The Mimic

As soon as he walked past the ancient doors, the air felt noticeably different; it was cold and drier, feeling as though there were many eyes on him, watching from the distant darkness. 

It was a corridor built upon old stone, leading into a hallway that split into three different directions. Fortunately, there was some light in the form of what looked like runes embedded into the walls. 

"Which way are we heading?" Blake asked, looking side-to-side down the mysterious halls of the mountainous labyrinth. 

"Why're you asking me? I don't have any better of an idea than you," Emma responded, peering into the left pathway. 

"Don't you have a "woman's intuition"? Well, guess "woman" might be generous," Blake mumbled. 

"What was that?" Emma said, glaring at him before huffing, facing the left corridor, "Fine, this way then. But, don't blame me if it's a deadend!" 

"Yeah, yeah," Blake brushed off her words as he led the way down the chosen direction. 

The hallway led into a single room that had another passageway leading further in that direction. In the squared chamber, there was one, wooden chest that sat in its center. Around it were scattered bones, likely of adventurers whose luck fell short. 

"A chest? Treasure!" Emma excitedly said, springing towards the container giddily. 

Blake watched the chest warily, grabbing onto his companion's shoulder, "Hold on."

"--Huh?" The archer let out, glancing back as if caught in a trance by the prospect of treasure. 

For the young man, there were years of experience both in consuming fantasy stories and through playing video games that he enacted caution around such a suspicious chest. 

"Stop and think for a second. This chest is close to the entrance, and it looks untouched," Blake pointed out, looking down at the conspicuous container, "There's not a speck of dust on it. I'd wager this thing is a Mimic." 

"You're right…Aw, what a bummer," Emma said with a frown. 

As the archer gave up on her hopes of finding treasure in that room, it was renewed as Blake pointed his sword at the dormant chest. 

"What're you getting disappointed for? There's still treasure here," Blake said. 

"Erm, but the mimic–" Emma said. 

Blake flipped his grip of the sword, holding it up as he planned to plunge it down into the chest, "Exactly. If we kill this thing, it'll spit out our reward!" 

He slammed his blade down with the intent to skewer the suspected mimic. As the sword came down, the chest suddenly opened up, revealing the grotesque maw hidden within it. 

"There you are!" Blake shouted as the mimic finally revealed itself. 

A massive tongue whipped out from within the living chest, taking the blade's pointed edge. The sensation of feeling the sword impale the monstrously large organ of the mimic was gross, bringing Blake to pull it out as he backed away. 

"You woke it up!" Emma shouted, readying an arrow from her quiver. 

"Yeah, well I intended to kill it!" Blake yelled in response, standing between his companion and the monstrous faker. 

As blood dripped from its skewered tongue, the mimic sprouted pale, long legs from its underside while producing arms from its own mouth. It was an unnatural, freakish sight to the man who thought he was used to the sight of mimics, finding video games to be a lot more manageable than the real thing. 

He realized quickly that the eyeless mimic had its sights set on him as its eerie feet paced across the chamber. 

"...Be faster!" He sharply told himself. 

[Hypnosis successful.] 

As the feeling of electricity filled his muscles, he took off in a sprint, allowing the mimic to chase behind him to keep it away from the archer. 

"Shoot it, Emma!" He shouted, feeling the creepy monster right behind him. 

It was surprisingly agile, sprinting with an unnatural stance as it kept its head-chest low and moved on all fours like a hound. 

The archer aimed an arrow, having to carefully track the swift target, "I'm trying…!" 

While it was turned to the left, it was impossible to hit its core, as it had natural armor in the form of the chest head. She waited until Blake turned again, leaving the mimic's gaping mouth exposed. 

The arrow was released, shot with sublime precision as it moved past the waving tongue and pierced straight into the fleshy core of the mimic. 

"Graaaaa–!" A gargled cry left the cruel monster's mouth. 

It stopped in its tracks, writhing in pain as it tried to reach into its own maw to remove the arrow. Blake spun back around, given a complete opening as he took in a lofty breath into his lungs, "Be strong…like a knight!" 

[Hypnosis successful.]

The strength that flooded into his body was of a higher intensity, heightening his already increased physicality. As he gripped his sword tightly with both hands, his muscles swelled just for that moment. 

With the mimic focused on removing the arrow lodged into its mouth, its head was lowered, allowing for the rookie adventurer to make his move: 

"Hraaah!" 

The sword was brought down with hysterical strength, allowing the sharp edge to cut through the top of the chest and straight down the middle, splitting it in half. It sounded like a watermelon being cut through, leaving much the same sight as the bright-red blood of the creature spilled into the cracked floor. 

[Mimic defeated.]

[EXP: +40] [72/100]

"Phew," Blake breathed out as the momentary strength faded from his body, leaving his muscles aching. 

Emma let out a similar exhale out of relief, "That thing was terrifying...I almost peed myself." 

Before he could make a comment on that last remark, the sound of something rolling across the ground caught his attention. Out from the split mimic's head, a silver sphere rolled out. 

"Hmm?" Blake raised an eyebrow as he reached down, retrieving the unknown object. 

There was a bit of blood on it, bringing him to wipe it off before he found it snatched straight out of his hands by the treasure-enamored archer. 

"Hah! A silver ball! It did have treasure!" Emma excitedly said, looking at the reflective orb with a glisten of avarice in her eyes, "So pretty! These sell for a lot!" 

Blake grabbed it out of the excited woman's hands, "Getting ahead of yourself, you know."

"Hey!" Emma protested. 

The silver treasure was placed securely in the bag as Blake exhaled, looking at the corridor that led further into the dungeon, "We can gawk at the loot when we make it out of this place alive." 

"Fine, fine," Emma conceded, kneeling down in front of the grotesque corpse.