"Want to go the opposite direction?"
Dylan was still considering the results of his divination when a pungent smell suddenly wafted from above his head. A sharp sound of wind followed! Instinctively, Dylan looked up and saw a massive, eight-eyed giant spider descending from the sky, baring its fangs and claws.
Under the dim moonlight, each strand of its stiff hair was clearly visible. Its eight eyes flashed with an oily green light, and its sharp fangs gleamed as it prepared to pounce on Dylan.
"Oh my god! The arrow was pointing to my head?!"
In that life-and-death moment, Dylan didn't hesitate. Without a wand, he cast a spell.
"Bird-Conjuring Charm!"
Immediately, black birds surrounded his body, their numbers increasing exponentially until they formed a dense, swirling mass. The flock of birds collided violently with the giant spider's enormous body.
"Bang!"
The eight-eyed giant spider was knocked back by the sheer force of the birds, landing heavily on the ground. Its eight eyes flickered with confusion.
Dylan seized the moment. With a wave of his hand, the birds circled him rapidly, creating a strong air current. Within an instant, he was teleported several meters away.
"You little pest! You dare to sneak attack me? Fine! If you're going to fight dirty, don't blame me for dodging. And I'm still bigger than you!"
The moment he landed, Dylan had already drawn his wand, pointing it directly at the eight-eyed giant spider.
"Crucio!"
A soft pink light shot out at an astonishing speed, striking the spider squarely.
"Hiss!"
The spider let out a shrill, ear-piercing scream that sent waves of pain through Dylan's eardrums.
Frowning, Dylan waved his wand again.
"Quietus!"
Pink starlight particles enveloped the giant spider, instantly silencing it. Even the sound of its frantic thrashing vanished.
"Hmph."
Dylan snorted. His mind felt much calmer now.
The Forbidden Forest was truly dangerous. If he hadn't mastered several maximum-level spells, he might not have been able to react in time.
The eight-eyed giant spider continued writhing in agony, its thick legs scratching and digging into the ground, sending dirt flying everywhere. Its body twisted and convulsed violently, and cracks began to appear on its once-hard shell.
"Huh? I'm not even attacking its exoskeleton. Why is it cracking?"
Could this be the effect of Bone Cutting?
Dylan blinked. Being a kind and merciful man, he didn't want to see the creature suffering needlessly. He raised his wand again.
"Imperio!"
Another shimmering beam of starlight particles enveloped the giant spider.
Instantly, its thrashing stopped. The massive creature floated in midair, completely rigid.
Then, from the top of its head, a faint, translucent soul slowly drifted out.
"This is my first time using the Imperius Curse. It feels... strange."
Dylan closed his eyes and tapped the floating soul with his wand.
At once, a flood of images rushed into his brain—
The helpless struggles of prey.
The blood-soaked hunting grounds.
Thousands of crawling baby spiders.
A damp, dark cave.
"I've found the location of the nest!"
Dylan's eyes snapped open as he released the Imperius Curse.
For a brief moment, he had felt like he was an eight-eyed giant spider, instinctively knowing how to navigate toward its nest.
"Maybe I should start an intensive training mission for soul-stealing spells."
Glancing at the massive creature twitching on the ground, Dylan hesitated. He decided not to rush into refining the Unforgivable Curses just yet.
Instead, he pulled out a special potion bottle and stepped closer to the spider.
He was still a bit wary that it might lunge at him, so—
"Imperio!"
Again, he seized its soul, locking it in complete paralysis.
To be extra cautious, Dylan went a step further. He ripped the soul out entirely and tossed it aside.
Bending down, he carefully began collecting the giant spider's venom. Its fangs were enormous and packed with lethal poison.
It took a while, but eventually, Dylan managed to extract it all.
Next, he pulled out a pair of tweezers made from a special enchanted metal and approached the spider's head.
"It looks terrifying, but its eyes are actually quite pretty."
The creature's eight green eyes shone like gemstones, arranged symmetrically across its head.
Taking a deep breath, Dylan steadied himself.
With precise control, he clamped onto one of the eyeballs, wiggled it slightly, then pulled it free.
He placed the eye inside a special wooden box designed to preserve its freshness and integrity.
One by one, he removed the spider's eyeballs.
Then, from his inventory, he retrieved a pair of large, magically-enhanced scissors. He had purchased them in Diagon Alley—they were sharp enough to cut through enchanted steel.
The scissors were so large that Dylan had to grip them with both hands for stability.
Stepping under the spider's massive abdomen, he positioned the blades carefully and—
"Snip!"
A piercing sound rang out as he sliced through the thick outer shell.
With precision, he started extracting the internal organs and spider silk.
"There's so little silk… Maybe next time, I'll use the Cruciatus Curse for a bit longer. That might make it produce more silk."
Once he had gathered all the materials, Dylan inspected the spider's broken body.
His gaze shifted to the soulless, floating spirit beside it.
"Uh… it feels wrong to just shove you back in there now."
The eight-eyed giant spider's soul hovered in the air, its eyes vacant.
Then Dylan checked the time.
"Wait, it's already past three? Almost four? No way. I need to get some sleep."
He looked back at the spider and pointed his wand.
The spider's soul instantly reentered its mangled body.
The corpse trembled.
"Wait, don't die yet—take my Avada Kedavra first!"
Dylan flicked his wand.
"Avada Kedavra!"
—x10!
"Avada Kedavra!"
—x10!
…
"Avada Kedavra!"
Even though the spider had already died from the first Killing Curse, Dylan couldn't help but glance at his system panel with anticipation.
After all, the refinement quest never explicitly stated that he couldn't cast forty-three Avada Kedavras on a creature that was already dead!
(End of Chapter 73)
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