“Completely thrilled.”
It was Freedman, who continued to grow in size.
A grotesque form reminiscent of a monster worm
raised itself.
-Crack, crack, crack.
Saliva gulped down as the fangs grew larger in unison.
‘Why is this guy here…?’
When it was Freedman, I thought maybe a doppelgänger.
But upon seeing its true form, how could I not know?
The player faces a monumental first encounter with a high demon.
That monster was exactly it.
-“You are not the Third Prince. Reveal yourself, wicked demon!”
…Shoot.
Caught.
The infiltrating demon whose identity is revealed through the protagonist’s exploits.
-“I haven’t fully absorbed his memories and emotions yet!
Well, fine. Now that it’s come to this, I’ll start by devouring you! And all your dear friends too!”
The Third Prince’s face covered in darkness in a cutscene.
That was the boss encountered next.
“Deceiving ground spider…….”
[Keke, I don’t get why people make a fuss over Luciana]
I’ve been blocked and couldn’t even watch…
How do you catch something that’s a ground spider or whatever…
[That guy is the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings]
[Learn well from Mr. Ground.]
If Luciana was a mid-boss that brought despair even to those somewhat adapted to the game,
This guy was a barrier that swept away newbies who approached thinking it was just a simple dating sim game.
[Newbies must read! Strategy for defeating the Deceiving Ground Spider]
So much so that even a haphazard strategy article with my experience added to it could be recommended in the community.
Such a newbie crusher was now wreaking havoc before my eyes.
-Aaaargh!!!
A once lush forest turned into ruins in an instant.
Just by touching it, the shadow monster’s massive body caused the majestic trees to collapse powerlessly.
The biggest problem was that the monster’s target was none other than me.
And, ‘My stats are still at rock bottom…’
From experience, a thief’s build is all in on damage, full agility, a standard.
Even with artifacts inflated, it doesn’t match well against such an area-of-effect boss mob.
“Hand it over! The throne! Freedom!”
It was obvious who the fragmented words were targeting.
‘Going crazy. It’s not even about a throne or anything.’
Perhaps due to swallowing Báthory’s memories, the monster bared its teeth at me, transferring that delusion.
“I’ll pass. I assure you, you wouldn’t be able to bear the weight of that crown.”
“King—-!”
It turned out rather well.
Thanks to that, it became somewhat easier to achieve my goal.
“Lady Elizabeth! Now is the time!”
“What’s this now?! Is this why you had the soldiers stationed in the rear?”
Despite complaining verbally,
She diligently fulfilled her role.
“Ugh….”
“You’re blissfully unaware of the world.”
I stood on a falling tree and clicked my tongue.
Bathory’s body, floating lightly as if carried by magic.
The blonde vampire, now out of the monster’s interest, was safely secured by Elizabeth’s magic.
-Crack, crack, crack!
The problem was more immediate with the monster in front of me than anything else.
Just before crashing down, I lightly jumped and landed.
“…It’s really damn huge.”
The monster filled half of my field of vision.
In the game, it boasted a size large enough to flip half of the wide academy duel arena map.
Seeing it in person, the intimidation was no joke.
[Emergency Mission Conditions Updated!]
To make matters worse, the status window flashed intermittently with a translucent pane.
[Due to a series of events, the target of Freedman’s assassination has changed.]
[Now, you are his top priority.]
[Eliminate the rampaging noble doppelganger, the ‘Deceiving Ground Spider’.]
[Reward: ???]
[Failure Penalty: Death of Báthory (Before) -> Player’s death (After)]
The increased severity of the failure penalty took my breath away.
“I’m going mad, seriously.”
The creature that followed every move I made.
Retreating as originally planned was no longer an option.
But.
‘This is a crisis and an opportunity at the same time.’
He was a capable noble among doppelgangers.
If he regained his senses and started plotting, it would restrict my activities in the main story going forward.
Now was the chance, while his eyes were fixated on the throne.
“That would be nice, but it’s dizzying. Just brushing against it would knock me out.”
Trees uprooted or completely shattered around me.
I might end up like that.
“Give it! Give it!”
‘Isn’t it a universal rule that being bigger should come with penalties? Where did the balance go?’
That mouth running wild on its own.
And what about those sharp fangs that seemed to tear and shred everything they touched?
My goodness, how many are there?
In the game, getting caught by those was instant death.
Slowly.
I went over the article I had written in the community before.
[##%^&$]
Ignoring the curses mixed in from seeing the game over screen too many times.
[Phase 1, pretending to be a demon that manipulates shadows, it frequently throws famous fake patterns.]
[^&$##%]
[…The conclusion is this. Turn the monster sound to the max and focus.]
-Shaaak.
With an unpleasant sound of wind, it charged at me.
“What are you doing? Not dodging?!”
Elizabeth’s scream echoed from the other side.
She must still have mana and composure to spare while moving Báthory.
I smirked and casually waved my hand.
“Your concern is unnecessary.”
“You crazy-“
Because this is just an illusion created by his shadow magic.
-Slurk.
The body that had been fiercely approaching vanished like a mirage upon touching me.
-Crack, crack!
Soon, the sound of fangs grinding against each other followed.
I used my footwork to quickly move away from that spot.
“Ah, how can you bare your teeth of rebellion against the king? That’s very rude. Well, it’s not like it would reach anyway.”
After a few more leisurely dodges that almost made me embarrassed about the panic before,
I whispered softly, regaining my composure.
Compared to my master’s skilled techniques and Luciana’s sharp swordsmanship,
This was too slow.
-Crack…
The monster, frustrated that its attack didn’t work, grinded its teeth quietly.
But what can I do?
It feels like I’ve beaten this thing a hundred times over.
The aim was to get on Tubé with a strategy guide, but as long as it’s useful now, that’s fine.
[Senior, I’ve sent the report material-]
[How PPT (Presentation Preparations Panic) Works]
The thought that a gaming addict frets over a presentation just three days away is a delusion.
Anyway, it’s an auditory hallucination.
Inside the butler’s uniform.
Now, familiar with the grip, I drew the dark-colored dagger.
It was time to start cooking.
***
“What is that…?”
Elizabeth gazed ahead, lost in astonishment.
A shadow monster the size of a small mountain.
And a hero standing alone against it, unyielding.
It was a scene right out of an old fairy tale.
The problem was that both of them were demons.
“Doppelgangers were supposed to be a weaker minority among the demons, weren’t they?”
She absentmindedly recalled.
[Doppelganger]
[A species with no intelligence, surviving on the emotions of sentient beings.]
[Aside from their shapeshifting ability, they don’t require much attention. Even after transforming, they can’t use proper language, making them relatively easy to identify.]
From the family archives.
-Are you talking about doppelgangers? Why do you ask?
-Ahaha. Just doing some reconnaissance for the alliance. You could tell me that much, right?
-That’s simplistic. Hmm, Frost Mane is an unusual case.
The usual riffraff isn’t even worth a glance.
Even when probing Báthory.
In all the information she could find, doppelgangers were deemed insignificant.
But what was this?
-Crack!
A loud grinding noise that seemed to tear through the
eardrums.
-Kugugung.
And then, a thunderous noise that shook the ground.
The devastation of the fallen trees demonstrated that size alone could be violent.
‘Could I have dodged it?’
She had always considered herself a talented mage.
Yet, she couldn’t discern the illusion magic this monster was using at all.
No, right.
Even if we give in a hundred times over, let’s assume this monster is an exception.
“Wow… How can you dodge all of that?”
The opponent facing it.
Watching Hans, the cunning man bound by contract, wielding his sword, she couldn’t help but marvel.
‘Did he somehow see through all the illusion magic because he’s a doppelganger too?”
To some attacks, no response at all.
And to others, his specialty was evasion.
Not allowing even a single hit, he continued to mock the monster with a smirking face and thrust his dagger.
-Whoosh.
The sound of flesh being cut through the fluctuating shadows.
Not stopping at one, he was slicing through its flesh.
-Crack! Crunch!
The monster, in apparent pain, thrashed about.
Yet Hans dodged by a hair’s breadth every time.
“You’re not trying hard enough. Try harder. At this rate, you won’t be able to seize the throne you so desire.”
‘Annoying.’
Elizabeth’s brows furrowed.
Perhaps without the mockery and ridicule, it might have looked a bit cooler.
Then.
“Kraaak! King! Die!”
The monster’s mouth opened wide as if it had snapped.
It seemed like its sharp teeth could tear him apart at any moment.
“Who would kindly die just because you ask? You die instead!”
Far from dodging, Hans charged towards the monster.
-Slash.
Crimson blood sprayed into the air.
Cutting and cutting, but only dark flesh came out from the monster until for the first time,
-Screech.
“Ha. Now, even after transforming, you won’t be able to speak. Nor taste emotions. What will you do after losing your most precious body part, doppelganger?”
In Hans’s hand was the monster’s blood-red tongue.
Amidst the incomprehensible screams, his face smirked, cynical and cruel, chilling Elizabeth to the core.
“Thankfully, he’s not an enemy,” she thought, relieved.
As she sighed, the shadow monster continued to shrink
until it was about the size of an ordinary human.
“…Ooooh. My… thing…”
With those nonsensical words, its previously shadowy form began to gain flesh tones.
Facial features and hair appeared, along with a neatly dressed butler’s uniform, all from the shadow.
“Hans has a twin?”
She belatedly realized it was the doppelganger’s racial trait of disguise being used.
A perfect replica in appearance.
The eerie sight of it coveting his very existence made Elizabeth cover her mouth, unable to suppress her nausea.
It was an instinctive revulsion, a visceral fear and hatred for something sinister mimicking a human body.
As she felt an inexplicable shiver,
“Wow. Would you mind not saying such things in my form? It’s a bit distasteful, you know.”
The tension filling her body suddenly relaxed.
Even seeing a monster that looked just like him, he only showed a nonchalant reaction.
Probably, even if that monster could speak properly,
it couldn’t match his characteristic ease and eloquence.
“So, Lady Elizabeth, could you please summon the soldiers with the crystal?”
“…Now? Why?”
“One knows their own weaknesses best. It’s to see whether it’s easier to deal with hundreds of soldiers one by one or to run out of stamina being chased by them.”
His smile, as he betrayed his kind, revealed a demonic wickedness, but all Elizabeth could do was numbly nod.
***
Phase one is the monster’s form.
Each pattern is threatening, with feints mixed in, but overall slow, leaving plenty of time to attack, making it relatively easy.
Phase two is the human form.
Transforming into the party member who dealt the most damage, it mimics their attack skills in a superior form, making it tricky.
“Your memory hasn’t rusted, I see.”
Now, the phase two boss was,
“Catch him! Don’t let him escape!”
“Ugh… Viger…! Come down, king!”
Being chased by soldiers in a panic.
Truly a piece of cake.
“You… using our family’s elite soldiers like this.”
“It’s not a waste! Not a single one died, what waste are you talking about?”
If they had rushed the soldiers in from phase one, casualties would have been inevitable.
Wasn’t it better to minimize losses by deploying resources where they’re needed most?
With that look, Elizabeth averted her gaze after a moment’s hesitation.
“So? We catch this demon and take it to Luciana, and that’s it?”
“Well, that’s the idea, but…”
The problem is phase three.
[Phase three is heavily luck-based.]
[Remember, newbie, after phase two ends, this XX will possess a random ally.]
[Characters with low mental defense get controlled by the boss, and if you brought an overpowered ally, they could be taken from you, leading to hell. A clean retreat is recommended.]
“What are you staring at?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
In the current situation, Elizabeth was the worst option.
Not only would it cause confusion in the soldiers’ command structure, but her magical skills were also outstanding.
‘Well, I can handle someone like Elizabeth myself.’
Even a skilled mage would be overwhelmed at such close quarters.
Unable to properly chant, they would be subdued.
“Kuh!”
“Oh, the soldiers’ spears are sharp.”
Just then, the end of phase two approached.
“Get away from me!”
A cry of desperation echoed.
The disheveled boss pointed at someone.
-Woosh.
A black magic shot from the fingertip.
It was directed at us.
‘Is it me? Or Elizabeth?’
I could resist it, but Elizabeth would have been subdued.
“Lady Elizabeth, are you alright?”
“I’m fine?”
Huh.
Then, who in the world…
-Swish.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘An overpowered ally.’
I realized when the blond woman, who had been unconscious, stood up.
“This is bad.”
Cliche Novel 