Depth Level 3, South side
The domineering presence of shadow elemental pressed down.
It corroded everything in the vicinity.
“Where was I teleported?”
Harrison looked around.
He stood in the center of a clearing.
The energy of the Unique Skill Invincible pulsed through him.
His muscles tensed.
He tightened the grip around the sword and stared at his Shadow across the clearing.
The Shadow wore the same face, wielded the same sword, but its presence was darker.
It felt sinister.
“You know you can’t win.
“You’re just a shadow of me.”
The Shadow smirked at his taunts.
A shadow mimicked the original.
It was always weaker.
But, in return, it knew the original better than original itself.
Harrison’s Shadow lunged forward without another word.
Their swords clashed.
A storm of golden and black sparks flew and the ground beneath them trembled.
Harrison pressed forward.
He used his superior strength to force the Shadow back with brute force.
The Shadow tilted the blade and let Harrison’s sword slip.
Harrison charged again.
His Shadow rolled to the side and dodged the powerful strike of golden lightning from his blade.
It spun on its feet and slashed at Harrison’s side.
The blow bounced off Harrison’s tough skin harmlessly.
Invincible gave a major boost to all abilities.
The boost acted differently for everyone.
In Harrison’s case, it increased his defenses the most.
Harrison barely flinched when the Shadow’s attack connected.
He smirked.
Lightning crackled around his blade as he slashed downwards.
His Shadow leapt back just in time.
The ground where the Shadow stood moments ago was scorched and smoking.
“You can’t even scratch me.
“You will never win.” Harrison grinned.
The original could never win against his Shadow?
That might be true for everyone, but Harrison was different.
He was genius.
He would not lose.
Never.
The Shadow’s smirk stayed on its face as it charged at Harrison, this time faster.
Its strikes became more precise.
Harrison parried each blow with ease.
But he realized something was off.
The Shadow’s movements weren’t random—they were deliberate, almost rehearsed.
Each time he moved to counter, the Shadow was already a step ahead.
It dodged and parried with uncanny precision.
Harrison growled in frustration.
He raised his sword high and summoned a surge of lightning from the sky above.
“Unique Skill Thunderbolt.”
The air around him buzzed with electricity.
He brought the blade down in a powerful, swift arc.
A golden arc of lightning descended.
His Shadow didn’t dodge.
It sidestepped just enough to let the bolt pass and hit the ground next to it.
The calculated precision left Harrison stunned.
Before he could react, the Shadow closed the distance between them in an instant.
It disappeared into a black arc of lighting and reappeared before him with a flash.
The Shadow’s sword struck at his wrist.
The attack barely had any strength behind it.
It would never hurt Harrison, especially not when he was under the effects of Invincible.
Harrison ignored the attack.
He should’ve been able to brush it off.
But something unexpected happened.
…!
Harrison’s grip faltered and the sword slipped from his hand.
The Shadow capitalized on the opportunity.
It landed a solid kick to Harrison’s chest.
Harrison stumbled back.
Shock and pain flashed through his eyes.
His skin was tough, but the spot the Shadow hit was just below his sternum.
A spot Harrison didn’t even know was vulnerable.
“How…?”
His voice cracked.
He had trouble breathing and he could not speak properly.
Looking at his actions, the Shadow continued to grin.
And Harrison realized.
‘A Shadow knows the original better than the original itself.’
‘My weaknesses, habits, and fears. It knows everything about me.’
Harrison’s heart pounded in his chest.
For the first time, he felt truly exposed.
As if there was nothing he could hide.
The Shadow’s strikes weren’t random.
They were calculated, aimed at places Harrison didn’t defend instinctively.
‘It knows me better than I know myself.’
The Shadow came at him again.
Its blade targeted Harrison’s wrists, elbows, and the small of his back—places Harrison didn’t think twice about.
Each strike was weaker than Harrison’s blows.
But they were more precise.
Harrison gritted his teeth and blocked another attack.
‘I can’t lose here!’
‘Not me!’
The Shadow was exploiting his habits.
Harrison, who always fought with brute strength, was in a disadvantage.
Harrison’s Shadow ducked under a wild swing from him.
It slashed across his ribs.
Harrison hissed in pain.
There should’ve been no wound, but the Shadow, capable of mimicking Invincible, could fight against him on equal footing.
It retreated before Harrison could retaliate.
The Shadow’s mocking smile grew wider.
As if it was taunting him.
Calling him weaker.
A loser.
Harrison’s eyes narrowed.
He wanted to let loose and attack in a berserk rage.
But he held on.
He knew attacking without a plan would get him killed.
‘Predictable.’
That word echoed in his mind.
It cut deeper than any sword.
The Shadow wasn’t stronger.
It was just playing to Harrison’s weaknesses.
His habits.
His overconfidence.
Suddenly, realization struck.
‘My habits.’
The Shadow knew exactly where he’d swing, where he’d step, how he’d move.
It wasn’t the Shadow’s strength that was the problem — it was Harrison’s own predictability.
He had been relying on the same moves and the same strategies since forever.
The Shadow was not beating him.
He was beating himself.
Harrison had to surpass himself.
That was the only way to win.
‘Everyone is busy with their battles. They can’t help me. If I lose, I die.’
Harrison could hear his heart beating against his chest.
He was in danger and he felt a thrill unlike ever before.
Harrison grinned ferociously.
The golden lightning crackling around him flared.
His breathing slowed.
He focused not on overwhelming his Shadow with power, but on breaking the patterns the Shadow exploited.
‘I can win this. I just have to fight smarter.’
When the Shadow lunged forward again, Harrison didn’t respond with brute force.
He sidestepped.
Normally, he would’ve met the attack head on.
His abrupt action took the Shadow by surprise.
Its eyes widened for a split second, unable to understand the cause behind the change.
Harrison capitalized on the moment.
He brought the sword down in a swift, unexpected angle.
The blade crackled with golden lightning and struck the Shadow’s shoulder.
The Shadow staggered.
It gritted its teeth in pain.
The wound was shallow since the mimicked Invincible strengthened it.
But the attack shook the Shadow.
Harrison pressed forward.
He switched his style and moved unpredictably.
His strikes were different—angled, timed, and powered in ways the Shadows hadn’t anticipated.
Harrison, after understanding his weakness, broke free of his old habits, and for the first time, the Shadow struggled to keep up.
The two exchanged blows after blow.
Their figures blurred.
They looked like flickers of lighting dancing around in a dance of fury and chaos.
Harrison moved with precision.
He tried to exploit the small opening he had created.
His confidence returned, stronger than ever.
The Shadow was on the back foot.
It was barely able to parry his attacks.
“I told you,” Harrison growled, his voice thick with determination. “You’re just a shadow.”
At the final moment, Harrison summoned a massive bolt of lightning from the sky.
This one was far larger and stronger than before.
The air crackled with electricity as he brought it down in one devastating strike aimed directly at the Shadow’s head.
But.
Just as the attack was about to connect, the Shadow smirked.
…!
A black portal opened between them.
Harrison’s strike disappeared harmlessly into it.
‘Lucas Shadow is helping it…?’
Before Harrison could even process what was happening, the Shadow reappeared behind him.
It slashed.
The blow was not strong and it didn’t need to be.
It struck the back of Harrison’s neck— the one spot where his impenetrable skin was the weakest.
Harrison’s body seized up as the Shadow’s blade discharged a pulse of lightning directly into his spine.
His sword slipped from his hand and his legs buckled.
He collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath.
The Shadow stood over him.
It smirked triumphantly.
‘This damned fucker…!’
The Shadow ignored his anger.
It grabbed his head with both hands.
Suddenly, the Shadow’s form shook.
Its skin crumbled into black motes of energy that entered Harrison’s orifices.
Harrison did his best to resist while the Shadow tried to overtake his body.
He could not move after the Shadow’s last attack at his nape.
His Divine Energy flowed slowly, like sludge, since the Invincible was at its limit, and he couldn’t use his Spells.
Harrison clenched his teeth.
He tried to hold on and search for a way to stop the Shadow.