The Sword Deity in Tokyo

Chapter 9: Enchanted Talisman Skill

Chapter 9: Enchanted Talisman Skill

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Enchanted Talisman Skill, Alchemy, Weapons Refinery and Tactical Formations were the four main sideline occupations after the recuperation of reiki.

All practitioners would choose any of them to become their own sideline occupation.

However, the Enchanted Talisman Skill was the most popular option and also the most influential sideline occupation, leaving the other three professions in the dust.

The other three occupations could only be mastered by practitioners, while the Enchanted Talisman Skill could be understood by any ordinary person.

Usually, ordinary people could not practice because the reiki absorbed into the body would dissipate quickly.

However, as the use of Enchanted Talismans only required reiki as a jumpstart, an ordinary person with patience and the determination to train could still grudgingly direct some reiki into the Talisman and trigger the enchantment drawn on it.

Of course, it was fine even if one could not control any reiki.

The New Generation Group had designed a Reiki Locking Facilitator that could easily capture reiki once worn. Subsequently, it could aid in triggering the enchantment on the Talisman by using the internal formation on the Facilitator that allowed one to use the captured reiki with ease.

Hence, even though one could not practice, to be able to use Enchanted Talismans was enough to comfort oneself.

This was the exact reason that the Enchanted Talisman Skill blew up in popularity across the globe.

While the elixirs made from alchemy had medicinal properties and could even function to lengthen a lifespan, the prices were so expensive that ordinary people could not afford it.

The instruments and weapons made through Weapons Refinery too, could not be easily used by any ordinary person.

Although the prerequisite was to understand the contextual knowledge to be able to mount a formation with the use of energy rocks, Tactical Formations were still far from the grasp of ordinary people.

Only the Enchanted Talisman Skill was genuinely able to fit the daily needs of the people.

There were more and more people who chose the Enchanted Talisman Skill as a sideline occupation, causing the prices of Enchanted Talismans to drop quickly. No matter the practitioner or ordinary person, they both had needs to be fulfilled.

As long as there was significant demand for Enchanted Talismans, poor practitioners that chose this sideline occupation would just keep popping up.

While prices for the standard Enchanted Talisman had already dropped to 50 yen per piece, the fast usage of Enchanted Talismans meant that there was still profit to be earned. Additionally, profit was also attributable to the fact that it was a good value for money, considering the material used to create Enchanted Talismans.

This was the main reason that the Enchanted Talisman Skill progressed so fast.

However, the steep drop in prices could undoubtedly be attributed to the machine-drawn Enchanted Talismans that some groups had developed. Mainly using formations to control the machinery, one factory could produce up to 100,000 Enchanted Talisman pieces if the failed products were to be eliminated from the count.

Consumers rejoiced, but practitioners went on a rampage, starting online riots in opposition to these new methods.

Despite the many types of Enchanted Talismans that existed, the variety of enchantments drawn on the Talismans were limited. This was due to the strict regulations of the government on drawing dangerous charms that would mean imprisonment if caught doing so.

According to the data from the authorities at Huaxia, Cleaning Talismans had the highest daily usage to the point that daily usage was more than a million.

The Cleaning Talisman was straightforward, it cleaned the dirt from one’s body and could even do away with the act of wiping after going to the toilet. Of course, no one in their right mind would not wipe their butt after a trip to the bathroom since there was still a psychological barrier to be dealt with.

Currently, Kazuki wanted to draw up three types of Enchanted Talismans.

The Ghost Expelling Talisman, the Spirit Stabilizer Talisman, and the Spiritual Fire Talisman.

These three types of Talismans were all common Enchanted Talismans used by ordinary people after the recuperation of reiki. Ghosts were also part and parcel of the progression and evolution of the Enchanted Talisman Skill.

Once the recuperation of reiki had happened, all of humanity was able to see ghosts with the naked eye which had then caused a long spell of chaos. Horror culture had been so popular across the globe that in a majority of humanity’s eyes, ghosts were just another name for terror, horror, and the unknown.

Especially since ghosts in horror movies that were equivalent to the existence of BUGs where many of the main actors collectively ended up dead as a group.

The stigma toward ghosts was deeply instilled in the minds of humans, a state of mind which would not change in a short period.

Therefore, at the beginning of the recuperation of reiki, the sideline occupation of the Enchanted Talisman Skill had blown up like a wild horse let loose due to the appearance of ghosts and left the other three sideline occupations in its lurch.

Practitioners could fight off ghosts and monsters using their own capabilities, but ordinary people could only fend them off with the enchantments drawn on the Talismans. Hence, progression during the early stages of the recuperation of reiki was swift.

The Ghost Expelling Talisman, the Spirit Stabilizer Talisman, and the Spiritual Fire Talisman were the main three Enchanted Talismans used against ghosts.

The Ghost Expelling enchantment could be engraved on jade. When worn, it could prevent ghosts from coming near someone. When drawn on a Talisman, the enchantment would cause great pain to the spirit and weaken it temporarily.

If it were to be used in the spirit of small animals, it could quickly destroy the said spirit.

On the other hand, the Spirit Stabilizer Talisman was mainly used to cage ghosts, rendering them immobile while they could only rage on helplessly.

The Spiritual Fire Talisman was the only Enchanted Talisman that was offensive rather than defensive, the only offensive Talisman that was not banned by the government.

This was because the type of Spiritual Fire produced by the Talisman could be used directly on a spiritual entity. Moreover, ordinary people had no other forms of protection other than their own bodies, which typical Spiritual Fire Talismans could not harm.

Ghosts had been accepted as a part of society, given the identity of a new race.

However, there would always be some wicked spirits that took advantage of their own specialties and disturbed the peace. Hence, ordinary people would bring around Spiritual Fire Talismans on themselves or prepare some at home to attack ghosts that trespassed onto private property as was allowed by the government.

Aside from these three Talismans, other Enchanted Talismans could injure ghosts, but ordinary people would not come into contact with such Enchanted Talismans. Even if they did come into contact with them, they were not allowed to purchase or use them under the law.

While Kazuki could not practice, he was a Ph.D. student of the Spiritual Academy in his past life, specializing in the Enchanted Talisman Division to study and design new types of enchantments.

As the basis for drawing enchantments were grounded on recurring patterns, an enchantment with a whole new function could be produced just by studying these patterns and tweaking some of them.

There were a lot of people similar to Kimura Kazuki who could not practice but contributed silently to the country.

Triggering the sword’s spirit was a suggestion made by Kazuki endorsed by the Spiritual Academy, as the project would boost the progression of Huaxia if it really succeeded.

Kazuki chose these three Enchanted Talismans only because they were easy to draw, meaning that they had a lower rate of failure.

Practitioners who chose Enchanted Talisman drawing as their sideline occupation would typically maintain a 90% success rate in illustrating ordinary Enchanted Talismans. While Talismans consisting of intricate lines would be guaranteed a 70% or 80% success rate.

Of course, these were just ordinary enchantments. It was impossible to quickly draw up Enchanted Talismans of a higher grade, which was also why those practitioners only vented online instead of staging a large-scale protest.

Only practitioners could draw up Enchanted Talismans of a higher grade. Machines would fail for sure.

Yet Kazuki knew that he was not in his past life. This was the world before the recuperation of reiki. The reiki in the air was thin and where it was impossible to draw an Enchanted Talisman with ease.

Talisman drawing needed to be done in one go, and if that was to be done, there was an essential requirement for there to be sufficient reiki.

If the process of drawing the Enchanted Talisman were riddled with variable amounts of reiki, the process would usually end in a failed attempt.

Unfortunately... even the primary requirement was missing. As such, Kazuki knew that he would only get the Talisman drawing right after many failed attempts.

He was already prepared for it.