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- Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
- Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
- Serie: These Legs Don't Lie! Harumi's Legacy as the Strongest Mimic
- Sprache: Englisch
Harumi can’t remember much, like who she is or where she came from, but one thing’s for certain... She’s somehow been reborn as a treasure-chest-shaped monster—a mimic! And no sooner than she gets her bearings, she gets unceremoniously dumped into a labyrinth full of other monsters and told she must survive for at least five days. Between treasure-hungry adventurers murdering their way through the labryinth and monsterous rivals joining the fray, that won’t be an easy task for a newborn mimic!
But although it seems like Harumi’s received the short end of the reincarnation stick, she has an invaluable asset on her side. They say that Helen of Troy’s face launched a thousand ships, and, well…it looks like Harumi’s legs can do the same!
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Seitenzahl: 314
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Table of Contents
Cover
Part 1: The Aldora Labyrinth
Chapter 1: Briefing
Chapter 2: Adventurers
Chapter 3: Legs for Days
Chapter 4: Cleaning
Chapter 5: Slime
Chapter 6: Exploration
Chapter 7: Matchless Mimic
Chapter 8: Side Story ~The Aldora Labyrinth Council~
Chapter 9: Boss
Chapter 10: Preparation
Chapter 11: Side Story ~Aldora Labyrinth Mimic’s Extermination Team Selection Meeting~
Chapter 12: The Thief, the Mage, and the Macho Man
Chapter 13: The Macho Man, the Sand User, and the Young Swordsman
Chapter 14: Conclusion
Chapter 15: Maintenance Area
Part 2: Forest of Darkness
Chapter 1: Briefing
Chapter 2: Shopping
Chapter 3: Exposition
Chapter 4: Side Story ~Aldora Labyrinth, Maintenance Area~
Chapter 5: More Mimicry
Chapter 6: Village
Chapter 7: Struggle
Chapter 8: Comrades
Chapter 9: Side Story ~The Aldora Labyrinth Council Aftermath~
Chapter 10: Town
Chapter 11: Adventurer’s Guild
Chapter 12: Monster Tamer
Chapter 13: Side Story ~The Forest of Darkness’s Adventurer’s Guild~
Chapter 14: Forest
Chapter 15: Attack
Chapter 16: Mimic vs. Meteor
Chapter 17: Side Story ~Garellia the Polar Sky~
Chapter 18: Mimic vs. Garellia the Polar Sky
Extra: Short Story
Marinnie’s Dungeon Management
Interview with a Mimic
Afterword
Color Illustrations
About J-Novel Club
Copyright
Landmarks
Table of Contents
Color Images
Chapter 1: Briefing
This is a dream, isn’t it? Yeah, this has gotta be a dream. This was the first thing that I, completely clueless, decided.
After all, I was currently surrounded by all kinds of monsters—humanoid pigs and dogs, skeletons, and more.
Well, if I am dreaming, this would have to be a nightmare, wouldn’t it?
At the moment, the monsters didn’t seem to have much interest in me. Actually, it was more like they didn’t care, since I’d locked eyes with several of them already.
Okay, let’s just assume this is a dream. Staying here will be bad news for me, regardless of whether or not they see me as food.I have no idea when they’ll change their minds.
So I tried to slowly and nonchalantly leave, only to immediately realize I couldn’t move.
Yep. Surprisingly, I was immobile. Completely, totally, and utterly immobile. Couldn’t even twitch.
Is this some sort of paralysis? I thought, but the answer turned out to be much more simple—I just didn’t have any limbs.
Yep. Wait,what the hell kind of conclusion is that?
But it was the truth. The form I found myself in? A box. A slightly large treasure chest, to be precise—kind of like what you’d see a pirate plunder.
And how, exactly, had I figured that out? Well, I could see myself. Apparently my point of view was situated outside of my own body, and I could move my field of vision in any direction I pleased.
I could also somehow hear sounds and sense smells, despite a lack of ears or nose. I was a chest, after all.
Hm... I don’t remember ever being in such a ridiculous body, though, I thought. That musing immediately led to the follow-up question—what sort of body did I remember having?
Unfortunately, I couldn’t recall my previous form. Yep, I had no memory of anything leading up to my presence here.
Once again, I looked around the area. Sure enough, I could move my vision anywhere around my main body.
It seemed like I was in some sort of plain room, which was unfurnished and made out of unadorned stone. It had one door leading out of it, and it was filled with monsters.
When I looked closer, I found several other chests just like me. The others were opening and closing their lids like mouths. Their insides were lined with sharp fangs.
I see. Apparently all the chests here were monsters, which meant that I was also most likely one of them.
I tried opening my mouth.
*Paclack!*
It opened. Just like the other chests, I had sharp teeth, and the inside of the chest itself was very dark, though I could see a large tongue.
*Slurp, slurp!*
The tongue moved as commanded.
But what the heck am I supposed to do with just being able to open and close my lid and flick around my tongue?! I can’t go anywhere like this! Wait, my tongue! Am I supposed to use that to try and move? Hmmm...
I wanted to believe this was all just a dream, but everything felt so real. I couldn’t sense any sign of waking up either. Well, even if this was reality, I had to wonder what I was here for. I couldn’t even move, after all.
“Hello, all you freshly born babies! This is the tenth floor of the Aldora Labyrinth, and I’m its boss! You can call me Marinnie!”
When I looked towards the source of the voice, I saw an arachne above us. She spoke while looking down at us.
Huh? “Freshly born”? What? No, no. No way. That’s not possible! Sure, I don’t have any memories about my past, but I know so much! Plus, I’m able to think logically. Wouldn’t that be impossible for newborns? I know all these words to describe things! Like, take that woman, Marinnie—she’s got a spider’s body and a naked woman’s upper half growing out of the spider’s head. That sentence alone has a ton of words I can already properly identify and use, like spider, human, woman, naked, and so on!
“I’m sure all of you are like, ‘I have no idea what’s going on, I’m just a babyyy!’ but pretty much all of you are gonna end up dead anyway, so I’m just gonna skip the details. For now, I’m just gonna have you guys sit on the first underground floor. Do your level best to survive for a season—five days—okay? If you do, I’ll do the whole explanation thing!”
She’s got absolutely no intention of explaining shit.
It seemed like that really was all Marinnie was going to say, because she immediately left the room.
Then, as if to take her place, an old man entered, dragging along a trailer cart. He was huge, bald, and ripped. Though he was shaped like a human, his skin seemed to be made of rocks. Maybe he was something like a rock human?
The rock-man approached me.
Wh-What? What’re you gonna do?
As I panicked, he grabbed me forcefully and dropped me into the cart. Apparently he was here to move us somewhere else.
The old man proceeded to swiftly toss other monsters into his trailer as well. I was going to share this trip with five dog-people, who were essentially more like regular dogs, except they could stand up on two legs and hold weapons.
At any rate, the dog-people filled up the rest of the space in the trailer, so the old man carried us out of the room.
It was nighttime outside, and the moonlight illuminated the landscape.
Unfortunately, just as I’d expected, I didn’t remember this place at all.
*Clacka-clacka, rattle-rattle!*
We proceeded across unpaved earth. When I looked back at where we came from, I saw several stone buildings identical to the one we left from.
Was that...a town...?
We headed into a dense forest that contained a large stone tower.
We entered said tower. There, the old man walked us into a tiny room before doing something with a small panel on the wall, which caused the room to move with an audible sound.
Oh, an elevator? I thought as I looked around the room.
I soon found something that seemed to be displaying the floor number. B16, B15, B14, it counted down steadily. It seemed we were heading up towards ground level. I almost thought we would reach it, but the elevator stopped at B1.
We left the elevator and entered a stone passage. The old man once again plodded forwards with us in tow. Eventually, he opened a door and towed us inside.
The old man dropped us off in the room and left.
The room was also made of stone, and it was around five meters large in all dimensions. The ceiling also glowed faintly.
I was shut inside along with five dog-people. Uhhh, so what am I supposed to be doing here?
“Heya, it’s Marinnie! I’ll be doing this announcement in Lord Aldora’s stead: Season 389 starts nooowww! Let’s all work hard to murder all those adventurers!”
As I was deep in thought, I suddenly heard a voice.
Adventurers? Murder?
“Bow wow!”
The doggos seem excited. Do they even understand what the message meant? Hm. This is a problem.
At the moment, I understood that something was afoot and that I needed to act, but I didn’t know what to do.
“Hey, do any of you know anything?” I tried asking the dogs. Actually, I’d only just noticed that I could even speak.
“Bow wow!”
The dogs came closer, but it didn’t look like we could communicate. It seemed like they could talk to each other by barking, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were saying.
“Someone, please explain this to me! I’m so confused!”
Suddenly, I remembered that the canine monsters were named wardogs. Well, it might be weird to say that I remembered it, but I really did just suddenly understand that fact.
Then maybe I can suddenly recall other stuff too?
I looked around the room and recalled that this was actually a burial chamber—rooms that had both rewards and monsters in them.
Hm? If the wardogs are the monsters here, does that mean I’m the reward?!
After I’d taken a while to process this information, my sudden realization caused me to question my own existence. That was when a screen popped up in front of my eyes.
Name: Harumi
Race: Mimic
Gender: Female
Level: 1
Gift: The Beautiful Die Young
Divine Protection: None
Skills: Mimic (Treasure Chest, ?), Languages (Inorganics +2, Human), Storage
Equipped Items: None
Apparently it was my personal information.
It seemed that my name was Harumi. It didn’t ring a bell, but it would be inconvenient if I didn’t have a name, so I let it slide.
Also, it seemed that mimics were treasure chest—shaped monsters.
But if that’s the case, then what’s the reward? I look like a treasure chest, but I’m a monster, right?
That was when I realized I had the Storage skill.
Isn’t that to simulate my insides, since I’m a treasure chest?
“So do I use a skill by just thinking about wanting to use it?”
Storage: 10G
Something came up. It definitely seemed like I had loot inside of me.
Hm, I think I get it. Let’s organize what I know—I’m in a burial chamber located in an underground labyrinth, and I’ve been placed here as a reward. Adventurers will come here, kill the monsters, and raid the treasure chests. That said, I’m expected to survive for five days... What the hell?! That’s totally impossible! I can’t move! The second some adventurers barge in I’m done for!
That was when the door to the burial chamber opened, and some people that were probably adventurers barged in.
Uhhh... Do your best, wardogs!
Chapter 2: Adventurers
Well then...
All the wardogs had been immediately exterminated, so...what was I to do?
The five wardogs had been mauled as soon as the door had opened. They ended up split apart by a sword in the blink of an eye.
So now I was left with no one to protect me. Was there anything I could do? Nope, it was totally hopeless—I was just a treasure chest, after all.
My best bet would be praying that the adventurers would leave now that they’d satisfied their bloodlust.
But, come on—there’s no way they’d do that! I mean, there was a treasure chest right in front of them! Of course they’d try to open it! Even I’d do the same!
As I chewed on my options, I realized my best choice would be to chew on one of them. Once they got closer and tried to open me, I’d bite them. Still, I didn’t actually expect that to result in much of anything.
Why? Well, there were four adventurers here, so even if everything went perfectly according to plan, I’d still only end up chomping into one. As soon as I’d defeated the victim, the other three would just murder me.
From the look of them, there was a warrior, a mage, a priest, and a thief. I could at least tell that much, somehow, so I guessed I was born with the knowledge.
“Hey, come on, why are we taking detours on the first floor?! There’s no point in killing small fry like wardogs,” the female mage said.
For some reason, I could understand human language. Apparently that was what the Languages skill did.
“She’s right. Even if they’re weaklings, it still takes weapon durability to kill them. That kind of thing can spell the difference between life and death on the lower floors,” the priest—a young man—complained.
“But we’re the first ones here during the new season! That means we can loot as much as we want!” the male warrior retorted sullenly. With his sword in tow, he was the one who’d instantly eradicated the wardogs.
“Uhh, what are you even hoping for here? We’re a bunch of veterans. Why would we kill monsters and steal loot from the first floor? All this stuff should be given to newbies.”
Huh, so this kinda thing is expected. Yeah, I think manners are important—especially if they’re veterans. So please leave me alone!
“They’re just gonna get replaced immediately, right? Just think of this as testing our luck. If we get something kinda good here, it means we’re lucky!”
“What does ‘good’ even mean on the first floor...?” the priest grumbled and sighed in exasperation.
But, in the end, the allure of treasure chests won them over. They all closed in on me.
Yep! It’s over! My life as a monster’s coming to a quick and sudden end! But I’m at least going to get one bite in!
They thought I was a regular treasure chest, so maybe I’d be able to get one good chomp in...
That was when the thief, a young man who’d been quiet up until now, chimed in.
“Just so you know, that’s a mimic.”
“Whoa, really? On the first floor? We would’ve been in trouble if we’d let our guards down...”
“What should we do? Just blast it with magic?”
The warrior and mage immediately turned wary.
Yep. Now it’s totally impossible to even get a bite in!
“It’s not just weapon durability we have to watch out for—we shouldn’t be wasting our magic either.”
Y-Yeah! That’s smart, priest! The way you pushed up your glasses just now was sooo cool! Just leave a small fry like me alone and go away!
“But don’t mimics have rare drops? It should be worth defeating.”
No way! I’ve only got 10G in me! I don’t know how valuable that is, though!
“Their rare drop is a Medal of Greed. It boosts the drop rate of items. It’d be worth a small fortune if we sold it.”
The second they heard that, the look in everyone’s eyes changed.
THIIIEEEFFFF!!! Shut it! Stop spouting things that’re better left unsaid! I don’t have that in me!
“Well, if using our weapons and magic would be a waste, why don’t we try kicking it?”
“That’s a good idea. It’s the first floor, so one kick should do it.”
Come on, priest—you gotta stop them!
But it was too late; things seemed to have been decided.
The warrior—a huge, muscular middle-aged man with legs as thick as tree trunks—approached me.
Even though I was a treasure chest, I was still made out of wood. If someone like that big old guy kicked me, I’d be done for!
I need something to get me outta this! There’s gotta be some way out! Right, conversation! If we can communicate, then at least I can beg for my life!
“Help me!”
The warrior stopped in his tracks.
Ooohh? Did it work?!
“Did you guys just hear a sound?” the priest asked, suspicious.
The mage cocked her head as well. “I think it came from the mimic.”
“Isn’t it just shaking in fear?”
It was a huge failure!
“Help me! Save me! Heeelp!” My lid flapped up and down frantically, but I wasn’t saying anything.
Huh? Does the Languages skill mean I can only understand them?
“It looks like it’s trying to say something.”
Yesss, the priest is so reliable! Great job, glasses!
“Well, of course monsters would be able to talk to each other. Why should we care?”
Dammit, this muscle-brained fighter! At least try a little interspecies communication, you bastard!
Despite my best attempts to speak, the warrior crept ever closer.
Fine, it’s time for my last resort!
“Gaoohh!”
I opened my lid, bared my fangs, and tried to intimidate them.
*Khfwhap!*
Aaand I immediately lost my balance and tipped over.
Come on, Harumi! Get it together!
This was just awful. I’d never really expected to land an attack, but now I’d even lost the chance to bite them.
“What’s wrong with that thing?”
“Did it just fall over and immobilize itself on its own?”
There’s gotta be something else! There’s gotta be!
In my desperation, I looked over my stats once again. The first thing to catch my eye was my gift—The Beautiful Die Young.
Yeah, that’s super useless.
I’d already tried using my Language skill, but it was meaningless since they couldn’t understand me.
Then...I’ll use my Storage skill! Take this!
I took the 10G out of my storage and, using my tongue, placed it gently out in front of me. Please take this and let me go!
Once again, the warrior stopped. “Huh? It dropped something.”
“That’s...10G in copper coins.”
The priest looked over what I’d offered them.
“Could it be begging for its life? Like a bribe to let it go?”
Yes! That’s exactly it!
“10G... That’s only enough to buy some cheap candy! Is it making fun of us?”
That had only made them angry! Actually, what was the meaning of this?! I only had enough inside to buy some cheap candy? I’m a treasure chest! I should have something better than that!
After that desperate tactic, I had nothing left inside.
Dammit, I should’ve just thrown the money at them! Oh, wait—what about putting things inside my storage instead of taking them out? Like, what if I swallowed them whole when they came close?
When I thought of that, some sort of help window popped up.
The following errors have occurred with the Storage skill.
Permission error: Permission is needed to store living things.Size error: The target’s size is larger than the available capacity.No good, huh? Of course it wouldn’t work. I’d be invincible if it worked that way.
With that, all I had left was my Mimic skill. I was probably currently in the Treasure Chest state, but I still had another mystery state that just had a question mark next to it. I had no idea what it was, but there was the possibility that I could change into something different.
This is my last chance! I’ve got nothing else!
“Mimic! Mimic, mimicry, disguise! Anything’s fine, just lemme mooove!” I screamed desperately.
Suddenly...
*Pwoof!*
I was blown away.
I had no idea what had happened. By the time I came to my senses, I’d crashed into the wall.
“What the hell?”
“Did...it just moved?”
“So gross! What’s wrong with it?!”
That “gross” comment was probably about my appearance, so that meant that my Mimic skill had succeeded in activating.
I gave myself a good look over. Sure enough, I was still a treasure chest...with a few major changes.
I now had a pair of legs sprouting from beneath me and an arm coming out of each side.
Yeah, that really is gross!
Chapter 3: Legs for Days
So now I had a pair of beautiful snow-white human legs coming out from under my treasure-chest body. They started from the base of the thighs. And, just to make matters worse, I also had an arm coming out from my sides. They started from the shoulders.
In other words, my skill had been a success—my freshly sprouted legs had launched me into the wall.
My sudden change seemed to have perplexed the warrior. “Huh? Are mimics supposed to be like this?”
“Monsters vary wildly, both in terms of strength and movement, depending on the level. On top of that, there’s subspecies and many other variations to consider, as well. Still, this is...” the priest said, tilting his head in confusion.
They’re bewildered, now’s my chance! “Heh... HE HA HA HA HA! If I can move, I can do anything!”
Using both hands to push myself up, I readied myself and dashed for the closed door. I wasn’t worried—I had hands now, which meant I could just grab the knob and open the door!
*Fwump!*
But the next thing I knew, I’d fallen face-first—oh, uh, I mean the front side of the treasure chest first—on the ground. I looked behind me and immediately figured out what happened. The mage had tripped me with her staff.
“Is this thing trying to run away? Oh well, it doesn’t matter. It’s so weak that even I can deal with it,” she said.
Goddammit! I tried getting up again, praying that there was something I could do. Unfortunately, the mage was barring my only means of escape.
Crap!
Odds were that she was physically the weakest of the party, but even then, I didn’t feel like I could win against her.
“Oh, wait—is there some sort of special requirement for the mimic’s rare drop? Like destroying specific parts or defeating it with a certain element? That sort of thing’s common, right?”
I was facing the mage, but I sensed the warrior approaching me from behind. And, at some point, the priest and thief had flanked my sides. I was surrounded.
“There is,” the thief said.
I couldn’t believe it. No way, really?! I have some kinda special requirement? I didn’t even know myself!
“Ohh! Then tell us!”
“Right. Well, it’s a pretty troublesome method, but...”
Mm? What could it be? How do I have to be killed to drop an item? I was totally engrossed in the conversation. Likewise, the adventurers were all giving him their undivided attention. Could this be my chance to run? No, it’s impossible. The mage’s completely blocking that door. I have to do something about her first.
The thief walked up to the warrior and got behind him.
Huh? Why’s that necessary?
The warrior also seemed to be wondering the same thing, but he didn’t do anything. He must’ve thought it was all part of the troublesome method.
Suddenly...
*Pfshhh!*
Eek!!! Whaaa?!
The thief slit open the warrior’s neck with his knife. Blood gushed out, dyeing everything in the near vicinity crimson. Yep, me included.
What’s going on? Why’re they having a falling out?
The thief let the warrior drop to the ground, then attacked the priest. He decapitated his former teammate boldly from the front, killing him in a single hit. Then, in one fluid movement, he even managed to leap at the mage. He made short work of her.
Wh-What?! What the hell is going on?! What kind of method is this supposed to be?!
The thief now approached me, cleaning his knife with a cloth he produced from who-knows-where. I couldn’t understand why he seemed to be having fun, but he wore a wan smile as he got closer.
Gah, freaky! What the hell is up with you?! You’re scarier than any monster!
Even if I wanted to run at this point, I was paralyzed. My legs had given out from under me.
The thief stopped in front of me and knelt down. He was staring me up and down hungrily, looking like he was about to start licking me all over.
Oh god, I don’t stand a chance...This guy’s gonna do something weird to me, then kill me. All for some rare drop.
“Wonderful.”
Whaaa?The hell did he just say?!
The thief took his cloth and began to wipe my legs, taking painstaking care to clean everything from the ends of my feet to the base of my thighs. He slowly and thoroughly made sure to get every nook and cranny.
“The mage had some nice curves as well, but they were nothing compared to these.”
*Rub, rub!*
The thief stroked my legs lovingly.
Hey! W-Wait a sec! What do you think you’re doing?!
The fear of imminent death left me, but it had been immediately replaced by a completely different chill that ran down my spine. Oh, wait, I meant the back of the treasure chest.
“I just want to bring you home...” the thief said with a sigh.
Eurrgghh! The hell?! Scary!
“But apparently monsters born in dungeons disappear if you try to take them out of it...”
Huh? Really? That’s terrifying too! I didn’t know that, though!
“But there’re also monsters that manage to get into dungeons, so maybe something could be done about that. Maybe with a higher level... I’ll need to look into it.”
The thief was lost in thought, but I was already majorly creeped out.
If you’re gonna kill me, just do it already!
“But if I leave you like this, then you’ll definitely die while I’m off doing research. That’d be such a waste.”
Yeah, I agree. Waste or not, I’m pretty sure that I’m screwed the moment I encounter something.
“I’d be fine with protecting you, but monsters can’t raise their level that way. Not to mention there’d be a limit to the amount of adventurers I can just kill off. I do have my reputation to think of...”
Yeah, uhh... It’s fine to think things over, but could you maybe stop stroking my legs while you do that?!
I tried to escape, but no matter how much I struggled, it was futile. The thief was a much higher level than me, and he’d stuck to me like glue. In other words, my life was at the mercy of this creep.
“Oh! Why don’t we try this?” he exclaimed with a bright smile. It seemed he’d hit upon an idea.
The thief produced something from a small pouch at his waist—a pair of high heels.
Huh? I’m pretty sure that pouch’s way too small to be holding those heels.
While I was distracted by the mystery in front of me, the thief slipped the shoes onto my feet.
“Great!” The thief nodded, satisfied.
Don’t “great” me! This doesn’t solve anything!
“This is a legendary pair of foot equipment named the ‘Crimson Rose.’”
As the title suggested, they were a beautiful pair of red high heels decorated with roses. For some reason, they fit my feet perfectly.
“Normally a level 1 can’t equip legendary items, but I figured something like this would happen, so I had the level requirement removed ahead of time.”
What do you mean, “something like this”? What did you think would happen?!Wait, actually, hasn’t this guy been talking to me this whole time?
“Well, it’s about time for me to leave. We were originally called to help defeat the boss on the eighth underground floor. I can make excuses for the other three not being there, but it’d be weird if no one showed up.”
The thief nonchalantly waved goodbye as he left the room.
Huh? I’m alive?
I couldn’t quite believe it at first, so I just sat there in a daze for a while.
“Ummm... Does that mean I can just leave?”
With eight corpses—five wardogs and three adventurers—the room was practically drowning in blood. I didn’t want to just sit in it forever, obviously, but it could be bad news if I just left without a second thought. I looked over my status one more time.
Name: Harumi
Race: Mimic
Gender: Female
Level: 1
Gift: The Beautiful Die Young
Divine Protection: None
Skills: Mimic (Treasure Chest, Treasure Chest remodeled), Languages (Inorganics +2, Human), Storage, Explosive Legs (*Only when equipped with Crimson Rose)
Equipped Items: Feet: Crimson Rose
So Treasure Chest remodeled means this form with limbs?
It seemed to me that the parts in parentheses were what I could mimic into, so I could probably return to being a normal treasure chest. Also, apparently skills could be gained by putting on equipment, since I now had the Explosive Legs skill.
“So I’ve gotten stronger by putting on some high heels...?”
They were a pair of stilettos, to be precise, so it probably would hurt if I were to stomp on someone with them. Still, I didn’t have any concrete proof, and nothing would happen if I just sat in this room and worried about things.
Yeah, let’s leave.
With my mind made up, I turned to the door. That was the same time it swung open with a noise.
Did the thief come back? Or is it another group of adventurers?
A demonic-looking statue walked in noisily. It had wings sprouting from its back, so I recognized it as a gargoyle. It was holding a jar.
A beautiful woman followed the gargoyle in. She wore priest’s clothes, but her skin tone was earthen brown.
An undead priest?
Lastly, a young girl entered. She was semi-transparent and seemed to be made of liquid. I guessed that she was a water spirit.
“Umm, hello.”
I tried talking to them, but I got no reply.
What is wrong with you guys?!
Chapter 4: Cleaning
The three of them started working as soon as they entered the room, cleaning up very efficiently.
The gargoyle picked up the corpses and placed them in the jar it was holding. It didn’t look all that large, so it must’ve been more spacious on the inside—similar to the thief’s pouch or my Storage ability.
The water spirit produced a torrent of water out of thin air and used it to spray down the blood in the room, washing it away. Meanwhile, the undead priest used a mop to polish the floor.
The room was rendered spotless in no time at all. With their work done, the three left.
They’re total pros. It seemed to me like they worked like a well-oiled machine.
“Uhhh... So what do I do now?”
I was placed here, so I’m supposed to stay put and hold down the fort, right? Would leaving count as abandoning my post or something? On the other hand, if I stay put, I’ll just get assaulted by more adventurers... I’m pretty sure at this point that they’ll just attack the first monster they see, no questions asked. Even if I tried to pretend to be a treasure chest, they’d still come to open me. There’s no way an adventurer would just ignore potential loot. So, in the end, I should still leave. After all, I have legs now! I should be able to run away at least.
Fearfully, I pushed the door open and went outside. Despite a niggling worry that I wouldn’t even be able to leave the room, it turned out that wasn’t the case.
I found myself in a passageway. It was made of stone, just like the room I’d been in before, and the ceiling also glowed faintly.
The passage itself was a simple straight corridor that had doors dotted along its sides. There were also cross-shaped intersections. All in all, it was a pretty deliberately designed place.
Where do I even go?
“Yeeep, I’ve got no clue.”
For now, my overall goal was to survive for five days. That being said, I had no way of actually counting the time, and there was absolutely nothing here that’d help me orient myself in that respect...
Welp, that’s a lost cause. Might as well just give up on that.Anyway, my only option is to keep running, but that still doesn’t answer how I’ll do it... Like, I could probably find a place to hide away from any adventurers.
“Hmmm... I guess I should start with learning the floor’s layout, shouldn’t I?”
I’d have an easier time running if I were to know where I was going, and it’d open up options for prime hiding spots. In any case, I couldn’t afford to just space out in front of a room, so I started walking down the passage.
As I traveled along the corridor, I discovered that the dungeon was surprisingly noisy. There was combat happening somewhere, and the sound was traveling over to me. Obviously, I decided to stay away from the source. It seemed to me that I’d be able to differentiate the sounds of an adventurer’s footsteps, so I figured that running before they noticed me wouldn’t be too hard.
“Maybe this whole running away plan has better odds than I thought?”
I was a little bewildered after being suddenly told to survive, but now I was starting to feel like it could all work out.
As I held on to that little spark of hope, I turned a corner and found myself at a dead end. It was a bit disappointing, but now I knew of a spot to avoid when running, so this experience wasn’t totally useless.
Anyway, let’s turn back. Just as I was thinking that, the sound of a door opening came from behind me.
“Ah...”
That was when I finally realized how careless I was being. I couldn’t hear anything going on outside while I was inside the room. In other words, all the rooms were soundproofed. There was no way to tell who might’ve been inside one.
I turned around and saw an adventurer emerge about ten meters ahead of me.
“Eurgh, what is that gross thing?!”
Yep, should’ve known this would be mission impossible!And there’s nowhere to hide! I’m trapped!
Another adventure came out, then another. One by one, they poured out of the door. In the blink of an eye, over twenty people had gathered.
Huh? Huuuh?! Hey, what’s the deal with the large crowd? Wouldn’t a normal party only have four people—or like, six at most?!
While there were the usual warriors, mages, and priests, there were also many other adventurers of classes I couldn’t quite discern.
This is way too many! What are you guys, a swarm?!
“The hell is that, a mimic? Are those supposed to appear on the first underground floor?”
“The guidebook does say that they rarely appear as traps, even on this floor. But they aren’t listed as a wandering monster...”
A guidebook?! I want that!
“Maybe they just added one this season?”
“If that’s the case, maybe we shouldn’t just carelessly attack it? We’re newbies after all.”
Y-Yeah! Please just go somewhere else and leave me alone!
“You might have a point, but this is only the first floor, right? It’s supposed to be just about impossible for even beginners to die. How’re we supposed to get anywhere if we’re afraid of something like this?”
“Yeah... There’s no way a monster on the first floor would be strong!”
“Okay everyone, quiet down! Please leave the situation assessment to me, your guide. I believe I told you to listen to my orders at the beginning, right? Even if we’re only on the first floor, we’re still in a dungeon! This is a guided tour! If you’re going to act on your own, then I won’t be held responsible, got it? I will take it to mean you don’t need my care. You’ll be left to your own devices.”
“Okaaay!”
A beginner’s tour? Now that you mention it, there’re a lot of kids in the group.
The older dude who acted as the guide stepped in front.
I see! He’s the only one that seems different, like a grizzled veteran or something. Wait, now’s not the time to be impressed!
“Now listen here, be careful whenever you encounter a monster for the first time. You there—what should we do in this situation?”
“Right! We should analyze it and determine how much of a threat it poses!”
“Exactly. First, we should analyze it. All right, those with the skill should try using it.”
I’m being looked at! They’re staring real hard at me, and they’re being super obvious about it!
[Resist analysis...failed!]
[Resist analysis...succeeded!]
[Resist analysis...failed!]
Something popped up in front of me. Three people had tested their Analyze on me, and it seemed two of them succeeded.
“Right! It looks like a level 1 mimic!”
That’s all you figured out after staring so much?!
“Okay then. You, what are levels?”
“Yes! They’re a number that indicates the overall strength of something.”
“Exactly. The thing to watch out for is that levels are just a general indicator, meaning that it doesn’t differentiate between races. So, it would treat a level 1 slime and a level 1 dragon the same. Of course, there are no level 1 dragons.”
Um, is it just me, or am I being left by the wayside for a lecture? I guess that means he doesn’t think I’m a threat at all. That’s fine with me, though! I’m just a level 1, sorry about that!Still, I didn’t know about this level stuff either, so it’s interesting.
“Now then, while levels are an indicator of power, never forget that they only indicate base strength. They don’t take anything that might enhance strength—like equipment or magic—into account. Also, skills are another troublesome factor. If, for example, something were to have an instant death spell, there would always be a chance it could kill us regardless of level. A beginner’s Analyze skill does not reveal your target’s skills and equipment, so please be careful on that point.”
“Got iiit.”
