Bizarre Realm

At the 12 Skull Farms, mind flayers meticulously select gifted human infants. From the age of three, they are forced into learning and regularly examined, with batches eliminated if they fail. Those deemed unfit are sent to the mind flayers’ dining halls; those who pass continue their forced education, as failing usually means a cruel death. The best among them are well-cared for since these humans are of immense value and are sent to high-ranking mind flayers, or even directly to the main brain’s brain golem.

Humans bred here are culled every 18 years as part of a mind flayer feast. The last 5% of humans survive, allowed to have offspring, and are then sent to various feast arenas once they are no longer of use.

The 12 Skulls are advanced farms with a pleasant environment, much like human cities, apart from the rigorous testing and forced learning, with mind flayers providing them with all the food they need.

However, very few make it past the age of 30, and even breeders do not die of old age.

Moreover, on the Garden Planet, there are farms for breeding giant-brained people, where the conditions are much worse, as these giant-brained people are daily food used to meet the basic survival needs of the mind flayers.

A qualified human slave needs 15 years of learning to grow into a truly exquisite ingredient.

There are approximately several million humans and human subtypes on the Garden Planet.

A Su’en mind flayer needs a brain once a month, and without a sufficient population, their needs cannot be met. Most human youths who survive the 12 Skull Farms have an intelligence of over 15, and they undergo further testing upon reaching adulthood, with 95% of them being gradually eliminated.

"These people are all natural casters."

Shawn’s gaze was deep and distant. Their very birth was a disaster for humanity. The Su’en mind flayers spent nearly a thousand years breeding these highly intelligent degenerated humans, modifying their genes to satisfy their craving for top-quality brains. With the precedent of the Gith rebellion, the Su’en mind flayers strictly limited their life span to prevent any human from advancing to a Transcendent, regularly culling even the excellent individuals they groomed. Countless humans have become food for the mind flayers over the past millennium.

— "Lost Stars Mutants (Human Subtype): After a thousand years of genetic modification and artificial breeding by Su’en mind flayers, Lost Stars Mutants’ genes have been utterly distorted. Their minds are closed off, as if they were autistic, and their awareness of the outside world is very hazy. They have innate genetic defects and a very short lifespan, typically only living to age 40. Due to the harsh forced learning since childhood, Lost Stars Mutants possess the ability to memorize extensively and strengthen that memory, which helps them accelerate their learning process."

— "Racial Talents: Strength -2, Dexterity -2, Constitution -2, Intelligence +4, Perception +2, Charm -2." (Lost Stars Mutants are very frail, their bodies lacking exercise, and have a short lifespan. Due to genetic modification, they appear slightly peculiar, having noticeably larger heads than ordinary humans.)

— "Racial Specialization: Extensive Knowledge and Strong Memory, Forced Learning, Quick Learning, Quick Mastery." (Lost Stars Mutants have no parents, raised by mind flayers, and undergo forced learning from the age of three. Those unfit to learn are eliminated; only the best are allowed to reproduce. They can force themselves into a highly efficient learning mode.)

— "Racial Talent: Spiritual Awakening. Sealed Mind." (Lost Stars Mutants have 2 Basic Spiritual Points, but this doesn’t enable them to use spiritual energy unless they advance to the Emenent level. Their minds, distorted and sealed by mind flayers, will have a certain level of cognitive dissonance unless healed.)

— "Talent Professions: Mage, Mind Warlock."

The mysterious knowledge in Shawn’s brain had already deduced the racial attributes of humans on the Garden Planet; strictly speaking, they are already human subtypes.

On the entire Garden Planet, there are at least 100,000 people who are inherently intelligent with an intelligence score of over 14.

Even with severe genetic defects, being physically frail, and having sealed minds, their intelligence talents have been developed to the extreme. If these people were given a chance, who knows how many powerful casters would emerge from their ranks, which is why the Su’en mind flayers guard against any attempt at human advancement to a Transcendent stage, executing anyone they discover immediately.

"What is that?"

As Shawn was considering how to tackle the Su’en mind flayers’ cosmic colony while preserving the Lost Stars Mutants, he suddenly sensed a powerful wave of spiritual energy, his will slipping into the other’s mind sensing, quietly imprinting a ’Thought Mark.’

One of the mind flayer mind warlocks (Challenge Level 8) whispered with spiritual energy, "Did you hear? A terrible explosion occurred at the Grand Feast Arena."

"The mind flayers of the 13th Fleet suffered heavy losses."

"The cause of the explosion is still unclear!"

"The elder brains urgently summoned all Soul-Eating Monsters."

Another mind flayer responded, "I’ve heard. But the cause is still unknown. It is said that Keith is also dead. What a pity, it was a very great gourmet; I once tasted its performance, and it was incredibly exquisite."

The mind flayer mage said, "Could it be related to the guy we captured?"