"Whatever you want."
"As long as you can pay the 'price'."
Lynn's voice echoed in the empty Old School Building.
Maki Zen'in stood at the door, her sharp eyes fixed on Lynn.
She wasn't a fool.
Growing up in that malicious Zenin Family, she understood the cruelty of "equivalent Exchange" better than anyone.
"You've got a big mouth."
Maki gave a cold laugh, walked into the room with her naginata, and sat down unceremoniously on a chair.
With her long legs crossed, her aura was sharp and imposing.
"Do you know who I am?"
"The bottom-tier of the Zenin Family."
"A failure with no Cursed Technique, who can't see curses, and is even worse than that Inumaki who can only use Cursed Speech."
Maki pointed self-deprecatingly at her glasses.
"Without these things, you'd just be a blurry mosaic to me right now."
"So, what kind of price do you think a 'bad asset' like me can afford?"
Lynn didn't speak.
He just smiled and pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose.
As a transmigrator familiar with the plot, he naturally knew the real reason for Maki's "weakness," perhaps even better than she did herself.
It was Cursed Energy roughly equivalent to an ordinary person's.
For a Jujutsu Sorcerer, that amount of Cursed Energy couldn't even kill a fly.
But for Maki, it was the heaviest shackle.
Because of it, Maki couldn't completely break free from the shackles of Cursed Energy like Toji Fushiguro, and her body couldn't evolve to its absolute peak.
She was stuck in the middle, neither here nor there.
"Maki-san."
Lynn pushed his glasses, his eyes carrying a hint of pity and a hint of greed.
"The people of the Zenin Family are truly all blind."
"Huh?" Maki's brow furrowed, murderous intent surging. "Do you want to die?"
"Don't be in such a hurry."
Lynn walked up to Maki.
"The reason you are weak isn't because you have no Cursed Energy."
"On the contrary."
"It's because there's still a tiny bit of... trash-like Cursed Energy remaining in your body."
Maki's pupils shrank.
"What... did you say?"
Heavenly Restriction is an ultimate binding that Exchanges 'Cursed Energy' for 'physical prowess'.
Lynn's voice was like a demon's whisper.
"That man, Toji Fushiguro, was a complete '0'. That's why he obtained a body capable of tearing apart Special Grades with his bare hands."
"And you, you're a '0.5'."
"Because of that damn 0.5, your physical talent is locked."
"Do you want to become stronger?"
"Do you want to become a monster like that man, one that makes all Jujutsu Sorcerers tremble?"
Maki's breathing became rapid.
Her heart pounded violently.
No one had ever told her this.
People in the family only mocked her for having no Cursed Energy, but no one ever told her that that insignificant amount of Cursed Energy was actually the root of her pain.
"Can you... solve it?"
Maki's voice was somewhat dry.
"Of course."
Lynn laughed inwardly.
Actually, there was no item directly named "Heavenly Restriction Purification Potion" in the system mall.
This kind of deep modification involving the soul, bloodline, and karma couldn't be done by ordinary products.
But that was no problem for Exchange No. 8.
Because besides "buying and selling," the system had a second transaction mode—[Contract Execution].
This mode didn't require physical goods but had to be conducted within the Exchange.
Instead, Lynn would draft a "service contract." As long as the buyer signed and paid the price, the Exchange would act as the "executor," directly mobilizing the power of rules to forcibly interfere with reality and complete the contract's contents.
Like the current "deprivation of Cursed Energy."
The system would act like a precision centrifuge, enforcing the rule of "separation."
Doing this was very convenient for Lynn, but the problem was that the profit was far less than the first transaction mode.
In this mode, he could only earn points equivalent to the value of the items given by the customer; the system would reclaim the items and deduct a service fee.
In the first mode, he could obtain both the items and the points.
Lynn turned around and took out a transparent glass bottle covered in runes from behind the counter.
"Although there's no ready-made medicine, I can perform'surgery' for you."
"I can use the rules to help you strip away the remaining Cursed Energy in your body... bit by bit."
"With every bit stripped away, your body will evolve further."
"Until you become a complete '0'."
"Really?!" Maki stood up abruptly, knocking her chair to the floor.
"But..."
Lynn's tone shifted as he held up a finger.
"This evolution goes against common sense. Your body needs to adapt."
"Just like a deep-sea fish can't be instantly pulled to the surface."
"We can't drain it all at once."
"It must be done in sessions, bit by bit."
Lynn looked at Maki and gave a professional smile.
"How about it? Do you want to try this 'Heavenly Restriction Tyrant Training Package'?"
"I do!"
Maki didn't hesitate.
As long as she could become stronger, as long as she could trample those who looked down on her.
Let alone stripping away Cursed Energy, she would even accept being skinned and having her tendons pulled.
"And the price?"
Maki stared intently at Lynn. "I don't have money right now. But I can go take on missions..."
"No, no, no, talking about money is too vulgar."
Lynn shook his head.
He pulled a pre-prepared parchment contract from a drawer.
What flowed on it wasn't ink, but the power of the system's laws.
"What I'm interested in is your 'future'."
"Maki-san, you're going to take control of the Zenin Family in the future, right?"
"Of course."
"Then it's simple."
Lynn pointed to the terms on the contract.
"This treatment fee will be put on credit for now."
"When you become the head of the family and open the Treasure Vault filled with the Zenin Family's treasures..."
"I want the right of first refusal."
"Two Cursed Tools in total."
Maki was stunned for a moment.
Then, a wild and arrogant curve formed at the corners of her mouth.
"Ha! You really think I can reach that level?"
"Naturally."
"Fine!"
Maki grabbed the pen and signed her name forcefully on the contract.
"As long as I can become the head of the family, never mind three items, you can have half the Treasure Vault!"
"If it's the treasure troves of those old fogies... I'd be more than happy to help you empty them out."
[Ding! Contract established.]
[Transaction Mode: Contract Execution (Rule Interference).]
[Execution Content: Targeted stripping of trace Cursed Energy from Maki Zen'in's body.]
[Payment Price: Maki Zen'in's future Asset Transfer Rights.]
"Then, let's begin the first treatment."
Lynn motioned for Maki to sit down.
"It might hurt a bit; after all, this is cutting the bonds of the soul."
"Cut the crap, just do it." Maki closed her eyes.
Lynn reached out, his palm aimed at Maki's back.
With a thought.
"System, execute the contract."
[Executing...]
"Hum—"
Maki's body shuddered violently.
This wasn't Jujutsu, nor was it any specific type of energy.
It was a higher-level "rule."
She felt as if an invisible giant hand had ignored her physical defenses and reached directly into the depths of her soul, forcibly pulling out something deeply rooted.
Intense pain.
It was an intense pain as if her nerves were being stripped away.
"Ugh..."
Maki clenched her teeth, cold sweat instantly soaking her uniform, but she didn't make a sound.
In Lynn's view.
Wisps of black, turbid aura were forcibly extracted from Maki's body.
They desperately tried to burrow back into Maki, but under the suppression of the system's rules, they could only obediently gather in the glass bottle in Lynn's hand.
This was the overbearing nature of [Contract Execution].
Once signed, the rules would be forcibly enacted.
[Recovering trace Cursed Energy (First Stage).]
[System settlement in progress...]
[Revenue from this service: 22,000 points.]
[One-time deduction for rule execution loss: 7,000 points.]
[Net profit: 15,000 points.]
"Nice."
Lynn looked at the surging balance, his mood pleasant.
Five minutes later.
"It's done."
Lynn withdrew his hand, sealed the bottle filled with black gas, and tossed it into a drawer.
Maki slumped into the chair as if exhausted, panting heavily.
"Is it... over?"
She was somewhat dazed.
Although her body was tired, as if she had run dozens of kilometers.
But... the world had changed.
Maki slowly opened her eyes.
She subconsciously went to push her glasses, only to find they had fallen to the floor long ago.
However.
She could see clearly.
She saw the dust floating in the air.
She saw the patterns of the spiderwebs in the corner of the Old School Building.
She heard the sound of leaves falling hundreds of meters outside the window.
"This..."
Maki looked at her hands in disbelief.
She clenched her fists.
That sense of power was more than ten times clearer than before.
That feeling of her body no longer being heavy, as if she had broken free from some kind of quagmire.
"This is the first session."
Lynn handed a towel to Maki, who was still wearing a shocked expression.
"Only about one-tenth was stripped away."
"Your body needs to adapt to this evolution."
"When you can perfectly master your current strength, come find me for the next session."
Maki took the towel and wiped her face haphazardly.
She suddenly grabbed her naginata from the floor.
With a casual swing.
"Whoosh—!!"
The naginata tore through the air, letting out a sharp sonic boom.
The speed was so fast that not even an afterimage could be seen.
"Is this... the world of the tyrant of heaven?"
A flame never seen before burned in Maki's eyes.
This was only one-tenth?
If it were all stripped away... she could hardly imagine how strong she would become.
"Lynn."
Maki called him by name seriously for the first time.
She shouldered the naginata and turned toward the door, her back looking incredibly tall.
"Thanks."
"The things in that Treasure Vault, I'll definitely get them for you."
"Even if I have to cut my way through the Zenin Family."