All I remembered, there was just darkness around me.
"Where… am I?"
You have been reincarnated.
"Rein… carnated?"
Yes, after your death. You have been reincarnated in this world.
"Oh… but wait! Who are you? And how do you know that?"
I am Senshin, your mind-mentor. Only you are able to hear me. I lie within your mind.
"Ahh, I see. But why are you even created?"
It appears that at the moment of your demise, you harbored a desire for power. Hence, I exist to assist you in realizing that aspiration by imparting the most invaluable guidance.
"Power? I wanted power?"
That's right.
"Talking about my past, who am I exactly? I only remember my name, Ruu Akaru. But how did I exactly die? What is my past anyway?"
Restoring lost memories. Operation failed.
Reattempting. Operation Failed. Your lost memories cannot be restored at this moment.
"Well, that can't be helped. But where exactly am I now?"
You are currently at the 7th floor of one of the 13 great labyrinths.
"Labyrinth?"
Precisely. There are 13 great labyrinths, 7 hidden dungeons and 3 twilight towers in these world. These are greatly feared by the adventurers.
"Give me a break. It's really a fantasy world, huh?"
Affirmative
"Hey, don't just always answer my questions. Let me think sometimes."
Understood
"But how do I get out of here?"
[Silence…]
"Hey, I'm asking you, Senshin-san."
But You told not to answer.
"Hey, are you angry?"
No, that is your imagination.
"Oh, is that?"
Affirmative
"But, I'm sorry for earlier. Please tell me how do I get out of here?"
Understood. First, let me explain your current circumstance. You have undergone reincarnation into this world as a Shadow without any physical form. To be precise, you solely exist as shadow—
"What? A shadow?!"
Don't interrupt. Let me finish first.
"Sorry…"
As previously mentioned, you inhabit the form of a shadow. And you possess 2 unique skills and a special skill. These are Soul Absorption and Adaptive Mimicry, complemented by the special skill Senshin, which is none other than myself. To escape, you must traverse the six floors and descend to the ground level. Then you can leave from here. However, be careful as there are nasty traps and monsters all over the place.
"Ah, I see. But, how do these skills work?"
Your first skill, Soul Absorption, allows you to absorb the souls of any creatures, granting you their abilities and knowledge.
"That's an incredible ability!"
It is indeed. And Adaptive Mimicry enables you to mimic the abilities and attributes of creatures whose souls you have absorbed.
"Can I also mimic their physical appearance?"
Yes, you can.
"But I don't understand one thing. Why am I able feel my body if I don't have one? Why am I able to touch my hand? And it surprisingly feels like human's"
You can manipulate your body as you wish. Whether you want to feel it or not that is your choice. You can also manipulate your shape.
"Umm… like this… Oh! I can't feel my body anymore. It's like I'm incorporeal now. This is amazing! But wait, Can I not see as I don't have eyes? Is this why there is only darkness here?"
Precisely. But you can earn your sight by soul absorption.
"But how do I even defeat a monster if I can't even see it?"
You can locate them by essence.
"Essence? What is that?"
A universal force that permeates all existence. Essence is the lifeblood of magic in this world. It exists in varying degrees of purity and potency. The more formidable the opponent is, the purer and heavier their essence becomes.
"I see."
Then I rose to my feet. Not like I had any feet. I just thought I had those and surprisingly, yeah, I felt those. Same happened with my other body parts – my hands, arms, fingers and so on. But One thought then hit me hard.
"Umm… Senshin-san, What am I?"
You are a Shadow.
"No, I mean… Am I a male or a female?"
You are currently sexless
"What?! Sexless you say?!"
Precisely. Currently you don't have any sexual identity as other creatures.
"No… no… I don't wanna die a virgin. Well, am I even considered virgin if I don't have any sex?"
Alert! A monster is detected with a considerable dark energy nearby.
"Dark energy? Now, what is that thing?"
My apologies for not mentioning before. Dark energy is a concentrated form of magical power derived from essence. It's like the distilled essence of a creature's magical potential, representing its strength and potency in the world. The darker and denser the energy, the more powerful and formidable the creature is likely to be.
"Yeah, I can feel it now. But what kind of monster is can this be?"
Calculating from the dark energy it's emitting, it could be a regular serpent or a demon slime.
"Demon slime?"
Yes, demon slimes are approximately ten times stronger than normal ones.
"Ten times?"
Yes, but it also could be a regular serpent as their dark energy emission is almost same.
"So, either way they possess same amount of power. Now the problem is how do I beat it."
Beating this will not be so hard. First, make yourself incorporeal. And then approach towards the monster following its dark energy.
"Okay, I'm trusting you. Better not let me down."
Then I approached, cautiously scanning for the source of the energy. With each step, the sensation grew more intense, as if the dark energy itself was pulsating with increasing strength. Sensing its ominous presence looming closer, I halted my movements.
You have reached close enough.
Then after a little moment of silence what I hear was…
Use unique skill 'Soul Absorption'?
Yes
No
I had those words floating on my mind.
I guess I'm supposed to say 'yes'.
"Okay, yes," I said without having any second thoughts.
And then, an unexpected sensation washed over me. Though I lacked sight, I felt a peculiar shift within me, as if a part of my incorporeal form detached and began to envelop something in the vicinity. Suddenly, a surge of energy coursed through me.
New skill 'Acid Resistance' acquired.
New skill 'Regeneration' acquired.
New skill 'Vibrant Perception' acquired.
New form 'Demon Slime Mimic' acquired.
I really got a little surprised.
"So, it was a demon slime, I guess," I said, my tone a bit confusing.
Yes
"And I got three new skills. Acid resistance, regeneration and… vibrant perception?"
'Vibrant Perception' allows one to sense vibrations in his surroundings with exceptional clarity. It grants one heightened sensory awareness, allowing him to detect even the slightest movements and changes around him.
"Wow, that seems to be very useful. But why didn't I get my sight after using soul absorption?"
Slimes are creatures without any sensory organs like eyes and ears. To be more precise, its essence doesn't contain the necessary attributes for sight.
"Ahh, so that's it. Now then, let's keep going."