Having recovered from the torrent of dust that erupted from the blast site, Maya waded through the debris and saw the enemy Thunder Wolf: dead, with a gaping hole through its body. She observed the carcass and waited for the portal to appear, but nothing seemed to happen. Figuring that it may have something to do with her being transformed, Maya willed herself to return to her original form, and after a bright flash: she was back in her humanoid form once more.
At the very same moment, a spark of energy appeared above the Thunder Wolf's carcass. The spark grew larger and larger until it took shape and formed a portal.
[Congratulations, you may now access the next floor]
Though she could now go to the second floor, Maya wasn't quite ready to abandon the first floor just yet. Since she was more or less completely secure, the Shapestealer figured it was now a perfect time to test out some of the limits of her abilities.
The first thing she did was to close her eyes and attempt to transform into the Thunder Wolf form again. However, she soon saw a jarring notification appear in front of her.
[Unable to transform, requirement unfulfilled]
The Shapestealer scratched her head in confusion. She was sure that she had fulfilled the knowledge requirement for transforming into the Thunder Wolf before. Intrigued, she checked her [Relic Class Status]
Relic Class: Shapestealer
Relic Class Ability: Copycat
Description:
To use Copycat, the user must be able to see their intended target. If the user fulfills the prerequisite knowledge requirement about the target, Copycat can be activated at will and allow the user to take the form of the target: copying their exact level, stats, and unique skills.
After the user has transformed into any given form, they must fulfill certain conditions based on the form's tier and nature before being able to transform again. Certain forms may instead confer a penalty to the user after each use instead of needing the user to fulfill requirements to transform.
Transformation List:
Tier 1: Thunder Wolf (requirement: consume meat)
Just as Maya expected, her Relic Class did boost her abilities when she transformed. But for now, it seemed that she needed to eat meat in order to be able to transform into her Thunder Wolf form again. That worked well enough for the Shapestealer, her stomach was already grumbling. She went back to the Thunder Wolf's carcass and carefully cut out the parts of its flesh that weren't too burnt up already. After starting a fire, she cut up the meat into smaller chunks and placed it on a makeshift skewer she carved out of a tree branch.
Once she was done with her meal, the Shapestealer checked her [Relic class status] again. She saw the same information as before, except now, the description of the Thunder Wolf had changed.
Tier 1: Thunder Wolf (requirement satisfied: transformation available)
Next, she walked around until she spotted a raven hanging off of a tree branch. Maya eyed the bird and tried to use [Copycat]. But once again, she was met with a notification [Target invalid].
She checked her [Relic Class Status] again and found an additional line added to the description of the [Copycat] ability:
[Creatures that are too weak or lack sufficient intelligence cannot be mimicked by Copycat]
Knowing this new rule, the Shapestealer wondered if there were other such restrictions to her abilities. She searched the first floor until she encountered a pack of dire wolves who were feasting on carcasses. She eyed them and tried to use [Copycat] again. She then saw a different notification flash before her eyes.
[Target identified: Dire Wolf]
[Knowledge threshold sufficient]
[Displaying Status]
Level: 5
Physique: 2
Dexterity: 3
Magic: 0
Unique Skill: None
So far, everything seemed in order. But the next set of runes Maya saw intrigued her.
[Would you like to override your current Tier 1 transformation: Thunder Wolf, with a new Tier 1 transformation: Dire Wolf? Yes/No]
Since the dire wolf was much weaker than the Thunder Wolf, Maya selected [No].
[Override canceled]
Maya took a mental note of all the things she learned about her Relic Class. Critically, it seemed that she could only have one form "saved" for any given tier of transformation. But, how many tiers she could have access to wasn't obvious; not only that, what separated one tier from another wasn't exactly clear either. Levels likely played a role, but until she used Copycat more, she wouldn't be able to find out for sure.
That question aside, Maya was ready to venture to the next floor. She walked back to the portal that manifested above the dead Thunder Wolf and took a deep breath.
***
In the blink of an eye, Maya found herself inside a prison cell. The air was thick and stale, smelling of damp stone and stale sweat. Though she could see through the darkness with ease, she could still notice that the only light came from a single flickering torch mounted on the wall.
There was no window in the cell, no way to tell day from night, or even if there was a world outside the walls. The only furniture was a rough-hewn wooden cot. Beside it sat a rusty metal bucket, its purpose obvious and unwelcome.
Suddenly, the heavy cell door hung open, groaning on its hinges. A hint of unease wormed its way to the back of Maya's mind. She imagined some kind of trap might be waiting for her if she were to step out, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice.
She cautiously stepped forward, a series of notifications materialized before her eyes. They hovered in the air, pulsing with an unearthly light.
[Tribute has entered Floor 2]
[Level up awarded]
[Updating Status]
Tribute Name: Maya
Level: 5 >> 6
Stolen novel; please report.
Physique: 1
Dexterity: 3 >> 4
Magic: 1
After the notifications vanished, Maya raced to the door, she quickly glanced left and right to check for any threats: but she found herself alone. She explored her new environment and traversed through a narrow corridor that was littered with extinguished torches.
She climbed a flight of stairs and reached the next floor of whatever building she was in. A weathered door greeted her; one which she hesitantly opened. A loud creaking sound echoed as the wooden door grated against the stone floor.
A wave of damp, metallic air washed over Maya as she stepped into the armory. A loud clang echoed as Maya accidently knocked a rusted helmet off a rack. She froze briefly and checked around her to see if anything was going to come for her. After being met with silence, she breathed a sigh of relief and continued her exploration.
Rust gnawed at the blades of swords and axes, even the shields were splintered. Maya's hand brushed the hilt of a longsword, the cold metal sending a shiver down her spine. As her fingers traced the worn inscription on the blade, a sudden prickling sensation ran through her.
Without a conscious thought, Maya rolled to her right. The air where she had been standing split with a deafening clang. A skeletal warrior wielding a massive claymore stared at her with its hollow eye sockets.
The creature then turned its attention to the Shapestealer, slowly raising its heavy weapon once again. Maya drew her dagger and waited as the skeleton raised its bony hands to strike, dashing to the side before thrusting her weapon into the undead's neck.
The skeleton quickly crumbled into a pile of bones as its neck cracked and was knocked away from the rest of its body. Yet, just as fast as it crumbled, the undead warrior's bones glowed as they began to reattach and reform themselves back into a humanoid form.
Maya hoped to stop the creature from regenerating by stomping her foot firmly against its sternum, but her efforts didn't seem like it would actually stop the regeneration. Worse still, she saw a group of other undead warriors begin to peek their heads in from the door in which she came.
So, the Shapestealer did what she knew best: run away. She escaped the room and was horrified to see that several dozen more skeletal warriors waited for her just outside of the armory. With the sound of her heartbeat thrumming in her ears, she weaved through the lumbering creatures and ran as fast as her legs could take her.
She didn't care about where she was going or how she was going to go to the next floor of the Tower. She kept running, and running, and running.
After what felt like hours of continuous sprinting, Maya finally allowed herself to catch her breath after she lost her skeletal pursuers. She was now in a large chamber filled with countless stone pillars. The place was much brighter than anywhere else in the fortress, with each pillar being host to at least two to four torches.
At the center of the place was a set of black armor. Considering her experience so far, the Shapestealer wanted nothing to do with the thing and moved from pillar to pillar in the hopes of leaving the chamber while avoiding danger.
But despite her best efforts, the armor must have noticed Maya's movements somehow as it began to pulse with a shadowy energy. Its heavy joints rumbled as it began to move about, turning its head towards her.
Staring back at the animated armor, Maya tensed her muscles and prepared to make a break for it. Yet, in the instant she blinked, the armor had vanished without a trace. Her eyes swept across the room frantically, trying to figure out where the mysterious armor had gone.
A familiar tingle at the back of her head caused the Shapestealer to instinctively duck and roll away as the armor brought down a sword formed entirely of solidified writhing shadows down where she once stood. Immediately after, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath: [Tier 1 form selected: Thunder Wolf]
Now in her monstrous form, Maya snarled at the armor, causing sparks of electricity to shoot out from her fur: searing bits of the stone pillars around her. The armor was unfazed, quickly vanishing once again.
Just as before, the Shapestealer was unable to detect where the armor had gone. She had expected to be able to track its movements using the Thunder Wolf's senses, yet Maya was as lost as she was before. Whatever the shadowy armor did concealed its presence completely, at least until it made an attack.
Pain enveloped her very being as she felt a blade suddenly wedged into her sides. The Shapestealer howled and fired a bolt of lightning at the armor. The attack connected, sending the shadowy entity hurtling into one of the stone pillars nearby.
Though bleeding and in pain, Maya noticed that the cracks in the armor as a result of her earlier attack were quickly regenerating: shadows cast by the pillars seemed to leap and weave themselves into the armor's cracks, sealing it off.
But just as she was charging her next attack, the armor vanished again. Maya gritted her fangs in frustration, her senses on high alert in the hopes of intercepting her enemy the next time it came for an attack.
Soon, the moment came, the Shapestealer growled as she felt another stab dig at her hind legs. She kicked at her attacker instinctively, and as she felt her hit connecting, she turned her head and fired another lightning bolt at the armor.
Just like before; the armor began to regenerate and Maya was unable to finish it off. The pattern repeated over and over again, with the armor slowly but surely wearing her down. Eventually, a bright light erupted from her wolven form as the Shapestealer reverted back to her humanoid body, bleeding from her sides and exhausted. Not all of the damage she sustained as a Thunder Wolf carried over to her original form, but it seemed at least some of it did.
As the shadowy armor prepared to deliver a finishing blow, Maya locked her gaze onto the armor's void-like visor and invoked [Copycat]. Time seemed to slow as she concentrated, channeling every ounce of her being into the attempt to mimic the formidable shadow knight.
All appeared to be in vain as a shadowy blade pierced through her chest. Pain erupted through Maya's body, her vision blurred.
But then, just as she felt herself succumbing, a surge of ominous energy erupted from within her. Dark, swirling tendrils of malevolent energy enveloped the Shapestealer, wrapping around her form like a protective cocoon.
[Target identified: Shadow Knight]
[Knowledge threshold sufficient]
[Displaying Status]
Level: 12
Physique: 4
Dexterity: 4
Magic: 4
Unique Skill: Phantom Stride
[Initiating transformation]
Shadows clung to the Shapestealer's arms, solidifying into steel-like gauntlets that encased her limbs. Her chest was next, now covered in an onyx black chestplate. The material felt cool and weighty against her, molding to her form with a perfect, almost intuitive fit.
Then, she felt a peculiar weight descending upon her head as a black helmet, wrought from the same shadowy essence, materialized. Her feet felt weightless, and as she glanced down, she saw that they were now formed entirely out of shadows that shaped themselves into something that vaguely resembled legs.
[Copycat successful]
[Tier 2 form unlocked: Shadow Knight]
[Updating status]
Level: 12
Physique: 4
Dexterity: 4
Magic: 4
Unique Skill: Phantom Stride
With a burst of newfound strength, Maya brought her right fist up in a swift uppercut to the opposing Shadow Knight, knocking it back several feet: its armor clanging against the stone floor. Despite her own form being riddled with holes from previous injuries, Maya felt the surrounding shadows swirl and converge around her, regenerating her damaged body.
But soon, the enemy Shadow Knight vanished into thin air. In response, Maya activated [Phantom Stride]. Her own form began to dissipate, rendering her invisible. In this state, her movements became effortless, each step as light as a feather, barely disturbing the dust on the stone floor. More importantly, now, she could sense the presence of her adversary.
With her enhanced perception, Maya moved between the pillars. As she did so, she raised her armored hands and conjured a blade made entirely of shadows.
Closing in on her enemy, the Shapestealer's instincts honed in on the faintest disturbance in the air. With a burst of speed, she lunged forward, bringing the shadow blade down in a sweeping arc. The enemy Shadow Knight reappeared, barely deflecting the strike with its own weapon. The two combatants then briefly retreated, before engaging each other again.
However, as Maya grew more attuned to her Shadow Knight form, she felt greater and greater ease as the fight continued. Every strike and parry she made felt as if it were guided by an unseen force.
The enemy Shadow Knight began to show signs of wear. Its once fluid movements grew more sluggish as time passed. Its body started to fray at the edges, unable to regenerate quickly enough to keep up with the damage sustained.
In a final maneuver, Maya feinted to the left before swiftly pivoting her sword. It sliced through the enemy knight's defenses, cutting deep into its shadowy core. A crackling sound filled the air as the enemy knight began to unravel, the cohesive darkness that formed its body dissipating like mist.
With the enemy vanquished, the adrenaline that had sustained Maya through the battle began to ebb away. Gradually, the shadows that encased her body receded, leaving her back in her human form.
Exhaustion washed over her. Her legs gave way. Maya slumped to the cold stone ground. She stayed there for a moment, trying to gather her strength. But she had to squint her eyes as a bright light enveloped her vision. Blinking away the brightness, her gaze refocused as she saw a familiar portal appear where the enemy Shadow Knight was slain.
[Congratulations, you may now access the next floor]