Chapter 493: It's Always Better Than Being Dead

"I... was cursed!"

"Hmm!?"

When the team member spoke these words, the Captain felt like his cerebellum had shrunk.

Cursed? What's that?

Didn't they say poisoned?

"Speak in detail. Lucas, take a few people to a high place and see if anyone is running away."

Recovering his senses in just a few seconds, the Captain kept a straight face and looked at his team member very seriously as he spoke.

Then he gave an instruction into the ear of the team member beside him.

If it were in the past, the cautious Captain would definitely have found a quiet place to sit down and ask slowly first.

But now, because four people had been taken out of combat unexpectedly, plus it was a curse he had never heard of, and the matter of the curse was already exposed, he simply had the person speak here.

This way, he could at least gain some goodwill while also 'brainstorming'.

After all, just hearing the word 'curse' made one know that no one could stay out of it.

Actually, it wasn't just the Captain; even the unaffected team members nearby and the thrill-seeking onlookers around wanted to hear what it meant. It was a mutual desire.

"Black Magic · Curse of Agony... makes the caster feel pain all over their body, and there is only pain without being fatal, but it cannot be eliminated by Healing Potions, antidotes, etc. It will only accompany them constantly until the cursed dies or the caster dies."

"What is this, harassment?"

The Captain couldn't help but speak out to complain.

Only pain and no death, wasn't this just harassment.

No, its nature was even worse than harassment.

Simply outrageous.

Through this curse magic, he could even picture the caster behind the scenes revealing a sinister smile of a successful plot, or perhaps a wretched smile after a successful prank.

"Moreover..."

"Moreover?"

"Witch Specialization..."

"..."

Very well.

There was no need to waste brain cells thinking about it.

This matter was definitely inextricably linked to the Witch Clan.

Everyone knew that most of the Witch Clan members liked all kinds of strange and bizarre research.

Among them, research into magic was a major category.

Even before the Forsaken War, there was a specific sale of Magic Scrolls that allowed people to instantly learn magic.

Although they disappeared not long after they went on sale, the people who bought them spoke up, showing how successful the Witch Clan's research was.

In fact, he himself had obtained a Magic Scroll made by a Witch during the Forsaken War and learned a magic, so as a direct beneficiary, his feelings were naturally more intuitive than others.

And the other three who were affected quickly opened their Personal Information, only to find that it was exactly the same as the first one.

"It's true!"

"Mine is also Curse of Agony."

"Damn it! What exactly are those Witches doing!"

Looking at every word and sentence in their Personal Information, these guys couldn't help but start cursing.

Four at once. If Lan Qingyou saw this scene, she would probably be very satisfied with her masterpiece.

Surely no one actually thought Lan Qingyou cast the incantation just to curse one person, right?

One must know that the Book of Curses could curse several people at once.

Under these circumstances, how could Lan Qingyou, who was familiar with the Book of Curses, only collect the mana of one person when collecting mana?

When collecting, she deliberately found several mana residues that were so similar they were barely distinguishable.

Moreover, things like mana residues easily blended similar manas together in order to dissipate more slowly.

This resulted in the current effect.

"Captain, what do we do?"

Now that they were down four members outside of combat, whether or not to go to the dungeon next, and how to go, were all things the Captain should consider.

And facing the gazes of his team members staring at him, the Captain didn't feel well at all.

What to do? What could he do! He was also very desperate!

Originally he was still thinking of entering the dungeon to hide for a period of time, but the Witches' revenge came so coincidentally, right on their way to the dungeon.

Not only were people 'injured', but they directly became the 'laughingstock' of the whole city.

Don't think he didn't see that just now after hearing it was the Witches' doing, some people couldn't hold back their laughter.

Some even covered their mouths and directly ran out of the crowd.

No need to think about it, these guys who ran out of the crowd must have run out to laugh out loud.

Thank you very much for not laughing in my face, how very polite of you.

But apart from these people, there was another group of people who directly took out their cards, some taking pictures, some editing text.

It looked exactly like they were reporting to someone.

That's true.

Curse.

Black Magic.

Witches.

Any of these words could arouse people's curiosity.

Of course, what they were most curious about was definitely why the Witches would curse them.

Hmm, why? So hard to guess!

Just looking at those laughing guys, one knew they had already guessed it.

"Carry them back, I'll report this to the higher-ups first."

Now was no longer the time to run dungeons. Let's go back, organize the situation first, and report it up.

He believed that the higher-ups wouldn't make things too difficult for them after getting this intelligence.

After all, accepting a mission and not doing it was an absolute taboo in the organization.

His only hope was that the shelter's Magic Shield could resist the curse's attack.

After all, out of their group of a dozen or so people, four were hit all at once. God knows if those highly vindictive Black Witches would continue cursing?

Thus, the group of guys who had just left not long ago carried their four cursed companions and returned to the shelter once again.

"Pain, pain, pain, be gentle, fragile, careful, handle with care, understand."

A burly man who was carried and placed on the sofa yelled in pain.

And the teammate who carried him back burst out laughing with a 'pfft'.

"You, a big crude guy, even came up with new fancy tricks after getting cursed."

Although he knew now wasn't the time for jokes, he still couldn't help but want to laugh and complain.

"Then you try it. Right now I feel like I'm on the only block of ice in a sea of fire. As long as I move slightly, the surrounding flames will directly burn onto my body."

Although the burly man looked big and rough, he was still very stylish in his strange descriptions.

Silence——

After the two finished joking, the shelter hall fell into a period of silence.

It wasn't just the Captain; actually, everyone was afraid.

This kind of battle where they couldn't even see the opponent was the most disadvantageous to them.

Punching cotton at least there was cotton.

But they had to directly face the air.

How could this not make them feel worried.

This uncomfortable state, as if the surrounding air was sticky, continued until the Captain appeared after finishing his report.

"What's wrong with you guys?"

"Nothing, first tell us what the higher-ups mean."

The team members coming out of the silent state shook their heads and then changed the subject.

"The higher-ups mean that this mission continues. As for you guys, they will send someone to conduct a thorough examination on you, and then formulate a treatment plan."

The Captain conveyed the meaning from above, and then immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of the four.

"Isn't this just being lab rats?"

"It's always better than being dead, right."

The Captain said with a gloomy face.