Chapter 2
Chapter 2
The place Shati led me to was a construction site.
“Peace Apartment expected completion date 25… already passed. So it’s here?”
(Yes… I can feel it…)
Cursed items are said to sense each other through some kind of wave.
They can’t pinpoint exact locations, but they can clearly feel differences in distance and intensity.
So as long as I can communicate with Shati, finding other cursed items isn’t that difficult.
That’s how I’ve been tracking down usable cursed items from time to time with her help.
So far it’s mostly been empty-handed, but today feels different.
(Strong… feeling… different…)
An official report straight from the field, I should trust it.
“How different? How strong are we talking?”
(Like… cliff…)
“A cliff?”
I didn’t understand.
What does that even mean?
She has a habit of not forming proper sentences, so sometimes I genuinely can’t follow her.
(So far… weak… cheap junk… today… minimum… Shati level…)
Shati spun in front of me and proudly emphasized her upper body.
?!
That’s… actually a pretty good comparison.
Q.E.D.
Perfectly understood.
“Then we should be careful. Thanks for the warning.”
(Hihi… glad… help Imja…)
10 PM.
A deserted construction site abandoned two years ago after the contractor went bankrupt.
No workers, no equipment, no spectators, and no Awakeners.
Inside the dark, empty site, there was a Gate.
“No wonder they couldn’t find it yet.”
I came here in a straight line thanks to Shati, but a normal Awakener would’ve taken forever to locate it.
(Over there… inside…)
Shati pointed forward.
A cold wind blew, carrying the smell of damp mold.
Scaffolding, safety rails, and netting surrounded a half-finished concrete structure.
More like a giant cube of cement than a building.
Inside it, a Gate shimmered faintly, just wide enough for a single adult to squeeze through.
[System]
[Rank 7] Gate
Maximum clear party: 1/2
Do you wish to enter the Gate?
So there is someone inside.
A 7th-rank Awakener, roughly top 20%, got instantly killed by a 4th-rank.
Unless it’s a cursed item on Shati’s level or higher, that’s nearly impossible.
The one inside is definitely the guy causing chaos in the community.
“Shati, when I signal, transform immediately into that form. No delay.”
(Okay… got it…)
I moved quickly toward the Gate.
A red mist covered everything.
The atmosphere felt like a medieval European town, with old buildings scattered around.
It looked like a vampire might jump out at any moment.
Unlike Towers, where NPCs exist and you can at least interact, Gates are different.
It’s just Awakeners versus the boss monster.
Whichever side gets wiped out first loses.
Even the weakest Gates require at least two people.
It’s basically a raid dungeon in RPG terms.
“Report, Shati.”
I whispered into the black dagger.
(Close… getting closer…)
Good.
(Front… careful…)
Thud.
Something light but solid hit my foot.
Fingers. Five of them. Thin arms.
Part of a chest and a head.
A broken monster corpse.
It was torn apart unevenly, about half the body missing.
Not by blades, not by blunt force, and not by animal teeth.
Something unnatural had ripped it apart.
A one-eyed monster with pointed ears and pale skin.
Its muscles were shredded along unnatural lines.
(Huh… melted…?)
No.
That wasn’t it.
The posts I read mentioned skin boiling or swelling and then collapsing inward.
And the photos showed victims with gray, bloated skin that caved in.
But this corpse looked completely different.
No burns. No melting. No acid damage.
Just pure physical tearing.
[System]
Boss monster “White Scavenger” eliminated.
The boss monster was… torn apart?
According to what I found, Kwon Ki-jeong’s trait was a barrier that hardened around his body.
A tank-type Awakener often used in Gate raids.
But cursed items seal skills completely.
So how?
“Shati—”
Before I could finish,
Whoosh!
Something white flew toward me.
“Ugh!”
I barely dodged and turned my head.
It was the other half of the corpse.
“Grrrgl…”
A sound like boiling stew came from a human throat.
Bloodshot eyes. A body soaked in blood.
Drool dripping from his mouth.
Why are his pants bulging like that?
And where are his shoes? His feet are torn up.
This must be him.
[System]
Boss Monster: Kwon Ki-jeong has appeared!
A human is classified as a boss monster?
I observed carefully.
(Cursed item… earring… I’ve seen it before…)
A golden earring shimmered through the fog.
“Right ear. Got it.”
(Do it… now?)
“Wait.”
Not every cursed item user is completely insane.
Most cursed items are mild, and so are their side effects.
According to Nemo Wiki’s cursed item list, the effects sound terrifying, but in reality it’s often something like impulsively investing all your money into a bad coin.
At least, that was my experience.
I’ve never seen it directly cause mass killing before.
So there’s usually still some reasoning left.
But this guy’s eyes were already gone.
“Excuse me, are you Kwon Ki-jeong?”
“YES! I am Kwon! KI! JEONG!”
“Sir, could you take off that earring?”
“GRAAAH! You smell delicious! I’ll eat you!”
“…Eat what?”
A chill ran down my spine.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
He charged like a stampede of an elephant.
“Damn it. Eat me? Seriously?”
But there was one good thing.
He was charging straight at me like an idiot.
(Now?)
“Yeah, now! Shati! Operation 3!”
Shati shrank into a dagger small enough to hide in my fist.
I crouched low and rolled diagonally, then threw Shati along his path.
Ding.
<King of All Weapons, Shati>
[System]
Target “Kwon Ki-jeong” execution progress 1/10
Shati, now transformed into a thumbtack, pierced his sole.
“Ugh!”
As expected, his strength had increased, but his skin was still human-level.
2/10
3/10
Already three stacks.
Shati’s execution ability is powerful, but it requires stacking hits on a cursed target.
Once the curse has already taken hold, stacking becomes much easier.
“Huh?”
Kwon Ki-jeong suddenly stopped chasing me.
He finally noticed the thumbtack in his foot.
His gaze dropped downward.
“Shati, turn into a spike!”
4/10
The condition for Shati’s execution is surprisingly loose.
Even a drop of blood is enough to count.
Sharp objects like pins or awls count instantly on contact, and if not removed, stacks increase every few seconds.
“Aaaaagh!”
5/10
6/10
As he tried to grab Shati and lift his leg, the spike transformed into a tennis ball and bounced back to me.
“Good job.”
One weakness is that Shati can only affect targets within five meters, and I must stay within range to deal damage.
“Alright, next turn into a staff and mess with him.”
(Okay…)
Kwon Ki-jeong’s eyes were now leaking heat like smoke.
(Imja… next… he’s unstable…)
“Just transform!”
I swung Shati as a long staff toward him.
At that moment, the monster corpse at his feet began to boil.
“Oh no.”
(Imja! Run!)
For the first time in ten years, I heard Shati raise her voice.
I didn’t hesitate.
I ran.
Heat and burning stench exploded behind me.
Kwon Ki-jeong’s roar swept through the area.
The monster corpse turned completely black and disappeared.
That was close.
(It’s not melting… vibration… destruction…)
“What?”
(I saw on video… high-frequency compression… friction heat…)
So it’s like those YouTube videos where ultra-high frequency vibration burns meat instantly.
So his ability must be something like that.
When he first equipped the cursed item, it probably caused uncontrolled heat damage.
Just like how I couldn’t even form a 15cm ruler when I first handled Shati.
“I almost died there.”
[System]
Target “Kwon Ki-jeong” execution condition satisfied 10/10
“If you had just been a little more agile…”
[System]
Do you wish to execute target “Kwon Ki-jeong”?