Spellcasting Gods

Zhang Cheng subconsciously frowned and peered out through the crack in the window, discovering that several carriages had been parked in an open space only a few dozen meters away from the wooden house.

The man at the head of the group, a slightly balding old man, was carrying several heavy sacks and looking eagerly upstairs, seemingly waiting for a positive answer.

The other party was obviously unaware that the mage who originally lived here had been dead for a long time, and only his corpse remained lying on the bed.

Just as he was hesitating about whether to go out and meet these native inhabitants of Azeroth and learn some information about the outside world, a few lines of small words suddenly appeared on the parchment that had been silent for many days.

task:

The first trial is the Apprentice's Trial. Within ten days, the Apprentice must reach the magical kingdom of Dalaran and gain the approval of the Kirin Tor Council. Success will unlock the Talent Tree; failure will permanently close it.

Second, eyes in the darkness: you have been targeted by a mysterious enemy. Successfully resolve this crisis and you will be randomly rewarded with a professional skill.

Third, the merchant's ambition: help old George fulfill his wish. Successful completion of the task rewards a Flint Staff; failure incurs no penalty.

"Hehe, what is this? A mission log?" Zhang Cheng stared at the parchment, laughing and complaining at the same time.

Unfortunately, the parchment seemed to lack the capacity for thought, and after displaying the task, it quickly returned to calm.

"Alright, since you want me to interact with the native inhabitants of this world, then I'll grant your wish..."

He muttered something to himself, then quickly took off his casual clothes, took out a robe and boots belonging to Risen from the closet, put them on, and then pushed open the door to the second-floor balcony, saying condescendingly, "I'm sorry, if you're looking for my teacher, you'll be disappointed. He left this world not long ago."

"Leave...leave this world?"

The little girl with long blonde hair had a look of deep-seated fear in her eyes, and her whole body trembled involuntarily.

“Yes, he passed away, leaving behind a will before he died. I was planning to go to Dalaran to report his death to the Kirin Tor Council.” As he spoke, Zhang Cheng took out the ridiculous will and waved it in front of everyone.

After much consideration, he decided to integrate into this world as Risen's apprentice.

After all, twenty years after the Dark Portal was opened and Dalaran was devastated, Risen had been living a secluded life alone for more than four years, enough time for him to train a mage apprentice.

Old George stared in disbelief at the young man standing before him. After a long pause, he asked hesitantly, "Since the original mage is no longer here, would you allow us to stay here for the night? I am willing to pay you a generous reward."

Zhang Cheng glanced at the members of the group without showing any emotion, lingering for a moment on the two sword-wielding warriors, and finally nodded in a perfunctory manner: "Alright! I allow you to rest in front of the cabin, but you can't come up. I'm a person who likes quiet, so please try to keep the noise down as much as possible."

"Of course! Thank you so much! Oh, by the way, I have a small gift here, please be sure to accept it."

Overjoyed, old George quickly stepped forward and raised the sack he was carrying high.

"A gift?" Zhang Cheng bent down and opened the bag in bewilderment, only to find it full of bread, pies, cheese, ham, bacon, and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Although it wasn't worth much money, it was still quite appealing to him after eating magic bread for more than half a month.

You should know that the bread made by the food-making technique, although it can barely fill your stomach, is not good in terms of taste and texture, and is basically the same as sawdust.

"Please don't be offended by these local specialties from Southsea Town. In fact, we always bring some back for Lord Reessen whenever we pass through here," Old George explained solicitously.

"I see. I accept your kindness, thank you." Zhang Cheng politely thanked him, casually dragged the two sacks to the second-floor balcony, and walked into the house without looking back.

Starving, he didn't want outsiders to see him drooling, and he certainly didn't want to ruin the image he had worked so hard to build.

"Phew...it went very smoothly, didn't it?" Old George turned around and smiled at the two guards, then gestured for the drivers to set up camp.

Under his direction, a warm campfire was lit in no time, and everyone sat around it, quietly discussing what had just happened.

No one noticed that as the sun set, a group of dark figures silently surrounded the cabin from all directions, and the two guards with ulterior motives took the opportunity to remove their heavy armor, put on black masks, and join them.

Suddenly, an evil shadow loomed over the hut; perhaps the next second, a terrible attack would occur...

Chapter 0008 Arcane Crystal

Under the bright moon, a slightly chilly night breeze gently blew across the campsite, causing everyone to instinctively pull their cloaks tighter and huddle closer to the warm campfire. Some of the drivers even secretly took out the wine jugs hidden in their pockets and took a small sip of the local specialty of Nanhai Town—a cheap but extremely pungent and inferior liquor.

Although the caravan regulations stipulated that no one was allowed to consume alcoholic beverages during the journey, in practice, this rule was often turned a blind eye, and no one would care about it unless they were completely intoxicated.

After all, being a merchant is not a safe profession. Not to mention the bandits you might encounter along the way, the various wild animals that attack you in the wild are enough to give you a headache.

As a group of people who don't know if they'll live to see tomorrow, they naturally need something to relax, so alcohol and tobacco naturally become their inevitable choice.

As old George sipped his hot soup, he stroked his youngest daughter's hair and asked with a smile, "Jenny, how was your first time spending the night in the wilderness? Were you scared?"

"Hmm, a little..."

The girl, called Jenny, glanced cautiously at the dark forest and instinctively shrank her neck.

Perhaps because she had experienced the cataclysmic disaster of the dead, or perhaps because she had heard too many frightening stories, she was very timid. She would tremble with fear at the slightest sound, as if a terrifying monster was lurking in the darkness.

"Hahaha! My lovely little Jenny, don't be afraid. Do you see that mage in the house? As long as he's there, neither bandits nor monsters will dare to approach easily. The power of magic is far beyond what mere swords can match," old George laughed, comforting her.

But just as he was about to say something, he suddenly felt a chill on his neck. He saw a sharp blade, gleaming with cold light, pressed against his jaw. With just a little force, it would pierce through his brain and kill him instantly.

"Don't move! Don't make a sound! Or I'll kill you!" a deep voice warned.

“I didn’t touch you! Don’t touch my daughter! Do you know who the goods you’re robbing belong to?” Old George had clearly experienced similar situations before, so he quickly raised his hands to show that he had no intention of resisting, while trying to intimidate the other party with words.

He noticed that in just a few seconds, more than a dozen masked men left the darkness and captured all the drivers, while the two guards he had hired had also disappeared.

Anyone who calms down and thinks for a few seconds will realize that the caravan had been watched from the moment it left Nanhai Town.

The only thing he didn't understand was why these men in black had waited until now to make their move. Weren't they afraid of the power of magic?

"Hmph! I advise you to stop being so clever! Of course we know what this shipment is, and we know even better that the mages of Dalaran need it. But so what? Do you think we're afraid of a pack of stray dogs cowering in a magical shield?" The masked man sneered as he walked to one of the carriages and accurately located the exquisite little wooden box hidden in a compartment.

He effortlessly and easily unlocked the door. The moment the cover opened, the dazzling light blinded everyone.

The crystals, each the size of a baby's fist, radiate a magical, multicolored allure, as if they could suck a person's soul into them.

"My God! Arcane Crystals! There really are Arcane Crystals! We're rich!" Another masked man clenched his fist excitedly.

If there is any mineral in Azeroth that is the most valuable, it is undoubtedly Arcane Crystal. Compared to it, gold, silver, and mithril are all inferior.

This crystalline substance, formed entirely from mysterious arcane energy, can not only be used to forge powerful magical equipment, but is also an essential component for mages to build arcane towers. It has an extremely low chance of being found only in a very few rich thorium veins, and its value is immeasurable.

Clearly, Dalaran, which is currently undergoing reconstruction, requires a large amount of arcane crystals. Therefore, anyone who can bring arcane crystals can take this opportunity to establish a friendly relationship with the Kirin Tor Council, so as to obtain priority in purchasing various alchemical potions and magical items in the future.

No merchant would be foolish enough to doubt the mages' ability and speed of wealth creation; in fact, in their eyes, mages could be directly equated with precious gold and silver coins.

Seeing that the most valuable goods had been unearthed, old George's face immediately turned grim, and he struggled to stand up to protect his property.

Before he could even straighten his knees, he immediately felt a heavy blow to the back of his head, and he fell to the ground with a thud. Dark red blood quickly stained his hair and slid down his neck.

"Ah!!!! Dad! What's wrong with you! Get away! Stay away from me, Dad!" Jenny rushed over when she saw her father was injured, and tried to push the attacker away with all her might.

Unfortunately, with her slender arms, she was clearly no match for a strong adult man.

The masked man effortlessly grabbed the girl's wrist, pinched her face—a mixture of fear and anger—with his other hand, and lewdly laughed, "Hahaha! Look! There's another pretty girl here! Maybe after we've done this job, we can have some fun together."

"No! Get your filthy hands off my daughter! Don't touch my daughter! Otherwise... otherwise..."

In a moment of desperation, old George disregarded his still-bleeding head and lunged forward, snatching his daughter back from the other man's grasp.

"What else? You old geezer! Behave yourself! Otherwise, I won't hesitate to take care of you first." The masked man kicked him with a contemptuous tone.

Old George kept his head down and made no move to resist.

Because he understood that, given the current situation, the best way to protect his daughter was not to argue, but to honestly avoid provoking her as much as possible, and then patiently wait for the monk inside the wooden house to realize what was happening outside.

Having witnessed firsthand the immense power of fire, frost, and arcane magic unleashed by mages in battle, he firmly believed that the power of magic far surpassed that of swords and blades, and that a mere group of greedy bandits would soon meet their demise.

The masked leader clearly understood that the mage was not easy to deal with. After gaining control of the situation, he immediately made a hand gesture and, with the help of three subordinates, climbed up to the second-floor platform from the side using grappling hooks and ropes, and quietly approached the doors and windows.

Just as one of them was trying to peek through the cracks in the wooden planks, a blazing fireball suddenly shattered the planks and slammed into his face.

boom!

After a deafening crash, the unfortunate man didn't even have time to scream before he fell directly from the second-floor platform, turning into a charred corpse.

Of course, it wasn't that the fireball was too powerful, but rather that he was incredibly unlucky; a splinter from the explosion pierced his eye socket...

Chapter 0009 The Power of Magic

"Good evening, everyone. I've been waiting for quite a while. If you don't show up soon, I'm going to fall asleep."

Zhang Cheng yawned as he slowly pushed open the door and walked out. If it weren't for the corpse lying on the ground that was still being pulled out, probably no one would believe that the slightly lazy young man in front of him was the terrifying mage who had killed someone without even giving a warning.

For a moment, all the masked men froze on the spot. The leader even forgot to give his men orders on whether to launch an attack or try to negotiate.

After all, his original plan was to launch a surprise attack before the target noticed, whether it was an assassination or a capture, he wanted to keep the initiative in his own hands.

But now, he has not only lost the initiative, but he is also unsure of the other party's true intentions.

While he was still in a daze, a guy who was traumatized by the tragic death of his companion suddenly pulled out a dagger without warning and stabbed Zhang Cheng fiercely, trying to take advantage of the preemptive strike to eliminate the dangerous enemy who was only a step away.

It's important to know that while mages may seem mysterious, wise, and powerful to ordinary people, many insiders believe they are not as invincible as rumored.

On the contrary, because they spend a lot of time on research and study, mages are quite physically weak, and often only a very ordinary iron dagger is needed to end the life of a great mage.

However, the masked man clearly forgot that the mages themselves were well aware of this and had developed many targeted protective spells.

Before the gleaming blade even touched his skin, he immediately felt a bone-chilling cold, and within a second, his hand was severely frostbitten.

Of course, that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that he discovered the dagger was blocked by something like solid ice, making it impossible to touch the soft skin.

"Idiot! How does Frost Armor feel?" Zhang Cheng sneered sarcastically.

Despite his seemingly relaxed and nonchalant demeanor, he was actually incredibly nervous inside. Before even leaving the room, he had already cast Frost Armor and Mana Shield to ensure his safety.

To his utter surprise, the Frost Armor spell, which in the game could only increase armor and reduce the opponent's attack speed and movement speed, was actually so powerful in real life. A thin layer of ice, almost invisible to the naked eye, could directly block the penetration of sharp weapons, and the caster himself could not feel even a trace of cold.

Shock, fear, trembling, despair...

The masked man who launched the sneak attack instantly revealed a complex and incredulous emotion in his eyes!

next second...

boom!

He was blasted into the air by a powerful burst of flames, his face, which had been covered by a mask, was charred black. Then, like a tattered rag doll, he fell to the ground not far away with a thud, dead, just like the unlucky guy before him.

After taking down two unknown individuals, Zhang Cheng became unusually excited, as if the hunting and killing instincts hidden in his genes had been fully activated. He kept scanning the two remaining masked men on the balcony, as if considering which one to kill first.

He was mentally prepared ever since the parchment gave him the task of "eyes in the dark".

Through repeated testing and practice with the grizzly bears, mountain lions, and moss-eating spiders that frequently appeared around the cabin over the past few days, he has basically mastered some of the mage's combat skills. In addition, with the alchemical potions and magical items left behind by Risen, even if he cannot completely annihilate the attacking enemies, he can still inflict heavy losses on them and ensure his own safe retreat.

It was this sense of arrogance that made him extremely aggressive, as if he longed to release the fear that had been building up deep inside him through violence.

Without any hesitation or wavering!

To be precise, Zhang Cheng didn't even consider these guys in front of him as human beings, but rather as NPCs in a game, or wild monsters that provide experience points to players...

"Stop! Mage! I think we can talk!"