Your move action will take you over the merchant Space “Sarlissa and Bob’s Elixir and Enchantment Emporium”
Would you like to end your move on the merchant Space?
Yes/No
Will took a look at the map. He was still out of money, which made stopping at the Emporium a waste of a turn. On the other hand, he could at least take a look at where the dice would have him land before deciding.
Not that it helped all that much. The destination Space appeared blank, which meant that Will hadn’t been there yet. It was also, as far as he could tell, a special Space, rather than a regular quest Space.
No idea what I’m heading towards then. On the other hand, most of those special Spaces have been good to me, so far. And I’m already behind because of the turns spent in the crypt. May as well see where the dice lead me on this.
Mentally ticking the “No” option, Will felt the world beneath him move.
image [https://i.imgur.com/k9SPmbD.jpeg]
The Mirror of Varioso
Nobody knows who made it.
Nobody knows why they made it.
Nobody can control where it appears.
But when you look into the Mirror of Varioso, you look into the endless sea of possibilities that is Time.
And the endless sea of possibilities that is Time is looking back at you!
And sometimes, one of those possibilities might just step through and try to become real.
There was, as far as Will could tell, almost nothing there. He was standing on a perfectly smooth and perfectly horizontal white ground. Above him was nothing but darkness. The only thing visible on the seemingly infinite plain of whiteness was a large, ornate, mirror.
The frame was two and a half meters tall and two meters wide. It was made out of dark wood, and worked into beautifully carved patterns.
The mirror itself was a large oval set into the frame. It was facing towards Will, but the wombat couldn’t quite make out what it reflected.
Something Will couldn’t define or control made him walk towards the mirror. As he got closer, he could start to make sense of the image in the mirror.
There was no single reflection in the glass. Instead, a myriad of different images flickered in and out of existence
A wombat wearing cloud-gray robes, lightning dancing on his claws and around his body.
Another, wearing black leather armor, hard to see against a backdrop of dark shadows.
The third wore nothing, but had a crazed, rabid look in his eyes.
A fourth, armored in what looked like earth and stone, his claws replaced with large hammers.
One more, who was half flesh and blood and half brass clockwork.
For a moment, a human form flickered into view. It took Will an embarrassingly long time to recognize it as his own old body.
And dozens, hundreds more that wouldn’t remain for long enough to be identified.
Finally, when Will was a mere meter away from the mirror, the dance of reflections slowed, and eventually stopped.
In front of Will was a wombat.
He was wearing black, sinister looking robes. Dark green runes glittered on the black fabric.
His face was sunken in, as if he hadn’t been eating properly for years.
His claws were pitted and covered in old dirt and what looked like rotten vegetation.
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His teeth were pointed, looking more like the sharp teeth of a carnivore than the flat teeth of an herbivore.
Caution!
A reflection has appeared in the Mirror of Varioso!
Will, the Acetomancer, dark master of the pickle, has manifested in the world!
You must fight and defeat your fragmented reflection, in order to gain a piece of his power.
But beware! Should you be defeated, the reflection will become the real, and YOU will become but a fragment in the Mirror of Varioso!
You have got to be kidding!
Oh, no, Fresh One. There is no joke here. There is only my inevitable victory, after which I will become the real Will!
The Mirror of Varioso faded away, vanishing as if it was never there. The reflection, however, remained behind, becoming three dimensional and solid. Behind him, a veritable army of pickled vegetables appeared.
Will could see the familiar shapes of Rutstabagas rising into the air. Wild Sage bushes raised their sharpened leaves in his direction. Potantos slid into the darkness, sharpened blades waiting to stab at the first moment of distraction.
Will, however, was done waiting around. Thunder Ball launched into the clustered pickles, blasting one of the Rutstabagas and two Wild Sage bushes. The pickles were completely obliterated by the skill. Will didn’t know if they were more fragile than the ones he’d fought in Kili’s cellar, or if his skill was just that much stronger now. Nor did he care.
Another Thunder Ball was launched into the other direction. This time, Will didn’t wait around to see the results.
For the first time since he’d gotten it, Will finally saw his newest skill in proper action, as he charged directly at his dark reflection.
Between Will’s basic charge damage, the damage bonus from his new helm, and the damage bonus from level two of Unstoppable Force (and therefore Unstoppable Lance Charge), Will’s damage was one category above minor. He actually had no idea what that level was even called, as he’d never taken that amount of damage before.
He also had two levels of armor piercing, which served him well when his opponent used a very familiar skill to try and defend himself. A flash of light appeared around the Acetomancer, similar to the blue light shield Will had seen Jeremy in both their duel and the battle royale they’d taken part in. But where Jeremy’s shield was a clean, bright blue, Reflection Will’s skill was a dark, sickly green. It was also thicker than Jeremy’s shield skill.
None of which helped the Acetomancer. Will’s nose horn popped the shield like a soap bubble, and the charging wombat slammed into his dark reflection, goring him with his horn and trampling over his fallen form.
Will didn’t escape the exchange unharmed, however. Unseen Potantos stabbed him with their hidden blades, somehow finding the smallest chinks in his armor and hitting the vulnerable fur beneath.
Razor sharp Wild Sage leaves were launched at him. Most failed to penetrate his armor, but a few struck at the open part of his helm and sliced open his cheeks.
The one remaining Rutstabaga was, fortunately, too slow to hit the charging wombat. But Will knew that he as soon as he stopped moving, the flying pickled root vegetable would drop down on him, sharpened root first.
And, of course, Will’s evil reflection wasn’t standing still, and a stream of vinegary acid grazed Will’s retreating behind, leaving chemical burns wherever it hit.
Not wasting any more breath on talking to the reflection, Will circled around, preparing for another charge. The pickles, or possibly their dark master, have learned their lesson after Will’s initial Thunder Ball barrage, and were staying further away from each other, so that Will would be unable to catch more than one of them with each missile.
Will’s pickling alternate version stood up from where he’d fallen after Will’s charge. Will could see a large hole in his opponent’s robes, and could even see the large gash in his shoulder. But there was no blood spilling from the open wound, and the Acetomancer showed no sign of feeling pain. The reflection took a deep breath, and a cloud of green gas came out of his mouth. When the gas reached the remains of pickles Will had destroyed, the remains pulled together and reformed. Within seconds, the Acetomancer’s army was back to full strength.
Cursing under his breath, Will thought quickly.
I can take out the pickles, but he can revive them. No idea how much mana that cloud costs, but if he’s specialized as a caster, I have to assume I can’t out-mana him. I’m going to have to ignore the minions and tank their damage. Which means I have to try to take the master down as quickly as I can.
The Acetomancer cast a brace of three green bolts at Will, faster than the wombat could dodge. The bolts hit Will, passing through his armor almost unimpaired. A quick glance at his health showed a total of six damage. Will thanked his Earth aspect for preventing most of the damage from the attack, and retaliated by shooting a pair of Thunder Bolts at his enemy.
If he’d understood how the system worked, two Bolts would do the same damage as a single Ball, but would also give twice the chance for the status effects to proc.
Not that they got the chance. The green shield flashed into being, and both missiles were absorbed harmlessly.
Melee it is, Will thought, and turned to charge at the other wombat again.
Potantoes and Wild Sages threw themselves into his path in an attempt to block him from attacking their master. But Will’s Unstoppable Lance Charge ripped them into shreds without slowing.
Rutstabagas dive bombed the charging wombat, but were caught in the slowing effect of his Aspect and missed their mark.
A stream of acid launched at Will’s face, but the wombat closed his eyes and charged on, finally slamming into his dark reflection, piercing his shield and flesh with his horned helmet.
The second charge proved to be too much for the lightly armored Acetomancer, and Will could feel its emaciated form take its last breath and still.
The pickles, which kept trying to stop Will until the very last moment, froze in place and fell down.
Will was just starting to catch his breath when a burst of green light erupted from the dead reflection. The light seemed to have a physical presence to it, picking up the heavy wombat and throwing him away as if he weighted nothing.