Chapter 185 - The Curse

One of them suddenly said which made Cyril aware that Melody already reported what happened.

"That's right. Is there something wrong with that?" He asked.

"No, Sir Cyril. It's just that they are very dangerous creatures and we have to make sure that you aren't affected by any kind of infectious disease. Please cooperate."

"Infectious disease? I also used Nature's Blessing so I'm fine. You should still feel the effects, right…"

"Yes, but it will only take ten to fifteen minutes, Sir Cyril. We just want to prevent any future issues similar to what happened in the other guild."

Being aware that he's a rare A-Rank Awakened contracted by the Association and favored by Valerie, the new supervisor of Tier 1 Awakened Division of the Association, they made sure to explain everything he needed to know.

Because of that, Cyril could only cooperate and waste a little bit more time here.

'Hmph… You just want to make sure that I'm not hiding other Artifacts in my body, right? I just defeated a Lich and they are known for their riches. They lived for hundreds, if not thousands of years, so they are normally wealthy… I'm sure you're expecting more rewards you can benefit from us.'

Cyril mused as he cooperated with the two.

However, with his Dimensional Storage Space, they were obviously unaware of the things he kept for himself.

Aside from his personal Artifacts, they will only find the three wrapped Artifacts gifted to him, the Escape Crystal, the skull of the Lich he decided to take on a whim, and three Skeleton Mage Staff he took out from his Storage Space to avoid suspicion.

As for the skull, it appears like it was made of silver so he had gotten a bit curious and decided to take it with him. Even if it was lost in the void, he wouldn't really mind it.

After a while, he learned that the corpses actually had several curses placed on them. Luckily, the Association thoroughly inspected them with the help of the Arcane Arts Experts.

'That could've been dangerous…' Cyril thought as he looked at the two Arcane Arts Experts who are helping him right now.

At first, he thought that they are just normal medical staff assigned to check his body condition. However, he realized that they are different after noticing the way they are controlling their Aura to check his body.

They almost feel like some natives of the Arcane World he encountered before.

These Arcane Arts Experts were basically Awakened who studies the mysticism of the Arcane Worlds.

Blessings, Ancient Rituals, Curses, and other Mystic Arts that can only be found in the Arcane World are seen as extremely dangerous by the World Awakened Union. After all, these things are something that their Aura is incapable of defending unless you're using a specialized Artifact for it or if you really have a strong vitality to fight against it.

This is where the Arcane Arts Experts come in with their knowledge about mysticism after decades of research.

'Right… These people are rich. I even dreamed of becoming one of them before but I gave up.'

In his previous life, he was unable to identify them since with his F-Rank Aura, he can't differentiate them from the others.

However, it is completely different now where he could easily tell that these people were using unusual Artifacts or perhaps Magical Items to scan him.

He can't tell what it is but there is something mysterious about these people.

Anyway, these Arcane Arts Experts are not to be confused with other professionals who are also studying the Arcane World.

Lucien, the Elven Emblem Experts, is not part of this Arcane Arts Experts. Even Bonnie, who studies the potions which originally came from the Arcane World, can be said to be in a different league. They aren't called Arcane Arts Experts but they are differentiated and were called Arcane Tech Experts though no one really calls them that. This includes even the Old Crafter who is currently the best weapons crafter.

"Ehem… Sir Cyril, I think you're Cursed." One of the experts suddenly said.

His voice wasn't loud but everyone in the room including Melody, Eron, and Evalia heard it clearly.

"Eh? Are you sure? Can you check one more time? I don't feel anything weird after all." Cyril said.

The two people wearing hazmat suits then looked at each other and tried again.

However, after a few minutes. The results are the same.

He's Cursed!

"May I ask what happened inside? Are you sure you didn't notice the Lich cursing you?"

"Well…"

Cyril paused for a moment as he tried to recall what happened…

"Ahhh!" Cyril finally remembered something.

When he crushed Gyqul's core, the Lich said something which he just ignored since he should be dead after crushing his core.

'You insolent! Kill him! I curse you!'

These are Gyqul's last words before he collapsed to the ground lifeless.

'Perhaps, that is a real curse? No, it's not a possibility. I'm really cursed according to these two.' Cyril bitterly smiled after realizing what happened at that time

He thought that it was just Gyqul's angry cries but it seems that he was wrong.

"What should I do? What kind of curse is this?"

Cyril asked intently. Of course, he then explained how he thought he was cursed so that the two would have an idea of how to dispel it.

"This is quite tricky. Well, the one you encountered is an Elemental Lich. So he shouldn't be that adept at Curses. However, since he was an Elf before, then this might be more difficult to remove. At the very least, the curse that we felt seems to be dormant at the moment so we have some time to study it carefully."

"I-is that so? How long do you think would it take to remove the curse?" Cyril asked helplessly. He wanted to go home already and have a long rest but it doesn't seem to be possible at this rate.

Nevertheless, he wasn't that worried about the Curse because he knows that he has demons with him who are more adept at evil curses.

Even if Demoness Amaris can't help him with this, Demoness Selma who has the backing of Harbinger Demon should have an idea about this. If not, his last resort would be the Blasphemed One, Xagan.

After a few more minutes, they have confirmed that Melody and the others weren't cursed at all. They wanted to speak with Cyril to thank him for everything he has done but unfortunately, the Arcane Arts Experts did not allow anyone to meet him for now until they confirmed the curse inside his body.

"Ahhh~ This is too troublesome…" Cyril muttered as he looked at the window of his room.

It's already morning on the next day. He was sent to another facility not too far from the Headquarters to be isolated for a while. During this time, he was not allowed to meet other people who hasn't received any Nature's Blessings.

As for the items he brought with him, it was already checked and confirmed that they do not have any curses attached to them and as expected, some of the items were taken by the Association as part of their contract agreement. At the very least, he still has two Rank-A Artifacts and one Rank-D Artifact.

At the moment, he's resting in his room and waiting for his meal to be delivered. It seems like he's living in a 5-star hotel and he can still get many things he wanted as long as he doesn't leave the room.

"Hmm… It should be safe here."

After confirming that no one is monitoring his bedroom, he decided to speak with Xagan and ask about the price for determining the curse and lifting it.

"Contractor, Curse Appraisal would cost 10 days. Lifting that Curse will cost 15 days. Do you want me to Appraise it now?"

Xagan answered dutifully.

"No. As it stands, I don't think it's life-threatening. The Arcane Arts Experts would also be confused if it was removed so suddenly… Anyway, it's not that expensive, huh?"

"Alright… and yes, it's cheap. It's within my alignment after all."

Cyril nodded after hearing Xagan's response. That's right, evil curses are indeed the demon's specialty and it would cost less because of that.

If Cyril asked Xagan to remove Holy Blessings or perhaps apply Holy Blessings, he would probably be charged with an exorbitant price.

Anyway, there was no way he would ask for that since there are Artifacts or Awakened capable of doing that for an inexpensive price.

'Right… I still have that pouch with me. I wonder if I can open it.'

Cyril never had a Spatial Bag so he's unsure how to unseal it. The Lich has sealed it in a way that not even his death would unlock it.

After five minutes of trying, Cyril could only give up.. He tried using his Aura to closely observe it and attempted to remove the seal.