“Master!” The girls cried as I slammed back against a column.

I groaned while healing myself. We had been fighting for fifteen minutes now, but I never had a one up on him. About my only advantage was that I could keep healing myself. He may be able to replicate my spells, but he couldn’t replicate my supply of water of life. Then again, his mana may not sit the same as mine. Who knew what his stats really were? I suspected he lied when he said he matched me. After all, what if I had asked for a harmless butterfly? Damn, that’s what we should have gone with! Then again, I might have ended up battling Mothra.

Those thoughts and many others spiraled across my mind as I tried to regain my composure and try another attack. I had already revealed True Hero, Basic Magician, White Mage, Dungeon Diver, Slave Master, and Dark Priest to this guy. Even if I did get a good hit on him, he’d use his own white mage skills to heal himself a moment later. It was truly infuriating fighting a guy who constantly healed himself!

The result was that he was also much stronger now, with the equivalent of five jobs equipped instead of three, he was truly a devastating force.

“Flames!” He tossed a wave of flames that washed across me.

As I shielded my eyes and stepped back, I only narrowly dodged his next strike. He had only been using the flames to hide a Quick Attack. Then, he leaped forward and struck me. Had I not lucked out and noticed a small movement within the flames, his blade swipe would have cut me in two. This fight was beyond stressful, and I could seriously die at any moment.

Meanwhile, the girls could only watch helplessly. Twice now one of them had tried to come forward and fight, trying to ignore both of our orders, but they were only able to resist the pain a few moments before collapsing to the ground. As the fight went on, I grew more haggard, and the expression on the doppelganger grew more condescending. I really wanted to punch him in his irritating face.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The pair of us exchange several more slashes of the sword. I was tired, as I didn’t typically fight like this often. Although I attacked with my sword, most fights were done in a few minutes and even then, I would have switched to spells after a few preliminary swings. At this moment, I was almost exclusively using my swordsmanship, which was technically my weakest ability. Was he doing that on purpose? Was he taking my weakness, physical attack, and using it against me as another form of taunt?

I wouldn’t put it past him. If that was the case, then this fight wasn’t about who was stronger, but who was better at exploiting the other’s weakness. With that, I stumbled, and the doppelganger took the chance to deliver an attack. He struck me, causing the girls to cry out.

However, I had planned it this way! “Got you!”

I tossed a vial of acid and it exploded on his arm. As I leaped back and healed myself, he did the same. Except the acid was continuing to do damage. This wasn’t some simple acid, but a magical acid concocted by Miki and I. It would continue to burn him for the next fifteen minutes. He had an expression of annoyance and pain, but I felt vindicated. Acid burning was basically a status misalignment. He’d be weaker for the immediate future.

However, I let my excitement settle down a bit. Even if this was the case, I still wouldn’t be able to defeat him. He could use healing spells as well, so even though the acid was causing damage, he’d only be temporarily weakened. Unless I had a way of overwhelmingly defeating him, this battle was still going to fall on his side. I wanted to deny it, but there was no point in denying the truth.

That was when I noticed his naked arm. The battle had managed to shred various parts on his clothing. At this point, the acid had finished chewing up the last of his arm, revealing his shoulder. I noticed something vital. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. I not only had a chance now but if I was right, my victory was certain!