Supreme Magus novel Chapter 1699

Thrud showed the Doppelganger around the Golden Griffon, teaching them the names of the things and the people they met by using a combination of mind links, gestures, and words that she had planned to use with the little Valeron.

Protheus proved to be smart and curious. They took samples from all those they met and in the space of a few days, the Doppelganger was already able to talk fluently. Protheus joined the classes for Awakened to understand magic, spending all of their free time practicing Accumulation.

Protheus would rarely speak because the world around them was interesting and filled with countless marvels that they were eager to learn about. Over time, Thrud and everyone else inside the Golden Griffon had become used to the Doppelganger's quiet presence.

Protheus usually spoke only to ask questions so when they chose Thrud's war room to give their first speech, she almost couldn't believe her own ears.

"Conquering the cities of the Kingdom from the inside is a smart plan, but you can't trust traitors. They could change their mind at the first hitch in your plans or simply chicken out under pressure.

"You need someone to keep an eye on them at all times. Someone that can take out a useless pawn at any moment and escape without being noticed." Protheus turned into their gelatinous form, mimicking their escape through a drain pipe.

"My brethren and I can pass through an enchanted sieve without being noticed, let alone the sewer's grids. We can get in and out from any city." Thrud had allowed the Doppelganger to reproduce in order to not make them feel lonely and to study their behavior as a species instead of a single individual.

"That's too dangerous." She dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand. "You and your children have no idea of how complex the everyday life of any creature is. Skinwalkers, instead, can learn everything they need with a single meal."

"Indeed, yet their feral nature limits their intelligence and adaptability. They can follow your orders, but not improvise." Protheus said. "On top of that, they make the perfect scapegoat. If one of your subjects betrays you, they can always claim that they acted under the threat of being replaced by a Skinwalker.

"Using those monsters as spies is a double-edged sword because even though they can replace anyone, their existence gives the traitors who have joined your cause a bargaining chip with the Kingdom to obtain a full pardon for their actions.

"If the Skinwalkers get exposed before the war starts, your plan will fail."

"You may be right, but your numbers are too few and you are too weak." Thrud shook her head. "Going from a red to an orange core is quick, but it will take you months if not years even to achieve a green core."

"We are not weak!" Protheus shapeshifted into an Emerald Dragon, crushing a huge stone with the sheer strength of their grip and showing the hardness of their scales by withstanding the strike of an enchanted weapon.

Then the Doppelganger turned into Iata the Scorpicore, stinging with the scorpion tail at the enchanted walls of the academy and secreting enough acid to open a sizzling hole.

Unlike a slime, a Doppelganger could store the excess mass obtained through feeding indefinitely and compress it into their bodies to have the same physical abilities as the creatures they turned into.

Then, Protheus combined the best components of each creature that they had sampled to use their bloodline ability, Chimeric Body. It allowed a Doppelganger not to be forced to mimic the full body of a creature to use their natural gifts, adapting them to whatever form they chose.

They could retain human form and still be able to use wings to fly or look like a rat whose bite was venomous.