The Mimic in Monsterland

The sun was high in the sky, its rays beating down on my skin. Well, kind of. I wasn’t quite in my own skin. The skin in question was hard as stone and twice as tough, mostly because it was in fact stone.

It's been about a week since my encounter with the storm bird and I had spent most of my time using and learning about my mimic gene. I made some interesting observations about my powers during this time. Mainly about object mimicry. For being a fantasy forest, there sure weren’t that many critters running around. I mean sure, I’ve run into the occasional squirrel and that bear, but that’s it. Nothing else.

First of the observations is a restriction about what objects I can and can’t mimic. I can only mimic objects that are relatively close to my size. I tried to mimic a pine cone and got a message telling me SIZE INCOMPATIBLE. It was kind of nice to get such a direct message for once, unlike a certain tutorial. I chuckled when I thought about if it had let me mimic the pinecone. Just a person-sized pinecone chilling in the forest, totally normal.

I tried a boulder about 3 times as big as myself and got the same message. So only stuff around my size. I don't think weight is a factor, I'm pretty sure I'm heavier than a log. Not sure. Hard to test in my current circumstance.

It would work also if I could contort my body to be roughly the same shape. I found out my new body was pretty flexible when I first mimicked a me-sized stone. I curled my legs and head way closer to my torso than I thought possible. My powers would fill out the rest of the stone surface.

I also can’t mimic something new unless I’m in my base form. I tried to mimic a squirrel that climbed along me while in log form and got nothing, like I didn't have access to the ability. It wasn’t until I reverted back into base form that got the squirrel entry recorded before it dashed too far away.

Not a spectacular form though. It seems creature forms are not created equally. It didn’t have proficiency levels like Ursa nor did it give me any stat changes. Just gave me buck teeth and a bonus to climbing trees. Whoopee. I wonder what the difference between the two is. I tried to use the power on a fish I caught and managed not to scarf down to no avail. Didn’t even get a message, just nothing.

The next observation was that I can only record one object of a given type. For example, my log form. When I first mimicked the log it also logged(heh) that form in my mimic records, a subsection of my character sheet containing all the info on each form I've found. This means I can turn into that specific log whenever I want. But it will be the only log I will ever be able to keep a record of.

I found other logs and could mimic them but I never got a message saying a new mimic entry was recorded. When I would use mimic without a new muse, I would revert to the initial log. This meant I needed to be picky when mimicking new objects.

What I’m not sure about is what my powers deem as new forms. Like could I record a wooden chest or would the system consider that a log since they are both you know, made of wood. I would love to test the theory but it's hard to do when you’re in the middle of the Bumfudge Egypt.

 

Searching for signs of civilization was also a goal during my travels but I had yet to find any. I stayed near the river while looking because I figured if there were any settlements, they would be at least somewhat close to a freshwater source.

Moving my little tree tent wasn’t too bad using my Ursa form. I would just disassemble the logs and tie them together using vines. Then the boost in strength made sure I could carry all the logs on my back while walking along. The time limit for creature mimicry was still a mystery. I didn’t have a great way to tell time out here. No clocks or clock-trees in these woods. So I would walk as long as the form stayed active, which I could guess to be just a couple of hours, then stop to find food or investigate the area.

The creature mimicry also had a cooldown for each form unlike object mimicry. I got a little notification under my health bar with a timer counting down when I reverted to my base form. I wondered why it would tell me the cooldown but not a time for the form itself. And no, Tutor wouldn’t tell me. The cooldown timer was one hour. Not so bad. Apparently I used it enough to get to the next proficiency level, but it didn’t come with any new powers or stats.

 

The timer at the top of my vision was telling me I still had 45 minutes before I could continue on, so I was in the middle of resource gathering, also known as fishing. The water in the river was cool and refreshing as ever. I was about halfway submerged in the river trying to catch something for lunch. How am I fishing you may wonder. No, I’m not spear fishing though it wouldn't be hard and sadly there weren't any fishing rods in sight. My new enhanced reflexes and speed would probably make it a breeze to catch fish like that but I wanted to try out my new powers. So I did what mimics do best, ambush.

My plan was to sit in the river in my newly gained rock form and wait for fish to swim close, then grab them. I was patiently waiting for my next prey to come along. It was weird how I could just sit and wait. Like I mean for hours at a time just waiting, barely a thought in my mind. I’m pretty sure it's another effect of the gene. Which makes sense when you consider that mimics in games make their homes in the bottom of dungeons. Popular places, plenty of foot traffic. I suppressed a chuckle at my own stupid joke. A chuckling rock would probably scare the fishes away.

 

Target acquired. I felt the motion of a fish in the water. My body tensed as it primed itself to spring at the fish when it got close enough. The fish moved closer and closer until SPLASH. I threw my hands out, grabbing the unsuspecting fish and shoveling it down my gullet.

It still disgusted me, eating the fish raw and unclean but I have to admit, it's super convenient. I never had to make campfires at night because cooking was unnecessary and it didn’t get cold at night as it was the height of summer here in, whatever this world is called. Still a bit miffed Tutor won’t tell me. Truthfully, it felt like it was only getting hotter with each passing day. I hope it's summer, and not like spring or fall.

I rose out of the water and walked toward the shore where I laid my clothes and my fancy feather down. While I walked, I peered at the notification for my bear form.

“13 minutes. It was 45 minutes when I looked at it last.” I said in disbelief. "It’s wild how much my sense of time gets scuffed when I use object mimicry.”

“Great power for trips to the DMV.” Said Tutor.

“Do you even know what that is?”

“Can’t say.”

I rolled my eyes. I was getting used to Tutor’s unhelpful brief outbursts and didn’t feel like dealing with her so instead I leaned over and grabbed my clothes. Just as I put on my pants and shirt, I heard some rustling behind the tree line. Immediately alert, I tried to see if I could catch a glimpse of whatever is out there. But the noises, something akin to grunting, were getting louder and louder. I looked around for a place to hide but there wasn’t much on the shoreline. Then I remembered.

“Mimic duh.”

Recorded transformations were becoming second nature now, I still noticed my skin hardening and creaking… wait creaking. Damn it. I wanted stone form, not log. Stone would’ve been less noticeable on the shore. Whatever a log by the shore’s not too conspicuous. Right? Okay maybe not quite second nature yet.

Then I thought about my feather. No way I’m letting whatever is walking in those woods find it. It's mine. So I did what any log with a mind of its own does. I rolled. Fantastic plan, I know. I rolled on top of my feather; There wasn’t any reason to worry about damaging it anymore. I put plenty of hours into using it over the last week and it still has its beautiful luster.

Laying on what would be my side untransformed, my bark covered face pointed toward the tree line with one eye open. I took a gamble on the fact that whatever was out there wouldn’t be able to see my eye through the bark.

The source of the boisterous sounds of stomping and grunting finally revealed itself, or I should say themselves. Three lanky, lithe bodies, all with varying shades of dark green and gray skin. Wearing basic scraps of cloth and dingy animal hides. No shoes. A good bit shorter than me, somewhere between four and five feet. Let's call them goblins for now, god an identification ability would be the bee’s knees. They didn’t quite match what goblins in games and other various fantasy media. But in this world who knows. Not like I've seen one before.

The one up front, I’m going to presume the leader of their merry little band, was clearly scanning the area. A surprisingly shiny steel short sword hanging off his waist. No scabbard. Strange to see what looks like a brand new sword with the creature. Something about the sword appealed to me. I really like that sword. I want it.

While my thoughts were on the sword, the other two goblins were bickering, smacking each other with their wooden spears until the leader groaned. I don’t think they were speaking any language. It seemed to be more grunts and moans than words. Which probably meant getting any information out of them wouldn’t be possible.

The leader swung out his blade and pointed toward me, and I shut my eye. Man, I’m praying he didn’t notice my open eye. I don’t know what my eyes even look like when I’m transformed, let’s hope not a bright shine or anything like that. From the sound of their footsteps, they were getting near and I started getting anxious. One of them, my guess was the leader, was standing right above me.

4 minutes 24 seconds.

The timer at the top of my screen was still ticking down. I didn’t want to fight without Ursa mode. There’s a chance I could handle them in base form with the feather blade, but the blade required mana to cut and I never got to test it on metal. I don’t know if I have the resources to cut through the sword, or the goblins for that matter, never tried it on living flesh either. And if I ran out of mp, I would be stuck bare knuckle brawling three creatures. Of which I know none of their stats or abilities. Ursa mode at least gave me claws and a tougher body.

I wished I could mimic them. That would at least tell me what they are and maybe a hint toward their capabilities. But breaking out of log form seems like an incredibly dumb idea. One Tutor would never stop giving me crap about. Wait and see is my best option right now, even with my rising anxiety threatening to burst out my chest. Just four more minutes.

While all of this was running through my head, the leader let out an enormous yawn and grunted at his compatriots. The two started moving toward the river while the leader proceeded to sit down. On what you ask. You can probably guess. Why wouldn’t he sit on the perfectly good log positioned squarely in front of the river. What I wouldn’t give to lose my sense of smell right now. Hygiene was clearly not a virtue of the goblins. He plopped down right on top of me. Just a wonderful crusty goblin ass on my side. Kill me now.

He squirmed around for a minute, getting comfortable I guess. It took every fiber of my being to not shudder. He probably would have loved it with how much it was scratching himself on my bark. His stomach burbled. Oh Sweet Joseph, Mary and Jesus don’t do what I think you’re about to do. After one more grumble, it settled down and just as relief washed over me—Pmmmfff.

It farted. It was right then that my life truly changed forever. More than any god of rebirth could change. This change bore into my soul. My innocence forever shattered. The sky, darker. I can no longer get married. I am unclean.

 

He stayed seated for the entire duration of the Ursa timer and then some. It was probably another ten minutes I wallowed in shame. And as soon as he got up to meet with his buddies, I was oddly torn. Part of me wanted to hide until they left, while another screamed to rise and burst into Ursa mode and rampage all over them. Sure I was pissed off about… well you know… the thing. Damn it.

A fresh wave of shame and sorrow washed over me. But that only made the raging part of me grow and I decided I wouldn’t hide. That I would fight. But was that right? They seemed to have some semblance of sentience so maybe they could communicate. I transformed from log mode directly into Ursa mode. Better safe than sorry.

The goblins looked over at me, shock filling their faces. Could you blame them? A log just turned into a weird bear, human hybrid. But it faded just as fast as the goblins pulled their weapons out getting ready to strike.

“Hello. I’m—” was all I could get out before one of the lackeys came at me first, his spear aimed right at my head. Little guy was faster than I expected but I maneuvered out of the way and got a hold of the spear, or I tried to. Bear claws and the pads on my palms made grabbing small things more than a little difficult. The goblin easily pulled his spear from my hands and prepped another attack. Thrusting once more but this time aiming for my leg. I jumped back, trying to get a little distance, but he still managed to nick my thigh. The spear cut through my comfy pants, which annoyed the hell out of me. They were the only ones I had and I don’t foresee getting anymore anytime soon.

The gob didn’t seem to care about my pants situation though as he rushed me again. But I could gauge his speed now so I prepped a counter, which is something I never in my life thought I would say or think. I raised my claws to the sky, feeling the muscles bulging in my arm and back as I prepared to swing. It was a strange sensation, feeling powerful. I knew without a doubt this would demolish the poor creature but it was kill or be killed time. So I swung, my massive arm aimed straight for the goblin’s body. This is it; my first attack in a new world. It was going to be awesome.

 

It wasn’t. I missed, by a mile looks like. He just ducked, and the claws went over his head. But my arm kept going, smashing into the ground. Crap. The goblin didn’t waste any time and stabbed at my torso while I was compromised. But before he could get it up (heh) I pumped some power into my legs and slammed him with my shoulder. He was really light. I knocked him a good five feet away in the same direction his pals were.

He shoved his spear in the ground, plowing through the pebbles and landed square on his feet. I hate to say it but he looked cool, definitely cooler than me. I straightened out. He readied himself. His boss sneered at me and the other lackey…wasn’t there?

I realized after a spear was lodged in my shoulder that the other lackey must have circled around during my kerfuffle with his buddy. I roared. Louder than I ever thought I could. I spun around, claws at the ready, looking for the attacker but he had retreated already. I glanced at my health bar. Mostly full. Not bad considering the spear jutting out of my back. I wanted to take it out, but the two dashed towards me.

I clawed, swung, punched, any attack I could think of but the two dodged everything I threw at them. All the while they landed stab after stab, cut after cut. They didn’t hurt that bad, but it was frustrating me to no end. A real death by a thousand cuts deal. I think the one who lost his spear must have had a dagger on him. They stopped their onslaught for a second and I glanced at my health bar. A little more than half. Thank God for the Ursa buff to my constitution. It must have made my body tougher and more resistant to the attacks. It was my stamina bar that wasn’t doing too hot. Only a quarter full.

“I’m running out of juice.”

The two lackeys just snickered. Pride swelling their chests. Twisted smiles on their faces. They were just playing with me.

Making that realization broke something in me. The rage that had been gnawing at me, growing with every wound came to its boiling point. My vision pulsed. Another earth shattering roar left my body. But this time it felt like I lost agency over my body. Like I was watching a cutscene in a game.

The spear goblin charged at me. But I didn't move. It hit right at the center of my stomach. Everything slowed down. It looked up, triumph in its eyes. It didn’t notice the giant hand coming straight at it from the side. The clawed hand caught the side of the goblin’s head, sending it flying, until a sickening crunch resounded in the air. The goblin’s body hit a boulder about 15 feet away, breaking every bone in its wretched little body and leaving a spiderweb crack along the boulder.

Dagger boy stared in disbelief at the pile of flesh his friend had become but shook his head and turned in my direction. He came to his senses just a little too late. A paw came down on his head, shoving it into the rocky shore, leaving its skull a bloody disgusting mess. I looked toward the leader of the bunch but he was already sprinting for the trees. It screeched while running into the forest but I didn't care that much. It just needed to die. Another roar left my body as I was about to give chase but my legs gave out. I fell onto the shore. My vision returned to normal. Ursa mode ended, and I reverted to my normal form. My stamina bar was completely empty now.

“Must be another rule with the forms. Got to remember that.” I mumbled while laying on my stomach. Pain wracked my body as I rose from the ground. I felt my shoulder, the one that had taken a spear, but there was nothing there. The spear wasn’t in my shoulder anymore. Must have fallen out when I was raging.

I checked the other wounds covering my body, then remembering Tutor’s words from before went into rock mode and back out of it. Sure enough, my wounds had all closed up but the pain stuck around. I walked over to the spear in question and as I leaned over I glimpsed at my clothes, well I guess you could call them that. Scraps of leather and bloodied cloth would be a more apt description. I sighed as I picked up the spear. A thin piece of iron tied down to the end of a stick. Still wet with my blood. I trembled and looked over to the goblins I killed. I took their lives. Bile rushed up my throat but I swallowed it down.

“It was kill or be killed.” I repeated a few times in an attempt to ease the remorse I was feeling. And just as I was calming down a screech flew into the air. The goblin leader must have mustered up the courage to avenge his allies. I turned toward the tree line, spear in hand, just as he burst through the undergrowth.

Worry rose in my body. The ursa cooldown timer just started and even with the wounds closed I was still beat up. He raised his shining sword and slashed at me. There was a difference in his movements though, he was much slower than his friends were. Like a fat kid playing with a broom in the gym closet slow.

I was a bit too tired to move out of the way so I raised the spear to block. He cut right through the wooden spear like it was nothing. It just barely grazed my chest, and landed in the rocks at my feet. I recoiled. He may have been slow but that sword was no joke. Why did he have it and not the more capable ones? I pushed the thought out of my head. Not the time to be thinking about that. What should I do? I’m too tired to fight and can’t use Ursa mode, and I doubt turning into a log would be a great solution. I dodged a few more of its clumsy swipes until an idea popped in my mind. Oh yeah, mimicry. I mimicked the goblin as he was lifting the sword out of the ground.

 

[Mimic Entry “GREMLIN” Recorded]

[Proficiency Level 1]

 

“Huh. Not a goblin.”

My skin burned like it did when I mimicked the Ursa. But instead of growing in size, I shrunk. Not sure by what margin though, my only clue was that my clothes felt baggy and heavier. My skin turned a grayish green color matching that of the gremlin I was fighting. When the gremlin turned around he paused, confusion running across its face. Can’t blame the guy. I’d be confused if my enemy's body kept changing in front of me. Especially when it was your own form he copied.

I didn’t let this chance pass me by. I lunged with my now shorter spear right at the fiend’s chest. With alarming speed I plunged deep into its chest and then stabbed it three more times before his body even hit the ground. Its body rattled on the ground for a second until the light faded from its eyes.

I was relieved, until I looked back over at the corpse and then my hands. Covered in dark red blood and eerily warm. I couldn’t hold it in anymore and threw up. All over the place.

 

At some point during all the vomiting I must have changed back into my base form. Another cooldown timer had appeared at the top of my vision but for only 45 minutes this time, along with a different icon. But when I went to investigate the new condition, my vision blurred. Shaking the feeling off, I went to look once more but a sudden rustling came from the forest again. Dread made my blood run cold as I saw what was coming out of the woods. Seven. Eight. No. Ten more gremlins creeped out into view. I went to stand but my legs couldn’t support me. I finally viewed the condition, well debuff really. It was a cute little emoji with tired eyes.

 

[Exhaustion: You do not recover Stamina. Sleep to cure.]

Well this is it. This is how I go. I chuckled at myself for a second.

“I barely even made it a week.”

And just as the first gremlin screeched out his war cry. Fire burst from out of the ground, charring the creature. Plumes of brilliant orange-red flames erupted from the earth below. Then more pillars rose underneath each gremlin, scorching every single one. I sat in utter disbelief at what was taking place before my eyes.

The heat from the flames was hotter than any fire I ever felt. I was certain the trees and I would catch fire, but the flames never spread from where they spawned. They died down just as quickly as they came. Leaving nothing, not even bones, but the smell of burnt and boiled flesh in the air. A horrifying scent.

 

“Now what the hell are you?”

A voice came out from behind me. But as I tried to turn, my whole body gave out this time. The world around me faded to black.