Shapeshifter

Chapter 5: Spark

[Evolutions for the different forms are available at the same level milestones. However, the evolution options will be basic but can be improved if Devour has been used on variants of that species]

As it turned out, the system had the answer for Xen. His other forms, such as Human and Elf, could indeed evolve at levels 10, 50, 100, 150, 200.

With his [Human] form beside his slime form being his highest level at level 2, there were still 8 levels for him to go before he would be able to evolve. The system's mention of devouring a variant was also important to keep in mind, as if he could get a rare variation in one of the earlier evolutions, it would help him further down the line when levels became harder and harder to acquire.

Putting that to the back of his mind, he moved on to the next part of his status screen.

[Current Form: Elf Male (Level 1)]

It simply detailed what his current form was, its level, and since he had taken over the body of Jonathan, he was indeed a level 1 Elven male. Concentrating on this section of his status screen highlighted a lower section:

Elf: Level: 1 (F)

+4 Strength, +2 Vitality, +5 Agility, +1 Resistance, +10 Magic per level

When Xen had first unlocked his status screen, he had made a note of the fact that he only got +1 in each stat per level, so even if he could level up, he would still be far weaker than anything else on this floor, apart from his fellow slimes. In fact, just to match a level one elf, he would probably have needed to reach level 10 and evolve as a Mind Slime, judging by the stats shown.

[Strength: 4 (+4)]

Sure enough, there was a +4 next to his strength in brackets, which showed the 4 stats he got for being level 4 as a slime were being combined with the 4 stats he got for taking on the Elf form for a total of 8.

“So why do I feel so much weaker than before?” Xen muttered as he flexed his arm. Squinting at his status screen, he soon discovered the answer with some quick arithmetic.

Human: Level 2 (F)

+5 Strength, +2 Vitality, +3 Agility, +2 Resistance, +6 Magic per level

"My human form is level 2 and gives 5 in strength for each level, so when I was inhabiting Joe’s body, I was actually up 10 strength compared to the measly 4 that I have while overtaking Jonathan's Elf body. No wonder I feel weaker; I'm down a whole six stats in strength."

This made Xen realize that he would need to make sure all of his forms had similar levels; otherwise, one form would overshadow the others, and then he would lose his versatility, which was his greatest asset.

Xen’s eyes drifted over to the black fur wolves that lay dead on the cold stone floor of the dungeon. He had witnessed these killing machines ripping humans' limbs off as if they were made of sticks, but he had also seen humans punch them in the face, killing them instantly. One’s species and race played a significant role in determining the winner, but arguably, for everyone, levels were the true king.

With that out of the way and on the topic of leveling up, now came the skills. His new B-grade Multilingual skill had come from fusing two C-grade language skills [Human Language (C)] and [Elvish Language (C)]. “I suppose I should test this one out,” Xen cleared his throat with an awkward cough and then began talking to the wall, quickly finding himself capable of switching between the human and elvish languages without issue, as if he had been born capable of speaking both fluently. However, he would still need to practice moving his mouth as the words came out magically right now.

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Arguably, other than Devour, which was an S-grade skill that had served him greatly thus far, this new multilingual skill was his greatest asset. He knew from his memories and own experiences that speech was a useful tool for forming coordinated groups and getting out of situations, such as the one he just had with Sarah. If he practiced and got better at convincing those on the surface that he was not a monster, he might be able to infiltrate their ranks and maybe even venture into other dungeons in search of more monstrous forms, but that would have to wait for now. Before he ate the wolves, he just wanted to quickly test his new holy smite skill that he got from devouring Jonathan.

[Holy Smite (F)]

You can conjure and fire a divine spark that scales with the skills grade and your level. It has increased damage to evil-aligned monsters and has a chance to stun the target.

“This should be rather powerful since whenever I saw elves in a hunting party with humans, they usually took on the magic-based roles, which makes sense since they get 10 magic per level.” Xen raised his finger at the stone wall of the dungeon's corridor and, by gathering mana from his brain into his mouth, he said clearly, “Holy Smite.”

Golden lightning crackled between his fingers, and at a slight flick, the golden lightning sprung from his finger in what could be considered a glorified spark that lit up the corridor briefly and left a scorched mark on the stone. It was far showier than powerful, but considering that a few moments ago he had been nothing but a slime, timidly approaching a battle, and now he was a blonde-haired elf hurling lightning, he was able to overlook the skill's pathetic firepower and marvel in its novelty. At least it had a chance to stun.

"If only I had some more magic power, maybe it would be even more impressive," Xen grumbled but then had an idea. "Humans are quite similar to Elves, right? Couldn't I consume some biomass to turn into a human, which would then grant me plus 12 magical power, as that form is level 2?"

[You have insufficient biomass to take on the Human form]

"Not enough?" Xen knew he had 25 biomass, which should be enough to make his ears a little pointy, as externally, he couldn't see much difference between humans and elves. "They're so similar. How could I not have enough? How much do I need?"

[120 Biomass is required to take on the Human form]

"For what? Why?" Xen demanded, and the system provided an explanation.

[Humans and Elves may appear similar, but they are genetically different in almost every way, which results in the Elves having their mana core concentrated in their brains rather than their hearts like Humans. They also have far longer lifespans and more prominent facial features.]

Xen had to admit he didn’t really notice the difference between the two-legged species' facial features, as it all kind of looked the same to him, much like these dungeon walls. They all looked similar from a distance, but since he had been hugging the cracks of these walls for most of his life, he knew, without a doubt, they were all unique.

“Bah, whatever, that steep cost is putting me off the idea,” Xen waved away the system prompts and turned his attention to the wolves. The only other thing in his status screen that he hadn't gone over were the free skill slots, but considering two of them were still empty, he would deal with that once he had finished eating these guys and retreated deeper into the dungeon.

Approaching the largest of the three wolves, which had been the one that stood the longest against Sarah, he couldn't help but feel bad for the poor thing; it was cut into two pieces, with its organs spilling out onto the floor in a puddle of blood. The thing had been brutally sliced in half, though it had deserved it, and he could hardly blame Sarah; this was a dungeon, a place of life and death. There was no mercy here. Only the strong prevailed.

Finding an intact piece of its brain turned out to be too much of a task, so instead, his left arm split up into dozens of purple-tinted tendrils, and then Xen used Devour.

[Devour in progress…]

It took a good few minutes before everything had been consumed on the system kicked into action.

[Devour Complete]

You gained 84 biomass.

You absorbed 15% of the Black fur wolf’s memories.

You have unlocked the [Wolf] form.

You acquired the following skills:

[Savage Bite (F)]

[A new Free Skill Slot has been unlocked]

[Do you wish to take on the Wolf form?]