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!