Spellcasting Gods

This is equivalent to using the most primitive method to open a combination lock consisting of 2,500 characters. Completely cracking it is almost an impossible task, and any rational person would choose to give up decisively.

Fortunately, unlike combination locks that only have one correct input order, there are many correct combinations of mysterious symbols.

In just three or four days, Zhang Cheng, relying on the book "Principles and Introduction of Arcane Runes" borrowed from the Dalaran Library, found a pattern, or rather a common point, among the vast array of symbols of various shapes.

To prove that these patterns were not his own illusion, he quickly melted down a gold dinar and branded several of the runes onto the two sides of a dinner knife in chronological order.

Then, using the energy contained in the gold coins, each rune was forcibly activated.

moment!

A blinding beam of light shot out from the first rune, followed by the second, the third, the fourth...

In less than a minute, all the runes were lit up, and a faint frost emanated from the vicinity of the blade.

Feeling the piercing coldness emanating from his palm, Zhang Cheng slightly curled the corners of his lips and muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, "Interesting! This is truly fascinating! The manifestations of energy in this world seem more subtle and harder to control, but also more diverse. For just eight runes combined to produce such a powerful frost effect, those two thousand five hundred runes in the notebook must be a complete and systematic whole..."

Before he could finish speaking, the knife in his hand suddenly began to tremble violently for some reason, and cracks that were almost invisible to the naked eye began to spread in all directions from the center of the rune.

Damn it!

Zhang Cheng cursed under his breath and hurriedly threw the seemingly dangerous gadget far away.

The silver-white knife glittered and traced a graceful parabola in mid-air before splitting into countless fragments before even hitting anything.

next second...

boom!

With a violent release of energy, all the fragments scattered like bullets!

Without a second thought, his first action upon returning to Beijing was to hide behind a wall to avoid being stabbed.

Less than half a second after I took cover, a crackling sound came from the outer layer of the basement.

After about three to five seconds, the sound gradually disappeared. He poked half his head out and glanced inside, only to be surprised to find that it had turned into a world of ice and snow.

The tables, chairs, floor, walls, ceiling, bookshelves, and everything else were covered with a layer of ice at least two fingers thick, and shards of the dinner knife were mixed in with the ice.

Without a doubt, it was the energy carried by these fragments that caused the astonishing scene before us.

However, the solid ice formed by energy came quickly and went quickly. It began to slowly vaporize in less than ten minutes and eventually disappeared completely, leaving not a single drop of water behind.

Zhang Cheng bent down and picked up a sharp shard, sighing with a wry smile, "Well, it seems those runes didn't add frost energy as I imagined, but rather caused a dangerous energy explosion. It's alright, as the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning. Now that we've made the initial breakthrough, I believe things will be much easier from here on out."

Just as he was about to summon the spirit within the bracelet to clean up the mess in front of him, there was a sudden knock on the door leading to the first floor.

boom! boom! boom!

"Who?" Zhang Cheng frowned and asked instinctively.

“It’s me, Gracey. Sir, there’s a beautiful young lady outside who wants to see you.” The girl’s voice came through the wooden door.

"Send her away! Didn't I say I wouldn't see anyone?" Zhang Cheng's tone revealed strong impatience.

After all, the research is currently at a critical stage, and he doesn't want to waste his time on any "pretty ladies".

Grace sighed helplessly and explained, "I already told her, but she insists that she won't leave unless you come out to see her today. Oh, and by the way, she also claims to be your girlfriend."

"What?!" Zhang Cheng was startled, only then remembering that the person he had impersonated actually did have a girlfriend.

According to Polman's description, the other party seemed to be a rare beauty.

“Sir, I suggest you hurry. That lady seems to have misunderstood our relationship, which is why she has such a frightening expression,” Gracey kindly advised.

"Okay, I understand." Zhang Cheng rubbed his slightly throbbing head.

To be honest, he was also a bit stumped by this situation and had no idea how to handle it.

After all, she was someone else's girlfriend who shared the same name as him, not his; to be precise, the two had never even met.

But now, this woman has actually come to my door with an attitude of accusation, which is incredibly embarrassing.

Zhang Cheng would rather face the treacherous and ruthless Forgotten Ones than push open the door and confront a jealous woman...

Unfortunately, things have come to this point, and he has no choice but to move on. Besides, he doesn't want to give up his legal status and become an undocumented immigrant.

After much hesitation, he took a deep breath and mustered the courage to open the basement door.

Chapter 0077 The Path of Power

With a heart full of trepidation, Zhang Cheng slowly walked out of the basement. Every step he took was so slow, it was as if he were a prisoner walking to the execution ground.

However, even the longest road eventually comes to an end, especially since the basement is only a dozen meters away from the living room by stairs.

The moment he stepped through the kitchen into the living room, he finally saw a woman in a gray business suit sitting on the sofa, glaring angrily at Gracie, who looked completely innocent a few steps away.

With her short, black, flowing hair, deep blue eyes, high nose bridge, and slightly full but very sexy lips, she definitely fits the standard of a white beauty in most people's minds.

In addition, she has a height of nearly 1.75 meters, a slender neck, an enviable bust, a perky bottom, and long legs encased in flesh-colored stockings. Her eight-centimeter high heels accentuate her near-perfect figure without appearing frivolous.

No wonder Polman used the word "stunner" to describe her; anyone who sees her for the first time will inevitably feel amazed.

Although she hasn't spoken yet, her posture and emotional control suggest that she has received a good education, maintaining basic manners even when she is angry inside.

Seeing that the main character had appeared, Gracie immediately gave him a "good luck" look, turned around and quickly went back to her room upstairs.

With a loud bang, only the man and woman remained in the living room.

The two stared at each other, neither willing to speak, and an awkward silence fell over them.

After about six or seven minutes, the woman finally couldn't help but stand up and questioned in a low voice, "Who is that girl? Why can she move in, but I can't? Also, when did you get back? Why didn't you call me? Am I not important to you at all?"

Looking into the other person's eyes, which were filled with a mixture of grievance and anger, Zhang Cheng suddenly felt a headache coming on.

After hesitating for a moment, he decided to cut to the chase and deal with these annoying trivial matters all at once. So he replied in a slightly apologetic tone, "I'm sorry, Maggie, I don't think we're suitable to continue like this. Let's just break up."

"Wh...what?!" The woman called Maggie's eyes widened, as if she had heard something unbelievable.

“What I mean is, if possible, it’s best not to contact each other again in the future. It’s easy to understand, isn’t it?” Zhang Cheng explained calmly.

From the moment he resolved to embark on the path of pursuing power, he understood that what many people cherish—family, love, and friendship—were deadly poisons to him.

As the saying goes, the more you care about something, the more hesitant you become. Often, at crucial moments, you are unable to let go of everything, thus squandering precious opportunities that were within your grasp.

In Zhang Cheng's mind, a person who truly pursues power should be like the orc Gul'dan, willing to sacrifice everything except life, even his own race, when necessary.

Of course, he didn't appreciate the overly audacious actions of this first warlock in Azeroth's history, who rashly entered the Dark Titan's tomb without even completing basic intelligence gathering, only to be torn to shreds by endless demons...

Maggie clearly didn't know that the young man before her was no longer the one she deeply loved. Tears welled up instantly and slowly slid down her cheeks. After a long while, she said with a self-deprecating laugh, "For half a year, you came back just to tell me this?"

"I'm sorry." Zhang Cheng stood unmoved, his eyes revealing a cold indifference devoid of any emotion.

"Ha! I really am a fool! I actually waited for you for half a year! Fine, as you wish, we will never see each other again." With that, Maggie laughed, wiped away her tears, turned and left the villa, drove the car parked at the door, and quickly disappeared into the end of the road.

She had barely left when Gracie opened the door and tiptoed out, asking with a gossipy look, "You dumped her?"

"Yes, is there a problem?" Zhang Cheng rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Gracie quickly shook her head: "No, it's no problem. I just feel a little sorry for you. After all, she's so beautiful, has such a great figure, is rich and well-mannered, and most importantly, she loves you. It's not easy to find a girlfriend like that again. By the way, she doesn't seem to know you're a wizard?"

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask, mind your own business. Remember, you're being targeted by the devil. If you don't want to die, you'd better stay vigilant at all times. Heaven knows how many people in this world have sacrificed themselves for him, and how many people are willing to kill you to please him." Zhang Cheng gave a cold warning, then turned and locked himself in the basement without looking back.

Staring at the heavy wooden door, the girl shrugged nonchalantly and muttered, "Okay, okay, I guess I was right. It seems Joanna was right; all the good men in the world are either dead or don't like women. As for the rest, they're all selfish bastards..."

Zhang Cheng had no idea how Gracie was criticizing him. After returning to the basement, he immediately summoned a spirit creature to clean the room, then banished the chaotic thoughts and took out a parchment to glance at the information on it.

The last line was written in tiny handwriting:

Mission - Deciphering the Notes, Phase One Completed (You are beginning to slowly come into contact with the essence of the magical energy in this world. Continuing your research will uncover more secrets hidden behind it).

Rewards: Increased maximum magic capacity of the body, four talent points.

The moment the last word was read, an indescribable arcane energy surged forth, flowing rapidly along the magical circuits formed in the body, instantly raising the upper limit of the magic power it could hold.

As for talent points, he unhesitatingly chose two points in Extreme Cold Extension to increase the maximum range of frost spells.

The remaining two points are allocated as follows: one point to Frost Conduction, which reduces the mana cost of casting frost spells, and the other point to the renowned Ice Barrier, a skill often referred to as "Ice Block" by many players in the game.

With this skill, Zhang Cheng no longer needs to worry too much about being ambushed. As long as the enemy cannot kill him immediately, he can quickly isolate all forms of damage with the Ice Barrier and use control magic such as Blink and Frost Nova to create distance.

In addition, two spells inexplicably appeared in his mind: Frost Armor (an upgraded version of Frost Armor) and Mana Emerald Creation. Now, he could cast them instantly with just a thought...

Chapter 0078 Choosing Sides (Part 1)

Just as Zhang Cheng began to try out his newly acquired spells, far away in an abandoned subway tunnel somewhere underground in Brooklyn, seven or eight men exuding a dangerous aura were gathered together, watching each other warily, none of them intending to speak.

Among them were men and women, young and old, and even one who could not be called a human being at all. The only thing they had in common was that they all wore a badge on their chests that symbolized their status and position.

Without a doubt, these guys are not homeless vagrants, nor are they criminal gangs, but rather lords of the underworld, each possessing powerful supernatural abilities.

Generally speaking, since various minor frictions inevitably occur on a daily basis, the relationships between lords are not very good, and some are even enemies. It is almost impossible for more than five of them to be in one room together.

But today, they set aside their usual grudges, their faces filled with anticipation, as if waiting for someone to appear...

Time ticked by, and one of the Black men, with a head full of braids, finally couldn't help but complain, "Damn it! It's already 10 p.m.! Why hasn't the Witch of Desire, Catherine, shown up yet? Is she playing us for a fool?"

“Calm down, Bane. There are still five minutes until the agreed time. You’re being far too impatient. Besides, while Catherine may enjoy playing tricks, she would never joke about something like this. With her intelligence, she knows very well the serious consequences of offending those of us who haven’t yet chosen sides.” An elderly man who looked to be in his sixties said with a smile, fiddling with his silver cane.

"Hmph! No matter what, if she doesn't show up within the agreed time, I absolutely will not wait another second." Another white man with a gloomy look stated his position.

The young Black man nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right! Not only will I not waste any more time waiting, but I will also join Cassandra's side and let everyone know what kind of price will be paid for deceiving me, Soulwalker Bane Brockbank..."

Before he could finish speaking, a clattering sound suddenly came from the end of the pitch-black tunnel.

Two figures slowly emerged, one of them being the witch of desire, Catherine, and the crisp footsteps were the sound of her high heels hitting the ground.

As for the other one, it was naturally her assistant and servant, Karl.

"Good evening, everyone. I apologize for being a little late due to some unforeseen circumstances. I hope I'm not late. Also, I'm delighted to see so many of you taking time out of your busy schedules to attend this event, and I assure you that you will not be disappointed." Catherine walked gracefully into the crowd.

"Where is the stuff?" The black man, who called himself Soul Walker Bane, asked directly without any preamble.

Catherine gave him a meaningful look, then turned around and waved to him: "Karls, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and bring out the samples."

“As you wish, madam.” The latter bowed deeply, then opened the suitcase she was carrying and placed it on a worn-out table.

moment!

Test tubes filled with colorful liquids were presented to everyone.

Without a doubt, these liquids were the same batch of magical potions that Zhang Cheng had given to Polman not long ago. Although the quantity was small, the variety of types was excellent.

As the ruling class of the underworld, the lords naturally had excellent judgment and immediately noticed the faint energy emanating from the space.