Chapter 3: Let’s Use the Author-Approved Backstory
It seems that I’m definitely a genius when it comes to Dark Magic.
After all, the knowledge in the magic books just flows into my head.
I can control the Dark Tentacles better than before, and I can now fire multiple black arrows.
I registered with the Adventurer’s Guild and took on a monster subjugation request, which I managed to complete successfully. Of course, the only requests beginner adventurers can take on are simple ones like slime extermination.
Still, considering that my personality is based on a child who lived in a hospital, it’s amazing that I’ve accomplished a job where I hunt and kill something for compensation. This is truly an isekai light novel. I’m gaining confidence that I can live in this world.
“I want to try Curse Purification soon.”
However, I’m not reckless enough to start practicing on humans right away.
First, I’ll test my skills with cursed items.
With that in mind, I visited an antique shop.
“Cursed items? I have some. A customer wanted to clean up their house the other day, so I bought everything in their warehouse. There was a Cursed Knife mixed in. It’s my fault for buying it without checking properly… What do you plan to do with a cursed item? If you’re going to use it for illegal rituals, I can’t sell it. This shop would become a target of investigation.”
“I’m practicing magic to purify curses. I’m looking for something to practice on.”
I answered honestly, not wanting to be suspected and banned from the shop.
“I see, purification magic. So, you’re a Light Attribute user? That’s good. Get good at it. There’s the Ashcroft Family, a clan of Light Magic masters, nearby, but their fees are so high that it’s not easy to ask them for purification. No one will buy a Cursed Knife, so I’ll give it to you for free.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s good for the world if there are more purification magic users. It’ll eventually benefit this old man too. By the way, it’s okay to practice with that knife, but don’t touch it for too long. The curse will erode your body and make you sick.”
“Is it okay if it’s just a little?”
“Yeah. I touched it too, and I’m still alive. It should be fine for this long, though I can’t give you a specific guarantee.”
Then it’s on the weaker side as far as cursed items go.
The worst one I read about in a book was a cursed sword that instantly turned you into a zombie who just kept killing people the moment you touched it.
Compared to that, this is cute.
“Okay. When I hold my hand over it, I feel a really unpleasant presence. This must be the curse. I just need to remove it.”
I returned to the inn, sat on the floor, and faced the Cursed Knife.
I held my palm over it and concentrated.
I meditated to separate the knife itself from the curse.
It was a difficult task, like using non-existent tweezers to remove a piece of trash from a grain of rice.
“I did it!”
No doubt about it.
I succeeded in extracting only the curse from the knife. As proof, I no longer felt any presence from the knife.
The extracted curse was floating in the air as a black lump about the size of a ten-yen coin.
Its appearance and presence were ominous.
But I didn’t feel much aversion to it.
It was written in a magic book in the library that those who have reached a certain level of proficiency in Dark Magic can absorb curses and, instead of being eroded, turn them into power.
Could it be that I’m already at that level?
I trusted the knowledge in the magic book and my own intuition, and I wrapped the black lump in my palm.
Absorbing a curse directly is like drinking poison. But even poison can become medicine depending on how you use it.
I broke down the curse and converted it into Dark Attribute Magical Power. I crushed it and let it seep into my skin.
I felt the power of darkness flowing into my palm.
I wasn’t eroded. I just felt power surging.
“This is… amazing. I might be able to increase my Magical Power without special training.”
The curse on this knife was very weak. So, even after absorbing it, I didn’t feel like I had grown much.
But if I absorb a powerful curse… or maybe if I absorb many weak curses, I might become stronger.
Well… if I do a lot of them, it might not be that different from training in terms of effort.
Anyway, it’s good to have multiple ways to become stronger.
I took the knife I had just purified and returned to the antique shop.
“Old man. I think I purified this, can you check it?”
“What? You just took it a while ago. Curse Purification is difficult. Even the head of the Ashcroft Family takes hours to purify a single item. Well, I’ll check it just in case…”
The old man from the antique shop held the knife up to a crystal ball.
“Huh… it’s not reacting? That’s strange, it should glow if there’s even a little curse… Did you really purify it! That’s amazing!”
“Well, yeah.”
I thought I had done a great job, so I decided to be proud of it.
“By the way, old man. This knife doesn’t have a curse anymore, so it can’t be used for practice. Would you buy it?”
“I don’t mind, but… it’s just an ordinary knife, so it’ll be cheap.”
“I got it for free, so it’s a profit no matter how cheap it is.”
“Haha! That’s true. You should come to this shop again. I might officially ask you to purify curses.”
“If I can earn money while practicing, that’s perfect for me.”
Plus, my Magical Power increases.
It’s too convenient. As expected of an author-approved cheat backstory.