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

The most impressive one was probably that young man in black with the gun. I think Rielfa called him the False Priest? So priests are all skilled with spears? He wielded it so smoothly and powerfully, actually holding his own against Rielfa. As for whether Rielfa held back, I'm not sure; I'm not Rielfa herself, and I've only seen her fight once…

It was truly a shocking and unforgettable experience...

If I hadn't followed Rielfa's advice and gone to the Blood Sea to level up, I probably would have died before even fighting them. After all, I've fought quite a few skeletons and stuff, and obviously even more slimes... I definitely can't compare to slimes, so they can attack the whole time while I can only crouch and defend. After all, the only thing I can be proud of is my inexplicably high defense.

I wonder if the Demon Eye can see this... Wait a minute... Let me see... Ah, I've got it...

I took out the tempered glass I always carry with me. This is a smaller piece of tempered glass that I specifically removed so that I can check my condition anytime, anywhere.

"Li, Mimic, LV.44, Fire attribute, HP/MP: 1478/831."

I don't see any defensive capabilities... Let me check again... Ah, it's more detailed now.

"Li, Treasure Mimic, LV.44, Fire Attribute, HP/MP: 1478/831. Attack: 103, Defense: 3461."

……

...I mean...isn't this defense a bit off...is it missing a decimal point? It's over thirty times higher than my attack power! Is the slime supposed to be stronger than me?

Thinking this, I glanced at the slime and used my Mystic Eyes to check its information. If I had a point of reference, I could confirm whether my situation was within the normal range. Then I saw something even more terrifying.

『Slime, LV.103, Attribute: ∞, HP/MP: 2104/16482. Attack: 0~794, Defense: 0~4978』

What did I see? What is that thing? Attribute: ∞? ? ?

And what's with that magic power? 16482? That's only about half of my full magic power? If I had that much magic power, wouldn't I be able to use 'Twisting' anytime? And what's with the attack and defense stats? Are they fluctuating? Are there slimes like this in another world? Almost all of their stats are higher than mine.

The slime gave me a strange look, and I immediately looked away. I wasn't going to look at anyone else's information anymore. The slime had become even stronger than Akatsuki. I guessed that Rielfa would be even more terrifying. Maybe I was a fake monster, only my defense was decent.

"Alright, everything should be fine now." Nao withdrew her hand. "What happened to you? Why are you in such a sorry state?"

“Hero,” Rielfa glanced at me, “are you glad you didn’t get killed by the hero?”

Eh... Eh eh eh eh!? A hero?! That girl is actually a hero?! No wonder the Mystic Eyes couldn't see any information, so she's a hero? She definitely has the ability to protect her intelligence, which is why the Mystic Eyes couldn't see her information. That also explains her astonishing strength; as expected of a hero, she always unleashes her strongest power in the most critical moments.

"What's there to be happy about?! We've made enemies with the hero!?" There's no way I could be happy.

"Don't worry, go and rest first." Rielfa waved her hand. "Don't you think about the situation of the heroes? We've driven them back, and although they'll come back later, I have a way to deal with them. Anyway, you guys should conserve your energy first, and I'll tell you the details later."

After saying that, the guy walked away irresponsibly.

Are you sure it's okay... fighting a hero and all that...?

Chapter 3 Running away

Rielfa sat under the Perseus Tree. It must be night now. Nao should be asleep with those guys by now.

Li has been working hard these past few days, and Raelfa has noticed, but she still doesn't have much knowledge about the common sense of this world.

Time is running out, I need to make sure she catches up quickly. I don't have much time either, can Nao manage on her own...?

That doesn't seem right either. Maybe I should take Rin out for a walk. Should I take the little fox out too? ... Forget it, we might lose it, and Rin would definitely throw a tantrum.

Having spent so much time with Li, Rielfa had long since figured out Li's personality; abandoning her companion was something she would absolutely not allow.

What if it actually turned into a human...? This overly kind-hearted personality is just something it learned from Nao.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but laugh. This period was almost over, and simply sending her out of the maze like this probably wouldn't be enough. If she were just sent out into the outside world carelessly, she might be blocked by those 'high walls.' Changing the current world would be quite difficult. Although she had once only sought to live her own little life within the maze, that was no longer possible.

At the very least, something big needs to happen, something positive...

Let's see how much we can do; this is all I can do.

Rielfa drew a flame-shaped rune with her finger, then gently pushed it upwards into the maze. The rune passed through the stone wall and disappeared; that rune would be the key, and it all depended on whether it returned.

“Well, now that we’ve done everything we could, is there anything you need, Slime?” Rielfa asked the slime behind her.

"..."

Rielfa had spotted the slime in the shadowy corner of the Perseus Tree a while ago, but since it hadn't come out, she ignored it and finished her own tasks first. Now that she had some free time, she struck up a conversation with the slime. She didn't know what the slime wanted from her; after all, this guy was the strangest of all. Rielfa always seemed to be surrounded by some inexplicable things.

"Hmm? If you don't say anything, I'm not quite sure what you want to do..." Rielfa scratched her head.

"Send me out." The slime said telepathically.

"Go out?" Raelfa now roughly understood what the slime was thinking. "Hey, you don't plan to go out and deal with those humans by yourself, do you?"

Given the slime's modus operandi, this possibility exists, but Rielfa would absolutely not allow it to do so now, because the people from the kingdom are almost here. No matter how special or strong this slime is, it doesn't yet have the ability to deal with humans on its own. Even among the dragon kings, only the Black Dragon King and the Flame Dragon King have that kind of power.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to find those humans," the slime said. "I just feel like I'm not strong enough..."

It still remembered being frozen in place by Xia Que's burst of icy energy. No matter what it did, it couldn't break or melt the ice that was controlling it. It could only watch helplessly as Xia Que's knife fell, watching the icy energy devour Li. If Rielfa hadn't caught it in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Moreover, Li was already on the verge of death just from coming into contact with the icy energy.

If the slime had been stronger back then, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out that way. Even if it was just for the sake of reason, it didn't want such a scene to happen to it again, so it wanted to become stronger.

"So, I need to leave here for now and go somewhere else," the slime continued. "I need to go to other dungeons, find those wretched creatures, and eat them all up."

“Whoa…” Raelfa suddenly understood why it wanted to leave. “So that’s it, you assimilated the other slimes… No wonder all the slimes in my dungeon are gone, it’s all your doing. No wonder you have so many abilities, on a mental level those ordinary slimes are under your control, so you can use them so freely, is that it…”

Not long ago, a large number of slimes in this labyrinth suddenly disappeared, leaving only one—the slime that Rielfa is facing now. Humanity seems to be quite troubled by this, as the slime cores, which were once used as magic fuel, are now in short supply due to the massive disappearance of slimes, and some merchants have apparently inflated their price to the equivalent of a gold coin.

However, the culprit simply ate them and assimilated them. Slimes are similar in a sense, so after consuming other slimes, a slime can use the abilities of those slimes after some adjustments; this is a characteristic of slimes—'simulation'. However, most slimes have relatively low intelligence, and their use of 'simulation' is limited to changing their color to camouflage.

Now, the slime is probably trying to leave the labyrinth, go elsewhere to find other slimes, devour them, and assimilate them. Then, it will become stronger.

“I can understand why you've become like this.” Rielfa nodded. “Okay, I'll take you out, but I can't leave the maze right now, and you know why.”

"I know."

"Then let's go."

Rielfa left the Perseus Tree first, the slime following closely behind. As the master of the labyrinth, Rielfa led the slime along a shortcut, soon arriving at one of the labyrinth's entrances and exits, where she stopped. Beyond that point, it was no longer within the labyrinth. Rielfa felt she had delivered it, so she turned back, glancing at the slime as she passed it.

"Come back soon... I'll protect Li for now."

"..."

The slime didn't give her an answer because it didn't know if it would return alive this time, and even if it did, whether it could make it back in time was another question. Now, the slime knew perfectly well what lay beyond this labyrinth, but to become stronger, it had to break through. Therefore, it would now focus all its magic power on this breakthrough, circulating all the magic within its body and making a significant commotion.

Well then... I'm leaving...

boom--!

"Whoa!? What's going on?!"

"Aaaaaaah!?!?!"

"There it is! Quick! Attack it!"

"What happened?! Why did the maze entrance suddenly explode?!"

The adventurers stationed outside the labyrinth entrance were now in complete chaos. Rielfa had known they would come, as the kingdom had issued a quest to subdue her; they had truly gone to great lengths for such a paltry reward. The reason for the sudden chaos was an explosion at the labyrinth entrance. Experienced mages could tell it was a magical explosion.

The adventurers at the maze entrance were hit by the magic and instantly blown away by the shockwave, crashing to the ground some distance away. Some adventurers' tents near the maze entrance were engulfed in flames, and some who were resting inside were not able to escape and were engulfed by the burning tents, turning into charred corpses. The chaos continued to escalate.

Screams and roars echoed through the camp. Some adventurers who had recovered began rescue efforts, while others, believing the attack to be from the labyrinth—likely a dragon's attack—rushed through the explosion and into the labyrinth. However, those who entered the labyrinth were immediately struck by other spells: "Ice Roar," "Meteor Shower," "Kamaitachi"—all sorts of magic flew out from the depths, hitting those who had no time to react.

"Retreat! There's a magic attack! Those with shields, go up and help hold it off!"

"Are you kidding me! What if an even more powerful spell comes at us next? How could we possibly withstand that?!"

"Aaaaaah!!! My feet!!! My feet!!!"

"Is there a priest?! Is there a priest?! Come quick, someone's dying!!!"

"Aaaaaah! Brothers, follow me! Charge and take down that guy hiding there in one go!!!"

Amidst the chaos, a light blue shadow suddenly burst forth from the depths of the labyrinth and crashed into an adventurer. Those adventurers nearby clearly heard the sound of ribs breaking, followed by the sound of a magic circle unfolding, but by the time they reacted, magical light was already flashing.

"Get out of the way!!!"

Someone shouted, and everyone who saw the magical light began to scramble for cover. Warriors with shields held them up, but those who hadn't noticed were in serious trouble. This magic was especially effective in a labyrinthine environment.

Cha-cha-cha-cha—!

Countless wind blades erupted from the magic circle. In this narrow maze passage, almost nothing could provide shelter. The wind blades raged through the maze passages, flying in all directions and quickly occupying the entire maze passage. No one was spared. Some were cut off along with their shields, some were sliced ​​in two by the wind blades, and some had their hands and feet chopped off.

'Calamity Storm'—a relatively high-level wind magic spell that unleashes uncontrollable wind blades after a brief burst of charging, attacking a wide range of enemies. This magic is naturally most effective in the confined spaces of a maze, so no one can dodge these sharp wind blades. The adventurer who was struck head-on is now sliced ​​to pieces.

Who would have thought that all of this was caused by a slime, which could be called a calamity? This slime was the "Last Slime" that had been circulating wildly in the Adventurers' Guild not long ago, and now, this slime has left the dungeon and come to the outside world.

The slime landed on the ground, not even glancing at the corpses, and slid across the ice towards the outside of the maze. Once outside the exit, the world it saw was different, but the place it was in was extremely dangerous, so it had to prepare for battle.

In order to leave this place, become stronger, and return again, the slime began its breakthrough. After that, all the adventurers at the entrance of this labyrinth were wiped out. No one survived, and no one knew what had happened. Other adventurers who came here hastily left after seeing the rotting corpses.

Chapter 4 The Vanishing Slime

Ugh... Where did this guy go?

When I woke up, I found that the slime had suddenly disappeared. I looked around but couldn't find it anywhere. It's not Zhou Dong, so why is it disappearing like a ghost?

It's not that I think it's very important, it's just that I feel like something's missing when I suddenly can't see it, and it's kind of unpleasant.

Walking back to the Tree of Perseus, I saw Relfa, who had just returned. Come to think of it, I hadn't seen anyone since she woke up. Does she know something?

"Ah, Sister Li."

Xiao ran over to me as soon as she saw me, then rubbed against me. "Don't do that! You're not a puppy, and I haven't been gone long, have I?" Ouch...

"Xiao, get down quickly, you're crushing me."

"whee."

She smiled foolishly and obediently got off me. I never expected that she would pounce on me. Has she become so strong?

Looking back at Xiao now, I suddenly realized that she seems to have grown up a bit. She no longer looks as childish as before, but has gained a more girlish charm. She has also grown taller and her chest has become a little fuller.

Huh...wait a minute, why is she growing up so fast? Come to think of it, it hasn't even been two months, right? Not long ago she was a little girl and now she's a little loli? So fast?! What have I been doing?! I feel like I've been letting her grow up without any care.

Ugh...it's giving me a headache...

I usually leave Xiao in Nao's care and haven't spoken to her much. I guess I'm an incompetent older sister to her.

I'm overwhelmed by guilt... No, if this continues, I won't be able to face her anymore. I need to spend more time with her.

"You seem to have grown up, haven't you?" I asked deliberately.

"Yeah! I've gotten taller!" Xiao exclaimed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Now I'm as tall as Nao-neechan!"

"Ha...that's different, you know. Your chest is shorter than Nao's, isn't it?"

"Hmm? Is that so?"

I led her back to the Perseus Tree. Nao smiled at me and then patted Xiao's head.

"Did you notice?" Nao said gently, "Xiao has grown up, just a little bit, but she's working very hard."

"Well... I did notice..." I said, a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I've always left Xiao with you and haven't spent much time with her."

"It's okay, you can rely on me a lot." Nao added, "And there's also Rielfa."

I know Lelfa is reliable... I didn't really like her before, but if she hadn't saved me last time, I might be dead by now. She just seems carefree on the surface, but she's actually a good person.

"Xiao worked so hard!" Xiao interrupted our conversation a beat late. "Xiao needs to grow up quickly! Go find Daddy! Introduce Sister Li to Daddy!"

"...Let's forget about that."

There's something strange about the father Xiao introduced to her... But then again, is Xiao's father still alive? That's another question... It's a bit of a cruel reality.

I glanced at Nao, who gave me a wink and nodded. I knew exactly what that meant.

"I will take Xiao out of the maze... someday." I said, half-jokingly, "When that time comes, I will definitely take you to find your father. But until then, Xiao, you must be a good girl."

"Okay!" Xiaoxing nodded excitedly in agreement.

Looking at her like this, I feel a strong sense of guilt. Ah, I hope she will forgive me in the future. Mythical Beast, your child is trying hard to live.

"Speaking of which... where's the slime?" Nao also noticed the problem.

The slime that usually travels with me is nowhere to be seen today; Nao couldn't possibly have missed it. That's strange, though; even Nao doesn't know where it went?

"Slime?" Xiao suddenly looked up, pointing at Rielfa, and said, "Last night, the slime went with Rielfa and hasn't come back."

...?

I cast a questioning look at Rielfa. I couldn't understand why Rielfa would take the slime out. These two didn't seem to communicate much, and they didn't seem like the kind of people who would go out together in the middle of the night for a rendezvous.

My guess was right after all; the slime's sudden disappearance is somewhat related to Relfa. So, let's go ask her.

Since she seems to be pretending not to know, I'll take the initiative.

"I'll go ask Rielfa."

After leaving those words, I quickly walked towards Lelfa, who was sitting by the lake. She seemed to be deliberately avoiding my gaze, her back to me as she looked at the water. If you haven't done anything wrong, then look at me properly. Why are you acting like that?

I came up behind her, but I found something was wrong. Her face reflected in the lake looked very haggard, and her eyes were lifeless. She was staring blankly at the lake without making any movement. What was wrong?

"Laelfa?" I tapped her back with the pliers, trying to call her.