Shadow Clone Sorcery (Book 1 complete!)

The stolen and cloned uniforms allowed Morph and El-Four to speed through the mines without wasting energy on Silencing Shadows and Shade's Mantle. They only relied on Haste for speed, while Lukas utilized all three. His magic reserves were far deeper than the clones', and only Mages with Spellweaver could match his recovery. The ability's description didn't mention any passive improvements to arcane recovery, but Lukas was sure the quality had improved when he learned the ability and even more with every rank.

The only thing he didn't get from his abilities was stamina, and he hoped to fix the shortcoming with the next upgrade to Alter Metal Mass. He kept the slider at the lowest point, making himself as light as possible. Each stride carried him farther than a normal step would and also seemed to drain him less. He and El-Four had to frequently slow down so Morph could catch up with them.

"I should copy something with extra legs next time," the clone said. "Just to make up for all the extra weight you make me carry."

"You'd need the biomass, though," El-Four stated. "Not a lot of that going around."

"Probably not for long if there are beasts down here. I don't think I should leave Biomancy untouched for long." Morph scanned the darkness, sweeping over where Lukas stood. "What if I turn into a snowman, boss? You can tell them I'm a pet or familiar."

"Let's get in a bit deeper first," Lukas said. A group appeared ahead almost on cue. No one slowed, and there were no nods of acknowledgement. He continued after they had passed and were out of earshot. "The longer we can go without people stopping us to ask questions, the better."

"Let's just hope it isn't too late before you have me change."

Another major crossroad forced them to stop. All paths went downwards. Lukas approached all three of them, and the journal vibrated at the mouths of the two. He took a handful of steps down each while clutching the relic tightly, feeling carefully for when the reaction was the strongest.

"Are you sure about that one?" Morph asked when Lukas advanced down one. "It's noisy down there. Fights. Beasts. Crowds."

"We'll have to sneak past them then, won't we? Or end things for them swiftly so they don't have or expect us to stick around."

Neither Morph nor El-Four argued. Time was of the essence. None of them knew how long they had before the Draco Lily bloomed and what monstrosities were awaiting the phenomenon. The only thing that currently mattered was getting to their destination as fast as possible.

El-Four, the Shock Trooper, took the lead, speeding ahead. With Alter Metal Mass and Steel Weave at his fingertips, he was best equipped to erect a swift defence and survive a few hits if it came to it. Meanwhile, Morph began to transform as they began to move. His chest and shoulders got wider, and his arms thicker. He was turning the extra mass into muscle, likely armoring himself under the leather outer clothing. The seams burst, and dense white fur peeked through the openings.

As they advanced, Lukas couldn't help but wonder how things were going for Zwei and the accompanying stalker clone. They were heading high up into the mountains to some deposit of supposedly rare and valuable material.

Will it take him to close the other quest? If they encounter it, will they even know what they're looking at and that it matters to Silverspine?

The tunnel opened up into an underground quarry. It was far brighter than the tunnel as arcane lamps burned high up on the walls. Two teams of four fought a trio of giant-mole-like creatures. They were bigger than Bass at his best, and crystal formations grew out of the back of their elbow joints and the back of their heads. Their claws vibrated unnaturally and passed through the ground without leaving a trace as they swiped. Three human corpses lay nearby alongside a dead specimen of their kind. It was the largest mole of the lot.

Morph sped to it while El-Four joined the fray, charging into the closest mole with Shadowsteel armor and spikes covering the striking arm and shoulder. His skin also darkened, greying as the heavy Steel Weave manifested. The weight behind the blow and initial acceleration at low mass almost lifted the creature off the ground and knocked it onto its side. Unfortunately, the crystal growths coming out of its elbows grew significantly. The center of gravity shifted, and the monster righted itself.

The opening was just what the other fighters needed. They sped in, striking the giant mole with everything they had. One of them got a spear through the mole's underside and up into its skull.

"Thanks," the mage among their ranks said, panting. "We've been at a standstill for a while."

"Can you manage the other two alone?" The Shock Trooper asked. "Or can we carry on?"

"We got this," another party member said. "Go do your job."

Only a couple of them spared Morph a glance. The rest focused their attention on the final two moles, surrounding and then attacking them from all sides. Morph looked especially bulky as they moved through the quarry and into the tunnel on the other side. Then, he continued to grow, gaining height and girth. His clothes ripped as he sprouted a pair of extra arms. Bone plates covered all limbs and the torso. The fur also darkened, granting natural camouflage in the darkness.

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"I took the decision into my own hands, boss," Morph said. "There was biomass to spare, and it looks like things are going to get messy."

"That's fine. You know what you're doing and don't need your hand held."

"That's what I like about you, El-Prime." The clone flashed a wide grin. "You let us have fun when it matters."

"Whatever it takes to speed up Biomancy's growth," Lukas replied. "It's far too useful not to push to its full potential."

The clone's hips and legs shifted, subtly altering their shape. His primary set of arms also grew longer. Lukas didn't know where Morph had gotten the idea for the physiology or if the clone had practiced it without realizing—he didn't always pay attention to all absorbed memories. But Morph hunched forward and sped forward like a gorilla, using his forearms to pick up speed. He no longer had trouble keeping up with the Shock Trooper and Lukas. He took the lead, staying just behind the others. He didn't always bother ducking into the shadows, hoping the other two would draw all the attention. Silencing Shadow continued to hide his presence, suppressing the sound of boots on stone and his arcane presence.

The clones abruptly skidded to a halt.

"To the walls!" The Shock Trooper yelled.

Morph and Lukas didn't question him, throwing themselves to the sides. They made themselves flat against the walls just as thick fore-arm-long crystals, much like those that grew out of the Sylicites back, shot past them. Morph, having gained significant mass, failed to avoid them all. A narrow shard sliced open his back just below the shoulder blades. Blood didn't pour from the opening. The surrounding tissue came alive within a heartbeat. The wound stitched itself closed as they advanced several feet before lying low again. More projectiles followed.

"I'm going to zoom ahead and get a closer look," El-Four said.

"What if you die?!" Morph jokingly protested.

"I'll do it for you, brother."

The clones laughed. Lukas didn't find it funny given the current situation. El-Four waited until the moment after the next barrage passed before taking off. Lightning tendrils danced on his skin as he threw himself to the floor, just about avoiding the next lot of shards, but was up and moving again less than a heartbeat later. Lukas's breath caught in his throat when the clone disappeared from sight. Memories of impalement and death came soon after, but the shards ceased coming.

El-Four had blindly fired a Shadowsteel spike moments before he perished. When Lukas and Morph reached the site of his death, they found a wall with funnel-like growths. Luminous crystals sat within. As soon as he touched one of them, the erect funnels began to sag and their contents lost luminosity. A black spike lay embedded in the middle of it all, still crackling with energy.

"I'm guessing this means we're finally off the beaten path?" Morph asked as Lukas resummoned the clone. "Miners or explorers would've cleared them otherwise. Right?"

Lukas shook his head, trying to find where the creature's body ended and the rock began. "I think it came through the walls."

"Wouldn't these things go toward the Draco Lily and not away from it?" The newly-formed El-Four asked. "It's certainly powerful and threatening enough."

"Not necessarily," Lukas said after taking another couple of minutes to inspect the strange creature. He tried using Inspector's Compendium, but the journal didn't respond. "This thing is clearly an ambush hunter. It probably waits at the end of long passages like these and then unloads on unsuspecting prey. The tactics are useless if there are too many creatures to take out, toughness levels are too high, or the element of surprise is gone."

"Big things are on the move and that's driving fauna up and away," Morph commented.

"Take apart the biomass," Lukas commented, picking up a hand-sized crystal shard as it fell out of the beast. It was rich with magic but impure. "Check for any shards or essences."

"Got it, boss." Morph got to work. One of his arms transformed to match the funnel-like launchers growing out of the creature. "It's the same as with the mole. Nothing."

"Did you just copy that with Mimicry?" El-Four asked.

Morph nodded. "I have my new Frozen Phoenix face memorized. Felt appropriate to free up a slot." He looked up and down the T-Junction. "Which way, boss?"

Lukas pointed toward the curving downward path. Lighting was poorer, but none of them minded because of Shadow Sight. The sounds of combat also echoed down the other path, and none of them wished to get roped into an unnecessary fight.

A familiar feeling washed over Lukas as they reached the end of the path and the tunnel opened up into a giant open cave that reminded him of the natural rock formations under Iskander. Arcane lamps and artificial structures were sparse and appeared recent. It seemed miners had only just reached the area, or the openness and deep chasm below was too unnerving for them to mine the luminous veins in the walls.

Far more terrifying silhouettes than that of giant moles and snowmen moved below and across distance walls. But neither concerned Lukas as much as the strong, unnerving presence.

"Is that draconic energy?" El-Four whispered even though Lukas was sure he knew the answer.

Morph nodded. "We must be getting close. Which way, boss? What does the journal say?"

"I don't think we need the journal anymore," Lukas replied, matching the clones' volume. The journal's vibrations had intensified and were almost constant. He pointed towards the far end of the cavern, where everything was a touch too dark. "Everything is either moving toward whatever is down there. Or away from it. That's where we need to go."

"This isn't going to be smooth and easy, is it?" El-Four asked.

Lukas shrugged. "Let's use Shade's Mantle and Silencing Shadows to be safe. We can afford the magic expenditure. Move fast but don't take any risks."

The clones mock saluted but lacked the usual frivolity. They advanced swiftly, not bothering to move between shadowed areas and descending using whatever paths they could find. Morph used his extra arms to smoothly climb downwards and ahead. He didn't bother with Shade's Mantle and Silencing Shadows, dark fur helping him to blend in. His arcane signature was weak, and the dense ambient magic overwhelmed it.

It wasn't long before they saw monsters fighting in the shadows. A giant spike shooter rhythmically fired crystal shards as tall as Lukas across the cavern. Fortunately, none of the creatures paid them any mind, allowing the trio to advance unbothered.