?"They''reing! The adventurers areing!!"


    "How the hells did they get past the traps!!"


    "me take you, man, how the hells would I know that? The traps were useless!!"


    "Hey, help me move this bench! We have to barricade the doors!!"


    Tycondrius had dropped down into the room from one of the many venttion pipes. Assuming his human form, he sat patiently on a chair in the corner, watching. There were... eight men and women panicking, barricading their only reasonable path to escape.


    What was their n? What if the barricade worked and he actually was on the other side of the door. They''d have to leave, eventually.


    Arger gentleman approached him, "Hey you! Blood-cloak guy! Don''t just sit there! We''re under attack!!"


    "Yes," Tycon smiled politely. He unsheathed his sword and drew a neat line across the man''s eyes, "By me."


    The fellow screamed, holding his face. Blood spilled out through the man''s fingers, lightly sttering blood onto Tycon''s over-cloak.


    He didn''t mind. It wasn''t his.


    "By the me, he''s HEEERE!"


    "Whose me-taken idea was it to barricade the DOOOORRR?!??!"


    "me take you all, someone SHOOT HIM!!"


    As intelligent as the ''shoot him'' advice was, the various thugs of House Gnis approached Tycon with sword and an assortment of melee weaponry.


    The first came with a hatchet raised. Tycon quickly stepped forward and shed the tendons of the man''s wrist. Then, he kicked him in the chest, whereupon the human collided with another Gnis tool. Two of eight.


    A gaunt gentleman with a wispy beard swung a longsword... wide. Tycon grasped the man''s attacking wrist, then entrapped the man''s arm with his own. He stabbed his short de into the man''s gut, then grabbed the heavier sword out of the dying man''s entrapped hand. Three.


    Anotherrge man screamed with crazed fervor as he brought down a heavy sword overhead. Tycon lifted his sword, hilt up, t to the side, allowing the de to nce off. Then he swung his own de in a wide arc.


    CLANG.


    The man managed to brace his weapon, blocking the heavy strike-- the man''s arms shook from the blow. Not bad. Tycon pushed his sword forward and it slipped easily into the man''s neck. Four.


    Once more relinquishing his sword, Tycon grabbed therger man''s weapon. He ducked a sword swing from a female Warrior. With his hand choked two-thirds up his de, he thrust histest stolen sword''s tip into the woman''s neck like a spear. Five.


    Another fellow swung his sword sideways, which Tycon was able to block with a vertical de. He grabbed onto the other weapon''s sword, and with his boot, smashed the side of the man''s knee.


    He was aiming for the back of the knee, which would have forced the man to kneel.


    ...He missed.


    Tycon''s mana-powered kick broke the man''s leg, just below the knee. The man whimpered in pain, falling to the floor, gnashing his teeth and clenching his fists... Five... and a half.


    Tycon hefted his sword up and threw it at the next fellow. It speared the human in the chest, a mortal injury.


    And for the eighth, he''d use Vexing... Oh, the eighth was running. Tycon quickly nced around the room-- that was thest of them.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ? System, activate ?Venomous Shadow?. ?


    ? Activating... ?Venomous Shadow?. Reaction ability. A shadowy doppelganger appears behind the target, performing a single weapon attack. ?


    In Tycon''s off-time, he chose to develop two new skills... ones more focused on offense than his others. He could have chosen a low-level Fighter or Martialist skill... Rationally, he''d be able to develop something from a Martial ss that he''d have a Minor or Middle Completion with.


    ?Venomous Shadow? was marked as... a ss skill. It had an unnaturally high Completion Rating... even though it didn''t sound at all like a Warlord skill. It sounded like something used by an Illusionist or a Puppeteer... perhaps a specialist Rogue.


    It might have been granted by his bloodline. It did have the word ''venomous'' in its name.


    The skill... behaved oddly. It didn''t fail... and it was still effective. It was just... odd.


    The eighth human stopped abruptly, facing a dark-cloaked shadow, golden spheres glowing in the darkness beneath its hood. The shadowy doppelganger had Tycon''s cloak and something that resembled his eyes. However, itcked other major features. It had no hands... nor legs. Its arms and torso ended in wisping trails of dark smoke.


    It did look intimidating, though.


    The System''s description of one of his two new skills specifically stated that the shadow would form ''behind'' his target... Even if it formed in a blind spot, that would have been permissible, as the summoned doppelganger would be able to attack from surprise.


    This shadow appeared... in front of the eighth human. Clear to see. And it blocked the human''s only avenue of escape... so they''d have to do something about it.


    Tycon was fairly certain the shadow could be defeated in one strike... so its behavior irked him.


    The human took a fearful step backward. With his courage quickly fading, he managed to unsheathe his sword, pointing it with shaky hands, "S-stay away!! Monster!!"


    The doppelganger swiped its shadowy hand, knocking the human''s sword away with impunity.


    Tycon grimaced. His shadowy doppelganger was an arsehole.


    It was quite helpful, though... Tycon raised his arm... easily catching the human''s sword. He began to slice the throats of the humans too stupid to pretend they were dead.


    There were other issues with the shadow, as well. His System stated that it would make a weapon attack... but it didn''t form with a weapon? And during all of Tycon''s solo testing of the skill, he could never find out why it was called a ''venomous'' shadow?


    "By the me!! Please!! Please no!!!" The human shouted.


    The human''s shrieks turned into... gargling... and sizzling?


    Tycon pursed his lips. Should he look? He really didn''t want to... but he felt like he had an obligation to do so.


    ncing up, he observed his shadowy doppelganger. From within the darkness underneath its hood, it was spewing what appeared to be a stream of... greenish liquid upon the human''s face, notably their eyes, mouth, and nostrils. Steam misted off of the fellow''s reddened face and it appeared... that their eyebrows and facial hair were... melting off?


    ...The torrent of acidic vomit continued for several seconds, the man begging for mercy, choking and sputtering.


    It was... disturbing.


    "That''s uh... that''s quite enough!" Tycon called out, "Thank you?"


    Obediently, the venomous doppelganger stopped. It released the human in its grip and dissipated back into the shadows.


    Tycon pursed his lips. Odd... but again, useful.