I left the dungeon and immediately took control of Zoro's body, which was still inside. After taking over, I finally summoned a new clone and quickly began altering its appearance.
Since we're on the fourth floor, it won't take long for members of the Loki Familia to arrive.
"Yes, that's it. This is what he looked like. But I'll need to separate him from the group somehow… I guess I can use another clone for that." I chose to take on the appearance of the guy who seemed the weakest and dumbest.
Once the clone was ready, I told him to hide nearby and headed up to meet the Loki Familia group.
After a while, I finally found them. I spotted Finn from a distance and decided not to approach. Maybe he sensed my presence, but he didn't show it.
Minutes passed, and the Loki Familia finally encountered a few masked people.
When threatened, the masked ones removed their masks immediately. Most of them were just fools who thought it looked cool to wear one.
I thought the group would split up to search, but they were staying together.
Just as I was about to do something reckless, they finally split up on the fifth floor of the dungeon—probably where the murders took place.
They split into three groups.
Finn's group, which included Ais and a few other adventurers.
Another group made up of stronger adventurers.
And a third group led by a level four adventurer, with the rest (including the guy I copied) being level threes. Seeing this, I summoned the clone with the copied appearance.
Then, I began controlling his body.
Zoro was surprised again, as he suddenly found himself in a completely different place being stared down by a stranger. "It's me again. I'm going to infiltrate the main Loki Familia group. If I get found out, don't worry about it."
The worst that could happen is me getting killed. Even if that happens, it won't matter.
So, I passed by the third group and headed for Finn's group.
It took a moment to gather the courage to approach. Even though I wasn't in real danger, I still felt nervous.
Just as I approached the main group, someone noticed me. It was Bete. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be with the third group? What are you doing here?"
Hearing Bete's question, Finn turned around.
Even though I looked like the guy, I didn't know how he behaved. Hopefully, I won't draw attention.
Finn stared at me for a few seconds, then said, "Leave him be. It doesn't matter."
Then, with a serious look, he turned and continued walking.
Among Ais's group, I stayed silent and kept a serious expression.
Several minutes passed, and we reached a slightly wider passage. I saw bloodstains on the floor and walls of the dungeon. "This is where the murders happened."
"Why are we here? There shouldn't be any clues left."
"I just wanted to take a closer look," Finn said, then started searching seriously. Even after several minutes, he found nothing of value.
The others started searching too, and I joined them.
I pretended to look around, but my clones were the ones actually doing the searching.
Then, one of my clones contacted me.
[Master, they're attacking!]
It was Berserker's voice, and he sounded alarmed.
'Who?'
[The people you're looking for. I'm on the fourth floor. They're here. They're attacking a group of adventurers. What should I do?]
'Don't worry. I'll take over your body, okay?'
[Do as you wish, Master.]
I looked at Finn and Ais, who were together. Ais turned around and our eyes met. I smiled at her, and she frowned. Then, I switched into Berserker's body and left my clone with Finn's group.
####
As soon as I took over Berserker's body, I realized he wasn't as close to the fight as I thought. They were a few meters away. The Loki Familia group, led by a level four, was struggling.
Their attackers were four men. One of them was tall, resembling Berserker. The others were muscular but shorter. All of them wore black masks.
'Not my clones.' I smirked and kept watching.
Some members of the six-person group were already dead, including the one whose appearance I copied.
Only three remained: the level four leader and two level threes.
There wasn't much room to fight, but they were putting on a show. The level four swordsman from Loki Familia was moving at high speed, attacking the tall man who looked like Berserker. The two level threes looked terrified.
One had a spear, the other a sword—but they were too afraid to attack.
They knew the masked men were much stronger.
Still, they tried. But the masked trio was toying with them. The sound of clashing metal echoed as every strike was blocked.
After a while, the Loki Familia adventurers regrouped and talked briefly.
Then, they launched a coordinated attack!
The level four adventurer gave it his all, but it was no use. He focused on speed, darting around and launching quick strikes while his teammates tried to do some damage.
But the four masked men were still toying with them. 'Who are these guys? Why are they so strong? If I use Berserker's body, I'm screwed. I won't be able to help.'
Unless I summon all my clones and fight together.
'Or I could use my main body. I'm pretty strong now—confident enough to take them on.'
While I weighed my options, the masked men started getting bored.
I saw the tallest one's eyes "smile," and then he grabbed one of the level three adventurers by the neck.
Seeing a comrade about to die, the level four adventurer tried to intervene.
But before he could, the "giant" crushed the guy's neck, killing him like a bug. I froze for a moment. That guy was a level three adventurer.
Level three adventurers aren't weak.
Is that guy a level five? Six? Maybe even with my main body, I wouldn't be able to take him on.
Seeing another ally die, the level four from Loki Familia snapped and charged at the tall man. He lost control.
The tall man calmly stepped back, dodging everything like it was nothing.
Meanwhile, the last remaining level three adventurer was preparing to flee.
'Alright, that's enough.' I changed the appearance of the Berserker's body to one I'll never use again, stepped forward, and conjured fireballs around me. They weren't big or powerful, but flashy enough to get their attention.
I coldly stared at the three masked men.
The level three adventurer looked at me, terrified.
"Please, help me!" he shouted. "I'll back you up—just do something!"
He had no intention of helping. He just wanted to use my presence to escape.
"Just go already."
With the fireballs still orbiting me, I kept my eyes on the fight a few meters ahead. After being pressured for a while, the huge man finally fought back.
Barehanded, he started throwing punches at the level four swordsman.
He even blocked the sword with his fists.
Then I noticed he had guards on his wrists, using them to block the blade.
'This guy… Is he a pugilist?'
Then I sensed imminent danger.
I had been too focused on their fight.
One of the masked men closed in instantly and was ready to strike, but the fireballs shot toward him and exploded. I jumped back at the same time to gain distance.
"Shit. That hurt."
I noticed his arms and legs were burned.
The attack wasn't as weak as I thought. This fire magic could actually hurt them, even at level two.
I smiled at them and said:
"Goodbye."
I used the skill "Swap".
####
Read 7+ more chapters on my patr eon: patr eon.com/ZhangYe
Discount code for patr eon: B5B82
Next chapters: Chapter 32 - Sekhmet Familia? / Chapter 33 - That's a problem. / Chapter 34 - Nervousness, guilt, and disgust. / Chapter 35 - 32 clones. / Chapter 36 - New characters. Vergil.