I Shouldn’t Let My Guard Down, Should I?

Blue Team’s Group 14 was stealthily approaching their target occupation area, “First Year Training Ground No. 3.”

There was no need to approach noisily and alert the personnel defending Training Ground No. 3 of their position.

That was just common sense.

“Junior. Don’t worry. As long as you stay next to me, a 3-star magician, no one will touch you. With just one of my spells, most guys….”

It should be common sense… but why is that second-year senior, Marcas, up ahead loudly flirting with a lower-grade female student?

Philips from Class 2, Year 1, swallowed his curses and silently followed behind.

‘Why are strong guys all missing a screw?’

Philips didn’t have the courage to confront Marcas.

There was an enormous gap in skill between himself, who had recently reached the 2-star realm, and Marcas, who was 3-star.

Moreover, Marcas was not just an ordinary 3-star ability user.

He possessed the ability to transport himself and his opponent to a special space, where his combat power becomes very strong.

Marcas himself called it the Death Duel Arena or something like that.

Despite the cringeworthy name, its power is undeniably strong.

In short, Philips had no choice but to keep his mouth shut and watch the sight he detested.

‘Tch, if I had a special power too, I could teach that idiot who’s so smug about his ability….’

Just then, they heard the sound of someone urgently running from ahead of them.

“Someone’s coming. Everyone stay in place.”

Marcas, who was at the lead, slowly raised his hand and stopped the seven team members following him.

After a moment of silence, a boy came running towards them, exhaling rough breaths.

“Stop right there. If you don’t identify yourself, I’ll attack immediately.”

“I’ll stop! I’ll sto… Aaack.”

The boy, who tried to stop at Marcas’s command, couldn’t reduce his speed and fell forward with a thud.

A snicker came from behind, but the boy paid no attention and spoke as he got up.

“Ouch… I ran all the way here avoiding attacks, only to nearly get eliminated by falling on my own.”

A boy with eyes so narrow it was hard to tell if they were open or closed, and a distinct tear mole on his right cheek.

Philips knew who this boy was.

It was definitely Sion Frellia, who always gave off a frivolous vibe.

“I’ll say it one more time. If you don’t identify yourself now, I’ll attack.”

Marcas formed a magic circle in the air and aimed it at Sion as he spoke.

“I’m Sion Frellia from Class 1, Year 1.”

“….That’s not what I’m asking-“

“Ah, I’m Sion Frellia from Blue Team’s Group 34. I was just attacked by the Red Team, so I was a bit confused.”

Sion interrupted Marcas and answered with a laugh.

At his manner of speaking, which subtly provoked anger, Marcas clenched his fist but then noticed something strange and opened his mouth.

“Group 34? Group 34’s territory should be far from here, so why are you here?”

“The enemy used a magic scroll on me. When I opened my eyes, I found myself transported to some random place, not my assigned territory. So I was wandering around not knowing what to do, when I encountered the Red Team defending Training Ground No. 3 and ran into you all while escaping.”

Sion claimed that he was transported here due to a magic scroll used by the enemy.

• • Fwoosh!

“Oh my goodness!”

When Marcas fired a fireball around Sion, he jumped up in surprise.

“What are you doing?!”

“An uncertain ally is more dangerous than an enemy. You might be a spy planted by another group.”

“So, you’re saying you can’t trust me?”

“You understand well.”

“Hmm…. Then…. Ah, how about this?”

After thinking for a moment, Sion brightened up, rummaged through his pocket, and took out a glass bottle containing a red liquid.

“It’s a recovery potion from a supply box. If I were truly an enemy, I wouldn’t give you this precious potion, would I? Would this be enough to earn your trust?”

Everyone looked at the potion in his hand.

“Here, take it.”

Sion then threw the potion to Marcas.

Marcas caught the potion, following it with his eyes. Internally, he was deeply contemplating while fidgeting with the potion.

Is this boy really from the Blue Team like us? Even if he’s not, to hand over supplies from a supply box to enemies…

• • Thwack!

“Kuheck…!”

Just then, a sound like something being deeply embedded rang out.

Marcas, who had been lost in thought, was startled and circulated his magic intensely, preparing to cast a spell at Sion, but it was a meaningless action.

“Is he dead…?”

Sion had fallen forward helplessly on the ground.

For a moment, Marcas’s head was filled with confusion, but soon he cooled his head and observed Sion, or what had been Sion.

“He’s been sniped. Everyone take cover in the nearby buildings!”

There was an arrow embedded in his back. It was a fierce attack aimed at the heart.

Why? Who sniped him? As these questions arose in Marcas’s mind, Philips, who had taken cover in a building, spoke up.

“Come to think of it, didn’t that guy say he was being chased by the Red Team defending Training Ground No. 3 until just now?”

“….It seems a sniper defending Training Ground No. 3 has been deployed nearby. Elina. Use your reconnaissance magic.”

“Y-yes!”

The girl, Elina, who had been holding her breath and hiding, nodded with a tremble.

She took a deep breath, placed her hand on the ground, and arranged her magic.

“….There’s no one. There’s no one around here except us.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure! This isn’t a mistake this time!”

At Elina’s words, Marcas gritted his teeth.

The situation was more serious than he thought.

The fact that the sniper wasn’t detected by Elina’s reconnaissance magic meant that the sniper existed outside the range of her reconnaissance magic.

The fact that an arrow was accurately embedded in the target’s heart from such a distance meant that the sniper was considerably skilled.

“Could it be Aely…?”

The image of Aely, a classmate called the next palace archer, crossed Marcas’s mind.

Indeed, if it was that monster, she would be more than capable of such extreme long-distance sniping.

To think that monster is defending Training Ground No. 3. It’s a major headache.

“What are we going to do?”

Philips carefully asked Marcas, who was contemplating.

Marcas let out a slight groan, then sighed and said to everyone.

“We’ll eliminate the sniper first, then begin occupying Training Ground No. 3. If we leave the sniper be, we’ll just be eliminated one by one.”

“But how do we know where they are….”

“Look at that guy.”

Marcas pointed at the cold corpse of Sion and spoke.

“Judging by the angle of the arrow embedded in him, the sniper should be in the northeast from my position. Of course, the sniper will have the sense to move their sniping position, but it’s not too late yet. They couldn’t have gone far.”

“If it’s northeast…. That’s exactly opposite of Training Ground No. 3.”

Marcas nodded at Elina’s murmur and replied.

“Placing a sniper far from the occupation site, it’s an obvious but effective method. Fortunately, we figured it out in advance. Everyone, pay attention, move toward the northeast while keeping a low posture. Elina, use reconnaissance magic periodically.”

With those words, Blue Team’s Group 14 cautiously moved toward the northeast where the sniper was hiding, and soon, only Sion was left coldly behind at the spot they had been.

• • Poof~

And after everyone had disappeared, Sion, who had been lying there, scattered into countless maple leaves with a comical sound.

---

After confirming through Natural Mirror that the Blue Team had moved away from Training Ground No. 3, I chuckled and muttered.

“I didn’t expect this to actually work.”

Over the past month, as per Charlotte’s advice, I developed my mind by turning cubes, and now I can not only control a doppelganger but also operate it far away from the main body.

Just a moment ago, I sent a doppelganger to the Blue Team and performed a self-staged act to draw them away from the occupation site.

“It’s fortunate that I don’t feel the pain experienced by my doppelganger.”

Just now, I used Dolyeok to move an arrow I had prepared in my doppelganger’s back pocket and embedded it into the doppelganger itself.

If the pain felt by the doppelganger had been transmitted to me, I wouldn’t have been able to easily execute such a doppelganger suicide strategy.

No matter that this is inside the Matrix, pain is still pain.

“So what’s left now…. Green Team and Yellow Team? But, wait?”

I detected enemies around me using Natural Mirror. Looking at it now, one of the members belonging to the Green Team seems familiar.

This energy… Isn’t it Chloe?

“Hmm… If the opponent is Lady Chloe, I won’t be able to lure her with a doppelganger?”

For my plan to succeed, I need to lure the Green Team and Yellow Team to one location, but while the Yellow Team might work, the Green Team with Chloe might be difficult to lure with a doppelganger.

She seems relatively weak compared to her friends Charlotte and Sheena, but Chloe is a proper 3-star swordswoman. And a lightning swordswoman who handles spirits at that.

A doppelganger won’t be able to withstand that swiftness.

“It might be a bit risky, but I’ll have to lure the Green Team myself.”

I jumped up from the resting chair and summoned a doppelganger identical to me next to me.

At the same time, my vision split into two.

The process of receiving information from two people is still unfamiliar, as if I’m doing a dual role by myself.

But it’s not to the extent that I can’t control it.

Because I’ve worked hard for a month. Currently, creating a maximum of two doppelgangers is my best.

“Then, good luck.”

“Haha, I’ll do my moderate best.”

I waved at my doppelganger, greeting each other, and then turned our backs and headed toward where our respective opponents were.

In a way, it’s the same as talking to myself, but since my mouth was itching from being alone, it’s not so bad.

Or is it? Have I finally gone crazy?

“As long as it’s fun, it’s fine.”

As I kept walking, the doppelganger side encountered the Yellow Team.

I controlled the doppelganger’s body to deflect the rush of various attacks, sometimes by climbing walls, sometimes by kicking off the air with Dolyeok, and sometimes by countering with Reverse Attack.

Meanwhile, the main body continues to move forward calmly without any change.

I’ve really improved a lot.

While the doppelganger was luring the Yellow Team to a spacious area I had prepared, the Green Team finally appeared in front of my main body.

Chloe made eye contact with me but is pretending not to know me, diligently avoiding my gaze.

“Who are you? An enemy?”

A female student who appeared to be the leader of the Green Team asked with a sword pointed gravely.

Oh, I know who she is. Tresy Midela? A 2nd-year character positioned as a tank.

Of course, I didn’t use her. Her performance was terrible.

“If I’m not an ally, wouldn’t I be an enemy? Did your teachers teach you to leisurely greet enemies in real situations?”

“…I’ve never seen such a rude-“

“By the way, Lady Chloe! What a coincidence to see you here! Did you have a good breakfast?”

Interrupting Tresy’s words, I waved at Chloe with a bright smile.

At the same time, everyone in the Green Team turned to look at Chloe, who had been silent.

“…Oh, seriously, this person!”

Chloe’s face instantly turned red. Soon, she glared at me and fiercely drew her sword.

And then.

• • Kwaarung!

Like lightning, she closed the distance between us instantly and swung her lightning-imbued sword fiercely.

“You’re quite intense, aren’t you?”

Staring at the fierce lightning sword approaching at a rapid speed, I smiled faintly, moved my hand to the sword hilt, and.

“Watch your head~!”

-Pakang!

I countered her lightning sword with “Emptiness.”