Tingen, Morien Family.
It was noon, and the light was good, but the Morien Family's doors and windows were tightly shut, with even the curtains fully drawn.
Approaching one of the rooms, one could hear faint conversation.
"Um... will it hurt?" A young male voice spoke up. He sounded no older than twenty-five.
"What? Afraid of pain?" Another voice sounded.
"Uh... a little." The first speaker answered with a slight tremble in his voice.
The latter clicked his tongue.
"If you're scared, don't do it. If you do it, don't be scared."
After waiting a few seconds and receiving no response, the latter was visibly losing patience.
"Are you doing this or not? If not, get off the bed, get dressed, and get out already."
"The deposit isn't refundable."
"You're a grown man. Why are you being so wishy-washy?"
The room fell silent again.
A few seconds later, Klein shouted.
"But why aren't you using anesthetic for the surgery?!"
"There is no anesthetic for surgeries in this era!" Morien's voice immediately followed.
"Bullshit! Roselle clearly invented anesthetic!"
"Hehe, guess I didn't fool you." Morien smiled as he set down the chainsaw in his hand, looking utterly innocent.
Casually taking off his gloves, Morien walked to the bedside where Klein lay bare-chested.
"Next, I'll directly use my abilities to alter your body. It probably won't hurt too much."
"Can you accept modifications to your brain?"
"Uh... not really."
"Fine, then you won't have a Cursed Technique." As he spoke, Morien waved for Klein to lie down properly and pressed a finger against his stomach.
"So that means I can only produce that special energy, but can't gain any skills?"
"More or less." Morien nodded and tapped his own head. "After all, Cursed Techniques are inscribed in the brain. If you won't