Curse Reply: After choosing Nawa, the cursed spirit cursed me for being cruel.

"Why, Teacher Moth!" He leaned over the podium, pointing at Duanmu Yan, "Why is Duanmu leading the team? Why can't I go? I'm a senior too! Leading juniors on missions is so much fun... no, how can I be left out of something so important?"

Moth Masami glared at him irritably: "Why? Don't you know why?"

Gojo Satoru was taken aback, but he still stubbornly insisted, "Let me go~ Yomo-sensei~ Look how much Haibara and Nanami need a strong and funny senior like me to guide them!"

Moth Masakazu simply turned his head away, too lazy to pay him any attention.

Duanmu Yan looked at Gotiao Wu's expression, which seemed to say, "I want to go too," and sighed inwardly.

This guy is incredibly intelligent and exceptionally capable, yet in some ways... he's as naive as a child.

He thought for a moment, then spoke, calmly offering Gojo Satoru a way out: "Perhaps Teacher Yagami considered that the mission location is in the mountains, the terrain is complex, and the target is good at hiding. In case of special circumstances, a quick evacuation is needed. My Tanata armor is more convenient for carrying people, and your and Je's techniques may not be the best choice."

Gojo Satoru listened, blinked, stroked his chin and thought for two seconds, then suddenly clapped his hands, his face showing a look of sudden realization. His dissatisfaction vanished instantly, replaced by a smug smile.

"Oh! I see! It's because your armor is fast, Duanmu! Hahaha, that makes sense! Indeed, it's much more convenient to carry two burdens... cough cough, two cute junior brothers running around in the mountains with your little green armor! Teacher Moth is so thoughtful! I misunderstood you!"

Night Moth said rightly: "..."

Who even considered that!

Duanmu Yan looked at Gojo Satoru's cheerful "So that's how it is, then I won't hold it against you" attitude, and the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. The helplessness in his heart turned into a very faint smile.

Wu is surprisingly easy to understand sometimes, or rather... simple-minded.

"Alright, if you have nothing else to do, go back and train on your own, or catch up on your sleep." Night Moth Zhengdao began to shoo people away. "Duanmu, you should also go and prepare. Be careful and stay in touch."

"Yes." Duanmu Yan nodded and turned to leave the classroom.

Gojo Satoru made a face at Yagami Masamichi, hummed an off-key song, and swayed away.

Chapter 61 Advice

At 8 p.m. in the mountainous region of Nagano Prefecture, Duanmu Yan, Haiyuan Xiong, and Nanami Kento appeared outside the rusty iron gate of the sanatorium.

"Born from darkness, from darkness to darkness, all filth and grime will be eradicated..." Duanmu Yan formed hand seals, and a dark curtain fell silently, enveloping the entire sanatorium area and isolating it from the outside world.

After setting up the tent, Duanmu Yan did not enter immediately. Instead, he turned around and looked at the two freshmen behind him, whose expressions were both nervous and eager.

"Before you go in, I'll teach you the first and most important ironclad rule for carrying out your mission: Never completely trust the information provided by the 'window'."

Haibara Yu was taken aback, and blurted out subconsciously, "Huh? Why, Senior Duanmu? Isn't the window specifically responsible for reconnaissance and providing intelligence?"

Nanami Kento frowned, adjusted his glasses, and looked at Duanmu Yan, waiting for him to continue.

“Because they are unreliable.” Duanmu Yan’s voice sounded cold in the night wind. “It’s not that they deliberately deceive, but that cursed spirits are ever-changing, the environment is complex and unpredictable, and intelligence is always delayed and has errors. In fact, due to the observer’s level, interference from cursed spirits, and other factors, fatal mistakes can occur.”

His gaze swept over the ominous building before him: "Every time we step into a place like this, we're risking our lives. A single piece of wrong information, such as underestimating the level of a cursed spirit, omitting its special abilities, or getting the number and location of cursed spirits wrong... any mistake could lead to injury, disability, or even... death."

His gaze was particularly fixed on Haibara Yu's face, which still retained a touch of childishness but was now somewhat pale.

In the original story, that sunny boy died because of a serious error in intelligence, which led him into a desperate situation far beyond his capabilities.

This was also the straw that broke Xia Youjie's back, the reason why Qi Hai left the vocational high school.

“Remember,” never entrust your life entirely to information provided by others. Once inside the mission area, trust your own eyes, your own senses, and your own judgment. Prepare for every mission as if the intelligence might be completely wrong.

Haibara Yu and Nanami Kento were both stunned by these words. Haibara Yu, in particular, had imagined that their mission would be for their seniors to guide them, find the cursed spirit based on accurate intelligence, and then bravely remove it... He never expected that the first lesson in reality would be such a cruel warning.

Nanami Kento remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded, his eyes behind his glasses becoming even more serious and focused.

He understood; this was the basic awareness required to survive in the world of sorcery.

"Alright, I've finished explaining." Duanmu Yan's tone softened slightly as he reached out and a device appeared.

It was the Cursed Spirit Detector that provided him with tremendous help in the early stages of his mission.

"Here, this is for you."

Haibara Yu leaned closer curiously: "Senpai, what is this...?"

“A cursed spirit detector,” Duanmu Yan explained simply. “It can detect creatures with cursed power within a certain range. The green dots on the screen represent humans, and the red dots represent cursed spirits. The size and brightness of the dots roughly reflect the strength of the target’s cursed power.”

"W-That's amazing?!" Haibara Yu's eyes widened, then he quickly waved his hands, "No, no! This is such an important thing, you should keep it for yourself, Senpai! What if we break it, or..."

"It's useless to me now. My perception has exceeded its detection range. This thing is just icing on the cake for me."

Duanmu Yan looked at Haibara Yu, then at Nanami, “Until you have sufficient self-defense and reconnaissance capabilities, it can help you avoid many unnecessary dangers.”

Without saying another word, he shoved the detector into Haibara Yu's arms.

Haibara Yu hurriedly caught it, a sudden lump forming in his throat. He nodded vigorously, clutching the detector tightly to his chest. "Yes! Thank you, senior! I will definitely use it well!"

He looked down at the detector's screen, where a huge green dot was slowly flashing in the center, almost taking up half the screen.

Deep within the sanatorium building, several much fainter red dots of light were scattered.

"S-Senpai!" Haibara Yu pointed at the huge green dot, looking up in surprise, "Your green dot... it's so big! So bright!"

Duanmu Yan's lips curved upwards almost imperceptibly, with a hint of self-righteous pride.

"That's natural. After all, I possess top-tier spell power."

He pointed to the red dots, "Look, the target is in there, the strongest one, about level two. The rest are up to you. I will follow behind, and I will not intervene unless there is an unexpected event beyond your control."

"Yes!" Haibara Yu nodded vigorously, his confidence seemingly boosted by the detector in his hand and the trust of his senior.

Nanami Kento also gripped his short sword tightly and nodded to Duanmu Yan.

The two exchanged a glance, took a deep breath, and carefully pushed open the creaking sanatorium door, stepping into the darkness.

Once their figures disappeared through the door, a flash of emerald light appeared on Duanmu Yan's body, and he instantly donned the Tuonado armor, following after them.

The situation inside the sanatorium largely matched the information provided by the window. After clearing away the low-level cursed spirits wandering along the way, they finally found the second-level cursed spirit in the abandoned spa room at the deepest part of the sanatorium... a filthy thing whose form was constantly changing, composed of damp mold and the resentment of patients.

The battle was more difficult than before.

The cursed spirit can spew spores with paralyzing and hallucinogenic effects, and can also blend into walls and the ground to launch surprise attacks.

Haibara Yu and Nanami Kento encountered danger several times, but Duanmu Yan secretly attacked them with subtle airflow deflection or interfered with the cursed spirits in a more covert way, narrowly averting their danger.

Nanami Kento discovered that each time the cursed spirit transformed from a physical form into its environment, there would be an extremely brief period of energy fluctuation and stagnation at its core. He calmly directed Haibara Yu to use enhanced attacks to feint and pressure the spirit, while he held his breath and waited for the opportune moment.

Just as the cursed spirit was forced to reappear from the wall by Haibara Yu and was preparing to counterattack, Nanami Kento rushed out, his short sword imbued with cursed power.

"Ten-Stroke Spell!"

laugh--!

The short dagger, carrying a sharp, cold light, pierced precisely into the cursed spirit's chest. The cursed spirit let out a short, mournful cry before turning into black smoke and disappearing.

"We did it!" Haibara Yu sat down heavily on the ground, panting, but his face was full of excitement.

Nanami Kento breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

That attack just now, in terms of timing, angle, and the use of magical power, all reached his current limit.

Chapter 62 Bitter Summer

A short while later, the two of them, supporting each other, walked out of the sanatorium. Duanmu Yan had already deactivated his transformation and was waiting outside with his arms crossed.

"Good performance. For your first official mission, you were able to handle a level-two cursed spirit independently, and your teamwork has also improved. Go back and review your performance."

"Yes! Thank you, senior!" Haibara Yu smiled brightly, clearly happy despite being tired.

Nanami Kento nodded slightly, a smile playing on his lips.

Duanmu Yan removed the tent, and the night wind blew through the mountains and forests without any obstruction.

“Let’s go, we’re not going back tonight,” Duanmu Yan suddenly said.

"Huh?" Haibara Yu was taken aback. "Aren't we going back? Wasn't the mission completed?"

"The mission is complete, but there's no need to travel overnight."

Duanmu Yan glanced at the sky. "There's a hot spring town at the foot of the mountain nearby. I heard there's a traditional festival performance tomorrow. Let's find a place to rest there tonight and go check it out tomorrow to relax."

"Eh? Go see a performance?" Haibara's eyes lit up again, but then he hesitated, "Is this... alright? Didn't Moth-sensei say we should return and report as soon as the mission is over..."

"As Teacher Moth also said, only by combining work and rest can we exert our greatest strength and maintain our fighting power in the long run."

Duanmu Yan ruffled Huiyuan Xiong's slightly sweaty hair. "Tightening things too much can actually make them break. Appropriate relaxation and adjustment are necessary. And..."

He paused, then looked at Nanami Kento: "This is also part of the learning process. Understanding the local customs and culture of the mission location can sometimes help in analyzing the causes of cursed spirits."

Haibara Yu nodded as if he understood, but he was certainly happy to have an extra day to play.

Meanwhile, Nanami Kento, whose face was usually calm, showed an unusually obvious look of astonishment, or even... shock!

He pushed up his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses fixed on Duanmu Yan with disbelief.

In the world of sorcery... there really is such a reasonable senior who not only diligently guides practical combat and cares about the safety of juniors, but even proactively offers to take them to relax and unwind?!

This...this is simply...a breath of fresh air! No, it's a warm current!

Looking at Duanmu Yan's calm and natural profile, Qi Haijian's respect for him increased several times over!

"Let's go, down the mountain. I know a nice guesthouse with a great hot spring." Duanmu Yan turned and walked towards the faint lights below the mountain.

"Yes, senior!" Haibara Yu immediately followed with great enthusiasm.

Nanami Kento also started walking, looking at Duanmu Yan's steady back in front of him, and then at Haibara Yu beside him who was in high spirits. His brows, which were always slightly furrowed, unconsciously relaxed.

Perhaps life at a vocational college is not just about fighting, death, and suffocating pressure.

Occasionally, there will be a warm firelight and a tomorrow worth looking forward to.

……

One day later, Tokyo High School Special Exit.

Duanmu Yan, along with Haibara Yu and Nanami Kento who had just completed their first mission, had just stepped into the school gate and hadn't even had a chance to report to Teacher Yamo when they saw Gojo Satoru, Natsuyu Suke, and Ieiri Shoko gathered together not far ahead, seemingly preparing to go out.

Wujiao Wu, with his sharp eyes, was the first to spot them. He immediately waved his arms, a bright but malicious smile spreading across his face: "Yo! Duanmu! You're back just in time!"

Xia Youjie also looked over and smiled gently, while Xiaozi, with a lollipop in her mouth, nodded at them.

A sense of foreboding rose in Duanmu Yan's heart.

This combination, this timing...

He walked over with two junior students.

"What's wrong? Are you going on a mission?"