Dungeon Hunter: Morphmaster

Hugo stood there in his new form, his hands trembling slightly as he stared at his reflection in a nearby puddle. His sleek, ninja-like figure shimmered with a blue and black sheen, the star-shaped symbol on his thighs and head glowing faintly. His eyes were sharp and focused, and his tongue-scarf wrapped snugly around his neck, radiating a strange sense of calm.

"I-I'm a ninja… I'm actually a ninja!" he stammered, his excitement bubbling over, as he speak through his tongue. "This is it! My childhood dream is happening! But also quite disgusting but calming, that my own tongue is large enough to wrap around my neck like a scarf.."

The Spike Frog boss let out a guttural roar, snapping Hugo back to reality. It expanded the spikes on its back, sending them flying like missiles. Hugo instinctively flipped backward, landing in a low crouch.

"Oh, right." Hugo muttered, dodging another volley. "Fighting first, fanboying later."

The boss lunged forward, shooting its sticky tongue directly at Hugo. Without hesitation, Hugo twisted his body and slashed at the tongue with a blade of condensed water he didn't even realize he had created. The severed end of the tongue recoiled, and Hugo blinked at the weapon in his hand.

"Whoa… I can make weapons?!" he exclaimed. "Okay, let's test this out."

The boss fired another spike barrage, but this time Hugo leapt onto a lamppost, crouching on it like a shadow. He extended his arm, forming a long water spear, and hurled it at one of the smaller Spike Frogs beneath the boss. The spear struck with precision, pinning the creature to the ground.

The crowd of fleeing citizens paused for a moment, some daring to glance back. "Who is that?" one of them whispered.

"I don't know, but he's keeping the monsters away!" the other man said.

The Spike Frog boss roared again, shooting a high-pressure jet of water from its mouth. Hugo flipped off the lamppost, landing gracefully on the ground. "So you're the kind of guy who plays dirty, huh?" he said, his tone dripping with mock annoyance.

He crouched low, the star-shaped symbols on his thighs glowing. Suddenly, streams of water shot out, forming into twin curved blades in his hands. "Alright, let's see how good I am with dual-wielding."

Hugo dashed forward, slicing through a wave of spikes with his water blades. The smaller Spike Frogs tried to swarm him, but Hugo spun in a fluid motion, slashing and deflecting their attacks effortlessly.

"Man, this is so much fun!" Hugo said, grinning. He leapt into the air, forming another weapon mid-flight, this time a massive water hammer. With a dramatic swing, he smashed it down onto a group of smaller Spike Frogs, sending water and frogs flying everywhere.

The Spike Frog boss, clearly enraged, expanded its spikes again, this time charging at Hugo directly. Hugo narrowed his eyes, the star-shaped symbol on his head beginning to glow brighter.

"Wait… what's this?" Hugo muttered, feeling energy build up around his head. Without thinking, he tilted his head slightly, and a high-pressure jet of water shot out from the star symbol, striking the boss square in the chest and sending it skidding backward.

Hugo landed on the ground, his chest rising and falling as he caught his breath. "Okay, that was awesome. Note to self: head lasers are a thing now."

Suddenly, a booming voice called out, "What in the world is going on here?"

Hugo turned to see a group of Hunters arriving on the scene, their weapons drawn. They froze, staring at the ninja-like figure standing amidst the chaos.

The leader of the group, a tall man with a battle axe, stepped forward. "Who are you? And why are you fighting a C-Rank boss without a license?"

Hugo's victory pose faltered as he realized his audience. "Uh… I can explain?" he said awkwardly, his voice cracking slightly.

The Hunters exchanged glances. "Explain what?" the leader demanded. "How an unlicensed fighter is taking down a dungeon boss and making it look easy?"

Hugo sighed, scratching the back of his head with one of his water blades. "This… might take a while to explain."

But then... The Spike Frog boss, enraged by Hugo's casual attitude and flashy maneuvers, suddenly lunged forward with its sticky tongue. Hugo was caught off guard, mid-conversation with the Hunters, as the slimy appendage shot toward him at blinding speed.

"Wait, wha—?!" Hugo started, but before he could react, the tongue wrapped around his torso tightly, yanking him off his feet.

The crowd gasped in unison, and the Hunters tensed, ready to intervene. The boss slammed Hugo into the ground with a resounding thud.

"Okay, ow, that one hurt." Hugo groaned, pinned by the boss's tongue. He tried to move, but the sticky texture kept him firmly in place.

The Spike Frog boss didn't stop there. It raised its massive body and prepared to crush Hugo under its weight. But then, as if sensing the impending threat, the spike armor on Hugo's body began to shake faintly.

A sudden clang echoed as the boss's sticky tongue, still wrapped around Hugo, was met with a sharp resistance. The spikes on Hugo's armor extended outward, piercing the tongue and forcing the boss to release him with a screech.

Hugo rolled to his feet, brushing off some of the slime with a grimace. "Alright, I'll admit it, that caught me off guard. But hey, thanks, spike armor!" He glanced at his glowing armor, giving it an appreciative pat.

The Spike Frog boss recoiled, the injured tongue dangling uselessly. It roared in frustration and unleashed a barrage of spikes, but Hugo was already on the move.

"Let's turn this up a notch." Hugo said, crouching low. The star symbols on his thighs glowed again as water began to condense into shurikens, swirling in the air around him. He grabbed two and hurled them at the boss with ninja-like precision.

The shurikens sliced through the barrage of spikes, one embedding itself in the boss's injured tongue while the other struck its leg. The boss staggered, its movements becoming more erratic.

One of the Hunters, still watching from a safe distance, whispered, "Is that… water manipulation? How is an unlicensed fighter this skilled?"

"I don't think he's just skilled." another said, pointing at the glowing emblem on Hugo's chest. "That's some kind of relic or artifact. It's gotta be."

Hugo smirked as he caught the Hunters' comments, forming another water blade in his hand. "Relic or not, this is all me, baby!" He dashed forward, zigzagging between the smaller Spike Frogs still lingering beneath the boss.

The boss, now desperate, charged at Hugo again, expanding its spikes in an attempt to impale him. Hugo slid under its belly at the last second, using his water blade to carve a deep line across its underbelly.

As he stood up, the boss roared in pain, thrashing wildly. Hugo flicked the water blade, dispersing it into droplets. "You know.." he said, looking up at the writhing boss. "this ninja thing? I could get used to it."

But just as he was about to celebrate, the boss glared down at him before it started channeling the liquid water from the surrounding. Hugo's eyes widened. "Uh oh… that's new."

The Spike Frog boss, injured but far from defeated, opened its massive mouth. A swirling orb of water began to form, growing larger with every passing second. The pressure in the air shifted, and the Hunters watching from the sidelines took an instinctive step back.

Hugo stared at the glowing mass in the boss's mouth, his ninja confidence faltering. "Oh, that doesn't look good. That really doesn't look good."

The orb of water shot forward, hurtling straight toward him at an alarming speed. Hugo froze for a second, his mind racing. Do I dodge? Can I dodge? Maybe I can—

Too late. The massive water blast slammed into him with full force, launching him into the air like a ragdoll.

"SON OF A—!" Hugo managed to yell before the torrent swallowed him whole, cutting off his curse mid-air. He crashed into the ground several feet away, the water finally dispersing in an explosive splash.

The crowd watching erupted into a mix of gasps and poorly concealed snickers. One Hunter covered his mouth, muttering, "I shouldn't be laughing… but that was kind of funny."

Hugo groaned, his body sprawled awkwardly on the soaked ground. He slowly propped himself up on his elbows, spitting out a mouthful of water. "Okay… new plan. Maybe don't take the giant glowing water ball head-on."

He staggered to his feet, wobbling slightly as he assessed the boss. The Spike Frog looked smug. well, as smug as a monstrous amphibian could look, its chest puffed out in triumph.

"Oh, you think you're clever, huh?" Hugo muttered, cracking his neck. "Well, guess what, froggy? You just unlocked my final form: Extremely Annoyed Ninja!"

The Hunters, now fully invested, couldn't help but laugh at Hugo's antics. One even whispered. "I kind of want to see how this ends now, not that I wanted to."

Hugo tightened his stance, as both hand slap the star-shape symbol on the thigh, water started forming into twin blades in his hands. "Alright, Spike-Face, round two. Let's see how you like it when I actually try!"

Continue...

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Hello! I just here to tell you that I noticed the quality is too long, soooo. I decided to cut it slightly short! HAHAHA!