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

As night deepened, the abandoned industrial park on the western outskirts of Tokyo was shrouded in a deathly silence.

Rito led Saya through the broken streets, with abandoned factories and warehouses on both sides, their rusted iron frames casting large shadows under the moonlight.

They traveled westward from the third barrier, crossing two abandoned highways and three desolate residential areas.

They encountered several groups of lone players along the way, but Rito chose to take a detour.

After all, the most urgent task is to reach the 8th barrier and find Kurusu Hana.

"How much further?" Xiaoye asked breathlessly, her steps already a little unsteady, but she still followed closely behind Rito.

"We'll be there once we cross the overpass ahead." Rito's gaze was fixed on the overpass covered in vines.

The bridge structure is severely corroded, and the concrete on the bridge deck has collapsed in many places, exposing the twisted steel bars underneath.

However, the passage under the bridge is unobstructed and leads directly to the core area of ​​the 8th barrier.

The air grew heavy the moment the two crossed the overpass.

An invisible barrier swept over them like a viscous stream of water.

Immediately afterwards, a blinding white light shot out from the top of the signal tower not far away, and the light screen unfolded in the air, revealing blood-red text.

[System Announcement: New player enters the 8th barrier area]

Player ID: Sato Rihito

Points: 2130

Current ranking: 4st

[Note: The rules for the 8th barrier are as follows.]

[1. This barrier prohibits the use of defensive barrier spells other than simple domain spells.]

[2. Killing a player will earn you double points]

3. A spell shockwave will be released inside the barrier every two hours. During this time, all players must be exposed in an open area. Violators will have 500 points deducted.

Enjoy the game!

The screen flickered twice and then disappeared.

At the same time, another light screen lit up in front of Xiaoye.

Player ID: Xiaoye

Points: 97

Current ranking: 127st

[Note: Your points balance is insufficient to cover one penalty under the rules. Please earn points as soon as possible.]

Xiaoye stared at the line "Balance is insufficient to withstand one rule penalty," her expression somewhat tense.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the points," Rito said, turning to comfort her.

Sayo looked up at Rito's back, and the unease in her eyes faded somewhat.

Then, Rito's gaze fell upon the rules of the barrier before him.

The prohibition of defensive barrier spells means that players must launch a full-scale attack and cannot rely on barriers to survive.

The magical shockwaves that occur every two hours force players to move constantly, making it impossible for them to stay still for long.

The purpose of this rule is obvious—to accelerate the fighting and shorten the battle cycle.

"We need to find somewhere to hide," Rito said in a low voice, his eyes quickly scanning the surroundings.

Most of the surrounding buildings were badly damaged, but next to an abandoned machine shop, he found a relatively intact two-story building.

The windows of the building were shattered, but the wall structure was still relatively intact, and the roof had not collapsed.

"there."

Rito led Saya toward the small building.

Pushing open the rusty iron door, a damp, musty smell hit you.

The first floor is an open workshop with broken parts and rusty machine tools scattered on the floor, and the walls are covered with dark brown stains.

Just then, Rito suddenly stopped.

His magical perception detected a slight anomaly.

There were three faint auras in the workshop. Although he tried his best to suppress them, they could not escape his perception.

The three auras were hidden behind a pile of scrap, under a rusty machine tool, and on the steel beam overhead.

The three thought they had hidden themselves very well, keeping their breathing at a minimum, their heartbeats almost stopped, and even their spell energy fluctuations to the extreme.

But in the presence of reason, this level of concealment is as glaring as a torch in the dark.

"You think you can ambush me with this much?" Rito said in a low voice. "Saya, step back."

Xiaoye was startled. Although she didn't understand what had happened, she sensed something was off in Rito's tone and immediately backed away to the doorway.

"What? Won't you come in and sit down?" Rito said calmly to the empty workshop.

The air in the workshop froze for a second.

Then, the breathing of the three hiders became slightly disordered at the same time.

"Let's do it!"

A furious shout came from behind the pile of waste, and a figure suddenly leaped out, gripping an iron pipe tightly, and swung it at Rito.

At the same time, figures below the machine tool and on the overhead beam also suddenly sprang up, attacking from both sides.

The three worked together seamlessly, clearly seasoned veterans skilled in surprise attacks.

But to rational people, their movements appeared as if they were in slow motion.

Liren stood still, showing no intention of dodging.

He slowly raised his hands, forming a complex gesture in front of his chest, and then spoke in a low voice:

"Domain Expansion—"

The moment the words fell, an extremely cold aura suddenly spread out from the person centered on Li Ren.

The three players who were pouncing into the air froze in their movements at the same instant.

Their bodies remained in a forward-charging posture, their weapons still pointed at Rihito, and their expressions still held the ferocity of the moment they launched the attack.

But all of this is frozen in time.

It's as if someone pressed the pause button, freezing this frame in time forever.

The burly man at the head of the group could still barely move his eyes; his pupils shifted from ferocity to confusion, from confusion to horror, from horror to...

fear.

What... what is this...?

field?!

...Top-tier?!

"Absolute Zero Coffin"

Li Ren uttered these words softly.

In an instant, everything returned to eternal silence.

Rito's gaze swept over the three frozen faces, their expressions having shifted from horror to pure despair.

Even fear itself is frozen in time.

"Xiaoye, come here."

Rito slowly lowered his hands, turned his head, and his gaze fell on Yoru at the door.

Xiaoye trembled slightly, hesitated for a few steps, and stood behind Rito.

Her gaze passed over his shoulder and landed on the three still people, remaining silent.

"Your current score is only 97, which is not enough to withstand one rule penalty." Li Ren's tone was calm.

"According to the announcement just now, the 8th barrier will release a spell power shockwave every two hours. If you cannot accumulate enough points before the next shockwave arrives, you will be deducted 500 points, and your balance is simply not enough."

Xiaoye bit her lower lip, her hands hanging at her sides clenching slightly.

"you mean……"

"You'll end them," said the man.

"I have completely frozen their life activities, so they will not feel pain. You only need to use a weapon to hit any one of them, and the system will determine that you have completed the kill, and you will receive double points."

Xiaoye's pupils suddenly contracted.

She instinctively took a half step back, her eyes flashing with obvious resistance and panic.

"No... I can't... I've never..." Her voice trembled slightly.

"They don't treat you like a living, breathing person," Rito interrupted her, his voice tinged with coldness.

"Just a minute ago, they were hiding in the shadows, ready to smash your head with an iron pipe. If I hadn't discovered them, you'd be the corpse right now."

Xiaoye's face paled slightly.

She knew that Li Ren was right.

The three men's ambush positions, the angles from which they attacked, and their seamless teamwork.

Every detail demonstrates that they are seasoned veterans who are adept at killing and seizing points.

If it weren't for Rito, she would have already become a forgotten corpse.

But she still couldn't take that step.

"I can't do it..." she lowered her head, her voice almost inaudible, "Please, don't make me do this."

Li Ren remained silent for a moment.

He looked at the girl in front of him, her eyes red-rimmed, her shoulders trembling slightly, and her knuckles white from clenching her fists.

She was able to follow him all the way from the 3rd barrier to here, but in the end, she couldn't cross that threshold of murder.

"Saya." Rito's voice was unusually gentle.

"In this system, kindness is a luxury."

"If you don't kill now, someone will come to kill you in the next moment. The design of the 8th barrier is to force players to kill each other. If you don't adapt, you will only be eliminated."

"But I don't want to be like them, I don't want to become someone who would take someone's life for points." Xiaoye raised her head, a hint of stubbornness in her eyes.

Rito looked at her without saying a word for a long time.

Finally, he sighed softly.

"Then I'll take care of them for you, and I'll give you some of the points." He turned around and walked towards the three ice sculptures.

"But remember, this is the last time. Next time, if you still hesitate, you won't be met with mercy, but with your death."

A few seconds later, a system notification sounded in both of their ears simultaneously:

[Kill Confirmed: Player Sato Rihito has killed 3 targets, earning 2 points (rule bonus)]

[Current points increased by 3000]

The light screen flickered in the air for a moment, then disappeared.

Without turning his head, Rito walked to the other end of the workshop, his voice coming from the shadows:

"Ten-minute break, then we'll set off!"

Xiaoye stood there, staring at the three gradually cooling corpses, her hands still trembling slightly.