Urgh. I'm so stiff.Yawning, I stretched my wings and rose shakily onto my talons. The nest I'd been resting in—crude, compact, and woven from twigs—sat nestled in the upper branches of a tree overlooking the goblin camp. Morning light filtered through the leaves in shafts of hazy gold, but the forest was still drowsy. Below, the camp was already stirring, but Rimuru seemed to still be asleep.
I gave my wings another stretch, fluffed my feathers, and leapt from the edge of the nest. The wind caught beneath me like an old friend, and I glided down in smooth arcs toward the village below.
Direwolves padded to and fro, their fur bristling with dew. Hobgoblins bustled around them—some hauling dead deer across their shoulders, others lugging water barrels or playfully chasing each other through the dirt paths. It was a lively, almost domestic chaos.
As I weaved my way through the air, a voice caught my attention.
"Sir Valravn. You're awake?"
It came from a massive crow gliding toward the ground. The thing was easily the size of a large dog, its entire form wreathed in an aura of shadow. Flecks of static crackled around its feathers, the darkness peeling away like mist. Within seconds, the bird shimmered—and shifted.
Feathers retracted. Wings folded inward. Limbs stretched. Standing in its place was a hobgoblin, tall and lean, with ash-grey skin and stormy eyes.
"Who are you?" I asked, landing a short distance away.
The hobgoblin frowned slightly, hurt flickering across his face. "It's me—Wū Léi. Are you... confused by my appearance?" He rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. "Ah, right. That makes sense. Thanks to you, me and my siblings evolved—same as you. But our evolution granted us a special skill: Mimic. After observing the goblins for a while, we figured out how to transform into them."
He gave me an awkward little smile, clearly proud but unsure if he should be.
How the hell did those damned crows get a humanoid form before me?
"Yeah, okay. Is Rimuru up yet?"
Wū Léi shook his head. "No. He's still asleep."
"Well, tell him I'll be out for a while. If he needs me, he can ask later."
Wū Léi nodded respectfully. I took to the air again, circling back to the tree with my nest. I guess it's my nest now. Weird. I'm still not used to thinking like that.
Hey, Cognitus, do I have enough magicules to use Athanatos?[Affirmative.]
I activated Athanatos, and immediately felt a pull—like a siphon deep in my chest. Magicules surged out of me, twisting and solidifying into an exact replica of myself. The copy blinked once, silent and still, but tethered to me through something deeper than flesh. A spiritual thread. A mirror of will.
I felt it: a strange, transcendent connection—ethereal, surreal, like sharing a dream with myself.
Hey Cognitus, humor me for a minute. Do you think you could take control of the clone?[Affirmative. Your body double is connected to you via a spiritual link. This means any skills you possess, the clone inherits. If granted permission, I can take direct control of the duplicate.]
Good. But can you still operate normally? Like, analyze data and all that?[Affirmative. I can simultaneously process information while inhabiting the clone.]
Fair. Take over the clone and help out in the camp however you can.I can't keep tagging along with Rimuru like some sidekick. If I want to live this new life to the fullest, I have to get stronger.
Yes. Definitely.