The Shapeshifter

After recollecting himself, Alex stood up, though a bit shaky. He looked around and was finally able to see inside this dark palace.

'I seem to have gained a better sight and the feeling of power that I felt before was real.' he said as he closed his fist.

He stood on a boxing stance and began shadow boxing.

The corpse of the Scorpion Emperor that should've been in front of him was now gone. There was only a trace, or an outline left behind by the body.

The dagger was also left behind. Its edge was dried with blood. It originally wasn't supposed to be stained, however the poison and the passage of time has affected the blood to coagulate in it.

The coagulated blood made the once beautiful dagger look like a rusted one that came from the junk.

He took the dagger and gripped its hilt. It was supposed to be a dagger, but to him, that was like half the size of the Emperor, it was like a short sword.

The scene of the Emperor cutting his own heart and stabbing the dagger in it emerged.

'He said he refined it for me. I wonder what that refined means.' Alex wondered. He wasn't really 'educated' with regards to things in magic. That was why he needed to attend an academy so that he wouldn't be bullied by kids his age and he could gobble up all the knowledge in the library.

'Let's wander around the palace first, maybe the Scorpion Emperor left something for me. Hehe.' Wandering inside this big palace, he didn't think like he would get lost, he just has to trace his steps back and find another path again.

He held on to the dagger because he didn't have a sheath for it. It wasn't like he was afraid that there would be dangers inside this palace.

After he got out of the throne room, he picked a side then walked along the corridor. His steps reverberated in the silent palace, so if any other being was present, he would be able to hear it and locate it.

It didn't take long for him to see a room. No, many rooms actually. He then entered the nearest one.

He was surprised at how spacious the room was. It was like the living quarters of the King. His eyes sparkled in excitement. He dashed towards the desk and looked for something valuable. The desks were clean; there was nothing in it.

However, that didn't stop his ardor of finding items of the Emperor. He looked through the drawer, dressers, bed and under the bed. He almost turned the whole room upside down but was disappointed with the lack of rare items in the room.

He bowed his head and dejectedly walked out of the room and closed its door. When he raised his head, his zeal that was supposedly gone was replenished!

'Haha! There are still many rooms! Better not let those items acc.u.mulate dusts.' With his new-found strength went through every single room until he reached a dead end. After pillaging 16 rooms, he was only able to find two 'rare' items.

The first one was a brooch. It's color was silver and probably was made of silver. It was shaped like a leaf, so he took fancy of it since he was a wood mage. Not just that, but now, he had something that will hold and close the tattered maroon cape. He finally wouldn't look like a kid with a tied quilt on his neck.

The last one that he got was a pair of black leathered bracers. He was already wearing it; however he hadn't tried to place the dagger in it. Now that he finished looking at the rooms, he was finally able to see if it fits.

He inserted the dagger on the bracer's sheath and an unimaginable scene occurred. The dagger that was bigger than the bracers shrank and fit itself on it!

"Woah! It does that? Cool! I better inspect it in the future." He moved his arms around and walked back the same way he came from. He decided to check the other side, since he found something on the rooms, he might as well check the others.

Alex felt awkward with the dagger on top of his left forearm. He thought that it would probably be a hindrance, so he turned the bracer so that the dagger was below his forearm. It looked funny though, the top side of the left bracer was the side with strings while his right arm had the dagger side.

However he did not mind it, as the looks will not determine one's strength.

He arrived at the throne room very fast and continued walking down the corridor. This side was very weird, the carpet was like concealing the sound of his footsteps. This made him alert and at the same time scared. What's more scary than exploring the unknown?

Five minutes have already passed and he wasn't able to find anything. No doors, no stairs, nothing; there only the two walls. Nevertheless, he still continued marching forward.

It wasn't long before he reached a dead end.

'Gurgle, Gurgle' his stomach sounded like a beast demanding for food. "How long have I been here. Ahhhh. I'm hungry! I think I can still persist for a few hours. I should check the throne room again and see if I forgot something, then I should find a way out."

He could only sigh at his fate. He wasn't able to know the time because the palace was beneath the sands. He wasn't able to know for how long he has been staying in this place because he passed out twice. Walking to quickly find something to eat, he arrived at the throne room.

Looking around the throne, he was able to see his final loot. It glinted with a red light that was coming from a gem on the b.u.t.t of a hilt. It was a Sword.