Chương 45: Chapter Forty Four

Bob had no idea how long it was before he regained consciousness, but when he did, it was to blessed silence. A part of him wanted to jerk forward, multiple experiences now conditioning him to expect an attack upon 'waking up'; but the quiet holding the room kept him still. Unwilling to break 'Lifeless Disguise' should he happen to be surrounded by enemies. Luckily, all it took was a quick check of 'Treasure Sense' to reassure him of his relative safety.

The only crabs in the area being the small handful still wandering the rooftops and the C-Ranked monster stuck on the ground floor. Bob was alone. Which was good, as he also seemed very close to death. His eye was still a shattered ruin, it being impossible to confirm if any of the myriad fractures in it had sealed themselves during his bout of unconsciousness. And while the rest of his body felt at least slightly more stable, it very obviously wasn't anything close to repaired.

The upper portion of his 'lid' only feeling half-there; with the remaining bit hanging at an angle. He wouldn't know the state of his feet until he made an attempt to walk, but imagined they'd be in similar condition. If they were able to move at all, it only being because his 'regenerative abilities' seemed to focus on general reconstruction before outright health renewal. It was something he had noticed during his long trek through the endless wastes.

And also something which, given his prior, near immobile state, Bob couldn't find it in him to complain about. Still, much as he appreciated his form feeling slightly more 'together', he couldn't help but be interested in exactly how close he'd managed to cut things. Opening up his menu intending to check his current total Health And being immediately barraged by a mass of system alerts. Ding!

You have destroyed:'LV: 26 Stalker Mad-Crab (D)''LV: 12 Bladed Claw Mad-Crab (D)''LV: 21 Crazed Crushing Mad-Crab (D)''LV: 17 Bladed Claw Mad-Crab (D)' (146) Experience gained for Class: ' Treasure Hunter (B)' Congratulations!' Treasure Hunter (B)' is now level 12! Perception + 5 Dexterity + 4 Willpower + 3 Ding! Shattered Space (D) Has Leveled up! 1 – 3 Bob mentally grimaced as he felt his attributes increase; his eye and body not really being in a fit state for 'improvements' at the moment.

Though at least the added boost to Willpower helped him grin and bear it. And once they were done, he opened up his Status Page. Name: Bob Species: Thousand-Foot Mimic (E) + Class: Treasure Hunter (B) + Title: Hard to Swallow (D) + Level: 14 - 91. 14/163. 84 GP Class Level: F/12 – E/NA Health: 4/78 Mana: 44/67 Strength: 14 Dexterity: 113 Constitution: 78 Intelligence: 67 Perception: 75 Willpower: 96 And immediately blanched at what was revealed to him. Staring at his single digit Health number in shocked disbelief.

Especially when he realized that, given how much his condition had improved during his period of unconsciousness, at least some of those digits had to have been recovered while he was knocked out. Which meant he'd probably been fighting, being tossed about by explosions and dragging himself across the floor all while on – at max – a couple points of HP. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The thought of how close he was to death, truly just a slightly-sharp bit of gravel away, actually had Bob feeling slightly dizzy. His mind struggling to wrap itself around the fact that one mistake made while experimenting with his mana had nearly snuffed out his existence. And being slightly surprised to find that the possibility of such actually left him feeling genuinely distressed. And for more than just fear of the unknown.

While he wouldn't exactly say he'd grown like his current life, the idea of it disappearing for such a mundane reason felt like a terrible waste. A waste of his time. Of his effort. Of all the horror and pain and anxiety he'd gone through to reach this point. To survive a universe he'd been cast into as a literal piece of garbage. A part of him wanted to swear valiantly that he would never let it happen again; but the rest saw that for the fantasy it was.

If there was one consistent feature of this new world, it was life-threatening situations. Getting out of all the ones he expected would come his way without at least brushing against death seemed extremely unlikely. Especially considering, given his possibly ageless body, it was probable that one of those situations would eventually signal the end of his adventure here. An end that Bob, for perhaps the first time, now truly felt a desire to push off for as long as possible.

To die, Bob realized as he began to slowly flex the 'feet' underneath him, would be to let it win. The 'it' in this case being fairly amorphous, admittedly. Comprised of whatever force, or entity, or amalgamation of fate and coincidence lead to him being dragged here. Left sealed within a blind and immobile piece of fabric. But whatever it was, he refused to allow it that victory. There was not a splinter of himself which did not complain as he began to slowly jerk forward.

Most of his 'feet' either missing completely or being dragged motionlessly by the quarter or so still in nominally working order. He didn't let the aches and pains dissuade him, however. Ignoring the small bits falling off his anatomy as he started making his way towards the door. While it was true that he could have simply sat himself in a corner, used 'Lifeless Disguise', and waited to regenerate; that option actually sounded more dangerous to Bob than his current plan of action.

Because the sunken valley was unpredictable. He'd already dealt with mind-control currents, intelligent octopi, and sudden crab rain. The chances of everything staying steady and uneventful for the potentially months it would take for him to fully heal felt slim to none. At best, it was an unpalatable solution. Especially when the opportunity to fully heal himself right now was currently left unguarded.

During the month or so since he'd evolved 'Treasure Sense' his mind had gotten into the habit of immediately delving 'deeper' into whatever he was 'looking' at. Bob attempting to keep constant track of the levels and growth rates of the manor's more powerful – and now mostly deceased – crustaceans. A habit which had resulted in an unexpected surprise about a week back; when he was taking a break from spell practice.

Bored of waiting for his mana to slowly refill, Bob decided to partake in one of the few bits of free gratification that was available to him. Indulging the nagging 'mimic' portions of his brain. Usually this was accomplished by simply sitting in what he'd begun referring to as his 'throne room'. The mass of copper and silver surrounding him causing a steady drip of what felt like some strange, off-brand, serotonin to enter his body. Not exactly the height of euphoria.

But at the bottom of a subterranean lake, beggars couldn't be choosers. Given that he was still on the third floor however, and had no interest in moving, he instead decided to see if staring at precious metals through 'Treasure Sense' would be enough. And being that there was only one more unfound 'treasure' in the manor, Bob had turned his attention downwards. Past the last giant crab in the building and into the basement below. Where a giant burst of sunlight was still radiating.

As he'd focused his 'gaze' on it, he was happy to see that his plan had worked. The mimic portion of him seeming to let out a slight hum of contentment as he observed the soon-to-be-his treasure. That contentment turning to shocked delight when he accidently 'pressed' on the sunlight sensation like he would a monster's aura. A window quickly appearing within his mind. Treasure Material: Silver/Gold Ranking: C Value: 100 – 300 GP The discovery was huge.

Both the monetary amount in the building's basement and the fact that he was able to more deeply detect 'treasures' in the first place. He'd been tempted sneak down immediately. The offering of an additional Species Level, Trait and Skill slot almost being too much to pass up. Bob had held himself back, however. Unwilling to be surrounded by multiple unbeatable opponents in the event that, at some point during his heist, something went terribly wrong. As it almost certainly would have.

With the majority of its defenders now scattered in multiple pieces throughout the master bedroom however, and the sole remaining one seemingly stuck in place, Bob felt willing to risk it. Especially since he had no idea how long it would take for them to be replaced. The scent of the four exploded D-Ranks was already in the water, after all. With Bob being a bit surprised he hadn't woken up in the middle of another feeding frenzy. The journey down was not a quick one.

While he was capable of managing the manor's immaculately level floors without much trouble – outside of the tearing, searing agony that ripped through his body with every step, that is – the stairways were something of a trial. Requiring him to slowly brace each decent with his tongue to prevent further injury.

'Surefooted' seemed to almost be working against him in his current condition. Individual 'feet' clinging awkwardly onto random steps as he made his way down. Almost causing him to tumble multiple times. He stopped to rest after finishing the first stairway. Mind exhausted by the painful process even if his body continued to be indefatigable. While waiting, he decided to go ahead and take a look at the full page of his newest spell. Curious of its actual description.

Dimensional Path Skill Shattered Space (D) Level: 3 – EXP: 34/100% Create a small pocket dimension within a short distance of the caster. Then destroy it. Mana Cost: 20 If nothing else, it was succinct, Bob supposed. Then again, he wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting. It's not like the system had much time for in-depth explanations before this. Nor had it actually informed him of how much damage any of his abilities were doing. Focused instead on how much was being dealt to him.

Which meant he could only judge the power of his newest Skill on circumstantial evidence. And, circumstantially, it was a fucking banger. Quite literally, from the crab's perspectives. This line of thought made him consider simply confirming 'Dimensional Mage' as his E-Ranked Class while he waited; but eventually he decided to hold off.

Not out of any hesitation over the Class, the 'A' rank having sold him even without the Dimension Path Skill's stellar performance, but instead simply wanting to avoid any unnecessary pain. Attribute gain being mildly uncomfortable even when you weren't a mostly shattered ruin. It wasn't long before he began moving again. And not much longer after that before he'd already made his way to the next staircase.

The empty manor silent but for the small scraping sounds he made as he dragged his body across pristine tilework. The second stairway journey was no easier than the first. With him actually slipping down the last three steps after multiple 'feet' stuck in place at an inopportune moment. Luckily, the slight fall didn't deal any real damage. And then, he was on the first floor. Even knowing that the majority of the manor's occupants were now dead, the waters down here held an oppressive quality.

He found himself trying to step lighter. To make less noise as he dragged his wreckage down wide, looming halls and through yawning doorways. A task which was made more difficult by the fact that, unlike the upper stories, Bob had little idea of the ground floor's layout. With his shattered eye being largely useless, this left him hugging walls and making guesses about where any stairs down might lie. And hoping they were located far away from the menacing 'blob' which sat in the middle of the building.

Fortunately, as he came closer to the section directly above the feeling of 'Treasure', he ran into something he considered to be a good sign. Another still-existing door. It was located off in one of the manor's far corners. Well away from what seemed like the more public areas and down tighter, seemingly less decorated hallways. At least, to the best of what Bob's destroyed vision was able to discern.

He'd only managed to discover it due to his wooden flesh being just sensitive enough to tell the difference between enchanted stone and enchanted wood. With the latter feeling slightly less likely to tear additional pieces away from his broken body. While a small part of him admittedly felt – again – worried over the potential of dangerous enchantments, the rest simply couldn't be bothered to care. His tongue already beginning to venture out in search of a handle.

Feeling like he was in too deep now that he'd dragged himself all the way downstairs. Especially given the nightmare it would be trying to get back up them in his current condition. He eventually found the handle and, with a polished ease and no dreadful explosion of magic, quickly pulled it down. The door gliding effortlessly open afterwards. A cascade of sand tumbling silently through the entrance. To reveal, not unexpectedly, another set of stairs he was going to be forced to crawl down.

Not that he was actually able to discern that at first; something which almost had his journey turning quite unpleasant. After feeling them out with his tongue, he tried to content himself with the fact that their existence here almost guaranteed he was on the right path. But found that hard to do while, as he began his descent, also tripping over his own mutilated body parts. Luckily, all his complaints and grievances turned to ash upon finally managing to reach the final steps.

The radiant sensation of what lay deeper in the room almost instantly burning them away.