Chapter 144
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Mimic (2)
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A new colleague. No, an employee had joined the ranks.
The subordinates who took damage from the Mimic's transformation were able to brush it off with a laugh, since the injuries weren't too severe.
"Keuhuk... She dumped me... Lina dumped me... Euheong!!"
...Not that all the subordinates had gotten over it.
In any case, the Mimic—who had become a new employee after getting tricked by Whitey—was peculiar in many ways. For starters, its race possessed the unique ability to mimic others. And when checking the [Employee Management] tab, it was clearly a 5-star employee, yet it only had a single [Talent], an utterly bizarre trait.
'Hard to call it bad.'
But that lone [Talent] was far from ordinary, so it was easy to overlook. Take transforming the Mimic into Erze's form, for example...
-Chwarararak!!
"Hmm. How do I look, Master?"
"...Don't change your speech patterns unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Got. It."
Her speech even adjusted naturally. After lightly scolding the Mimic for mimicking Erze's manner of speaking, I handed it a spare [High-Pressure Cleaner]. Blood promptly sprayed from it, just like Erze's.
'Transforming into a 5-star employee lets it use all four of the target's [Talents].'
The Mimic itself only had one inherent [Talent], but upon transforming into another target, it could use all of that target's [Talents], whether they had one or four. It could even adapt them appropriately to the situation.
Theoretically, with the right transformation targets lined up, it could handle any scenario single-handedly—an all-purpose powerhouse.
But even the Mimic had its limits...
"No. Can't."
"...Hmm. Yeah? I figured as much..."
"Again."
The Mimic tried transforming into one of the people I'd brought along, but it only managed to copy their outward appearance and failed to replicate their abilities. Looking offended, it wriggled its body again in an attempt to copy them properly.
But could it really pull that off? The person I'd brought was...
"...I-Is there really a demon like this?"
A saintess who wielded god-given power.
'No go on saintesses... Probably can't use human priests' powers either. What about Holy Relics?'
No matter how much of a Mimic it was, imitating the power of a god itself proved impossible. Transforming into Jeanne and trying to use her powers failed. It could flawlessly copy the abilities of all other demons, though. There was one more exception: me.
"Again... No. Can't."
This time, the Mimic transformed into me and tried shooting water from the [High-Pressure Cleaner] like I do, or tanking flames bare-skinned thanks to the [Janitor's Clothes]. But it immediately burst into flames, rolled around frantically, then hurriedly shifted into Aqua's form to put itself out.
"Why."
Well... that was probably to be expected. It couldn't copy Jeanne's abilities, so even as one of the Seven Deadly Sins (presumed), mimicking god-given power directly seemed impossible. My guess was that the System I possessed was granted by a god—or something comparable.
I hadn't expected it couldn't even copy the cleaning tools... Well, their infinite durability was suspicious from the start.
"Let's test a bit more."
"Don't... wanna."
"I'll bring Whitey too."
"Okay. Good."
Treating it like some lab rat made the Mimic balk at first, but it perked up once I fetched Whitey and handed it over. Whitey's intelligence had improved quite a bit, but its memory must still be lacking—it started squirming and chomping at the Mimic's gelatinous body again. While watching that, I ran a few more tests on the Mimic.
First up: abilities when designating it as the [Representative Employee].
🔸 Representative Employee:Mimic
📈 Current Ability:Appearance change function added for employees
'...Oh?'
Setting the Mimic as the [Representative Employee] unlocked a pretty fun feature. A sort of customization option.
After designating the Mimic, I pulled up another employee's [Employee Management] screen. Sure enough, it let me tweak their appearance in various ways, like customizing a game character.
'Man, the original game really needed something like this.'
No matter how much players complained, they never added customization—not even for the player character itself. Who'd have thought I'd get to try it here?
I tested a bit more, but appearance changes weren't omnipotent. You couldn't deviate too drastically from the original. Things like slight tweaks to height or build, eye color, or hair color were possible.
Of course, just subtly adjusting the facial features, plumping up the build a bit, and shortening the height made Lilith—the lucky first volunteer... er, test subject—look noticeably different.
"Whoa... This is wild."
"But Lilith, don't you already change your appearance with illusions on the regular?"
"That's just altering how I look—my true form stays the same. But this feels like it's changing my essential appearance itself!"
The saving grace was a sort of 'preset' function that let you save the original look. No worries about getting stuck without a way to revert. Others vouched that it wouldn't be detectable either.
'Can make 'em look human too, huh?'
Plus, it was pretty useful: even targets registered as 'temporary employees' via Lilith's abilities could have their appearances altered. They reverted once the employee status expired or the Mimic was removed as [Representative Employee], but...
It could hide the demons' elongated fangs, vertical slit pupils, and certain races' horns or wings. A power bordering on true omnipotence. But...
"...Why won't black hair work?"
"Isn't black hair the symbol of mixed-bloods?"
"No, but what the..."
For some inexplicable reason, while fiddling with employee appearances, casually trying to change hair color to black flat-out failed. Why?
Was the 'mixed-bloods have black hair' rule hardcoded into the System somehow?
Likewise, I couldn't change... well, not mine. Pandora was this ruin's sole true mixed-blood, and her hair color wouldn't budge either.
'......What the hell, for real?'
This was starting to make me suspect that calling mixed-bloods 'black-haired' wasn't just some genetic quirk—it felt like a world law imposed by someone.
...Actually, if that was the case, then the discrimination against mixed-bloods across the world might not stem purely from their tainted lineage either...
'Taking it too far.'
I'd spiraled into wild conspiracy theories over a mere hair color restriction in a customization feature.
Anyway, I was pretty satisfied with the appearance change function overall. The only caveats were no black hair swaps and it only working on actual 'employees'—not myself.
"Alright. A few more tests..."
"Stop. Now."
Getting carried away and prodding the Mimic relentlessly, it finally regretted becoming an employee—but it was far too late for that.
What next? Transform it into a Dryad and see if it bears fruit? Turn it undead and check if it can [Collect]... Ah, might kill it?
"Wanna. Live."
"You won't die. You won't."
My inner gamer's blood was pumping after ages. Next experiment: compare status recovery point costs when injured in transformed state versus base form.
The western continent. The Great Forest.
The west unfolded as a hellscape where creatures devoured each other nonstop, a cacophony of predator and prey everywhere you went. But there was one space in the west that maintained utter silence.
The west's demonic realm, 'Utugard.' This region allowed only the great giants... nay, giant gods to dwell, ruthlessly barring the weak. Even other giant gods needed special permission to enter the central citadel where their king resided.
In the heart of that silent citadel, a figure even more colossal and majestic than the other giant gods gazed down at a tiny red speck on his palm—smaller than a booger—with sunken eyes.
"Is this the Dryad's fruit?"
Tiny enough that you couldn't even make it out without focusing intently.
The No. 1 bidder who shelled out a whopping 3 million gold to win the Dryad's fruit at auction. Giant King Imir scowled as he eyed the minuscule fruit delivered by the dungeon merchant, scratching the back of his neck.
"Keuuk... Damnable dwarf...!"
The Giant King—who called every non-giant race 'dwarves'—furrowed his brow deeply, recalling the events of that day.
An arrogant dwarf who dared proclaim he would 'hunt' the greatest race: the giant gods. Among frail human dwarves, a human known by some monstrous 5-star title rampaged, slaying multiple giants and even wounding his own exalted flesh.
"Frail worm that you are. How dare you..!!"
Seething with rage, the Giant King swallowed the tiny fruit in one gulp.
Giants, the exalted and mighty race hailed as the strongest, lived up to the name. Even the weakest giant—standing a mere 10 meters tall—rivaled a 3-star Hero by human standards.
But giants had a fatal flaw: slow recovery.
Not to the point of wounds never healing. They possessed natural regenerative abilities on par with a human's.
The real issue was their innate resistance and immunity, rendering the potions demons used for recovery ineffective.
"Keuuu..."
This applied equally to the Giant King—if not even more severely.
While top-grade potions offered some recovery boost to lesser giants (if not instant healing), the Giant King's body rejected even those.
To heal his body required... more extreme measures.
"Keuuk...!!!"
The moment he swallowed the Dryad's fruit, a refreshingly pure natural energy coursed through the colossal giant's body. A typical demon would absorb it to bolster their mana.
But giants required no such process. The energy surged through his innards, permeating his skin, veins, and flesh directly. A race that didn't accumulate mana internally but infused it into the body itself.
That was what giants were.
The overflowing natural energy soon targeted the deep scar on the Giant King's nape. It stimulated and regenerated the tissue there, fresh flesh swelling up to cover the wound.
By the time all the energy was fully assimilated, the scar on the Giant King's neck had vanished without a trace.
"My king!"
A select few giants permitted entry to the great giant god's citadel bowed their heads in celebration of their king's recovery.
And the giant god—who had used a supreme elixir merely as a 'healing potion'—shuddered at the effect exceeding all expectations, clenching his fist tight.
'With just one?'
The Giant King Imir had resorted to such extremes before, using elixirs as recovery aids when his body was wounded.
But no matter how precious the elixir, fully healing the Giant King's body had always proven impossible... Yet this single fruit had mended it perfectly.
Nay, more than that—he could feel his flesh, at this pinnacle of power, subtly strengthened ever so slightly.
He hadn't paid heed to tales of it being a 'legendary race's fruit' unworthy compared to giants. He'd merely swallowed the auction's priciest elixir on a whim, only for it to deliver beyond expectations. Greed flickered in the Giant King's eyes.
"Giant gods."
With an arrogance befitting a race that dubbed themselves 'gods,' the giant god issued his command.
"Find it. The strong alone have the right to claim all."
"For the great king!"