The air was thick and humid on Floor 5 of the dungeon—far more suffocating than the upper floors. The walls oozed with black moss that shimmered faintly in the dim, pulsating light emitted by bioluminescent fungi. A distant roar echoed through the labyrinth, sending ripples of tension through every lurking beast.
Shadren, now Level 8, crouched silently in the dark, watching. His shadowy form had evolved, darker and more defined, capable of maintaining his shape for longer durations without needing a host. His form flickered like a flame, barely clinging to physical cohesion.
> "I need a new body... something stronger," he muttered under his breath. The last one had broken apart during the Level 9 Lizarok fight two days ago.
Then came the sound—click click click—sharp claws scraping across stone.
Another Lizarok.
Same type he'd fought before, but this one seemed more twitchy, eyes darting as if it sensed him.
Shadren grinned. "Perfect."
He dove into the shadows, racing across the walls like a smear of ink. The Lizarok turned just in time to catch a dark tendril wrapping around its neck. The fight was fast, dirty, and painful. Zai took a gash across the side of his essence—his very soul writhing—but in the end, the beast collapsed, twitching.
+320 EXP
LEVEL UP! (Lv. 9)
New Trait Unlocked: Partial Possession
Shadren blinked as new memories flooded his mind colliding with his human memories. A fragment of his past life: a gamer, a loner, a strategist. He remembered rage-quitting a similar dungeon crawler out of frustration… and now he was inside one.Not only that but now he was a monster experiencing the life of the same dungeon monsters he wanted to defeat and struggling to survive as one.
> "No wonder I'm good at this," he said with a smirk. "Still... what's the tutorial completion reward? PTSD?"
His stomach rumbled. "Ugh, why did this body retain human instincts? Shadow monster or not, I miss curry."
Just then, a soft groan echoed down the corridor.
He turned, eyes narrowing. Another Lizarok. This one was different—its scales glowed faintly red. It was a mutated variant.
Level 12.
"...Crap."
He barely had time to think before it pounced, a blur of claws and teeth. He dodged, darted behind, whipped his tendrils around its leg—but the beast spun and flung him against a wall.
A chunk of his essence tore off.
"Damn it, damn it—!"
Then, comedy in chaos. The beast skidded on its own drool, ramming its head into a wall. He seized the chance, launching Shadow Bind directly into its eye socket.
> "Peekaboo, mother—!"
The monster howled and flailed, slamming into pillars, collapsing parts of the ceiling. He rode the chaos, grappling to the beast's back like a pissed-off parasite.
Eventually, it collapsed.
Dead.
+1020 EXP
LEVEL UP! (Lv. 10)
Shadow Morph - Enhanced now can heal the possed bodies injuries to a certain extent making it for suitable for the shadow monster
Shadren gasped for breath, his essence barely holding together. He stumbled through a crack in the dungeon wall and collapsed onto soft moss.
Then, it hit him—fan service.
While healing his essence, he accidentally glanced at his reflection in a puddle.
He was still bonded partially to the Lizarok's muscle layer, and it had morphed into something... weirdly jacked. A ripped, half-shadow, half-monster torso, with what could only be described as... abs?
> "Why do I look like a shirtless anime villain from a beach episode?"
"Wait... I still have the loincloth from the last possession. And it's... shorter now?!"
He frantically tried to morph it longer.
> "This is not what I meant by fan service! Damn pervy dungeon system!"
---
Meanwhile, on Floor 1…
The girls were seated around a campfire. The scent of grilled dungeon hare filled the air.
A kind healer, hood drawn low, adjusted her oversized robe to cover the faint swell of her generous chest. "He's reckless," she whispered. "Even as a child, Zai always ran into danger without thinking."
The mature swordswoman stirred the pot gently. "He'll come back. He always does." Her eyes softened. "And I'll smack him when he does."
A flat-chested tomboy archer lay back with her hands behind her head, balancing an apple on her nose. "I miss racing him. Bet I'd beat him now."
And finally, the robe-wearing mage, sitting silently on a rock, eyes glowing faintly. "I still see it. That flicker of his aura. He's alive. And stronger."
None of them knew that Zai had turned into a shadow monster. Their minds were on Zai, their Zai.
---
Back on Floor 5…
Zai lay in the moss, groaning. His whole body ached—but his powers had evolved.
Then… silence.
And then—
A presence.
From the shadows emerged a hooded man, his boots soaked in monster blood. He had just slain a Level 12 Pyrofang, a variant far stronger than Zai's last kill. His aura was calm. His hands, calloused.
He looked directly at Zai.
No words. No movement. Just... awareness.
Zai stared back.
> "Who... the hell are you?"
Zai though in his mind and the man also maybe figured out what the monster might be thinking said that he's a solo raider who's intrigued by the shadren surviving for so long and hopes to facing it once it grows strong enought and than starts to leave.
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To Be Continued.
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