But before I can do anything else I first have to learn how to control this metal body of mine. To take control of a new body I must first cover it in my magical energy to bring it under my influence. I then have to enchant parts like the joints so they move according to my will. I first take control of the four lower limbs and try standing up. I fall over almost immediately, but after a bit of practice it is possible to walk. 

Next I try controlling the upper limbs and it works perfectly for the first two, but after activating the seventh, all of my movements become slower and slightly sluggish.  This is probably why I can’t change to a bigger body right now. Because I can’t even properly control all of my current one. Great! So I have to live with four legs and two arms for now. 

Anyway, before doing anything else I have to get down from this table. I move towards its corner and notice something: my point of view seems to follow my body if it moves to far away. But I can freely move it within a certain distance from my body as long as no solid objects get in the way. Upon arriving at the tables edge I keep a hold of it with two claws and use this hold to set my body down onto the ground. That was surprisingly easy.

 I begin exploring the room. There are many possible bodies and a lot of parts that can be equipped by these bodies such as different kinds of limbs or weapons. But there also are a lot of tools. Upon closer inspection the bodies and some of the parts have small signs with numbers like 700, 3000, or 12000 on them. Bigger objects have bigger numbers. Is it some kind of rating? Maybe how difficult it would be to control them? There also is a body similar to mine with a sign that reads 400. It would be kind of depressing if my guess was right, since this would mean I only have a control that equals 300. Maybe it’s better not to think too much about it.

 In a corner of the room there is a stone tablet with strange lines on it. When I touch it the lines move around for a short time and then form the number 312. Damn it! The chance of this stone tablet not being related to the signs on the bodies and the control is rather small. But since there is nothing I can do about it now, I decide to concentrate on exploring the outside. 

Luckily I had already found the exit. It seems to be designed in a way that allows me to open it, which indicates that this room isn’t meant to keep me trapped inside. I take two small hammers with my arms, open the door and walk outside. From the outside it is hard to spot the entrance, but I am confident to be able to find it again, so I close it to keep the inside safe. I stand in a corridor that stretches a short distance in both directions. I decide to go left. 

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

I am already getting used to walking with this body but I doubt I could fight very well. I still need more practice with precision movement. The corridor ends at a set of three doors. All of the doors have been broken down and the insides are a mess. The smallest room seems to be a storage for dried plants and herbs, but now most of it is lying on the ground and has been trampled on. They don’t seem usable anymore, whatever their previous purpose was. 

The second room also looks like a storage but in this case for flasks of different sizes and shapes. They too were thrown to the ground and smashed with their contents forming puddle on the floor. I instinctively feel the danger of this unknown substance and kept my distance. But how do I know it’s dangerous? I have no idea what the contents of these flasks were. I should pay attention to feelings and instincts like this in the future. Maybe it can give me some hints about what exactly I am. 

I return my attention to the second room. Upon closer inspection there are a few small flasks that haven’t shattered and don’t lie in the puddle on the floor. I have an Idea and lay down my improvised weapons. Then I climb the wall beside the doorframe, move around the corner while always gripping the wall with at least four claws. This way I manage to enter the room without touching the wall. Once inside I move close to one of the flasks, grab it and quickly leave the room. Success! I repeat the process until I got all of the easily obtainable flasks. However, some of the flasks are stuck between shelf boards or other objects and my grip on the wall isn’t very strong so I would rather avoid taking unnecessary risks. 

I investigate the flasks I found. Luckily they are labelled. There are two bottles with the word ‘recovery’ written on them, one with ‘wound closing’, one with ‘paralysing poison’ and two with ‘highly flammable’. I can’t really use any of it right now. The first two kinds are of no use to me since I have no body made of flesh and blood. The undead won’t be influenced by poison and I have no way to create fire, so I can’t burn them with the highly flammable liquid. But I might be able to trade these Potions at a later date or gain someones favour by giving them medical aid. And even if that’s not a possibility, at least I got some practice at operating this body under unusual conditions. Before investigating the third room I bring the flasks into my hideout to keep them safe. Then I devote my attention to the last of the three rooms.