Published: August 25, 2025
Today, two chapters posted simultaneously.
This is the first chapter.
Night
The weather was clear. Although it wasn’t a full moon, the sky was filled with countless stars without a single cloud. Nothing blocked the light, and the moon and starlight poured down onto the open plaza.
In one corner of the plaza stood a table and a single metal container that had been prepared in advance. The container, made by an iron slime with a glossy surface that reflected light well, resembled the mold used to make bavarois desserts. Its circular shape featured a raised center that formed a small pedestal.
For the experiment, the object to be countercursed—in this case, a ring borrowed from Lord Rosenberg—was placed on this pedestal. Around it, clean water with impurities removed as much as possible was poured. According to the reference materials, moonlight was concentrated using both a water mirror and a metal mirror.
Since this was the first experiment, the ritual was conducted strictly according to the materials... but,
“It’s not showing any effect.”
“Hmm... it doesn’t seem that no effect is occurring at all, though...”
The countercurse on the ring showed no progress. Even after repeating the ritual several times, there was almost no change.
“The curse on the ring is supposed to be easy to remove, right?”
“This is just the beginning. To confirm whether there is any effect, we used one classified as ‘1’—the lowest countercurse difficulty level recognized by Duke Kershel’s household.”
“Right... By the way, what are the differences between these countercurse difficulty levels? If I remember correctly, the curse you investigated on me before was rated as a ‘7’, the highest level?”
“I haven’t explained that yet. Countercurse difficulty ranges from 0 to 7, making eight levels in total.
Of course, 0 means either no curse or a curse that disappears naturally over time, so countercurse isn’t necessary unless it is life-threatening. Level 7 is rarely seen and is considered uncursable, so it’s not something you need to worry about much.”
With that preamble, Lord Rosenberg gave a rough guideline, summarized as follows:
1 = A curse that won’t lift with time but might be broken by an imperfect ritual from a beginner.
2 = A curse that can be broken if the countercurse spell is properly cast. Breaking it means you’re close to graduating from an apprentice.
3 = Reaching this level means you can make a living solely as a professional cursed sorcerer.
4 = Requires a veteran specializing in countercurses with ample experience.
5 = Only a handful of veterans can deal with this level. Breaking it means you’re top-tier.
6 = Requires multiple top professionals to handle. Breaking it solo is difficult.
“There can be some deviation even within the same level depending on the curse, but to measure precisely, a special magic potion is necessary.”
“That’s the one you used on my blood before, right?”
“Exactly. That potion changes color when in contact with the target, allowing us to identify the difficulty.”
Thinking of it like litmus paper testing pH makes it easier to understand. Putting that aside, this was the result even at the easiest level. According to the materials, there seemed to be enough moonlight...
Using the slime’s vision to observe, there was indeed natural mana within the space where the spell was cast. The cursed ring was enveloped by the spell and purified, but...
“Is the natural mana not being used efficiently?”
“The previous progress was just too smooth. Normally, learning cursed arts is like this. There might be techniques that gradually weaken the curse over time. Let’s keep observing and repeating the rituals without rushing.”
“Agreed. Then, we’ll watch for changes over time on this pedestal and prepare another one.”
Thus, the experiment continued into the deep night, but no significant results were seen that day.
■ ■ ■
The Next Day
The morning after the experiment, to succeed in the lost magic from last night, we spent the morning studying cursed arts. First, as a review, we purified the miasma zone once again.