said with a crooked grin as he examined the Demonic Mouth with his covered eyes.

"10%? That is already very good for someone who has not even begun training with us." Yaga nodded before turning to Rudra, "I also noticed my cursed energy that was infused into the cursed corpse dolls suddenly disappeared when they were devoured."

"That is the other effect of my technique." Rudra said, "It devours Cursed Energy from other targets and replenishes mine. Of course the efficiency worsens if I try to do that with someone much stronger than me, like Gojo-sensei."

"The amount of Cursed energy that I would have to use to devour cursed energy of Gojo-Sensei would be much larger than the amount I would gain in return, making it a net loss. The energy in the dolls were an easy target, as they were technically a much weaker target than me. Therefore I was able to absorb the energy without using up much of mine." Rudra explained.

Rudra of course didn't explain the other aspects of his absorption. If they came to know that he can strengthen himself permanently by absorbing Cursed Energy from others, or that he even had a chance to learn Cursed Techniques from them, then he would be under constant surveillance of the higher ups. Rudra knew very well how corrupt this world had turned into.

"That is a very powerful Cursed Technique, with barely any drawbacks. If I had to find a flaw it would be that the source of the Technique is very obvious." Yaga said as he glanced at the Demonic Mouth, "You should find alternative applications for using the technique or create variations for it. Gojo would be an excellent mentor for that as he has plenty of experience in that field."

"Does that mean I passed the interview?" Rudra asked.

"Yes. You passed." Yaga said with a nod and turned to Gojo, "Show him his room and inform him of the rules and security measures of Jujutsu High."

"Sure," Gojo replied with a smile as he led Itadori and Rudra out.

-x-x-x-

The dorm room granted by Jujutsu High was large and spacious, with a quiet and well maintained scenic garden in the back that also had a small pool. To promote bonding, Rudra, Itadori and Fushiguro had dorm rooms that were close to each other.

Rudra surprised Gojo and others when he summoned Demonic Mouth and used it as a pretext to take out things from his Inventory. When Gojo inquired why he had not informed Yaga of this during the interview, Rudra simply said that he kept it private as it was unrelated to the combat. Gojo didn't pressure him about it either, as every Jujutsu Sorcerer had their own tricks and secrets.

After he was done setting up his room, he was visited by Itadori and Fushiguro. They informed him that Gojo-Sensei was taking them all out tomorrow. It was to pickup the fourth and final student of their year.

The next day, Rudra received a new school uniform for himself, just like Itadori. Unlike Itadori's uniform style, Gojo had designed his to be a black long sleeve shirt resembling a gakuran with an extra high-necked collar that opened up in a deep 'V' shape, black pants, and black shoes.

All buttons of the gakuran had the Tokyo Jujutsu High symbol. There was a slim silver chain that linked the top button of his gakuran, near the high-necked collar, and the special elegant pocket with red stripe on the top edge, designed on the left side of the gakuran's chest area. When he finished wearing it, Rudra felt that he had a devilishly charming look that had traces of both Good and Evil.

They all went to the train station to pick up their batchmate. Upon reaching there, Gojo left them to wait while he went shopping.

Rudra took this time to get acquainted with others and chatted idly with the other two about various topics ranging from Sorcerers to Curses to mundane day to day topics.

Gojo arrived a bit later and they went to find their classmate who seemed to be running late. They soon found her in the marketplace near the station, harassing a talent scout who seemed to just want to escape from her.

"So that is her?" Rudra asked as he watched the relatively short girl with a slim figure. She had mid-length orange hair that reaches to her neck, styled with bangs that covered the right side of her forehead. She had orange eyes, long eyelashes, and thin eyebrows of the same color. She was dressed in similar uniform to Rudra and others, while holding various bags and arguing with the sweating middle-aged talent scout.

"Yup. Nobara Kugisaki, a natural awakened Jujutsu Sorcerer with no special background, just like you, Rudra. She grew up in the countryside and this is the first time she has come out to a big city like this." Gojo said as he leaned back against the metal railing by the side of the road.

Gojo caught her attention by shouting and waving his arm like an excited kid. Noticing them, she left the talent scout and made her way towards them. After storing her stuff in a locker, Gojo asked them to start the introductions.

"My name is Nobara Kugisaki. Congratulations boys, here comes a girl." she said in a dry and condescending tone and started staring at them piercingly.

Itadori took the initiative to break the ice, "I am Yuji Itadori. I am from Sendai."

"Megumi Fushiguro." Fushiguro replied in a bored tone.

"Rudra." Rudra said curtly before taking out his phone and starting to browse random stuff. He ignored the Nobara's tirade that followed as she insulted Fushiguro and Itadori. When she turned to say something about Rudra, a side-look from him froze her and she grew slightly flustered before turning away from him.

'Hmm. Dunno what that was, but at least she has shut up.' Rudra thought as he turned his attention back to his phone. While he was browsing random stuff and local news, he was actually looking for any anomalies that may have been reported that could be a sign of Curses. He was addicted to fighting now and was itching to try out his Demonic Mouth Cursed Technique on some actual Curses.

"So, where are we going after this?" Fushiguro asked.

"Since its rare for all the students of a batch to gather like this, lets go sightseeing in Tokyo." Gojo declared. Immediately Rudra seemed to see Gojo, Itadori, and Kugisaki turn into chibi characters, shouting and screaming about Tokyo and having fun.

'You are going to be so disappointed you two.' Rudra thought as he watched the celebrating Itadori and Kugisaki.