I didn't expect the labyrinth to be this big, it feels like I've been walking for days on end.
The bottoms of my feet were all torn up from the shattered pieces of wall strewn across the sandy floor, but I couldn't stop now. I had to find a way out, or at the very least a more durable form than this zombie. Up to this point it had been pretty useful against small enemies, all of which I had eaten for their skills. Nothing that stood out besides Sonic Hearing which I had obtained from a Magic Bat. It allows me to essentially have radar around me at all times, nothing could sneak up on me even if they were concealing their aura. It was really useful for detection but not really useful in a fight, not with how sluggish my zombie form was anyway. Every step felt like I was walking through a muddy swamp, and my whole body felt heavy.
And so I kept wandering until I found a pair of ornate doors in one of the countless hallways I had walked down.
This totally looks like a boss room right out of a video game, but if that's the case there could be some seriously good loot in here. Gonna have to risk it.
Pushing the doors open, I stepped inside. The room wasn't really a room, it would be a better comparison to call it a cave instead. Large stalagtites hung from the ceiling, dripping water down every couple seconds. There were a few skeletons scattered around the room, the faint flicker from a couple candles making them barely visible in the inky darkness of the cavern. Despite that, there didn't appear to be any monsters in the cave, none that I could detect anyway.
I made my way deeper into the cave, using Magic Sight and Sonic Hearing to make my way around safely. After a couple minutes of looking around, I found a stone altar surrounded by more skeletons. They appeared to be reaching for the altar as they died, arms outstretched towards it. Atop it rested an old looking book and an orb-looking object.
That kinda looks like it might be a spellbook or something, could be pretty useful. I just have to be alert, it could be a trap.
I cautiously approached the altar, making sure not to trigger any traps that might be waiting for me. I reached it fairly quickly and looked at the book first, reading the cover. Tome of Skills was the title, with no other text on the cover. I opened to the first page and read it in my head, as it could be an incantation and I didn't want to wake anything up.
If you are able to absorb the magic from this tome, ONE of your skills will become much more powerful. It will be a random skill selected from your arsenal.
So Magic Guide, if I were to eat this book I would be able to get the magic from it right?
This is correct.
Alright, time to chow down.
I used my zombie skill to open my jaw extremely wide, and closed down on the book. After a few moments of chewing, the contents of the book had been thoroughly shredded and the power absorbed. I'm sure it must've been a disgusting sight to behold, but I could feel the book's power surging throughout my body.
NOTICE: Your skill, Skill Absorb, has merged with another skill: Devour and has evolved into a new skill: Skill Vacuum. This skill allows you to consume objects and defeated opponents by absorbing their mana and physical body. In other words, this skill allows you to use magic in order to absorb skills and deceased opponents instead of physically eating them.
Well that's convenient, but I wish I had a way to test it out.
As if responding to my thoughts, the orb began to glow a bright blue and hover above the alter. It surged with a large amount of power and then shattered, releasing the energy into the room. Instead of the energy pouring into me, it went straight into the skeletons laying around me. They all began to glow the same blue as the orb and shake. I could feel the power leaking out of them, preparing to be resurrected. I jumped back away from the altar to a more open area and readied my dagger as the skeletons began to move on their own. I counted seven in total, all dripping with powerful magic, and looking right at me. It appeared I had yet another fight on my hands.