Expected Results
"Mom, you know my size. Please help me buy my underwear. I'll be in the toy section. Don't worry, I don't plan on buying any. I'll just be browsing. Call me when you guys are done," Entering the mart, Ace immediately requested his mother and hurried to the toy section without waiting for her to agree.
"Ace!" Mary called out to her son, but Ace did not heed her; instead, he fastened his pace, leaving her fuming.
"See, I told you. Even though he has the body of a jock, inside he's still the scared little nerd, with a passion for action figures and toy models, that you know and love. You were worried over nothing," Alwin assured his wife, watching their grown son eagerly dart toward the toy section.
"It's not him I'm worried about. It's that vixen, she can't wait to eat our son," Mary replied grudgingly, recalling how Mandy remained insistent on coming to the mart with them despite her repeated polite rejections.
"I don't understand. Who are you talking about?" Alwin genuinely did not know who his wife felt so threatened by.
Wondering how her husband could remain so blind to what was happening in front of his eyes, Mary bit her lips in frustration and remarked, "Forget it." heading to the clothing section.
…
'Master, I have hacked into the mart's CCTV cameras. I will keep watch while you experiment,' Dame Wasp reported to Ace through their shared senses, even though the mart was empty at this hour. Not to mention mortals cannot see anything related to the 'World of Curses.'
'Thank you, Rose,' Ace liked this about Dame Wasp. She took the initiative to do things that would be necessary without him asking.
Walking into the toy section aisle, Ace frowned, glancing over the shelves on both sides because the mart did not have many options for action figures. But there were enough for him to verify his observations about his innate cursed tool's abilities.
Most action figures in Mart belonged to a classic fighting video game, Cosmic Combat. It's popular for its competitive one-on-one battles between characters from around the game universe, each with unique fighting styles and special moves. It had many characters with space and reality manipulation-type abilities.
'It should be because Cosmic Combat VI is being released next week, and the corporation wants to unload all their 'Cosmic Combat' related stock,' Dame Wasp said, sensing Ace's concern.
'I see,' Ace nodded. Then, he picked a toybox containing the action figure of Cosmic Overlord, a humanoid alien overlord and the main antagonist of Cosmic Combat V. He possessed the unique ability to manipulate reality itself, perfectly aligning with Ace's requirements. Summoning his cursed toybox Ace placed the action figure in it. Soon the cursed toybox reported back to him using the status screen:
[ — Status Screen —
> Curse Core: Humanoid Form
> Toy: Cosmic Overlord
> Compatibility rating: 2%
> Recommendation: It is not recommended to animate this toy with this curse core.]
Ace was not surprised by the result, as he did not believe any humanoid toy would be compatible with this cursed core since it came from a human curse slave.
Removing the toy from his cursed toybox, Ace turned his attention to Ms. Comet, the human character with a unique superpower related to space manipulation. She gained her powers from a comet, hence her name. In the game, she was granted immortality by the cosmic arena for serving as its herald, with the sole purpose of bringing it worthy combatants. Placing the action figure in the cursed toybox, Ace glanced at the status screen shared by the cursed toybox:
[ — Status Screen —
> Curse Core: Humanoid Form
> Toy: Ms. Comet
> Compatibility rating: 32%
> Recommendation: It is not recommended to animate this toy with this curse core.]
Reading the compatibility rating, Ace was only slightly surprised as even though the character was a human her powers were not of human origin. Then Ace tried various other characters with space or reality manipulation abilities, whose unique superpower origin was due to a gene mutation, failed experiment, radiation exposure, etc none of the toys were compatible with the curse core.
Left with no choice, Ace turned to characters whose abilities were honed by training in special martial arts, aura arts, or magic. No surprise there, as he expected the curse core was highly compatible with these toys. From this Ace determined that if he wanted a Toysummon with space or reality manipulation ability he would have to get a curse core of curseling with similar abilities.
Though disappointed by the outcome, Ace was happy that he understood how to use his innate curse tool better. Besides, all hope wasn't lost, the Curse Mall should have the curse core he was looking for.
Right now, Ace felt, he should not worry about what he could not control and focus on what he could control. That was to increase his strength so he could visit the Curse Mall as soon as possible. This also included deciding on a new Toysummon fast. After all, there were many qualities to look for in Toysummons other than their unique superpowers. Strong skills, a decisive nature, a cunning brain, etc were a few of them. They would be a good help for Ace to explore the merciless 'World of Curses.'
This time, Ace was planning on recruiting someone strong but also with some medical expertise. Mainly because he believed with the otherworldly medical abilities of his Toysummon he could help his parents live healthier and longer life. His abilities have helped him become healthier and stronger, he wanted the same for his family. After all, there was no point in him having a healthy and long life if he was destined to live most of it alone and scared. Not that Ace wanted to reveal his abilities to his family, but there were many ways for him to help them secretly.
'Master, your parents are heading to the cashier,' Dame Wasp informed Ace, as he aimlessly roamed the mart contemplating whom he should choose as his next Toysummons. After all, there were too many good characters to choose from.
'Thank you, Rose. I will also head there.'