Inside the abandoned building, the air reeked of mold, dampness, and stale blood.

Caelum glanced down.

There were still dark bloodstains smeared across the floor, never fully cleaned away.

Sylas carefully inspected every corner of the building, staying extremely alert.

"One month ago, there was a mass suicide case here. Brutal one. The exact details are still unclear, but thirty seven people died."

Zephyr added casually,

"A tragedy on that scale leaves behind massive amounts of negative emotion. More than enough to give birth to Cursed Spirits."

Three days ago, Cursecraft Academy finally confirmed signs of Cursed Spirit activity inside the building.

Cursed Energy felt very similar to ki.

Both were forms of energy generated within the body.

Caelum adapted to it almost instantly.

He effortlessly circulated the Cursed Energy inside his body and focused it into his eyes, scanning the interior of the building.

Immediately, he noticed dense traces of lingering Cursed Energy everywhere.

All of it came from Cursed Spirit activity.

That was exactly why only Sorcerers could deal with Cursed Spirits.

Ordinary people without Cursed Energy normally couldn’t see them at all. To regular humans, Cursed Spirits were basically ghosts. Tangible, but invisible.

Only during moments of extreme emotional instability could normal people briefly perceive them, and even then it was inconsistent.

"There’s a lot of residual Cursed Energy," Caelum said calmly.

"Definitely more than one spirit here."

Tap.

A sound echoed from the darkness.

The moment the Cursed Spirits sensed human presence, they reacted like sharks smelling blood.

Their instincts immediately drove them out of hiding.

They lunged toward the group, eager to tear them apart.

Caelum studied their appearances with curiosity.

They looked like grotesque mixtures of demons and beasts. Twisted, horrifying things with wildly different forms.

"All Grade Four Cursed Spirits."

"Trash mobs," Zephyr said while cracking his knuckles.

"We can clear these in seconds."

Just as he moved to attack—

Boom!

Two figures suddenly smashed through the ceiling and launched surprise attacks at Zephyr and Sylas with lightning speed.

Zephyr reacted first.

"Thunder Arts!"

His hands flashed through signs instantly as violent lightning erupted from his technique, obliterating the incoming attack.

Sylas dodged to the side at the same time, allowing the strike aimed at him to crash into the floor instead.

But the attack instantly shattered the ground beneath them, exposing a massive hollow space hidden below the building.

"Watch out!"

Sylas’ pupils contracted.

In the split second before the floor collapsed completely, he grabbed Caelum and hurled him out of the opening.

Then both he and Zephyr dropped rapidly into the darkness below.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two black shadows immediately followed them down.

Clearly, they had specifically targeted Zephyr and Sylas.

Honestly, their combat instincts were absurdly sharp.

Everything that just happened took place within an instant.

Zephyr counterattacked the moment the ceiling broke open.

Sylas instantly realized they were the real targets and that separating Caelum from them would actually keep him safer.

Without hesitation, he threw Caelum clear of the collapse.

Cold on the outside.

Soft-hearted underneath.

That was Sylas in a nutshell.

Caelum landed steadily at the edge of the underground pit and turned around.

From the darkness behind the remaining Cursed Spirits, a red-haired young man stepped forward.

Whether among players or native characters, some chose to join the Academy.

Others betrayed it and sided with the Cursed Spirits instead.

These attackers were obviously the latter.

The red-haired youth wore a mocking grin.

"To be honest, I didn’t expect a cheap trick like this to work."

"But the Academy really surprised me this time."

"Getting those two prodigy Sorcerers to walk straight into our trap? That’s a pretty incredible bonus."

He extended a hand toward Caelum.

"Those two are dead already. So I’ll give you a choice."

"Join them, or join us."

"You came from an ordinary background, right? Then you should already understand how the sorcerer world works."

"Bloodline and inheritance determine everything."

"The children of elite sorcerer families are born geniuses."

"People like us? We don’t have a future there."

"Why spend your life as background scenery for those elites?"

"Join us. Use the power of the Cursed Spirits and tear down this rotten system."

Boom!

A violent explosion echoed from deep underground.

Faint flashes of lightning flickered in the darkness below.

Caelum chuckled softly.

He was completely unmoved by the speech, though he now understood their mindset a little better.

He rolled up his sleeve lazily.

"I honestly don’t know where your confidence comes from."

"You really think those two helpers of yours can kill Zephyr and Sylas?"

"You’re overestimating yourselves."

They might only be first years, but year level had never reflected actual strength.

Zephyr and Sylas were monsters even by Academy standards.

Very few people in the entire school could beat them.

Based on the amount of Cursed Energy and attack power those two attackers displayed earlier, Caelum was already certain of one thing.

They were absolutely going to die horribly.

The red-haired youth’s expression darkened when he realized Caelum wasn’t interested.

He waved his hand coldly.

"Then die with them."

"ROOOAR!"

"GRAAAAH!"

The mindless Cursed Spirits unleashed chaotic screeches and charged forward all at once, revealing their savage nature.

Then—

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Caelum vanished.

Or rather, he moved so fast that the red-haired youth couldn’t even process what happened.

In an instant, all ten plus Grade Four Cursed Spirits exploded into showers of blood and mangled flesh.

The scene looked like a slaughterhouse.

The red-haired youth’s face twisted in horror.

"What the hell just happened?!"

A second later, an overwhelming force slammed him into a concrete pillar.

Cracks exploded across the reinforced structure instantly.

Caelum pinned him against it by the throat, looking completely relaxed.

Meanwhile, the impact had already pulverized nearly every bone and organ inside the youth’s body.

Blood poured from his mouth as he stared at Caelum in terror.

"W... who are you...?!"

Crack.

Caelum snapped his neck without another word.

Chunks of white fragments invisible to everyone else floated out from the corpses of the Cursed Spirits and the red-haired youth before gathering together into a glowing sphere.

Then—

A giant red button appeared in front of Caelum.

Beside it was a critical hit progress bar.

[Crazy Critical Fusion Triggered]

[Begin Critical Sequence]

Caelum immediately started smashing the button at absurd speed.

So fast his hands became a blur.

At the same time, the glowing sphere in front of him expanded violently.

[Crit Crit Crit Crit Crit]

[CRAZY CRITICAL HIT!!!]

The progress bar instantly maxed out.

Then the sphere exploded apart.