As soon as I stepped onto the first floor of the dungeon, I encountered a few monsters and dealt with them. Then I made my way to the second floor. On the second floor, I undid my clones and summoned them back.
I wanted to take a look at both of their statuses.
[Chen] - LV21
Strength: 34
Endurance: 30
Agility: 31
Dexterity: 30
Magic: 24
The first clone, now named Chen, had improved significantly. He leveled up quite a bit, and his strength had already surpassed 30. He's way stronger than me now! Oh, and his magic stat has increased a lot too. That's a sign I should learn a magic skill.
My clones probably can use any skill I acquire.
"I need to buy a skill to test this out. Alright, now you. Come closer, Zen."
"Yes, Master."
"I've told you not to call me 'Master'. It gives me chills."
"Sorry."
"It's fine."
The aura around Zen had changed quite a bit. He looked like a seasoned adventurer now, despite only hunting for a single night. 'They must've caused quite a stir on the second floor. I wonder what the adventurers who saw them thought.'
There are probably already rumors about my clones. If those rumors spread, they might reach the ears of the Gods. I don't want that kind of trouble right now.
"If things go south, I can use my clones as decoys and lay low for a while."
Alright, let's check Zen's status.
[Zen] - LV11
Strength: 21
Endurance: 19
Agility: 22
Dexterity: 18
Magic: 14
As expected, even at level 11, his stats were already high. His potential is clearly greater than Chen's. I smiled at Zen, and he smiled back, which made me feel slightly uneasy.
"Zen, Chen."
""?""
They both looked at me, waiting for my instructions.
"I want you two to explore the dungeon on your own from now on. I won't be taking any more risks for the time being."
"No problem. We'll do that," Chen replied. Being the "older" one, he saw himself as the leader. They're starting to gain some awareness.
"But first, I'm going to buy a skill. What kind of ability do you think would be useful? Something to help you wield your swords better? Or maybe a magic skill?"
The two clones looked at each other like excited kids, eyes sparkling.
"Magic! We want to use magic!" they both answered at the same time.
"A swordsmanship skill doesn't interest you? You've been using swords from the beginning."
"We want magic!" the clones insisted.
I sighed and looked at them. After a few seconds of thought, I opened the skill catalog and began searching for basic magical abilities.
'Wait a second… there's a skill called Mana Control. I need to buy that to be able to use magic? This is starting to feel like an RPG… Hmmm… It costs 10 points.'
I have 19 points left, and I need 50 points to upgrade my cloning skill to rank E. That's a lot, but since my clones will be diving deeper into the dungeon, my experience gain will increase.
That means I'll earn more points as I level up faster.
However, the deeper they go, the more dangerous it gets, and they'll need skills to handle those threats.
"Sorry, but I'm not spending points on magic skills just yet. How about a sword skill? There are a few interesting ones here."
Circular Slash
Parry
Thrust
Counterattack
"These are all useful, and each one costs five points. What do you think?"
The clones didn't protest, but they were clearly disappointed.
"Alright, how about this one called Thrust?"
[A simple and direct sword strike focused on speed.]
A good skill to deal damage. Simple and effective. It seems like the best choice right now.
"Hmm… The skill can level up, so it can become pretty strong."
I decided to buy it. Since both clones use swords, it's perfect.
Then, system notifications flooded my vision:
[You have acquired the skill "Thrust LV1"]
[Clone "Chen" has received the skill "Thrust LV1"]
[Clone "Zen" has received the skill "Thrust LV1"]
The skill I bought was instantly transferred to both clones.
I opened my status screen and saw that the skill had also been added to my status.
"Perfect. You can go now. Stick to the plan. And don't forget to use the new skill to level it up."
I didn't need to spend points to level up my skills.
The more I use a skill, the more it levels up. The same goes for the clones. "The system didn't say what the max level is, but I bet it's 10."
Chen and Zen started to walk away, but before they disappeared, I called out to them again.
"Don't stick too close to each other. I don't want to cause confusion. I'll prepare a disguise for you two. You need to stay hidden until I get the ability to change your appearance."
"Got it!" they replied like soldiers and ran off in opposite directions.
I sighed and got ready to leave the dungeon.
But before I did, I decided to test the skill once.
"Thrust… How do I use it? Do I just think about it?"
I gripped my sword and took a combat stance, ready to strike. I imagined an enemy in front of me and activated the skill. For a moment, my mind went blank, and my body moved on its own.
It was a fast movement—so fast it shocked me.
A powerful thrust that even created a gust of wind, scattering dust around.
"Isn't this a bit too strong for a level 1 skill?" I looked at my sword in doubt, then got ready to leave the dungeon.
Meanwhile, notifications started coming in.
My clones had started their work!
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Next chapters: Chapter 11 - Masks. / Chapter 12 - Shock. Fear. Despair. / Chapter 13 - NeuroLink. Shared experience. / Chapter 14 - I'm being threatened.