(A humanoid demon… this is bound to be a prickly adversary…)
Tyler trained his aim on the silhouette figure’s shoulder, prepared to let his arrow fly as soon as the darkness dissipated to reveal the true form.
Considering today’s foresight of the deathly damage-sharing ability, Tyler decided against initiating an attack on the enemy’s head or heart.
However, when the darkness faded away, and the true form of the “demon” was revealed, Tyler was taken aback and couldn’t release his arrow.
(You must be joking…)
(How could it be this cliché “overcome oneself” trope?)
The humanoid demon beneath the shadow bore an uncanny resemblance to Tyler.
Not only were their appearances identical, but even their attire, weapon, defense gear, and equipment they carried were perfectly replicated.
Not believing his eyes, Tyler promptly inspected the enemy’s basic and status information.
The values he saw were indeed an exact match to his own.
The longbow in the enemy’s hand was identified as the Fir Treant Long Hunting Bow.
The longsword hanging from the enemy’s waist was named the Shadow Sword Blaze Steed
.
Tyler instinctively activated his “Heart of Focus” and let loose an arrow.
The enemy mirrored his actions, albeit a second slower, and retaliated with an arrow of his own!
Guided by the red light in his vision, Tyler successfully dodged the arrow, and simultaneously, his arrow successfully hit the enemy’s shoulder.
(I did actually hit him?)
(I was a beat ahead, but he should have been able to dodge… right?)
After the first exchange of volleys, Tyler and the enemy both opted to start running.
On this virtually coverless wasteland, irregular movement was the best method to avoid being struck by an arrow.
However, Tyler’s previous arrow had diminished the enemy’s mobility.
The arrow embedded in the right shoulder would make it difficult for the enemy to use his right arm.
This meant that it would be rather challenging for the enemy to hit Tyler with an arrow now.
As expected, in the next volley, the enemy’s arrow speed and accuracy greatly decreased.
Although Tyler didn’t hit either, the scales of victory were tipping in his favor.
Tyler swiftly pondered, if he were in the enemy’s shoes, what would he do?
Then, Tyler immediately figured out the answer.
That would be to use “Shadow Step” in conjunction with either the Shadow Sword Blaze Steed
or the Venomous Blade – Poison Claw for close-quarter combat, aiming to end the battle with a lethal blow.
Whether it was the Blaze Steed or the Poison Claw, Tyler could use them single-handedly, and certainly, so could this “Shadow Tyler”.
In a blink of an eye, the battle situation evolved just as Tyler had anticipated.
The shadow adversary no longer maintained distance. Instead, he deliberately discarded unnecessary equipment like the longbow and quiver, then charged towards Tyler with a light load and a determined spirit.
(It’s so me indeed…!)
(Overclock!)
Without hesitation, Tyler activated his skill to buy himself some time to think.
At this moment, he had many tactical options to deal with the charging enemy, but which one would the “Tyler himself” be least adept at handling?
(Since you plan to use “Shadow Step”, I won’t give you the opportunity to close in.)
Tyler clearly remembered that the maximum range for “Shadow Step” was within a 10-meter radius of the user.
At this moment, there was about a 30-meter gap between Tyler and the shadow adversary. This remaining 20-meter distance was the life-or-death line for Tyler to win!
(Heart of Focus!)
On top of “Overclock”, Tyler continued to stack status skills.
Next, he ran in a diagonal line, throwing three smoke bombs while doing so. As the smoke bombs were still mid-air, he aimed at the approaching enemy, drew his bow, and in the blink of an eye, he let loose three arrows!
In the nick of time, as the smoke bombs fell and spewed smoke, Tyler’s three arrows arrived in succession.
The shadow adversary sidestepped to dodge the first arrow, then raised his iron round shield to block the second one, but the third arrow pierced his right thigh, causing him to fall.
Blinded by the smoke, the shadow Tyler couldn’t see anything, not even a shadow to use “Shadow Step”.
However, the shadow Tyler didn’t give up, he struggled to stand and tried to break free from the smoke.
But just as he had managed to get up, a barrage of arrows pierced through the smoke and came at him!
The shadow Tyler put up a valiant defense, but he couldn’t escape these sudden arrows. In a short while, he was riddled with arrows and fell to the ground, life extinguished.
.
As the smoke dissipated, Tyler beheld the shadow adversary laid out horizontally on the ground.
He had deduced that after taking an arrow to the thigh, the enemy would struggle to move swiftly. Hence, he had shot arrows continuously towards the enemy’s general position outside the smoke.
He couldn’t see the enemy’s position, but he could clearly hear the sound of the arrows hitting.
Employing such a tactic, Tyler was successful in eliminating the shadow adversary unscathed.
However…
(Is it over just like that?)
Tyler didn’t receive any textual prompts in his view, and there were no reactions in this desolate space.
Just as Tyler was baffled, the enemy’s body and equipment were once again shrouded in shadow, slowly sinking into the ground. Only the arrows Tyler had shot remained intact on the ground.
Then, the colossal black magic circle resurfaced and a new 60-second countdown began.
(…Is there another enemy?)
There was no time for Tyler to hesitate.
He swiftly recovered the usable arrows on the battlefield, replenishing the number of standard arrows to thirty-eight, then once again maintained a fifty-meter distance from the magic circle, waiting for the next enemy to emerge.
.
In no time, the 60 seconds elapsed, and this time, what arose from the magic circle was, astonishingly, another humanoid shadow.
(You must be kidding, who am I to challenge this time?)
Soon, Tyler found the answer.
This humanoid shadow was, once again, himself.
“Tsk…!”
Due to the unexpected development disrupting his concentration, Tyler missed his first shot at the enemy, but he successfully dodged the arrow aimed at him.
In the ensuing movement and shooting, Tyler relied on the attack warning from the Divine Eye of Transcendence, hitting the enemy while evading, replicating the advantageous scenario from the previous round.
Then, following the strategy from last time, Tyler seized the opportunity to use the smoke bomb and blind shot technique again, successfully eliminating his shadow self once again. 𝒪𝐕𝗅xt.𝓬𝔬𝐦
However, this victory didn’t bring Tyler any joy, as he was currently immersed in bewilderment.
(What exactly is this trial? Is the same thing going to happen again?)
As the enemy’s body once again transformed into shadow and sank into the ground, Tyler’s ominous premonition was confirmed.
The colossal black magic circle overhead, restarting its 60-second countdown, had indeed become Tyler’s nightmare.
(Winning alone isn’t enough… it seems I also need to fulfill certain conditions…)
(What could the conditions to pass the trial be? Achieving a certain number of victories? Or must I kill the enemy within a certain time? Or perhaps, the real enemy isn’t my shadow duplicate…?)
With a gaze fixed on the magic circle, Tyler suddenly shot an arrow right into the center of the circle!