315 Falling for the Mimics (2/2)
”Blasted mimics!” Bikkem shouted as he dashed in and grabbed the staff mimic. The furious monk hurled the mimic back into one of the hallways. ”Get the other mimics in the hall! That way we won't have to fight the inactive mimics.”
Both Kims and Vixus nodded, following Bikkem's example. Quallace focused his firepower on the hall, targeting all the mimics being thrown to the side.
The improvised teamwork was well executed and very accurate. Within a minute or two, all active mimics were killed and the inactive mimics were left behind as the party of councilmen moved on.
”No wonder they left those behind…” Vixus shook his head. ”So, the Legend left hordes of mimics to fool any explorers of his dungeon. And anyone who doesn't know better, or for those who aren't guild members like Tralon, they could easily become overrun by a swarm of mimics.”
”But what if there were some real treasures hidden among the mimics?” Quallace asked.
Vixus chuckled, ”Knowing the Legend's temperament, I would say that there probably were. That is if Argyle hasn't already snatched them away. Since he owns an auction house, he most likely has a way to discern between items and a way to discern what treasures were real and which ones were falsified.”
”Vixus has a point,” stated Bikkem. ”No matter what, we can't touch a single piece of treasure on this level.”
”But Bikkem, we--”
”There's no way to scavenge through that many mimics without wasting our time. And if we take too long, we'll lose Tralon's trail,” argued Bikkem. ”I would offer to let you stay behind and sort through the mimics yourself, but we'll need your help to execute the plan to take down Tralon.”
”Right… Then no more treasures. I understand.” Quallace sighed, unhappy to be fooled so easily.
The councilmen continued and eventually made it past the next two treasure troves and reached a large clearing in the center of the maze.
”I wonder what… What is that?” Vixus quickened his pace, catching the attention of the other councilmen. ”Is that a… mimic?”
When Vixus and the others behind him entered the clearing, they were blown away. Not too far away was what seemed to be a house fallen on its side yet still intact. But the burned and slashed tentacles gave away it's true form.
”A giant mimic… I guess they still had to fight something on this floor. And I'm glad it was them…” Bikkem stated.
”Imagine if we had found this place before them. Quallace would have started to search for treasures in that house, not knowing it could eat him alive,” reasoned Vixus.
Quallace choked on some saliva before he forced it down.
”Ahh… I would've loved to fight that!” Kims pouted.
Unbeknownst to the others, light filled Vixus's eyes as he reexamined the corpse of the giant mimic. ”I wouldn't say that if I were you, Kims.”
”Oh? And why not?” laughed the swordsman.
”Because you're only lv. 65. Not only was this mimic giant in size, but it was also lv. 69.”
”Lv. 69?!” Bikkem's neck jolted to the side as he looked at Vixus. ”Are you certain?”
”I'm sure. I have an ability to see through monsters and beasts, whether dead or alive. And this behemoth of a mimic was lv. 69,” Vixus stated clearly.
”But how could they beat it so easily, then?” Bikkem's questioned. ”No… It wasn't that easy. They're probably resting by the circle now to recuperate after the fight.”
As Quallace started to bicker with Bikkems and Kims about what to do next, Vixus approached the fallen beast. He kept his thoughts to himself as he examined the wounds of the giant mimic. There were many gashes present along with some minor areas of burns. But Vixus examined the rest of the giant beast, including the side it was lying on.
When Vixus noticed the damage done to that side, he froze momentarily. Vixus struggled to believe just how badly burnt the giant mimic was because such a burn had to be caused by a fire spell of mythic or legendary proportions, which Tralon didn't have.
The only other option was the Hell-flame Fox and the young hero of the association. And after witnessing that carnage, Vixus was all too curious about Jack and Bowzer.
”Vixus? What are you doing here?”
An aged voice rang out in Vixus's mind, clearly from his contact crystal. And it was a voice Vixus heard almost every day since he too was a member of the council.
Vixus glanced the other bickering council members a ways away as he took out his contact crystal and couched to regain his composure.
”Tralon, what is it you need?”