Upon the rays of sunshine that pierced the book Rolan held, a smell of bookish aged paper was smelt by Rolan's nose. The cold and humid spring breeze assaulted the windows, making the curtains flutter.
The butterflies entered his room and seemed to disturb his concentration as he read. One perched on his hands, and he watched it flicker its wings on his fingertips.
"Hello, butterfly,"
Rolan Alduin was the name given to him by his parents—a name that was indeed majestic and unique.
As he was reading, he was almost at the end of the novel he had been reading. It was a Kingdom-building novel that he had bought at the bookstore called Lordship. You see, the story was about the heroic tales of a group of lords who waged war on the Demon Empire. Everything was written—from their valiant deeds and adventurous tales to their failures and character development.
The story ended at the part where the heroes defeated all the villains of the story and the hero happily wed his female lead.
"It was a good story. Sigh, what an adventure," Rolan could only inhale deep breaths and place his novel on his chest, contemplating what to do next as he felt like a void had formed in his heart.
It was normal to feel that way, especially after finishing a favorite book. It had been a roller coaster ride of emotions indeed.
With that, he read the back of the ending page and saw a letter from the author:
"Thanks for reading my work Lordship. You have imagined and experienced my novel, but now is the time to dwell into it and see it with your own eyes—in the eyes of whom you least expect it to be. It is time to make your version of the story.
Your dearest author,
God of Silver Tongues"
'Oh? How would that happen?' Rolan had been left questioning himself.
Badump!
"My head, hurts..... ugh!"
Rolan felt like he was short of breath and his environment was spinning. His vision dimmed and he felt cold. A heart attack?
'What's this? Is this my end?'
He collapsed on his bed and closed his eyes in peace. He passed out due to not eating for days and just reading without stopping.
He died, and none of it mattered anymore.
His soul went to the time stream, and it wandered to find a body in the fantasy world.
[System voice activated]
[System calibrating.....]
[System naming itself]
[Name chosen]
[Wisdom King Solomon]
[Finding a body for the host]
[Body found]
[Mimic selected]
[Innate skill: Mimic appearance, Devour, Mimic object, Storage]
[Exclusive skill: Wisdom King Solomon]
"Huh? A system? Wow, I had one! Weeee!!!"
Opening his eyes, he saw walls made of bricks and a room lit with blue light torches. It was a misty room at first due to the cold atmosphere but then he watched the torches that were giving off light. He could now feel it's warm embrace.
When he tried approach the light, to walk, but something felt amiss. He couldn't feel his feet!
'I don't have hands and feet? But I have a long tongue and teeth!'
It had indeed been troublesome. Even with the system telling him, he was still shocked in the moment. It still felt unbelievable.
"I am in a dream, right? Right?" It had been surreal and felt like a dream. He leaped to just move and leaped another time around to headbutt the wall.
Bang!
He crashed to the wall and felt pain. "Ouch! So this wasn't a dream!"
He stared at the brick cracked walls and took time to accept things. He had been about to cry, but he manned up. Or mimicked up. "I dunno what to say."
"Hmmm, am I in a dungeon?" he asked himself, as there was no one to ask. It was lovely to talk to yourself. Especially when you were in delusional and crazy state.
He found it troublesome to bounce just to walk, so he adjusted his body. He made feet below the chest and hands. The chest now became his helmet—or some sort of mask. His eyes poked inside and were watching from the dark side of the mouth of the chest. He resembled a stickman with the head of a chest.
"Hola! I am a Mimic!" he shouted.
"Loud and clear!" Someone replied from the distance. It was amusing to the point that Rolan wanted to cry. To have someone to accompany and hearing someone talked for some time was very uplifting and encouraging to live one more day.
It was then that adventurers barged into the entrance and saw him. They were a group of men and a woman dressed in battle outfit. They looked at him. But to his surprise, they were not happy to see him. It was a heart wrenching heart breaking thing.
Rolan was happy and he was about to get in the verge of crying tears of joy. He managed to hold it but he understood that he has to be serious and accommodating in his appearance. "Wait, something is not right, they were gritting their teeth!? Angry!?"
He finally forgot that he was not human anymore. But a Bloody freaking Mimic!!!
"A mimic! Kill it!" their leader shouted.
"Ahhh!!! Let me live!" Rolan ran faster than he ever had in his life and escaped. He dashed and dashed, swerving through corners, turning left and right, hiding in corridors and dark corners. And so, he finally shook off the pursuers.
After a breathless chase that left him panting, he found himself in a problematic situation. He had been branded as a monster! And human hunting would always happen if he appeared in their presence. His tears of joy escalated quickly to sour disappointment.
It was a very very new sense of emotion that he felt. First he was happy to see someone to talk to then turned drastically down when they wanted to kill you instead. Then you run for your life....
He scoured the dungeon and went to find the exit. But to his surprise, he was not finding it. He went to left right then right and left turning to the corner and straight sometimes. It was a headache to see almost the same thing for many hours. Hours turned to a day and he was dead tired. To the point of no return.
"Am I doomed here in this dungeon forever? Damn my head hurts again. I am directionally challenged! Being lost here is a case too."
He managed to walk there for hours of being easily lost. He has an achievement when it comes to being always lost. A guide would greatly help when he was inside it.
He immediately arrived at the deepest floor of the dungeon and saw a sealed gate. It was a double door that has emanating runes in it. But to his surprise, it was weakening. To the point that the glow were looking just an embers to his sight. He immediately went to approach it and then it's embers were dimming more.
"Hmm? What's this?" He touched the runes of the gates, and then something happened.
The seal crackled and he was struck with a tinge of small burst of electrocution.
Ugh!
The seal went aflame and disintegrated. He felt an electric surge has struck him but nothing happened. To his surprise he felt more energetic!
"Huh?"
He was surprised at what had happened. He thought that the seal would offer resistance while sealing something from inside, but it didn't. It felt like the seal had been on its last breath as it was touched.
Opening the gate, he felt a strong aura. He saw a demon with horns. Jet-black miasma covered him, and he was grinning. But it was a boy! A kid in its kindergarten. To think this boy has such an aura!
A barrier was put up and was hindering Rolan from going inside.
"Hello there, young one!" the demon asked politely.
"Oh, hello, who are you?" Rolan asked.
"I am the Demon King! The King of the Demon Lords and the Demon Empire—Reginald Arthurian! Muahahaha!" he chuckled.
"Oh, I see. Nice to meet you. Can I leave now?"
"Hey, wait, wait, wait! I wanted to talk for a bit," he said.
"Okay sure, what's the topic?" Rolan asked.
"Anything. But let me tell you my story first." Then he started muttering.
"Ah...." Rolan wanted to face palm but he understood that it was impolite. Especially for someone a loner here that did not talked to anyone for who knows how long.
"I was betrayed by my allies who sealed me here. This dungeon was the result of my mana seeping out, and the dungeon's purpose was to suck me dry until I became a husk with an empty shell. Luckily, I found you—someone I could talk to before I die," he said in a low voice.
Though, he felt that it was tedious to help this kid. He knew that he was a lonely person that needs a friend. And so, he decided to help.
"Hmmm, I see now. Wisdom King Solomon, how much storage space did we have?"
[Analyzing... finished]
[Ten by ten cubic meters]
"I saw it as enough."
"Wait, what will you do?" the demon asked.
"I will let your seal be destroyed from the inside. Rest assured, it would not be long before I free you."
"I see. Then you are under my care," he replied in a solemn tone, accepting his fate.
[Activate skill Devour]
[Yes] [No]
"Activate skill Devour! I select yes!"
After he devoured it whole, he felt a great difference.
[Huge mana surge detected]
[Assimilating it to the host]
[Host is ready for Evolution]
[Evolving.....]
[Mimic evolving to Humanoid Mimic]
[Evolution success!]
[Exclusive skill granted: Evolution, Class Mimicry, Analyze, Shapeshift Human]
"Analyze the barrier, Solomon!"
[Affirmative!]
The system analyzed the barrier with high precision. It was complex, but not invincible.
[Barrier analyzed: Weakening state detected. Estimated time until collapse: 1 month.]
"1 month, huh? Not bad. That gives me time to prepare," Rolan muttered to himself.
And so, he was lonely again....
He wandered around the dungeon's lower floor. Unlike the upper floors, it was quiet—eerily so. Only the faint sounds of dripping water echoed in the distance.
He found a small hidden chamber filled with old crates and shattered weapons. Dust coated everything like a second skin.
Rolan opened one of the crates and found rusted swords and old books. He placed them inside his storage.
[Items stored: 1x Rusted Iron Sword, 3x Damaged Spellbooks, Miscellaneous Metal Scraps.]
As he explored, he also found a small pool of water—a natural spring hidden deep underground. He bent down and looked at his reflection.
Finally, he saw his mimic face. It was a head that was larger than his body and it looked like a chest. He has his tongue long enough to catch a fly wandering off and then his eyes inside his chest head. he smiled. "Better."
As he rested by the pool, his thoughts wandered back to Earth.
His small room, his books, the butterflies… all of it felt like a dream now. A world he had already left behind.
"I wonder if time flows the same back home… or if anyone noticed I'm gone," he whispered, though he already knew the answer.
Suddenly, the system spoke again. It was in an alarming state that made even Solomon to shudder.
[Warning: Presence of Stronger Entity detected nearby.]
Rolan immediately jumped up and pressed himself against the wall.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Metal boots clanged slowly—deliberately.
He peeked from the shadows.
A man in a black cloak walked into the room. His face was covered, but his aura was heavy—oppressive.
[Analyze result: Name unknown. Threat level: High.]
The man stopped at the pool and examined the area.
Rolan held his breath. The stranger didn't seem to notice him and eventually walked away.
Once he was gone, Rolan exhaled in relief.
"That guy… he wasn't normal."