Ray "Thorzen" Silver awoke with the familiar, energizing sensation of power humming within his veins. The rough-hewn ceiling of the former chief's hut came into focus, a stark reminder of the tribe he had inherited and the responsibility he had claimed. He stretched, his muscles—honed to a perfect balance of 125 in every attribute—rippling with latent energy. Today was the day. The cramped, dark caverns would be a memory. The sun, the lake, the beginnings of his fortress awaited.
"Finally, time to move my clan," he said to the empty hut, his voice firm with purpose.
He rose and stepped outside, the dim glow of the cavern's fungi a poor substitute for true daylight. He reached out with his mind, a new and instinctual action. Prime, come to me.
The response was immediate, a deep, resonant presence in his consciousness. Yes, Thorzen.
A few minutes later, the ground trembled slightly with the approach of his Shield Guardian. Prime emerged from the shadows, his metallic stone form a bastion of silent strength, his blue optic sensors glowing softly. The kobolds who were already stirring gave him a wide, respectful berth.
How was your patrol last night? Ray asked telepathically, the communication feeling as natural as breathing.
No incidents occurred last night, Thorzen, Prime reported. The clan rested without disturbance.
"Great," Ray said aloud, a smile touching his lips. "Let's gather the rest of the clan."
As he and Prime moved towards the center of the kobold settlement, Zek and Zel arrived at a run, their scaled faces eager. They both bowed deeply. "Chief, we are ready," Zek announced, his voice steady.
"Good. Gather everyone. It's time," Ray commanded.
The two kobolds scurried off, their voices rising in sharp, guttural calls that echoed through the cavern. "The chief commands! To the center! We depart!"
The kobolds emerged from their huts and the longhouse, a murmuring river of scales and hopeful eyes. The five young troglodytes—Wak, Web, Wag, Waj, and Wen—clustered together, looking small and uncertain. Ray's heart went out to them. They were the most vulnerable, the inheritors of a conflict not their own.
Prime, guard the kids, Ray instructed. Keep them safe and calm.
Yes, Thorzen, the guardian affirmed, moving to stand near the troglodyte children. His immense presence was intimidating, but he lowered himself slightly, his optic sensors dimming to a less threatening glow. The children, after a moment of terrified hesitation, seemed to understand he was a protector, not a threat.
Satisfied, Ray turned to head back to the chief's hut for one final check. He was only a few steps away when a sound froze him in his tracks. It was a metallic scraping, heavy and deliberate, coming from one of the darker tunnels that fed into the main cavern. It was the sound of something large dragging a great weight.
A primal alarm shot through him. Prime! To me! We have company!
On my way, Thorzen!
Ray spun around, his body already tensing for a fight. From the mouth of the tunnel, a massive figure emerged. It was a bull-like humanoid, towering over eight feet tall, with coarse, dark fur and a head dominated by sharp, wicked horns. Its eyes burned with a dim red intelligence, and in one hand, it dragged a giant, cruel-looking great axe, the steel head scraping grooves in the stone floor.
"Damn, what is that thing!?" Ray hissed.
He didn't need to guess for long. His enhanced mind, trained by countless encounters, instantly focused. Analyze!
A screen materialized, the data stark and intimidating.
Minotaur
Level: 20
HP: 266/266
MP: 50/50
Class: Warrior
Strength: 94
Constitution: 73
Dexterity: 30
Wisdom: 73
Intelligence: 25
Charisma: 28
Attack Power: 122
Defense: 103
Abilities:
· Darkvision
· Labyrinthine Recall: Can perfectly recall any path it has traveled.
Skills:
· Charge: Charges a target with a chance to stun. Triggers a Gore attack.
· Gore: 20 damage.
"Level twenty," Ray breathed, a cold knot forming in his stomach. This thing was a walking engine of destruction, ten levels his senior. But Prime was only level 10. The math was terrifying.
The Minotaur's burning eyes scanned the cavern, dismissing the cowering kobolds before locking onto the most significant threat: Prime. It let out a deafening, challenging roar that shook dust from the ceiling, the sound a physical force in the enclosed space.
Prime responded not with a sound, but with action. He stomped forward, interposing himself between the beast and the clan.
The Minotaur lowered its head, dug a hoof into the ground, and charged. It was a terrifying sight, a battering ram of muscle and fury covering the distance with shocking speed.
Ray watched, his own combat spells flickering at his fingertips. But he held back. He needed to see Prime in a real fight.
As they closed to within ten feet, Prime's right arm underwent a rapid transformation. The stone and metal flowed and expanded, morphing into a massive, tower-like shield that covered most of his front. Simultaneously, the Minotaur, with a grunt of effort, raised the giant great axe one-handed and brought it down in a devastating overhead chop.
BAM!!
The impact was colossal. Sparks fountained where the axe-edge met the magically-hardened shield. The sound was a deafening clang of metal on stone that made every kobold flinch and cover their ears. Prime was driven back a single step, his feet grinding into the cavern floor. The Minotaur, however, stumbled back a full step, its arm visibly numbed by the tremendous recoil. A look of confusion and pain flashed in its red eyes.
"Prime is amazing," Ray whispered, his fear replaced by a surge of pride. His guardian had just stopped a Level 20 Charge dead in its tracks.
The Minotaur, enraged, tried to recover, but Prime was faster. While the beast was off-balance, Prime's left fist, still a solid block of stone, shot forward like a piston. It connected with the Minotaur's exposed ribs.
SMACK!
The sound of breaking bone was sickeningly clear. The Minotaur bellowed in agony, dropping its great axe as it collapsed to one knee, clutching its shattered side.
Before it could even register the full extent of its injury, Prime pressed his advantage. His shield-arm flowed back into its fist form in an instant. He stepped in and delivered a brutal, straight right punch to the Minotaur's jaw.
CRUNCH.
The beast's head snapped back. Its bellow was cut off into a wet gurgle as it was thrown backward, landing flat on its back on the hard stone. It was out cold.
"Knocked the F... out!" Ray yelled, a fierce grin splitting his face.
Prime, ever the efficient machine, didn't stop. He lunged forward and brought both fists down on the Minotaur's skull in a final, definitive blow.
SMASH.
The Minotaur's body went limp. The fight was over.
System Notification: 890 XP Gained.
"Holy crap, Prime! You kicked its ass!" Ray laughed, striding forward and clapping a hand on the guardian's solid leg. "I knew you were strong, but damn, you just dismantled a Minotaur! With you as my tank, I won't worry much."
Thank you, Thorzen, Prime responded, his telepathic voice as calm as ever, as if he had just taken out the trash and not a mythical beast.
The kobolds, who had been watching in terrified silence, erupted into a cacophony of cheers and chattering. "THORZEN! PRIME! THORZEN! PRIME!" Their faith in their new chief, already substantial, was now absolute.
As the celebration continued, Ray's mind, ever the strategist, was already leaping ahead. I wonder if I could create an army of Shield Guardians?
"Athena, is it possible to create an army of Shield Guardians?" he asked internally.
"Yes, it is possible, Ray," her voice replied. "However, each guardian requires a control amulet, and it must be bound to a designated individual for full functionality."
"Hmm, that won't be a problem. Can I modify the amulet?" Ray probed, thinking of the logistics of distributing jewelry to an army.
"What do you mean, Ray?"
"Can I change it into a ring? Or a bracer? Something less conspicuous?"
"Certainly. Assimilate a ring, and the knowledge of how to create a control ring will be integrated. The form is malleable; the enchantment is the key."
"Sweet!" Ray exclaimed. "The next one I make will be with a ring, not an amulet."
"Affirmative, Ray."
His attention returned to the massive corpse and the gleaming great axe. This was a treasure trove of power. He checked his status. He had 462 Skill Points. His primary directive was clear.
"Athena, how many skill points to raise Assimilation to level 7?"
"Leveling Assimilation from Level 6 to Level 7 requires 320 Skill Points."
It was a huge chunk of his hoard, but the payoff was exponential. "Do it, Athena."
"Affirmative."
A familiar, profound expansion occurred within him. It felt like a universe was being born in his chest, the boundaries of his personal void stretching into infinity. Assimilation is now Level 7. Your maximum mass capacity is now 128,000 pounds, plus your innate 400-pound growth, for a total of 128,400 pounds.
Over sixty-four tons. The number was staggering. He could absorb a small warship.
"Now for the prize," he said, approaching the Minotaur. He picked up the massive great axe, marveling at its weight and craftsmanship, and laid it on the creature's chest. He placed a hand on the Minotaur and a hand on the axe haft.
"Assimilate!"
The process was faster than ever, his Level 7 ability devouring the mass with ease. The Minotaur and its weapon dissolved into streams of dark, potent energy. 10%... 50%... 100%. Assimilation Complete.
New Transformation Unlocked: Minotaur.
Partial Transformation Updated: Great Axe.
Ability Learned: Labyrinthine Recall.
Skills Learned: Charge, Gore.
Zek and Zel rushed over, their eyes wide. "Chief, that was amazing!" Zek exclaimed, his voice full of awe.
"Zek, Zel, is this the first time you've seen a Minotaur before?" Ray asked, storing the new patterns away.
"No. We have seen them before, but we hide from them," Zel replied, a shiver running through his frame. "They are lords of the deep caverns."
"So there are more?" Ray's tone was sharp.
"Yes," Zek confirmed. "They usually dwell much deeper. This one was smaller, probably a young male cast out from its herd or just hunting on the fringes."
"Smaller?" Ray looked at the spot where the eight-foot-tall, massively muscled creature had been. The thought of a larger one was unsettling. "Okay, that settles it. We need to finish moving. Now. Hurry up and get everyone over to the fissure. I'm going to the old chief's hut for one last thing; I'll meet you there."
"Yes, Chief!" they said in unison, bowing before rushing off to corral the clan.
Ray returned to the chief's hut. His eyes scanned the sparse room. "Where is that sack of junk?" he muttered, rooting through the few remaining items. After a few minutes, he found the small, grimy sack he'd seen earlier, kicked under a dilapidated stool.
"Ha! Found it."
He upended it onto the rough-hewn table. The contents clattered and glittered in the faint light: three rings (one gold, two silver), two gold necklaces, four sets of earrings (one with small diamonds, two gold, one silver), and five coins (one gold, one silver, three copper). It was the tribe's entire wealth, pitiful by any civilized standard, but to Ray, it was raw material.
He quickly gathered the remaining useful items—the stools, clay pots, containers, the bed frame—and piled them onto and around the table. He placed his hands on the pile.
"Assimilate."
The entire collection shimmered and vanished, categorized in his void as [Misc. Metal (Low Quality)], [Misc. Wood], and [Gemstone (Minute Quantity)]. Every bit counted.
He left the hut for the last time and strode towards the narrow fissure that was the gateway to the surface. Prime fell into step behind him. When he arrived, the entire clan was gathered, their meager belongings in sacks or bundled in hides. They looked at the narrow, dark crack in the wall with trepidation.
"Chief," Zek said, gesturing at the fissure. "It will take us forever to get everyone through this, single file."
"Everyone, stand back! Give me some room!" Ray commanded.
The crowd shuffled backward, creating a wide semi-circle around the entrance. Ray approached the rock wall, not focusing on the fissure itself, but on the solid stone beside it. He placed both palms flat against the cool rock. He visualized what he wanted—not just a hole, but a proper, arched tunnel entrance, wide enough for two kobolds to walk abreast, and tall enough for Prime to pass through without stooping.
"Assimilate," he commanded, pouring his will into the stone.
A massive section of the wall, precisely calculated, dissolved into nothingness. The process was swift and silent, a twenty-foot-wide, fifteen-foot-high section of rock simply vanishing, revealing the continuation of the tunnel beyond. The kobolds gasped as one, the act of creation—or in this case, controlled destruction—more awe-inspiring to them than any display of violence.
System Notification: 500 XP Gained.
"Haha! Now that's a proper entrance," Ray said, brushing non-existent dust from his hands. "Let's go! The surface awaits!"
A new, determined energy filled the clan. Led by Zek and Zel, they streamed into the newly widened tunnel, their chatter echoing with excitement instead of fear. The five troglodyte children, shepherded by Prime, followed in the middle of the group. Ray took up the rear, turning for one last look at the cavern that had been his proving ground. It was a place of death, memory, and rebirth. But it was the past.
He turned his back on it and followed his people, his mind already racing with the future. He had a village to build, a clan to lead, and the seeds of an empire to sow. The path was no longer just a game; it was his destiny, and he, Ray "Thorzen" Silver, was ready to forge it in stone and blood.
---
Stats Update for Chapter 11 Conclusion:
Name: Ray "Thorzen" Silver
Age: 16
Level: 10
HP: 1000/1000
MP: 275/275
Race: Changeling (Unique)
Class: None
Job: None
XP: 11,805 / 64,000
Gold: 5,300
Skill Points: 142 (462 - 320 for Assimilation Lvl 7)
Attribute Points: 0
Attributes:
· Strength: 125
· Constitution: 125
· Dexterity: 125
· Intelligence: 125
· Wisdom: 125
· Charisma: 125
Abilities:
· Assimilation: Level 7 (128,200 lbs capacity)
New Transformations:
· Minotaur
New Abilities:
· Labyrinthine Recall
New Skills:
· Charge
· Gore
Void Storage (Notable Additions):
· Minotaur Biomass & Life Seed
· Great Axe Blueprint
· Assorted Low-Quality Metals/Gems