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

"You lot over there, now that you're here, why don't you show yourself?"

Rito frowned slightly; he hadn't expected to be discovered.

But now that it's been exposed, there's no point in hiding it anymore.

Then, he took a deep breath and stepped out of the shadows.

Xiaoye followed closely behind.

Hiromi Hinoki adjusted his glasses and followed.

Kuga Makoto and Kurusu Hana exchanged a glance and then started walking.

Five figures emerged from the shadows, fully exposed.

The three people in the square all looked at them.

The man with the gun lingered on Rito for a few seconds, then nodded slightly, revealing a satisfied expression.

"Great, five people, just right."

The man with the flaming battle axe frowned. "What exactly do you want?"

The man with the gun raised his right hand, pointing the silver-white pistol at the sky.

Then, he gently pulled the trigger.

boom!

A crisp gunshot echoed through the night sky.

The next second, a blue beam of light shot out from the muzzle of the gun and soared into the sky.

The beam of light exploded in the night sky, transforming into a massive blue light curtain.

Lines of text appeared on the light screen—

[Hidden Quest: The End of the Barrier]

[Mission Objective: Defeat all guardians in the 8th Barrier within 12 hours]

[Quest Reward: Key to the 9th Barrier]

Li Ren's pupils suddenly contracted.

The key to the 9th barrier.

This is exactly what he needs.

"This is my proposal." The man with the gun lowered his pistol and glanced at everyone present.

"Let's complete this mission together, and then leave here together."

What do you guys think?

A brief silence fell over the square.

The man with the flaming battle axe glanced back and forth between the man with the gun and Rito's group, his eyes flashing with vigilance and contemplation.

His right hand, gripping the battle axe, loosened slightly, but the dark red flames on the blade continued to burn, ready to rejoin the battle at any moment.

The woman with the knife slowly straightened up and sheathed her katana.

She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and calmly surveyed the five newly appeared people, lingering particularly on Rito for a few seconds.

After a moment, the man with the flaming battle axe finally spoke, "Why do you think we'll believe you? Who knows if a hidden quest is just a trap you made up?"

Shinichi Kuroki pushed up his round-framed glasses, his face showing no dissatisfaction at being questioned, but rather a knowing smile.

"Questioning is reasonable; in this place, trust is the most precious thing," he said calmly.

He raised his right hand, the silver-white pistol pointing to the sky again, but instead of pulling the trigger, he turned the muzzle to the ground.

"But I have evidence that you cannot deny."

As he spoke, he gently pulled the trigger.

This time, no bullets were fired; instead, a pale blue light screen was projected from the muzzle of the gun and unfolded in mid-air.

The screen displayed a task interface, with the words "—" prominently displayed at the top.

[Hidden Quest: The End of the Barrier]

Below is a line of smaller print:

[Task Status: Incomplete]

[Current number of users: 1]

[Quest Description: There are four guardians of the 8th barrier, each guarding one of the four cardinal directions. Defeating all four guardians will open the barrier gate, and all participating players will receive a key to the 9th barrier.]

"This is the system's task panel; it can't be faked."

"It took me three days to find the trigger conditions for this mission." Shinichi Kuroki put away the light screen.

"What are the conditions?" Rito asked.

Shinichi Kuroki turned his gaze to Rito.

"Defeat three players ranked in the top 100".

"The conversation just now was the final step in triggering the quest. The five of you, plus me, have already met the quest requirement of 'at least five players present,'" he said calmly.

"So, you were observing us while we were fighting?" The woman with the knife asked, her voice tinged with displeasure.

"That's right. I observed you for three days and confirmed that you were all qualified to participate in this mission before I showed myself," Shinichi Kuroki frankly admitted.

"Why do you think we'd agree?" the man with the flaming battle axe sneered. "Four people, the Guardians, I can handle them all by myself."

"Really? Then why don't you just leave the 8th barrier? With your strength, you should have accumulated enough points by now." Shinichi Kuroki's expression remained calm.

The man with the flaming battle axe froze.

Shinichi Kuroki continued, "Because you know that points allow you to survive within the barrier, but without the 'key,' you can never leave. The rules of the Death Return can't be changed by points."

These words were like a thorn, piercing precisely into the hearts of everyone present.

Rito was silent for a few seconds before speaking.

"I agree to cooperate, but I have one condition."

Shinichi Kuroki raised an eyebrow: "Go on."

"After the mission is completed, I need four keys." Rito looked directly into Shinichi Kuroki's eyes. "I have four people I need to take with me."

Kuroki Makoto paused for a moment, then laughed: "Sato Rihito, ranked fourth, certainly has the right to negotiate. But out of the four keys, I can only give you two."

"Three times," Rito said without backing down.

"Deal." Kuroki Shinichi nodded. "Three rounds. I'll keep the last two for myself, and give the other two to these two."

He pointed to the man with the flaming battle axe and the woman with the knife.

"I have no objection." The woman with the knife spoke first, her gaze falling on Rito. "My name is Kujou Saya, ranked 7th in the 8th Barrier. Since someone is taking the lead, I have no reason to refuse."

The man with the flaming battle axe was silent for a moment, but finally let out a heavy snort.

"My name is Muto Takeshi, ranked 6th. If anything goes wrong with the mission, I won't hold back."

Shinichi Kuroki nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Rito.

"Are the four people behind you all your men?"

"You two," Rito said, pointing to Sayo and Kurusu, "they're coming with me. As for Higurashi and Kuga, they have their own plans."

Hiromi Nichisha adjusted his glasses, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Kuga Makoto nodded slightly. He had only joined temporarily and did not intend to stay with Rito for a long time.

"Alright." Kuroki Shinichi raised his hand and put the silver-white pistol into his pocket. "Then, let's discuss the specific battle plan now."

He walked to the center of the square, squatted down, and drew four directions on the ground with his finger.

"The four guardians, one in each of the four directions, are roughly between quasi-special-grade and special-grade in strength. My intelligence indicates that the guardian of the east is a mage who manipulates metal, the guardian of the west is skilled in illusion magic, the guardian of the north possesses extremely strong defensive spells, and the guardian of the south... is the most troublesome."

"How is it troublesome?" the manager asked.

"The guardians of the south possess spells of the 'time manipulation' type. Although they cannot truly control time, they can accelerate or slow down the flow of time in localized areas."

Shinichi Kuroki's expression turned serious. "When I was tracking him, I was almost trapped by his magic."

"Time accelerates..." Rito frowned.

In the original work, this type of spell is extremely rare, and every enemy with a time-related spell is the most difficult to deal with.

"Therefore, I suggest we split into two groups." Shinichi Kuroki stood up.

"One team will deal with the other three guardians and hold them off, while the other team will concentrate their firepower to take out the guardian in the south first."

"I'll take charge of the South," Rito said without hesitation.

Kuroki Shinichi glanced at him, nodded, and did not refute him.

"And what about me?" Hiromi Higurashi suddenly asked.

Kuroki Shinichi glanced at him, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.

"You are... Hiromi Nichisha? The owner of that 'Judgment' spell?" His voice carried a hint of surprise.

"I saw your name in the intelligence reports, ranked 12th, but I think your strength is more than that."

"That's all in the past. All I want now is to leave this place," Nichisha said calmly.

"Alright, then you will be in charge of the guardian of the north. His defensive spells are very strong, but I heard that your domain can eliminate all spell effects, which is perfect for countering him."

The car did not answer, but simply nodded silently.

"Kujou and I will go east, and Muto will go west." Shinichi Kuroki finished assigning the tasks. "The four guardians will act simultaneously. Whoever completes their mission first will go to support the other directions."

"So, what about the timing of the operation?" Li Ren asked.

Shinichi Kuroki raised his head and looked at the blue light curtain in the night sky.

"Before dawn," he said slowly.

"Get out of this godforsaken place!"