It was cold.
Again.
I opened my eyes to the same red carpet where I had collapsed — the same endless hall of gold and blood and silence.
For a brief moment, I thought I'd woken up in another nightmare. But this time… I could feel my heartbeat. I could feel warmth.
I raised my arm.
"My arm… it's back?"
The skin was whole again, pale and clean. No blood, no scar, not even the faintest mark where I'd been bitten apart. My fingers trembled as I flexed them. They responded perfectly.
"What… how…?"
Fragments of memory flooded in — the pain, the light, the system prompt before everything went dark. And then that flash — Auto-Use Triggered.
Right. My panel.
I forced a breath and whispered, "Inventory."
A ripple of light answered me. The air shimmered before my eyes as the familiar blue window unfolded.
And I froze.
[Inventory Slots: ∞][Pages: 6 / 6 Loaded]
The grid was overflowing — lines upon lines of glittering icons, so dense it looked like the sky had shattered into gold and light.
"This… is all from the mimics?"
I scrolled, hand shaking. Elixirs, blades, accessories, relics — items I couldn't even identify. Some glowed with divine sigils, others pulsed faintly like they were alive.
But three caught my eye.
[Elixir of Restoration] — Restores all lost limbs, heals any injury or curse. One-time use.[Looter Set] — A complete outfit for those who harvest what others fear to touch.[Mimic's Heart (Equipped)] — A living emblem bound to the soul. Allows infinite inventory access and synchronization with the Mimic Network. Cannot be unequipped unless user perishes.
I swallowed. The elixir — that must've healed me. But that last one…
"Mimic's Heart…" I murmured, staring at the words as they pulsed faintly in the corner of the screen.
Then, as if responding to my voice, the panel flickered.
[Welcome, Host.][Connection: Established – Mimic Hive Link Active.][Compatibility: 97.6%][Would you like to access Skill Overview?]
My breath hitched.
It was… talking to me?
The edges of the panel pulsed like a heartbeat — soft, rhythmic. It felt alive.
Against my better judgment, I nodded.
The interface warped, lines rearranging themselves until a single symbol appeared — a golden cube wrapped in chains.
Then, the name.
[Skill Evolution Confirmed: Box Opener → Lucky Box][Analyzing Blessing Parameters...][Warning: Incomplete understanding detected.][Some functions are temporarily sealed.]
Below that were several entries — only some legible.
Skill: Lucky BoxRank: ???Category: World-System InterferenceAffinity: Luck / Greed / Memory
Known Functions:• Basic Draw (Local) — Accesses loot from nearby Mimics.• Mind Access — Retrieve and equip inventory items through thought.• Auto-Use Protocol — Activates curative items upon fatal injury.
Unidentified Functions:• ??? Draw (Requires calibration)• ??? Mimic Link (Locked)• ??? Soul Resonance (Locked)
[Tip: The more you understand what you took, the more it will open itself to you.]
I read it again. And again. The words didn't change.
"Lucky… Box?" I muttered. "You've gotta be kidding me…"
The skill everyone mocked me for. The trash one.Now evolved into… whatever this was.
I looked around — at the piles of empty chests scattered across the hall. They weren't corpses anymore; they were husks, hollow shells of what once was alive.
"...Did I do this?"
The moment I whispered, the panel pulsed again.
[Each chest opened grants an offering.][Each offering takes a life.][Connection remains stable. The Hive still hungers.]
I froze.
A faint heartbeat echoed in my skull — not mine, something else. Many heartbeats.Like whispers clawing beneath the floor, murmuring, trembling.
I staggered, clutching my head.
"What… what are you trying to tell me?"
[Consume, or be consumed.][Greed sustains Greed.]
The voice wasn't loud, but it was everywhere — smooth, steady, inhuman.Not malicious, just… ancient. Like something that had waited centuries to be heard.
The heartbeat faded. The hall fell silent once more.
I stared down at the remaining panel — at the three glowing icons.
"The first item must've been what healed me," I muttered, "but this… this is something else entirely."
I exhaled and tapped the Looter Set.Light shimmered — and black garments materialized, neatly folded on the blood-soaked floor.
I stripped off my ruined uniform and slipped into them. The fabric was thin but unnaturally strong, almost weightless. The gloves fit perfectly, the hood casting a faint shadow across my face.
[Looter Set Equipped.][Stats Increased – Dex +++, Str ++, Luck +++, Int ++][Class Perk: Looter (Active)]
Energy flooded my limbs — not just strength, but clarity. My movements felt lighter, my breathing sharper.
"...Alright." I clenched my fist. "Let's see what this can do."
As if hearing me, the panel shimmered again — faint golden text bleeding through.
[Tip: To draw is to reach. To reach is to take.][Do you wish to attempt your first Draw?]
A shiver crawled up my spine.Part of me wanted to say no — I'd had enough surprises for one lifetime.But another part of me, the part that had stared down betrayal, pain, and death, whispered back:
"...Yes."
The word left my mouth before I could stop it.
The panel pulsed softly — like the thrum of a heartbeat beneath glass.Lines of golden text unraveled before my eyes.
[Draw Type Detected: Whisper Draw][Estimated Cost: 40 MP | 1 Mimic Soul][Proceed?]
Whisper Draw…?The term hadn't shown up before.But if this was the smallest draw — the weakest — it might be safe.
"Just one," I whispered. "Let's see what you can really do."
[Confirmed.][Initiating Whisper Draw…]
The moment I accepted, the air changed.
The torches flickered, their flames bending toward me like I'd suddenly become the center of gravity. A faint shimmer rippled through the hall, and I could feel something tugging — not at my body, but at the air around me.
At the world.
And then it hit.
A sharp pressure built up behind my eyes, as if invisible claws were digging through my skull. My knees nearly buckled.
"G—gh…! What the hell—?!"
I clutched my head, nails digging into my scalp. My mana — or whatever passed for it — began to drain rapidly, like water from a cracked glass.
I could see it in my vision — the blue of my mana bar flickering, shrinking, evaporating by the second.
[MP: 82 → 43 → 15 → 0]
By the time it hit zero, the pain vanished.Completely.Just as sudden as it came.
My breathing was ragged, my forehead slick with sweat."What… was that? It felt like—someone's life was being pulled out of me…"
And then, before I could take another breath, a small pulse of golden light appeared before me.It twisted, folded, and solidified into something physical.
A small, black cube.No bigger than my palm.
It floated, faintly humming, before settling gently into my outstretched hand.
[Whisper Draw Result: Common Drop – "Mimic Fang Dagger"]
A dull black blade formed, the cube unwrapping like peeling skin. The dagger looked crude — half-organic, half-metal, the edge pulsing faintly like it was alive.
It wasn't impressive. Not in looks, not in weight. But when I gripped it, I felt… something.Like the weapon was breathing with me.
"...So that's how it works."
Each word felt heavier than it should've been.It wasn't just summoning an item — it was taking it. From somewhere. Someone.
I glanced at the panel again.
[Mimic Soul Consumed: 1][Global Hive Count: -1]
"Wait—" My stomach turned. "You mean… one of them just died?"
[Correction: One was *opened.*][Life and Loot are the same currency, Host.]
I stared at the dagger, the faint pulse in the metal growing slower, fainter… until it stopped.
So every time I draw something — even something this small — I'm killing a mimic somewhere out there.
A laugh slipped out of me.Not out of amusement, but disbelief.
"Of course. Even my luck costs something."
I collapsed back onto the throne, my breath shallow.The headache lingered, but beneath it — a strange sense of satisfaction.
The mimic's heart pulsed faintly again, sending a warmth through my chest.The panel shimmered once more.
[Observation: Host's mana capacity is insufficient for stable draws.][Tip: The Hive feeds what it finds valuable. Devour, and you shall expand.]
"Devour…" I murmured.
That single word carried weight — too much of it.Did it mean food? Souls? Or something worse?
Whatever it was, I wasn't ready. Not yet.
I sheathed the dagger against my hip and exhaled, glancing up at the faintly glowing torches.
"…Looks like I'm not getting out of here the easy way."
I stood, swaying slightly. My steps echoed down the empty hall.The broken throne, the ruined chests, and the faint metallic scent of my own blood — all of it reminded me that this wasn't a dream anymore.
This was mine.My curse. My chance. My power.
And for the first time in a long while… I felt something close to hope.
Even if it came wrapped in teeth and blood.