A stick figure with a treasure chest for a head.

That was my impression when I saw Mimic for the first time.

The face, a treasure chest, has eyes and sharp fangs. Its body and limbs were tentacles as thin as sticks. It was a strange monster.

And despite appearances, it was fast.

Heeeeeeeeeeee hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

A mimic leaps from the floor, sticks to the wall, and jumps around the room with a strange laugh. And then..,

'Ugh!

It suddenly jumped toward us. It attacks with its large mouth wide open.

Deiii!

Reflexively, he fires a kick. He kicks the treasure chest--in other words, the lower part of the face. Critical hit.

Bubba!

The mimic's mouth is closed and it blows right up in the air. It deftly repositions itself in mid-air and its eyes look at me again - by that time, I've already jumped and am poised for a follow-up attack.

Seiryah!

A spinning backward kick--a whirlwind leg--entered cleanly.

Baba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba?

Mimic is kicked away with a strange cry. Gogan, Gogan, Gogan rolled around the room, slammed into a wall, and stopped.

'Phew... ......'

He takes a zanshin stance.
He attacks with his dragon dragon strike "Dragonic Power" to increase his level. A monster of the 12th level could have died with the first kick. .......



Mimic stood up again and laughed loudly,

'Hyahaha! Hyahaha! ......hyahaha......haha......haha......!'

It faded into mist. I think I beat him.

'He was a noisy bastard. ......'
'And you were so fast. ....... I wonder if I can do magic ......'
'If push comes to shove, why don't you just blow up this whole room with your explosion magic?
'Whew! We're in danger too!
This room probably won't collapse. Besides, can't we use Seyfield to protect us from the blast? That thing can prevent flames, snowstorms, breath, etc., can't it?
'Oh, I see! That's great, Mr. Ra!

Normally, Prine is more prone to such flashes of inspiration, but she is not so prone to barbaric ideas such as destroying buildings. She's too kind.

If you want to do something like that, just shoot them now. It'll blow up the mimic too.
'...... hmmm. Maybe that's not going to work.
'Heh? Why?
'Let's just shoot it anyway, shall we?'
Oh, oh. Please.'

I try to do it even though I know it's impossible. This is what I like about Prine.
Well, maybe she's just trying to explain it to me.

Seyfield.

Following the mage's voice, a ward was set up around us. A hemispherical wall of light.

'Close your eyes, cover your ears, and keep your mouth open, Ra-kun.
'Yes, sir. Are you all right?
'Yeah. I'm resistant to magic.

Prine then chants more spells.
Just in case, I gather my chi and put myself in a position to protect Prine.

It is a tiny chamber of repulsive, contracting, frozen white. Burn it, destroy it, envelop it, unleash it, burn it to ashes.

The magical elements create a wind that makes her cloak flutter. The owl's wand glows as it is directed toward the five remaining chests.

Exploding light!

I closed my eyes and covered my ears, but I still heard a tremendous explosion. It was like being punched in the stomach.
An explosion that could easily wipe out a city is taking place right in front of me. It's only natural. I feel a little sorry that I made such a stupid suggestion.

The blast and vibration subsided, and I opened my eyes.

'............ Really?

As I muttered to myself in dismay, the scene in front of me was the same as before. Not a scratch on the room, which is part of the dungeon. I could see that, but even the treasure chests were still intact.

'I don't care about the real ones, but mimics are monsters, aren't they? Why ......?
'Well, let's see...'

Dr. Prine, who had unleashed an explosion spell, lectured us.

Mimics here mimic not only in shape but also in the concept of a "treasure chest". That's why the dungeon has been tricked into casting a 'no interference' spell on the mimic.
'Concepts ......?'
'To put it plainly, you see, we have a status, don't we? See how it says "human" in the race column?'
''Yeah.''
I think Mimic changed it from 'monster' to 'treasure chest.
'How can you do that? ......'
'The mimicry is supposed to be broken when the treasure chest is opened. But until then, it's a treasure chest, so it's impenetrable. Treasure chest analysis Treasure Chest Judge can detect the mimicry. ......'
'I can't use it because of the demon. Oh dear.'



Sighing, I stroked Prine's head.

Thank you, Prine. You've made me smarter again.
'Hehehe! I'm so happy to be praised by you, Ra!

Prine-san hugs me tightly.
She's smart, but she has a childlike innocence. This gap is so cute, I think again after becoming her lover.

I look back at the intact treasure chest.

'Well, let's resume the mimic roulette again.
I hope I win a real treasure chest this time!

Five treasure chests remain.
The one you just opened is the one in the foreground. Illustration,

X X X X
X X X X

and it looks like this. X is the mimic.

Prine, let's play rock-paper-scissors. If I win, I'm in the right column. If you win, the left row. If it's Aiko, the middle row.
'Yes! Jankenpoi!
'I won. Right column. Okay, one more time. If I win, the front row. If you win, you open the chest in the back.
'Rock, paper, scissors!
Prine wins this time. That means she opens the treasure chest at the back right. Okay?
Yes!

I opened it.

'Heeeeeeeeeeee hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

'...... konjac.'
'Acha.'

Mimic sticks to the ceiling with a big smile.
The auxiliary magic hasn't worn off yet. I go in front of Prine and tell her

Blow her up, Prine!
'Yes, sir! --Ah!

Prine, sensing something, cast a spell in a great hurry. It was an ice pickle. It is currently the fastest and most powerful magic that can attack a single person without chanting. The ice spikes flew to Mimic and froze his hands. But it does not kill him instantly. He is still alive, and--

'............ death curse ...... resentment jealousy jealousy ...... non-loss darkness disease breath call ...... sucking stop ......'

The noise had changed and he began to mumble incantations.

I couldn't stop--no, Mr. Ra, close your ears!
'......Go ......?'
'Ra-kun!

His limbs go numb and his chest grows tight.
Prine's decision was not a mistake. If anything, it was my fault for not having her chant a powerful spell beforehand.

As a result, I am under a magical invisibility attack.

--I can't ...... breathe ......!

'...... death curse ...... resentment ...... regretful jealousy demon non ...... negative darkness disease... ...breath call ...... inhale stop ...... stop death curse ......'

Mimic's chanting never ends. They chant forever. That's probably what this spell is. By dropping it just like a curse...

'It's magic ( ) to stop breathing ( )! Ra, no, don't, don't listen to him!
'...... is ............ ah ...... ku... .........!'

Prine, holding an owl's wand and resisting the enemy's magic, cries out. The difference in resistance to magic is showing even here.

--I mean, such lethal [...]-type magic is supposed to be used by monsters in deeper levels. ......! You demon, you've enhanced the mimic. ......!

I click my tongue in my head and cover my ears, but the situation remains the same. Mimic's curses echo through my brain as if they were coming directly from inside.



--I'm not going to die from holding my breath ......!

I gasp on my knees. No, I can't help it, I can't help it, I'm in agony, agony, agony ......!
Are we going to die ...... here ......?

As I was fading in and out of consciousness and my vision was blurry, I heard Prine's voice.

'......Kak......Ku......Ag......!

He seems to have broken his magical resistance. No, you, what are you ....... I mean, you can't use magic if you don't .......

Pitty, pitty, pitty, pitty.

The most reliable partner in the world shouted.

'--return to the pit!

Instantly, the world is distorted.

As if the wind had been whipped up around me, the shape of the world changed and it became pitch black.

And then...

Bwah!

We were in front of the entrance to the twelfth level--a stairwell in the desert.
We had returned.
By the magic that Prine had cast.

''Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha ......!
'Ra-kun, are you okay? I'm okay!

I breathe heavily on my shoulder. I was able to breathe. I was out of the influence of the mimic's lethal magic.
I smile at Prine, who is worried about me.



'Oh, thank you for the help, Prine ......'
'............ Thank God! I thought I was going to die, Mr. Ra!

Prine cries and hugs me.

'Ah, it's wonderful to be able to breathe. ......'
'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Ra-kun, if only I had realized it sooner!
No, no, no, I was the one who was caught off guard. That's the lethal "Fatal" of monkish magic, isn't it? My teacher told me that monsters only use it after about the 20th layer. ......'
'Ugh, gosh. ......'
'All right, all right. I'm okay now. Thanks, Prine. I'm glad you used the pitvac. I was too numb to use the transfer crystals.

Prine also has the transfer crystal, but in that situation she probably decided that it would be faster to cast a spell than to take it out of her bag. As a result, they had only a minimal setback.

Ugh, Rah-kun, Rah-kun!
'Okay, okay.

Prine presses her head against my chest and cries. It's been a long time since she almost died, so she's probably in shock. Well, it's been a few days at most. It's been a few days at most since the battle with the Messerdevil.

We were in a pinch, to be sure.
But we got some results.

'I can't use lethal spells anymore.
'...... so,......?

I nodded my head while I was fussing with Prine.
Since a few minutes ago, I had felt my [breathing] skill getting stronger. I can breathe in and breathe out. Yes, just as I once overcame the sleeping fog of the ghost mushrooms.

It seems that once you've been hit by a breathing attack, you become immune to it. Fatalities don't work on me anymore.
'Oh yeah. ......! Ra-kun, you're awesome ......!

Prine looks up at me entranced, tears and snot dripping down her nose.
I take out a cloth and wipe her gently.

Prine has a high resistance to magic, so it doesn't work on her, and she seems to have a good defense, but I can beat her. I'm not afraid of mimics anymore.
'Yeah ......! Yes, that's right!''
'By the way, this is the item I got when I defeated the first mimic.
When did this happen?

Like a magician, he pulls out a medal from his hand and shows it to Prine.

'This--"Gilga Medal"!
'It looks like it, doesn't it?
'Amazing!

Gilga Medal.
A medal that can only be obtained in dungeons, and is one of the games of the gods.
If you collect them and bring them to the guild, you can exchange them for rare items.

''Do you mean that it will drop when you defeat a mimic?''
Maybe. And again, we are not afraid of mimics anymore.
'Oh, you mean--'
'That's right. I'm going to kill them all and collect medals!

The basic dungeon strategy is to have powerful weapons and armor.
The sooner you get there, the better.

Let's go, Prine! Let's go hunt for mimics!
'Oh!

After that.

I get into Prine's cloak again and make a mad dash with her on my back.
I break into the pyramid,


'Ha ha ha! It works or it doesn't!

Bohaan!

All the mimics in layer 12A--24 in total--were killed instantly, and the rest in layer 12B The mimic was also killed. The mimic that almost killed me earlier was carefully beaten up.

I muttered to myself as I dusted off my hands.

'Defeated twenty-nine Mimics, ten Gilga medals in total... ....... Well, that's not so bad.

I open the last remaining treasure chest.
Inside, as written on the tablet, there is a button.

No traps. --Just click it.

I pushed it, and the floor shook with a "gogo-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go" sound. And then the wall was going up - no, the floor was going down.

'This is - this is an elevator!
It's amazing!

I was excited by the slow up-and-down movement, and then the movement stopped. It seemed we had reached the lower floor.

'So we're on level 12C, huh?
'Finally, the third one!
Oh. Let's go, Prine.
Yes!

With a "gogo-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go," the wall breaks in two.
Beyond it was a large open space filled with sand.
Sand spurted up from time to time like a fountain.

Using detection, we could see that there were monsters right under the spouting sand. There are quite a few of them. There are probably a hundred of them.

When the intruder comes to the middle of the square, they will probably jump out and attack at once.

What should we do?

I already have a plan in my mind.
We're hiding - but that's it, right? And.

'Ra-kun looks bad......'
Prine next to me muttered.



Oops?