Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 725 - 669: Transformer Monster

The edges of the parchment scroll were blurred, with only the approximate area covered by red cross marks. Lyle squinted his eyes, intensely studying the map, trying to decode their current position from the blurry lines. Nia’s tentacles stood up like antennas, pushing aside the canopy above to let in a small patch of sunlight.

Lyle stood in the sunlight for three minutes, then stowed the map back into his pack.

"Did you find it?" Crumbs fell from Nia’s mouth as she crunched on a biscuit, lazily sprawling on top of Lyle’s head.

"Almost."

"But Lyle said that an hour ago, before Nia’s pre-lunch snack." Filled with little hope, the hungry youngster had begun to treat the occasion like an excursion, only worried about the food supply in her backpack. Her tentacles slowly turned over Lyle’s small leather bag, timing the end of the excursion. Three hours more, after which, regardless of what Lyle said, she would open the Skeleton Gate to go home.

"We must have entered that area, we just need to find a hidden entrance." Lyle stubbornly replied, surrounded by unchanging plants, continuing his way through the forest from night to day. The sunlight made the forest seem brighter, and from the chaotic thicket came a faint sound, a chorus of wing-flapping insects. He lowered his head to see the ambiguous shadows on the ground, which in the hazy light, resembled foggy mists.

"Any discoveries, Ominous?"

As Lyle’s embodiment, Ominous existed in the material world only as a clump of negative energy that had no choice but to curl up in the shadows, with Mental Deterrence — weaving illusions to intimidate — being his main ability. Ominous had an acute perception of mental activity, which was beneficial in searching for "living creatures."

[Nothing at all.]

"Nia."

Lyle had no choice but to give in to Andrey’s abstract map artist and resort to a brute-force, carpet-style search for the target. Nia gulped down the last piece of salty biscuit, her body liquified into a fluid that seeped into the tree roots. The ground beneath shook, growing from gentle to severe, and Lyle watched the trees in front of him with a touch of regret, giving them one last look.

The sound was like that of migrating beasts, the tentacles lurking in the soil spreading out into a vast circle, and on the spur of the moment, they burst forth like an enraged swarm of snakes dancing wildly in the air, snapping roots, hurling soil, and slapping the dust-filled air. Berries from bushes were crushed, twigs and rotten leaves, drenched in red juice, were buried under scattered earth. Nia, like a bulldozer, cleared a small space, with her range still expanding.

I just wanted her to stretch out her tentacles to probe the way.

[There’s movement.]

Nia’s playful behavior triggered a new response. Ominous pointed out in Lyle’s mind a sudden surge of mental impulse — this place was not devoid of life, but something had camouflaged itself as inanimate, even disguising thought.

Following the impression, Lyle looked in that direction. It was the side of a mountain, covered with dark blue moss and emerald-green ivy. Lyle paused, dismissing the notion that Ominous had erred. Incredibly, the mountain wall in front of him had indeed harbored a thought in response to Nia’s ravaging of the forest.

Silently observing, Nia climbed back onto Lyle, and the faint signal of mental activity began to fade.

Lyle reached out his hand, pointing directly at the mountain, looking like a fool.

"Stop pretending, I know you’re there."

There was no response, but the ominous laughter echoed in his mind, the mental activity growing stronger, like a small thief whose cover had been blown, not nearly as staunch as it appeared. Lyle found a duck egg-sized stone and raised his hand.

"Stop! Okay, you win, I concede!" A lively voice emerged from behind the mountain, then Lyle realized the voice wasn’t coming from behind the mountain wall. The moss on the rocks looked as if it had grown legs, the rough stone patterns twisted like flowing water, swirling on a wall as tall as a person. In a matter of mere seconds, the mountain wall contorted and reshaped into a giant human face. The messy ivy drawn out into two slender eyebrows, the indentations on the stone forming eyes, a beard made of moss and mushrooms, his mouth, a hidden rabbit hole.

The wall came to life, revealing the vast, splendid sky above the sparse plant hair, a secret realm hidden here, guarded by a living, transforming wall.

He ruled out Alchemical Creations, for they only follow commands and lack mental activities; he ruled out Flesh Craftings because their limbs are distorted and mutated, the spirits filled within them are also chaotic. Facing the Ominous, those souls either stand dead like dolls or are as active as suicide machines jumping off buildings.

"Vilimlo...", Lyle searched through the knowledge in his mind, Vilimlo, that is, Transformer Monsters, colloquially known as Mimic Monsters, Doppelgangers, and Substitute Phantoms, a magical creature of wonder. It would transform into a replica based on the being it made contact with, its disguise so exquisitely detailed it would be impossible to tell apart. No one knew their true form; it’s said that Vilimlo started to mimic and morph the moment it was born and came into contact with air. Lyle was thrilled because in the Spirit Summoning Studies class, Mr. Dragon had mentioned this extinct species.

Transformer Monsters were recognized as extinct in the Mystic Side. They do indeed have long lifespans, they could copy others’ memories, habits, and even abilities, having the nature to try and change others, to replace others. No one likes to be replaced, and this magical species was ultimately persecuted and hunted. Mr. Dragon had emphasized that Transformer Monsters were a type of dark creature that would invade others’ privacy and step by step erode and eventually replace the original. Despite this, the extinction of every species would cause the Liches great distress.

Lyle looked at the overenthusiastically welcoming face before him, and his caution reached its peak. A dark creature that had survived Posuwa’s curse, a monster that uncovered enemies’ weaknesses and obliterated their existence. As Posuwa’s cancer, a creature that lurked in the shadows and lived by devious schemes was perfect. Moreover, its talents matched his own, and Lyle quickly thought of the secret the reporter had mentioned that could help his advancement.

Transformer Monsters could adapt to any group because they inherently had the talent to disguise themselves as others. In other words, these creatures might even be capable of replicating Lyle himself, including the part that belonged to the evil god.

If that was the case, things would be simple, Lyle swallowed.

Behind that bright backdrop, the mystery intertwined with his opportunity for advancement. In this secret realm, there was a tribe of Transformer Monsters with the talent to morph, capable of becoming any group of people. What Lyle needed to do was to join them, present himself as a template for the entire tribe of Transformer Monsters, gain acceptance from his doppelgangers, and ascend to Four Locks. During this process, he also had to be wary of the Transformer Monsters attempting to assassinate him in the dark, to prevent them from replacing him.

Lyle sighed, his memory drifting back to that classroom once again.

"Professor Dragon, how do we deal with Transformer Monsters?"

"We don’t have to deal with them, you fool, those magical creatures are extinct."

"But what if? Maybe they’re hiding well enough that we haven’t noticed."

"If so, then kill the Vilimlo before it fully understands you. In that period, it might transform into someone or something around you to contact you; a perfect copy requires ample time. You might spot discrepancies during this process, but remember, never face a Vilimlo alone, because you can’t defeat yourself. It’s better to have companions, and the difference in power between you shouldn’t be too great. That way, Vilimlo will be confused when choosing someone to copy."

"What if there are no companions?"

Mr. Dragon paused, staring intently at the bothersome apprentice sitting next to his beloved disciple, covered in scales.

"Then you’re in trouble. A perfect copy will see through your weaknesses, and taking you down won’t be much more difficult than it is for me to twist off your annoying little head."