"Bloodraven…?" Lydia whispered, disbelief cracking through her usually steady voice.

"There's no way that's an F-rank sword." she said again, her eyes narrowing at the black blade in my imposter's hand.

I coughed, the taste of iron flooding my mouth as blood slipped past my lips.

My throat burned, but I forced my voice out. "It was an F-rank sword." Slowly, shakily, I pushed myself to my feet, planting my heavy sword into the stone for balance.

My eyes locked on the other me, holding Bloodraven like it was born with it.

"Bloodraven isn't just any weapon," I said, my voice low. "It's user-specific. In anyone else's hand, it's just a normal katana. Average sharpness, average reach, nothing special."

I clenched my fist around my own hilt. "But in my hands… it's something else."

I could see Lydia's throat tighten as she swallowed. "So… what tier is it now?"

"S+," I replied instantly.

The blood drained from her face. Her eyes widened slightly, her breath catching. "…S+?" she echoed, almost as if hoping she misheard me.

Then her voice grew heavier, serious. "Doesn't that mean the sword… has attributes of its own?"

"Exactly." I raised my blade higher, the crimson aura licking faintly around its edge.

A blur of movement snapped in front of me. Daggar. Already flashing toward my chest.

I barely registered the imposter Lydia's arm before the strike was on me. Instinct screamed. I swung my blade upward, from low to high, steel meeting steel.

Her dagger exploded in a violent purple flare, intermediate aura, dense and sharp, clashing with my novice crimson glow.

"Kuek!" The pressure blasted through me, tearing the air from my lungs. My legs left the ground, the shockwave sending me flying again.

But instead of another bone-cracking slam into the wall, my back hit something firm… and soft.

Lydia.

The impact only lasted a split second before she let me down.

"Rune," she said from behind me, her voice steady despite the blood still clinging to her lips. "I'll take me. You take you."

I don't think that's the right grammar... but whatever works.

I nodded.

She was about to charge forward when I called out, "Commander Lydia."

She froze, turning back to me, her icy eyes catching the light.

"No matter what you do," I said, my voice sharper now, heavy with warning, "don't let Bloodraven cut you. Not even a scratch."

Her brows furrowed.

"If you so much as graze against it…Your fate will be sealed."

For a second, she looked thoughtful, the kind of calculating silence I'd seen from her countless times in battle.

But the imposters didn't give us the luxury of time.

Imposter Lydia blurred forward, faster than even my eyes could comfortably track. The whistle of steel cut the air.

Clang!

Lydia-A met her own doppelgänger, steel against steel. Purple aura flared, burning like violet fire.

I glanced at Rune-B. He hadn't moved. His grip on Bloodraven was steady, his posture perfect. Waiting.

Damn, he makes the same decisions as me… My jaw clenched. Of course he'd wait too.

The sound of metal grinding echoed as Lydia-A shoved off. Both women skidded back, one retreating toward me, the other pushed away across the stone.

"Rune," Lydia panted, sweat forming along her brow, "if that sword is that dangerous, it's better if you let me handle him. I can deal with a bunch of imposters myself!"

I scoffed, heat rising in my chest despite the ache in my ribs.

"No one knows Bloodraven better than me."

I felt like I was imitating someone… someone from my previous world.

But still, I meant it.

Before Lydia could speak, I turned toward her.

"Commander Lydia, be careful. As you already guessed, Lydia-B has the same stats as you. I'll take down Rune-B and then come help you."

A faint smile tugged at her lips. "What's with that naming? And that arrogance?"

Her eyes glinted, sharp and daring. "Let's see who finishes first and who helps who."

I smirked back and gave a short nod.

Lydia-A blurred into motion, her purple sparks crashing against Lydia-B's dagger. The ring of steel filled the chamber.

I turned, lifting my heavy sword, pointing it directly at the imposter standing across from me.

He began circling me slowly, step by step, as if studying me through my own eyes.

The air around Bloodraven shimmered, dense and heavy, like heat rising from a fire.

Then. Flash.

Crimson aura burst from his legs, and in a blink, he was before me.

My sword came up on instinct, steel catching steel. Crimson against crimson, my heavy blade straining against the weight of Bloodraven's downward strike.

The ground cracked beneath my feet. If not for its sealed S-rank attributes, this blunt sword would've shattered already.

I gritted my teeth, sliding my blade along the length of his in a perfect parry. Sparks erupted, flames dancing where our steel clashed.

Bloodraven hit the ground with a violent crack, shattering stone and leaving a crater beneath it.

The impact blasted me airborne, my chest jolting as my ribs screamed.

He was already moving. His palm aimed at me midair, aura flaring dark.

"Oh, shit! Darkbeam!" My mind shouted before my body did.

I whipped my heavy sword up, crimson aura flooding its edge just in time.

The beam slammed against me, the darkness dispersing in a violent burst of red.

The clash sent me rocketing downward, my feet carving long scars into the ground as I skidded back.

"Ughh…" Pain shot through my limbs.

My instincts flared hot. Without thinking, I drove my sword sideways. Metal clashing again as Bloodraven was caught right between his ribs and my blade.

He's on me already.

He shoved forward with monstrous strength, pushing my sword back and snapping Bloodraven toward my face.

My eyes widened. I jerked my head aside just in time, the blade cutting nothing but air beside my cheek.

Clink!

He spun Bloodraven sideways in a fluid motion, the edge now angled for my neck.

I ducked low, the slash hissing past, close enough to cut strands of my hair.

My leg swept out on instinct, hooking into his ankles.

Got you!

His balance snapped. He toppled, face-first toward the ground.

But he drove his hands down, bouncing on them, and twisted into a half-flip, landing gracefully on his feet.

His shirt lifted in the motion, flashing his torso before settling again.

I didn't give him a second to reset. My foot drove hard into his stomach.

"Phhk!"

His body folded around my kick, face bulging, blood exploding from his mouth.

It splattered across me, hot and thick, painting the center of my leather shirt crimson.

He flew back, hitting the ground with a heavy crack, rolling across the stone before skidding to a halt.

I steadied myself, chest rising and falling like a drumbeat.

"Hey, Nexar… isn't he a bit weak to be my imposter?"

[These copies are created in vitro. The genes they used are from the boss of this dungeon, Mirrormaw.]

"Tsk…" My tongue clicked against my teeth.

That damned oversized lizard. Memories of that fight slammed into me. The way even Tugnier had struggled when Mirrormaw imitated his master's aura.

[Its genes contain the information of the skill to imitate aura and stats of the target.]

I grimaced. "So they killed the boss too, huh?"

[Yes. Seems like the system user used the same method we did to defeat Mirrormaw.]

The memory sharpened in my mind.

Back then, me and Tugnier had hidden until Mirrormaw's skill reset. I stepped out as bait, letting it copy my weak novice aura. Tugnier had killed it next instant.

A smile tugged at my lips despite the blood running down my chin. "So.. this imposter.. he can't copy the techniques and the aura mastery, I've built up over a century in my past life, can he?"

[Correct. He has your stats, combat force, and the same novice aura output as you. But not your experience.]

I tightened my grip on the hilt, eyes narrowing at the imposter as he slowly got back to his feet.

My smile widened as I watched the imposter stagger back to his feet.

He swayed, panting hard, sweat dripping down the side of his face. His chest heaved like he had just run a marathon.

"Hey, Nexar," I muttered in my head, eyes locked on him. "Doesn't this just mean… he's nothing more than a novice aura user?"

My gaze flicked to the sword in his hand. Bloodraven. Its chain still floated in the air, swaying like a serpent, but it didn't curl around his arm, didn't respond to him the way it should.

That made my grin stretch wide enough to bare my teeth.

[Yeah. With that weak novice aura output and circleless magic, Bloodraven is just a highly sharpened blade with some unique attributes in his hands. He can't fuse himself with it. Still… don't get cocky. One cut from it is enough to doom you.]

I smirked.

He was just some delivery guy delivering me my sword with a bit of unnecessary drama.

A laugh escaped my throat as I blurred forward, crimson aura flaring from my legs. The imposter's eyes widened too late.

I appeared before him.

My sword came down in a brutal arc, crimson light streaking behind it like a falling comet.

The chamber shook as steel slammed against steel. Sparks exploded around us, the clash lighting up the dim walls.

Bloodraven screamed against my heavy blade, but this time, I didn't let up.

The weight of my strike crushed down on him, rattling through his arms and shoulders. His knees buckled. His legs shook violently.

He dropped, forced down to one knee under the pressure.

"Give me that fucking sword."

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