Please choose a class from the following options: [Mage], [Priest], [Archer], [Juggernaut], or [Spellblade].

  Xen recognized all of the options instantly. They were all the classes he had devoured so far.

  "System, why do I have class options?" Xen asked. "Don't I already have the Shapeshifter class?"

  [Humans do not evolve. Instead, they receive a Class Awakening]

  [As a Shapeshifter, you may now imitate a class appropriate for the Human form]

  "Imitate? So I don't actually get the class?"

  [Correct, though you will be granted a skill and a passive for the initial class you choose]

  "What do you mean by initial class?"

  [As a Shapeshifter, you can choose to imitate any class you have devoured at any time. You can also change the displayed level of the class between level 1 and the level your [Human] form is currently at. However, you do not get any of the class skills and passives, except for the class you choose to take at each evolution grade]

  Xen read over the system message as it was pretty confusing.

  "Um, so just to check, if I were to take the [Mage] class right now, I'd get a skill and a passive related to the [Mage] class, but I could switch the class I'm imitating to [Spellblade] anytime?"

  [Correct]

  Xen nodded. "I think I'm getting it. When I reach my C-grade evolution at level 25, I'll get to pick another class to get a skill and a passive from. How interesting."

  It was obvious what the best use of this was going to be—to fool the [Appraisal] skill. If Xen could not only switch classes on a whim but also alter his displayed level, he would be able to fool people more easily. Of course, there was still a major drawback. He had yet to devour a [Necromancer], meaning he didn't have the class option. When Aria appraised him earlier, he had shown as a level 4 human without a class. While strange, it was better to not have a class and fake being a Necromancer than to display him as a [Mage] or [Archer].

  "This is going to help me a lot when I eventually try infiltrating the human world," Xen licked his lips, "But I'll need to devour more people for their classes now. While it's a shame I don't get a skill and passive every time I switch classes, I acquired skills from each class anyway when I devoured them, so I should be able to pretend to be each class without worries."

  Now the question was, which class should he pick first to get a free related skill and passive? To aid his decision, he consulted his status screen.

  "System, show me my current status."

  A long message manifested in his mind.

  ??[Name: Xen]

  [Level: 16 (D)]

  [Race: Necrovore Slime (Rare Variant)]

  [Current Form: Human (Level 10)]

  [Class: Shapeshifter (Unique)]

  Necrovore Slime: Level 16 (D)

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

  < [Undeath Resonance] >

  Human: Level 10 (D)

  < [Multilingual (B)] - [Buff of the Berserker (C)] - [Corruption Missile (B)] - [Quiet Steps (D)] - [Crescent Rage (B)] - [Indomitable Defense (C)] >

  Elf: Level: 1 (F)

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

  Wolf: Level: 8 (E)

  < [Pack Call (E)] - [Predatory Strike (E)] - [Blood Scent (F)] >

  Undead Mage: Level: 10 (D)

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

  < [Corpse Conduit] >

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Sand-Drowned Revenant: Level: 1 (F)

  < [Gravehook (C)] - [Geomantic Perception (B)] >

  "I can't believe humans make do with only five skills," Xen muttered. "I have gathered quite a few skills now, and I still feel like I'm missing many. For starters, if I were to consider myself a mage, I don't even have five mage-style spells or one that outright regenerates my mana. I have [Corruption Missile (B)], [Necrotic Pulse (D)], [Radiant Smite (E)], and [Orbs of Light (E)]. Two necromancer-adjacent spells and two priest ones. I guess [Buff of the Berserker (C)], which I learned from Gerald, is also a mage spell, but it's quite useless without a team to cast it on. Wait, what is [Geomantic Perception (B)]?"

  [Geomantic Perception (B)]

  By empowering your senses with mana, you can detect the flow of mana. This lets you see even in complete darkness and through solid rock.

  Xen blinked as he read the description. He could see the flow of mana through rock now?

  "Doesn't that mean I can see through dungeon walls?" Xen mused as he activated the skill and tried to look through the floor. Compared to Mystic Perception, the demand on his mana reserves was far greater, and he felt a headache quickly forming. Yet, he could see nothing.

  "This is useless," he grumbled and sat down. The moment his hands touched the ground, his gaze snapped upwards, and he locked onto a seemingly random spot. Despite the distance and dungeon walls separating them, he had pinpointed a Sand-Drowned Revenant lurking deep below the sand dune he had been standing before earlier. Switching to using Appraisal and looking at the same spot, it returned nothing.

  "Interesting, so I can see through rock, it just works best if I have direct contact with the surface I want to look through," Xen said, noting that restriction of the skill for later. The Sand-Drowned Revenant he had seen was far away, as he was a ways up a tunnel, so he was safe for now.

  "Since I'm checking, what is the other skill that the new form gave me?"

  [Gravehook (C)]

  Harden nearby sand into multiple chains that erupt from the ground and snare a nearby target. The chains are self-repairing, as long as there is nearby sand, and they will attempt to suffocate the target.

  The skill didn't sound that intimidating, especially compared to some of his other ones. But having experienced drowning in sand, Xen wouldn't wish the experience on his worst enemy... okay, he would. In fact, he was pretty excited to use it on others and see how they reacted.

  "I should put that skill into my free slots, especially considering the amount of sand on this floor of the World Dungeon."

  Free Skill Slots (9):

  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: [Blood Scent (F)]

  Slot 8: EMPTY

  Slot 9: EMPTY

  "Oh, I have two slots free. What should I put in the other one?"

  He didn't need to put in [Geomantic Perception (B)], as it had automatically replaced [Mystic Perception (C)] that had been in slot four.

  "Perhaps one of my newer skills? [Quiet Steps (D)], [Crescent Rage (B)], [Indomitable Defense (C)], or [Orbs of Light (E)] all seem like good options. Though I don't need light to see, and the defense skill only works to empower weapons and armor, which I'll only be using in my human form, meaning I don't need it to take up a free skill slot. Same with Crescent Rage, it's a skill best suited to being used in the human form, so that leaves Quiet Steps as the best option."

  Free Skill Slots (9):

  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: [Blood Scent (F)]

  Slot 8: [Gravehook (C)]

  Slot 9: [Quiet Steps (D)]

  Happy with those, he closed the system menu and focused back on contemplating which class to take.

  "Really, what I should be thinking about is what skills am I lacking? Priest skills aren't that practical for me, as they focus on healing and light, both of which I can do without. Juggernaut and Spellblade could be nice, as I'll likely focus on posing as one of those while being a human. If I want to cast magic, I should always be in my Undead Mage form, as the Human form doesn't have that great an affinity for magic. Archer could be good, too—they seem to possess mobility skills that I'm lacking."

  There was a temptation to pick the [Mage] class and hope to get [Mana Regeneration] or something similar.

  "But I have to wear armor and a helmet to hide my eyes and other deformities. People would question why a mage has to wear armor, right? Every mage I've seen has been wearing cloaks, and when I tried to pass Eric's group wearing one and covering my face, they deemed me suspicious. Archers also seem to be more lightly dressed. So perhaps I should make my human form more focused on the warrior style side of things."

  That left him with the choice of [Juggernaut] and [Spellblade]. From his observations so far, it seemed Spellblade was a more offensive style class than Juggernaut, so he picked that one as he wanted to kill people.

  [You have selected the devoured class [Spellblade] to imitate]

  Xen felt information flood into his mind. He thought he was going to pass out for a second like all his previous evolutions, but it only lasted a few seconds before fading.

  A Spellblade is a combat class that fuses martial weapon techniques with arcane mana infusion. Spellblades channel their magic through blades (or any melee weapon), trading purely physical prowess for a hybrid style that deals a mix of physical and spell damage.

  Xen nodded after reading the system's message. The role and purpose of a Spellblade had just been infused into his soul, much like how a monster was granted knowledge by the dungeon. It seemed that, compared to warriors who possessed defensive abilities, a Spellblade was far more offensive and speed-oriented. It was basically a swordsman mage.

  New Skill: [Phantom Strike (D)]

  For a significant mana cost, your subsequent three attacks will echo half a second later, sending out an identical strike that does half the damage of the initial attack.

  New Passive: [Sword Proficiency]

  You become one with the sword. It feels intuitive to use, like an extension of the body. The cost of using all sword-based skills is reduced, and you are far more likely to land critical hits when using a sword.

  Xen looked at the sword in his hand. Sure enough, it felt like he had been holding one his entire life. Which was baffling, considering he had been a fingernail-sized slime on the brink of starvation... this morning.

  "Appraisal," he said while looking at himself.

  [Human (Spellblade: Level 10)]

  It was simply beautiful.

  Grinning, he walked down the tunnel with the sword on his shoulder.

  It was time to delve deeper into the crypt.

  to read ahead!