Chapter 1. Drool Part 1

Snuggled up in the warmth of my bed, I wriggled around, searching for that perfect spot. Just a bit more sleep, I promised myself, then I'd be all set for the day ahead.

"Ahh, this is nice," I muttered to myself, sinking deeper into the blankets.

But then-

Ping!

Came the sound of my phone, tempting me away from my cozy cocoon. First, the sound was low, but the volume increased exponentially as the notification persisted.

"Come on, just a few more minutes," I muttered lazily, irritation building as the sound persisted.

I tried to ignore it, hoping it would fade into the background. But nope, it persisted, growing louder, echoing through the room like an annoying alarm clock on steroids.

"I swear if that thing doesn't shut up..." I got frustrated, shifting in bed in a futile attempt to muffle the sound.

My eyes fluttered open reluctantly, still longing for the comfort of sleep. But the damn notification seemed eager to pull me from my slumber, its volume increasing with each passing second.

"Fine, fine," I muttered, reaching out for my phone, cursing under my breath as I fumbled to unlock the screen.

Naturally, I expected my home screen to pop up first, but instead, a foreign screen appeared.

"Mh?" I squinted at the screen, my eyes adjusting to the sudden change in brightness. With my vision clearer, I scouted the foreign screen.

Nothing on the screen looked familiar. The interface didn't look too appealing with the dull colors.

'Purple?' I captured the theme.

There were several other details on the screen, including various design icons, but the the one that stood out the most was the bold text strategically placed at the middle, with an ellipsis at the end.

"How'd this app get on ma phone?" I wondered as I gazed at it bluntly. There was a good chance it was a virus, but I was very confident of my personal phone's security levels.

However, feeling suspicious, I opted to navigate to the home page to uninstall it. A transition animation played, but it didn't lead me to the familiar home page with icons for various apps. Instead, it brought the text in the middle of the screen into focus, before prompting the TTS feature of my phone.

"What in the F?" I listened as my phone's speakers sprang to life to narrate the text on my screen with a female robotic voice.

"In the modern-day-" It started, and I found myself faithfully following while reading the text myself. '-the number of unexplained deaths and disappearances in Japan exceeds ten thousand annually.'

"Hey," I recognized the statement. "I know that from somewhere."

As if guided by a hidden operative, the TTS feature resigned from narrating further. However, I continued reading on my own, now intrigued that the app was bringing a touch of familiarity.

"Hold up!" I paused excitedly as I got deeper into the totally irrelevant-to-normal-life information. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Nah. It can't be," I waved the thought off while looking around my room. My body secretly bubbled with anticipation and hope.

"Ain't no way I'm in-," I was now fully awake, and reluctant to have faith in what the text was telling me. "This ma room the way I've always known it."

Yeah. Nothing about my small room had changed in the slightest. The bed was still aligned with the window, and various posters of super-cars and my favorite characters were in their particular places on the walls.

Right close to the door, on the opposite corner, my makeshift gaming set was exactly the way I had left it hours earlier.

However, the dopamine in my brain was hanging on to the idea I that I had woken up in world where the impossible was terribly possible. It was always my desire to hang-out with my favorite anime characters, for real.

"A'ight. Gotta check this out one more time," I breathed gently as I re-focused my attention to the text on the screen. "Crossing my fingers here."

The Notification:

#. In the modern-day, the number of unexplained deaths and disappearances in Japan exceeds ten thousand annually. This number is about to increase exponentially.

#. The above statistics are a direct result of the influence that Curses have on normal society. Curses arise from a force that is the product of negative emotions, commonly known as cursed energy.

#. Curses can be exorcised using cursed energy. People who can see Curses and manipulate cursed energy to exorcise curses are called Sorcerers. The art of manipulating cursed energy is called Jujutsu, which gives rise to Jujutsu Techniques.

#. If you wish to become the next Jujutsu Sorcerer, accept the terms and conditions on the 'Next Page'.

"Next page," I zealously clicked on the icon, my quick decision driven by my the whim in the moment. "Let's see where it goes."

I was really hoping that I was about to get the chance of a lifetime.

"I'm cool if none of this ain't real too," I betrayed the hopeful feeling that was building up in my heart and soul.

Next Page (T&Cs):

#. As a sorcerer, you will be able to see Curses and manipulate Cursed Energy.

#. By design, you will have the ability to master Jujutsu Techniques endlessly. However, mastery is a gradual process that will require a lot of dedication, hard work, and, gathering and accumulating of XP.

#. XP are...-

....

I scrolled slightly. A scroll bar appeared to the right side, with a small dot on the top corner, convincing me that the T&Cs were a long list. Confident that I knew a lot about Jujutsu Kaisen and the role of XP in an Isekai, I scrolled faster toward the bottom.

"What a long list," I observed as reaching the bottom looked nearly impossible. "I don't see myself reading all of that right now. Probably later."

Finally, I reached the bottom with the checkbox for agreeing to the T&Cs. I clicked on it and a dialog popup appeared asking for confirmation.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Dialog Box:

# Are you sure? Accepting the T&Cs means that you have forged a Pact. By definition, a pact is...-

....

"I know what a pact is," I clicked on the okay button faster than I could ponder on why there was a dialog box asking for confirmation. "It's next to signing a death contract."

As the app loaded, I considered my hastened decision making.

"I don't see anything that could stop me from declining Jujutsu Kaisen, whatsoever" I justified, knowing that declining the T&Cs could rob me of that chance.

Finally, another dialog popped up.

Dialog Box:

#. Your profile is ready. Do you wish to check it out?

I proceeded toward the profile page.

Profile Page:

XP: 1 - The more XP you have, the higher your level.

Progress: Level 1

Mastery: Jujutsu - Use your raw cursed energy for exorcism.

After reading the minuscule information in the profile page, I pondered on it a little bit.

"Raw cursed energy?" I wondered. "So, like my boy Yuuji, I can only throw fists, at the start."

"I suppose I gotta start somewhere," I sighed. "Especially considering that my mastery is endless."

"But all of this remains unproven," I worried, skeptical that my sudden encounter with the Jujutsu world was too good to be true. "What's the evidence that I can manipulate Cursed Energy? I certainly don't feel special right now."

KALABASHKANGKAAANG! PANG!

Noises of objects crashing and breaking erupted from within the house.

"That sounded like it came from the kitchen," I muttered, throwing off my blankets and hurrying out of bed. Within moments, I was standing in the corridor, heading towards the source of the commotion.

"Mrs. Bright. Are you alright?" I called out, my voice echoing through the house.

No response. Just the continued crashing.

Mrs. Bright was my caregiver, the only other person meant to be in the house this early.

"Mrs. Bright?" I called again, descending the steps.

DROOOOOLLLLL...!!!

The noise shifted, becoming more human-like. I paused on the staircase, trying to make sense of what I was hearing.

"Drool?" I mumbled to myself. "That doesn't sound like Mrs. Bright."

"Droooollll... Milk... yummy... yum... droooolll.." The voice was deep, punctuated by gulps, swallows, and belches. "Yuumm... drooll."

Gup gup gup...

The sound of heavy swallowing spurred me into action. I rushed into the kitchen, adrenaline coursing through my veins.

Once inside, I was met with an upsetting sight. The most terrible ordeal I could ever come across in my life.

A stranger stood in my kitchen, clutching a milk sachet on their mouth, their back turned to me as they indulged in my beverage.

"THAT'S MY MILK!" I yelled, lunging forward to snatch the sachet from their grasp. The stranger turned, confusion etched on their face as they faced my wrath.

The stranger had a burly frame, their messy hair falling in unkempt strands around their face. Their eyes widened in surprise as they registered my presence, milk dribbling down their chin.

"Drool?" They wondered out loud, still clutching the milk sachet tightly.

"Yeah, drool!" I snapped, my frustration mounting. "That's my milk! Who are you, and what are you doing in my kitchen?"

The stranger blinked, seemingly unfazed by my outburst. "Milk... yummy... drool," they muttered absentmindedly, as if the deliciousness of the milk had rendered them temporarily oblivious to my questions.

I gritted my teeth, resisting the urge to scream in frustration.

With a swift motion, I snatched the milk sachet from the intruder's grasp, my eyes blazing with fury.

"That's MY milk, you drooling thief!" I exclaimed, glaring at the stranger who had dared to invade my sanctuary.

The intruder blinked, seemingly taken aback by my sudden outburst. Drool still dribbled from the corners of their mouth as they tried to process the situation.

"You better have a good enough explanation about this," with the milk sachet safe in my hands, I calmed down while accessing just how much content of the sachet he had absorbed.

"Drool!" the stranger said, his voice more firm. As if in response, my body started feeling heavy and lighter at the same time. Curiously, the sachet in my hands started to move up as if it was about to hover.

"What the hell, milk!" I yelled at the sachet, wondering why it seemed to want to escape my grasp. But I could sense it; the robust streak of cursed energy propelling my milk.

"Shit's all real!" I exclaimed, the realization sinking in, but my thoughts were firmly fixated on what was happening to my milk.

Adamant, I refused to let go of my hold. Consequently, I got pulled up, but the weight of my body succumbed to gravity, leading to me losing the grip. As I fell to the ground, I watched as the sachet levitated toward the invader's hands, and he squeezed the milk into his mouth again.

Casually, Drool continued to gulp the contents of the precious sachet.

"Hey, snap out of it!" I barked, nearly oblivious of the fact that I had just witnessed a supernatural phenomena.

"Okay. That's it!" I barked again while standing up. I couldn't stand the fact that someone was disrespecting my milk by letting it dribble.

Even if that someone was a Jujutsu Sorcerer, or Curse, I didn't know about.

"You are done for bro!" I threatened, but they just repeated their 'Droolllll...' and continued gulping.

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NOTES:

Simple is better than complex... Complex is better than complicated... Readability counts... Errors should never pass silently... In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess... Although never is often better than *right* now... If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.... If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.