As Long as You Have the [Shop] Skill, the Dungeonized World Is a Breeze ~The Bullied Youth’s Payback

Chapter 286 – The Curseweaver’s Threat

“A-Another world… Humans… Earth… Wuuu, my head is spinning…” (Oz)
Well, there was no way that suddenly telling her all of this would make her believe it right away.

“I understand the confusion, but this is the truth. In the first place, I have no reason to lie to you.” (Bouchi)
“…Yeah. Come to think of it, that weird person said ‘the humans of this world’.” (Oz)
She was referring to Vodara. He did say that.

“Another world… so does that mean our island isn’t in this world?” (Oz)
“…I have a way to find out about that.” (Bouchi)
“…?! Really?!” (Oz)
“Yeah. All you have to do is write down the information you know about the island on this piece of paper.” (Bouchi)
I handed her a [Search Paper].

“This paper has a special power. It will search for whatever it is based on the information that you write on it.” (Bouchi)
“T-Then in this world…!” (Oz)
“As long as the island has been transported to this world like you have, then yes.” (Bouchi)
“I-I’ll write it now! I’ll write it up and down and all around!” (Oz)
…That’s a pretty strange way to phrase it. Well, I guess it’s true that her mind’s a mess right now.

After handing Oz a pen, she began to write down all the information she could think of on the sheet of paper. When she was done, she handed it to me.

“Alright. Theeeen… go!” (Bouchi)
The [Search Paper] flew off like a paper airplane and disappeared off into the distance at an incredible speed.

“Waaaow, it disappeared in an instant…!” (Oz)
It was only natural to be surprised. It looked like a normal piece of paper, but it had flown off on its own just like that.

“Now we’ll know as soon as that thing finds the island.” (Bouchi)
“A-Alright! …But you told me just now that people from… Earth…? People from Earth normally don’t have powers, right? But Bouchi, you’re from Earth, so how can you be so strong and do all kinds of different things?” (Oz)
“I didn’t tell you yet, but one day, the people of Earth… humans started to awaken to special powers called skills.” (Bouchi)
“Skill? Not superpowers?” (Oz)
Izu went on to explain that special or unusual powers used to be called superpowers before they were called skills. The name had gradually changed over time, and they were now referred to as skills.

“Then Captain’s superpower is also a skill?” (Oz)
“Yes, it’s a skill called <Sky Manifestation>.” (Bouchi)
“…Then Bouchi being able to do all kinds of things is too?” (Oz)
“It’s a power from a skill. Well, it does appear that there are relatively few humans with skills.” (Bouchi)
“Ooh~ So you’re actually much more amazing than you appear, Bouchi.” (Oz)
Appearances were just a facade. Either way, my appearance wasn’t fancy in the slightest, and I used to be just an ordinary high school kid, so her comment wasn’t that out of line.

“T-Then do you know who those people who took Captain away were?” (Oz)
“I’m not sure what their goal is, but they’re definitely not people we’re on friendly terms with. Have you heard of… the Curseweaver?” (Bouchi)
“Hum…. Captain and the others have talked about something like that before, but I don’t really know much about it.” (Oz)
I guess that made sense. She was a little girl, but in the end she used to just be a ship.

I told Izu to explain to Oz about the Curseweaver.

With Izu’s meticulous and easy-to-understand explanation, Oz seemed to understand what an outrageous existence the Curseweaver was. I also told her about Vodara and what kind of person he was, too.

“B-But what do those people want with Captain?” (Oz)
“That’s the question. But I really don’t know much… Do you guys know anything?” (Bouchi)
I turned to Shiki and the others who were present, but they all just shook their heads apologetically.

Come to think of it, he did say that he ‘got his hands on a pawn’. That might mean that he needs manpower for whatever it is he’s trying to achieve.

I didn’t know what in the world he was up to, but there was no way a guy like that was doing charity work. I could only assume that whatever he was planning wasn’t going to be good.

“…What if…” (Bouchi)
Hearing my muttering, everyone turned to me.

“What if they captured Duarte to use his tremendous power?” (Bouchi)
“C-Captain’s power?!” (Oz)
“Yeah, Vodara is someone from the other world. He… shouldn’t know anything about this world, Earth. Normally, at least. But from the several times that I’ve seen him, he seemed to know a lot about Earth. Maybe he… is the one responsible for the Earth’s transformation.” (Bouchi)
Hearing my viewpoint, everyone’s eyes suddenly widened.

“There’s no way… Master, there’s no way that’s possible, right?” (Yofel)
I could understand where Yofel was coming from. It was, after all, a phenomenon that had had a massive impact on both worlds. It couldn’t be helped that it was difficult to comprehend the outrageous scale of such a phenomenon.

“…No. If that being in the robe is really the Curseweaver, then it might be possible.” (Izu)
On the other hand, Izu was more convinced.

“Anyway, what kind of being is the Curseweaver even? Is he really that amazing, being able to influence two worlds?” (Oz)
“There’s no way we’ve grasped everything there is to know about the Curseweaver. But no matter what era it appeared in, there was always a world-changing transformation.” (Izu)
“World-changing transformation… What do you mean by that?” (Oz)
“At least to the extent of my knowledge, the Curseweaver had once plunged the entire world into ice, eliminating almost all of the beings on it.” (Izu)
…Frozen? Then…

“Another time, the Curseweaver rained down countless masses of flames from the sky, destroying the world. There was also a time where the Curseweaver unleashed an unknown disease, which neither animals nor mankind could resist, plotting for their extinction.” (Izu)
If the Curseweaver had really caused these things, they certainly were disasters on a global scale. I could only imagine the power it held.

“Disease? …Disease… Are you referring to the Tree Plague?” (Yofel)
Yofel suddenly spoke up, as if she knew about the topic. Naturally, I was curious, so I asked her to elaborate further.

“I heard about it from our Elder. Apparently, a strange disease had struck the world when our Elder was still young.” (Yofel)
“What kind of disease?” (Bouchi)
“As the name suggests, the body of the person affected by the disease would slowly turn into a tree. If left untreated, the diseased person would turn into a real tree.” (Yofel)
The disease sounded unique to the other world. Well, for Earth, which had suffered from the advancements of science, it sure was an eco-friendly disease.

“Apparently, because of the disease, the population of the world was drastically reduced. There were no cures or countermeasures, after all.” (Yofel)
“I’m surprised that mankind survived.” (Bouchi)
“Our Elder said that just when everyone in the world was about to give up on their lives, a bright ray of light appeared before them.” (Yofel)
“A ray of light?” (Bouchi)
“Yes. It was a young man. He saved the people who were on the brink of death, discovered the cause of the disease that was scouring the world, and cured it.” (Yofel)
“So who was that person?” (Bouchi)
If this one person could save the world from the likes of the calamities caused by the Curseweaver, then maybe this person could rival the Curseweaver in strength.

But Yofel simply shook her head.

“Sorry. I was very young at the time. I don’t remember the details anymore. Maybe if the Elder was sent to this world, I might be able to ask him.” (Yofel)
Apparently, she was only 5 years old when she had heard that story, so it wasn’t surprising that she couldn’t remember. I sure couldn’t remember much when I was five.

“I didn’t really understand much, but… I at least get that the Curseweaver is an absurd existence. But what does that have to do with Captain?” (Oz)
“Remember Vodara? I think he’s the one who is controlling the Curseweaver. But to manipulate global-scale disasters, it might require a certain amount of energy.” (Bouchi)
“Energy…? D-Don’t tell me…!” (Oz)
“The power that Duarte has is tremendous. He also has the ability to control nature. That’s why he wants his energy… This is only my guess, though.” (Bouchi)
“No… Captain…” (Oz)
Oz’s head drooped sadly, her face wrought with despair.