<Form Shifting> Is Now Level 3

Perfect. I had been practicing my form shifting for the past few hours and am now considerably more adept at it. The spare spine has been crushed into small shards and the skull isn't doing much better, but the pelvis is in remarkably good shape by comparison. I'm confident now that I won't be breaking any more bones, so I begin devouring the remains that I had been practicing with, crushing them into a much more easily devoured dust. It seems that an unexpected side effect of a higher level Form Shifting skill is a drastically increased dexterity, which in turn allows me to make greater use of my strength.

While practicing my form shifting, I also played around with my sight. I've found that with a bit of concentration I can see through any sufficiently large patch of skin. It seems as if I need an area about the size of a human's palm for the best results possible, but smaller areas can work when necessary. Currently I'm practicing seeing at multiple angles at once. It's taken some time to get used to, but I think I've just about figured it ou-

<Enhanced Perception> Is Now Level 2

Oooh, enhanced perception is level 2. I suppose my practice has payed off. It doesn't seem to have much effect at first, but I slowly begin to notice that my vision is a bit clearer than before. I can make out more detail and see a bit better in the darkness, and I can even feel more of the texture of the dirt beneath my tendrils. After a moment I notice the faint sound of water dripping somewhere nearby that I wasn't able to hear before. So, the enhanced perception skill enhances my perception, no surprise there, but I didn't expect a single level to do that much. It makes me wonder what it would be like without the skill. No way for me to find out. I should put some work into increasing its level, having stronger senses will be helpful.

User Nameless Voidspawn Is Now Level 2

I've gained a level. I was starting to wonder when that would happen, it took longer than expected. Come to think of it, what are the requirements to gain levels?

Levels can be acquired through increasing the level of skills, completing difficult tasks, defeating powerful enemies, creating new items, learning important information, and a variety of other means.

Skills increase in level through use.

Good to know, I haven't been doing any fighting or difficult tasks, so I suppose the only thing going into leveling up was my skills and those sharpened pieces of bone. No wonder it took so long. I wonder if killing Farkas will gain me a few new levels? I can't kill it myself, so probably not. Either way, I want it dead sooner rather than later and I'll need to have a proper plan in place so it's about time I get everything together.

To begin with, I pull out my mismatched skeleton. As I had done with the expendable bits I wrap my tendrils around it, carefully placing my two Cores, and make sure I'm properly holding all of the bones in place. This time I have the limbs with it, so it takes a few extra minutes to make sure I've got them all placed properly before I can begin trying to move. It's much more difficult than expected, especially when I try to stand up. The bones shift and slide past one another the moment I shift my focus away from them, and it's near impossible to support my weight on only two legs. Why would humans ever want to do this? It's so much easier just pulling myself around with my tendrils... But it'll help my plan, so I'll have to learn to do it eventually.

Setting that aside for the moment, I'll need a few more things to put my plan into motion. Farkas left me alone in here just after feeding the slaves, so it should be asleep by now. I creep out of my nest, making my way to the room in which Farkas sleeps. I cast Shadow Cloak before carefully pushing the door open, listening for any sounds of movement from within. There are none, so I slip through the crack that I've created into the dark room. Farkas is lying on the bed, moving slightly every few moments in a way that Understanding confirms is consistent with sleep.

Quietly, I make may way up to the bed. How easy it would be to wrap my tendrils around Farkas and squeeze, snapping bone and constricting its movement until its heartbeat stops... Instead, I turn to the small set of drawers next to the bed. I slowly open a drawer, reach a tendril in, and draw out one of the black cloaks within. The cloak is drawn into my mass and held between my tendrils where it won't get in the way. Opening another drawer I can see the set of keys that could be used to unlock the slave's room. Too risky to take now, I'm not prepared to enact my plan and Farkas would notice them missing. I close the drawer, looking around the room to see if there's anything else I should take. The nearby desk has papers strewn across it, a cursory examination shows them to be notes on a summoning ritual, nothing I can use at the moment. There's little else in the room, and nothing that seems particularly useful to me.

I have the cloak I wanted, and I've confirmed where Farkas keeps its keys when it sleeps, I have what I need for the moment. I make my way back to the nest to continue my practice. I'll need to be able to walk for my plan to work, and sharper senses certainly wouldn't work. While I'm at it I should see if there's any way to make my Shadow Cloak spell stronger, casting that while doing everything else should help with learning to multitask. I could also be a bit larger, my tendrils were spread a bit thin trying to mimic human proportions... Fuck it, I'll eat one more of the corpses. Just one, one and only one, no more than that!

Maybe I'll have another if I still need more mass tomorrow.