The silence in the narrow tunnel was thick with tension. Zog's red-scaled face was a mask of conflicted loyalty and burgeoning pragmatism. Ray's words hung in the air between them: a plan that sounded less like a scouting report and more like a coup.
"Trust me, this will work," Ray said, his kobold voice a low, convincing rasp. "Send them back. Have them report exactly what we found. The numbers, the armaments. Let Chief Gugu hear the truth from your own scouts."
Zog's slitted yellow eyes narrowed, weighing the strange kobold before him. This one, who moved with an unnatural silence and killed with a veteran's precision, was an anomaly. But his logic was sound. A direct assault was suicide. With a sharp, guttural command in the kobold tongue, Zog sent the other three scouts scrambling back through the tunnel towards their home cavern, carrying the grim intelligence of thirty-three enemy warriors.
As Zog delivered his orders, Ray melted back into the shadows where the two slain troglodytes lay. He placed a hand on the cooler, scaly flesh of the first one. "Assimilate."
The now-familiar sensation of absorption flowed through him. The body dissolved into streams of shimmering particles, its physical and metaphysical essence unraveling and flowing into his void. The system chimed softly in his mind, cataloging the new pattern. He repeated the process with the second troglodyte, his void storage accepting the mass effortlessly. He analyzed the second one out of habit, the data confirming what he already knew.
Troglodyte
Level: 8
HP: 0/95
Strength: 28
Constitution: 28
Dexterity: 14
Wisdom: 17
Intelligence: 13
Charisma: 13
Abilities: Darkvision
Skills: Slash
Zog returned, his expression grim. "They are gone. This plan of yours… it had better work." The unspoken threat lingered: if it didn't, Gugu would have both their heads.
"It will," Ray assured him, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "Stay here, keep watch. I'll be back." Before Zog could protest, Ray had slipped away, his form blending into the oppressive darkness of the troglodyte tunnels, his Sneak skill making him a ghost.
He found a suitable hiding spot behind a massive, weathered stalagmite near the center of the troglodyte village. The grunting, guttural language of the reptilian humanoids was a constant, ugly symphony. He needed a catalyst, a spark to ignite the powder keg of their brutish society.
"Creation," he whispered, focusing his will. A pool of liquid, shimmering energy coalesced on the cavern floor before him. It swirled and solidified, particles of purified iron from his void weaving together into a new form. In moments, where there had been nothing, lay a longsword. But this was no crude, troglodyte-made weapon. This blade was a masterpiece of the smith's art, its edge so sharp it seemed to cut the very air, its surface gleaming with a sinister, captivating light in the glow of the cavern's fungi.
"This sword is perfect," Ray thought with a satisfied smirk. "It looks nothing like the junk I assimilated. It's bait worthy of a king... or a chieftain."
Scooping up the magnificent blade, he willed his body to change. His kobold frame expanded, scales shifting in color and texture, his snout elongating. In seconds, he stood in the form of the troglodyte he had just assimilated. He hefted the sword, feeling its perfect balance, and strode with purpose into the heart of the village.
As he moved, his eyes scanned the crude huts and milling warriors until they landed on the centerpiece of the settlement: a ruined shrine made of black, pitted stone. And next to it, half-collapsed against the shrine, was something that made his breath catch. It wasn't a statue. It was a construct, humanoid in shape but built from sleek, metallic stone, its surface scarred but still radiating immense power. It was inert, but its presence was a tangible weight in the air.
Analyze, he commanded.
The data that flooded his vision was staggering.
Shield Guardian
Level: 10
HP: 277/1100 (Dormant/Injured)
Strength: 54
Constitution: 54
Dexterity: 17
Wisdom: 19
Intelligence: 16
Charisma: 12
Abilities:
· Immunities: Poison, Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed.
· Senses: Blindsight, Darkvision.
· Regeneration: 10 HP per minute.
· Spell Storing: A bound caster can store one spell within the guardian. The guardian can be commanded to cast it.
· Bound: Linked by a control amulet. Allows telepathic communication and summoning if within 100 feet. Any damage taken by the amulet's wearer is transferred to the guardian.
Skills:
· Fists (Bludgeoning): Damage - Strength + 10 per level.
· Shield: Arms transform into massive shields. Defensive Strength - (Str + Con + Dex) x 2.
"Damn," Ray breathed, the troglodyte form masking his awe. This thing was a one-man army, a perfect guardian. "Athena, if I assimilate the shield guardian, will I be able to create it?"
"Yes, you can, Ray," her voice responded instantly in his mind. "But to assume full control, you must also assimilate its control amulet."
The amulet. His eyes darted around the shrine. Then he saw it—a skeletal leg, still clad in scraps of rotted leather, protruding from the loose earth behind the ruined structure. His heart hammered against his ribs. He dropped to his knees, ignoring the curious glances of a nearby troglodyte, and began to dig. His powerful, clawed hands tore through the soil, quickly uncovering a full skeleton. And there, resting on its crumbling sternum, was a simple but intricately crafted bronze amulet, pulsing with a faint, magical hum.
"What luck," he whispered, snatching the amulet and stuffing it into a pouch on his borrowed belt. He hurried back to the dormant guardian. The other troglodytes were beginning to take more notice of him, their dull eyes fixed on the gleaming sword he carried. He had to move fast.
Placing a hand on the cool, metallic stone of the guardian's leg, he willed his ultimate power to activate. "Assimilate!"
The process began, a visible shimmer passing over the massive form. 10%... 20%... The troglodytes were getting closer, their guttural questions turning into suspicious growls. 40%... 60%... One of them, larger than the others, pointed a clawed finger and barked a challenge. 80%... 100%! Assimilation Complete.
Just as the last of the guardian flowed into his void, Ray acted. With a theatrical grunt, he slammed the beautiful longsword point-first into a crack in the ancient shrine, leaving it standing upright, gleaming like a beacon.
"A shiny metal sword!" he roared in the troglodyte tongue, his voice echoing through the cavern.
The effect was instantaneous. All eyes locked onto the blade. The magnificent weapon, so out of place in their squalid village, captivated their simple, greedy minds. The large troglodyte who had challenged him roared, "That's my sword!" and charged. Another, standing nearby, intercepted him with a furious bellow, and just like that, the chaos erupted.
It was a battle royal, a free-for-all of pure, unadulterated avarice. As more troglodytes poured from their huts, drawn by the commotion, they saw the sword and their fighting brethren, and without hesitation, they joined the fray, all wanting the spectacular prize for themselves.
Ray backed away from the swirling melee, a silent spectator to the carnage he had engineered. He slipped behind a nearby hut, out of sight. First, he assimilated the control amulet, feeling its magical blueprint join the guardian's in his void. Then, he focused. "Creation."
The air hummed with power. From nothing, the control amulet reappeared in his hand, a perfect duplicate. Then, on the ground before him, the Shield Guardian materialized. It was a slower process than creating a sword, taking nearly a full minute as the massive form assembled itself from shimmering particles of energy and matter. When it was done, the guardian stood at its full, imposing height, its "eyes" glowing with a soft, blue light.
"Ray, do you wish to bond the Shield Guardian?" Athena asked.
"Yes, Athena. Bind it to me."
A brilliant white light erupted from the amulet, lancing out to touch Ray's chest before arcing to the guardian. A wave of warmth and connection flooded through him. When the light faded, he could feel the construct's presence in his mind, a silent, steadfast sentinel.
So this is telepathy? Can you hear me? Ray thought, directing the question inward.
Yes, Master, a deep, resonant, yet entirely synthetic voice responded in his mind.
What is your name?
I have no name.
No name? That won't do. Ray looked at the powerful form, a prime example of its kind. From this day forward, your name is Prime.
Thank you, Master, Prime responded.
No, don't call me Master. You can call me Thorzen.
Acknowledged. Thorzen.
Your first duty is to protect me.
It is my purpose, Thorzen.
Then let's get to work. We have a nest to clean. Ray willed his arms to change, the flesh and bone shifting, hardening, and elongating into two perfect, razor-sharp longswords. Follow me.
Ray stepped out from behind the hut, Prime moving with a heavy, ground-shaking tread behind him. The scene at the shrine was one of utter carnage. Nearly three-quarters of the troglodytes were dead or dying, their blood staining the stone floor. The remaining dozen, all wounded and enraged, were still grappling over the sword.
They didn't stand a chance.
Ray became a whirlwind of death, his bladed arms moving with the precision and speed granted by his 100 Dexterity. He decapitated one, disemboweled another, and severed the leg of a third in the space of a single breath. Prime was a force of nature. He didn't fight; he dismantled. His stone fists moved with piston-like force, crushing skulls, shattering ribs, and pulverizing limbs. When a troglodyte managed to land a blow with its club, the weapon splintered against Prime's impervious skin, the sound a dull thwack that was utterly ineffective.
It wasn't a battle; it was a massacre. Within two minutes, the last troglodyte lay dead, its head a ruined mess under Prime's fist.
Prime, sweep through the base. Ensure there are no survivors. Gather all the bodies and any usable weapons or armor and bring them here, to the shrine, Ray commanded telepathically.
As you command, Thorzen, Prime responded, turning and stomping off to begin his grim task with machinelike efficiency.
Ray, meanwhile, transformed back into his kobold disguise and headed back to the tunnel. "Zog!" he called out, his voice cutting through the silence that had replaced the sounds of battle. "It is done."
Zog emerged from his hiding spot, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and disbelief. "You... you killed them all?"
"Hmm. We are just mopping up the last of it," Ray said casually.
"We?" Zog asked, his voice trembling.
Ray offered a kobold approximation of a smile. "Yes. Prime and I."
"Prime?"
"You will meet him shortly." Ray focused internally. Prime, are you finished?
The task is complete, Thorzen. Thirty-three hostiles neutralized. All remains are consolidated at the designated location.
A series of glorious chimes echoed in Ray's mind, and a scroll of text unfurled before his eyes.
System Notification: Quest Completed - Kill All Troglodytes.
Rewards: 4500 XP, 30 Attribute Points, 150 Skill Points, 1500 Gold Coins.
Congratulations! You are now Level 8!
Congratulations! You are now Level 9!
You have 8 Attribute Points to distribute.
You have 8 Skill Points to distribute.
System Notification: Feat of Strength Unlocked - Slay 50 Humanoids.
Reward: 5000 XP, 20 Attribute Points, 50 Skill Points.
Congratulations! You are now Level 10!
You have 10 Attribute Points to distribute.
You have 10 Skill Points to distribute.
The rush of power was more intense than anything he had ever felt. Three levels in as many minutes. Energy flooded his system, mending minor cuts and bruises and expanding his reserves of health and mana. He was Level 10. A milestone.
He didn't hesitate. Following his core principle, he allocated his new Attribute Points evenly, boosting all six of his stats. Then, he turned to his Skill Points. He had gained a total of 168 from the level-ups and the quest (8 + 10 + 150). His priority was clear.
"Athena, level Assimilation."
"Leveling Assimilation from Level 5 to Level 6 requires 160 Skill Points. Confirm?"
"Confirm." The expansion of his internal void was profound this time. He could feel the space within him grow exponentially, a bottomless well waiting to be filled. Assimilation is now Level 6. Your maximum mass capacity is now 64,000 pounds, plus your innate 200-pound growth, for a total of 64,200 pounds.
He was now a walking warehouse, capable of absorbing over thirty-two tons of matter. He saved the remaining 8 Skill Points for now. The troglodyte bodies represented a massive amount of biomass and potential. It was time to collect his due.
He led a stunned Zog into the central cavern. The kobold scout froze, his jaw hanging open at the scene of devastation and the towering, silent form of Prime standing guard over a mountain of corpses.
"By the Great Worm..." Zog whispered, staring at Prime with outright terror.
"Zog," Ray said, his voice losing its kobold disguise and taking on the deeper, more commanding tone of Thorzen. "The tribe that threatened yours is no more. Your people are safe. But a new power has risen in these caverns. Tell Chief Gugu that Thorzen offers an alliance. But know this—the alternative to friendship is extinction."
As he spoke, he walked towards the pile of troglodyte bodies. He placed a hand on the grisly mound, his expression one of calm determination.
"Now, if you'll excuse me," Ray "Thorzen" Silver said. "I have an inheritance to collect."
Assimilate.
Stats Update for Chapter 7 Conclusion:
Name: Ray "Thorzen" Silver
Age: 16
Level: 10
HP: 1000/1000
MP: 275/275
Race: Changeling (Unique)
Class: None
Job: None Proficiency: 0/200
XP: 9,615 / 64,000
Gold: 5,300
Skill Points: 8
Attribute Points: 0
Attributes:
· Strength: 125
· Constitution: 125
· Dexterity: 125
· Intelligence: 125
· Wisdom: 125
· Charisma: 125
Abilities:
· Assimilation: Level 6 (64,400lbs capacity)
New Transformation:
· Shield Guardian (Prime)