Ambush

The War Shadow walked silently through the cave, like a dark wraith gliding across the stone floor. Its footsteps made no sound. It was darkness given form, moving with eerie, unnatural grace.

The absence of a face or any discernible features made it unsettling to look at, like a puppet without strings, driven only by the singular, instinctive need to kill. There was a sheer emptiness to it, a void where a soul should be, and that was enough to make even the most seasoned adventurers feel a chill down their spine.

War Shadows were predators in the truest sense, at least for their weight class, with keen sight and sharp hearing, despite their featureless faces. They were designed to hunt, to stalk, and to kill.

Alas, they had one glaring weakness: a nearly nonexistent sense of smell.

It was no surprise, then, that when the lone Shadow felt the air whistling above it, it was already far too late.

My feet crashed down on the monster's head with the force of a falling boulder, all the strength of my gravity-aided descent from the ceiling focused on a single point. I felt the bones in my legs rattle with the impact as the Shadow's skull gave way beneath my heels, bursting like an overripe fruit.

Black blood splattered out in all directions, coating the stone floor in a slick, dark mess. The creature's body crumpled, its life snuffed out the instant it made contact with the floor.

Ten seconds later, I had a freshly extracted magic stone in my hand. It was unexpectedly warm. Ten more seconds, and I was on my way again, the crumpled corpse already fading from memory.

War Shadows - 4/10.

Indeed, this was the third War Shadow I had managed to kill in this fashion, grabbing the ceiling like a bat and staying still as a statue.

War Shadows were best suited as ambush predators, excelling in close-quarter combat. They were fast and could take a hit, but their defense was far weaker than their offense. Against someone who knew their weaknesses and could strike from an unexpected angle, there was little they could do but die quickly.

"Still dangerous in hand-to-hand, though," I muttered, stretching my limbs to shake off the slight numbness that came from clinging to the ceiling for so long.

Despite my body becoming increasingly resilient from my rising stats and stolen traits, I still didn't have a solution for getting a major artery severed—at least, not yet. 

'I slept well, the Shadows were a good warm-up, my body is healed... it's time to risk my life for strength, huh?' I thought, making my way deeper into the dungeon. I headed toward what I hoped was the cave connecting the sixth and seventh floors.

It wasn't like there were helpful signs pointing the way; I could only guesstimate.

Maybe it seemed hasty, but my Frog Legs trait gave me incredible mobility. If I couldn't win, I was confident I could at least make a quick escape.

'Can't really slow down,' I reminded myself. 'The upper floors will be flooded with minotaurs in a week or so if I remember correctly…'

This floor had four monster species, according to my fragmented knowledge. Rabbit Unicorns, Huge Poisonous Moths, big-ass Ants and blue butterflies.

The Ants were the ones I was most eager to encounter. An exoskeleton trait would make me significantly tougher, raising my threat level considerably. But, as was often the case, reality had a way of being disappointing.

Despite my heightened sense of smell, my other senses were still pretty ordinary, so I didn't notice the Rabbit Unicorn until its horn was skewering my side.

"Those War Shadows must have cursed me with their dying breaths," I grumbled, glancing down at the small, fluffy white creature whose horn was now embedded in what used to be my kidneys. Thanks to Shadow Flesh, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, but it still hurt like hell. The damn thing seemed to have materialized out of thin air.

'No, not air,' I corrected myself, noticing a small opening in the cave wall a few meters back. 'Solid stone.'

As for the rabbit, it couldn't hope to escape my claws, nimble as it was, it was far too close for that.

Its head was off in seconds—a swift, precise strike that severed it cleanly from the body.

The horn fell away as I dug out the magic stone from its torso, popping it into my mouth without a second thought.

The taste was bland, and a little disappointing, but I didn't have time to dwell on it, because a gods-damned Killer Ant swaggered into view a few dozen meters ahead, its mandibles clacking menacingly as if daring me to make a move.

The Ant was a behemoth, its exoskeleton gleaming like polished armor, with mandibles large enough to crush a man's skull, and its multiple legs moved in perfect unison, each step precise and controlled.

I sighed, glancing down at the fresh wound on my side. Blood trickled out, warm and sticky, staining my oh-so-precious leather pants. The wound was deep, the dark flesh around it torn and ragged. I tensed as if preparing to throw a punch only to see even more blood slipping from the hole. 'Clearly not combat, ready, huh? Unlucky'

"I guess I could kill some goblins for a few hours, should be enough to reach 100" I muttered, turning back toward the sixth floor. Who knew what would happen if all the traits of a species were chosen?

As I ran away from the bitter smell of released ant pheromones, I checked the trait options the little horned bastard gifted me so magnanimously.

1-Lagomorpho acoustics - Hear the pin drop amidst the crowd. Sense of hearing is enhanced by 10 times. Loud sounds may become a problem while active.

2-Fast twitch - The brain, the body, move as one. The refractory period between muscle contractions decreases by 20%, increasing speed and short-burst-strength.

3- Sharp Needle - Can direct the growth of a sharp bony protrusion from one's skull. 5 times as sturdy as bone.