Chapter 29: Ability Coordination (2)

Huh? You want me?

Seo Yeon-hwa stared blankly, momentarily puzzling over the meaning of his words.

But this…

No matter how she considered it…

“Are you talking about that?” Her voice trembled with embarrassment.

She had been working in this industry for nearly a decade, weathering every imaginable storm. Yet even someone as seasoned as Seo Yeon-hwa had never encountered such a situation.

Such a sudden and impassioned confession?

“Didn’t you say you’d grant me one wish?” Taejun asked quietly, his gaze utterly serious, devoid of any hint of playfulness.

“Well, yes, I did say that…” Still, this felt wrong. Or was she the one being unreasonable? Should I at least consider it to honor my promise?

“But why me all of a sudden?”

“I mean, I know I look remarkably young for my age, even Serine sometimes envies me for it.”

“Hmm, Hunter Taejun,” Seo Yeon-hwa finally spoke cautiously.

“I feel a bit awkward saying this, but… you’re twenty-seven now, right?”

”…? Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then you’ll have plenty of good relationships in the future. It’s just that… I’m actually older than you might think. That’s why I felt comfortable mixing honorifics and casual speech with you. So, um…”

”?”

Taejun’s face was a picture of confusion, his expression clearly showing he didn’t understand what Seo Yeon-hwa was trying to say.

Suddenly, his gaze drifted off into the distance.

“Huh? Oh, I see. You could interpret it that way, I suppose. No, that’s definitely not what I meant.”

In this state, it was unclear whether he was muttering to himself or carrying on a conversation with someone.

In front of Seo Yeon-hwa, who kept her mouth pursed in a ”—” shape, Taejun scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“I’m sorry, Guild Master. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Huh?”

“I meant I want one of your abilities as Guild Master.”

Ah.

Seo Yeon-hwa’s expression momentarily froze in awkwardness.

He wants my ability. That makes sense.

Still…

Even for someone as renowned for her kindness and gentleness as Seo Yeon-hwa,

”…Why did you say it like that?”

It was impossible not to feel a twinge of anger.

“Taegoon-nim, do you perhaps have some difficulty communicating with women?”

“I never expected you to think of it that way.”

To be fair, I only realized I’d slipped up after Manager Mi pointed it out. Still, I never imagined Seo Yeon-hwa would react like that.

After all, Seo Yeon-hwa, the leader of the Cheongyeon Guild, is the top ideal type for countless tycoons, celebrities, and Hunters. She must have received countless advances from the most sought-after individuals.

Logically, even if she misunderstood it as a confession, I would have expected her to brush me off like dealing with a child.

“Just because you’re popular doesn’t mean you can weasel out of every confession!”

“Is that so.”

“Is that so”?!

It’s regrettable that I unintentionally hurt Seo Yeon-hwa.

In any case, now’s the time to focus on more productive matters.

As I rode the elevator down to the basement of the Cheongyeon Guild headquarters, I gazed at the item in my hand:

The Skull Staff of Iratu.

In the end, this was the root cause of the laughable incident with Seo Yeon-hwa.

Calmly, I reviewed the item’s analysis results.

That was all the analysis information available.

It was at least classified as an S-grade item, placing it in the top 1% of all items, but that was it.

However, far more information was listed below:

This item possesses immense power, but inflicts a potent, continuous curse upon the caster when wielded.

I found it so unsettling that I locked it away in the cabin’s valuables chest.

As suspected, it was indeed cursed with a powerful curse.

The ‘for some reason’ in the item analysis window must be due to this curse as well.

If it hadn’t been linked to my body’s information, I could have been killed without even knowing why.

Iratu.

As expected, I hadn’t been able to retrieve my staff intact.

Ding!

As I sorted through my thoughts,

the elevator finally stopped.

Basement… floor.

Ignoring the choppy announcement, I stepped out of the elevator.

It resembled the ruins of a construction site.

The walls were covered with special plywood processed with steel and essence stones.

Compared to the warm atmosphere of the ground floor, this place felt dry and sterile.

That was understandable.

This space had been constructed specifically for performing powerful curse dispelling rituals.

“Did you bring the item?”

And in the center of it all,

Seo Yeon-hwa, dressed in a suit, smiled.

Just moments ago, she had still been cold and reserved.

Seo Yeon-hwa had clearly calmed herself while I gathered the item.

“Here you go.”

She carefully accepted the staff I offered.

Her eyes narrowed as she muttered, “You found this while working as a porter, guiding adventurers?”

“Yes. It’s so old I don’t even remember the dungeon’s name.”

“Hmm, it certainly doesn’t seem like something you’d obtain through hunting.”

She was right.

No matter how many monsters I slaughtered, I’d never obtain an item like this.

Woong—

After staring at the staff for a moment, Seo Yeon-hwa suddenly concentrated azure Mana in her hand.

When she placed it against the skull portion of the staff…

Crack!

Purple sparks erupted, and her hand jolted violently.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. More importantly, Taejun-nim’s assessment was correct. Multiple curses of at least S-rank are intricately woven together. No ordinary dispelling skills could break this.”

“Even so, can you do it?”

“Huh?”

“Release this curse from the item.”

Seo Yeon-hwa stared at the staff in her hand for a moment.

Then, she smiled sweetly and replied, “You asked me because you believed I could do it, didn’t you? Even to the point of using your ‘Wish’.”

Seo Yeon-hwa was officially considered to be at the pinnacle of Mana manipulation.

But beyond her versatile support skills, healing, and elemental magic, she possessed a unique ability:

Spell Disruption.

A form of dispel.

After calculating and analyzing the structure and spell formulas of a target skill,

she could redistribute the Mana embedded within it based on the derived results,

neutralizing its effects and destructive power.

Curses, being complex trap skills composed of intricate spell formulas,

could similarly with Spell Disruption.

That’s why I didn’t hesitate to use my ‘Wish’.

If anyone could break this curse, it was Seo Yeon-hwa—no, she was the only one who could.

The Guild Master of Cheongyeon gazed at me for a moment, then smiled, raising a vibrant blue Mana in her palm. “I’ll give it a try,” she said. “Now, go upstairs. I’ll call you when I’m done with the ritual.”

But I didn’t turn away. A greedy desire had taken root within me.

Seo Yeon-hwa’s ritual ability was unparalleled, both domestically and internationally. Yet, the exact method by which she dispelled curses through manipulating magical formulas remained shrouded in mystery. All her rituals were conducted exclusively in this ‘Ritual Chamber’ on the lowest level of the Cheongyeon Guild, a place forbidden even to most guild Hunters, let alone the media. Consequently, the ritual process was always carried out either alone by Seo Yeon-hwa or in the company of a Hunter teetering on the brink of death from a curse.

So, out of pure curiosity, I want to see how she does it, I thought. Half-expecting her to refuse, I asked:

“Could I watch from here?”

“Huh? This is a trade secret.”

Seo Yeon-hwa narrowed her eyes playfully.

But she quickly fell into thought, muttering to herself, “Hmm… this isn’t exactly taking a reward. It’s more like fulfilling a pure wish. I wonder if it’ll be alright.”

Then, she whispered, “You can’t tell anyone about this.”

“I have no one to tell, nor any intention of telling.”

Seo Yeon-hwa nodded.

Swish.

Blue mana swirled into her hand once more. The magic power flowing out permeated the skull staff like living mist.

Kiying!

A sharp metallic resonance filled the air.

A thick purple aura erupted from the staff and began to mingle with the mana.

No, it wasn’t merely mixing.

It was a battle of forces.

Seo Yeon-hwa’s pure Mana, surging from her hands, against the lethal death energy lurking within the staff.

The two energies surged and retreated, locked in a brutal struggle, each attempting to devour the other.

Fzzzt!

Violet death energy clashed against pale sky-blue Mana, unleashing a torrent of intense sparks.

“Oho, that woman clearly possesses a remarkable understanding of magic,” Manager Mi observed from my side, where she had been monitoring the situation. “She must be at least an 8th-circle mage.”

“Do you understand what’s happening?”

“By manipulating her Mana, she’s systematically dismantling the curses embedded within the staff, one by one. And she’s doing it in real-time.”

Though the explanation was difficult to grasp, it felt akin to a hacker tearing through hundreds of layers of firewalls in an instant.

Well, as a true arts student, I’ll never understand the principles behind this magic.

Time passed.

“As expected, this is… more powerful than any curse I’ve ever seen,” Seo Yeon-hwa murmured, her lips pressed tightly together in concentration.

Thirty minutes had passed since she began the purification ritual. Her complexion was ashen, and sweat-drenched strands of hair clung to her pale cheeks.

But…

Kiiiing!

Fortunately, the battle was tilting in her favor.

Kwaaaah!

A tidal wave of blue mana surged toward the staff.

Crackle, crackle!

The staff’s fading magical energy began to collapse inward, like crumpled paper.

And then…

Kiiiing!

With a final shattering cry, reminiscent of a monster’s death throes, the staff was completely engulfed by the blue mana.

Only after the surroundings fell silent did a shallow sigh escape Seo Yeon-hwa’s lips.

“Is it over?”

“Almost. Just need to release the final curse now…”

Just then.

”…?”

Seo Yeon-hwa’s eyes widened suddenly.

Before I could even register the anomaly,

Swoosh

The staff was engulfed in a sinister aura.

Splatter!

Suddenly, crimson blood splattered onto my face.

“Huh?”

I saw blood gushing from Seo Yeon-hwa’s side.

The moment I registered the scene,

My hand reacted before my mind could process it.

I instinctively conjured a fireball and launched it toward a shimmering, violet-tinged dimensional portal beneath the aura-shrouded staff.

Toward the monstrous claws that emerged from it.

Boom!

A deafening explosion filled the air with acrid smoke. I caught Seo Yeon-hwa as she collapsed, quickly retreating backward.

“Cough.”

Blood splattered from Seo Yeon-hwa’s mouth. Her suit was torn, exposing her side, where several deep claw marks had been etched into her skin. Fortunately, the wounds weren’t fatal.

“Sorry. I let my guard down for a moment,” Seo Yeon-hwa said, leaning against me. “I never expected the final curse to manifest in a tangible form…”

Tangible manifestation. It seemed the curse itself had taken on a physical form, like a vengeful spirit, capable of inflicting physical damage.

Just then:

Kieee.

Accompanied by an eerie shriek, a monster materialized from the smoke.

This is the first time I’ve seen a guy like this.

The creature resembled a goblin cloaked in gray leather.

But it stood nearly two meters tall, its eyes entirely black, lacking any whites.

Its arms, adorned with long, grotesquely curved fingernails, hung limply at its sides.

“A Curse Ghoul,” Seo Yeon-hwa muttered.

Apparently, that was the collective term for monsters that were curses made manifest.

From every angle, the creature looked anything but easy to deal with.

Kiiieeee!

The ghoul let out a screech as it licked blood from its crimson-stained claws with its tongue.

While charging a Fireball in one hand, I opened my mouth.

“Guild Master.”

“I’m fine. Emergency treatment is keeping me stable.”

Seo Yeon-hwa’s flank wound had already healed.

Of course, the internal damage would remain largely unchanged.

“But we have a problem.”

Seo Yeon-hwa glared at the Curse Spirit and said, “That’s just a curse that’s taken on the form of a monster. Unless we can break its spell, we won’t be able to…”

Kiiiiii!

Before she could finish, the creature lunged forward, claws extended.

Without hesitation, I launched a Fireball. This time, it was charged to 20%.

But—

Kwaaaang!

Even through the ear-splitting explosion, there was no scream from the monster.

Instead, Seo Yeon-hwa continued, “Completely annihilating it is impossible.”

“So it seems,” I replied. Normal magic and physical attacks appeared ineffective.

That left Seo Yeon-hwa’s skills as our only option.

“My Mana is nearly depleted… Attempting a spell break now would be difficult.”

“In that case, it’s best we hold out until reinforcements arrive from above.”

“Support won’t be coming. We were ordered not to descend from above, even in the face of anomalies, unless explicitly commanded.”

I furrowed my brow.

Do I have no clever solution at all?

“First, I’ll buy us time with the remaining mana. While I do that, Taejun-ssi should go up and…”

He immediately shook his head. “That doesn’t sound like a good idea at all.”

Abandoning the injured Seo Yeon-hwa would be a catastrophic mistake on multiple fronts.

“Let me think for a moment.”

My mind began racing.

A few moments later…

Kiiiiii.

The space filled with acrid smoke. As the bloodcurdling cry of the ‘curse’ echoed through the air…

Ah, this might actually work.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind.