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The Good Life: Prepping (ch. 58) (Jujutsu Kaisen Start)
🕑 Added 2024-07-26 15:03:35 +0000 UTCMagic. It felt like a whole new world just opened up to me. It was something fundamentally new and it was fascinating. For the past two years, I had been exploring the many facets of my power. Given where I started, barely able to expand my Room more than an inch off my body and stuck swapping things with the same amount of mass? I had improved by leaps and bounds.
My Room got larger. I got better at analyzing everything within my Room. I got better at manipulating what was inside it -- tangible things like atoms, and even intangible things like feelings. I barely got to show off the results of my training against Nora, and while the results were far less explosive than when I was fighting against a powerful opponent, I had still been making steady gains in all aspects of my power over the last few months.
For that reason, I got the sense that I was… hitting a limit, I suppose. I was refining all that I knew, but that was the issue - I was only getting better at what I knew. I hadn't encountered anything new or discovered a new facet of my power since quite a while before the world ended. It wasn't that I had mastered my power, but I was getting the impression that I wouldn't ever have another breakthrough like I did with Stormfront back when she taught me how to create lightning. Or when I learned how to interact with emotions like I did when I fucked Cinder for the first time.
Those notions were put to bed as I discovered something entirely new.
Magic.
“It's a type of energy,” I reasoned, flipping through the codex - the local take on a book, though I thought it looked more like a pamphlet - that Tz had given to me the moment I expressed any interest in it. For that and for how impressed I was with his little surprise and how annoying I found his name to say, I had affectionately dubbed him ‘Tz’. A name he bore proudly.
Speaking of his surprise, the stone jaguar had slaughtered the conquistadors, and each one that it killed added to its store of energy - of magic. Like a battery getting a charge. I'm not sure what exactly it got out of killing to keep powering itself, but it got something. It could be the life that it claimed. It could be the simple act of killing that performed a ritual that gave the jaguar more power. “It's not like atoms. It's not bound by rules.”
Or at least not any that I knew. That was the most fascinating part.
I was able to freely manipulate reality around me, but I was firmly bound by what was possible. When I energized an electron, I would always develop an electric charge. If I wanted to create a fire, I had to feed it oxygen. If I wanted to manipulate water, I had to pull moisture out of the air and condense it if there wasn't any laying around. I couldn't create something from nothing.
The closest I had ever come to that was breaking apart atoms and refitting them. Peeling one atom away from lead to turn something into gold. However, that was beyond tedious and extremely time consuming so I never bothered. In an ounce of lead, there were… a lot of atoms. So many that it had to be expressed in an equation rather than a number. I'd have to spend years doing nothing but converting lead into gold to get anywhere. So, it was completely unworthy of the time investment.
And even with that, I wasn't making something from nothing.
Technically, magic wasn't doing that either. What it was doing, however, was turning something into a nebulous vaguely defined energy that then could be used to bend the laws of reality. Like animating a several ton jaguar statue.
“You're still on that? I think our friend is feeling a little neglected,” Yoruichi noted and I looked beyond the lip of the codex to find Chel looking up at me, her mouth sealed around my cock that was buried in her throat. Her face was already marked with thick white cum, and Yoruichi licked some up now that they had my attention.
Chel had fallen underneath Yoruichi's wing as she had taken a shine to the little minx. She seemed to be teaching Chel a few things because she slowly extracted my cock from her throat before wrapping her breasts around it and giving me a tit job while her tongue swirled around my cockhead. She was a fast learner, I would give her that much.
“Of course I'm still going on about it. It's been a month and I'm not any closer to figuring it out,” I replied. I hadn't been able to recreate that energy. I wasn't even any closer to understanding it either. I couldn't break down how it functioned or why specific steps in a ritual had to be followed to generate that energy. That magic.
Just about the only thing I had managed to learn was that not doing every single step in a specific order caused the ritual to fail.
Which made it of limited use to me. If I couldn't break down the process then, as fascinating as magic was, I couldn't use it in a pinch. I'd have to prepare it ahead of time if I wanted to use it for a fight or a project. Which was fine in some cases but I'd vastly prefer more freedom in its utility.
Yoruichi crouched behind Chel, cupping her breasts with her hands before she pinched her dark brown nipples and lightly pulled them. Chel moaned around my dick seductively. Despite my divided attention, I did feel a tension building in my balls. “So, what? Where does that leave you?” She questioned, adding pressure to Chel’s breasts as she stroked them up and down the length of my cock.
That was the question, I thought, lowering the book as Chel’s ministrations stole more of my attention. “There are other worlds in this World Line. It's been a month, so the Dias should be up and running with no issue. I want to find a world that has magic that's less… ritualistic,” I reasoned, my dick throbbing as Chel polished my cockhead with her tongue.
With two Dias, we had to split the power grid a bit. Between the Old World and Fallout, the latter was a far better and more reliable place to generate energy. But there was a slight issue with maintaining a portal to another World Line. This world, El Dorado as I was going to call it, was the perfect answer to our resource problem. It had food, clean water, open spaces, etc. Asami was going to want to pull even more people from the Old World and settle them here.
So, we were going to have to get a bit… creative in regards to the power situation. Especially if I wanted to explore.
I closed the book and set it aside as Chel redoubled her efforts when she sensed my attention drifting again. Reaching out, I placed a hand on her head, encouraging her, and then with a grunt, I felt the tension coming undone. Chel’s gaze went half lidded when I erupted in her mouth, filling it with cum. A drop of it escaped her lips when she pulled back, making a show of swishing it in her mouth right up until Yoruichi licked the drop up and kissed her.
They swapped my cum back and forth before Yoruichi pulled Chel away, falling on the bedding. She only broke the kiss to grind her cum leaking pussy against Chel’s cum leaking pussy, scissoring with Chel's hips raised in the air while Yoruichi crouched down. She let the cum drip from her mouth while Chel received it in her own and I chuckled.
The two were far too seductive for their own good. But, sadly, now wasn't the time for indulgence. Especially when for the past month, it had been nothing but indulgence.
“Law! Get your ass out here!” Rumi called out, knowing better than to enter the temple herself. She’d learned that lesson the hard way and since we arrived, she had found other sleeping accommodations. I tossed Yoruichi a wink before continuing on my way after pulling up my pants. Rumi was waiting for me halfway down the stairs, her nose crinkling as she could guess what I had been up to. “It's time for us to leave.”
“Shambles,” I replied, taking us down into the heart of El Dorado where the Anchor was placed. Thick cables attached themselves to the Anchor where the odd two dozen watermills helped generate a charge. It wasn't a lot, but it was at least something. “You that eager to leave?” I asked her, looking at the crowd that had been assembled.
Nora was there, along with Chief Tannabok and Tz. There were also a dozen conquistadors that had been captured and bound -- them, I was saving for later.
“I might be part rabbit, but that doesn't mean I insist on fucking like one,” Rumi snarked back, defensive. There was a tension between us since that night where Rumi almost let herself indulge. Now she was keeping her distance, like I might lead her into temptation. And that told me that I could.
I opened my mouth to reply, but she flipped me off, already anticipating it, so I just chuckled. Instead, I turned my attention to the three waiting for us. “Is everything ready to go?” I asked Robin, who was inspecting the Anchor.
“The Dias has been primed on the other side,” she confirmed with a small nod.
Then, I looked to Nora. “It's going to be a tight window, so grab what you need and leave a list for what you want for the next delivery,” I advised. Nora nodded, accepting of her role. I think it was good for her. She was an absolute bombshell and sex on legs, but she seemed much happier moving in a direction to some goal than she did mindlessly fucking. And we’d done a lot of mindless fucking.
“Between the two of us, who has experience leading an army again?” She questioned, but her words lacked the bitter bite that they had a month ago. I wouldn't call us best friends or anything, but that resentment was gone. Partly because I had made her cum endlessly over the past month, and partly because…
“Fair enough. Pass a list of whatever you want to Taylor, she’ll make sure you get it,” I said, placing a hand on her stomach, “All goes well, you should control the Americas before Law Jr. arrives.”
Nora rolled her eyes, “Their name won't be Law Jr., I can promise you that much,” she replied dryly.
“No shock there,” I conceded easily. “So long as the name isn't John, Steve, or Jennifer for a girl, I don't care.” Nora got knocked up on the first night here. And if she hadn't, then she definitely would have gotten pregnant in the days and weeks following.
It felt a little weird to think that I was going to have a kid. I expected some rush of parental affection or something, but so far, there was nothing. Well, there was some curiosity and interest in how the kid would turn out. Partly because I got the impression that Nora didn't particularly want me in the life of our kid.
And fair enough. I wouldn't want me anywhere near my child either.
“A little specific, but fine,” Nora agreed easily enough. Not really sure what the future would hold for the kid, but if nothing else, he’d be the son of a god in a brand new world. Or daughter, I suppose. Giving her stomach another small pat, I moved on.
I looked at Robin and offered a nod, prompting her to activate the Anchor. Things in this world were being tied off nicely. Nora was already going about confederating the other tribes, and their weapons training had begun. When the time came for her to start conquering, the would-have-been colonial powers wouldn't know what hit them.
A moment later, the Anchor activated as the connection was made. Both Chief Tannabok and Tz sucked in sharp gasps at the sight, but I wasted no time ushering everyone forward. “Cief, you'll be meeting Taylor about supply exchanges. Since we're going to be moving in, it's only fair that you reap the benefits of such an arrangement. Sound fair?”
“I… Yes…” he muttered, following me through the portal.
“Good. Tell Taylor hey for me,” I said before I had him zapped over to Nuka-World. Tz seemed stunned, awed and fearful in equal measure while he gazed upon the control room in Vault 111. Just as the scientists and Cate were looking at him with puzzled looks. Him, and the bound and gagged conquistadors that were ushered through the portal with Robin's help.
Rumi brushed past me, “I'm going to report this cluster fuck to Asami. Heads up -- she's going to hate how you went about it,” she informed and I snorted.
“I'd be shocked if she didn't,” I replied. Rumi met my glance for a moment before she shrugged, accepting that for what it was. Then, like Chief Tannabok, she vanished in a clap of lightning.
With her gone, I was free to look at Cate, who swallowed thickly upon our eyes meeting. However, she swallowed down her uncertainty and spoke up, “The mission was a success, then?”
“Oh, yeah -- it's a veritable garden world,” I said, hearing another clap of lightning as Nora teleported to Nuka-World. “Has pretty much everything that we need. So, the next goal is going to be opening up a long term portal to connect Fallout to El Dorado.” The names puzzled her a bit, but she didn't ask. Possibly because she was reading my mind at the moment.
So, I smiled, “However, we have a more immediate… experiment to try out,” I informed her, and she watched as the conquistadors were forced to kneel while Tz began to prepare a ritual. I could see from the brief panic on her face that she understood what was going to happen, her gaze flickering to Tz. Then to me. Then to Robin, who watched the ritual prep with some interest. Then back to me.
“I…” she started, only to trail off while the tension in the room began to grow thick. I ignored it and her as I popped behind the center computer to see the targeting system was up. There were a dozen worlds in relative easy reach. But those I wasn't feeling. There was a pull in my gut that told me I wouldn't find what I was looking for there. So, I needed to go further out.
To that end, I targeted one of the further worlds we could reach with the remaining battery that we had left. We wouldn't have an Anchor, which complicated things a bit, but even without it, we still had enough of a charge to open the portal. Just not for long.
“I- I'm not sure-” Cate stammered, cutting herself off when I made a dismissive gesture.
“Don't worry about it. We probably have an answer to deal with the loss of power,” I replied, and Cate seemed less than convinced. “Until then, give me a breakdown on what's been going down on this side of the portal. How has Taylor been doing?”
Cate twitched, watching as a sigil was being drawn with blood on the floor by Tz, who happily hummed as he went about his task. That was a man that loved his job. “Things have been… stable?” Cate tried to answer, sounding uncertain. So, I cocked an eyebrow and made her elaborate. “Ms. Sato had… hoped that things would change within Nuka-World with the Antagonizer in charge. That hasn't been the case. Exactly. The Gulch is less… well… things didn't change as much as some wanted.”
That was hilarious. Taylor really went all in on channeling her inner Cinder. I wonder if I should tell her?
“There have been some developments as well. The mirelurks have proven to be a consistent issue. More recently, an expedition into the Capital Wasteland returned in failure. They encountered far greater resistance than expected.” Cate continued, and that was at least interesting. The Capital Wasteland was where that Supe and the six hundred people following him had wandered off to. Sounds like they had established themselves.
Good.
And given that it wasn't mentioned, I'm guessing there was no robot rebellion. We'll, even without it, it sounded like Taylor had enough to keep her on her toes.
Tz bowed to me, “The preparations have been finished.” He announced and I looked down at the circle that was surrounded by blocky looking letters. I couldn't make heads or tails of it. No matter -- that's why I had Tz.
“Perfect,” I said, popping back out of the control room. “Cate -- open a portal to the world that I selected. It feels like a winner.” I instructed, feeling a hum of anticipation as Robin stood by my side, watching with a curious eye. Cate flinched when Tz took out a wicked looking knife.
I could sense her panic even without my Room. “It's- we'd only be able to keep the portal open for five minutes at most. Not to mention, it would dangerously delay the transfer…”
She trailed off when I looked at her and she understood that I hadn't really been asking. With that clear, Cate offered a jerky nod in response before she went about confirming the selection. The Dias began to shift a second later, with Tz taking that as a sign to start chanting. I started to sense that energy- that magic again as it gathered around the magic circle, condensing.
He timed it perfectly, because the moment that the portal opened, he finished the ritual by slitting the throat of the conquistador in front of him. Cate yelped, hiding her face in her hands, the conquistador gargling before he bled out. The moment that he died, the magic in the circle swelled before it flowed forward, to the portal itself.
“Cate, check the power gauge. How much time do we have now?” I questioned, looking at her, and Cate seemed like she was swallowing back bile. All the same, she answered, even if she was confused by what she saw.
“That… gave us an hour of activation?” She replied and I hummed while Robin chuckled.
“One hour for one human life. That seems a rather even trade,” she noted. Meaning that we could keep the portal open for twelve hours with the conquistadors. That wasn't bad. I'd prefer a little more time, but twelve hours was enough to get the job done. Probably.
I offered an arm to her, and Robin accepted it easily. “Keep the portal going,” I instructed both Cate and Tz. “We're going to explore a bit.”
“Of course, Oh Destroyer,” Tz agreed easily while Cate offered a mute nod. With that, Robin and I continued forward, walking up the ramp and crossing the threshold into a brand new world once more.
…
“Do you still feel lucky?” Robin asked me as we stood on top of a building, looking out into the city below. I had no idea where we were exactly because I couldn't read Japanese, but the fact that I could recognize kanji told me that we were in Japan. I was seeing a lot of flip phones out and about, so I was guessing that we were somewhere around the early two thousands in terms of time.
I flashed Robin a smirk, “Since you're here? Always,” I replied and Robin seemed pleased with the flirting. Looking back out at the city, I offered a small shrug. “It's not really what I'm looking for, but I think it's a bit early to call it quits. Maybe it's like Harry Potter and there is some secret society of wizards?”
“Then I suppose we shouldn't waste time,” Robin noted, wrapping her arm around mine and I brought us down to the ground level.
“I think we can waste a little time. We have a dozen conquistadors,” I pointed out. To that, I got a mild look, but I shrugged indifferently. “Just sayin’. It's been a while since we had a one on one date. Things got hectic towards the end of the Old World. Then we kept busy in Fallout. El Dorado was nice, but that was more… group activities.”
That got a slight smile out of Robin as we walked the streets. Some attention was drawn to us, but it was mostly gawking at Robin. Or at the two strangely dressed gaijin. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
“Japan has a rich history. Plenty of ancient temples and stuff. I'm thinking we hit a few museum tours,” I said and Robin gave me a fond look, telling me that I had won some serious heart points with that.
“That does sound wonderful. Though, I do feel bad for Rumi. She's missed her home,” Robin noted as I expanded my Room. First order of business was to slip some cash in my pocket. There were plenty of cash registers that were around, not to mention people's wallets. So, swapping out the biggest bills with a few pebbles was easy enough. Not sure how much I had, but it was enough to start.
“Might be for the best. Based on what she said, I don't think this is her Japan,” I remarked, spotting one place of interest. With a quick Shambles, we arrived before a clothing store. Robin approved by patting me on the arm when I opened the door for her. As she entered, I thought to myself that it was best that Rumi wasn't here for a couple of reasons.
First and foremost, she'd have something against human sacrifice, regardless of how convenient it was. That was something I think I'm going to keep under my hat. Asami would also freak out about it and that could be what tipped the scales. I would need to experiment in secret and, maybe, I could find a better option in this world.
Might bring Yoruichi over later though. My sexy weeb cat might appreciate a little taste of home.
The receptionist bowed, “Greetings honored customers!” She announced, bowing deeply.
“My husband and I shall be staying in Japan briefly, and we wanted to try out wearing traditional yukatas,” Robin informed with a smile, making the woman bow again. I glanced around at the yukutas on the stands, each one marked with a price tag that had… a lot of zeroes. Oh yeah, Japan used Yen. So in dollars that would be…
No clue. A lot, probably.
So, I took out the wad of cash I stole and flashed it, seeing the woman's eyes widen a fraction. So, I had a lot. Neat. “Money is no issue,” I said and the woman bowed a third time, this time so deeply she nearly brained herself on the kiosk.
“Right this way, honored customers,” she said, gesturing for us to follow. Robin was up first, placed behind a curtain as she took off the clothing we brought with us to El Dorado while the woman went about offering a selection of styles. It was after that Robin made a choice and the woman went into the back room that Robin spoke up.
“It's a strange thing that we can speak the language here,” Robin noted. “In Fallout, I could understand, but in El Dorado, we were able to communicate perfectly with the Musica Tribe. And now we can communicate with the Japanese in Japan as if they're speaking English.”
I had noticed that little bit of weirdness, but I shrugged my shoulders at it. “It makes as much sense as Rumi, Cinder, or Asami being able to speak the same language. Or you, for that matter. I wouldn't sweat it,” I reasoned and Robin made an acknowledging sound at that. Until proven otherwise, I was just going to call it a quirk of interdimensional travel.
Through the curtain, I saw Robin getting wrapped up. A few minutes later, it was pushed to the side, revealing her. She wore a white yukata that was emboldened with bright floral designs. A belly warmer wrapped around her middle, accentuating her breasts and butt. A teasing grin was hidden behind a hand fan and it was only then that I noticed she did her hair up.
“You look fantastic,” I complimented her, and she knew it.
“I expect you to compliment me well,” she noted as I stepped behind the curtain.
I don't know about matching her, but the yukata I picked was a black one. White and black swirling clouds were decorations with the fabric getting brighter at the hems. A white sash held it all together, and with a little adjustment, I let my chest breath a bit. In all, it was a solid look for me, I thought, handing the woman some bills. I was overpaying quite a bit, I think, based on the flustered look she gave me.
“Call it a tip,” I dismissed, leaving with Robin as she gave me an appreciative once over. “Actually,” I started, making no moves to take the money back even when it was offered. “Are there any museums or temples nearby? We want to hit the cultural sights.”
“I… there… is a temple nearby. On the outskirts of the city?” She offered and that was good enough for me.
Waving goodbye, the two of us set off. We already kinda stood out like a sore thumb before, but we did so more now. We paid the gawkers no mind, however, as we made our way to one of the temples. It was kinda well hidden-
I blinked as I felt… something move in my Room. My gaze snapped to it as we approached the temple that was marked with a red arch thing and a bunch of steps. My lips pressed into a thin line when I saw that the space was empty. But, the more I looked at the empty space, the more I felt it. I couldn’t see it, but it was like…
Bad vibes. I’m not sure what it was, but it was like a condensed source of bad vibes. Like someone had concentrated frustration, irritation, anger, and resentment from dozens of people. Leaving it as some weird energy thing.
“Is something wrong?” Robin questioned, casting me a curious glance.
I pointed at the empty space, “Something is right there.” I could feel it moving. I sensed its presence with Haki. Only, there was nothing there. Just empty space. “It's invisible? I think?” I said, approaching and waving a hand through the space.
My hand bumped into something. Then that something bit me. So I punched it with a little Haki.
It was weird, I decided, watching as the creature left an imprint on the tree that I knocked it into. It wasn't particularly large. And it was quick to flee. But even when I touched it, I didn't really feel anything. No texture or anything. Just some kind of mass.
“Perhaps you didn't strike out with this world after all,” Robin noted, inspecting my hand to find a circular bite mark. I got it before it could break skin, but the bite wound was enough to convince me it wasn't a normal creature.
“Hopefully,” I replied before winking at her. “Maybe the temple will know more?” I ventured before we started heading up the steps. We decided to take it slow and I was thoroughly examining my surroundings for any sign of another one of those monsters. I was coming up empty until we arrived at the top of the steps where an old, ancient really, temple was set up.
I felt a presence inside of it. A heavy one. I don't think it was one of the monsters, but… whoever was inside that temple had an ego. A massive one. Bigger than Homelander’s, even.
We approached the shrine and I felt Robin needling me, “What has you so distracted?” She questioned and I looked beyond the walls of the temple. The presence was down below, in a basement of some kind, but…
It was easier to show her, I decided, using Shambles. Taking a yen coin and swapping it out, the source of the powerful presence landed in my hand.
It was a finger. Blood red mummified skin with a black pointed nail.
Robin cocked an eyebrow at me as I looked it over, my interest rising, so I explained. “This finger is alive. And it has that same weird funky energy that invisible thing was made out of,” I said, holding up the finger and now Robin seemed interested as well.
“In that case… It seems like we have the perfect person to ask some questions. We just have to give them a body.”
Comments
Max Castillo
Well now... here comes either a fight or chaos
Jaymoneyman
This is gonna be a beautiful disaster
