For the moment, all my enemies had been wiped out.
“What was that? I only used Explosive Legs once, didn’t I?”
Not to mention my attempt had been blocked by the guide’s shield. But not only had he exploded, all of the others had too after a time delay.
“Well, I guess it’s fine since I’m safe, but...”
I got closer to the bodies to try and assess the situation.
All the members of the tour had been blown to absolute smithereens—there was nothing left. The door to the room they’d left was also included in the carnage; it’d been blown away.
“Argh, I wanted that guidebook too...”
I’d seriously give an arm and a leg for that thing right about now. Unfortunately, when I’d said there was nothing left, I meant it. Even their equipment had exploded, so there was no way that a guidebook made of paper would’ve survived.
“That made a lot of noise. I should get out of here quickly.”
I was at a dead end, so I’d just get stuck again if anyone else were to come. So I decided to stop my investigation of this...explosive incident and get going.
I stepped over the impact site and said my goodbyes.
Now then, where should I go next?
If I were to return to wandering aimlessly around the corridors, adventurers could just pop out of a room again. Hiding in a room would be tricky too—I’d have nowhere to run.
Hmmm... No, maybe I don’t actually have to keep running? I can’t say for certain just yet, but it’s looking like my Explosive Legs skill is really powerful, after all.
So I opted to peek into a nearby room. I wouldn’t be able to calm down if I didn’t know when or where a new enemy would pop up. Being in a room would solve that by forcing them to come from a set direction.
*Kerchak!*
“Hellooo!”
I hesitantly opened the door while extending a greeting, but there was no one inside. Then again, even if there had been monsters inside, greeting them would’ve been useless anyway.
“Yo!”
Or so I thought, but then I heard a voice coming from the ceiling. When I looked up, I saw something green stuck onto it.
“Huh? You can understand me?”
Up until now, nothing I’d ever said had gotten through to whoever I was speaking to, so the response had surprised me.
“I have the Inorganics Language skill, though I take offense to being categorized as inorganic.”
“So that means we can talk as long as we both have the same Language skill? But I also have the Human Language skill and nothing I said ever got through to them.”
“That would depend on the skill level. Speaking needs higher levels than listening does.”
So since my Inorganics Language is +2, I can speak it, but my Human Language has nothing on it so I can’t speak it?
“Right... So, what? Your plan is to drop on adventurers when they come into the room?”
“Exactly. Then once I’m on top of them I can dissolve them inside me. Anyway, just get inside—it’s dangerous to leave the door open.”
Oh, right.
I was still only peeking in. I entered the room fully and closed the door.
“Are you alone?” I asked.
“Well, yeah. Though I’m not sure how much of this is me, exactly.”
About half the ceiling was green.
“I haven’t seen you before. Are you a mimic? So that would mean you were placed in a burial chamber, right? I can’t believe you were able to leave.”
Yeah, totally understandable that you aren’t sure if I’m a mimic or not.
“Yeah, I was just born. For some reason, I have these.”
“I’m Slatarou the slime. I’ve been alive for two seasons, so I’m your senior.”
Slimes were a monster that attacked by clinging to ceilings and waited for unsuspecting prey to pass underneath them. They might’ve been categorized as inorganic because they were treated as traps.
“So you’re Slatarou, my senior? I’m Harumi the mimic.”
I gave Slatarou the gist of what had happened to me so far.
“I see, I see... So why’d you come here? Aren’t you just a wandering monster now? Well, I don’t think that means you can’t enter burial chambers or other rooms...”
“Ahh... I just wanted a place where I could relax and take stock. You know, plan out what to do from now on.”
“Right, then this is perfect. If you can put those limbs away, then you can pretend to be a treasure chest in the corner.”
Huh? Not sure what’s going on, but if that’s all he wants...
I concentrated on using my Mimic skill. And just like that, I returned to my original Treasure Chest state.
My high heels went straight into my storage as well, so I guessed that they’d automatically equip themselves if I changed again.
“Adventurers like to check the ceiling before entering a room, and if they see me they won’t bother entering at all. That’s why I’ve been able to survive for so long.”
I see. They go as far as to have beginner’s guided tours, so it makes sense that solutions to problems like this get passed around. But that’s strange, isn’t it? Some adventurers might come in anyway if they see a treasure chest. Well, it still beats my other weird form.
“Um, what should I do now?” I asked.
“Hmm, let’s see... We’re in different situations, so the way we survive is probably different too.”
He’s right... A vague question like that would only trouble him, wouldn’t it? I’ll ask something more concrete.
“I was told to survive for five days, but what happens after that?”
“It becomes the off-season. This dungeon is in business for five days, then we get two days off.”
“So it’s a five-day work week...”