Ch.13 The Special Grade Curse Within

There was no emotion on anyone's face, as if they were blank slates staring at the computer screens. It was as if all of them had been stripped of their expressions, like mindless puppets.

These people didn't care whether it was time to go home or not—they just kept working. Although Hayashi could see what was happening, he could clearly sense the heavy resentment lingering around them.

They didn't want to work overtime, but they were trapped in a cycle of constant overtime. Their minds detested the work, but their bodies were driven to keep going.

It seemed contradictory, but that was the reality. It was as if their minds had been dominated, forcing their bodies and thoughts to be at odds with each other.

"Can I help you with something?" A calm voice spoke up. Hayashi turned to see a well-dressed man with square-framed glasses smiling at him.

"Oh, no, I'm just here to take a look around." Hayashi smiled back. He had already noticed the badge hanging around the man's neck. It said he was the manager of a certain department—clearly a person of authority.

The manager gave Hayashi a quick once-over before smiling. "You must be a recent college graduate. You should consider interning at our company. Look at the fantastic atmosphere here!"

The manager gestured proudly at the people working tirelessly.

But Hayashi felt a chill down his spine as the man smiled. He had the distinct impression that nothing about this place was normal.

"No, thank you. I'm just taking a quick tour. You can get back to your work." Hayashi politely declined. Given how tall he was, it wasn't surprising people mistook him for a college student. But that wasn't the important issue here—the real problem was that this company definitely had something wrong with it.

"Alright, take your time. If you change your mind, feel free to come find me." The manager wasn't upset. He smiled and nodded before walking away.

Hayashi found a spot in the break area where he could observe the employees. It was supposed to be a rest area, but no one ever seemed to use it. In fact, even people coming here for a drink of water were rare.

Hayashi watched as time slowly ticked by. The sky outside had gone completely dark. From 6:30 to now, which was past 8:00, only three or four people had left for home. The rest—dozens of employees—were still hard at work.

And this was just one department. Hayashi guessed that the other areas of the company were probably the same, with almost everyone working overtime.

At that moment, a middle-aged man who looked exhausted wandered into the break area. Hayashi thought he was here to take a break and head home. But after drinking a cup of water, the man was about to return to work.

"Wait a minute!" Hayashi called out. Suddenly, the man snapped out of his daze, and his eyes regained their clarity.

"I don't want to work overtime anymore. I have to get out of here. I can't stand it anymore!" The man's expression turned to one of fear as he became fully aware of his situation.

"What's going on?" Hayashi had already sensed that the environment was far from normal, but he hadn't expected it to be this extreme.

How could someone work themselves into such a state? This wasn't just work—it was like being a slave, putting your life on the line for the boss.

"I have to leave. I need to get out of here, quickly." The middle-aged man stammered, terror evident in his face. He didn't listen to Hayashi and ran out of the break area.

But what shocked Hayashi even more was what happened next. The moment the man left the break area, his eyes glazed over again. Stumbling like a zombie, he returned to his desk and resumed working overtime.

It was then that Hayashi sensed the presence of a curse. Surrounding the man was a thick, purple-black aura of cursed energy.

"Looks like I'm going to get something tonight." Hayashi didn't interfere with the man again. Instead, he stayed seated in the break area, keeping an eye on the situation.

Time passed quickly, and it was now past 10:00. Compared to 8:00, a third of the employees had left. The remaining two-thirds were all older than 30, and none of them looked particularly healthy.

As the hours dragged on, the resentment in the atmosphere grew stronger and more oppressive.

By midnight, only a third of the workers were still in the office, and their resentment had reached a peak.

Hayashi didn't know what to say anymore. Overtime until midnight? This wasn't just working late—this was risking their lives.

If they worked like this every day, their bodies wouldn't be able to handle it. And Hayashi knew that midnight wasn't even the end. These people wouldn't be done until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning at the earliest.

There was a conspicuous green sign on the office wall that read "Voluntary Overtime." How ironic those words were now.

"It's here," Hayashi muttered as he stood up. He spotted a faint blue figure moving among the overtime workers.

As it passed each employee, it opened its mouth, absorbing their resentment and energy. When it finished with one person, that worker collapsed at their desk, unmoving.

The worker's eyes were wide open, their face sunken, pupils dilated with fear and regret as they lay motionless on the keyboard.

It was no different from the previous employees who had died here. Even if the medical examiner checked the body, it would be ruled as death from overwork, with no suspicion of anything else.

As the blue figure prepared to leave, Hayashi stepped forward. "A curse that feeds on resentment from overwork... How vile. With so many employees here, you must be absorbing an incredible amount of resentment and energy every day."

"You can see me?" The blue figure became more solid and turned purple. It took on a humanoid shape, but it had no eyes, no nose, no ears—only a mouth that looked like it had been sewn shut.

Its body, however, was impressively muscular, with defined lines and eight-pack abs. If it had a different head and skin color, it would be a bodybuilder's dream.

Compared to the haggard office workers around it, this creature seemed like it came from an entirely different world.

"A jujutsu sorcerer?" The purple curse calmly regarded Hayashi. "You're not the first to come here. But ever since the others disappeared, fewer and fewer have shown up. You're the first in two months."

Hayashi's brow furrowed. The pressure he felt from this curse was immense. This wasn't just a Grade 1 curse—this was a special grade, with a powerful aura to match.

"No wonder. After all this time, with thousands of employees in this company, and you absorbing their resentment and energy every day, your growth must be limitless. It's not that no one tried to deal with you; it's that no one could."

Hayashi had initially thought he'd gain something useful from this place, but now it seemed unlikely. He had assumed it was a Grade 2 or Grade 1 curse causing the trouble, but it turned out to be a special grade.

A curse of this magnitude would require three or four Grade 1 jujutsu sorcerers—or a special-grade sorcerer—to exorcise.

But judging by the current situation, there weren't many special-grade sorcerers available, and each had their own responsibilities, unable to handle everything.

In any case, a powerful curse like this needed to be dealt with as soon as possible, or the consequences would be disastrous.