Edited By: Netlord
We weren’t just standing there looking at the creature preparing itself for battle. Together we grabbed vials of potions I prepared before the dungeon raid and started chugging them with quick gulps. Somehow we doubted that morphing of the end-boss could be interrupted. Using those few spare seconds we decided to prepare as well as possible.
Red, yellow and blue liquids quickly disappeared down my throat, in the corner of my eye I noticed dragoness doing same with red and yellow flasks.
You drank [Health regeneration potion]Hp regen up:+ 5 hp/minRemaining time:01h59m58s
You drank [Stamina regeneration potion]Sp regen up:+ 20 sp/minRemaining time:01h59m56s
You drank [Mana regeneration potion]Mp regen up:+ 3 mp/minRemaining time:01h59m53s
I already felt as the liquids started warming me from the inside. In case if you were wondering why potions take effect as soon as we would drink them, before they would reach our stomachs and dissolve to our body, it is because….
…. Later. There is no time to have alchemy classes in the middle of dungeon! All you had to know is, that in very next moment we took yet another flask. Recent experiment, I only knew how it was supposed to work, yet I was lacking time for tests. Is there a better way to test new drugs than in direct combat?... Actually, there is, but with my high LUCK stat and poison resistance effect from the Plague Spreader class I was hoping not to die after gulping yet another dose of potion.
You drank [Enchanted Stamina Drug]Sp consumption down- 10%Max sp (temporarily)+ 10%STR/END/CON requirements of equipments- 15%May improve tempo of generating [Rp] for warriors related classes
!!!Warning!!!You have drunk too many potions of different categories. Consuming greater amount of herbal medicines may cause negative effects or/and reduce effects of already taken.[Toxin resistance] skill reduces chances and strength of negative effects that may occur
The dungeon heart stopped shifting, as creature was done it looked just like me, with those few little differences, like third eye or…
Giselle gazed over mimic-like beast’s crotch.
- “If you are stealing someone’s look, do it properly! You forgot about Zari’s most vital part!”
- “Sarcasm detected.” My copy said with tone deprived of any emotions, almost like robot. It was no longer struggling with finding words. “Form of non-physical attacks won’t affect this vessel.”
- “The heck?”
- “It just said that you won’t offend it.” I translated from binary-language to our
- “The heck!?!”
I just rolled my eyes.
- “Sweetie, I won’t mind explaining it to you later, but could we please kill it and burn this place down first?”
She gave me a thumbs up. Then she balanced her sword as she lowered her body posture. She supported her body on left palm and legs as she hidden her sword behind her body. Then she bolted at her target, running dangerously close to the ground, only her speed and perfect usage of her tail as ballast were keeping her from falling.
She shortened the distance between her and creature in the blink of an eye, slashing horizontally from behind her back targeting legs of monster.
The tumor-being, with barely any effort, kept taking step after step back, without making any unnecessary moves. It’s copied eyes (or mine, blue and green) were looking cautiously at dragoness; while it’s disgusting, yellow eye on forehead never stopped gazing at me. It was avoiding direct battle before learning our battle patterns. Minimalizing stamina consumption? It was really acting like a program.
In that case, we had to change our objectives. In normal battles it was either a clash of skills or might, both parties would do their best in order to bring down the other one.
However, this fight was going to resemble more game of chess, where all actions were meant to optimize effects of the next move. You could ask: in my previous life, how good of a chess player was I?
A terrible one. Truly, truly a disgrace to everyone else calling himself a chess player. I had only one friend to play with, and my win ratio was 1 to 9.
I joined Giselle in her efforts of bringing my evil-twin down. I slowly started chanting. The yellow eyes widened a little, at the same time the creature changed its posture.
Gisele slashed once again, forcing the creature to jump back, in that moment I fired a fireball aiming right in the place where the beast was supposed to land.
And much to my surprise, I landed a direct hit. A little explosion shook the cave as the body of Dungeon Guardian was pushed next meter or two.
It was wrong! It didn’t even take any efforts of avoiding or reducing damage. I appraised its Health bar. It lost around 250 hp. It could be very dangerous for most of the humans, yet that creature still had over 9,500 health points remaining.
It quickly raised from the ground, evading yet another charge from Gisele. Another step of my observation – I once again started casting the same spell in a quiet tone. And once again, it was forced to jump back, yet this time as my spell was flying in its direction rapidly, it twisted its body back, make a gymnastic bridge position, letting my spell past him missing its face by an inch and hit the wall at the opposite side of the chamber. Then he kicked the ground, rested his whole body on his palms just to end once again on its legs. He did all of it in one rapid succession.
So the same attack won’t work twice? If I would cast the same spell another time I am sure that he would avoid it, or even use Giselle as living shield. And then I heard it speak, with this weird, robotic tone.
- “Spirits within me, answer my call…” he repeated my chant. Even his gesture was exactly the same.
I jumped from the elevated ground from which I wanted to rain spells down upon my foe. Giselle tried attacking thrice more, yet creature evaded all of her strikes without breaking its chant. In last moment he increased the distance between him and Giselle right before releasing the spell, as he wanted to avoid taking damage from the explosion.
I managed to jump between him and Gis in very last moment. The spell was a perfect copy of mine, which meant that it had exactly same structure. As a ball of fire was on its way, I shattered its form changing raging flames into nothing bu a warm breeze.
- “Thanks, babe!” she yelled as she moved past me. She used my body as cover to hide her attack. Because of lack of vision the Dungeon Heart couldn’t react as fast as before.
It was used to avoid slashing attacks performed by Giselle, so it moved back, but in the middle of her swing, she stopped her blade, moved her feet forward stabbing creatures belly. She twisted her sword in the monster’s guts and pushed her weapon to the side, ripping the structure of monster’s body. It should be a certain death. Every mortal, every humanoid like being should be dead by now. But meat started crawling and moving like a swarm of bugs all over the creature’s body covering damaged areas and removing them. After three or four seconds it looked as if Gis never cut monster in two.
Despite the fact that no wound could be seen, a huge part of beast’s Hp bar went missing. A bit more than 8000 remained. 20% of beasts life went missing.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
- “Sufficient data collecting. Initiating direct combat.” Creature whispered in alien voice.
And then it morphed. Again. But not in same way it did before. Instead, it morphed like me. Growing sharp, needle like teeth and claws, growing long, furred ears. It’s muscles flexed a little, growing a little bit denser. It’s rear legs grew hooves as his forehead was adored with horns.
- “Zari did it just…”
- “Copied my shifting abilities? I am afraid yes.”
- “Shouldn’t you be like… dunnoo? Then only one capable of it?”
- “Borders are blurred.” It whispered “Impossible is now only matter of effort. Such lesser life forms will be unable to understand my complexity. All you can do it so to bow before me and serve as material!”
A change in its voice. Was that… an emotion?
I smiled with corners of my lips. This battle will be horribly annoying, but our chances of winning just increased greatly. I have to make him shift more.
- “Easy Gisele, it’s nothing. He is just a copycat. Merely took somebody’s else powers. I spent my life mastering it, finding all possible patterns of improvements combining shapes of dozens beings. Without months of testing, he will fail miserably and only shame himself.”
- “Fool! My mind works perfectly! I am able to pick best pattern out of billions in a split second!”
- “Yet you morphed into wolf and deer?” I snickered “It was the first combination I discovered, the least efficient one. Let me show you the beauty of my art!”
Morphing in processAvatar chosen [Lord of Bog]
Strength will always lose to agility, that’s my opinion, in that case why did I morphed into my slowest, tank-iest form? Because we had advantage in numbers and I wanted to make it move. Little foolish creature, were you really thinking that my ability came without a price?
The monster showed us truly wolfish grin, dodging to the side as my huge fist shattered flesh floor under him, splashing meat all over the place.
- “D’iabel…” I called “…Mace!”
You could steal my abilities, my magic and my form, but you won’t steal my soul-bound equipment…. Nor familiars.
I twisted my colossal body, swinging at monster that saved himself by jumping back, right at Gisele waiting for it. The monster danced few more times, ducking under slashes and digging his claws in her thighs a little, before raising from the ground and running away. I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist an urge to mutilate one of us. That for that split of the second he would lost his focus.
This is why my mace send him flying across the room.
- “Told you. You are disgracing the beauty of my body.” I cried in mixed roar of reptile and minotaur.
Bones of my copy started snapping back into place, its leg rotated completely before landing back in the joint with loud crack. Another 600 of its hp vanished.
It looked at me with anger. ANGER! It was beginning! At first his PRIDE made him boast about himself, then his GREED forced him into trading blows, even if he was outnumbered, he just needed to “steal” those few drops of blood from Gis.
And now he was losing to his WRATH.
Now I know how his ability works. Perfect observation-adaptation, yet it’s not perfect that perfect, bah!, it is far from it! He adapts only those parts he understands, but he in unable to find out possible backlashes, if he wouldn’t observe them beforehand. He saw me eating on monster below, he saw me using their powers after process of absorption, he learned on his own that I need some storage for their DNA, and copied cores. But he never witnessed the Sins. He never learned how it is to struggle against your Pride, Greed, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, Envy and Lust. He never had emotions of any kind.
Now, the longer he would use my powers, the more reckless he is going to become, up to the moment it would turn into raging berserker-like animal. You are not prepared for what is about to come.
- “How dare you! HOW dare you damage my perfect vessel! I will… I will swallow you whole and use you to learn your structure completely! I will satisfy my…”
It froze in place. It started to notice changes. To satisfy. Up to now, his only need was knowledge.
Yet he shook of the idea of its head, it was too natural. This hunger it felt. It appeared to him as if he always knew it.
It charged on me morphing on its way, getting much fatter, and growing saber-like tooth from its head, slowly resembling some twisted boar.
- “My protectors, from darkest night,
From deepest abyss and waking fright,
Hear my call and honor your deed,
Stand by my side to follow thy creed.”
Try copying this!
I snickered in my mind as on ground below him a tree like monster grew.
- “Maaa-steeer ca-lleeeed!” Greg moaned standing on path of foe’s charge.
With full impact the dungeon’s heart hit wide covered in bark vessel of my familiar. The strength of blow had to be insane, for treant took step back, yet according to Newton’s laws, when body A transfer a force on body B, then body B answers with same force against body A. And then there is a difference of bodies density. No matter how hard the bones structure of my enemy was, a 2 meter wide tree trunk was denser.
Once again monster was forced to re-snap its spine, still, I was not alone, as creature was regaining its balance, Gisele jumped to it and burrowed her sword in its body from the rear. The abomination squealed in irritation, raised onto its hind legs and kicked dragoness.
She groaned with pain after receiving the blow. Still, the damage trade was favoring us.
- “Beast of the night, step out of the dark,
Into the moonlight, when we start the blight…”
Another chant of mine. The darkness started materializing my familiars. Kaito with howl rushed at its target while ravens cried their savage song above us.
The beast ran into other corner of the chamber. I saw as part of its flesh leaves its main body and reattach itself to the room. Soon, the walls started shifting, breeding monsters. Fleshy bat like beasts rushed at my ravens, fiend’s hounds targeted Kaito, as clothed in rock shell lizards started biting Greg’s body, tearing huge chunks of bark with its ridiculously strong jaws. Still, it sacrificed 1000 more of its health to summon these helpers.
- “You will pay for this! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS DISHONOR! To spawn those lesser tools into my hunt! To deprive ME of the joy of making you kneel before FEASTING ON YOUR FLESH!”
Envy. Just three more to go.
I dropped form of Lord of the Bog, taking more agile one, re-shifted D’iabel into spear and charged at him. Gisele moved from the side. It was the epilogue of this battle, requiem of music of its life, the last act and final breath.
It was far too distracted and struggled to parry our perfectly combined attack: wide and strong blows of Gisele, followed by my précise stabs, because of potions we almost didn’t notice exhaustion, which couldn’t be said about our opponent. Every stab, every sting, pierce and slash was slowly bleeding it down. The flesh would instantly run to cover its wound, yet the bar I saw about his head kept telling me that each time he healed, he was slowly running out of fuel. 6000 became 5000, 5000 became 3000 and 3000 became 1500 in no time.
And he started losing to his instincts, to his inner voices. He could be unaffected by outside tries of metal interaction, but he couldn’t protect himself from something, that rooted and grew within him.
And then I stabbed him in his thigh, which made his life fall below 1500. Remaining 1478 of his hp started blinking in red. The last wave of flesh covered part of its wound.
It gazed in disbelief over little hole in its vessel that wouldn’t close.
Getting distracted in the battle, greatest sin for every fighter.
Giselle rammed her shoulder into his body shaking his balance, moved her feet to the side and swung one more time, burrowing her blade in the side, I jumped in and dug my spear in place when normal being should have its heart.
Should have. We noticed it earlier, that this mass of flesh was lacking most of inner organs. It had no guts, just ventilation system and blood vessels. I had to pierce it lungs for when it tried to talked his words became almost impossible to understand.
- “How did this happen?” the hp bar kept depleting in a rapid pace. “I was perfect… meant to rule it all. To reshape this… disgusting world….”
- “There is a saying, don’t bite off more than you can chew. You tried stealing forces you couldn’t comprehend and make them yours. This was your downfall.”
- “I would… ha… prefer to die choking on greatness… than to live chewing mediocrity… On path to perfection… You can’t take breaks…. You are so… beautiful… yet you waste your.. potential! I gazed into you! Wasting time for… foolish pleasures! Enjoying moments! Wasting time for… love? You could… become a …. God. Yet you… do nothing…. You are… truly… a lesser life form without a vision… You are not worthy to hold these powers!... not worthy! N… wort… not wor… n..no…no…worthy…”
It closed its medium eye, while the other two remained open, gazing blankly into emptiness in front of them.
The room collapsed. Flesh creation twisted, turned and rotted, falling apart. Flesh from all over the room started sinking into single hole in the chamber revealing once again mass of bones lying on made of rock floor.
And dozen of chests.
How long were we fighting? I appraised the effect of my potion, they showed that only few seconds remained. When effects of potion winded down, the exhaustion kicked us like a hammer. We felt on our knees and Gisele even puked grabbing her stomach.
- “The fuck was that shit you poisoned me with?!” she moaned in pain.
I wasn’t in the mood to argue. I lied on the ground, covered in blood, flesh, and sweat. I looked over the room, on mostly decomposed body of Dungeon’s Guardian. In pile of decayed flesh a single, beautiful gem-like core was shining with dim light.
Then I looked once again at Gis.
- “Sweetie, we have to agree on one thing.”
- “What is that?”
- “Next time we dive into new dungeon… we are not jumping into lower floors without preparation.”
She looked all over the chamber after me, as if she was reminding herself of what we experienced here.
Then she answered my gaze.
- “Agreed.”
And then, the wall of notifications appeared.