Re:Mimic [MONSTER MC LITRPG]

Lucas set off on his personal quest to kill another inhabitant of the cavern. Even though he had told himself he was out to hunt and experiment, he still crawled along the cavern's walls with extreme caution.

The two brutal fights he had already participated in and scenes of the mysterious humanoids easily dispatching various monsters were still very vivid in his mind. He knew that at the moment, he was probably one of the weakest creatures in the cavern. This coupled with inexperience in anything… monster-y made him a very easy target.

'The only way to get the required experience is to go out and hunt other creatures and hope I don't end up in someone else's guts… great.'

Lucas mused, the fact that his survival hinged on mere chance did not comfort him in the slightest.

'Well, it's not like this is any different from when I was a human. In this cavern, it's much more obvious how suddenly death can come. At least here, knowledge of my looming demise can't be shoved to the back of my mind even if I wanted to.'

This thought left a bitter aftertaste for Lucas. In his past life, everything seemed to have a stable pattern to it. You followed the laws and norms of society? Great, your life would be easier. You worked harder than most? Awesome, you would probably be rewarded for it. But all of that got thrown out of the window in a split second, utter chaos quite literally consumed his life and world along with him.

Events beyond his control killed him, his friends, and everyone he knew—all gone in an instant, with no reason or warning. The rules he thought he could trust had been erased, leaving only pain, confusion, and dread in their wake.

Yet now, as he clung to the cavern walls, he realized there was no time for mourning or self-pity. The only rule that mattered here was survival, and it was one he had no choice but to accept and follow.

As these thoughts streamed across Lucas' mind, they brought him inevitably back to one place—the day of his demise. Lucas was forced to pause his movements as his form began to writh unstably, mimicking his jumbled mess of thoughts.

He felt a violent mix of emotions bubbling up within him. Anger, fear, despair, and many more. As these emotions began to settle in, he felt something within him shift. His rampaging emotions suddenly dimmed as if a switch had been flipped. This created a sharp disconnect between what he could remember and his own mind. His form became more stable as well helping him keep his balance on the wall.

'What was that?'

It felt wrong and unnatural, almost like someone had turned down the volume on his soul. Was this part of becoming a monster? Or was it his mind protecting itself from breaking?

'Is there something wrong with me? This isn't the first time this has happened since I stopped being human. Each time I feel any strong emotions they suddenly dim, am I just incapable of processing such emotions now? No, now's not the time for this. I have to adapt and this… this change can be used to my advantage.'

This development filled Lucas with a type of dread and fear he could not really place so he swiftly suppressed those thoughts.He knew this was for the best. At least he hoped so.

———

Lucas scoured the cavern for many minutes, trying to spot the ideal target. The creatures he could sense were either too far away or things he had no confidence in taking down without causing a commotion if at all.

As Lucas ventured deeper into the cavern, the number of monsters he spotted increased, and their power grew more intimidating. Yet, ironically, the chaotic din of the cavern worked in his favor, drowning out his presence and allowing him to blend in even more.

Amidst the turmoil, he observed the hidden world of smaller creatures, busily eating and manipulating the lush plant life on the walls. Meanwhile, larger beasts lurked, ambushed, or evaded one another. Their primal struggles playing out all around him.

'Why are the bigger creatures so hostile? Even though I don't know how long it has been since I got here, a few hours should have gone by if not a full day but these creatures are still so… restless.'

This hyper-aggressive behavior of most of the creatures struck Lucas as odd. Even though he wasn't an animal expert or anything, he could still tell they were unusually violent. They didn't even seem to care about their lives as they dove head-first into confrontations at the drop of a hat.

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'It doesn't matter how rabid these monsters are, I just need to confirm how I level up. Once I do, I can become strong enough to hopefully ignore most of this madness.'

Lucas hoped. He then directed his focus to one of the smaller cavern inhabitants eating a fungus-like plant.

'Now, let's test the theory.'

With this, Lucas snuck up to the creature. It looked like a large cricket but it had four pairs of antennae and two extra pairs of very developed hind legs. These were all the details Lucas could make with his perception.

As he softly approached, he generated an extra tendril which slowly crept toward the unsuspecting insect. When he got the tendril within an acceptable attack range, it snapped forward like a whip, striking with as much power as he could muster.

A loud crack followed the impact of the tendril but it was mostly ignored due to the surrounding noise.

'Huh??'

Lucas "looked" at his tendril in confusion. There was nothing there. In fact, he had not felt his tendril make any contact with the insect at all. It simply vanished. Given Lucas' 360 degrees of perception, that should have been completely impossible but it was the reality.

'Did it hop away or…? If it hopped, I should have been able to hear the sound of its movements right?... Okay then… next target.'

Lucas tried to brush off the encounter and stayed focused. He decided to switch up his approach and go lower to the cavern floor and try his luck down there.

The moment he set his tendrils on the cavern floor, he immediately sensed more vibrations from the creatures in the distance duking it out or on their way to a battle. He stood for a moment and just absorbed the rush of sensations.

The sharp foul smell of rot and decay which had been prevalent from high above spiked considerably. This combined with the constant vibrations and a chaotic mess of chittering, hisses, cries, and many other sounds painted a very vivid picture of carnage in Lucas' mind.

'Is this hell?'

Lucas asked himself, his thoughts lingering on the question. The answer seemed obvious. His instincts screamed that he didn't belong here, that this place was alive in a way that sought to devour him.

But he didn't have the luxury to dwell on the thought. Just as the weight of his question threatened to drag him into dark musings, a sharp, searing pain erupted from above.

The response was instinctual. One of his tendrils lashed upward in a blur, a whip of alien flesh seeking its attacker. The strike connected, piercing something soft with a wet quelch. Without waiting, Lucas flung whatever it was against the wall. The creature struck with a wet slap, its body crumpling to the cavern floor.

Lucas froze, his form wriggling and tightening as he felt an unfamiliar burning liquid surge through him. His mind raced as he turned his focus inward, assessing the sharp ache radiating from his side.

'What was that? The wound hurts like hell… Was it poisonous?'

The memory of the spider-like creature that attacked the beetle flashed across his thoughts, its venomous bite and brutal efficiency replaying like a warning. If it was the same type of predator, he was in serious trouble.

Suppressing the rising panic, Lucas moved. He turned his attention to the wall and began to move in the direction of its base, his only thought to put distance between himself and whatever else might be lurking just beyond his perception.

But he immediately noticed something was very wrong. His tendrils felt sluggish, their movements labored. Each movement required every ounce of his willpower, as though his limbs had turned to lead. He could feel his insides burning up like he was being melted from the inside out. His very form struggled to maintain its shape.

His heart sank. Whatever struck him had already begun taking its toll. The pain was gradually picking up causing his normally not so reliable "sight" to become blurry and disjointed.

'I can do this.'

He muttered internally, forcing himself to focus.

'Just push forward.'

He repeated the mantra with each agonizing step, dragging himself towards the wall. But as he neared the wall's base, his perception picked up something else—a blur of movement, fast and deliberate, closing in on his position.

His thoughts sharpened, panic giving way to a chilling clarity.

'Seems things just went from bad to worse.'

Yet, oddly, he found himself calm. Perhaps it was the strange emotional dampening he'd been experiencing, or perhaps the alien instincts of his mimic body. Whatever the reason, he pushed fear aside, narrowing his focus on survival. His mind shaped and processed numerous thoughts in the blink of an eye.

'I can't outrun it. My best chance is to fight. If I can land a deep enough injury and activate [Leech], maybe… maybe I'll have a shot.'

Abandoning his retreat, Lucas turned his focus to the incoming predator. His eight tendrils drove deep into the cavern floor, trying to anchor him in place. Every movement was slow and wobbly but accompanied by an unflinching will.

He generated a new tendril above him, its sharp tip forming slowly under the weight of his concentration. Thanks to his recently enhanced Physique, he shaped the appendage into a makeshift weapon, sturdy and lethal. Its tip hardened to the max while its body was as nimble as possible.

The effort drained him considerably. The sluggishness in his body worsened, the weight of his own limbs threatening to pull him down. Still, he pressed on, sharpening his resolve alongside his weapon.

And then, silence.

Lucas' perception honed in on the blur, tracking its rapid approach. Though his senses were dampened by the effects of the venom—or whatever had struck him—he could feel the predator closing in, its movements precise and unrelenting.

'Six seconds.'

He thought, his mind calculating in the face of death. The seconds stretched, each one carving itself into his thoughts like an eternity.

'Let's see if I'll make it through a full day in this hellhole.'

His tendrils braced, his weapon poised above him, and his resolve solidified into something unshakable. For the third time since he arrived in this nightmare, Lucas felt the weight of his life balanced on the edge of a single moment.

And he was ready to fight for it.