[Hey, people of the world! Look here! Please defeat those villainous folks who are abducting the poor妖怪!]
“······Shut up.”
[Kaeng!]
Mi Jeong swings her club.
In the gloomy forest, the scream of a fox fills the air.
“Gui Ho, I have a favor to ask.”
[Is that how you ask for a favor? First, stop this Blood Ghoul from hitting me on the head with that club!]
Gui Ho, caught in my side, growls in protest.
He has been trying to escape by biting my arm and thrashing around, making a huge fuss, but Mi Jeong knocked him on the head, so he’s calmed down a lot now.
It seems the will to escape has vanished.
“If you just stay still, she won’t hit you. By the way, do you know where we are?”
[Sancheong Forest, right? The dark energy flowing here seems even more ominous than a hundred years ago.]
“You’ll teach us curse techniques from now on.”
[What? Me? What do I get out of it?]
“I won’t blab about your identity to people.”
[How is that a merit? Isn’t that simple coercion!?]
While he thrashes around angrily, Mi Jeong lifts Blin’s Wooden Club (Reinforced +1), causing Gui Ho to droop again.
Indeed, beating is the right medicine for a beast.
“And.”
[And?]
“This way, you can go outside freely, right?”
[What do you mean······!]
As he tries to protest, Gui Ho closes his mouth again.
His gaze shifts sideways, letting in the rays of sunlight breaking through the trees.
They say it’s a forest filled with ominous energy.
At sunrise, it is as beautiful as any other forest, if not more.
Gui Ho seems momentarily overwhelmed as he watches the sun fully rise above the trees before opening his mouth.
[It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the sun rise······.]
“I’m sorry for breaking the formation. I was just trying to absorb the demonic energy from it. I never expected that massive amount of energy would go unrefueled.”
[No. That’s not it. I felt it intuitively. No matter how much I trained and focused on recovery in the formation, I knew I couldn’t regain my former strength······ It’s only natural, being a wound from the Jordan. I’ve been deceiving the entire Northern Region for hundreds of years while clinging to vague hopes······.]
Gui Ho starts to lay out his helpless confession.
Now he wouldn’t run away even if I put him down; he just sits there.
Not in a space he’s distorted to create, but in a green open land beneath a clear sky.
His intuition is correct.
No matter how long he hides in the formation, it’s highly likely he will not regain his prime strength.
In fact, in the story, he gets one-shot by the Final Boss appearing a year from now.
If staying hidden means he can’t contribute meaningfully, then it’s better to pull him out and use him now, that’s my judgment.
[Because of my stubbornness, I’ve been foolishly holding on. Being dragged outside, I actually feel relieved. Thank you. If teaching curse techniques can repay that debt, I’ll gladly teach you!]
With a kyaaa and a mighty shout, Gui Ho turns around.
Whether it’s his choice or not, that look is filled with determination instead of grievance.
“Great! Then let’s get started.”
Good.
Now, let’s get ready to welcome Yerina.
[W-wait! Is it true that this is the first time you’ve handled demonic energy?]
“I told you, right?”
[I’ve never seen such a genius in my life! The concept of formations is not an easy one! A formation is about infusing demonic energy directly into space to invoke a curse! Unlike the arts that use totems, charms, or cursed dolls as medium, the difficulty is on a whole different level. Normally, you’d be stuck for at least five years just trying to inscribe demonic energy into space, yet you’re doing it like it’s nothing!]
Gui Ho bursts out in admiration as he sees me effortlessly sketching the formation.
Is it really that hard?
I just wield the demonic energy flickering at my fingertips like a brush, drawing it as I please!
[Speak the truth! Where did you learn this? If it’s from a curse caster faction, I’ll know everything, so don’t even think about lying!]
“I told you it’s my first time!”
[This can’t be! This can’t be happening! I’ve never been this excited before! This is the greatest talent I’ve seen in over 2000 years! You seem like you were born to be a curse caster!]
“Um… Taesu? I’m getting stuck right now, could you teach me some-”
[Shut up! I have no time for a bug monster like you in front of such precious talent! Instead, sit here and continue your training! This spot has demonic energy collected here, making it the best place to replenish and draw the formation! Hurry up!]
He scolds the centipede girl holding her hand up, then turns back to me, wagging his tail.
I follow Gui Ho, who takes my sleeve and leads me to sit on a rock to continue my training.
In an instant, the demonic energy from all directions rushes towards me, making it a bit hard to breathe, while I feel strength accumulating in my fingertips.
‘Is this truly a talent that comes once in 2000 years?’
Actually, it’s strange.
My talent in swordsmanship is decent.
Even my talent in magic is trash, as acknowledged by Alicia.
So where on earth is my talent?
It appears that it was in curse casting all along.
How can a person have no talent at all?
That doesn’t make sense.
‘Just got lucky.’
Most people may have talent in curse casting but will go their entire life without knowing it.
However, knowing the information of this game and experiencing regression has allowed me to be recognized for my talent in curse formation by Taesu.
It’s happening.
Hope is rising.
After learning the Dakia-style secrets, I was worried that no path for growth would be visible, but now I can build my skills through curse techniques.
Moreover, formations are the most niche and high-tier techniques among curse casters.
Mastering this will allow me to stand shoulder to shoulder with supers.
And, I’ll even be able to match up against the Four Heavenly Kings coming out with full doping towards the end.
‘Rumor has it that a bunny-girl resembling the first daughter of Evgenia is set to arrive in four days. I’ll master the formation in that time!’
With my talent, it should be totally feasible.
And so, I firmly believed.
Three days passed.
[This is frustrating! How could there be no progress at all in three days! Let’s move forward!]
“It’s supposed to be easy, right?”
[It is easy! If you can draw the formation, advancing to the next tier should be a piece of cake! Why can’t you? With that genius talent of yours? Oh, it doesn’t matter. I’ll go see the bug monster. He’ll be advancing from level 2 to level 3 in just three days.]
“······.”
Incredibly.
I spent three days without taking a single step from my starting point!
‘Basic 0th Level Formation. Shape of a cube. Additionally injecting demonic energy while twisting the shape!’
I carry out exactly as I’ve been taught.
Visions of the first-level formation, a cube, float in my mind.
I twist the formation to advance to the next level.
“I’m twisting! Twisting! Twisting! Twisting! Twisting! Twisting······!”
“Aha! Done it, Taesu! It’s level 3!”
[Well done!]
“······Level 1. Completed.”
[Oh? A Blood Ghoul completing level 1, I didn’t expect that. Quite impressive.]
“······.”
I think I’ve shown enough arrogance.
I soon give up, gathering the demonic energy sparking in my trembling fingertips.
Now it seems time to conclude.
“That talent that surfaces once every 2000 years? Total nonsense.”
I was caught up by Gui Ho’s fuss.
Of course, it’s natural I know how to draw the basic 0th level formation from the start.
I forcibly broke through the foundations of curse casting through my traits.
That’s all there was to it.
I had no talent whatsoever.
I just couldn’t advance beyond the foundational level gained from my traits.
That’s it; just that.
[You started sensing demonic energy two days ago. With just one day, you hit level 1. You’re quite exceptional.]
“······Hmph.”
Amidst all this, thankfully Mi Jeong seems to have a pretty good talent for curse techniques.
Given our rapport, there’s no way we’d drift apart.
If she can become a skilled curse caster, it would be immensely beneficial.
“Tsk. It looks hopeless.”
“Well, I kind of expected it. You, being terrible at magic, what’s different with curse casting? We, talentless folks like ourselves, just watch the gloomy curse casters train.”
“Right. Let’s do that.”
Before I knew it, Alicia had sat beside me and leaned her head on my shoulder.
The ticklish rabbit ears bumping against my ear made me push them away.
But then her long rabbit ears flopped back and wrapped around my neck like a scarf.
“What are you doing?”
“Just marking my scent.”
“Why are you marking your scent on me? Are you trying to announce me as your breeding partner? If so, you might as well just pee on me to make it clear—”
“Excuse me?! That’s not it! I’m not marking my scent on you; I’m marking your scent on me! So when my sister searches for me, she can be sure I was kidnapped by you!”
“Aha.”
Alicia glares at me with a flushed face and pouting lips.
I can’t tell if she’s mad or lustful.
Oh right, she’s always in heat around me.
“I don’t think you need to worry. This formation to send you back to your sister will likely be completed by a bug or Mi Jeong. If neither works, I might lend some demonic energy for Gui Ho to draw it out.”
“I’m not worried about that. What I’m worried about is you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I’m most worried about you, who keeps accumulating karma. You act like you’re carrying all the world’s malice on your own.”
“Oh, stop overreacting. I’m just the one shattering Yerina’s fantasy. You know she’s under a spell, right?”
“But that’s not all, is it? You always try to solve things by yourself. Without explaining to anyone. Only moving towards something while causing those around you to burst in confusion.”
“That’s······.”
“You can’t explain it? Saying it’s useless to try? I know, vaguely, what you’re fighting against. Even if you explain it to me, I wouldn’t understand at all. If I can’t, how much less can others?”
“······.”
She holds my hand tightly.
Wrapping her fingers around mine, she rubs between the joints, marking her scent.
Since I’ve broken through resistance with Mi Jeong, it wasn’t hard for her to guess my goals.
Perhaps she has sensed that I am moving to capture a formidable foe from another dimension, one that this world cannot handle.
For someone like Alicia, it’s easy to see.
It’s something that can’t be explained to others or be of any use to explain.
In fact, during my last 12 cycles, I tried endlessly to warn people of dangers in advance.
Don’t enter dungeons that will become the Black Star Dungeon soon.
The Four Heavenly Kings with such and such abilities are likely to appear, so evacuate.
I repeated such advice, warnings, and threats numerous times.
Some received them well.
But most returned in failure.
It’s difficult to move people’s hearts without evidence, even if you know future information.
That’s why, until the true entity of the final boss is fully revealed, I have no choice but to rush the dungeons and capture the Four Heavenly Kings on my own.
“Still, please understand this. You are not alone.”
“That’s a bit… touching.”
“And I think your sister would understand you.”
“You’re joking. Not a chance.”
“You’re hiding more, aren’t you? Right?”
She spins around, sitting on my thigh, then pokes my chest with her finger, whispering.
I think I know what she’s talking about.
My past and regression.
Unintentionally, she might be saying that what I’m hiding from Yerina is nearly all that remains.
“I believe your sister would accept you even if she hears all those secrets.”
“That’s impossible. Isn’t she suffering from severe paranoia?”
“With my treatment for suspicion, it would be done in no time.”
Holding the counter-curse technique, Alicia grins.
“Your sister might become your true understanding partner. I may not, but······.”
“Why do you think that?”
“There’s a huge difference in the bond you two share. It’s apparent. Women have sharp intuition.”
“······.”
“Of course, you must be avoiding her now, but······. I ask you, once she masters this technique and understands everything about you, will you face her one more time?”
Alicia quietly whispers in my ear.
For some reason, her voice trembles.
Indeed, Alicia is a true loyal subject.
Even now, all she thinks about is Yerina.
I find myself smiling, envious of Yerina having such an excellent subject.
“Okay. I’ll do it as you asked. When that time comes, I’ll face Yerina and sort out our relationship.”
“Great! Just hearing your answer makes me happy······.”
Alicia then grabs me tightly, starting to rub against me.
For some reason, her body temperature seems to be rising.
“You can let go now.”
“Hehe. But you know, isn’t it strange? The one who kidnapped a girl and placed a curse on her to make her a slave, is now treating that slave like a treasure. Shouldn’t you handle me a bit more roughly? Maybe leave a mark on my body······?”
“······.”
Slither.
Alicia turns her head away from my ear.
In an almost kiss distance, she breathes heavily.
A mark on the body.
Surely, a wicked curse caster would hit or leave some damage.
But······.
“No way.”
“U-uh?!”
“That’s too far for me to be that wicked. Yerina would catch on. I’m not just that kind of person.”
I grip Alicia’s wrist and lift it.
I rub my thumb against her skin, and the thick makeup starts to come off, revealing the scar underneath.
Even if I’m a bit detached from general morals, I’m not the kind of scoundrel who would lay a hand on a child who has already been hurt.
No matter how degraded I might become, I wouldn’t fall that low.
I believe so, and I think Yerina would too.
So, at this point, to abuse Alicia or to strike her would be absurd.
“Or were you just tempting me a moment ago? Isn’t that typical behavior of a constantly aroused rabbit demihuman?”
“I-I’m not?! Stop imagining weird things······!”
[Hey, cut it out with those embarrassing acts in front of a child, will you? Have/In 인간 lost their sense of shame these days? Well, I can understand a rabbit demihuman acting like that, but still…!]
At that moment, Gui Ho clicks his tongue from afar, shaking his head.
What was just a mere task of marking scent seems to have caused a lot of embarrassment.
But I think it’s about time it was done.
“Anyway, thanks. Now get out of the way.”
“Hah?! E-excuse me, I can’t just—”
“Oh, right.”
SHH······
With a suitable handle available, I grasp it and push Alicia aside.
As soon as I do, a moaning sound slips from Alicia, and warmth starts to rise from below.
Ah······.
