<~> Chapter 37We tio explore the maze like hallways that sprawled on fes without any logical anization. This pce was essentially a maze that just happeo look like a mansion, rather than a mansion that felt like a maze. It was around a bell before we ran into another mimic.

  This time the mimic didn't seem to uand that a chair shouldn't be on top of one of the dressers.

  "Are you the ohat talk?" I yelled out to it. It didn't react at all to my call. "If you're the ohat talk say something otherwise we'll attack." It still didn't budge. It's possible it isn't a mimic but that seems unlikely. "Okay Man, give it a shot."

  "With pleasure." Man shot one of the fireballs that had been swirling arouaff and struck the chair dead ter. The mimic screeched in pain and ran at us mindlessly.

  I stepped forward and ly bisected the chair in two. It was almost anti-climactic how easily I killed it. The indepe pieces wriggled unnaturally but they never reverted from looking like a chair. It didn't turn into some other creature when it was killed. Actually did we even know for sure that it could shapeshift? Maybe this one always looked like a chair.

  [Your party has defeated a Demon Mimic][Bck Cat has increased from level 3 to level 4][Level increases by 1][Learned Luck Magic Spell Melee Hex]

  [Melee Hex - Luck Magic Spell]After nding a successful melee or touch attack the caster may cast Melee Hex to curse the target. While an enemy is cursed they are more likely to fumble attacks, more likely to receive critical hits, and more likely to stumble and fall. The iy of this effect is increased with [Luck]. The maximum number of targets that be cursed at once is [Magitrol] divided by 10.

  Before I could say anything Man jumped up and dowedly. "I got a css level and a main level from that! I leveled to twelve and got a new passive!"

  "Shhhhh! Don't tell anyone your main level, that's private!" Torien looked exasperated.

  The atmosphere got really tense as Bel and Torien looked at each other awkwardly.

  "My main level just went up to twenty-four."

  This time it was Bel who was shocked, "Li-Lilith!"

  "What, it's not a big deal."

  Bel covered her eyes with her hands. "It is a big deal."

  The awkward silence reasserted again until Torien broke it. "I didn't realize you were that much higher level than us... I suppose we're lucky you're trustworthy."

  "What do you mean?" I ask.

  "It's just, you hear a lot of stories about higher leveled adveaking advantage of newbies by taking them on as 'apprentices' so they get out of work while the rest of the group fight higher leveled enemies and take slightly more dangerous missions. It be doubly bad for sve adventurers."

  Torien looked introspective before looking me in the eye. "Fourteen." Man gasped and bounced with excitement.

  Everyone looked at Bel expetly. "Man this is so weird, I leveled to... thirteen i fight..."

  Torien nodded. "Hmm, it looks like we're all pretty simir in level other than Lilith. That'll be good fhts, it means that we shouldn't take much of an experience penalty and Lilith's would probably get a lot more experiehan usual."

  I was fused. "Wait, isn't that bad? If you're taking a penalty wouldn't you level slower?"

  "No actually, like I said earlier, we'll be able to fight higher level enemies so we'll probably get much more experiehan usual evee the penalty. And sihere's three of us and one of you, you'll be taking a rger cut than in a regur party. We'll probably eventually catch up to you but since you have more than ten levels on us it'll probably be a while."

  Man was creating more fireballs to spin arouaff, there were already more than twice the hat was there before. "As messed up as it is being stu here, this pce has been really good experience for us. I don't know the exact level of the monsters here but they're probably a lot higher than us. I got super lucky that they're weak to fire in an area with so much fire aspected mana."

  Lucky huh?

  Torien was sing the room again before she froze. I followed her gaze and saw the familiar dlestick sitting awkwardly on the edge of a table down the hall a bit. It looked positioned so that it could take cover behind the table if it had to run away again. I squi it and finally realized why it looked so peculiar to me, the area around it looked ed because I could sehe mana around it using mana sense.

  [Mana Sense has increased to level 3]

  This skill seemed to be leveling really fast for some reason. I decided that train of thought wasn't important right now and focused ba the mimic.

  "Hey! We heard you talk earlier, we don't want to fight you if we don't have to. What is it that you want? Maybe we help each other out?"

  When I first started talking to it, it looked like it was going to run but it seemed to get caught oablecloth ao the floor. It quickly jumped up but o heard me finish speaking it seemed less afraid. It was clearly still wary though.

  "You p-promise not to burn me?" Its voice sounded feminine and had a somewhat musical timbre to it.

  I shared a gh Man and she let the fire mana dissipate bato the enviro. Ohat happehe dlestick wiggled a bit looking at each of us before it moved a little closer. Suddenly the dlestick's chteo a shiny gold and it stretched and grew into a debra, firming that it could in fact shapeshift.

  It was now eye level with us but it was a little difficult to know where to look si didn't really have a face. I was really curious about it, mimics are usually one of the most hated enemies in games sihey tend to be well known for hiding as chests. But I thought it was kind of cool to get to talk to one.

  "So, what is it that you want? You seem to be following us but you don't seem like you're trying to hurt us or anything."

  The shaft of the debra shifted and wiggled, it didly look gross but something about it still looked uling. "You things are weird, you follow each other around and like to talk to each other. No one else here will talk to me so I wao know why you guys like talking so much. And then I saw you two fighting in the bed but you seemed happy after. I wao know why you all seem to be happy around each other instead of always hurting each other when you get too close."

  Bel was c her face with her hands, ears bright red, Torien was watg the mimic carefully and Man looked on the verge of ughing. Well damn, it did see us fug.

  "We're all friends, we help each other out and protect each other. We got trapped in here so we're trying to find the end of the dungeon so we escape."

  "Friends? I be a friend too? I don't like it whehers try to eat me. I help you find the end! I know where it is!" It wiggled in what I assumed was excitement.

  Torien leaned near me. "The st one was called a Demon Mimibsp;if it's a demon we 't let it leave this pce when we destroy it."

  The thought was s. This thing seemed harmless but demons were no joke in this world. After fighting those things in the courtyard, I normally wouldn't want anything to do with them either. I felt bad though, she seemed so i. I had an idea but it meant revealing my race to the girls.

  I decided I would do it. I might have to be cagey with horoach this. "We would love to be friends with you but there's a problem... We 't be friends with demons."

  The debra drooped. "We 't be friends?"

  "Don't worry though, I know of a way that we be friends but it means you won't be a demon any more. Is that okay with you?"

  Bel gave me a ed look with a furrowed brow but didn't say anything. The catgirls looked at me like I was crazy.

  "Yes! Yes! I don't like being a demon, I wanna have friends!"

  "You realize our eventual goal is to destroy the dungeht? That includes all of the other mimi here, we'd only be sparing you."

  "That's fine, I don't like the others anyway."

  "Good, then I'm going to turn you into something els—"

  "Oh! Are you going to turo a succubus like you! I 't wait!" it said wriggling with excitement again. I looked at it shocked, how did it know that? Even if it could read my status I should be dispyed as Beastkin (Sheep). I looked at Torien who took a step away from me looking wary.

  "Don't worry, I promise I'll expihing ter," I said to Torien. She stared at me a moment before deg to nod. I nodded back before putting my focus ba the mimic. It seemed to be watg me carefully again unsure of ere talking to each other.

  "Okay, in order to bee a succubus you o take an oath to serve me. We be friends and I'll do my best to help you out and in exge you will be my friend and try to help me out. Taking the oath also means you will no longer be able to knowingly attack or wainst me. But that'll be okay because we will be friends with the agreement to help each other." I was going to ti the hyper mimic cut me off again.

  "Okay! I take the oath to serve you!"

  Without anymore preamble I felt [Soultoubsp;activate whether I wa to or not.

  [Soultouched Bonded - Level increases by 1][Karmiergy gained][verting soultouched target to panion]

  The mimic began to glhtly and its form started to ge shape. The first, most obvious difference was that it very clearly became humanoid, though maybe a bit short at around 5 feet tall. Its head formed and a deer like muzzle pushed out of it matg Bel's, on its head rge oversized cat ears formed, looking like elongated versions of the twins' ears, and ram horns somewhat thihan my own spiraled out of her head. She had a lithe body but had a disproportionately rge chest ohin frame, her big but perky breasts capped with pert nipples stuck out from her body proudly. She had subtle hips but they definitely looked femiher than boyish, aween her legs was very obviously a cock. It wasn't disproportionately rge like its breasts but it wasly small either.

  When the light faded we could see that it looked like it was made of flowial. Its two-tone 'coat' was gold with a silver chest and belly. Despite being humanoid it looked like a moving statue rather than something made from flesh and blood. Its eyes looked like static polished rubies i into its head and didn't blink or betray the intelligence behind them. Its nipples and penis looked like they were made from semi-transparent bck gss with a deep red shade to it. Behind it trailed a pair of cat tails of gold tipped in silver. The mimic became something like a lewd statue created to be an amalgamation of the four of us and made out of preaterials.

  "Yay!" The mimi up to me and smoothly ed its arms around me in a hug. I was caught off guard seeing what looked like a metal statue running straight at me. O ed its limbs around my back, I found that it was actually soft to the touch despite its weird coloration.

  "Um, looks like we have a new party member?" I said to the group.

  Saine

  Hello! This is one of my favorite chapters because it introduces a really fun character to the group. I really liked writing Mimi and the character got me excited to write even more when I first came up with her. Anyway, important news! I pn to start releasing chapters on Sunday too. Patreon will still maintain its 10 chapter lead on my posts here but now I'm going to start posting twice a week on both sites. I feel pretty good about being able to maintain this pace but worst case sario I drop down to once a week if I feel like I 't keep up. We'll see how this goes. See you soon!

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