Ch 99
Seeing Emily reengage her ice doppelganger, Matt felt confident that she had her fight under control. He turned his attention to Rose, Zara, and Eleanor, all of whom appeared worse for wear, their expressions weary and clothes tattered. Determined to help, Matt swiftly moved between each of them for a few seconds—though brief, it was enough for each to gain slight advantages in their respective battles. He could almost sense them gaining more ground as his passive skills took effect, like an unseen force bolstering their resolve. Despite this, Matt knew that each of them faced challenging opponents ahead, so he quickly headed to assist Apricity, hoping to tip the scales in their favor.
Matt was grateful that her combat strategy had shifted toward a more measured approach as he pondered the best method to break the stalemate she was trapped in. He hesitated to call out to her, afraid that a single distraction might be enough for her to become completely overwhelmed by her opponent. Ultimately, Matt decided to take action, positioning himself directly in front of her ice doppelganger. This maneuver provided Apricity with the opportunity to launch a series of attacks. However, the key word was "attempts," as she remained hesitant to fully commit to her strikes, causing Matt to nearly shout at her in frustration. Instead, he opted for a calmer approach, speaking steadily while simultaneously battling his own doppelganger and preventing Apricity's from flanking him.
"You need to seize your opportunity and win your fight because I need to keep rotating to assist the others," he advised. "If you can maneuver behind your copy and wrap an arm around its neck while stabbing it in the back, you should secure a quick victory."
Apricity frowned and gave Matt a look that clearly showed she wasn’t convinced. Seeing this, Matt decided to take matters into his own hands. He moved behind Apricity and gently but firmly pushed her forward, prompting what he suspected was the first real clash of her fight. He kept a watchful eye, slipping back between them whenever he found the opportunity. Apricity shot him a death glare, but Matt merely shook his head, speaking in a no-nonsense tone. "Hate me if you want," he said, his voice steady, "but none of us can help you more directly than what I'm doing right now. You're not the only one I'm fighting to keep alive, either."
The hurt look Apricity gave him didn't faze him in the slightest as he moved with determination, ready to force them together once more. Just before he could act, Apricity lunged forward with surprising speed and managed to seize her doppelganger, wrapping her arm firmly around its waist. With a fierce resolve, she began stabbing relentlessly at its back. Meanwhile, Matt noticed that the doppelganger retaliated by stabbing Apricity in the side, turning the confrontation into a dire race to the finish. Despite the danger, Matt felt confident that Apricity was gaining the upper hand. With that assurance, he shifted his focus and began making his way over to assist in Greg's battle.
Observing the clash between Greg and his doppelganger was enough to make Matt pause as he contemplated the best course of action. Unlike the previous encounters, he sensed that jumping into the fray wasn't the wisest move. He had noticed a pattern: apart from receiving the initial blow, he only incurred more damage from the others' doppelgangers when he persisted in engaging with their attacks. It appeared that the doppelgangers were singularly focused on their designated opponents, deliberately avoiding any confrontation with others. With this understanding, Matt waited patiently until just after Greg's doppelganger launched its attack before stepping decisively in front of it, hoping to turn the tide.
Ignoring the fireballs that Greg started to curve around Matt and his doppelganger, as Greg's doppelganger attempted to find a clear line of attack, Matt kept moving strategically to disrupt that. This tense standoff continued for about 20 seconds, during which time Matt watched anxiously as his HP dipped below 100 points, feeling the strain of pushing his limits. Despite the pressure, there was a glimmer of hope as Apricity and Zara had successfully won their fights during that period and joined Bob and Yumiko as they regrouped and recovered. It was just after Zara's victory that Greg called out to Matt.
"Focus on the others; I have my fight well in hand now and will outlast them at the current rate," Greg declared confidently.
"Fine, but if you lose—" Matt began, only to be interrupted.
"I'm not going to lose before I build my harem and—" Greg started to boast.
"Never mind, feel free to stop breathing at any time," Matt interjected with a joking tone, trying to lighten the mood. "But seriously, don't die."
With that, Matt moved swiftly to give Elanor and Rose another brief opening before positioning himself between Emily and her doppelganger. This maneuver allowed Emily to finally defeat her counterpart after Matt shielded her for a solid 30 seconds. She then hurried over to join the others, although Matt instructed her not to use any healing skills until the battle was entirely finished. Meanwhile, Rose's fight had concluded, leaving only Greg, Eleanor, and Matt still engaged in the fray.
A part of Matt wanted to assist both Eleanor and Greg one more time, but he sensed that doing so would be pushing his luck a bit too far. So, he tuned everything else out and concentrated intensely on the uphill battle before him. To put it bluntly, he had inflicted minimal damage on his doppelganger and found himself with less than half of his health points remaining. Adding to the challenge, he couldn't be healed by Emily and had to avoid dealing critical damage, just like in their previous encounter. These facts made him realized he would need to take a few calculated risks to turn the tide in his favor.
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The initial risk saw Matt willingly step into an attack from his doppelganger, activating both his lucky reflection and the give back to your enemy ability. As he watched, 51 points of his HP dropped. However, his doppelganger suffered 102 points of damage once everything was said and done. Despite this, with 43 HP left and his doppelganger likely still having over 100 HP, the situation was far from balanced, and Matt knew he needed to inflict three points of damage for every one he sustained. While Matt felt that achieving this was possible, he doubted the encounter would end well. Determined, he moved forward with resolve and landed a solid, precise stab.
The moment his knife made contact, he felt a sharp pain in his side as 10 HP disappeared, and another HP was lost a moment later when he realized his doppelganger had mirrored his exact move. This made the situation even more precarious—at least it would have, had he not employed attack negation beforehand, allowing him to press forward and launch another strike at his doppelganger. This time, it used a lucky dodge, seamlessly transitioning into an attack on Matt that would likely be fatal if things continued as they were. Fortunately, they didn't, as Emily swiftly intervened, slipping between them and absorbing the attack. She let out a grunt, her eyes locking with Matt’s, conveying a clear message: losing was not an option.
He repaid this by delivering five swift attacks, each likely dealing one or two points of damage, but they added up over time. Still, with only a lucky dodge left to avoid an attack and his opponent possibly having attack negation remaining, Matt was feeling worried as his HP dropped into the low 30s. It was at this tense moment that Emily offered him some parting words.
"Its HP is at 140 right now. It's out of skills to avoid taking damage, but it can likely still send plenty back at you," she warned, her voice tinged with concern as she glanced at Matt's determined expression.
This realization made Matt understand that it had likely nullified the damage-over-time effect of "give back to your enemy." A part of Matt felt as though despair was his only remaining option, but he knew succumbing to it would result in his death. So, he quickly launched an attack while concentrating on dodging incoming strikes. He could feel his doppelganger using "give back to your enemy" on him four more times, causing his health to plummet to 22. Emily's voice rang out with a call of "120," emphasizing the vast difference in their conditions. Moments later, Bob appeared, absorbing an attack on Matt's behalf. Meanwhile, Matt managed to land a few minor blows, not yet ready to have his own attacks reflected back at him. As Bob retreated to tend to his injuries, Emily announced "115," and Apricity stepped in to take a hit for Matt, trying to give him just a little more leeway.
The battle raged on, with Matt managing to whittle his health down to just 13 HP while his doppelganger's health dropped to 75 HP. Despite this progress, Matt realized he was in a precarious position. At the current rate, he would be left with only 4 HP when his doppelganger's health reached 30 HP, and his opponent would still have 10 HP when Matt hit zero. Around this critical juncture in the fight, Greg finally emerged victorious in his own battle and joined the others, who were focused on catching their breath while occasionally stepping in to take a hit for Matt. This left only him and Eleanor in the fray, as her health was the highest, standing strong at 379 points. It was becoming increasingly evident that she was on track to victory, as Emily's updates confirmed.
A minute later, Eleanor's fight concluded as Matt reached 10 HP, while his doppelganger maintained 59 HP. This was a slight improvement for Matt, but it still left his doppelganger at 6 HP when he succumbed. The following minute proved even more dire; Matt's HP dropped to 5 while his doppelganger's HP fell to 33. This was due to two additional attacks being reflected back at him as damage over time effects, which, though they only dealt two points of damage each, were cumulatively significant. If not for the fact that Matt was recovering 84 HP per minute instead of his usual 19 HP, he was certain he would have been defeated already. This accelerated recovery kicked in as soon as his HP plummeted to 21. Matt understood that the same dynamic was at play for his doppelganger, who relentlessly attempted to land a decisive blow to finish Matt off.
Aware that if the situation persisted, he would likely witness the damage he was inflicting slow to a crawl once his doppelganger reached a similar threshold, Matt was preparing for a do-or-die attack. He understood the necessity of delivering a decisive blow that would eliminate his doppelganger before it could unleash what he suspected was its last charge of "giveback to your enemy" on him. Just 20 seconds later, with his health at a precarious 4 HP, his doppelganger dropped to 21 HP. In a crucial moment, Matt used his lucky dodge to evade an attack precisely as Eleanor was stepping in to absorb a hit on his behalf. Emerging from the dodge with precision and focus, he swiftly brought down both of his knives simultaneously on either side, exactly where the neck met the torso, hoping to end the battle once and for all.
For a moment, Matt thought his plan had succeeded. However, the sensation of a wound forming on his neck as he focused on critical recovery, which shifted it to his thigh, signaled that he was in trouble. His HP plummeted quickly, dropping to three and then two, as he managed to bring down his knives once more. Meanwhile, Eleanor intercepted the two daggers aimed at his back. As his HP fell to one, Matt felt his body growing heavy with fear that he had failed. Yet, relief washed over him as he witnessed the icy body of his doppelganger crumble into pieces a moment later, halting the transfer of the wound that had caused his HP to decrease by three in the battle's final moments.
Matt was on the brink of celebrating when he felt Eleanor slumping against him. Instinctively, he almost healed her, but he stopped himself, knowing that doing so would cost him his life. Hesitation gripped him as he glanced over at Emily, only to see that everyone was in dire condition. It was clear none of them could withstand another hit, and if he didn’t act quickly, a few might not stop their bleeding in time.
