Jonathan took a few deep breaths, and then was suddenly caught off guard by a drilling punch that caught him in the back. He was driven off his feet and face planted, hard. Jonathan rolled forwards, and got to his feet, turning around to see his assailant. To his surprise, it was him. A figure dressed in the same suit of armor as him, and with the same weapons, stood there, grinning at him.

“Hello, Jonathan, or should I say, me?” The clone said, taking a few steps forward.

“Who the hell are you?” Jonathan asked the creature, getting ready to fight. Whatever this thing was, it was clearly hostile.

“I am the dark copy of you that was created at the very beginning of this dungeon. If I defeat you, I will get to claim your life as my own. What better type of desolation than that at your own hands?”

It was clearly a rhetorical question as the clone sprang forward, and punched towards Jonathan, its fists glowing with blue light. Jonathan got ready to block, and then paused, taking in the sight. Whatever this thing was, it did not possess any of his unique abilities or traits. It still had his skills and presumably his stats, but this fight would be a lot easier than he had expected.

Jonathan squared his stance and then lashed out with his fists, trying to catch his opponent off guard. However, the doppelganger had the same martial abilities as him, and it avoided the attack, continuing its trajectory. Its fist slammed into his stomach, folding him over. He coughed up blood and then retaliated, his fist glowing with the power of the Void. He landed a hit in the same spot, but this one tore straight through the chainmail armor and into the clone’s stomach.

A look of profound confusion entered its features as it stumbled backwards, and Jonathan did not let it get back in control. He stepped up, and drove a devastating right hook into the creature’s jaw, knocking it to the side. It possessed his immense durability, as the strike did not instantly kill it, but he dislocated its jaw. Jonathan whipped up his left fist, and shattered the jaw entirely, dazing the clone. He whaled on his dark mirror image, and gritted his teeth, focusing on making sure that it did not recover. Some time later, he found that he had retreated into his battle trance, and that the battle had already finished, with his clone lying on the floor in front of him in a bloody heap. As he beheld his work, the dungeon started to fade away.

The world around him started to swirl, and he was transported to a nondescript room, filled with seemingly random items. A large notification hovered in front of him, informing him that he could pick three of the items that he saw in front of himself. The room was divided into three parts. The one closest to him contained a multitude of weapons, all of which looked quite powerful. Massive swords sat by gleaming bows that seemed to be wrought out of the most exotic materials that Jonathan had ever seen. On the next ring, there were all manner of suits of armor, from the commonplace to the absurd. Jonathan saw one in particular that caught his eyes. It looked exactly like the sort of armor that the Hellbreaker should have. It was a matte black suit of plate metal armor that looked to be built for durability. It was a bit on the worn side, compared to the sparkling armor around it, but it caught his eye regardless. Without a moment’s hesitation, he knew that this was the suit of armor for him.

Firstly however, he wanted to see if there were any weapons that were worth taking. The entire room was about a hundred feet wide, and the section with the weapons in it took about a quarter of the area, in order to make up for the space that the armor took up. The closest weapon to Jonathan was a pair of short swords. They sat on a small platform that was made out of some dark metal. The weapons themselves were made out of silvery steel, with a few dark accents along the blade. He wasn't interested in using them, but he did scan them to see how good the quality of the rewards from this dungeon was.

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Nightblade Twinswords

Tier 1 Growth Weapon(Bladed)

Twinned blades wielded by assassins, these swords are perfect for any dastardly deeds best carried out in the dead of night. Small, unassuming, and incredibly sharp, there are few things within the realm of Tier 1 power that these weapons cannot damage. These swords have the ability to grow with the user, up to a maximum of Tier 2.

Upgrade Reagents: Tier 2 Monster Blood, Tier 2 Steel.

+12 to Dexterity while wielding.

Jonathan raised one eyebrow, surprised by the additional section of the interface. This was the first time that he had heard anything about growth weapons. The weapon itself was about as good as his gauntlets, with a 12 point stat bonus, but that would presumably increase as the weapon grew in power. Still, he preferred his gauntlets for now, at least until he could find an upgrade.

Jonathan put the weapons back, and searched around the rest of the area for something that he could use instead of his gauntlets. However, there did not seem to be anything there as far as he could tell that would be a perfect replacement There were a few knuckle dusters and similar weapons, but nothing like his own ones, which toed the line between weapon and armor. Just as he was about to give up, however, he spotted a glowing chunk of blue rock that seemed to exude an aura of concentrated power. He edged over to it, not sure what exactly he was looking at. It was in the weapon section, which meant that it was powerful, but it clearly was not any sort of weapon. Jonathan picked it up and scanned it a moment later.

Soul Core(Weapon)

Tier 1 Upgrade Orb

This orb can be used to infuse any Tier 1 weapon with the ability to grow in power, up to a maximum of Tier 2. It can only be used once, after which it will be destroyed.

It seemed to be exactly what Jonathan had been looking for, and it looked as if the System had thought this section of the dungeon out well. If someone had an exotic weapon that they could not find a replacement for here, they could simply use this to boost their original one.

Jonathan took the orb in both hands, and felt it start to shake. A notification popped up, asking him if he wanted to use it. He hit yes, and watched as the stone split off into streamers of blue light that sank into the gauntlets. The weapons glowed briefly, and then went back to their normal color. They did not feel any different physically, but they had a greater weight to them now than before, a spiritual weight.

Jonathan smiled, and made his way towards the next section of the room. It was time to check out the suit of armor that had caught his eye earlier. He made his way into the rows of armor racks that took up the next section of the room, and soon found himself standing in front of the black suit of plate armor. None of the other suits of armor had caught his eye on the way there, and he was content to look at this one first. Even if it was bad, he could simply look at the other ones then after. Jonathan scanned the armor, eager to see just exactly what he was dealing with here.

Hellknight Plate

Tier 1 Growth Armor(Heavy)

This suit of armor, while battered, is one of the best of its kind that you will find within this circle of the Infinite Hells. Made for a servant of Granath long ago, this suit has since been lost, only to be reconstituted by the System as a reward for the most daring of dungeon delvers. You have caught the attention of the System with your prowess, which has resulted in you earning this armor. This suit has the ability to grow with the user, up to a maximum of Tier 3.

Growth Reagents: Tier 2 Bone, Tier 2 Blood, Tier 2 Dark Iron.

+12 to Resilience, +12 to Constitution, -6 to Dexterity while wearing.