novel
| ← Ch.093 | Ch.095 → |
"I don't think it will work... We will have to sit tight and wait for the rescue party to come. I will be hard for us to clean up the debris and get out of here."
The adventurer said that after checking out the exit that was blocked by the ceiling's rubble.
"We have another matter that's more important than that. The doppelganger is a dangerous demon. We must not let it escape to the outside. Before the rescue party comes, we must resolve this matter on our own here."
The holy knight said that.
You don't need to say that again. I kill the demon as well so I can clear the stage.
"However, figuring out the doppelganger is extremely difficult once it steals the likeness of a person. The doppelganger doesn't just steal the appearance of a person; It also steals the memories and personality of the original, so you cannot tell it apart from the person so easily."
As I thought, that knight is talented at giving exposition.
Was he an oil baron in his past life?
"Does anyone here know how to identify the doppelganger?"
The mercenary shouted in husky voice.
Having heard the man, everyone pondered deeply about it. However, it seemed n. o. body had any good ideas. They all kept silent.
"How about just trying to attack each other?"
Having heard what I just said, the holy knight panicked a little. He asked,
"Attack? What are you trying to say?"
"About the doppelganger. Does it reveal its true self when it is attacked?"
"It will! Even a doppelganger will reveal its demonic form to survive when attacked because its power in its demonic form will be stronger. However, we don't know who is the doppelganger, so how are we supposed to attack the doppelganger?"
The kind knight explained.
There is a way.
"I do have a thought. I wonder what everyone would think of this plan."
"What do you have in mind?"
"In my town, we call this the mafia game."
"So, after having a discussion and concluding it each day, gather everyone's opinions, select the doppelganger and attack the selected person?"
"Yes."
That knight over there has superb talent for explaining things.
Using the mafia game method, people will naturally be forced to take turns and talk about themselves.
Instead of the ident. i. ty of the doppelganger, I am more curious about the people's stories, so this is the best method for me.
"Denied."
The mage said in quiet voice.
The adventurer laughed as he crouched and sat the corner.
"It looks like you guys don't even have the level of a rat's s. h. i. t about understanding demons. A doppelganger is a powerful high demon. I cannot be certain of the victory even if the five besides the doppelganger were to join forces and attacked it together. Let's a. s. sume we did collect our thoughts and attacked one person. It would be good if we got the right one. However, what if we got the wrong one? If we lose even just one person, we won't be able to defeat the doppelganger."
"Ah, you don't have to worry about that. I'll kill the doppelganger."
"You? How?"
"I intend to kill it by myself."
Also, if possible, I hope others won't interfere and get in my way.
The experience points I gain might decrease if other people join me in hunting down the doppelganger.
I never heard about a doppelganger.
Obviously, I don't have a way of knowing how strong a doppelganger is.
However, I could make a guess.
It is the matter of the Tutorial stage's setting.
First, the challenger must find the doppelganger while minimizing casualties.
From the doppelganger's perspective, it would want to reduce the number of foes as much as possible before it gets discovered.
It might ambush someone when it has the chance. It might cause strife between people. It could also try to deflect attention to a scapegoat.
Second, the challenger must defeat the doppelganger with the remaining people once he is revealed.
The question is how many of the challengers will still be alive by the time the doppelganger is discovered.
The adventurer said it will be very dangerous to fight the doppelganger with just four people, and the group would stand a slim chance of victory even with all five people.
a. s. suming the challenger is stronger than the average strength of the other five, the challenger must have at work with at least three or four survivors to stand a chance against the doppelganger.
However, such a plan applies only for ordinary challengers.
It is a completely different story for me.
If the doppelganger is a little stronger than or is on par with the combined power of the five here, then the doppelganger is not strong enough to beat me.
Honestly, I could fight them off if a group of four and the doppelganger came at me at once, and I could win.
Of course, the group didn't think so.
"Bravado."
"That's nonsense. Are you out of your mind? Kill a demon by yourself? Why don't you say you can kill a dragon by yourself too?"
I think it would be faster if I just demonstrated my power instead of explaining it in words.
Bearing that thought, I carried my will in mana and used a skill.
[Overwhelm (Lv. 3)]
Explanation: Spread mana to the surrounding and overwhelm the weaker opponents.
I learned this skill by chance while I was practicing the telepathic communication that I learned from the master monk at the 13th Floor.
As I practiced the skill alone, I realized that this skill was responsible for the strange sense of pressure I felt from the master monk.
Because of this pressure, I overestimated the monk's combat potential, and was overly cautious.
The skill was similar to the telepathic communication, which allowed me to convey meanings by carrying my will through the mana.
The skill didn't contain detailed meaning in the mana. Instead, it overwhelmed the weaker opponents with pressure.
When they are affected by the Overwhelm skill, they will discern a strong battle spirit from the caster and feel the overwhelming pressure creeping into their hearts.
To the affected individuals, the caster's existence will appear to be huge and mysterious as if there is something hidden within.
The difference in strength will appear to be greater than it actually is.
Of course, the skill won't actually deteriorate the stats of an affected individual. The skill was essentially a bluff skill.
Carrying my will, the mana reached the group, who backed away in fear.
They all panicked and quickly took steps back. They all brought their hands toward their weapons.
"Now, let's a. s. sume I am the doppelganger. Ah, don't do anything while I'm talking. I'm going to attack you without warning if you do."
The group's eyes became even sharper and violent.
They were under the skill's effect, yet it appeared that they didn't lose their fighting spirit.
"If I am the doppelganger, then you guys don't stand a chance of victory to begin with. It won't matter to me if my ident. i. ty is discovered or not."
"Ah. We won't know until we tried fighting you. The five of us here are all quite famous in the continent."
"You should listen to the end. If I am not the doppelganger, then the opposite situation will happen. As long as you guys can figure out who the doppelganger is, I will be able to kill it no matter how many people are still left by then. Considering that, isn't it worth a. s. suming that I am not the doppelganger?"
"So, as a way to figure out who the doppelganger is, you want us to take turns and tell stories about ourselves?"
The holy knight asked.
"That's right. Even if the doppelganger can mimic the person's memories and personality, talking for a very long time might lead to a few mistakes, don't you think? It is not like we are talking about just a few sentences. Talking about oneself for a whole day can cause the doppelganger to drop clues unconsciously."
The dungeon fell to silence as I finished my monologue.
It looked like they were all diligently contemplating.
Will they be convinced by my words?
Most probably won't be.
Although I was the one who said it, it was not all that convincing.
After a while, the holy knight said,
"I agree about taking turns to talk. First, I would like to ask about you. I actually know a bit about the other four. I met them a few times while we were searching the dungeon as well. However, I don't have any information about you. Why don't you start with an introduction about yourself?"
The holy knight just made it annoying for me.
My goal is hearing their stories and gaining information.
This was a rare opportunity for me to get past the Tutorial system's restriction and obtain free information. I cannot just let it pa. s. s me by.
However, I cannot tell them about me in honest manner either.
They won't believe what I have to say about my true ident. i. ty.
It's not like I could tell them the truth and say that I am Korean and a former professional gamer who is currently in the Tutorial stage, can't I?
I need to properly hide my ident. i. ty.
I thought about the message I read earlier and slowly said,
"I am here to... obtain the treasure that's said to be hidden in this dungeon. I am sorry, but I won't be able to tell you about my ident. i. ty in detail. There are plenty of influential organizations who would send someone in secret to secure the treasure, right? Just think that I'm from one of those."
I think I talked my way out of it pretty well.
However, the people didn't think so.
"You were the one who told us to talk, yet you are the one who is hiding your ident. i. ty. Honestly, you are the most suspicious one here, you know that? You are the one who looks like the doppelganger the most. Are you scheming to get information out of us? Is that why you asked us to talk about ourselves?"
The adventurer casually hid one hand behind his back as he said that.
Wow, that was sharp.
He was right. It was a scheme to get information by having them talk.
I can't think of anything to say in response to the adventurer.
Because I was not able to say anything back right away, everyone slowly positioned their stances through small movements.
"Also, I cannot agree to what you said earlier either. Hope that you are not a doppelganger since that will give us best chance of survival? If we do as you say and the doppelganger escapes to the outside, that will bring huge chaos to the world. Even if we only stand a narrow chance of victory, if the five of us fight together against you and we should be able to inflict serious damage and drag out your true form. After that, when the exit opens, our comrades will be able to put an end to a b. a. s. t. a. r. d like you."
Oh my... You sure have a global perspective, our great holy knight sir.
Considering the change in the tone throughout what he just said, it looks like he is certain I am the doppelganger.
The group looked like they would strike at any moment. I wanted to moan of frustration.
I tried hard to convince them the best I could. As I thought, I am still clumsy at convincing people.
Now, they were drawing their weapons right in front of me. They aren't even trying to be stealthy about it. I waved my hand around and said to the group,
"Ah, wait a minute. Let me say one more thing."
"Trying to scheme to the end! Die, you demon b. a. s. t. a. r. d!"
The adventurer threw a dagger at me, initiating the battle
So, in the end, this is what happens?
Ugh, time to go back to the usual method.
I should just beat them senseless and then have a conversation with them.
First, I didn't dodge the dagger. I caught it with a light movement with my hand.
I am so sick of projectile attacks.
I had gone through excruciating experiences during my early days in the Tutorial and learned.
I promptly threw the dagger back at the adventurer.
The dagger flew at the adventurer whistling through the air, and the adventurer dove away.
The mercenary came close to be before I realized. I dodged his axe and quickly moved away.
I was fighting a combined force of a holy knight, a knight, an adventurer, a mercenary and a mage.
I had no need to act like a dumb monster in an RPG game that fights the frontline fighters who draw attention.
The most important target is the mage.
The mercenary was trying to keep me here, but I ignored him and quickly approached the mage.
The mage was reciting the spell. He was just mumbling something and was neglecting preparations to defend himself.
Chwaaaaak~
At that moment, the holy knight put himself between me and the mage.
Oh, that was quick.
Looks like you antic. i. p. ated that I will go for the mage?
The holy knight was wielding a mace on his right hand, and raised it to strike me.
Instead of taking steps back, I charged in and caught the holy knight's wrist.
Afterwards, I hit the holy knight's right shoulder with my other hand.
He is wearing a thick armor, so I cannot not be certain, but his shoulder blade is probably broken.
The holy knight ignored the pain and swung the large shield on his left hand.
I took half a step back and dodged the shield. While at it, I lightly kicked the holy knight's ankle.
The holy knight crumbled down and fell immediately.
His center of gravity was shaken at the moment, and he was not able to withstand the weight of his heavy armor.
"Uuraaaaait!"
Instead of wasting more time at the holy knight who just fell, I directed my gaze to the mage.
By the I approached the mage again, the mage completed chanting the spell.
"Flame Strike!"
A giant lump of flame burst toward my face.
[Battle Focus] d. a. m. n it. The holy knight is still on the ground in the magic's effective area, but the mage shot the magic spell anyway.
He is quite the heartless one.
I could dodge it safely if I used the Blink and retreated. However, then I'll be putting distance between myself and the mage.
Also, after they see my Blink move, they'll block my path to the mage like an iron wall.
I need to win while they are all scattered.
If they make a formation around the mage and start to hold out, then that will get very annoying.
I should just force my way through this.
[Talaria's Wings]
The Talaria's Wings has high magic defense. I covered my front with the wings and stopped the lump of fire that was flying towards me.
It's pretty hot. I have fire element resistance, but even I think it is hot.
It is pretty powerful.
The holy knight on the ground gasped for air desperately, like he was going to die.
Remember, I just saved your a. s. s, sir holy knight.
Immediately after blocking the fire magic, I approached the mage from the front and forcefully kicked him.
This is Sparta!
[TL: Does anyone still remember the "This is Sparta!" joke from a decade ago based on the 300 movie?] [PR: I do. And it will forever be an immortal meme]
The mage didn't even have the chance to scream. He was thrown to the back of the cave and collided with the wall.
It was too powerful of a kick for a mage with weak body to withstand.
He is probably unconscious at least. He might actually be knocking on the gate of death.
It would be a shame if he died.
I have so many things I want to ask him.
It appeared that the mage had lost consciousness. The light, the spell that was illuminating the area, was suddenly disengaged.
The dungeon fell under the cover of darkness once again.
First of all, it seems like the mage is not the doppelganger.
"d. a. m. n it. Biruson! Do you have a lantern?"
"Wait a sec! I have a flare... !"
I had exceptionally good perception throughout day and night and even Energy Sensory. I could secure clear visual in the darkness and move around unhindered.
I quietly approached the adventure who was busy searching his pockets for the flare.
My stealth skill's level was not low either, so it would be hard for them to notice my movement in the darkness.
After getting closer to the adventurer, I warmed up my hands by repeating the motion of making fists and opening them.
For a while now, the way the adventurer b. a. s. t. a. r. d was talking to me was getting on my nerves.
From this moment, I shall sentence you for a super hard strike on the pit of the stomach.
| ← Ch. 093 | Ch. 095 → |