Rienta

In the ruins of a royal tomb.

Übel is escaping with Lanto.

However, after turning a corner, they found themselves facing a dead end.

Looking at the road blocked by the stone wall,

"It seems we've reached a dead end," Übel said with a hint of helplessness.

After placing Lanto on the ground, he turned back to look at the clone 'Übel'.

But 'Übel' didn't chase after them; instead, it examined the bottle it had snatched from Lanto.

That's an 'escape golem'.

Übel turned around and looked at Lanto, who had almost been disemboweled by his own clone.

"Glasses guy, as an expert in clone magic, I'd like to ask you to help me analyze the current situation, is that alright?"

Lanto sighed, "... How many times have I told you not to call me 'Glasses Guy,' just call me Lanto."

"Fine, go ahead and ask."

Übel straightened his expression, remaining wary of the clone 'Übel'.

He asked, "Just how perfect do you think my clone is?"

Lanto, leaning against the wall, said softly:

"Übel, you're the type who, no matter how intense the battle, will keep talking nonstop, right? Like you'd die if you didn't say a few words."

Übel chuckled and said, "You're quite observant. Yeah, I might die..."

Having said that, he looked again at the clone 'Übel' around the corner.

But it continued to examine the bottle it had stolen.

Some understood what Lanto meant and said:

"You mean it can't replicate memories and personality?"

Lanto shook his head and said, "No, it probably just can't talk."

"When the clone first ambushed us, it snatched the 'escape golem' right out of my arms."

Übel thought for a moment, nodded in agreement, and said:

"I see, that's exactly what I'm good at."

Lanto continued, "Furthermore, it's very familiar with our abilities. The reason it hasn't pursued us, now that we're cornered, is most likely because it's wary of your 'Gaze-Binding Magic'..."

Übel fell silent for a moment.

She can use other people's magic by resonating with them.

During the first round of the test, she had exchanged some words with Wirbel during their match.

Through this, he learned Wirbel's 'Gaze Binding Magic'.

Lanto knew about this because he wanted to learn his clone magic.

"Or perhaps, it just wants to take advantage of us when we're desperate."

Lanto was surprised that Übel could still liven things up at this point.

He said helplessly, "I can't laugh at all..."

Just then, Übel noticed that Lanto's bleeding had worsened.

That was caused by its own clones.

He crouched down and said seriously, "Glasses guy, if you keep going like this, you won't live much longer."

Lanto said helplessly, "... Yes..."

"So, can you answer my last question?"

Übel's eyes narrowed, and he said:

Are the bespectacled men we see nowadays real?

"Who knows..."

"Oh?" Seeing that Lanto was unwilling to answer, Übel was also a little unsure.

He took his own 'escape golem' off his person and handed it to Lanto.

"Use my bottle."

Lanto looked at the bottle with some confusion, then looked at Übel.

He said:

"... This bottle is your escape route."

"... Heh." Übel chuckled softly and placed the bottle in front of Lanto.

He summoned his magic wand and said, "I see."

"Hey, you wait here for a bit, I'll go get your bottle back."

"Hey! Wait a minute..." Lanto was about to stop him.

A series of booming sounds followed.

This is the very place where the clone 'Übel' was just located.

Übel had just turned the corner when he was startled to stop by what he saw.

Her clone was pierced through by dozens of long swords.

And longswords kept appearing from the void to bombard the clones.

Even the seemingly indestructible stone walls were completely destroyed.

Until the copy is completely annihilated.

The cause of this scene was a figure floating in the air.

The figure lightly touched a sword with its toes, with dozens of identical longswords floating behind it.

However, the long sword behind the figure appeared somewhat illusory.

It wasn't as solid as the longsword that was attacking.

As the clone 'Übel' disappeared.

The figure also looked at Übel.

Übel recognized the figure; it was Rienta, who had taken the exam with her teammate Fern from the first round of testing.

I had seen it before the exam started, but I didn't pay much attention to it.

But his own clone was easily dealt with by that seemingly harmless clone of Rienta.

This gave her the creeps.

Übel's gaze sharpened as he attempted to control 'Rienta'.

The 'Gaze Binding Magic' works as long as the target's entire body is covered by the gaze.

The currently floating clone 'Rienta' perfectly fits this condition.

However, the 'gaze-binding magic' she learned from Wirbel did not work.

It was as if the 'Rienta' in front of them did not exist.

"What...?"

Just then...

Another unharmed Lanto appeared behind the clone 'Rienta'.

Offensive Magic was launched directly at the back of the Rienta '.

However, the clone 'Rienta' still did not make any defensive moves.

He let the Offensive Magic pass through his chest.

Seeing that the 'Gaze Binding Magic' had no effect, Übel directly waved his wand and charged towards the clone 'Rienta'.

However, her slash still passed right through the clone 'Rienta's' body, without causing any damage.

Just as Übel was about to take the opportunity to escape, he was blocked by several phantom images of long swords.

It wasn't that she didn't want to run, but rather that her vital points had been completely sealed off.

Übel smiled with relief and looked at Lanto, who had just appeared.

He said, "You'd better run, you bespectacled guy."

"This guy is not someone we can handle..."

Lanto gripped his wand tightly, his heart filled with hesitation.

His senses and those of his clone can be shared.

So when Übel handed him her bottle, he rushed over as fast as he could.

But right now...

How can we rescue Übel from 'Rienta', who is completely immune to attacks?

The ruins before us were definitely not caused by Übel and her clones.

Just as Lanto was about to retreat, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of the smile in the eyes of the clone 'Rienta'.

He also felt waves of magical energy emanating from his back and neck.

Lanto gave a wry smile, somewhat helplessly, and deactivated his wand.

He said, "You're 'Rienta,' right? Fern's brother."

"What do you want us to do?"

Übel was wondering why Lanto was talking to the clone.

'Rienta' spoke with a smile.

"Oh? As expected of an expert in clone magic, you were able to detect that I can act independently."

Lanto adjusted his glasses and said, "The other clones are all dealt with by killing them outright."

"But you managed to defeat 'Übel,' who was also a clone."

"And they even went easy on us. I had no choice but to try to survive."

Rienta looked at Lanto with great satisfaction and said, "Congratulations, you made the right bet."

"Then, as payment for your lives, give me your magic."

Lanto was silent for a moment, then looked at 'Rienta' with some confusion.

He said, "But we don't have the conditions to write magic scrolls right now, do we?"

"It's alright, the original can be found anywhere."

"No, it's still uncertain who the original body is."

"Ha ha."

At this point, 'Rienta' suddenly burst into laughter.

It took a while for him to calm down.

He waved his hand, dispelling the illusory image of the longsword that was pointing at their vital points.

He continued, "Let's go, let's go to the deepest part of the royal tomb."