Chapter 28 - 25: Entirely Through My Own Sweat and Hard Work

Chapter 28: Chapter 25: Entirely Through My Own Sweat and Hard Work

Inside the small shop in the Safe Zone, Shi An fell into deep thought.

"To think that there’s a hidden threshold to using a Rare Level Curse Object."

The activation method for a normal Dream Curse Object was extremely simple and direct. Regardless of whether the side effects were severe or potentially lethal, ordinary people only needed to understand the Curse Object’s mechanics to use and trigger it. Most of the time, it was completely foolproof.

But Rare Level...

[Ordinary people will find it difficult to use directly; resonance is required.]

It didn’t have a direct on-off switch. If it did, there wouldn’t just be a single, incredibly cryptic hint.

Shi An stroked his chin. "But according to the logic of its rules, since this Curse Object is compatible with me, using it will definitely yield half the effort for double, double, double the effect, right?"

Shi An picked up the bracelet, Invisible Corridor. The moment he touched it, an extremely chilling aura surged through his fingers, poured into his arm, and began spreading throughout his entire body.

"It’s this terrifying just from touching it, even before being triggered?"

Shi An then tried touching the Pitch-Black Shoe Covers nearby. The spreading chilling aura wasn’t as severe, but a faint dark spot unexpectedly appeared on his finger.

"Looking at it this way, the side effects the Pitch-Black Shoe Covers bring me don’t seem much weaker than the Invisible Corridor’s. Is it because my compatibility with the Pitch-Black Shoe Covers is poor?"

At first glance, the Pitch-Black Shoe Covers seemed to be a Curse Object of the Curse Magic Stream. This relatively common type of Curse Object really didn’t suit him, Manager Shi.

Enduring the discomfort brought by the chilling aura, Shi An carefully traced the patterns on the surface of the Invisible Corridor. He suddenly thought of something. Since this Curse Object looked so much like a bracelet, why not try putting it on?

Such an attempt naturally came with risks. Developing any unknown Curse Object from scratch required taking some risks, let alone a Rare Level Curse Object.

Shi An looked at the Blood Hand Seal. "Little Blood, if anything goes wrong later, remember to yank this bracelet off me and throw it far away. If anything happens to me, there won’t be anyone to pay your salary or give you a raise."

The Blood Hand Seal, which had been playing statue nearby, immediately shuddered in shock! It leaped off the bar counter, trotted over to Shi An, and patted its chest with a THUMP THUMP, indicating that there was absolutely no problem—just leave everything to it. It, the Blood Hand Seal, was super reliable!

Judging by its intelligence, it would probably be reliable.

Shi An brought the bracelet closer and preemptively prepared a small glass bottle filled with Dream Crystal Dust. He dabbed a little on his fingers and wrist, then placed a bit under his tongue. Once all the necessary preparations were complete, Shi An brought the bracelet to his hand and pressed the five fingers of his right hand together.

In the blink of an eye, the bracelet automatically slipped onto his wrist. The chilling aura flowed through his arm, but Shi An had already adapted to it significantly. However, even after putting on the bracelet, the Invisible Corridor was still not triggered.

Shi An pondered, recalling his lessons. "Professor Luo said that we can figure out a Curse Object through its side effects. We need to feel the chilling aura flowing within our bodies. The flow might also bring about resonance."

Shi An calmed his mind.

The bad news was that the chilling aura surging into his body was extremely uncomfortable. The good news was that because the chilling aura was so strong, feeling it was actually quite clear. Shi An carefully sensed the flow of the chilling aura while reaching out to grope the bracelet.

At a certain moment, when he touched a particular carved area, the chilling aura within his body suddenly changed. It was like a musical variation.

"I got it! I got it! I’ve found a bit of a trick to it!"

Shi An wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and continued to explore. The process was quite difficult. He had to endure the impact of the chilling power while carefully experiencing the changes within it. These changes could be up, down, left, or right, and not all of them were what he needed. However, relying on the continuous tremors of the chilling aura, Shi An finally figured out the trick.

Over half an hour later, Shi An focused his mind. "One, one, two, one, two..."

With the Invisible Corridor worn on his right wrist, he rhythmically tapped it with his left index finger. As he tapped out the final motion, the chilling aura constantly scurrying through his body suddenly flowed into a circle.

A loop! It connected!

At that moment, Shi An suddenly felt a profoundly mystical sensation. The chill in his body was no longer a nuisance or an erosion, but seemed to be some kind of assistance. A sudden flash of insight struck him, and Shi An pointed at Little Blood in front of him.

Instantly, an invisible power surged out, diffusing in concentric rings.

Inside the shop in the Safe Zone, the bar counter, tables, chairs, and speakers remained in their original places, but they seemed to become disordered and chaotic. Even the nearby walls faintly took on the shape of a Nightmare Corridor. And at the center of this corridor was the Blood Hand Seal.

"Gah?!"

Little Blood seemed a bit bewildered. It paced back and forth with a THUD THUD THUD, only to find itself still marching in place. This wasn’t right. Although its body was small, its mind was still sharp. The Blood Hand Seal immediately slapped forward with a SMACK.

Once, twice, three times.

The maze constructed by the Invisible Corridor shattered with a BANG. The surroundings returned to normal.

Little Blood hurriedly ran over and hugged his thigh, indicating that it wasn’t incompetent at protecting him, but rather that something strange had just happened.

Shi An was speechless. He patted the Blood Hand Seal’s smooth head.

"The spatial change just now was undoubtedly the ability of the Invisible Corridor.

"This ability was able to trap Little Blood for several seconds. And Little Blood is a pure supernatural entity—an entity that has even obliterated other entities."

Several seconds was already incredibly long-lasting! After all, this was Shi An’s first time triggering the Invisible Corridor, so he could only barely exert a fraction of its ability. If he continued to develop it...

"Creating a space? Close But Far Away?" Shi An pondered.

The very next moment, he crashed into the wall with a THUD.

It hurt like hell! But wait, hadn’t he clearly been several meters away from the wall just now?

[Side Effect: After using this Curse Object, the user will be prone to losing their sense of direction for a certain period of time.]

He suddenly recalled this sentence. Touching his body, he realized he was already drenched from head to toe. It wasn’t pee; it was pure sweat. For him, Shi An, to reach where he was today, it truly was entirely based on sweat and hard work. He worked too hard!

However...

"There’s still a chilling aura lingering in my body, and this side effect of losing direction gives me a massive headache."

It was a good thing no customers were visiting right now. Otherwise, for the dignified master of the Safe Zone to walk into walls and occasionally trip on flat ground—would that be acceptable? His prestige would be completely ruined.

After handing the Curse Object over to Little Blood to put away, Shi An didn’t dare stay in the Safe Zone any longer. He decided to go back, lie down for a while, and get some sleep.

"Speaking of which, if I had chosen the lounge blueprint earlier, I could be lying down and sleeping in the Safe Zone right now. Plus, the lounge seems to have the function of restoring spirit and healing injuries."

Before, Shi An didn’t think much of it, but now, after personally experiencing the hardships of a Dream Descender, he realized that having a lounge would be incredibly sweet. Next time he saw the blueprint, he definitely had to choose it.

As for now, he was tired and needed to rest first. The tasks of minding the store and keeping watch for him could be left to Little Blood, his number one employee. Shi An believed that Little Blood, as a supernatural entity, would definitely be a model worker.

"[Exit Safe Zone]!" he silently commanded in his mind.

SPLASH!

Like a fish leaping out of the water once again, Shi An passed through layers of dream doors and opened his eyes on his bed.

He prepared to get some good rest, just like how one should drink more hot water and lie flat when sick. But suddenly, he noticed something crucial.

"The chilling aura scurrying through my body and my physical discomfort seem to have... lessened a bit!"

It didn’t just seem so; it was a fact! In his mind, countless pieces of information flashed and connected to form a single line of thought.

"I think I’ve found a way to recover quickly."