Players’ NPC daddy.

"So, you're here to tell me that these beast pelts can be [upgraded]?"

Chapter 1383 Skinning Master

Beast Fur Series, this is a new set of armor, similar to Soul Steel Armor, which can be put on top of the original armor for superposition.

However, this series is extremely difficult to obtain, cannot be crafted, and can only be randomly dropped when hunting enemies with beast marks.

A complete beast fur is required to form a set, otherwise it is just ordinary beast fur material.

Will these harsh conditions bring about the powerful combat power of the beast fur suit? At present, no.

Blaze pulled at the wild boar fur in his hand. It was a wild boar of normal size, and the complete fur just formed a wild boar hood.

The attributes provided by this hood are not very good. If it is a stranger below LV30, he might have already cheered for the perfect start, the novice artifact, etc., but just like LV30 is a stage that will soon be passed, this level of beast fur suit will soon be thrown into the corner of the warehouse.

If you are lucky, this novice artifact will be kept as a souvenir or given to other friends in need. If you are unlucky, it will be dismantled or simply thrown away.

But Blaze did not believe that the beast fur suit was just this level of stuff. His idea was well-founded, that is, the beast fur suits worn by the humans in the first level of the underground world were not on the same level as the beast fur suits dropped by strangers when they defeated monsters.

The attribute bonus alone is significantly higher, and it can even provide corresponding skills, which is quite powerful. Power is one thing, but more importantly, it is also very interesting.

Not to mention anything else, the cursed rabbit head he was given when he first arrived was a very powerful beast fur suit, and even his strength value couldn't pull it off.

"So where do you get your beast furs? Don't tell me it's your exclusive secret recipe."

"That's not a secret. It's just that it's about a god created by another original god." Quetzalcoatl held up four fingers and bent them one by one. "Left Hummingbird, me, Smoke Mirror, and a [Skinning Master]."

"Why is this name so subtle? It sounds like..." Blaze paused, leaving himself a way out and not expressing his thoughts directly.

The Lord of Skinning sounds like a god who likes to peel off the skin of others. But what if the word "skinning" has other meanings in the culture of this first-layer ground world?

"In fact, the Skinner is the god who symbolizes the harvest in this world. His name means that he peels off the skins of animals and plants to obtain food and warmth. I learned a lot of knowledge about agriculture and medicine from him."

"Sounds like a good god. He... shouldn't have appeared among those guys."

That group of guys naturally refers to the gods surrounding the Left Hummingbird. After the Left Hummingbird transformed into the sun god Tonatiuh and was torn into two by the Quetzalcoatl, these underground gods scattered and disappeared.

The underground gods are always a hidden danger. Now that the big tree of the Left Hummingbird has fallen, they might want to make the Skinner Lord another big tree.

"He is not here, and of course not in Turan City. I know what you are worried about, and that is why I want to discuss this with you." Quetzalcoatl placed an ancient map on the table and slid his finger across the map.

"The north is towards the Land of Death, the world of Smoking Mirrors. The west is towards the Land of Women, my world. The south is towards the Land of Thorns, the territory of the Left Hummingbird, and the east is towards the Land of Dawn, the Lord of the Skin."

“He lives in this area.”

"This range is too large." Blaze glanced at the map. Quetzalcoatl did not point or circle an area, but directly drew two lines on the map.

"Patience is a kind of beauty." Quetzalcoatl shook his head helplessly, but he did not draw the specific location on the map. Instead, he leaned back in the chair with his arms folded across his chest.

"I don't know where the Skinner is. After the Fourth Sun Era entered its doomsday, he was also greatly affected. But as long as humans don't give up, keep farming, and strive to survive, he won't lose too much power."

"The reason why humans today have powerful protective gear like beast fur is also with the help of the Skinner. In order to prove their strength, humans will challenge and capture a ferocious beast, and then take the beast they hunted to a road. At the end of the road is the location of the Skinner."

"The skinning master will peel off the fur of wild beasts and make wild beast fur suits to give to humans."

"Oh~ Wait." Blaze supported the table with both hands, looking nervous, "This time there won't be any "looks like a good guy but is actually a bad guy" routine, for example, the Skinner is actually using this ritual to continuously collect blood and flesh..."

"...What kind of life did you lead before? Were you an enemy of the world?" Quetzalcoatl waved his hands helplessly. "I'm not sure if he has become evil, but he has helped humans for many years, from the end of the world to now. Shouldn't you respect and trust him?"

"That's true..."

Blazer has formed a habit. Strangers are always treated as if he has paranoia, and even friendly forces are considered enemies.

This can be explained by prudence, but sometimes the stranger gets too nervous and looks like he is planning to take the items from his friends as rewards.

However, Blaze has a strange idea to determine whether the Skinner is a hidden boss, which is to see how difficult it is to find the Skinner.

If you are just walking along the way, there is a high probability that you will fight the Skinner. If it is extremely difficult to even see the Skinner, then it is very likely that seeing the Skinner is a reward.

This kind of [distortion] is probably only half credible, but half is already very high.

Quetzalcoatl didn't know how to find the Skinner, the only thing done independently by humans, so Blaze found the current king of Turan City, Wemak.

"Oh! It's the [Coming of Age Ceremony]!" Weimark stood up from the throne impatiently, "This is a very long conversation, so why don't we talk while walking?"

"Don't you really want to sit on this chair? Although I have no right to say that in this regard." Blaze shook his head and obeyed Weimark's intention.

"Is this position too difficult for you? Why don't you learn from Quetzalcoatl's approach?"

"It's because of Lord Quetzalcoatl that I don't know how to sit on that chair. After all, Lord Quetzalcoatl..." Wemark didn't continue, but Blaze understood what he meant.

The demonstration that Quetzalcoatl gave to Wimak was to lie on the throne and do nothing. Even though Wimak admired Quetzalcoatl, he knew that this was something he should not learn.

Chapter 1384 Rebirth Challenge

The [Coming of Age Ceremony] is a ceremony second only to sacrifice in the human civilization of the first layer of the ground world. Now that the sacrifice system is gone, the Coming of Age Ceremony is the most important ceremony.

This ritual is very simple to explain. It involves capturing a wild beast alive and then leading the beast on the road to rebirth.

The road is extremely difficult and dangerous, which tests the challenger's courage, fighting spirit, etc., and at the end of the road is the great Skinner.

He would skin the beast and make a coat as a reward for the challenger. The moment of putting on the beast's skin meant rebirth, and the power of the beast would surge through the challenger's body.

The returning challenger will be granted the status of a noble warrior as an adult.

This process is simple, but there are two problems.

The process of hunting wild beasts is equivalent to testing the challenger's level as a warrior, whether he can capture the prey alive without hurting it.

But if the gap between the strength of the captured prey and the challenger is too big, does it still count as a test of the fighter's level?

"This, this means that the target of capture must be at the same level as yourself, or even higher, right?" Blaze's mouth twitched. This is a very harsh condition.

Of course, the second question is more demanding. After completing the hunt, the road to rebirth will begin automatically, and all emergencies that arise subsequently may be part of the test.

How do you know when the road to rebirth is over? After completing a certain amount of trials, you only need one step to reach the temple where the Skinner is, and the Skinner will be waiting for you in the temple.

After completing the challenge conditions, the challenge will start immediately without any explanation. The content of the challenge is completely random and full of uncertainty. There is no visual progress bar for the challenge, and you don’t know when it will end.

This is a poisonous ritual, but...

Blaze couldn't help but lick his lips. The harder the challenge, the greater the reward.

The stronger the person is, the more difficult it is to complete the challenge of the road to rebirth, but conversely, once completed, he will definitely get an extremely powerful beast fur suit.

The biggest problem for strong people is that it becomes very difficult to become stronger. Internal factors such as occupation and skills can be overcome with hard work, but external factors such as equipment and armor are natural barriers, and each step forward is difficult.

The most difficult part of equipping armor is to gather a complete set of armor with linked effects.

For example, when using the Giant Snowfield, it is a very lucky situation that the materials on the Overlords happen to make up the [Nature's King Set]. In the vast majority of cases, they are scattered pieces.

It took a large group of strangers from the exploration team to put together such a set of protective gear, not to mention the strangers acting alone. You can imagine how rare a complete set of protective gear would be.

And the challenge of the road to rebirth will definitely give you a complete set of powerful beast fur suits.

Blaze planned to give it a try first. According to Weimark's introduction, the challenge time of the Road to Rebirth was not very long, at most one day, which was quite humane.

One of the many weaknesses of strangers is that they cannot stay in this world for long.

However, Blaze encountered a difficulty at the beginning. He had to find a beast stronger than himself.

Blaze stood in the wild, and the sun-eating monsters immediately rushed over, opened their bloody mouths greedily, and tried to swallow him in one gulp.

Blaze punched forward, and the leading sun-eating monster's head turned several times, and finally its neck became a knot.

Normally, such a tragic death would be enough to scare away other attackers, but the sun-eating monsters are different. Their minds are filled with devouring the sun.

And their ending, of course, is that their heads start spinning like windmills and they become sober.

"Ah~ You can't even withstand a punch, you definitely don't meet the requirement of being 'stronger than me'." Blaze stepped on the sun-eating monster under his feet. He never thought that one day he would have to worry about finding a beast stronger than himself.

His requirements were not too high. At least one that was obviously stronger than him would be enough. A monster like the Sun-Eating Monster could raise its level by devouring and inheriting the power of sun scales through its bloodline. It would definitely not be possible to break through the limitations.

"Where exactly is it...ah."

There is only one Blaze in this world, an absolutely powerful beast, the incarnation of smoke mirror, the leopard of the night.

"That's definitely not possible. You'll get skinned."

"It doesn't matter if it's just an incarnation."

"Really?" Blaze turned his head, and the Night Leopard-looking Smoke Mirror appeared at some point and continued his words as if it was the same from the beginning.

"Sure enough, you are using this thing..." Blaze was about to take out the obsidian mirror, but he touched nothing. Then he remembered that he had given the obsidian mirror to Amaterasu.

Once something is in Amaterasu's hands, it has nothing to do with her. Amaterasu would sometimes wear the Golden Crown of the Sun on her forehead, but no one knew where to put such a huge bow as the Great Sun God Bow. It was as if Amaterasu also had her own little space.

"Spying on you? Didn't I tell you my nickname and introduce myself to you? I won't be sincere to anyone, nor will I trust anyone. Isn't it normal to keep a backup plan? And~"

Smoke Mirror shook its tail, circled around Blaze, and said meaningfully.

"You didn't betray my trust by betraying me without hesitation, didn't you?"

"I called it a little prank to optimize the plan, and it worked, didn't it?" Blaze shrugged. He didn't intend to deny his behavior.

At that time, he felt that moral kidnapping might not work. He was just teasing Smoke Mirror. Unexpectedly, Smoke Mirror believed it and looked very relieved.

"So you showed up to avenge me? You have no conscience. Logically, shouldn't you generously offer your body to me as a reward? Even if you are the Lord of Impermanence, the current king would not repay kindness with enmity."

Smoke Mirror's face darkened. She did come to repay Blaze, but she was such an awkward person that she would definitely not express it directly.

It is her inherent process to be sarcastic, to have conflicts break out, and then to end the battle and accomplish the goal.

Blaze just needs to accept it silently. She will be very satisfied if she can suddenly realize it afterwards.

Unexpectedly, Blaze not only saw through it, but also said it out loud and asked for compensation directly.

She was so awkward that there was no way she could let Blaze get what he wanted.

"You bastard, take my kick!"

Afterwards, the smoke mirror that turned into a night leopard was tied to Gungnir by Blaze using the same method as tying a wild boar.

While tying him up, Blaze kept complaining.

"Isn't your acting a bit too fake? Will the road to rebirth really open up?"

"What are you afraid of? Do you think the Skinner is a smart guy?"

Chapter 1385: Shedding Skin and Rebirth

[Special Mission: Morning Star's Road to Rebirth/Opened]

"Ah~ It's really opened. Is it so casual?" The task prompt that appeared made Blaze sigh helplessly. He didn't expect that even such a rigorous and sacred ceremony would have loopholes.

But it's normal if you think about it. There are two conditions to start a challenge: the challenger and the beast to be captured.

At the end of the road to rebirth, you will become a skinner who can skin wild beasts. Any wild beast will suddenly lose its mind and be captured alive.

"Look at your familiar trick of letting go, and look at Weimar and the princess, both of them have fur that looks like yours. Could it be that they are wearing your fur as well?"

"How many leopards in this world have obsidian-like markings?" Smoke Mirror shook his tail, and even though his mouth was tied, he opened his lips to speak.

"But I didn't go there with good intentions. The reason why there are only two of them left in the Weymark family, [Xiu Tekutli], is because I killed all the others."

Blaze paused, then returned to normal.

He was almost used to the Smoky Mirror's way of speaking, and whenever he opened his mouth he would say something that challenged other people's sensitive points.

“They are [unqualified], right?”

"Hey~ I thought you would at least knock me against the tree a few times. You would only realize it after venting enough." Smoke Mirror frivolously patted Blaze's butt with his only free tail.

Of course, the shot didn't hit the target this time. The snake that followed Blaze, who liked to be silent and reduce his presence, reached out and pinched the tail.

The cold eyes told Yanyanjing that if she did such an offensive thing again, she would pull out the tail.

"How scary~" Smoke Mirror slid the tail out of the snake's hand, shook it provocatively, and did not dare to go beyond the line.

"How many people would be able to resist the urge to disseminate the imperial decree and take advantage of the power of the gods after seeing the deity in the legend in front of them? How many people would not use the deity's inner trauma to profit from it after knowing it?"

"Too many~"

Blaze had no way to blame him for this, as the smoke mirror had definitely killed more than just the family of Xiu Tekutli.

Today, humans in the first layer of the ground world maintain a sense of purity, which is probably due to the help of the smoke mirror in the coming-of-age ceremony.

But Blaze would not say that it was because of the help of the Smoke Mirror that humans today were able to support Quetzalcoatl. Simple good and evil could not describe the Smoke Mirror. She was just doing this out of temporary interest, and maybe she was having fun in the process.

Just as she had once tempted him to open her belly, she was simply tempting him. The consequences of not resisting the temptation are self-evident, but those who did would be rewarded, such as the night leopard fur on Weymark and the princess.

The best way to deal with smoke and mirrors is to not think about their behavior.