Carn and Liam worked on dismantling the Weaver’s headless corpse in silence, they took the silk from its abdomen and the claws from each of its legs. While Carn was carefully slicing off a claw from one of the legs he opened his menu where a barrage of notifications poured out at him.
- New skill manifested! -
Your talent and luck have created a new skill! An appropriate name will be generated.
- Satellite Warp -
Type: Personal (Active) | Tier: Silver
Cost: 200 mana | Cooldown: 5 minutes
Level: 1
Your body instantly warps through space to any object you have touched in the past 10 seconds.
- Title Achieved: Novice Skill Creator -
Tier: Copper
Description: A title given to those who create an entirely new skill
When equipped: +5 Wisdom and Will. Personal Skills will have their cost reduced by 10%
Not equipped: +2 Wisdom and Will. Personal Skills will have their cost reduced by 10%
- Boss Monster “The Weaver” has been slain -
Level: 97
Your contribution was 75%
Bonus experience is given for defeating a foe of a greater level
+89,673 experience
+91,254 Skill experience
- You have leveled up x9 -
- Relentless Strikes has leveled up x10 -
- Hunter’s Mark has leveled up x10 -
- Hunter’s Accuracy has leveled up x4 -
There were a couple more notifications but they were of little note, the skills increased in potency and cost as they had before with the biggest change being done to Relentless Strikes whose damage multiplier increased from 1.1x to 1.2x per strike on the same target.
Carn was now level 52 and allocated his 45 unspent stat points. He put 15 into agility and 10 into strength, intelligence, and will.
With a grunt, Carn pried the last claw free from the giant leg, breathing a sigh of relief. Looking up, he saw his team gathered in the clearing, transfixed by something in the sky. Tucking the claw away into his overflowing bag, Carn made his way over to them.
As he approached, he saw Liam standing atop the shield held aloft by Fatima, Priya's staff slamming into the ground. With a burst of strength, Fatima launched Liam skyward, and Carn held his breath as the monk hurtled through the air with astonishing speed. Moments later, Liam plummeted back to earth, cradling the car-sized head of the Weaver in his arms.
"Ah, Carn, are you done with harvesting? Get over here and take a look at the loot," Leif called out, waving him over and planting his spear in the dirt. The rest of the team was busily working on slicing up the head.
Carn watched in amazement as they meticulously carved out the spider's eyes and fangs. Liam, meanwhile, was digging around inside the Weaver's skull with his arm, muttering to himself. When he finally emerged, his arm was covered in sticky yellow blood, and he held a giant, yellow crystalline rock that glowed faintly.
"What's that?" Carn asked, fascinated.
"It's a mana crystal. You can find them in the really big monsters," Juan said, his eyes fixed on the gem with awe. "You can find them in non-bosses too, but they're much rarer. 'If a corpse emits a shine, that stone is mine'," he recited, his voice trembling with anticipation.
Liam wiped the last of the blood from his arm before turning to the rest of the team. "Alright, since Carn killed the boss, he gets the honors. Anyone in disagreement?" The party shook their heads in unison, and Liam gestured for Carn to come forward and take the crystal from him. The crystal was about the size of a basketball, with protrusions jutting out at odd angles, and almost weightless.
Carn took the crystal, looking at it curiously. "So, uh, what do I do with this?" he asked, still examining it closely.
Leif stared at him in disbelief. "You don't know? Have you never watched a loot reveal from a dungeon on TV before?"
Carn shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed. "My boss always told me to switch to another channel with a different raid after we finished one. He said it was the best way to keep customers."
Fatima chuckled. "Well, pour some of your blood onto the crystal, and you'll see what happens."
Carn looked hesitant at the thought of cutting his hand, but seeing that the rest of the team had no objections, he carefully set the crystal on the ground and drew his dagger. With one quick motion, he sliced his palm, leaving a long gash.
Carn winced as the blade sliced his palm open, and as he drew his hand back, he was surprised to see the blood pulsating between a deep vibrant red and a dark black. Sanaa clutched her stomach and mouth, as if the sight of his blood was repulsive to her.
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"Your blood, it is wrong. It is vile and unnatural," Sanaa gasped out, her voice thick with disgust.
The rest of the team looked at Carn's hand in confusion. Even Carn himself was perplexed; he had seen himself bleed not even a week ago, and his blood had been normal. Juan's curiosity got the best of him, and he piped up, "Uhm, why is it doing that?"
Carn shrugged, at a loss for words, before Liam interrupted with an exhausted sigh, "That isn't an issue. Just pour your blood onto the crystal. We have more pressing issues to attend to."
With a nod, Carn poured his blood onto the giant yellow crystal, watching as it seeped into the rock and spread like wildfire, turning the crystal gray. When the crystal was entirely gray, fractures appeared on its surface, and it shattered, emitting a blinding light.
As the light dissipated, the party saw seven items scattered on the ground, with the crystal nowhere to be found. Three books, a ring, a shortsword, a spear, and a staff were among the treasures.
"Damn, those are some good drops," Liam remarked, taking a swig from his canteen. "Carn, pick a skill book and two other items, and we'll divvy up the rest among ourselves."
Carn examined the three books and noticed a white one titled "Web Shot." He picked it up after a brief consideration, intrigued by the possibility of what it could do. The other two, "Silk Ballad" and "Sticky Blood," didn't seem as useful to him.
As he looked through the remaining items, Carn decided on taking the ring and shortsword. When he grabbed them a voice resonated in his head, “You have obtained gear greater than your level and tier, it will be equippable due to the user contributing the overwhelming majority in defeating the enemy the gear was obtained from. The items will be scaled down temporarily until the user increases the required tier.”
- Weaver’s Blade -
Tier: Silver → Copper
Level: 95
Attack: 300 → 60
This shortsword is made entirely of silk and is a Weaver’s masterpiece. The silk blade is so dense that it is now stronger than most metals. Every time this blade hits a target it will be slowed by 15% → 5% for 10 seconds → 6 seconds
The shortsword was an impressive piece of work, with a blade a foot and a half long, completely white, and a matte finish that didn't reflect light. The handle was black, with a pommel shaped like the head of a spider, while the crossguard looked like two spider legs curving towards the handle.
- Spinneret Ring -
Tier: Silver → Copper
Level: 100
Skill uses needed for absorption: 50,000
This ring utilizes the surrounding mana to weave webs from thin air. A web line is shot from this ring and will attach to the first thing it comes in contact with. It has a range of 100 meters → 20 meters with a cooldown of 2 seconds → 10 seconds
The ring, made of the same white hardened silk as the shortsword, had a simple design with a barely visible web pattern. When Carn slipped it on, it felt cool and light against his skin, as though it was alive with power.
"Good choices kid," Liam finally said, his voice laced with a hint of exhaustion. "Who wants the other two skill books?"
Leif immediately spoke up. "I'll take Sticky Blood. I still don't have it yet," he said eagerly, snatching the book from Liam's hands.
The rest of the party didn't seem interested in the remaining skill book or equipment, so Liam decided to take the gear for himself. "Alright, we'll sell it and split the profits. Sound good for everyone?" he announced.
Juan, who had been eagerly cleaning his rifle, nodded his head enthusiastically. "Yup, Mr. Liam!" he chimed in.
----------------------------------------
As they made their way back to the guild, the party couldn't help but feel relieved that they didn't encounter any spiders along the way. Liam turned to Carn and explained, "When you kill a Weaver, the spiders go into hiding and prepare to breed. It's the perfect time to make a quick escape."
After a few hours of walking, they finally reached the town. Fatima suggested they focus on PR management before selling their loot, and the group agreed.
Upon arriving at the guild house, Liam called out to four party members, "Fatima, Priya, Juan, and Leif!" The four of them stood at attention, ready for his command. "I want you all to get some rest at a hotel tonight. I don’t want your names dragged through the mud for this. If everything goes well, tomorrow we will teach Carn the ropes of selling stuff to the right people in the guild.”
The four members nodded and left, leaving Carn, Sanaa, and Liam standing at the entrance of the guild house. Liam gave a heavy sigh as he entered the building, every member turned their heads to look at them. Carn felt like a zoo animal on display.
Liam led the group to the front counter where they were greeted by a tiefling lady with fiery red skin and two smooth horns on her forehead. She was the same lady that Shaun had introduced Carn to when he first joined the guild.
"This is Jenna Livingston, vice-head of public relations for our guild," Liam introduced them.
Jenna stood up and greeted Carn with an overly flirtatious tone, "Hi hun, wanted to say thanks for talking to Shaun for me. We had a fuuuun night." She blew him a kiss and winked, leaving Carn momentarily stunned.
But her attitude changed quickly when she turned to Sanaa, her fully black eyes drilling into her. "Sanaa, this is a catastrophic blunder. Not only did you live stream a new member's first dungeon run, but it was also someone who was recommended by multiple higher-ups and was even let in at a lower tier than our guild has ever accepted. To say you messed up is an understatement."
Sanaa bowed her head, tears brimming in her eyes.
Jenna sighed and handed her a paper. "I understand you live in Egypt?"
"Yes, that is correct, ma'am," Sanaa responded quickly.
"When we are done talking, you are to immediately return to Earth and meet with one of my subordinates at the location on the paper. I've arranged a mini press conference with trustworthy reporters, and my subordinate has talking points that need to be covered during the conference. Am I clear?" Jenna's tone was dry and unsympathetic.
Sanaa nodded frantically before dashing out of the room towards the guild rooms to log out.
Jenna grabbed her bag and motioned for Liam and Carn to follow her. They made their way to a small meeting room with an oval table and plush chairs. Jenna was dressed in a sharp black suit, and her long red tail swayed slowly behind her back. She exuded confidence and authority.
Jenna walked over to Liam who had a solemn look on his face, “Liam, honey, this ain't on you. We'll do everything we can to protect the boy,” Jenna said, patting Liam on his bald head like a mother comforting a child.
“I know Jenna… So how are the other guilds moving?” Liam said, plopping himself in a chair.
Jenna put her bag on the table and pushed a file towards Liam and Carn, “Surprisingly, Divine Mist has gone on record stating that they will do nothing and that they even wish us the best in our efforts. The other guilds haven't said much, though. Information about assassinating a super rookie can't be easily gathered with our spy network.”
“Divine Mist made a statement? Isn’t it usually just assumed that they stay out of matters like these?” Liam said, thumbing through the file.
“Maybe honey bunches over there knows a higher-up in their guild?” Jenna said, turning to Carn with a smile. “Say, do you know anyone in Divine Mist?”
Carn had definitely heard of Divine Mist before, but he never really kept up with who led the major guilds. “Sorry, I don't even know who their guild leader is, let alone anyone under them.”
“Come on, Jenna, it's not like he knows Tuolong,” Liam said with a smirk.