The first character that came to mind besides Frieren was Serie. Short stature, long golden hair, and golden eyes. Pointed ears, very characteristic of elves—and there, it was done.
The only thing I didn't copy was her clothing.
I created regular clothes—fairly masculine—but in a smaller size.
Once I finished, I looked at myself in the mirror.
"She's a simple character, but beautiful." Now that I had a suitable appearance, I figured I could return to Orario. This time, the body of Clone 16 would be my main body.
From now on, everything I do will be using his body. For that reason, I need to significantly boost his strength. His body needs to go through the second evolution soon, so I can have at least some confidence.
I reached out to all the clones.
'My original body is now in a distant village. I've hidden it among the locals, and it will continue to live here. From now on, I'll be using the body of Clone 16 as my original body. Remember that.'
Some clones responded positively, while others asked who Clone 16 was.
But I didn't even bother answering.
I transferred my consciousness to Clone 16, who was in the dungeon, on the 12th floor, alone.
Then, I opened his status window.
[ Clone 16 ] - LV14
Class Two Clone
Strength: 598
Endurance: 478
Agility: 491
Dexterity: 545
Magic: 508
Skills:
Thrust LV10
Fragmented Clones LV10
Mana Control
Fire Magic LV8
Ice Control LV7
Gravity Magic LV7
Auto-Recovery
Weapon Proficiency
Combat Instinct
Advanced Focus
"His stats are great, considering each point equals ten. He's really strong—probably stronger than a level four adventurer."
In fact, 90% of my clones are already stronger than level four adventurers. My "Familia" is quite powerful. Speaking of which, I wonder if anyone has discovered the emblem I placed on the clones' arms?
Now that I think about it, the same thing might happen again...
People might start copying the emblem to pretend they're part of our "Familia."
But since the emblem's pattern is a bit hard to replicate, I think it'll be fine.
"I said I'd 'announce' the existence of my Familia once my original body was outside of Orario, but how should I do that?"
Hmmm...
Once this body goes through the next evolution, I'll contact the Freya Familia or the Loki Familia.
The only interaction we've had so far wasn't very friendly. I want to speak with both of goddesses directly. I'm curious to know what they think of me—and what they really plan to do about me.
I'm sure it'll be fun.
'Hmmm…' I looked around, and everything was covered in an annoying mist, just as I thought. But thanks to the [Advanced Focus] skill, I could concentrate and sense the presence of nearby monsters.
Not just monsters. I can even detect traps.
Just a few meters ahead, there was an ambush.
What's that? A group of Imps?
I let out a sigh and raised my hand. Fireballs formed and shot toward the Imps. The mist partially cleared, and the Imps were hit directly.
Explosions erupted, and system messages appeared.
[ You've reached Level 15 ]
[ Your stats have increased randomly ]
Every time I level up in a clone's body, these messages appear. I wonder if the clones can see them too. So I decided to ask them.
Apparently, they can see the messages and their own status, which is how they know when it's time to evolve.
Interesting.
####
I advanced through the 12th floor, easily killing all the monsters I encountered. Imps, Orcs, Silverbacks, Hard Armored, Bad Bats. The only monster I didn't run into was an Infant Dragon—one I'd really like to fight.
I've already killed a Minotaur before, but an Infant Dragon interests me far more because of Bell's fight against one.
By the time I reached the passage to the 13th floor, I had already reached level 17.
"Clones really level up a lot faster." I smiled and stepped onto the 13th floor.
But the moment I did, I felt something was wrong. I immediately went on alert!
A chill ran down my spine, and I felt a massive sense of danger.
With a serious expression, I started running. I entered the 13th floor and continued to run, glancing behind me every few seconds. "What the hell is this? What is this feeling?"
'Is it a monster? No... it doesn't feel like it.'
I stopped and looked around. All I could see were stone walls and several branching paths, like a maze. But I still felt like I was being watched. 'Where?' I looked in every direction, trying to find someone.
But in the end, I saw no one.
"Who is it? Are you from the Freya Familia or the Loki Familia?"
I'm almost certain it's an adventurer watching me. And if it is, they're definitely from either Freya's or Loki's Familia. Those are the only two Familias bothered enough to start hunting me down.
But whoever—or whatever—it was, they didn't answer. They didn't reveal themselves.
The presence and that unsettling feeling completely vanished.
"What the hell was that?"
After that, I became certain: I need to get much stronger. The person watching me... I didn't even feel this level of threat when I faced Ottar. This one is stronger than Ottar.
But isn't Ottar supposed to be the strongest adventurer?
Am I wrong?
Are there adventurers stronger than him?
"What if it wasn't an adventurer… but a God?"
But if I remember correctly, Gods aren't allowed to kill humans directly—or they'd face severe consequences.
'Maybe they were just observing me and didn't intend to attack? But how do they know I'm using this body?'
I contacted the other clones currently in the dungeon and asked if they had sensed anything unusual.
In the end, none of them felt a thing. Only I did.
'Looks like whoever was watching me knows that I'm the original…'
That's troubling.
I'm not afraid of dying since I'm using a clone's body, but every time a clone gets reset, it bothers me. Even though evolution is fast, it still really irritates me.
It would be nice if the clones didn't reset when they died.
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