The Mirror Trial
A message appeared.
Welcome to the testing grounds.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the Treasure Dungeon.
Of course it wasn't.
Content like this wouldn't open so easily.
Mu-hyuk nodded in understanding and scanned his surroundings.
"Huh...?"
Sung Min-woo was nowhere to be seen. He checked behind him, but no luck. It seemed they'd been separated into different spaces.
This only made him more curious.
What kind of test required splitting them up like this?
With his curiosity piqued, he followed the path ahead. As he rounded a corner, a massive mirror loomed before him.
He reached out and tapped it.
Tap, tap.
It was a real mirror.
What the hell?
He stared at it for a moment, then turned his head.
-------!
A chill ran down his spine. He whipped back to the mirror. The reflection of Mu-hyuk inside was smirking wickedly.
At the same moment, the mirror shattered, and he came face-to-face with... himself.
The test begins.
The message snapped him back to reality.
A test. Right, a test.
Only then did he realize the figure before him was a fake.
Staring at his own impassive face felt profoundly strange.
The fake stepped forward. Instinctively sensing danger, Mu-hyuk backed away and opened his mouth.
"Skeleton Warrior Summon."
An Armor Knight and Bone Sword appeared.
Skeleton Warrior Summon
The fake uttered the exact same words.
Skeleton Warrior Summon.
Skeleton Warrior Summon
Whoosh.
Even the summoned skeletons were identical.
Mu-hyuk was a bit thrown off by the situation. At a loss for words, he stood there blankly for a moment as the fake continued summoning skeletons one after another.
Skeleton Archer Summon.
Mages and cavalry too.
Mu-hyuk hurriedly summoned all his skeletons as well.
It was an overwhelming force.
75 versus 75.
The skeletons stood off for a moment before unleashing attacks on each other.
Magic with devastating power, relentless barrages of bone arrows from the archers that chipped away steadily—it was impossible to dodge them all.
The Armor Knights blocked with their shields, but enduring that volume of fire was clearly a strain.
Boom!
They inflicted massive damage on each other.
Burtan's ki blasts flew in as well.
The Armor Knights shook under the assault.
Mu-hyuk ordered his Burtan to attack too.
Kieeeee!
The ki blast crushed the space. Bone arrows rained down endlessly in its wake.
'Armor Knight 1' has been reverse-summoned.
'Armor Knight 2' has been reverse-summoned...
He frowned at the rising messages.
Storm. Powerful Arrow Shot.
Storm, Storm, Storm. Multishot.
He issued commands while attempting his own attacks, but with such numbers, any damage he dealt was negligible.
Moreover, when they blocked with shields, killing an Armor Knight wasn't easy. Their HP and defense were higher than expected.
Mu-hyuk gritted his teeth.
This was insane.
Facing 75 skeletons head-on made him truly appreciate the power of sheer numbers.
They smashed into each other, crumbling apart, while the fake slipped through the chaos, wreaking havoc.
Damn it.
Mu-hyuk couldn't just stand there.
Wind Step.
Wind Step
He dove into the fray, swinging his sword.
Storm. Cross Slash.
Bone arrows closed in from all sides.
And sword strikes.
He slipped through a tiny gap and took out the fake Bone Sword in front of him, but that brief hesitation let a few attacks land.
-187 HP
-192 HP
-411 HP
Two were bone arrows.
One was a heavy blow from an Armor Knight.
He threw himself aside in a panic.
The attacks didn't let up. The thought that standing still might force a logout made tension surge through him.
At that moment, a blast of magic filled his vision.
The world twisted in an instant.
Hup!
He hurled himself into the distortion, and like a puzzle snapping into place, the world realigned.
Suddenly, the fake's back was in view. No time to think—he swung his sword. But the fake before him vanished like a lie.
Wind Step to escape. In that split-second distraction, a bone arrow slammed into his back.
-171 HP
He rushed back to his position. Already, half his skeletons had been reverse-summoned.
The fake's were in the same boat.
But there were still too many to easily distinguish friend from foe.
The mages and archers in the rear were somewhat identifiable; he'd long since given up on the Armor Knights and Bone Swords.
Armor Archer, Power Shot.
Mage, all magic attacks!
Of course, he hadn't just left them undefended. He'd made minimal preparations.
He clustered the Armor Knights into a small circle, backs together.
Then ordered them to raise shields and protect fully. It didn't eliminate damage, but it reduced it somewhat.
Boom!
But the fake caught on and blocked with shields too.
Damage ended up about even.
Storm. Powerful Arrow Shot.
He couldn't let his guard down.
Checking his remaining HP and MP, he decided to sweep the enemy lines once more.
The skeleton count had noticeably thinned, so he figured he could manage some response this time.
Wind Step.
Wind Step
As he kicked off the ground, something rushed toward his face.
Whoosh.
A powerful gust of wind.
"Hup!"
It was the fake Mu-hyuk.
He thrust out his shield in a hurry.
Clang!
Judging by the impact, it was a standard attack.
He was probably waiting for an opening to chain into Storm and Cross Slash.
Fake or not, it moved like him—he could predict it.
Focusing on defense, he watched the fake's movements. When he showed a slight gap, it reacted instantly.
Bang!
Storm and Cross Slash.
His HP dropped significantly.
If I play this right...
Keep baiting attacks from the fake?
Force it to burn MP?
Mu-hyuk's eyes sharpened.
At the same time,
Sung Min-woo was locked in battle with his fake as well. Twenty-four spirits tangled and clashed.
Sung Min-woo commanded while picking off the fake's spirits when he could, and the fake did the same.
But it led to a stalemate. As time dragged on, frustration built.
"Argh, screw this! What the hell is this?!"
Unable to take commanding anymore—his brain felt like it would explode—Sung Min-woo charged forward.
Flash.
The fake did the same.
"Damn it, get lost!"
Fighting himself felt seriously creepy.
He wanted to end it quick.
He unleashed a barrage of skills.
Close in fast, uppercut the jaw, then knee to the gut to launch it airborne.
He planned to follow with a jumping combo, but it got blocked from the start.
The fake had the same idea.
"Wha...?"
Their fists collided dead center.
Thud!
The shockwave sent them both reeling back.
"Argh, seriously!"
Sung Min-woo charged again, scowling, but the fake mirrored him perfectly.
After repeating this several times, even the dim-witted Sung Min-woo caught on.
This way, they'd just kill each other.
Need to change tactics.
He hadn't used his brain in a while.
Was it rusty?
Judgment was slow.
"Hraaah!"
After more pointless exchanges, he finally thought of something.
Convinced the fake was dumber, he feigned attacks and baited it by fleeing.
Only then did he gain a slight edge.
*
The battle reached its final stage.
All skeletons were gone.
Just Mu-hyuk and the fake remained.
Mu-hyuk smirked at the fake firing arrows from behind a shield.
As he closed the distance bit by bit, panic flickered on its face, followed by a skill activation. The impact was heavy, but his smile deepened.
About now...
MP must be nearly depleted.
Time to move.
This was the moment he'd baited attacks for.
Mu-hyuk morphed his bow into a sword and used Wind Step to close in.
The fake barely reacted—MP truly drained. He circled behind effortlessly and swung.
Storm. Cross Slash.
Massive damage landed.
"Grk!"
The fake rolled across the ground and vanished.
Stealth!
But the silver trail from its wound gave it away.
Transform.
Bow form, nock an arrow.
Storm. Powerful Arrow Shot.
He aimed at the silver gleam and released.
Pang!
The arrow halted midair.
The fake was revealed.
An arrow protruded from its back.
"Grgh..."
It groaned and collapsed, then faded away.
Test passed.
The test was over.
"Hoo."
He let out a deep breath, morphed the bow in his hand back to sword form, and sheathed it.
The world shattered at once.
He shook his head and opened his eyes to find a mirror in front of him.
He raised his hand.
This time, it was really him.
Soon, cracks spiderwebbed across the mirror, and it broke.
"Ah."
A new path revealed itself.
He took a step forward.
At the end of the long corridor sat a table with three boxes.
One emblazoned with gold coins.
One with weapons and armor.
One with materials.
He had to choose one, it seemed.
From memory, the choice determined the Treasure Dungeon's rewards.
Gold box for gold, gear box for gear.
What to pick?
He pondered deeply when footsteps approached from behind.
"You beat me here?"
He turned to see Sung Min-woo grinning.
"Ah, you passed?"
"Duh!"
"It was pretty tough."
"Man, it was brutal. This thing was me exactly, swinging like a beast—total deadlock till the end."
"Deadlock, huh."
"But I used my brain and won."
"How?"
"The fake was kinda dumb. I pretended to fight then ran, and it just chased me alone?"
"..."
Mu-hyuk's lip twitched.
Sounds just like you.
He held back from saying it.
"So I kited and picked off its spirits. Then teamed my last one with it for the finisher—bam!"
He threw a jab and straight.
"Like that."
"Heh, good job."
"What? Why're you laughing?"
"Nothing."
He brushed it off and hurried to the boxes.
"Let's pick."
"Mm, but there're two of us? Grab two?"
"Just one."
"You choose then."
"Alright."
Mu-hyuk reached out.
This one.
He selected a single box.