Chương 69: Chapter Twenty Eight

Bob dove immediately back into the room, his singular eye widened in absolute horror. Every bit of him screaming in unison that there was absolutely no way he could fight the monster at the end of the hallway. Or outrun it. Or hide from it, even; given its differing reaction to the end of a 'call to arms'. He briefly wondered why on earth his 'Danger Sense' seemed to be rating it on the same level as the crabs it – obviously – wasn't having much trouble with; before quickly casting the subject aside.

Now not exactly being the time for speculation. He charged towards his only possible hope; almost leaping upon the blackened object abandoned at the back of the room. Something which looked like it might have been a small candelabra, once upon a time. And also something which, while not overly large, Bob quickly realized would not fit inside even his ridiculously malleable mouth.

He whipped his injured tongue out, rapidly wrapping it around the corroded lifeline even as he cast his mind back along the hallway; hoping to find that the octopus had encountered some other distraction on its way to brutally murder him. And here, he was shocked to find at least a touch of hope. Loyalty amongst crustaceans apparently being higher than he'd previously assumed; with what appeared to be the last of the trio of larger crabs in the midst of combat with the raging cephalopod.

Though, as its 'threat level' actively dimmed before his mind's eye, Bob doubted it would be terribly successful in the attempt. Still, it would at least take the octopus time to tear off all of its opponent's limbs. Time Bob didn't intend to waste. His tongue suddenly compressed, sending a slight metallic shrieking noise to echo through the water. What was once an artifact from a potentially lost civilization quickly being mashed and bent into an indistinguishable lump of tarnished silver.

A lump of tarnished silver which Bob quickly tossed into the hollow confines of his body; mind simultaneously witnessing the aura of his last crustacean defender disappear from existence. Ding! Congratulations! You have acquired a weight of silver equal to (15. 38) Silver coins! Ding! Species Level Increase! 4 – 5 Next Level: 24. 26/32 SP New Skill Slot opened! New Species Trait Available! He felt himself nearly vibrating with tension as the windows seemed to take achingly long to appear in front of him.

Bob mentally spamming the 'Species Trait' button as soon as it came into view. Well aware that he had perhaps seconds before an unbeatable enemy was upon him. Congratulations! For elevating yourself to Species Level (5) you are awarded (1) additional Species Trait! Please choose carefully!

Treasure's Allure (F) Grants the mimic an air of innocence and temptation Gains further access to (Mind Control) Path traits/skills Willpower + 5 Entrancing Eye (E) Enhances the Mimic's jeweled eye, allowing it the ability to stun or paralyze weaker creatures Gains further access to (Ocular) Path traits/skills Perception + 10 Empty Vault (F) Grants the mimic increased storage area in which to hold their Hoard. Gains further access to (Spatial) Path traits/skills Intelligence + 5 Enjoying the story?

Show your support by reading it on the official site. Armored Safe (F) Grants the Mimic armored plates/materials along the surface of their bag/chest Gains further access to (Armored Defense) Path traits/skills Constitution + 5 The sense of betrayal at seeing only one 'E' ranked trait appear hit Bob like a slap to the square, wooden face.

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to engage in a comforting 'bitch and moan' session – as his father would say – as the bit of himself still monitoring the hall outside was already beginning to scream out toneless warnings. Nor did he have the time to truly investigate any of his newer options. Briefly glancing them over before casting them aside as useless in his current situation; as much as it might hurt to do to his sole evolved trait. Which left him with two he'd already had access to before.

Armor plating, or a nebulous, undefined mind-control ability. A choice which might have been harder to make if he hadn't seen exactly how much good armor had done the octopus's recent opponents. Ding! You have Chosen the Trait Treasure's Allure (F) + 5 Willpower Active Ability (Lifeless Disguise) acquired! Mind Control Path Ability Lifeless Disguise (F) Cost: 1 mana per use, movement ends activation Makes the Mimic appear to be an inanimate object to all creatures without (Detection) abilities.

Bob didn't even fully read the description before immediately activating the ability. Forcing his body to slump, rigid and lifeless, in the corner of the room where the candelabra had once lain. Moments before a pitch black, many-legged figure burst through the empty door not ten feet away from him. It's body a mass of coiled, contained violence.

As the octopus hovered in the water – form expanding till its horrifying mantle seemed to cover the entire doorway – Bob, for a moment, felt absolutely certain that he was about to die. Before the creature then shrank in on itself, looking mildly confused. A new, strangely squeaky sounding, voice filling his head for the first time.

'Enemy?' Bob watched, stunned, as the once horrifying predator began looking almost like a confused puppy. It's wide eyes seeming to search the room top to bottom as it swiftly swam between all four corners; its tentacles briefly brushing against Bob's wooden sides as it passed.

'Enemy… Gone?' The giant cephalopod finally put out. Its voice actually managing to sound adorably depressed about its failure to find and massacre him. It searched around the room for a while longer, Bob obviously remaining completely motionless during the period, before something else seemed to attract its attention. Its bulbous head snapping off to the side before it made a near instant exit out into the corridor, quickly turning right. And leaving Bob in a state of shocked, incredulous relief.

His mind followed after the creature.

'Watching' as it seemed to search around the area for a bit longer before another, larger group of crabs – likely attracted by the scent of its former victims – eventually managed to spook it off. The tentacled monster finally exiting the boundaries of the manor only a few seconds after meeting them; likely through one of the many empty windows. Unfortunately, this didn't mean Bob was quite out of the woods yet. Given that the same group of crustaceans were currently on a straight shot towards his location.

Well, his location and the large number of dead crabs he was currently surrounded by. He bounced slightly between options. Briefly considering running, unsure if he wanted to put so much trust in a mostly untested ability, before eventually deciding that flight was going to be impossible. The crabs starting to come in from all directions. Thus, as the mass of chitinous bastards began to slowly fill the hall outside his room, Bob remained still.

His attention drifting back and forth between his mental map and the doorway in the room's center. As the first crab leg stretched within sight, he briefly attempted to spam his newest ability again; unsure exactly when the effect would dismiss itself. Unfortunately, it refused to reactivate. Leaving him in tremorous uncertainty as the first crab fully entered and gazed around the room. Only to utterly dismiss it and its contents before quickly returning to the feast outside. Much to Bob's immense relief.

This remained a pattern for the next four or five hours. Crabs of various sizes occasionally peeking into the room before, unanimously, deciding it held nothing of value. At first, each one came with its own dose of anxiety; Bob being unsure whether or not the ability had a set number of charges or something similar. After more than a dozen visitors had come and gone however, he eventually began to relax.

Only keeping part of his focus on the surrounding spiny arthropods while the rest of him focused on other matters. Matters like what had gone on with the monster octopus. Why his Class Skill had listed it as being on the same power level as the surrounding crabs when, objectively, it wasn't. As well as why it had acted so drastically different from them. In matters of behavior, at least. If, unfortunately, not their Bob-hating genocidal tendencies. The latter option, at least, felt like it had an easy answer.

That being simple intelligence level. Just listening to the octopus say a few words made it apparent that its intellect differed wildly from the more monosyllabic crustaceans. Which, given the average brainpower of regular crabs and octopuses, really wasn't all that surprising. To the crabs, once one of their own stopped screaming about him, he was as good as gone from their memory. Apparently, the minds of octopi were slightly more persistent.

Something he should probably be aware of when dealing with slightly more evolved monsters as well. As for why the octopus was 'pinging' as such a low-level threat however, Bob could only think of one reason. And it was, unfortunately, a concerning one. This being that, objectively – despite his prior claims to the contrary – the octopus was as powerful as the crabs it easily demolished. At least according to the system.

Given its size and lack of any crazy abilities or additions to its anatomy, Bob was feeling hard pressed to claim that the octopus wouldn't land in 'E' category. If, admittedly, near the higher end of the spectrum. It just happened to be an 'E' ranked creature that could easily destroy other specific'E' rank creatures with ease. Mostly because it was designed by nature to do so. Octopus commonly eating crabs in the wild after all.

And, given Bob's likeness to a pincher-less crab himself, he was sadly likely to fall into that same category. This itself wasn't an issue. Well, it was, but his entire existence here had been made of lopsided matchups, so one more wasn't really unexpected. The real issue was that he could trust far less in 'Danger Sense' than he had been. He'd previously thought that the skill was giving him a personalized, Savile row experience. One catered precisely to his individual abilities.

But, if it was just basing it on rank and overall level, Bob was going to have to be far more cautious. Still, at least he'd managed to acquire what seemed to be an exceedingly useful Trait during the otherwise traumatic situation.

'Lifeless Disguise' already in competition with 'Constrict' for being his new favorite ability. Though the fact that one could level and evolve and the other couldn't probably insured the stalemate wouldn't last for long. That said, Bob couldn't help but grow increasingly impressed with the ability's effects as they continued unabated. Not even requiring an additional offering of 'Mana'. Something which, oddly enough, almost irritated him.

While he'd been in too much of a panic to pay much attention in the moment, Bob had felt when the 'Mana' had left him earlier. A sense of slight fatigue which had nothing to do with his physical body. Instead, it seemed to be a mixture of mental and emotional energy taken. Bob feeling like he'd just completed some slightly aggravating paperwork after getting into a mild disagreement with someone. Nothing overly taxing, but honestly, also not terribly pleasant.

Not that this 'unpleasantness' was going to stop him from figuring out how to make use of it. Especially since, now that he was Rank 'E', Bob had a whole other class he needed to acquire. He briefly considered spamming 'Lifeless Disguise' off and on to get a better feel for things, movement supposably deactivating it and Bob frequently being alone in the room, but eventually decided it was stupid to take chances when he was currently surrounded without an escape route.

In the end, it didn't take all that long for the crabs to leave anyway; a good portion of them dragging larger bits of their ex-siblings off for future leftovers. And eventually, Bob was left alone. Alone and, having paid attention during their last little migration, now with a much fuller understanding of the layout of the second floor. As well as the location of stairs ascending or descending to the others. And all the shining, glimmering bits of sunshine in between.

Before he moved for the first time since the arrival of the octopus, Bob checked his Mana count. Finding that the singular point used to disguise his presence had already regenerated. News which, as he made his way towards the corridor, caused the wood and rivets making up Bob's form to contort themselves in strange and unnatural ways. Ways which, from a slightly twisted perspective, might just be confused for an evil, anticipatory smile.