“Celeste!” I cry out.

“Ah… y-yes!”

“Attack it!”

“Yes, Master!”

Celeste waves her staff and sends dozens of air blades down the hallway. Dink. Dink. Dink! They hit the treasure chest, even causing gashes across the surface. However, the treasure chest doesn’t move a single inch.

I frown, scratching my chin. “We attacked it; shouldn’t it have at least moved?”

“Perhaps I didn’t do enough damage?” Celeste offered.

“I heard that the mimic was good at getting you to let your guard down,” Lydia added. “Perhaps it’s trying to trick us?”

“Hmm… in that case…” I strengthened Lydia with Strengthen Slave and then Reinforced her armor. “Go attack it, but be careful.”

“Yes… Master.”

Lydia ran down the hallway at full tilt. She leaped up in the air, using an attack skill and slamming her blade down on the treasure chest. The blade sliced through the wood like butter. At that point, she jumped back and immediately returned to us.

The cut had sliced through the treasure chest smoothly. The side slid off and clinked to the ground. She made sure to keep the cut high as to not damage what was inside. The result was, that half of the lid had slid off, but we still couldn’t see inside the chest from our current vantage point.

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“Is this really a mimic?” I asked, scratching my head.

“Its spiritual energy is really weak. Perhaps it’s already dead or dying.” Miki suggested.

“Alright, well, I guess we’ll just approach it then,” I said cautiously. “Just be prepared to attack if it moves.”

This time, I gathered all of the girls together, and we steadily approached it. I kept my eyes on the creature carefully, looking for movement. However, nothing happened, and before too long, we were standing over the box. The inside was dark, so I couldn’t make out what was there just by the hole in the lid that Lydia had made.

“I’m… going to open it?” I gulped.

The girls all steadied their breaths, ready to pounce at the slightest movement. I lifted up the lid. Since it had already been broken by Lydia and Celeste’s attacks, it just broke off and clattered to the ground. Eyeing the inside nervously, I took a breath. There was just a single item in there. It was a magical sword. Until I identified it, I wouldn’t know what it could do. I reached down.

Rumble… The ground started to shake. The six of us made noises and stumbled back as the ground suddenly raised up. The treasure chest was propped up with the rising ground. Meanwhile, the six of us retreated down the hallway. When I glanced back, the floor had literally risen up, revealing a massive, moss-covered creature. It had long pinchers, and the treasure chest seemed glued to its back.

“Oh… that’s not a mimic!” I snapped my fingers. “It’s a Treasure Hunter!’

The Treasure Hunter let out a screeching cry. It was nearly as big as the hallway and seemed to be nothing but thick carapace and pinchers. It immediately charged down the hallway, barreling towards our group.

“I’m really bad with temptation…” I muttered.

“You realize that now!” The girls cried at me.