Chapter 121

“…”

I stood there, stunned, frozen in place for quite a while. My temporary state of shock lasted until the black cube crumbled.

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

The shower of flower petals falling all around and the resounding trumpet fanfare snapped me out of my thoughts. But my mind was still in chaos.

“…What’s going on?”

What exactly happened?

I patted myself down in a daze, but nothing had changed. I’d returned, regressed. This was a scene I’d seen before. But why?

I absentmindedly touched the spot on the back of my hand where I’d once felt pain. All I could feel was the familiar, smooth yet hefty texture of leather. Yes, my transparent gloves were still serving their purpose.

Then why? Why did I regress?

“Hmm…”

I let Raphael’s illusion chatter away in front of me, pondering the possibilities. What could be the reason for my regression?

First, maybe my duplicate has a reflection ability. Or perhaps, if my duplicate gets hurt, I get hurt too. So when I swung my sword and left a slight injury on it, it somehow reflected back to me, triggering my regression.

"That can’t be it."

Of course, this theory made no sense. I didn’t have a reflection ability during the tutorial, and I’d aimed for its neck. If I’d been wounded on my neck, maybe, but a cut on the back of my hand? This hypothesis didn’t hold up.

Then, there was a second possibility.

“…”

If my duplicate had somehow caught my hand, that would explain it.

But this idea seemed equally absurd. The difference between me now and me during the tutorial was like heaven and earth. In terms of skill and physical prowess, I was far superior.

“…”

So, why did I regress? Had I just been under the illusion that I’d grown when in reality, I hadn’t changed much since the tutorial?

Just like how there’s barely a difference between an F-rank Hunter advancing to an E-rank, perhaps there wasn’t a noticeable improvement from a novice swordsman to an intermediate one.

“Sigh…”

Endless possibilities cycled through my mind, appearing and vanishing repeatedly. While some theories seemed plausible, none were certain.

“Well then, may you continue to strive forward. I’ll take my leave now.”

Raphael’s illusion finally finished its lengthy speech and vanished. With that, I gradually readied myself, tensing my body.

From afar, my duplicate approached me. Its eyes remained glazed, and its lips were constantly murmuring something.

“This time, it’ll be different.”

I spread mana through my entire body, slightly pulling my back foot behind me as I let my sword hang loose. My senses were heightened to the point that I could even feel the flow of the air.

Yet, I wouldn’t make the first move. Even though my body was fully prepared, I maintained distance, waiting for my opponent to act.

In the previous round, the back of my hand had been struck. The key here was to consider—why the back of my hand?

For a swordsman, an injury to the back of the hand is, of course, critical. But in terms of importance, injuring a finger is far more fatal. If you lose even one of the five fingers, the strength you can exert diminishes significantly.

But specifically, it was the back of the hand. Was it just a coincidence? No. The odds are high that my duplicate knows the rule that ‘if I’m injured, I regress.’ That’s why it targeted my hand.

In other words, my opponent was already aware of my biggest weakness. Making the first move would only leave me exposed. Waiting for it to act was the wiser choice.

“…”

“…”

But as I stayed motionless, my duplicate also didn’t move. We both hesitated, trading invisible strategies in our minds, yet no real opening appeared.

“Hm…”

Even if it makes sense that I’m hesitant, why is that guy holding back too? Almost like… if it’s hurt, it’d regress too.

"Hey."

“…”

“Do you also… regress if you’re hurt?”

“…”

My duplicate didn’t respond, just kept murmuring something to itself. I wore a calm smile, but inside, I was tangled in a mess of conflicting thoughts.

What if this duplicate also has ‘Regression [EX]’ trait? 

If it gets injured, will I be dragged back in time along with it? Does that mean, that to clear the fifth floor, I need to take it down without either of us getting hurt?

If I apply a gentle choke from behind, I might barely avoid triggering regression and still subdue it... Damn, this is a headache.

‘…First, I need to wound it.’

To validate my theories, I had to inflict a wound on it, observe what happens, and then decide my next move.

“Phew…”

I exhaled deeply, adjusting my grip to extend the sword’s reach, hoping to avoid any incoming attacks.

“Hup!”

Swoosh!

This was a stab born from all my experience—a full-power strike. My duplicate narrowly dodged by twisting its waist, and in the same movement, it twisted its wrist to target my forearm.

But this was within my expectations. I instantly dropped my sword, pulling my arm back quickly. Its sword cut through empty air as I dodged.

Taking advantage of the opening, I aimed a powerful kick at its stepping foot. Surely, it can’t expect me to abandon my sword.

“?!”

However, its sword—which should have swung through empty space—was somehow already positioned to guard its leg from my attack.

Clang!

“Aaagh!”

My shin collided forcefully with its blade, resonating with a sharp clang.

***

“So… the slash was just a feint.”

It anticipated I’d abandon my sword. Ridiculous, but it’s reality.

Was I ever this skilled back in the tutorial? Did I have hidden potential all along?

Or… is that ‘Kim Jun-ho’ loaded with a hero trait stacked up to the max?

“That can’t be…”

Of course, that’d be absurd. Yet, my duplicate was ridiculously good at fighting. Technically, it was overpowering me.

Physically, I should be superior. With higher stats and mana at my disposal, that was the obvious result.

“…”

But somehow, it wasn’t at all inferior to me. Not only did it avoid my attacks with uncanny skill, but it also read my intentions completely and countered them.

This situation was blatantly strange. The Archangel had given me this task as if it were some generous gift, so why was it proving to be so challenging?

“…Could it be…”

A hypothesis popped into my mind, but the thought was so horrifying that I immediately brushed it aside. That’d be downright unfair.

Instead of dwelling on that, it’d be better to test the solution I just thought of.

***

The message window appeared, and my duplicate staggered forward. But this time, I was different.

“…Come.”

“…”

In this round, no matter what happens, I won’t make the first move. Why? Because I have the advantage in endurance.

I have higher stats than that duplicate. In other words, my body is more resilient.

Now, if we keep staring each other down like this, who will collapse first? The weaker, tutorial-version me? Or me now, with buffed stats and mana? Likely, it’ll tire first. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but in a battle of endurance, I’ll undoubtedly win.

It was the perfect solution: it’d collapse from sheer exhaustion without a single wound inflicted. Truly flawless.

‘Let’s see who holds out longer,’ I raised the corner of my mouth slightly, thinking so, when…

“…!”

Suddenly, my duplicate lunged forward, leaving itself wide open, recklessly swinging its sword downward with full force.

“You’ve lost it, haven’t you?”

There was no response; it rushed at me, but its attack was sloppy.

Tap, tap!

I took two quick steps to the right, gripping my sword tightly, ready to strike back. With its movements so exaggerated, dodging was a breeze.

Stepping fully out of its sword’s path, I prepared to unleash a full-force thrust.

‘Now, let’s see what happens when…’

In the air, its swing changed.

A heavy blow should always move in a straight path, while something light can be flexible. That’s just how things work.

But its sword was different. Just as the sword was about to drive downward, it abruptly turned at a 90-degree angle—defying every physical law.

“…What?”

Naturally, my instinctive sense of battle didn’t prepare me for such an unreal strike.

Slash!

I staggered back too late, a long horizontal slash cut across my chest.

***

“This is absurd.”

I’d been keeping my patience all along, but this… this was beyond reason.

A sword that’s swinging down from above suddenly bending 90 degrees to cut me? Does that even make sense?

“Hup!”

Whoosh!

I tried to mimic the motion in the air for the sake of experimentation, but all I got was a sore wrist, failing completely to replicate it. Just how on earth did that guy pull it off?

My duplicate is supposed to be the version of me from the tutorial, and I’m the one at the fifth-floor level now. I should logically be stronger. But right now, my duplicate is performing at an utterly insane level. Did Raphael somehow possess it with the spirit of a sword god just to mess with me?

“…”

No, honestly, I’d already noticed. I was just trying to deny it.

“Damn it…”

I muttered a curse and glanced across the hall. After a while, my duplicate started walking toward me again with heavy footsteps.

I compared its current state to the first time I’d seen it on the fifth floor.

“Hey.”

“…”

Its eyes, which had been glazed over to begin with, were now entirely void of light, as though dead, and its murmuring had turned into incomprehensible gibberish.

“You…”

My theory had been correct.

“…How many times has it been?”

This duplicate had already regressed countless times.

– – – End of Chapter – – -

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