Re:Mimic [MONSTER MC LITRPG]

'Can I transform back into a human?'

The thought hit Lucas like a bolt of lightning. "Looking" at the arm his tendril had become, his mind instantly made such a connection. A deep and powerful longing surged out of him but he was clear-headed enough to tell himself that,

'No… maybe I can do it later. But as I am right now, the pain would most likely drive me insane or outright kill me.'

Even though he wanted to immediately try transforming into a human, the consequences of such an action were not something he could bear at the moment.

Lucas tried to banish the thought from his mind and continued manipulating the arm he now had, marveling at the fluidity he could control it with.

This was a rather pleasant experience for him because all this while just figuring out how to control his new body had taken a lot out of him mentally. But this arm had shown him a brief glimpse of his past, of a time when he had mastered his body to a level most people would never achieve.

After using the arm for a while, he could not help but sigh to himself.

'Growing you hurt like a bitch.'

The pain from transforming the tendril was easily the second worst feeling he had ever experienced.

'Am I going to have to bear something like that each time I have to transform?'

Just the thought made his amorphous firm shiver uncomfortably.

'No, the skill leveled up. So maybe that means I can transform my tendrils into arms from now on? Well, there's only one way to find out…'

He rested for a while before he gathered his courage and de-transformed his tendril. It swiftly regained its slender, fingerless form with no pain to speak of. After it regained its form, it gently flexed and waved almost playfully.

'I really hope I'm right about this…'

Lucas then slowly began transforming the tendril through metaphorically gritted teeth. As usual, it began thickening rapidly, and in a few moments, its tip began splitting into finger-like projections—two, three, four, five.

When all the slender fingers got generated, Lucas braced for impact. He could tell bones were about to begin growing and hardening within the fleshy limb. This was the point which almost drove him mad before.

In the split second the limb began growing bones, he felt something within him pulse and surge in the direction of the rapidly changing tendril. Before he could track what was going on, the tendril became a simple human arm once more.

'What?? Nice!'

Lucas felt confused at first before he realized his theory was on point. He began flexing his fingers and the entire limb in various ways which it moved according to his will as easily as last time.

'What caused that surge of energy at the last moment?'

Still confused at what happened in the last moments, Lucas rifled through every possible thing he knew of that might be responsible for such an event. After a few moments, his thoughts instantly reached a single conclusion.

'My core?'

He swiftly moved his focus to the mysterious organ once more. Right now, it was noticeably dimmer as it rotated within him. He could not help but marvel at it, it seemed like a beautiful mystery just at the edge of his grasp.

Regaining his focus in a few moments, he began his investigation.

'It seems to have lost some of its energy. Safe to assume I can power some of my skills with its energy…'

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The thought that he wouldn't have to go through such extreme pain every time he changed brought him great relief.

'Phew… at least there's some hope. I should figure out this core issue faster. But, it can only wait. For now… I have to go out and hunt.'

At the thought of going outside once more, the tips of his tendrils subconsciously hardened into sharp edges that pierced into the cold rock beneath him.

He knew just how dangerous going out there could be. Even with all these discoveries he had made recently, he did not feel one bit safer.

'I have to get out there... Why did I choose to stay alive? Just to cower? No. If there's a path to survival, I will walk it. And if there is none? I will make one for myself. There are no other options.'

With resolve harder than steel, Lucas began steadily climbing out of his crevice, his normally fluid and dynamic form now calm as a lake. This newfound determination was fueled by a mix of exhaustion, frustration, and the soul-ripping pain he had just endured.

He was tired of being on the back foot, and he set out now not just to hunt, but to prove something to himself.

'I'm going to live.'

Physically, he might mostly be the same, but mentally, a subtle shift had taken place—one which would go on to change the lives of billions.

———

About five minutes later, Lucas had returned to the spot where he almost got done in by the centipede. The now familiar sounds of primal struggles and harsh smells ground against his heightened perception.

This time a little wiser and much more careful than before, he stuck to the wall and watched for any possible prey.

'Hmm… my "sight" seems to be a little different now.'

After watching for a few minutes, Lucas picked up on an extra facet of his new perception. Apart from everything being much more detailed, living creatures had this extra… "color" to them.

Color was not quite the right word to describe what he was perceiving, but it was the only word he knew of that fit this new sensation.

Each life form he "watched", had a unique "shade" to it now. It was like seeing a color he had never experienced before. This development made his already strange world even weirder.

'At least things are clearer now. I just have to take some time to adjust to it.'

Knowing that he had no other options, Lucas decided to adjust to this new sensation as rapidly as possible. After all, it was helping him point out possible prey with even better clarity.

Like this, he moved around the cavern wall, slowly and methodically, the usual cacophony of carnage below him serving as a constant reminder of where he was and what he was surrounded by at all times.

He noticed a few familiar creatures like some three-eyed rats, millipedes, and even a beetle scuttling around the cavern floor but the vast majority of the creatures below were unknown to him.

As always, the smaller creatures stuck to the walls and generally remained around the plant life, going about their business peacefully. He also ignored them for the most part, not wanting to offend unknown threats simply because he was too lazy to go around them.

Having crawled for quite a bit, Lucas paused and took inventory of his surroundings. The noises were still present if not even more aggressive but nothing below was isolated enough for him to make a move on it.

'Hmmm… this is going to take a while huh?'

Lucas asked rhetorically, the thought of having to hang out here for hours while being very tense did not sound like a fun time.

'Let's just locate something specific to track—'

The thought was cut off before he could fully process it. He didn't know why but, a spot just a few meters away from him "looked" very off. The surrounding cavern walls were the usual dark grey while a small section looked… different. Like the rock in the area was fluctuating.

Paying more attention to the shape, he noticed something that caused his shapeless body to instantly tense up— the strange shape was in the form of a spider.

'Is that what I think it is?'

Images of the shadowy figure that attacked the beetle from early on and himself flickered across his mind.

'No wonder I didn't notice it before. I can barely make out its figure even when it's sitting right in front of me! Let's see what it's up to.'

Lucas proceeded to patiently watch it for about a full minute. It didn't move at all, not even a twitch. If his perception didn't give it a unique "color", Lucas would have thought it was just as cold and inert as the wall it lay on.

'What should I do?'

Lucas was at a crossroads, he could either a) sneakily move away, b) sneak up to it and attack it, or c) ignore it completely and hope for the best.

In a few moments, Lucas had made his decision.

'I already told myself before I came out here, I'm here to hunt and I won't cower anymore. This is just an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.'

With his mind made up, Lucas softly crept up to the would-be assassin. A ninth tendril slowly formed above him as well, it would be his weapon for this attack.

'Okay, the plan is simple, close in, attack. If that doesn't work, get out and dash as fast as possible.'

As Lucas made up this plan, he was already less than three meters away from his target. He could feel almost all his emotions become muted as he entered a state of supreme focus.

His weaponized tendril had already become twice as thick as a regular one. Its tip hardened to the max, and its edge sharper than a razor's. He was prepared.

'Three seconds.'

He told himself. The thought was cold and calculating, in three seconds he would be in the appropriate range to launch his assault. His steps didn't falter as he approached, counting down in his head.

'3…2…1—NOW!'

He immediately thrust out his spear-like tendril at his foe, victory or defeat would be decided in a single exchange.