Projectiles that made up his ranged attacks lost him volume so he couldn’t afford to do it much, but situation was serious enough to warrant the effort. Relative to his strength this was a pretty powerful enemy, something that he should be taking on one-on-one, instead of a family.

Right not he had no choice though, if he wanted stronger wings or even a chance at stronger wings, then these were the only fliers he had seen in a few months. Stealth was his friend; it would keep him concealed and now was not a time to hold back. The bar that indicated the Pigeon’s health was down by half so it seemed the damage bonuses were doing well for him. Next up was melee fighting, the water puddle on the roof moved and crept closer to the bedraggled prey. Intent on the single enemy, the other four continued to watch confused from their perch, the baby on the back of the Adult Male. I’m coming for you next! Aarav thought then focused back on the Female. The bird staggered a little but regained its focus as the puddle approached, it had its suspicions. Something that moved like a predator and acted like a predator was probably a predator. The bird reacted as if to danger. Backing away and attempting to make a break for it and take to the air. The others were out of the predator's range and so there was no reason to stay and be attacked.

Aarav was too quick. Leaping to intercept Slime Club, Poisonous Jaws, Dual Wormtail’s Stab and Tail Pole Smash rained down on this target, smashing it back down onto the roof with a thud that must have been audible inside the building. The slime was too focused on the fight to pay further mind to anything that might be happening down below. With Sneak bonus damage still active the first wave of attacks took another 25% of the bird’s health leaving it battered and gasping. Aarav was not ready to let up. This was why he had reserved his stamina and what he had been working towards. Landing on top of the bird, he slammed its head back down on the tiles and then walloping it again with his assortment of melee weapons. The fight was coming to a close and just then as he was about to finish off this pigeon’s last bit of health the second adult came flying down to peck at Aarav.

So far he had managed to avoid any injury, a claim he could no longer make as the talons of the Male Adult slammed into and through him to carve out a foot sized hold in his slime body. His body reformed around the hole and sealed it quickly but the damage had been done. A small amount of very dense slime clung to the pigeon’s foot. The other lay dying. There was no need to finish it off at the moment. The larger threat loomed. It was not as dangerous as the first but the element of surprise had now been lost.

Readying his weapons, in his mind’s eye, the pigeon was dragging its feet over the tiles like a bull before the matador’s cape, waiting to charge. Aarav could have sworn his saw eyes narrow and beak snap. Shaking off roadrunner images he readied himself and aimed melee weapons point first at the bird that was going to attack at any moment. The male instead of charging took a defensive stance to protect his mate. Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised? Who knew how stats affected animal intellect… Aarav was not about to let these animals get away from him. He needed those wings, eyeing them hungrily the slime charged. Melee weapons met with talons and beak, attacks were exchanged at a furious pace and the heads of the young birds overhead bobbed between the two combatants. Aarav could get in three or four rounds before the scratching and biting forced him back.

It was hard to say who got the better of that round but the slime very obviously had the upper hand in terms of sheer durability. More health and strong weapons meant that he was a shoo-in, certainly a crowd favourite to win anyway. The sneak bonus was just about to run out but this was enough to bring the second adult to 50% and looking very much the worse for wear. With a dying partner and his health dropping precipitously he made his final stand. Aarav had to admire the tenacity of the creature. Normally the rest would have flown away to preserve the family. Not these though, it was a shame that he needed what they had. He could respect an adversary like this one. Then he thought again, it’s a bird…it’s a goddamn bird. Why am I getting sentimental about this? It is probably just instinct to protect the family. He had never had a family to protect, so he couldn’t relate.

Once again they came together, claws flashed, clubs and tails smashed. There was no real finesse to it but in the end, the pigeon lay dead on the rooftop and Aarav moved to finish off the other. That quick work done, he moved to the other three and made quick work of them as well. A part of Aarav was a little sickened at the death that he had caused but this was a harsh world, if nothing else his time in the forest had proven that, everything killing and eating everything else. Not that different from the forests and woods back home. Nature was a vicious and cruel mistress. Humans were all about protecting it but nature did its own thing and would not prioritize an individual no matter what.

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Now with 5 dead birds on the roof, it was time to Assimilate and put that high success rate to use. A very small part of Aarav cringed at the need but need trumped everything and he was completely out of Stamina, that last baby he had to just smother with his body and take some damage. With just under half his health and a significant chunk of his body missing from the exchanges it was fair trade as far as he was concerned.

You have Killed 5 Pigeons! You have gained a total of 395 Exp!

YOU HAVE REACHED Boss Copycat Slime Level 2! CONGRATULATIONS! +1 Acuity, +1 Dexterity, +1 Strength, +1 Fortitude. Further bonus to Assimilate success rate +1%

YOU HAVE REACHED Boss Copycat Slime Level 3! CONGRATULATIONS! +1 Vitality, +1 Resistance, +1 Accuracy, +1 Focus. Further bonus to Assimilate success rate +1%

YOU HAVE REACHED Boss Copycat Slime Level 4! CONGRATULATIONS! +1 Acuity, +1 Dexterity, +1Strength, +1 Endurance. Further bonus to Assimilate success rate +1%

YOU HAVE REACHED Boss Copycat Slime Level 5! CONGRATULATIONS! +1 Vitality, +1 Resistance, +1 Accuracy, +1 Focus. Further bonus to Assimilate success rate +1%

YOU HAVE REACHED Boss Copycat Slime Level 6! CONGRATULATIONS! +1 Acuity, +1 Dexterity, +1Strength, +1 Endurance. Further bonus to Assimilate success rate +1%

YOU HAVE REACHED Boss Copycat Slime Level 7! CONGRATULATIONS! +1 Vitality, +1 Resistance, +1 Accuracy, +1 Focus. Further bonus to Assimilate success rate +1%

YOU HAVE REACHED Boss Copycat Slime Level 8! CONGRATULATIONS! +1 Acuity, +1 Dexterity, +1 Strength, +1 Endurance. Further bonus to Assimilate success rate +1%

YOU HAVE REACHED Boss Copycat Slime Level 9! CONGRATULATIONS! +1 Vitality, +1 Resistance, +1 Accuracy, +1 Focus. Further bonus to Assimilate success rate +1%

YOU HAVE REACHED Boss Copycat Slime Level 10! CONGRATULATIONS! +1 Acuity, +1 Dexterity, +1 Strength, +1 Endurance. Further bonus to Assimilate success rate +1%

YOU HAVE REACHED Boss Copycat Slime Level 11! CONGRATULATIONS! +1 Vitality, +1 Resistance, +1 Accuracy, +1 Focus. Further bonus to Assimilate success rate +1%

“Woah! This is insane!” Aarav barked, his voice hoarse and therefore thankfully quieter than it could have been. He adjusted his tone and then did a whoop in his mind. I guess that is the benefit of changing Tiers, experience requirements go way down! The amount of power he just accrued was incredible and making him a little giddy. 40 stat points after one fight, albeit with 5 birds, but still, this was amazing! He almost regretted choosing Copycat first, he needed the Assimilate bonus more now than he would later. Still that extra 10% and the luck boost as well was going to go a long way to getting all the traits he needed from these birds.

And now Aarav activated his Talent Consuming Blorenar for an additional +10% boost to Assimilate with this he was sure that he would get everything he could from the birds.

You have Consumed 2 Adult Pigeons, 2 Juvenile Pigeons and 1 Baby Pigeon and have successfully Assimilated the Wings, Talons, Beak and Eyes of the Pigeon.

Yes! It is time to celebrate! Got it all! But most important are those damn wings. Aarav continued to assess the implications of the Assimilations.

Your Limb Skill Wings of the Pigeon is compatible with Strong Insectoid Wings! They have merged into A Fliers Wings! You will gain a bonus +1500 Exp. Your carrying capacity has increased from 300g to 1kg! Your Talent Infinite Flight has grown to Infinite Flight +1 and efficiency had improved. Your cost of flight will now no longer exceed 3SP per metre. However at this threshold your speed will reduce to the same as walking.

Okay, just with that things were starting to look up and Assimilate was also taking into account the Talent as well. A coincidence? No way, no such thing. All he knew was that this was making him a tough son of a… ahem, anyway. He was getting way stronger! He eagerly checked to see what else he had to show for the effort.