I Can Copy Curses

"Let's transport him to headquarters and report that the initial test result is negative."

Orion closed his eyes as he couldn't keep them opened, feeling like all the strength in his body had suddenly drained away.

'What's happening to me?'

Orion felt like he was dying. He couldn't breathe, couldn't stand, and couldn't keep his eyes open. Weakness overwhelmed him, and most disturbingly, he was hearing voices he those voices he didn't know where they came from.

"Um, looks like the effects of the drugs are fading. Give him another shot."

'Drugs?'

Even though Orion couldn't fully grasp what was happening, he understood that being drugged wasn't good.

'What should I do? I don't have my curses from the three domains, and I'm very weak in this simulation.'

Orion thought anxiously. He knew he needed to act before they gave him another dose. But how?

'Wait a minute! They said another shot! That means I have already been drugged once. But when and how? Was it Jake? Chuck?'

He couldn't understand how he was suddenly drugged and where did those voices keep coming from?

'Was it the red mist? The red smoke?'

Orion pondered fast. He didn't have much time before he was shot with another drug.

'Simulation! Is this really Grimshore or all this the effect of a drug?.... Only one way to know.'

In desperation, Orion activated the curse of Dimensional Dissonance, instinctively trying to enter his own dimension. He couldn't control any of his curses, and worse, he didn't even have access to his body in the three domains. All he could do was think about activating the curse and entering his dimension and hoped that it worked. It was the only option left.

"He vanished! Where did he go? Are there others here?"

"No, fool. We messed up. The drugs were wearing off, and he used that opportunity to escape. Damn it!"

"But how could that be possible? Even if he was regaining consciousness, he shouldn't have been able to use his mana."

"There's no point in dwelling on it. Search the entire area. He couldn't have teleported far in his state."

"Also, report to headquarters that the target has escaped. While you're at it, send someone to his house to keep watch in case he goes home. And if there's any unusual activity at the Starfire Guild, encircle the area, but don't get spotted. Understood?"

"Understood."

Orion continued hearing their voices, even though he still couldn't see anything. But one thing was clear: he had escaped from whoever they were.

'The drug's effects are still on me...'

He could now breathe, though his strength hadn't returned.

'Activate Light Body in Curse Transformation mode.'

As soon as he thought it, his body began glowing with a golden light. Orion could feel his strength slowly returning as the effects of the drugs diminished. With each passing moment, his body recovered to its peak condition.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

'Finally, I can see, and my body is fully healed.'

Orion stood up and looked around. He appeared to be in a large factory-like hall filled with machines. Since he was still in his dimension, everything he saw was from this otherworldly perspective.

'Damn! That means...'

Suddenly, it dawned on him. The entire experience in Grimshore had been a drug-induced dream designed to keep him subdued while the people who kidnapped him transported him without resistance.

Or was it? Could the drugs have been meant to make him unconscious through lucid dreaming, but his own desire to enter Grimshore created that dream world—the walls, the people, Jake? Was it all just his imagination brought on by the drugs?

Orion was shocked as these conclusions formed, and questions flooded his mind.

Who was behind this? How had they kidnapped him so easily? Why hadn't he noticed anything? What did they want?

So many questions, yet no answers.

'What if they were planning to kill me?'

His heart turned cold at the thought. He might have died here without ever realizing it.

'Since when was I under the effects of the drugs?'

He tried to recall what was real and what was just an illusion caused by the drugs, but to his horror, he couldn't tell.

After leaving Erza's office, he had gone straight to the guild market, met Ruck to buy cores, and then headed home to max out his stats before entering Grimshore. Everything had seemed normal—there had been no disturbances, no indication that he had been drugged.

But how had it happened? How did he end up here?

'I must have been drugged right before entering Grimshore, which is why I dreamed of Grimshore because of the drugs.'

Orion frowned as he pondered. 'Right before entering Grimshore?'

He checked his status and saw that his stats were still maxed at 100, confirming that he had been drugged after maxing them out.

'But when?'

Orion was certain he had entered Grimshore immediately after maxing his stats. But in reality, he hadn't. The dream had been induced by the drugs.

He understood that now, but he still couldn't figure out exactly when he had been drugged. It had only been a short time since he maxed out his stats, and the drugs had already started taking effect.

The scariest part was that he hadn't noticed anything. Everything had felt too real—he hadn't doubted for a second that he was in Grimshore or not.

'How did they drug me without me realizing?'

Orion racked his brain until a realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.

'My whole house must have been drugged. That's why I didn't notice anything.'

With advanced technology, it wouldn't be hard to develop a colorless, odorless drug in gas form.

'They must have filled my house with the gas. While I was absorbing the cores, I inhaled the drugs without knowing it. By the time I finished, I was fully under its effects and lost consciousness.'

The more Orion thought about it, the more it made sense. There was no other way he could have been drugged so easily.

'I have to get out of here.'

Orion checked his halowatch and found it intact. He checked the time and saw that only three hours had passed since he maxed out his stats.

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