Chapter 64: Mirror World
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
The fog enveloped Marvin and time quickly passed.
Soon, the ten minutes were up.
But the expected enemy didn’t appear.
"Erm?"
It seemed somewhat different.
Marvin was surprised, but he immediately got on guard!
The red copper dragon would never lie. He said ten minutes, so it was ten minutes!
In that case, he was already in the mirror world?
Marvin felt a strong sense of crisis.
He almost instinctively swung his dagger while turning around!
It’s was completely empty, there wasn’t anything!
But Marvin knew that it had already arrived!
Rangers could stealth!
‘Cunning indeed...’
Marvin looked all around the thick fog, frowning.
This was a bit fishy. Based on the game’s circumstances, the enemy shouldn’t be this cunning.
They would normally directly rush to fight.
‘Really... The game and reality have some differences?’
Marvin took a deep breath and focused.
He didn’t expect to lose his advantage right off the bat. It was quite inconvenient.
...
The Mirror World was a place where class-holders challenged themselves.
This place didn’t allow anything else apart from skills and weapons. And Marvin’s enemy was a clone of himself made by the red copper dragon.
This copy roughly had the same attributes and fighting strength.
The first layer’s clone had the same level of dagger mastery, [Beginner] level that is.
As long as it was defeated, Marvin’s dagger mastery would gain one level.
It would reach [Intermediate]!
After Intermediate was Expert and after Expert was Master. That shadow spider’s dark murderer had a master level dagger mastery.
It was mainly because of this that he could overpower Marvin!
When he used daggers, even if they did the same blow, his attack power would be at least 60% stronger!
This was the strength of weapon mastery.
Marvin was quite familiar with daggers, but was far from having that kind of expertise. This time he would make use of his past experience to properly raise his dagger skills.
And the red copper dragon’s mirror world was the quickest way to do it.
Marvin silently clenched the curved dagger in his hand. Every three seconds he would turn in one direction.
His perception was a bit low.
Although he had points in Listen, Marvin knew that with his own perception, it would be quite difficult to notice his own stealth.
And the mirror world’s enemy was basically himself.
Defeating oneself has always been a very difficult matter.
...
The red copper dragon Professor was fond of finding fun things. He also appreciated those who were brave enough to challenge themselves. He thus created the mirror world.
"Seems a little unfair." The red copper dragon outside the mirror world grabbed a piece of ore and swallowed it. He burped and said, "Using my fighting consciousness to bully a newborn ranger. Although this guy deserves praise for his courage, it’s a bit too much for him."
He then stopped controlling the clone inside the mirror world and picked the [Magic Intelligence].
This kind of spell simulated intelligence. It was naturally a lot weaker than the red copper dragon controlling the mirror world.
Marvin inside the mirror world naturally was unaware of this. He simply felt something move behind him!
‘Getting impatient this quickly?’
Marvin was a bit surprised, but he didn’t move.
He had already started tracking the sound of the other side’s footsteps.
Marvin was clearly aware of the distance his own shadow step could reach in an instant. Thus, he simply pretended to be unaware of the other side.
‘Almost close enough.’
‘It’s... This step!’
In an instant, Marvin took a step forward!
The next instant, a shadow burst out from the fog, that person looked exactly the same as Marvin, and the curved dagger in his hand was also similar!
Shadow Step!
Sure enough, as Marvin expected, the mirror image’s first move was shadow step. It ruthlessly arrived at Marvin’s previous location.
If Marvin hadn’t dodged, the next move would have been a frightening cutthroat!
What Marvin once used on enemies was now used against him.
‘Unfortunately... This isn’t enough!’
‘Marvin sneered and smoothly turned around, twin daggers ruthlessly swinging!
After using shadow step, the mirror image was clearly immobile for an instant.
Not moving was a huge gap in Marvin’s eyes!
Even if both sides’ strength were totally identical, their fighting knowledge weren’t on the same level!
In addition, there are some things that attributes can’t reflect.
After his mirror image exposed itself, Marvin clearly knew that the outcome of the battle had already been set.
"Clang! Clang!"
Curved daggers kept colliding inside the mirror world. Marvin’s smooth and unrestrained assault made the mirror image unable to strike back!
One and a half minutes later, Marvin successfully killed the mirror image!
Even if that guy looked like him, Marvin wouldn’t show mercy.
After the curved dagger cut its throat, the mirror image turned into a lump of earth before falling apart into sand, splattering everywhere.
"Congratulations, you passed the first floor."
"In fact, clearing it in such a short time amazes me!"
"Regardless, the second floor’s mirror image will be many times more frightening than you imagine. But first, I’ll give you your reward."
The surprised voice of the red copper dragon came from the outside of the mirror world.
He hadn’t expected that Marvin would manage to kill the mirror image just when he was distracted!
Was magic intelligence too stupid?
‘What should I reward him with? The 1st floor reward shouldn’t be too big. But for this kid to show that kind of display, I have to show my generosity!’
The red copper dragon pondered for a moment and then took out something out of nowhere.
...
[You defeated a mirror image and won against yourself. Your skill has been honed in battle.]
[Dagger Mastery +1]
[Your Dagger Mastery level rose: Intermediate]
Marvin meticulously examined the battle logs. He also checked his dagger mastery.
It really leveled up.
Marvin’s grasp on his twin daggers suddenly felt a lot more comfortable.
His attack power rose by at least 5%.
This was the benefit of leveling up weapon masteries. Especially for those melee classes.
The fog slowly receded, leaving a treasure chest behind.
Marvin knew it was the red copper dragon’s reward.
He opened the treasure chest. To his surprise, there was a book inside!
"Skill Book?"
"It’s actually a blade technique!?"
Marvin was a bit surprised.
He had been worrying about not having time to learn a few skill books, especially blade techniques. He definitely remembered the blade technique from that dark murderer. Blade techniques were what he needed the most right now. They would maximize his superior skills with daggers.
The red copper dragon rewarded Marvin with this book called "Blade Technique – Rapids". It was the most basic kind of blade technique and Marvin could now decide to practice it.
Because of dagger mastery, any blade technique could be learned and then turned into Marvin personal skill. As for the level of skill, it depended on Marvin’s level of understanding of the skill. This field seemed a bit related to intelligence.
[Blade Technique – Rapids]: One of the basic blade techniques. You can slightly increase your attack speed for a long time.
‘It’s a bit average, but better than nothing." Marvin put away the blade technique book.
Compared to the dark murderer’s [Blade Technique – Rushing Thunder Slash], [Blade Technique – Rapids] was a bit weak. Rushing Thunder largely increased attack speed for a short time, while Rapids slightly increased attack speed for a long time. It looked like each had their own strong points. But in fact, rangers, and especially a dual wielding ranger, looked for a short term burst of strength.
But since it increased attack speed, it could be considered as another hand in battles. Better than nothing anyway.
Marvin with his current lack of resources couldn’t afford to be picky.
...
"Why haven’t you learned that skill immediately?" A curious voice could be heard, coming from outside the mirror world.
"Because I want to continue my challenge."
Marvin calmly added, "If I learn it now, the next mirror image would definitely know this blade technique. I think that not learning it is better."
"Smart youth." The red copper dragon let out a satisfied burp:
"Careful, the 2nd floor mirror image has 120% of your ability, and also a dagger mastery one rank higher!"