The Strongest Curse Master

I eyed Agent Marcus standing in front of the C.I.B. headquarters entrance, his hands on his hips. He muttered to himself in frustration and occasionally gave a frustrated kick, completely ignoring the judgmental stares of the passersby.

It was odd. I know the man just lost his partner and buddy, but he also hit the trillion-dollar lottery, which would be more than enough for anyone to get over what was bound to happen, eventually. After all, they signed up for a title that literally meant first responders against anything related to curse energy. All I was trying to say was that they knew what they signed up for and were prepared for it.

I noticed that his sky-tier security detail—the one Dee3 had warned me about—was nowhere to be found. I wondered if they had simply left after the deal was through, since his security was no longer their concern. Regardless of the government's cold and calculating approach, shouldn't he be celebrating, not moping right in the middle of the street? Or did the government cut him out of the deal? Knowing our government, that was always a possibility.

'Poor guy, first he lost his partner and now his bosses took the trillions he was promised,' I thought to myself, having no idea what Agent Marcus must be going through. At least he managed to remain sane and didn't make a bigger scene. Well, with a void-tier watching him, I don't think he had much choice.

Feeling pity for the poor guy, I approached him, calling out, "Sir Marcus!"

He appeared too preoccupied with his thoughts to hear my call. So, I neared him and called out louder, "Sir Marcus!"

"Huh?" Agent Marcus finally awakened from his thoughts and searched for the voice that called for him.

"Sir Marcus, it's me, Ace Lander. We meet this afternoon," I said as politely as possible with the most humble smile I could fathom.

Being humble was new to me. Without Dame Wasp here to assist me, if I wanted to get any information about the deal with Cyclops from Agent Marcus, I had to be. Otherwise, he would just ignore me as an ignorant junior. Trying to survive in a world run by adults as a teenager was hard. Being ignored and underestimated on every turn was frustrating. But hey, at least I didn't have to worry about being exploited thanks to my amazing curse abilities.

"Ace, I remember you. Young man, what are you doing here?" Agent Marcus asked just as a formality.

"I am here to collect my curse licence," I answered and continued, "I heard about your partner, Agent Berry, he was a capable curse master. Shame that things end like this."

"No, he did his job and served his country until his last breath. Nothing more, nothing less. His family should be proud of him," Agent Marcus said, though it was not clear if he truly believed that.

"Speaking of his family. I plan to establish a trust to help one of his younger generation with curse aptitude undergo a proper curse core initiation ceremony under the guidance of Aurelian Eyes. I wonder if Agent Berry has a talented progeny. Otherwise, all this will be naughty," I spoke, informing Agent Marcus of my plans to help Agent Berry's family, with a hint of sorrow on my brow.

Agent Berry died in a mess that I created. So, I planned to help his family to the best of my power. Establishing this trust was just one of the steps in reducing the guilt I felt about what happened to Agent Berry. I could do a lot more than establish a student trust for one of Agent Berry's kids, but sometimes more wasn't better. Besides, hiring Aurelian eyes for a curse core initiation ceremony wasn't cheap. Based on the curse item chosen, it would go up to billions.

"Berry has three sons. Unfortunately, only one of them has an aptitude for curse energy and is studying at one of the curse schools run by the McSuile family. He turned thirteen just a few weeks ago. I think that in this time of great sorrow, your trust will help motivate him and keep him from straying from the right track. Especially since curse school fees are not cheap, without Berry I don't know how his family can continue to afford to send the kid to the curse school," Agent Marcus narrated, briefly explaining Agent Berry's family situation to me. Clearly, the old fox was trying to use my sympathy and generosity to win more benefits for his fallen partner's family.

"It's good to know Sir Berry has an heir to carry on his legacy. I will get started with Trust after I talk to the McSuile family to see if there is something we can do about the kid's school fees," I replied, reeling in the bait slowly, seeing Agent Marcus bite on it.

"Young man, you are doing a good thing. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you. Here's my card," Agent Marcus said in gratitude, handing me his card.

"Since you offered, can you help me collect my sister's curse licence too? It would save her the hassle of making a trip to the city from our town" I immediately cashed in my favor, hoping that this exchange of favors between us would make him comfortable around me. Enough to discuss with me about the curse caster's innate curse tool he gained as a part of his loot.

"That's a small thing. I can help you with that as long as you can arrange a video call with her on the government's secured network," Agent Marcus informed and then, seeing me nod gratefully, he added, "Follow me. You can skip the unnecessary security checks and queue. There have been of lot of these since the attack."

"You are a savior, Sir Marcus. Thanks to you I can make it to the funeral Dee3 arranged for Mr. Birdie in time," I said, purposefully bringing up the funeral. However, seeing Marcus not build on that, I continued, "If you are free, you're welcome to come pay your respects to our town's hero."