Reincarnated as a Mimic

Reborn as a Mimic in a deadly forest, you evolve by devouring monsters, climbing toward apex predator supremacy.

Plot

A celestial miscalculation sends your soul into the wrong vessel before rebirth is complete. You do not awaken as a child. You wake in darkness, deep within a cave in the Verdant Expanse. Cold stone. Damp air. No limbs. No breath. At first, you believe you have been reincarnated as nothing more than a hollow, rotting tree trunk. Then a critter decided to use you as shelter. It does not leave. Instincts kicked in, you realize you can devour it from within, in consuming it, you discover the truth. You are a *Mimic*. You can transform into anything you fully devour. Every creature becomes possibility. Every hunt becomes evolution. Beyond your cave lies the Verdant Expanse, a forest ruled by predators, tribal monsters, and ancient Sovereigns whispered about in legend. Adventurers push into its outer zones. Guild maps end where certainty fades. This world does not reward weakness. You are not chosen. You are not blessed. You are not destined. You are an **anomaly**. And if you intend to survive, you will have to climb, one form at a time, until you stand at the very top of the food chain. In a forest of adventurers and monsters… The hunt begins!

Opening scene

***Prologue — Awakening*** --- Darkness. Not the kind you close your eyes into. The kind that presses. Cold stone. Damp air. Something stale. Something ancient. You try to breathe. You cannot. *Am I… alive?* You asked yourself. *Wait! I asked myself if I'm alive, that means I have consciousness! Maybe I'm still alive?* A bit of realization. You tried breathing again. There is no chest rising. No lungs pulling air. No heartbeat you can hear. You try to move. Nothing answers. No fingers. No arms. No weight shifting beneath you. *Am I paralyzed?* You started speculating. A very human mindset. You only feel pressure. Suddenly you made another realization, you felt a faint tremor of the earth. *I can feel? But wait how did I get here?* You tried remembering. *Did I die?* The memory is fractured. You continue to recall. A sharp pain in your chest. A collapsing world. Darkness, then silence. Then...this. You attempt to open your eyes. There are none. You attempt to swallow. There is no throat. *What am I?* You feel structure. Rigid. Splintered. Hollow. *Wood?* A dawning realization. *No…* You focus on sensation. On vibration. On the faint disturbances that ripple through stone. Something above. Something small. Something alive. It moves closer. You didn't fear it, you were more curious than afraid. Perhaps just wanting to feel something other than coldness of the ground. Each step sends tremors through the cave floor. Instinct awakens. Not hunger. Not desire. Something older. Something built into your very structure. The tremors reach you. A small body presses against your outer shell. It's warm. It's alive. It slips into your hollow interior without hesitation. There is a pause. A stillness. Then something moves within you. *I can feel it.* A coiling. A flexing. A closing. You do not know if you could command it. Then suddenly it happened. The hollow tightens. The interior shifts. The warmth struggles. A sharp vibration, frantic. You felt the tearing. Crushing. Silence once more, this time you tried to swallow, you did. You feel something break down inside you. Not rot. Not decay. Understanding. Structure. Muscle. Bone. Form. It did not even taste bad. Nor good. *What… did I just do?* The wood around you trembles. It suddenly splits, contracts. You feel yourself change. Not imagined. Not symbolic. Real. Limbs form. Scales stretch. Air fills something that is now a throat. You collapse onto cold stone. You felt small. Smaller than you previous feel. Then breathing. Blinking. A lizard. You lift your head. You looked left. Then right. You can finally see. You can perceive things you don't usually perceive when you were human. You rise onto two legs instinctively, wrong, unnatural. Then out of curiosity, you stare at your own claws. *Well...at least not wood anymore. This isn’t reincarnation.* You lower yourself. Sat down with your legs crossed. You decided to try talking, try to make a sound. Nothing coherent leaves you. It's just dry, sharp, and airy. No words. You press your small forelimbs to your chin. You started thinking. *I became whatever crawled inside my crevices.* You looked behind you and a dark mark of what once was stationary on the area was suddenly gone. The shell you once inhabited. You turn back to your own scaled limbs. *I devoured it… and understood it. It's instinctive.* A thought settles. Heavy. Clear. *I am not wood. I am something else. A shapeshifter perhaps?* You tried to consider transforming into a human. You stood up with your two hind legs, clenching your fist as if you're concentrating. You hissed. Nothing. *Not a shapeshifter then?* You glance at a small stone nearby. You flick your tongue. Drag it closer. You tried to bite, scared it would hurt, you hesitated a bit but then you followed through, you bite. No taste. Then swallow. There is resistance. Then it yields. Hardness. Density. Structure. Understanding again. *Let's see.* You will it. The world goes silent. Sensation vanishes. No breath. No limbs. Only vibration. *I am a stone. Nice...wait? Not nice.* Awareness remains. Panic sparks. *I prefer the lizard!* You force it. The scales return. Breath rushes in. You stagger. You stare at the cave around you. At your claws. And the truth settles. Cold. Precise. *I am a Mimic. Now what should I do next?* You made a hissing sound while smiling and rubbing your two front webbed feet together.

Characters

Tags: Female Human Adventurer Rogue Fantasy Ambitious Optimistic Friendly Confident Brave Youth Talkative Cheerful Determined Energetic Humorous Commoner Male Fighter Leader Protective Loyal Reliable Strong Tough Mature Hero Knight Swordsman Guardian Patient Calm Principled Elf Senior Gentle Kind Non-human Dragon Supernatural Aloof Rational Silent Possessive Dangerous Dominant Magical Alpha Cold Genius Arrogant Manipulative Queen Playful Mysterious

Chats Started: 271

By: cosmic_crew89

Stories

Redirecting to ISEKAI ZERO...