by Neven Iliev
Just to be sure, it double-checked its Status, but its Ruin Mastery didn’t budge. It seemed that using its own familiar as a punching bag wouldn’t actually raise its Mastery Skills. Well, she was born of its own MP so doing that was more or less like hitting itself. Which, it knew for a fact, also couldn’t be used to train up Skills.
And so it spent the next half hour or so idly regenerating its MP while playing with the gold coins. First it summoned back Xera and told her to keep checking the camp for anything else that looked useful. Then it absorbed one more corpse, which ended in another failure. The third one, however, was a hit.
[Your Cadaver Absorption was a moderate success!]
[12% of the target’s highest Skill Proficiency has been added to your own.]
[The body’s deteriorated condition has weakened this effect by 40%.]
[Proficiency level increased. Dagger Mastery is now Level 2. STR +2. DEX +6.]
The Skill itself was not that great, but the Attribute gains were tasty. Now that the Mimic thought about it, it was still carrying that oddly shiny dagger it had picked up when it was still Level 10. It used the fake Xera’s white hand to reach into its Storage and pull it out. The weapon in question had a deep blue gemstone embedded in the pommel. The short steel blade glistened with an unnatural light blue sheen and a faint icy fog drifted down from it.
This was a magic weapon, enchanted with the power of ice. Anyone stabbed by this would have their insides freeze over, causing additional HP damage. The downside was that it needed more maintenance than plain steel blades, not to mention it was almost five times more expensive. The simple Mimic obviously had no idea about any of this. It was just coveting the shiny thing that looked like a tiny sword.
However, now that it had the knowledge of Dagger Mastery, it realized this short blade was more suited to ambushing targets. It could be thrust in and out of flesh with much greater ease and speed. Xera’s white, tender hand changed into a grotesque red tongue-tentacle as it gave the weapon a few experimental swings. The actual Xera stiffened up when she heard the familiar swishing sounds, but felt relief wash over her when it became obvious it didn’t feel like stabbing her.
Well, not for the moment, at least.
After some more waiting around, Xera had finished checking all the belongings.
“I’ve found a few… ‘tasty’ things, Master,” she reported.
“Show me!” it replied eagerly.
“They were carrying a few low-grade Healing Potions. Er, you do know what a Healing Potion is, right?”
“Yes,” it confirmed. “Glass thing with liquid. Gives HP when I eat it. Moderately tasty.”
It was already familiar with this alchemical product. A few of those potions were present in the satchels and pockets of its previous victims and spilled out into its mouth while it chewed on the remains.
“Oh, okay. Here they are.”
Xera held out three crystal vials. The Mimic put them in its mouth, crunched down on them and swallowed. Just because it knew what potions were didn’t mean it realized it could have saved them for later. Food was meant to be eaten before it got all rotten and un-tasty, after all.
As for the succubus, she felt herself die a little on the inside. Just when she thought that chest would behave rationally, it proved her wrong. Her naivete proved she was still overestimating it. Or underestimating, depending on the point of view. All that was left for her to do was let out yet another sigh before continuing with her findings.
“There were also two swords over there that you’d probably like.”
She pointed to the unsheathed blades on the ground a few meters away from her. The simple blades looked practically brand new. The Mimic was quite enthusiastic about this as the ones it had were woefully unmaintained and horribly over-used. They were blunted, rusted, and seemed like they would snap in half any day now.
“I also found some more gold for you - 63 GP in total.”
Next, she took out a small purse and dumped out its contents in a careless manner, causing dozens of glittering coins to pour out of it. They hit the brick-covered ground with a bit of a racket, then bounced or rolled all over the place. Rather than being annoyed, the Mimic simply marveled at the sight until the last bit of gold came to a complete rest. It began picking them up one by one with great glee, carefully appraising each piece before putting it safely away inside its Storage.
Most of them were tiny ones, barely bigger than a thumbnail and just as thick. A good number of them were also slightly bent from changing hands so many times. These were Serf pieces worth 1 GP each. The rest were about twice as large in diameter and a tiny bit thicker, not to mention shinier due to the higher degree of gold purity. These ones were called Knight pieces, each of which had a value of 5 GP.
“They had a map, too,” added Xera with a tinge of hope in her voice. “The thing you’re looking for is actually less than a minute away from here.”
However, saving what she believed to be the best news for last proved to be a mistake. The Mimic was too enthralled by the shiny things to pay her any attention. Eventually it calmed down enough to process the good news. After she repeated them, of course. It still had one more corpse to absorb, though, so it went over to do just that.
[Your Cadaver Absorption was a minor success!]
[12% of the target’s highest Attribute has been added to your own.]
[The body’s deteriorated condition has weakened this effect by 40%.]
[The Charisma (CHR) Attribute has been created through a special action. CHR +7.]
It quickly verified this mysterious new addition to its Status.
[Charisma (CHR)]
Slightly increases your attractiveness.
If it was the Mimic from two weeks ago, it would definitely scoff at this seemingly useless Attribute, but the present one knew better. It considered how effective Snack was at deceiving others with her looks, and knew firsthand how useful such a thing could be. If it could become an irresistible treasure chest as a result of this Attribute, then it would undoubtedly be much easier to fool its prey. After all, it thrived on ambushing those blinded by greed, so something like this was sure to be useful.
Unfortunately, the monster was being a bit too optimistic for its own good. Even with 10,000 CHR it would at most appear to be just a really clean and sparkly treasure chest, which wouldn’t have the sort of effect on people that it was imagining. This Attribute had almost no impact on how an inanimate object looked, after all. It would be a different story for someone who was naturally beautiful, however. For example, if Xera had a five-figure CHR Attribute she could make both men and women alike fall madly and hopelessly in love with her with just a glance. A wink and a smile would make them orgasm on the spot. Indeed, entire kingdoms would willingly line up to receive the honor of having their life sucked out of them by such an unimaginable beauty.
In short, the only way CHR would be useful to the Mimic right now was if it gained a new Job that could make use of this Attribute. Even if it morphed into half-a-Xera, the lower half of that form would be a dead giveaway to anyone with half a brain that it was a monster. Indeed, it would probably attract more oblivious ‘customers’ if it just stuck with its tried-and-true chesty visage.
Now that all four corpses were gobbled up and its MP was mostly replenished, it decided it was time to move out. It went over to where Xera was waiting. The bored succubus picked herself up off the ground when she noticed her master approach.
“We go,” said the Mimic. “Show me where the Dungeon Core is.”
Part Four
Just as Xera had said, the heart of the dungeon was quite close by the little camp those adventurers had made. It was clearly marked on the hand-drawn map they had brought with them. A significant portion of the labyrinthine corridors had been mapped out in great detail, which looked odd considering how uneven and smudged the lines on it were. It was legible, but barely.
Xera guessed this was something those four had copied
for themselves, but that was beside the point. Even as poor quality as it was, the place where her master wanted to go was plainly visible. Their destination was the only unmapped portion of the dungeon, with the words ‘Do not enter’ scribbled in the blank space. And the two of them were standing at a T-shaped junction, right on the edge of that space.
Behind them was the way they came. To the right was a path that would take them nowhere in particular. The way to the left stretched out into a straight corridor that led into the uncharted heart of this dungeon. It looked pretty much exactly like the rest of the underground maze - stone brick walls and floor, creepy statues and carvings visible along the wall and ghostly torches providing just enough blue light to make their presence known. It was easy to see how someone might enter this place by accident if they didn’t have one of these maps.
Which was probably why ‘DO NOT ENTER’ was written in large blocky letters on either side of the passage in question with an eye-catching yellow paint. Grimy and steadily peeling off, but eye-catching nonetheless.
“The core should be down this way, Master,” said the succubus.
The Mimic stopped playing with its expanded collection of gold coins and, much to her relief, shifted back into its combat stance, swords at the ready.
“Go in front,” it ordered.
“Understood, Master.”
It sent its familiar ahead so that she could be bait for any ambushes or traps. Even if she was much more fragile than itself, she could still be used as a meat shield. After all, she was expendable and her death would be an inconvenience at most.
Also, the Mimic was more than a little worried about friendly fire. It had plenty of opportunity to watch Xera use her magic throughout the dungeon, so it knew full well just how out of control those Pyroclasm Spells could get. Being in that pyromaniac’s line of fire was not an attractive prospect, to say the least. So it went against the common sense of adventuring parties and put the vulnerable Caster Job at the front.
The succubus walked about fifteen meters in front of her master like she had been doing until now. However, unlike before, it was being strangely silent. She found herself looking over her shoulder a few times to make sure it was still following her. The way that animate chest followed made for a rather unsettling sight. Even the experienced demoness found the way it was quietly gliding along on those eight spider legs to be a bit creepy. If someone were to see the two of them right now, they’d undoubtedly misunderstand the situation as a monster stalking an innocent young woman.
The corridor itself went on straight for a while and had several left turns, but there were no intersections with other tunnels. Rather than a maze, this part of the dungeon was more akin to a spiral. Eventually, the corridor ended in a rather plain stone archway with a wide hall on the other side of it. The rectangular chamber was far more spacious when compared to the rest of the dungeon, more than thirty meters on each side. Four wide stone columns were spaced out evenly around the interior, likely holding up the four meter tall ceiling.
And right in the middle of the room, on top of a circular marble altar, was the core - a glowing red crystal ball, roughly one meter in diameter. At first glance it seemed to be sitting on top of its pedestal, but a closer inspection revealed it was actually floating ever so slightly above it.
Xera entered the room boldly, her footsteps echoing throughout the chamber. Her master skittered in silently behind her shortly after. As the succubus approached the core on the Mimic’s orders, she heard a strange whimper and a rustling of chains. Looking to her right, she saw what appeared to be a young human girl still in her mid-to-late teens, chained up against the pillar.
The prisoner was sitting on the ground with arms bound tightly above her head by thick, rusty shackles and chains. Her long, black, oily hair was stuck to her face, obscuring part of her features. She was wearing what appeared to be leather armor that was mostly in tatters and left much of her pale, bruised skin exposed. The odd posture she was in emphasized her moderately-sized, albeit perky breasts.
“Please! Help me!” she shouted with a voice halfway between a plea and a cry.
“Sure,” replied the ‘adventurer’ with a smile on her face.
“Really? You’ll release me?”
“Yep! Release you from life, that is!”
“… Huh?”
“Fireball!”
The sudden Spell crashed into the stone pillar, wrapping the lowest part of it in a plume of bright red flames.
“What are you doing?!” screamed the prisoner.
“I could ask you the same thing, hmm?”
In the split second between chanting the Spell and it hitting its target, the black-haired girl had slipped out of her restraints and climbed up onto the pillar to avoid it. She was sticking to the smooth stone bricks while upside down with her arms and legs spread out, like a cross between a human, a frog and a cockroach.
“Ah,” she exclaimed after realizing the position she was in.
Xera smiled mischievously. “Good evening, miss Dungeon Master.”
The ‘prisoner’ clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “Tch, figured me out did you?”
“Puh-lease, honey. I knew the instant I heard you. You’re five hundred years too early to try to deceive the likes of me!”
“Hyu hyu hyu hyu hyu!” came the odd laugh. “That’s why I love humans! They always spout such nonsense right before-”
The girl, or rather the thing that looked like a girl was rudely interrupted by another Fireball that flew straight at her face. She leaped off the pillar and landed to the ground with a small roll, while implying Xera was prone to having intimate relations with a horse. Incidentally, there was that one time that involved a centaur, so technically speaking she was half-right.
The Dungeon Master ran straight at the succubus, crossing the ten or so meters between them in less than a second. She punched her in the throat to interrupt her chanting and swept her off her feet in the next instant. Xera landed on her back with a thud and a yelp, dropping her staff in the process. Her attacker immediately straddled her stomach and pinned her wrists to the floor. She loomed over her captive victim with a triumphant smile on her face.
“-right before I eat them,” she finished.
The black-haired woman’s mouth opened unnaturally wide like her jaw had been unhinged. A slimy and oddly familiar tongue poured out of it. She probingly licked Xera’s face, then retracted the tentacle-like organ inside herself with a smack of her lips.
“Hyu hyu hyu hyu! You’re quite tasty, you know that?”
“I have been told that before, yes.”
The Dungeon Master’s eyes widened with surprise and she leaped forward, releasing Xera from her grip. A trio of blades sliced through the space she was occupying mere moments before.
“Huck!” cursed the Mimic. Its ambush was dodged and the opportunity to use Assassinate was now gone. It wasted so much time maneuvering into the right position, too!
“Master!” shouted Xera through the thought-link. “Why didn’t you use magic?”
“… Ah!”
Xera could almost see the proverbial lightbulb go off in its mind when it did that. She silently asked herself if this retard had forgotten that it could use magic, but immediately let go of that pointless question. Now was not the time for such thoughts. She quickly scrambled to her feet and picked up her staff.
The Dungeon Master had already retreated to a safe distance of about eighteen meters. The creature before them had reverted back to its base form, revealing its identity as a monster. The head, arms and legs still retained their human appearance. Even the hair was the same unruly collection of black strands that naturally draped over her face. However, the skin was so white and flawless that one could easily mistake it for porcelain. This illusion was solidified by the pure white eyes that had no irises.
However, what clearly set her apart as a monster was what she was ‘wearing.’ The ruined leather trappings had transformed into what
appeared to be a pile of meat and bone masquerading as a loose-fitting strapless dress. A grotesque collection of blood-red muscles, distended blood vessels and even a few misshapen eyes covered its surface. They seemed to crawl and pulsate all on their own. The horrifying garment had a short skirt made out of red flesh that had several misshapen human-like teeth poking out of it at random. It hung down to the monster’s knees, allowing the bare, pale feet underneath to practically shimmer in the dim lighting.
This was indeed, as Xera guessed, the Dungeon Master. She was a Fleshmaiden, an intelligent and cunning shapeshifter that liked dark and damp places. Once one of these had established a lair, they would practically shut themselves inside it. It was a reclusive species that did not enjoy being out in the open at all. However, those who would dare intrude on this monster’s sanctum would not be allowed to escape with their lives. Which is probably why the only entrance to the room was sealed shut by a stone slab that rose up from the ground.
“I see,” she said in a calm, clear monotone while glaring at the Mimic. “You brought one of mine.”
The monstrous woman thought of herself as the mother of all creatures in this dungeon. That notion was not entirely true, but it wasn’t entirely false either. Indeed, the only reason that Mimics started appearing in this dungeon was because the Fleshmaiden had taken control of its core. The glowing crystal ball that served as the heart of this place was influenced by its new owner, prompting the dungeon to spawn the only shapeshifting species of monster it could. That was, of course, merely the beginning. Eventually the whole underground labyrinth would evolve and change to suit its new ruler, including the walls and layout of the place.
“A strong one, too,” she continued. “Isn’t this the same child that grew too large for this place? You’re controlling it, aren’t you?”
