“So even a common skill like Improved Lunge makes a big difference, huh?”
That was probably how Litorean had been able to afford to sacrifice enough skills to fight Olivia. Although the truly terrifying thing was that my master had still beaten her.
The one problem now was the short window of time the buff provided. If I was going to face the fake Olivia, I’d probably have to sacrifice three skills—I’d need the full five minutes. Fortunately, if I burned all three of my basic movement skills—Improved Lunge, Side Step, and Back Step—it would only cost me 700 LP. From what I could tell, even the weaker skills buffed my abilities two- or threefold.
I wanted to test a more powerful skill, but the thought of sacrificing thousands of LP for mere practice was too much for my miserly heart. I’d just have to save it for the real deal. At least I understood the gist of it now. I could probably figure out the rest on the fly.
I replaced my Improved Lunge skill and headed back toward town. There had been two guards on the gate when I left, but now there was only one. And he looked anxious.
“Is it thieves or something?” I asked.
“Not exactly,” he said. “A mercenary was attacked and had all his money stolen.”
“A mercenary? Whoever did it must have had guts. And strength.”
“Supposedly, the culprit was a woman. Several people were attacked overnight. I’m not sure if the same person was responsible, but you should be careful.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
Who’d be stupid enough to go after a mercenary for money? Just the thought of trying to rob someone like Ms. Elena gave me the shivers.
I walked down to the market to pick a few things up. It was still early, and all the shops had just been restocked. I bought some fresh fruit, already sure that Mother and Alice would be delighted.
“Dammit, who is that woman…?”
“She got you too? Is she that strong?”
A man covered in bruises was talking to a guard at the edge of the street. He must have been the mercenary that was attacked. I was curious, so I slowed down to listen.
“She played with me like some kind of demented cat. She even stole my sword!”
“She did?! And you’re no joke with a blade either. What did she look like?”
The mercenary rubbed his head. “Light blue hair. A total knockout.”
Huh?!
That comment stopped me in my tracks. I’d lived in this town for sixteen years, and I’d never seen a blue-haired woman before. I needed to be sure.
“Excuse me?” I called out. “Was this blue-haired woman wearing a white dress?”
“Yeah! Why? You’re not a friend of hers, are you?”
“No! I mean, of course not! I just think I saw her earlier. She was about this tall, and…”
I gave a rough description of my master while the mercenary nodded along. So it was her! What in the world…?
Had the fake Olivia somehow escaped the dungeon? I mean, was that even possible? The only reason Tigerson had been able to leave was because he had come from the outside to begin with, but Olivia’s double had been made by the dungeon itself. How could she leave?! You needed the password to get out too—how had she learned that?
Does she have a copy of my master’s memories too?! I asked myself.
Even after two hundred years, I was sure Olivia would recall the password—it was pretty memorable, after all.
After some more questions, it became clear that the mercenary had been robbed about half an hour ago, but then…the gate guard said several people had been robbed in the night. Had she arrived here yesterday? And why was she stealing money?
I asked the Great Sage for her location, worried that I wouldn’t get an answer. In the end, my fears were unfounded. I hurried in the direction he gave me, but no one was there. She had moved on already. There was a bakery on the corner, so I asked the owner if a blue-haired woman had been by.
“Yes, she was here. She bought a lot of bread! She was quite beautiful, but friendly, you know? I even threw in some extras.”
“And she paid you?”
“Of course!”
“Did she say anything else?” I asked.
“She wanted to know about any restaurants that sold good food and alcohol. Sounded like she was planning a night on the town.”
Is she stealing money to pay for a shopping spree?
I asked for the direction she had gone in and headed off in pursuit.
“This is bad.”
It was really bad. How much LP had the fake Olivia earned already? If she’d spent the whole night indulging, it could be an awful lot. For me, the most effective method of earning it was through sensual thrills, but delicious food was a close second. Achieving things that were important to you was a good way of earning it too. I’d gained a ton when I got accepted to the Hero Academy.
The same principle was true for my master. Two hundred years ago, her lust had been her main drive, but maybe the fake Olivia’s main priority was food. Either way, the more LP she had, the more dangerous she was.
“There you are!” I shouted. “Stop right there!”
She was walking right down the middle of the street. She had some nerve being out in the open like this.
“Aha, Noir Stardia.”
Before we could get into it, I used Discerning Eye. Her level hadn’t changed much, but she’d gained some new skills. For one, she had Discerning Eye now too. It was the perfect thing to go with Editor. She really did know what she was doing. But before I could look much further into her new skills, I noticed something else. Something that made me want to cry.
Her sword. It was probably the one she’d stolen from the mercenary. It was still sheathed at her hip, but it was insanely powerful. It had Lightweight Blade, Sharp Edge, and Thunder Blade. That was a hell of a sword for a relatively weak mercenary. The fake Olivia must have improved it once she took it from him.
“You’re checking me out too, aren’t you?” she cooed. “I’m doing some peeping myself!”
And then, all of a sudden, I couldn’t see the sword’s skills anymore. Had I lost my Discerning Eye for Items?!
“Ah ha ha ha! Did you notice yet? I broke it! He he he.”
Did she not want me looking at her weapon? No, she was probably just messing with me. That was just the sort of thing the real Olivia would do.
I quickly replaced the skill, but I didn’t like that she could see right through me, and I had no intention of entertaining her any longer. I rushed her with my blade, and the sound of clashing metal rang through the town. I was fast now, but she blocked my attack as though it was nothing. Our swords ground together and we pushed against each other. She was so strong! In a contest of pure strength, I would lose. I gritted my teeth, struggling for traction, while she smiled, relaxed. I shoved her back and unleashed a storm of slashes and cuts.
Kling! Kling! Shhk! Kling! Kling! Shhk! Kling! Kling! Shhk!
She blocked my second strike and dodged the third. That was three strikes for me. My pride was dismissed from the field.
“Would you stop that!” I shouted.
“Okay. Byyyeeee!”
I swung again, and she dodged back smoothly. She didn’t even have Improved Back Step, yet she was still far quicker than me. Just how outclassed was I?!
Even monsters would run from a fight like this!
“There she is!” someone shouted. “Get her!”
We’d made quite the scene, and half a dozen guards had spotted us. I didn’t have time to stop them from encircling the fake Olivia. My heart kicked up another notch. She could slaughter them all on a whim if she wanted to.
“Awww, this is depressing,” she complained. “Can’t you just leave li’l old me alone? It’s okay. I’ll even wait while you escape.”
“You think we’re going to run from you?” asked one of the guards.
“Hm,” Olivia mused. “Maybe S-Grade Jumping next?”
In an instant, she leaped over the guards’ heads and touched down on a nearby rooftop. Then she skipped across to another roof, then another, and disappeared out of sight, leaving the guards with their jaws on the floor.
“Wh-what is that thing?”
“Be careful!” I shouted. “She isn’t human!”
“Wh-what did you say?”
“She’s a sentient magical artifact called the Death Chains—she may look like a person, but that’s not her real form. Don’t engage her unless you have to. She’s Level 420!”
“She’s what?!”
“There isn’t much time. Please, tell your superiors about this at once.”
As confused as the guards were, they agreed. Hopefully, that meant they wouldn’t treat the real Olivia like a criminal when she finally got free. Wasn’t I a good little disciple?
Still, that didn’t help me figure out what to do with fake Olivia. She was so strong. I wanted to keep running until I couldn’t even see her with a telescope. At the same time, I had a feeling that my master’s devotion to a life of hedonism meant that she, and her copy, could earn LP much faster than me. If that was true, every minute I wasted was making things worse.
I didn’t want to put anyone else in danger, but there was no way I could handle this alone. Time to turn to my trusted friends.