Riley muttered under his breath, voice low and strained.

"No… this isn't good."

His chest heaved as he gripped his side tighter, blood leaking through his fingers.

This was the worst possible time for his skills to go on cooldown.

And now… he was completely vulnerable.

If the shadow clone attacked again, he would barely be able to follow him.

As if sensing that truth, the grin on the clone's face stretched even wider—twisting unnaturally across its blood-slicked face like it was enjoying every second of this.

Then it vanished.

Riley's instincts screamed.

Without thinking, he leapt back—body moving on raw reflex.

But—

Boom!

A heavy blow struck him from behind.

The clone had appeared there in an instant, its fist slamming directly into Riley's back with monstrous force.

—2720!

A massive red notification flared before his eyes.

"Gkha—!"

Riley's body was launched like a ragdoll, flung across the clearing in a blur of motion.

As he twisted through the air, tumbling uncontrollably, he managed to catch a glimpse of the shadow clone below—

And saw that it had already sheathed its daggers.

Even in the middle of this relentless assault… it had calmly holstered its weapons.

Riley's eyes narrowed, fury igniting through the haze of pain.

'So you don't even consider me an opponent anymore…'

'How cocky.'

But he didn't have the luxury to think more.

Before he could hit the ground, the clone was already moving.

It blurred forward again—its body warping through shadow—and in a blink, it reached him mid-air.

A cold hand gripped his leg tightly.

Then, with terrifying strength, it spun his body in a brutal arc through the air—

And slammed him down.

Boom!

—1230!

Riley's back struck the earth with crushing force, the ground beneath him caving in from the impact.

A wide dent formed instantly where he landed—dust and dirt bursting upward like a wave.

"Ghaa—!"

He coughed out blood, his head snapping forward from the sheer whiplash of the slam.

A red notification flashed before him again—but it was blurry now. Faint. Flickering.

His vision shook.

He couldn't even focus enough to read it properly.

All he knew was that he had taken damage. A lot of it.

The shadow clone stood over him, silent for a moment—gazing down with that same twisted grin carved across its half-bloodied face.

Its eyes gleamed with contempt and mockery.

As if Riley was no longer a threat… just a broken obstacle in its way.

Riley gnashed his teeth, forcing back the groan clawing at his throat. Every inch of his body screamed in protest. Pain radiated from his side like fire, sharp and unrelenting.

The wound there hadn't stopped bleeding.

Thick, warm blood still flowed down his waist in slow, rhythmic pulses.

He could feel it now.

The creeping lightness in his head.

The chill spreading through his limbs.

He was starting to suffer from blood loss.

Still, he glared up at the clone through gritted teeth, refusing to look away.

The clone finally spoke—its voice a low, mocking whisper.

"You're weak…" it said, taking a slow step forward. "Pathetic…"

Riley hissed through his teeth, eyes burning.

"Oh, really?" he spat back, though his voice was hoarse and shaky.

The shadow clone tilted its head slightly, as if amused by his resistance.

"You don't deserve to be the 'original,'" it sneered. "You're just the flawed version."

It placed one hand on its chin, thoughtful, almost casual.

"I'll kill you here… and replace you."

Riley scoffed, blood dripping from the corner of his lips as he coughed again.

"Heh… so that's the 'replace' thing the system was talking about…"

He could somewhat understand what this third trial was about, and why it was so different from any other trial.

It was a challenge for existence.

And the clone intended to win.

Without another word, the clone took a single step forward.

Then—its right hand slowly cocked back, fingers curling into a solid fist, muscles coiling like a spring about to snap.

A moment later—

Boom!

It drove its fist straight down toward Riley's chest with the full force of its enhanced strength.

To the clone's surprise—its fist slammed not into flesh and bone, but the cold, cracked earth.

Boom!

A deafening impact echoed across the clearing as the ground split beneath the blow, dust and debris kicking upward in a violent burst.

But Riley was nowhere to be found.

The clone's eyes narrowed.

A flicker of something sharp passed through its expression—confusion, then irritation.

Then suddenly—

It felt something.

A presence, reappearing behind it.

Without hesitation, it spun around and hurled a powerful backfist toward the air behind its shoulder.

Fwoosh!

But the attack struck nothing but air.

Riley had already leapt backward—his body flipping through the air with a pained grunt, landing several meters away in a crouch.

His breath was ragged. Blood still trickled from his lips. But there was a gleam in his eye again.

'Fortunately… Stealth's cooldown isn't that long…'

His fingers tightened around the daggers still trembling in his grip.

'I can use it again now… thanks to all that yapping.'

His gaze locked onto the shadow clone.

The creature wasn't moving.

It simply stood where it was, watching him, that twisted grin still stretching across its broken face.

The air between them pulsed with tension.

"…Aren't you going to attack?" Riley said, his voice sharp, defiant. "Or even draw your weapon?"

The clone scoffed.

"I don't need to," it said coldly. "It's pointless against a weakling like you."

Riley's lip curled as he wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Is that so," he said coldly. "I didn't even know you could talk…"

His tone sharpened, simmering with rising fury.

"But now I'm pissed."

He straightened slightly, his gaze locked on the clone's twisted grin.

"You said something earlier—about me being the original," he continued. "Do you actually want to take my place that badly? Be the 'original' instead of me?"

The clone's grin faltered for just a moment. A sharp hiss escaped its mouth.

"I don't plan on letting you stall," it snapped. "I'll finish you off."

Then it lunged.

Faster than before.

Its body blurred forward like a streak of living shadow, each movement a flash of precise, lethal intent.

Riley's eyes widened—his instincts flaring wildly.

"—Tch!"

He quickly leapt to the side, rolling just as the clone's fist came screaming past his head.

Fwoosh!

The air split from the sheer speed.

If he'd been just a fraction slower, his skull would've been caved in.

'That was close… too close…'

He gritted his teeth, landing hard on one knee, blades still drawn.

'But then again… I only need a few more seconds.'

The clone whipped around, its eyes blazing with killing intent, already preparing to lunge again.

Riley, however, quickly distanced himself, his chest rising and falling with ragged breath, blood trailing down the side of his face.

It was right.

He was stalling.

Every second he bought was precious—every dodge, every retort, every breath of time wasn't just for survival.

It was for [Charge].

The cooldown.

That was all he needed.

He grit his teeth again, forcing himself upright, ignoring the screaming pain from the wound in his ribs and the steady trickle of blood soaking through his side.

And still—

He endured.

Because giving up wasn't an option. Not here. Not against this thing.

'It's only a bit longer… just a bit more.'

He was lucky—no, incredibly lucky—the clone had chosen to discard its weapons. If it had still been using those cursed daggers, this fight would've been long over.

He knew it.

He'd have been gutted.

The only reason he was still alive was because the clone was arrogant. Confident. Mocking him by using its fists instead of blades.

And the only reason he could barely manage to dodge was because the attacks—those sharp, efficient movements—were ones he recognized.

They were his own.

Each strike. Each dash. Each lunge.

All of them were pulled from his own combat rhythm, his own instincts.

'You move like I do,' he thought grimly, 'But that's the only reason I'm still on my feet.'

He wasn't faster. Not anymore. And the clone had already stacked [Charge] on itself, giving it a clear advantage in both power and acceleration.

Riley was only surviving because he could anticipate those patterns. But even that wouldn't last much longer.

He could already tell.

Fighting like this wouldn't last him very long, and the clone would quickly adapt and figure out his pattern.

His fingers tightened around the hilts of his daggers, his eyes narrowing.

'Not now… I can't use [Rockbound] just yet…'

That skill was his last resort.

The clone was a lot similar to him, but at the same time, they had their differences.

If it was him in this scenario, there was no way he would never give up his weapon, or even underestimate his opponent to this extent.

Even now, the clone was underestimating him, feeling like there was no way for Riley's attacks to get through its thick shadow shroud.

However, it would soon learn how wrong it was. Riley would make sure of it.

'At the end of the day, a clone's just a clone… it can never be like the original. I won't be defeated here, that's one thing I'm sure of.' Riley thought, the corners of his lips curling up slightly.

The clone's eyes widened slightly at the sight of that smirk, and it pointed a finger at Riley.

"Why… do you laugh?" it asked, the shadow aura around it flicking violently.

"This is funny to you huh. Don't worry… I'll prove to you that I'm better, and take your place…"

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