The sudden pile of rocks was the remains of the idol. Once most of the Lizardfolk in the tribe had died, the stone statue had abruptly become riddled with cracks. The peaceful, serene idol seemed to have been cursed; its blue-gray stone had turned black, and then it had broken apart on the spot, scattering across the ground!
A god's idol only shattered when the god fell.
But this statue hadn't even given birth to a "god." How could this happen?
Was it faith backlash?
The idol had only just been built. Could a connection of faith really have formed in such a short time?
Could it be...
Borne's eyes widened.
Dozens of [Giant's Hand] spells appeared in an instant. After rummaging through the debris, they quickly found a peculiar stone.
According to the Chip's analysis, the stone had obvious carvings, as though it had been placed there afterward.
Borne's expression shifted slightly. He raised his longsword and struck the stone.
Crack...
The blade snapped!
The broken sword didn't frustrate Borne. Instead, a faint smile appeared on his face.
He took a Cross Sword from his pack, drew a deep breath, and a faint glow appeared along the blade.
His friends nearby had long since been drawn to his actions. Now they stared at the sword, eyes wide.
"Is this 'ki'?"
It was no secret at the academy that Borne seemed to have mastered "ki."
He had shown superb combat skills three years ago, and his practical ability was no weaker than that of a warrior.
The Ioulaum House had no Sorcerer bloodline, and Borne's extraordinary reflexes and speed had immediately caught many people's attention.
The foundations of Nether's noble houses were beyond imagination. Some had legacies older than the Ioulaum House's. Digging up a piece of information was a matter of minutes.
It wasn't long before people inferred from Borne's behavior that he had mastered the [Monk] Breathing Technique.
There had been people in the Ioulaum House who mastered it in the past, but Borne was the only one who had done so in recent times. Clearly, the Monk Breathing Technique demanded even greater talent than spellcasting!
There was no way to break through this.
Monks were already rare, and they almost all hid away in remote mountains and forests. There were no Monks left in the North, and knowledge of the properties of "ki" existed only in records.
No one but the user knew its properties.
There was no way to find an angle to counter it.
Until now, the various houses had only speculated. This was the first time they had actually seen Borne use it.
The Cross Sword, imbued with "ki," sliced through the rock in an instant. A fist-sized black stone, wreathed in "smoke," rolled out. Flowers and grass withered wherever it went, and the earth turned dry and cracked.
Borne hurriedly jumped backward.
What an evil aura!
Borne wasn't the only one who felt it. Everyone from the Arcane Society did too. Staring at the black stone made them feel sick and left their ears ringing.
Hubwick seemed to recall something. Fear flashed across his face, and he shouted:
"Cursed! Don't touch it, or we'll all suffer terrible luck!"
He rushed over to Borne and said urgently, "Listen to me. That stone is cursed. Don't touch it, whatever you do. I mean it! Otherwise, not just you—all of us will be in for trouble!"
Borne glanced at Hubwick. He seemed familiar with this thing—or perhaps he'd dealt with cursed objects before. Either way, he was clearly terrified!
Of course, Borne had already realized how strange the thing was without being told.
"That's a powerful curse. It must be at least a Level 6 negative-radiation contamination," Belon assessed.
Level 6 radiation contamination was a serious problem. Belon had military connections, so his words carried weight. No one doubted his assessment.
Of course, radiation could be harmful or beneficial. Giles's Wizard Tower, for instance, was a large source of beneficial radiation that increased the activity of magical elements!
It could even improve the quality-of-life index for the people of Seventon.
Level 6 radiation contamination could affect a large city. If left unchecked, every living thing in this swamp would become extinct.
The stone clearly contained negative energy. Leave it in a graveyard overnight, and a horde of skeletons and zombies would crawl out.
Left here, it would soon become a paradise for the undead.
Of course, good and evil were merely human standards. To someone in a profession like necromancy, this thing was practically an artifact. Even a Legendary would find it valuable.
Borne thought he might have discovered the reason the Lizardfolk had migrated, though this thing had clearly "fallen apart."
"This is beyond our abilities. Should we report it to the academy's higher-ups and have a high-ranking spellcaster deal with it?" Dalena suggested.
Just looking at the thing made her feel uncomfortable, let alone touching it. That would be asking for trouble.
But no one else spoke. The thing might be evil, but it was also extremely rare. If the academy got involved, they might declare it "academy property."
Everyone turned to look at Borne. One way or another, he had been the first to discover it, so he had the greatest right to decide what to do with it.
Borne said nothing, but his expression showed that he was very interested in the thing.
When their attempts to persuade him failed, Hubwick hurriedly put as much distance between himself and the stone as possible. He didn't want to be caught up in the curse.
He thought these young fools were fearless because they didn't know any better. He decided that if the curse was triggered, he would be the first to run. He had already fulfilled his task under the contract by leading them to the Lizardfolk tribe.
Borne quietly began casting a spell.
A transparent, indistinct figure gradually appeared.
[Unseen Servant]
President Lisper immediately recognized the spell.
[Unseen Servant] was a first-circle spell that summoned an invisible, mindless, shapeless servant capable of following the simplest instructions.
The spell had originally been created for exploration, to trigger traps or mechanisms.
Since it could only move objects weighing less than twenty pounds, spellcasters later began using it to fetch things, clean, and tidy their living quarters.
Thanks to the Chip's improvements, the servant Borne summoned could lift more than thirty pounds.
The [Unseen Servant] had no mind and no ability to attack. Yet under the influence of the Pitch-Black Stone, it became frenzied. A wave of negative, chilling emotion traveled through the link between the spell and Borne.
Its normally invisible body began to manifest, and it let out a series of eerie roars.
"Ding! Malicious information intrusion detected. Firewall interception initiated. Estimated breach in three minutes."
The Chip's alert rang in Borne's mind. Red countdown numbers appeared before his eyes, overlaid on his retina.
Borne immediately severed his connection to the [Unseen Servant].
With no magic from Borne to sustain it, the servant—its thoughts in chaos—quickly vanished. The cursed stone dropped to the ground.
"Three minutes?!"
That should be enough!
Borne slowly raised a hand. A pale-blue, illusory hand appeared out of thin air.
[Mage Hand] was one of the signature spells of spellcasters. It could move objects weighing no more than five pounds.
Ever since Borne had earned the top spot in his year with [Mage Hand], it had become a must-learn spell for every student.
[Mage Hand] was useful, but no one else could use it the way Borne did.
A normal Mage Hand was transparent white and about the size of an ordinary person's hand. Borne's was pale blue and could take all sorts of shapes. It was downright unbelievable...
The enormous [Mage Hand] picked up the rock that had just been cut open.
"Ding! Malicious information intrusion detected. Firewall interception initiated. Estimated breach in one hour."
The familiar alert rang in Borne's mind again. The rock that had held the "Cursed Stone" had also been contaminated by radiation, but its radiating power was much weaker than that of the "Cursed Stone."
"One hour. That's enough!"
A flurry of sword flashes followed. In no time, Borne had carved the basketball-sized rock into a stone box.
He beckoned with one hand, and the Pitch-Black Cursed Stone flew into the stone box. He quickly put on the lid, then took a sheet of specially made lead foil from his pack and wrapped it tightly around the entire box.
The Chip's alert disappeared. Borne held the box and scanned it with his mental power. There was no problem.
"System! Run a scan!"
Borne spoke in his mind. The Chip's scanning ability was more precise than his mental power.
"Ding! Scanning... Estimated leakage time: 29 days."
"Twenty-nine days. That's enough."
It would only take a little over ten days to get back to Seventon. The academy could handle the problem after that.
"So this cursed contamination really is a nuisance!"
Borne laughed.
Everyone else: ...
Holy crap...
He could do that?!
The people around him were stunned, especially the Ranger, Hubwick, whose mouth hung open. Everyone had been dumbfounded by what Borne had done.
They could feel that the evil, ominous aura had vanished.
It could really be that simple?
So that was how you sealed a cursed object?
Shouldn't it take a day or two to set up a large magic circle, have a high-ranking Mage suppress the cursed object, and then seal it in a special container?
Why was Borne so casual about it...
He had just packed it up.
Wasn't he being a little too cavalier with a cursed object...
It was a Level 6 Contaminant, after all.
The Arcane Society members felt as though their understanding of the world had been rearranged once again. They were surprised, yet somehow also felt that it made sense. Whenever Borne was involved, things always seemed to turn out differently.
Seeing Borne toy with the stone box in his hand, President Lisper walked over curiously.
Her mental power could no longer sense that dark, ominous aura. Even the seal of a high-ranking spellcaster didn't seem this effective.
"May I take a look?"
President Lisper asked.
Looking into Lisper's clear eyes, Borne smiled faintly and handed it to her.
"Sure, here."
Lisper took the stone box. Only when her hand touched it could she sense the evil and ominous presence inside.
"What's this thin sheet wrapped around it?"
"Special lead foil. Its main component is lead, a dense, soft, bluish-gray metal with a melting point of 327°C and a boiling point of 1,750°C!..."
With the Cursed Stone sealed away, Borne was in a good mood. He rarely explained things, but this time he did.
"Lead has a cubic crystal structure. It's dense, soft, and has a low melting point and a high boiling point. It conducts electricity and heat poorly and can absorb radiation, which is why it's used to make containers for radioactive substances and as a protective material..."
"So it can react with most radioactive substances, forming a thin layer of lead compounds at the point of contact, thereby..."
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