Reforged Chapter 39: Ancestral Mirror Image Technique - Part 1

As a veteran player and someone who had been transported to another world, Duke still couldn't distinguish between the game and real life. He instinctively thought of the experience points he needed to level up.

In practice, it had a similar effect.

"You used 2,500 soul power points to unlock the third magical circuit, increasing your intelligence by 5 points, your mana by 50 points, and your spell power by an unknown amount."

Murder and arson had always been a shortcut to wealth.

Gnolls were, after all, part of the "humanoid" category, and Duke had no qualms about using the soul power gained from defeating these gnoll minions to rise from a rank one Earth Mage to rank four in one fell swoop.

How strong was rank four?

Duke didn't know, but he instinctively felt that his mana pool was still a small bucket, barely enough for ten or so Frostbolt spells before it would be depleted.

He had fantasized countless times about Hogger suddenly deciding to sacrifice all his minions for experience points, then laughing heartily and saying, "Since you've managed to kill all my minions, you're worthy of facing me in battle." Finally, the leveled-up Duke would teach Hogger a lesson with one massive Fireball spell.

Unfortunately, Hogger's impulsive nature ruined Duke's fantasy. Hogger, unbelievably, charged headfirst into the Ice Storm.

Hadn't they agreed that bosses always appeared last?

It didn't make sense!

Well, whether it made sense or not didn't matter anymore.

Focusing on the matchstick-like human mage he despised the most in the convoy, Hogger charged forward.

Fast!

So fast!

Despite Hogger's massive size, his speed didn't slow down at all.

On the contrary, powered by the strong and nearly majestic muscles in his hind legs, Hogger's enormous body appeared as intimidating as a high-speed bullet train.

His mountain-like figure rapidly grew larger in Duke's field of vision.

[Calm and Composed]

[Pyroblast]

This combo that Duke had relied on since arriving in this world had been nearly foolproof, but this time... it failed!

Unbelievably, Hogger swung his massive axe with an explosion of grace, and in one horizontal sweep... he split Duke's Fireball in half!

With its core destroyed, the Fireball's remaining energy transformed into several dying embers, twitching in the night sky before disappearing.

"Holy crap!" Duke stared dumbfounded at the unscientific scene before him. Then, death came.

The rapidly approaching Hogger didn't even bother swinging his destructive stone axe. He merely glanced disdainfully at Duke before kicking him squarely in the chest.

"Ugh—" Duke's chest let out an incredibly dull thud.

The next second, Duke's entire body flew through the air like a kicked bag of garbage. His blue and white mage robes traced a tragic arc in the night sky before he ultimately crash-landed not far from Marco, who was still fighting fiercely.

This scene left the members of the mercenary group speechless.

"No way! Wasn't Lord Markus supposed to be the strongest? How did he fall?"

...

"Sir! Sir Markus!" Someone shouted!

"No—Healing potion! Who has a healing potion for me?!"

"It's over! His chest is completely caved in, his insides must be mush. He's definitely dead."

The mercenaries were in chaos. Nobody had expected that the calm, mysterious, and powerful young mage, Duke, would be taken down by Hogger in a single exchange.

But it made sense. After all, Hogger was the "Nightmare of Elwynn Forest". They couldn't defeat him, so why did they have high hopes for Duke, who was stronger than them?

It turned out that killing the powerful Hogger had been nothing but a fleeting dream from the beginning.

Marco abandoned his opponent and rushed to the dying Duke, who was breathing his last. He recalled how Duke had saved his son and remembered Duke's laughter.

Marco roared to the heavens, "All units charge! Avenge Sir Duke Markus!"

"Revenge, revenge!" The valiant shouts echoed together.

Hogger, still a dozen steps away, didn't approach immediately. His gnoll mouth was split wide open, revealing his sharp teeth in the firelight.

He was laughing!

He was mocking the humans' overconfidence, and their feeble struggles against death.

Not only was Hogger laughing, but the surrounding gnoll were also barking triumphantly.

Just when the mercenaries thought Duke had perished, Marco discovered that the weight in his arms had mysteriously vanished.

"Get out of here!"

Duke, who should have been dead, resolutely charged towards Hogger, a chilling blue-white radiance emanating from his hand.

Marco and the others were stunned. They had seen Duke's condition just moments ago, and he was on death's doorstep.

Yet Duke, with his dying body, was trying to buy time for their escape.

Before they knew it, tears filled the mercenaries' eyes. This was the hero's moment.

They watched as Duke cast another Frostbolt.

Hogger seemed caught off guard, unable to dodge the Frostbolt that covered his entire left forearm in frost.

However, that was all it did. Enraged, Hogger roared, flexed his right arm muscles, and his massive axe cleaved the night sky once again. Duke twisted his body at the last moment, narrowly avoiding being chopped in half.

Duke wasn't in good shape either. As he was flung away, the mercenaries could see the fragments of his muscles scattered due to the immense force of Hogger's blow.

This was such a tragic scene—Duke, the kingdom's future hope and a highly esteemed mage, was shedding his blood and risking his life for them, mere mercenaries hired days ago.

Watching Duke's not-so-tall figure fall once more in the firelight, they became enraged.

"Duke!"

"Kill! Kill these mongrels!"

"Charge! Avenge Sir Markus!"

The infuriated mercenaries began their desperate charge, even abandoning their shields for survival. With furious shouts, they ruthlessly pursued the towering gnoll.

Surprisingly, the gnoll, who had numerical superiority, were now the ones being routed and hunted down.

"Arrrooo—" With Hogger's howl, the gnoll found their resolve and regrouped to face the mercenaries once more.

Right! As long as Hogger was alive, these brutal yet cowardly gnoll would fight like the bravest of warriors until their last breath.

However, at that moment, Duke managed to stand up once again...

The mercenaries were brought to tears!

Though men's tears aren't easily shed, even these battle-hardened mercenaries had tear-streaked faces at this moment. ...