Morgana: Everybody Loves Large Chests (Vol.4)

by Iliev, Neven

  Now that Boxxy thought about it, why did dungeons exist in the first place? There were honestly very little benefits to the owner beyond making it a safe place to live. How come dungeons seemed to invite and tempt others into them? Was it because the vast majority of these places were apparently under the control of one God or another?

  Thinking back to the Litigar Dungeon Complex, that place was definitely made for the enjoyment of the Goddess of Improbabilities. The fact that she immediately contacted Boxxy and offered to make it the dungeon master showed she actively kept an eye on things through the Surveillance Net. And yet, the Spire of the Jade King was far less responsive, suggesting the place had not been of significant importance to its owner. It was therefore logical that owning a dungeon was not vital for those deities. Perhaps dungeons were simply a means to test the resolve and mettle of mortals? Something like ‘prove you are worthy and claim the power you deserve’ type of thing? It certainly seemed like the sort of thing a god or goddess would do.

  Well, one thing was for sure—Boxxy would definitely not reward any invaders for breaking into its lair with the intent of robbing it blind. In fact, now that Fizzy would be seen as the dungeon’s ally, it could fill the place with even more traps. It particularly looked forward to testing out those booby-trapped treasure chests it could build through Trap Management. Not to mention the anti-flight countermeasures it had installed all over this chasm last night.

  “Arms, are you still busy cleaning out that termite nest?” it called out telepathically.

  “Hey, Boss, and yeah, I am. It’s taking longer than I thought, but I’m almost done.”

  Kora lacked Xera’s wide-area fire magic, so she was probably doing it by hand. Both her Berserker and Fiend Jobs made her extremely well suited to crushing little things in rapid succession. She was probably having a blast, especially since her Violent Meditation Skill restored a tiny bit of her MP whenever she hit something, which allowed her to use her Skills and Martial Arts a lot more often.

  And while she was scarily effective against many squishy targets, she was no less capable of taking down tough, armored opponents since she got her Resonating Blows Skill. Using that, she could send destructive shockwaves that penetrated an opponent’s defenses and ripped their insides to shreds. They were strong enough to rattle even Fizzy’s highly durable mithril frame provided she actually got a good hit on her. That golem had gotten even better at avoiding, blocking, and parrying attacks than she was prior to becoming a golem. Her mithril frame was highly resistant to damage, but neither the Paladin nor the shapeshifter wanted to see it scratched up, stained, or dented.

  On the whole, Boxxy was superbly pleased with the progress of all of its minions, and its mood only soared further in anticipation of the evening’s main event.

  “Meet me at the highest point of dungeon with Nexus Access when you’re done,” it commanded.

  “You got it, boss!” the fiend hollered back. “We’re doing the thing, tonight, right?!”

  “That’s right.”

  Tonight was the night of a Lunar Convergence, during which all three of Terrania’s moons would be visible in the sky. It was time to see whether this Unholy Wealth thing was all that it was cracked up to be. Not only was the result of the ritual of immense interest to the greedy monster, but performing it was also highly likely to earn Boxxy the last chunk of Demonology Proficiency needed to hit Level 8. This would, in turn, allow it to contract a third familiar. All in all, if things worked out as intended, Boxxy’s hoard and

  “Yip yip!”

  But first, it would have to do something about the yipping jewelry box currently running frantically between its legs.

  Part Four

  Boxxy stared inquisitively at the slightly hyperactive house mimic. The little guy had no idea what was going on, and seemed genuinely excited about its new owner’s current chesty disposition. As for how it had gotten here, the shapeshifter remembered vaguely feeling something bump into its leg just as it had finished invoking the Transfamiliar Spell. It now realized that must have been Minic, who had somehow hitched a ride, as it were. It then must have spent a few moments recovering from the Spell’s mildly disorienting effects before it started running around like an overstimulated puppy.

  This sequence of events baffled Boxxy quite a bit, mostly because it had no idea that Transfamiliar could be used to transport multiple living things at the same time. The thought had crossed its mind, but it had avoided testing it out for fear of what might happen to one or both parties. Still, it now had confirmation that using the Spell in such a way was both possible and safe, which was sure to prove useful should such a thing become necessary in the future.

  A much more troubling thought crept into Boxxy’s mind. Both the monster and the dryad had completely failed to detect Minic’s presence. Admittedly it had temporarily disabled the intruder alarm because of Fizzy, but surely the dungeon master would have seen it before it started yapping and running around. Even if not, she could clearly both see and hear it now, yet the dryad showed no reaction whatsoever.

  “Ambrosia,” it decided to ask, “why haven’t you said anything about this creature?”

  “What doth thy mean, milord?” the dumbfounded tree spirit replied. “‘Tis one of thy servants, is it not?”

  “Well, it is, but shouldn’t you be more concerned with a new intruder?”

  “Hmm… Thou art correct. ‘Tis most bizarre now that I think of it. While this creature is undoubtedly an invader, I find myself unwilling to harm it. Almost as if… No, I am certain.”

  Ambrosia knelt down in front of Boxxy and patted her thighs, prompting Minic to stop whatever it was doing and leap into her lap with a few high-pitched yelps.

  “This creature was definitely carved from mine timber,” the dryad said with a gentle smile.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Absolutely,” she insisted. “‘Tis difficult to put mine feelings into words, but I know for certain.”

  That would certainly explain her lack of animosity. Though the dungeon core exerted some amount of influence over the dryad, it did not control her most basic instincts. If Ambrosia saw Minic as part of herself, or maybe even as an offspring of sorts, then it was only natural she would not want to hurt it. More importantly, her words also revealed the fact that the small mimic had a shell made out of actual wood rather than flesh disguised as wood. This seemed obvious now that Ambrosia pointed this out, yet Boxxy had glossed over this despite having examined the critter’s insides multiple times with its MLG.

  This bothered the shapeshifter. It felt as if it should have already noticed the fact that, now that it thought about it, Minic seemed more like a box that had been brought to life rather than a lifeform disguised as a box. Admittedly, Boxxy had more important things to worry about than its new pet’s biology, but it couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Perhaps the house mimic had some kind of Skill that made it easier for the creature to avoid one’s notice?

  The chest-shaped doppelganger then realized this was a good opportunity to test out a certain feature of the core’s Surveillance Net. The module in question could perform an Invader Analysis, which seemed to be halfway between a Basic Appraisal and a full one. Though it wouldn’t reveal Skills or Perks, it was still enough to gauge a living being’s strength. Boxxy hastily brought up the relevant screens and menus, and activated the function in question. Minic sensed something was going on and jumped out of Ambrosia’s lap with a surprised “Yip!” It calmed down a few seconds later.

  Once that was over, Boxxy was left looking at a truly bizarre Status screen.

  [General Information]

  Minic

  House Mimic, 462 years old

  Servant of the Household of Tol-Saroth

  Level 2.00 Doppelganger (MAX)

  Level 2.00 Mimic (MAX)

  Level 5.00 Demonspawn (MAX)

  275/275 HP (+0.5/sec)

  0/0 MP

  [Attributes]
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  STR 25, DEX 25, AGI 25, END 50, LCK 2048

  One thing was abundantly clear—there was now zero doubt that this creature was one of Tol-Saroth’s original house mimics. Judging from this Status, it had been created through some sort of fusion between a doppelganger and a demon. It was also quite a bit tougher than its appearance would suggest. However, the lack of INT and WIS and that truly outrageous LCK Attribute hinted at an untellable tale of hardship. The fact this creature had survived for four-and-a-half centuries while being the living embodiment of dumb luck was… incredible. The demonic energies that were used in its creation were also likely the cause of its unnatural longevity. Familiars’ physical forms did not age, after all.

  Another thing that was obvious, Minic truly lacked the capacity of comprehending its surroundings as anything more complex than ‘good things’ and ‘bad things.’ This meant it was not actually a threat to its operation. Even if it somehow understood that Keira had a secret identity, it completely lacked the ability to communicate such a thing. It was physically incapable of spilling the beans. Not to mention that its bright red gem and lustrous golden trim made it uniquely shiny, which appealed greatly to Boxxy’s tastes.

  Ultimately the doppelganger decided to keep the amusing little box, at least for the time being.

  “Ambrosia, can you keep Minic here company for a while?”

  “It would be mine pleasure, milord.”

  She bent down and picked up the animate jewelry box, which immediately nuzzled itself between her breasts. Come to think of it, it did that a lot with Rowana and Lia, but not so much with Keira. This trend suggested that Minic, for whatever reason, seemed to prefer bustier women. Admittedly, it wasn’t Boxxy’s place to fault another for their love of large chests, but that was clearly the wrong type of chest the former mimic had in mind. That aside, the important part was that Minic seemed content to sit tight rather than run around and interfere with Boxxy’s plans.

  Using Nexus Access, Boxxy instantly transported itself to the highest point of the dungeon. It was still within the tree, so it used Terrain Sculpting to make its way out of it, much like before. It broke through the bark and found itself standing in the lush canopy of the hylt tree. The outrageously sized branches and leaves blocked out the view of the night sky. This was an issue, since the ritual Boxxy wanted to perform required an unobstructed line of sight to all three moons.

  It therefore started climbing upwards, looking through the sea of branches and leaves for a suitable ritual site. It took several minutes until it found a relatively flat branch with a clear view of the night sky. Yoitis, Laopra and Tascuna—the three moons orbiting the world of Terrania—were the only things visible overhead. The moons’ combined light was so intense that it completely drowned out the stars, as if they were intentionally hogging the celestial stage.

  “Boss, I’m done with the termites,” came Kora’s timely report. “I’m on my way to... Ah, you’re out of the dungeon. I can’t get to you with Nexus Access.”

  “That’s okay, I’ll just re-summon you.”

  Yes, this would cost a sizeable chunk of MP, but it wasn’t as if it had anything else to spend in on. After dismissing and recalling Kora to its side, it started recalling the steps and materials it would need to perform the long-anticipated Unholy Wealth ritual. It did so with a bit of apprehension, however, as it was once again reminded that it didn’t know what the outcome would be. Yes, the Demonology Skill taught it all it needed to know to perform the ceremony, but that was it. Neither Arms nor Snack knew anything about it either, and Boxxy hadn’t been able to figure out how to research the topic as Keira without raising eyebrows.

  The only thing it could determine was that the Ritual of Unholy Wealth would produce a magic item of some kind. How much harm could an inanimate object truly do?

  Its mind made up, Boxxy opened its Storage and started pulling out all of the ingredients and tools necessary for the ceremony. The more mundane materials consisted of: a standard silver-plated mortar and pestle set, a small hammer, five gold coins, and a plain wooden goblet carved out of oak. The rarer and subsequently more expensive ingredients included an Elixir of Avarice, a six-centimeter-long mithril nail, an unprocessed Midnight Ruby, and a Pure Pearl that had been tainted by demonic essence.

  There was a bit of an issue with that last one, however. Boxxy had obtained the component during its stay in Erosa, but the magical gemstone had reverted to its pure state over the long months it had sat inside the monster’s Storage. The shapeshifter was aware of this, which was why it needed Kora’s assistance. It handed her the gemstone, and told her to infuse it with her essence.

  “Do what now?” the fiend asked incredulously.

  “Infuse it with your essence,” it repeated.

  “How do I do that?”

  “It’s like pumping mana into it as you would into a magic item.”

  “Oh…”

  “You don’t know how to do that either, do you?”

  “Nope.”

  Boxxy was briefly taken aback by this. Arms might not have been the shiniest coin in the purse, but it assumed she would know how to do something so basic. It realized now that was perhaps expecting too much from her, given how her only interaction she’d had with magic items thus far had been to break them. Still, it really wasn’t that complex a technique, and if Boxxy could pick it up as a mimic, then so could Arms. It just needed to think of a way to describe the process to her.

  “Try to put it in your mouth, roll it around on your tongue, and think about it really hard. Oh, and careful not to bite down on it.”

  “… Why does that sound like a blowjob?”

  “Just do it.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  Kora took the snow-white pearl and did as instructed for several seconds before spitting it back out. She held the drool-covered gem up between her fingers, which was slightly darker in coloration than it used to be.

  “This good enough?” she asked expectantly.

  “No, but it’s a start. Keep going until I say otherwise.”

  While Arms got busy with that, Boxxy grabbed the Midnight Ruby and started crushing it into dust using the mortar and pestle. The specially designed tool had some sort of effect on the gem and allowed the monster to grind up the dark red gemstone without any real difficulty. It was almost as if the precious stone crumbled on its own with the slightest push of the pestle. It still took fifteen minutes to reduce it into the right consistency necessary for the ritual, though this was mostly because the monster was inexperienced with the tools it was using.

  Once it was satisfied with its handiwork, it carefully dumped the sparkling powder into the goblet, making extra sure the shiny dust didn’t scatter in the wind.

  “Arms, how are things going on your end?”

  “Dunno, lemme see.”

  Kora spat out the once-white Pure Pearl again, revealing that it was now completely black.

  “This is good,” declared Boxxy just before taking it from her.

  It briefly thought back on when it first obtained this reagent, wondering exactly why Snack had used her genitals to perform the act. Surely it was unnecessary, right? Well, it was an unimportant detail, so the monster brushed it off as ‘Snack being Snack.’ Now that it had the re-corrupted pearl in its tentacles, it wiped off the spit, set it down on the wooden branch, and pressed the tip of the mithril nail into it. It then gripped the hammer with a third appendage and firmly tapped the nail’s head several times.

  The pitch-black pearl was pierced and cracks spread through it. However, rather than fall apart like glass, it actually held itself together quite well. This was because this peculiar gemstone had a viscous goo-like substance within its tough outer shell. It was more like an egg of some kind, rather than a crystal bead. After confirming everything was going as expected, Boxxy drove the mithril nail clean through the magical gemstone, puncturing it completely and causing the unidentifiable black liquid to drip out. Boxxy hurriedly put the sk
ewered pearl into the wooden goblet, where its juices slowly began mixing with the pulverized Midnight Ruby.

  The monster then arranged the five gold coins into a small pentagon and placed the simple cup in the middle of it. Finally, it reached over and grabbed the bottle of Elixir of Avarice it had bought off an alchemist back in Erosa. This orange-colored magic potion supposedly allowed its user to literally sniff out any and all gold within fifteen meters, and its effects lasted for a full day. Boxxy didn’t need this silly thing for itself since its magical perception was already more than capable of doing that, so it poured the contents of the bottle into the wooden goblet without hesitation.

  The orange-tinted liquid was quickly dyed blood-red by the powdered Midnight Ruby and started hissing ominously. The punctured pearl floated just beneath the surface of the concoction, despite it being way too heavy to do so under normal circumstances. Boxxy shifted back into its ‘Chester Underwood’ persona for a moment, as the ritual required a humanoid appearance to complete successfully. It wasn’t sure why it chose this shape in particular, though it didn’t really care either way.

  Once the ritual site was set up, it deftly grabbed the mithril nail sticking out of the floating pearl and began slowly stirring the mixture and chanting.

  “Suspendisse vitae maximus augue, eget porta ante. Nulla eget justo facilisis, sagittis massa in, euismod leo.”

  The fraudulent elf’s voice carried clearly through the otherwise-quiet night. It was a good thing there was nobody who lived within almost a kilometer of its current position, otherwise they would have surely noticed what was about to happen.

  “Curabitur hendrerit libero quis mi finibus, a venenatis neque tincidunt. Pellentesque eleifend efficitur pulvinar.”