I’ve got a hunch.
However, it’s not yet time to be certain.
Uncertain commands confuse the party.
Let’s focus on the opponent in front of us for now.
Surely, this enemy isn’t so easy that we can afford distractions.
My step plunged deep into the Guardian’s Gawol.
The twin swords swung with lightning speed.
I evaded one and parried the other at an angle, pressing blade against blade.
Technically, I had the upper hand. Using the sword’s guard as leverage, I twisted and forced the defense open.
Perhaps due to the earlier influence, the upper defense became solid.
Then, it’s only natural to aim lower.
Squatting low, I aimed for the instep.
While slipping to the side, I grazed the shin and launched a throwing blade toward the face.
Fortunately, there was a human-like vulnerability in areas not covered by armor.
[The opponent’s Racial Trait nullifies the paralysis toxin.]
So, poison won’t work on it, huh?
Well, it would be strange if paralysis toxin worked on an inanimate object like that.
The great sword hovering around the Boss comes slicing in at an angle.
It seems this trajectory is akin to a Great Sword Warrior’s skill… Just as the skill didn’t allow me enough time to dodge, my calf was about to be pierced.
Instead, I used the shadow cast by the previously thrown dagger to retreat to the rear.
The spot I struck earlier is covered by an overly thick gauntlet.
But not all areas are as fortified.
A position avoiding the dark gauntlet-like armor.
Thus, slightly below the nape, where a human’s neck muscles would be, was my target.
It would have been an effective hit.
I intended to slash the upper body in an X-pattern, but the armor intervention prevented additional damage accumulation.
After dodging the retaliating twin swords, I pushed off the ground and closed the distance again.
[Party member is casting High-level Magic, ‘Hyperheat’.]
[Warning: Evacuate the target area. Fatal damage may occur.]
[Caster: Elderlyn]
“Adaptation Rate: 36.45%”
“Detected High-tier attack magic. Initiating mandatory Dispel Field.”
[The dungeon’s magic source emits an intense pulse.]
[Skill use involving magic is impossible.]
[Remaining duration: 9.87 sec.]
Elderlyn’s planned magic was forcibly canceled.
One trusted stronghold has disappeared.
In light of this, it’s better if I also retreat for now.
Though, that’s assuming the enemy lets me.
The twin swords targeting the instep embed themselves into the ground.
In this skill aimed at the lower area, there’s a feeling of déjà vu.
Instead of pulling out the twin swords, the Guardian pulls out fresh daggers from somewhere.
From the lower-left corner aimed upward. Thrusting from the opposite direction.
A low kick to upset balance, followed by a dagger extended from a blind spot in my vision.
I somehow dodged, but I’ve already retreated over ten meters.
‘This is troublesome. One mistake, and it could be over.’
Should I call this fortune?
Behind the Guardian, a familiar figure appears.
It’s the burly Warrior with a warm demeanor, serving as backup for the stone-cutting uncle.
Perfect. With the backup from the uncle, I jump toward the ceiling.
After temporarily obscuring the field of vision, I’ll dive back in.
—No, wait. This is the wrong answer.
“Not good. Don’t come here, Uncle!”
“…?”
Having retrieved the daggers in preparation for the next attack, the Guardian’s sharp figure vanished as if erased.
It was as if being sucked into shadow.
A Shadow Step — an all-too-familiar technique of the Assassin.
The enemy reappeared at the sword imprinted on the ground earlier.
The Guardian stationed at the rear pierced the neck muscles of both sides of the stone-cutting uncle.
What followed was an attempt that I could not quite finish—a broad back with an X-shaped wound forming, followed by another dagger stabbing the flank.
These were all moves I intended to perform earlier.
[Party member ‘Abujidolgyulrogayoo’ has perished.]
This confirms it.
The AI of the Guardian is mimicking me.
And it does so with overwhelmingly superior specs.
This is truly an unpleasant trick.
The Guardian isn’t just imitating my moves but actually resembling me.
As its large body shrinks and fine, long hair flutters in the wind.
Even the dark-colored body mimicking my clothes flapping around was unmistakable.
“Adaptation Rate 50.00%”
“2nd Grade Guardian. ‘Engul’ deployment approved.”
“Battle Arena activated. Commence elimination of maximum threat entity.”
The expansive battlefield was split into two.
In a brief moment, the second one appears. A partition wall erecting between us and the party members.
Additional walls enclosing me have created a field of just the two of us.
The Guardian turns the dagger between its fingers, gazing at me with metallic eyes.
How impudent, this young girl.
Why are you looking at me with such arrogance?
“Alright, let’s see how far you can mimic. I’m curious.”
How often do you get the chance to fight against a version of yourself in life?
I should probably feel a peculiar sense of curiosity,
but instead, I feel an inexplicable tightness, as if my throat were clamped shut.
A familiar dagger flashes its blade.
The first attack targets the upper half.
It’s an attempt to obscure the vision with a hand while attacking.
This trick was rarely effective due to the weight class difference in the game environment.
However, since my opponent and I are the same size, the hand obscuring my vision was indeed annoying.
This kid is spoiling the game.
[“Mangle” debuff activated.]
[The inflicted damage scales directly with the number of stacked debuffs.]
On the interface below, the debuffs steadily stack up.
It seems to be a content clearly guiding a defensive playstyle.
While I tie down the opponent, it’s likely the outside party will achieve something.
That’s probably the original gimmick.
Strangely, while here, the party’s status doesn’t update,
and the chat doesn’t appear either.
Even the voice channel seems blocked since no voice can be heard.
The one-on-one combat is entirely isolated from the external world.
This would be an issue for anyone else, but for me, it’s rather fortunate.
That brat happens to mimic me.
Assassins perform way better in many-versus-many battles anyway.
Surprise attacks are lethal in such chaotic fights.
Unlike our setup with targets like Elderlyn or Sansa, their side only has one main entity—an Assassin acting as the Boss.
It’s right to settle this here and now.
…I’m wrong.
My honest feelings weren’t like that.
I don’t need to lie to myself when there’s no one to witness.
“Adaptation Rate: 67.54%”
The moment the distance closed, both of us assumed precisely the same stance.
The dagger in the right hand crossed, with simultaneously twisted wrists, lightly slicing each other’s knuckles.
As the blood sprinkled in the air, thorns erupted from the ground.
Avoiding the thorns through slight posture adjustments.
Thorns shooting from the armpit, the side of the neck, or between the legs missed slicing the flesh by only about a finger’s breadth.
Simply put, the attack hasn’t concluded yet.
Without hesitation, we both swung our daggers.
The dagger glances off, then targets the fingers.
The moment the opponent’s gaze shifts to the blade, I switch targets and kick the ankle.
It fails as both of us thought the same thing and ended up colliding shin against shin.
“Ugh!”
The pain surges upward, unusual.
It’s unfair; my body isn’t that tough, as stated.
Stop pretending to be me when we aren’t the same.
Irritating.
As if my insides were melting into a furnace, I feel like vomiting soot.
It’s unpleasant how the hands using the exact same grip as mine feel.
The momentary pause while our breaths met. Looking for gaps in the opponent’s defenses before my blade even reaches my own body.
What drives such desperate obsession oozes out with every cut made.
From the trajectory of the dark dagger comes a nauseating smell.
A dank and musty scent like one might encounter in old buildings.
A place that naturally breeds in dark and cramped spaces.
This creature should’ve withered and died.
Still, it thrashes and struggles violently to live.
In a way that’s grotesque… like a worm.
“Disgusting.”
It’s like observing an insect that refuses to die no matter how many times it’s stepped on.
It might resemble a snake with a crushed body part.
A grotesque sight, its fangs dripping with deadly venom—like a mudskipper in its final moments.
Did it truly believe it would become a dragon?
Did it really think it would shine like those up above?
How foolish.
What was so great about me?
You already knew nothing would change.
Even if you win a tournament, everything eventually returns to its original place as time passes.
You treated it as a sweet dream and moved on, right?
“Adapt Rate 85.3…? Error detected. Recalculating.”
“Adaptation Rate 42.6%”
The body reacts instinctively.
Suppressing a dagger aimed at the lower abdomen from above.
The dagger grip instantly shifts, aiming to scorch my wrist.
Not yet. I thrust the blade first.
On the day I won the Arena Championship,
I splurged on ordering a webcam.
I bought an expensive one.
Because I didn’t want my face in the video to look too bad.
I spared no expense for crystal-clear, vibrant recordings.
I dressed cleanly, tidied up the room in advance.
Indeed, if the game world wouldn’t do, real-life broadcasts could suffice.
Fortunately, my body turned out quite beautiful.
Elderlyn’s and Sansa’s compliments might have boosted my courage.
Lifting the delivery box containing the camera, my heart raced.
However, I couldn’t actually bring myself to unpack it.
I lacked the courage.
