Chapter 33

The magic circle disappeared.

There stood a black shadow.

Is this my opponent?

It looks like a doll.

Let me try using [Identification].

Doppelganger Lv.???

Event Monster ???

Hmm.

A Doppelganger?

It began to change its appearance.

Into mine.

Looking at it, I realized my appearance is quite ordinary.

The HP and MP bars are about the same length as mine.

It seems to be fair in this regard as well.

I held my rod in a ready position.

The monster also held a rod and assumed the same stance.

Is it just mimicking my appearance?

I remembered that in a tabletop game I played long ago, it could mimic skills as well.

Is this one the same?

Anyway, when should we start?

"Meditate!"

Before I knew it, the battle had already begun.

The monster raised its staff and used a martial skill.

Meditate is a staff martial skill, right?

I hadn't used it before and hadn't even checked its effects.

I'm really lacking in many areas.

But that's not the point. The battle has already started.

I selected and executed Mental Enchant Light while dashing to close the distance.

"Breathe!"

Again.

Another staff martial skill I haven't used.

"Mental Enchant Light!"

I solidified my magical defense because I have no other means of ranged attack.

I predicted that if this thing has the same skills as me, it would launch a spell attack.

But the spell I expected didn't come.

This is difficult.

"Mental Enchant Dark!"

The monster increased its magical attack power.

It would try to take advantage of this.

I won't let it cast the next spell.

Once I have a plan, I won't hesitate.

"Physical Enchant Earth!"

I activated the spell I had already selected and executed.

This improved my defense against physical attacks.

My goal is close combat.

I selected and executed the next spell while sweeping the monster's legs with my rod.

I pursued the monster, which backstepped to avoid it.

I released my rod and lunged forward with a tackle.

I grabbed the monster's thigh with my left hand and pressed its abdomen with my right shoulder.

The monster tried to resist by pressing down on me.

It then tried to choke me.

[Joint Lock] is a natural response.

The incantation from the monster's mouth was annoying.

I swung my right hand in a large arc and punched.

I felt a solid impact.

The monster's incantation stopped.

"Physical Enchant Fire!"

In close combat, increasing attack power is necessary.

Is this giving me an advantage?

The monster thrust its rod at me.

I dodged by twisting my neck.

I grabbed the hand holding the rod and pulled it.

Using my elbow as a pivot, I applied a joint lock.

The monster released its rod and pressed its right elbow with its left hand to resist.

Oh, it knows how to counter?

But I know that counter too.

The downside of that counter is that it blocks my view of its feet.

I kicked its abdomen with my right knee.

Direct hit.

The monster's body bent, and I slammed my right elbow into its head.

Direct hit.

I formed a fist with my left hand and threw a hook.

It hit the jaw.

I lowered my stance and threw a straight punch with my right hand.

It hit the center of the face, probably just below the nose.

The monster lost its balance and backed away.

Hmm.

Did I make a mistake?

I successfully attacked with close combat, but the last straight punch might have been unnecessary.

I should have taken it to the ground.

Now it's taken a step back.

This is bad.

I don't have time to hesitate; I need to select and execute a spell.

The monster started its incantation a bit later.

I want to stop it.

I rushed to close the distance.

The monster tried to step back.

Will I make it in time?

"Resist Aqua!"

"Water Needle!"

The counter spell worked, but I still took the full hit.

I'm glad it wasn't a Wind Cutter.

The water attack spell clashed with the water resistance spell.

I should have reduced the damage, but my HP bar took a significant hit.

I selected and executed another spell.

My MP bar is down to less than 30%.

The monster tried to escape and take distance, but I finally caught up.

I tried to sweep its legs.

The monster easily avoided it and punched me, taking advantage of my opening.

I ducked under the monster's right punch and aimed for its elbow.

I pinned its elbow from the outside with my left arm and applied a reverse joint lock.

But the monster pulled back its fist and tackled me.

It saw an opportunity.

But this is also an opportunity for me.

Cross method.

I kicked its torso with my right knee and simultaneously slammed my right elbow into it.

The power of both attacks was trapped in the monster's body and penetrated mercilessly.

The monster's movements suddenly slowed.

I circled behind it, wrapped my arm around its neck, and applied a chokehold.

A choke sleeper.

It's a technique that compresses the carotid artery, but in this case, I shifted the position to crush the trachea.

This is a monster.

I'm not sure if attacking the carotid artery will reduce its HP bar.

Once I confirmed that the HP bar was decreasing, I applied the chokehold more firmly.

I jumped onto its back and locked my legs around it.

We rolled on the ground.

All I had to do was apply the chokehold.

I focused on keeping my arm locked and used my back muscles to apply more pressure.

The monster's HP bar quickly decreased.

"Aqua Heal!"

I recovered some HP.

The HP bar finally reversed in my favor.

I'll take my time and keep attacking. The situation is already decided.

The monster tried to resist, but it couldn't escape easily.

Honestly, its strength is lower than the Snow Ape.

The scary part is its magic, but it can't cast spells while being choked.

I can cast spells at any time, but I'm not using them because I don't have enough MP left.

In the end, the monster went down much more easily than the Snow Ape.

I felt a bit disappointed.

It was like fighting a clone of myself.

Compared to the Snow Ape, it's too weak physically!

I realized this applies to me as well.

When I noticed, the monster's corpse had vanished.

The surroundings hadn't changed.

"A path suitable for you has been opened!"

"You are blessed."

"And we will wait for you again."

With those words, the scenery changed.

I was back on the night grassland.

The human soul was nowhere to be seen.

Volf was standing beside me.

Jean was on Volf's back.

It was as if the battle had never happened.

《You have leveled up [Fire Magic]!》

《You have leveled up [Earth Magic]!》

《You have obtained the spell Resist Earth!》

《You have obtained the spell Earth Heal!》

《You have obtained the spell Stone Bullet!》

《You have leveled up [Grapple]!》

Well, it seems there was a battle.

I've grown in various ways. That's good.

I'll check the situation.

Nothing seems to have changed.

I don't seem to have picked up any key items.

Oh, I have.

I have a new title.

"Seeker of Balance."

What's this?

Anyway, my MP is dangerously low.

I can't just stand here.

I picked up my rod and decided to return to Remto.

The night hunt is on hold.

I returned to town with Volf and Jean's help, trying to avoid battles as much as possible.

I was ambushed by rabbits twice in the dark.

I used potions to heal the damage.

When I reached the town gate, I collapsed.

It's embarrassing.

I wish my concentration could last longer.

I rolled into the inn and sent Volf and Jean back.

I quickly made the potions I had used and climbed into bed.

Then I logged out.

I have a lot to think about, but I'll do it tomorrow.

I was still feeling the fatigue.

The fatigue from yesterday was gone.

I logged in, but it felt later than usual.

The stalls in the town should be fully operational in the morning sun.

I'll look for a place to eat breakfast.

《You have a message from a friend.》

Adele and Iliana had logged in earlier, as expected.

I replied immediately.

I told them to finish their breakfast and meet in front of the Adventurer's Guild.

I also sent a message to Saki.

I want to bring the rabbit skins in the afternoon.

I want to avoid a missed connection.

Before that, I organized my items, which I hadn't done last night, and checked the bulletin board.

I found a thread related to the strategy and posted about encountering the human soul on the grassland.

I tried not to spoil too much.

I think the title triggered the battle, but I'm not sure.

I wrote it as a prediction.

Is this good enough?

I left the inn and summoned Rem and Helix in the shadow of a building.

I bought some snacks from a stall and headed to the Adventurer's Guild.

Adele and Iliana were doing something with their summoned monsters.

Adele was petting her horse, Maa-chan.

Horses aren't that fluffy, but maybe the feel of the fur is enough?

Her expression looked blissful.

This is dangerous. Is it real?

Iliana was holding her hawk, Skyeye, with her rod horizontal.

She was playing with it by moving the rod up and down.

Skyeye's head didn't move much, but it sometimes spread its wings to resist large movements.

Is it just playing?

Oh, this is bad.

I'm the one making them wait.

"Good morning. Sorry for being late."

"Good morning!"

"Let's continue from yesterday. We have three more to go."

"Huh?"

"Wasn't it four more?"

"We already hunted one after that."

"Ah?"

"Don't worry. We'll go to Regias today, regardless of whether we complete the quest or not."

"Understood."

The wild rabbit skins are stored in the [Item Box].

There are quite a few, but they're small, so it shouldn't be a problem.

I'm more concerned about the storage limit.

But if we divide the load among the three of us, we should be able to manage.

We immediately continued from yesterday.

The wild dog hunt seems to be popular.

I don't know why, but they're definitely increasing.

Meanwhile, the two horses were running around hunting rabbits.

Well, for Adele and Iliana, it could also be called a hawk hunt.

The prey isn't a duck or a wild bird, that's all.

And the results.

We were lucky to encounter and hunt the 4th and 5th Horned Rabbits in quick succession.

But we couldn't find the 6th one for a while.

While searching for prey, we leveled up various skills.

《You have leveled up [Identification] from your previous actions!》

《You have leveled up [Appraisal] from your previous actions!》

Looking at the skill list, I could see that the support skills were growing well.

The only other skills that were developing properly were the summoning spells.

I feel like I've been using magic a lot, but it's not leveling up easily.

Yeah.

I know why. It's my own fault.

I thought we might have to continue hunting through lunch when we encountered the 6th one.

The 6th Horned Rabbit put up a good fight.

It hit Maa-chan's body and dealt a lot of damage.

Adele was quite angry.

"I won't forgive you just because you're fluffy!"

She was angry like that.

Maybe she was slacking off with fluffy rabbits before?

Well, we managed to hunt it, so it's all good.

We submitted six wild rabbit horns to the Adventurer's Guild and received 8 silver coins as a reward for two quests.

It's a bit disappointing.

The money from selling the items we stripped from the rabbits is definitely more.

《You have completed the guild quest!》

《You have gained