These Legs Don't Lie! Harumi's Legacy as the Strongest Mimic

Chapter 1: Briefing

This is a dream, isn’t it? Yeah, this has gotta be a dream. This was the first thing that I, completely clueless, decided.

After all, I was currently surrounded by all kinds of monsters—humanoid pigs and dogs, skeletons, and more.

Well, if I am dreaming, this would have to be a nightmare, wouldn’t it?

At the moment, the monsters didn’t seem to have much interest in me. Actually, it was more like they didn’t care, since I’d locked eyes with several of them already.

Okay, let’s just assume this is a dream. Staying here will be bad news for me, regardless of whether or not they see me as food. I have no idea when they’ll change their minds.

So I tried to slowly and nonchalantly leave, only to immediately realize I couldn’t move.

Yep. Surprisingly, I was immobile. Completely, totally, and utterly immobile. Couldn’t even twitch.

Is this some sort of paralysis? I thought, but the answer turned out to be much more simple—I just didn’t have any limbs.

Yep. Wait, what the hell kind of conclusion is that?

But it was the truth. The form I found myself in? A box. A slightly large treasure chest, to be precise—kind of like what you’d see a pirate plunder.

And how, exactly, had I figured that out? Well, I could see myself. Apparently my point of view was situated outside of my own body, and I could move my field of vision in any direction I pleased.

I could also somehow hear sounds and sense smells, despite a lack of ears or nose. I was a chest, after all.

Hm... I don’t remember ever being in such a ridiculous body, though, I thought. That musing immediately led to the follow-up question—what sort of body did I remember having?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t recall my previous form. Yep, I had no memory of anything leading up to my presence here.

Once again, I looked around the area. Sure enough, I could move my vision anywhere around my main body.

It seemed like I was in some sort of plain room, which was unfurnished and made out of unadorned stone. It had one door leading out of it, and it was filled with monsters.

When I looked closer, I found several other chests just like me. The others were opening and closing their lids like mouths. Their insides were lined with sharp fangs.

I see. Apparently all the chests here were monsters, which meant that I was also most likely one of them.

I tried opening my mouth.

*Paclack!*

It opened. Just like the other chests, I had sharp teeth, and the inside of the chest itself was very dark, though I could see a large tongue.

*Slurp, slurp!*

The tongue moved as commanded.

But what the heck am I supposed to do with just being able to open and close my lid and flick around my tongue?! I can’t go anywhere like this! Wait, my tongue! Am I supposed to use that to try and move? Hmmm...

I wanted to believe this was all just a dream, but everything felt so real. I couldn’t sense any sign of waking up either. Well, even if this was reality, I had to wonder what I was here for. I couldn’t even move, after all.

Hello, all you freshly born babies! This is the tenth floor of the Aldora Labyrinth, and I’m its boss! You can call me Marinnie!

When I looked towards the source of the voice, I saw an arachne above us. She spoke while looking down at us.

Huh? Freshly born? What? No, no. No way. That’s not possible! Sure, I don’t have any memories about my past, but I know so much! Plus, I’m able to think logically. Wouldn’t that be impossible for newborns? I know all these words to describe things! Like, take that woman, Marinnie—she’s got a spider’s body and a naked woman’s upper half growing out of the spider’s head. That sentence alone has a ton of words I can already properly identify and use, like spider, human, woman, naked, and so on!

"I’m sure all of you are like, ‘I have no idea what’s going on, I’m just a babyyy!’ but pretty much all of you are gonna end up dead anyway, so I’m just gonna skip the details. For now, I’m just gonna have you guys sit on the first underground floor. Do your level best to survive for a season—five days—okay? If you do, I’ll do the whole explanation thing!"

She’s got absolutely no intention of explaining shit.

It seemed like that really was all Marinnie was going to say, because she immediately left the room.

Then, as if to take her place, an old man entered, dragging along a trailer cart. He was huge, bald, and ripped. Though he was shaped like a human, his skin seemed to be made of rocks. Maybe he was something like a rock human?

The rock-man approached me.

Wh-What? What’re you gonna do?

As I panicked, he grabbed me forcefully and dropped me into the cart. Apparently he was here to move us somewhere else.

The old man proceeded to swiftly toss other monsters into his trailer as well. I was going to share this trip with five dog-people, who were essentially more like regular dogs, except they could stand up on two legs and hold weapons.

At any rate, the dog-people filled up the rest of the space in the trailer, so the old man carried us out of the room.

It was nighttime outside, and the moonlight illuminated the landscape.

Unfortunately, just as I’d expected, I didn’t remember this place at all.

*Clacka-clacka, rattle-rattle!*

We proceeded across unpaved earth. When I looked back at where we came from, I saw several stone buildings identical to the one we left from.

Was that...a town...?

We headed into a dense forest that contained a large stone tower.

We entered said tower. There, the old man walked us into a tiny room before doing something with a small panel on the wall, which caused the room to move with an audible sound.

Oh, an elevator? I thought as I looked around the room.

I soon found something that seemed to be displaying the floor number. B16, B15, B14, it counted down steadily. It seemed we were heading up towards ground level. I almost thought we would reach it, but the elevator stopped at B1.

We left the elevator and entered a stone passage. The old man once again plodded forwards with us in tow. Eventually, he opened a door and towed us inside.

The old man dropped us off in the room and left.

The room was also made of stone, and it was around five meters large in all dimensions. The ceiling also glowed faintly.

I was shut inside along with five dog-people. Uhhh, so what am I supposed to be doing here?

"Heya, it’s Marinnie! I’ll be doing this announcement in Lord Aldora’s stead: Season 389 starts nooowww! Let’s all work hard to murder all those adventurers!"

As I was deep in thought, I suddenly heard a voice.

Adventurers? Murder?

Bow wow!

The doggos seem excited. Do they even understand what the message meant? Hm. This is a problem.

At the moment, I understood that something was afoot and that I needed to act, but I didn’t know what to do.

Hey, do any of you know anything? I tried asking the dogs. Actually, I’d only just noticed that I could even speak.

Bow wow!

The dogs came closer, but it didn’t look like we could communicate. It seemed like they could talk to each other by barking, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were saying.

Someone, please explain this to me! I’m so confused!

Suddenly, I remembered that the canine monsters were named wardogs. Well, it might be weird to say that I remembered it, but I really did just suddenly understand that fact.

Then maybe I can suddenly recall other stuff too?

I looked around the room and recalled that this was actually a burial chamber—rooms that had both rewards and monsters in them.

Hm? If the wardogs are the monsters here, does that mean I’m the reward?!

After I’d taken a while to process this information, my sudden realization caused me to question my own existence. That was when a screen popped up in front of my eyes.

Name: Harumi

Race: Mimic

Gender: Female

Level: 1

Gift: The Beautiful Die Young

Divine Protection: None

Skills: Mimic (Treasure Chest, ?), Languages (Inorganics +2, Human), Storage

Equipped Items: None

Apparently it was my personal information.

It seemed that my name was Harumi. It didn’t ring a bell, but it would be inconvenient if I didn’t have a name, so I let it slide.

Also, it seemed that mimics were treasure chest—shaped monsters.

But if that’s the case, then what’s the reward? I look like a treasure chest, but I’m a monster, right?

That was when I realized I had the Storage skill.

Isn’t that to simulate my insides, since I’m a treasure chest?

So do I use a skill by just thinking about wanting to use it?

Storage: 10G

Something came up. It definitely seemed like I had loot inside of me.

Hm, I think I get it. Let’s organize what I know—I’m in a burial chamber located in an underground labyrinth, and I’ve been placed here as a reward. Adventurers will come here, kill the monsters, and raid the treasure chests. That said, I’m expected to survive for five days... What the hell?! That’s totally impossible! I can’t move! The second some adventurers barge in I’m done for!

That was when the door to the burial chamber opened, and some people that were probably adventurers barged in.

Uhhh... Do your best, wardogs!

Chapter 2: Adventurers

Well then...

All the wardogs had been immediately exterminated, so...what was I to do?

The five wardogs had been mauled as soon as the door had opened. They ended up split apart by a sword in the blink of an eye.

So now I was left with no one to protect me. Was there anything I could do? Nope, it was totally hopeless—I was just a treasure chest, after all.

My best bet would be praying that the adventurers would leave now that they’d satisfied their bloodlust.

But, come on—there’s no way they’d do that! I mean, there was a treasure chest right in front of them! Of course they’d try to open it! Even I’d do the same!

As I chewed on my options, I realized my best choice would be to chew on one of them. Once they got closer and tried to open me, I’d bite them. Still, I didn’t actually expect that to result in much of anything.

Why? Well, there were four adventurers here, so even if everything went perfectly according to plan, I’d still only end up chomping into one. As soon as I’d defeated the victim, the other three would just murder me.

From the look of them, there was a warrior, a mage, a priest, and a thief. I could at least tell that much, somehow, so I guessed I was born with the knowledge.

Hey, come on, why are we taking detours on the first floor?! There’s no point in killing small fry like wardogs, the female mage said.

For some reason, I could understand human language. Apparently that was what the Languages skill did.

She’s right. Even if they’re weaklings, it still takes weapon durability to kill them. That kind of thing can spell the difference between life and death on the lower floors, the priest—a young man—complained.

But we’re the first ones here during the new season! That means we can loot as much as we want! the male warrior retorted sullenly. With his sword in tow, he was the one who’d instantly eradicated the wardogs.

Uhh, what are you even hoping for here? We’re a bunch of veterans. Why would we kill monsters and steal loot from the first floor? All this stuff should be given to newbies.

Huh, so this kinda thing is expected. Yeah, I think manners are important—especially if they’re veterans. So please leave me alone!

They’re just gonna get replaced immediately, right? Just think of this as testing our luck. If we get something kinda good here, it means we’re lucky!

What does ‘good’ even mean on the first floor...? the priest grumbled and sighed in exasperation.

But, in the end, the allure of treasure chests won them over. They all closed in on me.

Yep! It’s over! My life as a monster’s coming to a quick and sudden end! But I’m at least going to get one bite in!

They thought I was a regular treasure chest, so maybe I’d be able to get one good chomp in...

That was when the thief, a young man who’d been quiet up until now, chimed in.

Just so you know, that’s a mimic.

Whoa, really? On the first floor? We would’ve been in trouble if we’d let our guards down...

What should we do? Just blast it with magic?

The warrior and mage immediately turned wary.

Yep. Now it’s totally impossible to even get a bite in!

It’s not just weapon durability we have to watch out for—we shouldn’t be wasting our magic either.

Y-Yeah! That’s smart, priest! The way you pushed up your glasses just now was sooo cool! Just leave a small fry like me alone and go away!

But don’t mimics have rare drops? It should be worth defeating.

No way! I’ve only got 10G in me! I don’t know how valuable that is, though!

Their rare drop is a Medal of Greed. It boosts the drop rate of items. It’d be worth a small fortune if we sold it.

The second they heard that, the look in everyone’s eyes changed.

THIIIEEEFFFF!!! Shut it! Stop spouting things that’re better left unsaid! I don’t have that in me!

Well, if using our weapons and magic would be a waste, why don’t we try kicking it?

That’s a good idea. It’s the first floor, so one kick should do it.

Come on, priest—you gotta stop them!

But it was too late; things seemed to have been decided.

The warrior—a huge, muscular middle-aged man with legs as thick as tree trunks—approached me.

Even though I was a treasure chest, I was still made out of wood. If someone like that big old guy kicked me, I’d be done for!

I need something to get me outta this! There’s gotta be some way out! Right, conversation! If we can communicate, then at least I can beg for my life!

Help me!

The warrior stopped in his tracks.

Ooohh? Did it work?!

Did you guys just hear a sound? the priest asked, suspicious.

The mage cocked her head as well. I think it came from the mimic.

Isn’t it just shaking in fear?

It was a huge failure!

Help me! Save me! Heeelp! My lid flapped up and down frantically, but I wasn’t saying anything.

Huh? Does the Languages skill mean I can only understand them?

It looks like it’s trying to say something.

Yesss, the priest is so reliable! Great job, glasses!

Well, of course monsters would be able to talk to each other. Why should we care?

Dammit, this muscle-brained fighter! At least try a little interspecies communication, you bastard!

Despite my best attempts to speak, the warrior crept ever closer.

Fine, it’s time for my last resort!

Gaoohh!

I opened my lid, bared my fangs, and tried to intimidate them.

*Khfwhap!*

Aaand I immediately lost my balance and tipped over.

Come on, Harumi! Get it together!

This was just awful. I’d never really expected to land an attack, but now I’d even lost the chance to bite them.

What’s wrong with that thing?

Did it just fall over and immobilize itself on its own?

There’s gotta be something else! There’s gotta be!

In my desperation, I looked over my stats once again. The first thing to catch my eye was my gift—The Beautiful Die Young.

Yeah, that’s super useless.

I’d already tried using my Language skill, but it was meaningless since they couldn’t understand me.

Then...I’ll use my Storage skill! Take this!

I took the 10G out of my storage and, using my tongue, placed it gently out in front of me. Please take this and let me go!

Once again, the warrior stopped. Huh? It dropped something.

That’s...10G in copper coins.

The priest looked over what I’d offered them.

Could it be begging for its life? Like a bribe to let it go?

Yes! That’s exactly it!

10G... That’s only enough to buy some cheap candy! Is it making fun of us?

That had only made them angry! Actually, what was the meaning of this?! I only had enough inside to buy some cheap candy? I’m a treasure chest! I should have something better than that!

After that desperate tactic, I had nothing left inside.

Dammit, I should’ve just thrown the money at them! Oh, wait—what about putting things inside my storage instead of taking them out? Like, what if I swallowed them whole when they came close?

When I thought of that, some sort of help window popped up.

The following errors have occurred with the Storage skill.

Permission error: Permission is needed to store living things.

Size error: The target’s size is larger than the available capacity.

No good, huh? Of course it wouldn’t work. I’d be invincible if it worked that way.

With that, all I had left was my Mimic skill. I was probably currently in the Treasure Chest state, but I still had another mystery state that just had a question mark next to it. I had no idea what it was, but there was the possibility that I could change into something different.

This is my last chance! I’ve got nothing else!

Mimic! Mimic, mimicry, disguise! Anything’s fine, just lemme mooove! I screamed desperately.

Suddenly...

*Pwoof!*

I was blown away.

I had no idea what had happened. By the time I came to my senses, I’d crashed into the wall.

What the hell?

Did...it just moved?

So gross! What’s wrong with it?!

That gross comment was probably about my appearance, so that meant that my Mimic skill had succeeded in activating.

I gave myself a good look over. Sure enough, I was still a treasure chest...with a few major changes.

I now had a pair of legs sprouting from beneath me and an arm coming out of each side.

Yeah, that really is gross!

Chapter 3: Legs for Days

So now I had a pair of beautiful snow-white human legs coming out from