As the doppelgänger flew away, Adam leisurely sat on the ground and reviewed his fight. Despite his confidence in defeating anyone of the same tier, the evil ghost's proficiency in melee combat astounded him. With the same speed and strength, he could do so much more than him.
'But again, I'm a mage. I use melee combat only when I'm forced to or to save mana,' he thought, a bitter aftertaste filling his mouth. He wanted to improve his close combat skills, but without a body or opponent in the dream place, how could he? After all, swinging his sword in empty air would yield minimal results and consume too much time he didn't have.
"This one was an exception. I won't face anyone as strong in melee in a magic world, right?" He muttered, comforting himself. The body cultivator's absolute limit was fixed at the third tier, and they wouldn't copy his spells like the ghost.
Reassured by his analysis, he patiently waited, focusing on recovering mana as his cape slowly reformed behind him.
Simultaneously, the doppelgänger halted his flight a dozen meters behind Adam, peering hatefully through the mist. "Enjoy the little time I'm granting you." He said, reverting to his formless state before his frame squirmed to take Julius' appearance.
A mocking light flashed through his eyes as he stared at his arm. 'What a fool. We wouldn't be so feared if a simple, hidden mark could differentiate us from the originals,' he sneered inwardly, revealing the cross.
Then, with weary steps, he emulated Julius' mannerisms and slowly returned to Adam's location.
After two minutes, he shouted with a radiant smile, "Big, bro! I defeated him! I told you I could beat myself."
Then, he continued his gradual approach, watching Adam rise to his feet. When only three meters separated them, his adversary suddenly spoke.
"Show me your right arm," Adam said, causing him to smirk inwardly.
"Oh. Sorry, I forgot about that," he replied, removing the bandages and revealing the cross with glowing eyes. Then, he added, "See? I really beat him. Are you proud?"
"Hahaha. Well done, kid!" Adam laughed, raising his thumb before adding. "Let's fetch Morgane and continue to the guardian. We'll need her help to defeat it."
He nodded, advising, "You should walk before me. I'll need a few minutes to recover from the damage my legs sustained."
With a shrug, Adam took the lead, retracing their steps to the Banshee. However, the fake Julius gradually approached him from behind, his blade in hand.
'It's been years since I didn't relish in the pleasure of fooling idiots. Die, infuriating child!' He screamed inwardly, raising his hand to impale Adam from behind.
However, his face swiftly paled as white and dark light attracted his attention from above. In a split second, he raised his head to see where they came from, only to hear alarming words.
"When you saw Julius, he undoubtedly had a cross drawn on his arm. But I asked him to wipe it after beating your friend," Adam innocently said as the mage's hand clutching his Luminous Wildblade penetrated the doppelgänger's skull, leaving him with no time to react.
"How does it feel to take someone else for a fool, only to realise you were the biggest?" Adam said, smirking as a radiant light engulfed the boy's copy.
However, his adversary gathered his remaining strength to spit his last words hatefully. "Your fool plays won't save you against the guardian. I'll await you in hell to take my revenge."
"Wait forever, then. I won't die before a really long time." He answered, his smile broadening on his face. As long as he obtained his body, he was assured of living for half a millennium thanks to Elena's legacy.
As the light from the explosion dissipated, and proud of his well-executed plan, he sat back to wait for Julius. He knew the boy was coming his way since he felt no tugging during his walk.
Five minutes later, the boy emerged from the mist with a radiant smile, shouting, "Big, bro! I defeated him! I told you I could beat myself!"
"Hahaha. You really said the same thing," Adam answered, laughing before asking him to show his arm.
"Look! It's really me. So, are you proud?" Julius said, revealing his markless right arm.
"I'm. Well done following my plan and defeating your opponent." Adam answered with a relieved smile. Everything fell into his prediction range, but his adversary's strength.
Curious about his brother's fight, he asked, "Did you really infuriate him enough to make him try to backstab you?"
"You should have seen his face when he realised," Adam answered, shocking the boy.
"But your plan has a glaring weakness!" he exclaimed, remembering he was asked to remove the cross only if he beat his doppelgänger. Then, he added, "What would you have done if I lost?"
"Pfft." Adam stifled a laugh at the urgent remark and said matter-of-factly, his smile reaching his ears. "Because I trained you. You can't lose in a duel."
Confusion danced in Julius' eyes as he asked, unconvinced, "Heee? Since when can't I lose?"
However, Adam shook his head, not offering a verbal answer. He didn't want him to slack after hearing the truth.
'In truth, the strongest person in his tier is not me. It's you, boy,' he thought with a sigh. Who would have thought? Yet, Julius' capability to analyse his foes' moves in a second and predict them was truly horrifying. And he was the one who trained the boy to do that, not expecting he would surpass him in such a short time.
Smiling softly and ignoring Julius' confusion, he said, "Let's see how Morgane handles the Banshee. I'm afraid she'll end up devoured if we take too long to return."
Upon remembering how the ghost seemed to hate Morgane, an icy shiver ran down the boy's spine. With a nod, he raced to their location, unaware Adam redirected his attention.
After traversing the thick mist at top speed for five minutes, his eyes widened in shock at the scene unfolding.