Re:Mimic [MONSTER MC LITRPG]

Back within the cavern…

Lucas had already gathered himself and began cutting into the beetle's corpse. Transparent ichor and grey flecks of carapace hung on his arms and tendrils as he worked. His mind however, was elsewhere.

'Why was I crying? Do I feel bad for the beetle? No. Do I feel bad for myself? No.'

Humm.

A low hum kicked back against that second no.

"I'm perfectly fine. I have been killing my way through the cave for more than a week now. Why would I get all mushy now?"

Lucas subconsciously began to speak, his voice dangerously loud in the quiet cavern.

Humm Humm.

As he listened to Crash, Lucas' eyes widened in realization, that actually did make sense. When he was just a mimic, his body could not process his emotions properly so he forgot about them relatively quickly. This let him charge into danger head on with little to no hesitation.

"But now… I can fully process things I used to shrug off. Maybe transforming back was not such a good idea..."

His limbs stopped working on the beetle as he sank into silence. He recalled his previous fights and his most recent fight. With a deep sigh, he asked rhetorically.

"Who am I?"

When he asked, he recalled his rooftop jump. He felt like that moment of fleeting freedom occurred a thousand years ago rather than two weeks ago. A smile crawled onto his face as he resumed digging for the beetle's core.

"I'm Lucas Maverick, a free spirit. It doesn't matter my shape or form, I always crave freedom."

He spoke absentmindedly, treating each word as a casual fact. When Lucas spoke those words, Crash let out a strange pulse of energy. Its color glowing brighter as its circulation patterns became even more chaotic. Lucas didn't take note of any of this as his focus was on getting the core.

After a few minutes later, Lucas finally got his prize. The beetle's core was very different from the slime's. It was as transparent as glass and gave off a strange light.

The light was a vibrant and pulsing hue that seemed to ripple at his touch. Yes, the color rippled at his touch. The core's light somehow did not cast any shadows and even let out a low hum.

Lucas opened his palm and watched the core curiously. The core began floating a few centimeters above his palm, moving around in erratic orbits but never left the scope of his palm.

"Cool."

Lucas muttered, his eyes filled with wonder. Suddenly, Wiki's pleasant voice chimed in.

{[Quest]—Acquire a pseudo core completed.

Reward received. Should I activate the packet now? [Yes] [No].}

Crash let out a low hum at the notification, Lucas agreed.

"Yeah, we should find a secure location first. Knowing how things work with the system, this reward might make me pass out first."

He half joked as he stabbed the beetle's carcass with a single tendril and activated [Leech]. He couldn't let anything go to waste. He felt the familiar euphoria of Life energy coursing through him for a few moments before it faded. Life energy moved around Crash in a perfect ring.

"Why are you brighter now Crash?"

Hum.

Lucas heard the new sound, but could not fully understand what it meant. So he asked.

'What?'

Hum hum.

Crash "spoke" once again but the full meaning was lost on Lucas. All he could get was,

"We're freer now? Cool… I guess?"

With that, he returned his attention back to the beetle's core in his hand. Lucas placed the core on his heart and Crash produced a whirlpool of energy that sucked it into the strange space it occupied. The beetle's core formed an erratic orbit around Crash. Its strange light interacted with Crash's in mysterious ways.

'I hope you know what you're doing, Crash. And don't absorb it. Not until I say so.'

Hum.

With that taken care of, Lucas went on the move. He removed his perception from his core and began making his way up the cavern wall. He easily grappled his way off the cavern floor using his tendrils and began swinging almost twenty meters off the ground.

As he swung with his signature flair, he looked around for potential nooks and caves. Twenty minutes later, he found a big enough one thirty meters off the ground. He swiftly made his way to it with a few sharp swings. The slightly stale air whistled in his wake.

Cautiously, he dropped into the cave with a frontflip. His hair waved as he stood to his feet. With his [Spirit sense] activated, the air thickened as he could now see strands of Spirit energy in air. Through the skill, he could sense multiple small lifeforms hanging on the cave's pitch black ceiling.

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'Their Spirit energy is quite weak.'

With zero hesitation, he stepped into the cave. What greeted him was a small colony of about thirty bat-like creatures. They looked quite large as they hung upside down in the cave.

Unlike most of the other cavern inhabitants, they were black in color with oversized ears folded over their faces. When Lucas stepped into the cave, their ears loosened from their faces. Each ear lobe was grotesquely oversized as a single one was bigger than their own heads. They collectively trained their eerie red eyes on Lucas who had disturbed their slumber.

Lucas' four tendrils shifted into their scythe forms as he prepared for combat. His eyes narrowed in the dim light. The foul scent of carcasses and blood stung his sensitive nose. He could see the Spirit energy flow and change around them. He immediately caught sight of a familiar red glow and thought.

'They can use Life energy as well?'

Whoosh.

The first bat crashed towards him, wings and fangs bared and stained with dried blood. A deep crimson light wrapped around its frame as it swooped in. Lucas didn't flinch, it was as if he couldn't see the attack with his gaze focused on the ceiling beyond the incoming bat.

When the bat got into his range, his left upper tendril hacked at it with ruthless precision. Deep red runes appeared on its surface as it sliced through the air with a muted howl.

The bat was easily cleaved in twain while Lucas' hadn't even gazed at it from start to finish. Suddenly, the remaining bats let out fierce screeches and dove down in unison. They flapped their wings and flew around chaotically.

With his [Spirit sense] and [Leech] working in tandem, Lucas could see red waves of energy being emitted from their screeches. As the waves passed through him, numerous strange runes were embedded into his skin before vanishing. Frowning at this, Lucas went on the offensive. Whatever those Runes were, he didn't want to find out.

Using his lower tendrils to assist his wall run, he proceeded to hack and slash at the bats. Lucas channeled his Life energy as he attacked. His arms morphed into blades in mere seconds. With these four weapons, he made short work of the bats. Each attack drew blood and harvested lives.

No matter how they screeched and attacked, they were too weak to even injure him. In his eyes, they were just flying sacks of life energy. A minute later, the last bat fell. Lucas sat on the floor among the remnants of his handiwork. The carcasses looked like mummified corpses which swiftly crumbled into black dust. The cave now carried a strong deathly odor.

As Lucas looked around at the carnage, he didn't feel much. He could still feel the warm Life energy flowing through him as he de-transformed his arms.

"Guess I'm more used to this than I thought. Now, let's see what a quest reward is like."

Taking a seat, he opened the quest page and mentally clicked [Yes]. A sharp migraine immediately stung his mind and blurred his senses.

It was only about ten seconds later where he could even see his own hands again. When the side effects subsided, he took a look at the information packet.

To his surprise, what followed was a simple text file carrying a definition. Even though there wasn't much content, what he read definitely interested him.

{Pseudo core: This is the most vital part of any entity with aspirations to push beyond their natural limits. It houses the entity's Essence, Will,and Spirit while shaping their Physique and Mind as they develop it.}

Lucas turned his senses inward and addressed Crash.

'So you're called a pseudo core huh? I wasn't too far off the mark when I named you at least. It's still weird that I can talk to you though.'

Lucas thought for a bit then asked out loud.

"Hey Wiki, can I ask you questions about pseudo cores?"

Wiki answered without missing a beat.

{Of course, Lucas.}

"Is it normal that I can communicate with my pseudo core?"

{No.}

Surprised but expecting such a response, Lucas pushed further.

"Why is that?"

Wiki's response was even more surprising.

{The entity you call Crash is completely immaterial. The answer to your question is beyond the bubble of pseudo cores.}

"Completely immaterial? So is Crash a complete figment of my imagination?"

Hummmm!

Crash let out a low hum as it refuted Lucas' question. Wiki however, answered calmly.

{I can not answer that at the moment. Please complete related [Quests] to get an appropriate response.]

That response raised even more questions than answers for Lucas but one thing was for certain now.

'Crash is real. It might not be physical but it's not just me losing my mind either. If Wiki acknowledges its existence, that's more than enough proof.'

Lucas let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Sure, he didn't think he was insane but insane people don't think they are losing it as well. With this at least, he understood there's more to Crash.

'Or maybe both Crash and Wiki are figments of my imagination…'

Lucas shook his head to expel the thought with a weary smile. He turned off his status screen and walked to the entrance of the cave.

As he peered out, he could see the mesmerizing landscapes down below. The plants on the cavern wall provided their neon light which illuminated the battlefield for creatures big and small. He stood there with his tendrils gently swaying behind him as he watched life struggle for survival below.

With his current perception, Lucas could easily see things almost a kilometer away with perfect clarity. This sharp vision was following an insect he had seen before. It was a cricket-like bug with three pairs of legs and antennas. Its carapace was a gentle light green that helped it melt into the hypnotic background.

Much like last time, it was perched on a fungi plant minding its own business. Lucas and most other creatures in the cavern ignored it because it was too fast and wasn't rewarding to consume.

Lucas could see it jump from plant to plant with muted bangs. Its jumps were so powerful he could see small shockwaves produced by each leap.

'I wonder if I can do that.'

Humm.

Crash hummed in denial. They didn't have enough Spirit energy for such transformations. Lucas felt so as well. Even since he transformed human, even though he was much stronger and faster, his transformations were much more costly. If the bats didn't offer themselves up in that fight, he would have nothing left in that tank right now.

'Is it because of my high Physique? That actually makes a little sense. I'm much heavier now which means I need way more energy to transform myself to other forms.'

He thought as he recalled the recent beetle fight. Just transforming a single arm took almost half of his Spirit energy. He retracted his gaze from the cavern below and headed back into the dank cave. He spoke to himself absentmindedly, his voice light.

"Guess that attribute point is going to Spirit."

As he strolled to the end of the cave, he suddenly heard the familiar melody of the cavern. He immediately froze and began paying attention to it.

'Again? Didn't the sound appear just a few minutes ago?'

As his thoughts scrambled, he could feel the sound was more powerful than before. It beckoned him to an unknown location deep within the cavern, whispering sweet words that promised an escape, power, and true freedom.

'No! I'm not going anywhere!!'

Humm!

Crash let out a resonating hum that matched and reinforced his Will. Lucas could still vividly remember the haze the sound put him in. That would not repeat itself ever again.

After an intense struggle, the sound began to dim. Its enchanting melody retracted from Lucas' mind as he finally stabilized himself. Now within his own control, he could hear cavern creatures rushing through the myriad tunnels. Their roars and wails brought Lucas a sense of crisis. Their usual bloodlust for one another tamed, they fled as a synchronized horde with a singular purpose.

"What's going on???"

Lucas asked mentally as he could see hundreds of creatures of all shapes and sizes racing towards one direction. As if feeling his confusion, Wiki chimed in.

{Domain core has initiated a Domain surge. New [Quest] given: Locate the domain core. Reward: information packet on Domain cores. Good Luck, Lucas Maverick.}