Chapter 23 - The Cursed Stone Was Strong

The Cursed Stone Was Strong
“…Hellfire of Death uses too much MP, so I won’t use that…so what’s a powerful spell that won’t break the barrier…?”
I said as I searched through the spells I had.
And then…I found something called ‘Hellfire of Obliteration.’
Apparently, it was like Hellfire of Death, only with a smaller area of effect and less power.
Well, the book had said that it was quite a bit weaker, so it should be fine.
“…Hellfire of Obliteration.”
In an instant, the area within the barrier erupted into flames.
As there were multiple barriers, everything outside of it was protected. Still, we could feel the heat.
And the barrier was also creaking, which made me worried that it would break.
‘Ahhh!’
‘It’s burning!’
‘Do-don’t you think you are doing too much!? I’ve never seen this magic before…but I bet it could defeat a dragon!?’
The slimes were all shocked by the sudden burst of flames.
…Yes. To be honest, I had expected ‘much weaker than Hellfire of Death’ to be at a lower level than this.
Hellfire of Death really had been insane…
“Ah, sorry. I’ve never used this before. So I didn’t know.”
‘You didn’t know? And yet it’s this powerful!?’
“Because I read it in a book. But it uses a lot of MP, so I would rather not have to do it again.”
So saying, I looked at my status.
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Job: Tamer, Sage
Skills: Taming, Light Magic, Shadow Magic, Fire Magic, Water Magic, Earth Magic, Thunder Magic, Wind Magic, Time-space Magic, Special Magic, Great Magic, Familiar Magic, Support Magic, Altering Magic, Ultra Combat Arts.
Attributes: None
HP: 312/312
MP: -15/1820
Abnormality: Overuse of magic
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My MP had gone below 0 a little.
But my HP was fine, so this amount of MP use did not damage my body at least.
According to the Dryad, your MP going below 0 was very abnormal.
“…Well, I doubt I will need to unleash it again…?”
As we talked, the smoke faded away.
The ground within the barrier was red hot and all the rocks that had been there had been melted.
And yet, within that situation—the magic stone alone was unharmed.
“Are you serious…”
‘With so much strong curses inside, they must act as a barrier…”
In any case, it seemed safe to say that fire magic wouldn’t work.
But I felt like I could still use MP, so I decided to use other magic.
“Uh, magic good for destroying…”
Using magic inside of the barrier seemed like a good way of hurting yourself, so I wanted something I could use at a distance.
And since the magic stone was strong…I should use something that could crush it physically.
That was what I thought while searching, and then I found something perfect.
“Magic Stone Crusher.”
This time, it was nothing flashy that affected the barrier, like Hellfire of Obliteration.
There was just a sharp noise and the rocks and ground around the magic stone shattered.
But-
“It still won’t break.”
‘The surrounding rocks were turned into powder, so it should be strong enough… I think it really is the curses that are blocking it…”
So the curses really were the problem.

“…Now that I think of it, why don’t we just get rid of the curses instead of breaking it?”
‘That would be easy if they were weak curses… But I never heard of lifting a curse that was this strong… I think it would still be easier to smash it!’
I see.
While it seemed like the most natural solution, there had been a reason that no one had suggested it.
“But I don’t think the barrier will hold if I use magic that is stronger than ‘Hellfire of Obliteration’… Will it at least get a little weaker if I try lifting the curse?”
I asked as I looked through my list of spells.
And then I found ‘Curse Break,’ ‘Curse Break Strong,’ and ‘Curse Break Extreme.’
There were also other ones, but these seemed like the safest bet.
“Uh…it seems like I can’t use them unless I get closer.”
And so I used water magic to cool off the barrier before going inside.
Then I put my hand as close to the stone as I could without touching it.
I wasn’t sure which of the spells to use…and so I decided to start with the weakest one and work my way up.
“Curse Break.”
And then…the black magic stone slowly started to turn white.
‘Huh? It’s working!?’
The Dryad shouted out in surprise.
And then cracks started to appear on the white stone—and then the thing shattered.
“It looks like it can be destroyed after all.”
I said. Then I moved to deactivate the barrier.
But-in that instant, the Dryad shouted.
‘Yuji! Watch out! There’s something strange happening with the fragments!’