Chapter 118: Greatly Increased Strength
Shibuya Ward.
Beneath the envious gazes of passersby, groups of young women stepped through the entrance of the Shibuya Building, chatting softly among themselves. Their steps were light, their expressions bright, and their eyes carried the nervous excitement of people who had just seized a rare opportunity.
In the age of Supernatural Recovery, employment at the [Myriad Law Supernatural Department] meant more than salary and status.
It meant safety.
For ordinary residents, it was a guarantee not only for themselves, but for their families as well. It was more stable than any government job, more enviable than any old-fashioned "iron rice bowl," and far more prestigious in the current era. If one could find a spouse within the [Myriad Law Supernatural Department], that would be enough to make half the neighborhood sigh with envy and the other half pretend they were not jealous.
The only pity was that the department's external recruitment this time had not been large in scale.
The positions available were mostly non-combat roles such as clerks, reception staff, administrative assistants, and logistical personnel. In just two short days, the hiring process had already come to an end. Those who missed their chance could only hope that once the [Myriad Law Supernatural Department] expanded again in the future, another large-scale recruitment would be opened.
What ordinary people did not know was that in those same two days, the department had not merely recruited civilian personnel.
Several Supernatural Affairs Offices within Shibuya Ward had also been absorbed.
Their personnel were distributed among the Supernatural Countermeasures Section, Information Intelligence Section, Crime Investigation Section, and Administrative Internal Affairs Division. Although the manpower gap had not been completely filled, the department was no longer the empty shell it had been at the beginning.
For a time, the once-deserted Shibuya Building finally gained a trace of true liveliness.
At that very moment, beneath the [Myriad Law Supernatural Department], inside a sealed chamber in the basement, silence reigned.
The secret room was nearly identical in layout to the one Gin Tsumugi had used back at the [White Fox Agency]. The difference was its scale. The chamber was now more than twice as large, and the bookshelves and ancient texts moved over from the old office seemed far less imposing inside such a spacious room.
Gin sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion.
Before his eyes, the role-playing system floated quietly.
"This time, reaching the advancement threshold is entirely thanks to those three Great Yokai."
His gaze moved across the information displayed before him.
"Not only the role-playing progress, even the completion progress has increased considerably."
[Abe no Seimei: Founder of Onmyōdō]
[Role-Playing Stage: Youth Period: Can Advance]
[Onmyōdō Framework: Myriad Laws: 40%]
[Character Abilities:]
[Basic Talisman Compendium: Great Mastery]
[Shikigami Contract: Great Mastery]
[Five-Pointed Star Incantation: Great Mastery]
[Word Spirit Technique: Minor Accomplishment]
[Uho: Minor Accomplishment]
[Immovable Binding Technique: Minor Accomplishment]
[Fire Boundary Spell: Minor Accomplishment]
[Myriad Demon Subduing Mantra: Advanced]
[Crucifix Sutra Thunder Technique: Advanced]
[Marīci Heavenly Mantra: Advanced]
[Ghost-Averting and Evil-Dispelling Incantation: Minor Accomplishment]
[Acalas Demon Subduing Mantra: Advanced]
[Fudō Myōō Fire Boundary Mantra: Advanced]
[Trailokya-Vajra Heart Mantra: Advanced]
"If measured by the current standards of the Onmyōdō world, my strength has already reached National Second-Class. The same rank as the old man."
The completion progress of an Onmyōdō Framework corresponded clearly to the strength hierarchy of National Level Onmyoji.
Below thirty percent was National Third-Class.
From thirty-one to sixty percent was National Second-Class.
Above sixty percent was National First-Class.
With the [Onmyōdō Framework: Myriad Laws] now at forty percent, Gin had formally stepped into the level of a National Second-Class Onmyoji.
And that was before the advancement.
Once the role-playing system completed its next stage, his strength would undoubtedly undergo another qualitative transformation. At that point, entering the ranks of National First-Class Onmyoji would be almost inevitable.
"It seems this is the result of using Myriad Laws to analyze the Spirits of the Slaughter Ghost, Hyakume Oni, and Onimaro Oni."
Although he had left Hyakume Oni and Onimaro Oni to Zenki, Koki, and Seiryu, Gin had not simply stood by as a spectator.
Throughout the battle, he had continuously used the [Onmyōdō Framework: Myriad Laws] to observe, learn, and analyze the Spirits of the three Great Yokai. From that alone, the framework's completion progress had risen by a full ten percent.
He was quite satisfied with that harvest.
"After Myriad Laws broke past thirty percent, both its speed and depth of analysis underwent a qualitative change. If I were to analyze the Slaughter Ghost's Spirit again, it would take less than half the time."
Gin quietly sensed the changes in his own framework.
"The speed of instant casting has also improved, and the modification of Onmyō Art forms has become much smoother. The most obvious improvement is instant casting. Previously, instant-cast techniques only retained one-third of their original power. Now, they retain about two-fifths."
A faint smile appeared in his eyes.
"Following this trend, once the completion progress of Myriad Laws reaches perfection, I may be able to instant-cast Onmyō Arts at full power."
If that happened, he would completely seize the initiative in battle.
Against opponents of the same rank, the result would no longer be a contest.
It would be suppression.
After settling his thoughts, Gin slowly emptied his mind and sent a command to the system.
"Role-playing system, advance."
The moment his words fell, the entire secret chamber changed.
The walls, the door, the bookshelves, the ancient scrolls, even the air itself seemed to fade into illusion. Everything around him grew distant and ethereal, as if stripped away by an unseen hand. Darkness spread outward, thick and boundless, swallowing the room whole.
Then, familiar Sanskrit characters emerged within that darkness.
Ancient. Profound. Difficult to understand.
Guided by those symbols, Gin's consciousness crossed the distance of a thousand years once more.
Reality blurred.
Dream and memory intertwined.
He returned again to that era both real and unreal.
The Heian Period, a thousand years ago.
An age when Yokai and Specters roamed the night.
Within that dreamlike state, Gin once again became the young Abe no Seimei.
He saw days spent with Imperial Princess Ryōyū, innocent and intimate like childhood playmates.
He saw himself and Kamo no Yasunori, the son of his teacher, proposing the greater structure of Onmyōdō and pushing its development forward step by step.
He saw his meeting with Taiyin, the Wind General among the Twelve Divine Generals, who excelled at manipulating wind, lively in temperament yet careless in small matters.
Time flowed.
The young man in the dream gradually matured.
He began to slow the rapid rise of his strength, choosing instead to accumulate the foundation of his own Onmyōdō. Layer by layer, he built the cornerstone that would allow him to reach higher realms.
He gained the power to truly slay Great Yokai.
He confronted Tamamo-no-Mae.
He made a wager with her.
The relationship between him and the Imperial Family grew strained.
He injured a member of the Imperial Family.
At that point, the dream reached its end.
The flow of time and space dissolved.
The illusory world faded away, and Gin's consciousness returned to the secret chamber.
"Haa..."
Gin exhaled slowly.
Still seated cross-legged on the meditation cushion, his eyes carried a lingering trace of daze. Like every previous advancement, he needed a little time to fully detach himself from that dreamlike state.
"This advancement was mostly about accumulating the most fundamental foundation of Onmyōdō."
He shook his head slightly.
"A cornerstone for stepping into a higher realm."
Then, he called up the system again.
[Abe no Seimei: Founder of Onmyōdō]
[Role-Playing Progress: Maturity Stage: 5%]
[Onmyōdō Framework: Myriad Laws: 70%]
[Character Abilities:]
[Basic Talisman Compendium: Perfection]
[Shikigami Contract: Great Success]
[Five-Pointed Star Incantation: Perfection]
[Word Spirit Technique: Perfection]
[Uho: Perfection]
[Immovable Binding Technique: Great Success]
[Fire Boundary Spell: Great Success]
[Myriad Demon Subduing Mantra: Great Success]
[Crucifix Sutra Thunder Technique: Great Success]
[Marīci Heavenly Mantra: Great Success]
[Ghost-Averting and Evil-Dispelling Incantation: Great Success]
[Acalas Demon Subduing Mantra: Great Success]
[Fudō Myōō Fire Boundary Mantra: Great Success]
[Trailokya-Vajra Heart Mantra: Great Success]
[Acala Residue-Eating Mantra: Small Success]
[Acala Compassionate Salvation Mantra: Small Success]
[Acala Mantra: Small Success]
[Eight-Eyed Bamboo Basket Suppression Mantra: Small Success]
[Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra: Advanced]
[Great Victorious Virtue Rite: Advanced]
The amount of information displayed by the system had increased greatly.
The first thing that drew Gin's attention was the completion progress of [Myriad Laws].
Seventy percent.
It had soared directly from forty percent to seventy percent. Only thirty percent remained before the framework reached perfection.
As expected, his strength had entered National First-Class.
He had completely surpassed Amami Daizen and stepped into the true peak of National Level Onmyoji.
"The speed of analysis has increased again. The power retained by instant-cast techniques has also surpassed half."
Gin quietly examined the current state of Myriad Laws.
That was only part of the change.
After breaking past sixty percent, the framework had clearly undergone several qualitative transformations, but many of them were still hidden beneath the surface. They would require time, practice, and real combat before he could fully understand them.
After that, Gin focused on the newly gained Onmyō Arts.
[Acala Residue-Eating Mantra.]
[Acala Compassionate Salvation Mantra.]
[Acala Mantra.]
[Eight-Eyed Bamboo Basket Suppression Mantra.]
Four new National Level Onmyō Arts.
Together with the Acalas Demon Subduing Mantra and Fudō Myōō Fire Boundary Mantra, he had essentially grasped the mainstream Onmyō Arts of the Acala series.
More importantly, because "he" in this stage had focused heavily on building the foundations of his own Onmyōdō, basic techniques such as the Basic Talisman Compendium, Five-Pointed Star Incantation, Word Spirit Technique, and Uho had all reached Perfection.
The Shikigami Contract was an exception, remaining at Great Success.
As for most of the other Onmyō Arts and National Level Onmyō Arts, they had also reached the Great Success stage.
Then Gin's gaze fell upon the final two.
[Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra.]
[Great Victorious Virtue Rite.]
His expression grew solemn.
These were not ordinary Onmyō Arts.
They were pinnacle arts of Onmyōdō.
Great Onmyō Arts.
In the world of Onmyōdō, they were existences akin to nuclear weapons.
They were also the true killing weapons capable of destroying beings on the level of Great Yokai.
"With my current strength, even without Hokuto's enhancement, I could kill the Slaughter Ghost or even Onimaro Oni on my own if I faced them again. It would be far easier than before."
This improvement meant that he had finally gained the ability to slay Great Yokai through his own power.
No longer did he need to rely on clever arrangements or the overwhelming strength of his Shikigami.
Of course, Shikigami were also part of an Onmyoji's strength.
That point was beyond dispute.
"Next, let's see how much progress the Senji Ryakketsu can give me."
Gin closed his eyes and opened the Senji Ryakketsu within his mind.
He began reading.
Immediately, profound mysteries unfolded in his consciousness.
Back at the White Fox Agency, he had read up to around page one hundred and twenty, nearly one-third of the text.
Ten minutes later, he reached page two hundred.
The mysteries contained within the active pages were now much clearer to him. Gin absorbed the knowledge continuously, like a sponge drawing in water.
Half an hour later, he reached page two hundred and fifty.
He still understood it thoroughly.
This alone proved that the growth brought by this advancement was far greater than what appeared on the surface.
An hour later, he reached page three hundred.
Only then did the contents begin to feel difficult.
Much of what came after that already touched upon the realm of a Great Onmyoji.
Gin did not force himself to continue. He closed the Senji Ryakketsu for the time being.
"Role-playing system."
The interface appeared once more.
[Abe no Seimei: Founder of Onmyōdō]
[Role-Playing Progress: Maturity Stage: 15%]
[Onmyōdō Framework: Myriad Laws: 90%]
[Character Abilities:]
[Basic Talisman Compendium: Perfection]
[Shikigami Contract: Great Success]
[Five-Pointed Star Incantation: Perfection]
[Word Spirit Technique: Perfection]
[Uho: Perfection]
[Immovable Binding Technique: Great Success...]
His role-playing progress had risen to fifteen percent.
The completion progress of Myriad Laws had reached ninety percent.
Only ten percent remained.
Gin nodded in satisfaction.
He was now only one step away from that realm.
.....
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