The emergency response unit was deployed. Their original mission was to eliminate gates and exterminate monsters.

However, their mission changed from sweeping up remnants to sealing off the area. Sending ordinary soldiers into a cursed zone would only increase the number of victims.

Widespread curses are extremely rare. The proper response in such cases is to abandon entry and enforce a lockdown.

They couldn’t take Lee Seon-hwa and Jeong Hyun-su out of the contaminated area.

Anyone afflicted by a curse must not come into contact with others. Some curses are contagious.

Seo Jung-woo called the Gate Response Center.

– Yes! Agent!

“What’s the status of the gate?”

– The Namsan Gate detection radar has pinpointed its location. The gate is naturally dissipating.

Most gates remain open once they appear, but there are exceptions.

“So this gate was influenced by the monster’s magic.”

– That’s our analysis as well. It appears that the spell was used to hide the gate’s existence, but once the spell was broken, the gate itself began to vanish.

“Have you found a curse specialist?”

– Since the area is already cursed… we’re doing our best to find someone who can enter.

The emergency response unit completely sealed off the area.

The gate had already disappeared.

To remove the curse, a specialist had to enter and determine a countermeasure.

The problem was that the curse in this area had already been activated.

No matter how knowledgeable a specialist was, they couldn’t enter this area unless they had a high level of mental resistance.

Mental resistance increases by repeatedly fighting and capturing monsters that use mental attacks. Simply researching curses in a laboratory isn’t enough to develop resistance.

Curse specialists were already rare, but even fewer could analyze a curse while inside a contaminated zone. Those few experts were scattered across the country.

Even so, the Gate Response Center managed to locate a curse specialist who could come.

Curse specialist Hyun Seung-yeop arrived and approached Seo Jung-woo.

“Seo Jung-woo?”

Seo Jung-woo asked, “Are you alone?”

“I came in first. The curse response team and emergency medical team are waiting outside the perimeter. Everyone is waiting for equipment that boosts curse resistance to arrive.”

“How long will that take?”

“Equipment is being gathered from all over the country. As soon as it arrives, personnel will enter accordingly. In twenty-four hours, the entire support team should be inside.”

“Alright, then take a look at Seon-hwa first. Oh, and Hyun-soo too.”

“Understood. But before that…”

Hyun Seung-yeop cautiously asked, “Are you okay, Seo Jung-woo?”

“I have high mental resistance.”

The higher one’s mental resistance, the less likely they were to fall victim to a curse. However, if a curse caster’s magic was strong enough, resistance alone might not be enough.

Yet, Seo Jung-woo had fought the shaman monster at close range, even making direct contact during the battle.

The monster’s magic was powerful enough to conceal a gate, and its ability to cast widespread curses proved its high-level skills. Seo Jung-woo had not only fought it but had also taken it down directly, and yet, he hadn’t been cursed.

“Just how high is your mental resistance…?”

Hyun Seung-yeop lifted the necklace hanging around his neck. It was a string of sharp fangs linked together.

“I barely managed to enter this area with the help of this item.”

“Is that a curse resistance item?”

“Yes. It’s made from the fangs of monsters with innate curse resistance. There isn’t much demand for it, but when you need one, they’re hard to come by.”

Curse casters were extremely rare. Because of that, most people didn’t prepare countermeasures for curses. Such items were seldom used and difficult to obtain.

Seo Jung-woo extended his hand.

“If we put that necklace on Seon-hwa, will it break the curse?”

Hyun Seung-yeop quickly clutched the necklace with both hands.

“To achieve that, you’d need a relic, not just a resistance necklace. This only slightly enhances curse resistance to prevent affliction.”

With a pale face, Lee Seon-hwa said, “I’m not going to take it, so stop gripping it so tightly.”

“Ah… yes.”

“And oppa, relax your expression a bit.”

“I am relaxed.”

Hyun Seung-yeop cautiously said, “Then, I’ll begin the investigation.”

Modern technology’s sensors cannot detect curses. One must have a skill related to curse detection or use an item crafted from monsters associated with curses, like the fang necklace, to conduct an investigation.

Hyun Seung-yeop was one of the latter. He used multiple items to determine the type of curse.

His expression darkened.

“Ugh. This is…”

He put on another layer of gloves made from monster hide and checked Jeong Hyun-su’s condition. He reached a conclusion.

“It’s a curse that transfers upon contact. The fact that it’s contagious bought us some time.”

If a cursed person died immediately, the curse wouldn’t have a chance to spread. Because of that, contagious curses didn’t pose an immediate lethal threat.

“How much time do we have?”

“Jeong Hyun-su is an awakened combatant with decent mental resistance. Given enough time, he should recover.”

He looked at Lee Seon-hwa with an apologetic expression.

“But Lee Seon-hwa…”

Seo Jung-woo asked, “So how much time do we have?”

“In her current state, she can last about three days. If we use the shaman’s corpse or that staff as a medium to swiftly remove the area-wide curse, we can buy a few more days… but that would make the staff unsellable…”

“Use them. Both. You can drain all the power in the staff.”

“Thank you!”

“Consider that as payment for the treatment. So, what’s the method to remove Seon-hwa’s curse?”

“Even curses that look similar often have different mechanisms, so I’ll need to conduct research to find a way to dispel it.”

“Do it quickly.”

As the curse resistance equipment arrived, the support and medical teams began entering the area one by one.

The emergency response unit also entered, prioritizing personnel with high mental resistance, all equipped with curse resistance gear. They conducted a sweep for remaining monsters.

Most people in the contaminated area had been cursed. If they had remained in the widespread curse zone for too long, the situation could have become dire.

Fortunately, they hadn’t made direct contact with the shaman. The medical team moved them to the boundary of the cursed area and treated them using conventional methods.

However, those treatments had no effect on Lee Seon-hwa, who had directly confronted the shaman.

A mobile hospital unit, repurposed from a shipping container, arrived. Lee Seon-hwa and Jeong Hyun-su were admitted.

Seo Sora called Lee Seon-hwa.

– Unni, are you okay?

Lee Seon-hwa still had some strength.

“My throat is a little dry. My eyes hurt too.”

– Hang in there. Oppa will find a way somehow.

“Of course. He always does.”

The next afternoon, Seo Jung-woo asked Hyun Seung-yeop, “Did you find a way to break the curse?”

“I’ve confirmed that it’s a vampiric-type curse, but I’m still working on the exact method to cure it.”

Seo Jung-woo knew how difficult it was to find a solution.

The problem was time. They had only three safe days. If too much time passed, Lee Seon-hwa would die.

Seo Jung-woo asked, “What grade does it need to be?”

“Excuse me? What do you mean by grade?”

“Even if you don’t know the exact method, using a relic can dispel the curse, right?”

Seo Jung-woo had hunted cursed monsters before. He had a basic understanding of curse defenses.

Hyun Seung-yeop sighed and answered with a regretful expression.

“Of course, a relic would solve everything, but we won’t get approval from above to use one. The power of a relic depletes with use.”

“I’ll handle that. Just give me the information. What grade of relic is required to cure Seon-hwa?”

“Well… We’ve already tried standard holy water, but the curse was too strong for it to have any effect. Based on that, I’d estimate that a rare-grade relic is needed.”

“A rare-grade relic will suffice?”

“If we could get one, yes. The problem is that they’re impossible to obtain.”

“I know.”

“I’ll find a way to lift this curse. That’s my job. Please trust me and wait.”

“Understood.”

But his response wasn’t sincere.

Seo Jung-woo had no intention of leaving this matter in someone else’s hands.

Seo Jung-woo used his parallel dimension teleportation skill.

Curse resistance equipment could be crafted by hunting specific monsters.

The well-known method involved using the hide of curse-resistant monsters to create protective gear. Because curses were such a rare phenomenon, demand for this equipment was low, and production was limited. However, with enough money, one could buy it.

Relics were different. They weren’t obtained by hunting monsters.

Relics were objects imbued with divine power.

However, distinguishing a relic was difficult.

Electronic sensors couldn’t detect divine power. The most reliable way to verify a relic was to test it on someone afflicted by a curse.

Objects recorded in history books as having been used for sacred purposes have a high probability of being relics. However, not all such objects are true relics. Many times, people go through great trouble to acquire something they believe to be a relic, only to end up with nothing.

On the other hand, there are rare cases where an unknown object turns out to be a relic.

However, relics are generally treated as secrets. The general public hardly knows which objects are relics.

The divine power within a relic is not infinite; it depletes with use. While there are ways to replenish that power, doing so requires an enormous amount of resources and effort.

Moreover, relics are not only used to ward off curses. Many groups desire their sacred power for various purposes.

For this reason, the existence of relics is usually kept hidden. Even when they are traded, it is done quietly between those in the know.

Whether an object is a relic or not never makes the news.

Seo Jung-woo had only encountered a relic once during his time in the military.

Back when he was in the special forces unit for awakened soldiers, a gate had opened in Chungcheong Province. Since it was a mid-sized gate, the army was initially deployed to secure the area, but they soon withdrew. A monster capable of casting an extremely powerful curse had appeared.

The special forces unit for awakened soldiers was urgently dispatched, but by then, the area was already contaminated, making it difficult to approach. The curse was so powerful that standard resistance equipment was ineffective.

Left with no other choice, the government secretly provided a rare-grade relic that had been kept in storage. Only one relic was available, meaning only one person could infiltrate the area.

Seo Jung-woo had carried that relic into the contaminated zone and fired about a hundred armor-piercing rounds into the cursed monster, ending the situation.

Seo Jung-woo crossed into a parallel dimension. In this world, there were no monsters.

‘But relics should still exist.’

He wasn’t entirely sure. Just as people had awakened skills after gates started appearing in the 21st century, relics might have only gained their sacred power at that time. No one knew the truth.

“Please let them exist.”

Sitting at his desk in the detective department, Seo Jung-woo began searching for museums. The internet contained plenty of information on domestic museums, so he chose the most famous one.

‘Right. I should rob the National Museum of Korea. Let’s borrow ten national treasures mentioned in history books. As long as they’re small enough to carry. Surely one of them has to be a relic.’

Just because something was in a history book didn’t mean it was a relic. That’s why he planned to take ten at once.

Team Leader Kwon Byeong-cheol happened to pass by and noticed the photo of the National Museum of Korea on the monitor, letting out an impressed whistle.

“Wow, Jung-woo, are you handling that case now?”

Seo Jung-woo turned around, wondering what he meant.

Before he could ask, Baek Sung-min, who was sitting across from him, spoke up.

“Team Leader, what case?”

“You call yourself a senior detective, yet you don’t even know this? Jung-woo is looking up the National Museum of Korea, and you’re completely clueless?”

“Huh? Did the museum get robbed? Wow. What kind of lunatic would do that?”

Seo Jung-woo flinched. He had originally planned to rob the National Museum of Korea tonight.

Baek Sung-min asked, “But that’s not in our jurisdiction, is it?”

“The museum wasn’t robbed. A relic box was discovered while restoring an ancient stone pagoda at an old temple. It contains the remains of a high-ranking monk mentioned in history books. The museum was supposed to temporarily borrow it for an event, but it was stolen before they could even receive it.”

Baek Sung-min quickly lost interest.

“Oh, that case that came in after Jung-woo left work? But that wasn’t in our jurisdiction either.”

“The prime suspect’s house is in our district.”

“Come on, there’s no way that guy went home. Investigating this will just be a waste of time.”

“So you haven’t even touched the case yet? At least pretend to do something. Since we’re on the topic, Sung-min, you should—”

Seo Jung-woo raised his hand abruptly.

“I’ll take it.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll handle it.”

“Wait, you?”

Baek Sung-min grinned widely.

“Great! Jung-woo, you do it! As long as it’s not me, I don’t care!”

Seo Jung-woo received the case file and reviewed its contents.

‘A high-ranking monk from the Goryeo Dynasty, one whose name is even recorded in history books. And his remains were enshrined in a stone pagoda for a thousand years, receiving the prayers of countless people. This is a relic.’

The probability of this being a relic was much higher than any of the ten national treasures in the museum.

The relic he had encountered in the military special forces was also the remains of a high-ranking monk from the Joseon Dynasty.

‘I’m going to catch this thief. Within three days.’