I Can Copy Curses

"Damn, he exploded!"

Orion cursed softly. He hadn't expected that mentioning anything about the Hades Reapers would cause them to explode.

'Looks like it's impossible for me to learn anything about them.'

He pondered. If they exploded just by speaking, trying to make them talk would be a waste of time.

'I can only kill them.'

Orion decided, scanning the factory for more assassins. He found another pair not far from the previous location. Immediately, he summoned them into his dimension and killed them swiftly. He swept through the entire factory, killing every assassin he encountered, leaving none behind.

After about half an hour, Orion paused. "It seems I've killed everyone stationed in the factory," he muttered. "But there are more..."

Having cleared the factory, Orion set his sights on his guild and home. He had overheard the assassins talking about sending some of their own to those places during his escape.

'I hope they haven't caused any chaos near my guild.'

Orion thought grimly as he flew through the sky, quickly heading toward the guild.

Minutes later, he arrived above the guild and saw that it was as quiet as ever. He sighed in relief at the sight.

From above, he located all five assassins hiding near the guild entrance.

'Time to finish them.'

Orion swept them into his dimension one by one, swiftly killing them all.

He checked the perimeter again, and after finding no one, he left the guild and headed home.

Upon arriving near his house, he scouted the area and found ten assassins hiding nearby.

"Heh," Orion smiled cruelly and killed them all one by one. Since they were spread out, he had to hunt them down separately.

Afterward, he scanned the entire area around his house and found no one else.

'Let's check inside.'

Holding his breath, he quietly entered his house and checked each room, finding no one.

'They must have filled the house with drugs, which is why they were waiting outside.'

Orion thought, quickly opening all the windows and doors. He then used the curse of Stormcaller to clear the air inside, repeating the process about ten times before feeling satisfied that the house was free of drugs.

'Time to see if it's completely gone.'

Orion took a light breath and waited. Seconds passed into minutes, but nothing happened.

'It's good.'

He sighed in relief that it was finally over.

'It's good I found this cheat-like use of the Dimensional Dissonance curse. Otherwise, killing all these assassins so swiftly would have been impossible.'

He reflected on the situation. He knew the Hades Reapers wouldn't stop until they either killed him or achieved whatever they were after.

'They're extremely dangerous. I experienced their lethal ways last time, and again today. I need to be cautious and stay alert at all times so I'm not caught off guard like I was today.'

Orion made a mental note.

"Now that half a day has passed, should I enter Grimshore or not?" he muttered.

He decided to ask Erza and confirm if he would have enough time to return before the Dollas Academy assessment.

Orion tapped his halo-watch and messaged her. A moment later, he received a reply saying, "It will be fine."

He sighed in relief and muttered, "Time to finally enter Grimshore for real this time."

Orion vanished from his room.

***

It was dark—pitch black, complete darkness—that greeted Orion as he disappeared from his room.

[Entering Grimshore... Setting data.]

[Setting complete.]

[Awakening Divine Soul...]

[Awakening Divine Soul complete – Image Form.]

[Limiting all stats, powers, and abilities to 10% of their original power.]

[Transporting Orion Darkwood to Desmere.]

A series of notifications filled his vision before he found himself standing in a large hall.

[Transportation complete. Host is advised to check status.]

Seeing the notification, Orion understood that he had arrived in Grimshore.

Looking around, he found himself standing alone on a stage made of white square tiles.

[Test for Desmere will begin in one minute. Data will be recorded.]

"Test?" Orion muttered, nodding.

"I recall seeing a notification saying my strength and abilities are limited to 10%." He clenched his fists. "My strength has indeed been restricted." He could feel the significant drop in his power.

'Alright, since it's a test, there might be a reward, so I should give it my all.'

Orion thought, activating Berserk Body, Blinding Speed, Thunder's Wraith, Velocity Burst, Frozen Torment, Unbridled Fury, Supreme Gravity, and Disintegration Aura in Curse Transformation mode.

A raw, berserk energy erupted from Orion the moment he activated his curses. The tiles beneath his feet shattered completely.

"It's been a long time since I used this much power," Orion smiled, feeling the energy surging through him.

"Ah, this isn't even my full strength, but it's close." He laughed wildly.

[Test will begin in five seconds.]

'I'm ready.'

Orion focused on the stage.

A moment later, a bunch of monsters appeared on the stage. He recognized some, while others were new to him.

[Test begins.]

[Goal: Kill all the monsters as fast as you can.]

Orion smiled lightly as a notification blinked in front of him, signaling the start of his task. In the next instant, he vanished from his position, leaving only a faint ripple in the air where he once stood.

The stage erupted into chaos, flashes of golden lightning streaking across the battlefield, followed by fierce bursts of flame and trails of frost that crackled with icy energy.

Monsters roared in agony, their blood spraying into the air, painting the ground in crimson as they fell one by one under the relentless assault of Orion's power.

For a few intense seconds, the arena was nothing but a whirlwind of elemental fury, each strike more devastating than the last.

Then, as quickly as it had started, the chaos subsided. The battlefield grew eerily quiet, the flames flickered out, the ice melted into the ground, and the last traces of lightning faded into the sky.

Only the fallen monsters remained, their bodies scattered across the stage, while Orion stood calmly amidst the destruction, his presence commanding the space as if he had never left.

[Test complete... Analyzing data... Complete.]

[Test finished in five seconds.]

[Congratulations to the host for setting a new record for the fastest test completion.]

Orion smiled widely.

'It seems I made the right choice in using my full strength.'

[An announcement will be made about your record. Does the host want to use a nickname for the announcement or your real name?]

"Announcement?" Orion was surprised. "What announcement?"

[Everyone who has ever entered Grimshore will be notified of your achievement.]

Orion was shocked. If the announcement was made, nearly everyone in the world would know that Orion Darkwood had arrived in Grimshore.

A crazed smile spread across his face at the thought. It had been a long time since the name Orion Darkwood was heard in the three domains, and most people had forgotten about him.

Now, he believed it was time for the world to remember that Orion Darkwood had not vanished. He wanted the Archons, the Ten Seats, and everyone in the three domains to know he had arrived in Grimshore, and it wouldn't be long before he would come for them.

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Also, I was hoping you could leave some comments or reviews to let me know your thoughts!

*Some gifts would be appreciated as well, but up to you.... *