novelraw Chapter 249: The Forbidden Among the Forbidden
Chapter 249: The Forbidden Among the Forbidden
Slap!
The tiny Shadow Weaver was knocked to the ground, blinking its large, round white eyes that resembled light bulbs.
Who!
Who dared ambush a being of its royal status?
The little Shadow Weaver scrambled back up. Currently, it only had a small deer head and a frail black body.
Though its body had shrunk, its majesty remained intact! As a mighty Shadow Weaver, it still carried the regal aura befitting a high-tier shadow demon!
Its eyes widened as it searched for the audacious fool who had blocked its path.
Then, it saw Deepsea Water Spirit No.1's round, squishy body.
What is this? A pathetic slime? This thing dares challenge a shadow demon?
Slap!The Deepsea Water Spirit used its tiny watery palm to slap the little Shadow Weaver again:
"Huff huff! (Don't even think about escaping master's grasp!)"
This slap!
Resounded magnificently!
This slap,
Dealt a whopping—
1 point of damage!
Minimal damage, maximum humiliation.
Even among shadow beasts, there existed a hierarchy. Shadow Weavers were of royal bloodline among shadow creatures!
It was a descendant of kings!
The little Shadow Weaver's round eyes instantly turned crimson as six branch-like arms behind it clenched into fists.
Those White Tower Hunters and that tentacled thing bullying it was one thing! But a weak, pitiful slime used as a seat cushion daring to strike it?!
Spatial Dash - 0.5 Meter Flash Fist Barrage!
Slap! The little Shadow Weaver suddenly flashed forward, burning its potential to unleash a ferocious dash attack aimed directly at Water Spirit No.1.
The water spirit was struck violently, splattering apart—
The little Shadow Weaver grinned, yet it didn't feel the satisfying impact of its punch.
An illusion! It had hit a decoy!
Slap!
After creating the illusion, Deepsea Water Spirit No.1 quickly revealed itself behind the Shadow Weaver, delivering consecutive slaps!
Combo Slaps!
Super effective! Dealt massive psychological damage!
The little Shadow Weaver froze. It, who loved attacking from behind, had just been struck from behind using its own preferred tactic.
"Grrraaahh!!"
Terrifying shadow energy erupted from the little Shadow Weaver as it repeatedly used Spatial Dash to assault the Deepsea Water Spirit.
The two mighty mini-overlords battled all the way to the street's edge! Kicking up clouds of dust!
Until a massive hand reached out from the endless darkness, grabbing the Shadow Weaver by its antlers and lifting it up.
"Caught it just like that?"
Chen Qi momentarily struggled to articulate his feelings.
Normally, the little Shadow Weaver could perform short-range spatial dashes, allowing instant escape even if caught.
A notoriously tricky little creature to capture.
Yet this one had exhausted all its escape energy fighting the Deepsea Water Spirit—
Was it really this stupid? Chen Qi examined the little Shadow Weaver in his grasp.
The creature kept kicking its legs mid-air, trying to run on nothing.
Seems it really is this dumb...
After petting No.1, Chen Qi stood up and asked the White Tower Hunters:
"Captain of White Tower! According to hunter protocol, shall we divide the spoils?"
Melanie brushed dirt off herself, adjusted her collar, and swept back her hair, maintaining her gentle hunter sister image:
"Agreed! Monster! Per hunter protocol, we can't attack each other within 24 hours."
She suspiciously eyed Chen Qi, confirming he wouldn't strike, then commanded:
"Get to work! Treasure hunting!"
Most of the Shadow Weaver's treasures were inside its fallen massive body.
The Shadow Weaver's shell was actually a super shadow mecha constructed by the little Shadow Weaver using shadow materials. Dismantling it would yield numerous high-grade rare materials.
"Leave it to me! Sister Melanie!"
A tanned, twin-tailed White Tower mechanic confirmed Chen Qi posed no threat before taking out her hammer. Under her dismantling, the Shadow Weaver's massive body quickly broke down into various pristine materials.
Each material was exceptionally rare.
With every piece removed, the little Shadow Weaver in Chen Qi's hand trembled violently.
Soon, the twenty-meter Shadow Weaver disappeared, leaving only rows of dazzling materials.
Chen Qi walked over for inspection.
Five stood out as the rarest:
[Weaver's Thread:
Affinity: Shadow
Description: Threads from the Sewer Styx world, capable of forging legendary forbidden equipment!]
[Shadow Heart:
Affinity: Shadow
Description: Powerful shadow energy source composed of countless fears, usable as power core for large mechas.]
[Withered Shadow Hand:
Affinity: Shadow
Description: Styx-woven shadow hand possessing tremendous strength and 70% spiritual energy conductivity.]
[Fear Blood Eye:
Affinity: Blade, Shadow
Description: Forged blood eye that inflicts continuous mental damage when viewed directly, usable for fear-based equipment.]
[Spatial Dasher's Employee ID:
Affinity: Ice, Shadow
Description: A mad employee's ID that assists in learning the space skill "Dark Dash".]
The rest included shadow threads, wriggling shadow chunks, shadow bones, shadow snacks and other materials.
These were standard B-tier rift drops that could forge powerful B-tier rift equipment - the legendary forbidden gear!
Equipment forged from these wouldn't be weaker than any of Chen Qi's current gear.
The White Tower Hunters lacked believers in the Shell Creed who could intuitively assess equipment value.
They unanimously opened their book cards to consult 'Shadow Affinity Rift Drops' references, frantically gathering information.
Chen Qi, not reading, stood out conspicuously.
White Tower Hunters' beloved reading... Chen Qi crouched, considering his needs.
Per agreement, he could claim 30% of rewards.
Reassessing the five rare materials' value, he glanced at the little Shadow Weaver in hand.
The Fear Blood Eye could inflict heavy mental attacks, seeming powerful but actually quite limited.
It required direct eye contact to work - useless against the blind or those who closed their eyes.
More importantly, mental attacks weren't effective in New Sun World.
Chen Qi himself had the passive mental threshold skill 'Night Monster'.
Many transcendents grew stronger the crazier they became!
The Spacial Dasher's ID could also be excluded. Not being a Lamp-affinity Messenger or Traveler, he lacked the aptitude for movement skills, making this advanced technique extremely difficult to learn.
His gaze settled on the Weaver's Thread, Shadow Heart, and Withered Shadow Hand.
Weaver's Thread was the most versatile material, called the universal 'connector'.
The Shadow Heart and Withered Shadow Hand could be directly given to the little Shadow Weaver.
Chen Qi softly asked the group:
"What are your choices?"
This monster seems quite normal... could he really be that hunter beaten to death by the Flower Witch?... Melanie immediately closed her book:
"I want the Shadow Heart! It's a rare power core! My teacher always wanted to create a powerful shadow chimera! He needs a strong shadow-affinity core!"
The female mechanic timidly added:
"Sister Melanie, I want the Fear Blood Eye... I want to install it so people will avoid looking at me..."
"..."
Chen Qi pondered, somewhat conflicted, then lifted the little Shadow Weaver:
"Little Shadow Weaver? What do you think?"
"???"
The Shadow Weaver turned its head, dumbfounded, mumbling incoherently.
It was pretending not to speak...
Chen Qi's eyes flashed crimson:
"Stop faking! Speak! Or I'll pluck your antlers!"
"Hmph!"
The Shadow Weaver remained stubbornly silent.
Never yielding to humans was its bottom line and dignity!
"No.1! Slap it!"
"I can't determine unless you have equipment needing forging!"
The Shadow Weaver instantly surrendered.
Chen Qi smiled gently:
"Good! Behave! Little Shadow Weaver, looking at my current gear, which materials would you recommend for upgrades?"
The Shadow Weaver's true value wasn't just its rare material drops, but its incredible equipment upgrade ability.
Combined with Wriggling Shadows and Weaver's Thread, it could upgrade any equipment into more powerful shadow-forbidden gear.
The Shadow Weaver blinked, meekly pointing at materials on the ground:
"Weaver's Thread, Withered Shadow Hand, and some shadow threads..."
You could do this?!
The White Tower Hunters silently lowered their books.
You could ask the boss about material values?!
Melanie coughed, adjusted her collar, and cautiously approached Chen Qi:
"Little Shadow Weaver, what about me?"
The Shadow Weaver scrutinized Melanie head to toe, murmuring:
"Besides your cards, everything you have is trash not worth upgrading. Take whatever."
"Trash..."
Melanie stood frozen, gritting her teeth.
This was the Hunter Association's finest uniform!
She took a deep breath. Beyond being bulletproof and spirit-energy resistant, it lacked offensive capabilities - at best a mid-tier C-rank rift equipment.
Though furious, she couldn't deny the truth.
The other six White Tower Hunters also consulted the Shadow Weaver.
Aside from the mechanic wanting the prosthetic eye, most were told to take whatever.
Finally, after distribution, Chen Qi took the Weaver's Thread, Withered Shadow Hand, and ten shadow threads.
Melanie distributed the rest to her team.
"Bountiful harvest!"
Melanie was thrilled. With these materials plus some Shell Coins to buy complementary Book-affinity materials, forging new forbidden gear wasn't impossible.
Chen Qi then told Melanie:
"Everyone, pleasant cooperation. But now, could you give me some privacy?"
"???"
Melanie tilted her head:
"Monster? Privacy? What do you mean?"
Chen Qi explained:
"I need the Shadow Weaver to reforge some equipment, and I'd prefer others not witness the process.
Also... I might need to remove clothing, revealing my true appearance."
The Shadow Weaver's true strength lay in equipment upgrades!
Chen Qi now had to remove Ember's Touch.
Doing so might expose his true identity.
He had a strong premonition.
If his identity became known, the White Tower Hunters wouldn't let him go easily.
Melanie raised an eyebrow:
"What's the big deal? Just changing clothes? Can't we watch?"
She was intensely curious about the monster hunter's true appearance beneath the outfit. A faceless monster? A black-hole face? An adorable boy? Or bespectacled, determined Book-affinity elite?
The curiosity burned so strongly she nearly lunged to strip Chen Qi.
Most importantly, knowing the Black Hunter's true appearance meant she could threaten him: "Black Hunter, you wouldn't want others knowing your true appearance, would you?"
"You sure?"
Chen Qi asked softly.
Too bad he's clearly alert... at least today's contract-bound me can't... Melanie gritted her teeth in frustration:
"Fine! After you're done with the Shadow Weaver, it's our turn!"
Her team also had equipment to forge.
"No problem."
Chen Qi carried the Shadow Weaver into a dark room, placing an ordinary oil lamp on the table.
He had the water spirit guard the door while removing Ember's Touch, changing into common full-body Hunter's Garb.
Then he took out his Wriggling Shadows, Weaver's Thread, shadow threads, and Withered Shadow Hand.
"Little Shadow Weaver, can you upgrade these?"
Ember's Touch was already heavily damaged, but even if irreparable, upgrading would significantly boost combat power!
Placing the Shadow Weaver on the dusty wooden table, it immediately acted like a skilled Hammer-affinity master, summoning shadows to create a dark loom:
"No problem! Upgrading clothes is my specialty!"
Eight tiny hands produced black weaving needles.
Assaulting people was just a hobby - weaving was its true calling!
Professional!
Suddenly inspired, Chen Qi produced his Ember's Hand.
Obtained from the Witch Trial Grounds, this forbidden equipment had one major flaw - requiring intense concentration to use.
Thus, it clashed with Chen Qi's combat style.
The equipment had been wasted in his hands.
Chen Qi added:
"Little Shadow Weaver, if possible, upgrade this too!"
"This is!"
The Shadow Weaver's large white eyes shrank by half upon seeing Ember's Hand!
"Ember's Hand, what about it?"
Chen Qi asked curiously.
The Shadow Weaver excitedly clenched its fists:
"Monster! Your Ember's Touch and this Ember's Hand have perfect compatibility! They can merge into something forbidden among the forbidden - an unimaginable masterpiece!"
Immediately, the Shadow Weaver operated the loom, beginning to weave.
Forbidden among the forbidden... Chen Qi was mildly shocked as countless incredibly dexterous shadow hands reflected in his eyes.