Beginners Think Spears Are Better Than Swords, But What I'm Holding Is Scissors
Mimic.
It was one of those monsters that commonly appeared in fantasy. A thoroughly vicious creature that disguised itself as something that looked harmless in order to deceive people. In works of fiction it would often transform its body into a treasure chest and trick naive adventurers. The image of an excited novice adventurer opening a chest only to be swallowed whole by a mimic had become such a tired cliché by now.
…But I've never even heard of a mimic that disguised itself as a refrigerator.
I'd heard of ones that turned into chests, doors, or walls, but a refrigerator mimic? The fact that I'd almost fallen for it for a second made cold sweat run down my back. Just thinking about how I would have been dragged inside and eaten if I'd carelessly tried to open that fridge sent a real chill through my chest.
Kigigigi!
“Ugh….”
But the situation wasn't over yet. The bizarrely shaped monster right in front of me was twisting its body this way and that as it stared me down. Maybe it was because I felt my life was in danger—goosebumps prickled across my skin and I instinctively shrank back, my spirit crushed.
There were monsters like that in this junkyard…? This is way past just “dangerous.”
Whatever had happened to its original refrigerator form, the fridge mimic now displayed a body twisted into something utterly horrific. For someone as weak to the horror genre as me, it was practically my natural enemy—terrifying enough to make me want to look away.
…Run.
The best choice I could make right now was to turn around and flee without looking back. Pure fear and panic. I was like a dog that had completely tucked its tail between its legs; I couldn't show even a shred of will to fight. How was I supposed to fight a monster like that anyway? I wasn't even confident about fighting a tiny Maltese.
While my head was full of plans to watch for an opening and bolt, a sudden thought flashed through my mind.
Come to think of it, I've heard you shouldn't turn your back on fierce carnivores.
It was something I'd once seen in a savanna documentary on OTube. Dangerous predators like lions or hyenas would charge the moment you showed them your back. To get away from animals like that, you were supposed to keep your eyes on them, stay wary, and slowly back away. Of course, if the other party was so starved and ferocious that it didn't matter whether you showed your back or not, none of that would help—but the fridge mimic didn't look like it was about to leap at me right this second.
It's almost like it's being cautious… Ah, maybe because I noticed the disguise first and swung the scissor blade at it?
Perhaps the mimic was as wary of me as I was of it. Lucky break. I was someone who didn't even have the courage to charge a mimic, yet a careless action had just saved my life. In that case I had to cling to this accidental stroke of luck until the very end.
I forced my heart to settle. At the same time I pressed down hard on the hot fear rising in my chest.
“Hup…. Haa…. Don't come any closer. Or I'll cut you.”
I hid my emotions as best I could and leveled the pitch-black scissor blade at the mimic. The flashlight hanging from my shoulder naturally swayed, but the beam soon steadied and lit the motionless mimic dead-on. Of course this wasn't because I'd suddenly gotten stronger or found real confidence. It was just a temporary bluff I'd come up with after watching the mimic stay put and observe instead of charging first.
That was all it was—pure bluff. A clumsy bluff from someone who had never properly swung a sword in her life. But maybe it actually worked on the other party. The mimic made a horrible sound like phlegm bubbling in its throat, yet it still refused to close the distance beyond a certain point. I watched it carefully, then let out a small internal sigh.
…Okay. Good. I've managed a standoff for now. So what next?
I'd bought some time. Now I needed to think about how to move to the next stage. The options I could come up with right now… maybe three.
First option: fight and win. Considering how I'd casually sliced off the handle earlier, the durability of that body probably wasn't all that high. So fighting the mimic and leaving no future trouble was theoretically possible. The variables were that I had no idea how strong a monster that had changed shape like that would be, and that I'd never actually fought anything before…. Yeah. Both of those were fatal. They say if you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear a hundred battles, but I knew neither the enemy nor myself. Choosing to fight here was definitely not something a wise person would do.
Second option: run. My physical abilities were pretty good right now. I had stamina that barely got tired plus overwhelming physical specs almost on the level of an Olympic athlete. So the second choice was to use that superior leg power to run hard and shake the mimic off…. But on second thought it wasn't all good news.
The problem is I don't know the geography here. If I just bolt and end up lost…. Worst case.
Especially since this place was pitch-dark with not a single ray of light, I couldn't even climb somewhere high to get a look around. Even if I managed to outrun the mimic, I'd still end up in a bad spot. And I couldn't even be sure I could escape. Would the mimic just calmly let me go if I turned my back and sprinted? No way—it would definitely chase. Look at those ominous eyes. Was it going to let me walk away quietly? And if on top of that I got lost or my running speed dropped…. The result might be worse than standing and fighting.
I'm not confident fighting, and I'm not sure I can run. Then… only the last option left.
So the choice I could pick here was the third one: a mix of the two above.
“Huryap!”
I gripped the scissor-blade handle with both hands and thrust hard toward the mimic. It was an awkward motion, like stabbing with a spear. Even someone who knew nothing about martial arts would naturally notice how clumsy it looked. But I knew this direction was actually the best.
I've never swung a sword before. If I try to swing it like a sword, I could make a big mistake.
Sword or spear—I couldn't firmly declare which was better or stronger. Weapons basically produced very different results depending on the situation and conditions. But if you asked which of the two was easier to handle… nine times out of ten I'd say the spear. Setting aside the basic fact that spears have longer reach than swords, the fundamental reason lay in how you used the weapon.
A sword is basically made assuming line attacks. In other words, you need proper technique to put force into it if you want to deal real damage. But a spear… is specialized for point attacks like thrusting.
Simply put, it was the difference between swinging and stabbing. A sword was a weapon that cut the opponent down with its edge, so you had to know the proper way to use it. Swing it clumsily and you could hurt yourself. A spear was different. Thrust, push away. Even someone with no deep knowledge of martial arts could handle it simply. That was probably why spears were preferred over swords for ordinary soldiers in past wars. Of course a sword could thrust like a spear too, but if that was all you were going to do, why use a sword? Just use a longer, lighter spear.
Keugigik…!
“Die! Die!”
Anyway. I used the scissor blade with that spear principle in mind, keeping my distance from the mimic while repeatedly thrusting. When the other party suddenly swelled its body and tried to close in, I swung the blade sideways in a big push and stepped back. When it showed signs of shrinking away, I instead stepped boldly forward and poked it with the tip again and again. Even while pouring sweat and focusing on the fight, my eyes naturally checked the escape route behind me.
This fridge mimic was a monster whose traits I knew nothing about. Right now I was riding the momentum and making it flinch, but any kind of variable could still happen. So my plan was to keep pretending to fight aggressively, and the moment the other side showed any sign of trying something to seize an opening… turn my back and run.
No need to fight to the death.
My life was precious. There was no reason to stubbornly stand and fight here. Winning wouldn't give me money or experience points. No need to take the risk.
“With this…!”
Riding the momentum, I shouted as if this really was the last strike and bit my lip hard. After driving this attack into its body, I would turn and run without looking back. If the mimic had been roughed up this much, it should realize there was no value in risking its life to jump me. With that thought I gripped the handle tightly and thrust the scissor blade at the mimic—when something completely unexpected happened.
The scissor blade that had been dyed pitch-black seemed to flash for an instant… then, as if the mimic were swallowing it, the blade suddenly slid deep inside!
“Uhek?! W-wait…!”
My body tipped forward on its own from the completely unforeseen situation. Until just now, no matter how hard I stabbed, the blade had only stuck into the outer surface; suddenly having it sink all the way in completely wrecked my balance. On top of that, my feet tangled and my ankles slammed into each other—the worst possible accident. In the end I toppled forward toward the mimic as if doing a forward roll.
“Hyaak! No! Don't do this!”
In that moment, overwhelming terror seized my head. Had it noticed my attacks weren't serious and set a trap? At this rate I would be sucked into the mimic's mouth full of savage teeth and meet a horrible end. I had to find a way somehow—before I completely fell into its embrace!
…I think it's too late?
Along with that cold thought came the feeling of the tension snapping. No matter how hard I racked my brain, no answer came. What was I even supposed to do here? I had already fallen completely; I couldn't change my posture. It wasn't like I could kick the air.
Ugh…. Noise, I'm sorry…!
In the split second before I touched the mimic, Noise's face suddenly rose in my mind. After I'd finally given her a chance, I was going to leave so irresponsibly. I'm sorry. Really. Tears welled up in my eyes on their own. But maybe my heart had already given up; the tension that made my chest pound was completely gone. That hollow sensation of my body abandoning its craving for life… made me feel so unbearably sad.
“Upp.”
Yet contrary to the anxious imaginings I had been desperately picturing with my eyes closed, I simply fell weakly to the floor. …Strange. The mimic had been right in front of me—how was I falling onto the floor?
I hurriedly stood up while rubbing my elbow, which stung from slamming hard into the ground. Then I quickly swung the flashlight toward where the mimic had been. What entered my sight was… a result I had not expected even a little.
“…Huh? Mimic, why are you dead…?”
The mimic that until moments ago had been perfectly fine and threatening me… had split cleanly in half and was now a cold corpse on the floor, as if it had all been a lie.