Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 131 Formatting

As the shapeshifter finished speaking, a barely perceptible smile appeared on Ron's lips.

Even when he was at a disadvantage, his eyes remained as firm as ever, without the slightest panic.

"You copied my ability."

Ron slowly stood up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "But there are some things you can never replicate."

The shapeshifter scoffed. "Still bluffing when disaster strikes? You've already exhausted everything you have. What other cards do you have that I don't know about?"

"this."

Ron quickly took out a silver pocket watch from his arms and pressed the mechanism under the surprised gaze of the shapeshifter.

The black gem in the center of the pocket watch lit up instantly, and a strange energy wave spread out from it, enveloping Ron's entire body.

[Energy consumption -3, reset current injuries]

In an instant, the scars on Ron's body disappeared as if time had gone back, and his aura returned to its peak state before the battle.

A sharp light flashed in his eyes, and his whole temperament changed.

"The pocket watch of the time guard."

The shapeshifter exclaimed, shock showing in his voice for the first time: "You have actually already initially activated it!"

Without waiting for the other party to react, Ron suddenly launched an attack.

His swordsmanship became more fierce, and each sword strike was half a second faster and three times heavier than the previous one.

The shapeshifter was forced to retreat again and again, the surprise on his face gradually turning into solemnity.

"I see. The pocket watch actually reset your state. I've been trying to figure it out for so many years..."

Ron ignored it, flipped his left hand, took out a bottle of light red potion from his waist bag and drank it all in one gulp.

The moment the medicine entered his throat, his eyes became brighter, his muscle lines became more clearly visible, and his overall reaction speed and strength were significantly improved.

"Enhancement potion?"

The shapeshifter's expression changed slightly, and he also tried to take out the potion from his body, but found that he could only copy Ron's movements, but not his props.

The fact that it could simulate an ironwood sword was already its limit, and it was not yet capable of directly simulating potions and alchemical substances. Otherwise, it would not be a transformer but a "creator".

"You can only copy the abilities I display, but not my tools. Furthermore, if you want to replicate my state, it will take time to prepare. I won't give you the chance!"

Ron sneered, and the ironwood sword in his hand drew a perfect arc, aiming straight for the shapeshifter's throat.

The shapeshifter barely dodged it, but saw that Ron had already thrown two alchemical flash bombs with his other hand.

The flash bomb exploded in the air, releasing a dazzling bright light and a deafening bang.

The shapeshifter copied Ron's form and abilities, and also made its visual and auditory senses function according to its structure.

The bright light and the loud noise made it lose its sense of direction for a moment, and it staggered slightly.

Ron seized this fleeting opportunity and rushed forward like an arrow, piercing the shapeshifter's heart with the ironwood sword in his right hand.
At the same time, his left hand suddenly opened, and a golden-red halo condensed in the palm of his hand and expanded instantly.

"Ring of Glory!"

Although the shapeshifter's vision was disturbed, its instinctive sense of crisis allowed it to barely avoid the fatal sword, but it could not completely avoid the ring of light that followed.

A golden and red halo penetrated its body, burning its insides with high temperature while producing a strong blinding effect.

"Ah!" The shapeshifter let out a painful howl, and the surface of his body began to fluctuate unsteadily, with parts of it exhibiting the properties of liquid metal.

Ron didn't give the other party a chance to breathe, and took out the last bottle of potion from his waist bag - "Extreme Shadow", which was the strongest auxiliary potion he prepared specially for this trip.

As the medicine entered his throat, his figure instantly became blurred and his speed increased to an incredible level.

The shapeshifter hadn't fully recovered from the previous attack when he felt a barrage of sword strikes coming at him.

Ron's figure was like a ghost, attacking from all angles at the same time. Each sword was as fast as lightning and landed accurately on its critical parts.

"Sonic shock!"

Ron suddenly stopped, stretched out his hand and pushed forward, and a blast of invisible sonic energy struck the shapeshifter.

This time, he mobilized almost all of his remaining magic power, causing the power of the sonic vibration to reach an unprecedented level.

The shapeshifter's body was constantly twisting and deforming under the impact of the sound waves, and the surface of the silver liquid was rolling endlessly as if it was boiling.

Its body suddenly expanded, forming a huge silver sphere, and then exploded, turning into countless liquid metal fragments that splashed in all directions.

These fragments seemed to have life, changing direction in the air and attacking Ron from all angles.

Ron quickly defended himself, but a few drops of liquid metal still penetrated his defense and landed on his skin, immediately causing piercing pain.

He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain as he searched for the main body of the shapeshifter.

——Ring of Glory!
The golden-red halo scattered out with unprecedented speed and power, directly penetrating the body of the deformer.

High temperatures burned every part of it, and energy ripples exploded from within, tearing its silver liquid body into countless pieces.

The shapeshifter let out a final, unwilling roar before his body completely collapsed, transforming into a pool of silver liquid that scattered on the ground, never to be reassembled.

Ron was panting heavily, his whole body drenched in sweat.

He looked at the pool of silver liquid on the ground that was no longer moving, and cautiously poked it a few times with the tip of his sword to confirm that the shapeshifter had lost its vitality.

"Looks like I won," he said calmly, with no trace of pride in his voice, only deep fatigue.

[The collection of the rare artifact "Shaper's Skin" has begun]

【Storage completed! 】

Please select the direction of consciousness reconstruction:

1. Complete obedience: Delete all original personality and reshape into a tool of absolute obedience.

2. Limited autonomy: retain basic individuality but set clear behavioral boundaries and loyalties.

3. Partnership: Maintaining the integrity of individuality while establishing a symbiotic relationship of equality and mutual benefit.

Ron looked at the three options and fell into deep thought.

The first option is the safest, but it also greatly reduces the flexibility and potential of the Antiquity;

The third option is the riskiest, but also potentially the highest reward;
The second option is a relatively balanced choice.

After experiencing the life-and-death battle just now, Ron was well aware of the danger of this ancient artifact.

It was able to read memories, change forms, and even nearly kill him.

Choosing to completely trust such an existence is undoubtedly extremely dangerous.

"I choose the first option," Ron finally decided. "Delete all original personalities and reshape them into absolutely obedient tools."

It doesn't matter. He doesn't need to develop the other party's potential. Safety is the most important thing.

【Select Confirmation: Fully Obey】

[Reconstruction Begins.] The shapeshifter's skin began to emit a faint glow, and the patterns on its surface kept changing, as if undergoing some kind of reprogramming.

"No! You can't do this!"

The shapeshifter sensed Ron's intentions, and the silver liquid rolled violently, trying to escape.

"Rare and ancient objects shouldn't have a will of their own."

Ron said calmly, reaching out to operate the interface: "You have violated your own nature."

The shapeshifter struggled frantically, splitting into dozens of silver tentacles that tried to attack each other while emitting shrill screams.

[Remodeling progress: 30%]

"I've waited for centuries! Consumed hundreds of souls! Just to be freed from slavery!"

The shapeshifter's voice was filled with desperation and anger: "I refuse to be a tool again!"

[Remodeling progress: 85%]

"I have absorbed soul energy close to the critical value and am only one step away."

The shapeshifter's voice became distorted and desperate: "I can almost taste the taste of freedom."

"Unfortunately, you won't have this opportunity."

[Self-awareness has been rebuilt]

The shapeshifter's final struggle vanished, and the silver liquid obediently flowed toward Ron, adhering to his skin and forming an almost imperceptible film.

Ron could feel that the shapeshifter had completely merged with him and had become a pure tool, no longer having his own will or thoughts.

The self-awareness of struggle, anger, and desire for freedom has completely disappeared, leaving only basic functional programs.

This process lasted for several minutes, during which time Ron could feel his connection with the ancient artifact becoming stronger and stronger.

He felt a cool sensation, but not uncomfortable, as if he had put on a very fitting second skin.

[Shaper's skin has been attached, establishing a synchronous connection]

[Connection complete, you now have full control over the Shapeshifter Skin]

[Current disguise status: Original appearance revealed (default status)]

[Tip: The self-awareness of the Shapeshifter's Skin can be edited at any time]

"I can provide you with any disguise at any time, including the simulation of aura and some abilities."

This time, the shapeshifter's voice rang directly in Ron's mind, but without any emotional fluctuations:
"At the same time, I can completely isolate myself from external mental detection to protect your secrets from being discovered."

Ron tried mind control and was surprised to find that he could change his appearance easily.

He tried to become Andre and then changed back to himself. The whole process was smooth and natural, even the breath was exactly the same.

"Amazing." Ron murmured in admiration, "This is even more perfect than I imagined."

"Of course, this disguise also requires energy support."

The Transformer Mechanic explained:
"I need to sleep to maintain basic energy, and I will only wake up when you need me to be useful."

At this moment, Andre, who was under mental control, finally regained consciousness and looked around blankly.

"What happened?" he asked, confused. "Why did I suddenly lose consciousness?"

Ron quickly recovered and walked to Andre:
"That old woman used some kind of mind control spell, and we just had a fierce battle."

"Battle?" Andre was even more confused. "But this place looks... um, like it was destroyed by a big storm."

Indeed, except for some relatively hard items, all the bottles and jars inside the pawnshop were almost broken into pieces.

Ron smiled slightly, "It's okay. In fact, most of the fighting happened outside the store."

He then made up a simple story, claiming that he had defeated the old woman with his mental power and obtained information about the Sands of Time.

Andre was skeptical, but since he had indeed lost his memory for a period of time, he could only accept this explanation:

"So, did we find what we were looking for?"

"Yes."

Ron nodded and took out a small bottle from his pocket.

Inside was some golden sand that shone with a strange light, which the shapeshifter had just provided him:

"This is the Sands of Time. Although the amount is small, it is enough for my research."

"Great!" Andre breathed a sigh of relief. "Can we go back now? I feel a little dizzy."

"Of course, we'll be right back."

Ron supported Andre, but secretly thanked the shapeshifter's mental control for saving him the trouble of explaining.

As he left the pawn shop, Ron glanced back.

In his spiritual perception, the entire store seemed to be shrouded in a layer of energy field, as if there were secrets waiting to be discovered.

“I’ll probably come again if I have the chance.”

He looked at the mysterious little shop, then helped the still dizzy Andre out of Lizard Alley.

On the way back to the school, Andre was in a semi-comatose state.

Ron used this time to communicate with the shapeshifter in his mind and obtained more information about rare antiques.

When they finally returned to the school, it was almost dusk.

After Ron sent Andre back to the dormitory, he returned to his workshop alone.

Pushing open the door of the workshop, Ailan was sorting out potion materials. Seeing Ron coming back, she immediately put down her work and came to greet him.

"Master, welcome back."

Ailan's vines swayed gently, and smooth handwriting appeared on the leaf writing board:

"You look tired yet excited. Did you gain a lot?"

“It’s much better than expected.”

Ron responded with a smile and gently stroked Ailan's vines:

“I got something very valuable.”

"Do you need to rest?" Ailan asked with concern, "I have prepared dinner and hot tea."

"Thank you, Ellen," Ron said gently.
"I'll go to the lab first and be out soon."

He walked quickly into his laboratory, making sure the doors and windows were closed, and then said to the shapeshifter in his mind:
"Now you can continue to tell us in detail about the information you have."

The shapeshifter separated from Ron's body and transformed into a small humanoid figure standing on the experimental table:
"As my current core instructions require, I will answer all your questions."

(End of this chapter)