Diary of a Traveling Mimic
First Regicide 1
New
The next morning Delilah was blushing instead of overheating, which probably meant the matter was handled. So Shiina focused on trying to figure out what Zanya was going to be teaching her fighting wise. She'd tried to get some info out of her yesterday while they were wandering around town, but the ophidian woman refused to go into details.
After breakfast she'd led them all to the guild's training ground. Set in the basement, it was way too bright. Magical lighting shown down pretty much everywhere from crystals hung from the ceiling. The nice stone was covered in sawdust as well, though Shiina supposed that made sense for people who could bleed. There were fighting circles, straw dummies, racks filled with wooden practice weapons and one of the longer walls was dedicated for practicing ranged attacks.
At least it was mostly quiet. A few groups were doing sword drills or archery practice in some rings, but there was plenty of room. It'd probably fill up after the morning dungeon runs. Shiina doubted the guild would pay for space that didn't get used.
Zanya sat down on one of the benches at the side, and Shiina plopped herself nearby. Delilah and Ife followed suit. "So, first we need to discuss how we fight as a group. Based on that last run, Delilah you should stay close to me or Ife. Shiina, you should stand between Ife and the attackers. Ife, you finally get to be a stationary caster."
Ife fanned herself. "At last, the position I was always destined to fulfill~"
That seemed off to Shiina. "Isn't it usually the rogues job to attack the weaker monsters? Kill the vulnerable ones while the warrior distracts the big monster?"
Zanya raised an eyebrow briefly, her slitted eyes considering the question. "Hm, perhaps you saw that in the books you read? That is the popular view in this land I guess. The reality is the fighter does their best to kill the most dangerous foe. The rogue is a mobile distraction. Dancing around avoiding attacks, but demanding attention because ignoring them invites a lethal blow.
"You meanwhile have no legs." Zanya pointed at her chest body. "You will not be dancing around."
Shiina stuck out a tongue. "I can move fast when I need to."
"It's not about fast, it's about quick precise positioning." Zanya tapped her on the head. "You're a mimic. We start with what you're good at and work from there. And what you're good at is being an immovable obstacle with a lot of dangerous abilities."
That did make a fair amount of sense to Shiina, so she swallowed her pride. "Okays. I'll do my best to learn."
"Right." Zanya stood up. "Let's turn to practical matters."
To Shiina's surprise Zanya led them to the shooting range first. "We'll start with Delilah's training because Ife can supervise." Zanya pulled out ten rocks that were a little bigger than Delilah's fist. "You need something to do in order to defend yourself and help when healing isn't needed. So you're going to learn how to throw rocks."
Delilah looked at the ammunition. "Shouldn't I be learning how to sling rocks?'
"And why rocks. Why not a crossbow?" Shiina asked. Ife's ears twitched curiously as well.
"We're starting with throwing because you aren't going to be good enough with a sling to properly use it for several months," Zanya said. "At the ranges most dungeon fights happen at, throwing will work almost as well."
She turned to Shiina and Ife. "And crossbows are slower, harder to maintain, much more expensive, and only shoot arrows. A sling can use all sorts of magical contraptions and gets much better enchantments. They do take more space, but she should be at the back of the fight."
Zanya wound up and then threw a stone that slammed into the center ring of the target with a heavy thud. "That's your starting goal. For today work on building strength and aim."
As Delilah took a deep breath and started sizing up the rocks, Zanya led Shiina to a sparring ring. The woman tossed off her cloak and grabbed a wooden spear from the weapons rack. Shiina moved to the center of the ring, while looking over the weapon. Spears were pretty dangerous to mimics like her. She could match the range, but not without putting her tendrils in danger.
"Shiina we're going to need to work on two things." Zanya took a practiced stance with the spear. "First your defense. Your mimic hardening is like my scales. A last resort so the hit hurts you less. Which is why we're going to learn proper defense. Get your shields out please."
With a thought she located where she'd put the buckler and shield and grabbed them. After a moment she added a third 'arm' and grabbed her knife too. "Like this?" she said, showing all the weapons.
A smile flitted across Zanya's face. "Yes actually. Very good. You might want to hide your extra arms until you need them, but this is fine for learning."
Shiina felt a little excited at Zanya's words. Not only was she getting praised, but Zanya had apparently thought about how Shiina could use her awesome mimic skills. This session was getting a lot more interesting. "Okay, so how do you use these shields?"
"The small buckler is designed to help parry strikes. When I thrust," she gave a weak stab that stopped short. "You bat it aside. Don't block it directly. It won't stand up to a strong attack."
After a moment Shiina slapped the spear aside with her buckler. That made some sense. It was safer to use the hard metal thing to smack sharp weapons then her knife or a bare tentacle. "And the big shield?"
"Could you hold it at an upwards angle?" Zanya asked. Shiina followed her instruction. This time her spear shot out, and the shield tendril rocked backwards into Shiina's head as the spear deflected up above her. "That is the best way to use a shield. Turn a direct hit into a grazing shot."
That was a little worrying Shiina though as she looked up at the wooden spear's tip. The spear point being over her head was better than it being in her head, but that still was a hard hit. She'd have to reinforce her arm.
Zanya continued. "However, this will be your backup defense. Armor doesn't really work for you, so the shield will work for that as well. Sacrifice it to keep sharp things out of your body."
Shiina considered the suggestion, then drew it back so the shield was sitting embedded in her front like a bit of heraldry. "So like this?"
That earned a raised eyebrow. "Not bad. Angle it down so the point hits the floor when it impacts."
She tried the alteration. It felt weird, but it was a good idea. She'd have to practice. "So what's the second thing?"
"Overriding your monster instincts," Zanya said. "When you got hurt you reverted to fighting like a mimic. That's not the worst thing. It's better than freezing up. But grabbing and biting someone is great for killing one person and bad when there's a group. As I'm sure Mali taught you."
That was a painful truth. Shiina knew very well that most mimics didn't last past their first adventurer encounter. They'd either get caught and blasted or kill a single person before getting torn to shreds. And now that Zanya pointed it out she had kinda flipped out when she'd been poked. "Uh, but how are we going to test that?'
"Simple." Zanya said, returning to a ready stance. "I'm going to try to hit you. At some point I'm going to succeed. Your goal is to keep fighting smart, and not lose your cool or your form."
"Oh." Shiina's enthusiasm slipped away and was quickly replaced by resigned dread. She prepared herself and asked the question she knew she had to. "When do we start?"
"Now."
Zanya's spear was already in motion. A lazy stab at her side. But Shiina managed to bend her arm and swing it fast enough to back the spear away with her buckler. "Hah!" She was a mimic! She knew about surprise.
She also knew about pain as the butt of the spear smacked into her body. Shiina glared at Zanya as the woman stepped back from the follow up strike. "Better, but you've still got work. Reach out and grab a practice knife so you can punish me if I step in like that."
As she did what Zanya asked she mollified herself with the fact that she'd kept from falling into mimic instincts at least. Hopefully the blocking would come quickly as well.
Obviously I can talk a lot about us mimics, and what we can mimic. There's probably an entire book there, because mimics are amazing. But I figure I'll start small. So : Basic Facts About Mimicry!
First, it's mimicry, not transformation. We can't turn into metal or fur or wood. We just alter our outsides to be hard and shiny, or soft and fluffy, or tough and grainy. While any proper mimic tries to get all the features in, it's not easy. So we prioritize appearance. I have a hard time being firm and soft at the same time, so usually I default to firm. But you'll never know until you touch me.
Second, we don't follow humanoid biology. All your bones and muscles and stuff get in the way. Not a problem for us! We can bend any amount, unfuse and refuse, and stretch long distances! That's how I get my wheels working when I'm a wagon. However the smaller the area the less force we can use, so I have to push myself.... You can use that to catch younger mimics, since they need big chest hinges to get bite power. Older ones like me learn to refuse right before we slam down on something. (Please try diplomacy with young mimics if you do catch them.)
Third, the more things we control the harder it gets. I'm really proud of being able to mimic fingers for example, because ten independent digits are really hard to handle at the same time. Apparently when I'm really focused on that, my other features tend to lock up a bit. For combat three or four tendrils are the best the average mimic can manage at the same time.
After breakfast she'd led them all to the guild's training ground. Set in the basement, it was way too bright. Magical lighting shown down pretty much everywhere from crystals hung from the ceiling. The nice stone was covered in sawdust as well, though Shiina supposed that made sense for people who could bleed. There were fighting circles, straw dummies, racks filled with wooden practice weapons and one of the longer walls was dedicated for practicing ranged attacks.
At least it was mostly quiet. A few groups were doing sword drills or archery practice in some rings, but there was plenty of room. It'd probably fill up after the morning dungeon runs. Shiina doubted the guild would pay for space that didn't get used.
Zanya sat down on one of the benches at the side, and Shiina plopped herself nearby. Delilah and Ife followed suit. "So, first we need to discuss how we fight as a group. Based on that last run, Delilah you should stay close to me or Ife. Shiina, you should stand between Ife and the attackers. Ife, you finally get to be a stationary caster."
Ife fanned herself. "At last, the position I was always destined to fulfill~"
That seemed off to Shiina. "Isn't it usually the rogues job to attack the weaker monsters? Kill the vulnerable ones while the warrior distracts the big monster?"
Zanya raised an eyebrow briefly, her slitted eyes considering the question. "Hm, perhaps you saw that in the books you read? That is the popular view in this land I guess. The reality is the fighter does their best to kill the most dangerous foe. The rogue is a mobile distraction. Dancing around avoiding attacks, but demanding attention because ignoring them invites a lethal blow.
"You meanwhile have no legs." Zanya pointed at her chest body. "You will not be dancing around."
Shiina stuck out a tongue. "I can move fast when I need to."
"It's not about fast, it's about quick precise positioning." Zanya tapped her on the head. "You're a mimic. We start with what you're good at and work from there. And what you're good at is being an immovable obstacle with a lot of dangerous abilities."
That did make a fair amount of sense to Shiina, so she swallowed her pride. "Okays. I'll do my best to learn."
"Right." Zanya stood up. "Let's turn to practical matters."
To Shiina's surprise Zanya led them to the shooting range first. "We'll start with Delilah's training because Ife can supervise." Zanya pulled out ten rocks that were a little bigger than Delilah's fist. "You need something to do in order to defend yourself and help when healing isn't needed. So you're going to learn how to throw rocks."
Delilah looked at the ammunition. "Shouldn't I be learning how to sling rocks?'
"And why rocks. Why not a crossbow?" Shiina asked. Ife's ears twitched curiously as well.
"We're starting with throwing because you aren't going to be good enough with a sling to properly use it for several months," Zanya said. "At the ranges most dungeon fights happen at, throwing will work almost as well."
She turned to Shiina and Ife. "And crossbows are slower, harder to maintain, much more expensive, and only shoot arrows. A sling can use all sorts of magical contraptions and gets much better enchantments. They do take more space, but she should be at the back of the fight."
Zanya wound up and then threw a stone that slammed into the center ring of the target with a heavy thud. "That's your starting goal. For today work on building strength and aim."
As Delilah took a deep breath and started sizing up the rocks, Zanya led Shiina to a sparring ring. The woman tossed off her cloak and grabbed a wooden spear from the weapons rack. Shiina moved to the center of the ring, while looking over the weapon. Spears were pretty dangerous to mimics like her. She could match the range, but not without putting her tendrils in danger.
"Shiina we're going to need to work on two things." Zanya took a practiced stance with the spear. "First your defense. Your mimic hardening is like my scales. A last resort so the hit hurts you less. Which is why we're going to learn proper defense. Get your shields out please."
With a thought she located where she'd put the buckler and shield and grabbed them. After a moment she added a third 'arm' and grabbed her knife too. "Like this?" she said, showing all the weapons.
A smile flitted across Zanya's face. "Yes actually. Very good. You might want to hide your extra arms until you need them, but this is fine for learning."
Shiina felt a little excited at Zanya's words. Not only was she getting praised, but Zanya had apparently thought about how Shiina could use her awesome mimic skills. This session was getting a lot more interesting. "Okay, so how do you use these shields?"
"The small buckler is designed to help parry strikes. When I thrust," she gave a weak stab that stopped short. "You bat it aside. Don't block it directly. It won't stand up to a strong attack."
After a moment Shiina slapped the spear aside with her buckler. That made some sense. It was safer to use the hard metal thing to smack sharp weapons then her knife or a bare tentacle. "And the big shield?"
"Could you hold it at an upwards angle?" Zanya asked. Shiina followed her instruction. This time her spear shot out, and the shield tendril rocked backwards into Shiina's head as the spear deflected up above her. "That is the best way to use a shield. Turn a direct hit into a grazing shot."
That was a little worrying Shiina though as she looked up at the wooden spear's tip. The spear point being over her head was better than it being in her head, but that still was a hard hit. She'd have to reinforce her arm.
Zanya continued. "However, this will be your backup defense. Armor doesn't really work for you, so the shield will work for that as well. Sacrifice it to keep sharp things out of your body."
Shiina considered the suggestion, then drew it back so the shield was sitting embedded in her front like a bit of heraldry. "So like this?"
That earned a raised eyebrow. "Not bad. Angle it down so the point hits the floor when it impacts."
She tried the alteration. It felt weird, but it was a good idea. She'd have to practice. "So what's the second thing?"
"Overriding your monster instincts," Zanya said. "When you got hurt you reverted to fighting like a mimic. That's not the worst thing. It's better than freezing up. But grabbing and biting someone is great for killing one person and bad when there's a group. As I'm sure Mali taught you."
That was a painful truth. Shiina knew very well that most mimics didn't last past their first adventurer encounter. They'd either get caught and blasted or kill a single person before getting torn to shreds. And now that Zanya pointed it out she had kinda flipped out when she'd been poked. "Uh, but how are we going to test that?'
"Simple." Zanya said, returning to a ready stance. "I'm going to try to hit you. At some point I'm going to succeed. Your goal is to keep fighting smart, and not lose your cool or your form."
"Oh." Shiina's enthusiasm slipped away and was quickly replaced by resigned dread. She prepared herself and asked the question she knew she had to. "When do we start?"
"Now."
Zanya's spear was already in motion. A lazy stab at her side. But Shiina managed to bend her arm and swing it fast enough to back the spear away with her buckler. "Hah!" She was a mimic! She knew about surprise.
She also knew about pain as the butt of the spear smacked into her body. Shiina glared at Zanya as the woman stepped back from the follow up strike. "Better, but you've still got work. Reach out and grab a practice knife so you can punish me if I step in like that."
As she did what Zanya asked she mollified herself with the fact that she'd kept from falling into mimic instincts at least. Hopefully the blocking would come quickly as well.
Obviously I can talk a lot about us mimics, and what we can mimic. There's probably an entire book there, because mimics are amazing. But I figure I'll start small. So : Basic Facts About Mimicry!
First, it's mimicry, not transformation. We can't turn into metal or fur or wood. We just alter our outsides to be hard and shiny, or soft and fluffy, or tough and grainy. While any proper mimic tries to get all the features in, it's not easy. So we prioritize appearance. I have a hard time being firm and soft at the same time, so usually I default to firm. But you'll never know until you touch me.
Second, we don't follow humanoid biology. All your bones and muscles and stuff get in the way. Not a problem for us! We can bend any amount, unfuse and refuse, and stretch long distances! That's how I get my wheels working when I'm a wagon. However the smaller the area the less force we can use, so I have to push myself.... You can use that to catch younger mimics, since they need big chest hinges to get bite power. Older ones like me learn to refuse right before we slam down on something. (Please try diplomacy with young mimics if you do catch them.)
Third, the more things we control the harder it gets. I'm really proud of being able to mimic fingers for example, because ten independent digits are really hard to handle at the same time. Apparently when I'm really focused on that, my other features tend to lock up a bit. For combat three or four tendrils are the best the average mimic can manage at the same time.
This is a very interesting little story with a lot of small details I would love to see in more stories.
I am not the biggest fan of Litrpg but making it so the stats are not well defined or easy to see is great if it is going to be one of those. Too many that then get lost in the trap of *numbers go up* and forget to make a story instead of a spreadsheet.
The story being about someone that works mostly outside this level and stat system thanks to assassination is another great way to avoid this and allow the story to be fresh.
Making the story about a dungeon monster isn't new… but making it so intelligent monsters are a known and non controversial part of society is and is far better IMO to all those stories that try to make their protagonists super duper special by being the only intelligent monster or something along those lines. As does all mimics having assassination.
Finally, I am a fan of non human perspective being treated as actually having a different way of thinking from humans, and your protagonist does have that.
Good work, happy to wait for more.
I am not the biggest fan of Litrpg but making it so the stats are not well defined or easy to see is great if it is going to be one of those. Too many that then get lost in the trap of *numbers go up* and forget to make a story instead of a spreadsheet.
The story being about someone that works mostly outside this level and stat system thanks to assassination is another great way to avoid this and allow the story to be fresh.
Making the story about a dungeon monster isn't new… but making it so intelligent monsters are a known and non controversial part of society is and is far better IMO to all those stories that try to make their protagonists super duper special by being the only intelligent monster or something along those lines. As does all mimics having assassination.
Finally, I am a fan of non human perspective being treated as actually having a different way of thinking from humans, and your protagonist does have that.
Good work, happy to wait for more.