Chapter 19
Chapter 19
I entered a nearby magic tool shop.
Ding.
“Welcome!”
It would be nice if I could find it all at once.
Since I knew nothing about magical tools, I approached the staff and asked.
“Hello. Do you happen to have any cursed magic-related tools?”
“We do, but… what kind of curse are you looking for? Recently, human hunters have been running rampant, and the guild has imposed regulations, so only minor curses are available for purchase for the time being.”
“I’m looking for a magic tool related to the tracking arrow curse. Do you have anything like that?”
The staff looked through something like a catalog and shook their head.
“Sorry. That curse is ambiguous and prone to misuse. Unless it’s used personally, selling the tool itself is subject to regulation.”
Damn it.
“Alright. Thank you for your time.”
I sighed as I stepped out of the shop.
“There are a few more magic tool shops nearby. Should we try them?”
I nodded. I had to cling to any lead I could find.
We moved on.
“…It’s a regulated item, so you’ll get caught if you sell it.”
“…We don’t carry that kind of tool at our shop.”
We were screwed.
The fourth district was so vast and the shops so far apart that we barely managed to visit two more. One flatly refused to sell, and the other didn’t even have it on their list.
‘Of course. They said selling it will get you caught, so not selling is expected.’
If someone asked why I stubbornly checked two more shops despite the regulations…
‘At this point, with tracking the curse caster delayed anyway, what else was there to do but check the magic tool shops? Maybe one would risk it and sell at a much higher price.’
The rule was “prohibited due to potential misuse.” Simply asking wouldn’t get anyone arrested.
Even if the shops were connected and reported me as suspicious, what law would they use to arrest me?
“Aren, since it’s getting late, maybe we should secure an inn first.”
“Yeah. We’ve been going around for hours, all blocked, so let’s give up on buying magic tools for now. It’ll be hard, but starting tomorrow, we should try to find a necromancer or curse caster.”
With that, we approached a wooden inn nearby and opened the door.
Inside, it looked like a scene straight out of a fantasy inn.
The interior was lively.
Various people sat at tables, eating or sipping beer, chatting about their own stories.
A large fireplace along one wall had logs burning, spreading cozy warmth through the chilly evening air.
“Warm.”
We weaved through the tables, dodging the busy staff to reach the counter.
“We’d like to stay. Are there any available rooms?”
“One night is 20 coins. Meals are an additional 5 coins each.”
Since this was the fourth district, it wasn’t cheap, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Two rooms, with two meals, please.”
I handed over a silver coin and received five large coins. One large coin equals ten small coins, right?
“Aren, I’ll cover my share. I have enough funds too.”
He smiled and declined.
“You’ve helped me all day, so I’ll pay for this. Don’t feel burdened.”
“Alright then, I won’t refuse. Thanks!”
After the conversation, we got two room keys. Each of us went to a room on the second floor to drop off our luggage, then came back down.
We sat at an empty table and soon the food arrived.
Steaming potato soup, wheat bread, and a large piece of roasted meat tempted me.
“Let’s eat.”
One spoonful of the warm soup instantly eased the fatigue from my entire body.
Hmm.
Tearing the bread and dipping it in the soup left a rich taste in my mouth.
Next, biting into the meat released juices, bringing happiness to my weary body and mind.
Finally, it felt like we had truly escaped the knight order and were living in an inn.
After finishing the meal with Yeriel, we returned to our rooms.
“Tomorrow, we’ll go to the guild for training and inquire at the reception about curse casters.”
Closing my eyes, the demonic energy approached immediately.
After breakfast with soup and bread, we headed to the guild for today’s training.
“Ugh… I’m still mad. How am I supposed to look at that face for the next few days?”
Yeriel kept glaring at Isaac, which oddly calmed me down. Looking back after training, it made me chuckle a little.
We went down to the first floor and got in the shortest line. Soon, it was my turn.
“Hello. How can I help you?”
“I’m trying to hire a curse caster or someone capable of using curse magic for a party or a dungeon trip. Is there any way the guild can help me with this?”
The receptionist hesitated.
“Normally, that’s personal information, so we can’t indiscriminately tell you who among the adventurers is a curse caster or capable of curse magic.”
Damn. I can’t hit a wall here too.
“Posting your information on the party matching board with your name, party details, and the role or class you’re seeking is the fastest method.”
I decided to do that, providing my name and purpose.
“Compared to offensive mages, those specialized in curse, general magic, or life magic are easier to find… though mages themselves are rare.”
Even if magic tools with curse magic are regulated, personal use by a curse caster wouldn’t be restricted.
Suppressing all users of curse magic, including necromancers or curse casters, due to potential misuse makes no sense.
Would they gather them and cast spells? Or distribute tools that detect certain curses and report them to the guild? Without excess budget, it’s impossible to manage adventurers roaming 1–2 floors.
‘Even if they did, we need to meet someone who can curse first. Otherwise, there’s no way to track and eliminate him.’
If Isaac entered the dungeon the same day, landing randomly in the starting area, it would be useless.
I went to the table where Yeriel was sitting.
“How did it go? You don’t look pleased.”
“I posted that we’re looking for curse-related people on the party matching board. It probably won’t work, but we’ll wait and see.”
While feeling discouraged, I overheard two men—a warrior and a rogue—talking at the next table.
Curious, I eavesdropped.
“Wow, check out those tits. Hey, look over there.”
“…Ugh, idiot. Stop. Can’t you see her ears and eyes? And her outfit? That’s definitely the rumored Arar.”
The rumored Arar?
“Why? Isn’t she just a beastkin? With that robe, she looks like a rare mage. How can we try to recruit her to our party?”
Smack!
The warrior hit the rogue, who had spoken lightly.
“Are you crazy? You’re hitting me out of nowhere?”
“Shut up and listen. Not all beastkin are the same. Even among the same race, cursed ones are rejected—Arar.”
“Arar?”
The warrior began a long explanation.
“After incurring the wrath of the god of darkness, girls with black hair and jewel-like eyes started being born among the Myo tribe.”
God of darkness, huh. There’s a god of light, so a god of darkness isn’t impossible.
“Their appearance isn’t the problem. But those who grew close to them or stayed near them suffered misfortune.”
He shook his head fearfully.
“People died, plagues spread, monsters attacked, villages burned. Eventually, they couldn’t handle it and began to kill or abandon the cursed children.”
“….”
“They even gave them the derogatory name Arar.”
I didn’t expect such a bleak story.
“This is insane. What did the kids do to deserve this?”
“Sadly, some of the abandoned children survived stubbornly and eventually established a village somewhere on the continent, a village only cursed children could live in.”
“Surviving and building a community… that’s fortunate.”
The warrior nodded.
“Right. Perhaps because of their curse, they excelled in black magic and called themselves witches, fully committing to that path.”
He paused, lowering his voice and expression.
“But that’s one thing. Imagine if you persuaded that person to join your party and succeeded. What would happen to our party?”
The rogue sweated, hesitating.
“Sorry… that would have gotten everyone killed. Damn, after this dungeon trip, I’m heading straight to the library!”
“As far as I know, that witch… hasn’t been in the city long, but she survived two party wipes on the first floor all by herself.”
The warrior laughed, suggesting not to approach her and to have a drink later.
‘The conversation seems done. Black magic, huh…’
I stopped watching them and looked around.
Others were also whispering, watching the witch.
Some even clicked their tongues, moving away from her line.
“This is a bit much… she’s just nearby, isn’t it?”
Yeriel, who overheard the conversation, muttered.
“Yeah. Must be tough for her to keep experiencing this.”
“Right. How much pain has she endured in her life?”
The witch reached the counter quickly, as people ahead stepped aside.
“Phew. Watching her doesn’t help. She’s on her own. Today’s a loss.”
“Aren, don’t be discouraged! The dungeon hasn’t opened yet, so keep looking for a few more days; something will come up.”
“I hope so.”
Before leaving the guild, I kept an eye on the witch. As a fellow lower-floor adventurer, we might cross paths later. Better to roughly gauge her abilities.
────
[Lumia]
[Strength: E] [Agility: F+] [Endurance: E-]
[HP: E] [MP: D-] [Luck: F]
[Traits] (folded)
Punishment of Darkness
Basics of Black Magic
Mask of Lack
Myo Senses
────
[Punishment of Darkness] [P]
A powerful curse from the god of darkness on the Myo tribe.
A dark aura isolates the cursed target, constantly surrounding the user invisibly and spreading within a certain radius.
Luck decreases by four levels.
Anyone touched by the darkness suffers misfortune proportional to contact time.
Receives additional damage from light-based attacks.
Adjusted for black magic.
All attacks are fixed as dark attribute.
────
Tsst tsst tsst.
Wait. I feel something around her body.
[Chaos Eye is observing the darkness.]
“What’s that?”
“Huh? What?”
I wasn’t in a position to answer her back.
The dark energy radiating from this witch called Lumia became faintly visible.
Hrm. So that’s the darkness, the source of misfortune.
I remembered something from the Chaos Eye’s description: it allows seeing things that are normally invisible.
‘Feels like I’m forcibly seeing something I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t look any longer.’
I hastily turned my head. Maybe she sensed it, because she turned and locked eyes with me.
What… is she saying? I can’t hear it.
Watching her lips: You… can see?
The witch, staring at me intently, pushed through the crowd and started running toward me.
Tap tap tap.
‘What the hell? Why is she running?’
Her aura was overwhelming, like a monster, forcing me to step back instinctively.
‘Don’t come, you crazy woman!’
I tried to dodge, but…
[A record shows recent confirmed misfortune applied to the user.]
[Chaos Dragon Heart resists the Punishment of Darkness attempting to bring misfortune to the user.]
[Minor power reacts to darkness.]
[Due to strong backlash, the “darkness” of the Punishment of Darkness is deactivated near the user.]
Whoosh!
“Ah, ah.”
The system window appeared wildly in front of me.
At the same time, Lumia froze, trembling.
“What’s happening?”
“I don’t know. She suddenly ran at the guy and stopped. Why?”
Damn. Adventurers were already staring.
“Yeriel, let’s go. We need to get out of here.”
“Yeah. I felt sorry for her earlier, but she’s strange. Let’s not get close and go quickly.”
Yeriel grabbed my hand and led me toward the exit.
“Don’t go—!”
Lumia shouted and lunged with full force.
Damn. Yeriel is right behind me.
Too risky to dodge, she landed on me.
“Really… I can’t feel the darkness.”
She held onto me like a koala.
I tried to shake her off. She bit her teeth and clung even harder.
“Ugh… you’re not leaving.”
Repeating this several times, Yeriel whispered with a troubled face.
“Aren… just carry her out. Everyone’s watching…”
Damn. What are we even doing right now?
I sighed and carried the clinging Lumia out of the guild.