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

"Varos, how's it going?"

Serik sat on his throne, looking down at Vizier Varos. He was extremely agitated lately because his successor had died in the labyrinth, an unexpected end for him.

As the king of the Kingdom of Alyas, he could not openly launch a full-scale attack on the labyrinth. Therefore, he sent heroes under a pretext.

Under the pretext of slaying the evil dragon, heroes are sent to eliminate the dungeon's master, the "Dragon King of Time." As long as the "Dragon King of Time" is gone, the dungeon won't last long.

Moreover, Serik had other plans. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to quell his anger.

"Progress is going well."

The short vizier Varos chuckled as he answered his lord, his fine silk robes belying his shifty-eyed appearance.

“I told the hero what the enemy she was going to fight looked like that day,” Varos rubbed his hands together. “They’re already fighting now, aren’t they? The magic in the air is so chaotic, the only thing that could cause this is the Dragon King or someone above the Dragon King.”

“Hmm…” Serik nodded in satisfaction. “Let’s move on to the next step. Issue a quest to the Adventurers’ Guild to conquer the dungeon. Everyone who participates will receive a gold coin after leaving the dungeon. Use that when necessary…”

Why did Serik have the courage to attack the labyrinth? It wasn't reckless; the kingdom did indeed possess the power to destroy the labyrinth, but at this stage, Serik didn't intend to use those items. Therefore, he planned to rely on the power of his people.

"A dragon has appeared in the 'Corridor of Time' labyrinth. The kingdom promises to reward the hero who helps defeat the dragon with one gold coin. Those who participate in the labyrinth's destruction will be rewarded with five hundred silver coins. Is that acceptable?" Varos grinned mischievously as he wrote the words he had read aloud on the kingdom's commission form.

"Well, not bad. That's settled then." Serik smiled with satisfaction. "The rest is up to you."

"I understand."

Varos carefully put away the kingdom's letter of authorization and then left the king's audience hall. He naturally understood what the king was thinking. Even if he sent out the letter of authorization without consulting the king first, he would not be blamed. He was just asking a formality.

After all, these two were brothers who had fought together to conquer this territory, and they knew each other's ambitions perfectly well.

Varos was furious about Peller's death, but he was much calmer than Serik. If he hadn't persuaded Serik, the royal army would already be inside the labyrinth by now. He devised a series of plans, not only to avenge his brother and Peller, but also for another purpose.

Their ambition.

To achieve their ambitions, the labyrinth is an obstacle, and all uncertainties, including the Dragon King, must be eliminated. Although they hold several trump cards, the Demon King remains an unpredictable factor, so they must proceed with caution.

This time, they plan to mobilize the people in the name of the hero and use their strength to conquer the labyrinth. No matter how powerful the "Dragon King of Time" is, he can't withstand such a large-scale attack, not to mention the presence of the hero.

Brave warriors... dance your way through history!

Varos chuckled as he left the palace to prepare for the release of the commission.

"What did you say?" Alice couldn't believe her ears. "The kingdom issued such a request?"

“Yes… Your Highness, please look at this.” Senno handed the commission form he had obtained from the Adventurers’ Guild to Alice.

Alice took the commission letter and quickly scanned it. The information she could glean was as follows: First, the king issued a royal commission to slay the evil dragon in the labyrinth; second, the commission was valid for all citizens, and participation would yield a good reward; third, the king was using the hero's name to mobilize the people.

"Tsk!" Alice clicked her tongue. "What's that old geezer up to now? Slay the Labyrinth Dragon? I don't remember the 'Dragon King of Time' being anything bad."

“No, Your Highness,” Senno reminded her, “We cannot rule out the possibility that the strategic-level magic from not long ago was used by the ‘Dragon King of Time’.”

“…That’s true, but we can’t just attack the labyrinth without a base of operations, can we?” Alice pressed her temples, her head aching. “I wonder how Xia Que is doing…I hope Hao Er can protect her.”

Not long ago, she had gone with Xia Que to see her father, but she hadn't received a kind look from him at all. She knew that Xia Que was going to be sent to slay the evil dragon, so she wanted to go with him on her own, but Varos stopped her.

“Now that this country has lost its prince, if it loses its princess as well, what future does this country have?” Varos said to her slowly and deliberately.

Although she didn't want to admit it, Varos was right, and Alice couldn't refute him, so she had no choice but to abandon her plan to go to the labyrinth together. Right now, Xia Que is probably already fighting the "Dragon King of Time," I hope nothing bad happens to him.

As for Alice personally, she did not intend to rely on the power of a hero to defeat the Demon King, nor did she want Xia Que to be that so-called hero. Humanity's potential should be created by humanity itself, not by relying on an ordinary person from another world.

"How is the situation now?" Alice asked.

“It’s very chaotic,” Senno said directly. “Some people have questions about this request, while others agree with it. Most of the questions are about what exactly the ‘Dragon King of Time’ did, and these people are more rational. The ones who agree are all brainless idiots, and they’re probably already on their way to the labyrinth. The streets are full of people preparing to go to the labyrinth right now.”

“No wonder there were so many weapon repair requests today… So that’s what happened.” Alice sighed and said to Senno, “Tell the people at the workshop that we don’t take these kinds of jobs. Turn them all down. If they want to take these jobs, let them do it privately and not use the workshop’s equipment.”

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Senno immediately left the hall and headed to the workshop, leaving Alice with a melancholy expression.

"Where does that old geezer get so many gold coins to do something like this?" Alice wondered. "If this trend continues, the national treasury will be emptied by the citizens and adventurers. What exactly is he trying to do?"

She pondered for a long time in the hall, but couldn't find an answer. She had no clue what the king was thinking, but she had a feeling it wasn't anything good.

"Shouldn't we consider moving the Sanko Workshop to the Duchy?"

Chapter 44 Hero vs. Dragon

Boom-!

The rocks blocking the cave were roughly pushed aside—no, they were actually opened—and the loud noise made Kuroba quite unhappy, as it disturbed her reading.

"Kuroba, are you still there?"

Aye walked in, panting, and then looked for Kuroba. Her clothes were torn and she was no longer as well-dressed as when she left, and her hair was a mess.

"Of course I am. What's up?" Kuroba asked.

"Pack your things." Aye picked up the books from the ground and threw them into a makeshift bag. "We're getting ready to leave."

"Huh? Why should I leave here with you?" Kuroba asked, his face full of confusion.

She didn't know what had happened between Aye and Savi, but leaving Aye because of this was not within the scope of the contract.

"Although I don't know what happened between you and that man, it's not your place to say where I am," Kuroba clearly stated his refusal.

"What if I told you I could take you to find someone born in another world?"

"Ugh?!"

Kuroba was clearly shocked by what Aye had said about the people from another world. While it was uncertain whether knowledge from that world would be applicable in this one, it could at least be verified through practice. The allure of people possessing knowledge from another world was immense for Kuroba.

But she couldn't bear to part with the contents of the blackboard behind her; it might be magic that transcended this world by tens of thousands of years.

“If you care about that magic, I’ll just make a copy for you.” Aye packed her things and walked to Kuroba’s side. “I’ll also bring you these books that you haven’t read before. Anyway, come with me now.”

"……Row."

Kuroba ultimately succumbed to temptation, unaware that the otherworldly being she was about to meet was the Demon King. She transformed back into a book, falling into Aye's hands. After checking her belongings, Aye took some of the things from the cave and left.

During her battle with Mo Yueya, she saw Savi's conflicted expression. She knew it was an unavoidable situation, but she still felt at peace. Because, as the Demon King said, there was still possibility in this world.

Savi is part of that possibility, even if it's just a tiny, insignificant part.

In the chaos of battle, she single-handedly suppressed five people. Mo Yueya seemed to have toned down her strength after the other companions arrived, no longer displaying her full power. Saiwei had been holding back, which was for the best; although his stance was somewhat unstable, at least those people wouldn't attack him.

Then, an unexpected turn of events occurred: the priest with the gun suddenly broke away from the battle line, disrupting the balance. Aye seized the opportunity to break through the encirclement of the remaining four and escape.

At the same time, she also learned a certain fact.

The Corpse Dragon will not be resurrected here. The reason is that she recognized the black hole in the sky; it was one of the higher-level spatial magic spells, used to transfer the undead monsters in this area.

Moreover, a large-scale purification spell is being performed somewhere underground in this maze, indicating that the maze's owner is cleaning up this area.

So, there's absolutely no surprise for Savi, but she doesn't know what the people sent from the kingdom are here for. Surely they're not here to ambush her?

What does the Demon King think...?

With these thoughts in mind, she flew to the demon territory with Black Feather as quickly as possible. This trip hadn't been without its gains; it was a good way to clear her head.

Of course, there's another guy who's on my mind.

------

"Hey, hey, hey?! You're kidding, right, Rielfa?!" Rielfa asked incredulously.

“Ah, no, I really don’t intend to let them go.” Rielfa stared at the gun-wielding Hoel. “Especially you, gun-wielding priest.”

From the moment Hale appeared, Raelfa made no attempt to hide her disgust and hostility towards him, which was quite unlike the usually peaceful and unassuming Raelfa. No one knew what had happened to make Raelfa treat a human like this.

"That girl is yours to handle. Don't go too far," Rielfa said before rushing towards Haul.

"Why do I have to fight someone who looks so strong?!" Li complained for a moment, but still followed Rielfa out.

When Hale saw Reilfa suddenly rush in front of him, he raised his spear to block Reilfa's attack, then turned to the side so that Xia Que behind him could unleash the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow to attack Reilfa. Reilfa smiled and kicked the spear away, and Li ran out from behind, just in time to clamp the blade with pliers.

So hard?! And so cold?!

The moment the pliers gripped the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, it wanted to break or snap it in two, but it didn't expect the knife to be so hard and so cold; the frost had already melted off the pliers when it touched it.

What is this thing?!

"Unable to identify."

The Demon Eye gave this answer, which was expected, since the girl also couldn't be identified. But what is the origin of this knife? And why does it seem somewhat familiar?

"Xia Que! Draw your sword!" Hao Er shouted at Xia Que, abandoning his attempt to retrieve the spear that had flown into the air, and then struck Lei Erfa in the chest with his elbow.

Rielfa grabbed Haul's hand, using the momentum to push him backward before aiming a kick at Xia Que. Xia Que managed to pull out the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow from between the pincers, using the back of her blade to block the kick. Rielfa seized the opportunity to try and knock Xia Que away with the pincers, but the mimic had no waist, so the attack didn't do much damage.

"Are you stupid?!"

"I thought I was strong enough?!"

"You don't have a waist!"

Yi Long and Yi Xiang were arguing about something, but Xia Que and Hao Er weren't about to let such a good opportunity for a counterattack slip by. Hao Er turned around and delivered a spinning kick, while Xia Que seized the opportunity to slash at Lei Erfa.

"Time Sand Reversal"

A magical circle suddenly unfolded from the ground, but it wasn't the usual kind with magical incantations and runes. This magical circle was actually the face of a watch. The three hands on it were also rotating. An hourglass pattern appeared on the face, then it rotated 180 degrees, causing the sand inside to flow backward.

From that instant on, Xia Que and Hao Er actually retracted their movements slightly. Rielfa immediately seized the opportunity, leaping and kicking Hao Er away, then spreading her wings to chase after him.

"It would be much easier to solve the problem if we separated these two!"

"Don't just blindly attack the obviously weaker person!"

While complaining about her, Li pushed Xia Que away, at least to prevent them from getting close to each other and having a chance to cooperate. Judging from their performance just now, it would be much more troublesome if the two of them attacked together, so Lielfa is now fighting them separately.

She had to deal with this troublesome, and also the most dangerous, fellow first. The girl she was facing was just a novice; leaving her to handle it should be fine. At the same time, she sensed that the purification ritual for Nao and the slime was complete.

Golden photons began to continuously emerge from the blood-red ground, slowly filling the cursed area. The remaining, more powerful undead monsters wailed and then vanished because of these photons.

"This is... purification magic?" Hale looked at the emerging golden photons, somewhat astonished.

"Do you even have time to look at anything else?! Hypocrite!"

"Ugh!?"

The spear suddenly pierced the ground at high speed right in front of him. If it hadn't been specially made, it would probably have shattered when Rielfa threw it. Looking up, he saw Rielfa fold her wings, raise her half-dragon hand, and swing her extended dragon claws as she swooped down.

Savi drew his spear, deflecting the dragon's claws with the tip, then spun around and struck Rielfa's chin with the spear's tail. He then released the spear and crouched down to sweep his leg. Rielfa spread her wings and soared into the air for a moment, then spun around and lashed out at Haul's body with her dragon wings, attempting to stomp him to the ground with a spinning kick in mid-air.

Hale grabbed the spear and rolled out of range. Relfa's kick missed, and Hale seized the opportunity to sweep out the spear, but it was completely blocked by the dragon scale.

He used the momentum to propel himself away, then glanced at Xia Que and the treasure chest monster. For now, it seemed there was no need to worry about his apprentice.

"I don't quite understand what you mean." Hale got into position.

"Then let me tell you, is the name Nao enough? Lackey." Rielfa said barbedly, "Don't think I don't know what you've been up to behind the scenes. I was your target from the start, wasn't I?"

“I can’t refute what you’re saying; I’m just following orders.” Hao’er subtly evaded the topic. “Then, we’ll have to settle this with force.”

"Oh, whatever you want."

Da da!

Having said that, Haul no longer concealed his strength and fought with Relfa with all his might. The two started moving at the same time, their dragon claws and spears clashing and sparking countless fires.

Chapter 45 is probably the only option left.

The battle between Hale and Reilfa began in a grand manner. Xia Que did not expect Hale to be so strong, able to fight the dragon to a standstill. Although the dragon was different from what she originally remembered, she knew from their previous exchange that it was no ordinary person either.

The battle between Hale and Reilfa was so intense that no one dared to approach; the various phenomena they caused could kill someone unexpectedly, and no one would be foolish enough to venture into such a dangerous area. Xia Que, having set up her large Xia Long Que, looked at her opponent, the Mimic.

She never expected that her final opponent would be a mimicry. She didn't know much about these monsters, but subjectively, she felt that they weren't very intelligent.

However, Xia Que was somewhat surprised by everything this treasure chest monster did. Just as Da Xia Long Que was about to strike the "evil dragon", it suddenly ran out and clamped Da Xia Long Que with its pincers.

Its power should not be underestimated. After being pinned down, Xia Que couldn't cut any further or push the knife away. In the end, she had no choice but to pull the knife back. Moreover, the impact just now was extremely painful; she hadn't expected being hit by the box to hurt so much.

Of course, aside from that inexplicable punch just now... a boxing move that mimicked human movements, but because it didn't use the waist to generate power, it didn't do much damage.

Xia Que thought that the Mimic was doing some inexplicable things.

The treasure chest gave the 'evil dragon' a pitiful look, then glanced at Xia Que, and slowly moved away from them. Xia Que was a little confused about what it was doing, but she still did it anyway.

"Aha!"

With a powerful push off the ground, Xia Que charged straight ahead, then unleashed the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow from left to right. This attack was originally intended to strike the mimic, but the silver magic circle swallowed the tip of the blade, and a chilling aura wafted from behind Xia Que.

"Wow?!"

She hadn't expected that the blade of the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow would actually pass directly through the magic circle and appear behind her. She noticed the problem the moment the cold air appeared and quickly withdrew the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow.

What is that...?