The imploding mist finally formed itself into a sphere, which resembled a snow globe filled with billowing mist of various dark colors.
[Curse Root (Quality:???) [Curse Rank 6] - A mass of negative energy with a sentient mind. Compatible with organic and inorganic material. ]
[+2,500 XP.]
[+1,250 XP.]
[+300 System Points.]
[The Curse System has gained enough XP to level up. Would you like to do so now? Y/N]
"Takuma? What… what is that?" Chloe asked, her eyes transfixed on the item which appeared from thin air.
Takuma could worry about the new benefits awarded to him later. For now the small orb which had somehow found its way to his palm was his main concern.
"Is...is this the curse that was inside Dot?" Takuma said, voicing his concern. The sphere was cold to the touch, not icy cold but rather devoid of all warmth. So much so that just holding it seemed to be sapping his own body heat.
"So curses are items?" Chloe asked.
"No. Well, maybe. I honestly have no clue. I'm new to all of this as well, but this one seems different from all the other curses I've dealt with before."
The sound of Dot stirring as she coughed up the last of the black fluid within her body was enough to derail the conversation for a later time.
"Dot. Oh, I'm so glad. How are you feeling?" Chloe asked as she leaned over Dot, who was now laying down on the bed. Though she seemed weary, Dot couldn't help but smile.
"I feel… great. Better than I have in a long time. It's like this dark veil was lifted. My entire body feels….. good."
Takuma couldn't help but smile upon hearing this. Not only did he manage to purify his rank 6 curse, but he helped to save someone else's life in the process. Still, the experience created even more questions to be explored.
What was a 'Curse Root'? Why did he acquire this mysterious item upon cleansing Dot's curse? Was it due to the fact that it was attached to a person? The description of the item was off-putting to Takuma as well.
*A mass of negative energy with a sentient mind. Is this thing alive?* He thought to himself as he held the baseball sized orb closer to his face. As he peered into the swirling black mist within, the shape of a face began to contort and appear. It was brief but unmistakable, as if the object was answering his question.
"Holy heck that's creepy." Takuma uttered, having become completely oblivious to his surroundings upon gazing into the Curse Root.
"Takuma?" Chloe's voice finally reached him.
"Would you mind stepping out for a bit so that I can give Dot here a look over? I want to be sure she's fine." Chloe asked.
"Oh, sure. No problem. Take all the time you need." He said before bowing to Dot, a smile on his face as he excused himself from the room. Once he had a bit more space, Takuma decided to check his quest log for more information.
[A Living Curse]
Curses have many effects and take on many forms. After all, when you stare into the abyss…
Condition: Purify Your First 'Living Curse'] This was the description of the completed quest 'A Living Curse' which triggered upon purifying Dot's body.
*So this thing is definitely alive then?* He couldn't help but feel a strange sense of foreboding as he looked at the object. Ultimately he decided to put it away and worry about it later.
"Yes. Accept the system upgrade."
So far the system had not disappointed him. Every 100 points Takuma acquired would upgrade it. In addition, sometimes the system would upgrade based on his own personal set of skills. And much like before, Takuma was not disappointed.
[The Curse System has leveled from 5 to 8.]
'Interaction Upgrade' has been improved. You can now view in personal information such as vitals, Resistances, Weaknesses and habits of hostile or neutral targets.
'System Scan' has been unlocked. By focusing on a target you can begin analyzing it. Scanning will take time, depending on familiarity with the target and system level.
'Success Probability Module' has been unlocked. At a glance you can now discern your level of success regarding the completion of actions. This includes purification of cursed items, attacks or status afflictions.
***Other system features have been made available and will be revealed as necessary to the user.*** ]
"So a lot of quality of life upgrades, but still all very useful. I wonder what other features this last line refers to?"
The amount of experience gained from the ordeal was significantly less than Takuma anticipated, but after thinking it over he realized this was probably a good thing. Since his Instant Purification would drain mana based on the XP gained from the process, he ate through 5,000 mana just to purify the curse. This amount was easily more than half the amount he'd been able to amass over the past two days.
"Still rank 6 curses are... scary." He whispered to himself as he thought back to the black tentacles which gripped his body. Though he'd already begun to regenerate his health and his wounds were healing, the bruised flesh throbbed from the sheer strength of being clenched so tightly.
Takuma was pulled from his thoughts as he heard the door to Dot's room open and close behind him.
"Is she doing okay?" Takuma asked.
"Yes. She's stable. She shows no signs of lasting damage internally and she seemed emotionally spent. Other than that, she's great." Chloe responded, though Takuma couldn't help but feel as if Chloe had something else on her mind.
"Takuma… I--" Chloe started, but ultimately grew quiet.
"What is it?"
"These curses are so dangerous. I'm honestly just... really worried about you. Are you okay?"
"Oh. That's.. Yes, I'm fine. Better than fine actually."
Chloe then held up his amulet, returning it to him before she added.
"She's sleeping, for now. But she wanted me to let you know that you absolutely have to come talk to her tomorrow so that she can thank you properly." Chloe said with a smile of gratitude.
"I'll be doing that, anyway. Actually, this is probably as good a time as any to tell you about it." Takuma said as he gritted his teeth at the prospect of explaining Arnia's curse situation.
*Perhaps it's better if I leave out the actual number of cursed relics…*
"207? Are you serious!?" Chloe practically shouted upon hearing the numbers. She tried to keep her voice down, with Dot sleeping in the next room, but she walked over to the counter and braced herself upon hearing the grim news.
"Yes." Initially Takuma wanted to avoid the subject altogether. He didn't anticipate Chloe's astute line of questioning, so he decided ultimately that to be more forthcoming.
"Are any like the one we just dealt with?" Chloe next asked.
"I honestly can't say. I can only tell they are cursed items but if you're asking about curse ranking… I have no idea." Takuma confided to Chloe. This was a lie, to a degree. Takuma could infer the basic strength of a curse by the color which appeared on his mini-map. However, he wasn't entirely sure how reliable this information was, partially because the blighted statue didn't register on the map at all. It was safe for him to assume that if there were powerful curses within the town borders that he might not be able to distinguish their presence at all.
"What will we do? What can I do?" Chloe asked next. She was wearing a pained expression, almost as if she'd suddenly been tossed into the deep end of the pool. Takuma recognized that look, he'd worn it many times in the past himself. Luckily he'd already determined a plan to weaken the effects of as many cursed items as possible.
"Dot's shop. I don't necessarily have the connections to make demands of citizens, but if you and Dot ask people to return here so that their items can be 'improved' with a new service…" Takuma's explanation trailed off as Chloe seemed to put two and two together.
"That will allow you to remove the curses and save you some time and energy as well." She remarked, her worrisome expression lightened somewhat in the process.
"Indeed. But, before that, there's something I need to do." Takuma said as he decided to share his suspicions, finally.
"The delivery woman, Lilah. What do you know of her?" Takuma asked.
"Not very much. She hasn't been in the city very long." Chloe responded as she filtered through her thoughts.
"She stays out of trouble and seems to get along quite well with all the shopkeepers. To my knowledge there's never been a problem between her and anyone else. Why?" Chloe then asked.
"The last time Lilah made a delivery, I noticed that the level of miasma in the shop increased by a great deal. I felt as if something might be up, so I managed to purchase the delivery from Dot and inspect it. Every single item in the box, without exception, was cursed." Takuma explained.
"What? Are you serious? That... that happened almost a week ago. Takuma, why didn't you say something sooner?" Chloe seemed somewhat annoyed at Takuma's decision to keep the information to himself. For Takuma it was expected, but also he had his reasons.
"She may be a simple delivery person, although that seems unlikely. Truth be told, even I have no clue how curses are born. Looking at something like this, it makes me wonder." Takuma said as he lifted his right hand and called forth the most recent acquisition, the Curse Root.
Chloe immediately shuddered and took a step back. It seemed that even she was receptive to the negative energy pouring off of the strange orb.
"What is that?" She asked, her complexion slowly turning more pale by the moment.
"This is the curse which resided within Dot. Somehow it turned into an item called a 'Curse Root'. I'm not really sure what to think about this myself, but if my speculations are correct, then something like this might be used to implant curses into people or objects. In fact, the description of the item even suggests that the Curse Root is compatible with organic and inorganic materials." Takuma finally put the item away, after all he didn't want Chloe to pass out on him.
"That's horrid. And..you think that Lilah may be involved with spreading curses around town?" Chloe felt sicker by the moment, and not due to the effects of the Curse Root. The idea that someone was willingly or consciously afflicting others with curses of this magnitude made her blood run cold. The average person would be powerless to do anything at all, let alone identify that they were even cursed!
"I don't want to accuse her of anything until I know more, but there's another reason I suspect she may be directly involved." Takuma responded.
"Just look at your reaction to the Curse Root. Almost immediately your skin grew pale, and you started to look faint. Lilah on the other hand strolled into this store with a box full of cursed objects. The miasma those objects emitted didn't seem to affect her in the slightest. This means she either has a means to counteract the effects of miasma, or that she's resistant to it. Either way, she's definitely involved somehow. We need to better understand her role in all of this in order to flush out the perpetrator."
"So, what's your plan exactly?"
"Would you happen to know where she lives? If so that would make things much easier on my part." Takuma first asked.
"No, I know that she lives in the southern part of town. That area is a bit of a slum, and not that safe to boot. My gods. Takuma..do you really think it's her?" Chloe seemed to grow more sure of Takuma's suspicions by the moment. He simply nodded solemnly before continuing.
"See if you can pinpoint a location for Lilah's home. If not, no worries. I'm going to stay here with Dot for the next few days until Lilah shows up again, then I'll shadow her."
"That's it?" Chloe asked, she felt as if the plan should be more... complex.
"Yes. I'll have to play the situation by ear depending on what happens, but it shouldn't be too difficult to pull off."
Chloe was silent for a few moments before she reached into her pocket and fished out Takuma's brass ring.
"Here, before I forget. Besides, it sounds like you just might need it." Chloe sighed, suddenly she felt spent. It wasn't really a surprise, for she'd used most of her mana during the purification of Dot.
"I'm... tired." She said as she handed the relic back to its rightful owner.
"It's not surprising. Thanks for your help today. It wouldn't have gone so smoothly without you." Takuma was truly grateful to Chloe. She smiled and patted him on the shoulder a few times before she moved to exit the shop.
"I'll see what I can find out. If you need me don't hesitate to find me at the shop." Chloe remarked as she left the general store. Now, left to his own devices, Takuma's mind began to process the events of the day. He couldn't help but feel as if he was missing some part of the puzzle but his instincts suggested Lilah would be a pivotal key in unraveling the mystery.
He was tempted to walk around town and talk people into allowing him to purify their relics but ultimately he decided against it. It might serve to alert anyone watching for such behavior. Takuma waited for a few hours more before awakening Dot. During this period he chose to spend his time reading up on various bits of lore from the Curse System. With the shop closed no one entered for the remainder of the day, thus when Dot awoke he pitched his idea to her.
He also decided to avoid telling her about his suspicions against Lilah altogether. Instead he simply said that he wanted to contribute to her bed rest and continue purifying any cursed items he came across.
"That's a great idea. I'd really appreciate it as well. Truthfully, I feel like.. shit." Dot said, still bedridden from the intensity of having her curse removed. With his plans set in motion all Takuma had to do was wait.
*Tomorrow. If things go as usual, Lilah should make a delivery soon.* Takuma thought inwardly as a sense of nervous anticipation washed over him. Soon, soon he would have an answer to the mystery of Arnia's mass curse outbreak.