Re:Mimic [MONSTER MC LITRPG]

'3…2…1—NOW!'

Lucas thrust out his weaponized tendril with all his might, his mind razor focused on this one attack. As the tendril lanced through the air, he could hear a piercing howl as it made its way to its motionless target in a heartbeat.

When the tip of the tendril got within just a few centimeters of the spider, it suddenly jolted into motion and made an attempt to evade the strike. Unfortunately, it reacted too late.

All it did was shift a few centimeters to the side before the sharp tendril buried itself into its large abdomen, creating a sickening, wet quelch which was swiftly drowned out by a sharp crack as the tendril sank into the rocky wall beneath it.

'[Leech]!'

Not taking any chances, Lucas activated his [Leech] skill. His weaponized tendril exploded into innumerable, finer tendrils that sank into the spider's flesh, seeking out every fiber of the spider's being in a surge of motion. In less than a second, he felt a surge of vitality flow into him for a few seconds before stopping.

The spider's lifeless body swiftly disintegrated, like ash in the wind. Falling off the wall silently. Lucas remained in place, processing everything that just happened. He sat in place for almost a minute, eerily still, his mind replaying the strike.

The countdown, the lunge, the moment of impact—each detail burned into his memory. His ninth tendril suddenly shot out of the wall, curling like a triumphant fist as a surge of pride swelled within him.

'Hell yeah!'

He actually hunted something without being forced into a life and death situation for once. This seemingly straightforward ambush had proven something very important to him—he was improving. He could still feel the rush of power from using [Leech], the calm and calculating thoughts as he planned the ambush. It all felt…

'Exhilarating.'

He thought excitedly.

'Let's keep going, a few more kills then we head back.'

Lucas then proceeded to scour the wall cautiously for more prey. He couldn't help but have an extra pep in his step.

———

After exploring the winding tunnels of the cavern for a few hours, Lucas did not notice any easy targets and was forced to head to the cavern's floor. He paid attention to the movements below for a long while. After making sure there was nothing around that might ambush him and slowly made his way down.

With extremely tight nerves, he took the first step down gingerly. When nothing dropped from above or snapped up at him from below, he hastily scurried across the floor trying to create some distance away from where he was.

'Okay, let's head… that way.'

He thought after scanning the cavern floor for a few moments. The damp floor, jagged stalactites, and branching tunnels forcing him to make a spontaneous choice.

He swiftly made his way towards his chosen tunnel having selected it due to how quiet it was. In the process of crawling, he could sense things moving in the distance as always. Their gray shapes caused him to raise his guard a bit more.

When he finally made it to the non discript tunnel, he inspected it for any dangers. After a minute or so of searching, he was certain nothing was prowling around the tunnel and headed in.

'This is going better than expected. I just have to map out the area. That will make sneaking around much easier.'

He thought to himself as he moved further down the path. He walked forward cautiously a minute or so, taking in every detail of the tunnel with each step. He was abruptly forced to a stop however as he sensed something troubling. A few meters away from him, he could sense a solid rock wall.

'A dead end?'

He reached out and touched the cold stone with a tendril, feeling a little sheepish for being so tense about the tunnel.

'Wonder why nothing is camping out here. Well, whatever the reason, I shouldn't stick around to find out.'

He began the trek back out. His form rushing across the ground like a monstrous spider. As he got closer to the tunnel's entrance, the ambient sounds of the cavern's activities came rushing back. One sound in particular was eerily familiar yet very different from how he remembered it.

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Squelch.

The sound was rather close, it came directly from the tunnel's entrance.

'Fuck, it's a slime… Well, it's no big deal. I'm stronger now and if I can't kill it, I can always run.'

Lucas reassured himself. His form writhing chaotically in anticipation of the clash.

As he rushed ahead, the figure of the slime became clearer. It "looked" like a shifting, gelatinous mass, glowing with an unnatural hue. With his enhanced perception, he could pick up something else, an object hovered within its center. The object's shape was fuzzy while it emitted a "color" which painted the slime with that strange hue.

'It has a core too?'

Lucas' attention shifted to the object for a split second, his form froze before a powerful urge to attack exploded out of him. His form simmered and writhed as he created an extra tendril above him, sharpening it as a tool for his impending attack. A slightly more detailed plan formed in his mind, driven by instinct.

'Let's use [Leech] on its core!'

Without any hesitation, his pace picked up. The slime on the other hand was eerily calm. It just sat nonchalantly at the tunnel's entrance as if baiting Lucas to attack.

When Lucas got within striking distance, his ninth tendril lashed out. Before it could make contact with the slime though, Lucas sensed its core pulse with an unusual energy. Its body instantly hardened like steel, easily deflecting the offending tendril.

The slime then writhed and shifted, its side facing Lucas swelled with numerous pimple-like protrusions. Before Lucas could understand what was going on, multiple needle-like projectiles fired out of the slime. The objects pierced into Lucas' flesh and burned with a sharp hiss.

'Ahhh!'

The needles felt like they were injecting acid directly into him. This mind shattering pain instantly cleared up his mind as he realized this slime was very different from the creatures he had encountered before.

'What the hell!?'

The slime fired some more projectiles but Lucas hurriedly flung himself to the side of the tunnel. His mind was in fight or flight mode as his eight tendrils dug into the cool rock.

Without any hesitation, he sprinted out of the tunnel. The slime fired a few more projectiles but he dodged them all thanks to his 360 degree perception and flexible form.

He made a hasty getaway out of the tunnel, the slime's needles on him visibly sank deeper into his body. Thankfully, no other monster was present outside. Due to this, he easily made his way up the towering cavern walls and began to regroup. The pain he felt across his entire body reminded him of just how little he knew about the cavern.

'Why was that slime so strong? I didn't even scratch it with my all out attack. Shit, I can feel its acid still burning me up. Arrghh… let's head back, even though I don't like it, that's the safest bet.'

He cautiously headed back to his crevice. Navigating his way back to safety was a harrowing task given how far he had travelled and the immense pain wracking him. When his amorphous form finally got to the crevice, he collapsed into a malleable heap. After resting for an hour and giving his body some time to heal, he recollected the events of his recent escapade.

'Leveling up [Spirit sense] really made a difference this time. Be it the spider or that strange slime, I have more info to work with overall.'

His form rippled softly at the thought then he continued.

'That slime had a core like me… is that why it could fire out projectiles? Thinking back, I could sense that weird energy surge within it before it acted.'

His form stilled for a moment while two tendrils grew out of him, lazily waving as he thought to himself.

'What type of ability was that? I wonder if I can copy it.'

He could still vividly remember how the slime's energy pulsed before its attack. In the heat of the moment, he was tense and afraid but thinking about it now seemed almost mesmerizing.

'Let's see if I can make any progress with my core then.'

He focused on the strange sphere within him. Its mystical light illuminated his mind like usual. He reached out with his Will, trying to manipulate the orb.

After a few seconds of focus, the orb began rotating slowly. Taking this as a positive sign Lucas increased his focus. The orb just lazily rotated at the same pace however.

Seconds swiftly became minutes, Lucus felt his concentration beginning to fade. He withdrew his focus from the unnatural sphere and thought to himself.

'Still no reaction. I'm not doing something right… but what?'

He wracked his brain in thought. Though he had already done this before to the same result he could not help but feel disappointed.

'When my core healed me or used its energy for my [Mimicry], it was almost instinctive wasn't it? Then can I force it to react or directly influence the energy within it?'

With that idea in mind, he tried taking a different approach. He tried to visualize the chaotic stream of energy that had flowed within him. His mind went to how the energy within the slime pulsed and transformed.

In a few seconds, he felt his core pulse as well. Joy and excitement spiked with him as his attention went back to the core. He could sense a few strands of energy moving out of it but they hastily retreated back into the core with his focus now on it.

'Shit… no, it's fine. Let's just start over.'

Lucas' form vibrated menacingly but he bottled up his frustrations, he began the process once more. This time it took a full five minutes for him to feel changes within his core. The long wait almost caused him to crack but he kept his cool.

The few streams branched out of the otherworldly sphere almost curiously. Each stream heading to separate directions in chaotic patterns. He watched as they circled throughout his entire body, filling him with a sense of power and confidence.

'Hahahaha!'

He couldn't help but laugh, this lapse in concentration caused him to stop paying attention to the streams of energy. In response, they hastily retreated back to the core like they were never present. That feeling of power and control instantly vanished like smoke.

Crack!

Frustrated, Lucas stabbed a tendril into the rock beneath him.

'Oh, fuck off!'

Unbeknownst to him, his core flared up in activity at that emotional outburst. Its structure swiftly underwent changes as it became something more volatile and fluid.

'Why are you doing this? You're probably my only hope at surviving out here and you keep messing with me? Why can't you just freaking work—'

The thought was cut off as a surge of energy exploded out of his tendril, blasting him into the top of the crevice with a loud crash. He fell back down to the crevice floor a few moments later dazed and confused.

While recollecting himself, Lucas couldn't help but ask.

'What just happened?'

Hastily bringing his focus to his core, what he saw made his mind go blank.