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[Shapeshifter] Chapter 27: Crypt
🕑 Added 2025-07-03 06:43:50 +0000 UTCXen cautiously sniffed the entrance to a crypt while prowling around it in his wolf form. The journey here had been fast and uneventful. He had avoided the legions of undead roaming the lands because he wanted to get away from the staircase leading to the upper dungeon floor as soon as possible and didn't want to leave a trail of bones in his wake to give his pursuers any clues.
But now he was somewhat regretting that decision.
"Humans," Xen growled softly as he squinted into the darkness. The crypt's entrance was vast, like a yawning mouth to the void in the black sand. Held open by two massive white pillars, Xen wondered if this building had once been above ground and had since been buried beneath the sand.
He had expected the place to be overflowing with the undead, but instead, the only scent he was picking up on was humans.
Unlike monsters that have more straightforward skill sets, humans are a lot trickier. Since the system grants them access to classes and assigns them randomly related skills, it means an E-grade hunter down here could have an A-grade trump card skill. Not to mention, they usually travel in groups and work as a team.
But with risk came reward. If Xen killed this hypothetical Hunter, he could steal their overpowered skill for himself. So the question was, should he delve into the depths despite knowing the dangers?
I'll stay in my wolf form for now, as it's the best for escaping, Xen thought as he crept forward. Keeping close to the pillars to hide in their shadows, he made his way into the crypt.
It was hard to put into words just how huge the place was. The marble-white steps seemed to go on forever, forcing Xen to abandon his cautious prowl. Instead, he barreled down the stairs, and once he reached the bottom, the place expanded out into an enormous room. It felt like a dungeon floor of its own with how high the ceiling was. There was no light down here at all, but that didn't faze him due to his skill [Mystic Perception (C)].
Sniffing the air again, the smell of humans became stronger.
I'm getting close, Xen thought when a sudden noise to his left startled him. A section of the wall ground against the stone as it was slid to the side like a door.
Xen had already retreated deeper into the crypt under the cover of the noise and watched from the edge of his perception.
A ball of white light flew out from the doorway and paused in the middle of the room a few meters above the ground. Xen moved to hide in the shadow of a nearby pillar and waited in silence. A second ball of light shot out, and then a third. Once the space was quite illuminated, a trio of humans emerged from the doorway.
Xen narrowed his eyes.
Hunters from the Iron Legion, he thought with annoyance. He had seen the durability that the silver aura surrounding them provided. The only good part of encountering a group from that guild was that, from Gerald's stories and memories, he knew they were usually on the weaker side, and the aura made them overly arrogant and careless.
"Well, that tunnel turned out to be nothing but a waste of time," said a male human in armor who was taking the lead. He had a battleaxe resting on his shoulder and a small round shield in his other hand. Two other males followed behind. One was more round-shaped than Xen was used to, with a large gut and pudgy cheeks. From the bow strapped to his back, he seemed to be an archer like the previous girl he had called out to help from the first floor. The difference between their physiques was... stark. The third person in the group was a tall, thin man wearing a white robe.
That man is likely a priest like the girl I killed. As a Necrovore Slime with an affinity for the undead, he is likely my greatest threat.
"Should we head deeper?" the priest suggested.
"Ugh," the fat archer groaned as he ran a hand through his curly black hair. "Do we have to? We have been down here for two days now. I could do with a shower."
"We haven't nearly gotten enough credits yet," the warrior said, earning a snort from the archer.
"Sure we have. You just want to have enough for rent and to splurge on that stupid new watch."
"What's wrong with that?" the warrior argued as he stepped out into the light of the floating orb and did a lazy sweep of their surroundings.
"Because I want to go home," the archer argued as they came to stand at the warrior's side, not even bothering to check the room. His focus was entirely on his argument with the warrior and his desire to return home.
Xen curled up his lips as he made up his mind—he was going to kill these three. He had been worried due to the Iron Legion's aura and the fact there were three of them. But their sloppiness and the fact the priest was wasting mana casting not one but three orbs of light suggested none of them could see in the dark.
If I take out the priest with a surprise attack, the other two will be helpless, Xen reasoned. But first, he waited. They were too near the exit of the crypt. He needed them to come deeper to increase the chances of him getting all three before they made it above ground.
The warrior clicked his tongue. "Fine, we can return. But I'm going to put in a formal complaint about your work ethic and ask to change teams."
"What a joke," the archer snorted. "All you've done is stand there looking shiny during this dungeon run and uselessly beating on a few undead. If not for us, you would have been helpless."
"Yeah? Well, without myself standing there to distract the undead, you would have been overrun with that slow-firing speed of yours."
Xen realized they were likely to leave after an intense argument. The archer had already made his desire to go home clear and didn't seem like the type of person to back down. Which was a problem.
How can I get them to stay?
An idea formed in his mind, but it was risky. Setting down the magic-resistant cloak he had been holding in his mouth, he laid it out so most of it would be obscured behind a pillar. Once his bait was placed, it was time to lure the prey. As the humans continued to argue in the distance while standing beside the cloak, he used his [Multilingual (B)] skill to call out to them.
"Help! Somebody help me," he said quietly. It was a little more feral of a voice than he wanted, but since he was in his wolf form, it couldn't be helped.
All three of the Hunters froze in their tracks and turned toward the voice.
"Did you guys hear something?" the warrior said, raising his battleaxe into a defensive position while looking in his direction.
Xen moved as quietly as he could behind the pillar and disappeared into the shadows before one of the balls of light floated forward, illuminating where he had been a second ago.
"I see a cloak," the priest said, narrowing his eyes. "It appears to be an artifact of some kind."
The trio exchanged a knowing look and, compelled by greed, began to move forward. However, they were far more cautious than before—their guard was up, and they were scanning their surroundings. It was not ideal, but Xen didn't care as he watched from the nearby shadows.
They were falling right into his carefully laid trap.
Comments
Smashadow
Thanks for the chapter
