Now that Valoria was awake and walking by herself, Xen could enjoy a quick snack. But first, he had to get the Faceless Cursed Mask out of the way. Spending biomass, he changed the underlying structure of his head to trick the Faceless Cursed Mask into thinking it was still attached firmly to his face, but it was actually connected to a second layer of skin and bone.

  He could then shift the entire mask up onto his forehead, exposing his mouth and nose while keeping his eyes shielded.

  He dug his fingers into the Vampiric Bat's fur and made use of his level 42 strength to easily pry it open like a nut. Black slime tendrils snaked out of his mouth and devoured the brain within. Though he ended up disappointed because, despite the bat's almost human-sized body, its brain was proportionally small.

  "Humans are still the most tasty," he mused under his breath after finishing his meal, and then looked to the side at his status screen.

  [Devour Complete]

  You absorbed 12% of the Vampiric Bat's memories.

  You have unlocked the [Vampiric Bat] form.

  You acquired the following skills:

  [Echo Pulse (D)]

  [Blood Drain (C)]

  You acquired the following passives:

  [Winged Flight]

  A few memories flooded his mind, but nowhere near as many as usual. Is the reason I got so few memories because I stabbed the bat in the head with my sword to finish it off? Xen wondered. In truth, he was glad. He didn't really want to know about a Vampiric Bat's instincts. Moving on, he focused on the two new skills.

  [Echo Pulse (D)]

  Emit a pulse of mana that maps the surrounding area. Works like sonar, allowing vision in complete darkness and detecting life signatures.

  [Blood Drain (C)]

  Latch onto a target and drain their blood, restoring a small amount of health and biomass per second. Deals minor damage over time. More effective against living, warm-blooded creatures.

  Neither of the skills was that interesting to Xen. What really caught his attention was that this new form came with a passive.

  [Winged Flight]

  You instinctively understand how to maneuver with wings, allowing seamless and efficient flight. However, this passive is only active while inhabiting a form with functional wings.

  So I can fly now, but only when possessing the bat form. That's certainly something I want to try out.

  He discarded the rest of the bat's skull over the cliff edge, as he didn't want to waste time devouring it for such little biomass, and turned to the humans.

  "Right, up ahead are some Gnolls—" he paused, sensing something was wrong as they all looked at him with mixed expressions. "What?" he asked. "Is there something on my face?"

  "Gerald, how many humans have you eaten?" Randy asked carefully.

  "Humans?" Xen tilted his head. "Why do you ask?"

  "I heard you whisper that humans taste the best," Valoria said, looking down at the floor.

  "Ah," Gerald paused and shrugged. He didn't see why it would be such a big deal. "I suppose there's no point hiding it. I have eaten a few people in the last few days."

  Randy narrowed his eyes. "In the last few days—wait, hold on. What was the name of the first person you encountered?"

  "An elf called Sarah, I believe."

  Randy's eyes widened in shock. "No way... you're the Faceless One."

  Valoria and Vesper mirrored Xen's confusion.

  "The Faceless One?" Vesper asked while leaning on his walking stick for balance.

  "Yeah," Randy nodded. "Before I asked you two to accompany me into the World Dungeon the other day, I did some background research to try and find out why so many priests were gathering at the Stormbringer guild's headquarters for a raid. In the end, it was because of an undead floor boss, but during my research, I found a new bounty entry," he fumbled to bring out his phone. Unlocking it, his finger danced across the screen. "Ah, here it is."

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  He turned the phone around and showed it to the group.

  Xen was surprised he could read it. He got closer and read the contents on the bright screen that lit up their faces.

  Name: The Faceless One

  Bounty: 10,000 credits

  Joe, F-Rank Hunter, possible Necromancer or puppet of a necromancer. Around 6 feet tall, he has short black hair and, most notably, soulless eyes that he will attempt to conceal. While able to speak, he sometimes does so without moving his mouth. Has committed multiple murders on the first floor of the World Dungeon in sector 3JP.

  "Is this supposed to be me?" Xen chuckled, stepping back.

  "I believe so. I didn't make the connection until now because you were a Spellblade, not a Necromancer, and your level was above F-Rank when we first met," Randy said, lowering the phone. "We also encountered you on the second floor, not the first floor, and your helmet hid all the other issues they mentioned."

  Xen nodded. "I had to hide my face as I was on the run from multiple Hunters who wanted to kill me for simply existing. The first brain I tasted was from a man called Joe, and he was already dead. He hadn't even died to a monster—Johnathan, the elf with Sarah, had been the one to kill him."

  "What...?" Randy said, clearly not following. Not that Xen blamed him.

  "It was a whole mess," he said, sighing deeply. "I even met Sarah a second time and told her the truth—that Johnathan was simply using her to climb the ranks of the Stormbringers guild—but she didn't believe me. Humans are confusing creatures to deal with sometimes."

  "So you were the one who killed Sarah's boyfriend. Wow, now it is all starting to make sense," Randy mused, his expression deeply contemplative. "To think you were The Faceless One all along and I had no idea."

  "It's a new bounty, so I'm unsurprised I hadn't heard of him. But ten thousand credits is an insane bounty to put on a supposed F-Rank in the first place," Vesper shook his head in disbelief. "That's something only an heiress to a guild like Sarah would do," he eyed Xen thoughtfully. "An F-Rank with that bounty? I imagine the first floor of the dungeon is swarming with Hunters right now."

  Randy agreed and asked Xen, "I still don't understand, though. How did you know Johnathan was doing all those things? Have you been to the surface before?"

  Xen shook his head. "I've never been outside the dungeon. The reason I know so much is," he paused. Once again, he found himself at a crossroads. How much should he share? He glanced between the three of them. They all looked so disheveled and weak. He could kill all three with a single slash of his new sword, and with how fast he was progressing, he doubted they would ever serve as a direct threat to him. Xen sighed as he decided to share more than he wished. "I know so much because I was once a Mind Slime. I said humans taste the best because their brains are large and filled with juicy memories. Far more than these worthless dungeon mobs spawned from mana."

  Randy suddenly looked afraid. "Y-You're a Mind Slime?"

  "Used to be," Xen clarified. "I've since evolved twice."

  "And how long have you been alive?" Randy said hastily, earning looks from Vesper and Valoria.

  "I don't know? Maybe a week?" Xen answered. He had definitely spent a few days rolling around and starving as a level one Mind Slime, and then it had been three or four days since he gained his Shapeshifter class.

  "My professor was right," Randy murmured, his gaze shaking.

  "Right about what?" Valoria asked.

  Randy turned to look at Valoria, somehow paler than before. "That a slime could become stronger than a dragon. He said that if we ever found a Mind Slime, we should kill it on sight because it could act like a human while having the advantages of a monster."

  Xen slowly put his mask down over his face and stepped closer to Randy. He leaned down and got so close that Randy could see nothing but his own reflection in the polished metal mask.

  "What will it be then, Randy?" Xen said, keeping his voice low and threatening. "Are you going to kill me like your professor advised? Because I think he's right, you know."

  They stared at one another for a tense moment, the silence between them only broken by the scraping of claws from the approaching Gnolls in the distance.

  Randy opened his mouth and... laughed.

  "Gerald, even if I could kill you, that would be such a waste." Randy raised his hand and patted Xen on the shoulder. "Not to seem like I'm trying to use you or anything, but I'd prefer to stand on your side than against you. Especially after seeing Ghostwire's fate and your progress in such a short time."

  Xen slowly glanced at Randy's hand on his shoulder and then back at him.

  "That seems like a wise choice," he said in a more friendly tone and leaned back. "I'm looking forward to working with you three in the future."

  "As am I, Faceless One," Vesper said with a sarcastic bow.

  "Um, Gerald," Valoria asked sheepishly.

  "What is it?" he asked, glancing at the girl he had been carrying on his back for almost a whole day.

  "Gerald is a fake name, isn't it?" Valoria said, gaining a little confidence as all of them looked at her.

  "Mhm," Xen pondered for a second before reluctantly answering. "It is indeed a fake name. When I was asked for my name on the second floor, it was the first name that came to mind."

  "Who was Gerald?" Valoria asked, seeming curious.

  "The first human who trusted me," Xen said, sounding oddly nostalgic despite it only happening a few days ago. "He was a mage, abandoned by his team to die. I tried to save him, but I wasn't strong enough back then. He... taught me a lot despite the short time we spent together, and I promised I'd go to the surface one day to take care of his cat."

  "Ah, so the cat was his," Valoria said, nodding. "But if Gerald isn't your real name, what is it?"

  Xen smiled behind the mask. Even if he ended up revealing everything, there was one thing he would never let these humans have, and that was his true identity.

  "Now that is something I'll never tell a living soul," he laughed and strode past them toward the sound of the approaching Gnolls. He withdrew his short sword again and glanced over his shoulder at the three humans. "You three sit tight now while I deal with these Gnolls. If any Vampiric Bats come, just call out for help."

  Randy nodded. "Best of luck... Gerald."

  Xen nodded and returned his sights on the road ahead. Rounding the corner, he met eyes with the first Gnoll he had seen so far. Though he was a little confused, as the one leading the pack seemed taller and had horns.

  Perhaps it was a rare variant?

  "Appraisal," he said, scanning the group.

  [Gnoll Grunt (Level 31)]

  [Gnoll Grunt (Level 28)]

  [Gnoll Grunt (Level 30)]

  He then focused on the one at the front.

  [Demonic Gnoll (Level 40)]

  Whoa, that thing is almost the same level as the Underworld Orc.

  Xen was pleased. Not only because a rare variant had presented itself, but their levels were relatively high, meaning they would provide more experience toward leveling his human class to level 46, so he could perfectly assume Ghostwire's old identity.

  Rolling his shoulders, he crouched down and sprinted towards them. It was time for another slaughter.

  to read ahead!