Survival 128

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The Martial Artist, Levain.

The Mage, Vampire.

The Indomitable Gargoyle.

Unlike those three races, each with their unique strengths, life for minority races in the Evildon Empire is harsh.

Among them, the life of a Doppelganger is especially brutal.

“Hurry up, you useless creature.”

-Crunch!

“Tsk, so weak. Better to use laborers. Maybe I should just sell you to the Vampires.”

“Don’t bother. Even they despise the blood of these things. Better sell them to the Gargoyles. They always need simple laborers.”

Humiliation and oppression are daily life for a Doppelganger.

But this did not apply to the superior individuals among them.

“Hey, should I call you Dekken…?”

“That’s the name of the owner of this appearance. Just call me Doppelganger.”

“Right, I don’t need to know whose name you stole. Here’s your pay.”

In fact, noble Doppelgangers were often hired as strategic weapons, deceitful assassins deceiving their targets.

In a place where strength is power, receiving decent treatment was expected.

Many were satisfied with this life, occasionally promised wealth and sustenance by other demons.

But at some point, the one who had been ‘Dekken’, ‘Chris’, and ‘Keshak’ began to wonder:

“Why are our people living such miserable lives?”

A question vividly imprinted despite countless identities taken.

The answer was found more easily than expected.

“You guys have it tough too. With the king absent for so long, no wonder you’re so weak.”

A casual remark by Levain, a friendship maintained during missions, sparked an epiphany.

Levain had True Dragon. Vampires had Vlad. Gargoyles had Diamond. The fundamental issue was that his own race lacked a leader.

“You’re looking at your kind like that again.”

“…Is it that obvious?”

“How could I not notice? Every time you come here, you glance at the pasture. Others look down on them, claiming they’re different.”

But he was different. Compassion. Was it not a natural feeling towards his own kind? Or maybe, it wasn’t really for them. The oppressed kin were just an excuse.

He looked at Levain, mingling with others from afar. Unlike others living selfishly, fulfilling their desires, he dreamed.

Dreamed of a society where his kind united like Levain or the Gargoyles.

“A Doppelganger king is not a Doppelganger.”

“Find the human to be king and leave this place.”

So, when the duty was passed onto him along with fertilization from his parent entity, he felt a profound joy from deep within.

“Oh, what brings you here? The civil war in this region is over, I won’t need you for a while.”

“Can I buy my people?”

“What? What are you going to do with them…?”

He was called a madman. 

Buying up a large number of Doppelgangers, who were considered the lowest of slaves, and attempting to cross the border earned him such a nickname. 

“Let’s go! We will have the honor of welcoming our first king!” 

-Crunch!! 

He cast off the disguise of Levain. 

At the same time, he discarded the intelligence he had borrowed. 

The Doppelganger’s curse and burden is to covet and steal others’ existences to survive in this world. 

In that case, 

Just give up the desire to exist as a single entity. 

Give up the intelligence that seeks to steal existences. 

Instead, he accumulated only one desire. 

A sense of mission. 

With only the obsession to find the king, he returned to his original form. 

However, 

Despite his bold start, there were countless twists and turns. 

Giving up on existence meant he couldn’t accomplish anything properly. 

The formless, flickering shadows were nearly wiped out by a single reindeer they encountered on the road. 

Ultimately, they had to take on the form of the lowest creature to survive. 

Even after crossing the border, they had to hide, pretending to be monsters. 

But, 

When a fearless human entered this desolate icy land, the lost intelligence began to crystallize in the brain of the ferocious monster. 

Awakening within the subtle rising joy, the ‘Seeker of Shadow’ realized. 

Finally, 

The time had come for the decades-old effort to bear fruit. 

‘But I must test him first.’ 

A coronation? 

There was no such thing. 

A king is a king by his own right. A coronation is just a declaration, not a condition or ceremony to become a king. 

This was merely a test. 

Just to confirm if this person was worthy of leading their race. 

“O future king! Show me what you’ve got!” 

The ‘Seeker of Shadow’ took the form of the reindeer he had personally captured. 

As a Wendigo, he pointed his horns at his king. 

‘I must be… quite excited.’ 

But he couldn’t help it. 

It was the ‘king’, after all. 

* * * 

This wasn’t my first battle with a Doppelganger. 

Once with the ‘Deceiving Ground Spider’. 

Once with the Mad Wendigo. 

And countless times in the game. 

However, the one before me was familiar yet unlike any opponent I had ever faced. 

After all, 

‘There was no boss Wendigo in the game!’ 

[BOSS] 

[Seeker of Shadow] 

The faintly visible figure on the cave ceiling had a title I had never seen, even as a seasoned player. 

-Snort… 

The familiar sound of a reindeer. 

A prelude to the unique charge pattern of the Wendigo, one of its most troublesome attacks. 

In truth, dodging it isn’t that difficult. 

The problem is… 

“Ha, what is this…” 

I quickly scanned my surroundings to count the enemies. 

In front, on both sides, and behind. 

Even on the cave ceiling. 

It’s not just one. 

Five Wendigos were preparing to charge at me. 

‘At this rate, there’s no way to stop them before they charge, like Camilla did.’ 

It would be easier if they were in human form. 

But considering both their horns and kicks, it was enough to make my overheated brain feel like it was steaming. 

Moreover, 

‘A massive reindeer standing in this cave, almost touching the ceiling with its horns. …Is this real?’ 

A dagger-wielding rogue is strictly limited to close combat with humans. 

Dealing with a balance completely out of whack, nearly to the point of absurdity, left no time to even ponder how to respond.

The Wendigo in front of me immediately charged, flaunting its large horns.

“I see everything!”

“Heh heh… Indeed, the one who will become king. You dodge well. But I’ll judge whether that was luck or not myself.”

Next, the second one. 

A charge from behind.

“Tsk, so noisy.”

I immediately turned and swung my golden blade.

‘If I wound the horns, I can stop the charge for a while.’

That was the thought as I swung the dagger, but…

“What?!”

“Disappointing…”

The black powder scattered like a mirage along the path of the sword.

Simultaneously, the Wendigo that had been on the ceiling dropped straight down.

-Crunch…

Accompanied by the grating sound of grinding fangs.

“Ugh!”

“You managed to block it! But it can’t end here!”

The force enhanced by gravity.

The physique of a Wendigo, large enough to create a wind pressure, was powerful.

The heaviness transmitted from its massive horns was felt not only in my struggling arms but also in my legs.

‘It was all fake! This guy even had the skills of the ‘Deceiving Ground Spider’?’

Not only was it a massive reindeer with minions, but it also used skills!

Truly a cowardly, dirty, and vile opponent who played the game in a despicable manner!

I gritted my teeth and shook it off by its horns.

[You used Essence of the Extreme Cold (Rank: A).]

[Basic stats are temporarily adjusted.]

If I hadn’t quickly drawn upon this power, I would have been buried by those horns.

“That was quite a critical strike, but you withstood it well.”

“Don’t look down on me with such bad luck. It’s disrespectful to the king.”

Even in this situation, my mouth was alive.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at my own words.

“Good. That’s how it should be! Just as we face adversity, I hope you, too, continue to maintain your indomitable spirit!”

In the blink of an eye, I was surrounded again.

The Wendigos’ voices overlapped, including the clones.

But I cynically smiled at the massive reindeer in front of me.

‘Using the same trick again? Let’s see, I’ll make you regret it.’

I only made a mistake because it was an unfamiliar enemy.

Having experienced the pattern, I wouldn’t fall for it again.

I closed my eyes and focused on the sounds.

The charge was merely a deception.

I had learned the Wendigo’s charge speed by heart.

Both in the game and in reality.

-Crunch!

The vibration of hooves nearing as if about to trample me and the roaring sound.

I could distinctly feel the Wendigos charging from all directions.

However, in the darkness created by closing my eyes.

The Wendigo I visualized was approaching from behind.

Thinking I had given up, its disappointed gaze was clear in my mind.

-Crunch!

In sync with the sound in my ears.

And matching the imagined Wendigo’s charge.

I swung my Raven claw at the spot where the horn and head would be.

-Slash.

“Ugh! My horn…?”

I opened my eyes slightly to check its condition.

It was bewildered, its proud massive horn detached from its head.

The comical sight was quite satisfying to witness.

“Let’s finish this quickly. You can’t win in that form.”

I raised my lips in a taunting smirk.

I memorized the patterns of all Wendigos, including in the game.

How could I not counter a Doppelganger boss pattern?

“So, show your true form quickly.”

Phase 2, you must have one, right?

Stop whining about losing a horn.

Did it understand my words?

It flinched momentarily.

“My true form, you say?”

Now, instead of blood, black powder began to scatter from its head, without even attempting to heal itself.

He sent a chilling gaze in my direction.

“What do you mean? This is my true form.”

“I’m talking about your Doppelganger form. Just a mass of shadows with a mouth.”

“Haha, is it because you are the king? You seem to know a lot about Doppelgangers. However, I have no true form to return to.”

With his unbalanced weight due to the missing horn, he comically lifted his tilting head. 

However, the words he uttered and the atmosphere he created were profoundly serious.

“If I return to that true form, I might win this fight, but it would make me forget ‘myself.'”

That is the fate of the Doppelganger.

Because their existence is not established, they can only mimic the emotions and intelligence of others.

Puff.

After finishing his snort, his gaze turned again to his kin.

To the reindeer watching this battle’s conclusion over the bonfire.

“I do not wish to return to a wretched existence that only seeks prey. How could I lead them that way?”

Creak.

As he finished speaking, a strange sound emanated from his head.

“…Doesn’t it hurt?”

“It’s bearable.”

In his hooves, now bleeding black powder instead of blood, were two greatswords.

No, they were the horns that had fallen from his head. The horns that had fallen to the ground were gone, suggesting he had a self-repair or summoning ability.

And at the same time, the reindeer that had been lying down stood up and took a stance.

It was truly a bizarre sight.

A ferocious bipedal reindeer wielding two greatswords.

“So, I must be greatly disrespectful to show you this form, as a Wendigo that embodies the hardships and history of our race.”

A quote from some soccer player came to mind.

Crazy people change the world more than rational ones.

He was exactly that.

Crossing the border as a demon.

Persisting in the form of a reindeer despite being thwarted.

Such insane acts that disregarded life might be why the Doppelgangers were able to establish their civilization now.

He might be the greatest figure among Doppelgangers, more so than any nonexistent king.

■ ■ ■

“Truly fitting for a name like ‘Seeker of Shadow.'”

“Seeker of Shadow? Huh, is that the name the king has bestowed upon me? It doesn’t sound too bad.”

No, I was referring to the boss label above your head.

Still, it wasn’t a bad name, as it perfectly represented his life.

“Now, I will proceed with the coronation. Hup!”

A wind pressure as intense as a charge swept past me.

The power of his massive strides and the swing of his great horns was quite formidable.

However,

“Ugh!”

“As they say, relying solely on brute strength without the finesse of swordsmanship. It reminds me of what Luciana once mentioned.”

Something she mumbled while recounting her battle with Lexton during a tea break.

The Seeker of Shadow in front of me was exactly like that.

Sure, a mere touch would be fatal.

“But if it doesn’t hit, it’s useless.”

The overly large preparatory movements and clumsy swings were of no concern to someone seasoned like me.

Avoiding what was more akin to a monster’s motions than human techniques, I gradually accumulated wounds on him.

Eventually,

-Thud.

“Useless…”

“You tried to imitate human swordsmanship beyond your means.”

“I tried to emulate the king… But it was not enough.”

The Seeker of Shadow kneeled, exerting all his strength.

Black powder flowed from his entire body.

In that state, he bowed his head.

“Forgive me for not trusting and testing you. Please, become our king.”

-Thud.

-Thud.

As he bowed his head,

The Wendigos watching from the bonfire and buildings also lowered their horns to the ground.

“Raise your heads, all of you.”

With such support, how could I refuse?

In response to my resolve,

The shadow crystal also emitted a bright light.

[You have secured sufficient favorability with the respective race!]

[Condition 2 met.]

[You have secured the favorability of three or more noble demons.]

[Bathory Erzsébet, Oparn, Seeker of Shadow]

[Condition 3 met.]

[All conditions fulfilled.]

[You have met the requirements for the class change to ‘Shadow King of the Doppelgangers.’]

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