Shapeshifter

Shapeshifter 21: Encounter

Xen knew he was stronger than the average monster or person for his level due to the added stats from his Mine Slime form. However, he was currently inhabiting the body of a level 3 undead with rather pathetic stats in every department except magic.

[Class: Shapeshifter (Unique)]

[Strength: 9 (+6)]

[Vitality: 9 (+3)]

[Agility: 9 (+6)]

[Resistance: 9 (+6)]

[Magic: 9 (+36)]

Facing down a group of three Hunters that had just emerged from a lower floor containing monsters higher level than his greatest form would be suicide—especially because the best way to kill an undead was to crush their skull, which currently contained his squishy slime body.

Running also wasn't an option. His pathetically low agility aside, he had yet to master the art of running on two legs, let alone in the undead form.

"Good day," he said in a rough voice, pulled his cloak hood tighter, and confidently stepped past them as best he could, considering he was using the wall for support.

The man called Eric, who seemed to be the leading tank for the group, gave him a slight nod, which Xen caught in his Mystic Perception. "Yeah... good day to you, too," the man replied.

Xen grinned under his cloak as he made it past them and he saw the group continue their ascent.

I guess I got away with it. The power of communication...

"Eric, you don't think he's a reaper, do you?" the white-robed girl who had originally been complaining about how the next floor is all undead said quietly, but Xen could easily listen in with Mystic Perception.

"No... why?" Eric whispered back, "There are rarely reapers in the beginner dungeons, let alone the first floor of one. Newbies around here aren't worth murdering, considering the risks of getting discovered."

"But if my watch is correct, it should be dusk outside, so his greeting seems strange. Also, I smelled the stench of death from him."

Xen tried to descend the stairs as fast as he could without tripping or falling. Half of the staircase still remained until he was submerged in the dimensional rift between floors.

Shit, this is bad. If they suspect me, they can chase me down to the lower floor and kill me.

"The stench of death?" Eric paused and looked over his shoulder, "Now that you mention it, he did seem a bit odd."

"Right?" the girl insisted. "Didn't you hear? The cases of reapers have been on the rise recently, so some guilds have started offering lucrative bounties to known ones, targeting their members far better than the standard bounties the government hands out."

"Guild bounties, you say?" Eric mused, "This dungeon run has been rather disappointing, so I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask what they are doing down here."

Xen's grin had long faded. Once again he appeared to have failed to blend in enough to avoid having to fight with the darn humans. Now, he had to decide what to do and fast.

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Actually, there might be a way I can win here. I just have to play to the human's weakness.

"Hey, you!" Eric's voice rang out, followed by shifting metal armor as the tank strode back toward the staircase alongside his companions. Xen tracked everything through his Mystic Perception without turning around and timed his spell incarnation while Eric shouted.

"We just want to talk! What guild are you a part of?"

"Corruption Missile," Xen whispered, and his head pounded as all the mana he had gathered to his palm before condensing into twelve small balls of death Qi that orbited his hand like a bracelet.

"Not going to answer?"

Xen paused and tried a final attempt at diplomacy: "I'm with the Iron Legion guild; as for my name, it's of no matter to you." He said this in the most condescending tone possible. He wanted them to believe they were messing with someone they shouldn't and give him space and authority to work with.

"The Iron Legion?" Eric snorted, "That bunch of losers? Ha, did you get lost from the pack? Never seen one of you shiny bastards going around solo." His eyes narrowed, "Especially to a second floor."

"Got a problem with that?" Xen shot back while keeping his spell obscured from the tank's sight. Until he selected a target, it wouldn't fire.

Looks like I picked the wrong guild to get them off my back. I knew the Iron Legion was a load of scumbags, but to think they were this looked down on.

Xen then remembered a group from the Iron Legion had almost been wiped out on the first floor of a beginner dungeon by a wave of black fur wolves.

"Woah, why so angry, old man?" Eric smirked as he raised his hands in joking surrender, but then his hands fell, and his joking faded. "Be honest, you aren't part of the Iron Legion guild, are you? No shiny aura, no hunting team, and I'll be honest, you look suspicious, man. Who are you—"

Xen turned on his heel and pointed his skeletal finger at the white-robed girl standing beside the tank.

Based on how much closer the white-robed girl seemed to Eric than the other companion, I concluded they were likely close friends or partners. By targeting her, Eric will naturally move to defend her, giving me two targets for the price of one.

The twelve orbs of death shot out, and due to the angle, they appeared to be going toward Eric. "You really were a reaper!" The human shouted as he raised his shiny shield and empowered it with a brown hue.

"You just pushed me too far," Xen grumbled.

At the last moment, the orbs curved toward the woman. Her eyes widened in shock. Mana flashed from her hands, and she hastily conjured a Mana Shield. Three death mana orbs impacted the Mana Shield, causing it to crack, with the third causing it to shatter.

"Mary!!!" Eric roared as he threw his body into the path of the death magic with surprising speed, considering the amount of armor he wore. The earthly aura on his shield absorbed a few death orbs, but he didn't manage to block them all.

The last few smacked Mary in the legs and chest. She howled as she collapsed to the ground—there were huge cavities of blackened flesh where the death magic had bit deeply into her skin.

"No, no, no! Mary, listen to me. It's going to be okay." Eric collapsed at her side and began bringing out different-colored liquids. "Claire, help me! We need to slow down the corruption somehow."

"I-I'll try," the other woman panicked as she joined Eric at Mary's side.

Xen lowered his skeletal finger. He had managed to incapacitate one of three for the price of most of his mana, so now wasn't the time to press his luck. Pulling his cloak tighter, he turned and finished his descent down the stairs.

[Entering the 2nd floor of the Shibuya Dungeon]

Xen felt the world ripple around him as he finished walking down the stairs. He knew the vague layout on the first floor as he had once been a dungeon-controlled monster that called that floor home. But the second floor and below was uncharted territory.

Does this staircase go into the sky? Xen wondered as he looked back up at the stairs he had taken. Sure enough, the stone staircase vanished into a distorted section of air. Reaching the bottom, his feet met black soil. Gone were the tunnels. Before him was a black sand biome with monstrous dunes littered with white crypts under a fake night sky. Through Mystic Perception, he could pick up on multiple legions of undead moving nearby through the sand.

"This is going to be a good place to level up my undead skills—"

You have killed an opponent 10 levels above your own. Bonus experience awarded.

Experience split between [Mind Slime] and [Undead Mage] form.

[Mind Slime] has leveled up: 9 -> 10 (Evolution Pending).

[Undead Mage] has leveled up: 3 -> 6.

Your [Mind Slime] form is ready to evolve. Do you wish to begin the evolution process?

[Yes/No]

Xen confirmed there were no undead nearby. After taking shelter under the shadow of a giant fallen pillar half embedded in the sand, he again brought up his system.

"Yes, I want to evolve."

[Generating evolution options...]