I Can Copy Curses

"Sit down," Orion gestured to Mark, pointing at the sofa opposite him.

Mark frowned but ultimately sat down.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Orion asked curiously. He knew Mark wouldn't come to him unless it was serious, and seeing the solemn expression on his face, Orion understood that Mark had something important to say. "Choose your words wisely," he warned before Mark could start speaking.

Mark looked at Orion for a moment and said, "She is suspicious. I think she may know about you."

Orion's eyes narrowed at his words, and his face became serious. He knew exactly who Mark was referring to—he had met her not long ago and had even fought her.

"What did she say?" Orion asked, his brows furrowed.

"Nothing specific, but she mentioned that you and I are very different from others, especially you. I didn't understand what she meant by that, but I heard some things that made me believe she knows more than she's letting on. She hinted that you've had dealings with that person," Mark replied.

Orion's frown deepened. During his brief confrontation with Zeref, he realized she was both mysterious and powerful, hiding many secrets—one of which involved him.

But how did she know? Orion was certain only Mark knew these things, and he trusted Mark not to speak of it. So, the question remained: how had she caught wind of it?

Orion closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. 'Now that I think about it, she seemed oddly confident in my strength when she barely knows me.'

Recalling their fight, he realized she might have approached him to test his strength rather than just fulfilling the participant assessment's requirements.

"I see. It's unfortunate that she knows about my affairs," Orion sighed, wearing a defeated expression. "I have to warn you, stay away from her. She seems very strong—stronger than me—so be cautious if she comes to you again."

Mark frowned. "What are you going to do about it?" he asked.

Orion shrugged. "That will have to wait until the assessment ends. After that, I'll confront her and ask where she learned about my affairs. Very few people should know, and yet she does. She's definitely suspicious," he said, frowning.

Looking at Mark, he added, "Forget about her for now. We'll deal with her after the assessment. Tell me if you have any information about who among the ten we came with is still in the assessment."

Mark shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care," he said, standing up. "That's all I wanted to say." He turned and headed toward the broken window.

"Tell me something—why are you hiding your strength?" Orion asked. He had been curious for a while. He had seen Mark rank high in the Grimshore entry test, but his current strength didn't match that ranking.

Most importantly, Orion had only seen Mark use two or three talents at most—purple lightning and blue flames. Other than these, he hadn't displayed any other talents.

Orion had some theories about why Mark was hiding his strength, and surprisingly, it seemed related to him.

"See you later," Mark said before flying out of the broken window.

Orion hadn't expected an answer, so he wasn't surprised when Mark left without addressing his question.

'Are you hiding your strength because you don't want people to compare you to Orion Darkwood?' Orion smiled as he watched Mark disappear. He didn't know if his assumption was correct, but he had a feeling he wasn't far from the truth.
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If someone were seen using many talents and abilities, people might draw parallels between that person and Orion Darkwood.

The talent to wield many different powers was extremely rare, and the most wanted man in the world was infamous for having that ability.

If Mark revealed his array of talents freely, people would surely grow suspicious. They'd think he was Orion Darkwood in disguise, and if that happened, Mark would have nowhere to go.

'Hehe, in a way, you and I are very similar, but also very different,' Orion thought as he reclined on the sofa.

"Well, it's time for me to go into hiding," Orion muttered to himself as a thought crossed his mind. If he and others could think about bidding their time and hiding, there were surely more people out there with the same idea.

What would happen in that scenario? What if half the participants in the city decided to hide just to make it into the top 200?

Orion took the stairs down to the lower floor.

He didn't know what would happen, but as long as it wasn't against the rules, he planned to take advantage of it.

Some time later, he arrived in the basement and knocked on a metallic door. "It's me," he said.

The door opened, revealing Erza, who silently let him in and closed the door behind him.

***

Across the city, chaos reigned. Fights broke out in every corner, turning once-proud buildings into rubble. The entire city had descended into a battlefield, where participants slaughtered one another without a second thought.

For some, it was the thrill of combat that drove them, the sheer excitement of testing their strength against others. For others, the goal was clear: to reduce the number of participants below 200, no matter the cost.

They attacked on sight, with no hesitation, aiming to kill as many as they could. Some worked in groups, hunting together, while others fought solo, distrustful of anyone who might later become an enemy.

Yet, despite their differences in tactics, every participant shared one thing: the intent to kill. Whether they would survive or not didn't matter; all that mattered was that their target didn't live to see another fight.

With the top 200 within their grasp and the chance to join Dollas Academy dangling in front of them, most participants would do anything to secure their spot. The promise of prestige and power was enough to make them forget everything else.

However, not everyone was so willing to risk it all in the final stretch. Like Orion and his group, there were those who chose a different approach—hiding.

These participants didn't want to gamble their one shot at Dollas Academy by engaging in unnecessary battles. They knew that a single wrong move could lead to their elimination, so they opted to stay out of sight, letting the storm of violence pass them by.

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