“It would appear that that girl from the southern hills is smarter than she seems,” the slime’s voice was far deeper than what anyone expected.
“I had help.” Elenore braced her sword with both hands.
In the seconds it had taken for the slime’s shape to raise itself from the ground in the shape of a crude lump, Elenore had already equipped both pieces of her armor set. Keith remained in the corner, but his impression of a relaxed stance was long gone. Now he knelt low, ready to pounce at whatever kind of creature they were looking at.
“Oh of course you did, stupid girl. I was being sarcastic,” even without eyes, a head, or a real body beyond its blob of a silvery mass, Caster could sense it rolling its eyes.
“You can’t even say words right without getting yourself confused. Yer the stupid one.”
Why is she talking like that? It looks like they’re being cooked alive out there, there’s no time for her to stall!
“Why are you attacking us?” Keith demanded.
“Well, I was going to wait for one more cycle then use the illusion spell I’ve been charging for the last 2 days inside of here to instantly turn the both of you and the Minion you might be carrying into charcoal.”
“But why!? Who’s paying you to do this? What’s this about some Minion? Why would adventurers carry around something so useless?” Keith’s feigning of knowledge was on point.
“The Key, The Gate, the Way. He knows all. He sees all. And what he revealed to me were two adventurers traveling down this very road, carrying along the most unholy mistake to curse Perdita in the last several ages. The creature that should not be – a Minion. A Minion that is in covenant with the Agency and The Usurper. This Minion must turn to the light of Yog-Sothoth, and abandon all former Covenants, then he will be granted wisdom beyond Perdita’s comprehension.” The silver goo’s monologue rose in intensity, but its ‘gaze’ remained on Keith and Elenore as if it didn’t know Caster was still in the rucksack.
“Listen buster, I have no idea what you just said. But I don’t trust no Elder God. Now you wanna release us from this Illusion, or is one of us going to have to disintegrate you right here, right now?”
“Alas, you two have foiled my glorious plans! I suppose I’ll make do by stepping back into the shade while this place gets cooked into a fine glass. This Mimic will not be disintegrating anytime soon. You two, however, will now feel the raw energy of the unmatched power of the sun! Bon voyage,” the goo mocked her in a haughty tone.
The silver lump collapsed onto the floor, and the remainder of its gooey began to hiss as it melted away. The intense heat now rising from the log cabin floor acted as kindling for the concentrated Sunfire. In a horrifying reveal, the body of Helga fell onto the floor.
What remained of the woman was still alive. She grabbed her lower back as the slime’s disappearance made the host body it had been possessing become material once more. Helga let out a confused and pained groan of confusion. The old woman glanced around in panic for a moment. It was clear she had no idea what was going on. The heat overtook her immediately, and she passed out in the scorching heat that was now rising every second. Her body immediately began disintegrating, something Caster had only seen the dead do.
The real Helga was alive! But now… she’s dead. But… she had a daughter! A son! Damn this Mimic! I’m gonna rip him apart like how she disintegrated… Caster stopped talking to himself and realized how much of a fool he’d been. Only now did he realize why Elenore’s speech had so many moments of odd emphasis, and why she was stalling the whole time.
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She wanted me to use Primordial Disintegration Ray! Caster smacked his head, grabbing his face with angry fingers from his left hand, and began the channel with his right. I’m such an idiot! If I understood sooner, I would have been able to save that poor old woman – just like Archmage Archibald! No, it’s not my fault. They were killed by these cultist freaks that follow the Elder Gods. I’m sick of it! I’m going to blow a hole right through him!
Caster calmly put his Crab Claw Wand into his inventory. He didn’t need to channel his attack, and it would have gotten in the way otherwise. He didn’t have to, but he found it easier to channel the power of the Ability with two hands, rather than one. Maybe it was because he was so new to it. Maybe because it seemed to make the time pass quicker in his head.
Caster strode out from the rucksack and approached the living room table. The sphere of pure energy was now bigger than his head, and it began to spark and rage against being contained inside his palm.
5 seconds.
“The west… rock…” Keith attempted to make his way to the window at the foot of the dining table that let the light shine in from the outside world. “He’s…hiding,” Keith passed out from the heatwave, his arms barely breaking his fall as he slammed into the floor.
“Ah jeez. It’s gotta be 200 degrees in here. Hurry… Caster! I don’t think I’ll hold out much longer-” Elenore joined Keith on the floor, her face slamming into the wood. But Caster remained calm. Maybe it was because he didn’t even hear their words. He was laser-focused on his target.
I remember what it said. Tending to its garden out west before the sun gets too bright. I bet it's right behind that huge rock. Bet you’d have good shade behind that thing. It would be a shame if forced you to taste your own medicine and-
“PRIMORDIAL DISINTEGRATION RAY!”
Caster shouted harder than he ever had before. The power of the Ability flowed throughout his body, and it rocked him to the very bone. He, like many, was compelled to say the name of such an overwhelmingly powerful attack.
The beam launched forward. The majestic blue light flowed from both his hands. Like a stream of stars, they surged forth, annihilating the portion of the house directly in front of Caster in a perfect circle. The beam wasted no time and traveled faster than his eyes could track. It blazed a trail down the rising hill in the Eastern Aurum Heath and hit the large boulder dead center. Caster held the blast for several seconds more.
Turn damn it! I want to make sure he’s dead! Caster grit his teeth, managing to pivot his upper body so that the beam would fan to the left, erasing the left and right halves of the boulder from reality.
Ability Learned! Mimic's Perfected Mirror
This Ability manifests as a mirror that allows the user to perfectly mimic the body, mind, and aura signature of any target living being.
In order to safely take a new form, the user must always remember who they really are, lest they fade into the mimic's subconscious forever.
Equip Ability? Yes [No]
Ability was not Equipped!
Stop distracting me! I'll worry about that later!
Caster swiped the textbox to the side as soon as he could.
A cracking sound filled his ears, and the image of cracking glass appeared all over the entirety of his vision. Each sliver shattered all at once, and as it did, the sun's light and heat vanished in an instant. The fires that had sprouted were gone, and the burn marks that had seared the party had all but disappeared as if they were never there, to begin with.
Caster saw a hobbled form trip out from behind the boulder. It resembled only half a person. Caster stopped casting the Disintegration Ray and watched triumphantly as the tail end of the final comet vanished from sight.
He had hit his mark.