The moment Kang Yoon-Soo gained his newfound resolve, a black bear charged toward him. He leaned on his back foot for a second before sprinting toward the charging black bear and swinging his sword. His blade cleanly severed the bear’s neck; the attack was completely different from his usual movements.

“Grrrruuuoo!”

Several bears roared as they emerged from the bushes. The black bears of the Hatar Mountains were infamous not only for their viciousness, but also for the thick hides that managed to protect them from most attacks.

The other members of the party prepared to enter combat. Shaneth tightly gripped her Death Scythe, while Henrick pulled out five wooden swordsman dolls from his summoning box. However, Iris remained calmly seated in place.

Henrick screamed angrily at the doppelganger’s nonchalant display, “You idiot! The black bears are approaching us; what are you doing sitting there?!”

Iris, on the other hand, tilted her head in confusion as if she could not understand why he was getting so worked up. She said, “A princess does not participate in combat. It is quite rare for a royal to join a battle.”

“Then run far away or something!” Henrick shouted. He was about to swear at the doppelganger when a black bear suddenly charged toward him.

Kwachik!

A wooden swordsman doll in front clashed with one of the black bears. Half of the doll’s upper body was blown away by the black bear, but Henrick immediately reacted by moving his mana threads. Then, the remaining four wooden swordsman dolls immediately surrounded the black bear and simultaneously stabbed it.

However, the dolls’ swords were not able to penetrate deep enough, and their shallow thrusts were not enough to stop it from rampaging. They had to target vital points such as the neck or the heart to quickly end the battle.

Sukeok!

Shaneth swung her Death Scythe with all her might toward a black bear, and the black bear responded by swinging its paw at the scythe.

Clang!

An immense impact shook her hands when her scythe clashed with the bear’s paws, and the impact felt as if she had struck a large boulder. She swung her scythe downward to create distance between herself and the black bear she was facing, then took the opportunity to use her skill. “Fire Strike!”

It was the skill she had received after she changed into the Ignus Warrior class. Five fire orbs appeared around her Death Scythe. She swung her scythe in a wide sweep, and the fire orbs flew toward the black bear. As they came into contact with the bear, the orbs detonated into a massive explosion.

Boom!

“Kuuuek!”

Some of the black bears standing several meters away from the main target of the fire orbs were caught in the explosion as well, and they roared in agony as their bodies were set ablaze.

Shaneth’s combat prowess had gone up several times over after changing her class into the Ignus Warrior. The increase in her combat capabilities was not the only change that had happened, however. In addition, the mistakes she had made in past battles were no longer present, and her scythe did not tremble one bit even after prolonged combat. It was all thanks to the special trait of the Ignus Warrior class that increased her muscle strength, vitality, and weapon mastery.

“The flowers here are pretty,” Iris said calmly.

She was strolling leisurely around the flower field while the others were engaged in an intense battle, and her expression looked quite peaceful despite the ongoing battle, as if it were being fought in another dimension separate from hers.

Kang Yoon-Soo walked toward her after striking down a black bear. The bears’ blood, dripping down the tip of his longsword, painted the flowers red. He went over his memories. He needed to increase Iris’ combat capabilities if she were to travel with them.

“Don’t sit around. You’re not the princess,” he said.

Iris replied with an innocent expression, “If I am not the princess, then what am I?”

“You are you,” Kang Yoon-Soo answered.

“A doppelganger does not have its own identity,” Iris explained as she lightly held a flower she had picked off the ground. Despite her loose grip, the flower crumbled into dust, and she picked another flower before continuing, “If I do not imitate, what else can I do?”

“Make a new you,” Kang Yoon-Soo answered.

At the very moment that Iris stood up from her spot, Shaneth screamed hurriedly, “Watch out!”

Three black bears charged together at Kang Yoon-Soo and Iris, but Kang Yoon-Soo was just standing there without even raising his sword. At the moment that one bear’s front paw was about to strike Kang Yoon-Soo’s face, Iris stood up and swung her right arm.

Kwachik!

The three black bears were swept off the ground and away from them as if a sudden wave had swept them away; ‘swept away’ was the only way to describe what had happened just then.

Shaneth and Henrick could not believe what just happened; a pair of long, thick tusks had grown out of Iris’ right arm.

“…!” they exclaimed. The tusks looked like something they had seen before. They had an eerie resemblance to the tusks of the wild tusk boar they had eaten last night.

[The doppelganger has opened herself up to another for the first time.]

[She is the first doppelganger that has made a resolve to find her true self.]

[The hidden ability of the doppelganger race, ‘Predation’, has been unlocked.]

[The doppelganger will absorb the stats and physical abilities of an enemy whenever she consumes their heart.]

[The previous ability will disappear if a new ability is absorbed.]

[Consuming the heart of an identical creature will not enhance the absorbed ability.]

[Consuming different species will help the doppelganger grow faster.]

[The doppelganger’s ability absorption efficiency will increase the more hearts she consumes.]

[*This message is only visible to the one the doppelganger opened herself up to.]

Iris’ new skill, Predation, allowed her to absorb the ability of the wild tusk boar after eating its heart the previous night. She could not morph her entire body, but she had gained the ability to change a portion of her body in the absorbed ability.

She was now much stronger than a normal doppelganger. She did not have the ability to completely shapeshift, but her ability to absorb the abilities of another creature through her ‘Predation’ ability was an ability that could not be found in any other monster.

Iris gently touched the boar tusk that had grown out of her right arm. “This thing called battle is such a mysterious thing…” she murmured.

“As if!” Henrick retorted with a haggard look.

The strength of a doppelganger was far greater than that of an average human. It was her first battle, but Iris efficiently disposed of her enemies by swinging her tusk-covered right arm, killing one black bear after another.

All of the black bears were now taken care of. The ground was dyed red with their blood, and the surroundings were littered with their corpses.

Kang Yoon-Soo’s level went up by two, and he was now Level 90. He dug his longsword into the corpse of a black bear and took its heart out. He threw the raw heart to Iris, saying, “Eat it.”

“Why do I have to eat this?” Iris asked.

“So you will be useful in combat,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied coldly.

Iris did not bat an eye as she consumed the raw heart, which gave off a severe fishy stench.

[Iris has consumed the heart of a vicious black bear.]

[Iris’ strength has increased.]

Iris smiled in satisfaction. “It is really delicious; much better than eating it cooked,” she said as she devoured the raw heart like a baby suckling on their mother’s teat.

She stopped eating for a moment as she stared at Kang Yoon-Soo, asking, “Can I have a taste of your heart too?”

“No,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Ah… That’s a shame…” Iris muttered, as she really regretted it.

Shaneth did not even have the energy to speak, staring dazedly at Iris because of the unbelievable words she had just heard.

Afterward, Kang Yoon-Soo raised the black bears as undead, muttering, “Mass Raise Dead.”

The dead black bears were resurrected as undead at Kang Yoon-Soo’s command, becoming Zombie Black Bears. The Zombie Black Bears had pitch-black eyes, and they drooled constantly as if they could devour the living at any moment.

Kang Yoon-Soo sent the undead to the summon dimension.

[52 Zombie Black Bears have been sent to the summon dimension.]

[Summons currently stored in the dimension: 52 Zombie Black Bears, White, Sally.]

[Remaining space for additional summons: 646.]

***

Kang Yoon-Soo and his party entered an old abandoned cabin in the mountains that seemed to have been used by the mountain keeper. It was quite cramped inside, but it worked as an overnight shelter, and they decided to spend the night inside.

The exhausted Shaneth fell asleep immediately, and Henrick started to snore not long after he closed his eyes. However, Iris just continued staring at the night sky.

“The night is quite pretty. I hope I can reach the sky one day,” Iris said as she stretched her hand toward the sky.

Kang Yoon-Soo looked at Iris for a moment before extending his right hand and saying, “Summon Sally.”

Flames spun in midair and a beautiful young girl emerged from them. Sally stared at Iris for a moment before skipping toward her. This was not their first meeting, as they had previously met when Sally set fire to the mountain, but they had not had the luxury to get acquainted at that time.

“Wow! A pretty unni[1]!” Sally exclaimed, looking at Iris with sparkling eyes.

“You are a beautiful child too,” Iris responded.

“Really? Do you mean it?” Sally asked excitedly, and her sparkling eyes grew even larger.

Iris nodded, smiling as she answered, “Really.”

“Wow! I love you!” Sally exclaimed as she jumped and hugged Iris.

Iris stared curiously at the child before grasping her cheeks and pinching them. “Ouch!” Sally screamed.

Iris immediately let go when she heard Sally scream in pain, then tilted her head sideways and licked Sally’s cheek.

Sally looked innocently at Iris before putting her lips on Iris’ cheeks as well. “My name is Sally! What’s your name, unni?” she asked with an innocent look.

“My name is Iris,” Iris replied as she stroked Sally’s fiery orange hair. She looked at Sally with warm, gentle eyes before reiterating, “You really are a beautiful child.”

“Unni is pretty too! Do you want to play with me?” Sally asked.

“If you wish to, let us play,” Iris answered, nodding.

Sally smiled widely before hugging Iris again. She exclaimed excitedly, “Hurray! Sally was really bored! What does Iris unni want to play with Sally?”

“May I taste your heart?” Iris asked with a smile on her face.

“Waaa! Papa!” Sally cried out as she clung to Kang Yoon-Soo’s waist. She sniffled and said, “Papa! Papa! That unni is scary!”

“Let’s play,” Iris said, approaching Sally with a smile.

“Waaaah!” Sally cried out.

“I won’t make you a sibling if you cry,” Kang Yoon-Soo coldly threatened Sally.

“Waa… sniff!” Sally sobbed.

Sally was left alone with Iris in the abandoned cabin…

It was when everyone fell asleep that Kang Yoon-Soo left the cabin alone. He trekked along the mountain trail as he closed his eyes and reminisced about the past. ‘This mountain was my world, and I was its owner, when I lived as a ranger and a mountaineer back then.’

He recalled everything about the Hatar Mountains. The lost sword of the previous emperor was stuck in the ground beneath the river flowing through the mountain gorge, the gold mine of the dwarves was tucked away beneath the foot of the mountain, and the Herb of Eternal Youth grew on the second mountain peak from the west.

Kang Yoon-Soo jogged his memories a bit more. The lost sword of the previous emperor had very good attributes, but it was too damaged and would require a great amount of mithril just to repair; the gold mine of the dwarves would make one the richest person on the continent, but one would incur the wrath of the gold dragon; and the Herb of Eternal Youth would significantly increase one’s life force, but reduce one’s lifespan by a proportional amount.

Of course, if he took the time to collect all of them one by one, they would be great assets. However, it was just a waste of time. There were plenty of hidden treasures and secrets that he was well aware of.

‘There’s no need to waste time in these mountains just to get those,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought to himself.

Kang Yoon-Soo stopped walking and looked at a wooden palisade in front of him. The laughter of mountain bandits rang out from the other side of the wooden palisade. A bandit who was standing watch drew his sword, pointing it toward Kang Yoon-Soo as he exclaimed, “Halt! Who goes there?”

Kang Yoon-Soo slowly walked toward the bandit on watch, then pierced the bandit’s neck. The bandit died with his eyes wide open, unable to believe that Kang Yoon-Soo could kill him so easily without a word.

[You have killed the vicious bandit Greenwell.]

[Your notoriety will not increase, as you have killed a criminal.]

[You may receive a bounty as a reward if you go to the investigators.]

[You have obtained additional experience points for killing a member of the same race.]

[Your level has increased by 1.]

This was the method he had chosen to grow stronger in the shortest time possible. The Crossed Swords Bandits were an infamous and vicious criminal gang that used the Hatar Mountains as their headquarters. He would be able to obtain a significant amount of experience points if he wiped them out, and the bandit leader had a rare magic sword on him.

However, it was impossible for even Kang Yoon-Soo to face that many bandits alone. It had not been in his plan to get rid of the bandits originally, but he did not have a choice now, as he needed to get stronger faster.

Kang Yoon-Soo slowly closed his eyes to jog his memories, pondering which Kang Yoon-Soo of which life he needed to be that day. He slowly opened his eyes after a short while, having chosen which one of his previous lives he had decided to imitate—his tenth life.

He had been a ruthless predator in his tenth life, murdering countless people and committing countless atrocities.

Now, that version of Kang Yoon-Soo was walking into the bandits’ base within the wooden palisade, having turned into the most vicious murderer on the continent.

1. A term used by girls to refer to an older girl/sister in Korea. ☜

Am I the only one who thought of this scene from Rush Hour 3 when Kang Yoon-Soo said “You are you”?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAVnOz7i-JA