“Th-those people…?”

“Why… why am I over there?”

Lumina and Meiling’s voices trembled in confusion.

“Yein, is that the boss?” Seo Yui asked.

“Yes. That’s the Doll’s House boss—the Doppelgänger,” I answered, sliding a fire orb into my sling.

“It copies whoever enters its chamber. Their abilities are the same as ours, but each floor limits them. Right now, those fakes are only level 10.”

Through Lens of Lavzahi, I checked the stats of our duplicates. Their clothes and gear matched ours exactly, but their levels were locked at 10. Attack and defense were only on par with an ordinary level-10 boss monster. Even my duplicate only had Craftsman at level 1, despite my real skill being level 8.

“So don’t hesitate—just kill them. The trickiest will be fake Lumina since it can use Stealth, but if Meiling casts her Dark Domain, it won’t last a second…”

I trailed off.

All three of them were staring at me like I was some kind of villain.

“…They’re just monsters wearing our faces,” I said weakly.

That was when I heard footsteps pounding behind me. The fakes had started their charge.

Fake Seo Yui led the attack, with fake Lumina right behind. Fake Meiling was casting, and fake Nam Yein lagged at the rear, running slower than the rest.

Annoyance flared in me.

Before anyone else could react, I fired my readied fire orb at fake Seo Yui.

Whoosh!

“Gaaah!”

Fake Seo Yui went up in flames, collapsing before it could reach us.

Fake Lumina flickered out of sight—Stealth.

“Tch…”

I quickly launched two more orbs. One struck fake Meiling mid-cast, the other smashed into fake Nam Yein. Both went down screaming, consumed by fire.

“…Ahh,” Lumina breathed behind me, her voice heavy with unease.

Turning back, I saw Meiling staring at the burning ground, her face complicated.

“Meiling.”

“…”

“Meiling!”

“W-what? What is it!”

“Activate Dark Domain. Fake Lumina doesn’t have the Ezonyll’s Teaching necklace. Once your domain touches it, it’ll die instantly.”

Her black-field ability could sweep out Stealthed enemies without fail. But Meiling froze, her eyes wide.

“You… y-you want me to kill Lumina?!”

“Get a grip.”

I pointed to the real Lumina beside me.

“She’s right here. Are you so clueless you can’t tell your friend from a monster?”

I deliberately sharpened my words. Meiling’s, Lumina’s, and even Seo Yui’s faces all stiffened at my harsh tone.

“If you’re so easily rattled you put your real teammates in danger, then maybe you don’t deserve to be a hunter.”

“…!”

Meiling glared at me, then raised her staff with a scowl and closed her eyes.

The monochrome world of the Dark Domain began to spread around us.

Within seconds, a strangled cry came from the shadows.

“Ghkk…!”

Fake Lumina stumbled into sight, clutching its throat, then collapsed.

The moment Meiling’s eyes opened and saw it writhing, her face wavered. Her Dark Domain rippled, reflecting her emotions.

I kept silent, meeting her gaze.

Grinding her teeth, Meiling shut her eyes again and let the domain smother the fake completely. The impostor dissolved into ash.

“It’s done. We win.”

At my words, the monochrome world faded.

Meiling lowered her staff and clicked her tongue sharply.

“I hate this dungeon. Never want to come back.”

Lumina and Seo Yui both nodded in quiet agreement.

“Then let’s use a different strategy starting from the second floor,” I said.

“…There’s another way?” Meiling narrowed her eyes, like asking why I hadn’t mentioned that sooner.

“There is. But it depends on Lumina’s ability.”

“Eh…? Me?” Lumina blinked wide, startled.

Independent Dungeon: Doll’s House, 2F.

Lumina stood on the landing of the mirrored manor, tense and sweating. Behind her shimmered the portal she’d just stepped through.

It’ll be fine. Yein said it’ll be fine. Yein said it’ll be fine…

A bead of cold sweat slid down her cheek and darkened the rug beneath her feet. If anyone else had been watching, they might have thought the ceiling was leaking—because Lumina herself was invisible.

Suddenly, a huge freestanding mirror materialized in the center of the hall.

Lumina froze. Even cloaked in Stealth, she instinctively tried to suppress her presence further, her breath locking in her chest.

The hall went utterly silent.

Unlike the first floor, the mirror emitted no glow, no movement at all.

Doppelgängers sense a hunter’s presence to copy them, Yein had told her. If they can’t detect you, they can’t replicate you. That means with Stealth, you can kill it before it even starts.

He was right!

She exhaled slowly, then crept around behind the mirror, daggers poised in both hands—the twin blades Yein had given her that morning.

She drew in one last breath and plunged them into the back of the mirror.

Thud!

Her eyes widened. It looked like glass, but the sensation through her blades was flesh—monster’s flesh.

Two long gashes slashed across the surface, and the mirror crumbled into ash.

[…]

The landing was silent.

Meiling, Seo Yui, and I stood staring at the boss portal, holding our breaths. It had been three minutes since Lumina went in.

If my plan worked, she’d be back any second.

Then—legs stepped through.

“Ah! Lumina!” Meiling shouted.

She emerged, her face lit with relief.

“It worked, didn’t it?” I asked.

“Mm-hm!” She nodded, smiling brightly.

“You were right, Yein. The Doppelgänger didn’t do a thing—it just stood there.”

“Incredible… defeating a boss like that,” Seo Yui said. Her usual sleepy eyes didn’t show it, but her voice carried a note of wonder.

“But even if we can clear the 2nd and 3rd floors like this, won’t the 4th be a problem?” Meiling asked, frowning.

“From the 4th floor, the monsters’ levels go up again. That means the Doppelgängers get stronger too. If Lumina can’t finish it in one blow, she’ll be forced to fight her own duplicate, right?”

A fair question.

“That’s nothing to worry about,” I said calmly. “If the Doppelgänger fails to copy a hunter, it’s pathetically weak. And besides…”

I pointed at the daggers in Lumina’s hands.

“I’ve tailored her equipment with this in mind. She will kill in one strike.”

“…What kind of preparation?” Meiling folded her arms, skeptical.

I studied her for a moment.

“…Are you that worried about Lumina?”

“Wh-what!?”

“Meiling…” Lumina looked at her with wide, moved eyes. Her pale face flushed crimson in an instant.

“F-fine! I am worried, so what!?”

‘Wait, she admitted it just like that?’

Her answer actually caught me off guard.

“Then hurry up and explain already!” she snapped. “What did you do?”

“Simple,” I replied. “Every piece of Lumina’s gear boosts base damage and multiplies critical damage. The output is monstrous.”

Meiling narrowed her eyes. “And how much is that multiplier?”

“Five hundred percent.”

“…What?”

“Eh?” Lumina blinked.

“Yein, what did you just say?” Even Seo Yui’s sleepy expression sharpened.

“Her damage output’s also doubled compared to standard weapons,” I added.

“Ridiculous!” Meiling shouted. “Even rare-grade equipment doesn’t have specs like that!”

Seo Yui cut in. “Normally, effects that outrageous come with crippling drawbacks, don’t they?”

I nodded. “Correct, senior.”

“Eh? Really? But I don’t feel any drawbacks at all…” Lumina looked herself over, confused.

“Right now, your critical rate is negative,” I told her.

Her eyes flew wide.

“Every weapon and armor piece you’re wearing has the enchant Rookie Gambler. It boosts base and crit damage, but lowers crit rate by 20% each. You’ve got it on both daggers, your armor, gloves, and two rings. That’s -120% total.”

“So it should be impossible for her to crit at all!” Meiling barked.

“Not quite.”

Everyone turned to Seo Yui. She adjusted her shield and said evenly, “Lumina’s Stealth Strike always crits, regardless of her gear’s crit rate. That’s what you planned around, isn’t it?”

“Correct,” I confirmed.

Lumina’s ability, Stealth, guaranteed a critical hit from the shadows. Her gear was trash for normal hunting, but with Stealth Strike, it became the ultimate assassination set.

“Then let’s move on to the 3rd floor,” I said. “The goal is the 4th-floor Doppelgänger, so speed matters.”

I stepped through the boss portal, where the deeper portal should now await.

From there, our task became pure repetition.

We searched for the cross-shaped keyholes, cleared the rooms, gathered the fragments, completed the painting, and let Lumina destroy the Doppelgänger before it could copy anyone.

Only on the 4th floor did we stick together, since the regular monsters ranged from level 30 to 45. With higher danger, it was best to cover each other.

But the boss? Lumina handled it alone.

At first, a full run from floor 1 to 4 took about 40 minutes. With practice, we cut that down to under 20.

On our twelfth run, it happened.

Lumina came back through the portal from the 4th-floor boss, her face blazing with excitement.

“Guys! Senior Yui! I—I…”

“What is it, Lumina?” Meiling asked, startled.

“Calm down and tell us,” Seo Yui added, steady as ever.

“My ability leveled up!”

“What!?”

“Really?”

The two flanking her stared in shock.

“Congratulations, Lumina.” I smiled.

As planned.

Leveling her Stealth ability had been one of today’s main goals.

To raise it, she needed the killing blow on a sub-boss or boss at least ten levels above her own. The Doppelgänger, unable to copy, was perfect prey.

“What changed when it leveled up?” Meiling pressed.

“Uh… it feels like my senses got sharper. Like I can spot weak points more easily. And I think… I know how to make wounds more lasting, somehow…”

“What’s with the vague answer!” Meiling groaned.

“B-but that’s really how it feels…”

I chuckled softly. So ability growth was perceived like that, huh.

The specifics were clearer: Stealth now boosted crit damage even higher—about +111% per level, so roughly 777% now. And her mention of “lasting wounds” meant her strikes had gained a chance to inflict status ailments—30% at level 2, if I remembered right.

We’ll be leaning on her more than ever. Next, I’ll need a plan for her future growth path.

After the brief commotion, we resumed boss runs.

On the seventeenth cycle, it finally dropped.

“Yein! This—isn’t this it!?” Lumina burst from the portal, clutching something.

I grinned wide.

“Yeah. That’s the demonic artifact that can help Jodie.”

In her hands gleamed a mirror, glowing faintly red—the mark of a unique item.

(End of Chapter)

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