I've seen some people who were quite annoyed by the last chapter. Yes, it was quite a strange chapter since it seemed that the protagonist killed those people for no reason.
But believe me, they were bad people in my mind when I wrote them. I should have made those people attack the protagonist to make that clear.
The chapter was very strange and I apologize (there's no way to edit it now that everyone has read it)
From now on, the protagonist won't kill people randomly (even though in my view it wasn't random)
Enjoy the chapter. I'll start releasing longer chapters soon.
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POV: Zane
After leaving the dungeon, I received a few system notifications.
[ EXP +1000 ]
[ EXP +1000 ]
[ EXP +1000 ]
[ EXP +1000 ]
My eyes widened, but I didn't react in any exaggerated way. I left the tower and returned to the inn. I left my clones farming in the dungeon—after all, the more experience I gain, the better.
As soon as I got back to the inn, I sat on the bed and took a deep breath.
"Did I make the right choice?" I looked at the system messages showing that I had gained 4,000 experience points. I also received notifications that I had leveled up three times. "They killed them..." I felt very guilty and nervous.
There's no turning back now.
This could become a huge problem. "Those guys were up to something, so I got rid of them before they could cause trouble for others." That's a good excuse, right?
Although I'm not sure they were bad people. I may have ended the lives of innocent people just because I felt uncomfortable.
I should think again before killing someone. I shouldn't play with people's lives. "... Let's not think about them now."
But honestly, I expected to get more experience—or maybe even skills.
If I had a skill that could steal other skills, that would be amazing.
"My clones must be really strong now. If I leveled up three times, they've probably leveled up at least six. I'm so jealous."
I let myself fall onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
"I need to leave this inn and hide somewhere. I need to find a house for myself. I don't want to bring trouble to the innkeeper." I sighed and decided to go look for a place to "hide."
I searched for a real estate agent and spent the whole day checking out rental houses, since I didn't have enough money to buy one.
After a lot of searching, I found a house near the entertainment district—but not inside it. It was a small house with just a living room, kitchen, one bathroom, and two bedrooms. Just enough for me.
The rent was also pretty cheap.
After signing a contract with a fake name, I was ready to move in.
I spoke to the innkeeper, and she seemed pretty sad that I was leaving.
Fortunately, the house was already furnished, so I didn't have to worry about buying furniture. I stored my clothes and items in my inventory and moved in the same night. I had one last meal at the inn before saying goodbye.
Once in my new home, I threw myself onto the living room couch and smiled up at the ceiling.
[ EXP +30 ]
[ EXP +30 ]
[ EXP +30 ]
[ EXP +30 ]
"They're going all out."
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A few days passed since I moved in. During that time, I kept a low profile, rarely leaving the house. I only went out a few times and confirmed that the death of those adventurers didn't cause much of a stir.
However, what did become a hot topic was the appearance of two masked adventurers who spent all day inside the dungeon. People kept talking about it since no one knew who they were.
No one knew which Familia they belonged to—if they even belonged to one. They were mysterious men.
"I'm almost leveling up again, and when I do, I'll be able to increase the rank of my cloning skill."
Name: Zane
Level: 16 (EXP: 1280/1600)
Rank: F
Clones: 2/2
Strength: 21
Endurance: 20
Agility: 20
Dexterity: 20
Magic: 20
Points: 49
Skills:
Thrust LV1
"My stats are already pretty high. I don't know how strong I am by this world's standards, but I must be decently strong for a beginner." Since my statuses only go up by 1 point when I level up, 1 status point must be worth a lot!
I wish I had something to compare with.
"Am I already at the level of a level 2 adventurer? I doubt it." I got up and made something to eat while system notifications kept popping up. My experience gain had skyrocketed.
And during all these days, I hadn't checked what level my clones had reached. They must be really strong by now.
I finished cooking and sat down to eat when I got another system notification—I leveled up again!
[ You have reached Level 17! ]
[ +5 Points ]
[ All stats +1 ]
I finally had enough points to upgrade my cloning skill!
I stayed calm and finished my meal.
Then I opened my status screen and went to the skill catalog to increase its rank.
As soon as I upgraded the skill, system messages popped up:
[ You have upgraded the skill "Clones" to Rank E! ]
[ New skill acquired: "NeuroLink" ]
[ New skill acquired: "Shared Experience" ]
When I saw I had received two new skills, I checked my status to see if they were actually added. To my surprise, they didn't appear below "Thrust LV1" like I expected.
Instead, the two new skills appeared right below the clone numbers indicator.
"NeuroLink" and "Shared Experience" — two very interesting skills.
[ NeuroLink ]
[ The user can communicate with his clones even from a distance and temporarily take control of a clone's body. The skill will evolve as its rank increases. ]
[ Shared Experience ]
[ All combat experience gained by clones will automatically be transferred to the user. ]
"What the hell? The second skill is ridiculously OP. With several clones fighting 24/7, I'm going to gain tons of combat experience! I'll receive years' worth of experience in just a few days!"
Since I don't know how to fight, this skill is insanely useful.
Now I feel like visiting the dungeon.
But first...
'Chen?' I called out to Chen in my mind.
[ Yes, master? ]
'So you really can hear me.'
[ Yes, I can. ]
'How are things going over there? What floor are you on?'
[ I'm on the seventh floor, but things are way too easy here. Still, I require your presence. ]
'Did something happen?'
[ I need to evolve, and for that, I need you. ]
'Evolve?'
[ That's right. I've reached the maximum level, so I need you now. Zen is on the floor above—on the sixth. He's waiting for you too. ]
'Alright. I want both of you to come up to the first floor and meet me there.'
[ Yes! ]
[ Yes! ]
I heard two voices identical to mine in my head. Creepy.
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Read more chapters on my patr eon: patr eon.com/ZhangYe
Next chapters: CChapter 14 - I'm being threatened. / Chapter 15 - Freya Familia. You can evolve. / Chapter 16 - Creator's Mask.