Chapter 27 - Time to speak honestly

”What?!”

The sudden notification caught Adam off guard—so much so that he didn’t even register what was happening around him. Even the sharp pain he’d felt became secondary. There wasn’t any visible effect aside from the system’s message indicating that his curse had acted on its own, leaving him uncertain about what exactly had transpired.

⌠Warning: Cursed Energy stat has been created⌡ ⌠Notice: Cursed Energy has been increased by ■■■ ■■■⌡ ⌠Cursed Energy has been translated into numeric units⌡ ⌠Notice: Cursed Energy has been increased by 5⌡ ⌠Warning: Cursed Energy is beginning to corrupt the body and soul⌡ ⌠…⌡ ⌠The user’s body and soul have successfully integrated Cursed Energy⌡

More screens quickly appeared in front of the boy, overwhelming him with the sudden flood of information and preventing him from noticing that Gideon was already right next to him.

“Gotcha!”

The man shouted as he finally managed to grab Adam by the neck with his left hand, using his right arm to lock him into a firm hold. The sudden pressure jolted Adam out of his thoughts, forcing him to focus on the immediate danger.

“This is it, runt, surrender now”

The soldier warned, though his satisfied grin made it clear he had no intention of letting go. In truth, even if Adam wanted to surrender, he had no means of doing so; the firm grip on his neck made it impossible to breathe or speak. He also wasn’t aware that in a sparring match, "tapping out" was a common way to signal defeat.

The seconds ticked by, and Adam was on the verge of exhaustion. Even though his stats hadn’t fully returned to normal, with only his speed and reflexes enhanced, his strength was no match for a soldier trained for combat. Adam's expression became increasingly alarming, enough that even Drake lost his cool and took a few steps forward, ready to intervene. However, before he could say anything or get any closer, something incredibly strange happened.

[Skill: Ghost Phasing Lv1] [Grants the user the ability to give a part of their body the status "Intangible", one part at a time. Continuous use consumes more cursed energy]

In an utterly unbelievable turn of events, Adam’s neck seemed to lose its solidity between Gideon’s fingers, as if, all of a sudden, he was gripping nothing but vapor. The boy’s head slipped free, leaving Gideon grasping at thin air.

*Cough cough*

Gasping for air, Adam coughed violently as he struggled to catch his breath, to the extreme shock of everyone who witnessed what had just happened. But that wasn’t the end of it—another system window appeared before his eyes just moments later.

⌠Warning: Cursed Energy has been depleted⌡ ⌠Notice: The user’s body and soul are not capable of producing Cursed Energy⌡ ⌠Hint: Cursed Energy stat will not recharge itself⌡

“...?!”

Still gasping for air, Adam tried to read the floating system windows as quickly as possible. Just as he made out the final word, he suddenly felt his body being violently shaken from side to side. It was Gideon, despite Adam slipping free from his chokehold, who still had a strong grip on his torso.

“Neat trick, but this is it!”

The soldier roared as he locked his arms around Adam in a crushing embrace, using his strength to hurl them both backward with explosive force. In a fluid motion, he bent his body into an arc and executed a brutal suplex, slamming the back of Adam's head directly into the ground.

The impact was loud, echoing across the field with so much power that Kazue flinched at the sight. Meanwhile, Drake resumed his sprint toward the two combatants, realizing the situation had taken a harsh turn. The outcome seemed definitive—Gideon finally released his opponent, leaving Adam sprawled on the ground. The soldier stood tall, basking in the cheers and applause of his comrades as he celebrated his apparent victory.

On the other hand, as Drake reached Adam's position, the blonde boy found him wearing a pained expression, so severe that he could neither speak nor move. It was almost a miracle that he was still conscious at all.

[Your speed has returned to normal] [Your agility has returned to normal] [Your reflexes have returned to normal]

"That must have hurt. Are you okay? … Well, I don’t even know what I’m saying—you’re obviously not okay. Let me help you."

It took some effort, but after a few seconds, Adam managed to get back on his feet, though his head was still spinning, and he was struggling to hold back a strong urge to vomit.

"See? You weren’t all that impressive, but I’m surprised you were still able to move so quickly even with the debuffs. You weren’t thaaaat bad either."

Gideon said with a wide smile as he approached. He seemed to be one of those people who only enjoyed themselves when they won, and this had been a particularly satisfying victory for him. As he waited for Adam to fully stand up, he gave him two firm pats on the back in recognition, jolting the boy so much that he nearly lost his remaining balance if not for Drake catching him.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Well, that was fun, but break time's over. Everyone back to your routines! I want to see each of you do ten more reps!"

At the lieutenant's orders and the groans of the soldiers who had been watching, everyone present dispersed, including the three burly men who took the lion shield back with them, leaving just the three companions by themselves.

“So… What was that?”

Kazue asked suddenly, having taken the opportunity to approach slowly and discreetly.

"Again with that strange fog. To be honest, it looked a lot like what happened with Kathlene and the ghostly arms that came out of you the other day."

“Is everything okay?”

They asked one after the other, making Adam feel a bit guilty. After all, it was something he should have explained to them the moment he woke up in the infirmary. Because of this, he gestured for them to help him over to a nearby bench, as he was still feeling dizzy, and the pain in his neck and back was flaring up every so often.

Once they moved away from the training field and sat together on one of the nearby bleachers, Adam took a few more seconds to steady himself before starting to fill them in on everything he had left unsaid until that moment. He began by mentioning the inverse effect in his innate abilities—something Kazue was already aware of but Drake wasn’t yet—and confirming what he had just discovered about the soldiers' "skills." It turned out they were actually curses, not the abilities they believed them to be.

"That sounds bad, but I don’t quite understand what the real issue is"

Drake said calmly, to which Kazue just looked at him with a raised eyebrow as if she couldn’t believe he’d said something so obvious.

"The problem is that there’s clearly a sinister force at work behind all of this—it’s a classic trope in stories like these. The third force in the shadows mentioned in the synopsis is likely this so-called ‘Golden Pavilion’. In fact, I’d go as far as to say they have agents in key positions within the Armada, controlling it from the inside for evil purposes like world domination. Yes, that seems like the most likely scenario."

The girl responded, confidently and proudly, as if she had connected all the dots and found a painfully obvious solution. Without saying anything, Adam and Drake exchanged glances, unsure how to respond. While what she said made some sense, jumping to conclusions like that without any real evidence was a bit much, even in a fantasy world.

"Right… Let’s keep that as an option for now. Also, there’s something else I wanted to mention—something I’ll need to tell the others too when I see them, just to avoid any potential issues."

With that, Adam began to explain what had happened during his "fight" against Commodore Kathlene, particularly the moment when she activated a new hex that triggered a reaction from his own Lv10 curse. According to the system notifications, it started acting independently, but the concerning part was when specters from the first scenario began emerging from his arm.

Seeing the worried expressions on his companions' faces, Adam didn’t stop there. He went on to explain what happened when he interacted with the lion shield and all the notifications that followed—from his curse absorbing the "soul" residing within the golden emblem to him unconsciously using one of his innate abilities to phase through his opponent.

"So I was right! Well, kind of. It seems you do need souls to boost your cursed energy. Wow, that’s pretty hardcore."

“I really hope that’s not the case”

Despite everything, Kazue seemed notably excited about what they had shared, something Adam didn’t share and found a bit perplexing. However, it was the blonde who clarified something they had been overlooking.

"But if your curse activated when you touched the shield this time, why didn’t it do so the first time you interacted with it in the factory? I saw you climbing on the soldiers—you definitely touched the emblem then too."

That was a very good observation, which left Adam deep in thought for a moment until he finally came up with a small hypothesis.

"The only thing I can think of is that my 'Mark of the Damned' is now in a more active state after its forced activation the day before. This makes everything that happens next more unpredictable and dangerous... Damn it, there are too many uncertainties and almost no answers."

At this point, he regretted not starting with the book he had bought about his curse. Wanting to begin in an orderly fashion, this was one of the things he hadn’t had time to review yet. He certainly realized that his priorities weren’t aligned with what he actually needed.

"Hey, don’t worry. We’ll figure it out somehow. In the meantime, just stay away from shields or anything that might have a soul you could absorb haha."

Drake’s words were reassuring, which was quite strange because, despite everything that had happened, Adam still considered them little more than acquaintances. The fact that they were showing concern, whether genuine or not, felt a bit odd. However, he wasn’t going to argue or complain. He understood that he wasn’t gaining anything by dwelling on a problem for which he lacked sufficient information, so he decided to take a deep breath and try to calm down.

Curiously, the conversation after that became much more pleasant. Kazue and the blonde recounted what they had seen and done during the day Adam was unconscious, especially emphasizing the moment when Kazue followed Commodore Kathlene everywhere, demanding to be "taught" how to do what she had during their fight. This had infuriated the woman to the point where she agreed to explain a few things just to get Kazue off her back.

Even amidst his companions' laughter, Adam couldn’t help but think about how unusual the situation was. How had they gone from being suspects and near prisoners to having such familiarity with the Armada soldiers? He wondered what Li had done or said to make them treat him this way, though he knew that if he asked directly, he would likely get an evasive or angry response.

They spent their time chatting and joking around until Adam finally felt recovered enough to stand up and walk on his own without stumbling. There was no time to explore or conduct any further investigation, as they needed to head to a certain hangar to meet with a special envoy who would guide them out of the base. Even when he asked about it, neither the blonde nor Kazue knew more than what had already been told, so it would be a surprise for everyone.

Upon arriving at the designated location, which was a desertic landing hangar at one end of the base, they saw that Li, Sebastian, and Nikolai were already there, waiting calmly. The old man greeted them warmly, while the mechanical bird perched on his right shoulder chirped energetically. The other two men, however, remained quiet and unresponsive.

It seemed that everyone had spent their time in different ways, but there was no time for catching up. Suddenly, a voice made itself heard, young but firm, surprising those present.

“Thank you for being here on time. We certainly can’t afford to waste another minute with everything that’s happening right now. Please gather in front of me; our transport will arrive shortly.”

Everyone turned to see the owner of the voice, revealing a man with pale skin, average height, and youthful features that wouldn’t exceed his thirties. His straight brown hair was styled back, and he wore a uniform that appeared to be the kind used by high-ranking military officials for parades—more for show than practicality.

His tone was calm and even friendly, making it easy for the group to follow his instructions without much trouble, gathering in front of him. Immediately afterward, a loud noise echoed through the empty room, startling everyone. The hangar's roof began to slowly open above them, revealing the clear sky and a small zeppelin descending gently through the clouds.

Still surprised, the group watched as the flying vehicle descended until it was only a few meters above the ground, stirring up a bit of air around them despite the absence of visible turbines—or at least, none that could be seen at a glance.

“Please follow me. This will take us to our destination in just two hours. Watch where you step.”

The man said as the zeppelin extended a large ladder from one of its side doors to where the group was standing. The structure appeared solid, and they had to cross it to board the zeppelin, with Sebastian receiving assistance from Drake and Adam.

The interior was unusual; Adam had expected something more rustic or classic for a means of transport, but he was taken aback by the high level of refinement around. Everything was elegantly upholstered, with furniture, tables, and chairs fit for a noble’s quarters from days gone by.

“Wowza! Such elegance! Who are you?”

Without holding back, Kazue asked the question that was on everyone’s mind, perhaps too bluntly, to the point where it might have annoyed someone of the young man’s apparent status. However, the tense atmosphere dissipated quickly as he began to laugh lightly and genuinely.

"Oh, I’m so sorry, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Thaddeus Volta, current president of 'Stratos Technology', and as you may know, the son of the famous inventor Isaac Volta, whom we are on our way to visit right now."