Chapter 93 - 93 78 Curse

93: Chapter 78: Curse 93: Chapter 78: Curse The Fighter in front of him was still dressed in white as before, looking calm and ethereal. However, the faint red bands around his waist and right arm were leftover traces from their last encounter, and the fatigue on his face could not be concealed. Around his waist, there was a pair of stone-made gloves… or rather, petrified taboo weapons. His entire left side was covered in a layer of gray skin, seemingly a product of some sort of curse. “Huh? Not in good shape?” “…Yes, I just ran into Keke. She’s… a bit troublesome, very troublesome…” Keke, one of the remaining third-tier professionals, seemed to have a second-tier profession as a “Sculptor.” Lu Ping’an understood now. Lu Ping’an sighed, he was somewhat disappointed that Wang Hai was not in good condition. “… Although my situation is terrible, there’s no problem sending a first-tier scoundrel who attacks from the shadows out the door.” Well, it seemed that Wang Hai still held a grudge. In fact, if it wasn’t for the injury on his right side that slowed him down at the crucial moment, he might not have almost been turned into a living sculpture by Keke. After all, due to his profession’s constraints, his chances of winning were originally high, maybe even without getting injured. Hearing this, Lu Ping’an smiled… then quickly retreated without hesitation, scattering a large wave of seeds. The next moment, the room turned into a jungle, a dark forest filled with dangerous second-tier Magic Plants. For the first time, Lu Ping’an made no effort to conceal his “Plant Acceleration” ability, causing gasps of surprise from the audience outside. But what surprised them even more was the unusual development on the battlefield. Lu Ping’an’s Twisted Poison Whiskers had just been born when their poisonous tentacles attacked the humans in the room. Yes, it was everyone, not just Wang Hai. “Little An.” In a low voice, Lu Ping’an called out to his Magic Plant. The snake-like tentacles appeared abruptly and blocked the slender poisonous tentacles reaching towards him. These second-generation Twisted Poison Whiskers were Little An’s offspring, born from its seeds. They instantly recognized their parent… and then became even more violent. If they were merely restless before, the moment Little An appeared, they became like a typhoon hitting the shore. Magic Plants didn’t adhere to the sentiment of filial piety. On the contrary, due to living space equating to survival rights, most of the younger plants’ biggest and most dangerous competitors were their own parents. In regular nature, plants that were further away from their parents actually had a higher survival rate. “Boom!” The newly born dark forest went berserk, with countless tentacles whipping wildly at everything around them. Sensing the presence of their “mother,” they descended into a violent frenzy. However, this kind of attack held little meaning for Lu Ping’an and Little An, who had “activated” them. Little An’s large and sturdy tentacles were more than capable of easily resisting the offspring’s rebellion, and their most dangerous poison was also meaningless to it… but it might not be the case for Wang Hai, the other survivor in the dark forest. This time, Wang Hai still moved quickly through the forest, like a nimble dancer, as if there was no worry about his injuries. But merely because he did not approach Lu Ping’an, the Seeder who had caused all this laughed. “These Life-points are worth it. Our guess is correct, he’s on the ‘Awakener’ Path and is not good at dealing with irregular attacks! He’s… fragile, he’s been avoiding injuries all along, I know his Self-cursing now!” In the first battle, Lu Ping’an went all out, using several trump cards, but in the end, it appeared that he still lost, with Wang Hai revealing nothing. But in fact, during their brief exchange, with the help of Big Cat, Lu Ping’an had completed gathering and analyzing information. He truly wanted to win, prepared to win, instead of merely “trying his luck” as most Professors believed. “Having a third-tier opponent, I am obviously at a disadvantage, so I must gain intel and strategic advantages.” To defeat a third-tier, you must first know what a third-tier is. “Chris, what exactly is the difference between third-tier and first or second-tier? Why can’t 95% of people become third-tier in their lifetime?” Clearly, the third-tier is the real threshold between ordinary and supernatural humans. Ordinary people, without access to further sources, couldn’t obtain deeper levels of taboo knowledge. But to Big Cat, that was just some low-level “common sense.” In the eyes of true experts, the first three tiers were actually the same thing, collectively called the “Copper-Iron Curse.” At this stage, professionals used “curse-power.” In reality, these were two distinct types – “Black-Iron Spells” and “Brass Curses.” “The difference, there isn’t much… alright, let me think. I remember I used some teaching materials for kids before. Yes, the difference between spells and curses lies in the subjectivity and objectivity of the user…” Spells were the use of specific rituals and procedures to achieve certain actions and obtain supernatural effects. They were often fixed “templates” – do A and get B result – an objective existence, unlike curses… “Curses are a manifestation of malice based on spells… Like the boy who yelled ‘burn’ at you before, that wasn’t a spell, but a curse putting you into a ‘burning’ state. He turned his own malice towards you into reality with ‘curse words.’ In Chris’s explanation, curses weren’t necessarily stronger than spells, but they were more subjective, personal, and free. It was like a test-taker answering questions – spells were multiple-choice questions, while curses were subjective questions, or essay questions. Doing well on subjective questions may not necessarily yield higher scores, but it definitely tests the limit and individual abilities of students. Brass curses often stem from the transformation of black iron spells and the input of consciousness from the cursers, and it’s also a process of higher-level “laws”. “So, does the ability to obtain a Brass Curse lead to a 3-tier pre-requisite?” “No, it starts at 2-tier. That 2-tier chess player has a curse, right? Advancement to the third-tier is quite difficult, and there are many prerequisites, but one of them is definitely the completion of one’s own curse.” One’s own curse? If it were one day ago, Lu Ping’an would have been a bit confused. But having acquired the “Body of Ten Thousand Spirits,” he also knows the reality of “those who toy with life shall be cursed by life” and understands that in order to obtain great power, one must often bear the corresponding curse, or more precisely… “That curse is the essence of power.” Isn’t Lu Ping’an’s Life Bank just like that? With this understanding, Lu Ping’an finally understood what the third-tier “self-cursing” is. It is the “gain” that supplements weaknesses as well as the possible new “weakness.” “Is the self-cursing aspect of becoming a third-tier very important?” “In general, but for new third-tier fighters, it is very important to hide its weak points.” As a result, Lu Ping’an began to analyze the possible paths and “weak points” of Wang Hai, assuming a second encounter, but found himself unable to do so due to lack of experience. At this time, the big cat teaches Lu Ping’an a very useful general method. “Looking for a professional’s weaknesses? Look for their unexpected strengths, which may be their biggest weakness.” At that moment, Lu Ping’an suddenly understood. “Wang Hai, he’s too fast.” Fast isn’t the problem, Lu Ping’an is also fast himself, but the problem is, Wang Hai isn’t a Runner! And his exposed talent abilities don’t give him any speed support! From Disaster Fist, Lu Ping’an knows that quite a few Fighters have also taken up the Runner profession, mainly because “Shrinking ground” and other space abilities are too tempting, and using the basic abilities to enhance the most important speed for Fighters is not a loss. But Wang Hai hadn’t used any “Shrinking ground” from the beginning, nor had he used any Runner Path abilities. He just effortlessly blocked any attack on him and easily defeated one opponent after another with precision, speed, and ruthlessness. “I don’t think a third-tier Fighter could resist the temptation of ‘Shrinking ground’ if conditions permit. So, has he taken up another profession that conflicts with Runners?” Like the conflict between Healers/Beast Tamers and Gardeners, there are also several professions that conflict with Runners. One of them is the “Awakener” line that Lu Ping’an speculated about. This is not the Death system path, but the “Awakener” path. Its wielders are skilled in meditation and emotional control, and are prerequisites for some rare “martial monk” paths. From the big cat, Lu Ping’an knows that these “martial monks” are good at fighting fast opponents, resisting various curses and contaminations, and fighting evil… but they’re never fast! The Awakener path is for turtles! “Chris, what kind of curse would one generally have to bear to make themselves faster?” “There are many types, and they vary depending on how you speed up. But the most common and useful way, Lu Ping’an, do you know why birds can fly?” “…Their bones are brittle?” In a rhetorical question, Lu Ping’an understood from his previous experience. “Hollow” bones and “light” feathers help with high-speed flight, but they also make them the most fragile, most prone to fractures, and most afraid of fractures of any living creature. Similarly, galloping horses are not only prone to fractures, but many times they die because of them. There are countless examples in nature of this. Wang Hai’s image of effortlessly blocking all of Lu Ping’an’s whip attacks appears in his mind. Does it mean that… “Any single whip attack could hurt him.” “He cursed himself to be faster, lighter, and more fragile!” And in the actual battle, the fact that he easily jumped onto Lu Ping’an’s head also confirmed this speculation. “Is there a way to verify all of this?” “As long as the premise is correct, it’s enough that he is an Awakener. That’s simple. Awakeners follow the ‘Mage-killer’ path, and their curse resistance is quite ridiculous.” So when Wang Hai honestly showed the ‘petrified’ part of his body, Lu Ping’an, who was laughing dumbfounded inwardly, set his battle strategy. Summon a dark forest of Magic Plants at the beginning and take a gamble. “That way, we can tell if he’s on the Awakener route.” Awakeners are not fast; it’s Wang Hai’s own body that’s fast. He doesn’t have the “neural responsiveness” enhanced by the Runner Path. He has accelerated hardware but no corresponding software. He needs to construct and collect everything around him and then respond specifically. So, facing the sudden burst of irregular Thorns fruit, his reaction is actually much worse than the Runners of the same tier… He didn’t react in time! “If there were a dozen or so irregular attacking Magic Plants, he wouldn’t be able to cope…No, that’s underestimating third-tier fighters, but at least it would take up much of his energy.” And when the expected scene became a reality, Lu Ping’an knew that his even more threatening trump card might really help him win a miraculous victory. “Wang Hai, this next move is specially designed for you. I hope you like it.”