〈 Chapter 234 〉 Chapter 230 – Final Exam (4)
*
A long corridor.
It wasn’t dark, but there was nothing to see either.
No doppelganger. No bugs. No small animals. Not even a blade of grass.
It was like a dungeon pretending to be old while looking brand new.
An alien scene with no living creatures.
It felt like walking inside the mouth of a living creature, waiting for its prey to stumble in.
Even if the prey sensed danger, it wouldn’t be able to escape.
Suddenly it felt like being the prey of a predator ready to devour.
[Somehow it’s creepy.]
‘Right?’
Wondering if it was just me, I slyly glanced at Caressy.
Seeing her tail standing straight up, she looked quite scared.
“Are you scared?”
“……Honestly, yes.”
Just as Caressy replied, trying to cling to me, she suddenly bolted at full speed.
“Hey! Don’t leave me behind!!!”
“From today, you’re a stray cat!”
“I’ll choose you as my caretaker, so wait!!!”
Caressy wailed as she chased after me.
However, because of the height difference, instead of closing the distance, it kept increasing.
Thanks to that, Caressy’s cries started to grow fainter.
[Is it reasonable to run away leaving the heroine behind!!!]
‘It’s an extreme choice to solve separation anxiety.’
Still, when I occasionally scanned the path ahead, there was nothing unusual.
Since there were no threats, Caressy would catch up soon.
And was it worth running ahead, leaving Caressy behind?
Ahead, I spotted a faint light in the distance.
But.
“I told you not to leave me, you bitch!”
“Ah, damn.”
Caressy had arrived much faster than expected.
Not feeling capable with two legs, she switched to four and caught up to me.
The saying from Animal Farm that four legs are better than two was indeed true.
Soon after, Caressy’s flying kick plunged deep into my back.
‘As expected, meow kick is always deadly, Marine Corps!’
[Thud. Thud.]
That attack sent me flying.
But it wasn’t all bad.
I swooped into a space filled with light in no time.
As soon as I exited the corridor, a large chamber appeared.
An overwhelmingly vast space that you couldn’t imagine being underground.
And in the middle of it.
“You made it.”
“……What? Is it already over?”
Hyeji, Elcia, and Ayeon were there.
As soon as the heroines saw me, they waved their hands happily.
Meanwhile, something was lying beneath Hyeji’s feet.
A sticky, dark chunk, darker than tar.
It looked like the boss mob of this dungeon.
Everything was settled by the time I arrived.
[You got your ass kicked and didn’t actually do anything.]
‘If you got on a bus, you should be grateful.’
At that moment, a curious thought arose.
“How did you guys figure out my doppelganger?”
“Oh, that?”
The heroines who were separated from me must have encountered my doppelganger too.
But now, they had even subdued the boss mob.
I was incredibly curious about how it turned out.
Then, Hyeji suddenly chuckled.
“As soon as we entered, I saw your doppelganger, so I asked.”
“What did you ask?”
“I asked what a supporter is supposed to be.”
“And?”
Hyeji’s face then displayed an expression of annoyance.
“They said it’s a reliable supporter that sustains the party. You would definitely call it a tool.”
“A tool, right?”
“You bastard.”
Hyeji spat in frustration.
Anyway, it was a perfect identification method.
I was curious how the others fared, so I asked.
“Ayeon, what about you?”
“I also encountered a being that imitated you early on, so I asked a question.”
“What did you ask?”
“I asked what they thought of a succubus that lures many people.”
Suddenly, Ayeon made a dumbfounded expression.
“And then that being said such a succubus is a truly alluring demon.”
“They didn’t know anything about me.”
Considering they met early on, the doppelganger’s answer was shockingly normal.
It was so dumb.
How could they not even consider the level of the people who entered?
“Right. If it were you, you would have certainly said village bus, school bus, multiverse, metaverse.”
“Besides that, it could also be succubus subway, succubus airplane, succubus aircraft carrier.”
“……No need to tell me those.”
Ayeon sighed, gripping her head.
[Then what should we call the succubus that devoured people worldwide?]
‘We’ll just call it the Succu-verse.’
Finally, it was Elcia’s turn.
But as soon as Elcia realized it was her turn, she stiffened her expression and suddenly looked away.
I wondered why, and Hyeji started speaking instead.
“Hey, do you know what that lass said?”
“Um, sis! Stop it!!!”
“What did she say?”
Elcia hurriedly tried to silence Hyeji.
“Listen. ‘I’m a vibrant elf in my twenties!’ she said.”
“Please stop!!!”
“And then?”
Hyeji’s mouth didn’t stop.
“Your doppelganger said, ‘You do look way too young,’ and then she immediately killed it.”
“……”
Finally, Hyeji unabashedly spewed the harsh truth.
“Where does she even look like she’s in her twenties? At least three digits.”
*
Elcia’s thorny vine brushed past my ear.
While a few strands of hair were cut off, Elcia gave a chilling smile.
“Husband? What did you say?”
“……Nothing.”
[……No conscience, huh.]
‘That damn ear goblin.’
Just then, Caressy appeared, huffing.
A drone followed behind her.
“Hey! You left me behind till the end!”
“…You kicked me really hard, damn it.”
《It’s the boss mob. Please finish it off. After that, the age of machines will begin.》
The drone’s meaningful words.
Moreover, unlike before, the drone now had red lenses.
Somehow it had a sinister feel, but I brushed it off thinking it would be fine.
“Now that the drone’s here, let’s end this quickly.”
“Shinwoo, what about Professor Pilyong?”
“He’s probably struggling right now, caught up in some stupid temptation.”
“Alright. I’ll finish this quickly.”
Hyeji pointed the gun even closer to the boss mob lying at her feet.
And just as she was about to pull the trigger.
“You dog bastards!!! How can you leave me behind!!!”
Professor Pilyong bellowed as he appeared.
Even though his hands were covered in blood, he stubbornly gripped a bottle.
His obsession with hair loss treatment was something else.
[What the hell is this hair for anyway?]
‘It’s something you realize is precious when you see it on a pillow or sink.’
The moment everyone’s attention was diverted to the obnoxiously loud Professor Pilyong.
“Die!!!”
“Huh?”
The boss mob beneath Hyeji shot a sharp shadow at her.
It had been lying silently when we were chatting, but it struggled as soon as it got the chance.
Normally it would have been something I wouldn’t care about.
But right now, it was dangerous.
For some odd reason, magic operation was a bit difficult in this dungeon.
While Hyeji already had a minigun summoned, that must have taken considerable effort as well.
Worried Hyeji might get hurt, I quickly moved towards Professor Pilyong.
“Hyeji! Get back, it’s dangerous!”
“Okay.”
“W-wait, you damn bitch!!!”
I quickly grabbed Professor Pilyong and threw him between the impending shadow and Hyeji.
Thanks to that, all the attacks aimed at Hyeji ended up hitting Professor Pilyong instead.
An explosion followed, and dust rose.
What a relief it was.
[Relief my ass! Using the professor as a tool gives you a warning!!!]
‘Ah, right.’
But for now, the heroines’ safety came first.
I quickly checked on the heroines, but their expressions were very odd.
They were alternating their gazes between me and next to me.
Wondering what was going on, I turned to the side.
“…What the hell, this bastard?”
“What about this bastard?”
There was another me.
Taking advantage of the brief moment that the explosion had blocked my sight, the boss mob appeared as my doppelganger.
Even I was surprised at how identical it looked.
“I’m the real one! What about you?”
“Why is this shit copying someone else?”
It even matched my tone.
“Which one’s the real one?”
“Both look exactly the same.”
“I can’t tell at all.”
“Can’t we just beat them both?”
“That’s a good idea, dumb cat.”
Hyeji, hearing Caressy, approached with a grim smile.
No way.
Hyeji’s minigun hurts like hell.
No way.
Besides, right now, even the Defensive Coat is down.
I’d face unimaginable pain if I got hit.
Not wanting to face that pain, I hurriedly pressed on to prove that I was the real one.
“Please pick me! I can make great emoticons!”
“I’m the real one! If you trust me, I’ll keep going without resting all weekend!”
“Damn bitch! How are you going to take responsibility for this later?”
“Shut your mouth, you damned bastard! Don’t act like you’re me!”
Being forced into a laborious situation by the doppelganger, my hands and feet trembled without noticing.
Meanwhile, the heroines wore expressions full of excitement.
They looked like they were watching how low I could sink.
Like they were enjoying a live stream.
At that moment, Piece presented me with an answer.
[It seems to be reading your memories. If you could let it know your most intense memory, it might work.]
‘Thanks, Piece.’
Just then, I recalled something.
With a creepy smile, I turned my gaze back to the doppelganger.
Just in time, it caught my gaze and gave a sly smile.
I began to murmur ominously while watching it.
“I wonder what I have on my hard drive?”
“That fake bastard is trying to act smart? Of course, on my hard drive—”
At that moment, the doppelganger suddenly froze.
Its eyes widened.
Its pupils shifted wildly.
Its hands started shaking madly.
“Ahhhhh!!!!”
Finally, it held its head in anguish.
Having read my memories, the doppelganger realized the depths of human malice.
The doppelganger slumped to the ground, wailing.
“Y-you madman!!! Who carries that around!!!!”
“It’s my masterpiece. Thanks to it, I became a Hunter, you bitch.”
“Damn!!!!”
It seemed, unlike its appearance, to possess a weak mind.
I kicked the howling doppelganger and immediately mounted it.
Clenching my fist while watching the dazed doppelganger.
“Let’s start by hitting you a little, you fake Shinwoo bastard.”
*
