Battle of the Mind

The harsh winds blew sand in my eyes, nose, and ears as I followed the white line guiding me toward the Dragon. It has been a few days since I had left the Ogres, and every single moment of silence brings me closer and closer to the hell I was so desperate to escape from. Scenes of my friends being killed flashed in my mind as their voices haunted my dreams.

But I couldn't give up. I had gotten the revenge that I promised, and now I will honor their lives by passing down the things they had taught me. I refuse to let them fade away into nothingness, even if it turns me insane. I felt like I had a purpose here, and I refused to abandon it.

A sharp cracking sound came from all around me and I immediately drew Onimaru from my belt and dashed to the closest sound before driving the two kunai into the ground. A loud shriek of pain sounded out and blood gushed up from the two holes in the ground as these strange, worm-like creatures with no visible eyes and razor sharp teeth burst from the ground.

I shook my head and stored Onimaru back into the loops of my belt before slamming my fist into the nearest worm, crushing its frail body. Two of the creatures rushed toward my exposed back and were caught by a fierce hook kick before crumpling to the ground, blood oozing from their heads.

It was an extremely one-sided bloodbath with me coming out as the winner with no wounds whatsoever. I clicked my tongue and thought 'Damn, not even a good warm-up...' as I put my hands in my pockets and continued to follow the white line.

Since I had Heat Resistance, the scorching heat was more like a warm blanket over my body during a cold night, making it considerably easier to travel than I originally thought. I didn't really require food that often, maybe once every day-and-a-half, and I didn't really need to sleep either if I kept Onimaru's Curse flowing through my body.

I was thankful that Onimaru wasn't some kind of evil Demon who's Curse did more harm than good to its user. I figured out that Onimaru was always sleeping, that's why I've only heard him speak to me once. My hand absentmindedly gripped one of the kunai's grips as a small smile spread across my face.

Sadly, even if I didn't need to eat or sleep, I still needed to stop for rest and a drink. I sat down on a rotted log and took out the flask that the old man had gave me, before I departed, and took a deep swig of its rich contents.

I let out a warm sigh as I swished the flask's contents before putting it away and cracking my back. I felt like an old man myself these days with my knees and back always hurting. 'Maybe I'll be needing a cane like the old man...' I mused before cracking my neck and continuing my journey.

The sun fell rather quickly and I was now in the middle of a freezing cold wasteland without any type of cold resistance...

[Conditions met. Cold Resistance acquisition confirmed.]

[Acquisition of Heat Resistance and Cold Resistance result in acquisition of new Skill, Thermal Fluctuation Resistance.]

'Huh...that's convenient...'

The cold permeating my bones suddenly faded away and I was left feeling normal once more. 'I wonder how many other humanoid monsters there are in this world. I hope I can befriend them as well...' My thoughts were the only things keeping me company as I walked, and walked, and walked for days on end.

'Damn, just how loud did that Dragon have to be for its roar to echo all the way to the Ogre village?' Boredom was beginning to take over, so I looked to sate it by searching for a thrilling fight, or literally anything else. 'Four Curse weapon users in this world, huh? I hope they're all as strong as the old man...'

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge and I whipped around before grabbing an invisible attack aimed for my throat. The cloaked creature had rough, spikey skin and emit a loud clicking noise from time to time. I dashed forward and slammed my knee into the creatures stomach and I heard a loud cracking noise as the air around me rippled.

The creature uncloaked to reveal a large, mantis-like monster with sharp, bladed hands. Its exoskeleton was fractured and oozing green blood. I dashed forward and the mantis unleashed a panicked swipe. I ducked and cocked my arm back before plunging it into the monster's stomach, killing it almost instantaneously.

I watched the monster fall limply to the ground with a disappointed expression on my face. I sighed and turned to continue following the white line, however, this time I decided to run to make the trip faster. I dashed through the desert and felt the wind against my face as I stuck my hands back into my pockets.

I wasn't running as fast as I could, but I was still going pretty damn fast. Fast enough that the surroundings were almost blurs in fact. Even in my past life, I was always known for my ridiculous speed, and now I was even faster than before. I soon exited the desert and found myself in a large, healthy forest teeming with life.

I stopped sprinting and began to walk once more to enjoy the scenery, although that got very boring very quickly. Suddenly, a loud shriek pierced through the trees followed by several bestial yelps. I quickly adjusted Pathfinder to take me to where the noises had come from and bolted off in their direction.

A small, green skinned monster wielding a crude wooden club ran out from a bush with a frightened expression. The monster fell down on its face and scampered up, but it was already too late. A large line of red energy came barreling through the brush and severed the monster's head from its shoulders.

I glanced up at the shaking bushes and watched as a woman with long, violet hair tied into a long braid, stumbled out of the brush. She had two violet ears atop her head as well as blood red eyes and multiple cuts and scratches across her arms, legs, and stomach.

Her clothes were ripped and stained with blood, but she otherwise seemed fine, or so I thought. She looked at me and released a feral growl before stumbling and falling over. 'Interesting...?' I carefully walked over to the still conscious woman and watched as the fresh blood flowing out of her wounds coalesced around her hands.

She turned her head up to look at me as she said "G-Go! Run! I-I can't hold it back for much longer!" through clenched teeth. I stood there and observed the blood flowing around her hands in the shape of claws. It was rather interesting and I honestly wanted to see what it could do. My blood was boiling just thinking about how strong this strange power must be.

The woman's eyes shone with a red light as she snarled and leapt toward me with her hands aimed for my throat. I side-stepped and watched as she landed on the ground on all fours before leaping at me once more. This continued for quite some time as she launched lines of blood toward me every know and then while trying to slash me with her claws.

I was curious to see how much damage they could deal but, if she was able to use her own blood to power her attacks, then that means she would likely be able to do so with me, and I'm not a big fan of having the blood drained from my body by a vicious woman.

I side-stepped her lunge and grabbed her leading arm before grabbing her other arm and tripping her to the ground. She landed hard and I dug my knee in between her shoulder blades while keeping her arms still as I scoured her aura for any signs of anything abnormal. Then I found it.

She had a Curse running rampant through her veins. It was clear that she was unable to control it, probably because it was a volatile Demon that wanted to use her to sate its boredom. The woman kept trying to bite me with her sharp fangs as I racked my brain for any techniques to help the poor girl out.

'Oh well, looks like I'll have to improvise.' I used my knee as the entry point and inserted my Curse into her body. I began to control my Curse and use it to rid her of the rampant energy running through her body. It took quite a long time and was pretty damn difficult but, eventually, I was able to destroy the energy plaguing her.

She passed out soon after, probably from pain, and I was debating on whether I should leave her here or at least take her with me until she wakes. 'If she was being controlled by a Curse, then she must be a Cursed weapon user...but I don't see a weapon...hmm, she might be the fourth Cursed weapon user that the Voice of the World was talking about...'

I sighed in annoyance and hefted the woman over my shoulder and once again set my course toward the Dragon, which had most likely gotten even farther due to my little detour. "Ughhh, this is going to take forever..."

---

I sat around a campfire with a makeshift tent behind me. I was forced to stop for the night since it was unlikely that the woman was able to survive the harsh temperatures during the night. I released a sigh, a common sight these days, and leaned back against a log as I stared up at the night sky. I reached my hand out and thought 'I wonder how you guys are doing...I hope you're all watching me. I want to show you how far I've come.'

Suddenly, a rustling from inside of the tent caught my attention and the woman stumbled out while rubbing her eyes and releasing a big yawn. She looked toward the fire with sleepy eyes and cocked her head in confusion. I appeared behind her with Onimaru in his scythe form and pressed his blade against her neck before asking "Who the hell are you. What's your name, where have you come from, and how the hell did you get that nasty Curse of yours?"