[ Your clone has slain a blue ogre, +9000 EXP (+9000) ]

[ Your clone has slain a giant spider, +8300 EXP (+8300) ]

[ Level up ]

[ Level 33 ---- Level 34 ]

Notifications flashed in front of his vision as six of his clones zapped through the battlefield, slaying monsters after monsters, faster than even the stronger experts in the party.

The others had already noticed his clones.

At the moment, they were all gathered in the middle of the chaos, shielded by Davison's golem as they all watched Marlon's clones take care of the monsters with ease.

Even Dagon, who was usually dismissive of the young hunter, stared wide-eyed at the phenomenon taking place in front of him.

"T-this…" He stuttered, unable to believe what he had just seen.

The triplets had exhausted their aether points reserve. They were currently relaxing to recuperate, but they were also caught in the moment, observing everything speechlessly.

Under their gaze, one of Marlon's clones swung its body into the air, clenching its fist as it used all the aether points it could muster to activate Divine Punch.

Its fist glowed with blinding ethereal light that dulled the illuminations from the torches in the room.

BOOM!

Plunging the strike downward, it obliterated the massive spider into nothing but misty matter that vanished into nothingness.

Just like that, the last monster of the first wave was slain.

The six clones stood gallantly, their eyes fixed on Marlon, who currently wore a smile on his face.

Before he could commend his clones for a job well done, Clarissa approached him.

"What kind of ability is that?"

She asked, her eyes scanning the destruction left by the aftermath of battle.

"An awesome one."

Marlon responded with a smile.

Clarissa was speechless.

The others felt the same way.

None of them knew how to react to the current situation, and those who had shown malice to Marlon at the beginning began to regret their actions.

But Marlon was not bothered about their gaze on him at the moment as he used Inspect to check the stats of his clones.

[ Clone 1 ]

Health: 80%

Stamina: 25%

[ Clone 2 ]

Health: 92%

Stamina: 42%

It turned out he could only check their stamina and health, which was understandable since he already knew their abilities — they were his in the first place.

From his inspection, he also deducted that his clones would only be able to last the full twenty-four hours, as described in the skill description, if they did not exert themselves during that period.

Judging by the situation, since they had gone all out, their stamina had diminished.

And he understood what would happen when it fell down to 0%.

They would become weak and useless, but still alive.

While he was observing his clones, the same robotic voice announced:

[ You've cleared the first wave ]

[ Second wave would begin in 60 seconds ]

"Hmm. How many waves would there be in total?" Placing his hand on his chin, he pondered.

Of course, he expected no response.

Turning to the amazed onlookers, he told them what he had in mind.

"How about you guys leave this wave to me?"

He suggested.

Dagon wanted to speak. Naturally, he wanted to refute.

But he quickly kept his mouth shut. After personally observing the clones fighting, he realized why the acting president of the Hunter Association had suggested Marlon's addition to the raid.

Emma and Davison did not refuse either. If their boss was speechless, so were they.

As for the triplets—

"We want to fight."

They complained, clenching their fists like battle-hungry freaks.

Marlon turned to them.

"Hum, you can do so with the third wave," he suggested. "Regain your stamina and aether now and prepare yourselves for the next wave."

The triplets hesitated for some time but eventually agreed.

There was still about half a minute remaining, so he used the time to instruct Davison.

"You can use your golems to harvest the monsters."

That way, they would save more time.

Davison agreed.

Unknowingly, every one of them had agreed to Marlon's leadership.

"Great."

Marlon smiled.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps approached, louder than the first wave.

With Danger Sense scanning the area actively, he had already predicted the doorway this wave would be coming from.

"Station yourselves."

And so he stationed his clones close to the doorway.

A few seconds later, monsters far bigger and stronger than the ones from the first wave poured out one after another, quickly populating the entire hall and plunging the place into thunderous noise.

Marlon's clones resumed action right away.

This time, Marlon decided to join the fight, wanting to experiment with his new skill—Punch of Death—and other ones that had been upgraded.

Since he returned from the breakthrough trial, he had never gotten a chance to test them, so he did not let this opportunity pass by.

BOOM!

Grasping the sturdy legs of a 12-foot-tall spider and using it as a mere fling, Marlon hurled dozens of spiders away, sending them crashing into the wall.

The lucky ones died instantly on impact while the ones who survived were quickly vanquished by the clones.

"This feels great."

The strength boost was great.

Aside from his punch which was already deadly to all his opponents, his lifting strength was also unbelievable. Seeing how easily he could fling massive monsters, the others began to doubt if he was actually as weak as they once thought.

"Yo, what rank is the boss?" one of the triplets finally asked.

"He recently completed his breakthrough trial to D-rank," Clarissa responded without taking her eyes off him. "But this strength… it is far beyond what someone his level should possess."

The triplets exchanged puzzled looks before turning back to her and shouting together, "What!"

"You're telling me he is weaker than us and yet can fight like that?"

"Impossible."

"No wonder Boss Tinubu respected him so much."

"If he was born in the Deadlight District, all the powerful gangs would bow to him."

They continued talking.

Dagon found himself agreeing even though it pained him. Marlon did not feel human at all.

Time passed quickly and in less than twenty minutes, more than a hundred monster corpses lay on the ground.

Currently stepping on the head of a massive blue ogre, Marlon grinned.

"Is it just me or this second wave was way weaker?"

He said, stomping the ogre's head into meat paste before stepping down and strolling casually toward the others.

When he arrived in front of Dagon, he yawned.

"You guys will have to take care of the third wave alongside my clones. I feel bored already."

Once again, the leader of the raid was left speechless.

He is bored? Not even tired? What kind of human talks like that?

"You're not answering?" Marlon tilted his head.

"Ehh.. s-sorry... I mean do not worry, we will take care of the third wave while you relax," Dagon said, stumbling at first before regaining himself.

"Thank you."

Marlon smiled and walked past him, ignoring the strange looks from Emma and Davison.

"That was awesome," Chike said as he approached.

"Why did you have to be born with those people? Come stay in the Deadlight District where your power will not be restricted by stupid rules," Bola added.

"Dude, what kind of talent do you possess? There is someone in the southern part of the Deadlight District with an ability similar to yours but he is limited to one clone and it does not last one hour," Ramson said.

Marlon responded casually to the curious twins. For some reason he felt more inclined to speak with them than with the others. Of course, Clarissa was an exception since she was quietly observing him.

He flashed her a smile.

And as he looked at her, something clicked in his mind.

"Do you have any skills to increase the stamina of your target?" he asked.

While he had no limit when creating clones, his aether points were still a restriction. To maximize his clones completely, it would be better if he could use external means to increase their stamina so they could last longer.

And among everyone, Clarissa was the only one who might be able to help.

"I can increase stamina," she nodded. "But it takes a lot of time and I can only cast it on three targets at a time."

Marlon nodded.

He did not mind the slow pace as long as it meant his clones would last longer without tiring.

"I would appreciate it if you could use the skill on my clones." He pointed toward three clones standing still near the cleared doorway. "Those three need it the most."

Clarissa nodded quietly and then cast her enchantment. Blue light wrapped around the chosen clones.

Although slow and gradual, Marlon could see their stamina rising.

It was working.

But at the same time:

[ Third wave will appear in 120 seconds. Prepare ]

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