I gave my thanks to Faust for the watch and the ring. The sky, streaked with hues of amber and crimson, signaled the sun's slow descent. With the day drawing to a close, Faust gestured for me to come closer.
"Let's head back to the palace," he said, already preparing the spell he'd used countless times in the past few days.
He raised his hand, and a familiar light blue magic circle appeared beneath our feet—the same intricate pattern of symbols and flowing lines as before. The tier 4 transportation spell, Water Cocoon.
I stood still, watching as the water should have risen to envelop our bodies. But nothing happened. The water remained absent.
A faint crackle rang out. I frowned, glancing down at the magic circle. Faust, too, looked puzzled, his expression twisting into one of disbelief. Before either of us could speak, the circle flickered violently, and then—
Crack!
Fine fractures snaked across the surface of the circle like shattered glass. Then, with a final sputtering sound, it collapsed and disintegrated into nothingness.
"Huh?" Faust blurted, the dumbfounded look on his face almost comical.
I mirrored his confusion, my brows furrowed as I tried to process what just happened. I had read about this kind of thing in books—how magic circles could fail due to instability, often caused by the caster's incompetence. It could be a loss of focus, insufficient mana, or hesitation.
But this didn't make sense.
Faust wasn't some novice mage. He was one of the finest mages in the Azure Magic Tower, someone who had likely mastered spells far beyond tier 4. There was no way he could mess up something so simple—not with his skill level.
I glanced at him, half-expecting him to try again, but instead, he let out a short, awkward chuckle.
"Well then, Frynn," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "do you know what this phenomenon is called?"
His tone shifted—clearly trying to salvage the situation and turn it into a teachable moment.
"Mana disorder," he declared, his voice regaining some authority despite the faint unease in his eyes.
I tilted my head slightly, playing along for now, even though doubt already crept into my thoughts.
"It's a state where the natural flow of mana gets disrupted, either internally or externally," Faust continued. "When that happens, the mana fueling a spell becomes unstable, causing it to malfunction."
I nodded, keeping my expression neutral.
"It can lead to all sorts of effects," he went on, regaining more confidence in his lecture. "Spells can fizzle out, backfire, or weaken drastically. In severe cases, it can cause concussions or explosions."
His explanation made sense—on the surface. But I couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't just some random mana disturbance. I wasn't paying full attention to his words.
My mind wandered elsewhere, piecing things together as I mulled over the possibilities.
Then, a thought hit me.
I summoned my status panel, the black screen forming before me. My eyes immediately darted to a certain section—the curse.
[Curse Of The Damned]
— [Disrupts the flow of magic around the user, causing spells and magical circles to malfunction or backfire unpredictably.]
I froze, my suspicions confirmed.
'Around the user...' It wasn't just affecting me. It was affecting those near me as well.
'So that's why…' I murmured inwardly, staring at the words. The curse wasn't limited to me alone—it radiated outward, warping the flow of mana in my surroundings.
I clenched my fists, the realization settling in. This wasn't something I could ignore or brush off. It wasn't just an inconvenience—it was dangerous.
Faust was still speaking, but I barely heard him now. My mind raced, already trying to think of ways to work around this—or, at the very least, to prevent it from causing more problems.
Pulling me out of my thoughts was my brother's voice again. He wrapped up the lesson, brushing past the earlier mishap as if it had never happened but still has the faint confused expression. With a focused expression, he recast the spell.
This time, the Water Cocoon activated without issue. The familiar translucent barrier of water rose around us, and before I knew it, we were back at the palace courtyard.
"Take care, Frynn," Faust said, patting my shoulder with a confident smile.
"Remember, progress takes time. Don't push yourself too hard."
I nodded, offering a faint smile in return. "Thanks, brother. For everything."
He gave me a final nod before turning away, vanishing into the palace halls to prepare for his departure.
I trudged back to my room, my steps slower than usual. My thoughts were heavy, circling back to the earlier incident with the curse. The moment I reached my bed, I collapsed onto the mattress, sinking into its soft embrace.
"Fuck…" I muttered under my breath, running a hand through my hair.
If the curse only affected me, I could live with it. Magic circles were out of the question anyway, and while the disruption might make manipulating mana harder, I could adapt and find a way to work around it.
But that wasn't the problem.
It didn't just affect me—it affected the people around me.
I imagined fighting alongside others, facing off against magical beasts. If my curse activated mid-battle, spells could backfire, weaken, or outright fail. My allies could get caught in the backlash, injured or killed—not by the enemy, but by me.
'I'd be a liability.'
The thought gnawed at me, my fists clenching the sheets. The curse wasn't some minor inconvenience. It was a ticking bomb, threatening to unravel everything around me.
I let out a frustrated sigh, forcing myself to sit up.
No—calm down.
At least it didn't happen all the time.
Risu had used magic around me several times over the past few days without incident. The disruption didn't seem constant or random. There had to be some kind of condition or trigger.
Distance, maybe?
I needed to test it. If I could figure out the effective range of the curse, I could at least minimize the risk to others by keeping my distance when necessary.
"Alright," I muttered, my resolve hardening. "I'll ask Risu for help tomorrow."
For now, rest.
I leaned back against the bed, letting my tense muscles relax. My eyes grew heavy, but before sleep could take me—
Crash!
The sharp sound of shattering glass jolted me awake. My eyes snapped open as I instinctively turned toward the noise.
The window beside my bed—its surface now marred by a spiderweb of cracks.
A bird lay twitching on the floor, its fragile body partially buried in broken shards.
I stared blankly at the scene and lashed out.
"…Oh, come on!"