Chapter 189 - Carried by Gear (4)

A doppelgänger's copies are different from its main body. They can only use the abilities of whoever they mimic, and the ones freshly summoned in the boss room are less intelligent, too.

No, should I call it proficiency?

Unlike the real Hans G, who brought out all his summons the moment combat began, the copies fumbled around, summoning one creature at a time.

"That's one."

Before the copies could do anything, Mister Bear's crossbow bolt pierced one between the eyes. The others soon met similar ends.

"We've killed them all!"

The good news came in less than thirty seconds. With four Hanses around, I'd been worried some bullshit might happen, but for now, things had gone smoothly.

Which meant...

"Now, everyone!"

We had to hurry and cram as much damage into the main body as possible before it summoned more copies.

Not that it would be easy.

"SKREEEEEE!"

As everyone focused their attacks on it, the main body began shrieking and rampaging.

[Leap], [Swing], [Gigantification].

And...

「Nameless Usurper has cast [Flesh Explosion].」

Even the skill I'd largely stopped using after losing my regeneration.

With my physical abilities plus the average stats of a rank-five monster, it put on a truly monstrous display befitting a boss.

"Everyone, fall back!"

Eventually, Raven pulled the melee damage dealers back. It wasn't a bad call. With two mages and an archer, we already had enough damage. There was no reason to risk pushing the melee fighters onto the front line. Besides, physical damage was less effective while the doppelgänger wore my form.

"You three, protect us!"

Misha, Aynar, and the blunt-weapon warrior.

Once the three melee fighters switched to guarding the damage dealers, our back line could bombard the enemy from range with even greater peace of mind.

'And where do you think you're going?'

Under the barrage of powerful ranged attacks, the main body tried to ignore me and charge toward the rear. Each time, I managed my Threat stat with [Wild Outburst] and kept its aggro.

How much time passed like that?

CRACKLE!

A Lightning Spear struck the head of the creature, its body already ragged from repeated [Flesh Explosions], and the doppelgänger turned into black slime.

'That's the first hurdle cleared, at least.'

Of course, the first phase was still far from over. It would only end after the boss had transformed into every character in the room in turn.

But...

"Oh! It's me this time!"

None of the others would be as difficult to fight as me. Sure enough, the battle against its next form, Aynar, ended before we had to face a second round of summoned copies.

Our melee fighters no longer had to stay in the rear.

"SKREEEEEE!"

It happened just as we defeated the doppelgänger in Aynar's form.

RUMBLE!

The magic circle on the floor shone, and the entire cavern began shaking.

Oh, that wasn't some ultimate attack pattern or anything. It meant the seal release rate had risen by 10%.

「Seal release rate: 20%.」

Only a few minutes had passed since the boss fight began, but there was nothing I could do about this. Once combat began, the seal broke down much faster.

'About 5% for every ten copies summoned, if I remember right.'

That was the shittiest part of this strategy. Nothing we did could prevent the summoning pattern, so the increase in the seal release rate was inevitable.

Well, having a second team outside activating Sealing Stones would have eased the pressure, but we didn't have that luxury.

'We just have to finish it before then, somehow.'

Once it reached 100% and the seal broke, it was game over. Every single copy would become as strong as the main body. They would even multiply using [Autoreproduction].

"It's me this time."

Raven was next. Surprisingly, we had a bit of a close call here.

Since spells required casting time, I'd planned to finish it off with a rapid barrage, but the copies summoned midway through caused trouble.

Two of the four were me.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!"

I didn't know what spell the doppelgänger was trying to cast. But Raven felt the mana gathering and shouted that we were all going to die at this rate, so it would have been disastrous if the spell had gone off.

Well, I smashed its head before that happened.

CRUNCH!

Afterward, the doppelgänger transformed into Misha, the blunt-weapon warrior, Parteian, and Mister Bear, in that order. We went all out to defeat each form as quickly as possible.

At last, the first phase was over.

RUMBLE!

As soon as the phase ended, the magic circle lit up again. I smacked my lips at the sight.

'A 40% seal release rate after the first phase...'

It was exactly what I'd expected. Still, I'd hoped to keep it as low as possible.

"Everyone, take the positions we discussed!"

Putting aside my disappointment, I gave the order. Having finished the first phase, the doppelgänger was transforming in the center of the cavern, repeatedly contracting and expanding.

"If, it's a lie, that n-no one, knows..."

The doppelgänger's voice echoed throughout the cavern. The next phase was about to begin.

"Then, how is it, different from the truth?"

The doppelgänger finished transforming.

「Nameless Usurper has cast [Switcheroo].」

Time to begin the second phase.

* * *

[Switcheroo], one of the doppelgänger's Abilities.

Its effect was straightforward: it switched the main body's position with a copy created through [Autoreproduction].

But that was only how it worked when you acquired the skill through an Essence.

"... Why am I first?"

There were now two Ravens. Their faces were identical, and neither their speech nor their expressions felt out of place.

For the record, you couldn't distinguish them by their positions.

'I lost a mage I'd worked hard to raise because of this once.'

If I remembered correctly, that had been the first mage I'd successfully recruited in Dungeon and Stone.

That had been quite a shock.

I shifted my gaze, scanning the Stones of Truth scattered across the floor like toys. Normally, the standard strategy was to use them to determine who was the doppelgänger, though doing so increased the seal release rate.

Without outside support, we absolutely couldn't use them.

So how would we identify the real one?

I smirked and studied the two Ravens. At first, even their words had matched, but now their words and actions diverged.

"D-don't shoot!"

"What are you all doing? She's the fake!"

One defended herself with words, while the other took a somewhat more aggressive stance.

I spoke briefly.

"What are you waiting for? Shoot."

Behind me, I heard the click of Mister Bear pulling the trigger.

And...

BOOM!

A massive bolt, practically a siege weapon, shot out and shattered Raven's little head.

THUD.

Her small body crumpled lifelessly.

"Huh? Don't tell me... that was the real Aruru, nyah...?"

"Murderer! You killed Aruru!"

Everyone, Misha included, froze in alarm.

But...

"Of course it wasn't. Calm down, all of you."

Before long, the fallen Raven turned into black slime and floated into the air. We'd picked correctly.

Oh, for the record, the aggressive Raven was the real one.

"Now, go take the empty spot."

After sending Raven, who'd swapped places with the doppelgänger, over to the wall, I approached the transforming slime.

"You this time, huh?"

I raised my mace and waited briefly until the doppelgänger finished transforming.

"Eek! P-put that down, you barbarian bashtard!"

What was it even saying?

THWACK!

Without needing to see anything more, I smashed its head with my mace.

Once again, unsurprisingly, I'd picked correctly.

It was only natural, really. Doppelgängers couldn't copy Numbered items.

"Uh, even so, it looks like me. Couldn't you at least hesitate a little, nyah...?"

Misha owned No. 5991, Venomous Viper's Fang.

"Really, Miss Karlstein, what do you expect from a barbarian?"

Raven had taken the spent Broken Trust from Parteian and kept it in one hand throughout the boss fight.

"Finally, me. I'll handle this."

Mister Bear had Necromancer's Arrogance.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!"

Aynar wore a ring called Foxfire Knot, taken from the elf archer. Its effects weren't very useful, so we'd sell it once we got out.

CRUNCH!

As you could see, enough gear made the doppelgänger's second phase a free win.

Had it finally realized that?

「Nameless Usurper has cast [Switcheroo].」

The doppelgänger transformed into the blunt-weapon warrior and immediately launched a surprise attack without a single pathetic plea.

Its target was a mage, the one with the weakest defenses. Had we been clustered together as before, that attack would have been hard to avoid, but...

"I'll stop it!"

As soon as the second phase began, we'd spread out along the walls, keeping our distance from one another.

Simply put, we had plenty of time to react to a surprise attack.

BOOM!

Aynar's greatsword met the doppelgänger's blunt weapon in an explosive clash. Misha used that opening to stab it from behind, and Mister Bear and Raven finished it off with ranged attacks.

"Back to your positions!"

After each turn, I had the teammates the doppelgänger had already copied gather in one place in a tight formation.

"What are you doing? Get moving."

My words seemed to snap the blunt-weapon warrior out of his daze, and he hurried to his position.

His shoes glowed faintly. They were an inexpensive Numbered item in the 9000s called Footsteps of Plenty, with fairly decent effects for a warrior.

I hadn't lent them to him from our loot. He'd owned them already.

Hadn't he said he'd saved up diligently to buy them?

「Nameless Usurper has cast [Switcheroo].」

Anyway, the middle-aged mage Parteian was next. He'd lent Broken Trust to Raven, but that wasn't a problem. The staff he carried was a Numbered item.

CRUNCH!

Since it was mimicking a mage, it didn't take long to kill it after its transformation.

Now, only I remained.

"Mr. Parteian."

"That, yes? I'll prepare it right away."

Having already suffered greatly against the doppelgänger in my form, the mages were preparing their most powerful spells.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!"

The instant the doppelgänger finished transforming, I drove it back with my shield.

"The one in the back is the fake!"

Identifying it in an instant, the mages focused their prepared spells on it.

Of course, being a tank, it didn't die in one hit. But with no summons in the second phase, nothing interrupted their spells.

CRACKLE! BOOM! FWOOSH!

Powerful offensive magic quite literally rained down on it. Eventually, it could take no more and collapsed.

For some reason, watching that left a bitter taste in my mouth.

'I'd better get a mana-resistance setup soon, too.'

I still had a long way to go as a tank.

* * *

The doppelgänger's third phase.

In other words, we'd already reached the final phase.

"Everyone, over here!"

Without needing an order from me, Raven quickly led everyone into a new formation.

At that moment...

RUMBLE!

The cavern shook violently, as though an earthquake had struck. Grains of dirt pattered down from the ceiling.

"Keeheehee, heehee, keek, keeheeheehee!"

Back in its slime-like form, the doppelgänger let out a grotesque laugh.

Honestly, I wasn't even sure it creeped me out anymore. All I could wonder was this:

How the hell was it talking without a mouth?

"Be careful! If you go down, Mr. Jandel—"

"Don't worry. That won't happen."

I brushed Raven's concern aside with a short reply.

It wasn't because I was completely certain we'd win. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, too. Always assuming the worst and watching for unforeseen variables was an old habit of mine.

But sometimes, leading the team with a show of confidence was part of being a leader.

I tightened my grip on the mace, keeping just enough tension in my body to warm it up.

The final phase was a kind of enrage. Every second counted now. It would summon copies on a scale incomparable to the first phase.

BOOM!

The black slime swelled until anyone watching would think it had reached its limit, then exploded. Black droplets scattered throughout the cavern.

The two mages unleashed flames as though they'd been waiting for this, burning them away, but they couldn't destroy even half.

And the explosions kept coming.

「Nameless Usurper has cast [Autoreproduction.」

The droplets gathered into shapes, then mimicked our forms. At a glance, there had to be dozens.

Hans G, the elf archer, the dwarf, and others we'd never see again after today appeared all around us.

The vast cavern was packed in an instant.

"Don't be too afraid! These copies aren't as strong as the earlier ones!"

As Raven said, these were much weaker than the ones we'd fought before. A hit or two from me would probably make them burst and vanish into smoke.

But the frightening part of this enraged state was something else.

「Seal release rate: 50%」

「Seal release rate: 60%」

The magic circle on the floor flashed repeatedly, announcing each increase. At this rate, the seal would break within a few minutes, and the doppelgänger would regain its full power.

Which meant it was about time to bring that out.

「The character has used [Outlaw of the Barren Lands].」

「Melee physical damage temporarily increases in proportion to the number of humanoid monsters.」

The item that had given me the confidence to wreck this doppelgänger bastard...

「Current increase: 112%.」

「Current increase: 157%.」

「Current increase: 278%.」

「Current increase: 342%.」

「Current increase: 4...」

And the very thing that had let me estimate our chances of victory at a full 90%.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!"

Gear is a skill, too.