Il-wol swung his great sword down powerfully, the energy contained within it sharp enough to cut through anything.
“Oh no! I’m really going to die! This can’t happen!”
Of course, the clone didn’t have the concept of death.
However, if he allowed the attack to proceed, he would be unable to move for a while, and his plans that he had secretly organized would be severely disrupted.
“Delaying my plans a bit is fine, but I absolutely need to convey this information… Damn it!!”
He needed to inform others that there was someone with sensory abilities surpassing Shayna Laine.
And it was highly likely that this person was the Burning Skeleton Soldier, who was currently swinging his great sword toward him. If he were to return like this, it would be difficult to even get that done.
– You have crossed the boundary set by the essence. Hurry up and reincarnate!
Jo Gi-man had already crossed the criteria he had set.
Ultimately, the clone reached a conclusion.
“I have no choice; I have to go back, even if it means taking a loss.”
A technique that allows him to find and return to the main body, regardless of the dimension the body is in or if he called for it.
In fact, it’s an ancient technique that distorts the surrounding space into chaos the moment the ability activates.
Reincarnation Clone Technique
“Clap?!”
─────
The clone vanished in an instant, as if transformed into a mass of magic drawn up into the sky.
However, Il-wol’s sword had already cleaved through the clone’s left eye, splitting it down to the end of its left leg.
– Your level has increased!
Thud—
Il-wol stored the severed clone’s body in the space while swallowing his regret.
“Hmm… I thought it would work. Just as I saw in the painting this morning.”
Il-wol had been raising Irmana’s consciousness at dawn when suddenly the [Seer’s Step] activated.
Although it was noted that it wasn’t frequently activated, this was already the second stroke of luck he had encountered.
The fragmented vision seen through [Seer] revealed Jo Gi-man’s clone floating in the sky, laughing at the people below as it leisurely disappeared.
The future of failing to catch the clone had ultimately become reality.
But the process toward the result formed a slightly different present.
“Among countless possibilities for the future, can we find the best path through our efforts…?”
Seeing a glimmer of possibility, Il-wol gently nodded.
However, in contrast to Il-wol’s calm demeanor, his companions were holding their heads in despair.
“What the hell? Where did it go!!”
“Damn it! Did we miss it?”
“Il-wol! What do you sense around you?”
“Clap…”
“Did we really miss it…”
“Oh no! We had it all!!”
“It’s over… Sigh…”
His companions, who had believed without a doubt that the creature was Jo Gi-man, naturally showed such reactions.
“What are we going to do next… Ma Gwang-jin and Yoo Min-jeong won’t be able to help either.”
Il-wol was already thinking ahead.
Even if he had anticipated the outcome, he felt extremely regretful and fearful.
Everyone sighed, staring up at the sky in despair.
However, from the top of the mountain, hunters from the Ilseom Guild were descending like a swarm of bees, forcing them to vacate their position.
* * *
It had already been a full day since darkness had heavily descended upon the world where the lake stretched endlessly.
“Sigh— If I could just draw out a bit more power from the Seven-headed Dragon! I could have easily dealt with such a load! Damn it!”
[······.]
In the world that he accidentally entered through the hidden space of ‘Nando’, he encountered Malachias, the blue-eyed follower.
Surprisingly, Jo Gi-man was relentlessly pushing Malachias, known as the King of Plagues, even without [Dragon Transformation].
Thousands of plague soldiers following Malachias had already been annihilated, leaving only the two of them in the battle.
However, Jo Gi-man’s power was about 2% short of breaking through the magical barrier created by Malachias and Moldred, and the stubborn contest continued through the night.
“Ahhhhh!! You bastard!! Why won’t you just die already!”
Jo Gi-man, striking the barrier, burst out in a moment of rage.
Even Malachias found his appearance somewhat chilling.
[Moldred… Are you seeing anything?]
[… Your Majesty. The opportunity will come soon.]
[…. Sigh— This is really the limit. There can’t be the slightest mistake.]
The two endured against the monster wearing the guise of a human.
Creeeeeeeeek—
Finally, the moment they had been waiting for had come.
“What, what is it? Why are you suddenly—?! Wugh!!”
Something containing immaterial energy tore through the dimensional rifts and seeped into Jo Gi-man’s body, causing him to suddenly stop moving with a vacant stare.
Booooooom—
Jo Gi-man floated up, closing his eyes and entering meditation.
Had that monster finally reached its limit?
However, since Jo Gi-man’s energy was gradually rising, Malachias couldn’t muster the courage to attack.
[······!]
Malachias and Moldred exchanged glances for a moment, and without getting greedy, quickly left the scene.
Boom—
Malachias disappeared with the Orc Battle Commander Char.
After a moment, Jo Gi-man regained his senses and looked around at the desolate landscape with a bewildered expression.
“Ahhhh… How much time have I poured into this place…?”
Realizing that all his efforts had gone to waste, Jo Gi-man began to unleash skills in all directions, annihilating everything around him.
“Ah… Aaaah!! This damn timing for the clone to return!! That worthless, piece of shit!! Aaaaaah!!”
Malachias was the King of Plagues, and he certainly posed a great threat to this clean and beautiful world.
If Jo Gi-man had defeated Malachias, he would have received the special rewards he had not obtained until now.
And that reward might have been related to the most crucial key leading to the ultimate magic “Arcana,” [Aquakanum].
Jo Gi-man wanted to summon his clone and beat it up right before death, but he couldn’t do that right now due to cooldowns.
In fact, if he used the [Reincarnation Clone Technique], he would lose all experience points, memories, and even the shackles of the slaves that the clone had managed during this round, which only fueled his irritation.
“What kind of bastard turned my clone into this mess!! Aaaaaaah!!”
Jo Gi-man’s howl filled the lake world for a long time.
[······.]
Since he had come to this world, a supreme being who had been watching him had hoped for Jo Gi-man to discipline Malachias, but shook its head in disappointment and withdrew its interest.
* * *
A week passed since Jo Gi-man lost his clone.
During that time, Yeon-hee and I stayed in the hidden space introduced to us by Ma Gwang-jin.
The reason was that we had to prepare in advance for what kind of destruction Jo Gi-man might unleash upon his return.
“This information came from Rockter, so we can trust it.”
“Thank you, Elder Ma!”
“Haha— Don’t mention it.”
Ma Gwang-jin turned out to be a lot better than expected.
He tried his best to help us through our struggles, and actually took more care of us than the White Knight Guild, which was thrown into confusion over the disappearance of Jo Gi-man’s clone.
“Seems alright, right?”
“Clap clap.”
According to information obtained from the intelligence organization ‘Rockter’, nobody had seen Jo Gi-man in the four days after the clone disappeared.
But he had resumed work at the headquarters of the White Knight Guild three days ago, and that was naturally not the clone but the main body.
The guy hadn’t shown any unusual movements, contrary to our concern.
“Recently discovered information indicates he is looking into data or hunters related to the Goddess of Water Ryun… That’s all we know.”
“Clap…”
“Maybe Jo Gi-man’s clone just died?”
“Clap clap…”
“I guess that’s not very likely…”
“Clap clap clap.”
We shared the information about Jo Gi-man’s clone with everyone who had participated in the fight against it.
They could accept the fact that Jo Gi-man had a clone, but couldn’t help but be horrified by the reality that he was a villain who cut down talented hunters in their prime.
Of course, the idea of him being a villain who kills budding talents was something I had just made up, but given what kind of monster he was, a story like that wouldn’t be too far off.
And through making a pact, we rebuilt trust again and shared various means to remain intimately connected.
In short, we had formed an alliance we could trust and fight alongside.
“In a way, the biggest benefit of this great beast subjugation might be that we forged ties with them.”
Yeon-hee sat in a rocking chair, tidying her thoughts by herself.
“Yeah, it seems hard to easily eliminate such a guy. After all, clones can just be made again, right? It might even be fortunate that Il-wol didn’t blow himself up to save his own life.”
“Clap…”
“If the clone somehow lived to reunite with the main body… The main body’s lack of action so far likely means that information hasn’t been conveyed properly.”
“Clap clap clap.”
We amalgamated all the information and drew that conclusion.
The clone must have returned to the main body, but it likely failed to share what had happened while it was with us.
“Jo Gi-man’s disappearance for a while… Was likely due to entering Nando’s hidden space…”
As I gathered the information I had encountered, the flow of the situation made sense.
“By the way, what could he have experienced in Nando’s hidden space? If he was away for that long, it must’ve been something significant.”
“Shall we head back home soon? I may have made up an excuse about exploring a hidden dungeon to the guild, but if I’m away too long, that might raise suspicions.”
“Clap clap clap.”
Of course, danger still remained, but it seemed Jo Gi-man was consumed by something else entirely rather than us, so we returned home for now.
“Why is he interested in the Goddess of Water Ryun? It feels unsettling.”
Back home, I quietly gazed at Fibryn, who was floating on the water, exposed and round-bellied.
“Seems like I’m leaving it in such an open space… Should I cover it up a bit?”
I summoned the stones I had piled up in the dark space, cut them appropriately, and stacked them to obscure Fibryn’s form from above.
“Fibryn…?”
Suddenly, with the sky covered, Fibryn looked upset, but for the time being, I needed to make do. If Jo Gi-man were to catch a glimpse of Fibryn, he might make weird connections regarding the Goddess of Water Ryun.
“Oh, Il-wol! I’m summoning before dinner.”
Yeon-hee, while able to examine the summoning tome introduced by Ma Gwang-jin, opted not to and was finally about to open her long-stashed summoning tome.
While Yeon-hee made her bold declaration to summon and went to take a shower, I brought up the stone floor from the dark space, barricading myself completely.
Then, I pulled out a neatly cut part of the body from the space.
“Jo Gi-man’s clone…”
As soon as I took it out, Jo Gi-man’s left body gushed out blood like a fountain.
“Sigh— I really didn’t want to do this. But now that the message has appeared, there’s no choice.”
– A being capable of using the trait [Blood Manifestation] exists.
– A being capable of using the trait [Blood Manifestation] exists.
The message that kept popping into my head urged me to quickly consume this.
[Blood Manifestation]
– A terrifying ability that absorbs the blood of living beings to strengthen the body. The more blood absorbed from a stronger opponent, the greater the enhancement.
“This skill has the condition of being ‘living’… So, if it’s activating, that means this is still alive? Is it regarded as a single entity?”
I continued to look down at the clone’s body, still spewing blood.
Bulge— Psssssh—
The jagged cross-section persistently asserted its existence to the world, but that didn’t mean it could be considered a conscious entity. How much power was packed into this clone to possess such life force…?
Suuuuu—
“Aw, whatever! Let’s just think about getting stronger. I might feel a bit queasy, but it’s fine.”
The clone of the being that killed me.
In the absurd situation of devouring its blood, the sharp fangs extending from my fingers pierced into the now severed clone’s body.
“But really, is this going to be an absorption— Ugh?!”
Incredible enough, as the thin fangs burrowed into the clone’s body, they eagerly sucked something out and swelled into a fist-sized mass that began to writhe.
“Ugh…! The hot energy is flooding into my bones!!”
– Strength has grown by 1.
– Agility has grown by 2.
– Recovery has grown by 1.
…
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