Sabrina was currently submerged in water. The bathhouse was fairly empty since it was still early in the morning.
Thank goodness for that. She didn't want a bunch of old men to see her naked body.
Sabrina could hear echoes of two people's voices coming from somewhere.
'What are they bickering about…' Sabrina, curious as to what Arnold and Flora were discussing, carefully climbed out of the water and snuck behind a rock.
This was an open-air bathhouse that could house up to ten families of four so the estate was fairly large and there were many places to hide. Sabrina was careful not to make any sound as she eavesdropped on the only other people in the bathhouse.
"—And then this giant woman with only a left gauntlet and helmet, with no other armor to protect her body, came out of nowhere and killed that annoying knight that called us vermin. Muh, I wanted to kill him myself! I've never been so annoyed in a fight against anyone."
"Maybe don't let your opponent's words get to you? That's a sign of weakness. What would you do if your opponent exposed that weakness to get the upper hand in a fight? You'll act reckless, falling right into their trap."
"Surely even you'd be pissed off having to hear that arrogant fucker monologue while making fun of you!"
"I would not. Unlike you, I was taught to focus on my opponent's attacks, not their mouth or whatever comes out of it."
'Eh… They're talking like old friends who haven't seen each other in a long time…'
And also…
Why is Flora washing Arnold's back while naked!?
The fact that Flora was naked wasn't what surprised Sabrina alone but how casually they bickering. Who talks about bloody battles while washing each other even though they aren't lovers!? No, wait, maybe they are?
"What the hell have you been eating…" Flora poked his back, "You look way taller and muscular than before."
"It's just puberty doing its work. I'm only turning 18 in a week so I'm still growing." he said in a whisper that neither Flora or Sabrina could hear, "I've been counting the days since coming here...."
"Bullshit. You've been levelling up, haven't you?"
"...What of it?"
"What's the point of staying in the academy if you can just become a mercenary with your strength and skills? Surely, they don't have anything left to teach someone like you? I know what kind of monster Sebastian was in the past and what kind of monsters his students become once they finish their training."
"I'm far from my ideal level of strength. Getting complacent while there could be many out there like James Caervil, who want to kill me, would be stupid and unlike me." Arnold grabbed a nearby bucket of water and threw it over his head after Flora stepped back. He shook his head, causing the water in his wet hair to splash in every direction.
"Do you even know what level you are now? The academy only lets students grade themselves once a year, right?"
"…I'm not sure what level I am right now but level 70 is my goal. I'll grade myself at the academy once I go back."
"….." Flora looked at him strangely.
Noticing her silence, he looked back, "What?"
"Lower your expectations," Flora shook her head, "Level 70 isn't easy to reach. There's only a handful of confirmed level 100s across the continent. And while the level 70s to 80s are more common, that doesn't mean that just anyone can become that strong. It takes year of training and overcoming countless difficult battles. Sometimes they can even find themselves in battle with stronger opponents."
"That Lancelot guy who was after you looked about your age but he managed to reach that level. So, I guess the years of training is bullshit, no?"
"That's guy's a freak of nature so don't compare him to me."
"Freak of nature, huh… I guess so. Come to think of it, you still haven't paid me back for putting my life in danger like that. I almost died that day."
Arnold turned around, facing Flora. There was a mischievous glint in his otherwise cold, dead eyes.
'!!' Sabrina's mouth opened wide when she looked down at the thing between his legs. The shaft was thick and filled with veins and the head was red. It flopped around like a sausage with every move.
Why the hell am I looking at it!?
"Me? It's your own fault. You were the one who bought me at the slave auction which made you an accomplice of the royal family!" Flora harrumphed.
"My fault, is it. Well then, how are you still alive? And why did the Theocracy not send more Inquisitors after you? It's been like, what, months since the incident. They should know where you live now. Who do you think convinced them to stop pursuing you?"
"W-Well…" hearing that made her confident demeanor falter. She scratched her cheek.
Sabrina could see a smirk arise on Arnold's face before it disappeared like an illusion.
Why would the Theocracy be after Miss Flora? Did she pick a fight with one of its Inquisitors? Also, royal family!? She's a princess!
Flora then went "hah!"
"You should feel honored by receiving a simple "thank you" from a princess! That should be enough for your lowly self. I might let you kiss my feet as a reward. Or are you the type of guy who likes to be kicked in the balls for pleasure?"
"Kukuku." Arnold merely cackled in response to her retort.
Judging by the sweat dripping down Flora's cheeks, Sabrina could tell that she was nervous. Surely, she wasn't serious about kicking him in the…
Anyway, what will Arnold ask her in return for convincing the Theocracy to stop pursuing her… Sabrina was interested even if she didn't know the whole story.
…
Of course, to the uninformed, he was spouting bullshit. He was merely using this opportunity to get a future member of the Hero Party to owe him a favour. Someone with her strength and skill could come in handy.
Especially during Yorm's questline which will throw all kinds of difficult tasks his way. Simply leveling up won't be enough to get through all of them. Gathering powerful allies will be beneficial to him.
Flora is one such ally, even if their relationship is somewhat complicated. He would've left her alone and not build up their relationship if only Yorm's quest didn't yield the kind of treasure that he wanted.
He had first thought that it would be impossible for him to go to Yorm's world without the power he had in the game so he couldn't make preparations for the quest but the Virgin's Blood Ring had changed everything.
To think all that started this was Siana and Sceptim stealing an artifact…
In any case, gaining Flora's trust will be crucial for the future. If that doesn't work then he can just use other methods to force her to obey him.
He can tell Flora that he'll help her get revenge on the Theocracy who destroyed her kingdom. While she doesn't show it now, she wants nothing more than to kill the Pope and destroy his kingdom in revenge. There's an issue with doing this… By destroying the kingdom, Flora will essentially learn what happened to her master in the aftermath of the war which will result in an evil ending for her character.
She won't be able to join the Hero Party in that state.
Of course, Arnold knows how to prevent this from happening.
Alas, it's best that he doesn't get involved yet. It's better to wait for her to come seek his assistance of her own accord.
He had a hunch that she'll seek him out once he reveals to the world that Brynhildr Selia Bloodforth is his ally and her army was his military force to do with as he pleased. While Flora isn't the brightest among the Hero Party, she knows it would be stupid to fight an entire kingdom on her own.
Perhaps a war breaking out between the Theocracy and another nation might be just what they can use…
In any case, this will make her owe him an even bigger favor, one she won't even be able to pay off with her body alone.
The future Master Swordsman's abilities is all he needs.
…
Arnold stood up. He was a head taller than Flora so he probably looked quite big from her perspective. Flora's smaller frame sank back but her intimidating glare was still as prominent as before.
"You know, I can think of a few ways how you can repay this young master." Arnold cupped his chin in his hand while looking Flora up and down.
"I'm not letting you fuck me just because I owe you!" Flora barked at him.
"Now, now. You can't say such things to your saviour, can you?" he put a hand on her shoulder.
"Is all you see when looking at a woman a piece of meat?"
"Yes? Everyone besides Victoria are just convenient holes. Well, Siana is now officially my lover too. Every other woman is just a hole. Many of those holes are happy with being just that, you know? I could go to any of them and have them in my bed by the end of the day."
"You say that so seriously…"
"All I want is for you to obey my request. Don't make this harder for both of us."
Flora glared at him even with that flush on her face.
With a sigh, she looked away and put her hands behind her back.
"You only have two minutes—"
"Haha. Don't worry, I don't want your body. It's probably been run through by several guys by now. But there are some things I need your help with in the future."
"..." Flora punched him in the chest, "Don't do that kind of shit again! I thought you were trying to fuck me! Be clear about your intentions next time!"
Arnold coughed a little before breaking into a fit of ridiculing laughter.
"Did I make your heart skip a beat?"
"N-No, shuddup! I'll punch your stupid face!"
She tried to punch him but he quickly caught her hands.
"My, to think you'd attempt to punch your master with such a lethal blow—Uack!?" she then kicked him in the gut when punching him failed.
Arnold collapsed on his knees, clutching his stomach.
'Why is he still laughing like he's enjoying her reactions…'
Sabrina couldn't tell what the hell was going on anymore. Even from her perspective it looked like he was trying to get with Flora so her misunderstanding was warranted. Her retaliation was a little extreme though…
Still, to take a punch from someone as strong as Flora without so much as a hint of pain on his face was as expected of Arnold…
"Kukuku," Arnold stood up like nothing happened while still cackling, "There's no need to be so shy, Miss Flora. This young master can turn you into a woman if you desire it. Don't tell me you're actually a virgin at 20 years old? I thought that someone like you who mingles with guys more than women would've been taken to bed several times because you're so easy. Look at you, you're standing in front of a guy with your body exposed. This is something that a lady of nobility or royalty should not do unless in front of her husband."
"Shut up! Your voice is so annoying! That smirk makes your face even more punchworthy!" she charged at him again but Arnold quickly stepped to the side with tremendous speed and grabbed her from behind.
Their… Their skin is touching…
"Alright, alright. I'll stop. I'm just having a little fun."
"Hey." Flora's temple vein bulged out of her head, "Your dick is touching me. Let me go. Now."
"Or what?" he leaned over her shoulder and blew into her ear, making her shiver a little.
"Guoh!?"
Flora hit Arnold in the stomach yet again…
'What is it with these two…'
◇◇◇
Sabrina quickly snuck back to the pool she had used earlier and climbed into the water. She managed to do so without being caught eavesdropping
Instead of going to the other pools, Flora and Arnold had climbed in the one that Sabrina was currently using.
Sabrina was the only one feeling uncomfortable here since the other two just kept talking… Flora's breasts were on full display without a hint of shame.
The two had been talking about some skeleton merchant who sells ultra rare goods to dungeon explorers. Arnold had apparently met this merchant twice so far.
"—You really haven't met a skeleton merchant?"
"No. He sounds interesting. Does he sell any weapons? My sword is close to shattering and that damn relic tomb had nothing interesting to pick up besides a blueprint of some airship."
"He didn't sell any weapons when I met him. But he had some weapon repair kits which I bought. I can give you some later."
'These two are back to casually talking again…'
Sabrina held in a sigh. Just a minute ago they were fighting like cat and dog.
"Why not learn to fight with your hands? I can get Sebas to teach you."
"I tried asking the old man but he said that it will distract me from training that Luke kid!" Flora hit the water, causing a small wave to splash on Sabrina...
'I feel like an outsider…'
"Sebas will get mad that you're not using the school vacation to train Luke. What were you thinking coming here when he needs you the most?"
"You were the one who forced me to train that kid! It's no obligation of mine!"
"You can always stop." Arnold shrugged.
"As if! I'm not stopping now after teaching Luke to correct his footwork and stances! Next up is balancing his sword grip!"
"Seriously…? You haven't taught him any body techniques…?" Arnold looked at her dumbfounded.
"He's not ready. His body needs to grow stronger first otherwise even basic techniques will break his bones. Their purpose is to strengthen one's body not crush it. That will only happen if your bones aren't strong enough. Hold out your arm for me and flex your muscles a little. I want to try something."
Arnold held up his arm and clenched his fist as she asked. Flora put both hands on his arm and gripped down hard.
"Guh, even putting this much strength into my grip does nothing to you! It's the same grip I use when swinging my sword."
"Well, my body regularly circulates my aura so…"
"That's what I'm trying to teach the kid but his aura only comes out when he uses my old sword. I tried to use this same method I'm doing to you to test the hardness of his bones but almost ended up breaking his arm. The kid is seriously pathetic. Is he really the next He—"
Arnold put a hand on her mouth before she could finish and leaned in close.
"No need to blurt out that he's the next Hero when he's not even ready yet. The nations will put immense pressure and responsibilities on him if they find out."
Sabrina couldn't hear his whisper.
Flora whispered back: "What's the point of keeping this a secret if he can use golden aura anyway…? It'll be revealed eventually when he's sparring in class or duelling with another student…"
"He can only use it with your sword like you said, which means that he's not ready. We'll see what happens when he willingly shows his aura."
Flora made a troubled expression:
"How did two hero candidates end up in the Berkley Family…"
"There is only one candidate, not two. Arthur isn't deserving of the title."
"Uhm…" Sabrina spoke up, "What are you two talking about?"
"Un?" Flora looked at her, "You're still here…?"
Hearing that almost made Sabrina cry. Did they really treat her like air!?
"It's nothing," Arnold responded to her question, "It's not a conversation worth having now at least. It's about time we head back, don't you think?"
He looked at Flora.
"Yeah, I'm feeling dizzy from all this heat."
The two stood up and left the spring. Sabrina could still hear them conversing as they walked away.
'Somehow I feel so left out…'
At the same time, she was disappointed.
Deep down she felt disappointed that Arnold didn't look at her body even once…
◇◇
"Arthur still hasn't returned, huh." Arnold, who was standing next to Flora and Sabrina, looked up at the inn in front of them.
Arthur was still not back yet and only a dozen other familiar signatures were inside.
"He said that we should meet up at the main camp at noon," Sabrina said from the side, "He's probably going over some details with the Guild Master."
"I see. Well, then let's head inside." Arnold strode forward after saying that.
The other two followed closely behind.
He swung the door open, causing it to hit the wall next to it which alerted the people inside.
Gazes of both curiosity and shock stared at the three of them.
Arnold could see familiar faces. Few of whom will turn out to become powerful allies to the Hero Party one day. There was Hans Ayried, Charkley and Hadd von Rickhurd. Castacia was the only woman gathered at the table since Shirley left the inn with Arthur earlier but he could sense Madilith and Hofir in the same room somewhere in the inn.
'Hmm, Madilith really is a slut like the game paints her out to be.'
Her ending in the story wasn't good to say the least…
Flora casually walked over to a seat and sat down. Sabrina and Arnold approached the big table where the above people were gathered.
"S-Sabrina!" Castacia flew out of her seat, "You're not… Your face is… What happened…?" Overcome with emotion, she could not even inquire properly.
Sabrina smiled wryly while looking up at Arnold.
◇◇◇
"Arnold got rid of the illness!?" Hans stared at Arnold with widened eyes, "This guy… This same guy who would push a paralyzed person out of their wheelchair!?"
'…..'
What? Is that really the impression everyone has of—no, the past him definitely would've done it to laugh at the person.
"Y-Yes… He used some kind of magic ritual to get rid of the illness. Ah, but it's not an illness, right Al?"
'Al?'
Since when did she feel comfortable enough to call him Al? Thinking nothing of it, he nodded.
'Her chair is oddly close to mine.'
"It's a curse," their faces paled but he continued, "And all of you are infected by it."
"WHAT!? E-Explain yourself, Berkley!" Hans hit the table, "Is this some kind of joke!? Sabrina looked like a walking corpse! You're saying we'll end up like that too!?"
"That's exactly what he's saying, Hans…" Sabrina said with a small voice.
"Fuck… This can't be true…"
"Denying reality is a coping mechanism that you need to abandon right now. While death would normally be the only end of this road, there's a way to get rid of it and save you all. No, I might as well also be infected even if the signs aren't there so I'm doing this for myself as well."
Just being near a person afflicted by a curse of this calibre was enough to affect you too. It should be treated like an airborne virus.
If Shirley and Anais die from this… Arnold didn't want to think about what would happen. Shirley's death will cause a large portion of the Hero Party's power to be lost.
Arnold leaned back, "We have to find the cause—or more like—the Mark. Every Group Curse has a source who is responsible for the curse shifting from one person to the other. When jumping host, the curse grows stronger, making it even more difficult to kill. If I were to illustrate how the curse circulates…" Arnold took out his black notebook and tore out a page. He then took out a pen and began sketching on the paper.
"The source would be here."
He drew the same circle he showed Sabrina, with some smaller circles outside and some inside the bigger circle. A few of the smaller circles were close to the circle in the middle of the bigger circle.
The source was the circle in the middle, the one responsible for distributing the curse, whether unknowingly or knowingly.
"…How are we supposed to know who it is…" Hans, who had been the only one to speak up since the others were too stunned in silence, frowned.
"One method is to see who doesn't show signs of having the curse." He scanned their expression, noticing their pale faces, "But this presents a problem. By the time we find out who it is, most of the party might already be dead. One or two of us might be left. Since that much time would've passed by, all of us would've shown symptoms of the curse."
"What's the other method?" Castacia asked with a hopeful expression.
"Be the Archmage who can eradicate curses with a flick of her finger with a Fifteenth-Rank spell or see the curses just by infusing mana into her eyes."
Of course, that was a lie. The second method is to have a system, which he did.
The system will simply show him the Mark if he looks at everyone's titles.
So far, he could only a list provided by the system in no particular order (few of whom had two titles):
Gambling Addict.
Exotic Flower Enthusiast.
Sleazy Bookworm.
Doting Professor.
Battle Freak.
Thigh Enjoyer.
Orc Rape Fantasizer.
'What the hell is that last one… I don't even want to know who it belongs to…'
"If we manage to find out who is the source… What will we do then?" Castacia asked.
"I'm confident in destroying the whole source using runic antibodies depending on how strong the caster was that the source encountered and how long it's been since you encountered the caster."
There's a third variable but Arnold didn't think it mattered much unless the caster could somehow infiltrate the source's mind, like during dreams.
The current situation was definitely complicated. Arnold only came here to persuade Arthur to leave but now he's caught up in a Group Curse.
"How many magicians are in the whole group?"
Arnold looked at Castacia.
"Hmm, I'm not sure since I haven't actually counted them yet. We should go to the main camp to find out how many there are in total. But it could take a while before everyone gathers. We're spread across three regions in small groups. It could take a day for everyone to come back."
"A day huh…"
Arnold pondered.
'I guess a day won't be too bad,' he looked at Sabrina, 'Sabrina's curse was lifted which might've gotten worse if I left it inside her so there should be nothing too concerning happening in just a day.'
Sabrina caught him staring at him and made a small smile. He looked away.
"What do you need from the magicians exactly?" Castacia asked again.
"I'll teach them all how to use antimagic runes to create antibodies."
"Antimagic what…?"
Sighing at Castacia, he decided to explain to everyone what those are.
Everyone looked confused by what they heard but none continued questioning Arnold about the runes.
"As all of you already know, I'm not a magician so I can't conjure spells above the First-Rank but I'm able to use runes to create the antibodies I mentioned. However, I can't do it consecutively since my mana pool is absurdly small. That's why I need magicians to help me prepare a rune circle big enough to remove the curses in one go. One magician will manage the rune's control and mana circulation while the rest of the mages supply only the mana needed to fuel the rune." He frowned as he looked down, "But we'll need a large area for the antibodies to reach everyone at once. The antibodies will die out quickly since it needs a mana-rich environment like the World Tree Forest or a dungeon to survive long. So, it's best if we use the water method since water itself has elementals inside that can substitute the mana with spirit energy—"
Everyone just stared at him in silence.
"I suppose a hole would do. One of the magicians will need to create it with earth magic, though. After that we'll just fill it up with water—" Arnold looked around the table, "What?"
"It's just…"
"I didn't expect someone from the academy's knight section to know this much about magic…"
"All I heard was gibberish…"
"That's because you're an idiot, Charkley."
Arnold looked at Castacia with an expression as if saying "what do you think?"
"…I think we should do it. I'm familiar with runes and know that there are runes that can either protect one from curses or remove them entirely. I've never heard anything about Group Curses, though…"
"The name is self-explanatory. However, the bizarre thing about this curse is that it affects only one individual but jumps around to others once removed from one host."
"Eh? I thought all of us are cursed already?" Hans looked at Arnold in confusion.
"You're not cursed. You're just marked by the source."
Well, they are cursed but not to the point of having shown the effects of the Group Curse, thus the simplest word to use is "marked".
"…."
"If I had to take a guess…" Arnold thought out loud, "The caster might've cast this curse to increase its power whenever it jumps to a new host. Once it's killed a certain number of hosts or removed like with Sabrina's case, it could become an unstoppable force that can threaten a whole world."
World-Ending Calamities are considered myths but one was already brewing on their world—the death of the World Tree and the start of Ragnarok.
If the curse increases its caster's strength, then it's not far-fetched to assume that it could also become a world-ending threat. Of course, this depends on whether or not the caster is still alive.
If the caster is dead then the Source might become the calamity instead.
Arnold was merely predicting the outcome in his own head so there's a low possibility of the above ever happening.
It was interesting to think about at least. If he could somehow gain control of the Source…
No.
Don't even think about it, he thought to himself.
A power manifested by evil and suffering of others isn't something he should wield or attempt to wield. He'll become corrupted by it.
Noticing the gloomy atmosphere, Castacia clapped once with a smile:
"Alright, everyone! We should think positively even in times of turmoil! There's still hope left for us!" she then looked at Arnold, "I'd like to volunteer to be the one to handle the rune's control."
Castacia is a 6th star magician who graduated from the academy four years ago and is currently writing her exams to become an official elite mage of the Second Magic Tower. She's proficient in dual-casting, a type of magic control that allows one to cast two spells at once, whether the spells are different ranks or have opposing natures, it didn't matter.
Dual-Cast Mage is a real subclass from the game but it's rare to find magicians capable of dual casting so you almost never see them among NPCs or player lobbies.
Castacia is only capable of casting up to Third-Rank spells during the School Arc. In the Demon Lord arcs, she's seen casting Eighth-Rank spells after becoming part of Lauran's Elite Mage Division (which she established after becoming the Archmage).
Castacia might not be as talented as Elora or Lauran, or even Anais but she has the potential to do far more than any other magician currently in this group. All she needs is the right guidance and teacher—Archmage Lauran, someone who discovered all the truths about arcane.
A smile surfaced on Castacia's face when Arnold nodded.
"You can help me and Anais, Professor."
"Eh? Anais?"
"Is there a problem with that?"
"No, it's just… she's still a student… I thought you'll choose from the remaining professors and the adventurers who have actual experience in magic. Years of experience, I mean…"
"Experience is not needed for what's to come. Talent is what I need." He said as a matter-of-fact.
Of course, the rune he cast before to help Sabrina was nowhere near in scale to the rune he was going to use so a spike in difficulty is expected. That's exactly why Anais is perfect for this.
Whether they'll succeed even with Castacia and Anais lending their help remains to be seen…
"W-What about me!? I'll join too!"
Someone's shout came from behind Arnold. He glanced toward the stairs, seeing Madilith standing there with Hofir behind her.
Arnold's eyes went cold when he looked above Madilith's head.
· Title: Mark of Cursama
· Curse [active][Level] {Lethal}: ????? ?? ?????