Of course, he couldn't tell them the full truth.
"Well... this is a trial given to you by that mysterious being. Didn't you want to save your sister? K gave you this trial as a test.
This world is dangerous, but if you manage to survive, you'll become incredibly powerful!"
Hearing this, Lumine clenched her fists tightly.
Paimon, a bit frightened, stammered, "D-Dangerous? Um… can Paimon go back instead?"
"Absolutely not!"
Zephyr rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Wait a minute… how did Paimon get here? Was she considered Lumine's pet or something?
"Alright, I've given you some time to prepare yourselves. Let's start the game."
"Okay!"
"W-Wait! Hold on, Paimon's not ready ye—"
Zapp!
---
When Lumine opened her eyes, she found herself standing atop a towering skyscraper that seemed to pierce the clouds.
Paimon groggily opened her eyes. "W-Where are we? W-Whoa… so high up! Paimon's scared of heights!"
Lumine sighed. "Paimon… you can fly."
"Flying and being afraid of heights are two different things! S-So… is this the new world?"
Paimon looked out over the strange cityscape — rows of bizarrely tall buildings, swarms of people moving like currents, all talking to themselves while holding some weird black devices.
On the streets below, giant 'beasts' sped past, devouring people one by one — or at least that's how it looked to her.
Her face went pale. "Wh-What are those things?!"
"Oh, those?" Lumine said. "Those are cars."
"Cars? Wait… are those houses? Why are they so tall? And why are there so many people?! There's more of them than ants!"
Zephyr explained, "This is Tokyo. Those tall buildings are called apartments — most people live in them. Of course, rich people tend to live in private houses, the kind with yards and fences."
"Ugh, cursed rich people."
> This world was known as Jujutsu Kaisen, a modern world where humans coexisted with entities called Curses — malicious spirits responsible for most unexplained deaths. <
"Oh yeah… Lumine, how do you know what a car is?"
"In the past, I visited a world like this," she replied.
> A thousand years ago, there existed a powerful Curse called Sukuna, the King of Curses. It was eventually defeated by all the jujutsu sorcerers of that era, and its immense power was split into twenty severed fingers, each sealed away. <
> Fast forward to the present — a boy named Yuji Itadori swallowed one of those fingers but somehow retained control over his mind. With determination, Yuji walked the path of a jujutsu sorcerer. <
> Jujutsu Kaisen wasn't your typical hero's journey like Naruto or One Piece. Sukuna wasn't some helpful mentor — he repeatedly endangered Yuji's life instead. Yet despite those obstacles, Yuji still became a sorcerer. <
> Main Quest: Defeat the Special Grade Curse, Mahito. Completing this will earn you significant rewards. <
> Side Quests: <
- Obtain Sukuna's severed fingers (each grants 20 blue EXP books)
- Save the two students involved in the Sukuna incident (20 green EXP books)
- Participate in the Juvenile Detention Center incident. Survive or defeat the Special Grade Curse inside its Domain Expansion (significant rewards)
- Place the Statue of the Seven in a safe zone (20 blue EXP books)
- Collect Cursed Eyes — a total of 1,800 exist. Collecting enough will upgrade the statue and grant rewards.
- Collect Treasure Chests — there are 10,000 in this world. Each chest offers random rewards.
- Daily Quests: Complete four daily tasks to earn rewards.
- Daily Energy Consumption: Spend 160 stamina points to earn rewards.
...
"Whew… that's a lot of quests," Zephyr muttered, feeling overwhelmed. He wasn't used to having so many options.
"Defeat the Special Grade Curse, Mahito… Wait, what?! How am I supposed to kill a Special Grade Curse?"
Taking down something that powerful with a party barely at level 10?
Yeah… in my dreams.
Participate in the Event Where Yuji Itadori First Swallowed Sukuna's Finger — that one seemed manageable... but why was there a time limit?
The Juvenile Detention Center incident wasn't going to be easy either. Even in the original story, the protagonist barely survived — if Zephyr went in, his odds wouldn't be much better.
Sure, placing a Statue of the Seven might theoretically allow him to teleport out...
But what if it doesn't?
He kept scrolling through the quest list.
"Good grief, collecting Anemo Sigils again? You think changing the name would fool me? And daily quests too? I've already crossed worlds, and I still have to grind?"
Zephyr sighed and cursed Gojo Satoru under his breath.
Sigh… I need to find Yuji Itadori within 24 hours. How the hell am I supposed to know where he is?
Thankfully, the map kindly displayed his location.
Miyagi Prefecture, Sugisawa Third High School — 300 kilometers from Tokyo.
Zephyr was stunned.
"300 kilometers?!"
"You've got to be kidding me! How am I supposed to make it there in 24 hours?"
"…Wait a sec. There's trains! This is the modern world — almost forgot. But even with a train, covering 300 kilometers in 24 hours could still be tricky… I'd better get moving."
Without hesitation, Zephyr jumped straight off Tokyo Tower, spreading his Wings of Wind.
"Now… where's the train station?"
"Wait, is that school really far away?"
"Yeah… about 300 kilometers."
Lumine and Paimon both gasped. "300 kilometers?!"
"Calm down, if we take the train, we should probably make it in time… I think… maybe."
Paimon shot him a skeptical look. "Wait, even you're not sure?!"
"Also…" Zephyr glanced down at the crowd gathering below. "We're drawing way too much attention."
People had already stopped in their tracks, pointing and whispering about the 'flying person' in the sky.
Zephyr frowned. "Right… forgot this isn't Mondstadt — people here have never seen a glider before."
Lumine added, "Even in Mondstadt, you don't see people casually gliding around the city. The only time I saw anyone doing that was in front of the cathedral."
In Mondstadt, flying requires a license, and many areas are designated as no-fly zones.
"But now that I think about it... It seems like they're not really focused on me — it's more about you, Paimon."
"What do you mean me?!" Paimon protested. Then, noticing the stares, she added, "Huh? Wait, they are looking at Paimon! Why are they staring? Haven't they seen a god before? Careful, or Paimon will gobble you all up in one bite!"
"This world doesn't have gods — only cursed spirits. And while you may be adorable, if you run into a jujutsu sorcerer, they might mistake you for a curse and try to exorcise you."
"Ahhh!" Paimon shivered in fear.
"In that case, Paimon is a Pokemon now! Call me Pikachu from now on!"
"Yeah, right. Why not just call yourself Agumon while you're at it?"
Zephyr shook his head. Realizing they were drawing too much attention, he decided to land on a nearby rooftop and head downstairs via the stairwell.
Paimon commented, "Traveler, you seem really familiar with all this. Have you been to a world like this before?"
Lumine nodded. "Looks like the player has visited similar worlds too."
Paimon added, "Wow, the player's been to so many worlds... That's impressive!"
Zephyr chuckled awkwardly. If only they knew... I've never been anywhere — just a shut-in gamer. Sorry for disappointing you.
"Ding-dong..."
"Who is it?" The door opened to reveal a man.
"Sorry, wrong door."
The man blinked in confusion. "Huh?"
They went down a few more floors, and this time Lumine knocked.
"Who is it?" This time, a woman answered.
"Hi, we're with a film crew shooting a movie, and I accidentally damaged my costume. Could you lend me some clothes?"
"Oh, sure!" In no time, the woman returned with a few outfits.
"Here you go. No need to return them. By the way, which film crew are you guys with?"
"Oh, just a small one — you've probably never heard of it. It's called... the Paimon Crew."
//END