[Name] Zoe Sable
[Level] Lv. 1/Lv. 45
[Rank] Low-tier Monster
[Experience] 0/50
[Race] Dual Shadow
[Strength] 15
[Agility] 20
[Constitution] 8
[Intelligence] 8
[Mana] 500/500
[Basic Skills] Canon of Withered Life Lv. 3 (B-grade) (1999/2000), Dragon Body Fusion Lv. 2 (B-grade) (24/500), Sable-style Swordsmanship Lv. 3 (E-grade) (251/2000), Common Forging Lv. 3 (E-grade) (403/2000)
[Skills] F-grade: Spray Lv. 5, Physical Resistance Lv. 2 (0/500), Elemental Resistance Lv. 2 (0/500), Shadow Blade Lv. 1 (0/100)
E-grade: Corrode Lv. 5, Acid Lv. 5, Precision Lv. 5, Stealth Lv. 1 (0/100)
D-grade: Devour Lv. 5, Digest Lv. 5, Parallel Mind Lv. 1 (0/100), Shadow Pool Lv. 1 (0/100)
C-grade: High-speed Regeneration Lv. 5, Shadow Clone Lv. 1 (0/100), Shadow Transformation Lv. 1 (0/100)
B-grade: Dragon Flame Lv. 2 (152/500)
[Talent Skills] Infinite Reincarnation (SSS-grade), Reincarnation Space (S-grade), Plunder (B-grade), Wall Smasher (C-grade), Unearther (C-grade), Melee Genius (D-grade), Lesser Appraisal Eye (D-grade)
[Description] A bizarre monster that lives in shadow regions. Its body is like a shadow, and it can use its shadow clones to transform into various creatures to lure prey. Extremely agile; during hunts, it often decides the outcome with a single strike.
In a dark tree hollow in a pitch-black swamp, a black, nearly tangible shadow burst out from a corpse that had been rotting for an unknown period.
Before death, a Dual Shadow splits into several clones and parasitizes the corpses of powerful monsters.
The clones absorb nutrients from the corpses to grow, eventually becoming new Dual Shadows.
This is the reproductive method of the Dual Shadows.
However, because of the uncertainty of this reproductive method, and the fact that a Dual Shadow only reproduces right before its death, their numbers are incredibly sparse, making them extremely rare monsters.
Moreover, Dual Shadows possess high intelligence and will transform into other creatures to deceive their prey.
Consequently, throughout the entire magical world, rumors of these bizarre monsters' activities only occasionally surface in the Death Swamp.
“Is this my new body? This shadow power!”
Zoe felt his new body and the fresh vitality surging within it.
Typically, the lifespan of a Dual Shadow was around eighty years.
However, the massive vitality provided by Zoe's High-speed Regeneration Lv. 5 granted this body a whole hundred-year lifespan correction.
In other words, Zoe now had a total lifespan of 180 years.
Having so much lifespan actually made Zoe feel quite uneasy. He quickly activated his Withered State, burning one year of his lifespan to enter the talent-boosted state, before he finally felt at ease.
Since Dual Shadows possessed a skill called Shadow Transformation, they could alter their pitch-black, shadow-like bodies into various forms.
Zoe immediately transformed into a pitch-black slime, and his body suddenly felt much more familiar and natural.
As for transforming into more complex shapes, his Lv. 1 [Shadow Transformation] was still incapable of such precise control.
Next, Zoe began testing the various skills of the Dual Shadow.
First was Shadow Clone.
This was the strongest skill of the Dual Shadow, and the very reason why they were called “Dual” in the first place.
As [Shadow Clone] was activated, Zoe could feel the mana within his body rapidly draining away.
However, he could control the total amount being drained; it was not an uncontrollable, forced depletion.
He tried consuming 100 mana to condense a clone.
A pitch-black clone that looked identical to Zoe appeared in the gloomy tree hollow.
“Is this my clone?”
Zoe experienced this wonderful sensation.
It felt as though his body had suddenly split into two, giving him two distinct perspectives that did not conflict with each other, allowing him to think simultaneously.
This was likely the effect of the [Parallel Mind] skill.
[Parallel Mind] allowed Zoe to think about and handle two different things at once.
By pairing this skill with [Shadow Clone]...
Zoe's eyes lit up. Didn't this mean he could achieve double the training, double the learning!
If the skill level continued to increase, he might even be able to achieve triple or quadruple speed.
However, the clone lacked the ability to absorb and refine mana. The clone Zoe formed using 100 mana only possessed a total pool of 100 mana.
Once that mana was exhausted, the clone would dissipate.
The clone also had a certain amount of “health,” but it wasn't as durable as his main body. If it sustained damage beyond its threshold, it would also dissipate.
But overall, it was still incredibly powerful.
“The Dual Shadow is certainly powerful. I like it.”
Zoe made up his mind that no matter what, he had to take the [Shadow Clone] and [Parallel Mind] skills with him in the end.
Having successfully executed a massive harvest and departure in his previous life, Zoe was absolutely determined.
Next were his other skills.
[Shadow Blade (F-grade)] granted Zoe's body a sharpness property.
Any spikes or blades condensed from his body using [Shadow Transformation (C-grade)] would become even sharper.
[Stealth (E-grade)] made his body much harder to detect, serving as a powerful skill for sneaking around.
[Shadow Pool (D-grade)] was a skill Zoe had seen before. The Shadow Wolf King in his previous life possessed this skill, which could transform its shadow into a pool-like space.
This pool could accommodate and store shadows, while also serving as a storage space.
They were all highly potent skills, much to Zoe's satisfaction.
Simply looking at them sparked constant inspiration in Zoe's mind on how to combine these new skills with his existing ones.
[Shadow Pool] could be combined with [Devour] and [Digest]. He could store a vast amount of food inside the Shadow Pool, quickly digesting it during combat to replenish his mana and boost his endurance.
[Shadow Transformation], [Shadow Blade], and [High-speed Regeneration] could be combined to generate and spray a massive barrage of shadow needles for attacks.
He could even combine skills further to unearth their hidden potential.
“Is this the effect of the [Unearther] talent?”
Zoe felt the enhancement the talent brought to his body and categorized his own capability levels.
In his previous life, his learning talent had probably been at the early stage of a genius. When burning his lifespan to enter the Withered State and triggering the Diligence Compensates for Lack of Talent talent, he was roughly at the great perfection of the early-stage genius.
In this life, his comprehensive learning talent was already at the great perfection of the mid-stage genius.
His close-combat talent was at the great perfection of the late-stage genius, faintly touching the realm of an early-stage monstrous genius.
Zoe then reclaimed the clone back into his body, restoring his mana by 100 points.
Startled, Zoe realized yet another application for his clone.
His current maximum mana was 500. If he condensed a clone containing 500 mana...
at a critical moment, reabsorbing the clone would instantly replenish his mana.
“The clone can also use all of the main body's skills.”
“If the clone can use [Devour] and [Digest] to restore mana...”
Once his clone was sent out, it could simply digest food to replenish its own mana whenever it ran low.
Theoretically, it could exist and operate independently forever.
“Shadow Clone, let me see just where your limits lie in this life.”
Zoe activated [Shadow Pool] and dragged the rotting corpse in the tree hollow inside.
The corpse's mana density was quite decent, even if its appearance left much to be desired.
But since he lacked a sense of taste anyway, he could just stuff it directly into his Shadow Pool to digest it. Who cared about presentation? It was all just mana in the end.
The next step was to rapidly restore his level and reclaim his status as a Mid-tier Monster.
In this life, Zoe also had the [Plunder (B-grade)] talent. Since he received double the experience from killing monsters, he could level up much faster.
After double-checking the tree hollow to ensure he hadn't missed anything, Zoe crawled out.
Greeting his eyes was no longer the familiar Great Hera Forest of his previous life.
Instead, it was a pitch-black forest swamp.
A gloomy mist blanketed the air, and twisted tree trunks clawed at the sky like monsters inside the hazy forest.
Not only that, but Zoe also detected corrosive gas within the mist.
This corrosive gas continuously seeped from the marshy ground, merging with the forest's mist.
While the concentration had not yet reached a level where it could be ignited, in such an environment, Zoe could gather corrosive gases much faster.
The Great Hera Forest definitely possessed no such swamp.
This place was likely the legendary Death Swamp, situated in the southwestern region of the Hera Plains.
Rate on N.U.
