The [Owl Spirit], with its variety of composite effects, was indeed an excellent skill and perfectly suited Irene's archer positioning. However, uniquely when using the "Vision Synchronization" effect, certain necessary operations arose that could undoubtedly be considered weaknesses.
Only when actively triggering Vision Synchronization could Irene receive the familiar's sight. It wasn't like the omniscient top-down view in an RTS game. Instead, the images the owl saw at that exact moment would overlay directly onto the caster's, Irene's, own vision. This forced dual-feed would quickly overwhelm the optic nerves and brain, inducing severe vertigo.
Therefore, Irene had to close her physical eyes to block out her own sight in order to concentrate on processing the visual intelligence from the owl.
Furthermore, if Irene wanted to finely manipulate the owl's movements during this state, she needed to mirror the owl's physical actions with her own body as closely as possible. The higher the synchronization rate, the more precise the interference.
(Such principles are also recorded in Dungeon Meshi).
Irene had an excellent memory. She had already memorized the physical characteristics of the two women from before. As long as they hadn't used skills or items to temporarily alter their appearances, and provided they walked into the owl's line of sight, she would recognize them instantly.
While players could spend Coins in the Heaven's Selection Space to casually alter their appearance, gender, or even race, those were merely false shells. In gaming terms, it was just equipping a skin MOD. It didn't affect the character's original base model. If someone made true physical contact, that kind of disguise was useless. It couldn't actually make you grow an extra appendage, sprout additional arms, or develop an extra mouth.
There was a similar option when entering a Blueprint Mission. Players could spend points beforehand to apply a disguise that was valid for a single instance within the dungeon. However, this function couldn't be activated once already inside the dungeon.
Another point worth noting was that the vast majority of players naturally exuded an aura that felt completely out of place with their surroundings. After all, regardless of their individual strength, they generally belonged to the overarching concept of a "Fourth Scourge."
Within the player base, those who could maintain a level head as their power steadily increased were already outstanding individuals. The highest percentage of the demographic, unfortunately, consisted of people who inevitably developed a "superiority complex."
Only after being violently slammed into the dirt by stronger players, NPCs, or boss monsters would they potentially dial it back and experience an awakening... or just straight-up ascend to heaven.
Only players with high Charisma attributes, who excelled at communicating with local NPCs and specialized in exploring and uncovering dungeon lore, could potentially erase that peculiar aura entirely, even disguising themselves as native NPCs to scam other players.
Regardless, based on Irene's observation, the two women in her vision were absolutely not that type of Charisma-focused roleplayer.
Of course, there was another reason they were so easy to spot.
A twin combination stood out no matter where they went. It just wasn't clear if their twin appearance was authentic or a crafted persona.
Then again, theoretically, the moment Irene synchronized with the owl's vision was when she was at her most vulnerable. Inherently, she shouldn't have casually used it right in front of Chris, a man she hadn't even known for an hour in total, even with a Gray Contract binding them that could be broken by paying a fine.
Of course, Chris only had a double-digit Coin balance. He literally couldn't afford the penalty fine even if he wanted to...
Yet Irene had used it openly and above board. She used it without holding back, showing absolutely no signs of extra vigilance.
Was it trust? Or was it a test? Besides herself, no one knew.
"Alright, I am unilaterally declaring that the probability of your deduction being correct has risen to eighty percent."
Having severed the connection with the owl and pushed up the brim of her hat, Irene shot Chris a thumbs-up.
"How so?"
"If I'm not mistaken, they're using a biological tracking item called 'Scoutflies.' That stuff can track traces left by a specific target. Looking at their current trajectory... there's an eighty percent chance they're coming for you, and a less than twenty percent chance they're going after Batman."
As Irene spoke, her eyes remained fixed on Chris's face. She just wanted to see what kind of expression this Shieldbearer warrior would make.
What she saw instead was the corner of Chris's seemingly expressionless mouth uncontrollably ticking upward bit by bit. It formed a barely perceptible, yet genuine, smile.
Chris naturally knew what Scoutflies were. They were the route guidance system from Monster Hunter: World. They were also the glowing fireflies that, during certain fixed quests, would forcefully rip the camera angle away, snapping the player character's neck so hard to the right it induced physical whiplash. This was especially infuriating when a player was already locked onto a different wyvern's line of sight; having the camera forcibly hijacked by Scoutflies was a notoriously scummy mechanic that often resulted in a furious monster tearing the player a new one right from behind.
Theoretically, as long as one collected enough residual details, leftover footprints, bodily fluids, combat traces, etc., they could gradually piece together the target's true location.
However, Chris, who had always used Scoutflies to hunt wyverns, was now experiencing being hunted by Scoutflies for the very first time. He was clearly being treated as prey.
Chris didn't know who the enemy was, how strong they were, the extent of their malice toward him, or if he could even win a fight against them.
All he knew was that if anyone treating another person as prey didn't have the resolve to become prey themselves... then that would just be far too boring.
...
"The footprints disappear here."
"Target is ahead."
Two figures draped in black women's overcoats didn't hesitate to step into the dark alleyway, the kind of place ordinary people would avoid like the plague.
This was a manifestation of absolute confidence in their own strength. They were so confident that, regardless of which gang's non-boss combat units they encountered, they could swiftly dispose of them. They had absolutely no fear of the "outstanding individuals and rich land" that made up Gotham City.
Quickly, the breathing of both women grew noticeably heavier. They had already spotted Chris standing not too far away, striking a rigid, unyielding pose, making no attempt to hide or evade. Simultaneously, their neon-green Scoutflies had ceased glowing and fully retracted into their small canisters, signifying that their tracked target had entered their visual range.
Swish.
In unison, the two women ripped off their overcoats. They revealed matching purple cybernetic bodysuits, sharing a color palette remarkably similar to EVA Unit-01, which clung tightly to their exceptionally full bodily curves.
Watching from a high-rise, a certain archer instinctively clicked her tongue in annoyance.
Following that, utilizing movement techniques as unimaginably agile and almost perfectly mirrored as the trained EVA Units 01 and 02 fighting the Seventh Angel's Music, the twin-like women decisively and rapidly charged straight at Chris!
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]