Chương 71: Chapter Seventy

Ding! Lesser Mantle of Domination (C) has Leveled up! 2 - 3 As Bob marched down the hallway, multiple massive tentacles whipped their way out of his body to blaze a trail through the thick carpet of 'Blood-Drinker Mussels' ahead of him. Most of their unanchored forms being quickly swept into his maw by Buddy; deposited into the now much-larger and water-filled 'mollusk pit' at the bottom of his vault. Even for those who slipped by however, there was no mercy.

The party's newest member slowly ambling behind them, picking off each remaining terrified mussel one by one… Or at least Bob assumed the still-motionless creatures were terrified, given his newest 'Trait/Skill's' level advancement. Though honestly, if they were, he wouldn't be surprised if it was more due to Buddy than anything he or the other mimic had done. The octopus having become a bit... intense ever since he had lifted his artificial cap on the sub-dimension's mussel population.

Though Bob supposed he could understand why. Buddy had already gained two levels through its – largely successful – attempt to spend every spare second shoveling monstrous shellfish down its gullet. The attribute increases those levels brought likely being the only reason the creature was still continuing on; them having been going non-stop for what felt like most of a day. Buddy had needed the occasional moment or two to recharge of course, but even then, they'd kept moving forward.

Bob using the enchanted sword which had managed to survive both his evolution and his minion's hunger to scrape the F-rank creatures from the floor in his companion's stead. Though, it should be noted, at a far slower pace. He'd even gone so far as to ignore all system alerts popping up for the numerous 'treasures' they'd acquired; not willing to lose time endlessly debating over the pros and cons of various Trait picks.

Deciding that catching the building's hidden monster, and thus gaining himself an endless mana battery, took precedence. And, as they turned the corner to the final unharvested hallway on the third floor, that decision proved to be the correct one. Bob suddenly freezing as he noticed something on the previously clean tile around forty feet out. Fresh mussels.

A double-wide row of them coming from the direction of the second-floor stairway and heading straight towards the fourth; Bob clearly able to see the path of the 'trail' as it dotted itself across the landing. After recovering from the surprise, he acted quickly. His 'tongue' whipping out to grab hold of the smaller mimic behind him before he activated 'Sudden Step' twice, the three of them clearing the remaining mollusks in an instant and landing near the base of the stairs.

Once there he glanced up to see the trail indeed continued to the fourth floor, but eventually vanished around a corner; the 'Boss Mussel' nowhere in sight. Which was really for the best, as he'd completely forgotten to prepare his troops.

'Okay, it's game time everybody! We're getting close to our target! Buddy, get ready to grab the monster up when I tell you to. Gem-jaw, transfer over all your mana and then stay a bit behind me. Only attack if I command it, okay? And remember everyone, we DON'T want to kill this thing. If we kill it, the mussels go away, alright?'

'Yes! Understood!' Buddy instantly replied. The creature's surprisingly serious and intent tone indicating to Bob that it actually did understand both his orders and the reasons behind them. Something he unfortunately wasn't sure he could say about the third member of their party.

'Creator.' The slightly smaller box replied. Its tone bland and its form motionless.

'…On second thought, how about we just put you back inside. You can eat a bunch of mussels and send me mana instead of fighting, how about that?'

'Creator.'

'… We'll go with that then.' The mimic made no effort to resist as Bob scooped it up and shoved it inside himself; avoiding being stuck in a 'Russian doll' situation by dropping the monster in at an angle. As he vaguely 'felt' it fall into the waters of the mussel pit, he started making his way up the stairs; easily side-stepping the small line of monstrous mollusks as he did so. Even without having muscles, he felt his wooden body begin to tense as he got closer to the fourth-floor landing.

Having relied on 'Treasure Sense' for so long, it felt intimidating to be unable to locate his foe. It also made him realize that he'd probably screwed himself over by not trying to create any 'Detection' Skills as of yet. While his first Class hadn't been as openly about magic as the others, it still felt likely that it would have aided him in gaining new Skills from its Path.

Of course, now probably wasn't the best time to think about such things; Bob forcing himself to focus as he bent his 'lid' in uncomfortable ways attempting to peek around the corner the mussel-path had turned down. Only to immediately jerk it painfully back as he spotted a massive, three-foot tall, spike-shelled bi-valve floating in the water not thirty feet away.

He braced himself for the potential mental screams, and sagged slightly in relief when they never came; Bob crossing his nonexistent fingers that the creature remained this oblivious throughout the rest of the coming conflict. Though, as he continued to unsuccessfully use 'Treasure Sense' in an attempt to see its rank, he felt his hunger for battle – or in this case, kidnapping – slowly decreasing. He had boosted the detection ability of 'Treasure Hunter's' Class Skill twice at this point.

Which meant that this creature had either massively doubled-down on concealment Traits, or it was at a Species Level he really shouldn't be messing with. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Given both its non-aggressive nature and apparent general unawareness of the surrounding world, Bob felt there was legitimate reason to believe it was the first option.

Unfortunately, should he be wrong, all it would take is one high level C-rank ability to erase him from the board. A shot of potent acid perhaps, or a powerful sonic 'clap' using its shell to turn his wooden form to splinters. Still, the benefits he'd leave behind should he be right had him slowly creeping back around the corner. An endless supply of mana, even if it were coming in at a dribbling rate, would allow him to massively expand his inner empire.

Not to mention the all-you-can-eat mussel buffet providing an easy source of both experience and sustenance for his eight-legged friend. Bob stifled a prayer of thanks as the creature seemed to remain blind to his presence; feeling a bit worried what said supplication might end up going to, given his recent divine misadventures. Its continued obliviousness did begin to grow his confidence however. Growth that was only bolstered by being able to more thoroughly examine the creature in front of him.

Fairly quickly able to discern why it hadn't yet begun the ubiquitous 'battle cries' he'd endured from every other monster encounter. That being its apparent lack of any visible eyeballs. This was actually good on a number of levels. The most important, obviously, being its inability to see him and thus react to his presence; but nearly as substantial being his fear of what monstrous mollusk eyes-stalks would look like. A years-ago internet search involving scallops still lingering in his mind.

He did his best to move stealthily as he crept up behind the creature; fully prepared to activate 'Lifeless Disguise' should it suddenly appear to notice him. Though presently it seemed entirely immersed in its own little world; rhythmically bobbing through the water as it 'laid' a continuous double-row of F-rank mussels down below it. Briefly making Bob wonder if every lesser mollusk in the building was this thing's 'minion'; him feeling slightly jealous of its far superior numbers.

It wasn't until he got to around twenty or so feet out that the creature finally reacted to him. And when it did, it was for a reason he probably should have expected. Bob stupidly not appreciating the disastrous effects a 'dominating aura' would have on his stealth skills until the mussel 'twitched' upon entering his. He instantly went stiff on seeing the monster's reaction, almost instinctively activating what might be his most useful Trait ability to-date as soon as his eye spotted the unusual movement.

Before then almost immediately de activating it once he realized what the giant mollusk was using that movement to do. Because it was running away. A massive 'foot' surged out of the spiney-shelled monster and sent it flying down the hallway, Bob almost immediately racing after it; for once in his life no hesitation marring his actions whatsoever. Because if it was fleeing, that meant it was weaker than him. Which turned the mussel from a horrifying, subaqueous monstrosity, into a big bag of running money.

And there was no bag of money in any world that was going to beat Bob in a foot race. It started off with a decent lead, likely at least partially due to having a form actually built for underwater travel; but it was clear from the beginning that it wouldn't be enough. Even without considering his ability to teleport, Bob's Dexterity obviously outpaced the things by a country mile. And with his new Strength of ninety backing it up, that Dexterity could be put to far more use than it had previously.

It only took chasing it the length of two more hallways before he caught up to the creature, and even that was only due to him being overly concerned about it launching an attack. Bob feinting in and out of range in an attempt to draw out any offensive Skills the beast might have. However, none came. It didn't launch the spikes from its shell like rockets, or try to stick him in place with a blast of its superglue-like secretions; heck there wasn't even an attempt at a half-hearted 'kick'.

The monster simply continuing its obviously doomed efforts to flee from his 'Lesser Mantle of Domination'; running in whatever direction 'he' wasn't. Eventually, Bob decided there was no point in waiting any longer. If the mussel still had some secret attack hidden up its sleeve, he would just have to deal with it when it happened. It was time for him to go on the offensive.

'Are you ready Buddy?' He asked as his 'tongue' began coiling itself up to strike.

'YES!' Deciding the octopus's screamed affirmation was signal enough, Bob opened his lid up wide. Only to immediately find that it wasn't wide enough, as six tentacles of various length exploded out of his body; knocking his own attacking limb to the side and leaving him blind to anything bar the wall behind him.

Though unable to see, he could still feel as a massive spiked shellfish was yanked into his sub-dimension without any thought given to direction, angle, or the immense amount of pain it would cause the semi-living creature it was being forced through. Splinters of wood flying through the water as Bob received his first damage report since his evolution. Alert! - 19 Health He grimaced, but quickly shook off the pain and activated 'Sub-Dimensional Sight'.

It wasn't even a tenth of his new Health total anyway, and it was far more important to help Buddy get the monster in place and stop it from dealing any more damage while inside his body. As his perspective appeared within himself however, he realized that his companion's work was already finished. Buddy presently on its way back from tossing the creature at the bottom of the mollusk pit, with Gem-Jaw clasped under one tentacle. What happened next would be up to him and the mussel.

It was time to see if his idiot plan worked. Bob hadn't just 'expected' a monster to willingly become livestock after all; he did have a plan going into this. Admittedly, it was a plan built entirely on an assumption, a 'what-if', and a 'hopefully'; but it was still a plan. And, in his defense, the assumption had already been proven true. The larger mussel seeming to be as blind and non-combative as its lesser cousins; it still not making any mental 'noise' even after coming into full contact with him.

All he needed now was for his 'what-if' and 'hopefully' to pay off. The 'what-if' was both the main reason he'd finally decided to choose 'Lesser Mantle of Domination', and the reason why he really shouldn't have been surprised when it later startled the creature. Him realizing earlier that the shellfish here looked to have lived their entire lives surrounded by another monster's aura.

One they seemed to react to by 'sharing the load' as it were; the mass of mollusks acting as a living shield to protect themselves and each other from the mentally damaging energy put out by the city's 'leader'. And, 'what if' he could manage to replicate that environment?

Having arrived at the bottom of the pit, Bob glanced over his most recent sub-dimensional construction project; a one-to-one replica model of around one-fourth of the building's fifth floor, the rest to be completed should his scheme actually work out. There was a light scattering of lesser mussels cast around, but most of the actual food storage lay above. Which left the 'Boss Mussel' largely alone, it currently hiding in the room furthest from the hole leading up to the rest of his vault.

Bob stared at the creature as it squatted there, fully prepared to yank the monster out of his body should it begin trying to damage the floor or walls. Currently feeling painfully aware of how large a target he was from within. That tension slowly began to leave him after the first hour however. With the second hour that passed even bringing a little hope; the monster finally exiting its hiding spot. It wasn't until hour five that his 'hopefully' was finally fulfilled however.

Bob feeling euphoric as the giant mussel, though hesitant and still radiating a sense of confusion, cemented the first of its lesser kindred down onto his wooden floor. It felt absolutely disgusting.