Dark Magus Returns

Judging by Reno's reaction after obtaining the item, he didn't mind what the Curse was; he had already decided to accept it.

"There is no reward without risk, huh?" Raze said to himself with a smile. He remembered that he would often repeat this phrase to himself over and over again. It was all before he delved into the world of Dark Magic, the forbidden magic.

"You're in luck, well, considering what you deem lucky," Raze explained as he waved his hand, activating the magic from within the item once again, just making sure he got the phrasing right.

[Once this item has been used, it is bound to the user and can only be used by the user.]

[After the first use of the item, in the creation of an object, the Curse will activate. The item must be used at least once a day to create something. If the item is not used in a 24-hour period after its last use, the Curse will activate.]

[The effects of all the items created will rebound and be placed on the user, and the item will be destroyed.]

When reading it, there were raised eyebrows from Kizer. Was this really a curse? In some cases, the rebound effect sounded more like a final large boost. If pills were created that increased one's strength, life expectancy, and so on, then wouldn't all of those boosts then go to the creator in that moment?

However, Reno had a nervous smile as he looked to the ground.

"These curses are quite interesting, right?" Raze was glad to know that Reno got it because this curse almost felt like it was aimed at him. In terms of him being a poison user and creator, nearly all of the creations that Reno came up with were related to poisons. 

Sure, his body could handle poisons that he created; he needed to consume them to get stronger after all. But there was a limit. The body needed to be slowly introduced to poisons bit by bit, allowing for his body to get stronger and his own powers to become deadlier. If all of that was to rebound on him in one go, then for him, it certainly meant death. Twenty-four hours was quite a short period of time in the grand scheme of things.

When heading into other dimensions, there were times where they would be in a place for days. Usually during this time, Reno wouldn't be creating such things, but now he would have to. And what if he was captured by some type of group with no way to make anything with the item? Then the rebound effect would hit him hard. Although the item was creating his strength, it was also creating a large weakness for him as well.

"Thank you for giving me this, Dark Magus," Reno said, holding the pestle tightly. "In the first place, when I dived into the arts of a poison user, I took a lot of risk, and I am still alive today. This is just another one of those things."

With that, Reno exited the room and quickly headed to his own room. He grabbed his newest recipe, his strongest poison concoction to date. He still had leftover ingredients and had been consuming the strange liquid daily to increase his resistance as well as power. However, the effects were lessening, and at the moment, it hardly had any effect. Reno would have to go on another journey to search for deadlier poisons, or even to other dimensions with stronger beasts. In a way, the way Reno's poison art worked in terms of cultivation sounded quite similar to that of magic.

Either way, he mixed the ingredients away in a large mortar and, grabbing his pestle, he worked away. The scratches against the rock were soothing to the ear, and even the plants being used in the process were glowing with energy as they were being ground away.

Both Raze and Kizer were watching in the room by the sidelines, yet to Reno, it was as if they weren't even there. He just continued until all of the plants he had used were formed into a type of liquid. He poured it into a wooden container, a glass, and it was green in color, almost bubbling even though there was no heat to the liquid.

"Man, I can't believe he can even drink that stuff. Even the fumes from it are making me feel slightly weak," Kizer said, covering his mouth.

Raze had to do the same, as he too could tell the fumes were affecting his body slightly, even though he was standing quite a few meters away. It just went to show just how strong the poison really was.

At the same time, Raze could see the pestle, glowing with power. After the creation had been made, it pulsated slightly once, and a type of connection was made between the two.

Reno could feel it in his body as well. Not that he ever doubted that Raze's words were untrue, but it just confirmed what he said even more.

Lifting the cup up, he drank it away, gulping it down, one after the other until he had finished every last drop of the green liquid.

Placing the cup down, Reno kneeled over, and it looked as if he was about to throw up. That was until his skin started to change color slightly. His pale complexion, if one couldn't believe it, was turning even paler. It was going from a ghastly grey to an almost white. While small black bubbles on his body were starting to form.

The bubbles then popped one after the other, letting out a small black mist. The bubbles continued to pop one after the other, and Reno's hair started to raise up from its side, covered in a green glow.

The outside of his irises started to glow green with energy as well.

"This is... this is..."

"I can't believe it!" Kizer said, rushing over and slamming both his hands on the table. "So the item really worked, it created a poison strong enough for you to break through to the next stage!"

That was exactly what it was; Reno had managed to break through to one of the middle stage ranks he had been stubbornly stuck on for so long. In terms of cultivation, Reno was actually one of the lowest middle stage warriors due to the arts he practiced and how hard it was to raise it, and now he had finally broken through to the next stage.

Immediately at that point, Kizer couldn't hold it in anymore as he turned around and looked at the Dark Magus.

"Please, can we start on my item?" Kizer asked.

Seeing the excited faces of those in the Crimson Crane, like they had just tasted a new type of chocolate in a candy store for the first time, there was a slight warm feeling in Raze's heart.

This warm feeling, it had been a while since he had felt it. He wondered if he was slightly sick, and the words he said next made him wonder even more if he was sick.

"Sure, bring what you have, and I'll see what I can do," Raze answered.