Chapter 76
After experiencing the second night, everyone realized a certain rule.
The X mark on the chest is the symbol of a fugitive, and fugitives are all non-human doppelgangers—a rule that has become common sense.
There has never been a single exception.
Moreover, the doppelgangers were rapidly gaining intelligence.
Now, you couldn’t tell who was human and who was a doppelganger, even through conversation.
If there were no marks on their chests, everyone would be confused.
So.
“Doppelgangers, are to be killed.”
Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo’s eyes sank like the Abyss.
There was no way he saw it wrong.
…The “Prophet” in front of him right now is a doppelganger.
And a doppelganger that takes human form only becomes complete after killing the human it has copied.
In other words, that doppelganger killed the Prophet.
No, that’s not right.
Maybe the Prophet is still alive.
A doppelganger takes one hour to finish copying.
If an hour hasn’t passed yet…
Spat!
A greatsword swept past his ear at the speed of a flash.
It was a simple thrust, but if he had reacted a moment slower, his neck would have been severed.
‘…So it comes to this after all.’
Park Chan-woo clicked his tongue inwardly.
It was a reaction he had somewhat expected.
Since he couldn’t hide the mark on his chest, of course Lee Hyuk-soo would mistake him for a doppelganger.
He had thought about it, but the reaction was much fiercer than he expected.
No words exchanged.
He never imagined he’d attack without even a single word.
Bzzzt!
As Lee Hyuk-soo slashed the Sword Lion’s greatsword diagonally, a black current enveloped the surroundings.
Haaaa—!
Skulls lurked within the black current.
Even if he dodged the greatsword, the black current relentlessly chased after Park Chan-woo.
Park Chan-woo hurriedly stepped back to widen the distance, but the black current didn’t stop.
A strong sense of death.
The problem was, that wasn’t all he was feeling.
‘No way?’
Park Chan-woo frowned.
The magic Lee Hyuk-soo just used felt familiar.
‘This isn’t magic a human can use.’
But it’s magic that absolutely cannot be used by a human.
To be precise, not by a ‘living human.’
That magic belongs to the dead.
And not just any dead—
‘How can he use the magic of the Immortal King?’
Immortal King!
It’s one of the death magics he used, “Shadow Asphyxiation.”
A powerful magic that suffocates and kills any target touched by the black current, much higher-level than ordinary death magic, and much more specific in its method.
It possessed both physical and magical effects, making it impossible to block by ordinary means.
‘Even Boksil’s Flower of Life or the method that devours death won’t work.’
Magic with composite effects is always fiendishly hard to counter.
In this situation, dodging was the only option.
At least it wasn’t fast—if anything, that was lucky.
But how could Lee Hyuk-soo use the “Immortal King’s magic”?
‘…Is it because I made him equip the Immortal King set?’
The first night.
In the battle with the high-ranking demon and game master Andariel at “Water Lover Nightclub,” Park Chan-woo had forced Lee Hyuk-soo to purchase and equip the “Immortal King Set.”
It seems that, since the start, by wearing equipment related to the Immortal King, he obtained the “Immortal King” class.
‘Looks like I’ll have to block it, just once.’
Magic of the Immortal King can’t be blocked by ordinary methods.
But Park Chan-woo was no ordinary mage.
Swish!
He quickly took a hand axe from his inventory.
It was one of the two hand axes he’d used in the duel with Tyrant Lim Chang-yeol of the Seoul Union.
He’d kept one in his inventory.
It wasn’t a weapon from the Abyss, so it wouldn’t work on monsters, but his opponent was Lee Hyuk-soo—a human.
“…Hand axe?”
Lee Hyuk-soo, who had been watching, tilted his head slightly.
The Prophet he knew was a mage.
A great mage who toyed with demons and devastated enemy lines with massive magic.
For such a figure to suddenly pull out a hand axe?
‘He’s definitely a doppelganger.’
If he’d copied other people, it was entirely possible.
Strong doppelgangers could actually use several entirely different skills.
Of course, this was Lee Hyuk-soo’s misunderstanding.
He had no idea that Park Chan-woo was a Magic Swordsman.
“Heaven’s Wrath.”
As the Immortal King’s magic “Shadow Asphyxiation” approached, Park Chan-woo gripped the hand axe and spoke.
Rumble!
In an instant, lightning crashed down from the sky.
But the lightning did not strike the approaching shadow of death, nor where Lee Hyuk-soo was standing.
Chrrrrrr!
The hand axe was wreathed in a fierce lightning.
The violent energy of thunder that seemed capable of destroying the world swirled around the hand axe.
[The hidden ability of the class ‘Magic Swordsman’ is revealed!]
[‘Magic Swordsman’ can imbue the ‘weapon’ they use with magic.]
[‘Hand Axe’ is imbued with the magic ‘Heaven’s Wrath.’]
The special ability of the Magic Swordsman had manifested.
It’s not just that he could use both swords and magic.
“Imbuing magic into weapons…?”
A Magic Swordsman can imbue their weapon with magic.
But Lee Hyuk-soo’s voice, watching this scene, was full of doubt.
He had never seen anything like it before.
Even though the Abyss had appeared and many mages had surfaced, none of them could use magic that way.
Not even the monsters who used magic could do it.
A feat impossible for ordinary mages.
A miracle only a Magic Swordsman could perform.
Slash!
Park Chan-woo swung the hand axe.
The black current, “Shadow Asphyxiation,” struck by the hand axe, was split precisely in two.
Screeech—!
[‘Shadow Asphyxiation’ has been neutralized.]
[‘Hand Axe’ loses durability and vanishes.]
It disappeared after being used for just one magic.
It wasn’t a weapon from the Abyss, and was a crude hand axe, so the result was only natural.
If anything, blocking the Immortal King’s magic with such a hand axe was impressive.
“……”
Lee Hyuk-soo was speechless.
Shadow Asphyxiation cannot be blocked.
It was just a matter of time—any life touched by “Shadow Asphyxiation” would perish.
He’d blocked it with a single hand axe.
And with a never-before-seen skill called “Magic Imbuement.”
Could a doppelganger use such a skill?
“Do I still look like a doppelganger to you, Lee Hyuk-soo?”
Park Chan-woo, seeing right through Lee Hyuk-soo’s thoughts, shrugged and asked.
There was nothing to be gained from fighting further.
Lee Hyuk-soo didn’t answer.
“Anyway, it’ll take a while before you can use ‘Shadow Asphyxiation’ again. Why don’t we talk in the meantime?”
“…How?”
At the same time, Lee Hyuk-soo’s eyes trembled slightly.
The doppelganger knew the name of the magic he’d just used.
Moreover, he knew that the cooldown for “Shadow Asphyxiation” was long.
No one else had ever been told that.
It was more than just knowledge—he even knew how to neutralize the magic.
Park Chan-woo spoke as if it were nothing.
“I’m not a doppelganger.”
He was saying he was the real Prophet, not a doppelganger.
And it was true.
No matter how much they “copied,” the doppelganger’s limit was to absorb the target’s knowledge.
They only have knowledge, not experience.
Therefore, using that knowledge to foresee and predict the future was impossible for a doppelganger.
Let alone pulling off applications like “Magic Imbuement.”
…Unless it’s the “Doppelganger Lord.”
“…The X mark on the chest is the fugitive’s mark.”
Lee Hyuk-soo spoke with difficulty.
“That’s right. I’m a fugitive.”
Park Chan-woo admitted without hesitation.
Lee Hyuk-soo’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“All fugitives are doppelgangers.”
“Except for me, that’s true.”
“There are no exceptions.”
“Lee Hyuk-soo, do you really think I’d clear the ‘second night’ by normal means?”
“……”
“If that’s what you thought, I’m disappointed.”
Lee Hyuk-soo shook his head inwardly.
…He hadn’t thought that.
From the very first meeting, the Prophet was extraordinary.
He’d received special treatment from the game master Andariel, overturned the whole game, and even killed Andariel in the end.
When the Reaper of Oaths, the one holding the scales, appeared and cut out Andariel’s heart, it was enough to give chills.
“You’re really the ‘Prophet,’ and you’re the only exception in this ‘second night’?”
“I’m the only exception, Lee Hyuk-soo.”
“……”
He spoke so confidently, it was almost absurd.
His head throbbed.
That attitude—he really did seem like the Prophet.
No mere doppelganger would recognize his magic, let alone know its cooldown.
“Is your mother recovering well?”
“…Damn.”
Thud.
Lee Hyuk-soo put away the Immortal King’s greatsword.
After a conversation like this, he had no choice but to believe.
But not all his doubts were dispelled.
“Why did you suddenly show up in front of me?”
“There’s something I need you to help with.”
“Another party?”
“Yeah.”
Park Chan-woo nodded.
To progress the Legendary Quest, he needed a party member of the same race.
And the one he could trust most was Lee Hyuk-soo.
They’d already formed a party once, and he was someone who definitely wouldn’t stab him in the back.
At that moment.
‘Ah!’
A word suddenly flashed through Lee Hyuk-soo’s mind.
Lee Hyuk-soo asked.
“…Surely, you’re not the one progressing the Legendary Quest, Prophet?”
“Oh. You figured it out.”
“Heh…”
Lee Hyuk-soo pressed his right hand to his forehead.
Now he really had no choice but to believe.
The only human with the “fugitive’s mark” on him.
And someone with the strength to progress the “Legendary Quest” that everyone had been informed of—it could only be the Prophet.
Unpredictable didn’t even begin to describe him.
The Prophet was truly impossible to pin down.
Still, he didn’t know why the Prophet wanted to work with him.
Lee Hyuk-soo’s expression hardened.
Then he asked in a very serious tone.
“Why me?”
Why, among so many people, did it have to be him?
If he just needed someone strong, Han Shin would be better.
If he needed a porter, he could have used someone easier to handle.
So why him?
He’d wondered about this during the first night too.
Finally, he put that question into words.
Park Chan-woo smiled thinly.
“You’re similar to me.”
“…Similar to you?”
They were nothing alike.
Appearance, behavior, personality—everything.
But Park Chan-woo was sincere.
“Yeah. You’re like me.”
Like him?
“In what way…?”
“You’re suspicious by nature, have an outsider’s temperament, are obsessively persistent in a single field, and don’t care what anyone else says if you think you’re right.”
“……”
“It’s a compliment.”
“……”
Lee Hyuk-soo’s expression shifted strangely.
No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t feel like a compliment.