The wave of cursed energy unleashed by the spell "Dark Wave" was more than just a spooky show. It carried two nasty side effects: Fear and Weakness Curse.
Together, they formed a status debuff so powerful it practically glued the target to the ground. That's exactly why the petrifying lizard was standing there like a poorly carved statue.
"No curse resistance, huh?"
Lyle eyed the grotesque creature just half a meter away—still dripping with a foul-smelling ooze. He reached into thin air and clenched his fist.
A plain iron sword materialized in his hand.
"Quick Slash!"
A chill glint ran down the blade as a layer of black curse energy coiled around it. With one swift motion, Lyle swung at the lizard's protruding skull.
In an instant—BOOM!
The curse energy lingering on the lizard's body collided with the sword's own cursed enchantment. The resulting clash burst into an eerie black mist that erupted right where the blade struck.
The secondary effect of "Dark Wave" kicked in—status effect purged, and the enemy took double damage.
SPLURT!
The upper half of the petrifying lizard's head split open like a melon.
Even Lyle flinched. "Whoa... Did I overdo it?" He quickly leaned in to check—he didn't want to kill the creature outright. He had plans to squeeze some useful info from it.
CRACK!
Instead of blood or gore, what came from the split head was the sound of something breaking inside.
Then...
GURRGLE–THWUMP!
The oversized lizard's body collapsed in on itself like a popped balloon and rapidly shrank. Within moments, it reverted into its original form—a humanoid creature—and plopped to the ground.
CRACK!
Lyle's sword broke too, shattering in his grip after just one cursed-enhanced swing.
"Figures. Curse damage on cheap steel... yep."
"Ugh... it hurts...!"
The humanoid creature rolled on the ground in agony. Its bark-like brown skin was riddled with pulsating black spots—moving on their own like bugs under the surface.
"What the hell is this...?" Lyle narrowed his eyes.
Those spots weren't decorative tattoos or natural markings—they were signs of a corruption curse. Just like what Leinas had suffered. Though not as severe, this guy had it worse in terms of coverage—his entire body was blotched with decay.
"Enemy! Enemy!!"
The creature screeched in a gravelly voice, its bloodshot green eyes gleaming with hate through matted fur.
"Awawawaaaaaa!!"
It howled in some bizarre, untranslatable dialect that no amount of magical translation could decipher—like angry alien gibberish with extra spice.
Just then—
Detected 2nd-Tier Spell: [Call of the Pact]
Type: Divine Magic. Requirement: Level 8–14 Faith Caster.
Current conditions met. Learn for 1 Skill Point?
----
Before Lyle could answer—
Rustle!
From every corner of the forest, crawling and clicking noises erupted. Through branches and bushes emerged dozens of creepy crawlers—monsters that looked like someone mashed up a tarantula and a lobster.
"Boiling Blood!"
The cursed humanoid cast another spell—not on himself this time, but on the swarm.
"Hisssss!"
"Hiss!"
With screeching cries, the insectoid freaks turned crimson. Even the tiniest ones started moving twice as fast.
Lyle glanced around, unimpressed.
"Trying to outnumber me? Cute."
From inside his sleeve, he yanked open scroll after scroll, flooding the area with radiant white light.
Ten angelic figures emerged in synchronized bursts—the flame archangels!
He'd just burned through half of his stockpile—thirty-something scrolls down to fifteen.
"Wipe them out!"
At Lyle's command, the flame archangels charged like holy nukes with wings, tearing through the bug swarm with blades of divine fire.
[Experience Gained: +17]
[Experience Gained: +3]
[Experience Gained: +56]
…
[Experience Gained: +12]
Lyle's XP notifications kept rolling across his interface like casino slots.
Using the shoulder of a Principality Observation for lift, Lyle launched into the air. As he reached the apex of his jump, another iron sword appeared in his hand.
"Mana Slash!"
Blue energy pulsed along the blade and fired a translucent arc through the air.
CRACK!
There went another sword.
Did he care? Not one bit.
He landed smoothly and summoned another replacement sword from his stash of cheap spares.
BOOM!
The mana slash ripped through branches and trunks, leaving clean, surgically sliced cuts in its path.
Unfortunately, the little humanoid creep zipped out of the way with freakish agility.
"That speed... racial trait?"
Lyle frowned. He'd already noticed how nimble the guy was—he had been effortlessly dodging two flame archangels earlier like a squirrel on espresso.
"Stealth."
Activating a Rogue skill, Lyle blurred and disappeared into the forest shadows.
The creature looked around frantically, heart clearly pounding.
From the dark, Lyle emerged right next to it.
"Enemy!!"
The creature shrieked, trying to leap away.
"Quad Slash!"
Lyle's sword became a flurry of four slashes in rapid succession.
At this range, not even this squirmy rodent could dodge everything. But just as three strikes were about to land—
"Shrink Spell!"
The creature shrieked. Its already small body—barely 60cm tall—suddenly halved to 30cm.
All four slashes missed.
Lyle twitched an eye. "Are you serious?"
This was officially the most annoying enemy he'd faced so far.
"Instant Reflex!"
Blue light wrapped around him, resetting his stance instantly.
"Quad Slash—again!"
Another barrage of four slashes lit up the air like an anime combo finisher.
But the now-tiny creature moved twice as fast as before—easily evading everything and darting away.
In the span of a single breath, it had cleared a full two meters.
"Plant Bind!"
WHOOSH!
Vines and weeds burst from the forest floor, wrapping toward Lyle like snakes with a grudge.
But—
Buzz!
The bone bracelet on Lyle's arm—imbued with Forest Traversal magic—glowed faintly.
The vines stopped. They writhed just short of touching him, as if held back by an invisible wall.
"Curse! Curse! Enemy!! Enemy!!"
The creature kept screaming and trying to direct the plants, but nothing could breach the bracelet's ward.
Lyle straightened and stared across the leafy battlefield, expression serious.
"Not only did it shrink—it got faster too."
At that speed, Lyle knew he couldn't keep up. Thankfully, the thing was a spellcaster, not a melee fighter.
If it had been a warrior? Lyle would already be toast.
A thought flickered, and his status panel blinked open.
-----
Spell Discovered: [Shrink Spell]
[Class Requirement: Basic Caster – Wizard]
[Current Class: Does Not Meet Requirement]
…
[Genius Trait Activated: Class Requirement Overridden]
[Learn for 1 Skill Point?]
-----
"Learn."
[Skill Points: 36 → 35]
[Skill Acquired: Shrink Spell]
[Usage: 2 times per day]
[Effect: Halves size of self or ally. Doubles Agility (up to +100 points).]