Spellcasting Gods

After running for about three or four minutes, they finally saw a young man who looked to be only about eighteen years old lying in a pool of blood. The skin on his left cheek had been cut open, revealing the bright red flesh inside.

Although strictly speaking, this injury is far from serious; it will scab over within a few days as long as it does not lead to infection or inflammation, the visual effect is extremely terrifying.

"Merson! Tell me! Where's the monster? Where did the monster that attacked you go? Who did it disguise itself as?" The leader asked quickly, gesturing for someone to give him a quick bandage.

The young man called Merson looked shaken and pointed into the depths of the woods: "It disguised itself as Kad and ran that way!"

"Chase him! We can't let that guy get away no matter what," the team leader ordered, then led the charge.

It is important to know that disguise and deception are the most terrifying things. They can dismantle the strongest fortress from within, and also break through a person's psychological defenses, causing them to lose their vigilance without realizing it.

If a monster could impersonate the person you know and trust most at any time and in any place, the threat it posed would be even more terrifying than encountering a giant dragon.

Therefore, even in order to maintain the stability of the entire team, it must be resolved as quickly as possible.

But these panicked adventurers didn't notice that, just as they turned around and were busy chasing after the so-called "monster," the young man lying in a pool of blood suddenly revealed a strange smile, then quickly got up from the ground and followed behind one of his lone companions.

About seven or eight minutes later, another scream echoed through the woods.

With deception and disguise that defy description, this unknown shadowy figure wiped out 90% of the adventure team in less than a day.

As the sun set again, the team leader and the last three members of the team had long since given up on the pointless hunt and were now staring around with terrified eyes.

Especially those human skins deliberately hung high up, they are most likely to stimulate nerves on the verge of collapse.

despair!

Although they had experienced many dangers, never before had anyone felt such a chill run down their spines.

Even worse, the last few people doubted each other and dared not give each other 100% trust anymore.

Because they had no idea whether the monster had donned a new human skin and was hiding among them.

I dare not rest!

I'm too scared to sleep!

I dare not go out alone!

The team leader didn't know how much longer he could hold on; he only knew that if he couldn't survive the night, the entire adventure team would be wiped out, becoming the first casualties.

Just as everyone remained silent, the woman holding the short bow suddenly spoke up excitedly: "Staying here like this isn't going to work! We have to find a way to escape! I don't want to die! I don't want to be skinned alive!"

"How can we escape? It's nighttime! That monster might be watching us from the woods." Another man retorted irritably.

“There’s only one monster! We can split up and escape!” the woman suggested, her eyes gleaming with a strange light.

"What?! Are you crazy? It will catch up with us and kill us one by one." The last person shook his head without hesitation.

But the team leader realized the woman's unspoken message, instinctively gripping his weapon tighter, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "No! As long as we run fast enough! It can only catch one of them at most, and the remaining three can survive. It's like drawing lots; nobody knows who will draw the worst lot. It all depends on fate and luck. What do you think?"

Chapter 1092 The Skinning Monster (Part 2)

Without a doubt, gambling on luck is an absolutely fair way to escape.

Since no one knows which person the terrifying skinning monster will choose as its prey, everyone has a 75% chance of escaping, while the unlucky one has only a 25% chance of being caught.

As a common ailment among intelligent life forms, they also have an instinct for self-deception, believing only what is beneficial to them and subconsciously blocking out what is detrimental to them.

Each member of the team believed they would be one of the three lucky ones, and no one thought they would be so unlucky as to "win" with only a one in four chance.

So, after briefly deciding on their escape routes, the four of them rushed off in four different directions at the same time.

Without any hesitation or wavering!

All they wanted to do was escape this nightmarish place, abandon their dangerous profession as adventurers, and find a peaceful place to spend the rest of their lives with the money they had earned with their lives and blood.

After all, this experience was like a dark cloud hanging over their heads, something they might never forget, and they might even have nightmares every night when they go to sleep.

In particular, the bloody human skin and the twitching corpses with their skin peeled off greatly stimulated the senses and brain, leaving a deep imprint on the deepest part of memory.

run!

run!

run!

Despite the intense burning sensation in their lungs caused by the strenuous exercise, none of the four fleeing men stopped.

They strained to breathe in as much oxygen as possible, providing their muscles with a constant stream of power, all in order to run faster and farther than the other three people...

However, endurance varies from person to person depending on their talent and the extent of their training.

In less than ten minutes, the first person to slow down appeared.

She was a woman who looked quite young. Her face was deathly pale from exhaustion, and her breathing became increasingly erratic. As she ran, she kept glancing back at the dark forest.

Suddenly, she seemed to trip over something and fell face-first into the mud, rolling several meters on the uneven ground before finally coming to a stop.

Before she could even struggle to her feet, a shadow slowly emerged from the darkness, teasing her with a half-smile: "Ah! My dear friends, where do you intend to go, abandoning me?"

"You...you are Karans?! No! That's not right! Karans is dead! You are that skinned monster!" The woman's face changed drastically, and she quickly drew her weapon, ready to fight to the death.

But it's not hard to tell from those desperate eyes that she had already resigned herself to her fate and the only thing she could do was to buy some time for the other three people.

"Monster? It's not polite to use that word to describe me. You know what? My life form is actually far more advanced than yours. I can even acquire memories and knowledge by devouring your souls, evolving from a clueless beast into what I am now in a short time. Look, I can speak your language, understand your thoughts, and even perfectly disguise myself." The shadowy figure raised its hands, boasting with pride.

"Pah! You dare call yourself superior to us? No! You're nothing but a heartless monster. Just wait and see, one day an adventurer will chop off your head." The woman spat viciously and cursed loudly.

"Hahahaha! You have more backbone than I thought, a good prey. At least a hundred times better than those guys who begged for mercy before they died. But I hope you won't make too much noise when I skin you, otherwise I'll be very disappointed. And the more disappointed I am, the slower I'll skin you." The shadowy figure threatened with laughter.

This time, the woman didn't retaliate verbally. Instead, with lightning speed, she pulled a dagger from her belt and threw it with all her might, trying to injure her opponent before the fight even began.

Even without getting hurt, it can still cause some disruption, creating opportunities for subsequent attacks.

"Unbelievable!"

The shadowy figure didn't even use any weapons; it simply blocked the sharp blade with its arm.

The moment the dagger struck the skin, it produced a sound reminiscent of metal clashing.

"Die, monster!" the woman roared as she launched a resolute charge.

As the saying goes, the first to strike wins. In battle, the attacking side always holds the initiative and can gain many advantages, while the defending side can suffer irreparable consequences if it makes even the slightest mistake.

Unfortunately, this set of rules clearly does not apply to the shadow.

His skin was like armor; ordinary weapons could only leave a white mark when they struck him, and could not penetrate the body beneath his skin.

After several attacks, the woman finally realized the insurmountable gap between herself and her opponent. Dejected, she stopped attacking, put the weapon to her neck, and stabbed without hesitation.

It goes without saying that she wanted to end her suffering and torment through suicide.

In certain special moments, death is not only the end of life, but also a kind of liberation.

Before the gleaming blade could strike, the shadowy figure lunged forward with incredible speed, snatched the weapon, and tossed it aside. Grinning maliciously, it said, "You want to commit suicide? Wishful thinking! This is my hunt, and you are my prey. You don't even have the right to kill yourself without my permission. Now, it's time to begin the final ritual. Don't worry, it won't be long before I eliminate your remaining companions as well."

"No!!!!!!!!!!!!"

As heart-wrenching screams echoed through the pitch-black darkness, the terrible thing finally happened.

Upon hearing this sound, the other three survivors all mustered their strength and ran as fast as they could, fearing they would become the next victims.

But they didn't realize that there wasn't just one shadowy figure; each of them had one following behind them.

The escape plan lasted less than twenty minutes from start to finish before the entire adventure team was wiped out.

After their bloodied corpses were dragged together and buried, these monsters, now dressed in human skin, sat together and began to communicate with each other in a very peculiar way.

Before long, they had used the tools and weapons left behind by the adventure team to completely disguise themselves, and even set up a small camp to wait for the next batch of victims to arrive...

Chapter 1093 Attempt

"A perfect hunt, wasn't it? When you created these monsters, did you consider that they could evolve so quickly from beasts that only knew how to kill into monsters with complex thinking and powerful abilities of disguise and deception?"

Located at the top of the magic tower, Allens stared at the reflections sent back by the magic mirror, a smile playing on his lips as he asked.

It goes without saying that he was full of curiosity about the skinning monster, and even felt that this kind of life was more advanced than himself. It did not require a lot of time and energy to learn, nor did it require accumulating experience bit by bit. As long as he devoured the soul of the target and put on the skin of the other party, he could immediately obtain all the memories, experience and knowledge.

Sitting on his throne, Zhang Cheng rested his chin on his hand and replied casually, "It was indeed a perfect hunt. But you don't need to feel envious. Although the Skinflint Monsters' learning speed is unmatched by any other race, they have a fatal flaw: they can only imitate and can never create. You must understand that a species without the ability to create has no future."

"I see." Allens nodded thoughtfully, but couldn't help but press further: "Since there's no future, why did you create them in the first place?"

"There's no particular reason, I just wanted to give it a try. Now it seems they haven't disappointed me, at least they can weed out a lot of unqualified guys and let the truly capable adventurers enter the entrance to the underground." After saying that, Zhang Cheng raised his arm and waved his hand.

The magic mirror, which had been continuously displaying images, stopped working and instantly returned to its normal appearance.

There was no doubt that his mind was no longer on these little games meant to kill time, so he didn't seem very interested at all.

Unfortunately, Allens was clearly unaware of this and continued to exclaim excitedly, "Incredible! With just one attempt, you have created such a powerful and interesting monster. You are simply a creator beyond the gods. It is my greatest honor to serve such a great being as you."

"No, young man. Creating life is not easy, but it's not as complicated or difficult as you imagine. First, you need to understand the essence of life and figure out the prerequisites that are decisive factors in the creation process. Second, you need to solve the technical problems. Finally, you need to have your own ideas, instead of blindly imitating. After all, creating life is not something that can be done overnight, nor is it like a craftsman producing goods in a workshop. On the contrary, it is an art that is constantly changing and full of surprises. Only when you truly understand it will you experience that feeling of constant surprises." Zhang Cheng casually explained his experience about creating life to the young man.

It's worth noting that creating an intelligent race isn't too difficult for many powerful life forms.

The real challenge is creating a species that is incredibly powerful and has endless potential for the future.

But on this remote and underdeveloped planet, monsters like the Skinflint are already powerful enough. There's no need to exaggerate them too much, otherwise the game will lose its fun due to the large power gap.

In his view, a true adventure should involve encountering powerful, but not invincible, enemies or monsters.

The Skinning Monster is just such a gatekeeper who appears very powerful on the surface, but has several obvious flaws.

Unfortunately, the members of that adventure team were so terrified that they didn't notice the deliberately left clues, which ultimately led to their complete annihilation, with not a single one managing to escape.

"You mean... I can also become a creator?!" Allens trembled with excitement, his eyes blazing with intense heat.

Zhang Cheng nodded without hesitation: "Of course! You can find books on this topic on shelf number 634 in the library. But I must warn you, don't become too obsessed, or you'll soon experience your first failure. Creating life, especially a race that you can control, requires repeated and rigorous experimentation. The greatest characteristic of intelligent life is that it possesses independent personality and the ability to think. They won't blindly worship their creator for long; in more serious cases, they might even develop fierce rebellious emotions and try to kill their creator to prove their specialness. I don't want to see you killed by the species you created one day; that would be the greatest tragedy for the Creator."

"Rest assured, I would rather destroy the life I created with my own hands than allow them to resist. Power! With enough power, any resistance is futile." Allens clenched his fists tightly and replied resolutely.

"Heh, you're right. To become a creator, you first need overwhelming, absolute power. If there's anything absolute in this world, it's power. Only power won't deceive you, and only power will never betray you. No matter what happens in the future, it will be your strongest support. Friends can betray you, allies can betray you, and family can abandon you, but power will accompany you to the end of your life. Go, my servant, do whatever you want. I want to see just how far you can go."

When he said these words, Zhang Cheng's tone revealed a strong implication.

He could sense that as the power of chaos began to take root and sprout within this mortal's body, the other's life form had undergone a transformation, like a speeding carriage rushing headlong down a road of no return.

No one knows what the future holds for a young person, but one thing is certain: they will eventually become less and less like their original selves, both in thought and soul.

"Thank you for your generosity and kindness! I swear I will not let you down." Allens placed one hand on his chest, bowed deeply.

He was so excited at the moment that he overlooked the fleeting amusement in Zhang Cheng's eyes.

Soon, he left the top floor of the tower and returned to the library below, where he began to read books about creating life with great enthusiasm. Before long, he was completely engrossed in them.