But for a Slime

<Chapter 88 Continued>

The man frowned while Kukurnal hid a gleeful smile tinged with greed. Joe turned away and took a look at the girl's status window. The rude priest came close as well then froze immediately when he came into Joe's sphere. He seemed to panic a bit, staring wildly at Joe as he began to pant, and Joe just stared at him a bit before turning away. No point in pushing it, but man… Why does he piss me off?

Joe stifled his sigh and turned back to the status, eager to see the results of his efforts. On the girls curse tab, there was a single red curse, shaped a bit like an average looking stylized monster core placed on a virulently glowing red background. The color itself made him concerned. Just looking at it seemed to generate an actual feeling of fear or concern. Huh… didn't think a color could… do that to me, but… Joe glanced at the priests and noticed their reactions as they also seemed to be quite concerned over the curse.

Kukurnal actually hissed in response, "A great curse!"

The rude priest frowned as well, and replied with quite a bit more respect, "A great curse. It truly is."

"Yet now we know… but…"

Joe glanced up at the two priests, "Great curse?"

Kukurnal looked at Joe and frowned, sighing slightly, "A great curse, Joe. One that cannot be easily cured."

"But, it can be."

Kukurnal nodded but frowned, "Curses can be cured, and usually quite easily. They require the working of a single priest, but a great curse… Great curses require the working of many priests in conjuction. You must know how many and which gods or goddesses. To discover such takes… years, decades. If the great curse is exceptionally deadly, it could require two or more gods or goddesses. If it requires three, it is very difficult to know which gods or goddesses. If it's more, it is… a great work. Such efforts are… very difficult. It requires the priests to … properly ascertain the curse, to pierce its mysteries, and then heal it."

Joe frowned, grimacing. Kukurnal noticed and quickly shook his head before slapping a hand down on his shoulder, "You should not feel so saddened. You have done a great… amazing service. Now we know. Now… we can work."

Joe's worried faded and he looked to Kukurnal, "Then, you can heal her?"

Kukurnal frowned, his face dropping, "Joe, even if it is a work of only two gods or goddesses, it will take months… possibly years! If it is more, we will see decades… centuries before we are able to reveal the cure."

Joe grimaced, "Well, that's no help to her! Let me…"

Joe turned away from the two priests even as the third joined in and all three began debating excitedly with one another. Joe ignored them. So… I guess the easiest first thing is to explore the curse. Name… details… help… if I could? Let me see.

Joe turned to the girl, "Can you poke that icon for me?"

She stared at him, despairing after hearing the priests and Joe smiled, patting her on the shoulder, "Hey! They said there was nothing to do. I've already figured out what it is. We could learn more! Please, keep helping me."

Her despair didn't lift but she still did as he asked, poking the curse icon with a finger. It exploded outward, much like a touchscreen phone starting an app, and a screen popped up with details on it, including a name. Joe read it carefully.