Even the tiniest particles of blood began to drift into the air, slowly converging as if bound by an unstoppable pull. The body was drained, every drop of blood siphoned away until nothing remained but a husk of flesh. A pool of crimson now floated, suspended in space, and through it, everyone could see Elena standing eerily clear on the other side.
“What do you want me to do now?” Elena asked Zack, her voice trembling with clear distress.
"Wait, we have only one chance. If we miss, it will be our end. The shapeshifter moves with terrifying speed, so we must coordinate with absolute precision to avoid failure."
"Let invisible particles of blood float in a circle around you and act as bait for the shapeshifter. The moment it steps into the circle, you’ll sense its presence. React instantly, hurl all the blood at it, and I’ll cover you from behind in the meantime," Zack suggested.
But in truth, he didn’t care about Elena at all.
All he had was a single aim, and he was willing to do anything to achieve it.
David, on the other hand, saw the plan as foolproof, yet he still didn’t trust Zack with Elena’s life.
However, before he could do anything about it, he was caught off guard. The shapeshifter began attacking David unpredictably. Whenever David sensed its presence, he swung his light blade in all directions.
But despite his efforts, he wasn’t hitting anything.
By now, David was growing desperate. He had no prior experience in battle and had never faced an enemy for such an extended period.
His Light blade wasn’t working as he expected, so he shifted to his Dark powers without hesitation.
To his surprise, so did the shapeshifter.
David began releasing a surge of Dark power, generating a small wave of destructive energy. He believed this attack could prove highly effective in close combat.
But the shapeshifter remained ever-elusive.
Now that David had exhausted his efforts, it was the shapeshifter’s turn to reveal his dark powers.
A nightmarish veil was unleashed by the shapeshifter.
At first, David only noticed his vision being obscured, but soon he realized that this wave of dark mist was inducing fear and hallucinations. Before long, David was paralyzed by it.
Thoughts of discouragement and fear began to envelop his mind, while he struggled to move his body.
Certain of his abilities, the shapeshifter no longer relied on his speed as he approached David slowly through the thick mist. With David unable to move, the creature delivered a mighty slash with its razor-sharp fingers.
David was hurled out of the mist and fell in a terrible landing. Although most of the damage was mitigated by his defensive shield, he began to recover his movement now that he was out of the mist.
STATUS
HP : ▰▰▰▰▱ ¹²⁰
DEFENSE : ▰▱▱▱▱ ³⁰
MANA : ▰▰▰▱▱ ⁹⁰
"I can’t believe that without the defense, an attack of that magnitude would have been deadly," he thought, as he struggled to get up.
But at least I know how the defense works now.
"Given that the defense is almost gone, another hit will definitely be fatal," he continued.
Emerging from the mist with its sights set on David, the shapeshifter's focus was abruptly shattered as Zack struck from behind with his sword.
"Finally, a touch of teamwork from you, meathead!" David said, giving Zack a knowing look.
Zack raised the ground with his earth power in such a way that all the shapeshifter could see was the defenseless Elena standing at the other end.
Without delay, the shapeshifter, hidden from sight, raced toward Elena. But Elena had already set up a defense of tiny, floating blood particles to reveal its presence.
As soon as the shapeshifter entered the circle, Elena threw a pool of blood at him, revealing his presence amidst the ensuing bloodbath.
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The shapeshifter seized her arm, then opened its horrifying maw, which still bore the remnants of a bloodbath, dropping from its face. It bit through her neck. Her head dropped with a chilling thud, her life snuffed out, only to be used by Zack for his upcoming attack.
Without further ado, Zack acted with all his might, using his earth power to seize the shapeshifter by the legs and delivering a powerful blow to its face with his sword.
Despite Zack’s swift attack, the shapeshifter managed to turn its head. The sword sliced through its cheek but was caught by its rotten, gnashing teeth.
In moments, the blade shattered into pieces, forcing Zack to retreat and prepare for the shapeshifter’s fury.
A harrowing scream reverberated through the air as the shapeshifter, now cloaked in blood, was seen by them all. The very presence of this nightmarish creature was so terrifyingly grotesque that it provoked an instinctive chill in all who beheld it.
This raid is a total bust.
"We've already lost 5 out of 13 people," Zack said, desperation in his voice. "But this damn creature doesn’t look like it's anywhere near finished."
Meanwhile, David opened his info menu, thinking of something new to try.
[ INFO ▾ QUEST ▸ INVENTORY ▸ SHOP ▸ ]
PROFILE
NAME : David
LVL : 06 [ ▴ 110/500XP ] or [ ▴ 50 SU ]
TITLE : User
SYSTEM UNITS : 62
STATUS
HP : ▰▰▰▰▱ ¹²⁰
DEFENSE : ▰▱▱▱▱ ³⁰
MANA : ▰▰▰▱▱ ⁹⁰
STATS
STRENGTH : 11 ▴
AGILITY : 07 ▴
STAMINA : 10 ▴
INTELLIGENCE : 91 ▴
POWERS
LIGHT POWER : D Class [ ▴ 30 SU ]
DARKNESS POWER : D Class [ ▴ 30 SU ]
"I can boost my stats, right?" he asked the system.
▪ ▪ ▪ YOU CAN USE SYSTEM
UNITS TO BOOST STATS ▪ ▪ ▪
"Then boost my strength by 2 points and my agility by 3 points," he commanded.
▪ ▪ ▪ BOOST SUCCESSFUL ▪ ▪ ▪
▪ ▪ ▪ BOOST SUCCESSFUL ▪ ▪ ▪
STATS
STRENGTH : 13 ▴
AGILITY : 10 ▴
STAMINA : 10 ▴
INTELLIGENCE : 91 ▴
"Let’s see if I notice any difference," he said.
David jumped back into the fight once again. Zack was struggling, even with Lizzie's healing boost working overtime. Meanwhile, the other member was going all out with his nature powers, trying to pin down that sneaky shapeshifter. It was chaos!
David now found it easier to defend himself. He could see the shapeshifter's movements clearly, unlike before, when he could only keep up by predicting where the shapeshifter might appear.
His increased speed allowed him to track the shapeshifter's movements more accurately. This advantage of his stat boosts, gave him the edge he needed.
He waited patiently for the perfect moment to strike, intent on catching the shapeshifter in its elusive shadow.
He longed to tear the shapeshifter apart once he had ensnared its shadow with his skill, but the bright radiance of the arcane symbols throughout the chamber made this skill impossible.
Or perhaps the skill wouldn't work at all due to the difference in their power levels, making it a gamble that ultimately went unused.
Since catching the shadow was not possible, he resorted to another skill. He unleashed another surge of dark energy in small, controlled waves, his focus sharper this time.
The skill had been refined, and the dark energy now moved in a smooth, wavy pattern towards the shapeshifter. Trying to handle four attackers at once, the shapeshifter attempted to evade the onslaught.
However, the new wave pattern proved too effective, and the dark energy struck it directly, throwing the shapeshifter off balance for the first time.
▪ ▪ ▪ ENCOUNTERED A LYZARION ▪ ▪ ▪
▪ ▪ ▪ REWARD : + 10 SU + 100 XP ▪ ▪ ▪
So, the encounter notification is received only when I come into direct contact with the creatures.
It has a name as well, so the shapeshifter is its threat level, not the name itself. But isn't it considered a higher threat level compared to beast?
As it struggled to regain its composure, Zack seized the opportunity. With a fierce battle cry, Zack slashed his sword with precision, aiming to exploit the moment of vulnerability created by David's strike.
"Open the bestiary," he commanded the system. David was now eager to learn more about it.
[ QUEST ▸ INVENTORY ▸ SHOP ▸ BESTIARY ▾ ]
BEAST ▸ SHAPESHIFTER ▾
▪ LYZARION
"Huh, just as I thought. It’s an entity of a higher threat level."
With that, I now have two threat levels saved in the system.
"But that doesn't concern me at the moment," he said, remaining focused. He then commanded the system, "Show me Lyzarion's weaknesses."
[ QUEST ▸ INVENTORY ▸ SHOP ▸ BESTIARY ▾ ]
BEAST ▸ SHAPESHIFTER ▾
▪ LYZARION
▪ ▪ ▪ NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE ▪ ▪ ▪
"Damn it. Does it mean the information I got about the desert scorpion was only available because I had already killed it?"
And here I thought this might give me an upper hand in the fight.
"I need to think of something else and finish off the shapeshifter," David thought, deeply immersed in finding ways to defeat it.
As he was pondering solutions, the remaining members of the RiftWalker group started to come out from the maze with crystals and valuables, along with Arnold.
As soon as he observed Arnold, who was enveloped in gold amidst the opulent desert landscape and wore an expression of sheer bliss, a thought suddenly occurred to David.
He waited until Arnold approached him.
“How deep does the maze stretch inside the chamber?” he asked Arnold, who was now confused by the ongoing battle.
“What’s going on here, man? Is this creature here for my gold?” he turned, questioning with his own concerns.
“That’s not what I asked,” David said. “I need an answer quickly.”
“Oh, the maze isn’t that large, but it’s designed in such a way that if one overlooks the signs on the walls, they might easily get lost.”
“Is the sand also seeping through the walls?” David inquired once more.
“Yeah, man, it’s quite messy inside,” Arnold replied, still unaware of what David was getting at.
With fierceness in his eyes, he asked one last question.
“Now tell me, does the maze also have many walls inside it that overlap each other?”