“You mark where it first reacts,” I said.
“Precisely. Measuring more frequently will allow us to pinpoint the boundary. If the center hasn’t been found, we continue going in the direction where there is more cursed energy until we find a spot where the scales remain balanced. However, it is imperative that we use some sort of spell or item to protect ourselves from the cursed energy, and that we never push too far. Finding the sources of cursed energy means we’re heading into the thick of it,” Rosenberg explained. Instead of trying to make a beeline for the epicenter, it was recommended to narrow down the center by approaching from different directions, ensuring safety first. “Still, it will be quicker to find the source in one go if the cursed energy isn’t too thick in the air. That’s why we determine the severity of cursed energy to determine if we should attempt to find the center in one attempt or several. Do you see the dial on the scales?” Sure enough, there were detailed markings near the fulcrum of the scales that showed the angle at which the scales tilted. “As a general rule, anything up to thirty degrees is considered safe. Caution should be used from thirty-one to sixty degrees. I recommend turning back as soon as you see a reading of fifty degrees, just to be safe. Never go into cursed energy measured at sixty-one degrees or more. And you should always cleanse your clothes and tools after emerging from dense cursed energy.”
“So, there are clear, numerical guidelines... I’m sure some people get hurt because they don’t follow those standards,” I said, more to myself.
Rosenberg’s gaze found the ground. “Your assumption is correct. I was just about to say that the primary cause for accidents in this line of work is warlocks not following these guidelines. A warlock’s job can be quite repetitive. Some young warlocks cut corners, and even supervising warlocks grow complacent. Duke Cassiel regularly sends letters to every warlock in his network that highlight the number of recent accidents and urge caution. Still, accidents continue to happen.”
Did something happen to him? Rosenberg suddenly looked terribly tired. I knew what he was talking about too. When I was still in school, I’d worked part-time at plenty of construction sites and factories that straight-up ignored safety protocols. From my personal experience, not too many sites used precise numbers to standardize procedures. Off the top of my head, I recalled a site where the manual was so vague that it didn’t explain anything, another one where following the manual was “inefficient” and doing so would earn you a talking-to, and even a site that didn’t have any manual or written directions whatsoever. It wasn’t the same thing exactly, but the same type of negligence seemed common in this world too.
Rosenberg watched me as those thoughts ran through my mind and said, “I’m glad there’s no need to explain it all.” Then, he gave me specific instructions on how to use the magical item, including how to properly read the dial and the recommended distance between measurements. None of it was particularly complex. Those who designed this item must have wanted to make it easily usable by anyone.
“For accurate readings, make sure to gently pour your magical energy into it. Beyond that, it all comes down to practice. I brought this one for you.” Rosenberg offered me the stake.
“Wait, you’re giving it to me? Not lending it?”
“Every warlock needs one. It isn’t particularly expensive or difficult to get one—it was a simple request through the Cassiels. Think of it as a gift to commemorate the start of your apprenticeship, albeit unorthodox,” Rosenberg said.
“Thank you!” As soon as I took the stake, a rustling made my head snap towards a bush behind me. My first instinct was to expect a monster out of habit from when I was in the Sea of Trees. “Oh, you’re back,” I said. Mizelia and Cilia had returned. “That was quick.”
“We didn’t scout out the whole mountain, just the area around here. And we had split into two groups,” Mizelia said.
“The other three should return shortly,” Cilia chimed in.
True enough, the others returned after a couple of minutes.
“This area looks safe. There were no Undead, and not even any large wildlife. There were plenty of tracks and nests of small animals and birds on the east side. Even if food runs out, hunting will be an option.”
“You could build a farm here, too, Ryoma. Untouched land like this is usually difficult to till, but the soil seems rich. I wouldn’t expect any landslides over here, and there was a large patch of flat land to the southeast.”
“I only saw bugs to the south. There was some vegetation, but it seemed gloomy, somehow. It was like there was barely any life. Same to the west, actually.”
“We got a bad feeling before we came to the summit, so we went around to the north, where we didn’t get that feeling. There were animals in the north too. If there aren’t many animals to the south and west, it’s probably because of the cursed energy.”
“So the atmosphere changes at the boundary of cursed energy.”
I considered what to make of all that information. “Lord Rosenberg, is the mountain walling off the cursed energy?”
“Yes. The center of cursed energy here is the grave at the ruined settlement, which means there is a lot of cursed energy stored in the ground. Despite regular cleansing, cursed energy must have piled up in the soil, which spread to the south and west through the landslides, affecting each area’s ecosystem. We can also assume that the water main of the mountain has not been tainted. When a water source is afflicted with cursed energy, its effect spreads wider and faster. In this instance, cursed energy would have seeped through the entire mountain if that were the case.” Rosenberg segued into explaining how cursed energy interacted with different materials.
Cursed energy corroded everything and had a tendency to pool together. Its behavior was affected by the state of the matter it corroded. For example, soil soaked up cursed energy more easily, but once it did, it was difficult to spread or cleanse. That’s why cleansing a cursed land took so long. On the other hand, cursed energy spread more easily through air, which couldn’t store as much and could be cleansed more easily. Water was somewhere in between earth and air for all properties. It could get tricky when a water source was corroded because the water could seep into the ground and transfer cursed energy to the soil. As Rosenberg had said, that made it easier for cursed energy to spread through the entire terrain.
“Some people describe this as earth and water working together. In another example, if the earth is dry enough to be sandy, the wind can carry the corroded sand—earth and wind working together,” Rosenberg said.
Because of these interactions, it was important to consider the earth, water, and air in relation to how wide cursed energy could spread. He also said that he sometimes took samples and tested them to measure how much cursed energy was imbued in them, kind of like soil and water tests on Earth.
Even the adventurers were listening intently to Rosenberg’s explanations as they learned more about cursed energy. Our conversation—which seemed to be half business and half small talk—continued until Hudom came over to bring us to lunch.