Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Doppelganger (2) - Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 177: Doppelganger (2)

Always think before you act—that was the advice I gave to Ainar on my first day here. They were not just empty words then, either. In fact, this motto had saved my life in the face of countless hardships.

God damn it.

So to that end... after taking a moment to curse my luck, I took stock of my current situation.

"To think I would see a familiar face here."

First, one thing could be gleaned from this line: she hadn't come here looking for me.

"This is kind of a problem."

Second, she was just as bewildered by the situation as I was. However, unlike the last piece of information, there was a different nuance here—it was almost like she was suggesting there was another reason she needed to hide her identity other than the obvious.

I thought Noark was sealed off... Then is she here as a spy or something? And she was made to leave before it was sealed off?

Well, it was hard to be sure yet. There could be other hidden factors. Right now, only one thing was for sure.

"Well, I'll just have to beat you up and erase your memory like last time."

Even despite all of this, she had no intention of killing me. In other words, I could at least rest assured in that sense.

As long as I don't accidentally step on a mine.

I just had to be careful so that she wouldn't find out that the memory removal pill didn't work on me. That way, the situation wouldn't take a turn for the worse. Thus, my basic approach here was decided. Although I had no intention of willingly taking the pill and incapacitating myself, with that bit of insurance, I had nothing to lose.

What did I say in the sewer again?

It was a few months ago, but I could easily remember it. When we were accidentally reunited in the sewer, this was the first thing I had asked. "...Why are you here to kill me? I kept my promise, didn't I?" If I wanted to pretend my last memory of her was from the Land of the Dead, I had to ask the same thing again.

"That's the same thing you said back then."

"...Back then?"

When I looked at her uncomprehendingly, the woman shook her head and continued. "But your face looks much calmer this time."

I ended up chuckling.

Calmer, huh?

Was it that obvious? "Our oath is still valid," I said bluntly. "Why not pretend you didn't see me?"

"Then take this." The woman took a pill out of her pocket, entirely dark and somewhat damp, and threw it at me. "That pill erases a person's memories. If you take that, then you won't remember anything that happened today."

For a second, I had the thought that taking this pill might be the neatest way to resolve this situation. But no, it had to be a last resort. "How can I trust you?" Taking this would render me unconscious. What if this woman wanted my equipment? What if she opened it and found the Dragon Slayer Sword in my sub-space ring? That was a land mine in itself.

"Do you have another option?"

"Why do you think I don't?"

Compared to when we met in the Land of the Dead, I was several hundred times stronger. Even compared to my sewer days, I was at least ten times stronger than I used to be. Above all, this was not a dark cellar with no one around to help me. It was an aboveground city with law and order.

"With just one shout, my teammates will wake up. You can't handle all of them on your own." There was no reason for me to give in to this woman.

"...I see it was arrogance, not calm."

"You can see for yourself."

Despite my bold words, the woman was silent. She may have called me arrogant, but she knew that things were different than they used to be. A sudden, heavy silence fell in the empty hallway as the day began to dawn.

The first to speak was the other side. "Barbarian." The woman took a step forward and called out to me.

Instead of answering, I turned around. There, sure enough, I saw her clone. This was the Doppelganger ability, Self-Replication.

Dash!

[Amelia Rainwales has cast Asura's Kick.]

The doppelganger that had silently appeared behind me leaped into the air and swung a heavy foot. It was the same move that struck my head last time. I immediately raised my arms to protect my face.

Bang!

The tingling blow jolted through my wrist, but that was all.

With my current physical resistance?

Well, the hit did seem to have cracked a bone, but actually, I couldn't tell for sure. I couldn't even feel pain as trivial as that because of my Pain Resistance stat.

"Behelahhh!" Calling out the name of my ancestral god, I slammed a fist the size of a watermelon into the clone's face.

Pop!

As soon as the clone took the hit, it disappeared into a puff of smoke. I hurriedly turned in the direction of her original body in anticipation of a simultaneous attack, but the woman just stood there. "How did you know?"

Oh, she never thought I'd be able to stop that move. "Sound," I answered honestly.

At some point during our conversation, all sounds in the hallway had disappeared. Although it may have been late at night, it was a markedly strange phenomenon. Since Ainar's snoring easily penetrated through wooden doors, as soon as the sound disappeared, I knew the woman was planning a surprise attack. And as soon as she stepped forward, I figured out the trick. Self-Replication was something I had suffered through once already.

The radius within which the clone can be summoned is five yards.

She had obviously been too far away to summon one right behind me without stepping forward. Since we'd fought each other twice already, I was able to counter it.

I repeated what I said earlier. "My offer is still valid. Just pretend you didn't see me and disappear."

As expected, I got a different answer this time. "...How can I trust you?"

I smiled and threw her own words back at her. "What other option do you have?"

I didn't know what ability she had used, but it seemed like it only lasted for a short amount of time. I had started to hear Ainar's snoring again a few seconds ago. Now, if I really screamed...

Creak.

The door opened at that moment. "Bjorn? Who arrre you talking to?" Missha appeared through a crack in the door, rubbing her eyes.

"I'll explain later. Go inside."

"Ah!"

I reached out and closed the door before it could fully open.

"Hey! You horrrible bastard!" Missha flew into a rage after banging her head on the door, but it couldn't be helped. That wasn't important right now. "Hey! Open it! I said open! It's a girrrl, isn't it? Erwen? Is she back again?!"