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Note You can see the episode where you first encountered your doppelganger in 4. Worst Choice (4)!
＜ 18. Archbishop Gregory (1) ＞
Come to think of it, it’s a hazy memory, but I heard something similar when I killed my doppelganger before .
At the time, I just passed it without thinking. Live or die, I was standing at a crossroads where my life came and went. But after hearing the same thing twice, I couldn’t help but think about it .
‘… what the hell does it mean to be in the same place? If you’re like a doppelganger… copying someone else’s appearance ?’
Unfortunately, Andrea’s accident ended there. This is because the situation has not yet been fully resolved. Trisha, who came out of the barrier with Emilia, spoke to him .
“ What, did you really finish everything ?”
Andrea turns her head and looks over the barrier on the other side.
“ No, not yet. There is one left .”
After dealing with Trisha’s doppelganger, Andrea retrieved the ‘Eternal Training Ring’. Finally, all the doppelgangers disappeared as they became dough .
Trisha and Emilia seemed bewildered that the battle had ended so suddenly and simply. Tricia stares at Andrea .
“… What did you do again this time, Andrea? All other conditions were the same, how could only one person exert such overwhelming power ?”
“… Hmm, I looked it up and found a way .”
He was still keeping the ‘Eternal Training Ring’ a secret from his party. The acquisition path was not proud, and the effect itself was controversial .
Andrea deftly diverted from the topic of concern .
“ First of all, let’s check Marco’s condition first .”
Tricia put on a disapproving expression for a moment because she was suspicious of the change, but kept her mouth shut because it was important to check Marco’s condition anyway .
The resummoned Marco didn’t seem to suffer the same psychological damage as before. Marco says that it was enough to happen because he faced a formidable opponent .
On the contrary, he cared more about his mistakes than about dying in this battle .
“ I should have used ‘Gigantic Weapon’ when I wasn’t close yet, but I was too careless. Next time I might encounter an enemy like you, so I’ll have to keep in mind the importance of distance .”
“… You ‘re feeling fine, right, Marco-san ?”
“ It’s okay. It’s done, I’d like a bowl of hard-boiled eggs .”
Marco burst out laughing when he saw Andrea’s worried expression. Andrea looked into his eyes. Eyes that are ready to fight again at any time. It didn’t look like he was hiding his fear and faking a normal appearance .
As the strengthening took place, he was clearly becoming a stronger warrior even in spirit. Andrea was able to breathe a sigh of relief .
Marco stubbornly refused, saying it was okay, but Emilia persisted and cast a healing skill on Marco. The reason why you might be hurt somewhere even if everything seems to be better .
Andrea knew that all injuries would heal unconditionally when resummoned, so he was hesitant to stop it for a while, but since there was nothing particularly harmful, he just left it as it was. It was not a bad move for Emilia to gain self-esteem and to build bonds among her colleagues .
“ Then let’s go check out the reward or something .”
Time to see the rewards of fierce battles. Andrea and the others went to the exit together and opened the treasure chest. The level of hardship was commensurate with the level of compensation that was very outstanding .
‘It ‘s a relief that Arpan didn’t touch the reward .’
Andrea got 1 epic grade card, Trisha got 1 rare and unique grade card, and Emilia got 1 unique grade card .
The first card Andrea acquired .
‘[ Epic] Shadow Clone ++ (4 Cost): Divinity, Extinction, Summons a clone with the same stats and equipment as yourself. The alter ego cannot use the card .’
As soon as Andrea saw the card, she couldn’t help but exclaim briefly .
It is no exaggeration to say that it is the most famous among the divine cards of the Shadow God, a card that is no different from a symbol. It was a card that Andrea had been vaguely thinking that he might be able to get it someday if he went up to a high floor .
Among the job cards of the thief class, there was a similar card called ‘Alter’. However, comparing the performance of the ‘Shadow Alternate’ with that card was an insult in itself. Unlike ‘Alter’, which summons an alter ego whose stats have deteriorated considerably, ‘Shadow Alone’ summons an alter ego with the same stats and equipment .
like a doppelganger .
‘… It’s ironic that I killed my doppelganger and acquired this card .’
The alter ego couldn’t use cards, but it was a natural move. If you were able to use the card, the alter ego would summon an alter ego and reproduce itself indefinitely .
In any case, even if it could only summon one clone, its versatility and performance were undoubtedly a card. If there is one downside, the cost is rather high at 4 cost. However, Andrea had ‘mana amplification’ and ‘mana runaway’, so it wasn’t such a big obstacle .
Here are the cards Trisha got .
‘[ Rare] Frozen Arrow + (2 cost): Creates 1 arrow that inflicts a frostbite status abnormality when hit .’
‘[ Unique] Arrow of extreme poison + (3 cost): Creates an arrow that applies bleeding poison and paralysis poison status abnormalities when hit .’
Cards that can inflict various status ailments. These cards were mainly used in the ‘status arrow deck’, one of the basic decks that hunters could make .
Even if it wasn’t a ‘status arrow deck’, they were cards that could be mixed and used in a deck, but the ‘infinite fire cycle deck’ that Trisha chose was a deck that had to be refined and compressed. I couldn’t afford to insert this card .
“… Then, should I just discard these cards as well ?”
Trisha looks at the cards as if it was a waste after hearing the explanation. Andrea shook her head. There was a way to use them all .
“ Tricia, don’t you have two decks right now? Put these cards in the second deck. Some of the enemies you’ll encounter in the future have a pattern of shuffling curses into your deck. I can’t cycle against those guys, so I’ll just finish the second deck and use it .”
“… Ah! Was there a way ?”
Trisha followed Andrea’s advice. After completing the deck, she was sad about not being able to collect cards, but the thought of being able to collect cards again made Trisha lively .
Emilia acquired one more ‘Advanced Healing’. Compared to the other party’s rewards, it was boring, but considering its value, it wasn’t a bad reward by any means .
Even in this battle alone, Andrea would have lost her life had it not been for the ‘Advanced Healing’. The importance of healing cards in a dungeon where you don’t know what kind of enemies will appear cannot be overemphasized .
After confirming all the rewards, Andrea and the others proceeded towards the exit. For some reason, there was an afterglow left behind, but now it was time to worry about the next floor rather than this place .
‘ If the next elite monster is also at the same level as the doppelganger, whoa… I’ll have to struggle, but… Still, the things that have happened so far feel like something is lacking to even say ‘maximum disadvantage’. The rewards are steadily coming out, and there are no monsters that deviate from common sense …
‘ Will the disadvantages be revealed from the next elite monster? Or… Is Arpan plotting something different than I thought ?’
It was a question that could not be answered by worrying alone. I have no choice but to tighten my mind with tension and prepare to cope with any situation .
Following Andrea, who was advancing ahead, the party moved their steps in perfect order .
*
“ I was worried that another doppelganger would show up, but it didn’t .”
As Trisha said, the elite monster on the 75th floor, the imp lord, was easily dealt with. Even though the invincibility pattern and the pattern of summoning imps whenever it matched were a bit tricky, the combat power of the body itself was incomparable to that of Andrea and the others .
The battle ended when Andrea, using her indomitable will, slashed the summoned imps and the imp lord with one fist. Even without him, it would have been only a matter of time before the rest of the party captured the imp lord .
On the way to the
75th floor, except for the doppelganger, the party did not experience any danger, and the party relaxed somewhat. Subconsciously forgetting the threat of Arpan. However, Andrea felt that her inner anxiety was festering even more .
It felt like I was riding on a gyro drop that was supposed to fall but didn’t fall at all. I would have done that if I had met a series of difficult enemies, but now I couldn’t let go of my tension as to when the disadvantage Arpan said would happen .
‘ The next floor was an event room …’
Andrea judged that the probability that this place was a trap room was very high. If that assumption is correct, Arpan must have prepared a deadly trap here .
‘ In case of emergency, I’ll have to consider skipping one floor using the elixir tablet .’
I saved it because I had a place to use it, but surviving right now was more important .
We finally reached the entrance on the 76th floor. Looking at the monotonous stone gate, it was impossible to guess what was inside. Andrea took out the elixir stone tablet from her subspace pouch and held it in her hand, ready to use it at any time .
“ Don’t be surprised if everyone skips this floor and moves all of a sudden. If it is judged to be a trap room, I will skip it immediately .”
After hearing Andrea’s words, the party belatedly recalled Arpan’s threat. Three people nodding their heads with tense faces. Andrea opened the stone door without delay .
The landscape that appeared was not a trap room. A structure resembling a huge well, a purple sky narrow enough to be covered with the palm of your hand. The black cliffs surrounding it were as tall as a fortress. It was a space that would have been buried in complete darkness had it not been for the strange light pouring down from the sky .
One of the sides of the cliff was carved with incredible majesty. Numerous pillars and reliefs were arranged in a confusing but orderly way. What catches the eye most of all is the stone statue of the goddess carved out of obsidian .
Seeing this, Andrea spat out a word like a sigh without even realizing it .
“ Callisis . . .”
“ Andrea-sama, this is …!”
As the priest’s duty was, Emilia noticed where this place was next to Andrea. There was only one temple worthy of being built in such a dark and shady place .
Temple of the Shadow God .
A chapel where those who cannot stand proudly under the brilliant light bow their heads and worship their gods .
It was a completely unexpected space, and the apostle of the shadow god could not help but feel embarrassed. It wasn’t just Andrea, but everyone in the party was looking around with an unfamiliar attitude .
Then I saw someone approaching from afar. His attire was a black priestly robe with a shoulder cape, and his shaggy beard, in contrast, was as white as snow. His impression was extremely gentle, but the scar on his long torn cheek and his majestic appearance aroused a sense of alienation .
It was unlikely that he would hostile them without questioning the circumstances, but Andrea did not relax .
‘ Are you the priest of this temple? ‘
But the priest who saw Andrea opened his eyes wide and rubbed them in disbelief. As if that wasn’t enough, the priest shook his head and strode toward Andrea as if he couldn’t stand it .
The priest grabbed Andrea by the shoulder and asked in a trembling voice .
“ Oh my God, I’m not looking at anything wrong, am I? Andrea, are you sure ?”
He spoke in a friendly manner, as if he had known Andrea for a long time. Andrea’s bewilderment reached its peak. I hurriedly looked back in my head, but no matter how I thought about it, he hadn’t met this priest before .
” I… I am, but… who the hell are you …”
It was when Andrea said that. A voice that did not belong to the priest rang out. A clear voice that seems to bloom in your head, not through your ears .
‘ Can you hear me , my second apostle ?’
An irresistible dignity in a soft tone. Judging from the reactions of the people around her, it seemed that this voice was only heard elsewhere. Andrea knew very well who the owner of this voice was .
‘… Mr. Callisis ?’
Despite not being able to see her, somehow, I had a good picture of Khalisis smiling .
‘ Yes, it’s nice to hear your voice even after a long time .’
＜ 18. Archbishop Gregory (1) ＞ End