At this moment, the world here was shrouded in night.
The bustling city lay dormant like a fortress in the darkness, its dazzling neon lights of various colors mesmerizing to the eyes. The honking of cars and the clattering sounds of trams running on tracks filled the air incessantly.
Even in the cooling temperatures of the early night, people's desires to indulge in hedonistic pleasures showed no signs of waning. Whether in bars, nightclubs, entertainment districts, or commercial streets, the clamor of revelry was everywhere.
Countless people strolled through the lively streets, making noise, laughing wildly under the cover of night, freely releasing their desires and venting their malice. For a moment, it almost created the illusion of being in a realm of demonic spirits.
"Looks like the exit this time is in the city center?"
In a rarely frequented alley, a dark vortex expanded.
Roy stepped out from it. Before he could even clearly see his surroundings, the chaotic noise from the bustling street just outside the alley abruptly invaded his ears.
All sorts of sounds, whether welcome or not, lingered around him like the scent of tobacco at his nose—flashing neon lights, ceaseless clamor under the night sky—truly a textbook scene of a lively night market.
The dark vortex behind him slowly disappeared.
Roy lowered his head, clenched his fist, and felt the changes within his body.
"Physically, there doesn't seem to be much change, but this power..."
With a thought, Roy channeled the magical energy within him, wrapping it around his clenched right fist. In an instant, a flickering pale blue flame formed.
This energy originally possessed the characteristics of both magical power and prana. But now, Roy sensed a new transformation in this power.
Wrapping this energy around his fist, he could feel his fist's strength increasing by a considerable margin.
Unlike prana, which enhanced attack power by wrapping around the fist, this energy flowed within his body like magical power, strengthening the body itself.
This was inherently a trait of magical power, but the enhancement provided by cursed energy seemed significantly greater than that of magical power.
Comparing the same amount of magical energy and cursed energy flowing through his body for physical enhancement, the boost from cursed energy appeared overwhelmingly superior.
After contrasting his state before and after arriving in this world, Roy reached this conclusion.
When his energy only had magical properties, enhancing his current body yielded negligible improvements. But with the addition of cursed energy, the boost to his physical strength became substantial.
Indeed, cursed energy held a significant advantage in physical enhancement, far surpassing magical power in intensity. It seemed cursed energy was much more suited for combat than magical power.
That made sense.
All curse users were warriors, each one crazed in their own way, while magi leaned more toward researchers than fighters. Though they too were vastly different from ordinary people, the primary applications of cursed energy and magical power were fundamentally distinct.
"Still, this world is truly brutal."
Roy raised his head.
As if drawn by something, he looked up toward the sky above.
Deep in this slightly remote alley, where even moonlight couldn't penetrate, between two dimly lit buildings, near the rooftop level, clung a grotesque, alien creature.
The monster had a simian appearance, but its limbs twisted like a gecko's, with suction cup-like palms tightly gripping the exterior walls. Its shoulders, armpits, abdomen, and even legs sprouted numerous hairy, elongated arms—a visage so divorced from common sense that just one glance would send anyone's sanity plummeting, inducing intense revulsion.
And it wasn't just above.
Roy could hear faint, scattered noises from the depths of the alley behind him—a cacophony of creaks and cracks so dense it resembled the sound of countless insects chewing, enough to make one's scalp crawl.
Ahead, at the alley's exit, loomed another monstrosity—towering two or three stories tall yet as thin as a bamboo pole, its elongated body covered in countless randomly positioned eyes, swaying wildly as if buffeted by a gale.
"All cursed spirits..."
Roy lowered his head and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Just a random stopover, yet so many cursed spirits lurked here. What kind of hellish existence must the people of this world endure?
And more importantly—
"These things are downright hideous!"
Roy glanced again at the monkey-like creature above and the bamboo pole ahead.
Already thoroughly disgusted, he had no desire to see what the insectoid cursed spirit behind him looked like. With a wave of his hand, he traced a runic pattern in the air.
In a flash of light, flames erupted from the runes, jetting forth like a high-pressure water cannon toward the monkey above and the bamboo pole blocking the exit.
"Eeek!"
"Gahh!"
The flames engulfed the monsters before they could dodge.
They seemed to want to resist, but the fire moved faster than they could react. With only a shrill screech in their panic, they were consumed by the blaze.
Within seconds, they were reduced to charred remains, crumbling into black ash.
"In this world, I'll need to take extra care of my eyes."
After obliterating the bamboo pole cursed spirit and casually dispatching the monkey, Roy muttered to himself before stepping out of the alley.
The moment he emerged, the vibrant sights and sounds of the city hit him.
The bustling downtown center, teeming crowds, and neon-lit storefronts of every color flooded Roy's vision, creating a stark contrast—like stepping from a desolate countryside into the heart of a thriving metropolis.
"Alright, what next..."
Roy merged into the crowd at the center of the bustling district.
Like a drop of ink dissolving in water, he remained indifferent to the surrounding revelry, ignoring even the flirtatious advances of a few girls in miniskirts despite the early spring chill—a nearby sign bore the name "Okubo"—as he quietly pondered his next move.
According to the Root's instructions, his assignment to this world came with no specific tasks. He was free to do as he pleased.
Whether it was searching for ways to grow stronger or hunting for rare and unique resources, he was free to plan and take action as he wished.
Where in this world would be useful to him?
Ah, right—he also needed to factor in the rewards from the Root. What did he urgently need recently? What kind of reward could the Root grant him? That was something he had to consider as well—
"Hmm?"
Suddenly.
Roy raised his head, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.
Bzzz—!
It happened in an instant.
A transformation that occurred in the blink of an eye.
The asphalt beneath their feet erupted with countless flowers in the span of a single glance.
Crimson flowers, golden flowers, blushing pink blooms... flowers of every color and shape bloomed across the asphalt ground beneath everyone's feet, defying all laws of physics. In an instant, they reached their most beautiful state—a dazzling, breathtaking sea of blossoms.
"Flowers?"
"Such beautiful flowers!"
"Can these be transplanted? I want to grow them at home!"
The people passing by on the street also noticed the flowers blooming beneath their feet.
But in that moment, their minds were completely filled with the stunning spectacle of the blossoming flowers. Their eyes brimmed with awe and admiration as they gazed at the boundless floral display.
Everyone's attention was stolen by the flowers.
As if all suspicion and wariness had been cast aside, each person was immersed in the beauty of the blossoms. For a moment, no one even thought to question why these genuine flowers had suddenly appeared beneath their feet.
Only one person was the exception.
That was Roy.
"Mental attack!"
Roy's mind also wavered for a split second, as though he might lose himself in the beauty of the blooming flowers. But the mental barriers he had set up as a magus were immediately triggered, snapping him back to awareness in an instant.
"If my mental barriers were triggered, this must be a mental-type attack. But it's not the kind that directly inflicts damage. So the function of this flower sea must be to impose a negative mental state—something that relaxes the mind—"
He recognized this technique.
It must belong to one of those special-grade cursed spirits—
BOOM!!
The instant after the flower sea bloomed.
Before Roy could even locate the source of the blossoms, a ferocious tide of flames surged toward him like a tsunami.
The wave of fire erupted with scorching heat, roaring from not far behind Roy. It incinerated the flower sea without a trace, simultaneously engulfing the people within it as though they were mere rocks.
Not even a single scream could be heard—those caught in the flames were instantly reduced to charred husks.
In that moment, it was as though countless withered trees had sprouted from the ground.
The blackened corpses of the burned victims hadn't even realized their own deaths. A proper burial had become an unattainable luxury.
While reducing the humans in its path to charcoal, the fiery tsunami continued unimpeded, swallowing Roy whole in one overwhelming surge.
"Hmph! What's with this dreamlike place and ridiculously strong humans? Doesn't seem like much to me! I can take care of him all by myself!"
The one who appeared with such a dismissive tone was a figure unlike any other.
He had a torso and limbs indistinguishable from a human's, only slightly shorter in stature like an elderly person. On his head sat a small volcano emitting steam, his ears shaped like volcanic craters, with a single central eye. He wore a spotted robe.
Though his form resembled a human, his grotesque appearance was unmistakably that of a cursed spirit.
And.
He wasn't the only cursed spirit present here.
"#%$#% (The flower fields have all burned away)..."
Another figure appeared beside the volcano-headed cursed spirit.
She didn't look toward the flame-covered center where Roy was, but instead gazed down at the flower fields beneath her feet, letting out a low sigh.
The language she spoke wasn't part of any existing linguistic system—utterly incomprehensible to anyone—yet when these words reached human ears, the brain automatically understood them.
It was as if two images existed on separate layers, yet the eyes perceived them as one, creating an auditory dissonance that felt intensely uncomfortable.
"Stop moping! Next time I'll go plant flowers with you!"
The volcano-headed cursed spirit rubbed his crater-like ears, enduring the discomfort in his brain while waving his hand impatiently.
Only after receiving this promise did the other cursed spirit set aside her melancholy and shift her attention to the battlefield, lifting her gaze toward the flame-covered center.
"$%#$% (Has the enemy been defeated)?"
"Not a single reaction. Probably dead."
The volcano-headed spirit glanced dismissively at the heart of his inferno, seeing no movement whatsoever, and snorted derisively.
"Any human who takes a direct hit like that has no chance of survival. He's been reduced to ashes by now!"
"Those experiences Jogo mentioned were clearly just dreams. Let's head back—"
The volcano-headed spirit scoffed and turned to leave without waiting for a response.
BOOM!!!
But in that instant.
The atmosphere shattered as if crushed by an invisible fist, a deafening explosion erupting right beside them, painful enough to rupture eardrums.
The volcano-headed spirit whirled around.
His single eye widened in disbelief as he stared toward the source of the sound—the center of the flames.
"Who said I was reduced to ashes?"
The flames scattered violently alongside the shockwave.
Turbulent winds whipped the fire outward, sending waves of heat radiating in all directions.
At the epicenter, the first thing visible was a flesh-colored fist.
As if with a single punch, he'd struck with such divine force that the flames coating him were obliterated.
Then emerged the white-haired, crimson-eyed youth from within the inferno.
Not a speck of dust marred his body—not even a singe on his clothes—as though completely untouched by the flames.
His blood-red pupils gleamed with unyielding arrogance, his sculpted face breaking into an effortless smirk.
"So it was you two after all... Jogo and Hanami..."
Roy's gaze swept over the two cursed spirits, his eyes flashing with an "as expected" expression.
The short, hunchbacked cursed spirit with a volcanic head was none other than Jogo, one of the special-grade cursed spirits born from humanity's fear of the earth, standing at the pinnacle of cursed spirits in terms of strength.
Beside him was another cursed spirit whose gray, bark-like skin covered mysterious black patterns across its body, with its left arm wrapped in cloth. Though its muscular build resembled a male, its aura leaned more feminine.
Her name was Hanami, a special-grade cursed spirit born from humanity's fear of forests, evidenced by the branches growing where her eyes should be. Her power was equally formidable.
Possessing intelligence was one of the defining traits of special-grade cursed spirits.
These two undoubtedly stood at the apex of the cursed spirit faction, each remarkable in their own right. To the humans of this world, they were likely seen as demonic entities.
"Impossible! You took my direct hit and emerged completely unscathed?!"
Jogo stared at Roy in disbelief, one of his eyes twitching violently.
"*%￥￥# (Just as Mahito said)!"
Hanami's voice tensed as she shifted into a fighting stance, legs spread and upper body slightly forward.
"￥%#￥%* (This one's not easy prey. Stay sharp, Jogo!)"
Her gaze locked onto Roy as she solemnly warned her companion.
"I was just surprised, not careless! Don't lecture me!"
Jogo snapped back to attention with a cold snort, two miniature volcanoes bubbling to life in his palms as he prepared for battle.
Hanami remained silent, her full concentration on Roy.
Under their watchful eyes,
Roy irritably tapped his ear.
"That sound is bizarre... incomprehensible yet instantly understood in my mind. Whatever. More importantly," his eyes narrowed at the cursed spirits, "if you're both here, then Mahito must be nearby too?"