“It’s a doppelganger… or something like it. I’ve had to deal with these things before in another dungeon. It has an independent will, but it possesses every skill that you have.”
“You… really do have a lot of experience with dungeons… don’t you?”
“Yeah, well I’ve found something new every day,” I responded wryly.
Although I didn’t have access to my dungeon points in this dungeon, I wasn’t helpless either. Power in the soul world was passed on the power of the soul. In short, because my soul was a yin-yang soul, I wasn’t helpless. I could pull from two jobs, and my status seemed to still be boosted. Although Alysia was at a higher level than me, I was confident I could defeat this clone. We were evenly matched when we had fought each other on the beach. I had come a long way since then. However, that would involve going all out against her, and I had my doubts.
“Why are you hesitating?” Alysia asked.
“Just because it looks like a doppelganger, what if it’s connected to your soul? If I destroy it, what if I hurt you?”
“I already thought I lost you once, I don’t want to risk it again.”
“I stole your soul, Deek. I helped the demon lord. Why do you want to protect me?”
What else could I say? We had sex and I felt a connection? This was just the person who I was. I gave my heart out easily. Even after coming to another world, that aspect of my personality had never changed. I still felt attachment and connection to everyone I loved.
I tried to pull away again, but suddenly my sword yanked my arm, and I met the blade that Alysia was using.
I tried to pull away, but as soon as I did the sword jerked again. I had to drop and roll to avoid the sword from striking me.
“You’ll get hurt!” She said in alarm.
“I wouldn’t if you’d stop pulling!”
“Look, this is the trial. If we’re doing it, there has to be a reason, so do it!”
My sword started to slash out wildly. “Stop it!”
It turned out I was fighting Alysia on two fronts. It wasn’t just the Alysia doppelganger, but also the sword Alysia. Both of them seemed to want to fight, and I was the one trying to resist. This doppelganger wasn’t like the one in Widow’s Dungeon. It didn’t seem to have a personality. Rather, it just came at me like a robot, ignoring my spastic and strange movements.
“This is part of the trial.” The guide from earlier suddenly appeared from a safe distance and began speaking. “Your sword may resist this. You must control it, force it to do this. It’s part of the refining process. Oops, I said too much.”
She disappeared as quickly as she appeared, but she left me much to think about. She had said that this was part of the refining process. The sword wasn’t a reward… I was making a sword? That would be that this entire dungeon was a giant soul forge, intended to turn a human soul into a dungeon! However, she had completely misunderstood my spastic movements. Normally, I supposed a sword, realizing it was attacking itself, would resist. I was having the opposite problem. My sword was trying to kill itself!