Valor placed a hand on his chin and observed Maya's transformation with keen interest. "So, you can shapeshift."

The Shapestealer moved around briefly in her new bicorn body to test her form: feeling the power and agility it afforded her. After a few moments, she reverted back to her human form. Standing once again on two legs, she explained, "Yeah, just need to fulfill a few conditions."

Valor nodded. "Such as?"

"The big one is knowing all of a target's unique skills."

"So, provided you know enough about something or someone, you could turn into them?"

"Pretty much."

"Can you turn into her?" Valor said, pointing to Sophia.

Maya was about to reply, but fell silent for a moment as she shot an odd look at the Paladin. "Huh, never actually thought about that."

Sophia shrugged. "You never asked."

"Yeah, because I thought it would be a bit weird."

"You're not wrong, but if you could transform into me in a pinch it could be pretty useful."

"Wait, so you're fine with me transforming into you?" Maya asked.

"Just as long as you don't stay like me forever." Sophia replied with a light chuckle.

"Uh, alright, can you remind me about all your abilities again?"

"I got [Remove Curse], [Heal], [Smite], and [Light Binding]. And you've definitely seen me use all of them at least once."

"Got it, here goes nothing then."

After taking in a breath, Maya glanced at Sophia and activated [Copycat]. Valor was eyeing the two, curious as to what would happen. But to their surprise, the following notification manifested in front of the Shapestealer:

[Target invalid: knowledge threshold not met]

"That's…odd." Maya muttered.

Valor looked at her and then at Sophia. "Am I missing something here?"

The Paladin tilted her head in confusion. "No, I'm also lost."

"Wait, let me try one more time." Maya then looked at Sophia again and activated [Copycat]. But the same notifications from before appeared.

"Is there some ability that you still have?" Maya asked.

Sophia shook her head. "I promise you that's all of my skills right there."

"Hmm, that's interesting. I'm guessing this means there's probably something else I'm missing."

"Any ideas? You were able to transform into an ironhead bicorn just fine earlier despite only seeing them for the first time." Valor interjected.

"Maybe it's something to do with my memories." Sophia said.

The beastman raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Sophia doesn't have all of her memories." Maya said.

"Amnesia?" Valor asked.

"Something like that; I don't actually remember much about my past." Sophia said.

The Shapestealer shrugged. "Either way, it probably means that Sophia has more abilities even she doesn't remember."

Valor suddenly let out a smirk. "I think traveling with you two is going to be interesting."

Maya shrugged. "That's one way to put it."

"Anyway, I did fulfill my end of the bargain. Mind letting me in the Party now?"

"Sure, you know how it works right?"

"I do." Valor said, offering his hand forward to Maya.

The Shapestealer grasped his hand with hers. She then said [Add Party Member] which caused the following notification to appear in front of Valor:

[Join Party? Yes/No]

The beastman selected [Yes] and the following notifications became visible to him, Maya, and Sophia:

[Congratulations Tributes, you have added a new member to your Party]

[Your new Party member will now share your progress for collecting the eight golden branches needed to ascend to the next floor]

[You can keep a record of your progress by checking "Quest Progress"]

[Currently, your Party has: 0/8 golden branches]

The Paladin offered Valor a handshake as well. "Welcome to the team."

The beastman shook her hand. "Nice to be with a group again; I promise both of you won't regret this."

Sophia let go of Valor's hand and snorted. "We'll see about that."

"Fair enough." Valor shrugged.

"Mind showing us your stats at least?" Sophia asked?

"Sure, you should be able to see it by using [Party Status]" Valor said, causing a series of notifications to appear.

[Displaying Party Status]

Tribute 1: Maya

Level: 12

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Physique: 3

Dexterity: 7

Divinity: 2

Tribute 2: Sophia

Level: 19

Physique: 9

Dexterity: 6

Magic: 4

Tribute 3: Valor

Level: 17

Physique: 8

Dexterity: 6

Magic: 3

The Paladin glanced at Valor's stats and let out a small smirk. "Not bad."

"I didn't get by just slacking off all the time." Valor said.

"Alright, before we do anything, I'm going to check my [Transformation List] real quick." Maya said.

Tier 1: Wind Elemental (requirement: transform mid-air; subsumed spell: Gust)

Tier 2: Ironhead Bicorn (requirement: anger; subsume spell available)

Tier 3: Nightbringer (requirement: kill a humanoid creature or a large monster; subsume spell available)

The beastman eyed Maya's [Transformation List] up and down. "What's all this?"

"It lists all the forms I have saved up and what I need to do to transform into them again in the future." Maya explained.

Sophia squinted at the notifications. "And it looks like to transform into the ironhead bicorn you need to…be angry?"

"I guess that one is pretty self explanatory." Maya said.

Valor shot a confused look at the Shapestealer. "So is there some threshold for how angry you have to be? Does it work if you're just annoyed or do you need to go all out?"

"Honestly, not sure. The system's generally pretty vague when it comes to this stuff."

"Alright, and what about that subsume spell stuff?"

"Basically, I can borrow a random skill from my transformations and use them as spells; can only use them once until I transform again though." Maya said, glancing at the notifications. "Speaking of, I should settle that now before I forget."

The Shapestealer then utilized her subsume spells. Starting with [Subsume Tier 2 Spell] which resulted in her receiving [Metal Coat]. And then, she did the same with [Subsume Tier 3 Spell] which gave her [Acid Spray].

The beastman couldn't help but shake his head as she saw Maya just casually gain her spells. "No wonder you and Sophia could go through the lower floors just fine."

Sophia turned towards Valor. "Is it unusual for two people to climb up to this floor?"

"I'd say so. Even I came into the Tower with a group of five."

"And what happened to them?"

"They…died on the previous floor. I was the only one who made it here; it's also why I was so desperate to find a Party again."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Maya said.

"Same here, my condolences." Sophia said.

But Valor dismissed their concerns with a wave of his hand. "We all knew what we were getting into when we were called into the Tower. Not much use mourning now."

The Paladin smirked. "That's not a bad way to look at things."

"I just try to live where life takes me." Valor said.

Maya then looked at the beastman. "Speaking of which, do you know where we can collect those eight golden branches?"

"Honestly? Not sure."

"Really, no leads at all?"

Valor hesitated, his canine ears twitching slightly. After a brief moment, he let out a sigh. "I know some of the bigger Parties have them," he admitted, "but they're not exactly keen to share."

"Did the Black Talons have any golden branches?" Sophia asked.

"They did, two last time I recalled." Valor said.

Maya nodded. "So, if we just steal from them, we'd only need six more," she mused aloud, considering the possibility.

Valor tensed up and waved his hands frantically and let out a nervous laugh. "Whoa whoa, let's try a more... grounded plan, yeah?"

Sophia glanced at him. "You never did tell us how strong the Black Talons were exactly."

The beastman relaxed his arms and shook his head weakly. "They like to brag about being propped up by one of the four families on the tenth floor. A couple of their members returned there every so often too," he explained, highlighting the depth of the Black Talons' connections and resources.

Maya's eyes widened. "You mean the tenth floor?"

Valor nodded, then made a small gesture with his hand to indicate something small. "Yeah, you'll need these little crystals. Forgot what they're called, but you can bet that anyone who has them probably came from the tenth floor."

"Alright, so if the Black Talons are a no go, do you have any better ideas?" Sophia asked, looking at the beastman.

Valor started to pace around. "Why don't we just look around for now; then if we're really, really, desperate, we'll...discuss other options."

Sophia crossed her arms. "I don't mind either way," she declared, her gaze then shifting to Maya. "What about you?"

Maya took a moment to weigh the options before her. Finally, she nodded. "Valor's right, let's be careful and scout the area first."

***

The trio began their journey through the dense forest, with Valor taking the lead and Maya and Sophia following closely behind. The Shapestealer eventually paused, her eyes catching a distinct plume of smoke rising from the north-west direction. She pointed towards it to draw the attention of her companions. "You all see that?"

Valor glanced at the smoke. "Looks like it's from a campfire."

"I think we should check it out; I'm also curious about what the other people or Tribute in this floor might be like." Sophia said.

Valor shifted uncomfortably at the suggestion, his tail moving in an odd manner that betrayed his unease. "To be completely honest with you; I've had a bad time with most people I met here except you two."

Maya chuckled, "Maybe you're just bad with people then."

Valor raised his voice slightly in defense of his earlier point. "I'm serious, the Tower can bring out the worst in people."

Sophia couldn't help but chuckle at the exchange. "Calm down, if they end up being trouble, we'll just deal with them."

With a smirk, Maya started walking towards the source of the smoke. "You can just bail on us if you're scared."

Valor let out a resigned sigh. "Alright, just be careful."

***

With Maya now leading the way, the three adventurers cautiously approached the source of the smoke. The sounds of their footsteps were muffled by the thick underbrush.

Maya stopped behind a good distance away from the camp and hid behind a dense thicket of bushes. As hands gently parted the foliage, she squinted her eyes and saw that the place was a simple setup with a tent pitched on one side and a bonfire crackling in the center. Six rugged looking men sat around the flames and their equipment showed signs of heavy wear.

As Maya watched the men, she noticed a distinctive mark that unified them: a tattoo of a black claw prominently displayed on some part of each man's body: arms, legs, and even forehead.

Without making herself known, Maya turned back to Valor and whispered. "Are these the Black Talon guys?"

Valor leaned forward as he fixed his gaze on the campsite as he took in the details Maya had observed. After a moment, he nodded. "Yeah, not the main group though."

Maya lowered her head and turned around. "Guess we should go elsewhere then,"

However, Sophia motioned with her hand. "Wait, look, I see people coming."

Curious, Maya peeked her head just above the bush again. She saw two men dragging two children behind them in chains. As she squinted her eyes for a better look, Maya noticed the pointed ears of the children and whispered in disbelief, "What are elves doing here?"

Valor dropped to the ground beside them, looking at Maya and Sophia with a nervous smile. "Did I ever mention that there were people who already lived on this floor?"

Maya shot an annoyed glance at the beastman. "No."

Valor rubbed his head, looking sheepish. "So, the elves who live here aren't Tributes. And uh, sometimes they get taken to the upper floors as...manpower."

Maya's attention returned to the camp, just in time to see one of the children being kicked as the other men laughed. Anger flashed in her eyes as she turned to Sophia and Valor. "I have an idea."

"Is it to turn back?" Valor asked.

Sophia smirked. "I've got you covered in case you need me."

"Thanks," Maya said. Without another word, she ran further away from the campsite, leaving Valor and Sophia behind.

The beastman turned to Sophia. "What does she plan on doing?"

Sophia shrugged, her smirk still in place. "What else do you think?"

By the time Maya had run a good distance away, she was already quite pissed. She never liked seeing defenseless children being treated poorly on account of her own experiences before entering the tower. And ever since Officer Mabel started looking out for her, she had a good opinion about elves in general. The more she dwelled on these thoughts, the angrier she became.

The Shapestealer's heart pounded against her chest and her fists clenched tightly as waves of rage washed over her. Heat coursed through her veins and her muscles tensed as her breathing grew heavy: fueling her transformation into an ironhead bicorn.

With her new form, the Shapestaler immediately rushed towards the camp. She let out a thunderous growl as she trampled the ground to announce her presence.

As Maya drew closer, the men at the camp scrambled in fear and confusion. The Shapestealer trampled over the campfire then headbutted one of the men with her horned head: flinging him away like a ragdoll. The man flew through the air before crashing to the ground with a loud thud.

Panic took hold of the men as they saw one of their own being so effortlessly dispatched. The one Maya had flung scrambled to his feet as he joined the others in their frenzied escape. Soon, they ran without looking back even once.