Chapter 13 — Hair and Fragrance
Following the cursed treasure map's guidance awarded by the system for winning the hot springs bath, Shinji quickly arrived at an old well in the village.
It had long since been abandoned, as for some year it suddenly stopped producing water. Even the wellhead had been sealed with large stones, presumably to prevent anyone from accidentally falling in.
According to the treasure map, what Shinji was looking for lay beneath it.
Without hesitation, he moved the stone blocking the top aside, lit a torch, and leapt straight down.
During the fall, Shinji deftly flipped a sharp kunai into his hand. Then he spread his legs to brace against the well walls, increasing friction to slow his descent, while stabbing the kunai into the stone crevices for extra grip.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the bottom, managing to hover just above the dirt.
"According to the signal, this should be it…"
He carefully scanned the area. Finding nothing, he began digging downward with the kunai.
Strangely, he dug several meters without hitting anything.
"Huh? That's weird."
Shinji paused, then took out the Cursed Treasure Map, wondering if he had overlooked some information.
But the moment he brought it out, something unexpected happened.
The once pitch-black scroll suddenly turned to ash, which quickly fused into the dirt beneath Shinji's feet.
Then the soil seemed to come alive, rapidly shaping itself into an ancient, black treasure chest.
"So that's how it is."
Shinji watched in awe, pondering. He had suspected that the treasure map obtained from the system might not lead to ordinary items. What kind of "treasure" could it yield?
Was the treasure actually at the coordinates all along? What if someone else stumbled upon it?
And if it were merely mundane things—gold, silver, jewels—it would feel rather anticlimactic.
But seeing this, his curiosity was reignited.
Though he didn't yet know what the chest contained, it was at least exciting to anticipate.
The so-called "treasure" wasn't physically present until he reached the coordinates, which activated the map.
In other words, the treasure map in his hand was the real treasure, only needing to be "unlocked."
Other people, even if standing at the same spot, would find nothing.
Judging by the spectacular manifestation just now, Shinji was even more inclined to believe the contents weren't mundane; otherwise, it would hardly justify such dramatic effects.
Thinking all this, he acted without hesitation, opening the chest.
But he had completely ignored—or more accurately, instinctively avoided—a crucial detail.
The prefix of the map's name: Cursed.
...
Boom!
Hidan, searching near the abandoned well, was startled.
In the next instant, he saw a slightly disheveled figure erupting from the well, with a mass of black things writhing and snapping behind him.
"What the hell is that?!"
"You're asking me? I ask who? Come on, help me out here!"
Shinji dodged, guiding it toward Hidan.
Finally, Hidan saw clearly what the dense black mass was…
Hair?!
He wanted to shout, "Don't come near!"
But he knew Shinji well enough to be certain that the guy would drag him down no matter what.
And worse… he couldn't outrun him.
With no other choice, Hidan braced himself.
He first drew his black spear, then reluctantly switched to a kunai.
A spear is excellent for killing, punching holes with ease—but can it cut hair?
Hidan struggled to slash the black strands around him, gritting his teeth: I need a weapon with more killing power when I get back.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Shinji's kunai moved rapidly, flawlessly defending against the hair attacks.
Any hair that was severed immediately lost its vitality and vanished—a bizarre sight.
The two fought while retreating. Though the hair seemed endless, its strength was limited, and its attack pattern singular, with no other abilities observed.
So, for now, they were able to hold their own.
After retreating about fifty meters, the frenzied black hair stiffened, no longer pursuing them, and slowly retracted back into the well.
"Looks like its attack range is limited. Fifty meters plus the depth of the well… maybe ninety to a hundred meters is its max range?"
Shinji analyzed, thinking through a strategy, when Hidan loudly asked, "What the hell was that thing?!"
"I don't know either," Shinji admitted, shaking his head.
Hidan didn't believe him. "Don't tell me you sneaked out in the middle of the night just to enjoy the moon. I saw it myself! That thing came out of the well chasing you! Do you think I'm stupid?!"
Shinji's eyes showed surprise. "Wow, you're finally smart. Did your brain drain its water completely?"
"Bastard! I'll kill you!"
Hidan rolled up his sleeves, ready to clash with Shinji, but Shinji had business to attend to and quickly shifted the topic:
"That thing—I don't know what it is. I only came to get something I had hidden in that well long ago. Didn't expect to dig up this… ghostly thing instead."
"You hid something in the well?" Hidan asked suspiciously.
"Some savings. That was before I joined the Evil God Cult," Shinji replied, unwilling to elaborate further.
Seeing Shinji's lack of explanation, Hidan let it drop.
But then he sniffed the air, a strange expression crossing his face. "Do you smell that? It's… so fragrant!"
"Something's off."
Shinji's nose was fine and he too smelled it.
Even before coming to this world, he had never encountered such a scent.
It was impossible to describe—a fragrance that seemed to contain every imaginable beauty, drawing him closer and closer…
Gradually, a trace of intoxication appeared on Shinji's face.
But immediately, he sensed extreme danger. Using the last of his clarity, he stabbed a kunai into his thigh!
Squirt!
Blood flowed, and the double pain allowed Shinji to snap out of the strange trance.
Looking up, the scene before him sent a chill down his spine.
(This is a robbery😎👉 give me all your power stones or I won't upload the next chapters! Just kidding 🤣)