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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 38
[Curse of Frailty]
It uses spiritual energy to attach a malevolent spirit to the target.
#The surrounding spirits ensnare the target.
#Once possessed, the target's physical abilities deteriorate.
The Curse of Frailty is a technique that attaches a malevolent spirit to the target, lowering their physical capabilities.
It’s unclear how powerful this technique is, but its usage conditions were very restrictive.
The first limitation was that there had to be spirits nearby.
If there’s no graveyard around, there won’t be spirits, which essentially makes the skill useless in spiritless areas.
‘But if the Spirit Stone can draw in spirits…’
That changes everything.
“Curse of Frailty.”
As I infused the Spirit Stone with spiritual energy, it turned a deep red.
Ominous red mist erupted from within, forming into the shape of a snake, and shot toward a black-striped snake emerging from the bushes.
“Hiss!”
The startled snake hissed and tried to appear threatening, but its movements were sluggish.
“Hmm…”
Even as I approached, it merely flicked its tongue; the nimble agility it displayed moments ago was gone.
‘Is it because its physical abilities were weakened?’
Spiritual energy was slowly draining as the spell continued.
I felt a connection, as if an invisible thread linked me to the target.
When I pulled back the spiritual energy, the malevolent spirit detached from the black-striped snake and was reabsorbed into the Spirit Stone.
At that moment, the snake lunged at me with its jaws wide open.
Slice—
With one swing of my sword, its body was cleaved in two and thudded to the ground.
“Hmph…”
The spell seemed more effective than expected.
I’ll need to experiment further before using it in real combat.
Can regular spirits be used instead of malevolent ones?
Does the spell’s strength vary depending on the malevolent spirit?
Will the spell persist even if I move a certain distance away from the target?
There’s a lot I need to test to fully understand this ability.
‘Status windows really aren’t helpful.’
Cohen’s was the same, and so is this spell.
The vague descriptions meant I had to figure things out for myself.
“Alright! Let’s move! We need to make more graves. We’re burying all of these things.”
At my voice, the wolves let out weary whines.
Of course, one glance at the chief and he quickly rallied their morale.
“Geez, wouldn’t it have been easier if you’d just done that from the start?”
The chief drifted farther away to deal with the snakes scattered around us.
“Grrr…”
What did he just say?
I swear that sounded like an insult…
No, must’ve been my imagination.
He wouldn’t dare.
* * *
After hours of work, we returned to the wagon.
The people from Trevis were standing watch, waiting for me.
“Lord Ren, you were gone so long we were about to go look for you.”
“Sorry. Things took a bit longer than expected.”
“Everyone’s asleep. Please go and rest.”
“Yes.”
Lila and Becca were sound asleep under a makeshift tent.
I lay down beside them.
Normally, night watches are essential in areas crawling with beasts, but the gray-maned wolves were standing guard tonight, so there was no need to worry.
I wanted to tell the people standing outside to come in and rest too, but I couldn’t explain everything to them, so I just let it go.
‘Still, I’ve gained a useful skill.’
Curse of Frailty.
A surprisingly powerful spell, but difficult and dangerous to use.
The ability to turn spirits into malevolent ones—
That’s the true nature of this power.
Using spiritual energy to transform a regular spirit into a malevolent one, attaching it to a target, and weakening them.
Now I understood why it was so powerful.
Normally, transforming a spirit alone consumes a lot of energy.
Forcing control over the resulting malevolent spirit adds even more cost.
And it could only be used where graves are present—a critical limitation.
But now that I could store spirits in the Spirit Stone, all those downsides were essentially nullified.
As long as I have the energy to control the spirit, that’s all that matters.
The black-striped snake leader I captured before was manageable, but anything stronger might be truly dangerous.
‘I’ll need to handle it carefully.’
The stronger the spiritual energy used, the more malice the spirit exhibits.
And with that, the curse grows stronger—and so does the risk I bear.
A double-edged sword.
That’s what this power is.
‘First, I need to quickly strengthen my spiritual energy.’
If I move too far away, the malevolent spirit automatically returns to me.
The range seems to depend on the reach of my spiritual energy.
So the stronger I grow, the farther the range.
Sigh...
As I lay down and exhaled deeply, the drowsiness I’d been holding back finally crept in.
My eyelids grew heavy.
Darkness blinked in and out, and before I knew it, light returned.
“Lord Ren. Time to wake up.”
“Hm?”
I opened my eyes to see sunlight filtering through the tent.
It was morning.
“Please eat lightly—we’re departing right after.”
I nodded and quickly shook off my fatigue.
“Where did you go to use so much energy yesterday?”
Becca asked, grabbing my arm while I stuffed bread into my mouth.
“Just did a bit of training.”
"Heh… You’re really dedicated. Are you a swordsman?"
"Yes."
"Where did you learn?"
"...I train alone."
"I see. That’s impressive! I use a spear, but it's really difficult..."
Becca somehow kept talking non-stop while eating, which I found rather fascinating.
I gave vague replies and finished my meal before getting on the carriage.
The carriage began to move swiftly.
"I heard there are quite a few bandits around here. What if they show up?"
"They wouldn't dare attack a Trevis carriage."
"Really? Ah, that’s a shame. I thought it might be fun."
"If you're disappointed, how about getting off halfway and looking for some bandits yourself?"
Lila snapped at her with a slightly sharp tone.
She seemed annoyed by her excessive talking.
'So she does get annoyed.'
I had assumed she was just a kind person, but apparently not.
"Hey! Then when are we going to get to Brillant? We should stick with the carriage."
Lila turned her head with a disappointed expression.
After a long ride, the carriage suddenly stopped.
From the abrupt halt, it seemed like something had happened ahead.
Clack—
The front window of the carriage slid open, and the coachman looked at me with a troubled expression.
"Sir Ren, could you please step outside for a moment?"
"What’s going on?"
"Someone is blocking the road."
I immediately sensed this was going to be a hassle.
Things never seemed to go smoothly.
Ever since returning to the past, not a single thing had gone by without incident.
It felt like some sort of karma from returning to the past, constantly throwing me into annoying situations.
"I’ll come too."
"Me too!"
"You don’t have to—"
"No! I need something to do too!"
Her eyes sparkled too much for it to be simple willingness to help.
As for Lila, it looked like she felt indebted to me somehow.
"Fine then."
When I got out of the carriage, a man in shabby clothes, covered in blood and holding a sword, was blocking the road.
It was obvious at a glance that he wasn’t normal.
To look like that, at this time and place…
‘Did he have a run-in with some bandits?’
I immediately opened the status window.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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[Joel Hommels]
-Skill: Wolf Fang Sword
-Strength: 16.5
-Agility: 8.5
-Stamina: 18.6
-Sense: 5.3
-Energy: 4.1
Impressive stats.
He was nearly at upper-knight level in terms of ability.
The unusual part was the disproportionately high strength and stamina.
While his agility and perception were around lower-knight level, his strength and stamina were at near top-tier.
Definitely not ordinary.
‘His eyes don’t even have any focus…’
[Wolf Fang Sword]
A sword technique taught by a passing wanderer.
It cannot be learned by someone without talent.
#It has no form or stance.
#Can be executed from any position.
A peculiar description.
A sword technique without form or stance?
And what does it mean it was taught by a wandering traveler?
‘I need to get a handle on the situation first.’
I stepped forward, pushing past the coachman who looked stuck and unsure.
"Why are you blocking the road?"
"I want a ride."
"You mean the carriage?"
"Yeah. Let me on."
His speech was strange.
What is this?
"We can’t suddenly take in a stranger. Especially given your current condition."
"What about it?"
"You're covered in blood. How can we trust someone like that to ride with us?"
"I couldn’t help it—bandits attacked me."
So it was a fight with bandits.
"What happened to the bandits?"
"They're all dead."
Even though bandits are scum among scum, they’re still human.
He showed not the slightest sign of guilt or remorse for slaughtering so many people.
His unshaken expression made it clear: this man had no hesitation when it came to killing.
"Um, Sir Ren. I don't think we should let him on."
Lila said, gripping my arm, looking uneasy.
Even the usually innocent Becca had a grim look on her face in reaction to the man.
As for the coachman and Trevis’s men, it went without saying.
"I’m sorry, but could you please find another carriage?"
"No."
"Unfortunately, we don’t have space in this one."
"Then make space."
His tone was flat, with no emotion.
It sounded like an ordinary phrase, just flowing naturally—but no one here misunderstood the real meaning behind it.
To create a “seat” — in the end, it meant to remove one of those currently seated.
"Such wickedness!"
Becca shouted angrily and sharply drew her spear.
“W-Wait!”
I panicked and tried to stop her, but it was already too late.
I quickly looked at the man named Joel.
His gaze had changed.
There’s no benefit in provoking someone who's lost their sanity.
“You’re going to fight me too?”
He gripped a sword caked with dried blood.
“Come on! I’ll fix that vicious mind of yours.”
Becca charged at him as she said that.
There wasn’t even time to stop her.
I quickly drew my sword.
There was no doubt Becca would be defeated within three exchanges at most.
‘There’s no way a guy who’s not even knight-level can win!’
I at least tried to be of some help by shouting.
“Don’t rely on strength! Dodge and aim for openings!”
In my urgency, I even forgot to use honorifics.
Still, perhaps she didn’t ignore me — Becca flinched and shifted the direction of her attack.
Whooosh—!
Joel’s sword cut through the air with a chilling sound.
Even without it landing, I could tell.
That sword carried immense power.
It was written all over Becca’s face.
She had clearly frozen up after realizing the difference in skill from Joel’s first move.
Clang!
His sword knocked Becca’s spear shaft upward, opening her guard, then swung around to strike at her side.
“Tch!”
I had already been preparing to rush in.
I yanked Becca back with my left hand and brought down my sword, Soulcall, onto Joel’s weapon.
His blade grazed past Becca’s body.
“Hah…!”
Becca, having just brushed with death, let out a ragged breath.
“Fall back.”
“Th-thank you…”
Becca stepped back, and in her place, Lila stepped forward.
“I’ll help.”
“You?”
Unexpected.
Wasn’t she hiding that she was a mage?
“Actually, I have some skills. I’ll do my best to support you from the side.”
Hmm… Seems she doesn’t plan to reveal her full abilities yet.
I’d like to draw out her powers a bit, but the opponent is too dangerous for that.
“I appreciate it, but I’ll have to decline.”
“What? Why?”
“I can’t coordinate with someone whose abilities I don’t know.”
With that, I turned my head.
It was my way of signaling her not to speak further — and she seemed to get the message, retreating quietly.
“I’ll kill you all.”
“You’re insane, seriously.”
I pretended to stay composed, but my heart was racing wildly.
Can I win this?
His strengths: overwhelming power and incredible stamina.
His weaknesses: lower agility and duller senses.
‘I’ll have to avoid direct confrontation and aim for openings…!’
I gripped the hilt of Soulcall tightly.
The sound of my heartbeat resonated through it, causing it to hum in response.
Wooong—
‘Here I go.’
Joel’s red eyes glinted.
A brutally straightforward thrust.
But because of his immense strength, that simple line came off as terrifyingly dangerous.
Clangclangclang!!
“Ugh!”
I barely managed to deflect it with Soulcall.
Even if he’s less agile, it’s not like I have a major edge in that area either.
To defeat him, I’d have to use the intricate techniques of Havenberg swordsmanship.
‘This is my first time facing such a strong opponent head-on.’
Sica, the black mage, Scarlett…
I’ve fought high-ranking knights before, but I always escaped by using necromancy.
Joel Hommels might be a bit below them, but he’s still an incredible powerhouse.
The fact that I’m standing here, daring to fight him, makes me feel oddly moved.
“Rat bastard!”
Joel, frustrated with my constant dodging, began swinging his sword like a madman.
A Wolf Fang Sword has no fixed form or stance — which makes it extremely unpredictable.
Crack!
His sword, slicing through air, suddenly twisted mid-swing and came crashing toward my shoulder.
‘Shit, did he just overpower the blade’s trajectory with brute strength?’
That’s something only possible with both extreme strength and stamina.
I could hear his muscles straining from here.
It could be considered a finishing move that leaves him open — but creates a deadly opportunity.
‘If I weren’t the one facing him, that is.’
A grin spread across my lips.
At the same time, the jewel on Soulcall began to glow a vivid red.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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