[Devour in progress…]

  [Devour Complete]

  You absorbed 21% of the Crimson Fang Executioners' memories.

  You have unlocked the [Crimson Fang Executioner] form.

  The [Crimson Fang Executioner] form is considered an inferior species to the already assimilated [Underworld Orc] form. Do you wish to merge the two?

  Xen licked his lips. For some reason, since becoming a Hexreaver slime, eating a corpse that was afflicted with corruption was all the more tasty.

  "Sure, merge them," Xen replied. He saw no need to keep around an inferior form.

  The [Underworld Orc] and [Crimson Fang Executioner] forms have been successfully merged.

  You acquired the following skills:

  [Bloodmark Hunter (B)]

  Transferring experience from the [Crimson Fang Executioner] form:

  [Underworld Orc] has leveled up: 3 -> 4.

  What is Bloodmark Hunter? Xen wondered. The name of the skill intrigued him.

  [Bloodmark Hunter (B)]

  Upon activating the skill, briefly outline a visible opponent's most significant weak point in red. Hitting the weak point from range will be rewarded with increased armor penetration and the chance to inflict a bleed effect.

  "Oh..." Xen muttered, "So that's why the Executioner aimed at my head and used the crossbow. My slime body hidden in my skull must have been outlined in red, and if not for the mask, I would have died."

  It was somewhat humbling to be reminded of his own mortality. Due to the stat advantages and vast array of skills granted to him by his Shapeshifter class, he had gotten overconfident.

  I bet any A-rank Hunter could kill me in a second. I have to be more careful moving forward.

  He glanced to the side as Vesper groaned. The Shadowblade had valiantly tried to one-shot the Executioner, only to be countered and sent flying. Nothing appeared broken, but he seemed exhausted.

  "Still need a minute?"

  "Yeah... just give me a second, and I'll be up. This hole in the wall is surprisingly comfortable," Vesper joked and smiled weakly.

  Xen glanced over his shoulder and saw Randy helping Valoria to her feet.

  It seemed they had all survived.

  "That beast struck you pretty good, right?"

  "Mhm?" Xen glanced back at Vesper. "Yeah, enough to knock me off my feet and stun me. I think my neck was broken as my head was almost torn off."

  No doubt due to the extra armor penetration granted by the Bloodmark Hunter skill, which only failed because his cursed mask was basically indestructible.

  "How did you get back up so fast?" Vesper asked.

  "I have a skill called Earthen Regeneration, which lets my body heal and is greatly increased when I remain still and am in contact with the ground. It's what snapped my neck back into place and removed the stun debuff."

  Vesper whistled, and then instantly winced as he regretted it. "I see," he said, and tried to sit up. "I could certainly use that skill right now."

  "Do human classes have many healing spells?"

  "Some do, though they are limited to mage-type classes, and I suppose a few tank classes have self-healing skills like yours. Why?"

  "I might need to hunt one down to get a healing spell," Xen said casually. "Because you lot keep getting injured like this."

  Vesper looked like he was about to say something, but then his expression darkened. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Not here, but on the lower levels, there will be hunting parties, and every one of them will have a healer class of some kind."

  Xen was surprised. "You're suggesting I kill humans?"

  "You're a monster—you have every right to kill humans. Just like how I kill any monsters I want to," Vesper replied and winced as he finally freed himself from the hole. "As you said, morals don't apply to monsters. Now, do I fully endorse you killing my kind? No. But if it gets you a healing spell that will free me of this pain and help me be more useful, then... I could let it slide."

  "That's a surprisingly reasonable outlook," Xen commented and appraised Vesper in a new light.

  Vesper smirked. "I can't lie, you opened my eyes a little with what you said earlier. I never stopped to think about the monsters and what they want. I just treated them like threats to be eliminated—which they are—but still. There are two sides to every story, as they say."

  "What are you two discussing?" Randy asked as he hobbled over with Valoria hanging on his shoulder.

  Xen looked at Randy. "Not much. Vesper was just telling me I should kill—"

  "None of your lovebirds' business," Vesper said, cutting him off.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "Lovebirds?!" Randy stammered. "That's not what this is! I'm just helping her walk."

  Valoria just smiled and said nothing, which only made Randy more flustered.

  While they continued teasing one another, Xen turned his attention back to his status screens. System, bring up my free slots.

  Free Skill Slots (10):

  Slot 1: [Devour (S)]

  Slot 2: [Multilingual (B)]

  Slot 3: [Appraisal (C)]

  Slot 4: [Geomantic Perception (B)]

  Slot 5: [Shapeshift (E)]

  Slot 6: [Radiant Smite (E)]

  Slot 7: [Cataclysm (A)]

  Slot 8: [Orbs of Light (E)]

  Slot 9: [Hellfire Howl (B)]

  Slot 10: [Earthen Regeneration (B)]

  Now that he had so many skills, the ten slots felt a little limiting. He had to actually think and plan which combination to use. Looking down the list, he realized something.

  Wait, system. Do I need Devour, Multilingual, Appraisal, Geomantic Perception, and Shapeshift to be in the free slots? Aren't those skills my slime form already has?

  [Yes, most of those skills you listed are Hexreaver Slime skills, so they are always available for use. However, your Multilingual skill is currently tied to the following forms: Human and Elf. Removal of Multilingual from your Free Skill Slots will result in the inability to speak when possessing the following forms: Hexreaver Slime, Undead Mage, Hellfang, Sand-Drowned Revenant, Underworld Orc, and Vampiric Bat]

  Oh, interesting. Then that should free up a few slots. Can you replace [Devour (S)] in slot one with the new [Bloodmark Hunter (B)] skill?

  He felt a large amount of mana suddenly vacate his body, leaving him feeling drained.

  I forgot how much mana it took to change out the free skills. I think I can safely do one more. The question is, what should I change? I can't put passives in the free skill slots, right?

  [Correct. Passives are unique to each form]

  Bring up my whole status screen. I need to see what I'm working with.

  A sudden massive window consumed his entire vision.

  ??[Name: Xen]

  [Level: 52 (B)]

  [Race: Hexreaver Slime (Rare Variant)]

  [Current Form: Human (Phantom Scout: Level 47)]

  [Class: Shapeshifter (Unique)]

  Hexreaver Slime: Level 52 (C)

  < [Devour (S)] - [Appraisal (C)] - [Geomantic Perception (B)] - [Shapeshift (E)] - [Soul Leech (D)] - [Withering Hex (C)] - [Perish (B)]>

  < [Undeath Resonance] - [Blight Aura] - [Hex Catalyst]>

  Human: Level 47 (C)

  < [Multilingual (B)] - [Buff of the Berserker (C)] - [Corruption Missile (B)] - [Quiet Steps (D)] - [Crescent Rage (B)] - [Indomitable Defense (C)] - [Phantom Strike (D)] - [Vampiric Blade (C)] - [Ghoststep (B)] - [Windveil Agility (C)] - [Threadwalk (C)] >

  < [Sword Proficiency] - [Solo Hunter] >

  Elf: Level: 1 (F)

  < [Multilingual (B)] - [Radiant Smite (E)] - [Orbs of Light (E)] >

  Hellfang: Level: 9 (E)

  < [Hellfire Howl (B)] - [Alpha Presence (C)] - [Infernal Claws (C)] - [Bloodthirst (D)] >

  Undead Mage: Level: 10 (D)

  < [Immunity to Poison (A)] - [Geomantic Perception (B)] - [Corruption Missile (B)] [Necrotic Pulse (D)] >

  < [Corpse Conduit] >

  Sand-Drowned Revenant: Level: 1 (F)

  < [Chains of the Damned (A)] - [Geomantic Perception (B)] >

  Underworld Orc: Level: 4 (F)

  < [Grand Ritual: Reclaim the Fallen (S)] - [Cataclysm (A)] - [Chains of the Damned (A)] - [Earthen Regeneration (B)] - [Earthen Trapmaster (D)] - [Bloodmark Hunter (B)] >

  Vampiric Bat: Level: 12 (D)

  < [Echo Pulse (D)] - [Blood Drain (C)] - [Piercing Fang (D)] >

  < [Winged Flight] - [Nocturnal Vitality] >

  Glancing down his long list of forms and skills, he felt a lot of it was somewhat... redundant. Due to his [Human] form outleveling his others by such a wide margin, the other forms had to provide something unique to make them worth switching to. A great example of this was the [Vampiric Bat] form, as it let him fly, or the [Hellfang] form, because a wolf-like body made carrying people around on his back easier.

  Even at level 1, his Elf form had some use, as he could use it in the future to walk around on the surface with a new identity. But something like Sand-Drowned Revenant was useless besides its ability to swim through sand, and at level 1, he would be too afraid to use it.

  System, will my Shapeshifter class ever be upgraded? he asked, not expecting a positive answer. The Shapeshifter class was already so strong that the idea that it could get better felt unfair.

  [Yes. At level 100 (S-rank), human classes undergo a significant upgrade. Upon reaching this level, your unique [Shapeshifter] class will be upgraded with new capabilities]

  "Wait, what?!" Xen blurted out, startling the three humans who had been talking over him while he stared into space.

  "Did something happen, Gerald?" Randy asked.

  Xen glanced up at Randy. "Did you know human classes undergo a significant upgrade at level 100?"

  Randy tilted his head. "They do?"

  "I don't know. That's what my system just told me."

  Randy exchanged a glance with his friends. "That's... not something I've ever heard about before. But it is known that those in the S tier are considered a step above other Hunters, but I never stopped to think about what that meant exactly."

  "If it's true, I wouldn't be surprised if the government kept it a secret," Vesper said.

  "Why?" Xen asked.

  "Because humans are impulsive creatures who like making bad decisions," Vesper replied, almost sounding tired. "Imagine this: you are a starry-eyed youth who idealizes Hunters for some reason. You awaken as a Hunter and are given a basic class with five suboptimal skills. Think of a typical mage class without a mana-regenerating skill."

  Gerald, the down-on-his-luck mage that Xen had devoured and now used the name of, came to mind. He had been a mage in that exact scenario.

  "While terribly disappointed, after a few depressive months, this youth would get over it and accept their fate of working a corporate 9-5 over fighting monsters to the death in the World Dungeon. Now imagine if this youth knew you could upgrade your class at level 100?"

  Vesper let his words hang as the group processed his point.

  "The idiot would enter the dungeon in hopes of leveling up and one day getting a better class," Valoria said, having unlinked from Randy's back and now resting on a nearby pile of rocks.

  "Bingo," Vesper said and chuckled painfully. "Only a handful of Hunters reach level 100 in the whole world, and it's usually by those blessed with one in a million classes and the perfect skill combination. Oh, and a lot of luck. Dungeons are dangerous places, and even the most talented can die."

  A fact Xen had been reminded of only moments ago.

  "So people get upgraded classes at level 100?" Randy mused, stroking his chin. "That's good to know."

  "Please turn your attention to Exhibit A," Vesper said, gesturing to Randy. "An idiot."

  "Hey!"

  "I know what you're thinking," Vesper said, giving Randy a pointed look. "You were given decent skills, but the basic Archer class. By reaching level 100, you're hoping to get something better."

  "I mean..." Randy sighed. "A guy can dream, can't he? You wouldn't know my struggle, Shadowblade. Even Valoria got a rarer class than I."

  Vesper shrugged. "Sucks to suck. Besides, Archer is pretty good."

  "Certainly hasn't felt like it over the last few days," Randy grumbled.

  Sensing the approach of humans from the encampment's southern entrance, Xen calmly rose to his feet, drawing their attention. "Alright, discussion over. Let's get moving. People are coming."

  The humans exchanged a nervous glance and then gathered their stuff.

  Xen nodded and began walking. He would think about which skill to add to his Free Skill Slot while on the move. Right now, he didn't want to stay in this encampment longer than necessary.

  "Hey! Guy in the suit! Stop!"

  A shout from the approaching humans put a hitch in that plan.

  "People from the Stormbringers guild," Randy cursed. "What do you want to do, Gerald?"

  "Do we have a choice?" Xen sighed. "Let's talk to them."