episode_0128

Cursed Card.

A type of mutation? that occurs with a low probability during card imprinting, you could say.

It really doesn’t happen as often as you might think.

But when it does happen, it’s often fatal.

Grace still only eats grass, doesn’t she?

Kairak also can’t hold any weapon other than a bow and arrow.

I heard that the reason Raise, who is as fast as light, walks around bare-chested is also due to a cursed card.

However, this cursed card is truly like a double-edged sword.

It doesn’t just bring bad things; it also brings good things, so it depends on how you use it.

That means.

If you’re unlucky, the penalty is destructive, and the slight advantage is not even usable.

Luca’s case was exactly that.

“…Huh?”

A breath of air went ‘whoosh’ from Luca’s nose.

Then, suddenly, she collapsed with a ‘thud’.

“Luca?!!”

No matter how much I shook the collapsed Luca, she remained unconscious, so thinking there might be something wrong with her body, I quickly called Kitra over.

However, the result was completely different from what I expected.

“She’s fallen asleep.”

“…What?”

“And it seems like she’s in a pretty deep sleep.”

Saying that, Kitra looked at the card on the desk.

“Is it a cursed card? I can test what it is for you.”

“What, you could do that too?”

“I learned it at the Church the other day. I thought it would be helpful for the clan.”

Kitra said with a kind expression.

Learning something new for the clan, there’s truly no one like Kitra.

Kitra immediately infused divine power to examine Luca’s body in various ways.

“…Hmm, it’s a curse that makes her sleep a lot.”

Is it a narcolepsy curse?

If so, what are the good points besides the curse?

“Instead, they say she can sleep more soundly. Her recovery ability also improves while she’s sleeping.”

“……What?”

It’s truly a useless curse.

Most injuries these days can be fixed with a Church priest or a potion. And the price for that is narcolepsy.

How could someone who suddenly collapses and sleeps while active become an explorer?

……Zzzzz.

For now, let’s just let her sleep well.

“What about removing it…”

“That requires using a special holy tool in the Church.”

“…Haa, we’ll have to remove it later. How much will it cost for Luca?”

Because after removing a curse just 3 times, it starts costing quite a bit of money from then on.

We’ll have to figure out how to secure the funds from the clan treasury.

……Gulp.

However, since Luca started by getting a cursed card right away.

The remaining Grace and Kairak were also a little nervous.

“I’ll try first!!”

Grace immediately closed her eyes tightly and used the gold cards.

But as she used them all, nothing happened and they were absorbed well, so she used all the remaining purple cards as well.

Even though she used over 30 cards in total, not a single cursed card appeared.

“That’s a relief. I wondered what we would do if one popped up.”

“Isn’t it better if a manageable curse appears?”

“It’s only Deep-level Explorers who have money to spare who go around with a bunch of curses. It’s impossible for regular explorers.”

“Well, that seems right.”

Anyway, it’s possible to clear up to the 10th floor without a single curse.

There’s no need to take the risk.

“Then I’ll use the rest.”

Riding on this momentum, Kairak used all the cards.

Fortunately, no curses appeared from the gold cards.

But a curse did appear once from the purple cards.

Kitra immediately examined it.

“It’s a curse that prevents you from buying alcohol.”

“……?!!!”

Kairak, who usually wasn’t that surprised, was startled in a panic.

One of the curses explorers fear is the Curse of Abstinence.

However, even the Curse of Abstinence gives different advantages depending on the curse.

What you gain is more important.

“Your eyes get better.”

“…I see.”

Kairak’s expression became strange.

Ah, this seems like it’s good for something. Is it helpful enough that it’s worth not being able to drink alcohol?

Perhaps he was having these thoughts.

“Surely eyes are important for an archer, but Kairak-ssi focuses more on power than sniping. It’s not really necessary in combat against monsters, except for person-to-person combat.”

As Grace lightly added a few words, Kairak sighed deeply. He didn’t use the remaining purple cards and kept them aside.

“I’ll go remove the curse with Luca.”

“Okay. Go ahead.”

Kairak immediately tried to pick up Luca, but slipped.

Kairak wiped his face with a rotten expression, then eventually left with the help of another clan member who was still in the building.

“Then I’ll be going too.”

With even Kitra gone, only Grace and I remained.

Grace glanced at me.

“Since we got the cards, how about we go try combining some? Do you want to come with me?”

“…Okay.”

*

In the end, Luca and Kairak spent a fortune to remove the curses.

However, unlike Kairak, Luca had not removed curses many times before, so she was able to save her wallet somewhat.

Kairak had to sell 10 purple cards to supplement the money.

You might think, why doesn’t he just endure not drinking? But drinking is one of the few pleasures explorers have.

Well, then there’s no helping it. Everyone seemed to accept it.

Indeed, unless I was studying or playing at the Magic Tower, I didn’t have much else to do. I could understand why explorers would get plastered on alcohol.

Well, anyway.

After all sorts of things happened and everyone got their weapons ready and finished their maintenance.

It was time to test that power.

Of course, we weren’t entering the labyrinth.

“This is the training ground that just opened!!!”

Kairak introduced it in a loud voice as if he had built it himself.

It was true that some of his money had been invested.

To be precise, the collapsed private training ground was critical for training-addicted explorers, so they flocked to donate.

But surprisingly, even more money poured in than expected.

That must have been greatly influenced by the original owner’s character.

It was the result of opening their hearts so that anyone, rich or poor, could use it.

‘No wonder Kairak and the physical type explorers were complaining sadly while drinking.’

I heard there were originally two training grounds. The shabby training ground that helped everyone received donations and was rebuilt grandly. The training ground that charged strictly went completely bankrupt without anyone’s interest.

So, they should have treated people better usually.

Then they would surely say, ‘No, how could we have known District 11 would become ruins?’

Well, what can you do about things that have already happened?

As a result, the training ground that was open even to beggars transformed into a giant training ground with many donations.

Moreover, it became even more state-of-the-art with massive investment and help from the Magic Tower.

Explorers who saw the change couldn’t help but feel proud.

Furthermore, there’s still no entrance fee.

Everything is covered by donated and sponsored money.

And the Magic Tower pays for the cost of the latest magical tools.

You might wonder if they’re only losing money.

“The Magic Tower said they needed experimental samples for various magical tools.”

Befitting a training center that brought tears to countless physical type explorers with its considerate nature, if skilled explorers visit and use the training magical tools, that alone is data. So, the Magic Tower gets credit, improves its image, and collects data, making it a perfectly aligned interest.

“When I first escaped from the organization, I trained here. I never thought it would do this well.”

“…Me too.”

Sharing memories can wait.

We immediately found a suitable spot.

A wide-open space.

Grace and Luca stood there, facing each other.

The spectators were me, Noah, and Kairak.

The reason the others weren’t training and were watching Grace and Luca fight was.

There was something to test.

“…Don’t get hurt.”

Although there’s a priest stationed at the training ground, you shouldn’t get hurt while training.

So, instead of their original weapons, they picked up training weapons placed at the training ground.

Grace naturally chose two short daggers.

Luca… equipped claws.

Claws, a weapon that resembles her wild nature the most.

The reason she abandoned her axe and picked up claws was.

Due to the card she newly obtained.

Luca was originally a warrior who used a two-handed axe.

She specialized in mob gathering and sweeping them away using [Provoke] and [Weapon Gigantification], etc.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to the limitations of low-floor cards, [Provoke] had gradually stopped working.

And because of the newly obtained armor-piercing damage attack called Wild Nature, she no longer really needed a weapon.

So, she completely rearranged her card imprinting from scratch.

With a feeling of adding body enhancement and support.

That’s the advantage of those who have different powers, not just card imprinting.

“Come at me first!!”

Grace shouted, and Luca closed her eyes. Then, she used her first card.

[Clone]

Luca’s clone that appeared next to her.

The moment I confirmed it also replicated her Wild Nature, there was no reason to discard this card.

The clone immediately dashed quickly towards Grace, and Luca followed behind it.

Grace also ran forward.

Frost formed on her training daggers.

She lightly dodged the attack from Luca’s clone, which swung its claws, and then stabbed with her dagger.

At that, the clone instantly disappeared.

As expected of a card obtainable from a low floor, its durability wasn’t great.

But the real action is only after this.

Luca, who was running from behind, suddenly disappeared from view.

[Acceleration]

In an instant, Luca, who had quickly approached Grace, tried to stab Grace’s body with her claws.

But at that moment, Grace brought out the power she had newly obtained.

[Repulsion Field]

“……Ugh?!!!”

Luca was pushed back by the unleashed Repulsion Field and flew backward.

Fortunately, she quickly regained her balance and landed.

But as if hit by something powerful, blood trickled from her nose.

‘No, do you have to work this hard?’

That question briefly crossed my mind.

But to the two who were already burning with competitiveness, I didn’t seem to be visible.

*spits*

Luca spat blood from her mouth.

However, the bleeding stopped instantly, and faint steam rose from her body.

It felt like she was drinking a potion in real-time.

That was all thanks to the passive effect of [Troll’s Blood], which Luca had replaced this time.

“It’s okay to be a little rough, right?”

“Do as you please.”

Actually, Grace is at a disadvantage in this battle.

Unlike Luca, who has tightly engraved 7 card imprints, Grace is equipped with card imprints that help with her job as a scout. Essentially, she can only use 4 cards.

Due to the expanded Repulsion Field, they were just observing each other.

Grace made the first move.

Black smoke rose around her, then disappeared instantly.

The card Grace obtained this time.

[Into Darkness]

Commonly known as stealth.

As a mage who can sense mana around me by deploying my own domain, I can immediately pinpoint Grace’s location.

But Luca was looking around confusedly.

She seemed unable to guess Grace’s location at all.

This was possible because Grace is不仅 able to move very stealthily, but also because her speed is much superior to Luca’s.

*Thud*

With a sound, Luca was pushed strongly sideways.

Luca’s waist was frozen.

But Grace was still invisible.

“……?!!”

Immediately, a second attack landed on Luca’s jaw.

The characteristic of [Into Darkness] that Grace used is that her form doesn’t appear even if she attacks.

In some ways, it could be seen as a superior version of the stealth in my Rogue’s Deck.

Of course, it might feel different from me, who can use it frequently just by shuffling the deck.

Anyway, Luca continued to take attacks.

A situation of being unilaterally pushed back.

Perhaps it was natural.

Luca, who fought against monsters often.

And Grace, who fought against humans with her life on the line, would have different levels of experience in person-to-person combat.

However, even though she was being hit like that, Luca was fine.

Because [Troll’s Blood] was healing her in real-time.

Moreover, it wasn’t easy to break through her defenses.

Her defense was also solid thanks to her [Golem’s Skin] card.

Training daggers couldn’t even make a scratch.

But the problem was that Grace’s attacks were gradually freezing Luca’s body.

If she kept getting hit like this, it would end.

‘It’s about time she brought that out.’

As if determined, Luca let out a deep sigh.

“…Please.”

And with that, she used one of the cards she had obtained this time.

The card in question.

[Berserk]

“Grrrr……”

Luca’s pupils disappeared, leaving only the whites of her eyes.

Seeing that sight, I took the card I had prepared in my pocket into my hand.

So I could use it at any time.

“…Here.”

At that moment, Grace confidently revealed herself instead.

Was she worried that Luca, who had used [Berserk], might attack us?

Luca began to rush at Grace, who had given up the advantage of stealth.

However. I don’t know where the training claws she was wearing on her hands went.

In an instant, she was drawing out Wild Nature and attacking Grace with sharp claws.

“Luca-ssi?! Can you handle it? Is your consciousness returning?”

But Luca didn’t seem to return to consciousness even at Grace’s voice.

As expected.

A high-risk, high-return card that takes away the user’s consciousness but in return gains immense power.

Speed, damage, everything becomes stronger.

“I’ll subdue her!!”

Grace used her newly obtained card.

Cold air appeared around her.

Something made of ice immediately extended and flew towards Luca’s body.

*Clang!!!*

With a sound, the ice shattered.

Grace’s panicked expression.

Luca, who had approached in an instant, plunged her Wild Nature from both hands into Grace’s body.

*Flash-*

Grace dodged, but her blood was scattered around.

“Stop her!!!”

The situation was clearly serious.

Noah immediately rushed out, and Kairak drew an arrow.

I also used a card.

[Neurotoxin (3)] – Fires one deadly poison needle. Becomes unable to move for 2 turns.

A CC card from the Rogue’s Deck.

A thin poison needle immediately appeared.

But I didn’t shoot it right away.

As we had discussed beforehand, I waited for Noah or Grace to stop Luca, who was in a frenzy, to hit her then.

However.

Things didn’t go as planned.

Luca was fighting equally not only with Grace and Kairak, but also after Noah joined.

It felt like things weren’t going to be easy.

The quick-witted explorers immediately began to evacuate.

“Everyone, get away!!!!”

As expected of people who live by their wits, as soon as something happened, they started to evacuate.

“It’s not easy…”

But since it wasn’t easy for Noah to draw out the power of the Black Mage in the labyrinth city, he was waiting for everyone to evacuate.

“……?!!!”

Luca, who was in a frenzy, instead turned her gaze towards the people who were running away.

Surely, she wasn’t aiming for the fleeing enemies, leaving the ones in front of her?

That worst thought soon became reality.

“No!!!”

If she killed someone else here, it would be a big problem.

Absolutely not wanting that to happen, Noah also summoned an incarnation.

Unfortunately, it seemed impossible to defeat Noah when he was putting in his full effort.

Luca was hit a few times in an instant and was immediately subdued.

“Ivan!!!”

Immediately, I hit Luca, who was held tightly, with the neurotoxin.

Luca fell asleep just like that.

Zzzzz.

As if nothing had happened, Luca slept, even snoring softly.

Watching her, I sighed in relief.

“This is good, but I guess we’ll have to take it out?”

“Seems like it.”

Even though she got such a good card, it wouldn’t be easy to use, I guess.

Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.

That wasn’t the only purpose of today’s test.

Noah pondered for a moment, then came to a conclusion.

“This seems enough to aim for the 7th floor, I think? Luca seems about twice as strong.”

Putting aside the fact that Luca got new cards, it was thanks to getting rid of unnecessary ones and establishing a new character concept.

Moreover, Kairak and Grace purely became stronger.

As Noah evaluated, going to the 7th floor wasn’t an absurd idea.

‘Even to quickly bring in new party members. And for future endeavors, the position of [High-level Explorer] is important.’

“Then let’s go in a few days as planned.”

“Yes!!”

And so, a few more days passed.

This time, the goal was to get promoted to High-level Explorer.

I had already gotten the necessary information from Rain for that.

Grace furrowed her brows as she quickly read the documents.

“Why is there so much to gather? And so much to do.”

“That’s why the name value of High-level Explorers is ridiculous.”

It’s relatively easy to prove yourself as a Low-level Explorer or Mid-level Explorer.

But from High-level onwards, they seem to be classified as a kind of elite group, with surprisingly many conditions to meet and things to do.

“This is why no High-level Explorers apply to our clan.”

“Then shall we go?”

Once again, we stood before the portal entering the labyrinth.

It felt quite familiar now, with no particular emotions arising.

Had I finally gotten used to labyrinth life?

“Let’s go!!”

I immediately threw myself into the portal.