The dimly lit cavern was momentarily illuminated by a second beam of fire, as Maria attempted to exterminate the doppelgänger before it could enhance itself too much.

Again, it avoided the attack, releasing a screech the real Ezekiel didn't have the physical capacity to produce. The air around it shimmered with the surge of power, its body becoming more resistant to damage, its limbs more agile.

James, observing the shapeshifter's strategy, called out to his team. "It's using Ezekiel's buffs! We need to keep to our strategy. Daniel, focus on protecting the girls. Maria and Lauren, keep the pressure on it. Ezekiel, counter its buffs with your debuffs!"

Daniel, shield in hand, stepped forward to meet the creature as it sprung off a wall, hands extended into claws. They clashed, but it was forced to retreat again as Maria kept up her assault. The searing heat, it seemed, was not to its liking.

Having expected her teammate's attack, Lauren was there when it touched down and drove her daggers into its back, making it spin abruptly to avoid a fatal injury.

Despite having Ezekiel's semblance, however, the monster was still an F-rank being, and that level of damage would not be enough to stop it. More than that, the soft glow of healing magic told them the fight would be much more complicated than any of them had expected.

Before it could complete the spell, a bright yellow bolt nailed the monster in the head, making it screech in annoyance and jump away. Unfortunately for it, it misjudged the distance, as its body had lost some of its strength thanks to the debuff that the real Ezekiel had just applied.

Even so, it flung a claw at the rocky wall, catching itself before it could hit anything.

For a moment, Team 0 was treated to the surreal sight of their healer's lookalike dangling over their heads as it screeched angrily. The sound was disorienting, causing them to momentarily falter in their coordinated assault.

Not wanting to waste the chance, Maria recovered quickly and unleashed a torrent of flames. It let go of its hold to avoid them and fell precisely where James awaited it.

Teeth gritted against the cacophony the monster kept releasing, James concentrated on his Thakinetic Awareness, managing to maneuver himself in the perfect position. He sought the right moment to strike, his fists glowing with a buildup of explosive mana. As the creature lunged at Daniel, James saw his opportunity.

He closed the distance with a burst of speed and delivered a decisive blow. The impact of his punch released a wave of mana that rocked the creature, sending it rolling backward against the hard ground. Its form momentarily wavered under the force of the attack, but to their dismay, it began to heal itself again and was quickly back on its feet, even angrier than before.

"Keep attacking! Don't let it recover!" James shouted, urging his team to maintain their offensive.

Maria intensified her flame attacks, creating a barrage of fireballs that rained down upon the shapeshifter in a staccato of shots, the heat melting some of the stones. One managed to hit, mangling an arm and making it release a much louder screech.

The disorientation hit again, but this time, James was ready for it. The doppelgänger tried to use the moment of respite to heal its limb, but it wasn't allowed to.

James was on it. It lifted its good arm to stop the first punch and deflected the second by using its superior physique, though it could do nothing when it was attacked from behind in the process of avoiding the third punch.

Lauren drove her dagger into its back again, almost exactly in the same spot she had done so earlier. "Try to heal this, motherfucker!"

The monster clawed at the air where the Rogue had just been and staggered back, holding its wounded side to the wall.

It still wasn't done, however, being a creature a rank above them. Despite being heavily battered and struggling to heal, it focused on James, seeing him as the primary threat. It charged forward, its form blurring with speed.

James pushed much more mana into his body than he usually would, willing himself to handle the strain. He was helped by the leaps he had made with his Empowerment skill, which allowed him to surpass limits he didn't even know he had.

Rather than trying to finish it himself, James allowed it to come closer, and only at the last moment did he spring his trap. A wave of mana left his body the moment before its claws were poised to dig into him, sending it sprawling back.

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James didn't waste the moment and was immediately on it, wailing on its chest. Again, it managed to buck him off; the disparity in stats was simply too much.

The doppelgänger attacked, though this time, it was intercepted by Daniel, who had activated his Bash skill and managed to pin it to a wall, crushing its injured side against the stone.

It was cut off the moment it pushed him off, screeching its anger.

Suddenly, a dagger sprung from its throat. It scrabbled at where it protruded, trying to get it off before it could bleed out, purple ichor spilling in great amounts down its chest.

A hand reached out and did just that, though it twisted along the way, opening the wound even more and ending its struggles. Dispassionately, Ezekiel cleaned his dagger on the wall, leaving a purple streak behind. "Fuck you." He said and kicked it.

The corpse bounced off the wall and lay still. A notification finally rang out, making everyone relax.

Shadowy wisps left the creature, revealing a dark entity the size of a child, whose body had no defining feature, save for the sharp claws that remained through the transformation.

Agent Martinez, who had observed the battle from a safe distance, approached them with a nod of approval. "Impressive work, Team 0. You handled that well. It was pretty weak for an F-rank, but you still killed it without anyone getting injured, which is more than can be said for most people that come through here the first time." She said wryly.

"Thank you, ma'am." Daniel replied, even as he gave Ezekiel a look of concern. More than any particularly powerful ability, the doppelgänger's ability to transform into any of them was unsettling. They were all used to sparring with one another, and they didn't pull their punches either, but there was a difference between that and trying to kill what looked like one of their friends.

In a way, it had been a blessing that Ezekiel had been the one to deal the final blow. He didn't often directly participate in a fight, which was likely why the monster had not expected him to do so this time and had been caught off guard.

"These monsters have the very annoying ability to take on a person's Talent, as long as they are within the same Awakening Tier or lower. Anyone stronger is safe from them, but as you can imagine, these things getting out of here and into the town would mean a massacre." Martinez explained, drawing a shudder from everyone.

"I was too busy considering the EXP we were about to get." James admitted, still not having looked at the several windows that had opened after the death confirmation. "But it's crazy that this dungeon is allowed to stay so close to civilization. I get that there are strong people nearby, but just one of these things is enough to decimate a village. They just have to take the appearance of one of the residents and it's over."

"This is not the only dungeon in the vicinity." The Agent revealed, making James' eyebrows rise in surprise.

That doesn't happen often. Usually, mana concentrates in one point alone. It's called a Sink for a reason.

"The original purpose of the Facility." The woman continued when she saw that they were curious about it. "Was that of monitoring a vast amount of mana some higher-ups feared might have become an S-rank dungeon. But it dispersed into six different ones, all of increasing power, so the place was turned into a base for Awakeners that needed to dive into those dungeons. And when they all stabilized, with no hint of a possible break, Mr. Stein took over and transformed it into what it is today."

Mmh, that makes sense. So many powerful dungeons usually just get raided and done with, but if they are all truly stable, there is no need to do so. This is the perfect place for talented Agents to gain a lot of levels quickly, which also explains why the higher-ups allowed Leonid to set up here.

"Alright, so we shouldn't clear this place, right?" James asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Correct." Martinez replied. "Well, I doubt you'd be able to do so as you are. No shade on you. You are a very impressive team, considering how long you operated, and being able to kill a monster a tier above is usually considered the hallmark of an outstanding unit. But the Boss of this place is well beyond you."

That makes me want to fight it, just to see if it's really that strong. But it's probably better to focus on the easier targets for the moment.

Rather than reply again, James scanned the surroundings to make sure nothing was attempting to ambush them. He was satisfied they were safe for the moment and turned his attention to the notifications still blinking at the recesses of his mind.

Congratulations!

You have defeated [Doppelgänger - Spawn]. You have earned 19340 EXP.

—

Oh yeah, that's the good stuff. How many levels is that?

Status

Level 77

Uh, only two. Well, it's about half what I got from that poacher, and considering that the higher you go, the more EXP it requires to level, it makes sense. Still, just one of these things was enough to give me two levels. Considering how the scaling works, I'll probably need around thirty to get to level 100.

James blinked, tilting his head and rerunning the numbers. Then he did so again.

Jesus, I'm so close. We could get there in a few days if we put our noses down and grind hard. Well, maybe a week, considering how annoying it is to deal with monsters that take our appearance, but still…

Apparently, by the furrowed brows and dazed eyes, his teammates were running the same calculations.

Of course, they all knew they would have to retreat and give up the moment more than one doppelgängers appeared at once, but the allure of pushing deeper into the dungeon and quickly grinding the levels was great.

"Now, if what you told me earlier about where you are is correct, you should have realized how quickly you could bridge the gap to level 100." Agent Martinez said, bringing them back to earth. "That's not incorrect. But I also want you to understand that power leveling is done in controlled environments for a specific reason. First, I'm sure you all know about the risks associated with gaining too much EXP without the experience. But the second problem, which is often overlooked because it is so obvious, is that monsters don't roam by themselves most of the time. Doppelgängers are an exception since they are lone hunters, but even they will start grouping up if you hunt too many of them."

"Which means we won't be able to farm them for easy EXP." Lauren concluded, annoyed.

"It would have been too good." Ezekiel muttered forlornly. Since he was the furthest away from ranking up, it had seemed the perfect solution to him, but even through the euphoria of victory, every member of Team 0 realized that they should only push their luck so much.

"That's not to say you cannot earn some easy levels here, but we will have to move to another dungeon a couple of times before you are ready to rank up." Martinez concluded.

A shadowy, undulating presence came closer at that moment, and James pushed his dreams to the side. "Another one incoming.” He said, and they settled back into formation, their guard sinking back into the shadows.