Chapter 8: Is There a Curse on You?
“…Miss?”
A low, pleasant male voice sounded above her head.
Su Cheng slammed into something hard enough to leave her dizzy, her footing unsteady for a moment.
Then a large, powerful hand landed on her shoulder, catching her before she could fall.
What filled her vision first was a broad, solid chest. His skin was pale and flawless, washed in sunlight streaming through the window, smooth as carved jade.
Her gaze drifted upward past the leather harness strapped across his torso, over the long line of his neck and the sharp cut of his jaw.
And finally, to a strikingly handsome face.
The man was extremely tall, his build lean but powerfully muscled. His upper body was only half-covered, leather straps curving over swollen pectorals. A silver dragon-head engraving gleamed on one shoulder guard, while a heavy fur cloak hung diagonally from his back. Behind him rested an enormous two-handed sword.
His curly hair was black as ink, but his irises were a pale gold, the pupils long and narrow like sharpened black blades.
At first glance, he looked cold and dangerous, carrying an oppressive sort of menace.
But his expression was unexpectedly gentle. Concern lingered in his eyes, along with a trace of apology that softened the harshness of his features.
“Sorry. Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?”
Su Cheng: “?”
Wasn’t this supposed to be the captain lady’s line after the male lead buried his face in her chest in the original novel?!
Back then the comment section had practically howled itself into cardiac arrest, screaming that the author was handing out fanservice and praising the captain’s “ample assets,” begging for a repeat performance.
Su Cheng shook her head rapidly. “No, it was my fault for rushing around carelessly.”
“I’m Kai, captain of the Blackflame Mercenary Corps.”
The black-haired man spoke in a deep voice. “Did you come because of our recruitment notice? I hope my teammates didn’t offend you.”
Su Cheng was just about to answer when a cold body suddenly pressed close behind her.
She nearly formed a wind blade on instinct.
“Captain, why are you assuming it was our fault?”
The silver-haired young man who’d been sitting on the table somehow appeared beside her like a ghost.
He stood very close, though not fully pressed against her. There was only the tiniest sliver of space between them.
But if Su Cheng moved even a little, she’d fall straight into his arms.
A chill seeped through the thin fabric of her clothes and into her skin.
The silver-haired youth laughed softly. “I greeted her very politely, didn’t I? Right?”
Trapped between the two men, Su Cheng found herself hemmed in by hard, towering bodies, the sheer strength in their frames pinning her in place.
Neither of them smelled unpleasant. No sweat, no overpowering scent.
But the cold armor, chains, and leather carried traces of iron rust and blood, tangled with a faint lingering aroma of floral wine, quietly surrounding her.
Like invisible chains winding around her limbs, dragging her into some dangerous world she didn’t belong in.
“No one offended me,” Su Cheng sighed. “Yes, I saw your recruitment notice downstairs and wanted to try my luck. But after coming up here, I realized I haven’t even registered as a mercenary yet. Also… don’t you already have a mage?”
She slowly edged sideways and looked toward the blond man standing in the conference room.
The blond, blue-eyed man stood with his arms crossed. At her words, he let out a cold snort.
“The notice specified an elemental mage. I’m not one.”
As he spoke, he uncrossed his arms, revealing the emblem on his chest.
A hand gripping a crimson gemstone staff.
The entire insignia was blood red.
A blood mage’s crest.
The mage system in this world was vast and divided into many branches, though broadly speaking, it fell into four categories.
Elemental mages wielded natural magic and required resonance with elemental spirits.
Arcane mages manipulated time, space, and even causality itself. Their talents were exceedingly rare.
Then there were spiritual mages and occult mages.
The former specialized in soul-related magic. Necromancers who controlled the dead belonged to this category.
Occult mages were far more complicated. Curses, dismantling magic, magic circles, seals, enchantments, tuning, illusion arts… all of it fell under the occult branch.
Their total numbers might have been slightly lower than elemental mages, but among wanted criminals and cultists, occult mages far outnumbered elemental ones.
Blood mages, who used blood as a medium for casting spells, were also classified as occult mages.
They were common on the Southern Continent. If they wanted to enter the Northern Continent through official channels, they usually faced strict investigation from Church knights.
Smuggled immigrants were another matter entirely.
But since this man openly entered the Mercenary Guild and operated under the Church’s watchful eye, he clearly had nothing to fear from inspection.
“I see…” Su Cheng thought for a moment. “Then I’ll head back downstairs first…”
“Don’t be in such a hurry, little fool.”
The silver-haired youth hooked an arm around her shoulders.
“We only wanted your mercenary journal to check what kind of missions you’ve done. Since it’s blank anyway…”
Su Cheng instinctively lowered her center of gravity and tried slipping away sideways.
The silver-haired youth curved his lips faintly. His elbow tightened inward, and suddenly it felt like a mountain had crashed down on her shoulders.
She stumbled, nearly forced to the floor, only to be caught securely within strong arms.
“Then it doesn’t matter.”
He leaned close to whisper into her ear.
His breath carried a coolness that brushed across her neck, lifting strands of her hair.
Her spine pressed against his chest, her back flattened against the firm muscles beneath thin leather armor.
The armor and lining were both very thin. Pressed together like this, she could clearly feel the contours of his body.
Then the silver-haired youth deliberately crowded closer.
Su Cheng: “…”
Back when Lin Yun got cuddled by the white-haired teammate in the original story, he’d secretly mocked the guy for having a small chest.
But this seemed pretty sizeable to her.
“Enough.”
Kai’s deep voice cut through the room.
“Don’t be rude.”
The pressure on her shoulder vanished instantly.
Su Cheng quickly stepped away. “…What kind of mission do you need an elemental mage for? What special abilities are you looking for?”
The silver-haired youth snapped his fingers. “A gathering for mages. You’d need to go in and gather some information. As for special abilities…” He raised a hand, tracing a lazy circle in the air around the apprentice emblem pinned to her chest. “That depends on what you can do.”
His fingertips almost touched her.
Su Cheng silently backed away.
In the original novel, this guy had outright grabbed the heroine’s chest. She had no reason to believe the gender-swapped version would suddenly develop manners.
The silver-haired youth narrowed his eyes, pointing at her badge. “That thing’s real, right?”
Su Cheng continued retreating until her back hit the wall. “No, it’s fake. I’m actually an incredibly powerful illusionist. All of this is just an elaborate hallucination.”
The silver-haired youth laughed. “If your illusions are really that advanced, then perhaps…”
“Sasha.”
The captain interrupted him calmly.
“What should we call you?”
Su Cheng gave her real name.
“Pleasure meeting you, miss.” The silver-haired youth grinned. “I’m Sasha, from the Shadowhunt Clan.”
He bared sharp canine teeth as he smiled, adding a wild edge to his handsome face.
Su Cheng forced a smile. “Nice to meet you.”
She knew he was a vampire.
Well, vampire was more of a slur here. The proper term was bloodfolk.
Like elves, bloodfolk were long-lived beings capable of surviving for thousands of years.
But while elves could live happily on fruits and vegetables, bloodfolk needed blood to sustain their strength. Without it, they’d fall into dormancy.
Sasha blinked, seemingly surprised by her reaction. When he realized she wasn’t questioning his identity, the smile on his face deepened.
“And over there is…”
As he spoke, he gripped Su Cheng’s shoulders and turned her toward the blond mage by the wall.
“…Camille.”
Su Cheng tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Hello.”
The blond man gave a low grunt in acknowledgment.
“He’s always like this. Don’t mind him.”
Sasha turned her back toward himself again. “Now tell me about you, my adorable little girl. What did you do before this? Where did you study?”
Su Cheng desperately wanted to shake him off, but his grip was absurdly strong. His long fingers clamped onto her shoulders like talons.
Even knowing he acted like this in the original story, she still glared at him. “I don’t recall interrogating your household registration, sir.”
“I just want to get to know you.” Sasha puffed out his cheeks in mock grievance. “If you want, I’ll tell you all about myself. The Shadowhunt Clan is located in the Skron Mountains on the Southern Continent, and—”
“You still haven’t mentioned the payment,” Su Cheng interrupted quietly. “Or the mission details. Can any elemental mage enter? Are there other requirements?”
Sasha spread his hands. “As for payment, that depends on how well the mission goes…”
Su Cheng seized the opportunity to slip free and darted straight toward the captain, immediately putting on the expression of a diligent honor student listening attentively in class.
Kai removed the enormous sword from his back and leaned the nearly two-meter-long weapon against the wall.
The black greatsword looked solemn and merciless. A blood groove ran down the center, while delicate silver wave patterns shimmered across the blade. The angular hilt twisted with spiral carvings, and curved wing-like guards flared from either side.
He sat beside the conference table, glanced up at the girl hovering near him, then casually pulled another chair over with one arm.
The heavy wooden chair lifted effortlessly in his hand.
Not a single sound accompanied the movement.
Su Cheng thanked him softly, then couldn’t help adding, “Your sword looks really cool.”
“…Thank you.” He looked slightly surprised. “I thought mages usually didn’t pay attention to weapons like this.”
Su Cheng shrugged. “Just pretend I’m a mage with warrior dreams.”
None of the three men looked surprised.
No one asked why she hadn’t trained battle aura instead, because everyone already knew the answer.
Human energy was limited.
At her age, reaching apprentice rank already meant she’d poured an enormous amount of time into magic.
Kai considered for a moment. “Miss Su, what kind of payment are you hoping for?”
Su Cheng deliberately pretended to think it over before glancing toward the blond mage.
Camille had been reading a scroll. The moment he sensed her gaze, he looked up sharply, cold eyes locking onto her face.
Sasha snorted with laughter. “If you want to sleep with him, you’ll have to ask him directly.”
Su Cheng: “?”
Su Cheng: “…That’s not what I meant.”
Sasha smiled at her lazily. “Though if you’d prefer someone else instead…”
Su Cheng stared at him deadpan. “Do you not understand human language? I said that’s not what I meant.”
She hurriedly turned back toward the respectable captain. “Originally I wanted money. But since you have a blood mage here, I’d rather exchange the reward for information. Information related to blood magic.”
Camille suddenly looked up, lowering the scroll in his hand.
“There’s a curse on you?”
Su Cheng nodded slowly. “You can tell?”
Camille inclined his head. “To me, it makes you… different from others. But it isn’t active right now, so I can’t be certain.”
Admiration appeared on Su Cheng’s face. “That’s incredible. I researched some records myself and suspected it might be a blood curse.”
“That’s possible.”
The blond mage strode toward her immediately.
“Let me see.”
His previous cold indifference vanished entirely. He stopped in front of her, gaze fixed intensely on her face.
“If you’re willing.”
A second later, as though realizing how abrupt he sounded, he awkwardly added the final sentence.
Logically speaking, if she weren’t willing, she never would’ve brought it up in the first place.
Su Cheng deliberately hesitated, looking tempted yet still unable to fully trust him.
She studied the mage before her.
Camille met her gaze without moving, making no attempt to pressure her.
Even his eyelashes were dark gold, thick and curling like strands of spun metal. Steel-blue hues deepened at the edges of his irises before darkening into indigo around the pupils.
His eyes were astonishingly beautiful.
And from the bridge of his nose to the shape of his lips, everything about his face possessed the meticulous perfection of a sculpted doll.
Yet laid over the sharp bone structure of a grown man, it created a strange and dangerous tension.
“…Alright.”
Su Cheng nodded slowly.
She removed her outer coat, revealing the sleeveless top beneath, then turned around.
Orange-gold gradients spread across the silk fabric, the color flowing from her chest to her back. Thin straps crossed over her spine, leaving most of her back exposed, with only a narrow band of fabric circling her waist.
Her shoulder blades shifted beneath pale skin like trembling butterfly wings.
“This is…”
A surprised voice came from behind her.
Su Cheng glanced over her shoulder.
The blond mage frowned slightly, his expression growing serious as he began putting on gloves.
The gloves he pulled from his coat were silver-white with a pearlescent sheen. Thin translucent stone plates lined the backs of his hands in elegant arcs.
As Camille adjusted the gloves, silver-blue mist spilled from the gaps between the stones.
His long fingers stretched against the strange material before cool fingertips settled against the bare skin of her back.
Su Cheng shivered.
Standing beside the long table, she could only see the mage’s chest when she turned to look behind her.
Her gaze lingered on the heavy high-collared coat and the satin shirt beneath it.
Dark crimson diamond patterns and intricate gold embroidery stretched over his broad chest.
He’d left the top two buttons undone, exposing a glimpse of skin at the base of his throat. A silver necklace disappeared beneath the collar.
Su Cheng guessed it was some kind of magic artifact.
Because it seemed to flash faintly now and then.
A finger tapped lightly against her spine.
She tilted her head. “Hm?”
Camille withdrew his hand slightly. “Two questions. Do you know who cast the curse? And has it ever activated?”
Su Cheng answered honestly. “No. Yes.”
“How many times? And how was it resolved?”
“Please.” Sasha’s laughter drifted over from nearby. “Are you really asking a young lady to share details from her bedroom? Maybe I should take back what I said earlier…”
Su Cheng shot him a vicious glare before turning back around.
“Can I ask you something first, Mr. Camille? In your understanding, how many ways are there to resolve this curse?”
The blond mage lowered his gaze to her.
“So you already know there are methods besides sex.”
Su Cheng: “…”
She suddenly looked toward Sasha. “Wait. You know what kind of curse this is too?”
Otherwise why would he mention bedroom matters?!
The silver-haired vampire sat on the table with his chin propped in one hand, smiling lazily at her.
“I’m bloodfolk, sweetheart. Magic related to blood…” He shrugged. “I may not be able to use it freely right now, but I still know a thing or two.”
Then he stood up again. “Actually, I can join the consultation too. Let me take a look.”
Su Cheng recoiled instinctively. “Could you stop making it sound like I’m terminally ill?”
Sasha had already wandered over to Camille’s side, practically trying to shove the blood mage away.
Camille was still examining the curse structure. Annoyance flashed across his face immediately.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I’m just trying to help.”
The vampire bent closer.
Su Cheng felt his breath brush over her spine. She instinctively shifted, only for cold armored fingers to poke her in the back.
“I’ve discovered a problem.”
Sasha’s tone suddenly turned serious.
Su Cheng’s nerves tightened instantly. “What?”
Because she’d skipped chapters, there were countless settings she still didn’t understand. But thanks to spoiler-filled comments, she knew these people all had hidden identities.
In other words, they were experienced monsters who’d seen everything.
A dozen terrible possibilities flashed through her mind at once.
Maybe the curse had mutated.
Maybe the succubus had tricked her.
Maybe drinking his blood had poisoned her beyond repair.
“Your…”
The vampire deliberately dragged out the word.
“Your back muscles look severely undertrained.”
“?”
Su Cheng was furious.
She didn’t care how people judged her muscles, but there was a time and place, wasn’t there?! This was a life-threatening curse!
Grinding her teeth, she snapped, “And are you any better? Your chest muscles are nowhere near as impressive as your captain’s!”
The conference room fell instantly silent.
