Rin exited the Cursed Temple and gave Trixie a nod. The ghost was casually leaning against the rocky outcropping without a care in the world, enjoying the rays of late afternoon sun on her face. She’d adapted well to her new life above ground. Her fear of wide open spaces was all but gone.

“Interested in a mid-afternoon snack?” asked Rin. “I need to test these new abilities. Capturing rabbits alive is great practice.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “If you ever see me turn down free food, run. Because a lich has commandeered my soul.”

The boy laughed and transformed into the weakest new monster he’d acquired: the level 65 Banshee. The strange sensation of his body fading into the spectral monster made him yelp in alarm. That yelp was both terrifying and violent, an unexpected shriek that departed his phantom lungs with tremendous force. Every bird currently at rest on Dead Man’s Barrow took off into the sky to create a squawking cloud of chaos. Even Trixie winced, and he mouthed the words ‘sorry’ without saying them aloud.

The Banshee’s physical stats were weak and uninteresting. Its two magical stats were a different story.

Magic: 146 (+136)

Current MP: 1455/1460

Absorption: 125/min (+120)

Seeing those numbers made Rin’s heart skip a beat. It was high time he charmed a monster with strong Magic.

This will be my go-to monster when conjuring something big with the Infinite Wardrobe. Like a giant space cloak or something with a quadruple-layered mana weave.

The monster’s abilities were similarly impressive, one of which was grade D. They were also confusing, as Rin had no idea what a Repulsor was. Phantasmal Drift sounded more like an exotic disease than a powerful attack.

Inherited Abilities:

Scream: Grade D

Sonic Shatter: Grade E

Repulsor: Grade E

Phantasmal Drift: Grade E

The Scream ability was self-evident. He had no desire to try that again. Sonic Shatter, as he soon discovered, could turn a ten-ton granite boulder to powder purely using the vibrations of his vocal cords. It was so effective he was half-tempted to fly to the stone dungeon in Bastion to see if it could shatter an entire wall.

I could dig my own dungeon with this! Or start a mine. Although all the ore would be turned to dust by the time I was finished.

The Repulsor ability created a wave of sound that pushed objects back. While it couldn’t budge the heavy rocks scattered about the area, it was excellent at flushing out any rabbits still in hiding. As he activated the ability, he could feel the presence of the sound wave and manipulate its direction as it washed across the terrain.

The final ability, Phantasmal Drift, was the strangest of the lot. It was the monster’s sole death-related ability, which was likely why it was instead listed as a sound type. As soon as it activated, his Banshee body flickered and grew even more deathly pale, as if glitching between the spiritual and physical planes.

Several notifications begged for his attention.

Incoming physical attacks reduced by 90%

Outgoing physical attacks reduced by 90%

Incoming spiritual attacks increased by 90%

Outgoing spiritual attacks increased by 90%

It took Rin some experimentation to discover precisely what that meant. He started by slashing his claw-like fingers at a bush, finding that his limb had turned translucent and ineffective. His slash flew right through the bush, creating little more than a few broken branches. It was a sorry showing for a level 65 monster. The only upside was that, according to the notification, physical attacks against him would be similarly weakened. His Banshee form was truly dabbling in the realm of the dead, phasing into the spiritual plane.

“Now I know how you feel,” said Rin, taking care to whisper in his Banshee voice.

Trixie nodded. “My new blade covering helps immensely, thanks to you. Here, watch this!”

She whipped her sword in an arc, bisecting the bush cleanly in half. Rin was far enough away that the blade didn’t reach him, yet it somehow still affected him. A phantom after-image of the sword sliced through the air, kicking up shredded leaves and grazing the arm of his Banshee form. It was precisely what the mental notification had warned him of: 90% increased spiritual damage taking physical manifestation as it raced in his direction.

The boy jumped back, clutching his arm. “Ouch!”

The words flooded from his throat in an unholy shriek. Trixie ducked, covering her ears, and the shout echoed out from the top of Dead Man’s Barrow.

“Dammit, Rin!”

The boy grimaced, clamping a hand over his mouth.

When he returned his attention to the Phantasmal Drift ability, he had a fresh perspective.

Okay, so it has downsides. But if I can perfect the art of activating this ability quickly, it could save my life.

Tossing a large rock in the air, he practiced activating Phantasmal Drift as it came smashing down on his arm. The Banshee’s weak Recovery stat wasn’t up to the task, and he found himself switching to the Vortex Warrior to top up his HP. Still, after twenty minutes and a bucketload of pain, he had the knack of it and was confident the trick would work during combat. Not having time to master the ability further, he stashed it away in his mental list.

I’ve got three more monsters to get through.

The boy transformed into the level 79 Fireburst Palomino, and his legs flooded with strength. He paced and bucked, filled with nervous energy, until he couldn’t stand it any longer and took off galloping around the summit of Dead Man’s Barrow. His flaming mane whipped in the wind and his fiery hooves left a trail of scorch marks everywhere he went. When he finally burned off the excess stamina, he returned to the hollow, where Trixie appraised him with a cockeyed grin.

“Having fun?”

“It’s amazing!” came Rin’s voice from the animal’s jaws. “It feels like I could run till dawn tomorrow!”

Rin pulled up the Palomino’s status sheet and found its most impressive stats were in Stamina and Recovery:

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Stamina: 135 (+120)

Recovery: 140 HP/min (+110)

It had 3 abilities, all high-ranked at Grade D.

Inherited Abilities:

Meteor Dash: Grade D

Blazing Lope: Grade D

Cinder Glow: Grade D

The Meteor Dash turned Rin into a blazing comet that could travel so fast, it was akin to teleportation. The ability left an afterimage of fire in its wake that did real physical damage, scorching the vegetation to a black crisp. In contrast, the Blazing Lope was its opposite, allowing Rin to ease into a long-distance gait that would eat up the miles. His equine body temperature during this second ability was far less fierce and tempered, but still dangerous to prolonged physical contact. If someone had been riding on his back, he’d have to ensure a specially-conjured saddle protected them from severe burns.

The final ability, Cinder Glow, was a utility skill, providing a comfortable warmth within a twenty-foot radius. It might be helpful when adventuring with a large team in an icy climate, but he had little use for it alone.

The level 88 Giant Southern Skink was next, and its prominent stat was Absorption. It seemed the lizard continually sucked mana into its skin, where it burned off in a waste process that created flakes of ash.

Magic: 15 (+5)

Current MP: 139/150

Absorption: 150/min (+145)

I found it! This is the MP equivalent of the Vortex Warrior!

If Rin ever needed to fill up his MP pool rapidly, this monster had a tiny pool and a massive Absorption stat. As the skink, it would take him precisely 60 seconds to fill up his MP from empty to full.

And after that, I switch to the Banshee with its massive mana pool and launch all its magical attacks!

It was a clever strategy, and Rin couldn’t wait to try it out. But first, he had to check the monster’s abilities to see if they were even viable.

Inherited Abilities:

Ash Explosion: Grade D

Ash Armor: Grade D

Empowering Embers: Grade C

Gods above, my first Grade C ability!

The boy activated it without hesitation and was delighted to find it was an impressive buff.

+10 to all physical stats for 5 minutes

+50% resistance to heat-related damage for 5 minutes

Rin hastily switched to a few other creatures and confirmed the buff applied to every one of their physical stats, no matter which monster form he took. To some of his lower-leveled monsters, the effect doubled their Strength and Dexterity, an incredible result were it not for the fact they were so low-leveled that Rin doubted he would ever use them again. Then again, flying around as a level 1 Swamp Mosquito with +10 Strength had a certain appeal.

Rin refocused on the remaining two abilities, finding the Ash Armor to have a similar buffing effect: it created a layer of armor over his lizard skin that lasted for several minutes, even after he’d transformed into another creature. This had unforeseen consequences because upon changing into the Trundler, his only water type, the defensive layer of burning ash against his skin was incredibly painful, and his HP decreased at a disturbing pace. However, it was a glorious boon for most of his monsters, providing a thick but flexible shell that dulled a blade strike considerably.

Finally, Ash Explosion was an area effect that blasted out from his body in a 20-foot radius. The best part was that it worked well with Partial Transmutation in his human form, with the majority of its explosion effect retained and the radius only decreasing slightly from 20 to 15 feet.

So many incredible abilities. My head feels like it’s going to explode.

He transformed into the level 94 Murder Chicken, feeling overwhelmed. One look at its stats indicated it was a monster heavily weighted toward a dexterity build, focused on speed above all else:

Dexterity: 150 (+135)

Strangely, the monster only possessed one ability.

Inherited Abilities:

Bar Fight: Grade C

What the balls is this?

Rin had a vague idea of what a bar fight was because of his father’s colorful stories about when he was a young man. He had no idea how the title “Bar Fight” could possibly translate to an ability, let alone one that was Grade C and possessed by a humble chicken.

Here goes nothing.

Rin activated the ability and discovered it was another kind of buff, albeit an exceedingly strange one.

+20% chance to summon an additional Murder Chicken for 5 minutes with every successful attack landed.

Beware: Murder Chickens are fickle monsters.

If your interests align with theirs, they may assist you. Then again, they may not.

Their interests typically involve fighting. Lots of it.

The boy was stumped. The monster had no other abilities whatsoever. He wasn’t entirely sure how to even attack with the thing. He supposed he could start by trying to peck out an opponent’s eyes or scratching them to death.

Rin squared off his Murder Chicken body against a nearby boulder and dove forward, trying to imitate how he thought a chicken would attack. He pecked and scratched at the boulder in increasingly wild abandon as if he’d unlocked a hidden berserker rage ability. Nothing of the sort had occurred. It was merely the Murder Chicken’s baseline mental state affecting his mind.

He admired the deep grooves his claws left in the rock and the shattered shale created by his piercing pecks. Even better, every one of his attacks was accompanied by a brief bolt of lightning that left scorch marks on the stone. After about 30 seconds, he paused to check the results of his efforts, his tiny bird lungs panting with exertion.

Gazing behind, he abruptly noticed five new Murder Chickens standing there with reproachful stares, as if his behavior was obscene, something unbecoming of their proud nature.

Bar Fight must have summoned them, yet they’re just standing there. What a disappointment.

While he watched, a rabbit darted from a nearby bush, taking the moment of relative quiet as the prime opportunity to escape. In a flash, the Murder Chickens pounced on the rabbit, en masse, scratching and pecking in a crazed frenzy.

It was violent. It was brutal. It was short.

Within seconds, the poor animal’s body was shredded to pieces. The chickens resumed their haughty stances as if nothing noteworthy had just occurred. It was as if they’d demonstrated to Rin ‘how murdering was done,’ and they were proud of it.

I guess they weren’t interested in attacking a lifeless rock.

Rin froze and did a double-take.

They multiplied.

The number of chickens had magically risen to eight during their attack on the rabbit. The boy was left scratching his head until it finally clicked. The newly spawned Murder Chickens had activated their own Bar Fight abilities, which in turn spawned yet more chickens. The best part was that spawning the new chickens hadn’t cost him any additional MP. Since the existing chickens were the ones to activate the ability, they’d also borne the cost.

This is insane!

Visions of an imaginary battle filled the boy’s mind. The sky was filled with chickens, multiplying out of control until all his enemies were crushed.

Distracted by his vision, Rin made the mistake of transforming back into human form. The chickens immediately targeted him, approaching him with a mixture of curiosity and aggression. There was no doubt in Rin’s mind the only thing stopping them from ripping him to shreds was his high Charisma of 92. In fact, in the heat of a battle, he wouldn’t put it past a chicken or two to sneak in an attack in his direction. It matched perfectly with the puzzling notification he’d received about the birds.

Fortunately, the chickens didn’t attack, and Rin sighed with relief.

His final test was to use Partial Transmutation to activate the Bar Fight ability. Despite transforming his feet into chicken claws and scratching repeatedly at his boulder test subject, he couldn’t get more chickens to spawn. It seemed the ability could only be triggered when he was attacking in fully transmuted chicken form.

It figures. A powerful ability, but its application is limited.

“I’m getting bored,” said Trixie, floating over. “Are we going to head back to Strathburn or take a shot at that clay dragon thing you mentioned?”

Rin paused in thought, watching the chickens disappear one by one as their ability’s timer expired. “For that, we’ll need a plan.”

The ghost groaned. “I knew you’d say that.”

“Hey, just remember: If I die, our bond is severed and you’ll end up being recycled in the abyss. Is that what you want?”

Trixie kicked at a rock, her phantom foot cleaving straight through it without causing so much as a wobble. “Fine. What did you have in mind?”

A half-smile curled on Rin’s lips.

“We’re gonna need chickens. Lots of them.”