Chương 10: Overshadowed

Once the timer hit zero, the shadows animated. Ariel's pitch-black double hoisted its staff, the tip flaring with a warm amber light. A glowing orange sheen washed over the enemy team, bolstering their stats in an instant. Beside the healer, the shadow archer ripped a jagged sliver of black bone directly from its own forearm. It smoothly nocked the dark projectile onto its bowstring. Then there was Gray's twin. The dark silhouette tilted its head, examining the twin daggers in its hands.

Seemingly unimpressed, it opened its grip. The blades hit the pavement and instantly dissolved into a swirling black mist, leaving nothing but charcoal embers drifting in the air. The shadow extended one arm to the side as black mist swirled into its cupped hand, gradually solidifying into a hilt. The crossguard formed next, followed by a bloom of dark mist that flowed from it and hardened into a long steel blade. Gray flinched at the control his copy wielded over the smoke.

Thinking back, Shota had mentioned that shaping smoke into whatever tool you desired wasn't something an Awakened could do—unless you were a prodigy. And like Jun had said, these copies were essentially bots you'd face in a competitive video game. They likely didn't need years of training to master their craft, as the System had simply programmed those skills into their wiring. Behind Gray, his actual teammates mirrored the enemy's preparations. But he didn't wait for a signal.

The instant the round began, he surged forward without a second thought. The shadow archer snapped its hollow gaze toward him, drawing the bowstring back. Before the black arrow could fly, Gray thrust his hand out, launching a thick smokescreen ahead of his path, and dove straight into its cover. Summoning a shroud at a moment's notice was incredibly useful for evasion. However, it came with one glaring weakness: it gave the enemy a giant target.

The shadow glass mage leveled its wand directly at the gray plume in the middle of the street. The tip glowed with a silver radiance before several razor-sharp glass shards materialized in the air and soared forward. The shadow archer followed suit, letting its bone arrow fly. Inside the dense fog, Gray had perfect visibility. He watched the deadly flurry of projectiles punch right through the vapor, the whistling glass and bone tearing holes in his temporary domain.

He lingered at the outer edge of the smokescreen, patiently waiting out the barrage. The instant the attacks stopped, he burst out of cover and bolted straight for Ariel's clone. He closed the distance in seconds. Gripping his dagger tight, he swept the blade directly at the healer's throat. His muscles coiled tight, bracing for the sudden, jarring impact of a glass barrier intercepting his strike. But a quick glance in his periphery proved otherwise. The shadow glass mage wasn't even looking at him.

It was entirely focused on bombarding Jun and Kofi with its projectiles instead. This might be easier than I thought, Gray realized. He threw his weight into completing the swing. But just as the steel edge came within a foot of the clone's neck, a dense wall of black smoke erupted from the ground to meet his strike. The sudden shield materialized out of thin air, completely blocking his path. Gray flinched, but quickly regained his footing and pressed the attack. He swung once. A second time. Then a third.

The dark wall trembled with every frantic slash, its edges beginning to fray into wisps. The recoil felt completely wrong. Instead of the harsh resistance of hitting glass or stone, it felt exactly like slashing into an extremely dense pillow. The blade sank in, slowing down until all momentum died. Suddenly, the solidified wall of vapor lost its rigid shape, shifting rapidly back into a swirling gas. The dark mist began to bubble.

Thick tendrils of shadow lashed out from the cloud like striking snakes, wrapping tightly around Gray's wrists and ankles. He thrashed frantically, kicking and pulling, but the bonds only constricted tighter against his skin. Gray's shadow clone stood with an outstretched hand, shooting a wispy trail of black vapor from its palm. The dark rope hit the asphalt and slithered rapidly across the pavement, merging seamlessly with the bindings holding Gray hostage. The tethers instantly snapped taut.

The pressure crushed Gray's limbs with more force than thick steel chains, locking him in place. Across the street, Jun saw his teammate get pinned. The archer reacted instantly. He primed a fresh bone spike and launched it directly at Gray's clone. The arrow flew true, slicing through the air. At the very last second, Gray's shadow double jerked out of the way as the ivory projectile screeched past its ear. But Jun didn't need to land the shot. The momentary distraction was enough.

Forced to shift its attention to evade the strike, the clone broke its focus. The magical connection severed, and the black bindings instantly dissolved into harmless vapor. Gray staggered backward, gasping for breath as his limbs were finally free. He needed to get the hell out of there, now. He spun on his heel, thrusting his hand out to summon a fresh plume of thick gray smoke in front of him. He threw himself into the fog, using it as cover to scramble back toward his teammates.

"Get inside the club!" Jun screamed over the whistling of enemy projectiles. The party fell back, bursting through the double doors to take cover in the dim, strobe-lit lobby. Gray was the last one inside. He collapsed onto his hands and knees against the floor, his chest heaving as he gasped for air. When he finally caught his breath and looked up, three furious glares were locked directly onto him.

"Why did you lie about your class?!" Ariel shouted, marching forward and jabbing an accusing finger toward his face.

"Stop, Ariel." Jun held out a steadying palm. He kept his back to the wall, peering through the doors with his massive bone bow drawn taut.

"This isn't the time to be yelling at each other. But you're right—he shouldn't have lied to us."

"Explain the full capabilities of your mastery skill and the ability you gained from the shard to me right now." Jun's voice dropped to a low register.

"The truth this time." Gray swallowed hard, setting his pride aside.

"The truth is, my mastery skill lets me manipulate the shape of clouds as well."

"As for my new ability…" he trailed off, his gaze falling to the floor, "the System withheld it from me."

"What? Withheld?!" Jun barked, losing his cool.

"Don't give me that bullshit! Why do you insist on keeping it a secret?! The reward for completing the first level is an ability shard. Everyone gets one!"

"I… I don't know what to tell you, man. The crystal literally shattered in my hand," Gray stammered, offering a helpless, defensive shrug. Jun's face twisted in pure rage. He looked ready to shoot an arrow right into Gray's chest, but he caught himself at the last second. Closing his eyes, he released the tension in his rigid shoulders and exhaled a long, measured breath.

"Fine. Keep your secret. We'll reset and think of a new strategy." He turned back to watch the street.

"Based on the brief blows we've traded so far, Kofi and I are far superior to our respective clones. Eventually, we'll wear them down if we maintain our distance and rely on long-range attacks. Gray, I need you to use your cloud manipulation to create those solid smoke walls like your clone did. Shield us as much as possible."

"I can't," Gray interrupted.

"What do you mean by'can't'?!" Jun growled, spinning back around.

"My clone can do all those things, but I can't. I can only shoot out a basic puff of fog."

"Apparently, it's a difficult skill to master, and I'm assuming the System's creations can bypass that entirely." Jun let out a long, annoyed sigh. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he visibly forced himself to calm down. He walked over and rested a heavy hand on Gray's slumped shoulder.

"You know what? We're fine. It just means you'll have to work a lot harder to make up for your obvious shortcomings." Jun forced an unconvincing smile.

"Your role as a frontline combatant remains the same. But this time, be extremely wary of whatever your copy shapes its smoke into. It seems like it's able to do shape it into anything, so I can't really tell you what to look out for ahead of time." Jun heavily emphasized the word, a subtle hint of jealousy lacing his tone. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"Notice how your clone swapped out its daggers for a heavy longsword?" Jun continued, pointing a finger toward the street.

"A large weapon like that will become a massive hindrance if you can force it into close quarters. Use that to your advantage. Once you close the gap and slip past its guard, use your short blades to deliver a lethal strike." Kofi stepped up and offered a reassuring pat on Gray's other shoulder.

"Don't be so down on yourself. Just focus on surviving the duel with your copy. Our real teamwork is far superior to whatever basic programming those clones have. Hold the line, and the second we handle our copies, we'll come right to your aid." All the reassuring words went in one ear and out the other. Gray wanted to run. How was he supposed to fight against the optimized version of himself? For a fleeting second, he genuinely considered abandoning the party and sprinting for the safe zone.

But the irony stung his pride. Yes, Gray was self-centered and a coward. But he refused to be so shameless that he'd leave his new teammates to fight a monster he created. Not when a guy his own age was willing to lead the charge despite all the glaring disadvantages. Still, what Gray felt toward Jun wasn't respect. It was more of a deep, bitter sense of inferiority.

"I'll handle that ugly piece of shit," Gray spat.

"You three focus on your fight." He didn't wait for a response. He pushed through the club doors and sprinted straight into an adjacent alleyway. His plan was simple: circle through the back alleys and sandwich them between himself and his party. Behind him, the battle erupted. The sounds of shattering glass, whistling bone, and cracking concrete echoed down the main street. The mages traded explosive shards, while the healers desperately mended the glancing blows.

Through it all, Gray's pitch-black clone didn't move an inch. It simply stood in the middle of the road, its featureless face turned toward the alley, patiently waiting for its human counterpart to emerge. Out on the street, Jun and his dark double simultaneously activated their defensive abilities. Thick cages of ivory ribcage armor sprouted from their chests, interlocking securely over their clothes. Yet, throughout the frantic crossfire, Jun wasn't hit a single time.

His Archer Mastery passive enhanced his eyesight and reflexes, allowing him to weave through the deadly barrage with an unnatural, practiced grace. His clone possessed the exact same passive buff, but it utilized the advantage like a sloppy imitation. The shadow dodged the worst of the incoming attacks, but it still took grazing hits, entirely lacking Jun's rhythm. The System's "perfect" clones could flawlessly copy your class and abilities, but they couldn't replicate their raw, human battle sense.

"Anytime now, Gray!" Kofi shouted. Realizing his wide flanking maneuver was taking far too long, Gray abandoned the plan. He cut sharply through a narrow gap between two brick buildings and emerged back onto the main street. He appeared right on the enemies side, instantly locking eyes with his twin. The shadow party momentarily snapped their hollow gazes toward the new threat, but within seconds, they returned their focus to Jun and Kofi's suppressive fire—except for Gray's clone. The shadow raised an open palm.

It launched a whip of condensed, solid black smoke directly at Gray's ankles. Not again. Instead of diving out of the way, Gray planted his feet, and snatched the hurtling smoke whip right out of the air. Gripping it tightly with both hands, he yanked with all his might. The clone's weight violently shifted and it stumbled forward. Realizing it was about to be dragged in, the shadow instantly cut the magic, letting the tether dissolve into a burst of vapor.

Recovering its footing, the clone eased into its next sequence. The air above its shoulders churned violently. Swirling black smoke rapidly compressed, solidifying into three massive needles. They weren't the thin, precise ones Nabi used back in the first level. These projectiles were thick, roughly the girth of mature oak logs, tapering down to razor-sharp points. The massive spikes hovered above the caster, gently bobbing in the air as they awaited the command to fire. Gray wasn't about to make it easy.

He thrust his own palm forward, channeling his mana. A dense, gray fog erupted from his skin, rapidly rolling across the asphalt to engulf both him and the clone in a smokescreen. Taking advantage of his perfect visibility within the cloud, Gray drew his daggers and charged. But after just three strides, the gray mist surrounding him began to churn furiously. A realization hit Gray. If he had the ability to manipulate clouds, so did his copy. And right now, the clone was hijacking his own spell.

The shadow forced the vapor into a rapid funnel. A miniature vortex took shape, attempting to trap Gray in the center of the localized tornado. However, the sheer density of Gray's smoke resisted the foreign command. The tornado struggled to maintain its tight structure, wobbling violently before eventually blowing apart and dissipating back into the air. Once the smoke was clear the shadow whipped its hand forward, firing the first ballistic smoke bolt. It tore through the air with a deep thrum.

Gray twisted his torso. He barely avoided the lethal impalement, but the hardened edge of the smoke spike grazed his ribs. It sheared through his new shirt and sliced into his skin. Wincing, his hand grew slick with warm blood as he clutched his side, pressing hard against the wound to stem the bleeding. Before he could even draw a breath, the clone launched the second projectile. But he was ready this time.

Having just witnessed the first missile's speed and trajectory, his eyes tracked the blur of the black vapor perfectly. He dropped his weight, ducking low. The massive bolt hurtled over his head and slammed into the concrete pavement, shattering into a cloud of black dust. Gray pushed off his back foot and surged toward the clone. He locked his gaze entirely on the third and final needle, determined to read its flight path.

If the clone pours all its focus into this last shot, banking on a fatal hit, it won't be prepared to block my counterattack. Gray had to capitalize on that split-second opening. Even if the needle gouged his leg, he was willing to eat the damage to land a killing blow. After all, he had five massive health potions stashed in his backpack. The final needle dipped low, skimming just inches above the cracked asphalt as it shot directly toward his shins.

As the heavy construct whistled through the air, Gray timed his stride perfectly and hopped right over it. He hit the ground running, continuing his desperate charge. Easy. He was just two steps away from plunging his daggers into the clone's face when a blaring red system notification hijacked his vision. Nimbus Robe has been destroyed.

"Destroyed?" Gray shouted, skidding to a halt. A cold breeze brushed the sweaty hairs on the back of his neck. He whirled around. His robe was no longer resting on his shoulders, and it hovered in the air right behind his head—a massive, jagged hole torn cleanly through its center. When he jumped over the final needle, the shadow hadn't just let it fly blindly into the distance. It had commanded the missile to adjust its course. The spike had made a sharp U-turn, rocketing silently toward the back of Gray's skull.

To save him from a gruesome death, the Nimbus Robe had ripped itself from his body, acting as a final, desperate shield. The one-time get-out-of-death-free ability, Nimbus Veil, was capable of blocking even a fatal blow from a Kaiser. But since it had already been consumed at the club, how did it manage to prevent the ballistic bolt from killing Gray?

What he hadn't realized was that after the robe expended the Nimbus Veil ability to parry the lethal blow from the goblin commander, its durability had only gone down by 20%. He had wasted the legendary Repair Anvil—which was capable of restoring any destroyed item to full—just to top off the robe's durability to 100%. It was a common noob trap most gamers fell into at least once.

Now, stripped of its protective Veil ability, the robe had been forced to sacrifice the entirety of its restored durability just to stop a single smoke missile. It had destroyed itself to save its owner. Gray stared blankly at the ruined cloth as it lost its magic and fluttered to the dirty pavement. His rage twisted into a hot fury. Gray whipped his head around, and locked eyes with his perfect copy.

"I'm going to kill you," Gray snarled, gripping his daggers tightly.

"You ugly little shit." He put on what remained of the robe and lunged at his target. Steel clashed against dense shadow. The clone reacted instantly, bringing up its black longsword to catch Gray's twin daggers in a tight cross-block. Gray didn't pull back. Instead, he leaned his entire body weight into the bind and violently wrenched his arms to the side. The clone's stance broke. Its arms lurched with the motion, and the longsword was ripped from its grip.

The weapon skidded across the asphalt, the black mana holding it together evaporating into thin air. Gray pivoted on his heel and swept his right dagger in a backhanded arc aimed straight at the shadow's throat. A thick barrier of translucent glass erupted from the ground. It cut off his swing path, and the steel blade bit hard into the sudden obstacle. A sharp chime rang out, and fine cracks splintered from the point of impact. Gray roared in frustration. He swung his twin blades relentlessly against the wall.

Every strike fractured the barrier further, painting the smooth glass with a rapidly spreading web of cracks. Safe behind the splintering shield, Gray's clone raised an empty hand to conjure a replacement sword. Black vapor swirled into a solid handle, and the crossguard began to take shape— Then, the half-formed weapon dissolved back into mist. A heavy bone arrow whistled across the battlefield. But it wasn't aimed at Kofi's shadow, or even Gray's. It was flying directly toward the enemy healer.

Gray's clone snapped its head toward the danger. Abandoning the formation of its weapon, the shadow threw up both hands, desperately trying to summon a wall of thick black smoke to intercept the projectile. It was a second too late. The ivory bolt tore clean through the wispy, half-formed mist and buried itself deep into the center of the shadow healer's chest. The dark copy clutched the wound, gurgling a thick, black fluid.

Its knees buckled, and it collapsed backward, dissolving mid-air into a puddle of black ink. The dark pool slithered rapidly across the pavement, retreating toward the real Ariel until it snapped seamlessly back onto her heels, becoming her normal shadow once again. Gray hadn't stopped his relentless barrage. Taking advantage of his clone's distraction, he delivered one final thrust. The glass barrier finally gave way, exploding and spraying a thousand glittering shards into the air.

Pushing right through, Gray stepped into the clone's guard and drove his dagger deep into its dark eye socket. The shadow recoiled with a piercing, unnatural shriek. Its hands flew up to clutch its ruined face as viscous black blood streamed through its fingers. But Gray's victory was cut short. Off to his right, the shadow glass mage snapped its wand toward him and fired a jagged shard. Gray jerked his head back, but the sharp glass sheared right through his cheek.

It ripped away several layers of skin, cutting so deep it nearly scraped the bone. Adrenaline completely nullified the burning pain, but it couldn't save him from the sudden, massive impact that struck the back of his head. The blue sky came into view as Gray was thrown backward. His spine slammed hard against the pavement, and his skull bounced off the asphalt with a crack. Before he could even shake the dizziness, something thick and fibrous was coiled tightly around his ankles. The smoke whip.

Gray gritted his teeth and scrambled upright, slashing wildly with his dagger to sever the restraint. A manic scream tore his attention away.

"KOFI! NO!" Ariel shrieked, her voice cracking in pure agony. Gray froze. Across the chaotic battlefield, Kofi laid motionless on the street. Ariel was knelt beside him, cradling his limp head in her lap while tears streamed down her face. A black bone arrow protruded directly from Kofi's skull.