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

As dusk fell, Rito stood in front of the gate of the mental hospital.

The iron gate was rusted and mottled, the hinges were long broken, and half of the gate lay crookedly in the weeds.

"Is this the assessment location? It really is an ominous place."

Sensing the palpable resentment emanating from within the mental hospital, Rito's body tensed slightly.

He glanced down at the photo in the document.

The photo was taken in 1953 (Showa 42), and it looks almost exactly the same as the scene before us, except for the added forty years of desolation.

Below the photo, there was a line of small print:

"In 1950, a reporter went undercover and was detained in a hospital for eight months as a mental patient. His follow-up reports revealed the tip of the iceberg. At least a dozen normal people were misdiagnosed, gradually went insane through electric shocks and solitary confinement, and the case was eventually dropped."

The manager put the documents away.

That immense resentment probably stems from those who were misdiagnosed.

Therefore, the cursed spirits hidden here are most likely related to them.

Without further hesitation, he turned and walked inside.

As dusk fell, the light began to dim, making the already dilapidated place even more eerie.

Even after so many years, a faint smell of disinfectant still lingers here.

The smell seemed to have seeped into the walls, mixed with the odor of moldy wood, leaving a sticky and uncomfortable feeling in the nasal cavity.

He glanced at the layout diagram on the wall of the hall, which had not yet completely peeled off.

The first floor is the lobby, and the inpatient wards begin from the second floor.

Rito went up to the second floor.

A dilapidated and decaying corridor came into view, with rotten fabrics scattered on the ground.

Judging from the outline, they are things like patient gowns and white coats.

crunch--

Rito glanced at the nearest ward, number one, and pushed open the door.

The layout inside was very simple: a hospital bed, a table, and a chair.

As soon as he entered, Rito's eyes were immediately drawn to the chair.

It was an iron chair with armrests on both sides. Over time, it was covered in rust.

Strangely, there were some strips of cloth left on the handrails on both sides, and below them hung electrical wires that had come unglued.

Almost instantly, Rito saw the scene—the reporter was tied to this chair, screaming in agony as he was electrocuted.

He snorted coldly and left the ward.

He wanted to see if it was the same in every ward.

If so, then the cursed spirits in this mental hospital might be even more powerful than he imagined.

boom!

With a forceful push, the door to ward number two slammed shut.

Dust tumbled and spread in the dim light, like a thick fog that suddenly exploded.

Li Ren took a half step back, and only after the dust had settled slightly did he step over the fallen door panel.

The layout of ward number two is almost identical to that of ward number one.

After a quick check, Rito immediately turned around and walked towards number three.

Number four, number five, number six...

It wasn't until the eleventh room that the manager noticed the difference.

The facilities in this ward are still the same three things: a bed, a table, and an iron chair.

But unlike the other bed, there were some things engraved on the metal legs on the side of the bed.

Li Ren quickly squatted down.

Those were a few lines of small print, easily overlooked if not carefully observed.

"On the sixteenth day, even though I'm not sick, why are they locking me up here, even yelling at me and forcing me to obey? Humph! Once I get out, I'll expose you all and make you all ruined!"

"On the twenty-first day, they tried to make me take my medicine, but I refused, and then they beat me. I'm not sick, I'm really not sick!"

"On the thirty-fourth day, I found a chance to escape, and even found the police, but they didn't believe me and sent me back. Damn it, damn it, damn it!!!"

"Day 47. My time is running out. I must... I must find a way to get this message out. This isn't a hospital; this is... hell!!"

The bed legs were very small, and four lines of small print filled them up, but the content above them ended abruptly due to the limited space.

"hell……"

Liren uttered the word softly.

The gradually distorted writing on the bed leg reveals the torment the person who carved it suffered during that time.

Even though they had escaped, they were eventually caught and brought back as mental patients.

The sheer terror of that kind of experience is enough to drive anyone to despair, let alone those who have actually experienced it.

"The person imprisoned in this ward is very likely that reporter. But if he escaped and revealed his identity, he shouldn't be caught, right? Is there some hidden story?"

Liren shook his head, not dwelling on the matter any further.

He planned to go to other wards to see if there were any more clues about the cursed spirit.

Time slips away slowly without us even realizing it.

When Li Ren got up, he realized that it was almost completely dark.

The last ray of light outside the window had disappeared through the broken window frame, and the entire building was plunged into an impenetrable darkness.

At this point, continuing to search for clues in the darkness became extremely difficult.

"Phew—perfect, let's try out my new skill."

Liren exhaled gently, letting his senses permeate his body.

The azure blue magical power flowed slowly deep within his body, like liquid.

He meticulously manipulated the magical power, guiding it upwards and into his eyes.

This is a technique for using magical power that he learned a few days ago at a vocational college, and it's the first time he's used it in actual combat.

The azure magical power entered his eyes.

At first, there was a slight coolness, like mint water washing over the surface of the eyeball.

Immediately afterwards, it was as if someone had turned on an invisible switch in the world.

In an instant, the previously dimly lit ward lit up.

The blurry scenery became crystal clear, and even the small print on the bed leg, which previously required squatting to see, was now clearly visible even while standing.

"Although it requires a bit of skill, it consumes very little magical power, making it practically a divine skill."

Li Ren was very satisfied with this new skill. His resolve strengthened; he had to pass the assessment and successfully enroll in the vocational college. Only in this way could he become stronger.

The ward became clear, and the once dark corridor was no longer an obstacle.

Rito turned around, intending to head to the next room to continue searching for clues.

However, as he walked out of ward number eleven, a strange sense of déjà vu suddenly washed over him.

He stopped and looked around.

The dilapidated corridor, the rotten wooden door, even the direction of the fabric underfoot, are all the same as when I first came in.

But the body's instincts detected a subtle sense of dislocation.

"No, the location has changed!"

Rihito's pupils contracted as he finally discovered the source of that sense of disorientation.

The place he was standing at that moment was not the same place where he had just entered ward number eleven.

Realizing this, Rito suddenly turned around and looked at the door number above the ward.

Ward number 23!