Chương 40: The Aggro Box

Recap: You warned the party of an ambush. Arrows bounced off your Ironband Defense. An Assassin found your lock weak point and dealt 1 HP damage. You have 0 Stamina but 6 MP. You voted to USE TAUNT (AGGRO). I couldn't move. I couldn't bite. I couldn't run. But I could be the most annoying thing in this tunnel. Taunt. It unlocked at Level 3. Cost 3 MP. Effect: Emit a low, creaking hum that lures enemies within 15 ft toward you. Perfect. I didn't want to lure them. I wanted them to leave me alone.

But if I didn't lure them, they'd kill Renn. And if Renn died, who would carry me? Sorry, Torin, I thought. I'm stealing your kill. I focused my mana. It wasn't a spell. It was a vibration. A magical resonance that screamed I AM IMPORTANT. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Skill Used: Taunt Cost: 3 MP Current MP: 3/14 Cooldown: 30 Seconds Effect: Aggro Generated HUMMMMMMM. The sound didn't come from my hinges. It came from inside the iron bands. It vibrated through the stone floor. It was low. Irritating. Impossible to ignore.

The Assassin froze. His dagger was still stuck in my lock. He looked at Torin. Then he looked at me. His eyes glazed over. The red mist of rage filled them.

"BOX!" he screamed. He forgot the warriors. He forgot the mage. He forgot survival. He grabbed the hilt of his dagger with both hands and twisted. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Damage Taken: 1 HP (Lock Stress) Defense Applied: -13 DR Current HP: 5/19"Hey!" Torin yelled. He cleaved a cultist in half.

"It's drawing fire!"

"Keep it busy!" Kara shouted. She blasted another cultist with force magic.

"We'll flank!" The Assassin was wholly committed. He pulled out a second dagger. He started stabbing. Stab. Stab. Stab. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Damage Taken: 1 HP Current HP: 4/19 Damage Taken: 1 HP Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Current HP: 3/19 Ow. Ow. Ow. It wasn't lethal. Not yet. My Defense 13 was doing the heavy lifting. But my lock was screaming. If he broke the lock, would my lid fall off? Would my teeth fall out? Would I die of embarrassment? Tick.

The Taunt cooldown ended. I stopped humming. The Assassin blinked. The rage faded. He looked around. He saw Torin charging him. He looked back at me.

"What… did I…" CLANG. Torin's sword hit the Assassin's neck. One hit. Down. The tunnel fell silent. The remaining cultists, seeing their ambush fail and their leader drop, scattered into the shadows. I lay there. 3 HP. Dented. Scratched. My lock was bent. But I was alive.

"By the gods," Renn whispered. He crawled over from behind his pillar.

"You… you took all his hits." Kara walked over. She inspected the dagger marks on my bands.

"Steel marks. Deep. But… no penetration. What are you made of?" Torin wiped his blade.

"Doesn't matter. It saved us. Again." He looked at me. Really looked at me.

"We owe you a debt, box." You owe me a heal potion, I thought. And maybe some oil. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Stamina Regenerated: +1 (1 per minute) Current SP: 1/24 HP Regenerated: +0 (Passive too slow) I was still critically low on health. 3/19. One strong sneeze could kill me. But the fight was over. The tunnel ahead was clear. And the Core Voice… it was louder now.

"Fragment… Consumed… Path… Open… Come… Closer…" The black stone wall behind us—the one I ate—was gone. But the tunnel ahead… it was changing. The mana density was increasing. The air was getting thinner. We were approaching Floor 4. The Bone Pits.

"We need to rest," Kara said. She slumped against the wall.

"I'm out of mana."

"No time," Torin said.

"More cultists will come. We need to reach the surface. Or the dungeon exit."

"Exit is Floor 1," Renn said.

"We're going deeper."

"Then we find a safe room," Torin insisted. I felt a vibration. A safe room? My Core Touched status pinged something nearby. A small alcove. Hidden. Warded. There, I thought. I vibrated my lid toward the left wall. Buzz.

"You found something?" Kara asked. She stepped toward the wall. She ran her hand over the stone.

"…A hidden niche. Warded against detection."

"Good," Torin said.

"We rest there. Ten minutes. Then we move." They picked me up again. Renn carried me into the niche. It was tight. Dark. Safe. They set me down. Kara began casting a minor healing spell. Not on herself. On me.

"Can… can I heal a mimic?" she asked. Please, I thought. Yes. She placed her hand on my lid. Warm light flowed into my wood. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION External Healing Received HP Restored: +10 Current HP: 13/19 Oh, sweet relief. The pain faded. The wood knitted. The lock straightened slightly.

"It worked," Kara whispered.

"It… accepted the magic." Torin sat down, sharpening his sword.

"We need to decide. Surface or Deep?" I knew the answer. The Core was calling. But the Surface meant safety. Elara was on the surface. The Guard was on the surface. But down here… down here was power. Evolution. Answers. My stamina ticked up. 2/24. I had to choose. And so did they. Current Stats (Level 3 - Ironband Mimic): HP: 13/19 (Healed by Kara) Mana: 3/14 (Taunt cost) Stamina: 2/24 (Regen active) Inventory: 2 Pebbles, Metal Items (Fused). Mage Staff (Loot). Status: Core Touched, Resting, Party Debating Path.

What do you do? A) PUSH FOR DEEP (CORE) Vibrate toward the deeper tunnel. Show them you want to go down. Seek the Core Voice. (Cost: 1 SP. Gain: Plot Progression. Risk: Higher Danger.) B) PUSH FOR SURFACE (SAFE) Vibrate toward the exit path. Show them you want to leave. Seek Safety/Elara. (Cost: 1 SP. Gain: Safety. Risk: Miss Core Opportunities.) C) DEMAND LOOT (GREED) Rattle your lid at the dead cultists. Indicate you want to eat their gear before moving. (Cost: 2 SP. Gain: Metal/XP. Risk: Delay.) D) SLEEP (REGEN) Close lid. Ignore them. Regen HP/MP/SP to full before deciding. (Cost: 0 SP. Time Skip: 10 Mins. Gain: Full Stats. Risk: They might decide without you.) VOTING CLOSES IN 24 HOURS. Reply with A, B, C, or D. Most votes wins. [Author Note] Thanks for voting on Chapter 39! Option A (Taunt) worked! You tanked the Assassin, saved the party, and got healed by Kara! You're at 13/19 HP now!