Chapter 23: Tool Offense

Chapter 23: Tool Offense

At the sight of the Primordial Monsters, players immediately charged forward.

But the moment they entered the cave, every player’s expression shifted.

Fragments of memories flooded their minds, weaving into a mental mirage that rapidly enveloped them.

Within the illusion, Tauntweaver morphed into grotesque figures, stirring uncontrollable rage from deep within their hearts.

Witnessing this, the hidden Qi Sheng couldn’t help smirking faintly. He promptly severed his subtle connection to the players’ senses, switching instead to observe externally through Guide’s avatar to avoid being ensnared in the same mental mirage.

According to Guide’s analysis, Tauntweaver’s Memory-Laced Mirage was far beyond the players’ current mental resilience.

Yet its most terrifying aspect wasn’t the illusion itself—it was Emotion Manipulation.

Qi Sheng could already envision the players’ torment. Within the mirage, Tauntweaver would take the form of their deepest hatred—perhaps a patricidal fiend or a cuckold’s nightmare—but none of it mattered. The players, eyes bloodshot, lunged recklessly at Tauntweaver.

The monster, in turn, bared razor-sharp fangs, swallowing the rushing players one by one.

This ability reminded Qi Sheng of the deep-sea anglerfish, which lured prey with a bioluminescent lure. By comparison, Tauntweaver’s power was far more horrifying.

Once within its range, victims would instinctively approach, becoming irresistible targets. The only escape lay in possessing mental strength vastly superior to Tauntweaver’s or wielding a Primordial Ability that resisted mental control.

Within a minute, the players were annihilated.

But Tauntweaver, starved for eons, only feasted briefly. All slain players were extracted by Hyperdimension, their life essence refined by Yan Ming and returned to Dizhong Village for Vital Reformation beneath the earth.

“Looks like Bing Ren’s gifts for you went beyond those energy crystals.”

Suddenly, Guide’s water orb materialized beside Qi Sheng, morphing into an arm that cradled its chin in thought.

“You think this Primordial was caged by Bing Ren as a gift for the next Imperial Omen?”

“Exactly. I’ve also sensed multiple Primordial Monsters within Gloomspire Caverns. Bing Ren’s motives are clear—only an Imperial Omen can absorb a Primordial’s power. I can’t fathom why else he’d imprison them.”

“Strange, considering how fanatically loyal he was to the Imperial Omen despite his madness.”

“And you?” Qi Sheng turned, smirking. “How do you compare?”

“Obviously light-years ahead,” Guide retorted without pause. “I’m the most loyal subordinate the Imperial Omen ever had. Wait… are you doubting my loyalty, boss?”

Ignoring the reply, Qi Sheng redirected his gaze to Monster World.

…

An hour later, at Dizhong Village’s resurrection point.

Blinding light flickered as players emerged from respawn cooldown.

“Holy crap, can you believe what I saw in that mirage? I got cheated on by that giant beetle! And worse, in the moment it felt… normal. Looking back, it’s insane!”

“This game’s terrifying! It’s stealing our memories to craft abilities!”

“Mine was worse! I was forced to eat crap by that bug, and I was so furious I wanted to punch its face off!”

…

After the laughter died down, they turned to plotting revenge.

Clearly, Tauntweaver’s ability pulled anyone within range into a memory-based illusion. Close combat was impossible—only players with Bonefire Life Soul could harm it.

As they debated strategies, a junior player suddenly suggested:

“Why stick to monster abilities? Sure, Black-Scaled Serpent and Gargoyle Form are melee-only, but the Mall has torches and ranged tools. We could stay outside and chip away until it dies. It’s chained down anyway!”

The idea was met with instant approval.

They flooded the Commerce Mall, snapping up torches, Stonebreaker Bows, crossbows, and other ranged tools. With limited Sacrificial Power, most could only afford low-tier items crafted from the currency.

As purchases poured in, 30% of the profits—339 Sacrificial Power—automatically flowed to Qi Sheng via the Challenger System.

Soon, dozens of players marched back to Gloomspire Caverns’ second subterranean layer.

As ranged attacks rained into the cave, Bonefire users hurled fireballs alongside makeshift projectiles, bombarding Tauntweaver relentlessly.

Roars echoed from the depths, fueling the players’ excitement—and anticipation of the Sacrificial Power reward awaiting them.

But as time passed, their grins faded.

Tauntweaver was far tougher than expected. Half an hour of bombardment left it unscathed.

Doubt crept into voice chat:

“Is this working? Thirty minutes and it’s still alive. Its health bar’s gotta be infinite!”

“What if we’re not even breaking its defense? The game doesn’t have forced 1-damage hits. Maybe we’re just wasting attacks!”

“Don’t say that! I burned three mental potions already! If this fails, I’m bankrupt!”

…

The thought of futility shattered many minds.

Bonefire users, mostly levels 5–7, strained their mental energy, forced to pause and buy more potions from the Marketplace between barrages.

Low-tier potions cost 5 Sacrificial Power each. The half-hour assault had drained immense resources.

If Tauntweaver survived, they’d lose everything.

Yet the roars persisted.

Flames engulfed the cave, heatwaves forcing players back as smoke choked the air.

Optimism crumbled into panic.

One player muttered, staring at the inferno:

“One torch = 1, potion = 5, Stonebreaker Bow = 50, arrow = 1… We’ve spent over a thousand by now. I just flushed yesterday’s mining earnings into that cave…”

The words shattered nerves.

Still, none stopped.

With such sunk costs, they were like gamblers too deep in the hole to quit, clinging to one last desperate gamble.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end