As I thrust my hand into the gaping maw of the Chaos Mimic, a bizarre sensation burrowed into my skin. The creature, spewing thick, sludgy smoke, immediately latched onto my hand and, in the blink of an eye, swallowed my entire right arm whole.
"Oppa!"
"Hyung!"
The piercing screams of my companions echoed from behind. Judging by the mimic's size, it should've stopped at my elbow at most, so they seemed shocked that it had engulfed me up to my shoulder.
But instead of panicking, I raised my left hand, gripping the box tightly to keep it from falling. Then, carefully controlling my mana, I unleashed the power of Hwajung. If it had tried to flee the moment it saw me, it might've had a better chance of survival. Instead, it practically begged, "Come and get me," which almost made me feel a bit grateful.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion resounded from within, and the mimic's body shuddered violently. Black smoke bubbled out of its mouth as it went limp, sagging like a deflated balloon. The upper lid rattled briefly before the whole thing began to collapse into a squishy, flabby mess. Nice. One down.
I gently patted the now-soft exterior of the Chaos Mimic and set it aside, then lowered my gaze. Beneath my feet, I could see the other two mimics I'd been standing on. Naturally, I'd already enveloped both feet in Hwajung just in case.
After warning my party not to touch the defeated Chaos Mimic carelessly, I picked up the one under my left foot. The first one had been pretty sturdy, and this one didn't seem any weaker. Despite its subspace function, I could feel a slight weight, suggesting it was packed full. With a pleased grin, I pried open its mouth and shoved my hand inside, just like before.
Chaos Mimics typically avoid combat. Unless cornered, they usually opt to flee when faced with an enemy. In fact, records of successfully capturing them are incredibly rare.
But neither the first one nor this one tried to escape. Instead, they thrashed violently, radiating chaos as they resisted fiercely. I was mildly curious about why they were acting this way, but it worked in my favor. Following the same process as before, I easily subdued the second treasure chest.
With that done, I picked up the last one.
"Bweee…"
This one was noticeably smaller than the other two. As I lifted it, it cracked open slightly, letting out a pitiful wail. Watching it squirm and try to shuffle toward the other limp mimics, I had a hunch. It was probably their offspring. That would explain why the other two didn't flee—they were protecting their young. Huh, how touching.
Boom!
But I wasn't so sentimental as to be genuinely moved by monsters. Business is business. Still, I made sure to destroy its insides as quickly as possible, honoring the parents' love for their child in my own way. It was over so fast it probably didn't suffer much. Tossing the now-limp creature to the ground, I felt a swell of satisfaction. Rolling my shoulders and glancing down, I saw the three mimics lying side by side, intermittently puffing out black smoke.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what do we do?!"
Go Yeon-Joo was freaking out, her voice unusually excited. The appearance and capture of Chaos Mimics was enough to stun even a Top 10 player. She rushed toward them, reaching out eagerly, but froze when she saw the ground blackened where the leaking smoke touched, quickly pulling her hand back.
"Don't touch them yet. It's dangerous," I warned.
"Phew, that was close. But wow, this is incredible. Chaos Mimics…"
I was worried she'd start grilling me about how I caught them, which would've been a hassle. Thankfully, after a few times of me dodging her questions, she didn't press further.
"Hyung! What are those things you just took down?"
An-Hyun, thinking the action was over, fired off a question. The rest of the party, their curiosity piqued from watching, stared at me with eager expressions. I met their gazes briefly, gave a calm smile, and opened my mouth to speak.
"As you heard, they're called Chaos Mimics. Simply put, they're magical backpacks with incredibly advanced subspace capabilities—think of them as the ultimate treasure chests in Hall Plain. You'll learn the details later. Player Shin Sang-Yong? Empty your backpack and hand it over. I need it to store these guys."
"What?! You're not opening them now?"
"I've damaged their insides, but they're still leaking smoke. It'll take a while to clear that out."
"But still…"
"We're not in a city; we're in the middle of an expedition. Opening them now is out of the question. I'll set aside a full day for it later, so don't get your hopes up."
My firm response left the party visibly itching with curiosity. But I genuinely had no intention of opening them here. I took the backpack Shin Sang-Yong handed me and approached the mimics. Grabbing one, I carefully removed the largest gem embedded in its center. The ruby-colored gem was crucial for inscribing binding magic later, so I made sure to store it safely.
One by one, I extracted three gems, sealed the boxes tightly, and stuffed them into the backpack without hesitation. Now that they were secured, I had no urge to peek inside immediately. The party, who'd been watching me with hopeful eyes, slumped their shoulders in disappointment. They seemed to think of the Chaos Mimics as mere treasure chests. To be honest, the purification excuse was just a pretext—I simply didn't want to open them here. Why? Well…
"We rested enough at the clearing earlier, so we won't be taking a break here. We've had good results, but there might still be more out there. I'll keep watching, so everyone thoroughly searches this room."
"Yeees," Came the half-hearted replies as the group sluggishly dispersed. It wasn't just the younger members acting this way. Go Yeon-Joo pouted, lazily poking at a bed, while Vivienne openly sulked. Ha-Yeong kept a calm face but glanced back occasionally, clearly reluctant to let it go. Only Shin Sang-Yong followed my orders diligently, offering an awkward smile.
I sighed and set the backpack down. I wasn't entirely unsympathetic. After endless battles and marches, everyone was likely exhausted, with frustrations piling up.
As always, the best way to boost a caravan's morale during an expedition was to show tangible results. Even someone as seasoned as Go Yeon-Joo, who knew the value of Chaos Mimics, was visibly antsy, her excitement getting the better of her.
It wouldn't hurt to open just one. The problem was speeding up the process of purging the chaos, and the only artificial method available was using Hwajung. I'd sworn not to overuse that power, and flipping my stance so easily didn't sit right with me. Plus, I wasn't thrilled about the hassle that would come the moment we spilled their contents.
"…"
But as the caravan leader, I also had a duty to address the group's discontent. Relenting under their silent protests, I reached back into the backpack.
I chose the smallest one—the "baby" Chaos Mimic I'd caught last. Being half the size of the others, it would take much less time to purify.
As I opened the tightly sealed box, black smoke billowed out once more. After giving it a good shake to clear the lingering contents, I calmly reached inside. My plan was to use Hwajung to burn away the internal chaos in one go. (Mythic-grade powers are adjustable, after all.)
Whoosh.
The entire box erupted in clear flames, naturally drawing the party's attention to my hand. I muttered to myself, loud enough for them to hear, "If this finishes quickly, we'll get to see it sooner…"
It was just a casual remark, but the effect was immediate. Go Yeon-Joo's eyes gleamed as she summoned her shadows to scour every corner of the room. Vivienne yanked books from drawers, flipping through them rapidly. The others, suddenly moving with newfound urgency, bustled about with more enthusiasm than ever. I couldn't help but give a wry smile.
*
"Everyone, step back."
"Oppa, hurry up!"
"Is it really that amazing of a treasure chest?"
"You'll see. And you won't regret it."
As Yun-Jung's impatient voice rang out, I responded to Vivienne's question. She gave me a puzzled look at my cryptic reply but quickly urged me to open it with an eager glance.
I pried open the smallest Chaos Mimic. No more black smoke poured out. I'd thoroughly cleaned it with Hwajung and removed the central gem, so there was little danger left. Just to be safe, I scanned it with my Third Eye one last time before flipping the mimic upside down. With a light tap on the base, it happened.
Shaaaa!
A cascade of golden light poured out from the open mouth.
"Whoa."
"Wow!"
"W-what?!"
The golden wave flowed endlessly like a massive stream. Flecks of shimmering silver and radiant gems sparkled within it. There were hardly any large items—just coins and jewels spilling out in abundance.
Being a younger mimic, it seemed to have swallowed mostly small, shiny things. In terms of pure profit, this haul was undoubtedly among the best we'd ever seen. But for a Chaos Mimic, it felt a bit underwhelming.
After several minutes of continuous pouring, the stream began to taper off, signaling the end. Finally, the mimic spat out a single glowing white orb, followed by a few tiny scraps as it coughed once or twice. I shook it vigorously a couple more times, and only dust puffed out.
The party stood speechless, staring at the room around us. At the center of our circle, a mountain of gold coins glowed with a reddish hue, piled so high it was daunting to even think about counting.
"This is gonna take all day to sort through," Shin Sang-Yong said in a dazed voice, and the others nodded, clearly overwhelmed. They hadn't expected this much, and their faces showed a mix of awe and burden.
I clicked my tongue, giving them an 'I told you so' look, before speaking in a quiet tone. "This is exactly why I didn't want to open it. Anyway, let's pack up the coins and gems for now. If we try counting all this, we won't just miss today—we might not even make it through the cave tomorrow."
I placed the bag in the center and immediately began scooping the loot back inside. The party followed my lead, helping to sweep up the gold coins. As we worked, I quietly estimated the value. Over half were gold coins, but there were plenty of platinum coins too—easily exceeding 60,000 gold. And that wasn't all. The hundreds of gems, each worth several times more than a platinum coin, added even more value.
For a while, we focused on transferring the coins and gems back into the bag. After several dozen minutes, we finally managed to pack everything up. Left behind were just three items. As expected from a young mimic, it had mostly swallowed shiny things. I cursed under my breath but examined the items slowly. The bitter sting of disappointment was eased by the thought that I wouldn't need to worry about money for a while.
But it wasn't time to give up hope yet. I turned my attention to the items I'd set aside. Quality mattered more than quantity, after all. My eyes fell on a pair of delicate earrings glowing with a faint blue light, a diamond-shaped amethyst I'd pulled out earlier, and a fist-sized orb that had rolled out near the end.
While Ha-Yeong attempted a restoration spell, I quickly activated my Third Eye. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of equipment, but with two sturdy mimics still left and my curiosity about the quality of these three items, I had to check.
My eyes darted as I scanned the text floating before me.
---
Earring of Wind
A pair of earrings once inhabited by a high-ranking wind spirit. Though the spirit's power is gone, traces remain. When worn as a pair, they grant the power of wind, enhancing the player's agility and expanding their field of vision. If one is lost or missing, the effect is reduced by more than half.
Jewel of Amplification
A magical gem used in ancient Hall Plain for external inscription, essential for mages. It amplifies positive factors of the player's mana traits. As a high-grade gem, it increases mana flow speed, enhances mana purity, and reduces the mana cost of spells.
Improved Model: Shield of Defend
Caution: Priest-exclusive, bound equipment! An improved version of the Shield of Defend, designed by the temple in ancient Hall Plain to protect priests vulnerable to close combat or ambushes. The orb possesses its own sentience and judges the safety of its bound owner. If it detects danger, it automatically activates the defensive spell
---
"I'm not quite getting a clear read on these," Ha-Yeong said, sounding uncertain. "The earrings seem to have a wind attribute, but the other two… even with the restoration spell, the information's vague."
"…"
"Su-Hyeon-ssi?"
"…Yes?"
I snapped out of my daze, having been engrossed in the information. Ancient equipment had emerged—not just one, but two pieces. Seeing Ha-Yeong tilt her head curiously, I swallowed hard. Taking a moment to steady my breathing, I spoke quietly.
The owners of these items were already decided.
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