Upon the rays of sunshine that pierced the book Rolan held, a smell of bookish aged paper was smelt by Rolan's nose. The cold and humid spring breeze assaulted the windows, making the curtains flutter.
The butterflies entered his room and seemed to disturb his concentration as he read. One perched on his hands, and he watched it flicker its wings on his fingertips.
"Hello, butterfly,"
Rolan Alduin was the name given to him by his parents—a name that was indeed majestic and unique.
As he was reading, he was almost at the end of the novel he had been reading. It was a Kingdom-building novel that he had bought at the bookstore called Lordship. You see, the story was about the heroic tales of a group of lords who waged war on the Demon Empire. Everything was written—from their valiant deeds and adventurous tales to their failures and character development.
The story ended at the part where the heroes defeated all the villains of the story and the hero happily wed his female lead.
"It was a good story. Sigh, what an adventure," Rolan could only inhale deep breaths and place his novel on his chest, contemplating what to do next as he felt like a void had formed in his heart.
It was normal to feel that way, especially after finishing a favorite book. It had been a roller coaster ride of emotions indeed.
With that, he read the back of the ending page and saw a letter from the author:
"Thanks for reading my work Lordship. You have imagined and experienced my novel, but now is the time to dwell into it and see it with your own eyes—in the eyes of whom you least expect it to be. It is time to make your version of the story.
Your dearest author,
God of Silver Tongues"
'Oh? How would that happen?' Rolan had been left questioning himself.
Badump!
"Oh no, my... my head spins, my heart... it felt like it was going to explode!"
Rolan felt like he was short of breath and his environment was spinning. His vision dimmed and he felt cold. A heart attack?
'What's this? Is this my end?'
He collapsed on his bed and closed his eyes in peace. He passed out due to not eating for days and just reading without stopping.
He died, and none of it mattered anymore.
His soul went to the time stream, and it wandered to find a body in the fantasy world.
[System voice activated]
[System calibrating.....]
[System naming itself]
[Name chosen]
[Wisdom King Solomon]
[Finding a body for the host]
[Body found]
[Mimic selected]
[Innate skill: Mimic appearance, Devour, Mimic object, Storage]
[Exclusive skill: Wisdom King Solomon]
"Huh? A system? Wow, I had one! Weeee!!!"
Opening his eyes, he saw walls made of bricks and a room lit with blue light torches.
When he tried to walk, something felt amiss. He couldn't feel his feet!
'I don't have hands and feet? But I have a long tongue and teeth!'
It had indeed been troublesome. Even with the system telling him, he was still shocked in the moment. It still felt unbelievable.
"I am in a dream, right? Right?" It had been surreal and felt like a dream. He headbutted the wall and felt pain. "Ouch! So this wasn't a dream!"
He stared at the walls and took time to accept things. He had been about to cry, but he manned up.
"Hmmm, am I in a dungeon?" he asked himself, as there was no one to ask.
He found it troublesome to bounce just to walk, so he adjusted his body. He made feet below the chest and hands. The chest now became his helmet—or some sort of mask. His eyes poked inside and were watching from the dark side of the mouth of the chest. He resembled a stickman with the head of a chest.
"Hola! I am a Mimic!" he shouted.
It was then that adventurers barged into the entrance and saw him.
"A mimic! Kill it!" their leader shouted.
"Ahhh!!! Let me live!" Rolan ran faster than he ever had in his life and escaped. He dashed and dashed, swerving through corners, turning left and right, hiding in corridors and dark corners. And so, he finally shook off the pursuers.
After a breathless chase that left him panting, he found himself in a problematic situation. He had been branded as a monster! And human hunting would always happen if he appeared in their presence.
He immediately arrived at the deepest floor of the dungeon and saw a sealed gate.
"Hmm? What's this?" He touched the gates, and then something happened.
The seal went aflame and disintegrated.
"Huh?"
He was surprised at what had happened. He thought that the seal would offer resistance while sealing something from inside, but it didn't. It felt like the seal had been on its last breath as it was touched.
Opening the gate, he saw a demon with horns. Jet-black miasma covered him, and he was grinning. A barrier was put up and was hindering Rolan from going inside.
"Hello there, young one!" the demon asked politely.
"Oh, hello, who are you?" Rolan asked.
"I am the Demon King! The King of the Demon Lords and the Demon Empire—Reginald Arthurian! Muahahaha!" he chuckled.
"Oh, I see. Nice to meet you. Can I leave now?"
"Hey, wait, wait, wait! I wanted to talk for a bit," he said.
"Okay sure, what's the topic?" Rolan asked.
"Anything. But let me tell you my story first. I was betrayed by my allies who sealed me here. This dungeon was the result of my mana seeping out, and the dungeon's purpose was to suck me dry until I became a husk with an empty shell. Luckily, I found you—someone I could talk to before I die," he said in a low voice.
"Hmmm, I see now. Wisdom King Solomon, how much storage space did we have?"
[Analyzing... finished]
[Ten by ten cubic meters]
"I saw it as enough."
"Wait, what will you do?" the demon asked.
"I will let your seal be destroyed from the inside. Rest assured, it would not be long before I freed you."
"I see. Then you are under my care," he replied in a solemn tone, accepting his fate.
[Activate skill Devour]
[Yes] [No]
"Activate skill Devour! I select yes!"
After he devoured it whole, he felt a great difference.
[Huge mana surge detected]
[Assimilating it to the host]
[Host is ready for Evolution]
[Evolving.....]
[Mimic evolving to Humanoid Mimic]
[Evolution success!]
[Exclusive skill granted: Evolution, Class Mimicry, Analyze, Shapeshift Human]
"Analyze the barrier, Solomon!"
[Affirmative!]
The system analyzed the barrier with high precision. It was complex, but not invincible.
[Barrier analyzed: Weakening state detected. Estimated time until collapse: 1 month.]
"1 month, huh? Not bad. That gives me time to prepare," Rolan muttered to himself.
He wandered around the dungeon's lower floor. Unlike the upper floors, it was quiet—eerily so. Only the faint sounds of dripping water echoed in the distance.
He found a small hidden chamber filled with old crates and shattered weapons. Dust coated everything like a second skin.
Rolan opened one of the crates and found rusted swords and old books. He placed them inside his storage.
[Items stored: 1x Rusted Iron Sword, 3x Damaged Spellbooks, Miscellaneous Metal Scraps.]
As he explored, he also found a small pool of water—a natural spring hidden deep underground. He bent down and looked at his reflection.
Finally, he smiled. "Better."
As he rested by the pool, his thoughts wandered back to Earth.
His small room, his books, the butterflies… all of it felt like a dream now. A world he had already left behind.
"I wonder if time flows the same back home… or if anyone noticed I'm gone," he whispered, though he already knew the answer.
Suddenly, the system spoke again.
[Warning: Presence detected nearby.]
Rolan immediately jumped up and pressed himself against the wall.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Metal boots clanged slowly—deliberately.
He peeked from the shadows.
A man in a black cloak walked into the room. His face was covered, but his aura was heavy—oppressive.
[Analyze result: Name unknown. Threat level: High.]
The man stopped at the pool and examined the area.
Rolan held his breath. The stranger didn't seem to notice him and eventually walked away.
Once he was gone, Rolan exhaled in relief.
"That guy… he wasn't normal."
Later that day, Rolan returned to the Demon King's chamber.
"You're back," Reginald said, his voice even weaker than before.
"I found something," Rolan said, pulling out one of the damaged spellbooks. "This might help restore your strength."
Reginald chuckled. "You are quite an odd one, mimic. Are you sure you weren't born a demon?"
"Who knows," Rolan replied with a grin.
[Skill unlocked: Minor Restoration Spell]
He used the spell on the barrier.
Cracks began to form. The miasma grew thicker.
Reginald groaned, "I can feel it… the chains loosening."
"Good. Just hang in there. I'll get you out," Rolan said.
He walked away from the chamber, his mind racing with plans.
And with every hour, the line between human and monster blurred further.