ZhangYe
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Chapter 5 - Stronger than me
🕑 Added 2025-04-05 01:06:34 +0000 UTCWhen I asked the system to take a look at my skills, a new system window opened. The first thing that caught my attention was the very first skill—it was separated from the others.
It was a skill called "Clones." Next to the name, it said "Rank G."
The skill was highlighted in red. When I tried to select it, a system message popped up:
[ You need 20 points to increase this skill's rank! ]
‘Interesting. But I only have 4 points. I need to level up a few more times.’ Now I understand how to rank up this skill. For now, I need to focus on it.
The skills listed below were more common ones like "Swordsmanship," "Archery," and "Mana Control."
All the skills on the first page were low-level and each cost 5 points. There were several pages of skills. I scrolled through all of them until I reached the last page, which had skills costing over a thousand points.
The final skill on the list was called "Immortality." The most expensive skills were so powerful they didn’t even have a level—just like most of the skills available for purchase.
‘Apparently I can buy skills and continue leveling them up using points. Or maybe I need to keep using them to increase proficiency and raise their level. That was pretty common in that work called Kumo desu ga, right?’
[ EXP +5 ]
“My clone is still killing monsters. But I have a question…” Does my clone grow stronger as my stats increase, or do I have to dispel it and summon a new one? I have no idea, but it’s lasting quite a while.
Maybe it hasn’t run into a group of monsters yet.
I closed the system window and continued exploring the dungeon for a while longer.
Meanwhile, I kept receiving system messages saying I had gained experience. The messages came more and more frequently over time, which meant my clone was killing more and more monsters.
After about two more hours, I finally leveled up again.
[ You have reached Level 3 ]
[ Points +5 ]
[ All stats +1 ]
‘This is great, but now I need 300 experience points. My clone is killing monsters quickly, I’m gaining a lot of experience—but even so, it won’t be easy.’
Also, I’m really hungry and thirsty. I should’ve brought food and water.
Since I can store magic stones and items, I guess I can store anything.
‘Should I call the clone back?’
Just as I thought about recalling it, I began receiving several system messages:
[ EXP +5 ]
[ EXP +5 ]
[ EXP +5 ]
[ EXP +5 ]
‘What the hell? Is he fighting a group of monsters? That bastard might already be stronger than me! This is crazy!’
I waited a few more minutes, and when I was sure he was no longer in battle, I recalled him. I just thought about it, and a system message appeared saying the clone was now following me.
Yes, I can do that.
I can give orders like "Please follow me," or "Go hunt monsters," or "Protect me." And I can do it even when I’m not near the clone. But since he’s probably really far away, it might take him a while to reach me.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a map showing my clones’ locations to make things easier.
Half an hour later, my clone approached.
“…” I remained silent as he stood in front of me. He had changed. Not his appearance, but his aura. I’m not strong enough to sense someone’s energy or anything like that, but since he’s my clone, I can tell.
He’s radiating the aura of a seasoned fighter. Not a master, but someone who’s been in battle for months.
‘Not only has his aura changed, he seems a bit more intelligent. His eyes aren’t blank anymore, and he’s paying attention. Of course, his stats also changed while he was fighting.’
I figured this would happen, but his stats increased significantly:
Strength: 12
Endurance: 8
Agility: 11
Dexterity: 10
Magic: 7
“His strength, agility, and dexterity are all higher than mine. Did he level up or something? There’s no level showing on his status screen.”
That’s when something appeared above the clone’s head:
Clone 1 – LV 5
‘His level is higher than mine!? I thought all the experience went to me—but is he stealing part of it!?’
No, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
I think he levels up just by fighting since I also gain 5 experience points when I kill a monster myself.
“But this is kind of… depressing. My clone, who was supposed to be weaker, is already stronger than me. Luckily, he’s like a pet I can control… so he’s technically part of my strength.”
That means I’m much stronger now.
####
Before leaving the dungeon, I performed one last test. I dispelled the clone and summoned him again to see if he would retain the same stats—and he did. ‘I guess his stats only reset if he dies.’
Makes sense. There has to be some kind of penalty.
Then I left the dungeon and headed straight to the inn. It was already nighttime.
I arrived at the inn and ate a large amount of food and drank some water. I felt completely refreshed. I went up to my room, took a hot shower, and went to bed to rest.
‘My body is exhausted. I’m not used to this.’
I didn’t even kill that many monsters myself, and I still got tired.
I opened my status and started browsing through the available skills. While reading through them, I ended up falling asleep and only woke up the next morning.
As soon as I woke up, I jumped out of bed and stretched.
“I feel even better than yesterday. My body feels completely refreshed.” I let out a yawn and went to the bathroom to take a shower before starting my day. After finishing my shower, I remembered—I had no clean clothes.
I put on the same clothes and went out looking for a store to buy some new ones.
I bought some underwear, shirts, and pants. I even bought a new pair of shoes.
I returned to the inn, changed into some fresh clothes, and stored the rest.
“Now that that’s taken care of, I can get on with my day.”
