Rosaline hadn't expected me to suddenly absorb all the cursed energy in the room.
As a result, it was far too much for my body to handle, forcing a mouthful of blood out of my throat.
Her figure dispersed into flutters of luminescent purple lightning. Before I could even blink, she appeared right in front of me.
She raised her slender hand and lightly tapped two fingers against my chest.
The motion was gentle.
The impact was anything but.
It felt as though a boulder had slammed straight into me.
The force of those two fingers alone sent me flying toward the wall.
My head spun violently as my body crashed against it with a heavy impact.
"Arrr…" I groaned, my body trembling uncontrollably.
A strange sensation erupted inside me.
The massive cursed energy I had absorbed suddenly exploded outward, surging through every part of my body. It spread through my bones with dull, vibrating thuds, making it feel as if my entire skeleton was shaking apart.
My eyes widened in shock.
I coughed up another mouthful of blood and slowly slid down the wall, my body twitching repeatedly.
Rosaline stared at me for a moment before shaking her head in disbelief.
"The fuck's wrong with you?"
"Didn't you read the training technique? Start slow, then gradually increase the absorption rate. If I hadn't stepped in, you'd have exploded into bloodmist just now."
She drew a small arc in the air.
A faint blue glow surfaced on her fingertips, trailing behind them as she moved.
Her movements appeared slow, deliberate.
Yet in the next instant, a strange symbol had already formed, hovering silently in midair.
She tapped it with two fingers.
The symbol shot forward and sank directly into my body.
A cooling sensation spread through my aching bones instantly.
It felt as though something inside me was being repaired at lightning speed. Wherever the cold energy passed, the strain in my bones faded and the damage healed.
My eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Within moments, my body felt almost completely restored, aside from the burning pain pounding in my chest.
My heart throbbed violently, as if it might explode at any moment, cold sweat breaking out across my skin.
Rosaline finally let out a small sigh of relief when she saw that my condition had stabilized.
"What the fuck was that just now? I won't take in someone who can't follow instructions and obey orders, no matter their status."
She narrowed her eyes at me.
I coughed awkwardly as I stood up, no longer feeling the violent pain from earlier.
"I… absorbed the least amount of cursed energy I could find," I explained.
"What?" Rosaline exclaimed, her eyes narrowing in disbelief.
I tried to sense my surroundings again and explained the situation to her in a way she could understand.
"When you told me to absorb cursed energy… I felt the cursed energy across the entire training ground. I tried to reduce the amount I absorbed to the bare minimum, but it still resulted in… this."
My explanation made Rosaline's jaw slowly drop.
A dumbfounded expression appeared on her face.
"Monster…" she whispered, staring at me as if I were some kind of demonic creature.
She had always thought my sister was the most terrifying talent of this generation.
But I was something else entirely.
In fact, even the word monster didn't feel sufficient.
'I didn't even tell her that…' I muttered inwardly as I noticed the suspicious look in her eyes.
If she knew I could see her blazing brightly in my curse senses, and that faint instinctive pull telling me I could… absorb all the cursed energy in her body…
She might actually faint from shock.
'Although I could absorb it all, I'm absolutely certain I'd explode the moment I tried. Even ten percent would probably kill me…' I mused silently.
Rosaline stared at me for several long seconds.
Then an unsettling smile slowly formed on her lips.
"It seems you can't become a cursed warrior the normal way."
A chill immediately ran down my spine.
From that look alone, I could tell she was planning something unpleasant.
"Choose a weapon," she said, pointing toward the nearby weapon rack.
"Anything convenient for now. You can switch to something more suitable later."
"Okay…" I muttered.
I walked toward the rack and scanned the weapons before selecting a long, slender sword engraved with dark symbols along its blade.
I weighed it in my hand for a moment.
It felt balanced.
Comfortable.
Almost perfect.
"What are you trying to do?" I asked.
Rosaline's grin only widened.
She walked out of the room, signaling for me to follow.
After hesitating briefly, I followed her back toward the training ground.
Within moments, we stepped out onto the wide expanse of greenery once again.
I glanced around with a slightly confused expression as I followed behind her, trying to figure out what she was planning.
Rosaline turned toward me, her spear resting casually in her hand.
"I'll suppress my strength to that of a first-rank cursed warrior."
"Let's fight."
"During the battle, try absorbing cursed energy while using it to fight so your body disperses it naturally. I'll also help disperse the excess."
"It should allow you to absorb only the amount your body can handle for now."
Her explanation sounded simple enough.
Yet for some reason, it felt… suspicious.
I frowned slightly before tightening my grip on my sword and nodding.
There was no way I could refuse anyway.
"Good," Rosaline said.
I immediately felt her aura begin to shrink.
The oppressive pressure surrounding her weakened at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Within seconds, her overwhelming presence vanished completely, replaced by something far weaker.
The sight stunned me.
It was as if she had lost all her strength in the blink of an eye.
Rosaline raised her spear and pointed its tip directly at me.
"Come at me."
'Fuck… here goes nothing…' I muttered inwardly.
I dashed forward.
The wind brushed lightly against my skin as I rushed toward her.
Around us, the nearby trainees quickly noticed what was happening.
One by one, they stopped their own training and began gathering at a distance.
Rosaline rarely fought in the training grounds.
But whenever she did…
It was always unforgettable.
And almost everyone watching ended up learning something from it.