Curses were an ancient craft, and Cursemancers were among the earliest practitioners in the Magus World.
Even in this age where Mages were no longer shrouded in mystery, Cursemancers remained one of the few still wrapped in secrecy.
Corner Alley Restaurant appeared to be just that, a restaurant, but behind the scenes, it dealt in death.
Killing someone within the academy wasn't easy. The Academy Overseers monitored the campus 24/7, and any significant elemental fluctuation would instantly trigger their attention.
But curses were a different story.
Curse magic required no contact, used no elements, and only needed a belonging from the target. A single curse ritual could kill without a trace.
And because curses were notoriously difficult to trace, even if the Overseers noticed the attack in time to protect the victim, they still wouldn't be able to track down the curse's origin.
Of course, part of this was due to intentional leniency from the academy.
Curse spells weren't guaranteed to succeed. The greater the power gap between the curse caster and the target, the lower the success rate. If the target was even one major tier above the curse caster, the odds of success dropped to nearly zero.
This ever-present threat was a blade over every apprentice's head, forcing them to grow stronger.
Joseph's order quickly made its way to a Cursemancer. Because Edwyn's potions were easy to obtain, Joseph didn't even bother providing a curse medium.
The Cursemancer placed one of Edwyn's potions on a stone-carved altar, its surface covered in blood-drawn runes. The moment the bottle was set down, the altar let out a chilling wail.
Unfazed, the Cursemancer sliced open his wrist and fed the altar with his own blood, all while chanting in a strange tongue and channeling mana.
When the chant ended, he placed a curse bug on the altar. In an instant, black flames ignited from the insect's body, and at that exact moment, black flames erupted from Kevan's body as he read in his dorm.
"Shit, curse!"
Without hesitation, Kevan grabbed a glass vial from his belt. Inside was a fat, white curse bug.
He smashed the vial, seized the bug, and the black flames immediately transferred from his body to the insect.
But his bug was low-grade, and the Cursemancer far outclassed him. The moment the flames moved, the bug began to char rapidly. Once the bug died, the curse would fall back on him.
In that critical moment, Kevan grabbed a Focus Potion and chugged it. Panic was the enemy in moments like this.
As the potion took effect, Kevan's mind sharpened instantly.
He had two objectives now:
Survive.
Warn Edwyn.
The curse bug fully carbonized, and the black flames ignited on Kevan once more. But under the influence of the potion, his sense of pain dulled significantly, enough to keep him mobile.
Boom!
Kevan rushed to the window, leapt out, and screamed into the air:
"Curse! Someone's been cursed!"
His commotion quickly caught the attention of the Academy Overseers. A massive owl flew overhead, instantly isolating the curse from him.
"You are safe, apprentice."
"Sir, someone else has been cursed!" Kevan shouted. "Dorm 4, Room 215, another apprentice has been hit! He's an official apprentice under Lord Joron!"
Kevan had dealt with Overseers before and knew the owls shared a connected consciousness. Alerting one meant alerting them all.
To make sure they took him seriously, he also emphasized Edwyn's status.
At the same time, black flames suddenly burst from Edwyn's body as he read in his room.
"Curse?" he frowned, immediately pulling out a curse bug he had prepared ahead of time and used it to temporarily absorb the curse. Then, he rushed out and slammed into Elia's room.
"Lia, curse," was all he had time to say before the black flames erupted again.
Seeing this, Elia immediately ran to her desk, opened a drawer, and handed him a curse bug. Once the curse was transferred, she pressed down on the bug and began channeling mana, chanting an ancient incantation.
"Hm?" The Cursemancer frowned. He had sensed interference.
"Another Cursemancer helping out?"
He pulled a dried toad from his robe, broke off a small piece, and tossed it onto the curse bug.
Immediately, the flames grew fiercer.
"Hm?" Elia felt the change and paled.
"Curse battle, huh?" she sneered and, with a flash of resolve, pulled out a black finger bone from her drawer and swallowed it whole.
Curse battle? She was Lady Susanna's only apprentice!
The Cursemancer suddenly felt a warning bell ring in his heart. Anyone who could resist his spell to this extent was probably a known rival, and if one of them was fighting back, there was no way he'd finish the curse before the Overseers arrived.
"Damn it. Just my fucking luck."
He cursed, then slammed his hand down on the curse bug, snuffing it out instantly. The curse was cut off, decisively.
Curse magic was hard to trace, not impossible to trace.
Sensing the curse had ended, Elia sighed in relief and wiped sweat from her brow.
Fights between Cursemancers were dangerously unpredictable. One misstep and the curse could backfire. Fortunately, she had a great teacher. Susanna hadn't taught her many offensive curses, but had drilled defensive techniques thoroughly.
"It's over?" Edwyn asked.
"It's over. He didn't stick around, cut it off quickly."
"Can we track him?"
"No." Elia shook her head. "If he'd tangled with me longer, maybe Master could've traced him. But with how cleanly he ended it, there's nothing to go on."
Edwyn frowned. "That's… troublesome."
Without identifying the curse caster, he couldn't find out who had targeted him. You can guard a treasure for a hundred days, but it only takes one thief. Unless he found this person, Edwyn would never truly feel safe.
"You could ask Chayle," Elia suggested. "A friend of mine said he knows a lot of people. He might have heard something."
"…Yeah. That's probably the only option."
Bang!
A noise came from next door.
Edwyn recognized it, it was from his own room.
"Apprentice Edwyn, Apprentice Edwyn!"
Hearing the voice of the owl Overseer, Edwyn rushed back in.
"Apprentice Edwyn, I received a report you were cursed," the owl stared at him with wide eyes. "You handled it yourself?"
"Overseer, thank you for coming. I've already dealt with it." Edwyn bowed slightly.
"Caw caw. As expected of Joron's apprentice," the owl praised, then flew away.
Watching the Overseer vanish into the distance, Edwyn rubbed his chin.
"Looks like Kevan really is pulling his weight as a whistleblower."
The curse had barely ended, and the Overseers were already at his door. That was clearly thanks to Kevan, his agent, who had borne the first wave of the curse and raised the alarm.
If Elia hadn't been next door, Kevan might have saved his life.
"He's probably badly hurt. I'll go check on him later."
Edwyn was very pleased with Kevan as an agent. Over the past days, most of the testing materials he needed had been sourced by Kevan. Some of those niche items would've taken Edwyn ages to find on his own.
And when it came to his own people, Edwyn always looked after them.