Chapter 118
Rumble—
The walls of the cave opened up.
“They’re coming!”
“Everyone ready! Take your positions!”
“Anyone here able to use buff skills?”
“I can!”
“Tanks move to the front! I’ll support you.”
“Show some respect to me, you punk!”
The test had officially started.
The number of monsters that flowed out of the opened wall segment was over a hundred, but the number of players taking the test also exceeded three digits.
“What the…? Isn’t this kinda easy?”
“Yeah. I thought some pretty strong guys would come out or something.”
“The Doppelgangers are the real problems. Don’t let your guard down.”
“We have Kim YuWon on our side, so what’s there to worry about?”
Thanks to the existence of Kim YuWon, the mood of the testing area was like a festival. The players that had worried about what would happen if they failed this time could be relieved instead as they took the test. The Crystal would never be destroyed because Kim YuWon was protecting it. There was no reason to look for Doppelgangers either, because he would soon find them.
And so, the first wave of monsters finished, and a few moments later…
Rumble—
Pathways opened up from two different directions.
“There’s two this time?”
“Then will there be twice as many as well?”
“Damn it. I was wondering why it was so easy.”
“Block them! Block!”
Although the monsters’ numbers had increased twofold, it wasn’t a big problem. Tanks, healers, ranged attackers, and other positions were being adequately filled, and the player group was looking strong. It was enough to easily block the attacks of the monsters who only believed in their numbers and charged at them.
Even Reinhar felt good about this test.
‘The morale is good.’
“Isn’t it weird?”
Reinhar, who had taken a step back to rest, heard a voice next to him and turned his head. Once he did, his eyes grew wide with surprise.
“Kim YuWon?”
No, he was mistaken. Although he looked similar to Kim YuWon, the clothes he was wearing were different. Unlike Kim YuWon who was wearing the 「Pyromancy Robe,」 this man was wearing a totally gray outfit.
‘They really do look similar.’
He looked back and forth between the man in front of him and Kim YuWon, who was standing far away.
They were really similar.
One difference was that this guy’s hair was a bit longer.
‘I nearly mistook him.’
Reinhar calmed his heart and asked, “What’s weird?”
“That Kim YuWon. After finding the first Doppelganger, he hasn’t found a single other one yet.”
“It probably takes some time. It’s not that weird.”
Doppelgangers were monsters that could completely mimic the appearance of someone else. They didn’t just copy their outward appearance and voice but even their behavior, habits, and memories. It was natural that it would be hard to find them. Honestly, the fact that he already found one was incredible.
“Really?” the man replied with a doubtful expression at Reinhar’s answer. “…Is it really just luck?”
“What?” Reinhar looked at the man with a quizzical expression.
Maybe he had nothing more to say, but the man turned away and walked towards the Crystal. He was probably planning on protecting it.
‘What an odd fellow.’
After watching him for a bit, Reinhar lost interest. It was natural that there were quite a few doubtful people.
He didn’t think that was a bad thing as the more people who had doubts in a test, the better it was for the whole.
And so, the test continued without much disturbance.
[25 : 02 : 12]
A day had passed since the test started.
“How come we haven’t found a single other Doppelganger?’
“Who’s the Doppelganger?”
The difficulty of the test continued to increase. As time passed, the monsters started to pour out from a total of five different paths.
There was no time to rest. People started to get tired, and the number of injuries increased.
It was really about time they needed to find some Doppelgangers.
“Dammit. He said he’d find them himself…”
“Shush, he’ll hear you.”
Kim YuWon hadn’t moved from his spot since the test started. After he caught the first Doppelganger, he had continued to only stand next to the Crystal and protect it.
Because of this, no one could approach within a certain distance of the Crystal. If one got too close, Kim YuWon would block them.
Complaints started to pile up, and the situation started to become even more dire.
But then…
“This won’t do.”
Kim YuWon, who had stayed silent this entire time, opened his mouth.
“Everyone, gather ’round. I have something to say.”
“Something to say?”
“Has he finally found them?”
Thinking that he might have found some Doppelgangers, the players gathered with the Crystal at the center. They were all thinking to quickly kill the remaining Doppelgangers and finish this before the next wave of monsters came.
“Have you found them?” Reinhar asked impatiently.
His party members also looked tired as they looked at Kim YuWon with impatience in their eyes.
He shook his head, “No.”
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“How…”
“It looks like they all hid after I caught the first one. They might have tried to attack the Crystal, but that didn’t happen, and nothing feels off either. They’ll probably slowly wear us out and kill us.”
“My goodness…”
“But we can’t just let them waste our time either.” Kim YuWon turned his head and looked at one of the cave walls. “Because a sixth pathway might open next time.”
“…”
Everyone had dire expressions on their faces. Even Kim YuWon, who they had put their trust in, didn’t have a way out.
“Then why did you suddenly gather us?”
He smiled.
“Let’s have a vote.”
“A vote?”
“Vote on who you think is a Doppelganger. Everyone comes out and speaks out against one person.” As he talked, he pulled out his sword. “If we start killing one person at a time, the test will end at some point.”
He was saying he would kill someone off even if he wasn’t sure.
Hearing this, the players who had gathered all felt a sense of danger. Even if they weren’t Doppelgangers, if they were suspected, they might be openly executed in front of everyone.
“It’s not me. My group has all met since the 10th Floor and climbed together.”
“That’s right. It’s not us.”
“We can vouch for each other.”
The first players who came forward to prove their innocence were the players who were in ‘teams.’
This was a natural progression. Since a Doppelganger wouldn’t say that they were a Doppelganger, one couldn’t prove themselves innocent with their own words, meaning it was a situation where someone who knew them had to speak up for them.
Reinhar also hurriedly shouted, “It’s the same for us. Me and the five people here have all been climbing the Tower together since long ago.”
“Really? Then…” Kim YuWon talked as if he was the judge and was making a decision after hearing their words.
Among the players gathered here, the players who were in teams were a little over half of the total.
After thinking for a bit, YuWon gestured with his chin in a direction.
“Then the players in a team go in that direction.”
With this order, the players who had been hesitant had split into two groups—the players with a team and the players without.
“Alright then, since we don’t have time…”
The sword he was spinning stopped and pointed at someone.
“We should hurry up and start killing one by one.”
“What?!”
“Wh-What are you saying?”
“Kill us?”
Voices of resistance spewed out. In an instant, the test area had become pandemonium. A few had already picked up weapons and armed themselves.
It wasn’t only the ones who were selected to die that were surprised at his declaration…
“Y-Yeah, what do you mean by that?”
“Are you saying they’re all Doppelgangers?”
…It was the naive people.
Even though they knew he didn’t mean that, they thought that had to be the only reason.
As a few of them talked back to him, Kim YuWon put down the sword he had raised and replied, “Do you really think that there would be this many Doppelgangers?” He half-leaned on the Crystal and laughed. “But still, if we ignore the people who know each other, it means that they must be within this other group, correct?”
“Then will you kill them without certainty? Just because of a suspicion?”
Because one player was talking impolitely to him, Kim YuWon’s smile quickly disappeared.
“Then?” The look in his eyes became cold. “Let’s just stay like this and all die together… Is that what you’re saying? Well, that doesn’t concern me. Because I won’t die in any case.”
His tone showed his incredible confidence in his skills. He was saying that no matter the number of monsters that poured out, he would definitely be safe. He was saying that in the end, the one who would suffer losses wouldn’t be him.
“B-But this still isn’t right!”
“Well, no one wants to die.”
Kim YuWon turned his head. “What are your thoughts? Do you really all want to die here nicely… Together?”
It was the whispers of a devil.
“That’s…”
“C-Cough.”
“That’s… Not…”
It was a difficult question to answer. Because the baseline was that someone else dying was better than them dying. Kim YuWon’s words had woven that fact perfectly.
Silence took hold for a few moments.
The corner of Kim YuWon’s lips curled up again.
“Then sure. I’ll take that as everyone agrees.”
He raised his sword again.
The man who was selected looked at the edge of Kim YuWon’s blade.
“So let’s start.”
His sword moved directly towards the man’s heart. He was planning on killing the first player with a single slash to check if they were a Doppelganger or not.
But…
Tap—
“…?”
The sword was stopped.
Confusion overcame Kim YuWon’s expression. Someone had blocked his sword. It was at a speed that most players shouldn’t have even been able to react to.
However, that wasn’t all he was surprised about.
“You grabbed it…?”
He was definitely barehanded.
Seeing that the person had a black glove on their hand, it looked to be some item, but it was still impossible. It wasn’t even a gauntlet but a thin, frail glove.
Kim YuWon stared down at the man in front of him.
The man said with a complicated expression, “You’re really dragging this out.”
“What?”
Fwoosh—
The color of the man’s eyes turned red.
Seeing his eyes, YuWon realized that something was wrong.
‘Just what skill is that?’
He got a weird feeling as he met eyes with the man, as if his entire body was being revealed.
The man looked at Kim YuWon and the other players that had gathered around the Crystal.
“Saying that a Doppelganger is amongst these people…” The man smiled. “I don’t know if you’re smart or stupid.”
“What?”
“I can understand that you wanted to keep playing tricks, and I can overlook that. But I can’t just let you mess up the test like this.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
It was an unpleasant thing to hear.
Blue-colored mana enveloped Kim YuWon’s body. Strength poured into his hand, and his sword became even sharper.
However, the outcome didn’t change.
‘I can’t pull it out?’
It was the same no matter how much he struggled.
The man didn’t even look like he was using much strength, but YuWon’s sword felt as if it was stuck in a rock and didn’t budge at all.
If someone were to see them from the outside, they might not even realize that YuWon was putting strength into his sword.
“But, those two… Don’t they look similar?”
“Huh?”
“They actually kinda do?”
The people started to murmur amongst themselves as they looked at the two.
Although there was a difference in their clothes and hair length, their faces looked quite similar. Enough that one could mistake them for brothers or twins.
It was then…
From the mouth of Kim YuWon who was staring closely at the man’s face, a name came out in a tone that said he didn’t want to believe it.
“ Kim… Yu… Won?”
Two Kim YuWons had appeared at the testing grounds.
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