by Neven Iliev
The solution Boxxy had managed to stumble onto was the process known as osmosis. It was a mechanism that allowed nutrients to pass between the Mimic and its severed limb by using the ‘flesh jam’ as a medium. It essentially kept the wheel ‘alive,’ even after the Mimic had severed the solid connection to it. It was even able to send and receive nerve signals, allowing its owner to retain some feeling in it.
Satisfied with the slightly flawed result, Boxxy decided it was time for a field test. It made three other wheels and returned to its box-cart form. The issue of propulsion was quickly resolved by sprouting two short spider-like legs from its underside, much like how it had done earlier. It used them to push itself forward along the cobblestone road. The wheels spun smoothly, clattering slightly at the small bumps between the rough cobbles. Boxxy bent its axle-shaped limbs carefully, altering its course ever so slightly while a lone eye on its side gave it perfect vision as to where it was going.
Like this, it had propulsion, navigation, and steering.
“YEESHAAAAAAAAA!” it screamed as it rolled down the road at a near-walking pace.
Its over-eagerness had gotten the best of it several times already, so for once it was being careful. This lasted for all of ten seconds before it began gradually building up speed as it used its two limbs to push itself faster and faster. Soon it was moving faster than it had ever done so before, and only using about half the energy it needed to maintain its full speed. The joy of succeeding at a difficult task as well as the rush of moving at such speed filled Boxxy with an overflowing feeling of glee. The intoxicating rush made it want to shout something about yabba-ing a dabba, even though it had no idea what any of those words were.
It kept practising with its newfound mobility. Acceleration, abrupt turns, and instant braking were all made possible with the right use of its wheeled limbs. It could even hop into the air at speed to get over rough portions of the cobblestone road. Eventually the Mimic realised it had ended up straying too far from its familiars. It could order them to catch up or re-summon them on the spot, but it felt like a good opportunity to get some more box-carting practice on the way back. Besides, it had eaten a good chunk of the preserved food it pilfered earlier, so its Storage was now empty enough to bring a lot more of those curious – albeit not very useful – items it left behind.
“Get ready, we leave soon,” it commanded as soon as it got back.
The two demons, who had been going at it all night, finally remembered they still had a contract to fulfil, so they stopped their silly antics and promptly got ready to hit the road.
“Hey, boss?” asked Kora. “Why were you trying to copy the cart all night?”
It had been obvious what it was trying to do given how obsessed it was with those wheels. Even the two demons who spent the whole night doing lewd things had managed to figure out what its goal was. The Mimic then explained it was developing a more energy efficient mode of transport for itself, though perhaps not precisely in those words.
“So … you want to travel without getting as tired?” confirmed Kora after the needlessly long explanation.
“Yes,” it answered.
“You could just rest on the cart and have me pull it around you know.”
“…”
“Actually if we did that, we could even bring all this stuff with us.”
“…”
“Not to mention that –”
*SNIKT*
“Gahaaaah!” screamed Kora at the mithril dagger that mysteriously appeared in her left eye. “Whyyy! AARGH!”
“No reason,” came the casual reply.
Truthfully speaking, Boxxy wasn’t quite sure why it had done that. There was just something about having Arms point out the painfully obvious solution that really ticked it off.
Chapter Two
Fine Print
Part One
Three trolls were rushing through the forest. The creatures were roughly two metres tall and resembled apes due to their thick necks, short legs, and powerful arms that were almost as long as they were tall. A troll’s skin was a thick, brown hide that looked like it could take quite a lot of punishment, and the numerous scars covering these three individuals suggested that they put that claim to the test on a regular basis. Short, brown fur could be seen covering their backs, shoulders, and forearms, giving off a pungent smell. Their faces were truly ugly, with massive foreheads, beady pitch-black eyes, large flat noses and massive underbites that made their disgusting yellow teeth visible to all.
These three monsters, however, were not rushing towards some prey they’d caught a whiff of, but running for their very lives. Swinging from branches, charging through bushes, and jumping over rocks, all while practically foaming at the mouth from fear. The agility with which they moved seemed to belie their thick, hulking frames, as nothing motivated the body quite like the imminent threat of death. It was just too bad that mere motivation was nowhere near enough to allow them to escape their pursuer.
“Mind Blast ~♪” came an oddly melodic voice from above.
[Your target has been stunned for 7 seconds.]
A light blue flash enveloped the head of one of the ape-like creatures. It let out a pathetic yelp and fell down on the ground as if it had momentarily forgotten how limbs worked. A rectangular shadow then leapt down onto it and stuck two shining daggers into either side of its skull, killing it instantly.
The other two trolls kept running without missing a beat. So what if one of their kin was just killed? Stopping to fight that thing was suicide. They should know. Some of the others had already tried and failed horribly. The one to fall just now was the tenth victim and the two running away with all their might were the last survivors. As one might imagine, they were quite keen to keep it that way, but a certain murderous box had other intentions as it gave chase.
A few minutes and a couple of Mind Blasts later, the last of the trolls was wiped out. No matter how much their fear aided in their escape, the smaller, lighter and more versatile Mimic had the clear advantage in this obstacle-ridden terrain. Also, its AGI Attribute was much higher than that of its quarry, which was a big contributor towards its speed advantage. It chucked the two corpses into its Storage and went back to the shallow cave the monsters had been inhabiting until recently.
Trolls were a species of monster that was common throughout the world. It had many variants that depended on their environment. Subspecies such as Cave Trolls, Forest Trolls, Magma Trolls, Ice Trolls, Zombie Trolls, and even Bridge Trolls all had their own unique characteristics and varied widely in strength. However, three things held true among all trolls.
The first two traits they shared were their tough hides that resisted physical blows and the high-speed regeneration that could heal wounds many times faster than other creatures. Indeed, trading blows with a troll that was of equal or higher Level was tantamount to suicide. The best way to kill one was to exploit their universal weakness: magic. Fire or acid was particularly effective in that regard, but employing methods that involved either of those things would often leave very little of the creatures behind. That was simply bad business. After all, troll hides could be fashioned into sturdy – albeit heavy – leather armour, and their blood was a substance with many arcane and alchemical uses.
In fact, said blood was the whole reason for Boxxy’s little detour.
While travelling along the road, the Mimic had come across a monster dragging the bloodied carcass of what appeared to be a wild boar. Xera immediately identified it as a troll; that wasn’t particularly impressive considering their appearance was general knowledge to any civilized being above the age of five. Which was a good thing, too, because that denomination did not include her three-month-old master. The animate chest and its two minions then chased after their target until it led them to its den – a shallow cave it shared with eleven more of its kin.
So, all things said and done, Boxxy now had a dozen completely intact troll corpses it could harvest for blood. Since its g
oal wasn’t to just kill and eat them, it had to avoid riddling them with wounds like it usually did to its targets. Statistically speaking though, that statement wasn’t quite right. The overwhelming majority of the Mimic’s victims were vaporized by a dungeon core going through critical meltdown, but ‘riddled with wounds’ was definitely second place on that list. Followed closely by ‘ripped apart’ and ‘torn asunder,’ which were neck-and-neck for the bronze medal.
The point was that all of those methods caused massive blood loss, which would be counterproductive considering its goal. In the end it had to settle for disabling them with magic and piercing their skulls, minimizing the holes through which they could bleed out. Surprisingly, it ended up having to use Mind Blast rather than Shadowbind to do so.
[Mind Blast]
Requirements: Level 22 Warlock, INT 100, MNT 100
School: Domination
Type: Targeted
Cost: 200 MP
Range: 40 metres
[Effects]
Assaults the target’s consciousness directly, stunning it for 5 seconds.
Has no effect on Undead, Demons, and Golems.
[Shadowbind]
Requirements: Level 20 Warlock, INT 120
School: Ruin
Type: Targeted
Cost: 100MP
Range: 25 metres
[Effects]
Chains of darkness wrap around the target, restricting movement for up to 10 seconds.
Grows in power in dark places or at night, gaining up to 50% additional effectiveness depending on the environment.
The latter seemed to be more powerful at a glance. It had a lower MP cost and a longer effective duration, at least on paper. The problem was that these chains were more fragile than the Mimic thought, seeing as how those trolls broke free of the physical restraints within moments. Their speed left something to be desired, but their brute strength would not allow them to be subdued by this Spell without using Power Overwhelming or taking advantage of the darkness-associated bonus.
The problem was that the former would consume too much MP and the latter was out of the question in the daylight. Even then it might not be enough to tie down the trolls for long. Mental attacks, on the other hand, were incredibly effective. Those monsters may have been powerful in body, but they were pathetic when it came to mental fortitude. Or defending against magic in general.
And thus the Mimic learned an important lesson: Mind Blast was effective against opponents that relied on brawn, and Shadowbind looked to be more useful against Caster-type enemies that typically had weaker bodies. And if someone who was proficient in both might and magic showed up, then they would just have to be sliced up the old-fashioned way. Thankfully, these trolls could be taken down without spilling much of their blood, though it took some time. Kora’s blunt force attacks were particularly useful since they didn’t cause any external bleeding, but it still took her a lot of effort to overwhelm their defences.
Unless, of course, Boxxy used the Dark Infusion Spell on her.
[Dark Infusion]
Requirements: Level 17 Warlock, INT 60, MNT 80
School: Domination
Type: Targeted
Cost: 75 MP
Range: 10 Metres
[Effects]
Increases your target’s STR, AGI, DEX and INT Attributes by 20% for 30 seconds.
Your target will be stunned for 5 seconds once the effect expires or is dispelled.
The stun component of this Spell has no effect on Undead, Demons, and Golems.
This Spell actually boosted those four Attributes by 28% thanks to the effects of the Domination Mastery Skill, which was currently at Level 4. The duration of the power-up was still half a minute, so it would be safe to assume the stun that followed it was equally unaffected by the related Mastery. The upshot in physical ability Arms displayed was truly impressive, however. It made Boxxy curious as to just how powerful it would get if it were to use Dark Infusion on itself, though it immediately found out such a thing was impossible.
Domination Spells – Dark Infusion included – had no effect on the one using them. After all, that entire school of magic was centred around forcing the caster’s will onto others, so something like affecting one’s own mind was impossible. Admittedly, even if Boxxy could empower itself, it wasn’t sure whether Dark Infusion would have as pronounced an effect as it did on Arms. Not only was STR the fiend’s most well-developed attribute, but she also had a special Skill that made each point of it way more potent.
[Idiotic Strength]
Fiends are by nature demons with more brawn than brains, but this trait is noticeably more pronounced in Pit Fiends.
Requirements: Be born as a Pit Fiend
Type: Passive
Range: Self
[Effects]
Increases the effects of the STR Attribute by 5% per Level of this Skill.
Reduces the effects of the INT Attribute by 5% per Level of this Skill.
Although this seemed like it would be just as detrimental as it was beneficial, it was also a Skill that was almost uniquely tailored for someone like Arms. She was a demon who fought entirely with physical means and didn’t really need to spend MP in order to pummel something into dust. Therefore, the already tiny MP pool becoming even tinier was a moot point. Even the active Skills from her Fiend Job didn’t care that she currently had less than 150 MP.
[Second Wind]
Fiends are by nature too stubborn to die.
Requirements: Level 10 Fiend
Type: Active
Activation Time: Instant
Cost: 0 MP
Range: Self
[Effects]
Instantly recovers 25% of missing HP.
Increases the HP recovered by this Skill by 20% per Level of this Skill.
This Skill may not be activated more than once every 24 hours.
[Demonic Carapace]
Fiends are by their nature incredibly thick-skinned.
Requirements: Level 15 Fiend
Type: Active
Activation Time: Instant
Cost: 50% of max MP
Range: Self
[Effects]
Reduces all incoming damage by 30% for 10 seconds.
Increases the duration of this Skill by 10% per Level of this Skill.
Second Wind was an enviable Skill, one the Mimic badly wanted for itself. Unfortunately, it was something that only a fiend could use. Which wasn’t all that bad, as it was possible to bypass the 24-hour usage restriction on it if Arms died and was re-summoned. This was because, barring a few notable exception, the powers and abilities gained from one’s Status were bound to their physical bodies. Re-summoning the fiend and giving her a brand new body would give her a fresh, unused copy of all her Skills, this one included.
As for Demonic Carapace, it was a Skill that appeared after the dungeon core meltdown caused the Mimic’s Level to skyrocket. Activating this Skill caused Kora’s entire body to temporarily become covered in grey metal scales that glistened with an unnatural red sheen. The material seemed to be the same ‘Fiend Steel’ substance that her gauntlets and boots were made of.
Incidentally, the creation of said items was handled by her Demonic Armaments Skill, and their performance would increase in direct proportion to its Level. Arms could take them off any time she wished, though doing so would make them disappear in seconds. They would also take a few hours to ‘grow’ back, so removing them accomplished nothing but to neuter both the demon’s attack and defence.
As for Snack, all of her equipment was largely decorative, serving no practical purpose other than helping her bamboozle her victims.
Which wasn’t to say that familiars were barred from wielding gear made by and for mortals. It was just the case that very few summoners saw the need to do something silly like give actual arms or armour to their demons. While it would make them more effective, it also meant that those items would most likely be lost when the demon was slain in combat. Whi
ch happened a lot, as they were often treated like the expendable pawns that they were. This was especially true of fiends who traditionally had no other method of attack except engaging enemies in close combat. So it was a good thing they came with their own custom-made equipment; otherwise they wouldn’t be anywhere near as good at their jobs.
Boxxy returned to the former troll den while reviewing what it knew about its minions. Even if it lacked much of the world’s common sense and general knowledge, the Mimic’s combat instincts and battle awareness were rapidly developing. It recognized it had to be well-versed in the strengths and weaknesses of all participants in a fight if it wanted to secure victory, so analyzing its familiars was something it did a lot during the downtime when they were travelling.
Speaking of which, Boxxy found one of said minions – namely Arms – was busy handling the nine troll corpses the Mimic had left behind. She was squeezing them one after the other, coaxing the blood out of their stiffening bodies as if she was getting juice out of a lemon. The bodily fluids were collected in a large barrel that used to be full of strawberry jam until the animate chest devoured it all to fuel its biowheel research.
“Drain these too,” it commanded while taking the last three corpses out of its Storage.
“Oh hey, boss. It’s fine if a few extra bits get into the stuff, right?” asked Kora, wringing out a troll’s arm as if it were a wet cloth. “I can’t seem to get the blood out without getting clumps of hair and broken bones in it.”
“It’s fine,” declared the Mimic.
“Alright, cool. Are these the last ones, then?”
“Yes.”
“Thank fuck! This blood-wrangling thing is really fucking dull! Ah, it would go faster if Master buffed me up again! So … can you do that?” she added with a hint of anticipation in her voice.
“Okay.”
Boxxy saw no reason to deny her request since its MP was almost back to full and she would be doing all the work anyway. The knock-off Xera appeared instantly as if she had been hiding inside the chest the whole time and raised a hand towards the giddy fiend.