So cold…. The shadow spectre loomed over him in all its terrible, chilling presence.

The precise second that the shadow spectre had drifted through him, it seemed to have stolen all warmth from his body. Even within the armor that ought to regulate his temperature, eX-0281 nearly fell asleep from the sheer drop.

Instinctively, he shifted to his warmer human form. While he struggled to recover and sit up, eX-0281 pulled up the additional information from the [Scan].

The shadow spectre is formed when the soul of a sapient, living entity is siphoned out of their bodies and placed in a contained area with a high concentration of mana. The superfluous mana corrupts the trapped life force and embitters it into a shadow of its former self.

That sounded horrible, only making eX-0281 further despair in the face of the shade which hung over his head.

For this reason, shadow spectres are often fascinated by life and naturally want to latch onto souls that shine the brightest in their glowing, yellow eyes.

Should I take that one as a compliment?

Alas, eX-0281 did not have time to skim over the actual, important information about how to combat this foe.

Instead, shadowy energy swirled around its body—a high-tiered [Bend Shadow] that gathered its element into a ball. The simulation of a [Shadow Strike] pummeled forward, spinning around with its dark energy. It struck eX-0281 directly against the front of his helmet.

In contrast to the shadow energy that went through him, eX-0281 saw a bright flash of light. He fell back and heard his helmet thunk against the ground.

Name: eX-0281 [Sub-Dragon Shifter (Human Form)]

Vitality: 75%

Discrete Parts: Right Wing (90%), Left Wing (90%), Tail (80%)

That singular hit just took 15% off his vitality, leaving him dazed as he realized the gravity of the situation. His sub-dragon form would offer more defense, especially thanks to the thicker skull designed for impact, but alas, he could not change back till his body temperature rose.

"Liz 2," the Disco Menace shouted in his headset. The constant hum of the hoverbike suddenly spiked with a large boost to power. She went flying by on the bike and struck the shadow spectre across the body with her pipe.

For certain, eX-0281 thought that the swing would ring true. The shadow spectre had other plans and decided to fade out of existence, but not like what the behemoth had done. Rather, its physical form became a wisp of its former self.

Target: Shadow Spectre (Ethereal Form)

Vitality: 100%

Discrete Parts: Mana Heart (100%)

Mana Reserves: 1,000 Mu

"That did nothing to it." eX-0281 spoke out of awe, and soon, he noticed eX-0704 at his side. With his friend tugging him along, the two of them tried to put some space between them and the shadow spectre.

"What happened?" eX-0704 asked, panicked. "I can't see anything. Where's the enemy?"

"I think the shadows just came alive and attacked me…."

While they clutched onto each other out of fright, eX-0704 had his tail curled around his ankle and wings folded flat. eX-0281 would have done the exact same if not in human form, so instead, he shook with his scared shivers.

A fair distance from them, the shadow spectre drifted after the Disco Menace. Since she was dealing with it at present, eX-0281 had a new chance to read its information sheet.

The shadow spectre can morph its body into a multitude of shapes, including a shift between ethereal and corporeal forms. The corporeal form becomes vulnerable to physical attacks, but also lets the shadow spectre deliver attacks through advanced [Bend Shadow] tricks without draining its mana heart. The simulated shadow attacks are worth one quarter of the strength of true magic.

That [Shadow Strike] which eX-0281 had just endured…. That was only a fourth of its true power. If it landed a successful hit in its ethereal form, eX-0281 would get 60% of his vitality wiped away just like that, leaving approximately 15% left.

"704, its attack power is four times as strong in its ethereal form. It can nearly kill us in one hit!"

"What even is it?" eX-0704 shouted with greater stress in his voice. Regardless if it took corporeal or ethereal form, the shadow spectre was impossible to see in the dark without a visor.

"Just…." eX-0281 wanted to order him to run away, but that could be even more hazardous than staying here. "Just stick close to me. The Disco Menace is taking care of it."

As he said that, the Disco Menace swung around on her bike and readied a massive [Lightning Storm]. The A-tier ability exploded from both hands, and it sent electric shockwaves rippling across the ground.

The mass of leaping lightning bolts hurtled for the shadow spectre, and as the electrical energy coursed through the amalgamated shadow, it jittered about from the impact.

Target: Shadow Spectre (Ethereal Form)

Vitality: 80%

Discrete Parts: Mana Heart (100%)

Mana Reserves: 1,000 Mu

In contrast, the Disco Menace had wiped a good portion of mana off her reserves.

Member: Victoria "Vickie" / "Disco Menace" [Human]

Vitality: 75%

Mana Reserves: 4,525 Mu

Without even considering the mana regeneration rate out here, she should be able to do that four more times. Her power should be just enough to dismiss the shade.

Not even in sub-dragon form, eX-0281 still felt sleepy as relief filled him. Though he wanted to help, he did not see how he could. It seemed like the Disco Menace would have to handle this one on her own.

"Lizards," the Disco Menace hollered over the earpiece, "make a wall of ice. Now!"

eX-0281 looked to eX-0704 out of fright. "She says we need to make a wall of ice…."

"It's casting an area attack!"

The shadow spectre wavered in the air. Momentarily, it seemed to collapse inward on itself and gather the contents of its own body.

"Um, uh, how do we make a wall?" eX-0704 asked.

"Let's put all our mana into [Manifest Ice]." Naturally, eX-0281 did not know what to do any better than eX-0704. The basic [Manifest] and [Bend] spells were the foundation of all magic, so as long as they could make the ice, he saw no reason why they could not make a wall.

Lumpy chunks of ice began forming from their sets of fingers and claws—human and sub-dragon. A chill drifted off the frosty chunks, leaving eX-0281 in a catch-22. On one hand, they needed this ice for defense. On the other, he also needed to shift into his inherently tougher sub-dragon form.

Once he had produced his ten pieces of ice, a smidgen quicker than eX-0704 could manage, eX-0281 made his declaration. "I'm still so cold, but I'm shifting back…."

Against instinct, he forced himself into the frigid, sleepy body of his dragon form. The cool air around the [Ice Wall] finally did him in.

When he started to slump over again, eX-0704 was there to catch him this time. His mind fell into the haze of a quick nap and was hardly able to perceive the pulsating shadows which rushed to envelop them.

The [Shadow Pulse] flowed up against the [Ice Wall] like rough ocean waves breaking against a pier. Underneath that energy, the [Ice Wall] caved but not in the physical sense. The shadow magic ultimately passed through the wall like a process of osmosis.

Mercifully, some of the fervor behind the attack had been held back. eX-0281 was too dazed to brace himself for the hit, but he did feel eX-0704 hold him tight and wrap his wings around them both.

While the wicked magic passed through him, eX-0281 quaked with the heat-sapping and fear-inducing nature of the element. He did not need a status screen to understand the twisting sensation which settled over his organs.

As eX-0281 cried out in pain, eX-0704 hollered in kind. His heavy lids cracked open enough to see the status screens.

Name: eX-0281 [Sub-Dragon Shifter (Human Form)]

Vitality: 55%

Discrete Parts: Right Wing (90%), Left Wing (90%), Tail (80%)

Mana Reserves: 0 Mu

Given how eX-0704 had tried to bear the brunt of the attack, his vitality bar fared worse. His wings, however, had helped sponge some of the damage off his primary health.

Member: eX-0704 [Sub-Dragon Shifter (Dragon Form)]

Vitality: 50%

Discrete Parts: Right Wing (78%), Left Wing (77%), Tail (100%)

Mana Reserves: 0 Mu

The poorly constructed wall collapsed into shambles of black ice, tainted by the shadow that had passed through it.

"281," eX-0704 gasped and tried to shake him awake. "You can't sleep now. Change back!"

Groggily, he let his instincts kick back in and returned to human form. If eX-0281 and eX-0704 did not want to die in a subsequent attack, they needed to quell the shadow spectre quicker than the Disco Menace could by herself.

As she drove around on the hoverbike, getting into a new position for an attack, she barked over the speakers. "That was the worst [Ice Wall] I've ever seen!"

Now that she mentioned it, eX-0281 never received a notification about learning a new skill. Apparently his attempt had been so pathetic, the system did not even register it.

Though eX-0281 wanted to grumble about how this was his first day using magic, he dedicated all his attention to their adversary.

Miraculously, the shadow spectre's health had gone down alongside its own attack. Was it recoil damage, perhaps?

Target: Shadow Spectre (Ethereal Form)

Vitality: 60%

Discrete Parts: Mana Heart (80%)

Mana Reserves: 800 Mu

More than that, the mass of shadows appeared smaller than before. With this new revelation, eX-0281's spirits picked up. This enemy was not so bad, now that they had a clear path to victory: drain away its mana reserves alongside its vitality.