Instead of leading him to the bar, the woman suddenly turned into a narrow side alley after two blocks.

Hm? Klein followed without question.

The alley opened up to a quiet, secluded balcony on the second floor of an old building, overlooking a back street and there were no other people around.

The moment they stepped onto the balcony, the woman’s demeanor changed completely.

In a blur of motion, she grabbed Klein by the collar and violently slammed him back against the brick wall.

*thud*

At the same time, a sleek black dagger appeared in her hand, and she pressed the sharp blade firmly against his throat.

Her eyes were cold and dangerous now, all traces of amusement gone.

Klein didn’t flinch and simply looked straight at her with a faint smile on his lips.

The woman narrowed her eyes, "You’re either very brave or very stupid to be smiling like that..."

"Who the hell are you really, and what do you want with me?"

Keeping his smile, Klein replied in a teasing tone, "Miss, don’t you think it’s too soon for you to push me against a wall and kiss me? We just met today."

The woman’s gaze narrowed further, "Stop the act and tell me..."

A soft sigh escaped Klein’s lips "Alright."

In the next instant, his movements became a blur.

His right hand shot up with lightning speed, grabbing her wrist and twisting the dagger away from his throat in one smooth motion.

Before she could react, his knee slammed hard into her abdomen.

Thud!

"Ugh-!"

The woman let out a pained grunt as the impact drove the air from her lungs and her body instinctively doubled over.

Klein didn’t waste the opening.

He twisted her arm behind her back, using her own momentum against her, and smoothly brought the dagger around to press it against her own neck.

The sharp blade now rested right under her jaw.

"Miss, you have to be careful," Klein said calmly, still maintaining that faint smile.

Her eyes shook with terror and disbelief.

’Shit... I let my guard down thinking he was only F-rank...!’

Still keeping his smile, Klein spoke in a relaxed tone, "Miss, looking at your strength, you must be at C or D rank, right?"

He pressed the blade a little firmer against her skin "If you use mana or even move your body, this dagger will go through your throat... shiing."

He moved closer and his face was justinches away from hers "You really have a pretty face, Miss."

She gritted her teeth and her muscles tensed as she fought the instinct to fight back

Klein leaned in even closer, brushing his lips against her ear as he whispered "...why don’t we have a proper conversation instead of playing with knives?"

"I don’t wanna ruin this beautiful face of yours."

"...You bastard," she hissed through clenched teeth. "You were playing me from the beginning."

Klein pulled his head back slightly so he could look her in the eyes again "Not entirely. I do find you attractive. But yes... there are other motives."

"I came to the capital looking for this Dark Church. But i didn’t get a clue for three days."

"You are the first one I sensed dark energy from. So... could you tell me where this Dark Church is?"

The woman’s eyes widened in genuine surprise.

"Huh?"

She stared at him, momentarily stunned by his words "...You are also here to find the Dark Church? I am also here for the same reason."

Upon hearing this, his gaze condensed ’As I thought... even though the cursed energy is called dark energy in this world...’

’What about people who awakened Curse attribute like me, not everyone is from Dark Church.’

’I guess she is a commoner who has a attribute to Curses just like me.’

’In the end... curses are also like spirits, just with different energy.’

’It’s just in this world, no one publicly knows about Cursed Realm and they don’t consider it as a power system.’

Klein slowly pulled the dagger away from her throat and released her hand, stepping back to give her some space.

"Why are you looking for the Dark Church?"

She stayed silent, rubbing her sore abdomen where he had kneed her earlier and looked at him cautiously.

Klein raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to kick you again for you to answer?"

The woman glared at him, rubbing her abdomen more pointedly "Is that how you treat women?"

Klein shrugged lightly, a small smile returning to his face. "Only when they press a dagger to my throat first. Fair is fair, right?"

The woman let out a frustrated sigh and leaned back against the balcony railing, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

The cool night breeze tugged at her brown hair as she stared out into the dark alley below for a long moment, clearly wrestling with how much to reveal.

After a long pause, she finally spoke, "...In my Arbiter Panel, I have two Attributes named Ice and Curse. I guess this Curse energy is what they called Dark energy in the underground circles."

She glanced sideways at Klein, "For some unknown reason, when I awakened, I had it... My parents warned me not to use that energy out in public, saying it was dangerous."

"And people with ’dark’ attributes usually end up being hunted or recruited by shady organizations."

Her jaw tightened as she continued.

"But when I reached C-rank, my mana circuits started forming blockages because of this ’dark’ energy. Ever since then, I wasn’t able to properly use mana and I’ve been stuck at C-rank."

"The Ice attribute still works fine, but the Curse energy keeps interfering. It feels like poison slowly building up inside me."

Klein’s eyes condensed as he listened ’Ah... that is because of the cursed energy blockage. Yeah, that happens when you don’t release cursed energy from your body regularly.’

He has seen similar cases in his past life. People who awakened curse attributes but tried to suppress them often suffered from mana circuit corrosion or blockages.

"I see... so that’s why you are looking for the Dark Church since they are more proficientwith this ’dark’ energy." Klein muttered, frowning slightly.

’Should I help her?’

She isn’t affiliated with the Dark Church. She is just a woman struggling with a power she didn’t understand.

The woman noticed his contemplative expression and narrowed her eyes.

"What? You look like you know something about this," she said in a sharp tone. "Don’t tell me you’re one of those Dark Church recruiters after all."

Klein shook his head "I’m not. But I do know a bit about dark energy. It’s not exactly ’dark’ in the way people think."

"It’s just another form of power like spirit energy, but with different properties. Suppressing it completely is what causes the blockages you’re experiencing."

"If you keep forcing it down, it will only get worse. Eventually, it could damage your mana core permanently."

"The proper way is to learn how to circulate and release it safely, rather than trying to seal it away."

The woman stared at him, "How would you know all of this?" she asked suspiciously.

"You’re just an F-rank kid who somehow managed to overpower me. You expect me to believe you’re some kind of expert on this ’dark’ energy?"

Klein gave a small, wry smile "Let’s just say I have some unique experiences."

He turned around and started walking back toward the inn "Come. Let’s go back to my room. I can help you with that blockage."

The woman looked at him with clear suspicion, "And how do you expect me to believe you? We literally just met."

Klein stopped and turned to face her.

Without saying anything, he stepped forward and placed his hand gently on her abdomen.

The woman tensed instantly, "What are you-!"

Before she could finish, a precise surge of Klein’s cursed energy flowed from his palm into her body.

It was incredibly refined, like a needle threading through her blocked circuits.

He targeted one of the smaller cursed blockages and dissolved it, allowing the stagnant energy to flow again.

The woman’s eyes widened as the blockage shattered. For the first time in years, a portion of her mana circuits felt clear.

The constant pressure and pain she had grown used to in her abdomen eased significantly.

’...What the hell? He actually... fixed it?’

Her breathing quickened and she grabbed his wrist tightly, "You... how did you do that? Even high-ranking healers couldn’t do anything about it."

Klein withdrew his hand, "I can help you clear more of them. If you’re willing to trust me... we can do this properly back in my room. No one will disturb us."

The woman stood there for a moment and for the first time in a long while, she could breathe easier.

She bit her lip, clearly struggling with her pride and caution.

"...Fine. But if you try anything funny, I swear I’ll kill you, even if I have to drag you to hell with me."

Klein chuckled softly. "Understood. Let’s go."

They walked back to the inn in relative silence.

When they reached his room on the second floor, Klein opened the door and gestured for her to enter first.

Once inside, he closed the door behind them and turned to face her.

He motioned toward the bed. "Sit down and relax."

Lira sighed in her heart, clearly still conflicted, but the relief she had felt earlier from him clearing that one blockage made her obey.

Standing in front of her, he grinned "Great... now, strip."