A doppelganger clone was not the same as the original body. He could only use the abilities of the imitated individual. Furthermore, the newly summoned monsters in the boss room lacked intelligence. No, should I say mastery? Unlike Hans G, who summoned all of his creatures at the start of battle, clones were delayed while summoning one creature each.
«A guy for now». Before the clones could do anything, Mr. Bear's crossbow pierced one's forehead. The rest soon followed a similar path.
«We have destroyed them all!»
News of the victory came in less than thirty seconds. I was worried that some shit might happen since there were four Hanses, but for now it was easily solved.
«Everyone, now!» Before he could summon more clones, we had to hurry up and damage the original body. Although it wouldn't be easy.
«Keeeeeek!» When everyone was dealing damage, the main body began to scream and run amok with Jump, Swing, and Gigantization.
[The nameless extortionist has launched Burst of Flesh.]
I even had the ability that I stopped using after losing my regenerative power. Carrying my physical ability in addition to the average stats of a rank 5 monster, this guy really boasted the splendor of a boss monster.
«All back!» In the end, Raven had to push back the damaging ones at close range. It wasn't a bad decision. With two mages and an archer, there were more than enough damage. There was no need to risk pushing the hand-to-hand fighters to the forefront. Although the double had taken my form, dealing damage was not efficient, anyway. «You three, please protect us!»
When the three hand-to-hand fighters - Missha, Ainar and the blunt-armed warrior - took up defensive positions, the team's rearguard was able to fire more calmly and therefore sent more shots from a distance.
Where do you think you're going?
As the high-powered, long-range damage continued, the main monster body ignored me and attempted to run backwards. I handled the threat level with Wild Burst every time and attracted aggro towards me. How much time passed?
Pzzzzz!
A thunder spear landed on the double's head. His body was torn to shreds by repeated Meat Explosions and the monster transformed back into black slime.
It seems that we have overcome the first obstacle well.
Of course, the first phase was still far from over. The first phase ended when all the characters that entered the boss room were cloned in turns.
«Oh! This time it's me!»
Whoever showed up, it wouldn't be as difficult as me. In fact, Ainar was designated as the next doppelganger, but the battle ended before the cloning pattern reached the second round. Now, there was no reason for the damaging at close range to remain in the rear.
«¡Keeeeek!»
It was when we had defeated Ainar's doppelganger.
¡Ddddddd!
The magic circle drawn on the ground radiated light and the entire cave began to shake. Ah, but it wasn't a definitive finisher pattern or anything like that. It meant that the stamp unlocking rate had gone up by 10%.
[Stamp unlock rate: 20%].
Although it had only been a few minutes since the battle against the boss began, this was an inevitable part. Once the battle started, the seal unlock speed increased dramatically.
It was 5% for every ten clones summoned.
This was the most annoying part of this phase. No matter what you did, it was impossible to block the summoning pattern in advance, so increasing the unsealing percentage was inevitable. Well, if there was a second team outside that could activate the sealing stone it would decrease the load, but that wasn't the case.
We have no choice but to finish it sooner.
If 100% was reached and the seal was unlocked, the game would be over. From that moment on, each clone would become as strong as the main body. The clones even proliferated through Self-Replication.
«This time it's me.»
Next was Raven. Unexpectedly, he was now close. Summoning time was essential to magic, so I intended to finish this quickly, but the problem was the clones summoned in between. Two of the four were me.
«¡Behell-aaaah!»
«¡Behell-aaaah!»
He didn't know what kind of spell the double was trying to cast, but feeling the mana condensation, even Raven screamed that everyone would die like this. He was sure it would have been a big deal if the spell had been completed. However, I blew his mind before that.
¡Crunch!
Afterwards, the doppelganger transformed into Missha, the blunt warrior, Parteian, and Mr. Bear, in that order, and we did our best to get rid of them as soon as possible. Finally, the first phase was over.
¡Ddddddd!
As soon as the phase ended, the magic circle lit up again.
40% unsealed in the first phase...
It was exactly the figure he had predicted. Welp, I still wanted to reduce it as much as possible.
«Everyone, in training as discussed!» I erased my regrets and gave the order. After completing the first phase, the doppelganger transformed again through repeated contractions and expansions in the center of the cave.
«Yes it is... a lie... nobody knows...» The double's voice echoed throughout the cave. It marked the beginning of the next phase. «Isn't that the truth...?» Soon, the double completed his transformation.
[The unnamed extortionist has launched Exchange].
It was time to start the second phase.
Trading was one of the double's special abilities. Its effectiveness was really intuitive. This ability swapped the location of the main body with the location of the clone created through Self-Replication. However, that only happened if the ability was obtained through an essence.
«...Why does it start with me?»
«...Why does it start with me?»
Raven doubled over. Their faces were the same, and there was no sense of incongruity in their tones of voice or expressions. As a side note, it was impossible to distinguish them by their location.
This is how the magician I trained hard for died in the past.
I remembered him as the first wizard I successfully recruited while playing Dungeon and Stone. My shock was great then.
Deslick.
I moved my gaze and scrutinized the Stones of Truth that rolled like toys on the floor. Originally, the standard strategy was to use them to distinguish whether someone was a double or not. Instead, the sealing percentage increased. Without external support, we couldn't use this. So how would we distinguish the real one?
I smiled.
I smiled and stared at the two Crows. Although the first lines coincided, his words and actions differed from here.
"¡No disappear!"
«What are you all doing! She is the fake one!»
One said defensive lines and the other defended himself with a rather aggressive stance.
I murmured dryly: «What are you doing? Shoot».
Clic.
I could hear Mr. Bear pulling the trigger from behind.
¡Pum!
A large arrow that was indistinguishable from a siege weapon was fired, shattering Raven's small head.
Desplome.
The small body collapsed weakly. Everyone, including Missha, was paralyzed. «Was... the real Aruru...?»
«¡Asesino! ¡Tú mataste a Variety!»
«Of course not. Calm down everyone.»
Before long, Raven's body turned into black slime and floated from the ground. That meant he was right. For reference, the aggressive Raven was the real one. «Okay, now go to the spare place».
I sent Raven to the wall, as her position had been swapped with that of the double, and approached the slime in the middle of her transformation. «This time it's you».
When I waited with the mace raised, the double finished transforming. «Eek! Drop that, you stupid barbarian».
That's what you would like.
Hit!
Without further ado, I hit my head with my mace. Once again, it was the correct answer. This was natural. A doppelganger could not copy a numbered item. Missha had No. 5,991, Snake Fang.
«Uh, shouldn't you think about it first? I mean, it's me...»
«Oh, Miss Karlstein, what do you expect from a barbarian?» Raven had received the used Lost Trust from Parteian and held it in her hand throughout the battle against the boss.
«Finally it's my turn. I'll take care». Mr. Bear had the Necromancer Deception.
«Behell-ahhhhh!» Ainar wore the Archer Fairy's Fox Flame Knot. It wasn't a useful option, so it would sell when we were away.
¡Crunch!
Thus, the second phase could be overcome with the power of objects. Did you just realize now?
[The unnamed extortionist has launched Exchange.]
The double transformed into the blunt-armed warrior and immediately began attacking without further ado. The target was the mage with the lowest defense power. If we had been in a dense formation like before, this attack would have been difficult to avoid.
«I'll stop it!»
However, as soon as we entered the second phase, we distanced ourselves and stayed close to the wall. Simply put, we had more than enough time to react to a surprise attack.
¡Bang!
Ainar's greatsword encountered the double's blunt weapon and exploded. In that opening, Missha stabbed her sword from behind. Mr. Bear and Raven then finished him off with an interception.
«Everyone to their positions!»
After each round, the members who had been imitated were all sent to a place in a dense formation.
«Why don't you go?»
The warrior with the blunt weapon came to his senses upon hearing my words and hurried to his position. A faint light shone from his shoes. It was a cheap numbered item in the range of nine thousand called Traces of Abundance. It carried pretty good options for a warrior. They had not lent it to him from the loot, it was his own possession. Apparently he worked hard to save for it.
[The unnamed extortionist has launched Exchange.]
Anyway, next up was the middle-aged wizard Parteian. He was the one who lent his Lost Trust to Raven, but this wasn't particularly a problem. After all, this guy's magic wand was a numbered item.
¡Crunch!
Since the imitated individual was a mage, it didn't take much to defeat him after the transformation. Now only me was left.
«Sr. Partisan.»
«Are you talking about that? I'll prepare it right away». Having suffered a lot from my double in the past, the wizards had already prepared their most powerful spells.
«Behell-ahhhhhhhhh!» As soon as the double finished transforming, I pushed it back with my shield.
«The one in the back is fake!». In an instant, the wizards passed judgment and pointed out their prepared spells. Of course, a tank would not die in one hit, but since there were no summons in the second phase, the spells were not interrupted.
¡Pzzzzz! ¡Bang! ¡Shwoooop!
The powerful attack spells literally fell into jugs. Soon, the double couldn't take it anymore and collapsed. Seeing that was a little bittersweet.
I should improve my mana resistance soon.
I still had a long way to go as a tank.
Finally we reach the third phase, that is, the last phase of the fight against doppelgangers.
«Everyone, come this way!» Without needing my orders, Raven led everyone and made a new formation. Just then, the maze began to shake as if there were an earthquake.
¡Dddddddd!
The ceiling made a crumbling sound and grains of dust fell.
«Ki-hee-hee, hi-hee, ki-hee-hee, ki-hee-hee!» The double had returned to his slime form and let out a strange laugh. Honestly, it wasn't even creepy anymore. The only thing I wondered was how the hell he spoke without a mouth.
«Careful! Mr. Yandel, if you come down...»
«Don't worry. That won't happen».
Raven's anxiety briefly faded. It wasn't because she was sure of our victory. It would be a lie if I said I wasn't nervous. Assuming the worst and distrusting unforeseen variables was my old habit, after all. But leading the team with confidence from time to time should also be a quality of the leader.
Squeeze.
Maintaining only enough tension to warm my body, I grabbed the mace tighter. The final phase was a kind of hysteria. From now on, every minute and every second was important because the summoning scale would be incomparable to that of the first phase.
¡Pum!
As the explosive slime expanded to the point where onlookers would describe it as the limit, it exploded. Black pearls were scattered throughout the cave. The two wizards threw fire just in time to eradicate them, but they couldn't even get rid of half of them. Meanwhile, the explosions continued.
[The unnamed extortionist has launched Self-Replication.]
[The unnamed extortionist has launched Self-Replication.]
[The unnamed extortionist has launched Self-Replication.]
The beads were grouped to form figures and soon imitated our images. Even with the naked eye there were dozens. From Hans G to the fairy archer, the dwarf and others, people began to appear from everywhere that we would never see again after today. This vast cave was filled in an instant.
«Don't be afraid. The clones from this phase are not as strong as before».
In Raven's words, these guys were much weaker than the ones we saw before. If he hit them once or twice they would probably explode and disappear like smoke. However, the state of Hysteria was scary for another reason.
[Seal unlock percentage: 50%.]
[Seal unlock percentage: 60%.]
The magic circle on the ground continued to emit light and update the seal unlock status. If this continued, the seal would unlock within minutes and the double would regain all its power. Therefore, it was time to remove it.
[You have used Outlaw of the Wildlands. In proportion to the number of humanoid monsters, melee physical damage is temporarily increased].
This was the object that gave me confidence that we could defeat this double and what made it possible to predict a whopping 90% odds.
[Current increase rate: 112%.]
[Current increase rate: 157%.]
[Current increase rate: 278%.]
[Current increase rate: 342%.]
«¡Behell-ahhhhh!»
Items were also a skill set.