Chapter 87

"The perfect doppelganger?" asked Idan of Nemo, still unable to recover from his amazement.

The very name of this doppelganger spoke to how dangerous he was.

Due to their shock, the couple even stopped, which attracted the attention of Alois and his disciple, who had been walking beside them in silence all this time.

However, after recovering, they quickly returned to their seats, and the group continued on their way.

This act of theirs, of course, aroused the suspicions of Alois and his disciple.

Yesterday, they had begun to suspect that a group of four elf disciples had an unusual ability to communicate with each other, which even a master of the "Diamond" rank like him could not detect with his Soul Force.

Liam, Alois' disciple, was watching the group unnoticed.

He was curious and wanted to start a conversation with them, but his master's strict instructions prevented him from doing so, and he had to just watch.

What caught his attention the most was the beautiful elf. Of the two girls who were here, one seemed to have already dated another young man.

In his opinion, this girl was not as beautiful as the elf. She was far away from her.

Elves are naturally beautiful, and Liam was sure of it, looking at Eulalia.

Back in the city, at the Adventurer's Guild, he had seen a more mature elf, with whom his master had made a deal.

He did not know the details of this deal. No matter how he tried to find out, his master remained silent. He only slapped him on the back of the head, warning him not to get too close to this group.

The master told him that the adult elf was their Master and that they were all her direct disciples.

Liam wasn't really interested in the other guys, except for Nemo, who caught his attention with his unusual appearance. He was curious about what Nemo looked like under the mask.

In Liam's opinion, his Master was the strongest, of the "Diamond" rank. He was followed by a beautiful elf of the "Platinum" rank.

Then there was Liam himself and this mysterious guy in a mask.

But the two remaining ones, a guy and a girl, who seemed to be a couple and were having fun yesterday instead of being on duty, actually turned out to be the weakest link in the group.

While Liam was watching the group, their attention was focused on the discussions of the "Perfect Doppelganger," which Nemo shared with them through a mental link.

"By far, the 'Perfect Doppelganger' is the most dangerous creature in this Forbidden Zone. Not only does he have no limits on the number of victims he can copy, but his abilities allow him to reproduce their appearance and behavior almost perfectly."

The more the couple learned about him, the more they became convinced that this doppelganger was indeed the strongest being in the Forbidden Zone.

"According to the Master, even she found it difficult to distinguish the doppelganger from the original. He is able to copy most abilities, including bloodlines," and this came as a real surprise to the couple.

Idan and Arabel were convinced that their new bloodlines were their main advantage. However, as Nemo said, this formidable doppelganger is able to copy even them.

They wondered if this creature could copy their bloodlines?

This time, even the System remained silent and did not offer answers to the questions that worried the couple.

"They have only one weakness—they cannot surpass the strength of the chosen victim," Nemo's words were exactly what the couple wanted to hear.

Knowing this, they felt some relief. If a doppelganger can copy one of them, its power will not be able to surpass the "Silver" rank. And if he also copied their bloodline, he would only reach the "Gold" rank.

"Don't underestimate him. This doppelganger is much smarter and more insidious than the others. He will pay attention to you, the weakest ones, first of all. But first he will copy the strongest of our group, and only then he will pursue you. He is not constrained by the same limitations as other types of doppelgangers. If he realizes that he cannot handle us, he will retreat and wait for the right moment," Eulalia warned them, noticing how the couple breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you saying that he will copy Alois first, and then turn his gaze on us?" asked Arabel with concern in her voice.

"Yes, that's right!" — Nemo confirmed with confidence in his words.

That was the last thing they wanted to hear. Now they were really afraid to go to the central layer of the Forbidden Zone.

They would be the first victim of this doppelganger, and that was clear.

"Don't worry so much, have you forgotten what position you're in?" Eulalia asked the couple with a smile. "Have you forgotten that the consciousness of this world wants to catch you alive?"

How could they forget that?

"Because of the agreement, Limbo cannot directly interfere and act against us. However, it can command the doppelgangers not to kill you. For Limbo, the main thing is to detain you until the «Reset», and he doesn't care what condition you'll be in by then. So be extremely careful when we get to the central layer!".

Eulalia, on the one hand, calmed them down, assuring them that this terrible doppelganger would not kill them. On the other hand, she warned about the need to be on your guard, because just because a doppelganger won't kill them doesn't mean he'll be gentle with them.

Once again, the couple was wondering if it was worth going to the central layer.

They only went there because they needed to complete a task from the System.

"Do you think maybe the creature that needs to be tamed by Nemo is the baby of the 'Perfect Doppelganger'? Arabel asked Idan anxiously.

After everything she had heard, she had no other options regarding the unique creature the System was talking about. This Forbidden Zone was known for its doppelgangers, and most likely, that unique creature in question was also a doppelganger.

Idan was also worried about this. However, he wasn't completely sure.

The system could not call the cub of the "Perfect Doppelganger" a unique being. After all, the word "unique" implies that such a creature is extremely rare. And the "Perfect Doppelganger," according to Nemo and Eulalie, was not something completely unique.

Yes, he lived in the central layer, but his existence was known to everyone in the Adventurer Guild.

Talking about the doppelgangers through a mental link, the group did not notice how they crossed the border of the middle layer. Idan was the first to feel the difference between the middle and outer layers.

He clearly felt the concentration of the madness energy increase dramatically, and his body began to absorb this energy faster.