— So we need to help him.
Looking at her most loyal servant, who had not moved from his place during the entire conversation, she continued.
— You know what to do.
Without taking her eyes off his figure for even a second, she said.
— It will be done.
Hearing his answer, a dazzling smile appeared on her face.
— Go, Ottar.
Throwing one last glance at him, she returned her gaze to Kopii again.
Step, step, step.
Hearing Ottar's departing footsteps, her eyes grew cold, and now a predatory smile played on her face, anticipating future amusement.
— Don't disappoint me, boy.
She whispered into the void.
After the general cleaning, Kane, without thinking for long, immediately went to the Dungeon, spending the rest of the day there. The battle with Aiz clearly showed that no matter how hard he tried, the difference was too great; whatever he used, she was ten steps ahead. He was completely open before her.
The fact that she could defeat me in a single instant made my desire to become stronger flare up even more. That desire was so strong that I almost lost control of myself in the Dungeon, but I managed to restrain myself.
— How much time will I need?
For the first time since taking over the body, he asked himself this question.
Raising his gaze to the tower, which looked even more frightening and unknown under the dark sky.
But he knew that thinking about it was useless, because until the body completely belongs to him, why ask such a foolish question? Until he completely destroys Kopii, all his actions will be useless.
Because every day, no matter how unnoticeable it was, he felt it perfectly; each time it became harder and harder to seize control over the body, even if that difference was only a second.
After this realization, he began timing how long it took him to seize control of the body. He needed only 49 seconds before, but now he needed more than a minute.
From this understanding, for the first time he felt something he never expected to feel, and that was fear. No matter who he stood before, in whatever situation he found himself, he was never afraid of anyone. But suddenly, understanding that if he lost control of the body again and found himself in darkness once more—this time forever—because he was sure he would never again have such a perfect opportunity to seize the body.
Clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, he whispered to himself through gritted teeth.
— I will not let this happen.
Taking his gaze away from the tower, he quickly headed toward his house, going through alleys to reach home faster.
He stopped abruptly.
Clang.
Without hesitation, Kane drew his sword from its sheath.
From the very beginning, when he left the Guild, he felt a piercing gaze on him. For a second Kane thought it was just paranoia, but that feeling did not leave him for even a second during his entire path; on the contrary, it became stronger and stronger the deeper he went into the ruined district.
So, without thinking long, he decided to prepare for the worst.
Listening to the sounds, he could not hear anything suspicious, only silence.
Step, step, step.
But it did not last long, as in the darkness of the alley the sound of footsteps rang out, growing louder and louder with each second. Looking in the direction from which the sound came, Kane's grip on his sword tightened even more.
This situation felt vaguely familiar. And then he remembered why this situation seemed so familiar; it was just like when Kopii had been caught by bandits.
"Ambush."
Flashed through his mind before a figure began to be visible from the darkness. The moment he appeared, all his attention was focused on him. It was a cloaked figure, which did not allow him to understand who stood before him, but that was not so important.
The cloaked figure, under his piercing gaze, came out exactly when I realized that they were watching me, making it clear that they were not trying to hide their presence in any way. From the very beginning, letting me know of their presence. Are they playing with me?
Clang.
Kane's thoughts were interrupted by the familiar sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath.
Bang.
Not giving the enemy even a chance, Kane tensed his legs and shot toward the stranger, aiming at his chest.
Seeing the swift attack, the stranger did not lose composure, and when Kane's sword was only a couple of centimeters from the stranger's neck, the stranger leaned to the left, and Kane's strike flew past.
But Kane expected this from the very beginning. Gripping the sword tighter, he sharply changed the direction of the blade. He deliberately put little strength into the first strike so that he could easily change the direction of the attack, thereby deceiving the enemy.
Bang.
Cough, cough, cough.
But before he could rejoice, he was sent flying several meters away. Wiping saliva, he quickly restored his stance and looked cautiously at the stranger.
This brief clash made it clear to him that the stranger before him was clearly not in his range of strength.
"He was too fast, so fast that I can't even react. Too fast for the current me."
He thought, completely changing his stance to a defensive one; in attack he had too few chances of victory. So defense was the only thing he could do to somehow secure his chances of winning.
"Now I just need to wait."
But from the moment he took his stance, the stranger did not move from his place. Time passed, but he still did not move, yet even so it pressed on Kane, and every second he prepared for an unexpected attack. His nerves were so tense that he could snap at any moment.
Bang.
At that moment the figure completely disappeared and appeared just a few meters from him, with his sword raised to strike.
All of Kane's attention was focused on the sword that was slowly heading toward him, but he did not panic in the slightest; he was ready for this from the very beginning.
Strike.
But something happened that he did not expect in any way. The sword abruptly froze, and before he had time to understand why, he was sent flying again.
Raising his gaze, he saw the sword heading for his head; tensing his arms and legs, he dodged the attack, but the difference was too great, so he did not remain unharmed, and a red line began to decorate his cheek.
His dodge was not as successful as he wanted. This moment once again showed Kane that before him stood an enemy who was impossible for him at the moment.
But he understood something else as well, that his enemy was not as strong as he had thought from the very beginning; he was approximately one level higher. He managed to understand this thanks to the feint he used.
When he was completely focused on his sword, Kane ignored everything else, which the stranger used with a strike, sending him flying. But why would he use such tricks on me? There are several explanations for this: either he is not that strong, or he is simply playing with me.
Which irritated Kane a little, but he did not show it in any way.
Raising his gaze at him, Kane did not have time to do anything before he spoke for the first time during all this time.
— Disappointment. How did you even earn her attention?
Coldness and contempt slipped through his voice, clearly addressed to him.
…
Bang.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Ignoring what he said, Kane shortened the distance between them and unleashed a flurry of attacks in his direction, but as he expected, it was useless; he was able to completely block his attacks.
And perfectly counterattack as well, but Kane did not care about the wounds; he continued to intensify his onslaught like a madman, but he blocked them as if nothing had happened. As if he were just an annoying fly to him.
Suddenly shoving his hand into his pocket, Kane pulled out sand that he had picked up when he was lying on the ground and threw it into his eyes, but this action was under the full attention of the enemy.
— How banal.
He muttered, covering his eyes with one hand, and with the other he swung his sword. Kane had no choice but to block the sword.
Clang.
When the swords collided, Kane felt numbness run through his arms from the force of the blow, as if he had collided with a rock, but he managed to withstand it and, letting the strike pass just a couple of centimeters from him, Kane jumped away from the stranger as far as possible.
But he was too slow, because of which a shallow cut appeared across his chest. Kane tensed the muscles in his chest, stopping the blood.
— Praiseworthy. Praiseworthy. Maybe you are not as talentless as you seem.
Seeing how Kane quickly managed the situation, he could not hold back and praised him. But Kane clearly felt the contempt in his voice.
But before he had time to comprehend his words, the stranger added.
— But this is not enough… far too insufficient for the one she chose.
From his words Kane's eyes narrowed; he again hears that he is not worthy of someone. Of whom he must be worthy, he did not understand and did not want to understand.
— What are you talking about!
— Shut up!
Kane wanted to continue, but he was immediately interrupted by the stranger. Which clearly enraged Kane; he wanted more and more to kill this stranger before him.
— Fuck you!
He shouted, and on the word "fuck" he dashed forward, closing the distance in a matter of seconds, and again began to unleash a flurry of attacks toward the stranger.
But, as Kane expected, it was again a pitiful attempt. But he did not slow his pace for even a second; on the contrary, he only became faster, and his attacks stronger. But even so it was still not enough.
Without thinking long, Kane threw sand at him again.
— Again?
But instead of blocking the sand, he slightly moved his head to the side, completely avoiding it. But Kane did not stop and threw sand at him again, but this time he again covered his eyes with one hand and attacked with the other.
But instead of blocking the strike, Kane gripped the sword even tighter and rushed into battle with renewed force, completely ignoring his own safety.
No matter how hard Kane tried to control himself, the flame of battle began to flare up even stronger, and his true essence again began to take over, but Kane was not against this, but only glad of it.
The sound of tearing flesh rang out, piercing Kane's shoulder. But he did not care about it; he fully focused on striking his opponent.
But even so he managed only to slightly graze him before he threw Kane away from himself.
Kane did not hesitate and immediately jumped even farther back and without hesitation turned and ran away from him. He was not like before, when he fought to the end, sacrificing everything for victory; now he knew when he needed to retreat.
He knew that this battle was lost from the very beginning, and this battle clearly showed him the difference of one level, and that difference was colossal. He understood this when he defeated a third level, and without realizing it his взгляд slightly changed, because if you put in all the effort, you can defeat even someone one level higher.
But then luck was on his side, and he also used the situation to his advantage and prevailed. But this battle clearly showed him that he would not be as lucky as that time, because the enemy was more experienced; even when he decided to sacrifice the mobility of his arm, his sword wavered only for a moment.
And he reacted to it in the best way; instead of moving aside, he simply kicked me. Which disappointed me a little, because if he had stepped back or dodged, then I could have continued my attack and not stopped at a simple cut on his neck. And then I decided to retreat.
I know this district like the back of my hand, so it is not difficult for me to hide here and simply wait.
— Fucking tired of this. I hope your mother dies.
Kane thought as he went deeper into the ruined district.
Seeing Kane running away, the stranger immediately followed him.
— Albert.
Hearing a voice from the darkness, Albert immediately stopped as if rooted to the spot and turned toward the sound; he immediately said.
— Captain…
Now there was no longer contempt or concern in his voice, only respect and fear toward the person who stood in the darkness; he could not even raise his gaze to the figure, and even if he could, he would not dare.
Before him stood the captain of their Familia and the strongest adventurer at the moment in Orario.
Looking to where Kane disappeared, he quickly returned his gaze to Albert, who stood like a statue, waiting for his words. So he did not make him wait any longer; opening his mouth, Ottar spoke, and there was only coldness and indifference in his voice.
— How would you evaluate him?
Going straight to the point.
Even if he had watched the battle from the very beginning, he wanted to know what Albert thought about it.
— … He lacks technique, he relies only on strength and speed, he completely depends on them, absolutely forgetting about technique, because of which his attacks are too easy to read, which makes him an extremely easy opponent… But he adapts to battle very quickly.
He did not mention his muscle control, because he knew that from the very beginning Ottar had been watching their battle and had certainly seen it.
— I see.
Ottar said curtly and turned around and began to leave; without thinking long, Albert followed after him.
From the very beginning Freya was watching this battle, and she could describe it with only one word — insufficient. She expected more from him, the same madness as when he managed to deal with bandits who were one level above him.
She expected more, which is why she felt such strong disappointment, casting one last glance at Orario and looking at Ottar.
— Insufficient.
She said in a monotone voice, but even so Ottar immediately understood what she meant and simply nodded.
Seeing him nod, the corners of her lips rose, and before Ottar's eyes appeared a picture for which everyone would want to give their life, but no emotions were reflected on Ottar's face; it was as cold as always.
Without thinking long, Kane decided to spend the night at the Blue Pharmacy, because at the moment it was the safest place, of course compared to his home.
"They won't attack him while he is in a residential area."
Well, at least he hoped so.
Opening his eyes and quickly seizing control of Kopii's body, he immediately changed clothes; he planned to spend the whole day in the Dungeon today, but first he had a very important matter that did not require delay.
He needed to update his status, and not even a second passed before he was already standing in front of the door to Miach's room.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
— Come in.
— Of course you may.
Entering the room, he saw the familiar picture.
— Hello, Kopii, how did you sleep? It's been a long time since you slept at our place, you probably already forgot what it's like.
Before he had time to speak, Miach spoke first. Looking at him, I smiled, and after my smile his smile only became wider.
— Hi, I'm he—
But he did not have time to finish as Miach raised his hand, because of which Kane immediately fell silent.
— I know why you came. Take off your shirt.
If someone heard this now, they would have strange thoughts.
At his words I only had to nod; I began to unbutton my shirt, completely ignoring Miach, my thoughts all the time returning to one thing, to the moment of yesterday's battle, replaying it in my head already for the hundredth time.
But even so it did not want to leave my head.
Feeling a touch on his back, Kane immediately returned to reality, again paying attention to Miach, on whose face surprise and joy… and fear could be read.
But as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared just as quickly; now his usual smile played on his face.
— You have become stronger, Kopii. In such a short time you have improved so quickly, you can be proud of that… but you should not rush so much.
In the last words seriousness and concern slipped through Miach's voice. But seeing Kane's confused face, he quickly continued.
— Don't misunderstand me, Kopii, I just worry that with such rapid growth you will become more fearless in the Dungeon… but know, Kopii, not everything can go according to plan.
After Miach's words a short silence hung in the air, but it did not last long as Miach spoke again, not giving Kane even a chance to open his mouth.
— And also I haven't shown you—one second.
Before Kane had time to realize it, Miach was already holding out a sheet of paper to him; without thinking long, he grabbed it and began greedily reading it, and the more he read, the wider his smile became.
Strength: A 876
Endurance: S 993
Dexterity: A 823
Agility: S 956
Magic Power: I 0
"Magic"
[ ]
"Skills"
[Copy]: "You can be anyone you want, but not yourself"
And indeed, very fast.
Kane said, barely restraining his excitement and joy. This growth surprised him greatly; it was faster than he thought from the very beginning.
Ah.
Seeing Kopii's reaction, Miach could only sigh.
— Be careful.
— Of course.
Kane said automatically.
But looking at Kane, he immediately understood that he was not listening to him at all, completely focused on his thoughts.
— Bye, Miach.
Before he could say anything, Kane disappeared from the room as if he had never been there, throwing the words behind him.
— Bye, Kopii…
But his words dissolved into emptiness; throwing one last glance at the door, he returned to his routine again.
Quickly saying goodbye to Naaza, Kane left the Blue Pharmacy; his plans were very simple—to become stronger, or more precisely, within this month to become third level. And unlike Kopii, he wanted to completely reach the limit of each stat, to push all stats to SS; he was not such a coward as Kopii, who was afraid of soul damage.
You have to pay for strength, and he was ready to pay for it; even if because of a mistake he could lose everything, he did not care, and yesterday's battle clearly showed that he was too weak, so he would no longer hesitate.
So he immediately headed to the Dungeon.
But his plan was not destined to happen.
— Hi, Kopii.
Kane's gaze stopped on a girl who was quickly closing the distance between them, waving her hand in his direction.
"Syr."
Flashed through Kane's mind.
Looking more closely at her, he did not see the usual uniform, but rather simple clothes, but even so those clothes could not hide her beauty, so quite a lot of glances were thrown at her.
— You're just in time, Kopii.
Before he had time to realize it, she was already only a few steps away from him.
— Hi, Syr.
He muttered.
— You look kind of happy today. Did something good happen?
— Nothing special.
He said, beginning to brush her off, but that was not the case; she immediately grabbed his hand, stopping him. Unable to do anything, he looked at her again, but now colder notes could be read in his eyes. But seeing no change, she spoke.
— Really? You can't tell by your face.
— Did you want something?
He went straight to the point, perfectly understanding what she would ask, which is why he wanted to leave quickly.
— Let's go, to the orphanage.
— I—
— This is not up for discussion. You haven't visited them for so long, they all miss you.
Before he had time to speak, she interrupted him and pulled him along, not giving him a chance to refuse.
He could, of course, tell her to get lost, but that was something he could do, not Kopii; knowing how much gratitude Kopii felt toward the orphanage, and the worst part was that she also knew how grateful he was. So he had no choice but to agree, restraining his irritation in this situation with all his strength.
He even thought about just killing her in one of those alleys and heading to the Dungeon, but remembering how strong that elf was, he immediately threw that idea out of his head.
— Hey, are you listening to me!
Poking his cheek with her finger, she said.
— Of course I'm listening.
Removing her hand, he said. He might have been happy about this gesture before, but now it irritated him.
— Really?.. Oh, I get it, you're just so captivated by me. Hee-hee.
…
Throwing her a look, I only nodded.
Before we had time to realize it, we had reached the orphanage.
"How annoying."
He thought, entering the orphanage; he did not want to deal with these children, but he had no choice.
Step. Step. Step.
Hearing hurried footsteps, he could only smile, hiding his irritation behind the smile. But his clenched fists clearly gave him away.