Rey sat on his bed in silence, his gaze directed at the floating Ater who sat in midair.
He hadn't forgotten that his Familiar could do that, but something about seeing him get so comfortable in the air seemed bizarre every single time.
Still, other than a slight smile of amusement, he didn't display any other emotion. His exposed eye simply stared blankly as he made himself comfortable on the luxurious bed that Ater had prepared for him.
'It's just like Esme's bed. How did he know that I prefer this…?'
Right now, Rey was in a black long-sleeve shirt, with dark trousers covering most of his legs. He was barefoot, though, so his feet and hands were exposed as he sat and waited patiently.
"So… you can start now."
Rey had prepared his heart. He made sure to remain calm no matter what news he heard, though he already knew it would be impossible for him to fully suppress everything.
'I just need to try my best to calmly analyze everything I he—'
"Alicia is currently under a coma. She hasn't been able to wake up since she fell asleep due to the Curse."
"Curse?" Rey raised an eyebrow. "Alicia also went into a deep sleep?"
Was it because of her use of the [Divine Beast Summon] Skill? She didn't have enough Mana to pull off summoning an entity like the one that emerged back then.
'That means…'
"She used The Unknown Box that I gave Adonis. As a result, the after-effect of using such an Item—a random curse—befell her."
"A curse? There was a curse attached to it? I didn't see it when I used my Appraisal on the Item, though…" Rey was trying his best not to let his feelings of worry and anxiety overflow.
Of course, he was very concerned about Alicia. If this was indeed a curse, and she had been asleep for so long, then her current condition was beyond worrying.
He was even feeling hints of fright.
But, through it all, he had to swallow the negative emotions and handle things as calmly as possible.
If he didn't, the System would do it for him.
"Certain Curses aren't normally registered under standard Appraisal effects. They apply more like cause and effect; the natural consequence of an action."
Just as Rey could not perceive the Curse that was bestowed on the members of the KariBlanc Group at the time, even though they would perish if they did not make it to the Dark Gathering, he couldn't see the effects of Curses that were yet to be active.
"If they had neglected the Dark Gathering, and the Curse began to affect them negatively, that's when the Negative Status Effects would have popped up…"
"Precisely." Ater responded. "Curses function in a very distinct manner from Magic, since the more subtle ones take root without any recognition."
"I see…"
"But that shouldn't be a problem for you now, Master. I'm certain all of your abilities have been heightened to an incredible degree, so you should be able to perceive things that you were previously unable to." Ater said with a knowing smile.
"Is that so…?"
"Yes. It wouldn't be surprising if you can finally detect the Curse on this object."
Out of nowhere, Ater brought forth the Unknown Box. His smile broadened as he raised his brow, looking at Rey with a prompting gaze.
Rey took a moment to properly understand what he was looking at before even saying anything.
"It looks… different."
In the past, Rey only perceived a box that warbled; one which had incredible power. But now… he was seeing something completely different.
"It's giving off an ominous vibe."
"Indeed. I made this Item myself, to see the limits of what I could create in this world."
"You… made it?"
"Indeed. Though, it seems this is my limit. The flaw of this tool has far too many downsides to be considered truly viable."
"But… since I'm immune to all Negative Status Conditions and Curses, that means I can use it… right?"
"Hm? What for, though?"
Rey sighed as he looked at Ater, unsure of how to answer the question. He already had the Skill of the Item at his disposal, but after [Sacrifice], that was gone.
"I can't use the Skill any longer. So if I had the Item…"
"You don't need this defective thing, Master. Pretty much all of your Skills are already at the maximum level. Besides, it only has a few more tries on it anyway." Ater responded with a nonchalant demeanor.
"I'll figure out some use for it, though, so do not worry."
"Oh? I see…" Rey muttered. "Can you make a similar Item like that, though? Something that can perhaps alleviate Alicia's Curse?"
"..." Ater narrowed his gaze as he looked at Rey.
Tense silence simmered between the two as the Master waited for his Familiar to give a response.
"No. I deal with Chaos, so it's pretty much impossible for me to possess powers that can positively affect entities… at least, not without even more consequences."
"Tch…" Rey clicked his tongue as he closed his eyes.
He took a few seconds to process all the information he had received, searching for several alternatives in his head.
After coming up with a few, he calmed himself down and let go of the remnant vestiges of anxiety and guilt that threatened to swallow him whole.
'It's all my fault that she's like this. But… I can't focus on that now.' Tightening his fist, he decided to focus on a solution rather than dwell so obsessively on the problem.
"After this conversation, I'll have to see her for myself…" He whispered, a slight glimmer of light flashing in his eye.
'If it's me, I should be able to do something to fix her.'
Since that was somewhat partially addressed in his mind, Rey returned his focus on the topic at hand—that is, the changes that had occurred in the months of his absence.
Alicia was just one key change, but what of the others?
"How about my other classmates? Adonis and everyone else."
"About that…" Ater seemed a bit more serious as he began to speak on the matter.
"Adonis mysteriously vanished a week after the incident, and there has been no sighting of him since then."
'W-what…?!' Rey's eye widened as he heard the shocking news.
"He's gone, Master."
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Thanks for reading!
Well, there goes the first round of news for Rey. Let's brace ourselves for more.
