Cursed to Infinity Chapter 8 (Patreon)

My words of power, sent my very soul deep within to reflect within the realm of dreams and as my consciousness came into awareness I opened my 'eyes' and saw that I was surrounded by light-filled forestry and below my bare feet the ground was soft snow-white sand.

"This inner world is what you make of it." A voice spoke slowly and deeply. I looked over at the source of the voice.

It was a man who was shirtless and wearing only a pair of boxing shorts that went just above his knee. His skin was a darker tan than my own, and he had long hair that rested in a small ponytail that laid on his neck, finally for more observable notes he had a necklace-like thing hanging atop his head and resting on his brow.

"Are you actually Gaolan Wongsawat?" I asked curiously as I recognized the Thai, God of War and was honestly... I was happy if he was the one my subconscious picked to train me in martial arts.

Gaolan gave a small shrug before saying frankly. "I am what your mind believes Gaolan Wongsawat is along with the spiritual energy you put into the command to fill in the blanks. Am I actually Gaolan Wongsawat? No, when you awaken from this dream I will disappear back into the subconscious of your mind." 

I stilled hearing that but it seemed he wasn't finished as he continued. "Now... You thankfully understood that the Thu-Um is your core source of power. Trying to master the Niko Style even if you could, would remove your greatest strength. You simply unmaking a foe via your very words. My goal and existence is to merely show you how to punch as the greatest boxer so that you may get the space to speak the Thu-Um or give you the time to recover from using the the Dragon's Tongue."

Slowly I nodded in understanding. The Niko Style was made of dozens of specialized techniques, supernatural secret techniques that could damage my own body greatly as well. Whereas Gaolan was the greatest boxer I knew of period in a more or less mundane setting.

And Muay Thai/Boxing wouldn't clash or interfere with the use of the Thu-Um. 

"I am here for martial arts to defend myself and allow myself the ability to use my Thu-Um not take on the world with martial arts." I spoke more to myself in contemplation with Gaolan nodding.

He then walked over to me and as he did so I realized that our outfits matched as he spoke plainly. "You wish to be a true sorcerer and not a punch wizard like the rest of the sorcerers of this world... That is good but you let us begin."

His rough hands positioned my body into position and he began speaking. "Now, remember... In a true fight, stances don't matter worth a damn. Your stances are only to take position to enhance your blows, and remaining in a stiff stance will only allow your opponents to know your next move besides the most basic of striking stances."

He then stood in front of me and began demonstrating several punches with high speed that make the air make whistling noises with how fast he could throw out the spear-like punches. Then after showing me the simple punches he had me throw my own punchs with himself beside me and as I would throw the punches he would stop me and patiently guide my arm and fist through the proper fist forms.

"As you know, my only really special technique is the Flash Step, in either causing your opponent to blink or awaiting their blink you would take a power step forward or two the side and the quick movements between blinks can confuse an opponent's mind." Gaolan spoke and I listened as he continued.

"You will be fighting supernatural enemies so although I wouldn't rely on it, it can still help you out in a pinch especially if you take the technique and manage to incorporate some magic and make yourself invisible or somehow actually teleport with the movements." 

And it was jarring honestly seeing as we began 'sparring' and while he held up his fists and arms to block my face and upper body shots he would just calmly backstep and sidestep all my punches with him then almost teleporting in the tiny blinks that I naturally had to take where he would close in and I would feel a small graze of his iron-hard knuckles meet my face, head, chest and stomach in a warning.

Sure he didn't hit me with a tenth of the power he had in those fists but they certainly stung.

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly and it was only when the sun seemed to be going down in the weird dream forest we were in that Gaolan popped his hands and said with a small smile.

"You are beginning to wake up. Now remember, you spoke the words to travel on a path of dreams... You are a dreamer, remember that as its far more important than you can imagine. Next time don't walk the path of a mere dream. Take your dream to the destination you desire." Gaolan spoke with his words becoming dull as I felt like my mind was going back to sleep somehow.

But his words came in ever so clearly despite how dull they were. I could feel those words and this dream and its actions having imprinted itself ever so deeply into my psyche and subconscious.

-

It was certainly odd... Going from fully awake in that waking dream to feeling groggy as I opened my eyes. And as I took in my surroundings in my new apartment. 

Beyond the rather bare-bones essentials in the apartment... The most noticeable thing was how I could smell bacon cooking.

'Hmm bacon. Need bacon in me.' I mentally muttered as I got up and after getting cleaned up and dressed I walked out and saw Anya was dressed up in a tight-fitting apron that clung to her curves while beneath that she was wearing a silk sleeping gown. And she was cooking a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, fish, and some miso soup apparently.

"Well this is a lovely spread. Thank you Anya." I spoke kindly as I took a seat at the wooden dinning room table to await my breakfast.

Anya threw a small smile towards me over her shoulder as she said softly. "It's nothing. I am used to making breakfast every morning. It used to be the way I bonded with my mother every day as Alyx and... Father and my other sister were lazy buttheads who would sleep in all the time."

I gave a wry smile at hitting that landmine but thankfully Anya moved past it as she continued. "By the way Jake. Your phone has went off several times in the last couple hours."

'Oh yeah, I kept my phone on the charger in the kitchen as I didn't want to leave my phone to charge on the floor seeing as I don't have any tables and stuff.' I thought as I told Anya thank you as I went over to check on my phone.

And as I looked at my phones messages my face twitched at the dread-inducing statement there. [47 Messages- 16 Missed Calls]

Scrolling down I saw three missed calls were from Toji, the rest of them I didn't recognize their numbers except for a call from the vice manager in the hospital, that 'legal-loli' Tsuki Karin.

So next I went to the messages and I smiled as I realized what the calls and messages were about. 

[Sender- Masamichi Yaga- Vice Principal of Tokyo Jujutsu Branch]
[Dear Mr. Bariss,

I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits. I am writing to you with a proposition that I believe will pique your interest and potentially lead to exciting new opportunities in your esteemed career as a spiritual technique healer and a skilled Jujutsu Sorcerer.

Firstly, allow me to express my admiration for your remarkable talents and the invaluable contributions you have alreadly made to the field of spiritual healing during your short time in Kyoto. Your unique blend of spiritual wisdom in healing wounds that others cannot has undoubtedly touched the lives of many, earning you widespread recognition and respect.

It is with great enthusiasm that I extend to you an invitation to consider relocating to Tokyo. As you may know, Tokyo is a bustling metropolis with a vibrant spiritual community and a diverse array of opportunities for practitioners such as yourself. Your expertise and skill set would undoubtedly be welcomed and celebrated in this dynamic city that faces far more active threats that need healers of your caliber.

Rest assured, should you choose to accept this invitation, every effort will be made to ensure a smooth transition for you. We are committed to providing you with the support and resources necessary to facilitate your relocation and integration into the Tokyo community.]

And the very next message was Toji sending a small video of him casually kicking some poor bastard through a window before he came up to the camera and saying. "Yo. I hope you don't think you can run off so easily. But ehhh if you do leave that means little Megumin has a healer on stand by... Do what you want but I may break one of your legs for making trouble for me haha." 

My face twitched as the next couple of messages from Toji were just a series of tongue-out emoji's and for some reason... A monkey spanking its butt so I went through the other messages and saw that they were for the most part the same in off-handed recruitment offers that didn't get into specifics as to what they would offer.

Until I reached the end... And I had a message that was titled in my phone without me even putting in a contact for it. [Inumaki Clan Head Taobito Inumaki-]

[You have something you should not have... A mutated branch of my clan's technique is still this clan's technique and unless you wish to face unknown consequences you must ready yourself to marry into the clan and re-intergrate with your bloodline.]

I stilled reading that and for a moment I wondered if he or she was going to send assassins after me or something before I shrugged it off as I knew Toji being the best Sorcerer killer wouldn't want his golden goose killed. Not to mention the stigma the Inumaki clan would get for killing a powerful healer.

They just wanted me under their control. So I literally just scoffed as the Inumaki's Cursed Speech was literally the last thing I was afraid of. It was quite literally a completely lesser version of the dragon's tongue.

Either way, the rest of the messages went along the same vein, some recruitment offers with no real offers to go off of, and... Lastly was something was a message from a Sorcerer who wanted to set up a retainer payment so should they get hurt they have priority healing at any time of the day. And seeing the fifty thousand a month payment for healing for the sorcerer alone I simply responded by asking for their details on how they would want to set up the healing and their identities.

"Here you go Jake," Anya spoke softly as she pushed a loaded-up plate in front of me making me grin and dig into the delightful food and only slowing as Anya stood behind me and her hands gently laid on my shoulders and began massaging them.

"You know... It's nice to have another person around to take care of Jake." Anya spoke carefully and I leaned back slightly enjoying the feeling of her hands gently but firmly massaging out any unknown cricks I had in my neck and shoulders from my extremely deep sleep due to the dream walking.

After a moment she continued. "I would like to continue to take care of you if you would let me." It was less of a question or offer and more of a statement. Left unsaid was her saying. 'Please don't drive me and my sister out of here.' 

I took a bite of the scrambled eggs that had some nice cheese melted into them and I replied honestly. "Anya, you and Alyx are basically my roommates or something. You take care of my needs at home and keep the house clean and I will happily take care of you two financially and such. Not like I don't have enough money coming in." I finished with a wry smile.

As I already checked my banking account and I made the equivalent of thirty thousand USD in Yen in just those five healing sessions and that was just the trial period.

Anya was silent for a moment before she gave me shoulders a final squeeze as she said with a small contemplative humming noise. "I see... Well please excuse me I have to go wake up my sister for her own breakfast." 

I nodded and then said. "Alright, once I am done with this I am going to jump in the shower then head off to the gym to do some training," 

And Anya threw me a small nod as she strode out of the dining room next to the kitchen with that tight-fitting nightgown doing very lovely things to her hips as she walked silently across the tatami floors.

Shaking my head back into the game I looked at my phone and saw that I didn't have any healing until noon and with it being only eight I had plenty of time to go to the gym and see how well that dream walk had imprinted Gaoloan's boxing and Muay-Thai into my brain.

-

Going across the Kyoto Jujutsu Tech's Campus to the gym was an uneventful affair with nothing of note really happening as the school didn't have that many people in all of reality. So once I got to the gym I went towards the more mundane side of things and I saw that a couple of people were here doing there own workouts.

And in the back was someone with their back to me and I saw that their skin was rather tanned. But what I noticed was how he was doing pull ups with like a dozen 45 pound weights hanging off his body.

'Huh, I can't see his face but is that Aoi Todo?' I wondered before shrugging as I walked over to one of the many punching bags hanging in parts of the gym and I saw that each punching bag was covered in various materials to simulate different levels of durability.

One was made out of typical leather with heavy fabric stuffed inside the punching bag, one was made out of plastic-like fibers with heavy plastic beads on the inside... I even found one that had chains covering it and explicitly had metal ball bearings on the inside to simulate punching cars and things with great durability.

So I went to the more normal synthetic fabric one and I put on some punching gloves with my wrists tapped so I had less of a chance of fucking them up and I called upon the training I got previously in my dream.

I settled down slightly with my center of weight going to my waist, I held myself sideways. My right arm remained low, ready to go for gut and stronger upper blows, while my left arm remained up high to cover my face and to go for straight jabs.

'Damn... The dream really did print onto my subconscious.' I thought that although my mind knew what to do, my more thought-out movements didn't come naturally while my passive natural movements matched what Gaoloan spoke and showed me.

Letting out a breath I relaxed before my left hand in a fist shot out with a harsh thudding noise ringing out as it made contact with the punching bag and with that I was off. 

Loud thudding noises rang out as I mentally checked out and just got into the proper headspace to fully absorb all the knowledge I got from the walking dream I went through and with each punch, with each back and step forward I took to punch the punching bag I got better.

After a good while I could feel my fists were aching a bit from punching the bag even with my gloves so I took a breath and spoke softly as I imagined the words and context I wanted. {Mulaag, Tiid, Vokrii}

I hissed as I felt a bit of my strength leave me... But more as I spoke the words of strengthen, time, and restore. All in all I spoke three words of reality that translated into a sentence that meant. 'Strengthen through natural time my restoring flesh.' Which basically meant that I felt all the pain of my hands, arms, and other body parts that were strained and then through natural healing strengthened themselves as they repaired themselves from the strain I put them through.

"That's a nice trick. You are that new hot-shot healer aren't you." A voice spoke and I looked behind me and yup.

I saw that it was Aoi Todo who had darker skin than most Japanese people with a couple of scars across his face and his hair was tied up in a bun behind his head.

Giving a small grin I said confidently. "That's right. My name is Jake, you lose some flesh or even a limb and I can put you right up." I said holding a hand out to him to shake and Aoi looked at my hand... Then back to me.

And then after a moment, he spoke seriously. "We have two very important things to talk about right. What magic spell did you just cast?" He asked with a small frown.

I took a breath and with some concern, I smiled wryly and explained simply. "I worked out hard and then using that spell I basically used my spiritual energy to heal my body in the natural way to strengthen it so I could continue working out to repeat the cycle." 

At my answer, Todo blinked and gave a nod with a hint of respect in his eyes and then he leaned down slightly with his large muscular form becoming threatening as he spoke deeply. "Good... Now there is just one last question. What type of woman do you like?" 

The moment I saw Aoi Todo... I knew this question was coming. Hell even before I reincarnated I considered this question as I knew he was the type of man to kill a man for having poor taste in women... But I wasn't going to just copy Itadori Yuji. No, I was my own man and with no shame, I answered from the bottom of my heart.

"I love a woman with a heart-shaped ass and thighs that I can barely fit between... I want a milf whose thick thighs save lives and give birth to new ones." 

I saw Aoi Todo literally tear up and then he leaned in and I was engulfed in a hug with the muscular sweaty man who sniffled and said. "Good man... You are a brother to me now." His arms gave me a brotherly squeeze as he sniffed and he let go of me and with our faces close he patted me on my shoulder and said seriously.

"You keep that dream alive my brother... I will be beside you every step of the way." And then he patted my shoulder one last time and walked away with him covering his eyes with his arm.

While I stood there stock still wondering. 'Huh... I got a new brother. Wonder what bro will think of the twins living with me?'

But then as I was about to get back into working out my phone pinged again and it was from the Sorcerer who wanted to setup a retainer service for any possible healing. 

[I am at Kyoto Jujutsu Tech if you are willing to meet within the next hour. My name is Mei Mei and I am a Grade 1 Sorcerer with my little sister picking up a mission currently.]

And attached to the texts was a picture of the silver/white-haired beauty with her hair done in a ponytail and she filled out the dress she was wearing... Very well.