The following few days went by as slowly as the first.

Theo adapted, talking to the Npcs, it was easier as a noblemen who couldn't really take 'no' for an answer. He had privilege, like actual privilege.

He started training with his Uncle, Brandon. Who insisted, and didn't seem to care about Theos' privilege.

The man was a head larger than Theo, and they both sparred while wearing armor and using dull swords. So they really hit each other- it hurt a lot. But it made Theo take it seriously. If these practice blades hurt- than a monster Npc eating you from the toes-up would REALLY hurt.

On second thought; 'If they made pain more real, what else is also more real? Could I respawn still?'

"Pay attention!" Brandon shouted.

'THUNK!' the sword bounced off his helmet, which caused his ears to ring. He felt a wetness going down the side of his neck.

-Another swing. Brandon wasn't stopping there.

[Assimilation]-

Theo leaned back while swinging up with his sword deflecting Brandons blow upwards.

Then he stepped in and punched Brandon in the helmet with a gauntleted fist. Theo lacking the bulky muscles that Brandon had- it didn't do much. Brandon snatched Theo by the chestplate and headbutted him thunderously-

Theo staggered back clutching his helmet which now had a divot in the front.

He was reminded why he hated violence so much.

Theo lifted his sword high above his head for a power swing.

He didn't make it two steps before Brandon seemed to teleport forward and placed a metal foot into his chest. The kick dented his chest plate and knocked him flat on his back.

Brandon did that every now and then too, suddenly go from 'yeah, we're training' to '-here's a real hit for ya''.

He coughed up blood which shot up through the slits in his visor. Then he rolled over and vomited. Blood and vomit dripped from the visor.

"Yield! Healing potion!" Theo ripped his helmet off- the edges of his vision was pulsing. Brandon always took it too far! A servant quickly ran over while delicately balancing a plate with a dozen potions on it.

Theo took his favorite healing potion and splashed it over his face. Immediately the chips in his teeth and bruised face healed over.

Brandon slapped him on the back heartily.

"Fine work lad! You're like a run of the mill soldier with twice the spirit!" Brandon didn't have a scratch on him, he wasn't even sweating.

Which Theo was. Strands of green hair constantly stuck to his face.

"You're going to kill me one of these days." he coughed, wiping his mouth.

"I held back my blows! I did use one skill however- that kick was apart of the 'Lawful Arrest' skill I got. I noticed you didn't use any."

That's another thing Theo had learned- Npcs were aware of classes and skills. Leveling up, stats, all of it- because they leveled too. In this game, everything leveled... It was just apart of the natural life cycle.

"How come I have no skills like that yet?" Theo asked.

Brandon shrugged- "People have their theories. Some think it's a matter of fate- your path in life. Some people think its a matter of bloodlines. But in your case? I'm guessing it's procrastination and confidence."

Theo took that personally.

"Is there a way to check my skills? How do you know?"

Brandons eyes widened. "Surely you have leveled up at least once in your life."

Theo shook his head.

"...Well, I've heard of it. Some who have not gotten a single level. Resigned to being beggars for life... At least you're a noble..."

"So I'm just screwed?"

"-And despite it, you have some ability. With the poetry and what not, there's skills for that type of thing as well you know?"

"Even so, how does it happen?", Theo was positive that he had at least one level, as all players start with one. And he had the [assimilation] skill. But many things seemed different than it was advertised.

"Hrm, I first leveled when I was 7 years old. Another child had stolen my wooden sword so I brained him with a rock. I got level 1 warrior from that, giving me a toughness passive that I use to this day."

Theo shook his head, "You killed him?", "Gods no- he survived... But after the guard hauled me away, I heard a voice. The gods told me once I leveled up, that I was a [Warrior]. And since, every so often usually after a good fight and lots of training, I'll get a level up. Become harder to kill. Tougher. Faster. And some other fancy stuff at higher levels."

Theo was captivated. That sounded useful. If beating someone halfway to death was a requirement for the FIRST level, no wonder he hasn't leveled since arriving.

"What's a fancier skill you have?", Theo asked.

Brandon smiled and closed the visor on his helmet; "Want to see?"

---

Theo woke up in his bed. Whatever skill Brandon had used nearly killed him- all he could remember was a flash of yellow light and then nothing.

There must be a limit to healing potions because he still felt sore as he sat up.

It was dark. A couple large moons and a whole planet were visible just outside the large windows. The planet had a ring around it and the atmosphere swirled slowly like drifting clouds.

Theo appreciated the sight, it was a pleasant surprise his first night. Then he looked around for Violet because surely-

"You're awake!" A whispering yet excited voice called out. -Right on que. Three of his five nights had ended with fending off Violet now.

"Oh, -hey. Sorry, just sore." he put a hand up blocking her when she tried to hug him.

"Yeah! I'm fine. Don't worry... Whatever Brandon hit me with sure packed a punch huh?" Theo wasn't so nervous around Violet anymore, just on guard.

She had been sitting alongside his bed. Their relationship was known, but respectfully ignored it seemed. So long as they didn't flaunt it, the family would leave it alone.

That's how he intuited the situation. But stuff like that is what had given Charles Malton a bad reputation.

There would be rumors regardless of fraternizing with the staff, it hardly made a difference if it was true or not. In his case- there were limits to what Theo would do to maintain his cover. And that's a behavior that stopped dead in its' tracks.

"I was watching! Why did you take it so far?" Violet almost seemed angry at him.

He got back into his traditional dark purple outfit. SOMEONE had changed him into his pajamas. He shuddered at the thought.

The two of them sat on some chairs that were always spread about the room.

"...I'm not sure. I can take it? From where I come from, I never even had the choice to push myself like that."

Violet gave him a confused look, and Theo realized where he slipped up.

"I mean- this family. Growing up here, I just never had a tutor who wouldn't hold back."

Violet made a 'oh' face and Theo sighed internally.

This was getting tough, keeping up an act 24/7. He wanted to be himself, but it just wasn't reasonable at the moment.

Theo had no idea what would happen if anyone ever discovered the truth.

Would they bug-out, go all "NPC' about it? Or play along? They seemed too realistic for that, he hardly believed they were even Npcs.

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Would they think he was crazy? 'I'm not Charles Malton- I'm just a player and this is all a game'

Yep. They would think he was crazy. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"I understand that you want to further yourself, but do try to tell him to go a bit easier, would you?"

Theo nodded. As much as he had gotten more used to her being around- she had also, being less affectionate, and sitting further apart.

She seemed very willing to adapt to whatever made him feel comfortable. It was honestly too much, in Theos opinion.

But he did appreciate it, it was good to have a friend he could talk more honestly with.

"Could you hand me that?" Theo pointed towards a small wooden box on an end table near his bed.

"Oh, yes lord-" she caught her self and looked towards him, her cheeks were red.

"What? You can call me Lord if you want." Theo chuckled.

She awkwardly leaned over and picked up the box then handed it to him.

"Ethel give you any trouble about me?" he flipped open the box and pulled a cigar out. He offered Violet one but she waved it away.

"She suspects as always, but she's patient. I haven't been a maid as long as most people my age. It's only natural that she'd give me a hard time about things..."

"Yeah bosses suck, it's apart of the job description. It's okay to hate her, so long as the respect is there."

He blew out a puff of smoke, opening the window he sat next to.

The breeze swept the room and sent paper flying off his desk. Theo could care less. He liked messy. At least in a place like this.

Made it feel more real.

"You're getting that look again." Violet said, brushing her straight hair out of her face.

"What look?"

She smiled politely; "That 'I'm trapped' look.", Theo smiled back; "Is it that obvious?"

Violet nodded sympathetically; "I get that look sometimes.", and at that the moment became very sullen.

She was pouting in the light of the moons and admired her for a moment. She was dressed in her maids outfit, with humble makeup. He appreciated that she didn't talk to him like they were walking on egg shells.

Something about her made him feel as though they were kindred spirits.

He realized he had been starring when Violet blushed and looked away.

"Ahem" he coughed-; "It's easy to feel trapped here I guess. The walls, all the guards and expectations..."

"The endless schedules and chores..." she continued smiling bitterly.

"The-" Theo stopped himself. And sniffed the air.

"Do you smell that?" he smelled his cigar. But that wasn't the source of the foul odor.

Some smell was being blown out the window.

Violet started sniffing. "Yes, I think I do..." she got up and started smelling around the room.

Theo closed the window and started doing the same. It was a rotted smell. Must've been funneling out the window- the only reason they had caught it.

They arrived at the same space after awhile. "I have another room?" he realized he said out-loud looking at the door.

It was mostly covered, a coat rack had fallen over and a chest laid in front of it.

"It's a walk-in closet you oaf. All the rooms have one." Violet grabbed one end of the chest and looked to him as if to say 'Well?'.

They lifted the chest and moved it to one side.

"What do you think it is?" she asked.

Theo shrugged. "I dunno.", he gripped the crystal doorknob. And swung it open. They both blanched upon seeing it. The closet was lined with hanging coats.

And at the end of the short hallway crumpled against the end was a corpse in a purple suit.

[Doppleganger Level 2!]

The words flashed across his vision as well as his hearing.

[Days undiscovered]x5

[Fooled Family of Double!]x12

[Intercepted Evidence!]x1

[Abused Authority!]x7

[Achievement Unlocked: 'They Live' +25% temporary XP boost!]

[Skill Rapid Retreat!]

[Level 3!]

[Skill Misplace!]

[Level 4!]

[Skill Wall Climb!]

[Passive Enhanced Perception!] +2 Perc.

---

He felt himself slam into the wall- Violet looked up at him.

"What-?"

"Who are you!? Who do you work for?"

She had somehow produced a knife and held it up to his throat. A bead of his blood ran down his neck.

Theo was stunned. At a loss for words.

[Assimilation]

"I-I don't know! I'm Charles Malton, come on Violet you know me-"

She pressed the knife up closer, shaving his five o'clock shadow.

"Be quiet!" she looked around. And closed the closet door concealing them in.

"I KNEW- you were acting different. It was close- but come to think of it- it was day and night. First of all- you're not a womanizing scumbag, and second- you're even worse fighter than you were before. Now that I think of it, I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. Doppleganger. That's why you can take hits like that without losing your form..." her eyes were flickering about wildly as she put together the past few days.

She knew, so quickly too. Theo knew the class as well having skimmed through the handbook.

It was a race-exclusive class.

"...Does it look like I knew there was a body in here!?"

Theo had to speak slowly, trying not to cut himself on the knife that was pressed against his throat.

"I wouldn't care if you did kill him- but, you're here, pass for him... It could still work."

"Then-" he tried to lean forward but she pushed him back- she was WAY stronger than she looked. Then he remembered basic biology doesn't work the same here. Being small didn't necessarily equate to being weak in a fantasy world.

"I'm thinking... Who do you work for?", they sat there like that for minutes.

"N-no one. Please don't kill me." Theo still didn't know if he could respawn.

She sighed. "Okay, here's the plan. You do what I say, when I say, and we can both finish what we came here to do. First, we get rid of the body. Second-", "Wait? What? -You're not a maid?".

She looked at him incredulously for a moment, then lowered her knife. He grabbed at his throat, wiping it.

"You dopplegangers really buy into your roles. Even had me convinced, as if the runt of a noble family suddenly had a change of heart."

She leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. Dagger still clutched closely.

"Are you a doppleganger too?" he asked, she guffawed at at that.

Then started laughing hysterically before forcing her self to stop. Wiping a tear away.

"Ah~ no. Yuck. And OH! YUCK!"

"What?", "We fucking SLEPT together." she gagged.

Theo just looked left and right for a moment. This was mildly insulting.

"I thought you said I was a better guy than the actual Charles."

"You ACTED like a better guy than Charles. Let's get that straight. But now I know what lies beneath the facade." she pointed a finger on his chest. He sighed. "I honestly didn't kill Charles."

"And I honestly don't care. Changelings are just disgusting creatures."

They stood there for a moment in awkward silence. Well, awkward for one of them.

"So... We get rid of the body?"

She nodded, "We get rid of the body, we use your cover to get into the treasury, take what we need and go our separate ways."

Violet didn't allow for much conversation, in what seemed like an instant she we went from being a 'sweet clumsy maid', to a 'poised double agent'.

---

And so the plan was in motion. Whether Theo liked it or not, he was hiding a body.

[Assimilation] helped Theo calm down, but his heart was still pounding.

"To the left." the bodies head bumped a wall.

"MY left!", "-Sorry."

They were moving the body to the window.

"Lift up your end!", "I am!"

They rolled him over the windowsill.

'THUD!'

Another Charles Malton was sprawled out on the lawn below.

They looked left and right down the length of the building. "Seems clear."

"You didn't check before?" she asked.

"I thought you did. And also, it's so late it kind of felt redundant."

She slapped her forehead. "Dopplegangers. How did you make it this far?"

---

They snuck outside, threw the body over the back of a horse and rode out into the forest. All in rapid succession, every moment was critical and needless to say Theo was in the moment.

He didn't want to get stabbed.

It was easy for them since none of the magical detections or defenses were triggered by Theo or Violet.

"That's right, just a noble brat and his concubine sneaking about, pay it no mind." she muttered as a couple guards passed by. They weren't close, but Theo could hear them talking.

"So Jeoffry said- the Dwarf did it!", "You don't say?", "What, are you not entertained?"

"Where are we hiding the body?" Theo asked.

"Shh! Why don't you say it loudly enough the Gods will hear!" She smacked him on the back of his head. "I miss the old Violet..." he grumbled.

"-Just a bit further, far enough that the hunters dogs won't find it." Violet whispered. "I don't know they go pretty far sometimes.", "Doesn't matter, we'll be gone by then.".

---

They rode for another fifteen minutes.

They weren't riding slowly either, the trees blurred past them over head, and the moonlight broke through the trees above and lit their path.

"Can we talk plainly now?" Theo asked. He was still unsure of what was going on and had a lot of questions.

"There's nothing to talk about. We're both criminals trying to pull one over a noble family. We're not friends, we're hardly partners."

"When were you going to do it?" Theo asked, more casually than he should.

"Do what?",

"Well I thought about it a bit. Tell me if I'm wrong- but it seemed like you planned to use me- that is Charles Malton- to gain access to the treasury."

"...Yep.",

"And... It stands to reason that once I had, you would've... Tied up loose ends. So.. How close were we?"

"Close, but I'd probably just knock him out, wouldn't of been too tough. I had you eating out of the palm of my hand."

That kinda irked him- surely compared to Charles he wasn't so easy to manipulate.

"Who says I didn't have you eating out of the palm of MY hand? Huh?", "-What?", "Tell me if this sounds familiar- 'Lord Malton~'"

"I'll stab you."

It was cathartic to drop the act, which it was partly an act until now. He didn't like acting like a noble. Pretending at all. Though he'd miss the old violet. He'd be lying if he said he wouldn't.

He had no idea who killed the actual Charles Malton- it probably has something to do with his backstory.

As for Violet... She didn't seem like a killer, more like a thief. Actor. Who was adapting to a change of plans.

He could relate to that.

---

Theo carried the body on his shoulders as they left the path and walked into the dense thicket.

"You look ridiculous." Violet had said.

And he agreed. Carrying his identical twin on his shoulders? Absolutely. They were even dressed alike.

"Let's find a spot with soft soil." Theo suggested.

"This is a good spot as any." She stabbed a shovel into the Earth. 'Thank god.' Theo thought as he tossed the body to the ground. He was heavy.

[Assimilation] hit him again as he starred down at the body.

He gave an exasperated sigh. Every time it activated he became more calm and focused.

"You really didn't kill him?" Violet asked, she sat on a fallen tree.

Theo picked up the shovel and started digging.

"Nope. Just woke up in his bed, think I was framed. I don't do this sort of thing."

"You're either telling the truth or a genuine professional. Would fit your class though. The buffoon act is so convincing." she said as she examined her finger nails.

"What, don't I seem like a professional?" he said as some dirt slid back into the hole.

She ignored him. He went back to digging.

There conversations seemed to go like that, it was so awkward now. Like meeting someone for the first time. Though he had only met the 'old' Violet a handful of days ago.

"Sort've feels like I'm digging my own grave here." he muttered

To his surprise Violet chuckled at that.

---

By the morning they were both back in their beds. Their midnight tryst thankfully concluded. His arms were numb from digging.

They agreed to meet tomorrow about breaking into the treasury.

But that would be tomorrow- which was in a few hours.

He snuggled into bed to get a couple hours of sleep. While he considered the skills he had gotten.

[Misplace], [Rapid Retreat], [Wall Climb], and the higher perception.

He tested them out quickly.

They did what their names would imply.

Climbing smooth surfaces was possible- his fingers sort of 'stuck' to the walls and ceilings. He had to be careful and slow... And barefoot. But it was a thing.

[Misplace] allowed him to transport small items. He teleported his cigar several feet away from where it sat to test it. It was very limited by distance and size of the object though.

And finally, [Rapid Retreat] allowed him to run faster based on the proximity of whoever chased him.

He could see them being useful for his and Violets mission. He had a quest for stealing the amulet of Durass, and she wanted to loot the treasury as well.

Theo couldn't keep up the act for ever. Living as a pampered noble was fun, but he had to find his grandmother and escape this place. It's not like Violet was giving him a choice, they could blow the others cover, but at what cost? Might as well get what they came here for.

Besides, all the resources he needed for his journey was in that treasury.