NOVEL NEXT Chapter 304 – Using the Mirror
It takes me almost an entire day, and I use the rest of the mana conductive paint, applying it to the mirror, floor, and my body. I even etch inscriptions into my skin. Lastly, I also melt down some of the metals I’m carrying to add to it all. When it's all done, I sit there, eating some food and enjoying the rest of my chilled drink.
While I’m waiting for my body to recover from my overuse of my eyes, I open the community.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - test test!
Sset (Hell, group 4) - you missed two days.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - I was busy. Is everyone ok?
Sset (Hell, group 4) - yes, but NotAaron’s disciple died and he was moved to the next floor.
Oh.
Sset (Hell, group 4) - his brother followed him, so he’s not alone.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - that sucks.
Grumpy (Hell, group 4) - he was really shocked, I hope they will be ok.
TheStrongestOne (Hell, group 4) - it all was going so well, and then...
The rest of his message is censored, and I guess a few more after that.
Sset (Hell, group 4) - The other news is that Gareth and WhiteWing have finally entered the 5th floor as well. They lost two members at the end of the 4th floor, in the battle against the First One. One more died from one of the other groups.
Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - hey guys, yeah. The ant couldn’t damage Gareth or the others around him, so he went after our ranged players. He was too quick for us to do anything. Fucking insect.
Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - it’s good to see that you guys are okay. Oh, Noname, Gareth wants you to speak with him sometime. But now I have to attend to my disciple, so later.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - later, take care.
My message feels awkward, even to me, but it is what it is. I was never good at this kind of thing.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - I will be a bit busy for the next few days, so don’t be surprised if I don’t join.
Grumpy (Hell, group 4) - be careful! Your passive sucks.
Lily seizes the opportunity to poke fun at my passive and demands that I remove it. We bicker for a while before I close the window and return my full attention to the mirror.
It’s time.
My eyes activate, and black mana from the orb seeps into my body. I force it under my control and forcefully calm my quickly beating heart. Then I take a step towards the mirror and activate it in concert with the inscriptions I’ve made.
I feel the arcane item react, its mana reaching out to me, as it attempts to find something to duplicate.
I can’t change the way it works or its function, nor can I do anything too big. No, I still have a long way to go before I get to that point. Instead, I give it a slight poke. Just a tiny bit, I mess with the inscription and help it find the object I want it to duplicate.
That object is me.
The weirdest feeling flows through my body. It's as if someone is examining me so deeply that they must know every nook and corner of my being. The entirety of my body and mind are being scanned. And I allow it to happen.
Warning! The Duplicating Mirror is being utilized in an unintended manner. This use does not align with the tutorial's intended purpose. Small changes have been applied.
A chosen object for duplication will not be permanent, a time limit and restrictions have been applied.
The window disappears, and I take a step back, and my reflection takes a step forward at the same time.
A leg steps onto the floor, and as the mirror cracks and disintegrates into shining particles, another me enters the room, his clothes disappearing along with the items he had on him.
My eyes meet his. I’ve thought of it often, and I expected to be able to read him, but I can’t. I guess there is a difference between reading other people and myself.
“Fuck, that's creepy,” he says, stealing the words from my mouth, and proceeds to take some clothes from the floor. He is acting casually, but I know that he is thinking, and I even feel him circulating thermal and kinetic energy through his body.
“Access to Community and system shop and floor quests?” I ask.
“Cut off.”
“Status, skills?”
“All the same. Fuck, this is creepy,” he repeats again, “I think I understand why people always want to punch your face in.”
“Our face… your face… or my face, whatever. And they’re just jealous,” I say, “try activating your trait for a moment.”
Before he complains, I activate mine as well, and with a sigh, he does just that. I can still see his brown and gray eyes, but there is a golden circle around the pupils.
“Good, at least it is as cool-looking as I thought,” he says what I'm thinking again.
When he is finally clothed, I ask him, “So you don’t think that you are original?”
“Obviously, I do not,” he says, as his expression changes slightly.
I don’t even have to ask what he’s thinking. He is me, and I know what I would do, and he knows I know given that I was thinking about it before I used the mirror. So it’s still fresh in his memory.
Clonthaniel stretches, he’s already deactivated his trait, but Primordial energies are still collecting inside his body. The way he moves his body is unnerving, and the way he’s looking around is even more so.
“Damn, I really want to punch you,” I say.
“Right? It’s the same for me. Anyway, three weeks, right?”
“Yeah, I don’t think the system will let you enter the 6th floor or even let you exist for too long. We already fucked up the mirror, and there are limitations in place.”
“That’s true. I’m pretty sure I have 2-3 weeks at most. It's this feeling… I have you to thank for that.” He doesn’t smile, taking a step closer instead, and I let him.
Both of us face each other.
Yes. He will help me, we will both improve our skills and train together. He will do it because it’s the only logical way to think. But at the same time, he hates me, because he is fake and he will disappear, while I’m the real one.
In the time given to him, he will try everything he can to stay alive, even attempt to take over and replace me.
Clonthaniel takes some food from the bag, after taking a bite, he says, “Best food I EVER ate.”
Okay, that was a good one. Let's ignore the fact I already had this joke planned out during the preparations.
As if on cue, both of us sit on the ground, opposite each other.
I gesture at him, and he nods, creating an orb from black mana and making it float between us. Both of us activate [Mana Domain], reaching towards it while activating a few more skills and our eyes.
Two of us should be able to come up with a better way to handle the black mana, right? His incentive is the need to improve so he can trick the system or replace me. For the next few weeks, we have the same goal: to improve as much as possible and as quickly as possible. I could use the mirror for my stats, maybe even a trait or something else. But I believe that because of the rarity of the item, there would be a time limit.
This way I can learn a lot from our cooperation, something that will stay with me no matter what.
Let's just be careful not to get killed by him. That would be awkward.
We both use [Resonance] and we don't even need to match the frequencies of our mana. They are already the same. We are the same being.
Then, together we surround the black mana with our domains and try to dominate it.
“Veil guardian is mine,” I tell him.
“Hell no, I’ll kill that bitch.
“Don't you have better things to do? Make a personality imprint or something?”
“As if I could replicate my mind perfectly within a few weeks. I won't be able to create an imprint that would 100% be me.”
“So what, you want to prolong your life and wait here in hopes Cockroachsandra will find you on this floor? Everyone got their own instance of the 5th floor.”
“Blah blah, you talk like I haven’t thought of that. And why are you so talkative,” Clonthaniel asks.
“I mean, there is no need to hide anything, you already know it all. Don't you agree that's weird?” I ask.
“Duh, you know what pisses me off? I still remember that it was my decision to use the mirror like this. I know what brought me there. I know the plan and what I expected from it. Part of me even thinks it was me who made the decision, so I can't be too angry. But the longer I'm my own being, the more I differ from you and the more I want to jump at your throat.”
“If you do and somehow succeed in killing me or get me killed by summoning Veil Guardians, or the sleeping danger noodle, you will probably disappear too.”
“Yes, but you know what? If I come to the conclusion that I will disappear no matter what I try, I will be taking you down with me,” he says. As always, he says it calmly, and I can see his [Focus] working. His face is emotionless, yet this is what he’s saying.
Up until now, I haven’t realized how disturbing it feels. I mean, I had some idea, but seeing it? Seeing him move, look around, talk? There is this uncanny valley kind of feeling, seeing my reflection in the mirror become its own being.
“You just keep saying things I already thought before using the mirror,” I shrug, “anyway, why is your left arm pale?” I ask.
“Because I'm a perfect copy, isn't it simple? You should be asking why your left arm is still pale no matter how many times it gets hurt and you restore it. Theoretically, it should become normal again, right?”
“Do you think Lily did something to ensure it will remain pale forever? She marked us?”
“Would you be surprised? That girl is bonkers. Did you notice how little she’s spoken to you in the Community lately? Before she was much more talkative and cheery. I bet she’s pissed off that you left the group at the end of the 4th floor.”
“She must be busy with her disciple; that's why,” I retort.
“Even you don't believe that. Dude, if you meet her on the next floor, she will beat you up.”
“As if I’d let her. And why the fuck are you speaking like this? You made all these decisions too.”
“You are the original, asshole, as Biscuit would say. Damn, I hope I get to see that silly corgi. Anyway, it's kind of refreshing to talk about it. Group 4 is a bunch of weirdos, aren't they? I mean, even Isabella.”
I shift on the ground to make myself more comfortable and lean against the wall, “Who knows what will become of her as she grows up in the tutorial. Plus, she’s got that ancient bloodline Noodle.”
“It's fine, Noodle is cute too, so I don't mind if he becomes the devourer of worlds or something.” Clonthaniel shakes his head, “Tess is scary too with her antimatter cannon sniping. Can you imagine her in a few years? She might be able to snipe people from orbit.”
I snort, “People? She will be obliterating small cities from there. But damn, I'm still jealous of Sophie's Manipulation.”
Clonthaniel smiles slightly. Both of us have relaxed the control [Focus] has over our emotions as we make most of the skill to manage the preparations we’re making to the inside of our bodies.
He continues, “I know how hard you’ve tried to evolve your [Mana Manipulation] into [Manipulation]. Too bad you failed.”
“Yes, yes, you failed, we failed. Damn, this is annoying. Anyway, I’m almost done, and you?”
“The same. I will be going first.”
“Hell no,” I say.
“Then I won’t be helping.”
I look at him as he says that, and I don’t even need to read him to confirm that. I know what I would have done, “I want to punch you,” I say instead.
“That means you want to punch yourself.” He stands up and moves closer.
He sits with his back to me, and I put my hands on his back and let my mana flow through his skin. His mantle and natural defenses are gone, he’s lowered them, and our mana is the same, so it passes easily. It's almost disturbing how easily.
Well, it's time to make a new construct, and this one will be even more powerful than I wanted it to be. I wonder how far I can push it with two of me working in tandem.
This is going to be scary.