30 – Preparing for Dungeon Clear

The last iron bar opened, and the final enemy to fight in this Arena entered.

Ah, before that, I was hungry and tired, so I ate the S-grade specialty potato infused with the earth’s mana that I had received from the child earlier.

It tasted good, and it subtly healed my wounds, invigorated me, and even slightly increased my attack power.

Anyway, the last opponent I met after that doping was…

“…Me?”

None other than me.

[You have encountered the S+ grade monster, ‘Arena’s Familiar Doppelganger’.]

Doppelganger.

A monster notorious among Hunters, it transforms into oneself or a close acquaintance to deceive and kill, or perfectly analyzes one’s behavior patterns to prevent attacks before killing.

The way to kill it is to kill it with a method that even I wouldn’t expect, or to become strong enough to feel the difference after the Doppelganger only replicates the moment of replication.

Frankly, both are difficult.

When I fight, I honestly rely on instinct and react to immediate situations, so I don’t really know how I fight or what habits I have.

“….”

The Doppelganger cannot speak.

And that’s one of the ways to distinguish whether it’s a Doppelganger or not.

“Why don’t you attack first?”

As Ha-yeon said that, the Doppelganger took out the Immortal Longsword from its waist.

[Constellation, ‘Moon-Cleaving Flash’ says that’s not the ‘Immortal Longsword (S+)’, but just an iron sword with insanely high hardness that imitates its appearance.]

[Constellation, ‘Moon-Cleaving Flash’ advises that Doppelgangers only copy the performance of skills and weapons, and cannot copy titles and epithets.]

So Stacks don’t accumulate.

Honestly, there’s no enemy worth killing right now, so it’s as good as having none for me either.

With each of us pointing our swords at each other, a little time passed in a standoff.

The one who moved first was Ha-yeon, not the Doppelganger.

Activating Sacred Haze and the Sword Demon that only she can use, she charged.

The Doppelganger also used Sacred Haze to dodge to the side, as if directly experiencing it.

‘It’s incredibly fast.’

‘Normally, I would twist the sword like this.’

I have to use a trick that it can’t anticipate.

With a speed that couldn’t be seen with the eyes, I supported myself on the ground with my left hand and kicked the Doppelganger’s abdomen with my right foot.

The Doppelganger staggered, bewildered by the kick filled with mana.

It consumed quite a bit of mana because it wasn’t a frequently used area, but it wasn’t a big problem.

Anyway, she didn’t leave the Doppelganger, who was staggering and showing an opening, alone.

Immediately using a flashy movement, Ha-yeon landed on the ground and raised her sword, charging.

[Skill, ‘One Extreme Flash (A+)’ has been activated.]

All of this happened in just 5 seconds.

But the Doppelganger wasn’t just imitating her for nothing.

Clang!

“…Oh.”

It also used One Extreme Flash to twist the path of the sword.

Barely dodging to the side, a leg came at her.

“Nowhere to go.”

Ha-yeon, who dodged the long leg by jumping, held the Immortal Longsword in her left hand and struck the Doppelganger’s face with her right hand.

A powerful blow filled with mana, I have to gradually incorporate hand-to-hand combat that I would never normally use.

A clear red mark was visible on the cheek that was hit squarely.

Even though it was fake, attacking myself felt a bit strange, but only for a moment.

The Doppelganger, who briefly stroked the red and swollen area with its hand, spread its palm towards the ground.

“…What is it trying to do?”

Did I have any skills that could do anything by putting my hand on the ground?

Thinking that, I watched the Doppelganger’s actions, only doing the minimum defense.

And a little later.

“…!”

A huge mass of mana felt from the ground.

I quickly dodged to the side, and in that short moment, white mana exploded from that spot.

I’ve seen that a lot…

What was it…

‘Ah!’

It was Mana Beam.

Mana Beam was the only skill that could be used like that.

‘I’ve never seen it used like that before.’

It’s also because I haven’t seen any other Mana Beam users besides myself.

Thinking that, she tried using it once this time.

First, she covered the front with her cloak and poured mana into the ground with her hand.

Then, she exploded it as if using Mana Beam in the ground where the Doppelganger was.

[Skill, ‘Mana Beam (A)’ has been activated.]

A white explosion visible under the cloak along with a simple message.

‘It’s possible because it’s underground.’

It’s almost impossible to condense mana like this in the air.

But underground, the ley lines hold the mana tightly, allowing mana to be moved like this.

“But the mana consumption efficiency is insanely bad.”

Even though it held it tightly, too much mana leaked out, so the efficiency wasn’t very good.

Thinking that, she put the cloak back on her shoulders, and what she saw was the Doppelganger looking at her expressionlessly.

‘I dodged it, so there’s no way it couldn’t dodge it.’

Thinking that, she raised her sword again and thought about the artifact she hadn’t used for a while.

And with that, she charged once again.

[Skill, ‘One Extreme Flash (A+)’ has been activated.]

This time, One Extreme Flash was activated immediately.

The Doppelganger tried to dodge the attack to the side, but… I have an artifact.

[Additional skill of item, ‘Lenda’s Tears (B+)’, ‘Abyssal Restraint (B+)’ has been activated.]

A skill I hadn’t used for a while.

It’s a skill that stops the opponent’s movement, and if the opponent is me, it will probably stop for about 1 second.

You might think it’s too short, but…

‘That alone is fatal.’

In a fight where life and death are decided in 0.1 seconds, not 1 second, 1 second is almost like asking to be killed.

Even more so in a fight between S-grades like me.

I stabbed the sword, it broke through the air at an incredible speed, and I stabbed the sword into the Doppelganger’s heart in an defenseless state.

Thwack.

Not a big, small sound.

Nevertheless, it was a sound that was more than enough to kill a life.

The powerful blow pierced the Doppelganger’s heart and came out from behind, where blood gushed out.

It was really me, so I felt an insane sense of repulsion, but I tried to pull myself together and twisted the sword to make sure.

And the Doppelganger’s form collapsed.

It didn’t fall to the ground, but really became a black liquid and was absorbed into the ground.

“Wow….”

Disgusting!

She quickly shook off the liquid on the Immortal Longsword and put it in its scabbard, and soon saw the System message that appeared.

[You have killed the 10th enemy in the second trial, ‘Infinite Arena’.]

[Health will be restored.]

[Rewards for clearing the second trial will be given.]

Along with that message, her health was restored.

Her body felt incredibly refreshed, as if she had just woken up from a nap.

Some of the wounds hadn’t healed, but they weren’t that big.

“More importantly, the reward?”

Didn’t the first trial not have any rewards?

Honestly, the difficulty was about the same for the first and second trials.

Even with that dissatisfaction, she looked at the reward window that had just appeared with sparkling eyes.

[You have acquired the second trial reward, ‘A+ grade Artifact Gacha Ticket’ and skill, ‘Copy (S-)’.]

[The System unlocks the information of the item and skill with its authority.]

+++

Item Name: A+ grade Artifact Gacha Ticket

Rank: A+

Type: Consumable

Effect: When used, you can randomly acquire one of the A+ grade artifacts. (However, artifacts you already own are excluded)

Contents: A ticket filled with the power of the stars.

It is the wish itself that only those who have endured the trials given by the stars can hold.

Reverence to those who have obtained this item

+++

The first item was really amazing.

To be able to get an artifact that is 3 ranks higher than the Lenda’s Tears I just used for free.

Although it’s random, it’s not a mediocre A-, but an A+ grade artifact.

If I sell this, it will definitely sell for more than a normal S-grade artifact.

Of course, I have no intention of selling it.

I already have too much money, and it’s important to get stronger because I might die now.

Let’s postpone using it for a while.

I looked at the second status window that appeared.

+++

Skill Name: Copy

Rank: S-

Type: Active

Effect: You can copy an enemy’s skill once a day, and that skill will not disappear until you copy another skill (However, skills of S+ grade or higher require a price)

Contents: A skill containing the life of a clown who could imitate anyone in the distant past, whether the opponent was an ordinary child, a strong adult, a high-ranking emperor, or even a powerful Sword Master.

The clown, who was always imitating someone and had nothing of his own, no life of his own.

That act of imitation itself became his life itself, and he took a place among the stars in the high sky.

+++

An amazing skill just by looking at it.

Skills of S+ or higher require a price, but it was definitely an amazing skill.

Is there really such a crazy skill?

I’m really happy.

“Then shall we draw an A+ grade artifact now?”

Saying that, she tore the silver ticket that was already in her hand according to the usage method that came into her head.