“Wait, this isn’t right! Why can’t I summon a dragon? Why is there not a single spell in this magic book… Argh!”
The black Ye Chui’s shouts were cut off as Green’s brick slammed into him.
Controlled by the curse mage Baka, any damage the black Ye Chui took was fully transmitted to Baka, who felt the pain of a brick to the forehead.
The black Ye Chui scrambled up, frantically flipping through the white-covered, useless magic book. “My curse can’t fail. It copies all powers perfectly. There’s no way it didn’t work… Argh!”
Green’s brick sent him crashing down again.
Ye Chui, Debbie, Cass, Reisa, and Windsor stood watching. When they learned they faced a cursed duplicate with all of Ye Chui’s powers, everyone (except Ye Chui) was extremely tense, expecting a tough fight, given Ye Chui was their strongest member. But now…
Even Debbie and the others were bewildered, not just Baka.
Seeing his companions’ confused looks, Ye Chui chuckled. “My magic book’s having issues. I’m just an ordinary person right now. He must have the worst luck to curse me.”
In truth, Ye Chui was puzzled too. His iPad magic book didn’t seem entirely magical. Even if it weren’t upgrading, Baka’s curse likely couldn’t copy something as cheat-level as the iPad.
“Jiji, Jiji! You’re amazing!” The adult Valkyrie Jiji, unsure if she grasped the situation, cheered excitedly as Green battered the black Ye Chui with his brick.
Green turned to Jiji’s stunning face, his heart surging with excitement. Like a boy eager to impress his crush, he swung the brick with extra flair, the rhythmic thuds almost musical.
The black Ye Chui had copied Ye Chui’s powers, and as a cursed entity, its magic and physique were stronger than Ye Chui’s. This was why Baka thought cursing Ye Chui would let him wipe out the group. But now, the black Ye Chui’s only trait was being more durable.
Green, sweating from effort, wiped his brow and looked to Jiji, hoping for praise. Instead, he saw the child version of Jiji, her tiny wings flapping as she waved her small hands. “Jiji, Jiji, so awesome!”
Such an innocent, adorable kid!
Green’s enthusiasm cooled by half. “…”
Suddenly, the black Ye Chui lunged toward Windsor, who was closest.
As the lord’s daughter, Windsor was likely the weakest fighter in the group and the one the Fourth Prince hated most. Even if Baka couldn’t defeat them all, killing Windsor would earn him ten thousand gold coins.
Not a bad deal!
But…
Seeing the black Ye Chui charge, Windsor panicked briefly before drawing a dagger from her waist.
Basic Attack Sword Skill [Sword Dance Lotus]
Swish, swish, swish—
Sword lights wove a wall of sword energy in front of her. With pained cries, the black Ye Chui’s body was slashed, and he stumbled back, crashing to the ground.
Windsor held her attack stance, looking nervous but smiling as she repelled the black Ye Chui. “I’m at least a low-level swordswoman…”
Ye Chui muttered, “So without cheats, I’m weaker than even the lowest swordswoman…”
The black Ye Chui felt utter despair. This was a massive loss!
Miles away, Baka, whether from injury or rage, spat blood. His gaunt, small frame swayed as he stood.
Knowing he’d failed, he prepared to flee.
The swordsman guarding him supported him. “What’s wrong? You look awful…”
“I failed. I miscalculated. We need to leave now!” Baka said urgently.
Then he sensed something and looked up.
A golden light descended like lightning.
The swordsman guarding him was skilled and drew his sword to meet the threat, but before he could act, the golden sword energy overwhelmed him, knocking him unconscious.
Golden Swordswoman Jirga appeared!
She pressed her sword to Baka’s neck. “Got you, curse mage.”
Jiji had reverted to her child form because Debbie summoned Jirga—unable to maintain both Jirga and adult Jiji simultaneously. Debbie had sent Jirga to track the curse mage within a few miles, still within her summoning range.
When Jirga brought Baka before Ye Chui’s group, the black Ye Chui had dissolved into a pool of blood and vanished.
Baka was thrown before them, fearfully scanning the group, his gaze landing on Ye Chui with disbelief. “Why… why didn’t my curse work on you?”
Having seen Ye Chui’s strength, he couldn’t fathom why his cursed duplicate was just an ordinary person.
“Guess,” Ye Chui said with a grin.
“I’ve never seen this before. Even those far stronger than me, beyond senior mages, I could curse…” Baka said, his expression shaken by shock.
“You controlled that bird, so you heard our talk with Guni, right?” Ye Chui changed the subject, looking at Jirga. “Just him?”
“There was a swordsman, but I killed him,” Jirga replied.
“Only two came after us?” Ye Chui frowned, worried. “You have other companions, don’t you? They went after Guni, right?”
“Hmph!” Baka didn’t answer, but his reaction confirmed Ye Chui’s guess.
“Guni’s strong, but she’s never dealt with outsiders and doesn’t know how cunning people can be. We need to help her,” Reisa said. In a one-on-one fight, Guni’s strength could overpower most swordsmen or mages, but she’d be vulnerable to tricks.
“What do we do with him?” Cass asked, raising his greatsword.
“Don’t kill him,” Debbie said quickly, seizing a rare chance to show off her knowledge. “Curse mages have a passive curse. Killing them triggers a grudge curse, the worst kind…”
As she spoke, her face paled. “What the—!”
Baka, slumped on the ground, had drawn a small dagger and was driving it into his heart. Blood spilled from his mouth, but his face bore a twisted grin.
“I knew my life would end badly. In your hands, even if you don’t kill me, you’ll make me wish I was dead… So I’ll end it myself!”
“What are you doing?” Debbie asked, shocked.
“Don’t forget, Ye Chui killed me, so the curse still holds… This time, I trade my entire soul to curse Ye Chui to a fate worse than death, to fall into hell!” Baka’s bloodthirsty eyes locked onto Ye Chui.
Baka’s curse magic relied on “grudge.” He had split part of his soul into the bird, which Ye Chui killed, turning that soul’s death into a curse. The grudge from Ye Chui “killing part of Baka’s soul” lingered, allowing Baka to use his entire soul to curse Ye Chui again.
This wasn’t [Soul Sacrifice] but [Self Blood Sacrifice]!
A terrifying curse meant to take the target down with him!
“Hahaha, fall into hell with me! Taking your leader at the end means I don’t lose!” Baka’s maniacal laughter rang out.
Then Ye Chui felt the laughter vanish from his ears, burrowing into his mind. His consciousness blurred, as if drowning, and his body collapsed.
He heard Debbie and the others’ concerned voices.
“Ye Chui, what’s wrong…”
“Little brother…”
“President…”
“Are you okay…”
“An evil spirit is clinging to him…”
“Reisa, purify the spirit…”
The voices were faint, as if muffled through a thick barrier.
“Hahaha—” Baka’s laughter echoed in Ye Chui’s mind.
The sensation was unbearable—his head throbbed, and he retched.
An evil spirit possessed him!
He felt his life force draining, sinking into darkness.
This lasted for an unknown time—hours or mere seconds. Then, in his fading consciousness, a glimmer of light appeared…
iPad upgrade complete!
[Safety Guardian] passively activated!
Debbie, Cass, Reisa, and the others crowded around Ye Chui anxiously. Reisa chanted purification verses from the Bible, trying to exorcise the spirit, but it was too powerful, and her weakened faith hindered her. Seeing Ye Chui writhing in pain, veins bulging on his forehead, Reisa’s eyes filled with tears.
Then, a translucent armored guardian appeared above Ye Chui!
Holy power radiated, and the evil spirit entwining Ye Chui seemed to suffer greatly, shrieking as it tried to flee. The armored guardian seized it.
The spirit, resembling a twisted version of Baka, struggled in the guardian’s grasp, shrieking before dissolving into ash.
[Safety Guardian], originally a holy shield, had upgraded into a holy armored guardian!
Ye Chui’s pained expression calmed, his clouded eyes clearing. He stood slowly, his iPad magic book appearing before him. Outsiders couldn’t see its form, but to Ye Chui, it had changed slightly.
It was now iPad2!
“You’re okay?” Debbie asked, stunned, wiping away tears.
“Yeah, seems I’m fine…” Ye Chui checked himself. The armored guardian faded. He grinned at his companions. “Feels pretty good.”
The others: “…”
Moments ago, they feared Ye Chui would die, possessed by the spirit. Now he was fine, as if nothing happened. The emotional shift was jarring, leaving them frozen.
Ye Chui quickly checked his magic book’s changes.
A notification appeared on the main screen.
iPad2 upgrade complete. This upgrade includes:
– App store can unlock new magic attributes and intermediate spells. (Attributes require [Insight] to unlock).
– Added game library, can unlock games.
– [Safety Guardian] ability enhanced.
– [WeChat] function enhanced, added [QR Code Face Scan] feature.
– [Camera] function enhanced, can detect individual point levels, record videos, and gain [Capture] function.
– Increased iPad [Storage Space].
– Increased [Magic Storage] capacity.
After browsing the new features, Ye Chui noticed two system notifications.
Notification: Gained curse magic [Insight], unlocked fusion magic: Curse Magic Attribute (Dark + Mental), added [Soul Sacrifice] and [Self Blood Sacrifice] spells (unlockable in app store with points).
Notification: Curse magic unlocked, [WeChat] curse emoji pack unlockable!
“[Insight]? So I need [Insight] to unlock intermediate spells. I was attacked by Baka’s curse magic, so I gained curse magic [Insight] and unlocked it…”
Ye Chui explored his iPad2 magic book, opening [WeChat]. The simple interface now had an emoji icon in the input bar. Clicking it revealed basic, intermediate, and advanced curse emoji packs.
Emoji packs required points to unlock.
Ye Chui understood what this meant.
“I can curse people with WeChat emojis?”
