Chapter 180: Doppelganger (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 180: Doppelganger (5)
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The doppelganger let out a war cry and sprinted forward. I could understand now how the apprentice knight felt as he threw away his pride and ran off the stage back then. So that was what I had looked like...
Makes sense that he ran away.
Because of his increased Threat Level stat due to Wild Outburst, just looking at him sent shivers down my spine, a result of the almost violent intimidation coupled with his large physique. First things first, though, I had to match his weight class.
[You have cast Giantization.]
[You have cast Wild Outburst.]
My eye level instantly changed. Flexing my abdomen, I shouted with all my might, "Behelaaah!" It was my original battle cry that no doppelganger could truly recreate.
Covering my torso with my shield, I ran forward. The doppelganger did the same. Our shields collided, and a roar not unlike two dump trucks crashing echoed through the space.
Kwaaaaaang!
Since he was a doppelganger, our difference in strength was zero. Our next moves were exactly the same, too.
[You have cast Swing.]
[The Doppelganger has cast Swing.]
Our maces crossed paths like mirror images.
Kwaaang!
Another explosion sounded, and the ground shook. This was akin to a fight between two large monsters. At this rate, the battle was bound to go on all day, but this guy and I had one crucial difference between us: teammates.
Even in the game, having a good team is considered a skill in itself.
Without even needing orders, magical support soon began. Curses with a relatively short casting time played the main role. In just a few seconds, the other me's Strength, Agility, Physical Resistance, and other stats were cut down. Puzzled, the doppelganger stuttered, "Your m-mom!"
You're really going to insult my mom right now?
My mind went blank at the unexpected line.
Bam!
When I came to my senses, the doppelganger's mace was grinding against my shield. If I'd reacted just a second later, it would be embedded in my head right now. "You freaky doppelganger asshole!" I hurriedly recovered my wits and retaliated.
It looked like he'd even inherited my trait of using dirty tricks when at a disadvantage. As expected, he was not an opponent to be underestimated. That is, I wasn't.
Whiiip!
While the bastard shielded himself from Mr. Bear's arrow, I took advantage of the opening to bring my mace down on his shoulder. Then, blood sprayed from his mouth.
Did he bite his tongue?
What a classic. This was a strategy I had anticipated, so avoiding it was no problem. That was because it was something I would definitely do, even more so if I were in a tough spot.
Chhhhh.
Acidic blood sprayed the ground and started bubbling. Missha let out a surprised shout at the sight. "Wow, how is he exactly the same as you?"
Yeah, right.
"Stop standing around and help already."
"Okay."
Soon, Missha and Ainar joined me on the front lines. To save time, I grabbed the guy's mace and hugged him from behind. Now, all that was left to do was shove a knife in his head while he was restrained.
"Keeeeeek!"
The doppelganger wearing my face let out a screech like nails on a chalkboard. At this, Missha stiffened. It wasn't for long, but just as she corrected her stance to thrust her sword forward, a battle cry erupted from behind us.
"Behelahhh!"
It was not Ainar's. Even if her voice was on the deeper side, it was different from a man's.
"Bjorn! There are three Bjorns!"
But why was I the only one who got doppelgangers?
The second doppelganger had already cast Giantization, breaking our formation by protecting his torso with the shield and charging at us like a beast, a.k.a (True) Shield Charge.
"Don't bother trying to block it, just avoid it!"
Following my advice, Missha and Ainar stepped back without argument. It was a pity I couldn't finish this one off right away, but, what could you do? This must have been karma for absorbing the Ogre essence and becoming a tank.
[The Doppelganger has cast Swing.]
Ainar stopped the mace with her greatsword and went flying back in true Lü Bu-like fashion. I wondered if I should join in now.
"Mr. Yandel, keep holding that one! We'll take care of things on this end!"
For now, I decided to follow Raven's orders. We couldn't possibly lose a one-on-four fight. So, I focused solely on marking the original doppelganger.
Ha, this is really annoying. What's he so sturdy for?
Although I was in a more advantageous position thanks to the curse spells affecting him, it was hard to wrap up my own fight and go help them. Even if I was a secondary tank, I was still a tank. This clash was as never-ending as a fight between Trolls.
I might as well just watch.
I half-resigned myself to my fate and went into spectator mode. To be honest, what I saw was really interesting.
"Ugh, why won't the knife go in!?"
"This is Bjorn, all right! A great warrior!"
The doppelganger was overwhelming our two melee fighters on his own. Mr. Bear's long-range support? Even the bolts fired with the incredible tension of his super-mega crossbow could not pierce the doppelganger's shield. Raven's magic wasn't much different, either.
Chwaaaaa!
When the melee sisters stepped back for a moment, a Fire Baptism shot forward. The timing was so perfect that even the doppelganger couldn't avoid the flames and was promptly engulfed by them.
"Behelahhh!" However, the other me ran right through the flames and swung his mace. She had picked the wrong spell. Flame Resistance was my second-highest resistance stat after Physical Resistance, and I'd pretty much finished the Mana Resistance part of my build too.
"...I never realized you were this strong," Mr. Bear exclaimed. Although we'd been fighting battles together this whole time, I guess actually facing me was different.
Raven felt the same. "Why are you still rank-six?!"
That was because to reach rank five, you needed to accumulate experience points. Although my teammates were being attacked, I couldn't help the way my shoulders perked up a bit. I really was strong now, huh?
Soon, Missha and Ainar joined me on the front lines. To save time, I grabbed the guy's mace and hugged him from behind. Now, all that was left to do was shove a knife in his head while he was restrained.
"Keeeeeek!"
The doppelganger wearing my face let out a screech like nails on a chalkboard. At this, Missha stiffened. It wasn't for long, but just as she corrected her stance to thrust her sword forward, a battle cry erupted from behind us.
"Behelahhh!"
It was not Ainar's. Even if her voice was on the deeper side, it was different from a man's.
"Bjorn! There are three Bjorns!"
But why was I the only one who got doppelgangers?
The second doppelganger had already cast Giantization, breaking our formation by protecting his torso with the shield and charging at us like a beast, a.k.a (True) Shield Charge.
"Don't bother trying to block it, just avoid it!"
Following my advice, Missha and Ainar stepped back without argument. It was a pity I couldn't finish this one off right away, but, what could you do? This must have been karma for absorbing the Ogre essence and becoming a tank.
[The Doppelganger has cast Swing.]
Ainar stopped the mace with her greatsword and went flying back in true Lü Bu-like fashion. I wondered if I should join in now.
"Mr. Yandel, keep holding that one! We'll take care of things on this end!"
For now, I decided to follow Raven's orders. We couldn't possibly lose a one-on-four fight. So, I focused solely on marking the original doppelganger.
Ha, this is really annoying. What's he so sturdy for?
Although I was in a more advantageous position thanks to the curse spells affecting him, it was hard to wrap up my own fight and go help them. Even if I was a secondary tank, I was still a tank. This clash was as never-ending as a fight between Trolls.
I might as well just watch.
I half-resigned myself to my fate and went into spectator mode. To be honest, what I saw was really interesting.
"Ugh, why won't the knife go in!?"
"This is Bjorn, all right! A great warrior!"
The doppelganger was overwhelming our two melee fighters on his own. Mr. Bear's long-range support? Even the bolts fired with the incredible tension of his super-mega crossbow could not pierce the doppelganger's shield. Raven's magic wasn't much different, either.
Chwaaaaa!
When the melee sisters stepped back for a moment, a Fire Baptism shot forward. The timing was so perfect that even the doppelganger couldn't avoid the flames and was promptly engulfed by them.
"Behelahhh!" However, the other me ran right through the flames and swung his mace. She had picked the wrong spell. Flame Resistance was my second-highest resistance stat after Physical Resistance, and I'd pretty much finished the Mana Resistance part of my build too.
"...I never realized you were this strong," Mr. Bear exclaimed. Although we'd been fighting battles together this whole time, I guess actually facing me was different.
Raven felt the same. "Why are you still rank-six?!"
That was because to reach rank five, you needed to accumulate experience points. Although my teammates were being attacked, I couldn't help the way my shoulders perked up a bit. I really was strong now, huh?
"Mr. Yandel, don't just watch and say something. Do you have any weaknesses?"
They weren't really weaknesses, but things to target. Should I call it the Bjorn Yandel Fighting Style? Still grappling with the doppelganger I was marking, I shouted out the most important points. "Missha, Ainar! Don't slash, stab!" Ironskin multiplied a user's Physical Resistance by four, but only for slashing damage. In fact, cuts of a certain level were unaffected. "Abman, aim only for the legs!" My lower body was weaker than my upper body. I still hadn't gotten fitted for leg armor. My arms were totally exposed too, but my upper body could be covered with the shield.
"Take out the knees first, huh? It really is like fighting a large monster."
"Yes. It doesn't have any regeneration abilities, so don't worry about killing it in one blow and focus on the long game instead. Raven, use lightning magic instead of fire magic!"
Ice blocked bleeding, and wind and earth spells were considered physical magic. Lightning, on the other hand, would work best here because it dealt elemental damage and specialized in penetration and instantaneous firepower.
I can't believe I have to teach my teammates how to kill me.
It was a strange thought. Still, my advice was effective, and the tide of the battle slowly turned until the doppelganger was brought to his knees. Seven crossbow bolts were stuck in his leg.
"...What a monster."
"I agrrree. So much that I never want to fight it again."
Even though we had secured victory, my teammates shuddered, apparently fed up, and just hearing them made me flinch. A big reason for those reactions was that the doppelganger even resembled me in personality. It really fought like a madman.
"Look at that. It's still trying to get up. What kind of person does that?"
If he bled, he sprayed it at his enemies; if both his hands were tied, he used his teeth. If a hand-off between teammates was about to happen, he latched onto the opportunity like a ghost and charged toward his attackers to take his pound of flesh. The bastard did everything he could to survive, and he was still doing just that.
"Mi... ssha..." The doppelganger gave Missha a desperate look. Since winning the fight was impossible, it was employing one last trick. Without thinking, I chuckled.
You really think that's going to work—
"Uh... huh?"
"I... like... you..."
"R-Rrreally?
Oh... it's working.
It was a dirty trick, manipulating Missha's emotions like this. I tightened my hold on the other doppelganger's neck and let out a loud sigh. "What are you stopping for?! Kill it already!"
"W-Wait! I want to ask something!" Missha jumped up and waved her hands before turning to the doppelganger with a serious look on her face. "B-B-But why did you reject me then? If you like me." Missha averted her gaze to stare at the ground in embarrassment.
"Oh my gosh!" Raven's eyes lit up at the sudden unfolding of a love affair.
But had his aggro been redirected by that comment? Instead of answering Missha, the doppelganger turned his attention to Raven. "Ra...ven..."
"What, is it me this time? What are you—"
"I... like... you..."
Raven's expression contorted grotesquely at the second love confession. "Uh, Mr. Yandel...?"
"Mr. Yandel, don't just watch and say something. Do you have any weaknesses?"
They weren't really weaknesses, but things to target. Should I call it the Bjorn Yandel Fighting Style? Still grappling with the doppelganger I was marking, I shouted out the most important points. "Missha, Ainar! Don't slash, stab!" Ironskin multiplied a user's Physical Resistance by four, but only for slashing damage. In fact, cuts of a certain level were unaffected. "Abman, aim only for the legs!" My lower body was weaker than my upper body. I still hadn't gotten fitted for leg armor. My arms were totally exposed too, but my upper body could be covered with the shield.
"Take out the knees first, huh? It really is like fighting a large monster."
"Yes. It doesn't have any regeneration abilities, so don't worry about killing it in one blow and focus on the long game instead. Raven, use lightning magic instead of fire magic!"
Ice blocked bleeding, and wind and earth spells were considered physical magic. Lightning, on the other hand, would work best here because it dealt elemental damage and specialized in penetration and instantaneous firepower.
I can't believe I have to teach my teammates how to kill me.
It was a strange thought. Still, my advice was effective, and the tide of the battle slowly turned until the doppelganger was brought to his knees. Seven crossbow bolts were stuck in his leg.
"...What a monster."
"I agrrree. So much that I never want to fight it again."
Even though we had secured victory, my teammates shuddered, apparently fed up, and just hearing them made me flinch. A big reason for those reactions was that the doppelganger even resembled me in personality. It really fought like a madman.
"Look at that. It's still trying to get up. What kind of person does that?"
If he bled, he sprayed it at his enemies; if both his hands were tied, he used his teeth. If a hand-off between teammates was about to happen, he latched onto the opportunity like a ghost and charged toward his attackers to take his pound of flesh. The bastard did everything he could to survive, and he was still doing just that.
"Mi... ssha..." The doppelganger gave Missha a desperate look. Since winning the fight was impossible, it was employing one last trick. Without thinking, I chuckled.
You really think that's going to work—
"Uh... huh?"
"I... like... you..."
"R-Rrreally?
Oh... it's working.
It was a dirty trick, manipulating Missha's emotions like this. I tightened my hold on the other doppelganger's neck and let out a loud sigh. "What are you stopping for?! Kill it already!"
"W-Wait! I want to ask something!" Missha jumped up and waved her hands before turning to the doppelganger with a serious look on her face. "B-B-But why did you reject me then? If you like me." Missha averted her gaze to stare at the ground in embarrassment.
"Oh my gosh!" Raven's eyes lit up at the sudden unfolding of a love affair.
But had his aggro been redirected by that comment? Instead of answering Missha, the doppelganger turned his attention to Raven. "Ra...ven..."
"What, is it me this time? What are you—"
"I... like... you..."
Raven's expression contorted grotesquely at the second love confession. "Uh, Mr. Yandel...?"
I was overcome with shame. How much lower would I stoop? "...Ignore it. It's just saying that to live."
"...You mean you would confess your love to anyone in order to live, Mr. Yandel?"
Uh, no, but... No, is that true?
I just owned up to it. "...Looks like it." I figured that copping to it would prevent any misunderstandings.
However, even as we were saying that, the doppelganger's eyes moved elsewhere, in the direction of Mr. Bear. "A-Ab... man..."
This crackpot doppelganger!
"I-I li—"
Thankfully, that sentence did not get a chance to reach its end. Mr. Bear shot an arrow through its forehead.
Stab!
That final blow preserved my last remaining dignity. "I'll pretend I didn't hear... No, I didn't hear anything." It was official: my friendship with Mr. Bear would last forever.
The first doppelganger round had ended. After defeating one of them, we all ganged up and killed the remaining one. Missha dealt the final blow.
"Mi... ssha...?" The fucking doppelganger tried the same trick again when it was cornered, but Missha's angry determination was unyielding.
"Die, you awful barbarian bastarrrd!" Thrusting her sword into an exact copy of me seemed to be stress-relieving for her. I just stayed silent, although looking back, I hadn't actually done anything wrong. It was best to shut up when the vibe was off like this—then at least you wouldn't step on any land mines. This was a survival tactic I had learned from my ex-girlfriend.
"Urakburak! There's no mana stone!"
The doppelgangers and their equipment dissolved into light, but they didn't leave behind any mana stones. In truth, the only real Doppelganger that existed in Doppelganger Forest was the final boss. The ones we had just killed were just low-level entities the real one had summoned through its Self-Replication ability.
"All right, let's keep moving."
Afterward, we continued hunting doppelgangers and resumed the quest. They usually came in groups of one or two. Only once did three appear at the same time, but they were easier to handle than the first time. Thankfully, I didn't appear again. After traveling for about half a day like that, the straight-corridor part of the map ended.
"Finally, we've reached a fork in the road."
The road was divided into five different branches. This meant that we had finally reached the center of the area.
"From now on, we could run into the other parties, so be careful."
To add some context to that, it was now possible for us to run into not only our doppelgangers but doppelgangers of another team. It was safe to say that the difficulty had risen significantly. There was no enemy more difficult to face than one you had no information on.
Please be around our level.
With that thought in mind, I proceeded down the crossroad Raven chose. A long while passed. Unfortunately, we did not find the room with the hidden treasure we were looking for. However, we encountered a strange adventurer instead, a thin man with a height of around five feet.
"Please state your name. Otherwise, we will treat you as a doppelganger and kill you."
At Raven's request, the man took off his hood. He was far away and hard to distinguish in the darkness, but as soon as I saw him, I had déjà vu, along with an unfamiliar unease.
Why is that?
While I was worrying about that, the man spoke. "...s, cree... sen..." It was the typical speech pattern of a doppelganger. I had already guessed when I saw that he was alone, but this confirmed his identity.
"Mr. Yandel, please take care of this one on your own."
"Is this for analysis purposes?"
"Yes. We don't know what kinds of people they actually are, right? We need to figure it out in advance. If it gets dangerous, I'll step in right away."
I was actually thinking the same thing, so I followed her orders without question. Meanwhile, the doppelganger kept muttering like a broken record player. "I. Am... not. A doppel... ganger..."
I covered my upper body with my shield and slowly approached.
"C-Chris... en."
He had no visible weapons. He didn't seem like a priest, so he was probably a special ability user.
"Hans... Chrisen..."
"...What?"
"That... is... my name."
Chills ran through my entire body.
I was overcome with shame. How much lower would I stoop? "...Ignore it. It's just saying that to live."
"...You mean you would confess your love to anyone in order to live, Mr. Yandel?"
Uh, no, but... No, is that true?
I just owned up to it. "...Looks like it." I figured that copping to it would prevent any misunderstandings.
However, even as we were saying that, the doppelganger's eyes moved elsewhere, in the direction of Mr. Bear. "A-Ab... man..."
This crackpot doppelganger!
"I-I li—"
Thankfully, that sentence did not get a chance to reach its end. Mr. Bear shot an arrow through its forehead.
Stab!
That final blow preserved my last remaining dignity. "I'll pretend I didn't hear... No, I didn't hear anything." It was official: my friendship with Mr. Bear would last forever.
The first doppelganger round had ended. After defeating one of them, we all ganged up and killed the remaining one. Missha dealt the final blow.
"Mi... ssha...?" The fucking doppelganger tried the same trick again when it was cornered, but Missha's angry determination was unyielding.
"Die, you awful barbarian bastarrrd!" Thrusting her sword into an exact copy of me seemed to be stress-relieving for her. I just stayed silent, although looking back, I hadn't actually done anything wrong. It was best to shut up when the vibe was off like this—then at least you wouldn't step on any land mines. This was a survival tactic I had learned from my ex-girlfriend.
"Urakburak! There's no mana stone!"
The doppelgangers and their equipment dissolved into light, but they didn't leave behind any mana stones. In truth, the only real Doppelganger that existed in Doppelganger Forest was the final boss. The ones we had just killed were just low-level entities the real one had summoned through its Self-Replication ability.
"All right, let's keep moving."
Afterward, we continued hunting doppelgangers and resumed the quest. They usually came in groups of one or two. Only once did three appear at the same time, but they were easier to handle than the first time. Thankfully, I didn't appear again. After traveling for about half a day like that, the straight-corridor part of the map ended.
"Finally, we've reached a fork in the road."
The road was divided into five different branches. This meant that we had finally reached the center of the area.
"From now on, we could run into the other parties, so be careful."
To add some context to that, it was now possible for us to run into not only our doppelgangers but doppelgangers of another team. It was safe to say that the difficulty had risen significantly. There was no enemy more difficult to face than one you had no information on.
Please be around our level.
With that thought in mind, I proceeded down the crossroad Raven chose. A long while passed. Unfortunately, we did not find the room with the hidden treasure we were looking for. However, we encountered a strange adventurer instead, a thin man with a height of around five feet.
"Please state your name. Otherwise, we will treat you as a doppelganger and kill you."
At Raven's request, the man took off his hood. He was far away and hard to distinguish in the darkness, but as soon as I saw him, I had déjà vu, along with an unfamiliar unease.
Why is that?
While I was worrying about that, the man spoke. "...s, cree... sen..." It was the typical speech pattern of a doppelganger. I had already guessed when I saw that he was alone, but this confirmed his identity.
"Mr. Yandel, please take care of this one on your own."
"Is this for analysis purposes?"
"Yes. We don't know what kinds of people they actually are, right? We need to figure it out in advance. If it gets dangerous, I'll step in right away."
I was actually thinking the same thing, so I followed her orders without question. Meanwhile, the doppelganger kept muttering like a broken record player. "I. Am... not. A doppel... ganger..."
I covered my upper body with my shield and slowly approached.
"C-Chris... en."
He had no visible weapons. He didn't seem like a priest, so he was probably a special ability user.
"Hans... Chrisen..."
"...What?"
"That... is... my name."
Chills ran through my entire body.