Every child born in the cursed land is almost never perfect. There will always be defects in their bodies. It is all thanks to the corruption accumulated in their forms and the food containing that corruption.
Hardly any humans are born perfect anymore. To fix it, they need to become Devourers so they can reconstruct their bodies. However, the risk of becoming a Devourer is clearly greater.
Yet, there are cases where children are born without defects and possess a resistance to the curse as well as corruption. Such a child will not be easily influenced by the cursed environment.
They are almost able to ward off all corruption and curses in their bodies. Their endurance is certainly the strongest.
Drake is one of those blessed ones. He possesses a resistance to the curse and corruption. Therefore, he has no obstacles in using Cursed Prayers.
"Cursed Prayers indeed seem very helpful, but you cannot use them carelessly," Drake explained to Kaelan.
"Why is that?" Kaelan asked. "Is it because of the difficulty?"
Drake shook his head. "It is actually very easy. You only need to use the ancient language and a talisman as a medium. But what is dangerous is the impact."
Using a Cursed Prayer means controlling the curse energy present in the air. That is riskier because it is the same as inhaling poison directly.
"Remember that the stronger the curse energy, the more dangerous it is for you. Unless you are already at the final stage of mutation, stage four, I suggest you do not chant a Cursed Prayer."
Drake possesses immunity, so he will not be affected much. However, the case is clearly different for Kaelan, who has no curse resistance.
"Is it possible to do it without a talisman?"
Drake thought for a moment, appearing confused about how to explain. Instead, Reynold answered.
"It can be done. But think about this. Using a medium, the risk is already great; how do you think it would be doing it without any medium at all?"
To utilize a curse, one basically needs an intermediary. Even with one, they are still threatened. Naturally, the impact would be worse if no medium was used at all.
"I see—" Kaelan heard a rumbling sound around them.
Everyone immediately grew alert. Reynold took up his hammer, Rebecca unsheathed her sword, and Kaelan pulled out his dagger—ready to wound himself at any moment.
Drake set down his rat and hypnotized it. The rat scurried into the forest quickly. Not long after, the rat shrieked in pain.
"We're surrounded!" Drake pulled out a black crystal and gripped it.
Reynold and Rebecca moved closer, putting their backs to Kaelan and Drake. They were now in the defensive formation they had practiced.
"They are hiding behind the trees. Stay cautious; Wolfhorns have a habit of attacking by surprise."
Kaelan nodded. He felt tense since this was his first fight. He carefully observed his surroundings. Though he couldn't see clearly, he felt he was being watched.
From the dark, black bushes, a black wolf with red eyes and brownish horns lunged out. A wolf the size of a grown man pounced toward Kaelan.
Kaelan intended to wound himself and use the Devour power, but his actions were slower than the Wolfhorn's.
"Disturb!"
Black mist gathered onto a stone and immediately enveloped the lunging Wolfhorn.
Kaelan stared at the wolf, which suddenly froze still. He realized that it was caused by the Cursed Prayer performed by Drake.
Rebecca seized the opportunity and slashed the Wolfhorn's horn; with a swift movement, she also decapitated it.
"Don't just daze off!" Rebecca barked, instantly snapping Kaelan back to his senses and regaining control of himself.
"Sorry!"
Kaelan immediately tore the back of his left hand. Dark red flesh emerged and enveloped his left hand. Beads of blood hovered around him as if unaffected by gravity.
Kaelan was able to control those blood beads like bullets, strong enough to pierce through trees. However, there were limits to how many and how far he could do it.
Kaelan was currently only able to control them as far as five meters. Beyond that, the power of his blood would vanish and inflict no wounds.
"There are five remaining!" Reynold gave a warning. "Keep in mind, a small bit of carelessness will bring great misfortune!"
"Yes!" everyone answered in unison.
"I won't protect you again if you're careless, idiot!" Rebecca cursed slightly as she lunged at an approaching Wolfhorn.
She swung her sword horizontally to block the fangs aimed at her.
Rebecca utilized the momentum; she lengthened her nails by several centimeters, making them sharp as knives. She stabbed the Wolfhorn's neck and sliced through it.
Kaelan was shocked at first. That was the Os Medulla mutation, bone and marrow. It was his first time seeing it directly.
"Stay alert!" Drake warned as he monitored the situation.
Kaelan immediately dispersed his blood beads and directed them toward an approaching Wolfhorn.
The blood beads shot out like bullets and struck the Wolfhorn he could see. Thanks to that, their movements slowed and became easy to deal with.
Drake did not let the opportunity pass; he took another talisman and provided support.
"Disturb!"
The Wolfhorn lost the ability to move. Reynold smiled and began to crush each Wolfhorn's head.
In a short time, they managed to finish off every Wolfhorn. Kaelan felt relieved that the hunt was successful without tragedy.
"Good job, everyone!" Reynold praised, cleaning the blood clinging to his hammer.
"But this is strange," Rebecca said. "They are usually more coordinated."
Wolfhorns always hunt in packs and perform coordinated attacks. They might be weak, but because of their ability to coordinate, Wolfhorns become very dangerous.
"They attacked blindly. Almost as if they had lost their minds or were afraid of something." Drake seemed to agree with Rebecca.
Kaelan had read the monster information given to him by Lunaria a few days prior. One of the entries was about the Wolfhorn.
Besides being pack hunters, these monsters are tacticians and very cunning. The general pattern of their attack is for one to act as bait while the others attack from behind.
But this time, they did not attack in the manner mentioned. Clearly, there was something strange about their behavioral pattern.
Reynold then examined a corpse; he dug into the Wolfhorn's flesh without feeling disgusted.
"This is exactly as I suspected," Reynold furrowed his brow. "These monsters are being influenced by something."
Reynold took a bit of the flesh and chewed it a few times before spitting it out.
"There is something foreign mixed into their blood and flesh." Reynold wiped his mouth, looking very serious. "We need to change the mission slightly."
"We are going to investigate the source of this problem. If monsters are becoming abnormal, then it will be very dangerous."
Drake and Rebecca nodded. They did not oppose Reynold's decision at all.
On the other hand, Kaelan stared at the Wolfhorn's corpse in silence. He seemed to see a black mist emerging from the body, but only for a moment.
"What is it, Kaelan?" Reynold asked. "We have to hurry!"
Kaelan observed it for a moment before turning to leave. He didn't intend to report it because perhaps it was normal, considering no one else seemed bothered by it at all.
"Don't we need to report to the Captain first?" Kaelan asked. "I think it's better if she knows what's happening."
Rebecca looked annoyed. "Huh? We haven't even confirmed what's going on, why bother doing something useless?!"
Kaelan was about to argue, but he felt a bit intimidated by Rebecca, who clearly showed irritation and even hatred.
"I think he's right, Sis," Drake defended him. "It's fine if nothing happens, but what if something truly does? I think the Captain needs to know this, just in case something occurs."
If something bad befell them, Lunaria would not know the actual situation. But by providing this information, if Kaelan and the others did not return, Lunaria would be able to guess what had happened.
Reynold also seemed to agree with the idea. He asked Drake to write a letter and use a rat to deliver it.
Kaelan watched as Drake was writing. Then, he thought of the Cursed Prayer Drake had recited earlier.
"Drake, is a Cursed Prayer recited according to the effect you want? Like before, you recited a disturbance so they wouldn't move. In that case, you could ask them to die by saying that, right?"
Hearing Kaelan's words, Drake dropped his quill pen and was shaken. He stared at Kaelan like a man possessed.
"What happened?" Kaelan became alert, observing Reynold and Rebecca. They also didn't seem to understand.
"How do you know?" Drake asked. "How can you understand the ancient language?"
Kaelan was at a loss for words. Cursed Prayers were recited in an ancient language that had almost lost its traces.
And yet, how could he understand it?