The next morning at the temple began like any other.
Soft voices echoed in the courtyard below. The younger children were already awake, running around while one of the older boys tried—and failed—to organize them for morning chores.
From outside Sora's room, it sounded peaceful.
Inside, however, the atmosphere was completely different.
Sora sat cross-legged on the wooden floor.
His eyes were closed.
Thin strands of silvery liquid floated in front of him like slow-moving snakes, suspended in the air by cursed energy.
Sweat rolled down his temple.
"…again."
He forced the cursed energy within his body to twist.
Negative energy collided with itself.
For a brief moment—
Warmth appeared.
Reverse cursed energy.
Sora immediately guided it into his body, letting it spread through his arms and chest.
The sensation was strange.
Unlike normal cursed energy, which felt heavy and aggressive, reverse cursed energy was calm. Warm. Almost soothing.
The fatigue from last night slowly faded.
But Sora wasn't satisfied.
"That's still unstable," he muttered.
The warmth flickered and disappeared.
The metal strands in front of him dropped onto the floor with a soft clang.
Sora opened one eye and sighed.
"Annoying."
Reverse cursed technique required extremely precise control. Even most skilled sorcerers struggled with it.
And Sora had only learned it out of desperation.
Still, he tried again.
He raised his hand.
The liquid metal on the floor rose again, gathering into a small floating sphere.
This time he split his focus.
One half controlled the metal.
The other attempted to produce reverse cursed energy.
"Slowly… slowly…"
The negative energy twisted together again.
Warmth appeared.
Sora immediately directed the metal toward his arm.
Instead of covering the outside, the metal slipped through his skin.
A thin layer began forming around the muscle fibers of his forearm.
Sora's jaw tightened.
Pain prickled beneath his skin.
"Reverse energy… maintain it…"
The warm energy flowed into the area, repairing the tiny internal damage caused by the metal.
The coating stabilized.
Sora slowly clenched his fist.
His arm felt different.
Heavier.
But powerful.
He punched forward lightly.
The air produced a dull thump.
Sora blinked.
"…That's better."
He could feel the difference immediately.
The reinforcement wasn't just surface armor anymore.
It was structural.
Muscles supported by metal.
Bones strengthened by cursed material.
However—
His breathing had already become uneven.
The cursed energy consumption was ridiculous.
Sora released the technique immediately.
The metal slid out of his arm and fell onto the floor.
He leaned back against the wall.
"…still inefficient."
Using both reverse cursed technique and metal manipulation at the same time drained him extremely fast.
If he tried this in an actual fight, he might collapse before the enemy did.
Still…
Progress was progress.
Sora stared at his hand thoughtfully.
"If I reduce the thickness…"
The metal rose again, forming thinner threads this time.
Instead of coating the entire muscle, he guided the metal toward specific points.
Joint areas.
Tendon connections.
Structural stress points.
The metal wrapped around them like tiny support braces.
Sora activated reverse cursed energy again.
This time the strain was much lower.
His eyes widened slightly.
"…oh."
He clenched his fist again.
The strength increase wasn't as dramatic as before.
But the energy cost was far lower.
And more importantly—
It felt natural.
Sora smiled faintly.
"Now we're getting somewhere."
Just as he prepared to test the idea further—
Knock knock.
Sora froze.
A voice came from outside the sliding door.
"Sora?"
It was the caretaker.
"Are you awake? Breakfast is ready."
Sora glanced at the metal threads still floating in the room.
"…one second."
The metal instantly melted into a puddle and slid under the bed.
He stood up quickly, brushing the sweat off his face.
When he opened the door, the caretaker frowned at him.
"You look exhausted," she said immediately.
Sora shrugged.
"Studying."
She stared at him.
"…since when do you study?"
Sora didn't answer.
Instead he walked past her toward the stairs.
The smell of breakfast drifted from the kitchen.
His stomach growled.
Sora scratched his head.
"…okay, maybe food first."
Behind him, the caretaker sighed.
"You're such a strange kid."
Sora only smirked slightly.
Because while the morning looked normal—
His mind was already planning the next experiment.
And next time…
He intended to push the limits even further.
---
The dining hall of the temple was already lively when Sora stepped in.
Several children sat around the low wooden table, bowls of rice and soup in front of them. Their chatter filled the room with a noisy warmth that contrasted sharply with the quiet tension of the previous night.
Sora paused at the doorway for a moment.
His body still felt heavy, but the smell of food helped clear his mind.
"Oi! Sora's here!" one of the younger boys shouted.
A few heads turned toward him.
"You disappeared yesterday!"
"Did you really get lost again?"
"Did you bring sweets?"
Sora rubbed the back of his neck.
"Relax. I just went to buy groceries."
"Groceries don't take five hours," another kid said suspiciously.
Before Sora could respond, the caretaker placed a bowl in front of him.
"Eat," she said firmly.
Sora sat down.
He didn't argue.
His body needed energy.
The first few bites were slow, but soon he was eating properly. His cursed energy reserves had begun recovering naturally, and the food helped stabilize his body further.
Still, he could feel the lingering strain from the experiments earlier.
The caretaker sat across from him, watching carefully.
"You ran all the way back yesterday didn't you?" she said suddenly.
Sora paused mid-bite.
"…maybe."
"You look like you fought a storm."
Sora shrugged.
"Storm lost."
A few of the kids laughed, thinking he was joking.
The caretaker, however, narrowed her eyes.
She had taken care of Sora long enough to know when he was hiding something.
But she also knew he wouldn't talk even if she asked.
So she sighed.
"Just don't collapse somewhere outside the temple."
Sora nodded casually.
"Not planning to."
He finished his meal quickly and stood up.
"Already leaving?" she asked.
"Got things to do."
"Like what?"
Sora walked toward the exit.
"Training."
That answer surprised her enough that she didn't stop him.
Outside, the courtyard was quiet again. The younger kids had been sent off for school, and the temple grounds were calm.
Sora stretched his arms slowly.
His body had recovered enough for another session.
But this time he wasn't going back to his room.
Instead, he headed toward the small forest behind the temple.
The trees there were old and thick, and almost no one visited that area.
Perfect for experiments.
After walking for a few minutes, Sora stopped in a small clearing.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves above.
"Alright…"
He cracked his knuckles.
The liquid metal emerged from his sleeves again, forming several floating droplets.
"Round two."
This time he didn't immediately coat his muscles.
Instead, he focused on reverse cursed technique first.
Negative energy gathered inside him.
Twisted.
Collided.
Warm energy formed.
Sora directed it through his body, stabilizing his condition.
Then the metal threads slowly moved toward his arms again.
But he applied them differently now.
Instead of full reinforcement, thin strands wrapped around specific areas.
Tendons.
Joints.
Small structural points.
Sora bent his arm experimentally.
The movement felt sharper.
More controlled.
"Good…"
He crouched slightly and then jumped.
The ground cracked faintly beneath his feet as he landed.
Sora blinked.
"…stronger than expected."
But that wasn't the real test.
He raised his hand.
A small metal spike formed above his palm.
Then he punched forward.
The spike shot forward and struck a nearby tree trunk with a sharp thud.
The impact left a deep dent in the bark.
Sora stared at it.
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Output improved too."
Which meant the reinforcement wasn't just physical.
It was stabilizing his cursed energy flow.
A grin slowly formed on his face.
"This might actually work."
He was about to try another test—
When he suddenly felt something.
A faint disturbance in the air.
Sora froze.
His eyes shifted toward the deeper part of the forest.
For a moment, everything was quiet.
Then—
A faint ripple of cursed energy brushed against his senses.
Sora's expression slowly changed.
"…seriously?"
He sighed.
His shoulders slumped.
"I just started training."
The ripple came again.
Something had entered the forest.
And judging by the feeling…
It was a curse.
Sora cracked his neck slightly.
"Well…"
Liquid metal slowly gathered around his hands again.
"…guess training just got practical."