Chapter 188: Incident at the Tent Village 3
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri
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On the 36th floor, an archer adventurer who shot and killed a bandit with a bow looked exactly like a tank from an adventurer party on the 35th floor!
The likelihood of them being twins, or a misidentification during combat, was swiftly ruled out.
When asked if they had a sibling, the person shook their head, and Han Se-ah turned on her stream replay while others murmured around her.
"Hey, what's this? They really do look identical! That long scar stretching from the cheek to the nape and the large mole on the right forearm visible beyond the bracer are the same. Even if twins can have identical moles, they wouldn't be born with matching scars."
-Yeah, even the wrinkles on their faces are the same.
-Setting aside wrinkles or scars, the broken shape of the front tooth is also identical, isn't it?
-What are you crazy people doing, are you guys part of a cyber investigation team?
-Damn, what's with the face of that guy close-up on the camera? As soon as I opened the stream, we made eye contact.
-Their faces are definitely identical.
Han Se-ah, pushing a semi-transparent camera drone right in front of the oblivious warrior, made the face fill the stream window, like a wanted criminal's poster.
She zoomed in on the face of the bandit Grace shot dead, prompting viewers to start their own investigation.
From the scar running from cheek to neck, the mole on the exposed forearm in battle, to the slightly mismatched broken front teeth visible when the mouth is open.
The viewers began buzzing, not believing that even twins could have such identical features.
"What's this, was it not a bandit quest but a doppelganger quest? And how sharp are Grace's eyes and memory that she precisely remembers the face of someone she shot from afar half a day ago?"
-Are doppelgangers undead?
-Isn't the Demon King just copying everything anyway?
-The protagonist (bearer of shining achievments) vs the Demon King (biological copier)
-Being a scout who navigates the tower with observation and memory without a minimap, recognizing faces is easy.
-The thought of the bearer and the copier fighting makes my heart shrink.
Familiar with fantasy novels, I immediately thought of the doppelganger hypothesis.
Watching this from the corner of my eye, I pondered.
Is there a doppelganger monster in Heroes Chronicle?
I haven't heard of it in my ten years here, nor was it in Heroines Chronicle.
So, it's easier to think of it as a never-before-seen monster, like the rideable golem on the 30th floor.
While Han Se-ah chatted with viewers, and I sneakily watched, the nearby adventurer party began to get noisy.
"What, there's a guy committing robberies using my face?"
"Of all the faces to choose from, why that one?"
"But they're traveling with a nun, they wouldn't lie about this."
"What if it's not a lie but a mistaken identity? Maybe confused with some ugly, dirty-haired, scarred person?"
"Let's talk later."
The intermediate-level adventurer party, accompanied by Irene in her nun's clothing, didn't believe Grace would lie.
They either didn't know about the existence of doppelgangers, or thought it was a case of mistaken identity or an assassin in disguise.
But without any means of proof, the conversation fizzled out.
We couldn't show Han Se-ah's stream captures to an NPC, nor could we retrieve the body with an arrow in its head, sunken under paralyzing mud.
"Well, we get it... Just be cautious?"
"Yes, yes..."
The adventurer party's tank spoke kindly, scratching the back of his head, possibly embarrassed in front of the nun, and Grace's cheeks flushed with belated embarrassment.
Amidst this awkward atmosphere, we had no choice but to return to our tent.
Grace, a 4 scout, trusted her eyesight without doubt.
Han Se-ah, along with her viewers, confirmed Grace's observations through a replay of the stream.
Katie seemed somewhat puzzled by the situation, while Irene expressed her trust in her comrades.
As the conversation unfolded, it veered into a direction that Han Se-ah found utterly distasteful.
"Then, whenever we encounter a bandit, let's cut off their heads and keep them."
"What?"
"We don't need the bodies, just neatly sever their heads and display them at the temple. If we collect enough, we might notice any identical faces. Or maybe the mages can determine whether they are real people or monsters disguised as humans."
-Is this the North? Is this the North? Is this the North?
-Suggesting head collection without a moment's hesitation... that's terrifying!
-So what do you mean by 'display,' you freak?
-Talking about hanging the heads of bandits on poles.
-Didn't we hand over three bandit heads to the temple knights already? They're supposed to hang them on the gallows.
If the problem is with the bandits' faces, why not just collect their heads?
This discussion, unfolding with the simplicity of Columbus's egg*, disgusted only Han Se-ah, who was concerned about the stream's content.
The rest of the party seemed to think it was a rather good idea.
Carrying around just the heads of corpses poses many problems.
There's the stench of decay, and as the number increases, they become a bulky burden.
However, we have the genius mage Hanna.
With her inventory magic, capable of fitting large pots and sacks of grain, transporting about a dozen bandit heads would be feasible.
This might mean reducing our food supplies or collecting fewer mana stones, but since we keep encountering bandits, it doesn't really matter.
"Is that okay? Our food is stored in the inventory..."
"What's the problem? It's not like the blood will mix in. The pots, food, and tents all get stored in the inventory without getting mixed up, right?"
Han Se-ah, on the verge of stopping the stream, tried to fight back, but it was futile.
These women, who look like they could live on dew alone, are tough ladies raised in a harsh medieval fantasy world.
In a world where public execution is entertainment and the bloodstains of beheaded criminals are seen as symbols of luck, even the kind priests of the temple happily build gallows for the captured bandits.
For the party, the genius beauty mage Han Se-ah simply now seems to be a little more delicate than they thought.
Ultimately, it was decided to collect the heads of the bandits.
"Seriously, you all look like you'd be scared of a cockroach, but here you are, enthusiastically agreeing to collect severed heads. I guess I'll have to put up some kind of screen during our battles from tomorrow."
Han Se-ah grumbled, her complaints echoed by the teasing viewers.
Watching this familiar scene, I entered my assigned tent and pretended to sleep, but instead, I opened an internet window.
Ever since the Enhancement Ritual and the increase in divine energy, my body has become much sturdier.
Even with drastically reduced sleep, I wake up in perfect condition.
Enjoying my extended web surfing time, I spent a peaceful night inside the tower.
---
Raei Translations
---
"Whew, good morning."
"Good morning. Its so peaceful inside the tower."
Despite the perpetually gloomy weather inside the tower, with no sunrise or sunset, the air remained clean, possibly due to the effect of the miniature temple.
One by one, my companions stretched and came out of their tents, and with Han Se-ah logging into the game, our day began.
Everyone appeared to be in good condition, not being in a monster-infested layer of the tower.
The air might've been purified by the massive presence of divine energy, from the miniature temple just 100 meters away.
"Let's have a light breakfast with some thin soup, then head up to the 36th floor. Everyone should be in good shape since we slept early, right?"
"Mmm, I'll have some bread too. I need something more substantial since I'll likely be using my sword a lot."
"Oh, I didn't think of that. Sorry, Katie."
"No need to apologize, you're the one who prepares our meals every day."
Grace and Katie, the more physical of our group, did some light exercises, while Han Se-ah and Irene prepared breakfast.
Other adventurers also seemed ready to move early, as delicious aromas wafted from the market and other tents.
Being intermediate adventurers, none seemed interested in skimping on a hearty meal.
Just as we were about to pack up for the 36th floor, temple knights suddenly arrived.
"Brothers and sisters, we need your cooperation."
"What's going on?"
Dressed in their usual white armor and helmets, each knight carried a long hammer, radiating divine energy as they approached the adventurers.
Closer inspection revealed nuns and priests outside our camping area, preparing to deploy their holy magic.
"Hey, whats this? Is there an incident because of that doppelganger? Well, the temple isnt incompetent... They might have found something on patrol. This seems like a quest being handed to us on a platter."
While the others appeared panicked, only Han Se-ah and I remained composed within the clearing.
Our nonchalance seemed suspicious to the five approaching temple knights.
Normally working in pairs, the presence of five armed knights suggested a serious incident.
"Brother, we request your cooperation... Ah, its Sir Roland!"
"Could you explain whats happening here?"
The temple knights, initially approaching in anger, instantly softened upon sensing the divine energy emanating from Irene and me.
Naturally, a doppelganger can mimic appearances but not the divine energy of the Goddess a logical aspect of the game's balance.
Just as the relaxed temple knight was about to speak, an old man, appearing silently and dustlessly from thin air, chuckled and joined in.
"Hehe, let me explain that."
The only person with skills I couldnt detect was 6 Monk Ambrosio, who had vanished after the Enhancement Ritual.
He was still in his worn brown monks robe, but now, he held something ominous in his hand.
"What is that...?"
"It seems there are still some evil seeds that we have failed to discover."
His kind smile remained, but his voice carried the intensity of a growling beast.
It was clear he was angry, despite his decades of mental discipline.
Curious about his agitation, I glanced at the heads in his hand.
A wrinkled old man's head, identical to Ambrosio's face, and the head of a beautiful woman with striking golden bobbed hair.
What on earth was that?
Upon closer inspection, the old mans face was exactly like Ambrosios.
Then, whose head was that of the golden-haired woman...?
"In all my years of living in devotion to the Goddess, never has anyone dared to impersonate the Saintess... And now, the degenerates of the tower dare to mimic her.
It seems I've lived too long to witness such an abomination.
Wow, damn...
It was a real blasphemy.
---
*Columbus's egg refers to a brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple or easy after the fact.
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