It wasn’t a mistake.
It really was Su-ho.
That’s why Su-ho had co to the watchtower.
Because in the previous turn, Su-ho had thrown the Guiyeong Spear at the tower to infiltrate it covertly.
And once the next turn's Guardian Quest began, the system copied everything from the previous turn and applied it to the current players.
Su-ho stood silently in the corridor, staring at Su-ho.
Then, Su-ho approached and walked right past Su-ho.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen him.
He had seen Su-ho.
But the invader Su-ho was currently under the effects of Achromatic Solitude, and what he saw was not a clone identical to himself—but just a typical soldier #1. So he ignored him.
Because who would think a normal soldier #1 could perceive soone under Achromatic Solitude?
‘Unbelievable.’
Watching the retreating figure of invader Su-ho, Su-ho hurled his spear.
The invader, with excellent instincts, twisted his body and dodged the spear, turning to face him.
An utterly baffled expression.
Why?
First ti seeing soone unaffected by Achromatic Solitude?
The flustered invader Su-ho asked,
“...Who the hell are you?”
But Su-ho didn’t answer.
Because in the plan he’d devised, he wasn’t °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° supposed to speak to fake-Su-ho just yet.
As Su-ho kept silent, fake-Su-ho let out a scoff and summoned his Blood Weapon, gripping it.
“Fine. Don’t talk. I did wonder why infiltration was going so smoothly—turns out they hid soone this high-level in the watchtower?”
High-level, huh...
It was already surreal seeing himself, but hearing himself complint himself? That was surreal on a whole new level.
Still, that didn’t an he was going to go easy on him.
As fake-Su-ho readied his stance, Su-ho summoned his own Blood Weapon in turn.
Fake-Su-ho’s eyes widened.
“Blood Weapon? You have Blood Weapon?”
“...”
Su-ho, again, said nothing.
Which left fake-Su-ho montarily speechless.
He had a lot to think about.
After a brief pause, fake-Su-ho began activating his skills.
[Blessing activated.]
[Holy Enchant activated.]
[Mana Perception activated.]
[Endurance activated.]
[Enhancent activated.]
[Eye of the Blacksmith activated.]
Fake-Su-ho’s skills burst forth.
No notifications appeared for him, but Su-ho could see them clearly.
Fake-Su-ho might be a “fake,” but he was still Su-ho—from the previous turn.
And then—
[Weakening activated.]
Whoosh!
The mont Weakening activated, Su-ho received a notification as well.
[You have been afflicted by Weakening.]
[All stats reduced by 20%.]
At this point, Weakening was basically Su-ho’s trump card.
It used 70% of his mana to reduce the target’s stats by 20%—a terrifying debuff.
With the casting complete, fake-Su-ho silently stared at Su-ho.
As if to ask: Let’s see if you can copy this too.
Of course he could.
Su-ho raised his Blood Weapon and began activating his own skills, matching him step-for-step.
[Blessing activated.]
[Holy Enchant activated.]
[Mana Perception activated.]
[Endurance activated.]
[Enhancent activated.]
[Eye of the Blacksmith activated.]
Seeing the identical series of activations, fake-Su-ho’s eyes widened again.
His mind must have been racing.
He was probably trying to recall everything from his past life, comparing possibilities.
Was there any monster or player who could mimic him like this?
But that wasn’t the end.
[Weakening activated.]
Su-ho used Weakening just like fake-Su-ho had.
Then, the exact sa notifications popped up in front of fake-Su-ho.
[You have been afflicted by Weakening.]
[All stats reduced by 20%.]
Fake-Su-ho’s eyes widened.
Of course they did.
He had surely thought Su-ho was nothing more than an illusion or deception—but Weakening proved it was real.
Why?
Simple.
No illusion could trigger system notifications.
His brows furrowed.
He was deep in thought.
Then he muttered,
“Ha... this is giving a headache.”
Yeah, no kidding.
You’re a copy of —down to my skills, stats, swordsmanship... even my mories.
Which ant you were stuck in a dilemma.
Su-ho was a regressor. He knew about the Moon Palace Gate.
He also knew what ca next in the second quest.
And fake-Su-ho was a clone of Su-ho—complete with all of that knowledge.
But in fake-Su-ho’s tiline, he had just started the first quest.
So eting his clone—which shouldn’t appear until the second quest—had to have triggered a ntal crash.
Who was this in front of him?
Another Gate entity?
But he had identical skills, and even triggered the sa Weakening alert?
So... he was definitely a clone?
Then why was the clone appearing now, in the first quest?
Shouldn’t he show up later in the second?
Wait... could he be the real one?
No, that’s not possible.
There must be information I don’t know.
After all, I’m seeing the Moon Palace for the first ti. Everything I know is second-hand.
So the only thing to do now—whether clone or monster—is to kill the guy in front of .
Having made his decision, fake-Su-ho raised his sword.
Seeing that, Su-ho smirked inwardly.
‘So, he’s finally worked through the identity crisis.’
Now all that remained was the fight.
But he didn’t intend to fight fairly.
After all, right now, he and fake-Su-ho had identical specs.
Stats, skills, swordsmanship—even their thoughts and fighting style.
Which ant...
This battle could go either way.
A true master’s duel—one that would end in a bloody, grueling deathmatch.
‘And would still need a bit of luck to settle it.’
So, he’d brought a tailored strategy.
Su-ho activated a skill on himself.
[Recovery activated.]
[Weakening has been removed.]
He used Recovery to nullify the debuff.
Of course it worked—his Recovery was now a two-star level.
Fake-Su-ho, frowning at the familiar skill effect, used Recovery too.
[Recovery activated.]
[Weakening has been removed.]
Su-ho gave a subtle smile and imdiately used his next skill.
[Mark of Agony activated.]
It was his upgraded A-rank Mark of Agony.
As the skull emblem with the scale etched onto its forehead lit up at the tip of Su-ho’s blade, fake-Su-ho scowled and activated the sa skill.
That was Su-ho’s cue.
He charged at fake-Su-ho.
“Co on, then. I’ll show you who the real one is.”
Fake-Su-ho’s proclamation.
But Su-ho still didn’t answer.
Instead, he used Step of the War God to close the distance in a blink and swung his blade.
Fake-Su-ho did not flinch—he swung too.
Su-ho could see his enemy’s sword.
The Holy Enchant glow of the Blood Weapon overlapped with another layer.
No, two layers.
He recognized them.
Steel Severance and Enhancent.
Just as he’d guessed.
Fake-Su-ho had used both.
[Steel Severance activated.]
[Enhancent applied.]
[Steel Severance's power has increased.]
Fake-Su-ho’s sword ca crashing down.
KA-BLAAM!!
With a crushing noise, it landed a clean, powerful hit.
‘I got him!’
Fake-Su-ho was sure of it.
And indeed, the attack had landed.
But Su-ho hadn’t attacked.
Deliberately.
That was part of the plan.
So the mont he took the hit, he distanced himself.
Standing back, Su-ho muttered to himself.
“Wow...”
Never before in his life had he been this thoroughly cut down by his own sword and skills.
Still, it was definitely his attack.
God, that hurt like hell.
Grimacing at the long gash from his chest to waist, Su-ho watched fake-Su-ho smirk.
Because he felt sure he was the original.
And then—
[Mark of Agony has been applied to Palace Soldier.]
Another system alert appeared before fake-Su-ho.
Mark of Agony only activates when a valid hit is landed.
And “Palace Soldier” referred to Su-ho—since that was his current role in the quest.
So fake-Su-ho felt certain.
‘I’m the real one!’
If the enemy were the original, the na would appear as a Player tag.
But the system just called him “Palace Soldier.”
His identity crisis resolved, fake-Su-ho confidently raised his sword.
Su-ho quietly activated healing skills.
[Heal activated.]
[Breath of Recovery activated.]
Seeing this, fake-Su-ho felt even more certain.
He himself rarely used Breath of Recovery—its efficiency was poor.
But his fake counterpart was using it.
Which, to him, was definitive proof that the opponent was a system-generated impostor.
Fake-Su-ho charged, grinning.
“I’ll finish this quickly, you fake bastard!”
Excited, he even used Step of the War God as he rushed in.
Su-ho still said nothing, facing the attacks with silence.
But he didn’t counterattack.
He focused solely on defense and dodging.
As ti passed, wounds began to accumulate.
And the more fake-Su-ho saw blood drawn, the more confident he beca.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Slice! Clang! Clang!
Su-ho blocked each strike while continuously healing.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of exchanges passed.
Until...
Fake-Su-ho’s Blood Weapon suddenly lost its glow.
The distinctive Holy Enchant effect had faded.
Su-ho t the oncoming blade and leaned in close.
“Looks like you’re finally out of mana?”
“...What the—? You can talk?”
“Of course I can. Anyway, thanks for playing along.”
“What?”
Without giving him a chance to process it, Su-ho drew his sword back and thrust in a vicious counter.
Dodging was impossible.
No one knew Su-ho’s habits and reactions better than Su-ho.
He squeezed out the last of his nearly depleted mana and activated his skills.
[Steel Severance activated.]
[Enhancent applied.]
[Steel Severance's power has increased.]
Two skills layered together.
Fake-Su-ho instinctively raised his sword to block.
But—
SLASH!
Su-ho’s pale Blood Weapon carved clean through him.
[You have defeated the Invader.]
At last, Su-ho had succeeded—
He had defeated himself.
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