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[Shapeshifter] Chapter 28: Crescent Rage
🕑 Added 2025-07-03 06:51:01 +0000 UTCXen's muscles tensed as he prepared to leap. He was prowling softly on the very edge of the light as it floated over the magic-resistant cloak he had left on the ground by the pillar. He had repositioned to be almost behind them, as he knew the warrior would be leading the group from the front.
His target? The priest managing the light orbs. Having discerned the unlikelihood of the archer or warrior having skills that let them see in the dark, the battle would become far easier with the removal of the priest.
The warrior paused a few steps away from the cloak. "I don't see the source of the voice."
"Do you think it could be a trap?" the archer suggested, squinting into the darkness and almost looking in Xen's direction.
"I don't think so," the priest said. "I'm detecting the scent of undeath from that cloak, suggesting it was worn or owned by an undead. I believe this was loot created by the dungeon's mana."
"Can never be too sure," the warrior said, raising his sword. "Crescent Rage!" he shouted, and his sword crackled violently with red mana.
Xen narrowed his eyes. Now was his chance. As they were all distracted by the warrior's powering-up attack, he would strike.
"I'll check the area for lurking enemies," the warrior said arrogantly as he swung down his sword in an arc, sending out a crescent moon of red energy that arced through the air and crashed into the dungeon wall ten meters away.
Meanwhile, under cover of the warrior's destruction, Xen snarled, "Holy Smite and Predatory Strike." Having simulcasted the spells, his mouth was wreathed in a red hue with sparks of gold.
Xen launched.
Being the most mana-attuned of the group, the priest noticed his approach and turned around immediately with wide eyes.
"Guys—" he shouted, but had the wind knocked out of him as Xen barreled headfirst into his chest, sending him to the ground with a thud. Before the other two had even turned around, Xen bit deeply into the man's neck. It was tougher than he had expected—like biting into metal because of the Iron Legion's aura. Thankfully, his [Predatory Strike (E)] helped him gnaw through it.
As expected, the priest was immune to his [Holy Smite (F)] skill, but the flash of intense light helped buy him a crucial second from being attacked by the other two humans.
The priest struggled greatly under his grasp, but Xen made sure to maintain force on his chest and neck. Without air in his lungs or a clear throat, he had no way to cast spells.
"It's a giant wolf? What the hell? Crescent Rage!" the warrior shouted. In the corner of his eye, Xen noticed red mana wreathing the warrior's sword that looked way sharper than the one Sarah had used to decapitate him when he had been Joe. From the demonstration, he knew that Crescent Rage was a ranged attack and likely a high-grade one, considering the damage it had done to the crypt's wall earlier.
Xen dug his claws into the priest's shoulders, and with his teeth impaling the human's throat, he hoisted the gargling priest into an upright position. The warrior faltered when presented with the option of unleashing the skill on his own teammate's back to hit the wolf.
"I got it!" the fat archer shouted. "Wind shot!"
Xen was locked in place and was unable to dodge the wind-empowered arrow that cut through the air with frightening speed and effortlessly tore through his side. The force of the attack threw him off his feet, and he spiraled through the air... with a chunk of human flesh in his mouth. The warrior's attack came a second later, the rage-fueled mana effortlessly tearing through his body and separating his legs from his torso in a shower of blood and pain.
Falling hard to the ground, Xen let out a whimper as he lay there on the floor with one eye open. The warrior and archer eyed him as they moved to stand between their priest and him.
"What the hell are you?" the warrior demanded, walking toward him and pointing the tip of his sword at him. "I've never seen such a wolf on this floor before. Are you some kind of rare variant?"
The warrior came to a stop a few steps away.
Xen gulped down the chunk of meat and grinned at the warrior.
"Why are you asking these questions, human? Do you expect a monster like me to answer?"
"You..." the warrior muttered, looking as though his soul had left his body. "Did you, a monster, just speak?! Wait..." The gears seemed to be turning in his head as he connected the dots. "It was you! You're the one who called out to us for help!"
Terror appeared in his eyes. He raised his sword, ready to strike him down for good. But the priest, who had been clawing at the hole in his throat, let out a final desperate gargle before falling back with wide eyes. Like a light switch being flicked, the three orbs of light illuminating the space vanished, plunging them into darkness.
You have killed an opponent 2 levels above your own. Bonus experience awarded.
Experience split between [Necrovore Slime] and [Wolf] form.
[Necrovore Slime] has leveled up: 10 -> 11.
[Wolf] has leveled up: 6 -> 7.
Xen, who could see perfectly well in the darkness, used biomass to repair his body enough to move and barely managed to dodge the warrior's blind attempt to strike him down.
"Shit, shit, shit!" the warrior shouted. "Jay, where the hell are you?"
To the archer's credit, he was smart enough to not make a sound. Using some sort of silent movement technique, he was sprinting in the vague direction of the staircase. His bow was secured to his back, and he had a dagger drawn.
Unfortunately for the archer, Xen could see quite clearly in the dark.
Leaving the confused warrior aimlessly swinging his sword behind and shouting for his teammate who was abandoning him, Xen healed up some more with biomass before giving chase. Luckily, the archer, while silent, was relatively slow.
Pouncing on his back, Jay fell with a thud, his chin cracking on the first of the marble steps. "Predatory Strike," Xen said, igniting his teeth with red mana once again. Chomping down, he tore through the Iron Legion's silver aura and ripped the archer's head off with a sickening crunch.
You have killed an opponent 1 level above your own. Bonus experience awarded.
Experience split between [Necrovore Slime] and [Wolf] form.
[Wolf] has leveled up: 7 -> 8.
Purple tendrils exploded out of his mouth and pulled the torn-off head deeper down his throat, dissolving it for biomass. He then chowed down on the rest of the archer's body.
[Devour in progress…]
[Devour Complete]
You absorbed 5% of the human's memories.
You acquired the following skills:
[Quiet Steps (D)]
Xen was about to finish his meal when a beam of light passing overhead caught his attention. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the warrior had a metal stick in his hand that was emitting light, and he was using it to scan the surroundings. Eventually, the beam of light found Xen, who was in the middle of feasting on the dead archer.
"There you are, you fucker," the warrior cursed.
Comments
NeoJungleLover
i mean thery're basicly a child. Xen saw exciting powerful toy and wanted more of it simple as that
Miakaru
Doesn’t the Iron Legion's aura only last 2 hours?
hawkshe .
I feel even more confused about the mcs evolution choice now than before since he's not using any corruption skills, which is the major benefit of this evolution
