Ch 98

  Working under the theory that each obstacle had specific rules associated with it, Greg successfully guided them through several more challenges with little difficulty. He began to describe the dungeon by comparing it to a platformer video game, even suggesting that the first obstacle existed to demonstrate the consequences of breaking those rules. However, this didn't mean they were free from monster attacks. When Greg instructed them to test the limits of staying in one place for an extended period, they were ambushed by creatures lurking in the shadows. From their observations, they deduced that 25 minutes was the maximum time they could remain stationary without using Apricity’s skill to find a safe path forward.

  This limitation on their rest time was beginning to create issues as exhaustion grew within their ranks. Greg attributed it all to a cunning ploy, ensuring that the dungeon increased in difficulty with every passing second. He emphasized the physical demands each obstacle posed, the relentless chill that sapped their energy, and the constant fear of another attack stemming from their initial encounter. From his description, it seemed the dungeon was deliberately designed to watch them falter, causing them to fail an obstacle that could result in death, or to strike when they were exhausted and easily overwhelmed. The oppressive atmosphere weighed heavily on them, amplifying their fatigue and heightening their sense of impending doom.

  In response to these concerns, Greg began having Matt heal everyone after every fight or obstacle, regardless of whether they were injured. His theory was that Matt might be able to prevent muscle fatigue and ensure they only needed to worry about mental fatigue. However, none of them were entirely sure how effective this strategy was. What made it particularly difficult to gauge the results was that they had always maintained a pace they felt was safe, so they had nothing to compare their current tiredness to, without the influence of the iteration dungeon. Despite this uncertainty, when Apricity announced that her skill was available for use again, they all realized they had crossed a time threshold they had never reached before.

  "Just how long can this dungeon be?" Zara asked, frustration evident in her voice. "Aren't these things supposed to have some balance to them?"

  "Who knows," Emily replied with a shrug. "This isn't one of my books or Greg's games; it's our reality, and we all know that life isn't fair."

  "I think we just need to use Apricity's skill and get a quick nap in," Rose suggested thoughtfully. "Even if we aren't sure if it will stay active while she sleeps."

  "My gut says it's a bad idea," Matt warned, shaking his head. "I'd hazard a guess that sleeping is against the rules since we haven't found a safe room."

  "Matt is right," Greg agreed, nodding in concurrence. "We need to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and find our way to the end."

  "What if there is no end?" Eleanor questioned, her brow furrowing with concern. "I mean, what if the path forward is just there to distract us from finding the real answer? Rules are in place for a reason, so tell me, why would there be a rule about staying in place too long if doing so didn't offer some benefit?"

  This caused everyone to pause as they looked around the dimly lit cave. The nondescript, ice-covered walls that encircled them suddenly felt as if they were concealing a secret. Yet, none of them could quite identify what it was. Even when Emily spoke after a few minutes of silence, they remained without answers.

  "Why don’t we try going back the way we came?" she suggested, her voice echoing softly.

  "That could be worth trying," agreed Greg, nodding thoughtfully. "But how far back are we going to go?"

  "Let’s just return to the starting point of the last obstacle," proposed Apricity. "It was simple enough that I think redoing it wouldn’t be too hard."

  "That would still mean using up more of our energy," Zara pointed out, her brow furrowed with concern. "Still, at least we would be doing something."

  "Let’s just start moving backwards and see what happens," Matt stated decisively, his determination clear.

  With that, they all began to move backward, and they hadn’t even gone 50 feet when they turned a corner and found themselves once more at the frozen doors through which they had entered. Instantly, they were on high alert, recalling their first battle against ice copies of themselves. Sure enough, just like at the start, they were confronted with ice doppelgangers. Despite their fatigue, they swiftly reverted to the strategy of dealing with Bob’s duplicate, but the moment Bob’s copy was defeated, another one materialized. It was then that Greg called out to the group.

  “Spread out and stay far away from each other’s fights. I think we all have to defeat our own doppelganger without assistance.”

  “That is ridiculous,” shouted Eleanor in frustration. “Our biggest strength is teamwork. For all we know, there is just a set number of times each copy will reform.”

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  “Fine, let’s defeat Bob’s five more times then,” replied Greg, in an annoyed tone. “But I want everyone except Matt to spread out and focus on your one-on-one fight!”

  Thankfully, Bob was more than happy to let Matt assist him in tossing his copy, but after five attempts of helping Bob while maintaining some distance from his own copy, the result was unchanged. So, when for the seventh time his ice copy reformed, Bob was quick to leap onto it and began attacking it wildly with everything he had. Meanwhile, Bob’s copy wasn’t just sitting idly as it was assaulted; no, it was fiercely attempting to strike back. Had it not been for the head start that Bob had, he would likely have been the one to lose. However, with only 7 HP remaining, his copy was finally destroyed and didn’t reform. Though all Bob felt like doing was lying down, he focused his remaining stamina on closing the wounds that were still open, his breath heavy and labored from the exertion.

  A dozen feet away from Bob, Apricity found herself maneuvering around her icy doppelganger, both engaging in cautious, exploratory strikes. It appeared that neither was eager to launch an attack that might leave them vulnerable to a counter. Apricity attributed this hesitation to her own cautious nature, bolstered by her fourth choice, which she deemed a wise addition to her strategy. With her build focused largely on pathfinding, she possessed few combat skills, with the block she acquired at the outset being her sole defensive maneuver. Consequently, her duplicate lacked any combat skills as well, resulting in their encounter being the most subdued of all the battles taking place nearby.

  If Apricity's battle was the gentlest, Greg's was undoubtedly the most dazzling as he and his doppelganger unleashed a relentless barrage of spells. Greg couldn't afford to concentrate solely on Magma, despite his opponent being composed of ice and seemingly limited to ice spells. This was due to a persistent suspicion that, while ice was a blend of water and air for him, it might not be the same for his duplicate. Thus, if the confrontation devolved into a contest of whose mana pool would deplete first, he was certain to lose. With that thought in mind, Greg carefully positioned himself so that no one stood behind him as he switched to using earth magic for defense and fire magic for offense. Although this required him to cast two spells for every one his doppelganger cast, it still exerted less strain on his mana reserves. He was also exceedingly strategic in his attacks, aiming to minimize the impact on his mana pool.

  Meanwhile, Emily found her own situation quite stressful as she and her ice doppelganger stood locked in a stalemate. Neither could break through the other’s defenses, which posed a significant problem for Emily. She couldn’t afford to divert her attention to heal anyone because the moment she did, an attack would strike. Nonetheless, Emily persisted, fully aware that even if her companions couldn’t assist one another, a single heal from her could drastically tip the odds in their favor. She paid particular attention to Apricity, knowing that her health was the lowest, aside from Bob, who had swiftly won his fight.

  If you were to observe the fights of Rose, Zara, or Eleanor, you would witness a similar scene, albeit with varying styles and levels of skill. Each of them was engaged in intense melee combat, exchanging blow for blow, block for block, and dodge for dodge. At a quick glance, it seemed as though the outcome of each match could be decided by the flip of a coin. This uncertainty stirred an unsettling feeling in Matt's gut as he snuck glances at them during his own struggle. His mind raced, attempting to devise a strategy to exploit any loophole in the seemingly straightforward rule prohibiting assistance.

  Finally, there was the fight between Yumiko and her doppelg?nger, where she decided to close the distance and remove their bows from the equation. This decision stemmed from the fact that her arrows were simply inferior to those her copy possessed, and there was no telling if her copy had a limited supply or not. Among all those in the party, Yumiko had the most to complain about when it came to being ill-equipped to showcase her full potential, yet she was the one who voiced her frustrations the least. Instead, she made the best of her situation, often rushing forward to act as a distraction and create openings for others in battles. Still, of all the fights, Matt observed hers as faring the worst; it was evident that her copy was significantly more skilled at wielding an ice knife than Yumiko was at using her stone one.

  Absorbing all this information, Matt began formulating a plan. He assessed his abilities and realized that he needed to take a bold risk, or Yumiko would be in grave danger. Determined, he ignored his own ice doppelganger and charged forward, positioning himself between Yumiko and her doppelg?nger. With a deep breath, he gave Yumiko a reassuring wink and said, "I'll be the shield you need, just finish it quickly."

  Without even pausing to thank him, Yumiko swiftly transitioned to attacking, while Matt continued to obstruct her clone from attacking, doing nothing but engaging in combat with his own duplicate. This led to his HP depleting much faster than he would have liked. However, Yumiko seemed unstoppable, as her attacks consistently hit their mark. Just ten seconds after rushing in to assist, she managed to destroy her clone. Despite this, the time was sufficient for Matt to find himself at a significant disadvantage, but he was relying on his lucky charity skill to bridge the gap. Simultaneously, he sensed his luck-related skills—Stand and Lucky Aid, as well as Hand Up and Give of Yourself—working to tip the balance in his favor. With this feeling of optimism, he shifted his focus to Emily's battle.

  This time, he found himself being struck by a staff made of ice for his troubles, yet it seemed to cause no damage to him at all. Nonetheless, Emily was all smiles as she swiftly launched her attack while Matt fended off his opponent, which seemed easier than it had been before. The more he contemplated, the more Matt felt like his skills were merging in a way that favored him when he took actions that benefited others at his own expense. Still, it took Emily a full 20 seconds to finish her fight, and the instant she did, sending a healing spell Matt's way, her doppelganger reformed right before their eyes. The feeling this evoked in the entire party was best summed up by the expletive Emily shouted upon witnessing this.

  “Fuck!”

  There were still plenty of questions that arose from this situation, but Matt quietly found solace in the fact that it was Emily who had tested using an active skill to assist others. Simultaneously, Matt felt like he understood the loophole that was going to allow them to win. At least everyone but him, as he envisioned his own body taking a real beating before the end.