Archer's Adventure Manual

Chapter 183 The Creator

Loran's eyes showed a hint of surprise, and he asked curiously, "If that's the case, then tell me."

The mage lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "We were forced into this situation. We were once illustrious mages, but after graduating from Plasson Magic Academy, we wanted a stable job, so we came here."

"We've been in Rockfall for five or six years. Our daily duty is to assist the lord here in protecting the safety of the people."

"To be fair, none of the three of us have done anything truly bad over the years. We have generous salaries, and we can maintain our stability simply by hunting monsters. We have no need to do that."

Loran listened to the mage's story, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Alright, I know you're a good mage forced into this situation, but you've been chasing him. Also, I need you to get to the point."

The mage swallowed hard and continued, "Alright... the incident in Rockfall Town came too suddenly. We'll cooperate with the Warren nobles' legion to counterattack the monster tide."

"The resistance was barely effective; those monsters were terrifying. They combined the characteristics of other monsters: the kobolds' tough scales, the wolves' agility..."

"What's even more terrifying is that there's an extremely bizarre black magic, or some kind of alchemical artifact, that spreads throughout Rockfall Town. This artifact can give people parts of a monster's body."

"The heads of kobolds can even appear on a person's arm. People with this symptom can spread the disease to the next person after they harm others, just like a plague."

Loran frowned. "If contact with this substance can cause people to develop monstrous body parts, wouldn't that mean the entire town would be doomed, with no chance of fighting back?"

The monk shook his head.

"Even at this point, it's not entirely hopeless. This strange magic has a flaw; it's only effective against ordinary people whose mental strength isn't strong."

"But for adventurers with a certain level of willpower, this strange magic is not enough to affect them."

"If we unite the adventurers' strength, we can still deal with these monsters."

The monk sighed deeply again after saying this.

"But the adventurers were clearly unwilling to do something so risky, and led by the elven ranger Elfin, they chose to break out from Rockfall Town."

"The adventurers have undoubtedly achieved power, not to mention the power of their unity. They have ensured their own safety and left Rockfall Town, but the remaining monsters will require us and the lord to face them together."

Loran stroked his chin and asked curiously, "Then why didn't you leave with the adventurers?"

At this moment, the other two mages spoke up, "We were also blinded by greed. The lord promised that if we helped Rockfall Town overcome its difficulties, he would give us a great deal of wealth."

"And from the bottom of our hearts, we really wanted to protect this beautiful place, but in the end we failed..."

Loran narrowed his eyes. "Since you couldn't defend it, how did you manage to preserve Rockfall Town and the prosperous Warren Manor?"

The mage who made the statement glanced at the two mages beside him and slowly said, "Those monsters were just tools. After we were completely incapacitated, they only selectively destroyed a few areas and did not damage the vital parts of Rockfall Town."

"The mastermind behind this disaster approached Baron Warren, and we were there at the time, and we... had no choice."

Loran was taken aback. "What do you mean by 'no choice'?"

"That man in black robes is called the Creator," he said, explaining that he can use special methods to modify living beings, combining characteristics of other creatures to create new life forms.

"To preserve Rockfall Town, one must accept His transformation, accept becoming... a monster that is neither human nor ghost."

"So... Baron Warren chose to accept?" Loran said with a sigh.

"Of course, after accepting the will of that creator, our bodies have been modified, and strictly speaking, we can no longer be called human."

"I will never forget that night. His methods of modification were incredibly cruel. He would directly cut or devour the original flesh and blood, and then use needles and thread to sew the monster's parts back on."

"The creator had close ties with the monster lords of various races, and many of the monsters they bred were used specifically to provide the creator with materials for stitching together."

"He promised all the monsters that if they ever killed a dragon, he would give them parts of the dragon's body, and the kobold leader became almost fanatically loyal to him because of this."

As the mage spoke, Loran noticed some subtle changes occurring in his body.

The sorcerer's arm was slowly growing larger, shedding its human skin.

Loran watched this scene. "You also received stitches from parts of the monster?"

The mage looked at his arms with a wry smile. "Of course... these monster parts that don't belong to our bodies are cursed. If we tell others about this, those monster parts will slowly devour us."

"Now, I have broken the taboo, and my life is on the countdown. I will tell you everything I know, and I want you to understand that I still have a human conscience."

Looking at the mage's bitter expression, Loran was also somewhat moved. Regardless of whether the man's words were embellished or not, the result was indeed before their eyes.

They too once wanted to protect Rockfall, but ultimately had to compromise in the face of reality.

Even if there is a mistake, it is because of the monsters that invaded our home and the "creator" behind the scenes.

The mage's arm was becoming increasingly strange; it even had noticeable hair growing on it, and his fingers had turned into sharp claws that only wild beasts would have.

"Eyes, what kind of method is this? How can it be so strange? Is there any way to counter it?" Loran asked in his mind.

He had never dealt with such matters before and could only ask the knowledgeable evil god in his mind.

The Eye of Flesh and Blood paused in his mind for a moment, then said calmly, "Just a minor trick... The parts of that monster's limbs possess a faint, independent soul, which is the main reason they can turn against their hosts."

"Once they lose that faint soul, their limbs become no threat at all, and instead become a tool for the host. However, the host also needs to worry about whether his soul can control these limbs."

"Anyway, you don't need to worry about that. Nobody wants to plant someone else's soul in a madman like you who has a bit of the Grim Reaper's spirit."

Loran was slightly taken aback, not expecting that the Eye of Flesh and Blood would see through the crux of the problem so quickly.

It's unbelievable that such a bizarre and strange method involves the connection between the soul and the body. This method is truly incomprehensible, and how it is done is even more unimaginable.

After mentioning Death, Loran suddenly asked a crucial question, "Eyes, can I use Death's power now?"

The flesh-and-blood eye in his mind paused, then said in a deep voice, "No, absolutely not. If you want to completely lose control of your body, then go ahead and use it!"

"I will grant you great freedom, but that Grim Reaper can give you nothing. The more you use his power, the stronger his control over you will become. Do you want to repeat the same mistake?"

Loran could easily tell from observing the Adventure Handbook that his Death Shadow talent had been completely stagnant recently.

Even though he killed some creatures and witnessed death, nothing happened, and his mental strength did not increase accordingly.

It must be because of the Eye of Flesh and Blood that the Shadow of Death stopped functioning.

If we truly follow the Eye of Flesh's advice and stop the Shadow of Death from operating to ensure his own safety, is that the right choice?

In Loran's view, this might not be a good thing, because behind the shadow of death, there is another threat: an evil god who is paying close attention to him.

Furthermore, as the flesh and blood he sacrificed grew stronger, Loran could feel the effects of the flesh and blood's skills and talents becoming increasingly apparent on him.

If this continues, even if Loran and the Eye of Flesh have a pact, it will be difficult to avoid terrible things happening.

Loran acknowledged that the Eye of Flesh had been of great help to him, but that did not mean he would listen to the Eye of Flesh in everything.

If the Eye of Flesh and Blood can overcome the influence of Death through its power, then conversely, isn't the influence of Death a means of restraining the Eye of Flesh and Blood?

After Loran understood this, he grabbed the mage's changing arm.

The mage was taken aback by what he saw; he didn't quite understand what Loran was trying to do.

Immediately, a scythe appeared in Loran's hand, and the Eye of Flesh and Blood was somewhat bewildered by the sudden burst of intense deathly aura emanating from Loran.

"Boy, what are you doing? I just rescued you from the abyss not long ago, why are you doing this now?" The voice of the Eye of Flesh echoed in Loran's mind.

Loran ignored the Eye of Flesh and Blood and instead swung the Reaper's Scythe at the mage's arm.

The next instant, Loran returned to that desolate void, where he saw the mage's soul.

Unlike other souls, the mage's soul was surrounded by some chaotic souls, whose soul light was much weaker than the mage's.

However, they were unable to stop the mage from clinging to him, rendering him completely immobile and forcing him to be slowly devoured by these chaotic souls.

These chaotic souls, some resembling animals and others seemingly monsters, all display primal impulses and bloodlust.

Loran raised the heavy scythe once more. His mind was perfectly clear. He approached the mage's spirit and brought the scythe down with a swift motion.

"Choo choo choo!"

Those chaotic souls all perished under the scythe, dissipating into space after letting out painful howls, leaving only the mage's helpless soul behind.

Loran stopped, and after a short while, his mind returned, his proficiency with the Death Shadow talent increased, and he did not lose control.

Instead, the voice of the flesh-and-blood eye cursing echoed in his mind.

"Kid, do you know what a stupid thing you're doing? You're jumping into a fire!"

"Don't use that power again right now!"

As expected, unleashing the Reaper's Scythe didn't directly cause him to lose control; the Eye of Flesh wasn't entirely truthful.

Loran understood that no one in this world would be kind to him for no reason unless there was something to gain from it, especially since this was an evil god.

Now, Loran is under the influence of both the Grim Reaper and this evil god. If he wants to protect himself, he must use their combined strength against them.

To maintain the status quo, the Eye of Flesh and Blood must be kept in a constant state of crisis. If the Eye of Flesh and Blood dares to act recklessly, then Loran may at any time defect to Death and become a fence-sitter.

Putting aside these chaotic thoughts, Loran looked at the mage in front of him. At this moment, the mage's arm had stopped swelling and instead calmed down, returning to its normal shape.

The two mages beside them blinked in confusion upon seeing this scene, seemingly puzzled as to what had just happened.

"What...what did you do to him?"

Another mage seemed to have figured something out; he noticed that the mage's arm had been acting strangely earlier, but that strangeness had now disappeared.

He uttered something that even he himself found hard to believe: "Did you remove the strange magic from his body?"

Lorraine chuckled. "I guess so. At least he doesn't have to worry about his life being in danger now."

The mage who had been slashed by Loran with the Grim Reaper's scythe suddenly opened his eyes. He suddenly felt a sense of ease and relief throughout his body, and the feeling of being bound vanished in an instant.

He stared at Loran in disbelief. "You...you...you actually managed to break the creator's spell! How did you do that? Baron Warren and the guards studied it for so long and couldn't break the curse, and you..."

Seeing the mage's incoherent performance, the two mages beside him seemed to have grasped at a straw.

"Sir! Can you help us? We beg you, if you will help us, we are willing to follow you to fight that creator, we will make him pay!"

"Yes, yes, yes! And the townspeople of Rockfall, sir, you may not know this, but their methods of controlling the townspeople are different from ours. This curse is also quite costly for the Creator, so it is only used to control key people."

"The townspeople have been given a transformative potion by the Creator, and they all possess some monstrous physical characteristics, which they usually hide. However, at the Creator's command, their monstrous characteristics will be fully revealed."

.

"The Creator, in cooperation with Baron Warren, convened a speech with the residents of Rockfall, during which the Creator demonstrated his abilities."

"The villagers all saw themselves fused with a part of the monster. The Creator said to them, 'You are now monsters just like me. Think about it, if the outside world knew, what would they think of you?'"

"And now, I will embrace you, your noble lords will support you, and Rockfall Town will be as prosperous as ever, or even more prosperous than before."

"If you just keep quiet, everything in Rockfall Town will continue as usual. But if you spread the word about what happened here, I will naturally be besieged by the kingdom."

"But...you still have those young children. Think of them! No one will keep monsters like you alive. You will all die!"

"Keep this secret buried deep in your hearts, and never reveal it!"

"The Creator exploited the villagers' minds: if even one person revealed this secret, the entire village would suffer. The only option was to keep it hidden; everyone had to do this to survive..."