Chương 131: Chapter 123-Chosen [Clone]

With a thwip of my magical quill, I finish writing my second letter. Surprisingly, this is… maybe the fifth letter I've ever written in my life. I haven't really lived the letter-writing life, but I think I did fan-fucking-tastic. Of course, I'm not an objective observer, but… Why does that matter?

"It matters for a wide variety of reasons. For example, when writing a letter to someone of nobility, it is in your best interest not to call them 'dude' or 'dragon lady'," Yellow chimes in.

"I did not write that," I [Lie].

"Why even [Lie]? I watched you write it!" he says in disbelief.

"Are you sure? Maybe being dead really messes with your senses. Have you ever considered that?" I ask as I [Throw] the pink envelope out the window. The moment it leaves the building, a hawk snatches it out of the air and disappears.

"Stop getting sucked into his flow, Yellow. You should know by now that he's the type to do what he wants," Black says with a sigh. The pink gem in The Chosen Blade glows slightly.

"That might be true, but that doesn't mean we should give up at the slightest hiccup. For example, CJ, before you send that next letter… Maybe you should consider rewriting it to be a bit more… polite?" Pink says, unsure of herself. Twirling the purple envelope, I think back on what I wrote.

"It should be fine. I didn't swear or anything like that. Plus, we're friends anyway. What's a bit of rudeness between friends?"

"Let him send it. Not like anybody is going to be able to read his handwriting anyway. Where did you learn to write anyway?" Yellow asks. With a flick of my wrist, I [Throw] the purple envelope out the window.

"Kat, Doug, and Pete. They taught me how to write. Well, taught is a rough word for it. They showed me how to forge. Watch this." Outside the window, a purple hand snatches the envelope out of the air and then disappears. Paying it no mind, I effortlessly write something in Penelope's handwriting. Speaking of her, she writes very neatly and with a lot of loops, kind of like her drills.

"If you know how to write like this… Why is your handwriting so terrible?" Black asks.

"It's not that bad. Look perfectly legible. At the very least, my Professors can read it," I retort.

"Vashrin, they're more than likely being respectful. There is no way they can actually read that," Yellow says matter-of-factly.

"Rude." Hopper hops through the window.

"Hey, CJ. Doing anything important?"

"Not anymore. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you could help me with a [Skill]. Also, are you writing in code?" he asks as he looks at the parchment.

"Told you," Yellow says with an annoying tone. Ignoring Yellow, I get up from the chair and put my arm around Hopper's shoulder.

"So, what can I help you with?" Hopper puts his hand out, and from it another Hopper made from ice appears. This is the [Skill] he got from the Chosen Dungeon and the one we used to trick the Wrathborn. I didn't get a good look at it before, but here in the training fields, you can see even the smallest details of the ice.

"Okay, so what exactly is the problem again?" I ask as I admire the [Skill].

"I don't really know what to do with it. I mean, it costs me 20 MP to use, and it's sort of obvious that it isn't me," Hopper says as he gestures to the icy skin.

"I see. I know you can move it, but what kind of control do you have? Can he fire a bow?" I ask as I [Throw] a training bow at it. The bow hits the chest of Frozen Hopper and then flops to the ground. Frozen Hopper, aka Fropper, sadly tries to catch the bow seconds after it has already fallen. He then bends over and picks up the bow.

"It doesn't have the fastest reflexes when I'm not directly controlling it. As you can see," Hopper explains.

"Yup. How fast is he when you're connected?"

"I'll show you," he says as he closes his eyes. Suddenly, Fropper does a backflip followed by a rapid fire of the bow. As Fropper runs around the training field, I gently push the focusing Hopper. Fropper suddenly jerks towards us as Hopper opens his eyes in surprise.

"Interesting. Your ability to focus sucks."

"Well, excuse me, CJ. I wasn't expecting you to shove me," he says with annoyance as Fropper slowly jogs back. Stolen story; please report.

"How hardy is he?" I ask as I grab a training sword.

"It's surprisingly tough. In fact, I-" With a simple swing, I hit Fropper across the head. Without even a semblance of emotion, he turns and stares at me. Not even a crack. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm actually fairly strong, and he didn't even budge. It felt like I was hitting a brick wall.

"As it stands, the only reason I would use [Clone] is for ambushes and recon, but I was hoping there would be another application. So, do you have any ideas?" Hopper asks.

"A couple. Can you quickly stand behind Fropper?" I ask as I reach for a pebble. Hopper stands behind Ice Hopper.

"Now what? Wait, Fropper?" Without warning, I [Throw] the pebble straight for Hopper's head. Instinctively, he tries to dodge, but something peculiar happens. Fropper quickly shifts into the path of the pebble, blocking the attack with his body.

"Now, that's what I call speed. Nice one, Fropper," I say with a whistle. Hopper looks at me in confusion.

"What happened?"

"You did. For the briefest of moments, you connected with Fropper and conveyed the order of 'not getting hit'. He naturally obeyed and blocked the attack in the simplest way he could," I explain.

"But I wasn't actively trying to connect," he says in confusion.

"That's the point. Fropper's a [Clone], not some machine you control directly. You should think of him as a fellow comrade who you can work in tandem with. Here, let's try something," I say as I grab a suit of armor and place it in front of a target.

"So, what are we doing?" he asks as I hand Fropper a bow and arrow.

"Simple. I want you to try to hit that target. Don't think about anything other than hitting the target," I say as I pat Fropper on the shoulder.

"There's a suit of armor-""Don't think about anything other than hitting the target," I repeat.

"But-""Hit the target," I say with annoyance. Hopper shakes his head as he draws his bow. The moment the arrow leaves his bow, I can already tell that he's going to miss. I did place the armor right in front of the target after all, and there's nothing in the environment for Hopper to take advantage of, but this is where things should get interesting. Fropper draws his bow and fires without a second thought. His arrow bounces off Hopper's arrow, redirecting it straight into the target.

"Did that just happen?" Hopper asks in shock.

"Yup. Now all you have to do is work with Fropper here until your synergy is perfect. Shouldn't be too hard. He is your [Clone] after all. Now, if you'll excuse me. I have some sleep to get to," I say as I walk away.

"Thanks, CJ. Try not to sleep too much," Hopper says as he sets up some targets.

"Gods, Hopper, why would you curse me with even the thought of that?" As I leave the training fields, a familiar face crosses my vision. Axel? What's he doing loitering out here, and is he talking to himself? Hmm. Isn't that unsettling?

"Hypocrite," Yellow says something that I promptly ignore.

"Just say thank you and then go on with the rest of your day. Simple. Thank you. No, that was far too serious. Thanks. Gods, that was too casual. Thank you. Yeah, that one is the perfect mix between sincerity and casualness. Alright, I have this," Axel says to himself.

"I don't know. I think the second attempt was good enough," I say.

"Chosen One! Thank you!" he yells at me.

"You're welcome?" I ask in confusion.

"Sorry, didn't mean to yell. The daggers, I really appreciate them. They helped a lot during the Goblin Colony subjugation," he says a bit more calmly.

"No problem. The Leech Daggers were just something I was working on for myself. I thought you might need them, so don't worry about it," I [Lie].

"Still, I really appreciate it. I had been beating myself up because of how useless I felt when that Hobgoblin attacked my group. I couldn't even get close to it, and one of our classmates got hurt because of that. She's fine now, but if I were better, she wouldn't need to be," Axel says with a hint of sadness.

"Listen-""But now, I can be of use. I can get my blood to the enemy before they can even get close to my teammates. I won't ever mess up, now."

"Axel, your teammates are going to get hurt. No matter how strong you get, that's always a possibility," I explain.

"Not if I do everything right the first time. I can cover the entire field with this Leech Dagger. I can keep them safe from any attack. The only person who has to get hurt is me," he says with a manic look on his face.

"Axel! Even if you do everything correctly, even if you account for every possibility, there's always the chance that they'll get hurt. I'm not saying you shouldn't protect them. I'm saying that you should know when they can handle it themselves and when you need to step in. They're in the Advanced Class. Give them some credit," I say as I grab his shoulders.

"Yeah, of course. I'm sorry. I got a little carried away."

"Hey, that's okay. We all get a little carried away, but I need you to remember something very important."

"What's that?"

"If the three of you walk into a dangerous situation, your goal is for the three of you to walk out. That includes you. Do you understand?" I ask as I carefully read his face. Axel takes a deep breath.

"Yeah. Thanks, Chosen One."

"No problem. See, told you the second attempt was pretty good," I say with a smile. A small laugh escapes him.

"Guess so. Well, I'm going to go to my club. I'll see you in class," Axel says as he walks away. …He just [Lied] to me.

"Blood magic users are always volatile. I would keep an eye on him," Yellow warns. A blood red string appears out of Axel's chest and wraps around his neck loosely.

"Thanks, Yellow. I've seen that look before. I would rather not see the same outcome twice."