Chapter 29

Should I just burn it to a crisp? No, I want to keep the gold coins inside. Let's just freeze it.

Jae was looking the chest that seemed to have killed him. He didn't know exactly what happened, but it was obvious that the golden chest isn't merely what it seems. He decided to freeze the chest with ice magic before opening it.

"...Seems alright. What if I try and take a coin?"

When Jae first opened the chest, he had let his guard down.

*PSSST*

Like last time, a red blur shot out from beneath the coins within the chest.

There--!

Unlike last time, however, Jae was now on his guard, so he managed to catch it.

*grip!*

Hah!

Jae grabbed the long red 'tongue' that pulled him into the chest before. It was amazingly fast, and only when Jae was fully concentrating could he actually see it moving.

No wonder it got me the first time. This bastard.

Then, many white spikes sprouted from the lid's lining.

...Teeth?

Jae was, at first, a little surprised, when the chest suddenly jumped at him.

*woosh*

*SLAM!*

Fortunately, he didn't let down his guard though, so when Jae successfully swung the chest's red "tongue" and slammed it into the wall, the chest stopped moving. Jae didn't let it recover though; he quickly destroyed the chest completely with fire magic, and burned it all to ashes.

Whatever. It's not like I need money or items anyway.

Level limit reached. Excess experience points stockpiled until the limit is increased

...Wait, that thing gives experience? Doesn't that mean I could've used「Envy」on it? I forgot to check first...

Belatedly, Jae noticed something he didn't see before―a staircase at the back of the room.

So this wasn't all of it, after all. Oh well, there'll probably be more of these things anyway. I can check their Soul State then.

With one last glance at what remained of the strange chest, Jae walked down the stairs.

*sigh*

"It's just the same thing as before. Sloth, how many floors are there?"

I swear to god if you say anything more than 10, I'll--

[Kekeke, don't worry. This is the last floor.]

"....Okay then."

[However, are you sure it's really the same thing...?]

Jae furrowed his brows.

"What do you mean? Does it have something to do with that chest earlier?"

[Kekekeke~! I wonder...]

"..."

Jae glared slightly.

"Tch. Annoying asshole."

...Whatever. I'll go right through it all, just like before. At least, on this floor, I can definitely feel the boss room in that direction.

He glanced in the direction of a place with an extremely high concentration of mana.

Since the chests are a key point of this dungeon, I'll probably need to deal with all of them before I get a 100% clear.

Jae began his way through the Sloth Dungeon's second floor.

"....Oh, I see what it is now.", Jae muttered.

He stood in an empty room with nothing but a sole wooden treasure chest―it looked identical to the rooms from the first floor, and the chest looked exactly the same too. However, something was different about this chest.

Soul State - Mimic Soul Level : 0 / 10

Title : Natural Disguiser

Age : 1 Year Health : 1,000

Magic Energy : 10 Power : 2,500

Magical Ability : 100

Defence : 300

Magical Defence : 150

Resistances : 100

Speed : 5,000 Condition : [Hungry], [Tired], [Curious], [Starving]

"Hah."

So there'll be a load of these on Floor 2, huh? Instead of just normal chests, there'll most likely be a bunch of Mimics thrown into the mix. But I have「Envy」, so it's no problem to tell them apart.

[Grr... You're cheating. If only you hadn't chosen that scum, Envy, then you wouldn't have been able to discern the Mimics from the normal chests...]

Oh really? Glad I did then.

"Haha. Guess I ruined your fun?"

[...Indeed...], Sloth grumbled.

Well, isn't that a shame? Not like I care though. Just sit and watch like the lazy guy you are.

"Anyway, this Mimic..."

Freezing them doesn't work, but I don't want to just completely burn them either. Well, if all they have is gold coins, then it isn't much of a loss, but since they're monsters, I want to try eating them. After all, Mimics probably have some rare skills right?

"So let's try something other than those two options."

Jae formed a bullet-shaped rock of earth magic in the air in front of him, and it began to spin rapidly. He then fired it at a high speed towards the Mimic.

*crack!*

The bullet completely pierced the Mimic and killed it instantly.

Level limit reached. Excess experience points will be stockpiled until the limit is increased

Huh. It actually worked flawlessly, and the body was left behind in almost perfect condition too. Nice.

Jae walked over to it and ripped off a chunk, before swiftly throwing it into his mouth.

"...Uuh, tastes like shit."

I'm sure if I prepared and cooked it, then it'd taste better, but I didn't expect much from a literal chest monster. Maybe because it's Level is 0.

Jae did find that monsters with higher levels would generally taste better.

But how is it Level 0 in the first place? Even when I first arrived in this world I was Level 1. How is 0 possible?

[...It's a Mimic thing.]

"Hm?"

[Starting at Level 0, Mimics level up every time they eat a human. Upon reaching the limit, Mimics evolve into a stronger form.]

...Huh. That's what the different types of chests signify, then. So I was right? I wonder if it's the same for other monsters or not―every time I've seen a younger or inferior subspecies of monster, it's had a lower level limit. More importantly though... The bandits I killed last time gave experience too, didn't they? Aren't humans like, no different to monsters then? So can I eat people and get their skills?

Jae imagined it for a second.

......Let's...not do that. For now, at least.

"Well, this one didn't give me a skill. Let's try for the next one."

Skill「Gluttony」has activated Skill「Lash Out」has been acquired

Oh, finally.

It was the fourth Mimic Jae came across, and at last, he had acquired a skill from it. It was a silver-encrusted chest with some gold parts, and a level limit of 100. The name of the skill, however, was a bit strange, so he couldn't quite figure out what it might do. Activating it didn't work either.

Hm... Wait, because it's 'lash out', would that mean like, suddenly attacking when provoked?

He pictured the red tongues that would shoot out every time Jae tried to take something from the Mimics.

Ah, yeah, it's probably something like that, huh...

In other news, the monsters and traps on this floor are of higher level than those of the first floor. There were a few new ones like Great Wolves, Giant Rock Spiders, and even some undead species: Skeleton Warriors, Skeleton Magicians, Archers, et cetera. But, none of them were really threats. Jae made his way through the dungeon whilst eating everything he could―it added many new things to his Status, but he still refused to open it. In fact, it was almost as if he forgot it existed completely.

Jae sighed lightly.

"Why are there less items on this floor?"

[...There are only 4 enchanted items on this floor, but more Mimics.]

Hm. Well, I'm almost at the boss room anyway. And, I said I'd practice enchanting as well, right? I guess the items don't really matter then.

In the first place, the whole reason Jae kept the enchanted items that he found was so he could dismantle and study them to see how enchanting works. Then, he'd try enchanting his own equipment.

Let's just do the rest and quickly get to the boss.

After finally making his way to the second floor's pre-boss hall―identical in appearance to the one from the first floor―Jae realised something after looking at the wall's engraving again.

This was a clue. This drawing clearly depicts a Mimic surrounded by gold coins and human corpses, right?

―A treasure chest with teeth and a red tongue. It had killed countless people, and hoarded limitless wealth.

This drawing..... If I'm right, then I'm pretty sure the Mimic depicted here is...

―An ominous treasure chest, black in appearance, lined with gold plates, and further decorated with translucent ruby gemstones. It had small to medium-sized, snow-white spikes in certain places too, and was protected by a thick lock of navy blue, abyssal steel.

...This is Sloth.

―His true form, from before his consciousness was transferred into a skill.

Sloth is, or was, a Mimic. That's why this dungeon is based around them...

The whole place was based like a classic dungeon from an RPG. The whole first floor was designed to bait the intruder into letting down their guard with over thirty normal chests that contained lots of good loot. Then, after the first floor's boss, was a Mimic. Since it was an extravagant, golden chest, it must've been pretty high-levelled as well.

That's where the second floor comes in, with its mix of both normal and mimic chests. Ordinarily, there would be no way to tell the difference between a Mimic and a regular chest. Most greedy intruders would definitely perish, but Jae had「Envy」to help him.

This whole place...

Jae then recalled the Skeletons that had started appearing on the second floor. If his gut feeling was right, then...

Sloth....

Jae wore a slightly sad look on his face as he spoke out.

"This dungeon... It was, once upon a time, a real place, wasn't it? A dungeon in the real world―it was your home, right?"

[.....]

"There's no point to being silent. I know you're awake. After all, you'd never want to miss me entering the boss room, would you? ...Please. Talk."

It was the first time Jae felt this way towards the skills. Initially, Jae had thought of them as nothing but nuisances; annoying voices in his head that weren't real and had no real worth.

However, he realised he was wrong. It was about that time that Jae began talking to them properly, and treating them like semi-equals. Of course, he still found them annoying and useless most of the time, but it was a step forward nonetheless.

It's... probably the same for the rest of you, too, isn't it? ......Envy, Wrath, and Gluttony―I haven't been to your dungeons yet, but when I do, I promise: I will listen to your stories. Your lives.

This.... was the first time that Jae had ever felt actual empathy, and even a little compassion towards them. Jae genuinely sympathised with Sloth after realising that his home was probably destroyed many years ago, and that this Sloth Dungeon was merely a fragment. When he thought about how the other skills had their own likes, dislikes, and even their own unique personalities, Jae felt like he opened his eyes for the first time.

These guys.... They're not just simply 'skills' given to me by the system...

[A-actually, I...]

They're real too, right? They have preferences, feelings, personalities... I never realised it until now, but... Aren't they no different from any other human? Really, what's the difference? That they have no physical body?

[...Jae. I... T-thank you... Please, go ahead and fight the boss.]

"...Alright. I understand."

There's something he wants to show, or tell me."

Jae pushed the button on the wall but stood at the entrance. Since the first floor's boss―the High Minotaur Champion―was about to attack him as soon as he walked in, Jae had his guard up, however this time it wasn't needed.

"What..."

Jae's eyes widened when he saw an empty room with nothing but a single chest in the middle.

Soul State - Origin Mimic (Copy)

Name : Mimic (Copy) Soul Level : 1,000 / 1,000 [MAX] (Copy)

Title : Ruler of Sloth (Copy)

Age : 1,999 Years (Copy) Health : 1 (Copy)

Magic Energy : 100,000 (Copy) Power : 555,555 (Copy)

Magical Ability : 399,800 (Copy)

Defence : 720,275 (Copy)

Magical Defence : 615,360 (Copy)

Resistances : 499,333 (Copy)

Speed : 0 [Ruler of Sloth] (Copy) Condition : [Tired] (Copy)

"...."

The stats were completely off the charts. There was one time, where Jae had witnessed the Soul State of a baby dragon, and even that was only comparable with this.

'1'...

Once more, Jae was convinced that something was different about the Health stat, but again, this wasn't really the time. Looking at the chest―one who's appearance seemed to perfectly match the one depicted by the mural on the wall before―Jae muttered.

"Sloth..."

Obviously, it wasn't the real Sloth, but a copy. However, Jae was still interested. He wouldn't be able to fight it of course, but it was obvious that, to clear this dungeon, he needed to defeat this clone.

But the defence...

'is too high', Jae thought. 720,275 Physical and 615,360 Magical; these values were too high for even Jae to pierce through with raw power alone. Inside of the boss room Jae could get no help, since Sloth wouldn't be able to talk there. Or, it's that he wouldn't want to. Either way, Jae would be by himself once he entered.

This... could be tiring. But, there are some advantages.

Since the copy had no Speed, it would most likely not move an inch from where it stood, meaning that he could take all the time he needed to kill it. On the other hand, Jae thought he might as well make use of this opportunity.

"Sloth. You can speak, right?"

[Yes... What do you require?]

"Is it possible for me to destroy the walls and floor of the dungeon?"

[No. Everything vital to the structure of the dungeon is indestructible.]

"Wait, what about the minotaur then?"

Jae recalled the scene where he got slammed deep into the first floor's boss room wall.

[That was just because it had permission. You don't, though.]

"I see..."

[Why, just what are you planning...?]

The corners of Jae's mouth slightly rose as he replied, unable to hide the hint of excitement and cheekiness in his voice.

"Oh, I just wanted to test some things."

Taking out the great-sword on his back, Jae placed the dragon tooth on the floor along with all the magic accessories he found.

"7 enchanted items from the first floor, 3 from the second. Weren't there supposed to be 12 total? I'm missing two."

[The bosses...]

"Huh? Oh, right. I destroyed the first Mimic, didn't I... So the final item I can get is after your copy?"

[Yes. Don't worry though―the copy and I aren't linked at all, so I don't care what you do to it. It only exists for the purpose of this dungeon.]

"Hmph. Bold of you to assume I was worried."

He had 10 items to work with. Using these 10 items, Jae had to discover the secret behind enchanting.

I'll take things slow and steady for this. It feels like it'd be the most effective method for this type of thing.

Since this was the Sloth Dungeon, Jae was still affected by the skill, and so would tire easily. However, this meant Jae could sleep here.

Uh, I'll give myself about... one month per item.

And so, Jae's days of research began.