Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Reviving the Doppelgangers
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“That makes the sixth one.”
Kane had sliced through the dungeon hunter who’d meekly offered up his neck without resistance, bringing over the corpse. I hastily shoved it into my sub-space before any blood could stain me, then turned to Zero.
“If… if I end up dying completely without returning to the core, please bury these guys somewhere nice…”
I took the doppelganger core from Zero’s hand and looked at his face.
Even though it was the sixth one I’d received, the core was about the size of a baby’s fist—soft and radiating a gentle warmth.
Just like a heart.
“Don’t worry. Are you ready now?”
“I’ve been ready for a while…”
“It’ll be fine… Kane’s really good at killing.”
Luna hesitated, her heart aching at Zero’s resigned expression as he’d cast everything aside. She overcame her shyness to offer some comfort in her own way.
‘No, that’s not it.’
Of course, Kane’s nickname in the Innocent Saga minor gallery—“the Butcher”—meant he was indeed a specialist in slaughter.
Zero slowly closed his eyes, knelt, and offered his neck. Was it coincidence? Kane rested the blade against his shoulder once, then swung it up in a single stroke, severing his breath.
I took a slow deep breath, silently counting inside.
About 30 seconds passed.
A grayish light swirled beneath Zero’s collapsing body. Milky-white liquid seeped out from under him, gathering into a core the size of an adult man’s fist.
Flickering like a flame about to die out, it dimmed as if it might vanish any second. I snatched it up and shoved it into my sub-space.
“That was close.”
Dying really is a dangerous place—random teleportation or whatever.
If the other doppelgangers knew about this, they might’ve killed Zero themselves just to get him to escape.
I glanced at the cavern, now slick with bloodstains, then opened my codex. I cast purification and clean on Luna and Kane before stretching.
“Shall we head out now?”
“I’m hungry…”
Yeah, figures. We’d only gone down the stairs, chatted about grabbing a snack, and then split up.
We’d snacked a bit while talking to the doppelgangers midway, but that hardly counted as a meal.
“Let’s get out now, leave the labyrinth, eat for real, and rest up.”
“I hope you don’t go back on your word this time.”
Those two might have energy to spare, but I’m beat.
I nodded once, kneaded my stiff shoulders—sore from all the tension and scheming—and stepped into the portal.
* * *
Our lodging in Labyrinth City was a house-style room on the top floor of an inn. After dinner, we each showered with hot water in our rooms, then gathered in the living room to relax in our own ways.
I sprawled on the long sofa, Kane perched on the windowsill gazing outside, and Luna curled up on the single-seater sofa, yawning.
Feels languid. But before heading to bed, I should at least vaguely outline our next plans.
Slosh—
I dropped Zero’s core and some mana stone-ground potion into a round bowl, stirred it with my finger, and spoke while lounging on the sofa.
“We’re putting the labyrinth on hold. Something felt off, and after seeing your skills, there’s not much point in speedrunning the depths unless we have to.”
The labyrinth’s master—that really bugs me.
But instead of coming at us directly, it shoved us into a room with powerless doppelgangers and schemed…
‘Whatever the case, it’s probably in rough shape right now, and it knows next to nothing about us.’
If it had even spent a day digging into Kane and Luna, it would’ve realized those seven amateur doppelgangers stood no chance.
“So, we’re heading to the borderlands now, young master?”
“Whatever we do, I want to go somewhere we can get stronger.”
Squish— squelch—
I kneaded and released Zero’s soft core, smiling.
“Kane, you gotta think about others too, man.”
Where do you get off? You went home alone, did your thing, and now you’re spinning like a top.
“What’re you talking about…?”
“If you got to visit your hometown once, don’t you think your senior wants to? Or not?”
“Huh? I’ve never thought of myself as your sen—senior…”
Gotta gang up on Kane, Luna.
Pretending not to hear, I soaked and mashed Zero’s core in the mana stone potion before answering.
“The borderlands sound good, but if things go wrong there, we’re in for a world of hurt. Let’s swing by Luna’s hometown first.”
Might as well check out the childhood of the guy who unites the beastkin tribes in the future.
He shows up as an adult in the mid-to-late original story, so he’s probably still a kid now.
No big deal if we don’t meet him. Our top priority this time is Luna’s healing.
Squelch—
“…?”
I lifted Zero’s core at the odd sound.
Did I mash it too hard? Nah. Just friction noise from handling something moist and squishy.
For some reason, the potion dripping off it looked like tears. I dunked it back in, then grinned at Luna—her cheeks flushed, looking pleased even if she wasn’t beaming.
“You’ll make us something tasty if we visit your place, right?”
“O-Of course, young master!”
There we go. Happy is good.
I wiped my potion-soaked hands, stretched out big on the long sofa, then staggered to my feet.
I’m really wiped now.
“We’ll sleep hard and head out tomorrow, so pack up and crash, everyone.”
My body had loosened up after the hot shower, but now it weighed a ton.
By the time I stumbled into my room and Luna and Kane headed to theirs, crashing hard into the early hours of the morning…
“I-Is anyone there? Anyone. Anyone, clothes… no, not bunny senior… please…”
I had no idea Zero had revived butt-naked without a corpse, after fully absorbing the mana stone potion.
Kane heard his crying midway and gave him some clothes, apparently.
‘No wonder Zero was wearing Kane’s clothes.’
When I came out after waking, Zero was curled up on the sofa, looking like the world’s saddest sight, fast asleep.
I sipped my morning tea—aromatic and savory—watching Zero slurp down a bowl of soup, declaring it the most delicious thing he’d ever tasted.
“How do you even have a body without a corpse?”
“Mm, do you have to talk about corpses while I’m eating…?”
What’re you on about? You guys eat humans normally.
I pushed my soup bowl toward Zero, who was denying everything I’d heard yesterday. Seeing that, Luna gave me hers. I snatched Kane’s and passed it to Luna.
Clink—
He could’ve stopped it with those reflexes, but whatever. Ignoring Kane stabbing his spoon into the table in protest, I propped my chin and smiled.
“Ah, this is seriously delicious. In the labyrinth, we only got dried rations snatched from adventurers… Mm, I’m not really sure. This is my first time dying.”
Really? Maybe the other doppelgangers know.
“What’s this food called?”
“Bread.”
“This is bread? First time trying this kind. Nothing like the dried stuff.”
I wanted to revive the other doppelgangers right now and ask away… but you don’t scold someone at the table when they’re this happy over a single loaf.
I held back my Korean go-go-go impatience and picked at my salad.
‘Makes sense—hidden trait Cooking (S). Good case of talent and interest.’
I watched Zero’s face light up in a rainbow of expressions with every bite.
But his face feels subtly different.
I slipped a hand under the table, pulled out just Zero’s severed head from when Kane cut it—sans body—to check.
‘It’s a bit off?’
It’d lost color and gone pale blue, changing from his usual plain look.
But the Zero in front of me now—tearing off a bite of steak, a single tear rolling down—had far more balanced features.
‘I’ll ask about that later.’
I quickly stashed the bloody severed head back in my sub-space before blood hit the floor, then looked up—meeting Kane and Luna’s eyes.
“What? Why’re you staring?”
“Nothing.”
“Mmm… Try the juice too.”
“I-I’ve never had anything like this, bunny senior…”
Luna hurriedly fetched juice for pitiful Zero, while Kane just shook his head.
I brazenly sat up straight, waiting until Zero finished eating before speaking.
“Ready to revive your comrades now?”
A flicker of guilt crossed Zero’s face at my words.
“Should’ve saved some food… It was so good.”
Voice all downcast—he must feel bad for hogging it.
Freshly revived, naked and confused, then losing himself to new flavors—who could blame him?
No, feeling guilty for eating alone? Come on.
Recalling Zero’s Kindness trait, I propped my chin and spoke.
“Don’t worry. If you want, I’ll order more food. But is there any cost to reviving them?”
Luna brought fruit tea for dessert. I sipped the tart flavor away with a cookie; Zero eyed me and did the same.
“Not sure, since I’ve never revived two or more at once. But it felt exhausting—like something inside me was getting sucked out.”
No special stats beyond mana and stamina in Innocent Saga. Guess I’ll try mana stones.
I waved my hand over the table, spilling small mana stones everywhere, then met Zero’s eyes.
“Who first?”
“For starters… Derek, please.”
“Who’s Derek?”
Zero made an “ah” face at my question, then explained.
“The one… in archer clothes…”
Oh, the bowless archer.
I placed my hand on the wide table, habitually spun Kruger’s ring once, then pulled out Derek’s head and body.
The magic traces from my spell stand out in the bright light.
Slight pang of conscience, but whatever—doppelganger.
Plus, human corpses go into raising these guys, but I can use the sirens we nabbed this time.
If I research and mass-produce low-grade homunculi, it smooths over my Korean sensibilities on human rights issues.
“No clue which core’s whose, so here—all of them.”
I placed six baby-fist-sized soft cores in Zero’s hand. He gazed at them fondly yet apologetically, then picked one up.
He fiddled with the severed neck and body, aligning them as intact as possible, placed the doppelganger core on the chest—and the round core spread like slime, soaking into the clothes.
Then the clothes deflated—whoosh—and a naked man popped out.
“Wha… Kane. Why’re you covering my eyes all of a sudden…?”
Gave me such a shock I thought my heart would burst.
Plus, he squatted on the table like he’d dropped from the sky, flashing his groin right in my face.
Luna’s eyes got covered by Kane’s insane reflexes, but.
Why not me? Huh? My eyes are fair game?
“…We’re really outside.”
“Clothes first… Nah, those are rags. Here, new ones.”
He’s taller than me or Kane, so I rummaged my sub-space, tossed him a blanket, and sent Luna shopping.
“How about one more?”
I’d stuck archer Derek—draped in the blanket—in an empty room with food. Zero nodded, clutching a mana stone.
“Yeah, I think I can. But if it’s not too much trouble… could you get a woman’s body too?”
“Why?”
“We doppelgangers don’t have gender ourselves, but we prefer certain bodies. Trau—the one with the axe—prefers female… but none came in.”
That dwarf warrior?
I thought for a sec, scratched my cheek, and said.
“I’ll hook you up later.”
Once homunculi production’s feasible…
Zero beamed at my words and began reviving the doppelgangers one by one.