Shapeshifter

Chapter 4: Status

[Elven Brain: Uncommon Grade]

An organ found in the elven body responsible for critical thinking and memory storage. It also serves as the mana core used to fuel spells.

[Use Devour on Elven Brain?]

Xen had rolled his slime body over to Jonathan's corpse and threaded a tendril of his body to wrap around the brain. Without hesitation, he accepted the system's suggestion. He was never one to turn down a free meal.

[Devour in progress…]

Information flooded his mind, but it was far less than last time. Much of it was trivial, like memories of Jonathan walking through the countryside, but crucial tidbits of information were also present. Jonathan and Sarah did indeed know each other, but their relationship was confusing to Xen. He had thought they were lovers of some kind, but it was far more sinister. Sarah's father was the leader of a major guild, which sounded like the human equivalent of a dungeon boss, and Jonathan had been pretending to love Sarah to fast-track his way up the ranks. It was a one-sided relationship; his heart was colder than the dungeon's stone walls. He had used the fact they were both elves to approach her, and they hit it off from there.

Apparently, all two-legged people entering this beginner dungeon had been originally humans twenty years ago. The system apocalypse's arrival on this planet called Earth had brought many changes along with the monster-filled dungeons, such as awakening dormant bloodlines. A transformation that was often painful as mana flooded and altered their bodies.

Some humans became elves with elongated ears and extended lifespans, while others developed horns, fangs, claws, fur, and other features.

Xen searched the memories for more about Sarah and the strange metal badge and learned that the metal badge was valuable for gaining access past guards of this guild.

Xen was pulled from the memory by the system's voice.

[Devour Complete]

You absorbed 30% of the elf's memories.

You have unlocked the [Elf] form.

You acquired the following skills:

[Holy Smite (F)]

You and the target shared similar skills:

[Human Language (C)] has fused with [Elvish Language (C)] to form [Multilingual (B)]

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

Xen noticed a pattern: absorbing a brain with Devour granted memories, a new species form, and skills. It was uncertain if this happened with every species, but he could test it with the wolf corpses in a moment. Naturally, he said yes to taking on the Elf form; he felt his presence spread throughout the Elven body as his slime body slowly dissolved into the corpse.

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[Shapeshifting in process]

Even though his body was far too big to fit in the elf's head or stomach, he could shapeshift into the vessel without problems, which was good news because otherwise, he'd have to be careful about how much biomass he took on in the future.

It took far longer this time to take over the elf's body compared to when he had overtaken Joe, but once it was finally done, Jonathan's eyes snapped open, and the elf appeared alive once more. Immediately, Xen felt intense pain around his throat, as if someone was strangling him, likely due to the broken neck.

[Use biomass to repair body?]

Yes, use my biomass to repair all injuries, Xen thought. A moment later, he felt something leaving his slime body. A cooling wave went through Jonathan; the nasty gash that had taken out one of his eyes healed, as did his neck, which snapped back into place and felt better than ever.

[54 Biomass consumed]

Cracking his neck and flexing his fingers, Xen patted down the dust off the holy elf's white robes and stood up. He had to admit the experience of standing up on two legs felt very awkward compared to rolling around, but he was sure he would get used to it soon. Thinking back on the system messages, he had gained two new skills, well, not quite; one of them was an upgrade.

Looking left and right down the silent dungeon corridor, Xen confirmed no monsters were sneaking up on him. Closing his eyes, he murmured, "Status." A screen displaying golden letters appeared in his consciousness.

[Name: Xen]

[Level: 4 (F)]

[Race: Mind Slime (Rare Variant)]

[Current Form: Elf Male (Level 1)]

[Biomass: 25]

[Class: Shapeshifter (Unique)]

[Strength: 4 (+4)]

[Vitality: 4 (+2)]

[Agility: 4 (+5)]

[Resistance: 4 (+1)]

[Magic: 4 (+10)]

Mind Slime: Level 4 (F)

+1 Strength, +1 Vitality, +1 Agility, +1 Resistance, +1 Magic per level

Human: Level 2 (F)

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

Elf: Level: 1 (F)

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

Free Skill Slots:

1. [Devour (S)]
2. [Multilingual (B)]
3. [Appraisal (C)]
4. [Mana Vision (D)]
5. [Shapeshift (E)]
6. EMPTY

To say that Xen almost recoiled in shock would be an understatement. He had been able to access this screen while being a level one mind slime, but it had only displayed around three lines of text, the meaning of which he hadn't been able to decipher. Now, the list was so extensive he didn't know where to start. Despite time being critical, he felt understanding his status would provide the most significant advantage, so he quickly scanned the list from the top.

The name section was straightforward. His level was four, matching the recent system notification after devouring Jonathan's brain. Intriguingly, there was an 'F' next to his level, written in the same font as the 'E' on the polished metal badge that had been in Jonathan's possession. Xen recalled the system mentioning bonus experience for defeating someone a few levels higher. Curious, he inquired the system about the meaning of the 'F' rank and was relieved it had the answer.

[Grades: SSS (200+), SS (150), S (100), A (80), B (50), C (25), D (10), E (5), F (0)]

Letters and numbers? How do they correlate? Xen mused and quickly managed to deduce their meanings. Being level four with an 'F' grade indicated that upon reaching level five, he should advance to an 'E' grade. This logic also implied that Sarah and Jonathan were within the level range of five to ten as they had been E-grade Hunters.

Next on the list was his race, listed as 'Mind Slime (Rare Variant).' Hovering over this mentally brought up more information:

[Mind Slime: Rare Variant]

A rare variant of a Slime capable of devouring knowledge and shapeshifting into other beings. They often perish soon after birth or starve despite their intelligence.

Xen found the description somewhat demeaning but was more intrigued by another piece of information given to him by the system. As a dungeon mob, he knew monsters could evolve; it was a fact made clear to him from the start: if he defeated enough intruders, he would have the option to evolve within the dungeon and move down to the lower floors. What he didn't know was at what levels these evolutions occurred.

[Evolutions at levels: 10, 50, 100, 150, 200…]

Being only a level four Mind Slime yet already considered a rare variant, Xen was excited about his potential future evolutions. Then, a thought struck him: if he could shapeshift, shouldn't his other forms also be capable of evolving?

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