Hollow

Hayate focused his thoughts intently, he was gonna summon something — he was thinking intently upon the type of minion he wished to bring forth.

As the final evolution of the basic demonic mage class, he possessed the ability to summon and create demons. The tiers of summoning denoted the power level of each demon, they was divided into nine distinct tiers. For example, tier one was level 10-20, tier two was level 20-30, tier three was level 30-40 and so on and so forth.

"[Create tier one demon – Doppelganger]", his skill activated. Immediately, a radiant, crimson magic circle materialized on the ground. The circle was immense, spanning roughly 10 feet in diameter and radiating a dark red light that illuminated the entire room, on the circle multiple unknown symbols were visible.

The creature manifesting before them was a level 10 demon, yet one of the rings Hayate was wearing, a legendary rank item called "The ring of the Overlord" worked its magic, elevating the incoming doppelganger's level to 15 instead of its natural state of 10.

This was because one of its passive skills was augmenting the power of any summon or creation he conjured by 1.5 times, he also had multiple skills which would make his summons better but they weren't needed right now.

This was a significant boost, elevating the expected level of the Doppelganger from 10 to 15 in terms of raw power.

This level 15 doppelganger, however, would boast an equivalent power to a regular player at level 5. This was because doppelgangers commenced their existence at level 10 with stats matching a humble, level 1 player so all of their base stats were "1".

Their lack of strength in base form was justified since their main attribute was the ability to mimic others' forms. Doppelgangers possessed a unique ability known as Mimicry. Starting at level 10, they can copy 1% power of anything it copies.

Their capabilities expanded with 1% being gained for every one level gained for example a level 100 doppelganger could copy the strength and skills of anyone upto 90%.

The magic circle had ignited beneath Hiroshi's feet, he swiftly leapt away, positioning himself to observe from a safe distance.

From the confines of the magic circle, a blackish, red liquid pooled into a ball, suspended in mid-air. Slowly but surely, the amorphous mass began to transform, molding and shaping itself into a recognizable form. The doppelganger materialized with a grotesque appearance. Standing at 6 feet tall, it was significantly shorter than Hayate's towering 7-foot frame.

The Doppelganger's body was pale and cadaverous, its skin a sickly grey-black hue stretched tightly over its bony frame exposing its protruding bones. A plethora of old bandages, both white and green in colour, were wrapped around its body, covering its rotting flesh. Its legs were unnaturally thin, like the gnarled roots of an ancient tree, and its feet resembled talons, with three long toes facing backwards. The Doppelganger's arms stretched abnormally long, dwarfing its body, and adorned with four elongated, bony fingers that seemed designed for grabbing or stabbing something. Its spine was hunched over, and protruding from it was a series of bone-like spikes. It boasted an elongated neck, capped off by a stitched-on smiley face mask.

The smiley face mask that the doppelganger wore was gruesomely attached to its flesh. It appeared stitched onto its visage, with the only visible portion of its face being the mouth, which was sewn shut on each side, leaving a macabre smile frozen onto its face..

Hayate glanced towards the doppelganger, feeling a shiver run down his spine. Even he was taken aback momentarily. This creature, once just pixels and lines of code in hollow, now stood before him in flesh and bone. If Hayate had still been a normal human at that moment, he would have likely fainted on the spot.

"Eeeeek!"

Hayate heard a shriek from Hiroshi who was terrified, but he had no time to worry about him. After all, he was quite surprised at the sight before his eyes.

The way it carried itself was truly deserving of the name

"a demon — doppelganger."

Much like he had with the Earth Elemental King he

Had summoned, Hayate used the mental bond with his summoned monster to communicate.

"「 Doppelganger, mimic Hiroshi 」."

He glanced at Hiroshi, noting the fear etched on the latter's face, and remarked, "increadible, isn't it?"

Hiroshi's voice trembled as he responded, his words barely audible as he said "Yes," while nodding in agreement.

Despite his efforts to compose himself, the sight of the grotesque creature had shaken him to his core. To have such a menacing being brought into existence and treated so casually – it was truly terrifying.

Meanwhile Hayate was staring at his creation as it transformed.

The transformation that happened when Hayate summoned the doppelganger was something exclusive to the real world — such a animation didn't exist in Hollow. In Hollow — a magic circle would indeed appear but instead of such a gory summoning sequence — it would just come out of it. Another thing to be concerned of was that originally, the doppelganger should have stayed by its summoner's side to

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Await his orders and attack any enemies which approached. Yet, it had just went ahead and transformed. This difference might be a fatal vulnerability in an unknown situation like this one.

At a loss for words, Hayate scratched his head and sighed.

"They have independence now...huh..almost as if they're living breathing creature's now."

Hayate reproached himself for his miscalculation.

Although he could make quite a few more doppelganger's, it was best to conserve limited-use abilities while he was not sure of the weapons these people may have — the heavy ones.

An unease crept through Hayate.

His summons were loyal to him, but would they stay that way? If this were in the real world, subordinates would no longer be loyal to superiors who constantly screwed up. Would the summons be that way as well? Or was it that once they were programmed to be loyal, they would stay that way forever?

If their loyalty to him wavered, how should he regain it?

Rewards? Power? There were many things to consider — not to mention the time limit for keeping summons's didn't apply in real life too.

Usually, in Hollow when you summoned something, they would stay for a specific amount of time before disappearing but for created entities they would stay for a much longer period of time like an hour before disappearing and were generally stronger but more expensive than summons.

This didn't apply here, he didn't know about the summons but the earth elemental king that he had created was still connected to him and Hayate could feel it's location.

It had been nearly 4-5 hours since he had created him, way past the normal time limit.

And in addition to all that he might be dealing with a being with full consciousness and a will of its own, as opposed to Hollow's programmed summons/creations. There was a slight possibility that if the doppelganger had gained the ability to think and decide on its own, it might go against his wishes.

No, the first half of his current worries were already proven when he had summoned the earth Elemental king — it had independence.

But he still wasn't sure of the latter of his worries.

With an exasperated sigh, he scratched at the back of his head and muttered under his breath "What next?" to himself but then the doppelganger' transformation made him stop thinking again.

Upon receiving Hayate's order, the creature's body had began a disturbingly unnatural transformation.

Its limbs retracted into its torso, It morphed into a pulsating, writhing mass of flesh, twisting and churning in a nauseating display. Then, the abomination transformed into a rounded ball, its texture and composition malleable like gelatin. Then, in a horrifying spectacle, the mass of flesh began to morph and reshape itself, becoming an exact replica of Hiroshi.

Hiroshi's stomach churned as he watched the scene. His body involuntarily reacting to the sight in front of him, making him almost puked. Not only did watching the grotesque transformation fill him with revulsion, but the sight of the doppelganger perfectly mimicking his appearance down to the last detail sent an icy chill down his spine. Even the clothing he wore was perfectly replicated.

Hayate observed the transformation, his expression impassive. Despite the disturbing nature of the transformation that the doppelganger had undergone, he was quite satisfied with the result. The creature had managed to replicate the image of Hiroshi with remarkable accuracy, even down to the smallest details with a few minor mistakes like it's hollow eyes or a bit of a pale skin but that should be no problem.

"Is it because it's low levelled, so its skills aren't as 'polished' as they should be, is that why?"

He couldn't quite put his finger on it but now that he had already created it, there was nothing he could do – it would be a waste to kill it.

However, he noticed something unusual. The doppelganger had not just taken on Hiroshi's appearance, but had also replicated the exact outfit he was wearing. Normally, as the creature was only level 15, it should not have been able to replicate equipped items yet somehow this one had flawlessly replicated the attire.

For Hayate, the only logical explanation seemed to be that the suit or armour wasn't considered an item, or was this a new ability? Judging from the circumstances, the former seemed more logical to him.

Hayate then asked the now transformed doppelganger a question, "Can you speak?"

In hollow, doppelgangers at lower levels were typically mute, lacking the capacity for vocalization.

To Hayate's surprise, the doppelganger responded with a clear, articulated voice. It affirmed, "Yes, but only in this form."

The creature was capable of speaking. It was a pleasant surprise, as it facilitated communication. But it was peculiar that it could only do so in this form. The doppelganger seemed to possess attributes that were beyond typical level 15. It was intriguing yet concerning at the same time.

The information that the doppelganger divulged created a new question in Hayate's mind. He needed to know the limitation to its transformation.

So, Hayate voiced another prompt, "What do you mean 'only in this form'?"

"As you have created me, lord Lucifer. I as level 15 doppelganger, my inherent ability is to mimic other forms. However, my ability to speak is restricted to my transformed form's only and does not carry over when I assume my base form."

Hayate nodded in understanding. It made sense now. The creature possessed the ability to mimic forms, yet its speech was limited to its transformed state. It was a limitation imposed by its level, albeit an odd one and something exclusive to earth. However, the mention of the name intrigued him.

"Wait, what did you just call me?"

He was surprised because:

"Lucifer is my in-game avatar name, it called me Lucifer, not my real name — Hayate."

He mused to himself, shocked seemingly.

How did it know? Was this information somehow pre-programmed into its memory or was it something it had deduced on its own?

The doppelganger calmly responded, "Lucifer The Light-bringer," which was Hayate's full username in hollow followed up by, "The fallen angel of light," which was Hayate's character title in hollow.

Hayate's eyes widened slightly at the creature's words. It had correctly identified his full username and even his character title. This meant that it had some way of accessing information. It was alarming yet fascinating at the same time.

"Where do you obtain your information from?"

"Since you created me lord Lucifer, i know this much almost instinctually about you. What sort of a creation would I be if i couldn't even recognise my creator."

Hayate's surprise grew further. The doppelganger's answers confirmed what he suspected. It had innate knowledge, or "instinctually" as it put it, about his real identity at least, his in-game persona which had now become reality.

This meant that as the creator, he had left an imprint on the doppelganger. It was his 'creation' and carried a part of him, therefore, it could identify him even in this form.

"I see."

Hayate paused, thinking about his options. He couldn't use his former human name, Hayate Sato.

He needed a title or a pseudonym and his in-game title would work perfectly.

Hayate spread his arms and wings wide open, as if addressing the world itself.

"Yes, I am Lucifer The Light-bringer, The fallen Angel of light and the leader of Angel's of Hell. Remember it well."