Chapter 6
(Cyber Techno)
“Please pardon my intrusion, suzerain," Xinpo, the dimensional key, said to Jarow before he had even sat up from the floor. "It appears you have unallocated attribute points at the moment. You should most likely distribute those before continuing your adventure."
"Wait, you can see that?" Jarow asked, a little concerned. He said aloud rather than in his mind where Xinpo talked to him.
"Indeed, suzerain. Since you accepted me as your companion, I now have access to your character sheet. Congratulations, by the way, on defeating the Shlazak. An impressive task, especially before obtaining a level. It was level three, was it not?"
"Before obtaining a level? You mean I was level zero?"
"Indeed, that's an accurate way to describe your previous power level. Prior to reaching level one, individuals are considered completely unskilled. Most individuals attain their first level at a very early age though, typically during the toddler phase. Encountering someone as old as you at level zero is..." He paused to find the right wording. "An extremely rare occurrence."
Jarow took a moment to talk himself through the new information, “So, level zero is basically like what a baby is. Xinpo can see that this body is thirty-one years old, so being level zero would definitely be odd at that age.” His mental processes continued to work through the information. “He obviously doesn't know about how I came to have this body, which is interesting. He also talks as if there are other people.” Jarow had so many questions he wanted answers to, but he didn’t exactly know where to start.
"Xinpo, I am new to this place. Do you happen to know where we are?" Jarow asked aloud, because why wouldn't you speak to an inanimate object who apparently could talk directly to your mind?
He was obviously still having a few issues in dealing with this new addition to his reality.
There was a pause before Xinpo spoke to Jarow telepathically in response.
"I am sorry, suzerain," Xinpo said, "I do not know our exact location. I have been here for a very long time, and you are the first person I have been able to interact with."
Jarow could feel the loneliness held within the mental voice Xinpo used. It was easy to only think of yourself while moving through trauma like this new reality he was in. Jarow had never even considered how this place might affect others being here, even if they were a simple talking key.
After all, why shouldn't the only other person he had encountered in this place be a talking key? Jarow briefly wondered if the bug he'd seen before was also sentient and could communicate now, but the thought was fleeting.
He actually wondered where he wanted to start with his questions. Should he ask about his different bodies, or would that be too weird? Should he ask about leveling, or magic? He could see if Xinpo knew about how the hallway worked in only one direction, or whether he knew if there was an exit, but what tumbled from his mouth was, "Why do you absorb blood?" He blurted the question out while still considering what he should be asking and in what order.
"Excellent question suzerain! Blood, along with other types of fluids and materials are how I level myself and learn new skills and abilities." Xinpo replied enthusiastically.
"Holy crap! You can level up too?"
As if in response, Xinpo's character sheet populated in Jarow's vision. The yellow of Jarow's character sheet window was replaced by one of silver which matched the color of the key. The layout was similar though.
Name: Xinpo
Level: 1
Age: ???
Race: Dimensional Being
Gender: ???
Attributes: [- N/A -]
Skills:
Absorption 89 of 100
Abilities:
Jarow read through the short character sheet, but had even more questions after doing so. "So you're level one, and need to absorb eleven more units to reach level two?"
"That is correct, suzerain," the key answered. "The units to which you refer are a standard measurement of two ounces."
"And it's blood you absorb to get those points?" He emphasized the word "blood."
"Yes, again, suzerain. Although there are many other substances I can absorb as well."
"I see," Jarow replied. He had heard a slight feeling of desire in the key's voice, which he wasn't sure he liked. "And what happens when you level up?"
"I will most likely learn a new skill and hopefully gain an ability." Xinpo mentally replied.
"So you don't actually know?"
Xinpo didn't verbally respond to this, not even telepathically, but instead sent a feeling to represent his absence of knowledge. The feeling was incredibly unusual, like he was shaking his head, but in Jarow's mind.
"I see," Jarow continued after a slight shiver from the strange sensation in his brain. "You said you would help me level up, right?"
"Of course, Suzerain. How can I be of assistance?"
Jarow decided his questions about this place and his circumstance could wait. It wasn’t like he had any immediate plans to leave anyway. There would be time for gathering the information Xinpo knew after he was leveled up and recovered from his fight.
He opened up his character sheet to see what his actual gains were. He now knew that Xinpo could see his character sheet, so began looking over his stats.
Name: Jarow
Level: [- 1 -]
Age: 31 (current)
Race: Elf (current)
Gender: Male (current)
Attributes: (current)
Strength [- 2 -]
Dexterity [- 4 -]
Constitution [- 2 -]
Intelligence [- 3 -]
Wisdom [- 3 -]
Charisma [- 5 -]
Distributable attribute points: [- 5 -]
Skills:
Sneak Beginner
_____
[Please choose from one of the following available skills]
Weapon (general) - Shield - Parry - Dash - Leap - Hide - Aim - Concentration - Equilibrium - Stability - Sleight of Hand - Herbology - Geology - Chemistry - Harvesting
Abilities:
_____
[Please choose from one of the following available abilities]
Shield Bash - Power Swing - Combat Reflexes - Resist - Taunt - Backstab - Control - Prestidigitation - Minor Illusion - Mage Hand - Ignite - Throw - Tame - Minor Heal - Identify
"So what do you suggest?" Jarow asked Xinpo while continuing to look over his options. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed at the number of choices available. He could sense there were going to be more upon advancing as well, but of course, he couldn't access them yet. He also wondered if his options would change if he changed species again. Or maybe they were only available at higher levels?
"Do you have a path you would prefer to develop?" The dimensional key asked in return.
Jarow thought about that. He had kind of an inkling earlier that he really wanted to use magic, but was that a path he really wanted to follow? He had enjoyed the adrenaline rush brought on by the fight with the Shlazak. Would he be better off as a fighter?
Before Jarow could really answer, Xinpo brought up another point. "I see you already have sneak as a skill. That is an elven trait, right?"
Without thinking Jarow responded. "I don't know, this is my first time being an elf." As soon as the words left his mouth he knew he had made a mistake.
"Suzerain, what do you mean by, first time? If you don't mind me asking?"
Jarow really hoped Xinpo couldn't read his mind right now. He could obviously talk into it, but did he have any other form of access? Since he either hadn't seen the (current) on his character sheet, or hadn't asked about it, Jarow assumed the key didn't know of his reincarnations.
Was this something he was ready to divulge? He had no reason to distrust Xinpo. He really wasn't even sure why he was keeping it a secret. "Body jumping could be totally normal in this place, right?" he asked himself, but something told him that was not the norm. Since he had already blurted out what he had been specifically been trying to avoid, he didn't have many options left.
"So... This is kind of my third body. My last body was the one who found you. I guess you didn't recognize me?" Jarow asked the key.
There was a pause. Jarow felt like he could feel the key thinking. It was an itching at the back of his neck, right where it met the skull.
"Now that you mention it. I did know it was you when we first began speaking, but I didn't realize you were different. It's difficult, but I can somewhat manage to remember when you found me under the cloth. You were a human then, correct?"
Xinpo's sense of confusion was evident in his voice. He obviously didn't understand the unusual circumstances any better than Jarow did.
"Yes," Jarow answered.
"But how does this happen?" Xinpo asked. He was so flabbergasted that he forgot to add the "suzerain" to the end of his question.
"I have no idea. I woke up in that last body. I found my first body; that's the femur from it," Jarow said and pointed to the broken bone which now lay on the ground near his feet. "Then the Shlazak killed me. And that's how we ended up here."
Another awkward pause occurred, and the same itching sensation could be felt at the back of Jarow's skull. He didn't really want to do anything to his character sheet until he got Xinpo’s advice. He hoped the key would have some better knowledge of leveling and could direct him better, because if monster’s like the Shlazak were going to be common now, he could use all the help he could get.
"It was your blood," The key finally spoke into Jarow's mind. "I have the absorb skill, and it must have activated when I was surrounded by your blood. It was your blood that awakened me. My memories from before that time are extremely fuzzy, yet I seem to have a basic knowledge of things."
"Welcome to the party," Jarow said dryly. "I know what things are, how to talk and walk, things like that, but I can't remember anything from before I woke up in my last body. Except for my name and what my parents looked like, that is."
"It was also the Shlazak's blood," Jarow said after a moment. "I saw some of the green stuff get absorbed as well, now that I think about it."
"I see," Xinpo added. "Then human, elven, and Shlazak blood." He trailed off in thought.
The mood went somber for a while. Jarow couldn't understand what the key was thinking about, but he gave Xinpo the time he needed to deal with his realizations. He kicked his feet and stood up. He walked around a bit and stretched.
He was about to move down the hall and check the next door when Xinpo finally began to speak again. "Apparently we are both in an unusual predicament. I believe it was extremely fortuitous that we found each other, or to be more specific, that you found me." There was a strange sensation washing over Jarow. A warmth, filled with appreciation and caring.
Jarow had his doubts about the key. Up until now, things had been too coincidental. Now as he felt the warmth from his newfound friend, those feelings of worry disappeared. Xinpo was in the same situation as he was; in fact, he was in a worse situation. He couldn't move or act on his own. At least Jarow was mobile.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
He decided the best thing he could do was to help Xinpo. Not only would he be better off having someone to talk to, but he might come in handy, even if he didn't unlock any of these doors.
"Shall we level you up and continue forward, suzerain?" Xinpo said, trying to add a bit of enthusiasm to his still anxious voice. It was clear to both of them that Xinpo was still considering what it meant to be sentient and to gain that sentience from such a strange combination of sources.
"I thought you'd never ask." Jarow responded with a smile.
"I think I want to be a magic user, but I did like fighting that Shlazak, and if we come across any more monsters, I think being able to fight would be the best idea," Jarow told Xinpo.
"I concur. Taking the general weapon skill would be your best choice. The rest of the skills and abilities will still be available at other levels."
"Okay, then, I agree," Jarow said without hesitation. He still wondered why Xinpo had a better understanding of these things. If Xinpo had this knowledge, why didn't he?
With that part decided, Jarow chose the Weapons (general) skill from the list. The blank space provided under the heading filled in, and the remaining choices disappeared. Behind the skill, a new line appeared: (No weapon chosen). He assumed he could only learn one weapon, but since he had nothing to use as a weapon at the moment, he decided to move on and leave that space blank for now.
Jarow next looked at his available abilities. Most seemed pretty self-explanatory. He didn't have a shield, so the shield bash was out. He didn't want to taunt the enemy, so that was definitely out. "I guess you would want me to take ‘power swing’, right Xinpo?"
"Actually, since you don't actually have a weapon yet, and you may not go towards a fighting type of character, I am leaning more towards combat reflexes or minor heal."
"Really?" Jarow said, half surprised.
"Combat reflexes would allow you to dodge attacks better, while minor heal could keep you alive when you do get hit. It's also a type of magic which you expressed an interest in learning. Identify and ignite would be useful as well, but once again I would suggest leaving them for another level."
Jarow’s eyebrow raised since Xinpo's explanation made a lot of sense. "I was not expecting you to suggest those options for me, but your explanation is very informative."
He chose minor heal as his new ability.
"Excellent choice, suzerain. Would you like to move on to distributing your attribute points?"
"Yes. I was thinking two points in strength, one point in dexterity, and two points in constitution."
"You would be neglecting the attributes most needed for a magic user with those choices."
"Yeah, I know. But right now, survivability has to be the focus. If I make the first three all five points, then I should be much more sturdy. Intelligence and wisdom can be next level."
A huge smile appeared in Jarow's head. He was not sure how it had happened or how to describe it other than a large yellow face with small black eyes and a huge grin of white teeth. Xinpo had somehow sent an emoji as a sign of his happiness and approval.
"Whoa. That was different. I take it, you approve?"
"Wholeheartedly, suzerain."
Mentally focusing on the numbers next to the attributes, he added them as he had described. His character sheet now looked more complete.
Name: Jarow
Level: [- 1 -]
Age: 31 (current)
Race: Elf (current)
Gender: Male (current)
Attributes: (current)
Strength [- 5 -]
Dexterity [- 5 -]
Constitution [- 5 -]
Intelligence [- 3 -]
Wisdom [- 3 -]
Charisma [- 5 -]
Skills:
Sneak Beginner
Weapon Beginner (No weapon chosen)
Abilities:
Minor Heal 7 HP = 2+5(Charisma bonus)
"Charisma bonus?" Jarow asked as he saw the equation at the end. "How much HP do I have?"
"You can find the HP information and bars under the UI settings, suzerain."
He remembered seeing the message about the additional UI settings along with the message of his level increase. At the time, he hadn't been in the correct mindset to really understand what it meant or the desire to go into them. Now seemed like a much more appropriate time, so with a thought, Jarow's UI Menu opened up in a familiar pale yellow window.
The menu that appeared was not the typical window he had grown accustomed to though. It was more like the small menus he had interacted with while adjusting his timer. It consisted of rows of options. There were very few though, comprising only two: Bars and Advanced.
He chose the Bars tab first, and it opened up with more options: Style, Size, and Position. There was a toggle switch at the end of the list. It was labeled simply "on" and "off," and the switch was pointed to "off."
He toggled the switch on. Six new windows opened up surrounding his vision, leaving barely enough room for the menu to display. There were three large bars. One red, one blue, and one yellow. He instinctively knew the red was for his Health HP, the blue for his Mana MP, and the yellow was for his Stamina SP.
His log window opened up along with a compass and a circular window with a small outline drawing of his body. Each of the windows and bars were simple. Yellow outlines with the colors or text inside.
"You would probably want to change the size first. These seem rather large," Xinpo chimed in.
Jarow felt a little intruded upon knowing Xinpo could see through his eyes, or at least his interface. "Yeah, good call," he said and mentally opened the menu. "Can you always see through my eyes?"
"No, suzerain. I simply see the changes to our interface," Xinpo explained.
That was a little relief. "How do you see then?"
Jarow adjusted the size. It was a slide-bar that was set to max size. He slid it down about halfway. The windows and bars shrank as he moved the slidebar down, but were still visible and much less obscuring.
"I think you would describe it somewhat like echolocation. I don't produce sounds though; it's more like a field or aura that I push out. Anything within my aura I can see. There is more to it than that, but I can't describe it any better for you. I am sorry, suzerain."
"Actually, I can totally understand that. You did a great job. So, do you have your own UI and windows?" Jarow asked as he continued to move through his own UI’s options. He went to the style tab next.
"Yes, suzerain. I have mine set to match yours, so as you adjust, mine will as well."
"There's an option for that?" Jarow asked as he looked through the different styles available. "I guess that explains why you said 'our interface' earlier."
"For me, there is. It appeared when I made my vow to you."
That took Jarow by surprise. He had just mentally clicked on the Steampunk style, and the windows in his vision changed and took on the look of burnished brass, multiple gears adorning the corners of the windows. The background changed as well; it now had the look of whitish steam billowing up from the bottom, filling up the background and swirling with unseen winds as it moved upward, seemingly escaping from the top of the window.
The effect was astonishing, and Jarow spent several seconds watching the steam, almost mesmerized by its translucent movement. Finally, Jarow snapped back to the conversation he was having. "You don't have to copy my look," he said. "You can choose on your own. But if you do choose to have the same style, then which one of these do you like more?"
Even though it was an amazing effect and style, Jarow was somewhat hoping for something more streamlined. He moved on to the next option in the list: Cyberpunk. He selected this option, and the windows changed once again. This time, the borders around the windows flickered a couple of times as if the light were warming up, then a bright neon ring of light surrounded the borders of the window, wrapping itself around.
Dark clouds and what looked like skyscrapers obscured the background in this style. He watched and could see the miniature lights of the cityscape flicker on and off in the windows of the massive buildings. There were also other lights in pairs that moved along in between the thick, dark skyscrapers; flying cars zoomed through the dark city.
Jarow liked this one, but the neon was a little distracting, and the erratic moving lights kept his attention, making it more difficult to see what was happening in the foreground. So, he decided to continue on and moved to the next option in the list, Cyber Techno.
The window in this new style glowed, imbued with an ethereal quality that resembled a hologram more than a physical structure. The window's shape contoured around the titles and bars rather than adhering to a fixed form. The name of each window was prominently displayed in a glowing tab along the top of the hologram, its simplicity and clarity enhancing its readability. The background of the windows was more opaque than the others, nearly black but adorned with a subtle light gray diagonal pattern of what looked like softly glowing lights to break up the darkness. This pattern of diagonal diamonds was stationary, yet intermittently its lines wavered as if the lights were being overcome by a dark liquid. With each wave of the liquid below, the lights would momentarily flicker and distort as the ripple continued its journey through the pattern.
The text in this style glowed with a soft blue light, retaining the angular font to which Jarow had now become accustomed.
"This is the one." "I do like this one." They spoke at the same time.
They both mentally chuckled at their simultaneous agreement. Jarow considered checking and possibly changing to different colors, but he knew he wouldn't find anything he liked more. These colors were easy to see and in hues that he favored. He had found the new style of his interface; now he just needed to get the positioning right.
He backed up one menu to the position tab. From here, he was able to move each of the windows and bars to his liking.
He moved the compass, which was new but seemed like it could be extremely useful, to the top middle of his vision. The HP, MP, and SP bars, he moved to the center bottom, where he could easily monitor them. He kept the log on the lower left, but he moved the timer to the top left. The status window, which he found out was the small drawing of his body, he moved to the top right.
The center of his vision was now clear, and his useful information was all easily accessible. He really liked his new view. This new life was definitely a game, and he was beginning to look forward to playing it.
He mentally clicked back to the Advanced tab in the UI menu, but as he attempted to open it, an error message appeared.
Advanced options are unavailable at this level.
The Error came up in a red window, as it had done in the past, but now the Cyber Techno style holographic window surrounded the text. The title, “ERROR” showed along the top of the window in glowing letters, and the background showed the geometric gray lines. The only difference from his normal windows was the scarlet hue of the window itself.
"Oh well. I guess I'll explore that later then. Xinpo, should we get you to level two?" Jarow said and removed the sharpened rib from under his wrap.
There was a moment of itchiness on the back of Jarow's neck before the now familiar mental voice spoke to him telepathically. "Please, suzerain, you should not injure yourself for me," Xinpo pleaded. But Jarow had already made up his mind, and he drew the makeshift knife along his forearm, slicing through the layers of skin and causing a crimson line of blood to spring to the surface.
"Don't worry about it, I can heal myself now, remember?" Jarow said through his gritted teeth. He knew cutting his arm was going to hurt, but apparently a cut from a dull bone knife hurt a lot more than he had expected.
Jarow watched the blood seep from the wound, but instead of pooling or dripping, it was drawn swiftly down Jarow's arm and into the key he gripped in his fist. He felt the gentle suction, like a soft vacuum pulling the blood from the incision. Xinpo had explained that his absorption ability only activated once blood exited the body, and Jarow now understood the mechanism. The suction was limited to the surface; the key's power didn't delve into the wound to extract blood, but rather only absorbed what lay along the surface.
Jarow asked to see Xinpo's character sheet, and it appeared before him. He watched as the absorption number slowly climbed: Ninety, ninety-one.
Jarow's arm stopped bleeding at that point for the most part. The cut now looked like a long, wide scratch more than an open wound. It was a strange sight since the blood had all been removed from the top, leaving only a shallow scab inside the flesh.
"Use your Minor Heal, suzerain. I don't wish you to remain injured. You can find another way of filling my level, there is no need..."
Jarow silenced the key's thoughts by activating Minor Heal. This was Jarow's first time using the spell; in fact, it was the first time for Jarow to see magic, at least that he could recall. He instinctively knew how to activate it. The knowledge had appeared as soon as he had chosen the ability. It didn't require anything but a thought and a word which came to his mind, Yiaso.
He mentally spoke the word, and a silvery white liquid-light appeared at his fingertips. It flowed over and into the wound on his arm. The liquid-light covered the area instantaneously, and Jarow could feel the cooling yet somewhat ticklish sensation of his skin regrowing. He couldn't see the wound below as the glow from the spell was somewhat intense, but as soon as it had fully healed, the light evaporated into a lightly glowing puff of smoke and disappeared.
"Amazing." "Amazing." He and Xinpo said at the same time.
"What did you see?" Jarow asked his new friend.
"As you know, I don't technically see, but I could feel the energy. It felt warm and peaceful, like I would imagine sitting in the sun must feel like. I wanted to be wrapped in it."
"Wow. That does sound amazing." Jarow thought about the sun. In this place there was nothing but the dim light, which somehow always shone, but could never be seen. He missed the sun. The warmth, the brightness. The feeling of it on his skin. At least he believed he missed it, not totally being able to remember what it felt like.
In fact, he had no actual memories of sunshine, yet somehow he imagined that he knew what it felt like. It was an unusual sensation, one he felt like Xinpo had also just experienced. He wanted to know for sure. He wanted his memories returned, either that or to make many new ones. He wanted to find a place where he could feel real sunlight.
With that last thought, Jarow found his goal. He knew he had to move forward now. He would find his way out of this place and he would sit in the sun, feeling its warmth. Xinpo would be by his side, and they would be free.
With newfound resolution, Jarow picked up the rib bone and jammed it into his arm. The hesitation from before was gone. Although once the pain receptors started screaming, so did Jarow. "ARGH!" He almost let go of the key in his hand.
He had all but forgotten the pain he had inflicted upon himself just a moment ago. Jarow looked down to see the bone knife sticking out of his arm. Blood gushing out of the wound he had given himself this time, but it was quickly being absorbed by Xinpo.
"You've hit a vein, suzerain. Take the knife out and use the spell." Xinpo said telepathically with a sense of urgency.
Jarow waited a moment, then pulled the bone from his arm. Blood began rushing out even faster. He focused on Xinpo's character sheet, ignoring the pain, and watched the absorption number tick higher until reaching one hundred.
He began casting his spell but saw the number reset and begin counting again up from one. He noticed the total needed for level three was one hundred fifty.
He kept the wound open for a few moments longer, making sure the absorption number continued to rise. Three, four. “Yiaso” He activated the Minor Heal spell. Once again, the silvery liquid-light manifested at his fingertips and moved to cover the wound.
"There ya go. Time to level up," he said to the key, but only silence returned.
Jarow refocused on Xinpo's character sheet, but the text was grayed out. "Xinpo?" he asked, concerned. There was no response.
Jarow waited. He got up and moved around; while he waited. He checked the next three doors; while he waited. He gathered more blankets and fashioned a sling where he could keep the key on his chest, and continually watched the timer; while he waited.
His timer hit Sixty-seven hours, forty-one minutes. "Xinpo, are you really gone?" Jarow had moved the key's character sheet to the side, but kept it open so he could keep checking on it. He would bring it into focus every so often and check for changes, but so far, there hadn't been any.
Jarow sat slumped against the wall. He had searched over a dozen doorways down the hall from where the Shlazak had been, but he hadn't found anything but more blankets and another beetle. He was starting to lose hope.
"Are you just a key now?" He asked the air, his voice trembling with a hint of desperation. He held the key in front of him, tracing its contours and checking the surface over again for any type of change, but there was nothing.
Tears began sliding down his cheeks. He had tried his best to keep his sanity, to keep busy, and to stay motivated. He had only had his friend Xinpo for a short time, but the companionship he brought had been the light within this gray, desolate place. He hadn't understood how important having a companion was to him, but he did now.
Jarow didn't know what to do. He felt the same depression and sadness taking hold of him as it had when he first discovered his corpse. He was to the point where he thought he might as well give up, lay down, and die. Even his new goal of feeling sunlight warm his body was diminished. He had no idea where he would find someone else to talk to, someone else to take Xinpo's place, yet deep down Jarow knew that there was no one that would ever be able to fill that role, and didn’t want anyone else to even try.
His back touched the wall of the hallway, and Jarow slid down the wall to sit upon the floor. He was done, finished with moving on. What did it matter if he couldn't have his friend, his companion, with him? He sobbed and dropped his head, letting the tears fall unabashedly.
Finally, something in his vision changed, something in his UI.
He lost focus of the world and refocused on Xinpo's character sheet. It had flashed, changed from the Cyber Techno version back to the original silver, then back. The text now showed clearly.
Name: Xinpo
Level: 2
Age: ???
Race: Dimensional Being
Gender: ???
Attributes: [- N/A -]
Skills:
Absorption 4 of 150
Dagger
Abilities:
Passe-partout
Jarow read the new text, taking in the changes before hearing a familiar yet different voice inside his head.
"Well met, suzerain. Thank you for guarding my form while I leveled."
The voice was deeper; it sounded more formal. Yet it was still Xinpo's voice. "Xinpo? You're back?"
"Yes, suzerain. Was I gone long? Oh, yes. A fair amount of time has passed. I apologize."
"I'm just glad you're back. What's up with the new voice?"
"New voice?" The key asked and paused for a moment. "Has my voice changed?"
Jarow wanted to scream, "Yes!" but refrained from the outburst. He understood how crazy this place was, so instead he rolled his eyes and continued. "I remember it sounding different, less maybe?. I guess the level helped it grow?"
Jarow felt a familiar itchy sensation at the back of his skull. He wasn't sure why, but he knew Xinpo was pondering something when he felt it.
"Yes, that must be the case. I hope the new and improved voice doesn't offend you, suzerain."
"No, not at all. It's very prominent. What's the new skill and ability you got?"
"Let me show you!" Xinpo said and began to morph.
Jarow felt the transformation occurring within his hand, the familiar weight of the key shifting and evolving. The once compact form began to elongate, the metal, once round and unassuming, reshaped itself, its edges sharpening into a deadly double-edged blade.
The key's distinctive teeth shifted their location to near the top of Jarow's fist, their form widening and morphing into a protective crossguard. Beneath his fingers, the hilt swelled and contoured, its ridges perfectly aligning with the grooves of his hand. At the base, the ring that once served as the key's anchor reformed into a pommel The decorative filigree connecting the ring to the shaft expanded, seamlessly integrating with the handle's new form.
Embedded within the pommel, a miniature replica of the original key showed, its orientation slightly askew from the blade, and nestled within a circular housing. Jarow's fingertips touched the smaller version of the key and it spun with amazingly fluid motion. Jarow marveled at the craftsmanship. A smile formed on his lips, a reflection of the pride he felt emanating from the key turned to an impressive dagger which he now gripped firmly in his hand.
Where the silver key had once rested, a breathtaking dagger now took its place. Jarow's gaze fell upon the polished blade, its surface gleaming like a mirror under the pale light that shone in this hallway of gray. The plain silver metal of the hilt and pommel contrasted sharply with the blade's radiant sheen, the dagger's polished surface seemed to catch and magnify the pale light of the hallway.
“This... you... you are stunning!" Jarow stammered, unable to find the right words to express his awe.
"Thank you, suzerain. It is this transformation that took me so long to complete. I had to master the intricacies of this form."
"You had to learn this form?"
"Yes, suzerain. This is a unique transformation. I had to first choose a suitable form, then memorize the exact arrangement of every molecule. Only then could I fully embody this weapon."
It took Jarow a moment to fully grasp Xinpo's explanation. "You chose this weapon? So there were other forms you could have transformed into?"
The familiar itchy sensation returned, albeit fleetingly. Jarow wondered how this unusual telepathic connection with Xinpo had developed and why he seemed to be able to feel a physical sensation when Xinpo was deep in thought.
"Yes, suzerain, but I cannot recall the other forms that were available. I believe I chose this form as it would be of the greatest utility to you."
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Thank you, Xinpo. This form will be perfect if we encounter other monsters."
As if on cue, Jarow heard a sound emerging from the fog ahead.