SWNOVELXO Chapter 40
**Episode 40: The Curse**
On a cold winter day, we heard the Association President’s nonchalant words, “You all just go ahead and close the Gate,” and left the association, heading home under the falling snow.
– Crunch, crunch.
Holding hands with Harin and interlocking our fingers, we felt a warmth as if we were using a hot pack, even in this cold winter. The beautiful sound of crunching snow underfoot echoed in my ears, soothing my body and mind.
‘But why did Harin suddenly say she was coming to my house?’
【Why? Because you couldn’t handle the pressure from that woman.】
At that moment, the snow on my nape sent shivers down my spine.
‘Ugh, was that it?’
I hated my past self.
【But that woman, why does she suddenly seem to have less to say? I’m sure there’s something up.】
‘Don’t say things like that. You’re making me anxious too.’
Indeed, Harin appeared to be deep in thought right now. Perhaps because of that, snow had piled up on her head, which she was unaware of. The white mound was hard to notice due to her hair color.
To break this awkward situation, I decided to speak up.
“Hey, Harin. About that time, how did you do it?”
I started with the topic I was most curious about.
“What do you mean by ‘that’?”
“I thought you were going to inject propofol into me, but you used it on yourself instead.”
“Ah… you mean that day?”
“Yeah. The problem is, why? The drug in the syringe went into your body, not mine, so how come I was affected too?”
“Do I really have to tell you?”
Harin wore a troubled expression once again.
But I couldn’t let this go.
【Siwoo! I don’t know what it is, but you can’t let this slide!】
I knew it. If I kept letting things slide like this, it would only encourage her bad habits.
“Are you trying to brush it off again? Sorry, but I can’t let you do that.”
Harin’s expression changed from troubled to a small smile as she heard my words.
Did she have no intention of hiding it from the start? Was her acting troubled just to tease me?
“… It’s a simple buff. Well, sometimes it could be a debuff depending on the situation.”
“Really? Then what about that time we were isolated in the dungeon?”
“What are you talking about… Ah! You mean the buffer position I mentioned at that time, right? The healer is responsible for healing, and buffs are handled by other positions.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s a lie.”
“What?!”
【Sigh… Is this another story from when I wasn’t there…?】
“The lie is something a high-ranking healer tells a lower-ranked hunter.”
“Really? But why would you lie about something unnecessary?”
“Um… maybe to avoid putting pressure on the same party members? Lower-ranked parties usually don’t have tanks or healers.”
“So that’s why…”
“Yeah, I don’t really know the true meaning myself.”
“So a healer can use buffs and debuffs?”
“Of course. I’m sorry for lying back then.”
“Apologizing? I was just the fool who fell for the buffer position. I was deceived because we were isolated in the dungeon, but looking back now, where would such a position exist? It’s easy to distinguish between heal, damage, and tank.”
Harin nodded her head.
She seemed to think that this was well resolved, but I still had many questions.
Let’s rewind time and think back.
At that time, she definitely injected the syringe into herself, and I felt the ‘sensation’ of the drug entering her body.
Sensation.
It was certainly confirmed in the buff window on the elevator with the King’s Insight Level 3 today.
– ‘Open Buff Window’
– [Opening buff information currently affecting ‘Han Shiwoo.’]
[Buff Window]
Buff: None
Debuff: Curse of Forbidden Magic
Unknown: Sensory Sharing
==========
– ‘What is this? Sensory Sharing?’
– 【Why are you suddenly talking about sensory sharing… Don’t bring up weird terms. Have you watched any adult videos?】
Yeah. It’s definitely ‘Sensory Sharing.’
This, classified as unknown, is likely connected to Harin.
“Harin, have you ever heard of ‘Sensory Sharing’?”
【Eek! Why are you suddenly asking about something that sounds like it’s from a shady site?!】
– Crunch, crunch.
Our steps halted.
No, to be precise, it would be quicker to say Harin’s steps halted.
‘Did I hit a direct strike?’
【What’s a strike, you color brat!】
“Uh, um, um, um, I don’t really know…”
【Ah… You really messed up now… All that’s left is to get accused of sexual harassment!】
‘What are you talking about?’
【Well, rather than rotting in jail, I’d rather kill myself and be forever with you!】
‘What the hell does that mean?’
Harin remained quiet, like a person who had eaten honey.
‘Something must’ve hit the mark…’
【What hit the mark? If you don’t want to die from being stabbed, quickly apologize! … Though, I wouldn’t mind if you died. I could take you and save you, you know.】
‘Is that so?’
What if it’s completely unrelated?
Or worse, if she understood and interpreted what that woman said as a cliché from adult comics, the situation would become even more awkward.
I was just asking about a technique.
“Hey… Harin, if it’s uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer. It’s not like I’ve been harmed.”
Have I been harmed?
‘Hmm… Location tracker?’
“No, hold on. When I was unconscious from the drug, was there something from my body…?”
– Gurgle.
“I’m cold now. Let’s hurry to your house… okay?”
Harin linked her arm with mine.
I could feel her warmth.
“Uh?… Y-Yeah.”
【Shouldn’t you press the issue further?】
‘Let’s just go home for now.’
【Tch, what a waste.】
**********
We arrived at my house, which is registered under Eunbyul’s name.
“Here, we’ve finally reached my front door.”
【Why is it your house? I said this is my house!】
‘It’s our house. Got it?’
【Hmph.】
So picky.
– Creak, thump.
Harin and I entered my house together.
Somehow, she found my mattress exactly and took that spot.
【Ah! That’s my spot!】
“Ahh… it’s warm. But this house feels a bit lonely… How about turning on the TV?”
Harin snuggled into the blanket on my mattress.
【That little vixen…】
“Okay, I got it.”
I picked up the TV remote from the floor.
And pulled out some chocolate from the small fridge in the corner.
“Hey, Harin, do you want chocolate?”
“Yes, I do.”
We shared sweet chocolate with each other.
The sweet taste of chocolate enveloped our tongues.
Having replenished our energy with sugar, I thought of watching TV for a bit.
But as I tried to turn on the TV, I realized I hadn’t actually watched TV often since coming to this house.
I wondered if it was connected to a channel?
Do I need to connect to Netflix or Wavve or something?
But soon the news came on TV.
– Next news.
– There are rumors that the non-fungible token, or NFT, is trending again among the younger generation.
“NFT…”
【What? The daughter impossible token?】
‘No, you silly girl, it’s not impossible daughter token, it’s non-fungible token. Clean your ears!’
【Hey! People can misunderstand!】
‘Misunderstanding has a limit…’
And a few more minutes passed.
At some point, Harin and I were sitting on the narrow mattress with our lower halves under the same blanket.
She leaned her head on my shoulder.
– Continuing with the final news.
– Recently, the large guild of hunters, Triangle Guild, has been failing in their consecutive Gate raids.
– It has been reported that they had to ask for emergency support from smaller guilds again.
– Experts are analyzing the reasons, citing the continued condition issues of key hunters.
‘If it’s Triangle Guild, that definitely…’
【Isn’t that where we went on our last business trip?】
It seemed Harin and I had gone together for some safety inspections or something.
A large guild was beginning to collapse.
The reason would likely be mentioned as the condition of the S-rank hunter.
It seemed my nerf ability was gradually starting to have an effect.
“Triangle Guild doesn’t seem to be in good shape. I wonder why?”
I casually asked Harin for her thoughts.
“… Huh? What? I didn’t hear that. Can you say it again?”
“Nothing… cough! cough!”
【Here we go again. I told you to go to the hospital!】
I coughed up blood again because of the curse.
Every time I finished a cough, it felt like my veins were melting.
“Huh? What’s that smell… You! Did you just throw up blood?”
“Ugh…”
I struggled against the pain and called up the system to check the buff window.
‘Open Buff Window’
[Opening buff information currently affecting ‘Han Shiwoo.’]
[Buff Window]
Buff: None
Debuff: Curse of Forbidden Magic
==========
Nothing had particularly changed.
But for some reason, Sensory Sharing had disappeared.
‘What’s important right now is not that…’
“Please wait a moment. I’ll heal you right away.”
I nodded in a daze, forgetting about Harin’s condition.
“Heal.”
Green light enveloped my whole body.
Her warm healing brought comfort to my mind and body.
But the situation was still dire.
“This can’t be… It seems that my heal isn’t completely curing you… Then there’s no choice but to pull out my trump card.”
“Huh? What, what is it?”
“You might feel a slight sting.”
“I mean, you need to at least tell me what method… huh?”
Without any will of my own, my eyelids fell shut without even a hint of resistance.
In her right hand, she held a syringe.
“I’m going to do a precise treatment from now on. When you wake up, you’ll be healthy.”
I felt the time of slumber drawing near.
“Goodnight, you.”
– Pecks.