Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Mimic's Grave
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Secret Dungeon (2)
Secret Dungeon.
A common feature in most RPGs, it refers to a hidden space that not just anyone can enter.
You usually get in by obtaining an entry ticket, like a map or a crystal, through quests or hunting. I never thought I’d get one.
Naturally, there wasn't a single mention of secret dungeons during the basic training.
Based on my experience with most games, secret dungeons are places where you can get a lot of experience and good items, but…
First, I opened my inventory.
Is this it?
I spotted a rainbow-colored crystal I hadn't seen before and immediately took it out.
[Passage Crystal to the Mimic's Grave
A passage crystal that allows entry into the Mimic's Grave, a secret dungeon on the 9th floor of the Kramis Labyrinth.
How to use: Destroy the crystal.]
Oh, good. That solves one of my worries.
It would have been a huge pain if I had to find the entrance myself.
If it's the Mimic's Grave, there must be a lot of mimics, right?
“Your expression tells me you got something good. If your business is concluded, I shall take my leave.”
“I might need to call you again later. Is that okay?”
“…If you summon me properly, without any misunderstanding, I will appear.”
He's the one who misunderstood everything.
It's frustrating, but what can I do?
Ugh, rank is everything.
“Alright. I'll ask for your help again later, then.”
I sent Bio back and summoned Hanna again.
“Hyeon-ung! You called for me earlier than last time.”
“Of course. I made a promise, didn't I?”
“Hanna, that's not what's important right now. Do you know who he called after you left?”
“Who? Was it that demon you mentioned before? Ra-something?”
“It was Bio.”
“B...Bio was here? I wanted to see him out here, too…”
Hanna, who had been smiling brightly just a moment ago, now looked at me with a disappointed expression.
“The old man said he'll call him again later. Bio said he'd come, too.”
“Really? Hyeon-ung, in that case, can you send Rina back this time and let me stay?”
Her eyes were pleading, but that would be a problem.
Sending Rina back would mean losing 20 points in my Luck stat.
But would 20 points really make that big of a difference?
To be honest, while the Passage Crystal for the secret dungeon seemed like a decent item, it wasn't as great as I'd hoped.
“Hyeon-ung…”
I did feel a little guilty about always sending Hanna back, and seeing how much she wanted this, it didn't seem like a bad idea to let her meet him at least once…
“I'll think about it.”
“What? What is there to think about, old man? I'm not going back.”
And she was the one who brought up Bio in the first place.
“Rina, you don't even like Bio.”
“Who said this is about Bio? Honestly, I don't get the hype. I'd take the old man over him any day.”
Oh! They say even a broken clock is right twice a day…
Our Rina says the right thing sometimes, too.
“Hyeon-ung is better than Bio? Ah, that's a bit…”
Seriously, Hanna? That's harsh.
“It's a matter of taste. The old man isn't ugly, is he? What are you looking at? That wasn't a compliment.”
Wasn't that a compliment?
Anyway, for someone who looks so pretty, she has zero charm.
“That's enough, both of you. It'll only be for a moment. And I might be able to summon Bio without sending either of you back.”
“Really?”
“I can't promise anything. But let's do our best.”
Once I hit level 20, I can summon one more companion.
And dungeons usually give a lot of experience.
I explained what a secret dungeon was to them, but neither seemed to have a clue.
Well, we'll find out when we get there.
I shattered the crystal.
*Crack—*
My vision changed with a flash of blue light.
The first thing to appear was a notification window.
[You have entered the secret dungeon, the Mimic's Grave.
Dungeon will collapse in 23:59:59]
I'd expected something dark and musty since it was called a grave, but I was wrong.
It was a large, plaza-like space, and before me stood a glittering mountain of gold.
Not only were there gold coins, but it was also filled with gems sparkling in various colors.
“Wow, old man, you're going to be rich now.”
I already had plenty of money, but I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from turning up.
After all, besides the gold coins and gems, there was also a considerable number of items emitting all sorts of light.
“Hyeon-ung, I don't see any monsters.”
I was wondering if it was an event dungeon that just gave out money and items, but Hanna's comment seemed to have been a flag.
[The guardians have detected an intruder disturbing their rest.]
[The guardians of the Mimic's Grave are awakening.]
As the notification appeared, the mountain of gold before me began to vibrate.
About a third of the gold coins and gems rose into the air, then split into several groups and began to clump together.
They seemed to be forming golems, their bodies made entirely of gold and gems, making them quite spectacular.
They weren't that large, only about 2.5 meters tall, but their bodies were incredibly fat.
Once formed, each entity picked up a weapon from the remaining mountain of gold.
“I'm sorry. I was wrong.”
“It's fine.”
They weren't the mimics I was expecting, but seeing them glitter like that, I figured the rewards for defeating them would be substantial.
“Old man, want me to help this time?”
“No. I'll try it alone for now.”
“Hyeon-ung, do you know the weakness of golems?”
“No. What is it?”
“Usually, the weakness of golem-type monsters is the mage supplying them with mana. But if there's no mage around, they'll have a core inside them.”
Uh… um…
Isn't that common knowledge?
I was a little let down, but they had already fully formed and were charging, so I charged as well.
*Swish— Swish—*
As soon as I got close, they swung their weapons. Their movements were more agile than I'd expected.
I'd thought they'd be slow, given the typical sluggish image of golems and their fat bodies, but it seemed their relatively small size made a difference.
Still, perhaps due to their inherent limitations, they weren't as fast as the Green Troll I fought before.
*Swish—*
I lightly dodged the golem's attack and threw a punch at its head.
*KABOOM—*
With a loud bang, its head shattered, scattering gold dust.
The thought that it was a bit of a waste crossed my mind, but I ignored it and slammed another punch into its torso.
*KABOOM—*
It had looked quite sturdy, but perhaps due to the large gap in our stats, it shattered into pieces.
However, the pieces didn't fall to the ground; they floated in the air and began to gather. The core… is that it?
I saw a purple orb around its waist and was about to punch it, but…
*Swish— Swish—*
The other golems closed in and swung their weapons, forcing me to quickly back away.
*CRASH— CRASH—*
“Hyeon-ung, should we help too?”
I heard Hanna's shout from behind but replied that I was fine.
The spots where the weapons had struck were deeply indented.
It was a little disappointing that the golem I'd hit first was almost done regenerating, but this was still manageable.
I dodged the barrage of weapons, approached the nearest golem, and threw a punch.
*SWISH— BANG—*
Another golem nearby swung a giant axe, but it struck the golem facing me instead.
The result was just as I'd expected.
Seeing how they swung their weapons without stopping earlier, I'd guessed that their intelligence didn't match their speed.
It seemed to be a limitation of golems, not being living creatures.
The core of the golem that had been struck by its ally was exposed, so I slammed my fist into it.
*CRACK—*
The impact felt completely different from when I'd hit the golem's exterior.
My fist even throbbed a little.
*Crrrack—*
It felt much harder, and for a moment I thought I might have to hit it again, but thankfully, it cracked and shattered.
[You have defeated a guardian of the Mimic's Grave.]
The weapon it held, along with the gold coins and gems that formed the golem, scattered.
[You have leveled up.]
Oh! This is a secret dungeon, alright.
Leveling up after killing just one of them.
*Swish— Swish—*
Like the mindless beings they were, they attacked without any hesitation, but this was nothing.
It took less than ten minutes to clean up the remaining golems.
I also gained two more levels in the process.
“You did wonderfully, Hyeon-ung. Your movements to make the monsters attack each other were especially good.”
“They're not living creatures, so I guess their intelligence is low.”
I replied to Hanna, who was clapping and praising me, then turned to look at Rina.
“What are you looking at? Don't tell me you want a compliment.”
“No, it's not really that, but…”
“They were all flash and no substance. They were falling apart from one punch from you, old man.”
She could learn a thing or two from Hanna praising me right next to her.
Ugh, forget it… Huh?
Rina suddenly approached, circled me, and looked me up and down.
“What are you doing?”
“I'm checking if you're hurt. If you're not, you should've just said so. So annoying.”
Even though she was grumbling, I could feel her concern.
If only she could say things a little more nicely…
“I couldn't possibly get hurt by nobodies like them.”
I replied with a grin, but Rina immediately scowled.
“D-don't give me that cheesy smile. Just go and collect your reward.”
A cheesy smile? I've never heard that in my life.
She even stuttered. Was it that bad?
I may not be a fresh-faced twenty-year-old, but I'm still twenty-nine, in my twenties…
Thinking she was being too harsh, I moved to where the golems had scattered.
I had worried the loot might disappear when I defeated them, and unfortunately, the weapons they wielded were gone.
However, a good amount of gold and gems remained, even if the volume had decreased somewhat.
Can I just pick them up and put them in my inventory?
I grabbed a handful of gold coins, and they vanished instantly.
[You have obtained 158 Gold.]
[You have obtained 9 A-rank gems, including Rubies and 6 other types.]
[You have obtained 15 B-rank gems, including Sapphires and 6 other types.]
After gathering all the scattered gold and gems, I was just a dozen or so gold short of a thousand.
There were over a hundred gems of various types and ranks, though I didn't know how much each was worth.
[You have defeated all guardians of the Mimic's Grave. Would you like to return to the 9th floor? Y/N]
Is this it?
Hmm, it feels good, yet somehow ambiguous.
I did gain three levels, but for a secret dungeon, it felt a bit lackluster.
I guess it's because I already have a lot of money.
“Old man, if you've got everything, let's hurry and get that too.”
Of course, the main dish—the mountain of gold—was still right in front of me.
Leaving that behind would be absurd.
There were so many items, too.
I touched N and approached the mountain of gold.
I picked up a sword glowing with a red light first, but huh?
No item information appeared.
I tossed it aside and grabbed a handful of gold coins, but they didn't disappear either.
There was no notification that my money had increased.
Just as I was thinking that I couldn't take anything here, the floor suddenly began to shake violently.
[Excessive greed brings misfortune. Angered by the intruder's avarice, the master of the grave, the Emperor Mimic, appears.]
The master of the grave? So, a boss monster?
I knew it.
“Old man, I guess we weren't supposed to touch that stuff.”
“No. This is even better.”
“Old man?”
“Hyeon-ung?”
Ending with just six guardians was far too anticlimactic.
And what's this about excessive greed?
It would be stupid to leave behind a much larger pile of treasure and items.
The gold coins, gems, and items I held in my hands all shot up into the air.
Even with 'Emperor' in its name, a mimic is still a mimic. It took on a rectangular shape, just like the one that dropped the crystal earlier.
Though the size was completely different.
The one from before was pretty big when I beat it up, but this Emperor Mimic floating in the air was the size of a three or four-story villa.
“Tsk, tsk. To be greedy even after receiving a sufficient reward. How foolish you humans are.”
Oh, it can talk?
The Gold Lycanthrope could talk too, but that was possible because it was on the 50th floor.
I heard that monsters that can talk usually don't appear until after the 25th floor. A dungeon boss must be different.
“Both of you…”
“Hyeon-ung, I will help this time.”
“I'll help too.”
I was just about to ask for their help. They're so in sync at times like this.
“What are you whispering about? In the end, death is all that awaits greedy humans.”
Such a cliché line… W-wait a minute.
“Hyeon-ung, look out!”
The Emperor Mimic floating in the air began to plummet toward us at a terrifying speed.
*KWAAAAAAANG!*