Medical tape.
Antiseptic solution.
I dragged the unconscious man onto the bed while Tomogui prepared the equipment.
"First we find the gut," I said.
He applied antiseptic to the man's abdomen before squeezing a small amount of ultrasound gel onto the skin. I moved the probe slowly across the surface of his stomach while the ultrasound machine displayed the internal structures.
*There,* Tomogui said internally.
*Yes.*
The gut—the origin point of cursed energy.
Once the location was confirmed, I picked up the spinal needle.
Inside the syringe was a small amount of grade 4 Holy Ichor, we always kept on us.
For a moment I paused.
*Ready?* Tomogui asked.
*Ready.*
The needle slid carefully into place.
I slowly injected the Holy Ichor.
We both watched closely.
At first nothing happened.
Then I noticed it.
*His cursed energy It's increasing,* Tomogui said.
But that wasn't the only change.
The man's gut began shifting.
Cursed energy began circulating through his body and grew denser and more stable.
His physical body responded as well.
Muscle fibers subtly strengthened.
Even his soul seemed to strengthen.
I leaned closer, observing carefully, my heterochromatic eyes observing him.
*It's not just expanding the cursed energy reserves* I said internally.
*It's strengthening the body, and soul in conjunction to his reserves,* Tomogui replied.
I continued watching.
Then something even more interesting happened.
A faint spark of cursed energy appeared near the man's brain.
The human body already possesses a natural connection between the gut and the brain. In biology this was known as the gut–brain axis—a communication network made up of nerves, hormones, and chemical signals that constantly carried information between the digestive system and the brain. Because of this connection, changes in the gut could directly influence brain function.
For sorcerers, the gut was the origin point of cursed energy.
For non-sorcerers, the brain normally lacked the developed structure needed to perceive cursed energy.
But now that structure was forming.
Slowly.
The man twitched slightly.
His cursed energy stabilized further.
I watched for several more minutes.
"No cursed technique," he said eventually.
'But he can perceive cursed energy now.'
The experiment had succeeded.
They had just turned a normal human into a sorcerer.
____
A few minutes later I activated the cube again.
The alleyway reappeared around them.
He dropped the unconscious man onto the pavement.
I looked down at him for a moment.
Killing him would get rid of any risk of someone figuring out about Holy Ichor.
But I shook my head slightly.
"No."
He crouched down and pulled the man's wallet from his pocket.
Driver's license.
Name.
Address.
He memorized everything carefully.
"I'll need to check on him later," I said.
'To monitor whether there are long term side effects from the Holy Ichor,' Tomogui said.
"Exactly."
I tossed the wallet back onto the man's chest.
Then the cube rotated again.
They vanished from the alley.
___
The next day.
A black crow landed on the railing outside the hotel balcony.
Inside the room, Mei Mei glanced toward the window.
The crow cawed once.
Then it relayed the information it had gathered.
Mei Mei's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I found it," she said.
The room immediately became quiet.
"The curse?" Daichi asked.
"Yes."
Somewhere in the forest surrounding Camp Crystal Lake, the curse born from the legend of Jason Voorhees had been located.
The Kamo elder stood.
"Then we begin immediately."
Everyone gathered their equipment.
"The forest is large," the elder continued. "We will split into two groups and encircle the area."
Group one would consist of:
Futago.
Tomogui.
Mei Mei.
Daichi Kamo.
Hibiki Kamo.
The second group would be:
The Kamo elder.
Bunma.
Riku Ito.
Tenken Kamo.
Ren Kamo.
Mei Mei frowned slightly.
"Splitting up seems unnecessary," she said calmly. "My crow already has a general idea of the curse's location."
"The spirit will be moving," the elder replied. "If we surround its last known position, it will have nowhere to escape."
Before anyone else could speak, Riku Ito shrugged.
"It's just one curse anyways," he said.
'He is way too arrogant for a grade 1 sorcerer.' I thought internally
'I mean typically a grade 1 sorcerer can deal with special grade sorcerer's that's how the grading system was made, so that sorcerers could punch one level up'
"Either group should be able to handle it easily."
No one responded.
The tension in the room grew heavier.
Finally the elder turned toward the door.
"Move out."
The groups separated.
Outside, the sky had begun to darken again.
Mei Mei released another crow into the air.
"This one will guide you," she said.
The bird flew ahead toward the forest.
I watched it disappear into the trees.
Beyond the edge of town, the forest surrounding Camp Crystal Lake stretched endlessly into darkness.
Somewhere inside those woods, something was waiting.
Without another word, their group stepped into the forest and followed the crow.