Chapter 188: Defeating The Curse

-----

[You have forced the {Mammon’s Curse of Greed} to take upon a manifestation to defend itself!]

[The {Mammon’s Curse of Greed} has temporarily transformed into the [Accursed Spider of Greedy Threads (A Rank)] Curse Beast!]

[The Curse Beast will defend itself from being taken away from its host at all costs, draining power from the host themselves.]

[Be careful; if you force the Curse Beast to use too much power, the host might end up worsening.]

Notifications announcing what was happening appeared in front of me, an effect of the System and my own Eyes of Truth, which allowed me to see and deduce all things through the use of some Mana.

Naturally, I knew what Curse Beasts were—annoying monsters that are born out of Curses. But not any Curses, only the curses conjured by powerful Demons, Demonic Humans, or the Archdemons. Usually quite secretive, but they infest most Demonic Humans later on, becoming like a “second phase” when you defeat one.

Very annoying critters.

“SHAAAH!”

The spider swiftly wielded its webs, pointing them at me. The Curse Beast was most likely trying to trap me on its Accursed Webs of Greed, which would drain away all my energy and weaken me severely.

Or is it?

“Don’t ever try it.”

The moment I said those words, a barrier of light appeared around my body. The threads were instantly vaporized the moment they touched the barrier of light. This was a mere manifestation of my own Element through Sunshine and my Physique. Boosted a lot by all my Mana and Ki at the same time, naturally.

The spider desperately attempted to break through the barrier, attacking with its giant claws, which descended towards me like deadly black scythes made of pure Demonic Energy. Each impact sent cracks down my barrier, but it quickly regenerated.

The spider, which had some sort of personality, was rather shocked to see that I was unscathed even after all that, its eight crimson eyes widening.

This critter was quite funny.

“Let’s end this quickly.”

But I had little time to play around with the small Curse Beast. I quickly imbued Sunshine into my hands and leaped into the air, lightning surging from my fingers. Sunlight and Thunder combined together as I touched the spider with them.

“{Holy Exorcising Light}”

A flash of bright holy light encompassed the entire spider’s body, lightning coursing through every inch of its body. The Curse Beast fought back, biting my hands, only to end up breaking its own jaws as it attempted to do so.

“I don’t look that way, but I’m actually pretty tough.”

I swung my fist down and pulverized the spider’s head with a single punch. The rest of its body exploded into black smoke, which slowly faded away into particles of light. The sunlight coming from the windows only made the scene even more overly majestic.

“And done…”

I reached the floor, sighing in relief. I glanced at the doctor and Leo, their jaws dropping almost to the floor. The chairman looked to be peacefully sleeping now. The curse essence was purified from the root, and the moment the spider died, my light spread into the rest of his body.

“His wound should be able to regenerate fully now, doctor. I’m leaving this in your hands now.” I said.

“A-Ah! Right! Of course, ahem! Leave this to me, and thank you so much, Anna! I had no idea you were so strong!” The Doctor was shaken.

“That was at least an A-Rank Monster, you defeated that with a single punch?!” Leo was shocked.

“That was… Yeah, I guess so. Curse Beasts are frailer than your conventional beast.” I tried to act a bit humbly. “Anyways, let me help you in the healing, even if a bit.”

I conjured the [Healing Light], [Restoration Essence], and [Revitalizing Cure] Spells together and combined their effects, which further boosted the special ability of the Doctor. He waved his hands, creating an elixir made of green light, which he poured into the chairman’s body.

With the combined effects, the very ugly wound finally closed, and not even a scar was left behind! His vitality came back, he didn’t look pale anymore, and above all, his Golden Aura, very famous for how powerful and oppressing it was, was back to normal.

“H-He’s finally back to a normal and stable form!” The doctor cried. “Anna, thank you! Thank you so much for saving this damn old man! He’s… he’s the last friend I have. You’ve done so much, not only for me but… For the whole city- no, maybe even the country.” The doctor muttered between tears, as he looked at the chairman like a brother, a family member he didn’t want to lose.

“I-It’s fine, I knew he was someone important. I wasn’t going to leave him to die if there was something I could do about it.” I smiled.

“Thank you, Anna... W-We really don’t know how to repay you for this.” Said Leo. “We’ll send you a check or something... I…”

“Hahaha, well, if you really insist, I don’t mind some extra cash.” I laughed. “I’ll be going now. You guys should let the chairman rest too; you’re annoying him too much. He needs a good sleep so he can recover properly.”

“A-Ahahah, you might be right.” The doctor laughed.

“Let’s go.” Leo nodded.

[The Demonic Throne {The Greed That Consumes Everything} is biting his own nails in pure anger!]

[He promises you that you will PAY for taking away this meal from his plate!]

[Other Constellations that hate {The Greed That Consumes Everything} are laughing their asses off]

[They have collectively sponsored you with 10.000 Plot Points.]

It looks like our Demonic friend over here is crying and screaming out of frustration. Good! Keep crying. I don’t care about empty threats. I’ve grown strong enough that I know I can handle whatever you throw at me. And it’s not like I’m alone, either. The other Constellations are watching over me.

[The Cosmic Throne {Golden Scales of Sunlight’s Brilliance} is deeply thankful for what you’ve done for his Incarnation!]

[He is literally shaking and crying right now, looking like a complete mess!]

[He apologizes for not having enough funds right now, but he has been spending everything on keeping his friend alive.]

Oh, is this the chairman’s Constellation?! Who is this guy? I don’t even remember such a title! But scales… some sort of dragon? Well, the chairman’s abilities are dragon themed.

[The Cosmic Throne {Golden Scales of Sunlight’s Brilliance} has decided to painfully pluck one of his scales for you and has managed to squeeze his tears into a useful elixir!]

[Oh, and he also offers a golden whisker.]

[You received [Huanglong’s Divine Golden Scale (??? Rank)] x1, [Huanglong’s Divine Golden Tears (??? Rank)] x1, and [Huanglong’s Divine Golden Whisker (??? Rank)] x1!]

Wait, what?! He’s Huanglong, a Chinese Dragon Deity! I thought they would choose a Chinese person, but… I guess not. I suppose nationality might or might not matter at all for Constellations. It makes sense; they come from other worlds, not our own at the end of the day.

But this guy is really dedicated; he just mutilated himself to pay for what I did for his Incarnation.

Well, I’ll gladly take the ingredients!

As we stepped out of the hospital room, I was greeted by my friends. They were on high alert, having noticed the presence of a monster that then vanished almost instantly right after. I explained to them what happened as we made our way out of the hospital; they were quite surprised, but not as much as I would have wanted. Were they growing used to my antics?

“I should have expected something like this would end up happening.” Laughed Baihe. “When it comes to you, Anna, these things are pretty much guaranteed to happen one way or another.”

"Nah, you’re exaggerating a bit too much there, Baihe.” I laughed back.

“Wow, so was the spider like the guys I can make?” Annabelle wondered curiously.

“A bit? It was like a Demonic Beast in some way; they’re called Curse Beasts. We have to be careful with these from now on.” I told them.

“Curse Beast… So the chairman had that parasite inside of him this WHOLE time? That’s wild, even more when you think he fought a lot that day… And he was still alive. That man’s made of steel.” Said Kevin, his admiration for the chairman was growing.

“Yep, anyways, want to go somewhere? Let’s go to the new mall that opened on the other side of the street. And eat out something tasty.” I said, guiding my friends.

“Didn’t you say we were going to a dungeon later? Which one? The low-level ones outside?” Kevin asked.

“No, a secret one; only I know where it will pop up. But there’s a few hours before it shows up, so let’s have some fun and relax. We need to get a good meal before going dungeon diving." I said.

“Alright, fine.” Kevin shrugged. “You’re the boss for today.”

We went window shopping for the most part. The new mall was built over an area that was once destroyed by a huge monster break a year ago. The entire building looked rather beautiful and modern, sleek even. We visited its interior, amazed by the high level of technology everywhere.

There were golems attending and serving people, leading children astray back to their mothers. Others offered us all free snacks; this looked more like a sci-fi world than an urban fantasy world now!

We decided to purchase some things in the hunting equipment shops we found. Mostly things for my friends. Kevin got himself two bracelets that boost strength and Grip Strength when using weapons, along with some health recovery rings.

Baihe got herself some new boots we saw, which allowed her to move over the ice without sliding accidentally, a problem she always has and has been trying to curb for a while. I remember her future villainous version simply using heels made out of her own ice, but Baihe has a different style.

Despite her villainous future self being like a femme fatale, our Baihe was a tomboyish girl who didn’t really like feminine clothes at all. She likes hard blue jeans, black boots, and wearing shirts and jackets. I dig her style; I kind of enjoy some feminine clothes myself, but I also like the flexibility of the simpler things.

Anyway, aside from those boots she got, I bought her a pair of earrings as a gift for all the times she has helped me and my family in these battles. They were called Crescent Frozen Moon Earrings, made using the magic crystals of Crescent Frozen Moon Bats hunted in a faraway dungeon.

Once equipped, it reduces her Mana Consumption when using Ice Magic, a big plus, and also boosts her control over her own Icy Powers, allowing her to not get loose so easily and contain them within her.

And as for Annabelle, she was the one with the least savings out of us, so we decided to collectively buy her something between all three of us. We got her a pair of silver earrings she was eyeing, in the shape of eyes. She said they reminded her of her brother’s silver eyes.

That naturally melted our hearts, so we got it for her; it wasn’t… very cheap, mostly because of how good they were. These earrings boost a bit of everything. All stats, some mana regeneration, some mana manipulation, and also health regeneration.

They came with the additional ability known as “Silver Eyes,” which allowed her to see things five times farther than normal when activated.

We ended the midday by going to eat at a fancy restaurant on the third floor of the mall, an Italian restaurant with an overly expensive yet delicious pepperoni pizza.

Baihe enjoyed herself some noodles with bologna sauce, Kevin got a pizza with tons of meat inside, and Annabelle got herself a gigantic ice cream with like six flavors and tons of little cookies on top.

Was that ice cream even an Italian recipe? She just looked at it and asked for it without any other questions.

Hmm, maybe I am spoiling her too much? I kind of like spoiling these brats; they have gone through so much sh*t, it’s the least I could do for them.

While we were munching on our food and talking about whatever, I decided to move on to an important matter. I gave some mental commands to the System, and it quickly responded.

[Do you wish to upgrade the Privilege of [Character: Dan Baihe] for 20.000 Plot Points?]

[New Unlockable Abilities: [Frost Queen’s Grip (A)] [Domain of Cold (S)] [Ice Essence Breathing Technique (A)], […]

[New Unlockable Privileges: [???]

[Do you wish to upgrade the Privilege of [Character: Annabelle] for 20.000 Plot Points?]

[New Unlockable Abilities: [Spider Princess’ Eight Cursed Eyes (S)] [Ravenous Venom (A)] [Dark Shadow Spider Thread (A)], […]

[New Unlockable Privileges: [???]

Huh, so a total of 40k for the two! Aren’t they quite the expensive girls to upgrade? Kevin’s already sponsored by Odin, though I am planning on stealing him from Odin eventually. But for now, he’s growing really well, so he doesn’t need my assistance.

As for the others, I guess the others would be Sara, but she’s not here. She’s been busy with her guild; she’s a Guild Master after all. Aside from Sara, there’s also the two demons I meet, Inferna and Isaac, both of whom I cannot meet right now; they’re literally in another world.

So the best is to upgrade these two girls, which is pretty much the same as upgrading and investing in a party member in an RPG or something. The price hurts a tiny bit, but I have 280k Plot Points anyway. I can spare a few!

“Upgrade.”

FLASH!

Suddenly, a flash of bright light encompassed both Baihe and Annabelle. Both girls were shocked to see their latent power develop and evolve after they had been working so hard to improve and train.

This upgrade window didn’t appear before until they trained a lot, so it requires them to work hard to get them.

[You have exchanged 40.000 Plot Points.]

[You have successfully upgraded your Privileges with Dan Baihe and Annabelle from D Rank to B Rank!]

[Both of your Sponsored Incarnations have gained new Skills and Privileges.]

[Their Stats have also increased considerably, based on all the training and effort they have been putting in so far.]

[Their Talent and Stats can now be further developed through their hard work. Although the absorption of compatible Monster Cores is still a requirement.]

“T-The hell?! I feel so strong out of nowhere!” Baihe cried.

“Woooah, my head feels a bit dizzy out of nowhere…” Annabelle groaned.

“Anna, what did you do now?” Kevin looked immediately into my eyes.

“Hahaha, relax; they’re fine.” I laughed. “Are you girls okay?”

“Yeah, just a bit surprised. Is this your Privilege thingy?” Asked Baihe. “I had no idea it could grow stronger.”

“Me neither! Thank you, Anna!” Annabelle got really happy. “You’re a much better sponsor than the mean spider!”

“Mean spider?” Kevin was quite confused.

-----