Re:Mimic [MONSTER MC LITRPG]

'I did it!!!'

After that surge of emotions, Lucas tried his best to calm down. After all, he could still vividly recall how the victorious beetle had been ambushed and severely weakened after its battle with the slime. He would not be excited to participate in another life-and-death battle any time soon, to say the least.

'Okay, now is the moment of truth. How do I actually eat it?'

This was something that had been bugging him for a while now. Back when he lashed out at the slime and generated a gaping maw to kill it, the mouth didn't actually function like his human mouth did. So he was very much clueless on how to proceed in satiating his hunger.

'It's fine, I'm just going to wing it and trust my gut. After all, that's literally the only advice I was given to navigate this hell hole.'

Lucas grumbled internally. Having affirmed that he had no real plan, Lucas tried to do what came most naturally to him which in this case, was to pierce his tendril into the beetle's badly damaged eye and willed it to… eat?

Maybe it was because it's an insect or being a mimic just shifted how he experienced emotions too much but, he didn't really mind doing this to the beetle's corpse.

As he felt the warm ichor on his tendrils, he wasn't really bothered by the feeling and tried his best to get his tendril to begin feeding on the carcass. At least that's what he hoped it could do.

'This is stupid.'

After a few moments of aimlessly poking and prodding in the head of the beetle, Lucas could feel some mild frustration start to creep in. Yet, he remained steadfast and trusted his instincts.

After a few moments of groping around, he just left his tendril in the beetle's head. Thoughts swirled in his mind, most of them about the brutal fight for survival he had just been through. He couldn't help but think to himself.

'Wonder what mom would say if she found out I fought a monster and won.'

The thought left behind a pang of pain and longing as well as bitter-sweet amusement in him since he knew he would most likely never see her again.

Similar thoughts bounced around his mind. He thought of things he usually did with his friends. These memories eventually derailed his thoughts and he forgot his goal of eating and just sat quietly. Then, suddenly, he felt a warm and comfortable current shoot up into him from his tendril.

The current pulled Lucas out of his thoughts as he hastily turned his attention towards it. He was startled by what he now felt from the appendage. The tendril had grown innumerable tiny spines that pierced all across the beetle's head. Each spine traveled quite far into the beetle's head and thorax, turning it almost porous. Better yet, he could feel the tiny spines drawing something away from the corpse into himself. It felt—wonderful.

Each time he felt his tendril pulse, he felt a small dose of euphoria flow through him. As this process went on, Lucas tried to pay attention to the changes that his tendril had undergone. If he could make sense of it, his next meal would be much easier and much more convenient.

'Damn… how did I actually grow all this? No, it doesn't matter. Right now, I just have to try to eat faster and get out of here.'

After studying it for a while, Lucas still didn't fully understand how his tendril transformed in such an intricate way, but he had discovered how to absorb whatever he was taking from the beetle's corpse much faster and proactively.

He immediately focused on the absorption process, the euphoria he felt spiking as the steady pulses of satisfaction became a constant stream.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

'Yeah, that's the stuff.'

As his absorption rate increased, he felt the numerous injuries he had sustained in the fight heal rapidly further improving his good mood.

In his very short life as a mimic, Lucas had finally formed a truly pleasant memory. As he enjoyed himself, he suddenly felt the steady stream cease. Before he could check out what the problem was, he received another unexpected yet pleasant surprise.

{Congratulations, [Leech] has leveled up from Level 1 —> [Leech] Level 2.}

{Congratulations, You have leveled up. +1 Attribute point.}

'Ohhh, so this is what [Leech] is for? Why does it have such a misleading name though?'

Lucas wondered curiously. Initially, he felt like the [Leech] skill would be something attack-related simply due to its name. But it seems like he was mistaken.

'I leveled up as well, I should check for changes in my status screen soon.'

His mind also went to the new notification—he had leveled up. Even though he didn't know its true significance, he could tell it was probably something good.

All in all, his mood was on cloud nine. Lucas began diligently studying his feeding tendril once more to see what caused the stream to fade away. He immediately noticed the issue, the beetle's carcass had shrunk considerably and felt much easier to pierce through.

'I really did a number on it. Maybe this skill can be weaponized after all. I should try and figure out how to increase [Leech]'s level. Same for [Spirit Sense], both are going to help me make sure I live a little longer.'

Lucas thought to himself, considering his future in this cavern with the mindset of an inhabitant for once. As he sat on the corpse deep in thought, he suddenly detected something at the very edge of his perception.

Lucas instantly tensed up at the sudden vibration and scrambled away from the beetle's carcass, swiftly climbing up into the dark embrace of the cavern walls.

He strained his senses as much as he could to make out what was approaching. Given that it was still too far, the figure he could "see" was somewhat fuzzy but Lucas didn't mind. He just kept his attention on its movement and stayed as still as a statue.

After a few seconds, he noticed two other moving figures following the first one. Unlike most of the other creatures he had "seen" up to now, they were bipedal and looked humanoid. Each of their heavy steps closer further illuminating their appearance in Lucas' monochrome perception.

When they got close enough, Lucas could also "see" that they were carrying long staffs with them. Even though Lucas couldn't tell what the staffs were exactly, he could make a good guess.

'They are wielding weapons?'

Lucas asked rhetorically, but he ignored his curiosity for now and redirected his focus to his new "guests". Lucas "watched" them with rapt attention as they closed in on the beetle carcass, his body tense and anticipatory.

The leading humanoid walked to the side of the beetle with a confident stride, it stood quite a bit taller than the beetle. It placed a hand on the beetle's head causing it to crumble slightly. It looked at the corpse in surprise before calling out to the others with a rough and baritone voice.

<This beetle, its corpse is strange. Do you know what caused this?> It announced, questioningly.

A second figure approached the insect's corpse as well. Placing its hand on it before responding with.

<Strange. Its Spirit has been sucked dry. Whatever did this is… is not natural.>

The third and final humanoid approached the duo and carcass, standing a full head taller than both of them. It regarded the scene for a moment before it spoke as well, its voice grave and commanding.

<We are heading back. We have to report back to the clan. A new type of Thraxxar may have appeared.>

When the two humanoids heard the final sentence, they were visibly shaken. The second humanoid couldn't help but ask.

<Are you sure it's a Thraxxar, Vekarn?>

The larger humanoid didn't respond. It instead looked up as it grabbed its weapon tighter.

<I can sense something directly above us. It's either weak or good at concealing itself. If it's the Thraxxar then we can not take the chance. Come, let us head back.>

The group fell silent after that before they left hastily.

Lucas watched all these events in quiet contemplation and intrigue, finding these creatures very interesting.

'What are they? They can communicate and seem to be able to use tools so they might actually have a functioning society. If so, why are they in the cavern as well? Is the cavern all there is?'

Multiple questions streaked across Lucas' mind but he knew he couldn't answer them by just sitting still and hiding. So in a moment of brassness, he made up his mind to do something very risky.

'Let's go see why they are in such a rush to leave.'

Lucas stalked after the humanoids with surprising stealth. He stayed in the shadows and followed them, hoping to better understand his situation and alleviate his ignorance.