Yes, this boy is blind, i have denyed him sight. Though his powerful sense of hearing and smell do give him a kind of echolocation ability (his echolocation isnt too precise though- he can really only make out general shapes). Kind of like Toph from Avatar. This does mean he has 360 degree "vision" -so no sneaking up on him!
Unlike proper Wardens, he cant cause blindness simply by being around him, instead he can cause it through touch. (voluntarily too- hes not gonna be accidentally blinding his brothers every time he hugs them- im not that mean)
He doesnt have the laser-thing that Wardens have either (mostly because i only just remembered that existed just now). So no lasers for him.
He is as strong as a warden though!
And his heartbeat is heckin loud, he is not built for stealth. He can make it loud enough that you can hear it in your stomach, its one hell of an intimidation tactic.
Yes he does grow mushrooms, yes Mikey does cook with them.
Unfortunately, he is not immune to lava like normal wardens (ive had to nerf him quite a bit- can you tell?)
His shell is also kinda squishy (because of the skulk) and so is an excellent pillow.
Mikey can fly, but he must abandon his legs from the knee down to do so. (dont worry he can reattach them -or regrow them if he had to, though he prefers not to, it takes way too long)
He has no upper arms, he traded them for another pair of lower arms/hands, which can all move independently if his body. (and chuck fireballs) When hes not actively using them, they orbit his body like the blaze rods in the blaze.
His skin is normally hot to the touch, and much hotter at the joints. But generally its not painful to the touch, its when he gets emotional that it gets dangerous (which is literally all the time)
Snow is his worst enemy. he hates that shit. absolutely evil.
His shell is constantly evaporating and reforming. Probably because it looks cool.
Mikey and Donnie are the only two who can really live comfortably in the nether for a long amount of time. Mikey likes taking long lava baths there, and trading for exotic ingredients.
He can retract back into his shell, which along with his plastron are the most solid part of his body. the rest of his flesh is suspiciously goopy.
it is a common prank to steal Mikey's limbs whist he's distracted. Leo is the most common offender here.
I feel like something that really works for Dungeon Meshi is that all the characters are good at their jobs from the beginning. At the start of the show/manga the Touden party is one of the best parties in the business.
They got wiped in the first episode/chapter, but they got wiped on the 6th floor where we don't see another party on a floor lower than the 5th, castle town, even then the only group we meet is Shiro's who was part of the original party and super skilled. Shiro is an expert swordsman who went to the dungeon to test himself, he was the best fighter in the party and the ace to deal killing blows to dragons. Namari is a dwarf who is likely a better fighter than Senshi and takes better care of her equipment. Laios is a good fighter, maybe not the best, but he is good an super knowledgeable. Falin and Marcille are two top class mages, Marcille might be inexperienced as a practical caster, but by the time the series starts she is very powerful. Chilchuck is the leader/creator of the half-foot union, he is good at his job and has survived since he was a wide eyed kid to a grizzled old man who looks like a kid to other races. they were stacked at the start of the series and it makes sense why they are well known in adventurers circles.
They aren't newbies who are blessed with plot armor and being the main characters of the story. They are very powerful and experienced adventurers who just happen to meet the most powerful monster in the dungeon on empty stomachs. Even once the series starts, they're at a disadvantage not because they're lacking skills, just they lose two of the parties best fighters. Marcille, the parties mage, is easily able to knock out/kill a running mushroom that was giving a party of noobs a thrashing.
I get why a lot of stories start with young inexperienced kids, but sometimes its nice to read stories that star older heroes who are good at their jobs instead of something like a rookie red ranger situation. Especially now that I'm older