Underworld - Book 4 - Chapter 6

With Mana Sight turned up to max, I was easily able into the darkness as we headed into the unknown. Keeping up with the mostly hushed conversation, I considered what I should really call my “Ultimate Form”. As soon as we’d left, I recast it, but Ultimate Form didn’t seem like a good fit. Fire Incubus, Primordial Cat, and perhaps even my Werewolf Form would be more powerful than my ultimate form’s current state. This was more of a form that existed for utility and power leveling. It was also one that would change constantly as my needs changed, and if I found new forms. 

Though I didn’t say any of them out loud, Richard’s self-declaration of his new nickname got me thinking. I could call this form The Modifier, Alter-nator, Evolver, The Human Potluck… They were all—terrible. I settled for something simple that made sense and I wouldn’t be embarrassed to say allowed. I’d call it simply, Multi-shifting.

We began our journey to investigate the goblins at a brisk march that was just shy of a jog. There was no need to ask if everyone would be alright if we sped up the pace. Our group had long ago left behind their normal human limitations. The reason I wasn’t pushing them harder now was that I wanted everyone to come to grips with where we were going. We’d been cooped up in Sanctuary and just had a big battle. Now we were off to get into more trouble, so I’d let the group process that at their own pace. 

I could slow down my perception of time if I wanted more time to think, but the others couldn’t. Jess and Melony worried me the most since they seemed to rely on Kylie, who was the bravest of the trio of friends. It wasn’t that I thought that they would freeze or do anything foolish when the time came. Seeing them scramble for their lives during the minotaur’s charge was enough to know that they could think on their feet. The reason for my worry was that I didn’t know them well. Was there something that they needed from me as a leader in order to perform at their best—or just to not to be miserable?

My conversation with Skyler had left my mind mostly at ease about Perry. He’d warned that this tallest of the Sledge Brothers could be rather laid back, almost lazy, but he was also very competitive. All I had to do was give him a little challenge and he’d be ready to go.

I made a conscious effort not to wave my Hell Hound tail back and forth so that I didn’t accidently whip those behind me. I’d hoped to already have Tail Regrowth mastered, but it proved to be a pesky ability to reach its final level. I decided to leave my tail in place, even though it was costing mana. Getting used to it being there would be helpful in the long term. It was also giving me a minor amount of experience toward further mastering Hell Hound Form.

I stared into the dark cavern and took my time to examine any possible hiding place for the enemy. Even with Sanctuary’s dungeon aura turned on to attract mobs, we went a half hour without seeing a single mob. During that time I struck up a little conversation to get to know the others better. “Do any of you have any tracking ability?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“Tell him.” Jess said, nudging her friend.

Melony was a stocky girl who looked more like a fighter than any of the other girls in Sanctuary, but was also shy—even shier than Lydia just less awkward. When Jess shrugged and was about to answer for her, I shook my head ever so slightly. Taking the hint immediately, Jess backed off to see if we could encourage Melony to open up.

“You have some special duelist perception?” I said, remembering how they had described her skill.

She nodded without looking up at me. It took her a moment, but she answered. “I can see bursts of energy when someone is about to attack. It helps me dodge and counter.”

“That’s incredible.” I replied, seeing Perry’s eyes go wide in my peripherals. It seemed it was news to him as well. “Do you mind testing it for me?”

Her eyes shot up as high as my chest. Her black braid of a ponytail snapped to the side from beneath the back of her open-faced helmet. It seemed she thought of me as a bit of a troublemaker, for she glared at me as if I was about to attack. Well technically, I was. Waiting, I watched her shrug after a few moments, but she didn’t take her eyes off of me.

“What do you see of me now?” I stopped to hold out my arms to the sides.

She scrunched her pale brow and narrowed her eyes. “Not much. There is a little glow coming from you overall, but that might just be you and not my ability.”

“You do glow.” Aeris said from her perch on my helmet.

“Let’s try this…” 

I left the group and cast invisible. “Any glow?” I said.

“Yes, but I could easily walk right by you and not notice,” Melony said. “These caves sometimes have weird light.”

Without telling her, I began pushing mana through my body to have it accumulate in my hand. It happened almost instantly. The moment I felt my mana flow Melony jumped back. I didn’t cast the spell, or let it seep out of my palm, and yet she had seen it immediately.

“There,” she said, pointing to my hand that was invisible to the others.

I uncast Invisible and accepted Aeris’s group invite. “What did it look like?”

“Like a surge of light.”

“You can see spikes of mana…” It wasn’t a question. Through Mana Sight, I could see surges as well, but because the entire realm of mana was lit up for me, surges were harder to pinpoint, especially small ones. I’d just about cast a Lesser Heal spell, which used almost no mana at all, and she’d seen it no problem. Her ability was very limited, but its singular focus made it far more sensitive than my own. I explained to her as much. “Do you see surges from bashers?”

Now that she was talking, her reserve melted away. “Only when they use skills.”

It was as I thought. I’d been able to confirm that even bashers use mana, just in a different way than casters. The skills she spoke of technically used stamina instead of mana, but my current theory was that this excessive stamina came from the mana in their blood. Since human’s didn’t have cores, it had to somehow increase their bodies natural processes.

“Can I see your stats?” Perry said, unable to hold himself back from the conversation any longer.

She did so without pause. I glanced over and got a good look myself.

Melony

Level: 391

Health Points: 25,250 (+252)

Mana Points: 3,000 (+30)

Stamina: 3,535 (+35)

Attributes

Strength: 317 (+3)

Dexterity: 1,063 (+10)

Constitution: 505 (+5)

Intelligence: 300 (+3)

Wisdom: 103 (+1)

Seeing her stats and level gave me an odd mix of guilt and vindication. Guilt because I knew I could have helped the others more—helped her more—and vindication because, if I would have helped, my own stats would be nowhere near what they were now, and people may have died because of it. That was why she was here though, so that I could help bring her along. “Do you use Intelligence for your abilities?”

“Yes,” she replied. “It improves my Duelist’s Vision, which is what allows me to see mana surges. Constitution allows me to have enough stamina for my skills, and Dexterity is what their effectiveness if based on. It’s also what I’m talented in.”

“And Strength?”

“Strength is helpful for when I can’t use skills.”

There was no way around it. She was weak. It would take about 542 levels for her to Ascend if she did under the same circumstances as I did, and since she relied on so many different stats...

As we continued to talk, she laid out her own plan. She would get Constitution to 1,000 next, then Intelligence. Those two were indirectly class stats for her. Then she could pump everything into Dexterity or head toward ascension. It should’ve been no surprise that she already knew how to build her character and was trying to weigh out the advantages and disadvantages of what to do when she reached a level where her progression was no longer obvious. She needed about 314 levels to get to a place where she would have to decide. It was also possible she’d go through some kind of transformation before then. After everything I’d seen, nothing would surprise me.

It was then that something in the distance caught my eye. Holding up my hand, everyone stopped. Something had been watching us from the wall of the cavern.

“It’s gone.” Aeris whispered. “I think the cave takes a turn up there. It could’ve been a scout.”

“I think you’re right.” I glanced over at Melony who was straining her eyes to catch a glimpse. I doubted her ability would have shown her anything because there was no surge of mana or stamina. Still, I planned on keeping an eye on her. “It’s time we go into stealth mode.” As much as I wanted to also discuss Perry and Jess’s abilities, it would have to wait. I cast Invisibility on everyone except myself.

I hadn’t forgotten the danger that the Underworld possessed, but my progression had given me a lot more confidence in my ability to take a hit. I also highly doubted anything less than Waldemar or a monstrous succubi like Lady Contessa would give me much of a problem protecting the others. My Fire Incubus Form made me almost invincible to lesser creatures. In the worst-case scenario I could ramp it up.

I watched Aeris float down from overhead in the ethereal state that came from Invisibility. Just as we’d discussed, I would act as bait. Stepping ahead of the others, I stretched out my wings. I would have thought they’d feel stiff after being pulled in behind me for so long, but it was just the opposite. It was as if they were bound up with excess energy. No better time to practice flying then when you were hoping a tribe of angry goblins were just waiting around the corner.

I considered leaving my partial Minotaur Form in place as I became our clumsy flying target, but it would add weight and I had almost no experience flying with my new wings as it was. My human body retook its shape before flapping my wings for the first time. Multi-shifting with only my wings, tail, and magma fist gave me an additional 2,666 MPM without the Minotaur Form. I checked quickly to see that the new form had already reached level 3 and I wasn’t even trying.

Here we go. I stretched my wings high into the air, readying myself for what was about to happen. My perception of time was at its peak as I pushed my wings toward the ground. Before my mind could process my surprise, I shot toward the ceiling. Looking up, I had to contort my body to squeeze between two stalactites that were reaching out toward me like imposing spears. Bracing with my hands and feet, I managed the collision well.

That didn’t go as expected. As I fell back toward the ground, I spread out my wings and caught myself like a glider. I tipped awkwardly in the air from side to side as I tried to gain stability. Before returning to the ground, I flapped my wings—this time with as little effort as possible. It raised me up in the air about a foot before I was falling again and had to flap again. I cast Skeleton Titan’s Defense. So much bone added weight, though not as much as Minotaur Form, but I was now convinced that I needed the armor to help keep myself from accidently finding myself impaled.

It took me three to four minutes before I found a comfortable enough rhythm where I didn’t have to give the simple practice of beating my wings all of my attention. Aeris was there the entire time giving me instructions from behind. She was trying to use hushed tones, but my wings moved so much air that they were like being next to a man-sized ceiling fan. Besides, if the thing we’d seen was really a goblin scout, they already knew there was more than just me. The plan wouldn’t fool them for long. It should force any ambushes to focus on me though.

“Better,” Aeris said. “Don’t use your wing’s full range of motion. Use little flaps. Good.”

I heard snickering from the ladies behind me. Hopefully trying this out in front of them didn’t earn me the new nickname, Little Flaps. I hadn’t said as much to Richard, but it was always the names that other people gave you that were the ones that really seemed to stick.

It was another ten minutes before I dared to start heading forward. When I did, the little adjustments I made fit in well with the already established beating of my wings. Finally, we were on our way. Come out little goblins. Little Flaps wants to play!