The Dungeon's Worst Little Mistake

Once Bug is done bullying Mimmie a little for doing something so reckless and for kill stealing, she helps her spend her free Stat Points mostly into Vitality and Strength with a couple of points into Endurance and Dexterity.

When asked why, Mimmie simply answered, "So I can bite harder!"

Pulling her stuck sword out of what is left of the Butcher's neck, Susan comments, "Do you really need to bite harder than you already can? You just took this guy's head off when not even I could. What do you even need all this strength for?"

Bug just nods and pets the little girl's head. "Seriously. You could even bite through my scales when you were just a little brick. If you keep pumping points into Strength, your bite is going to get ridiculously strong."

Elaine gives them a big smile, her cute little face still full of a mess of deadly looking chompers painted in blood.

"I want to be able to eats everything!"

"Everything?"

"EVERYTHING! I will eats the world!" She proudly declares with a cheer and her flat chest puffed out with pride, her noodly arms both raised in a flex of barely showing muscles. The image is made even more comical with her stuffed belly currently poking out from under her shirt with her belly button on full display.

Bug and Susan both give an awkward laugh at that answer. She sounds completely serious but at the same time, they don't want to trample on her dreams. And worst of all, what if she could actually one day do it? Neither of them know much of anything about Mimics after all, and with the System, there might not be a limit to how strong she can become. What if there was a Mimic capable of eating planets? They'd rather not find out…

Susan joins Bug and helps straighten out Elaine's messy hair. "Well, that's certainly a big goal. But let's try and aim for something a little smaller, alright? We don't want you to eat the whole world. We do live here after all, right?"

Elaine blinks, "Oh, I forgot! Ok… Hmm, most of everything? Half…?"

She goes quiet as she starts to mull it over and count her little fingers like she is trying to figure out some math problem in her head. The two decide to leave her to it.

In the meantime, Bug's ears are twitching enough for even Susan to notice.

"What do you hear?" She asks.

Bug just tilts her head as she keeps listening, looking more and more confused by the second.

"I don't… know? The other monsters that were getting closer have all ran away. I figured it was because we killed the Butcher and that scared everything else off, but now I'm hearing something else. It's all skitter skitter~ and a bunch of rustling. Sounds small, but there is a lot of them… Hmm, definitely getting closer."

Susan raises an eyebrow at that, her hand hovering over Elaine's head as she stopped mid-pet.

"Small and… On this floor, that could be…"

"Getting closer, faster now. I think I hear some buzzing? Flying? Must be some kind of insect."

"Insect!?" Susan asks in shock. "Crap, we need to move, now!"

Getting up, Susan grabs Elaine by the handles on her treasure chest and takes off at a full sprint, running right past the massive bloody corpse of the Butcher without even looking back.

Getting carried away, Elaine cries out, "But I want to eats that! I killed it, it's mine!"

Bug just calls out to their fleeing backs, "Why are you running away, it's just some bugs? Probably attracted by the smell from the corpse."

Getting up herself to follow them, Bug doesn't start running yet. Instead she takes her time to collect the Butcher's massive cleaver that had fallen to the floor. In a flash of light, the massive blade several times her own size disappears into her Inventory. When she goes to collect the corpse next, she turns as she hears the sounds getting closer and closer.

What rounds the corner has her already pale face pale further as her eyes go wide with shock and disgust.

Round glistening shells ranging from rust-red to pitch-black. Skittering legs covered in little spikes. Antenna waving in the air. Shells peeled open to reveal vibrating wings on a creature so disgusting that the thought of it being able to fly only makes it all the more revolting.

They round the corner like a tiddle wave of chitin and hunger and carrying with it a cloying smell of musk, oil, and mold. Ranging in size from that of a coin at the smallest, all the way up to being nearly the height of a full-grown man at the biggest, the wave of insects comes crashing around the corner with living waves, big enough to easily swallow Bug whole, crashing against the walls and flowing over themselves. Moving like raging water, they take the turn and make straight for Bug and the corpse, a bottomless hunger being seen clearly in their beady black eyes.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Bug makes the mistake of using Identify on reflex, her vision suddenly filling with blue boxes as she panics, and her head gets wracked with a massive headache.

'Cockroacher Lvl1. Your common household pest turned monster. Largely harmless when alone. Just crush it with a big boot or feed it to your pet lizard.'

'Razor Shelled Cockroacher Lvl5. A common mutation of the Cockroacher. Small blades line the underside of their shells and are used for self-defense and for cutting up prey. Do not grab! You'll probably lose a finger or two.'

'Acid Spitting Cockroacher Lvl6. A common mutation of the Cockroacher. Capable of spitting a blob of weak acid, they aren't particularly dangerous unless they are found in large numbers.'

'Shadow Cockroacher Lvl10. A common mutation of the Cockroacher. Specialized in stealth, they typically stick to the shadows and hide until they can find food to eat. Not particularly dangerous unless they are found in large numbers and are capable of using simple Shadow Magics.'

'Tank Cockroacher Lvl11. A common mutation of the Cockroacher. Specialized in defense, they have heavily reinforced shells and can take quite a beating. A full-grown man could stomp on one's back and not even dent their shell. Lacking offensive abilities, they are not particularly dangerous unless they are found in large numbers.'

'Speedy Cockroacher Lvl10. A common mutation of the Cockroacher. Specialized in speed, they are nearly impossible to catch. Watching them dart around can be the stuff of nightmares. Lacking offensive abilities they are not particularly dangerous unless they are found in large numbers.'

'Carion Seaker Cockroacher Lvl12. A common mutation of the Cockroacher. With their enhanced smell and their powerful bite, they are always on the hunt for fresh corpses. With their powerful bite and a bottomless appetite, these little monsters will eat practically anything that gets in their way as they rip meat from bones in a matter of seconds. While not particularly dangerous on their own, they are typically found leading groups of Cockroachers towards their next meal. These groups can reach truly ridiculous scales, and if not regularly exterminated, can eat entire villages down to the ground.'

'King Cockroacher Lvl20. A further mutation of a Carion Seaker Cockroacher. Discernable by the horn like growths on its head, this is one who has managed to gather a large enough following of other Cockroachers. Using pheromones, the others will obey and follow their King, even to the death. While lacking in personal combat power and being easy enough to kill on its own, it typically is never alone.'

'Bigger Blacker Cockroacher Lvl18. A rare mutation of the Cockroacher. Capable of growing to breathtaking sizes, this Cockroacher is intimidatingly girthy and is blacker than any Cockroach you've ever seen. It's often believed that the blacker it is, the bigger it gets, though this has yet to be proven as being more than just rumor spread amongst gossiping housewives. Avoid when found in large groups, as dealing with several Bigger Blacker Cockroacher can be quite the handful.

//Dev note: Are we sure we can leave this one in? I get it, funny penis joke, lol. But this one might be a bit much, no? I'll have to talk with [REDACTED] and see what he thinks.

//Follow up note: Never mind, he thinks dick jokes are funny and wants to keep it in. F*ucking childish. Even said to try and add more if we can. <(ভ⤙ ভ ")> I'll come back to this one and finish it later if I can be bothered.'

…

//Congratulation! You leveled-up a Skill!

//Identify Lvl 2 is now Lvl 3!

…

Oh, well that's nice. Thinks Bug as she sees Identify finally level up after so long. Just too bad that this is what made it go up!!!

Bug turns and runs as fast as her legs can carry her, not even bothering to read the literal thousands of notifications filling her vision as she swipes them all away in a hurry. Pumping her legs with everything she has; she almost forgets about the giant corpse of the Butcher that she was wanting to grab. Just imagine the Undead she could make out of that thing!

Quickly turning around, she regrets doing so almost immediately as she sees the wave of giant cockroaches collide with and completely submerge the corpse in an instant. Horrifyingly, it takes but a matter of seconds before the mass of roaches flows down the corpse like water with all the meat now missing in their wake. All that is left is pure white bones.

And worst of all, eating the corpse had hardly slowed them down. Now, it isn't they body of the Butcher that they are after. Now, they want the nearest source of meat around them.

Bug, who is immune to the cold, can only shiver as she suddenly feels the full weight of a thousand and a thousand more eyes bear into her.

"Nope!"

Screw getting a giant potentially regenerating minion; I don't want to get eaten! Not like that!

Bug screams and runs away, chasing after Susan's back, who had been smartly running away this entire time without even looking back once.

Slowly catching up, Bug looks back and immediately regrets it. The hallway behind her is flooding with roaches all gnashing their mandibles as they chase after Bug's juicy, plump tail. The ones flying in the air are even getting closer and the sight of them drawing near has Bug scream like a little girl.

"NO, YHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

StayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawayStayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawayStayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawayStayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayaway!!!"

She picks up speed as fear and adrenaline pumps through her cold body like liquid fire, quickly gaining on Susan as she frantically pumps her arms. The few flying roaches that do manage to catch up, Bug frantically slashes out of the air with flailing limbs and fights to swat them off her clothes and throw them out of her hair.

With tears in her eyes, Bug screams, "Susan, save me!!!"

"I told you to run, dangit! Just keep running! NonoNO, don't bring them towards us, DUMMY. Run somewhere else!!!"

Elaine cheers and reaches over Susan's shoulders with grasping hands, "Yay! So many buggies! I wanna eats them. Let me eats them! They look so shiny and crunchy!"

""NO!""