High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1228: Chapter 290: The Risks of Growth

”Because the shadow carried a trace of the aura of a forbidden curse seed’s sprouting, the black cat was able to easily condense a forbidden curse in the two-dimensional world, ultimately breaking through the dimensional constraints to return to reality,” he said.

”This process can be seen as a rehearsal for the evolution of the forbidden curse within you. It collects information in the two-dimensional world to transmute falsity into truth; you, too, can gather information in reality to accelerate the growth of the forbidden curse within you...”

”It... I mean, is that black cat also a forbidden curse?” Zheng Qing rudely interrupted his mentor again. This speculation made him uneasy.

If Big Black was also a forbidden curse, then now that he had a new shadow, and if he were to cut off this new shadow and give it to Su Shijun’s laboratory for processing, wouldn’t that create a new forbidden curse?

His mentor smiled softly, his tone becoming more lighthearted, ”That’s the most thrilling part of pursuing the truth. Because you can never grasp all the variables.”

”Is that black cat a forbidden curse?”

”Yes, it is, because it used a forbidden curse to break the shackles of the dimensions and return to reality.”

”But it is also not a ’real forbidden curse’ in the conventional sense. Because it was born in the two-dimensional world, drawing all its information from there, it’s inherently deficient and has weaker power... Well, to use an inappropriate analogy, if our forbidden curses are nuclear bombs, then at best, it’s a high-yield thermobaric bomb.”

”Even so, it still poses a significant security risk to this world. Therefore, I have entrusted it to the ’relevant department’ of the school for management in the manner of typical forbidden curses... You can rest assured on that. Once your own forbidden curse matures, and you’ve completely mastered your power, the black cat will still be handed over to you.”

”If the first accident added a grain of explosive to your bomb shell, then the second accident—the feedback from the shadow’s Ascend Dimension—brought you over a thousand grains.”

”But growth beyond expectations also brings many risks. For instance, the seals placed upon you are breaking more severely, the leakage of the Forbidden Spell Aura causing headaches, red eyes, and attracting demons or other entities... They may not necessarily know your true identity, but that doesn’t stop them from realizing the potential benefits of consuming you.”

”Another example is the risk of operability due to an unstable foundation. According to the plan, you would have grown and matured step by step in school, with enough knowledge and ability to wield the forbidden curse. But the current situation has burdened you with an overly heavy load without any preparation.”

”It’s like a person who has been poor for a long time suddenly becoming rich and unable to handle the wealth. You don’t know how to use this power correctly. This is why on the Silent River, you accidentally blew up that demon, drawing the attention of Satoguya; why your conflict with Sepulano from Alpha Academy led to his serious injury; and why today’s battle resulted in you losing control amid excessive emotion, ultimately ending up here.”

”You still have much to learn.”

”Fortunately, this loss of control only triggered the first phase of the forbidden curse, akin to an ’explosive device’ detonation. In this phase, magic can transform into mechanical energy, only resulting in effects similar to that of a high-yield explosive—a low level of magical contamination. If the explosion continued to develop, pushing the spell formula hidden deep within your soul to operate fully, it would result in an energy tidal wave and cause the Law to oscillate intensely between contracting and expanding, and so on, ultimately leading to the descent of a forbidden curse.”

Hearing this, Zheng Qing finally realized something was amiss.

”It feels a bit peculiar,” the young wizard muttered under his breath, ”to just openly discuss my explosion like this... is this really okay?”

”This time you were subjected to an irregular detonation, not a real explosion,” his mentor corrected seriously, ”According to the standard process for using forbidden curses, a wizard has every opportunity to leave safely after guiding the descent of a forbidden curse. Aren’t you skilled with the Charm Gun? You could think of the forbidden curse as a specially made Fu Bullet with immense power...”

”My Blood Symbol Bullet is so powerful because it’s tainted with the aura of a forbidden spell?” Zheng Qing wondered.

”There is a certain relation,” the mentor replied.

The young wizard took a deep breath, his spirits somewhat lifted.

”That doesn’t sound too bad,” he started calculating, counting on his fingers, ”For the sake of health, I’ll only make one Blood Symbol Bullet per month. It can be sold at a high price at D&K under the prestigious name of a Talisman Master’s careful craftsmanship, or I could take the Hunting Team to the Silent Forest to hunt powerful magical creatures... Hmm, how much should I price one Blood Symbol Bullet... would fifty jade coins be too expensive?”

”You may have misunderstood a bit of what I’ve said before,” the mentor glanced at the excited young wizard and cautioned, ”The broken seal has allowed the forbidden spell’s aura to leak out, which has caused the strength of your Blood Symbol Bullet to greatly increase... I don’t plan on leaving that seal broken forever. Or do you enjoy the sensation of a headache?”

Zheng Qing tensed up and quickly shook his head vigorously.

The mentor huffed, continuing the lesson, ”Your body is like a dam, sealing the true power of the forbidden curse. The water inside the dam is rising every moment, signifying the growth of the forbidden curse every moment.”

”Every time you use the power of the forbidden, it’s as if a termite drills a small hole in the dam.”

”The less you use it, the fewer the holes, the longer the dam can last; the more you use it, the small holes become big ones, the big ones lead to a dam collapse, and your body will break down with it.”

”But if the water level keeps rising every day without decreasing, one day it will surely exceed the height of the dam, and it will also break through my body!” Zheng Qing argued.

”It’s inevitable,” the mentor said and pointed upward. Zheng Qing followed his gesture and looked up, only to see the previously endless white expanse suddenly reveal a shadow of a starry sky.

In the depths of the starry sky, numerous fearsome figures reflected dimly, some like a glowing gateway, some like clusters of light orbs, others with hundreds of tentacles waving chaotically, or just streams of deep darkness flowing slowly.

They were of countless shapes, strangely varied, beyond enumeration.

Just seeing those reflections made Zheng Qing tense up, feeling a slight urge for a headache.

”Do you see Them?” the mentor asked indifferently, as if he were pointing to a flock of chicks, ”The consequence of the dam collapse is that this world can no longer contain your body and spirit, and like those Outer Gods, you will be exiled into the depths of the starry sky forever. Of course, some beings actually feel that the world binds them too much, and the starry sky is where they belong.”

”I believe you don’t have such thoughts right now.”

Zheng Qing nodded eagerly, like a pecking chicken.

Are chicken legs not tasty anymore, or are the girls not pretty? Why would anyone yearn for that empty, chilling expanse of the starry sky?