"So this is the place where you usually find Mirrorlings' ghosts?"
Alex and Aiyana stood before a haunted house.
"Still, are you sure about this, Aiyana?"Alex looked at her. Her legs seemed to have turned to jelly.
"H-Hmph... W-Who do y-you th-think I am?"
'Damn, even her Hmph is stuttering...'
Trying to ignore his pig teammate, he got ready to head into his soon-to-be farming spot.From what Aiyana told him, Mirrorlings were actually the spirits of children whose souls couldn't pass on to the afterlife and were tainted by evil.
Their ability was mimicry—like a child trying to act like an adult.
They were strong because they could copy a person's strength for a certain period, but luckily, they couldn't copy skills.
But Aiyana warned him that since he only knew Dash and Aylasis, this wouldn't be easy.
'She underestimates me too much. With the Sword of Death by my side, what could possibly kill me?'
Later, he would learn what raising a red flag truly meant.
Inside the haunted house, broken skulls littered the floor—obviously fake.
But what genuinely unnerved him was when Aiyana picked one up, smiled, and softly said "Cute."
For a moment, he thought he was in an illusion or that the real Aiyana had been swapped.
Then he remembered Aiyana claimed she wasn't some helpless lady and could protect herself just fine.
He tried to test her by tapping her with the blunt side of his sword—only to receive a solid punch to the face that depleted 10 HP.
After five minutes of walking without seeing a single Mirrorling, Alex grew impatient.
Fortunately, after a little more wandering, they spotted a boy around Alex's height, wearing all-white clothes and a creepy smiling mask.
Seeing it, Alex quickly used Analysis.
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Name: Mirrorling
Level: 11
Skill: Mimic
Threat Level: Green
Tip: Use skills and combat style
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The tip's the same as what Aiyana told me. Even my bonus stats are copied…
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Mimic – Copies opponent's stats including bonuses (depending on level).
Duration: 5 minutes
Cooldown: 12 hours
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This skill was powerful but not broken—that's why the spirit chose to copy Alex instead of Aiyana.
Since Alex's level was lower, the Mirrorling could easily copy all his stats.However, don't get it twisted—even though the description says "depending on level," it actually means how much it can mimic based on its own level.
Since it was level 11, it copied his stats easily—but not his skills.
Shaking his sword lightly, he used Dash, aiming to end it in a single strike.
But the Mirrorling dodged, stepping to the right.
"Too slow," Alex muttered, then slashed straight at its neck.
The Mirrorling was too slow to react—its head flew off, releasing black smoke instead of blood.
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Critical Hit! – 600
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Mirrorling – 0 / 555 HP
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Two notifications popped up.
Alex looked down at the Mirrorling's severed head. It no longer resembled him—its features had changed to a grotesque combination of crying, fractured child-like faces that vanished into smoke.
'This game is kinda dark...'For a moment, he thought the animation was cool—then felt disgusted at the devs for making such a cruel scene.
Aiyana walked closer, clapped her hands, and bowed, praying.
"May they live in peace…"
"The world is cruel. People think death is peace, but they have no idea—even death can be cruel."
"These children were orphans. They died in a fire accident."
Alex looked at her, surprised. "How do you know that?"
Aiyana gave a proud smile. "Didn't I tell you? I have Eyes of Death. Like… today."
Alex stared at her smug face. He had the urge to punch her—but he restrained himself.Not because he was weak or scared.But because he knew when and whom to pick a fight with.
Still, as he looked at the spot where the Mirrorling vanished, he also offered a small prayer.
Not like Aiyana—he was an atheist. He didn't believe in heaven or hell.But if doing this could bring peace to someone, he didn't mind.
"May the gods give you peace… and a happy new life."
Alex played games as if they were real. Even if man-made, the what if? motivated him to always try for a happy ending.
Praying done, he prepared to continue farming.
Walking a bit more, he spotted another Mirrorling—ready to repeat the process.
But then he noticed another appear behind them.
Then to his right.
And then to his left.
He was surrounded.
"Eh!? What kind of dirty tactic is this?"Unlike Shades, these ghosts had good vision and awareness.
From the right, one threw a punch. Alex dodged and kicked it away.
Then one on the left struck with a kick. His HP dropped by 7.
He was getting ganged up on.
Quickly, he used Dash to escape the encirclement and slashed one nearby.
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Mirrorling – 344 / 555 HP
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The damage was less than expected—they had strong body defenses.
Shades had weak defense, but these things had copied his stats—of course they were powerful.
While fighting, he thought of a possible strategy, a loop he could exploit—but before he could test it, more Mirrorlings began to appear.
He distanced himself and returned to Aiyana.
"Hey, they don't look ghost-like, so are you su—"He didn't even need to finish. Her trembling legs said enough.
"Ah whatever…"He sighed in frustration. These ghosts clearly had no morals—ganging up on a level 4 player?
He dashed forward, slaying the closest one.But without critical hits, one-shotting wasn't possible.
Even aiming at the neck didn't always work—they were starting to react.
His Dash skill was only level 1. It didn't cost energy, but it burned stamina fast. He couldn't dodge everything either.
Soon, his HP dropped below 10.
"Alex, run!" Aiyana shouted.
But it was too late.
A Mirrorling struck his solar plexus.
His HP hit zero.
[Game Over]
Right before darkness took him, Alex thought he saw a powerful sword strike—released alongside Aiyana's scream.
Looking at the screen, he stretched his arms and clicked his tongue, hitting Restart.
Unknown to him, things were far more complicated than they seemed.At that very moment, the world—no, the entire universe—was being rewritten by a mysterious force.
What transpired didn't happen yet…But somehow, it already existed.
[Resuming...]
To be Continued...