’Now then... how should I handle this? Should I ask the main body to dispel , or test my combat abilities here?’
While Cael was contemplating whether to attack the masked man or not, the masked man suddenly appeared behind him and slashed.
Montarily surprised, Cael still managed to leap back, settling into a stance like a boxer.
The masked man laughed madly.
"Hehe... you want to fight ? You’re just a [Silver] ranker, while I’m a [Gold] ranker. You can’t defeat ."
Hearing the kidnapper’s words, Cael nodded.
"True."
The masked man blinked in surprise.
"It seems you’re aware of reality. Then obediently follow ."
Cael chuckled.
"Make ."
"Tch." The masked man clicked his tongue and disappeared again.
As Cael prepared to intercept the follow-up attack, sothing unexpected appeared before him.
...
[SS Skill: Copy Activated]
[Do you wish to copy B-Rank skill: Shadow Steps?]
[Yes] [No]
...
A grin spread across his lips.
It seed even a clone could copy skills.
’Yes.’
Sensing danger, Cael used the wind to propel himself to the side.
The masked man reappeared at the spot where Cael had been standing, dagger already mid-swing.
"How annoying... killing you would be easier than restraining you."
As he spoke, shadows began to crawl across his body.
In the next second, multiple masked figures split from him.
...
[SS Skill: Copy Activated]
[Do you wish to copy C-Rank skill: Shadow Mimic?]
[Yes] [No]
...
’Yes.’
Cael didn’t hesitate.
The shadow mimics suddenly lunged at him simultaneously.
He knew he didn’t stand a chance if they surrounded him.
Channeling wind control, Cael rotated his arms and released a compressed wave of air.
The sudden gust blasted outward, pushing the mimics back and dispersing several of them.
As he fought the mimics, Cael couldn’t help but analyze a few strange things he had noticed during the battle.
’First, this place... if I’m correct, this is the Sub Shadow Realm.’
’But why is he relying on tricks against ?’
’If I were in his position, I would’ve overpowered my opponent directly.’
’Unless... maintaining this realm is taking a toll on him.’
As Cael dispelled the last Shadow Mimic, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder.
Glancing down, he saw a deep gash leaking blood.
Cael raised an eyebrow.
’The hell? Can a clone even bleed?’
He didn’t dwell on it for long.
After all, this was an SSS-rank skill.
’Wait... now I understand why it’s called "Cloning" instead of "Clones."’
Sensing a disturbance in the air, Cael imdiately dashed toward it.
There was nothing there.
At least, not yet.
Just as he closed the distance, the kidnapper erged from the shadows.
"You’re not too ba—"
-BANG.
His words were cut short as a wind-coated fist slamd into his face.
The mask shattered, and his head burst into swirling shadows.
"Tsk."
Cael clicked his tongue as a new interface appeared.
...
[SS Skill: Copy Activated]
[Do you wish to copy A-Rank skill: Shadow rge?]
[Yes] [No]
...
’Yes.’
Cael turned slightly to the side.
"Cough... Cough..."
A few steps away, the masked man knelt on one knee, clutching his face.
Though he had activated Shadow rge at the last second and avoided a direct kill, he had still taken heavy damage from the blow.
If they had been outside, the masked man could have easily dodged that punch.
The main reason he was in this state was the realm itself.
Not only had he been maintaining the Sub Shadow Realm, but he had also been fighting Cael on top of that.
"I underestimated you."
The kidnapper admitted as he lowered his hands.
Cael saw his face clearly now, bloodied and lined with old scars.
The man straightened and spoke in a solemn tone.
"It doesn’t matter anymore. From now on, I’ll take you seriously."
As soon as his words fell, the surrounding shadows began to fade.
In the next instant, Cael found himself back at Skyspire, standing at the sa spot where he had been devoured by darkness.
In front of him stood the kidnapper, staring nacingly with a twisted smile.
Cael knew playti was over.
But before he could move, an overwhelming presence descended upon him.
His knees slamd into the ground as his breath caught in his throat.
It was the kidnapper’s aura.
Just his presence alone was enough to pin Cael in place.
"The only reason you managed to hit was that I underestimated you. Now... feel despair."
The man raised his hand.
Instantly, shadows coiled around Cael’s body, tightening like chains.
"Before I knock you unconscious, I’ll teach you one final lesson. A lower ranker can never defeat a higher ranker."
Even though he was immobilized, Cael smiled calmly, as if none of this troubled him.
"I agree. A lower ranker can’t defeat a higher ranker... but defeating... and killing... are two different things."
The kidnapper froze for a split second, confused by Cael’s words.
Before he could react, a flicker of danger surged through his instincts.
He tried to dodge.
But it was already too late.
A kitchen knife pierced straight through his head.
And the culprit was?
Naturally...
Cael.
The main body.
...
As soon as Cael’s clone and Kidnapper reappeared on the surface.
Cael imdiately took action as he watched the man suppressing his clone easily.
Using the perfect mont, Cael activated Teleportation and appeared behind the kidnapper, killing him instantly.
The dead body fell to the ground, blood leaking from his wounds, nose, and ears.
Cael glanced at his clone, who was now free from the shadows.
"You good?"
The clone nodded and stood up.
"Why didn’t you use the Moonlight elent to escape?"
The clone looked at Cael as if he were an idiot for asking such an obvious question, but he still answered,
"If I had used Moonlight and he escaped after seeing it, everyone would know you possess a special elent. I knew you didn’t want attention on yourself."
Cael nodded.
"It seems that in the future, you’ll need to disguise yourself when using Moonlight."
The clone nodded as well.
"We should search for an always-active disguise skill with low mana consumption."
Cael agreed, then suddenly raised an eyebrow.
"What do you an by ’we’?"
Hearing that, the clone smiled.
"Check your status."
Although Cael could access his clone’s mories directly, absorbing a sudden flood of information placed a ntal burden on him.
So instead, he chose the easier option.
"Status."
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