Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Are you cursed?
"……Miss?"
A deep and pleasant male voice sounded above my head.
Su Cheng was knocked unconscious and couldn't stand steadily for a while.
A large, strong hand suddenly landed on her shoulder, supporting her shaking body.
She saw a broad, strong chest, with flawless, snow-white skin, bathed in the sunlight coming through the window, as smooth as a jade carving.
The gaze continued upwards, across the leather straps, revealing a slender neck and sharp jaw.
And a handsome face with sharp edges.
He was a very tall man with a very strong physique. His upper body was half exposed, and a leather belt was wrapped around his bulging chest muscles.
There was a silver-white dragon head relief engraved on the shoulder armor, a thick animal skin cloak hung diagonally, and a huge two-handed sword was carried on his back.
His curly hair was jet black, but his irises were pale gold, and his pupils were elongated, like sharp black blades.
At first glance, it appears cold and ferocious, with a heavy sense of deterrence.
However, his expression was quite gentle, with concern in his eyes and a hint of apology on his face, which softened the inhuman aura.
"Sorry, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Su Cheng: “?”
Isn’t this the line spoken by the Black Flame Captain’s sister after the male protagonist and Captain Black Flame washed their faces with cream!
At that time, the comments were full of howls, saying that the author was giving out benefits and praising the team leader for his abundant capital, allowing the protagonist to come again.
Su Cheng shook his head repeatedly, "No, I was too reckless."
"I'm Kai, the leader of the Black Flame Mercenary Group."
The black-haired man said in a deep voice, "Are you here in response to the invitation we posted? I hope my teammates didn't offend you."
Su Cheng was about to speak.
Suddenly, a cold body pressed against my back.
She almost created a wind blade on the spot.
"Ah, Captain, why must it be our fault—"
The silver-haired young man sitting at the table jumped down at some point and appeared next to her like a ghost.
He was close to her, but not completely pressed against her, leaving a little distance between them.
But if Su Cheng moved a little, he would fall into his arms.
The coolness then came over me, seeping into my skin through the thin clothes.
The silver-haired young man laughed. "I was saying hello in a friendly way, wasn't I?"
Su Cheng was sandwiched between two people, with tall and hard male bodies in front and behind her. The powerful muscles and bones wrapped around her, making her unable to move for a while.
They weren't sweaty or had any noticeable body odor, and they didn't smell bad.
But the cold, hard armor, chains, and leather, with their metallic smell of rust and blood, as well as a lingering aroma of flowers, wood, and wine, vaguely surrounded her.
Like invisible chains, it bound her and dragged her into a dangerous world.
"No one offended me!" Su Cheng sighed. "Yes, I saw your recruitment notice down below and wanted to try my luck. After coming here, I realized that I haven't registered as a mercenary yet. Also, it seems that you already have a mage?"
Su Cheng slowly moved to the side and looked at the blond man in the conference room.
The blond, blue-eyed man stood with his arms folded. He snorted coldly when he heard this, "The recruitment post says I'm an elemental mage, but I'm not one."
As he spoke, he uncrossed his arms from around his chest, revealing the magician's emblem on his chest.
One hand held a blood-red gemstone staff.
The entire pattern is blood red.
——The emblem of the blood mage.
The magician system is huge, with many professional classifications, but they can be roughly divided into four categories.
Elemental mages, those who wield nature magic, need to be able to resonate with elemental spirits.
An arcane mage is someone who can use spells of time, space, and even causality. This type of mage has the rarest talent and is very few in number.
Then there are the spiritual mages and the strange mages.
The former studies magic related to the soul, and the necromancer who controls the souls of the dead is one of them.
The category of the strange magician is very complicated. Spells related to curses, deconstruction, magic arrays, seals, enchantments, tuning, and illusions are all classified into this category.
Their total number may be less than that of elemental mages, but on the wanted criminals and heretics lists, there are many more occult mages than elemental mages.
Blood mages who use blood as a medium to cast spells are also classified as alien mages.
There are many such mages in the Southern Continent. If they want to enter the Northern Continent through formal channels, they will usually be strictly examined by the Knights of the Vatican.
Those who come here illegally are naturally treated differently.
But since this person dared to enter the mercenary guild and expose himself to the surveillance of the Holy See, he can obviously withstand verification.
"Okay," Su Cheng thought for a moment, "Well, then I'll go downstairs first—"
"Don't worry, little fool!"
The silver-haired young man hooked his arm around her shoulders and said, "I want your mercenary diary to see what missions you've done. Since it's all blank..."
Su Cheng subconsciously lowered his body, lowered his center of gravity, and tried to dodge to the side.
The silver-haired young man curled up the corners of his mouth slightly, and buckled his elbows inward, and suddenly it felt like a huge burden was pressing down on him.
Su Cheng staggered and was almost knocked down, but was held tightly by the strong arms.
"That doesn't matter."
He leaned over and whispered in her ear.
The breath was cool, blowing on the side of the neck and ruffling the hair.
Her spine was pressed against the man's heart, her back pressed against the solid chest wrapped in leather armor.
The leather armor and the lining inside were very thin, and when she leaned against it so tightly, she could even clearly feel the outline of the muscles.
The silver-haired young man said as he squeezed forward again.
Su Cheng: “…”
When Lin Yun was hugged by his white-haired teammate's shoulders, he secretly complained about his small breasts.
She felt that it seemed quite big.
"Alright." Kai said in a deep voice, "Don't be so rude."
Su Cheng immediately felt his shoulders loosen, and the previous restraining force disappeared.
She took a few steps to the side. "...What tasks do you need the elemental mage for? What special abilities do you need?"
The silver-haired young man snapped his fingers. "It's a gathering of mages. You need to go in and get some information. As for special abilities, it depends on what you have."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and twirled his fingers in the air, vaguely outlining the apprentice emblem on the girl's chest.
I almost pressed it.
Su Cheng retreated silently.
The guy in the original novel just touched her directly, so she had no doubt that the gender-swapped version would be any better.
The silver-haired young man narrowed his eyes and pointed at the emblem with his index finger. "This thing should be real, right?"
Su Cheng continued to retreat until he hit the wall. "No, this is fake. I'm actually a very good illusionist. All of this is a fake created by me."
The silver-haired young man laughed, "If your illusion technique is this advanced, then perhaps—"
"Sasha," the regimental commander beside him interrupted him, "what's your name?"
Su Cheng gave his real name.
"Nice to meet you, young lady," the silver-haired young man said with a grin, "I'm Sasha, from the Shadow Hunter Clan."
He grinned, revealing his sharp fangs, adding a bit of wildness to his handsome face.
Su Cheng forced a smile, "Hello."
She knew the other person was a vampire.
——However, here vampire is more of a derogatory term, the proper term is vampire.
Vampires, like elves, are immortal and can easily live for thousands of years.
But elves can survive on wild vegetables and fruits alone, while vampires need the blood of living creatures to maintain their strength, otherwise they will fall into a deep sleep.
Sasha blinked, seemingly surprised by her reaction, and when she realized she didn't question her identity, her smile deepened.
"And over there is—"
As he spoke, he grabbed Su Cheng's shoulders, exerted a little force, and turned the girl's body so that she looked at the blond wizard standing by the wall.
“…Camus.”
The white-haired vampire introduced it this way.
Su Cheng raised the corner of his mouth, "Hello."
The blond man hummed dully as a greeting.
"He's always like this, don't mind it."
Sasha turned her back and made her face him. "So, tell me about yourself, my lovely girl. What did you do before? Where did you study?"
Su Cheng wanted to shake him off, but his grip was incredibly strong. His long fingers gripped her shoulders like eagle claws, and she couldn't move at all.
Although she knew that he behaved like this in the original novel, she still couldn't help but glare at him, "I didn't check your household registration, did I, sir?"
"I just want to get to know you," Sasha puffed up her cheeks in a feigned grievance. "If you want to know, I'll tell you my story. The Shadowhunter Clan is located in the Skron Mountains of the southern continent..."
"You haven't mentioned the reward yet," Su Cheng interrupted him quietly, "and more details. Can anyone who is an elemental mage enter? Are there any other requirements?"
Sasha spread out his hands. "As for the reward, it depends on how well the mission is completed—"
Su Cheng took the opportunity to dodge and rushed to the side of the group leader, putting on a serious expression, like a good student who was listening to the class obediently.
Kai removed the giant sword from his back and placed the nearly two-meter-long heavy weapon against the wall.
The pitch-black sword was solemn and cold, with a blood groove extending down along the sword's spine and fine silver-white wavy patterns flowing on the blade.
The angular hilt is surrounded by spiral patterns, and two sharp curved blade wings extend from the guard, like half-curled and half-spread wings.
He sat down next to the conference table, looked up at the girl who moved to his side, and then stretched out his arm to pull another chair over.
The man lifted the heavy chair with one hand and placed it beside her legs.
There was no sound from beginning to end.
Su Cheng thanked him in a low voice, paused and couldn't help but said: "Your sword looks really cool."
"...Thank you," he said, a little surprised. "I thought mages didn't usually pay attention to weapons like this."
Su Cheng shrugged, "Just think of me as a mage who also dreams of being a warrior."
The three people present did not seem surprised either. No one asked her why she did not practice fighting spirit, because there is usually only one answer to this question, which is that human energy is limited.
To be able to reach the apprentice level at her age, she must have devoted a lot of time to the field of magic.
Kai groaned, "Miss Su, do you have any expectations or requirements for compensation?"
Su Cheng deliberately put on a thoughtful expression, and after thinking for a few seconds, he looked at the blond man a little further away.
The latter was originally looking down at the scroll, and when he sensed her gaze, he immediately looked over sharply, his cold eyes locked on her face.
Sasha scoffed, "If you want to sleep with him, you'll have to ask him."
Su Cheng: “?”
Su Cheng: "...That's not what I meant."
Sasha looked at her with a smile, "But if you change your request, um, or change someone——"
Su Cheng's eyes were dead, "Don't you understand what I'm saying? I said that's not what I meant."
She quickly looked at the Serious Leader and said, "I originally wanted money, but since you have a blood mage here, I'm willing to use the reward in exchange for some information, some information related to blood magic."
Camus suddenly raised his head and put down the scroll in his hand. "Are you cursed?"
Su Cheng nodded slowly, "Can you feel it?"
Camus nodded. "To me, it makes you... a little different from other people. But it's not acting up right now, so I can't be sure."
Su Cheng showed admiration, "You are really amazing. I have looked up some relevant information and think it might be a blood curse."
"That's possible," the blond wizard strode over. "Let me see."
He changed his previous cold attitude and quickly approached her, standing in front of her, his eyes fixed on hers, "If you are willing."
A second later, he added this sentence belatedly.
Although logically speaking, she wouldn't mention it at all if she wasn't happy about it.
Su Cheng deliberately showed hesitation, as if he was a little moved, but still in a state of not being able to fully trust the other party.
She looked at the mage in front of her.
Camus met her gaze without moving, and stopped pressing her for an answer.
His eyelashes were also dark gold, exceptionally curled, thick and long, like drooping golden branches. The cold, hard steel blue settled from the edge of the iris and shrank into indigo around the pupil.
Those eyes were exceptionally beautiful, and his face, from the bridge of his nose to his lips, had the meticulous precision of a doll.
A strange and cold tension is fermented on the sharp-lined skeleton of the adult man.
"……All right."
Su Cheng nodded slowly, took off his outer shirt, revealing the sleeveless vest underneath, and then turned around.
The silk fabric is stained with a gradient of orange and yellow, the color spreading from the chest to the back, and two thin laces interlaced to cover the spine.
Most of her back was exposed, with a palm-wide piece of cloth wrapped around her waist. Her shoulder blades stretched out under her snow-white skin like fluttering butterfly wings.
"This is--"
A slightly surprised voice came from behind.
Su Cheng turned his head slightly.
The blond wizard frowned slightly, his expression becoming more serious, and then began to put on his gloves.
The gloves he took out of his coat pocket were silvery white with a pearl-like luster. A string of thin translucent stone flakes were scattered along the curve of the back of his hand.
Camus pulled the edge of his glove, stretched his long fingers in the air, and a silver-blue mist of light overflowed from the gaps between the stone pieces.
The joints of his fingers stretched open the leather of strange texture, and his fingertips fell on the girl's white back with a cool feeling.
Su Cheng shrank back.
She was now standing next to the long table. If she turned her head back, she could see the wizard very close to her.
The blond man was completely oblivious to her condition, concentrating on observing the patterns left by the curse.
He was very tall, and when Su Cheng turned his head and looked back, he could only see his chest.
She stared at the rich, heavy-lapeled jacket and the pleated satin blouse beneath it.
The deep red diamond pattern and fine gold thread embroidery covered the bulging pectoral muscles.
He hadn't fastened the top two buttons, revealing a small patch of skin below his neck, through which a silver necklace could be seen embedded in his collar.
Su Cheng thought that it should also be a magic prop.
Because it seems to flash occasionally.
The fingers behind her back tapped her spine.
Su Cheng tilted his head, "Hmm?"
Camus raised his hand. "Two questions. Do you know who cast the curse? Has the curse ever worked?"
Su Cheng: "I don't know. Yes."
Camus: "How many times? How were they resolved?"
"Come on," a vampire laughed nearby, "You want me to share what happens in the bedroom? Maybe I should take back what I said before—"
Su Cheng rolled his eyes at him, then turned his head and said, "Can I ask first, Mr. Camus, in your opinion, how many solutions are there to this problem?"
The blond man lowered his eyes to look at her. "So you also know there are other ways besides intercourse."
Su Cheng: “…”
Su Cheng suddenly looked at Sasha, "Wait, do you also know what this curse is?"
Otherwise, why would we talk about what happened in the bedroom?!
The silver-haired young man sat at the table, looking at her with a smile on his face. "I'm a vampire, baby. I may not be able to use blood-related magic freely now, but I do understand a little bit."
He stood up again and said, "By the way, I can also participate in the consultation. Let me take a look."
Su Cheng was a little resistant, "Can you please not make it sound like I have a terminal illness?"
Sasha had come over and was standing shoulder to shoulder with Camus, even trying to push the blood mage aside.
Camus was still trying to understand the curse. Seeing this, he frowned in disdain and stood still, refusing to budge. "What's wrong with you?"
"I was just trying to help—"
The young vampire leaned over.
Su Cheng felt his breath brushing against his spine, and subconsciously moved, but was poked on the back by the cold hand nails.
"I've found a problem."
Sasha's tone suddenly became serious.
Su Cheng was also nervous, "What?"
Although she didn't know many settings because of the skipped chapters, she knew that these people had hidden identities because of the spoilers in Duan Ping.
In other words, they are all knowledgeable and experienced people.
Many speculations suddenly flashed through her mind, such as her curse had mutated, or the succubus had deceived her and she had been poisoned by drinking his blood.
"your--"
the vampire drawled lazily.
"Your back muscles look underdeveloped."
"?"
Su Cheng was very angry.
She doesn't care what others think of her muscles, but especially not in such a serious occasion, this is a life-threatening curse!
Su Cheng gritted his teeth and said, "Are you really that good? Your chest muscles are far inferior to your leader's!"
The conference room suddenly became quiet.
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