Chapter 78: Breaking the Curse (Bonus Chapter for Reaching 3,500 Recommendation Votes)

Seizing the quiet hours of the night, Chu Yun slipped into the slaughterhouse under the cover of darkness. There, he buried the magic book beneath the great tree beside the butchering point and gave it strict orders not to act on its own.

The magic book sensed something was amiss; its new master did not seem normal. Most people, upon acquiring a wondrous artifact like itself, would be overjoyed, unable to part from it. Yet this master had abandoned it at a slaughterhouse. Though ostensibly left there to absorb souls, the book felt something was not quite right.

What the book did not know was that, before leaving, Chu Yun had already slain its mirror image once in the Mirror World. Since only experience points were dropped, the book noticed nothing unusual. The amount of experience yielded by magical creatures varied according to their level, the level gap, individuality, and strength. This magic book was a formidable third-tier entity of high quality, so slaying it once netted a substantial 525 experience points. However, accordingly, the restoration time for a third-tier creature’s mirror image was much longer.

For now, Chu Yun was more eager to collect all the Divine Shard fragments than to simply increase his strength. He had already accumulated five out of ten Mirror Divine Shard fragments, which halved the cost of staying in the Mirror World. With only one point of mental energy consumed every twenty minutes, in case of danger, he could remain hidden within the Mirror World for 2080 minutes—almost thirty-five hours—without emerging, assuring his safety.

“If I can gather the complete Mirror Divine Shard, does that mean I could stay in the Mirror World indefinitely, with no cost?” Chu Yun speculated with anticipation; such a leap would be transformative.

Night deepened. After leaving the slaughterhouse, Chu Yun rode Paimon first to Lysa’s workshop, then returned to the Mage’s Lodge to rest.

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By the next morning, the incident at Viscount Karl’s estate had become the talk of the town.

With Hardy’s death, Lysa regained her senses, recalling in vivid detail all that had transpired while she was under control. Her heart was filled with terror, dread, and sorrow. Ella’s death left her seething with anger toward Hardy, while she was also profoundly grateful to the mysterious figure who had saved her.

Had he not intervened, she could scarcely imagine the humiliation she might have suffered; she and her father would surely have met their end at Hardy’s hands one day.

“That mage must have cast spells while invisible. I don’t know his identity, but I’ve memorized the scent of his blood,” Lysa murmured, crimson flickering in her eyes.

The blood that had dripped onto Karl’s floor from the contract-bound magic book had been absorbed by Lysa. As vampires, both she and Karl would never forget the taste of blood they had once drunk.

Lysa realized that the stranger’s true aim was likely the Divine Shard fragment; saving her and Karl was merely incidental. Even so, she wished to express her gratitude, and in any case, the fragment had been taken from Hardy, not from her.

“I wonder if I’ll ever have a chance to find him.” She knew it was unlikely; she lacked the strength to identify someone by blood scent alone if he didn’t bleed.

“My lady, the president of the Mage Association is here,” a servant reported.

“Quick, show them in!” Lysa said at once.

After last night’s events, members of the Mage Guild had arrived in numbers. Both Viscount Karl and Lysa belonged to the Guild, and as the lord of Rockstead, Karl was wealthy and had been a generous patron of the Guild. Privately, he enjoyed a close relationship with the president.

President Nelson, a man of wide experience, had recognized the curse afflicting Viscount Karl and had come today to help lift it. At his side was a young woman in a violet wizard’s hat, younger in appearance than himself, her expression haughty and impatient. Lysa did not recognize her—she must not be a mage from Blackstone City.

“She’s my granddaughter, Selina, trained in magic at the capital since childhood,” Nelson explained.

“Ah, so you are Lady Selina—the prodigy who reached the third tier at only sixteen?” Lysa looked at her in astonishment.

Nelson’s son and daughter had died in an accident, causing a severe rift between him and his wife. His granddaughter had been raised in the capital by his wife, while he remained in Blackstone City, unwilling to see her. For all these years, Selina had never visited him, and Lysa wondered what had prompted her sudden arrival.

“Hmph, don’t waste my time. Where’s the patient?” Selina said curtly, long weary of such surprise and flattery.

Had Nelson not insisted, she would never have bothered coming to save such feeble folk. Besides, it was only a curse—not fatal—at worst, just a prolonged sleep.

In the past, Lysa might have responded with anger, but after all that had happened, she was much changed. Now, in need of help, she ignored the taunt and led Selina to the bedside.

“Selina’s been spoiled by her grandmother, pay her no mind,” Nelson explained. “Only second-tier mages in the Association can lift curses, but Viscount Karl’s case is quite severe.”

Lysa shook her head, unbothered. “Thank you, President.”

Selina approached the bed to examine Viscount Karl, asking, “Did he really swallow the Divine Shard fragment?”

Lysa dared not hide anything, fearing any mistake, and with the fragment now in the hands of the mysterious mage there was little to conceal—she’d already told Nelson the night before.

“I’m not sure if Hardy lied to me…” Lysa recounted the events once again.

Selina listened while observing Karl, then curled her lip and glanced at her grandfather. “It does appear to be the Sleeping Curse.”

“Lady Selina, how can my father’s curse be broken?” Lysa asked, her nerves taut.

Selina rolled her eyes. “Who just eats a Divine Shard fragment? What were they thinking? There are two ways to break the curse—choose for yourself.”

Truthfully, it was not such a strange occurrence; not everyone was a scholar versed in Divine Shards. In certain novels, the hero simply ate the fragment, and there were likely many who, unable to absorb it properly or quickly, would do the same. In fact, some fragments could indeed be absorbed faster this way.

“One method is to wait for him to recover naturally. At his current state, that’ll take a few months before he wakes.”

Lysa immediately rejected this idea. The situation was chaotic, with crises arising every day; in a few months, who knew what would become of the family? She was a technical recluse by nature, with no interest or ability in managing the household.

“What about the second method?” she pressed.

“Soul attack. Just thrash his soul half to death and that ought to wake him up.” Selina withdrew her magic book, preparing to cast the spell.

Nelson stepped forward to reassure her. “Don’t worry, Lysa, it’s not as dire as she makes it sound. But once Karl wakes, he’ll need at least a month or two of good rest, and he’ll likely suffer headaches every day and be unable to use magic for a while.”

Lysa breathed a sigh of relief. Compared to months of slumber, a few painful weeks after waking was a small price to pay. She knew her father’s temperament—he’d surely choose to awaken at once.

“Thank you, Lady Selina.”