Curse (Please Read On)

Curse Sorcery was an ancient art, and Curse Wizards were among the earliest wizards in the Wizard World.

In this age, when wizards were no longer mysterious, Curse Wizards remained among the few who still retained an air of mystery.

Corner Alley Restaurant appeared to be a restaurant on the surface, but behind the scenes, it also dealt in murder.

Killing someone at the Wizard Academy was no easy matter. The Academy Watchers monitored the entire campus around the clock, and any significant elemental fluctuation would draw their attention.

But curses were different.

Curse Sorcery required neither contact nor the use of elements. So long as one possessed an item belonging to the target, a curse ritual could kill without leaving a trace.

Moreover, Curse Magic was extremely difficult to trace. Even if the cursed person was discovered by the Academy Watchers in time, they could only isolate the curse rather than deal with the wizard who had cast it.

Of course, part of the reason was that the Academy deliberately turned a blind eye to it.

Curse Sorcery was not guaranteed to succeed. The greater the gap in strength between the Curse Wizard and the cursed person, the lower the chance of success. Once the cursed person surpassed the Curse Wizard by an entire major rank, the odds of a successful curse could be ignored altogether.

It was a blade hanging over the heads of countless apprentices, forcing them to grow stronger.

Joseph's order quickly reached the Curse Wizard. Since Richard's Magic Potion was not difficult to obtain, Joseph had not even needed to provide a curse medium.

The Curse Wizard placed the Magic Potion Richard had brewed upon a stone-carved Altar. The Altar was covered in Runes drawn in blood, and the instant the potion bottle was set down, the entire Altar let out a bloodcurdling howl.

The Curse Wizard was used to it. After setting the bottle in place, he slit his wrist and fed the Altar with his own blood.

As he fed it, he also circulated his magic power and recited an unknown Incantation.

When the Incantation was finished, the wizard placed a Curse Worm onto the Altar. In an instant, Black Flame erupted from the Curse Worm's body. At the same time, black flames suddenly burst from Kevin's body as he read in his dormitory.

"Fuck, a curse!"

Kevin had no time to think. He immediately pulled a glass bottle from the pouch at his waist. Inside was a plump, white Curse Worm.

Kevin smashed the bottle, grabbed the Curse Worm, and the black flames on his body instantly transferred onto it.

But his Curse Worm was of too poor a quality, while the Curse Wizard was far stronger than him. After the curse was transferred, the Curse Worm began rapidly carbonizing. Once it died, the curse would descend upon him again.

At that critical moment, Kevin seized the Focus Potion beside him and gulped it down. The more urgent the moment, the less he could afford to panic.

As the potion took effect, Kevin's mind swiftly calmed.

He needed to do two things now. First, survive. Second, warn Richard.

The Curse Worm completely carbonized, and black flames ignited on Kevin's body again. But under the effects of the Focus Potion, his sense of pain was drastically reduced, enough for him to move freely.

Bang!

Kevin rushed to the window and leaped out, shouting into the air as he did.

"Curse! There's a curse!"

Kevin's commotion soon drew the Academy Watcher's attention. A huge Owl swiftly flew above his head, isolating the curse from him.

"Apprentice, you are safe now."

"Sir, someone else has been cursed!" Kevin shouted at the Watcher. "There is another cursed apprentice in Room 215, Building 4! He is Master Gerald's formal apprentice!"

Kevin had dealt with these Watchers before. He knew that although the Owls looked like a flock, every Owl's soul was actually interconnected. Informing one meant that all the others would receive the news as well.

To keep these Owls from dragging their feet, he had deliberately emphasized Richard's identity.

At the same time, black flames suddenly ignited on Richard's body as he read in his dormitory.

"A curse?"

Richard frowned and immediately took out the Curse Worm he had prepared beforehand, temporarily transferring the curse's effects before swiftly rushing out and barging into Ellie's room.

"Ellie, curse."

Richard only had time to say two words before black flames ignited on his body again.

Seeing this, Ellie hurried to the desk, took a Curse Worm from the drawer, and handed it to Richard. Once the curse was temporarily transferred, Ellie pressed one hand against the Curse Worm while circulating her magic power and chanting ancient curse words.

"Hm?" The Curse Wizard frowned. He sensed Ellie's resistance. "Another colleague is helping him?"

The Curse Wizard took a Dried Toad from his robes, carefully broke off a small piece, and tossed it onto the Curse Worm.

In an instant, the Black Flame on the Curse Worm burned even more fiercely.

"Hm?" Ellie sensed the change in the curse, and her face instantly turned pale.

"Competing with magical items?"

Her heart hardened, and she immediately took a section of Black Finger Bone from the drawer and swallowed it whole.

Competing with magical items? She was Master Susanna's only disciple!

The Curse Wizard's alarm bells rang as he felt the curse being obstructed again. He knew nearly every Curse Wizard capable of withstanding this move. If one of them was fighting him, there was no way he could kill Richard before the Academy Watchers arrived.

"Fuck, what rotten luck."

The Curse Wizard cursed, then slapped the Curse Worm burning with Black Flame to death, decisively cutting off the curse.

Curse Magic was merely difficult to trace, not impossible to trace.

After sensing that the curse had been severed, Ellie relaxed slightly and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Battles between Curse Wizards were exceedingly dangerous. One misstep could draw the curse onto oneself. Fortunately, she had a good teacher. Susanna had not taught her much about cursing others, but she had taught her plenty about defending against curses.

"Is it over?" Richard asked.

"It's over. That wizard didn't keep fighting me. He stopped the curse very decisively."

"Can we find him?"

"No." Ellie shook her head. "If he had kept struggling with me for a while, perhaps my teacher could have found him. But he cut it off too decisively. There's no way to find him from such a faint trace."

Richard frowned. "That's troublesome."

If he could not find the Curse Wizard, he could not discover who had cursed him. There were only thieves who stole for a thousand days, never guards who kept watch for a thousand days. If he did not uncover this person, he truly would not be able to eat or sleep in peace.

"Why not ask Senior Brother Jacques?" Ellie suggested. "I heard from a friend that Senior Brother Jacques has connections everywhere among the apprentices. Maybe he can dig up some information."

"That's all we can do..."

Bang!

A sound came from next door.

Richard listened closely. It seemed to have come from his room.

"Apprentice Richard! Apprentice Richard!"

Hearing the Owl's voice, Richard immediately returned to his room.

"Apprentice Richard, someone reported to me that you had been cursed." The Owl's round eyes stared at Richard again and again. "You resolved it yourself?"

"Watcher, thank you for coming. I have already resolved the curse." Richard gave the Watcher a slight bow.

"Caw, caw. As expected of Gerald's disciple." The Owl praised him, then flew out of the room.

Richard stroked his chin as he watched the Academy Watcher fly away. "It seems Kevin, this whistleblower, is somewhat useful after all."

The Academy Watcher had arrived at his room just after the matter of his curse was resolved. Kevin, the Agent who had borne the curse for him, had clearly sent word.

If Ellie had not been next door, Kevin's move might have saved his life.

"He's probably not lightly injured either. I'll go check on him later."

Richard was quite satisfied with Kevin as his Agent. These past few days, Kevin had gathered most of the materials for Richard's experiments in the Test Area. Some of those obscure materials would have taken Richard who knew how long to collect himself.

Richard had always been attentive to his own people.