CHAPTER 1 : The Awakening.

Naoya opened his eyes, expecting the familiar comfort of his bed. Instead, he was met with an oppressive darkness.

"Goddamn it, why the hell is it pitch black? What time is it?" he muttered, his voice echoing in the void. Disorientation washed over him.

Hold up, something ain't right here. Where's my bed? And why am I on the floor?

His hands roved over his body, a wave of panic hitting him. What happened to my body?

"What is going on? Am I stuck in a nightmare?"

"N-noo!!! Help!!!" His voice ricocheted off unseen walls, amplifying his fear.

(Shhhhhhhhhh)

"He-he-hello? Is... is anybody there?" he stammered, dread tightening around his heart.

(Shhhhhhhhk)

Thud. Thud. Thud.

A grating sound of metal against concrete, accompanied by heavy, graceless footsteps, crept closer, sending shivers down his spine.

"What is that? Shit!! What kinda messed-up dream am I having?" Panic surged through him, his mind racing to make sense of the sounds.

Then, out of nowhere, a guttural growl mixed with high-pitched squeaks pierced the darkness.

(Grrr. Squeak. Grr.)

"Wh-what!? Ahhhhhh!!" He bolted, feet pounding against the cold, hard ground. Desperation fueled his escape from the unseen terror.

Finally stopping, he panted heavily. "What the hell was that creature? Where the hell am I?" He slapped himself, praying to wake up from this nightmare. Anxiety gnawed at him as he scanned the darkness.

"Is this real? No! I can't believe it. It's just a dream, right?"

In his confusion, a virtual screen flickered to life before him.

"Title: Unique Monster," "Name: None," "Species: Mimic," the screen displayed, complete with pulsating health and mana bars.

Below that scrolled a list of skills with strange names and unfamiliar symbols. His heart raced at the thought that these attributes were his own, though why they appeared remained a mystery.

"Huh? What is this? Title? Name? Species? So I'm a freaking Mimic?" His hands trembled as he scrolled through the screen.

"So. These are my skills?"

- Power Mimicry: Ability to copy or mimic powers, abilities, and skills of others one comes into contact with.

- Skill Mimicry: Instantly learning and reproducing the physical and mental skills of others.

- Adaptive Physiology: The body changes to assimilate the other creature or object being imitated. This includes physical characteristics.

- Augmented Learning: Fast uptake of knowledge and skills learned from others by observation enables quick adjustment to any new predicament.

- Versatility: May shift between multiple powers/skills as situations demand.

- Dimensional Pocket: Infinity storage of objects or creatures in their stomach pocket dimension.

- Basic Martial Arts: The simplest combat skills are mastered, both unarmed and armed.

- Super Strength and Speed: These reflect attributes way above the norms for any creature, enhancing strength and increasing agility in activities.

- Weapon Mastery: Expertise in handling any kind of weapon in hand, melee to ranged, depending on how combat goes.

- Tactical Acumen: Battle strategy, exploiting the weaknesses of opponents, and maximizing one's own strengths.

- Endurance and Durability: Enhanced endurance to bear and recover from physical or magical damage and durability.

He scrolled through the skills, a mix of anxiety and amazement filling him. The possibilities these abilities presented were incredible.

As he read, a morsel of courage began to build within him, giving him the strength to face the unexplainable situation.

With care, he tread through the dark, unfamiliar zone. Summoning a bit of courage, but still feeling the wild worry of getting hurt, he continued walking until he saw a figure lying, motionless.

He crawled up and whispered, "Please tell me this ain't a freaking zombie, right?"

Just as he was about to give it a prod...

(Grrrrrr.)

His eyeballs shot out of his head, and in his panic, he sucker-punched its face and stumbled back in shock.

"Damn it, you scared the crap outta me!"

Feeling wary, since the body still hadn't budged an inch, he cautiously drew closer to see if the man actually lived. And he inspected it.

Title: Adventurer

Name: Leon Ashleaf

Species: Human

Skills:

- Basic Swordsmanship: Kicking butt with a sword for self-defense.

- Campfire Cooking: Whipping up some fine food over a campfire.

- Wilderness Survival: Knowing how to survive in forests and mountains.

- Navigational Skills: Reading simple maps and getting around easy terrain.

- Animal Handling: Calm and handle non-aggressive animals.

- First Aid: Heal small injuries.

- Stealth Movement: Move unseen in circumstances where it's not that risky.

- Basic Climbing: Climb small boulders and cliffs without falling off.

- Archery: Fire the bow and arrow with the grace of a professional hunter.

- Linguistics: Know common languages to communicate with locals.

When he saw the overall status of the unconscious body, a wild idea crept into his mind.

"What if I test some of my skills?"

He used his ADAPTIVE PHYSIOLOGY to copy its physical attributes. Then he used POWER MIMICRY to snatch its powers, skills, and abilities.

Just like that, he had already copied the overall status of the unconscious body, though everyone could identify the difference in hair color and shade of eyes.

"Holy crap, it actually worked!" He could barely contain his excitement, jumping up and down as he admired his newfound powers.

Before walking away from the lifeless body, he undressed it completely. "Mind if I borrow your clothes and that old sword for a bit? May being stripped bare ease your journey to the afterlife. Thanks!"

Then he continued his slow walk through the dark and eerie place. It was so dark and quiet, he could barely see anything. But then...

(shhhhhhhhhh)

(shhhhhhhhhk)

(Thud. Thud. Thud.)

As he progressed, he heard that familiar sound again and stopped to listen, trying to find out where it was coming from. But before he could figure it out, footsteps of some unknown creature were creeping up on him faster than a hungry vampire at a blood bank.

(Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.)

(Grr. Squeak.)

With the Scrapling's appearance, the nervousness and fear he had felt earlier came rushing back. But with his newfound courage and excitement, he faced the monster head-on.

The Scrapling slithered towards him, ready to attack. Just as it was about to throw itself upon him and tear him limb from limb, he barely managed to sidestep away from its deadly grip.

His heart was thumping with adrenaline as his grip on the sword tightened in preparation for the fight.

"This thing ain't catching me off guard again," he thought, bracing himself for the showdown.

He dodged in time, and the Scrapling's huge jaws snapped shut less than an inch from his face. "Whoa, easy there, big fella!" he yelped, trying to keep the quiver out of his voice. "Would rather not be your dinner if you don't mind."

Darting to the side, he circled the Scrapling, searching for any weakness in its scaly armor. "Alright, think, think. I got the sword, but this thing's tougher than a tank. How in the world am I gonna bring it down?"

It turned toward him, its eyes aglow with evil intelligence. "Oh great, it's got a brain. Just what I needed." Gripping his sword tighter, he braced himself for another attack.

The Scrapling suddenly let out a deafening roar, echoing across the air like a thunderstorm. Instinctively, he covered his ears, wincing at the ear-splitting noise.

"Damn, someone needs a breath mint," he muttered, as the stench of its rancid breath had his eyes watering.

The roaring ceased, and he seized his chance, lunging forward with his sword high.

The blade sliced through, as if through paper, into tough hide, spilling black ichor everywhere. The creature acted as if it had not felt anything. Then, from nowhere, it backhanded him across the air with massive claws extended.

"Ouch!" he groaned, the impact knocking the wind out of him as he crashed to the ground. He scrambled up, trying to recover, but his sword slipped from his grip.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" he said in frustration, watching the weapon skitter just out of reach. "This is not going well."

The Scrapling was coming at him, its great bulk a scaled, nightmare monolith. He shook his head, racing for another solution as it drew closer and closer.

"Wait, I got an idea!" he yelled. Reaching down, he grabbed another handful of rocks and sent them sailing right into its face.

The Scrapling reared backward with a shriek at the pain and surprise as the rocks peppered its sensitive eyes.

"Hell yeah! Didn't see that one coming, did you?" he gloated, using this opportunity to grab his sword. "Alright, let's finish this!"

With a charge, he struck out in a flurry of slashes and thrusts at the creature's underbelly, where it was vulnerable.

The Scrapling thrashed and writhed, its tail wildly lashing out in a desperate attempt to knock him clear off.

"That's right, squirm!" he bellowed, veins popping in his face. "Give me an opening!"

At that moment, the Scrapling's tail came down with a bone-shattering blow that sent him tumbling across the ground again, his sword spinning out of his grasp.

"Ugh, this is getting old," he groaned, trying to push himself up. Every movement hurt now, blood trickling down his side.

It loomed over him, jaws wide apart, ready to deal the coup de grâce. He stared up at the creature, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Well, this is it," he muttered. "If I don't come up with something pretty quick, then I'm Scrapling chow."

Desperately scanning the area for any weapon or way out, his eyes settled on a small, jagged rock that lay nearby. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Alright, you overgrown lizard," he growled, clenching the rock tightly, "let's see how you like a taste of this!"

Summoning the last of his strength, he heaved the rock straight into the Scrapling's face, aiming squarely for its sensitive eyes.

The creature let out a startled roar, its head jerking back in pain.

He took advantage of this to scramble to his feet once more, this time grasping his sword securely. "That's right, monster! Come and get me!"

The momentarily blinded Scrapling thrashed and snapped, the gigantic jaws only inches from his face. He dodged and weaved, his sword flashing as he looked for an opening in the creature's defenses.

"Come on, come on," he muttered through clenched teeth as his muscles burned with exertion. "There's gotta be a weak spot somewhere."

Then something shiny caught on the Scrapling's scales, and lightning went through his mind. "There it is!" he exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "Time to turn up the heat!"

He gripped his sword tight and moved into place, angling his blade just right in the sunlight. A flash of searing light beamed directly into the Scrapling's eyes.

The creature let out an earsplitting screech while its body started thrashing and convulsing. He watched, heart pounding, as the Scrapling's movements grew weaker and weaker until it finally collapsed onto the floor, motionless.

"Hah! Take that, you oversized lizard!" he said exultantly, wiping the sweat off his brow. "Looks like you couldn't handle the heat."

But as he approached the fallen Scrapling, a sense of unease began crawling up his spine. Something didn't feel right. The creature's eyes remained open, its body twitching slightly.

"Uh oh," he muttered, grip tightening on his sword. "I think I may have celebrated a little too soon."

The Scrapling jerked its head up then, jaws wide to crush him in a last-ditch effort. He barely had time to react, raising his sword to block it.

The force of the blow sent him stumbling back, his arms numb. "Seriously? How much punishment can this thing take?" he growled, his lungs burning as he fought to catch his breath.

In the Scrapling's threatening stare, he knew he couldn't back down. Far from over it was, for the stakes had never seemed higher.

Clamping down against the coming round, he suddenly realized that only one of them could walk away on top.

The Scrapling let out an ear-shattering roar as it whirled its tail at the speed of light. He barely dodged out of the way, his heart pounding within his chest. "Alright, you oversized lizard, let's dance!"

He held the sword firmly in his grip as he charged forward and cut through the air with a deadly arc.

The Scrapling reared back, jaws snapping shut in anger, but he refused to back down.

Just as the monster's fangs were about to plunge into his flesh, movement in the shadows caught his eye, and then blackness engulfed his world.

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