I walked out from my room after an arduous struggle.
Instantly, a new world opened itself up to me.
Marble linings and golden engravings paced the whole passage.
I gasped in surprise at the sight, taking in everything with an incredulous expression.
Although I had seen all these in my mind, seeing them physically brought another sense of thrill into my body.
I glanced at the wall and noticed paintings etched onto it.
If my guess wasn't wrong, these paintings were to honor the geniuses that had been birthed over the years.
In one of them was a youth who looked no older than 18, with a large broadsword on his shoulder.
In front of him was a creature that spanned tens of meters. The creature had countless tails, and a dark greenish liquid seemed to pour out from the holes surrounding its body.
Still, in the face of the youth, there was no fear, only a cold ruthlessness and a will to kill.
In another image, there was a young lady with an arrow.
In front of her were tens of thousands of strange-looking skeletal creatures.
Just like the previous image, her eyes were filled with confidence, and a heroic air spread around her.
'My elders and ancestors…' I muttered, feeling some reverence in my heart.
The reverence seemed to come from the lingering memory of my predecessor.
I ignored the other paintings and continued on my way to the training ground.
A few steps later, I encountered the first set of guards.
Two middle-aged men clad in bronze-like armor, with some killing intent emanating from them.
Bang!
The moment they saw me, they brought their hands to their chest in a respectful gesture and bowed.
"We greet the young master!"
There was no hint of arrogance or disdain in their voices.
I nodded at them and continued on my way.
Only when I had left did they finally have the guts to speak.
"That… is that really young master? How did he change so much in a matter of hours? Just yesterday he didn't look like this!" the first guard exclaimed in shock.
The second guard remained silent, however his eyes flickered with a strange light as he whispered under his breath.
"Perhaps he's become a cursed warrior…"
…
I didn't hear the discussions the guards were having, but recalling their dumbfounded looks, I merely chuckled.
Along the way, I encountered a few more guards, and all of them portrayed similar respect.
In thirty minutes, I was already hearing loud shouts and echoes of something akin to a war cry.
I quickened my pace and finally walked through a large doorway.
Immediately, I was greeted by a massive grassland spanning more than a kilometer.
Roarrrrr
Hisssss
Instantly, my breath caught in my throat as I noticed towering behemoths exchanging blows with humans clad in battle armor.
My mouth went wide with shock as I saw this sight.
One of the beasts looked like a bull, however its strength wasn't any greater than the human it was fighting.
Aside from that, there were soldiers fighting amongst themselves.
They moved with practiced grace, using all kinds of weapons, ranging from spears, swords, staffs, long swords, arrows, and there were even those who clothed their hands in a luminescent blue energy to fight.
At a glance, I could tell that this was cursed energy!
I remained rooted to my spot, taking in the sight, when a voice sliced through my thoughts like a sharp blade.
"What the fuck are you doing standing around for?"
Hearing the female voice, my head snapped in that direction, and a gallant woman holding a long spear approached me.
'This woman… Rosaline.'
In my memories, I'd seen her with my sister a couple of times, and if my guess wasn't wrong… she's the one in charge of the training ground.
She was one of the commanders of the Targaryan legion!
The woman was clad in a tight-fitting pitch-black armor that hugged her curves and accentuated the firmness of her breasts.
At a glance, one could tell she was an exceedingly beautiful lady, if it wasn't for the fact that there was an eye patch on her right eye.
At the edges of the eye patch, there were faint arcs of black that seemed like lightning.
It was said she had been fighting multiple cursed monsters when her brain had been pierced through with lightning.
Truly, it was a miracle she survived.
'Despite the eye patch, it only hides a little of her beauty!' I muttered internally, admiring her briefly.
"I asked you a question." Rosaline came to a stop in front of me and said sternly, scrutinizing me closely.
"I came to train." I answered respectfully.
"Have you learned to absorb cursed energy?"
"No."
"Come with me." Rosaline said, then led the way.
I followed her along, feeling the gazes of a few on both of us.
"The fuck you looking at?" Rosaline spat in their direction.
Instantly, everyone turned their gazes away and focused on what they were doing.
I couldn't help chuckling at the sight.
"Hmph!" Rosaline snorted, then increased her pace.
Surprisingly, I was able to keep up with her without running out of breath.
Likely due to my cursed nebula physique.
I noticed the brief flash of surprise in her eyes, which she quickly masked.
Still, it made me smile to myself.
In no time, we reached a house that seemed like a mini fortress that was only roughly ten meters wide and about twelve meters long.
"Follow me." Rosaline said, and led me in.
As soon as we got in, she walked toward a table and handed me a scroll.
"Here, try cultivating this. It's the basic curse absorption technique everyone starts with. After becoming a curse user, you can diversify." She explained.
I took the scroll and flipped it open, then glanced at its contents.
In the scroll were drawings depicting people showing how cursed energy is absorbed, and how one could unlock their genes and mutate them to absorb cursed energy.
These genes were not physical and physical at the same time.
It would mutate one's heart to become a vessel for storing cursed energy.
The writer also emphasized…
'It is akin to a curse. In the sense that should you absorb too much cursed energy, it'll lead to your heart exploding and bring about your untimely demise.'
To break through and become a cursed fighter, one had to condense a single star on their heart.
The star could hold much more cursed energy, and only by forming more stars, and constantly changing one's genes, could one break through to higher stages.
After reading through the information, I let out a shaky breath.
I didn't know if I was ready for this… to embark on the path of no return…
But if I didn't do this, if I didn't take this step, I'd remain a coward forever.
With that, I took a deep breath once more and followed the description in my mind.
According to the writer, cursed energy is invisible, and at first, one would only be able to sense wisps of it.
Only through gradual interaction with cursed energy would one be able to become more attuned to it and sense more.
Of course, there were those with a higher starting point.
Like the Targaryans with unique bloodlines, and so many other rare, special cases.
The moment I closed my eyes, I tried to feel my surroundings and drag in the little I could find.
I inhaled and felt waves crash into my body, causing a biting chill to permeate through me.
"You… what?" Rosaline cried out in shock at the sight of all the cursed energy in the room suddenly vanishing.
"Fuck!" she cursed aloud the moment she noticed me spit a mouthful of blood.