CHAPTER 101: CHAPTER 101: MIMIC BOGBELLY GLUTTON

Then, up ahead, a soft hole in the tunnel floor opened up. Without hesitation, the Bogbelly Glutton leapt down.

Thump!

It landed heavily inside a large cave hidden beneath the forest. The walls pulsed slightly, as if alive, and strange glowing mushrooms lit the area in pale green and blue light. The air was thick, humid, and smelled like decay.

The monster stood there for a second, its throat bulging. Its belly wiggled oddly—as if something inside was moving.

Then...

GRRUUAAAAAK—!!

The Bogbelly Glutton’s body suddenly jerked.

Its eyes rolled strangely. The creature’s mouth began to open—slowly at first, then wider and wider, stretching beyond what should be possible.

A bubbling sound echoed inside it.

Suddenly, like a broken dam, a flood of slime burst out from the monster’s mouth, splashing onto the cave floor like sticky, living water.

But it wasn’t just slime.

It was Owen—or rather, Owen in a different state. His body was like a fast-flowing puddle, swirling and spinning with energy. His slime form glowed slightly, and strange ripples circled around him.

"You thought you ate me?" Owen’s voice echoed from within the slime, playful and mocking.

The rest of the Bogbelly Glutton started trembling.

"You made a big mistake," Owen said, his body expanding.

With one final push, Owen swallowed the Bogbelly Glutton whole—his slime rising like a wave and crashing down over the monster. The bogbelly let out a choking, desperate cry, but it was quickly muffled as it sank into Owen’s hungry form.

Moments later, the slime settled.

The Bogbelly Glutton was gone. Inside the glowing puddle of Owen’s form, bubbles popped quietly.

Owen wiggled quietly in the center of the cave, the remains of the Bogbelly Glutton fully digested inside his body. He looked around, waiting for Axelius to drop down any second.

But no one came.

"...Axel?" he called, his voice echoing slightly across the glowing cave.

Still nothing.

Owen bounced a little, rising like jelly, and floated near the hole in the ceiling—the same hole where the Bogbelly Glutton had dropped in. It was too high. Way too high.

He looked around and noticed other holes

—five, six, maybe more—dotting the ceiling in random places. They were dark and narrow, twisting upward into other tunnels. It wasn’t just one path... it was a whole network.

"Darn it," Owen muttered. "He must’ve fallen somewhere else..."

He bounced again, this time a little faster, moving through the cave and searching for any exit or clue. Nothing looked helpful. It was just wet stone, glowing mushrooms, and a few bones in the corners.

"No doors, no tunnels down... just up." He sighed. "How am I supposed to get out of here?"

Then suddenly, He remember something. His slime body jiggled with excitement.

He quickly opened his system screen. His skills flashed across a light-blue interface that only he could see.

Mimicry Lv. 2 – You can copy the form of something you’ve digested or absorbed. Size limit applies.

"In four years, For some reason i can’t mimic beasts i ate. I hope It’s success this time" he muttered, looking down at the stains left by the Bogbelly Glutton. "It’s worth a try."

He closed his eyes, focused his slime core, and slowly changed.

His round, squishy form began to stretch, puff, and shift. Limbs formed. A wide mouth, big bulbous eyes, and stubby legs. In just a few seconds, Owen had transformed into a small version of a Dark blue Bogbelly Glutton.

His stomach wobbled, and his back was a bit hunched. He blinked his big eyes and muttered in a deeper, squishier voice, "Ugh. This feels gross."

He looked down at his new slimy feet and poked at his own long tongue hanging out of his wide mouth.

"I wonder how long I can stay in this form," he said, stepping around the cave with his new body. "Hopefully long enough to fool anything that lives here... or at least find a way back to Axel."

His glowing tongue slipped back in, and with one last squelch, the mimic-Bogbelly started walking slowly toward one of the cave walls.

Owen’s big slimy belly suddenly made a loud gruuuuumble

.

He paused, blinking. "Whoa... It’s been so long since I felt hunger."

His glowing tongue slipped out a little as he looked down at his bloated belly. The sensation surprised him. Back when he was just a slime, he never felt hunger at all. Now, inside this mimic body of the Bogbelly Glutton, he felt a real craving—deep and noisy just like when his human.

Just then, he saw a small group of Bogbelly Gluttons wobbling across the cave floor ahead of him, heading in the same direction. Their slimy, slow movements seemed lazy, but they all had the same goal in mind.

"...Will they notice I’m not a real one?" Owen whispered, squinting suspiciously.

He hesitated for a second, then bounced forward on heavy bogbelly legs and joined their group. He walked next to one with greenish skin—it just blinked at him and looked away.

He moved closer to another, this one darker and bulkier. It didn’t even react.

Owen smirked in his new fat face. "Dumb monsters. Tsk tsk tsk."

Just as he relaxed, gruuumble!—his stomach made another loud noise. But this time, a new sensation followed. a smell. It floated through the air like smoke from roasted food. His eyes widened, tongue flicking out.

"Wha... What is that? That smells... so delicious!"

His nose twitched as he followed the scent. The other Bogbelly Gluttons did the same, walking in droves like they were hypnotized. Step by step, the group reached a wide cliff.

Owen peeked down—and his jaw dropped.

Below them was a large cave chamber filled with glowing, oversized eggs. Dozens of them sat in huge nests, steam rising from a few cracked shells. It was like a feast made just for monsters.

One by one, the Bogbelly Gluttons jumped down the cliff. Owen walked to the edge, tongue drooping. "Ugh... I’m starving..."

He jumped.

BOUNCE! His big belly hit the soft ground with a wobble.

He looked around in awe. "Eggs? Seriously? It smells so good down here, it’s insane."

He waddled over to a nest and tried to take a bite, his tongue rolling out. But before he could even touch the egg, a fat Bogbelly pushed him aside with its huge hip, making him bounce away.

"Hey! What the—! Earlier you were ignoring me!"

Owen grumbled, wiping goo from his face. He looked around at the greedy gluttons fighting over eggs, slapping each other with their tongues and big bellies.

"...Monsters, man. No manners at all."