Curse Returns, a gamble from the start, I awaken dual spells

The temperature in the waiting area slowly rose, and the gray fog gradually dissipated.

Rito stood in front of the light screen, looking at the blood-red countdown.

[First wave of cursed energy shockwave: 3 minutes 14 seconds]

Three minutes, time is of the essence.

Moreover, we cannot linger here for too long; we must hurry and leave to find Xihua!

Thinking it over, Li Ren turned around, his gaze sweeping over every corner of the waiting area.

The ceiling of the central hall is about ten meters high, and the walls are made of thick stone blocks, covered with dense patterns of magical energy.

The lines pulsated slightly like blood vessels, radiating an ominous red glow.

Rito closed his eyes and activated his spell perception to the maximum.

In his perception, the entire waiting area was like a giant cocoon, woven from countless layers of magical power.

Each layer is closely connected and supports each other, forming an indestructible barrier.

But even the strongest fortifications have weaknesses.

Rito walked slowly along the wall, his right hand pressed against the cold stone.

His "decay" can destroy all tangible things, but the barrier in front of him is made of pure magical power. To destroy it, he needs to find the node where the magical power flows.

Just like the source of a river, if you cut off the source, the whole river will dry up.

His perception continued to deepen, sweeping over layer after layer of incantation patterns.

The layout of the waiting area is ingenious; all the spell patterns are interconnected, forming a complete cyclical system.

Any damage will be repaired in a short time through the transmission of magical energy.

We must find the true core node.

Just then—

"Well……"

A soft sob came from the end of the passage on the right.

Li Ren paused slightly in his steps.

He turned his head and looked down into the dark passageway.

Behind the iron gate sealed off by a blood-red barrier, there was a huddled figure.

That's a girl.

He looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a tattered white hoodie, his hair was messy and draped over his shoulders, and his face was covered in dust and blood.

She leaned against the corner of the wall, hugged her knees, and stared blankly ahead.

Li Ren's brows furrowed slightly.

He didn't go forward immediately, but first checked the surrounding magical energy fluctuations.

There were no traps, no ambushes; she seemed to be just a girl who had accidentally wandered into the abyss.

Rito walked to the iron gate, squatted down, and made himself level with the girl.

"How are you?"

The girl trembled violently upon hearing the sound, raising her head like a startled animal.

It was a young face, its eyes filled with helplessness and fear.

"Who...who are you?" Her voice was hoarse and trembling.

"My name is Rito. Were you also involved in this place?" Rito tried to make her voice sound as gentle as possible.

The girl nodded, her eyes reddening.

"I... I was just walking home from school when I was swallowed up by a red light... and when I woke up, I was here."

"What's your name?"

"Sayonara... My surname is Sato, and my name is Sato Sayonara." The girl's voice was trembling with tears.

Rito glanced at her injuries; there were a few scrapes and bruises, but none of them were fatal.

What caught his attention most was a faint curse mark on her left wrist, which was the "player identifier" that the barrier had placed on her.

"How long have you been waiting here?"

"I don't know, it's probably...it's been a few hours, right?" Xiaoye shook her head.

"Did you see anyone else?"

Xiaoye's body trembled violently, and a look of terror appeared in her eyes.

"I saw... there were a few people, they... they were fighting, and then... and then they died..."

Her voice grew softer and softer until it finally turned into a sob.

Rito sighed.

This girl was clearly an ordinary person with no background as a sorcerer, but due to the indiscriminate selection mechanism of the Death Return game, she was drawn into this killing game.

"Is there...is there any way to get out?" Xiaoye looked up, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

Just as Rito was about to speak, he suddenly noticed Sayo's eyes.

Something was gleaming deep within the pupils of those eyes.

It resembled some kind of golden pattern, faintly glowing in the darkness.

"Your eyes..."

Xiaoye was startled and subconsciously touched her eyes: "What's wrong?"

"Can you see things clearly in this light?"

"I...I can see clearly." Xiaoye blinked, seemingly not understanding the question.

"Is it... dark here?"

Li Ren's gaze sharpened slightly.

The passageway was almost entirely devoid of light, save for a faint glow emanating from the blood-red cursed patterns in the distant hall.

In this environment, an average person's eyesight would be completely obscured.

"You just said you saw people fighting. Besides that, what else did you see?" Rito's voice slowed down a bit.

Xiaoye paused for a moment, seemingly trying to recall something.

Her expression turned somewhat confused and uneasy.

"Well... they were fighting. I saw it very clearly. One of them was holding something that was glowing..."

"Something that's glowing?"

"Hmm." Xiaoye nodded, then hesitated, "There's...there's..."

She paused, as if searching for the right words.

"I don't know how to describe it, but... they had some... um... light? Like threads."

Her voice grew increasingly uncertain, eventually becoming almost a soliloquy.

"A thread?" Rito's gaze turned serious.

"Yes. It's those... glowing threads that connect different parts of their bodies. Some are brighter, some are dimmer..."

Xiaoye gestured awkwardly in the air with her hands.

She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, her face slightly flushed, as if she realized she had said something stupid.

"I'm sorry, am I talking nonsense? Maybe I'm just too scared and hallucinating..."

"It's not a hallucination."

Saya was stunned and looked up at Rito.

Rito didn't offer any further explanation. He stood up and looked through the gaps in the iron bars at the passageway behind him.

"Can you see those lines on my body too?"

Saya blinked, stared at Rito for a few seconds, and then nodded.

"Yes, you have a lot of threads on your body... and they're very shiny."

Liren was silent for two seconds.

"Xiaoye." He crouched down again, his voice steady.

"You said you can see the lines connecting various parts of their bodies, but can you see where these lines begin? Or where they go?"

Xiaoye looked at him, puzzled: "Starting point? Isn't a line... connected?"

She didn't continue, because she herself couldn't explain it clearly.

The feeling was so strange, like suddenly being able to see the air moving. She had no idea how to describe it in words.

Seeing her blank expression, Rito didn't press her further, but simply changed his approach.

"I'm looking for the exit of this waiting area." He pointed to the blood-red barrier behind him and the walls covered with cursed patterns.

"There are many patterns on the walls here. When you look at those patterns, do you see anything special?"

Xiaoye followed his finger and looked towards the hall, squinting as she examined the glowing spell patterns.

She stared at it for a while, her brows furrowing slightly, as if trying to discern something complex.

"Those patterns... they're so messy, everywhere, densely packed," she whispered.

Her gaze swept around the hall and then suddenly stopped.

"there."

She pointed to the floor in the center of the main hall.