Moonlighting 8 (1/2)

Fizzy was following after Boxxy while fidgeting slightly. It was the first time in 4 days since they’d met face to face, so she was a bit nervous. The spider-chest was currently leading her towards the newly created Dryad’s Domain hidden within a certain Hylt tree. However, it still lacked a good entry point, so they had to make their way there through the sewer. Xera and Kora had already mapped out the route so it wasn’t like they would get lost, but it was still a long trip.

“Di-did I do good, Boxxy?”

The golem finally asked the question that had been on her mind.

“Yeah, you did okay.”

“I’m glad. I didn’t get a chance to tell you in advance so I was a bit unprepared.”

The offer to assist a bunch of guilds with their training exercises for a day was a bit sudden, but she accepted it anyway since her orders were to make nice with the authorities. The extra paycheck was good to have as well, although she failed to realize that one of the guilds would be the Hidden Arrow that Boxxy was currently attending.

“I just… I wasn’t sure how you’d react so-”

“I said it was okay,” repeated the Mimic. “You didn’t treat me any differently, so they don’t seem to suspect a thing. It was a stupid exercise anyway.”

It was a total farce, in Boxxy’s opinion, although Faehorn seemed rather pleased with himself. The ‘spar’ that Faehorn had told them about turned into nothing but a glorified game of tag, whereby the unarmed golem had to chase down and capture her opponent.  All of them were caught within a minute, regardless of how they tried to run or jump around the Consortium’s barren training ground. The bow-wielding Ranger students also found themselves completely unable to hit the small target that rapidly changed direction and could close the distance between them in an instant. Even if one of them managed to get a lucky shot in, the arrow would just bounce harmlessly off her skin.

Her lustrous, flawless, sparkling mithril skin.

“So shiny…” it mumbled, causing Fizzy to squirm a little in delight.

She knew that Boxxy was actively probing her insides, marveling at the tough-yet-light metal that was also called ‘white gold.’ Having the attention of thousands of people felt good, great even. However, that couldn’t compare to being laid bare to the extreme before her Hero. It was a sensation that felt positively divine.

“Y-your acting was way too good though,” she said after a few more minutes of trudging through sewer tunnels. “I completely couldn’t tell it was you, even though I knew it was. I almost thought I had the wrong person!”

“Yeah. I still have a long way to go, though,” lamented Boxxy.

The monster had learned much from Snack on the way to the capital. As both a Doppelganger and a Mimic, it naturally learned best through mimicking the actions of others. The succubus had taken on many different forms and guises to demonstrate the proper way to act in civilized society, and Boxxy had etched her mannerisms into its memory. It had learned much about how to convince others it was a real person and not a monster that would probably eat them in a heartbeat.

People, as it found out, were inherently flawed. They had concerns and worries, things they liked and disliked, motivations and fears that drove them to act a certain way, personal quirks that made them likeable to a certain type of people, yet infuriating to others. A real person would be able to do certain things naturally, but would perform poorly at others. Therefore, Boxxy couldn’t just go through life with a dumb smile on its face at all times. Learning which expression goes with each situation was difficult, especially when taking into account its fabricated persona. It also had to display strong opinions on topics it genuinely cared nothing about, but only when the time was right. Still, it more or less had the hang of it by now, although it was rather stiff and awkward the first few days after it actually began its infiltration. A fact which somehow ended up helping its cause rather than hindering it.

“Oh, is that it?!” asked Fizzy when the pair arrived at the giant, half-eaten tree root that Kora and Xera had found last night.

“That’s it. I’ll go in first, you climb in after me.”

Boxxy and its devout follower went into the tree root and started clambering up the cramped tunnel. The Mimic could have just thrown Fizzy into its Storage and transported her with the Transfamiliar Spell, but the golem needed to know the way in and out of this place so that she could come and go as needed. At least until it found an easier way to access it. It took them another short while, but they eventually made it out of the tunnel and into the former termite nest.

You have now entered Dryad’s Domain.

An intruder has entered your dungeon.

“Ah!”

Boxxy suddenly realized that, although its familiars were considered extensions of itself, Fizzy wasn’t. She was a completely separate entity, and was not welcomed into the dungeon with open arms. Which meant that the newly appointed dungeon master would probably not like her presence here.

“Who goes there?!”

And indeed, the dryad in question practically leapt out of the nearby wall, her face twisted with anger as if she were ready to strangle a bitch. It immediately softened when she saw Boxxy, though.

“My liege,” she greeted it with a deep bow. “‘Tis good to see thou art in good health.”

“Hey Ambrosia,” it greeted back. “I see the dungeon is growing steadily.”

“‘Tis so, milord. It has almost completely encompassed mine entire body. The Surveillance Net and thy servants have been extremely effective in finding and culling the vile vermin that inhabited mine bark.”

“Yes, I know. You’ve done a good job so far.”

The Mimic more or less knew about her actions since it had been tracking things remotely through the Surveillance Net. It had also managed to acquire the Butcher of Termites Perk in the meantime, meaning its familiars had slain over 5,000 of the things over the last day. Its Warlock Job Levels barely even progressed though. Not only were these opponents far too weak, but killing them by proxy while it was far away meant the actual XP it had gotten was greatly diminished. Thinking back on the big boom at Monotal, it probably would have gotten a lot more Levels if it was closer to the explosion. Then again, there was a good chance it wouldn’t have actually survived the event if it did that, so it didn’t feel bad about its decision.

“Milord, what is this accursed being thou had brought into the Dryad’s Domain?”

The dryad was pointing rudely at the gnome-shaped golem, clearly disproving of her being here.

“You got a problem, mosshead?” replied Fizzy with obvious hostility.

“Thou art tainted with foul magic, and do not belong in this sacred place.”

It would seem the dryad was able to sense the curse permeating through the golem’s body. Her condition had naturally caused quite a stir among the adventurer community, as it was an extremly curious and exceptional case. Fizzy was actually a bit worried people who didn’t know how to mind their business would forcefully try to dispel the curse from her. However, she later found out that the curse was so deeply ingrained within her body, that it would be impossible to remove it through conventional means. Even cutting off the cursed gauntlet and purifying her body would not to return her to the flesh she so willingly and eagerly threw away.

Which was good news for the former gnome. Because while she liked her steel body, she absolutely loved her new-and-improved mithril self. The Rank Up had finally let her become perfectly attuned to it and to the strange instincts that welled up within her, which meant she no longer involuntarily stripped. She still took off her clothes in public sometimes, but that was a result of her own conscious decision rather than some strange reflex. This change also meant she became considerably more aggressive, especially towards people who looked down on her.

“We’ll see how sacred it is when I whittle it down to a stick and shove it up your ass!”

“Thou shalt regret-!”

“That’s enough!” shouted Boxxy, causing both monsters to shut up. It had chosen to intervene before things had gotten out of hand. Having its minions pointlessly go at each other’s throats was neither smart nor useful.

“Fizzy, you’re technically an intruder here, so don’t antagonize my dungeon master.”

“Yes, Boxxy. Sorry, Boxxy.”

“And Ambrosia, this is Fizzy. She is one of my servants, so you will treat and address her with the same respect you show me. Are we clear?”

“Yes, milord. This one apologizes for her rude words, milady Fizzy.”

The dryad gave a deep bow, as if her snide attitude from moments ago was a lie.

“Doth milord and milady have any other use of me?”

“Not right now.”

“Uhm… No, I’m good…”

“Then I shall return to attending to milord’s other servants.”

The plant-lady disappeared into the ground with another polite bow.

“Wow!” exclaimed Fizzy. “So this is what that core does to people, huh?”