Chương 9: Mirror Matchup

"Sorry, I'll have to decline the offer." Gray dipped his head in a polite nod.

"My priority right now is to find my brother. He's Korean, about my height, and looks like an older, much grumpier version of me. Have you seen anyone matching that description?" The bowman shook his head.

"I haven't seen anyone like that. Sorry."

"It's alright." Gray offered a smile.

"I'll be going now." He pivoted and walked away. His shoulders tensed as he exposed his back to the trio. He half-expected them to blindside him with a spell or loose an arrow into his spine. Anticipating the worst, he let his hands drift toward the daggers at his waist. The seconds ticked by, but the attack never came. Instead, the dark-skinned mage spoke up, his voice carrying just enough for Gray to overhear.

"I guess his mentor didn't give him the heads-up about the next level. We're better off finding somebody whose mentor didn't leave them to die." Gray halted mid-step. The next level? It would be utterly undignified to turn back now. To beg them for information right after rejecting their invitation? Pathetic. Would his pride actually let him do something so embarrassing? Absolutely. He slowed his pace to a crawl, dragging his heels in the hope they would call out to him.

"Wait! Hold on a second!" the woman finally yelled. Gray spun around and jogged back, raising his hands over his head in a dramatic gesture of surrender.

"Fine! Okay, fine!" he groaned, laying the exasperation on as thick as possible.

"You don't have to keep begging me. I'll join your party." The three of them froze, trading baffled looks.

"Were we… begging?" the archer asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Hey." Gray closed the distance, boldly invading their personal space. He clapped a hand on the archer's shoulder and leaned in close.

"My brother can take care of himself for now." He flashed his most charming smile.

"So, what was that about the second level?"

"Uh… right," the archer muttered, prying Gray's hand off his shoulder.

"The Natural Selection follows a strict structure, but the actual themes of the levels swap out every five years. Level One is always a monster-slaying quest. Level Two brings in team mechanics, requiring squads of three to five members." He jerked a thumb at his two companions.

"We have an archer and two mages. Although we possess a ton of ranged damage, we're too vulnerable to face enemies head-on. We need someone who can fight up close. Mistveil—is that a rogue class?" His gaze drifted skeptically to Gray's lean biceps.

"I mean, it sure as hell doesn't seem like a warrior class."

"No, I'm not a warrior, but I can handle myself up front," Gray said. Just admit you're looking for a meat shield to soak up all the damage while you stay comfortably in the back, Gray thought, his smile never wavering. Fine, if it's a frontline fighter you want, I'll give it to you. He maintained his warm, friendly expression, but his mind was already mapping out an exit strategy. The second things go south, I'm getting the hell out of here.

"I really need to get into the habit of identifying people first," Gray remarked, taking a step back to look at the group properly.

"Give me a second to peruse your stats before I make my decision, since you've clearly already taken the liberty of doing so yourself." Name: Jun Song Class: BoneMan Level: 2 Rank: Awakened Ladder Ranking: 709 Name: Kofi Adebe Class: Glass Mage Level: 2 Rank: Awakened Ladder Ranking: 846 Name: Ariel Miller Class: Bishop Level: 2 Rank: Awakened Ladder Ranking: 1042 Gray stared at the status sheet hovering in the air for far longer than necessary.

He let out a dramatic hum, stroked his chin, and squinted, feigning deep agony over the decision.

"Alright," he finally sighed.

"I'm in—" A piercing, high-pitched chime cut him off. The first level has concluded! The theme of the Second Level will be…

'The Mirror Matchup!' Team Formation Window: 10 minutes Team Size Min: 3 | Team Size Max: 5"We don't have time to track down a fifth member," Jun said.

"Let's do a quick rundown of our builds before the level. I need to know exactly how we're going to handle this." He tapped the frame of his massive bow, his eyes locking onto Gray.

"I'm an archer, but I don't carry a quiver. I source my arrows directly from within myself. Bone is extracted from my arm and manifested as a projectile. They're much denser, and considerably sharper, than the garbage those goblins were using." Gray blinked, his gaze dropping to Jun's arms.

"Wait. So… when you pull a bone out, does your arm just go flaccid?" Jun closed his eyes and let out a long, weary sigh.

"No, idiot. It's conjuration magic. The supply is infinite." To demonstrate, Jun extended his left arm. He pinched the crease between his forearm and biceps—the spot nobody actually knew the name of, and with a tug, he drew out a thick spike of pale ivory bone. It tore through his skin with a sickening, wet squelch, growing longer as he pulled until it tapered into a sharp point. Jun flicked his wrist, hurling the bone straight at Gray.

"Whoa!" Gray yelped, scrambling backward. The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The bone spike clattered onto the asphalt. After a few seconds, the ivory dissolved into blue particles of mana.

"Not funny," Gray snapped, hurriedly straightening his shirt to recover a shred of dignity. Jun ignored the complaint, pivoting back to his team.

"Explain your roles. Gray needs to know what he's working with." Ariel stepped forward, nervously rubbing her forearms.

"I'm a generic healer class. I have a minor targeted healing ability with a ten-second cooldown." She inhaled deeply, standing a little taller.

"But my active ability is a channeled aura. It lets me boost my party's Attack Power and Constitution by twenty percent! It persists as long as I maintain focus and everyone stays close by."

"My mentor said that I'll eventually be able to—" Her head twitched, then after a beat she clamped her mouth shut, abruptly cutting herself off.

"—never mind." Kofi glanced at her with a raised brow, then shrugged indifferently.

"I'm a glass mage. I launch glass shards for offense, and my active ability lets me manifest reinforced crystalline barriers. However, if the barriers shatter under pressure, the skill goes on a thirty-second cooldown. I'm completely useless for defense during that window." Jun clapped his hands together, the sharp smack echoing in the quiet street.

"Alright. All the cards are on the table now." His assessing gaze swept over Gray's lean frame.

"So, what exactly does a Mistveil do?" Gray swallowed hard. Everyone else had at least one high-impact, reliable ability, while the System had apparently "withheld" his. Admitting he was nothing more than a human smoke machine would probably get him kicked out. So, he lied.

"My class lets me shoot out clouds," Gray said, keeping his face perfectly stoic.

"And my active ability enhances the power of my weapon."

"Interesting," Jun said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Do the clouds act as a propellant on your arms? Do they accelerate your strikes?"

"Yup. Precisely," Gray replied, keeping his voice perfectly even.

"That's exactly how it works." Nailed it. Jun raised a skeptical brow, but he didn't press the issue.

"Okay. I sent you an invitation." Jun Song has invited you to his party! Accept? Y/N Gray tapped Yes. A translucent interface blinked into existence at the edge of his vision, displaying the party members' names and classes in a neat column. Unlike the video games he was used to, there were no glowing red health bars or blue mana pools floating above their heads.

"I have one question. Can teammates hurt each other? Is friendly fire enabled?" Gray scanned Jun's body from head to toe. Ariel sighed and poked Kofi in the ribs.

"Yes. Unfortunately."

"My glass shards have a bit of a spread to them," Kofi admitted, crossing his arms defensively.

"I clipped Ariel one time when we were fighting a horde of goblins earlier." She rubbed her shoulder, wincing at the memory.

"It was more than once…"

"Focus, guys," Jun said, snapping his fingers to command their attention.

"I've theorized that the next level will be a team deathmatch against other participants. With 'mirror' in the name, I have a strong hunch the System will match us up against another party with identical roles or very similar classes." He didn't pause for objections, shifting right into shot-caller mode.

"Given our team composition, Gray will have to handle the frontline by himself. He won't be able to serve as a pure tank, so Ariel and Kofi will protect him with their heals and shields. Meanwhile, I'll provide cover fire." Jun pointed a thumb at the nightclub's doors.

"Before the level starts, I'll hide inside. This will bait the enemy into thinking it's only the three of you. Once they commit to the fight and rush you, I'll ambush them from behind." Without waiting to see if they agreed, Jun turned and disappeared into the club. Gray snorted the second Jun was out of earshot.

"He seems to be around my age, but he's running this party like some kind of drill sergeant." He turned to Ariel.

"What did he do before all of this?"

"He was a professional gamer," Ariel replied softly.

"One of China's best center-laners for Nexus Race. Apparently, he was in the same league as the best player in that game: Taker." Gray shook his head and clicked his tongue in disbelief.

"Nobody's in Taker's league." A digital countdown flashed in the center of their vision, cutting the conversation short. 5 4 3 2 1… Welcome to the Second Level! I have teleported all the participants who have failed to meet or exceed the party-size requirement into the safezone. They will not be allowed to participate in this level. Let us begin. Inside the club, Jun finished reading the glowing text. A sudden, heavy pressure built in the surrounding air. He glanced over his shoulder and froze.

His own shadow was glitching, flickering in and out of place against the sticky floorboards. The dark silhouette peeled away from his heels, tearing free. It slithered out of the club, scurried rapidly across the cracked pavement, and traveled down the street. It stopped twenty feet away from Gray, Ariel, and Kofi, merging with three other shadows that had just detached from their feet. The pools of darkness bubbled. Then, they arose from the asphalt in the middle of the empty road. They were perfect copies.

The shadows formed into exact physical mirrors of the party, down to the last detail. The clones held identical weapons and wore the same armor, but everything was cast in a black hue. Their eyes were hollow and completely empty, and they stood perfectly still, arranged in a straight line as if awaiting orders. The Mirror Matchup Surpass yourself in a team deathmatch against… yourself! I have generated shadow clones for each member of your party, modeled after your classes and silhouettes.

These clones possess copies of your current abilities and equipment, but they cannot activate equipment effects. Reward 3, 000 Contribution Points 50% EXP Ability Shard The doors of the nightclub swung open. Jun realized his ambush strategy was completely ruined when he saw his own pitch-black clone standing out in the open street. He let out a frustrated sigh, abandoned his hiding spot, and walked out to join his team.

"I would've preferred to fight other humans," Jun said, his eyes locked on the eerie doppelgangers.

"These clones can't use active item abilities, but other than that, they hold every advantage. This is going to be exactly like fighting an advanced bot in a game. They have no fear, they make no mistakes, and they're completely unconcerned with preserving their own lives." He pointed a finger at Ariel's shadowy duplicate.

"Targeting their healer will be our top priority. Gray, you'll lead the charge. Kofi's shadow will immediately summon a glass shield to defend their Ariel from your assault. I need you to focus all your effort on breaking that barrier to force it into cooldown. Once their healer is defenseless, go for the kill. They'll lose all their sustain in one move." Jun glanced back at the two mages.

"The rest of us will adapt as the fight unfolds. Kofi, Ariel, and I will stay tightly grouped to cover each other's blind spots while Gray disrupts their frontline." Gray's face twisted into a scowl. Sounds to me like you want to throw me in there to step on all the landmines, he thought bitterly.

"If we want to survive this level, we'll need to be entirely transparent with one another," Jun warned. His sharp gaze snapped directly toward Gray.

"Reveal any abilities you've omitted or might've exaggerated about. If you hold back now, our shadow clones are going to blindside us during the fight." Jun tapped his chest.

"I'll start. I forgot to mention earlier that my active ability conjures a breastplate crafted from bone. If you have anything to get off your chest, now's the time." Jun maintained his stare on Gray. Gray swallowed hard, scratching the back of his neck to feign nonchalance.

"I wasn't hiding anything. If you want the exact specifics of my cloud ability, all it can really do is launch a thick cloud of smoke." He offered a casual shrug, desperately trying to mask his rising panic.

"It doesn't do any damage. It's purely utility." Jun grunted in acknowledgment. He turned his attention back to the pitch-black copies standing at the end of the street.

"Your clone should be simple to deal with, then, if that's truly all it can do." Gray scowled at the back of the archer's head.

"Convenient…" he muttered under his breath. A massive digital timer materialized in the air above the empty road. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… FIGHT!