The Golden Mimic's Unease

Yeonhee, still looking half-asleep, began her shower. I poured the icy water of Irmana over my head and sank into thought. The bone-chilling cold snapped my mind awake.

I always had to stay sharp, keeping both mind and heart under constant watch. I was a skeleton. A monster driven more by instinct than human emotion. A creature of darkness that could slip into corruption at any moment.

Deep within her golden dimension, the Golden Mimic Tania was listening to an emotion she had never felt in all her long existence. She observed herself biting her nails with a soft *crunch*.

"Biting one's nails with the teeth is an automatic, unconscious, and addictive habit deeply rooted in anxiety, instability, and tension."

She pulled one fragment from the vast sea of knowledge in her mind and chewed on it.

"Does this mean I am in a state of anxiety and instability?"

For a Mimic forged as a perfect lifeform, this was utterly unacceptable. She needed to eliminate the cause, but there was nothing she could do about it right now.

"Why did the Mimicry ability mutate in such a way?"

It was indeed Tania who had granted the ability to detect evil beings nearby. Even she didn't fully understand why she had added that power at the time, only that she had wanted to give him something, anything.

"Defeat the great evil and reclaim the skill... Only one being would create such a crude concept."

It must have been the work of the 'Guide'—the entity called the System in Ilwol's world. Unlike Mimics, the Guide was a being whose very origin was unstable. That entity had twisted the [Mimicry] ability into something grotesque, creating variables around Ilwol.

But the Guide was a colossal law ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unto itself, something even Tania's master could not interfere with. The ability had already been altered beyond her reach.

"It will undoubtedly become tainted by the energy of evil. Especially now that he has obtained [Essence Devour], the ability to create minions. If things continue like this..."

Yet the wheel had already begun rolling down the hill. The Guide possessed an astonishing talent for showing those standing on the path the direction they would most desire. If he kept going this way, the urge to create more minions would become nearly impossible to suppress.

"Is something troubling you, Master?"

Tania's only subordinate, the Brown Mimic Tiny, asked with concern.

"It is fascinating how his condition improves every time he enters and exits a space beyond our sight."

"You mean the place he calls the Dark Space."

"Yes. It would be better if he stayed there longer and purged all the evil energy from his being. I don't understand why he lives in such a hurry."

"His master calls for him. How could he refuse?"

"Hmm..."

Only then did Tania realize the source of the uncomfortable feeling sprouting inside her.

"There is nothing I can do for him."

"Pardon?"

"I must come up with something. It will not be an easy path, so I too will need to prepare."

"Ooh— Are you planning to create a new path?!"

"Hehe— I don't even know why I'm doing this, but this must also be part of Master's arrangement. It may take decades, even centuries, but I should at least attempt it."

The moment Tania made up her mind, she felt a strange sensation as if a weight had been lifted from her chest.

Woooong—

"Still, we must first handle our own duties. It is time for selection, Tiny."

"Yes, ma'am!! I'll prepare right away, Master!!"

Upon receiving the Golden Mimic's command, the Brown Mimic dashed straight through the open dimensional gate into another world. Tania watched her loyal subordinate's retreating figure with satisfaction, then turned her gaze toward Ilwol, who was soaring through the sky while carrying his master.

"Friend..."

"Even after that huge mess yesterday, they didn't even block the gate. No matter how few casualties there were, isn't this indifference a bit much?"

Jua remarked as she looked at the area around the Dire Wolf Dungeon gate, which looked no different from usual.

"The news didn't even cover it yesterday. Maybe because there weren't many deaths, it didn't get much attention..."

"Does someone have to actually die for it to be considered important news? That's ridiculous."

It had been an unprecedented event—dozens of ogres pouring out of the gate into another dungeon. The problem was that the same phenomenon had occurred in multiple other dungeons as well. And among them, the dungeon we had been in had the fewest casualties.

"A Lesser Dragon Turtle appeared in the B-grade Minotaur Dungeon... The media is completely flooded with it. They say over seventy people died... At this rate, the hunters will go extinct."

When Jua spoke with worry, Hayun waved her hand dismissively.

"The number of newly awakened hunters is increasing faster than the ones who die, so there's no need to worry about that."

"Is that statistic reliable?"

"It's official data released by the Hunter Management Agency."

Even so, the gap between a fully grown hunter and an F-grade one was clear. It was undeniable that humanity's overall combat power was steadily declining.

"Even a Lesser Dragon Turtle is an upper A-grade monster. I heard all the high-ranking hunters were mobilized. Still, they managed to stop the dungeon break, right?"

"They say the Ilseom party, led by Hyeon I-hwan, played the biggest role... Apparently he's an A-grade now."

"No matter where you go, Ilseom is always involved."

"Hng..."

"I'm not talking about you, Arin."

Since the dungeon entry rules hadn't changed yet, we entered the dungeon immediately and began our exploration toward the boss room at a slightly faster pace than yesterday. I had considered attempting a speed run since we hadn't fought the boss yesterday, but my companions ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt there was no need to overdo it, so we proceeded at our normal pace.

A dungeon we had already experienced once. Companions who had grown after overcoming small crises. Yeonhee's summons and my own minions. As long as no variables appeared, this dungeon posed so little threat that it was almost boring.

By three o'clock in the afternoon, we arrived at the boss room as the fourth group. Surprisingly, the other three teams were parties that had camped inside the dungeon overnight.

"The other parties will probably take a while."

It looked like we would have to wait until enough people gathered for the boss battle.

"There it is. It looks even more impressive up close."

"Whoa— So that's the one we've only heard about."

A single massive wolf, radiating a clearly divine aura, waited for the boss battle to begin. A giant wolf standing ten meters tall at the shoulder—equivalent to a three-story apartment building. Its pure white fur, enormous horns, and the overwhelming presence it gave off were more than enough to call it a spirit beast. The space around it twisted viciously while bolts of lightning crackled, forcing anyone nearby to their knees in awe.

In truth, the reason people kept entering this dungeon for three days straight was because of that creature.

It looks like an S-grade monster known as the Divine General, but it's not actually that strong.

There was no need to be overly intimidated by its appearance. Still, a solo boss battle had a much higher difficulty than the group battles held in other boss rooms, so it would still provide plenty of experience.

"Do we really have to fight something like that..."

"It's a monster truly worthy of being called a boss."

"It's huge. It looks bigger than the Lizardman boss."

"Comparing that trash to this wolf is an insult to the wolf."

"Its tail is so fluffy... I want to touch it..."

"Eunyeong, how can you say that in this situation?"

Everyone seems pretty relaxed.

The maximum number of participants was a hundred. Unless someone had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠considerable resistance, getting hit by its attacks would leave them incapacitated for quite a while. We absolutely could not get hit by its skills.

Until the hundred people gathered, I moved to another area and spent time hunting Big Boars, Prospidies, and Hanzarings. These monsters hid stealthily, making them difficult for other hunters to find, but my senses picked them up clearly. I swept through the entire area, devouring every bit of prey I could find.

After about forty minutes, the full hundred finally entered the boss battle space. The moment we stepped inside, the wolf's massive form cast a shadow across the ground, forcing us to look up at the sky.

"I-it's starting."

"Are you sure we don't need to call Castle and the Sword Dragon?"

"It feels too much like being protected. I'll only ask for their help when we truly have no choice."

We proceeded with the battle without Yeonhee's highest-tier summons. Of course, it was at my companions' request.

Kwaaaarrrrng!

Dozens of lightning bolts, each as thick as a human torso, erupted from the Dire Wolf's horn and struck the ground in succession.

The other hunters who had entered with us could barely mount any counterattack against the devastating lightning strikes. They were completely occupied with defense. In fact, the standard strategy was to focus entirely on defense, drain the boss's mana, and then finish it off.

But we were different.

Our relatively low-defense companions had to stay behind the summons for solid protection, but the rest of us charged at the wolf all at once and began our assault. The sight of Alpha Rakan, the Deonnis, and dozens of Lizardmen surrounding and attacking the wolf was truly spectacular. Their destructive power was enough to make even the boss monster flinch.

Soon, only the thunderous roar of battle filled our senses.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwaang! Kwaaaarrrrrng——!

The deafening sound effects, like a raging storm, continued for dozens of minutes. From high above, I watched over not only our party but all the hunters, providing support to those who looked most endangered.

And the final blow was delivered by the 'Alpha Rakan' who had challenged me that morning.

Seogeo-eok——!

Rakan's attack split the massive wolf's head nearly in half—a head so enormous that even stretching both arms wouldn't reach across it.

The people who had fought fiercely alongside us looked half-dazed as they watched the summons' performance. I was especially shocked once again by the fact that Alpha Rakan had produced such destructive power using pure physical strength alone.

Kuuuung—!

In the end, the giant Dire Wolf fell to the collective lynching.

- That thing is way too strong. Can it please go away now...

- Let us live a little too.

As we swept up all the mana stones and runes, grumbling voices rose from every direction. Still, starting from C-grade, even those who simply participated in the boss battle received a small reward, so the complaints were nothing more than light grumbling.

I skinned the Dire Wolf's hide, cut off about half of it, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tossed the pieces to the other party members.

I need to share the rewards appropriately so there won't be unnecessary controversy.

Then the hunters began squabbling again over who would take the pieces. In the end, conflict was inevitable.