Shapeless Hero

23 - First (Second) Entrance

At the request of the commander, I recite the spell descriptions from my status windows.

Finishing the last passage of the list, August shakes his head. "Fylka, ya don't joke about that kinda stuff... but you're serious, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Remember the hair bending?"

"There's a difference between combat skills and straight up spells, though." Dozens of magic circles spawn in front of him, as he spreads his wings. My status screen flickers for a moment. His eyes dart around the runes of said circles, as if reading them. He curses under his breath.

I observe the unique movements of his magic. Maybe what I've just done with Alya's spells is basically cloning the code of several programs to my own hard-drive. Magic is a complicated craft. I am stealing someone else's work in a certain way. Is that perhaps arcane blasphemy?

The battlemage laughs nervously, as he keeps deciphering his runes. "Oh. You'll be in deep shit."

"More than I am already?"

"Didn't think 'twas possible, but yes!" He lowers his voice a bit. "Copying spells is one of the highest disciplines of magic, which top-tier wizards are trying to pull off in the current era. Years of practice could be condensed into weeks by referencing already proficient casters. Imagine how many more spells they could learn within the same lifetime!"

"So what I just did..."

"Highly sought after, but also highly illegal without the right paperwork.", the commander chimes in. "Not only did you copy Alya's spell list, you apparently imitated the quirks of her spellcasting too. That's why her sister, Sterl, was so sure about her being here. You'd be executed for impersonation, if it weren't for your special situation."

August discards his runes and magic with a swish of a wing. "Anything your S-rank Morphing does; you better hide it until we deem it safe for public use, got it? I sure as hell don't want to be put on the block and you don't wanna be the plaything of some arch-mage in a dark tower. Or in a brothel as the perfect servant."

I shudder. "Yessir."

"Alright, Fylka", the commander begins. "I told the staff, you'd arrive soon — meaning within the next hour." She gestures towards the window. "I think it's time."

"Right..." I pause. "Mind, if I test something first though?"

"Make it quick, please."

"Thanks." I stand up and change form. I turn back to the blonde fighting game character from before. "Now then..."

While I was pretending to be asleep during Sterl's visit and even before that, I was revisiting what I learned so far about my skills. One train of thought stayed with me since before midday: I'm able to maintain a core for my soul. It stays the same, regardless of my chosen shape. That means, my imitations don't have to be perfect to work.

The way the others' talked about shapeshifters so far made it sound like changing shape always means to perfectly resemble a specific individual. Here's the thing though: My skill doesn't say, it has to be from a single target. What if I wanted to change into multiple targets at once? Or more precisely: What if I wanted to mix and match parts from multiple creatures? Sounds like an S-rank thing to do, right?

The commander and August look at me with both curiosity and worry and, honestly, I get why. I take a deep breath to clear my mind. I decide to start small. Since magic works with imagination, I try to visualize my current form, but with a slight modification to my left hand. Then, I increase my intent to change shape.

I gasp from the sudden, burning sensation. Bubbles form under the surface of my hand,  but seeing a slight change in texture and color occur there makes me endure it. My jaw tightens, as the sizzling intensifies.

"Buddy...?", August asks. "The arcane readings of whatever you're doing start to scare me. 'The hell are you doing?"

"Just... give me a moment.", I answer through clenched teeth. The dark tones of the gloves make way for bare skin. Few more seconds pass and my left hand is now without its glove. A bare hand, nicely attached to my arm.

I stop spending mana on the transformation process. The pain recedes. Luckily, my hand doesn't change back after I stopped the mana supply. A smile forms on my face. "It worked..." I test my reshaped body-part with a couple of movements. It's a perfect copy of Alya's left hand.

After touching and holding a couple of objects with the left hand, I can consider this experiment a success. The senses work and I am not bound to the clothes of the characters anymore! And if we were to take it further, I could probably combine facial features from multiple people to create a unique self.

That said, the modification process still felt like I've put my hand into boiling water. The transformation took far longer than expected too. I'll have to keep that in mind for combat scenarios. 

Content with my test results, I reverse the modification. The burning sensation returns for a few seconds. I felt enough pain for the day, I think.

The commander looks over to August, who is quick to explain. "Our insane shapeshifter modified their form. Pushing the boundary of that skill must be pretty painful. Let's pray, there aren't more shifters intelligent enough to do that. Let's pray, there aren't more shifters."

I salute, as I climb through the window. "I'll tell you more later." 

"See ya in a sec!", August shouts back, as I descend into the street.

I land with a thud on the pavement, standing. I'm glad that my boots didn't break. Then again, they are part of my body. I adjust my ushanka and make my way toward the main entrance of the guild hall.

I can make out the occasional whisper of the adventurers, I pass at the front of the building. I don't think, I could have been able to hear the words, if I was still a human.

"Maybe she's here to issue a quest?" - "Not sure, she looks like she'd be able to hire a servant to do that..." - "You don't get that kinda legs with servants around, though." - "Man,  I wish I could take a better look at those~"

I open the door with gusto, in hopes the creaking allows me to drown out the commentary. Seems like I have to keep my guard up. It's true though. I look a bit out of place at this establishment. One more reason to get different gear later.

I step into the main hall and head for the counter. I see the already familiar faces of the guild staff.