The New Gate

“I think the curse was inflicted like a skill. In a way, it’s even more horrifying than the miasma. It’s an artificial curse based on people’s negative emotions. Curses are originally born out of resentment, but this was a deliberate collection of them. It’s really disgusting.”

Yuzuha said that it was not uncommon for people, monsters or both, to leave behind resentment or regret when they die. If they die an unjust death, something like a seed of resentment was born from it.

Most of the time the seed would disappear immediately, but sometimes it would accumulate and become a powerful curse. And cursed weapons and tools were usually created when a powerful curse happened to reside in something that was left behind. If the original owner had a strong power, the cursed weapons or tools might directly harm the entity who caused the owner’s death, or have a negative effect on the surrounding land.

In some cases, the curses were linked to, or used by, miasma or miasma demons.

“Even weapons made by people with resentment can also become cursed.”

To kill someone. To torment someone. Yuzuha continued that it was common for such wills to reside in weapons. This time, something similar seemed to have come out of Elamella’s weapon.

“I see. It’s always been a bit of a hassle, but it’s not impossible to make such weapons if you really wanted to. I guess it’s a variation of that.”

What Shin did know was that a method of inflicting a curse was a disadvantage, and increasing the number of inflicted curses and their effects as a trade-off was an advantage.

The effect was just a way of managing a weapon’s capacity. It appeared as a curse, but if one asked whether the weapon was truly cursed, the answer was probably no.

Milt nodded at Shin’s question.

“You can. Among players, the people known as sorcerers did that.”

“Ah… I remember, there was a job like that.”

Shin searched his memory and said that it must have been a job that was good at long-range and indirect attacks, such as magicians. However, he didn’t know any players who had that job even in game, so the information was vague.

“As far as I know, their main job is to cast debuffs, and they can also summon undead monsters.”

Milt seemed to think that the sorcerers were a difficult opponent.

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In terms of position, they seemed to be similar to a puppeteer or an ‘onmyouji’. The reason Shin and the others hadn’t paid much attention to them was because High Humans’ extremely high resistance and the support of their equipment allowed them to repel debuffs, which was the sorcerers’ greatest advantage.

In PvP, Shin and his guildmate were their nemesis.

“Is this the hint of a curse I’ve felt since coming here? Surely it’s intentional, right?”

“That’s a reasonable assumption to make. But is what Shin was talking about the same as what happened at the arena? I don’t know how skilled Kluck is, but I wonder if it’s possible not to notice a curse that can transform Elamella to that extent.”

Shin had the same doubts as Schnee.

Even though Kluck’s weapon was only a prototype, it should have been well-maintained. Shin thought that, with skill like Kluck’s, it would not be surprising if he noticed something strange.

“If we can hear what he has to say, we might be able to find something.”

They said they couldn’t meet him, but Shin and the others had a way of doing it.

“You’re not trying to sneak into the prison, are you?”

Tiera was surprised, and Shin nodded.

“Of course not. But I can’t just sit back and watch. The curse was likely placed on the weapon without the knowledge of its creator.”

It was safe to say that there was no one in this world who could seriously find Shin if he decided to hide himself. It was a skill he honed as he went around defeating PK players.

Plus, as a blacksmith, he couldn’t just stand by and watch his own work being disgraced.

He already knew the location of the prison where Kluck was being held, so he intended to go there later.

“I’d like to go too, but I’d get in the way.”

Since she had actually fought Elamella, Milt was keen to investigate.

However, there was a difference in their stealth abilities, so Shin asked her to do another job.

“Milt, I want you to work with Schnee to gather information. There may be rumors circulating that could be related.”

Filma and the others waited at the inn. Using items and equipment, it was possible to act stealthily, but that didn’t mean they would know where the important information was being handled.

That was just a bonus. They could only hope that there would be something there.

After the discussion, Shin checked the weapon Milt had used to make sure it wasn’t cursed.

There was nothing during the match, but when Shin tried to touch it to investigate, a curse erupted as if it had exploded. However, it was blown away by the resistance of the High Human.

Although the clues had disappeared, the curse was clearly stronger than that of Elamella’s. Milt’s current equipment and status would allow her to resist it, but Shin could not remain calm when he thought of what would have happened if Milt had been affected by it.

Before he knew it, it was completely dark all around.

Shin activated 【Hiding】 and blended into the darkness of the night.

He left the inn grounds and moved along the rooftops. His destination was one of the guard bases.

The country was large, and there were places like guardhouses here and there. However, the prison was located in the largest of these.

The prison Shin headed for was close to the arena. It was probably used when there was trouble in the arena. It was bigger than the other bases and even though it was the middle of the night, there were a lot of guards moving around.

Shin made his way to the back, blending in just in time with the guards as they came out and entered the building.

He used a combination of detection skills and his unique presence detection to search for any possible presence.

(The motionless presence in the basement seems to be that of a prisoner.)

He checked with 【Through Sight】 and headed down the passage to the basement. Naturally, some of the doors were locked, but he got through with the help of items.

The lockpicking tools used by the scouts were also part of Shin’s repertoire of items.

(Sorry, but I’ll have to use my skills.)

Shin cast a weak 【Sleep】 on one of the two guards in the room leading to the floor with the cell.

If he put them both to sleep completely, the others might suspect that something had been done when they came in later.

Only one of them could see the door. Shin waited until the guard was distracted by the effects of 【Sleep】, and showed him the door that was still closed with an illusion. He then used 【Area Silence】 to mute the surrounding sound, unlocking the door and opening the door.

Shin quickly slid himself through the door, closed it and deactivated the illusion skill. The door’s lock was on the wall, so this was easy.

On the other side of the door he could hear the guard slapping his cheek to clear his mind. He seemed to be the type who was loyal to his job. If Shin had put him to sleep completely, the guard might have felt something was wrong when he woke up.

Shin watched the situation with 【Through Sight】, but they didn’t seem to be concerned about the prison.

The prison area had only faint light. It was dim overall, and without using a skill, it was impossible to see inside the prison on the other side.

The prison was about six tatami mats in size, and there was only a single rug inside.

The walls were probably shaped with a skill. Each prison had the exact same layout.

Of the six prisons, there were four that contained people. It seemed that there were other people there besides Elamella and Kluck. Perhaps they had been cursed, like the man Shin had seen rampaging around during the day. Both were asleep at the moment.

Elamella did not seem to have fully recovered and was also sleeping on the rug.

Shin approached Kluck’s prison and unlocked the entrance. It seemed that his lockpicking skills from his gaming days could handle prison locks he had never seen before.

There was no sound due to the effect of 【Area Silence】, but Kluck noticed that the door had opened, and Shin’s eyes met.

Kluck looked surprised and said something, but the effect of 【Area Silence】 prevented Shin from hearing it. Shin gestured to him for silence and activated another skill. An earth wall created by earth magic further divided the narrow prison. After making sure that the wall was tightly attached to the other side, Shin released 【Area Silence】.

Now, no one should be able to hear anyone talking. There was no one on the other side of Kluck’s cell, so even if a sleeping person woke up, it wouldn’t be noticed.

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