I Can Copy Curses

'Time to explore the Starforge.'

He walked out of his room and soon appeared in the conference hall.

Seeing that there was no one there, he moved out of his dimension and used his tangibility to walk through the gate of the void shuttle and appear at the parking location of the space station.

The moment he walked out of the void shuttle, he quickly moved into his dimension.

He didn't want to risk exposing himself to the assassins here. Witnessing their assassination attempt firsthand, he understood their ruthlessness. They would stop at nothing to kill him if they saw him roaming the streets of Starforge.

"WOW!"

Meanwhile, as he looked at the sight before him, Orion exclaimed in shock.

He felt that the view of Starforge was a hundred times better, if not more, when standing on it compared to seeing it from afar.

He saw many void shuttles roaming the skies here and people from different planets could be seen walking here and there. There were also many stalls placed side by side of the path leading forward from the parking location. These stalls were big and large compared to the makeshift stalls he had seen in Aethelgard City.

He walked forward, the path full of people, his eyes sparkling at things around him. There were so many things here that attracted his attention that his head continuously turned here and there.

However, he didn't stop at any stalls or any place. Instead, he continued to walk forward through the bustling street.

Not long after, the path came to an end and he appeared at the entrance leading to the tower.

There were various shops lined up at the tower, from a food shop to a mega shop where a literal void shuttle was on sale.

Orion walked beside the line of shops, carefully looking at each and every shop before he stopped in front of one.

It was a clothing shop, but not the orthodox kind. The shop specialised in selling strange and questionable clothes one would need for undertaking peculiar or highly specific activities. The racks were filled with outfits that ranged from outlandish costumes to eccentric uniforms, each designed for niche purposes that most people would never encounter in their everyday lives.

Before entering the shop, he changed his face with the curse of Identity Strain with a random face he could think of and went to a corner where no one was. He came outside of his dimension and walked towards the shop again.

Upon entering the shop, he was immediately welcomed by a man working there.

"Show me a variety of masks."

Orion looked at the man as he asked for the masks.

"Follow me, young lad."

The shopkeeper took Orion towards the back area, where hundreds of masks, if not more, were placed on the racks, while some appeared to be worn by mannequins.

The mannequins also wore fully hooded clothes ranging in colour from dark red to dark blue.

Orion's attraction was immediately pulled by the blue one. He felt that it would suit him greatly. So, he decided to buy that one.

'As for the mask...'

He observed the masks placed on the racks and saw that each one was uniquely designed and appeared different from the others. The craftsmanship on these masks was amazing, as far as he could tell.

After looking at all the masks carefully, he decided to choose the one he liked the most. It was a white mask with dark blue eye sockets. Tendrils of dark blue spread from the eyes, creating an intricate and striking pattern across the entire mask. The design was both mysterious and captivating, fitting perfectly with his sense of style and the persona he wanted to project.

"Give me that mask and that clothing the mannequin is wearing," he said, pointing at the mask and the hoody. "How much?"

"A nice choice indeed," the shopkeeper praised him and told him the price. "It will be 10 gold coins for both of them."

Orion nodded and took out 10 gold coins and gave them to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper smiled and took the coins from him, while another shopkeeper prepared the mask and the clothes Orion bought in a carrying bag and gave them to him.

After getting the things he wanted, he walked out of the shop.

"Please come again."

Orion ignored the shopkeeper's earnest request, went to a corner where no one was and moved into his own dimension.

There, he changed his clothes, wore the blue mask and once again came out of his dimension.

He then walked towards the area where the crowd of people was the largest.

'A little more time and I will have my hands on that thing.'

He thought as he silently walked.

Nobody thought Orion's clothing and the mask he wore were strange because there were many people on the space station who wore masks like him.

Some people didn't like to show their faces, while others hid their faces for reasons unknown when coming to the space stations. So, it became a common practice among people to wear a mask and roam around.

It was so common that almost one in every twenty people could be seen donning a mask and hoody on them.

A while later, Orion appeared in the area where the crowd was the densest. He could hear the sounds of people talking, their voices merging into a murmur that filled his ears. The bustling atmosphere was the complete opposite of the quiet moments he had just experienced in that clothing shop, reminding him of the vibrant and chaotic nature of public spaces.

'It's bound to be full of people; after all, this is a casino.'

He thought, looking at the huge board at the top of the shop. The words "Gold Casinos" were written in vibrant green, glowing brightly and drawing attention from passersby.

He noticed many people walking in and out of the shop, and when his attention was drawn to its entrance, he was surprised for a moment because there were no actual doors. Instead, people seemed to phase through a shimmering barrier that marked the entrance, giving the impression of stepping through a portal rather than a traditional doorway.

'What a magical place this is!'

He exclaimed in wonder. Though he had seen something like this in his own house at the Darkwood Palace, it was a long time ago, and now that experience remained in the form of memories only.

But this sight in front of him was real and he was about to walk into that shimmering barrier himself.

'I hope the rumours were true.'

He thought as he walked towards the barrier and went inside.

Coming inside, what attracted his attention the most was the crowd. The crowd inside the casino was denser than it was on the outside. But this also created a problem for him.

He had a goal for coming here, but with all these people around, he didn't know where to go to achieve it.

'In Earth, there are dealers managing the casinos so I wonder if there are dealers here too.'

He thought about looking around. This was his first time here, and it seemed he would have to find a dealer on this floor to inquire about the specific lottery he wanted to try.