But I didn’t immediately rush in to defeat the doppelganger.
The blue-eyed deity acting as the guide was on high alert, prepared for the moment the doppelganger revealed itself.
Whenever the two identical paladins showed even the slightest movement, the guide kept reaching into the space.
‘Is it trying to escape at the right moment? Since I have no idea what it’ll do, I guess I need to take care of it together.’
Considering the unique environment of the forest that disorients one’s sense of direction and its vastness, the situation of heading quickly toward the exit seemed to be turning out well.
‘If we just go for about an hour more, even if I kill that guide, the paladins won’t lose their way.’
Paladins particularly possess traits that make them strong against monsters, so when thinking about the future, they were individuals I absolutely had to protect.
Furthermore, since quite some time had passed since they started moving with the doppelganger, the fact that no accidents had occurred yet meant they were cautious, experienced, and powerful—something I definitely needed to assist.
I cautiously approached them.
‘Who would acknowledge the effort I’m putting in like this? Shouldn’t this kind of action warrant some reward? Hm?’
·····
As I lightly moved, I whispered to the wind that no one could hear.
“Tsk, it can’t be helped. Ho-young! Let’s get going again! Just do as we’ve been doing. We’re almost there.”
“Yes! I will lead the way!”
The two paladins named Ho-young answered simultaneously to their leader’s command, then glared at each other as if they wanted to kill one another before stepping forward.
Both had swollen faces, suggesting there had been quite a fight when the doppelganger first concealed itself.
It was known that as the doppelganger levels up, it completely replicates physical abilities, so the outcome of that fight likely wasn’t simple.
As ominous energy began to radiate from them, the guide—the blue-eyed deity—followed behind in a clumsy posture, mumbling.
“How did it come to this… I need to check that area…”
‘…What are they trying to check?’
I wanted to hear more of what they were saying, but the taciturn guide focused silently on their duties.
“We need to turn left.”
“Are you sure it’s the shortest route to the exit?”
“Of course. I want to go home quickly myself.”
‘That’s not empty talk. They really are heading straight for the exit. Quite a capable guide.’
I moved between the doppelganger and the guide to ensure they arrived safely at their destination.
Surprisingly, with [Stealth] and [Shadow of Darkness], nobody noticed my presence.
With a slightly excited heart, I kept my eyes on the doppelganger’s hand.
The doppelganger was a master of ambush.
It extended its long fingers to deliver a powerful single-point attack, capable of piercing a person’s heart or head.
It might not have any special techniques, but with that alone, it was a sufficiently threatening monster, especially after copying paladin’s physical abilities.
I was ready to unleash [Chain of Flame] at any moment.
Step by step—
‘It’s the real deal.’
I couldn’t hide my astonishment at the patience of the doppelganger.
Normally, a typical doppelganger would not be able to resist attacking when prey was bustling nearby, but this one was completely still.
‘If it’s really the high-level monsters coming down here…’
Shouldn’t there be a need to adjust the dungeon’s level? It seems at least one level up would be necessary to prevent the meaningless deaths of hunters.
Anyway, it had been 30 minutes since I unexpectedly accompanied them.
If we moved for just another 30 minutes like this, we would reach the place I aimed for.
Still keeping an eye on the doppelganger and the blue-eyed deity, I realized something had abruptly changed with the paladins who had been silently moving behind me.
‘Hm?’
A bright light erupted from their heads, quickly spreading over their entire bodies, causing the trembling paladins to begin to cry tears of joy.
“Wh-what’s wrong, knights?”
The blue-eyed deity sensed something strange too and cautiously drew a crossbow from the space. It was a quite well-made crossbow.
‘This is the first time I’m feeling this sensation… Something feels off.’
The knights, who had been shaking, finally spoke up.
“This is the wrath of our god…”
“A, a revelation…?!!”
“What in the world… How glorious this is!”
“Kuhuh, it’s truly been quite a while since I received a message…”
‘Why the sudden change? A revelation? What revelation?’
I didn’t know which god they worshipped, but the atmosphere was anything but usual.
All six of the knights were gathered.
Except for one who stood at the front, suspected to be the doppelganger, the other five reacted greatly.
‘If that’s truly a divine revelation, why is one excluded? If they had all received it together, they could have identified the doppelganger immediately.’
Could it be the fickleness of a god as people often say, or just some kind of amusement?
It was something I couldn’t understand at all.
All the paladins were pushing their powers to the limit as if they were about to unleash a deadly technique.
‘Fuck…’
The direction in which their magical energy was directed felt strange.
With my not-so-short experience, I could tell that their target wasn’t the blue-eyed deity or the doppelganger, but me.
Looking at the combat power of the B-rank paladins rapidly skyrocketing, one thing became clear.
‘…Are you saying the god you serve specified me and granted you strength?’
If the god they served was one of the light deities with power far beyond that of Goddess Irmana.
The idea of such a being delivering a revelation to kill me felt absurd and unreasonable.
But thinking about it another way, if they realized that someone as out of place as I was hiding among the knights they were protecting, it would only make sense for them to take action.
‘They must be very attentive to the lesser beings.’
Even though my [Stealth] had leveled up due to the job change, and I was using [Shadow of Darkness] to obscure my presence, it didn’t seem enough to deceive a divine being.
‘This is going to be tough…’
While I wouldn’t lose in a one-on-one fight against them, things would be different when facing five.
Especially for me, an ambush monster of the darkness attribute, being attacked by a paladin would likely be fatal even from a regular strike.
‘Fuck, why are they freaking out at me when they didn’t even care about the doppelganger?’
Dealing with the doppelganger was a trial, but being with me was a threat, huh?
I muttered curses toward the god they worshipped and quickly organized my thoughts.
‘I’ve done enough. What are those pretentious people, that they’d throw themselves to help me?’
Right before I made up my mind to act, all five paladins simultaneously turned their heads to face me.
Chills ran down my spine.
The horrifying killing intent focused entirely on me.
With no room for doubt, their eyes were filled with a will to kill me, reminiscent of a terrifying horror movie.
Fortunately, the paladin named Ho-young, who was walking in front of me, was too busy keeping an eye on the doppelganger to pay attention to me.
The blue-eyed deity behind him had already nocked an arrow on his crossbow.
“T-this human-type monster?!”
The leader of the paladin party gazed vacantly towards my direction and shouted.
“That silhouette is not right!”
“I don’t know what it is, but just attack!!”
‘At least it seems that I’m not that clearly visible.’
As soon as the paladins recognized me, those in front and behind swung their great swords at high speed.
Swish— Swish—!!
───?!!
After my swing passed, the heads of the blue-eyed deity and the doppelganger disguised as a paladin flew high into the air.
– I have eliminated a sinister group threatening the safety of this world!
– Randomly boost your stats!
– Agility: 537 (+2)
‘Oh… It seems that one of the blue-eyed deities was of a decent rank.’
Seeing my stat increase by 2 was proof of that.
“Ho-young!!”
Someone desperately shouted his name.
But as the tentacles sprouted from the neck of the doppelganger called Ho-young, the knight who called out his name swiftly lowered the faceguard of his helmet and activated a skill.
“Light! Illuminate our path!”
“Come forth, Light! Divine Surge!!”
“The blessing of the god shall embrace us!!”
As all five paladins unleashed their skills in unison, an incredibly sturdy golden shield manifested, solidly guarding their front.
Their armors tinted in golden light emitted a sacred aura, their eyes also turning golden.
‘That golden shield and those eyes! The god they worship is Areina! A named level being! Damn it!’
I instantly understood why the intensity of the knights empowered by their god was unusual.
And I also became convinced that my choice to assist them was right. Their growth would play a significant role in the future.
“Ho-young will finish off the doppelganger, and you take care of Su-an’s body!!”
“Yes, understood!!”
One knight stepped aside, while the other five narrowed their angle and aimed their swords at me.
‘Who’s going to help me fight!’
In reality, if I were to fight them, they wouldn’t be the kind of skilled opponents I could handle easily.
It seemed that my true identity hadn’t been revealed yet, but if I engaged in combat, the chance of them figuring it out would be high, and that could put Yeon-hee in a difficult situation later.
For multiple reasons, it would be wise to run away.
I utilized my movement skills aside from [Lightning Step] and quickly distanced myself from the paladins.
I thought it wouldn’t be difficult to shake off those who had significantly lower agility than me compared to an equivalent paladin.
In fact, in a matter of seconds, I had created enough distance that I was almost out of sight when I suddenly saw the paladins’ backs before me.
‘What, what the!?!’
Swoosh—!
I was startled and pushed my feet against the ground to come to a stop, urgently turned back, and started running again, but this time I was charging toward the front of the paladins.
‘Ah! What the hell has that Areina or whatever set up?!’
Before I knew it, I found myself trapped in a space laid out by a divine being.
I thought it was unfair for the gods to intervene this way, but then a memory flashed through my mind—the time when I brought forth Fragments of a Great Being and dealt with the Seven-Headed Dragon.
‘…Well, it seems I have no choice. I’ll have to fight.’
Judging it pointless to keep moving any longer, I stood my ground.
Even though they had seen me dashing back and forth, they kept charging straight toward me.
Their movements of even trying to shake me off side to side felt like they had some kind of invisible mark on me, which made me uneasy.
‘I don’t know, let’s have at it. I was quite curious about how long I could hold out against the light anyway.’
The sight of the paladins rushing toward me shone incredibly bright.
Knights who worshipped light and justice.
They were people standing on the opposing end to me.
·····.
Watching them made a fact I had almost forgotten be clearly imprinted again.
I was a Skeleton Soldier, a monster born of darkness.
No matter what I did, that fact wouldn’t change.
I met the gaze of the paladins, who had formed a line with their leader at the front and others following beside.
Just as I was prepared to risk being discovered.
– The administrator of balance temporarily greatly enhances the effectiveness of [Shadow of Darkness].
– All your actions will be distorted and miscommunicated.
‘Hm?!’
“Haah— Ha, finally showing your true self!”
“Did you think you could escape the gaze of Lady Areina? You cowardly orc!”
“This orc fighter using [Stealth], now that’s a new breed! Everyone, be careful!”
“Yes!!”
‘…Am I… an orc?’
I looked at myself, but my appearance hadn’t changed.
‘Was the administrator of the dungeon tweaking things to let me fight freely?’
It seemed Areina intervened because she believed the balance was being tipped.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
