Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

The Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic!? Author: Yo Shinomiya

Introduction

This is the story of a girl who died of illness and was reincarnated as a treasure chest monster, and the series of wonderful encounters that follow.

He fell in love with a slime, met the Dragon King, fought with the hero, wrestled with the Demon King, and did all sorts of messy things. He also experienced all the kinds of events that you would encounter in any isekai RPG game.

These wondrous encounters led her to become the Dragon King and transform her back into a young girl. What kind of encounters will she have in the future?

☆, Reincarnated into a treasure chest!

Prologue: The Story of Adventurers and Treasure Chests

My name is Leon, and I am an adventurer.

Today I received a commission from royalty to retrieve a treasure chest from the depths of the Dragon Tomb.

I understand that royalty likes treasure, but wasn't the Dragon Tomb already looted clean by adventurers? How could there possibly be anything left?

With these questions in mind, I ventured deep into the Dragon Tomb, which had indeed been completely looted, leaving only some dragon bones that were difficult to process.

At the center of the dragon's skeleton was a treasure chest. Could it be that the dragon was protecting this treasure chest until its death?

Even dragons wouldn't let go of this treasure chest... What could be inside? Maybe if I get what's inside, I'll become incredibly powerful?

No, no, no, if it's something dangerous, I'll be in danger myself too. Let's give up.

If I can just take this back and get the reward that's enough for me to squander for the rest of my life, I won't have to be an adventurer anymore.

Thinking this, I approached the treasure chest and picked it up. To be honest, it wasn't very heavy; perhaps there was nothing left inside, which made it easier for me.

I quickly left the depths of the dragon tomb and ran towards the nearest exit.

『gayyyyyyyyyy——！』

A deep dragon's roar came from above, and my heart seemed to skip a beat. Without hesitation, I quickened my pace and fled for my life. That thing was not something I could handle, damn it.

boom--!

The enormous creature landed directly in front of me, the dust it kicked up blurred my vision, and the wind pressure made it impossible for me to open my eyes, but I was absolutely certain of the oppressive feeling—a sense of pressure that I would almost never encounter in my life.

"Why...why are there dragons here?!" I roared out my anger and confusion.

Logically speaking, this is a dragon's tomb, so no other dragons should appear here.

Dragons, among the most powerful beings in this world, are divided into winged and wingless dragons. Winged dragons are dragon kings who possess human-like intelligence and names, and are considered beings of natural calamity.

Before me appeared a winged dragon covered in crimson scales, flames flickering between its teeth, its massive body radiating a powerful presence.

That's right...

"Dragon King" Flame Salid. One of the Dragon Kings, ranked first.

This is definitely not a monster I can handle, but the Dragon King usually ignores humans because they are nothing but dust in their eyes. He should let me go, right?

"Human, put down the treasure chest in your hands."

Sarid spoke in human language in a deep voice, its tone extremely unfriendly.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty! I'll put it down right away!"

I immediately put the treasure chest down. This wasn't something I could compare to my life; saving my life was the priority. As I put the treasure chest down, it seemed to tremble twice. Was that just my imagination?

Salid glanced at the treasure chest on the ground, carefully moved it with magic, placed it behind his back, and then looked at me. I sensed a murderous aura emanating from him.

"burn."

Using only a single syllable to unleash a massive spell—this is the dragon race's most proficient form of incantation; it's enough to kill a mere human like me.

Ah, goodbye world. And Father, Mother, Leon, I'm so sorry...

"Haa ...

Just as I was silently reciting my last words, the treasure chest suddenly opened. The lid and opening were lined with vicious teeth, and inside was a disgusting, writhing creature—the so-called adventurer killer, the mimic monster.

"Whoa... Is it morning already? Ah... Little Sa, I told you not to kill anyone, didn't I? Rielfa will be angry... [Release]"

A slender white hand emerged from the treasure chest, snapped its fingers to dispel the spell, and then climbed out, gripping the edge of the chest. Inside was a dazzling girl.

"Well... I was just teaching humanity a lesson," Salid said, looking away, his voice lacking confidence.

"Please look at others when you speak, it's very impolite." The girl rubbed her temples helplessly.

I was stunned, not because the Dragon King would be afraid of this girl, but because of her beauty.

The girl had dark red hair, the ends of which turned crimson. Her bangs covered her eyes, but her ruby-like eyes and delicate face could be clearly seen.

She had a very slender and supple figure. Wearing only a loose top, her long, white legs were bare, making one want to pounce on her and do something indescribable.

She seemed to have scolded Salid a few times, but the Dragon King didn't seem to listen, so she had to give up.

Then, she turned her gaze to me. I instinctively straightened up; she was a girl even the Dragon King hadn't dared to utter a few words in rebuttal, killing me would be a piece of cake for her.

"Don't be nervous..." the girl suddenly blushed, "You're making me nervous too..."

Puff-!

Wow! How can she be so cute?! I'd die happy if I died at the hands of a girl like her!

“I’ve already taught that stupid dragon a lesson,” the girl said, turning her face away. “You can leave now. Please don’t do this kind of thing again.”

As she said this, she stepped one foot into the box, while Salid stared at me like a foolish father.

"Um—!" I mustered my courage and spoke to her, "Who are you? What's your name?"

The girl paused, seemingly thinking for a moment, then gave me a beautiful smile that could captivate any man in the world.

"My name is 'Hakoniwa,' a mimic born one year ago."

This was the first time that "The Girl in the Box," Hakoniwa Ri, told a human her name. After that, Leon never saw her again.

Why is Chapter 1 a treasure chest?

Ah, well... let me introduce myself. My name is... well, it doesn't really matter what my name is anymore. Let me just briefly tell you about my current situation.

I am a girl, no, I should say I was a girl in my past life. Because of AIDS, I died in a hospital when I was seventeen.

This is how it should be... I should be dead by now, but I'm still conscious, so I subconsciously opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar scene. I'm still alive.

But, however! But?!

Why should I become a box?!

Come to think of it, I didn't do anything wrong in my past life, did I? What can a mere patient like me do?

Compared to that, my body has actually adapted to this box (body). Judging from my feelings, I think I can move, right?

Based on my current physical sensations, I seem to have hands and feet, as well as eyes and a mouth. It seems quite normal, but considering that I have the body of a box, I feel a strange sense of desolation.

Sigh... Never mind, let's take a walk and see...

I tried to stretch out my arms and legs, and I felt something emerging from the sides of the box. I then used the two eyes on the lid to check.

Ah... those are crab legs, right...?

I seem to be using my two pairs of crab legs to maintain my balance, and it's possible I can only walk sideways like a crab. But I tried it, and it seems I can move freely.

Since my legs are crab legs, my hands must be crab claws, right? The size is just right, and the shape is rugged and fierce... wow... to be honest, I don't really like these hands.

Based on the information we have so far, I don't seem to be as simple as a treasure chest.

That's right! I'm one of those treasure chest monsters that appear in the top ten most frequently in many Western fantasy RPG games!

What the hell?! I don't feel any pride at all! I'm almost crying! And why can a mimic cry?!

Well, that's roughly it. I was reincarnated as a non-human monster, severing all ties with humans. If humans saw me, they'd probably kill me, right? At least for now, I can't meet humans directly.

I observed my surroundings and realized I was in a maze, surrounded by natural stone walls—a common type of dungeon in Western fantasy RPGs.

I'm a lowly monster in there... a monster that makes players grind levels... I can't accept that, I don't want to die right after reincarnation. Although the fact that I'm reincarnated as a treasure chest monster really annoys me.

I urged my four legs forward and began my maze-exploration journey as a mimic, hoping, of course, that I wouldn't encounter any humans. If I met a human right now, my mimicry life would be over, wouldn't it?

I left the room where I was born. That room was quite interesting; the layout was clearly the place where those mazes delivered reward chests. But what a pity, I was originally in that spot, the mimic.

The road outside the room is wide and chaotic; it's easy to get lost. Considering this, I'd better not go anywhere too far.

I chose a path that looked relatively narrow and slowly walked in. After walking for a while, I noticed something strange in my field of vision.

The sight of reflective scales darting through the cracks in the rocks made me uncomfortable; I felt like vomiting, but my body couldn't do it.

It was a foul-smelling cobra, its scales constantly falling off, its hostile red eyes fixed on me, and my instincts told me it was dangerous.

I quietly backed away, praying I wouldn't anger it.

Then the cobra pounced.

Do you have to be so unlucky?!

Chapter 2 The Treasure Chest Monster's Life Has Just Begun

The cobra opened its mouth to its widest extent and charged at me with the force to crush everything in its path. So why would a box be attacked?! Is this some kind of alternate world?! Fighting here doesn't even have any logic?!

My memories from my past life included knowledge about snakes, and at this distance, an attack was unavoidable. I chose to raise my pincers, attempting to block its attack.

Wow! I can't bear to watch anymore, am I going to die any second?!

Crack——!

Waaaaaaahh ...

I pondered the reason, then looked at the cobra charging towards me. It had bitten my pincers, but it didn't seem to do much good.

Oh my god, is the mimic really that hard? That scared me to death.

Because the cobra smelled terrible, I shook it off with all my might and looked at my pliers; there were no marks on them.

Sorry, my pliers, I was wrong to belittle you. You are now a partner I can be proud of!

On the other side, the cobra's fangs seemed to have broken off from biting my pincers with all its might. Judging from the sound it made earlier, it seemed to be in quite a bit of pain. Serves you right for biting me.

"Hiss! Aa ...

The cobra let out a muffled scream and glared at me menacingly.

But that's no use to me now, you can't do anything about it anyway.

I slowly walked up to it, and it was still hissing and threatening me. I pinned it to the ground with my pliers and stomped on its head. To be honest, I've wanted to do this kind of thing in my past life, but I'd probably get beaten up over there.

Hahahaha! Die, you bastard!

I used another pair of pliers to rip off its head. The process was effortless. It seems my strength is not bad either. Hmm, invincible.

I tossed the snake's head aside. The rest of its body struggled for a while, wrapped around my pincers, before losing its vitality. I guess it's dead? I wonder if I'll pick up its scent?

This snake really stinks... like a thick soup that's been sitting out for a week, ugh, the stench... I felt like throwing up just from the smell.

Kill the Corrupted Serpent, gain 20 EXP, and unlock your true name.

This random sound entered my mind directly, and my vision went gray for a moment, like a television screen without a signal. Then the world I saw changed.

Visualizing vitality and magic.

True Name Unleashed—Otherworldly Treasure Chest Monster.

'LV unlocked, starting at LV0.'

"Goddess's Companion: Receives the goddess's blessing, is granted divinity, doubles EXP gain, gains full language comprehension, all attributes +10, Mystic Eye, and consolidates item drops."

Racial Talents:

"Treasure Trove" periodically produces a random number of random items. The rarity of the items will vary based on the amount of food consumed.

"Spatial magic" allows one to cast spells based on the concept of space.

"Hyperhabitation" can be restored to its perfect state by replacing the outer shell "treasure chest," but it becomes fragile during the replacement process.

Um?Um?Um?

I think I've activated something incredible?

But then again, is my life in this box only just beginning?! Why am I only gaining these abilities now?!

What's this otherworldly treasure chest monster?! Is it some kind of discrimination against reincarnation?! I'll get killed by the online writers back home!? Can the starting level really be zero?! Am I actually really weak?!